"I would however like it very much if you would talk with me for a while. Why don't you hop up on the bed and we can get to know each other?" Obediently, Todd did what he was told, but both Susannah and Viki could see fear in his eyes. Viki started to head out the door when Todd called after her; "you can stay here, can't you?" Both women noticed it was more like a plea than a question. "Of course Viki can stay if you want her to," Susannah said and with that Todd's first therapy session with Doctor Hanen was about to begin.

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Susannah could see that the young man sitting cross-legged on the bed was still scared to death of talking to her. She noticed how he pulled all the way up to the headboard when she sat down next to him. "Do you know what's special about talking to doctors?" Susannah began.

Todd, looking directly at her, shook his head.

"Doctors," Susannah continued, "can never tell anyone else what someone told them unless that person wants it to be told. If you tell me something is a secret, then I will never tell anyone else what you told me, that's a promise."

Susannah had no way of knowing that a doctor, long ago had already broken that promise.

Seven year old Todd had been sound asleep in his bed when he was awakened with a start, finding himself in midair and unable to breathe. This had happened to the child many times before, but each time was just as terrifying as the last. It had become a ritual for Peter Manning to pay these nighttime visits to the sleeping child. Peter enjoyed these "games", as he thought of them. It was a challenge for him to think of new ways to torture Todd.

Tonight, Peter was in an especially foul mood. He had lost out on a big business deal and blamed the sleeping child for all his problems. Irene's bastard son has brought me nothing but bad luck since the day he came here, Peter thought, as he usually did whenever he needed someone to place blame on.

Peter dragged the terrified child to the kitchen, a room that seemed to be one of Peter's favorite spots for his "night games." Peter turned on the kitchen faucet, the hot water only. Todd stood rooted to the spot where his father had left him. He knew if he as much as moved a muscle or made a sound without Peter's permission his punishment would get worse. The child wondered what he had done that day that was causing Peter to punish him again tonight. He knew it had to be something, because Peter always told Todd during one of these sessions that it was his fault, that Todd made him do it.

For his part, Peter, his mind sick and twisted by his own demons, believed this, that this small child that he had been paid to be a father to, was the cause of every bad thing that had ever happened to him since the day Todd had been adopted.

Todd's throat hurt from the pressure Peter had put on it when he had lifted him off the bed and the boy wanted some water, but he knew he dared not ask for it. By now, Peter had turned one of the stove's burners on. Todd could see that it was starting to glow blue. Peter sat down at the kitchen table and lit a cigarette.

Todd hated the smell of the cigarette. He hated the way Peter always smelled from them. Peter sat there, smoking, not saying a word. He was enjoying the moment, enjoying the fact that the frightened child didn't know what was coming next. What Peter didn't know was that Todd was no longer in the room. The little boy that stood there, waiting to be punished, was Tom. Tom had come to help Todd several months ago, during another one of Peter's nighttime rituals. Now Tom was standing there, knowing he had to be the one Peter hurt because Todd had gone inside and left Tom there to face Peter.

Grinding his cigarette out slowly and deliberately, Peter looked at Tom. Finally, he walked over to the now shivering child. Peter, a tall man, by anyone's standards, towered over the small boy.

"You little wimp, look at you! Shaking like a little girl. You disgust me! You're just like her, aren't you?"

Although in later years they all would learn to control their physical sensations for now, as much as he wanted to, Tom could not stop trembling. Seeing this made Peter even angrier than he had been. He had planned on giving the child a choice tonight, letting him decide which way he would be punished. Would he want his hand held under the hot water or burned on the stove? However, seeing the child tremble, enraged Peter.

Peter usually hurt Todd in a careful and deliberate way. He would hurt him on areas of his body that no one, teachers neighbors or others would usually see, unless they saw the child without clothes. Peter knew burned hands could be easily explained. However, sometimes Peter's rage would get the better of him, and he would get careless, tonight was one of those nights. For their part, Tom and the others had all learned the correct answers if someone did ask about the bruises or burns that were sometimes visible. "I fall down a lot, I'm really, really clumsy," or "I touched a hot pot," or "I spilled my daddy's coffee on me," or "I got too close to my daddy's cigarette". They all had these answers down pat. Not that they were asked often, people tended to mind there own business.

Tonight, Peter yanked Tom up by his left arm and bent it towards Tom's back. They both heard the sound of Todd's arm breaking.

Unfortunately, this did not slow Peter down. He shook the child violently. Are you going to cry? Are you!" Peter sneered, to the dry-eyed child.

Tom wished he could get away like Todd had, but he knew it was his "job" to be there. Tom was not sure what to do. If he made any noise, Peter would get angrier and if he continued to stay quiet, Peter would get angrier. No matter what he chose, things would get worse, and he knew it.

Peter's rage continued and he flung the child onto the kitchen table. Tom heard the sound of Peter sliding his belt off. He knew what that meant and tried to prepare himself for what was coming. After the first few lashes, it didn't seem to hurt so much anymore. What neither Tom nor Peter realized was that Todd's body was starting to go into shock. Peter, not getting a reaction that would satisfy him picked the boy up and with the force of his adult arms smashed him back onto the table, knocking the child unconscious.

At first Peter thought he had killed Todd, then he saw he was still breathing. Peter felt some relief. It may have been because there was a tiny, minute, part of him that truly did not want to see Todd dead, or it may have been fear of the law or of losing a part of his income. Or maybe, like a cat with its prey, Peter did not want to see the game end.

After making sure Barbara was still passed out from her nightly drinking binge, Peter carried the unconscious child to his car and started the drive to the hospital, all the while rehearsing the story he would tell to explain the child's injuries. Before they had gotten to the ER, Tom woke up. Hearing the child's low moans, Peter pulled over to the shoulder and grabbed the boy by his arms so that they were face to face. Pain ripped through Tom as Peter put pressure on his left arm, the broken one.

