STOLEN CHANCES - PART TWENTY TWO

PREVIOUSLY

"Speaking of baby sisters, can we go to the nursery now?" Ryan wants to know.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Todd says, leaning over to kiss Tea on the cheek. "I'll be right back, Delgado. I'm not leaving you. Ever," he whispers into her ear before turning to walk out the door with the others.

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"How is she doing today, Abuelita?" Todd asks as he strolls lithely into Tea's hospital room, slightly startling the older Delgado woman. He walks over to the night stand and replaces the wilting flowers with a boquet of fresh ones he'd just bought.

"About the same, Mijo. I just don't know what's wrong with her." Abuelita looks down at her granddaughter and sighs. "I thought that she would have been awake sooner than this."

It's been 23 days since that fateful day. Tea was still unconscious, but Ana Marisa was growing and developing by leaps and bounds. For that, Todd was grateful, but he missed his wife. And he prayed daily for her to come back to him.

He spent about a week grieving for her as if she were already dead, but he soon realized that Ana Marisa needed him. She needed him to be strong for her. She needed him to be able to take care of her when she was ready to leave the hospital. And he wasn't going to learn by sitting by Tea's side crying day and night. He missed the times when both Ryan and Starr were infants, so he had no clue how to take care of a newborn. He resolved that it was necessary for him to get himself together for his new baby daughter. Tea's grandmother had come to help him with the kids while Tea was still in the hospital, but that wasn't enough. Todd had to be able to take care of Ana Marisa. He had to for Tea. She couldn't do it, so he felt like he had to, for Tea's sake.

"Mr. Manning, there you are." Todd turns around to see Ana Marisa's doctor coming into the room. "I need to talk to you."

"Nothing's wrong, it is? The baby's fine, isn't she?" Abuelita asks, starting to get worried.

"It's nothing like that. Ana Marisa's great. That's what I'm here to tell you. I want to run a few more tests, but I think she's ready to go home with you, Mr. Manning."

"Home? I can take my daughter home?" Todd runs over to Abuelita and gives her a huge hug. Both are laughing through the tears. It was a day they'd been waiting for and it's finally here. Ana Marisa was going home where she belonged. But going home without her mother. The joy turns bittersweet when they both realize what that means for Tea. The doctor excuses himself when he notices their sadness. Todd takes his honorary seat next to Tea's bed and grabs her hand, holding it to his cheek while he sobs softly.

After awhile, Todd feels he needs to leave. He gets Abuelita to stay with Tea and walks out the door. Todd doesn't know where he's going, but lets his steps lead him to his destination. After several minutes of walking around the hospital, Todd looks up to find himself standing outside the chapel. He peeks inside and when he finds it unoccupied, he slowly steps inside, finding a pew towards the back to sit on.

"I know this is the last place anyone would expect to find me. But something led me here for a reason. I guess I should just make the most of it," Todd begins, not really knowing what he's saying, or who he's saying it to. The same beckoning that led him to the chapel is now pulling words that he's hidden deep within his heart.

"I've been in this situation before with You. I'll make a mess of my life and then when I really need something from You, I make all of these bargains and deals and promise to change if You would just grant my . . . prayer." Todd almost chokes on the word. Faith in a higher power was a non existent factor in his life. He had a hard enough time trusting people.

"I'm not going to pretend with You. Not that it would make any difference anyway. Today's not any different from those other days. My life is a mess. And You're the only one who can fix it. Tea's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love her so much it scares me sometimes. I should thank You every day for sending her to me. But she's been away from me for awhile now. And I'm here to beg you to bring her back to me. No bargains. No promises that I know I won't keep. I'm just pleading for her life."

"But what kind of life would she have with me? I've had my share of problems. But I'm ready to change. For her. And for my children. They're going to need me to be strong. And to be strong for them, I'm going to have to stop fighting things from the past and focus on the future. I've done all that I know how to do and I end up going around in circles. It's time to try something else. Something bigger than any person or any problem I could ever face. I guess that something is You."

Todd stays in the chapel for what seems like hours. He's never enjoyed such a sense of peace and contentment. For those moments, nothing else mattered in his life and he had a feeling that everything would work out for the best. He turns around and starts to leave when he notices a figure standing in the back of the chapel.

"Viki?"

"I didn't mean to disturb you, Todd," Viki responds. "You seemed so peaceful."

"It was peaceful. Like a peace I've never known. I can't really explain it."

"I've been looking everywhere for you. I have a few things to talk to you about. First, there's the issue with Blair we need to discuss. Have you been reading the papers?"

"No. I haven't really had the chance to. Her trial date is coming up soon, right? How's the investigation going? I know they found a few things in Roscoe's possession that connected her to him and they also caught up with an accomplice or partner of some sort that claimed Blair initiated contact with him. But is it really enough for a trial?"

"Well, that's one thing I need to talk to you about. They don't really have enough to convict her. Hank was looking for you to testify, but if you don't then their case won't really hold water. What are you going to do, Todd?"

"You know, I've been in here doing some serious thinking. It's really time for me to make a change in my life. There's too much for me to be grateful for. I don't have the energy to deal with revenge and hate anymore. Besides, from what I hear, Blair is tormenting herself enough. She doesn't need me hating her. And neither does Starr."

"That's very admirable of you, Todd. So you forgive her?"

"Forgive? Viki, I think I'm a long way from that. I know that Blair didn't set out to deliberately scare my children or to leave my wife on the brink of death, so I can't really blame her for this situation. But, if she wasn't involved, Tea wouldn't be where she is right now. I don't want to talk about Blair right now. What else were you about to say?"

"The doctor was looking for you. All the tests were fine. Ana Marisa can go home, Todd. Today."

Todd looks at his sister with a tear in his eye. He's so happy that he can finally take his baby home. There's still sadness in his heart about Tea, but he allows himself to be happy for Ana Marisa. He takes Viki's hand, and together they walk out of the chapel. As he turns to close the door on their way out, he looks back towards the alter and mouths the words thank you to his new found source of strength and peace.

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"Mr. Manning, I just need you to sign this last form before you leave." A nurse shoves a piece of paper in Todd's hands and he hastily scribbles his name across the bottom. Nothing could ruin this moment for him. This was the day his baby daughter was finally ready to leave the hospital. After spending the first 3 1/2 weeks of her life hooked up to tubes and wires in a cold, sterile hospital, Ana Marisa was finally about to journey to her home and her family.

"Todd, do you have everything you need?" Viki asks as the nurse hands a sleeping Ana Marisa to her father.

"I think we'll be fine, Viki. But you can do one thing for me."

"Anything. Just name it."

"Do you think you could take Abuelita back to the penthouse? Michelle is there with the kids. They're all waiting