"I am taking you to the hospital to get you fixed up. You will tell them you crashed your new bicycle into a tree. Do you hear me? You sneaked out at night to ride your new bicycle. It was dark and you went down a hill and crashed into a tree. You got that Todd!" Tom nodded. They rode the rest of the way in silence.

Tom's injuries were assessed and treated. His left humerus and scapula were fractured and he suffered from shock and a mild concussion. The doctor wanted to keep him overnight for observation. Peter refused and wanted to take the child home. When the attending physician protested Peter went to speak to an administrator. This was the first time he had left Tom's side since he had brought him in.

Doctor Andrews was a first year resident. He had seen many cases of child abuse and was sure that this child's injuries were not sustained in a bicycle accident. He had also noticed the fresh and healed over scars on Tom's back, chest and buttocks.

As soon as he had the chance to talk to the little boy alone, he asked, "Can you tell me again how you got hurt? It's okay, you know, I won't tell anyone anything you tell me. It'll be our secret."

Tom repeated that he fell off his bicycle.

"You know," Doctor Andrews gently prodded, "My wife is gonna have a little baby and I was hoping it would be a little boy, just like you."

"Not just like me, Tom said, I'm not a very good boy. I'm bad all the time."

"Does your daddy or mommy get mad at you a lot?"

The doctor pressed. "My mom loves me," Tom declared.

"What about your daddy, does he hit you? It's okay Todd. I promise I won't tell anyone if you tell me. It will be our secret. I promise. Doctors don't tell secrets. Come on, you can tell me, it's all right."

Tom was confused. He wanted to trust this man but he also knew if Peter found out he told anyone, Peter would hurt him worse than he ever had before.

Before Tom had a chance to respond, Peter walked back into the cubicle Tom was in. "That's it! I got permission to take my son home."

Peter had signed a form stating that he was removing Todd against medical advise. Perhaps it was due to lack of experience or a pressing need not to send this child back home with this man, but Doctor Andrews blurted out, to Tom's horror, "I know you did this to your son Mr. Manning. This was no bicycle accident."

Peter turned to Tom and said in a voice that was calm, but cold as ice, "Did you tell the doctor that I hurt you?"

"No Dad," Tom answered, his voice shaking, but he could see from the look in his father's eyes that Peter didn't believe him.

"Did my son say I hurt him? Did he?" Peter asked the Doctor.

"No," Doctor Andrews, replied quietly, "But I have seen cases of child abuse before and . . ."

Peter cut him off before he could finish his sentence, "Look! The head of this hospital's board happens be a friend of mine. If you say one more filthy lie about me and my son, I will have you thrown out of this hospital so fast you won't know what hit you."

The doctor could tell from the look on Peter's face that he meant it, he also knew that trying to get the child to open up at this point was probably useless. Against his better judgment he released Todd to his father.

Tom was expecting Peter to start punishing him the minute they got into the car, but Peter said nothing and did nothing. Instead of calming Tom, this just made him more and more frightened.

When they got home, Peter told the child to go to his room. By now Tom was in a panic. He knew that because the doctor did not keep his promise and led Peter to know what they were talking about, his father now thought he told someone how he got hurt. Peter was supposed to come wake Tom every hour because of his concussion, but he never entered his son's room that night. Not that it mattered, because Tom did not sleep.

When morning came, Tom could not believe that his father had done nothing to punish him. Maybe Peter had forgiven him, he thought, or maybe he believed that Tom said nothing.

Tom dressed himself, as he had learned to do ever since him mom, "got sicker," as he thought of it, and slept really late these days. It was especially hard for him to dress himself with a cast on his arm but he knew his mother would still be asleep.

He headed down to the basement to feed Randy, the dog his mom had given him on his fifth birthday. Peter did not like animals and made his son keep the dog in the basement. Tom and the others loved Randy more than anything in the world. They all loved to hold and cuddle with the sweet-tempered animal. No matter which boy was out, Randy's care was always a priority and they never missed feeding him or filling his water dish.

Tom headed down to the basement and was surprised that Randy didn't come running up to him the way he usually did. Tom was also surprised to see some unfamiliar looking food in Randy's dish.

"Randy, Randy," Tom called, but there was no response. He started to get concerned and called louder, "RANDY, RANDY, COME TO ME. IT'S TOM. I'M THE ONE HERE TODAY."

The dog was the only one who was privy to the information that Todd was not the only child to live in Todd's body. When there was still no response, Tom started to panic. He was afraid that somehow the dog had gotten upstairs and if Peter found him he would, as he had threatened, give the dog away.

Tom decided to search the basement first, as there were lots of hiding places down there. He got the flashlight off the shelf and started looking. When he was just about to leave to look upstairs, he noticed what looked like some fluffy material near the water heater. As Tom got closer he could see the shape of a paw. Tom's heart started to pound wildly. He was afraid to look any closer but forced himself to. There, on the cold damp floor of the basement was his beloved Randy.

Tom picked the dog up and noticed how cold and stiff the animal felt. "Randy, it's me Tom. Are you hurt? Randy, please, please, it's me, Tom. Randy?"

"Do you see what you've done!" Peter's voice startled the boy. "Do you see what happens when someone finds out our secrets?"

"You can trust me," Doctor Hanen continued, "Okay? No matter what you tell me, I will keep it a secret if you want me to." Tom looked at Susannah in his open and direct way and then without saying a word went back to playing his video game, shutting the world out. Susannah and Viki exchanged worried looks and both realized that gaining the trust of Todd or any of the alters would not come easy.

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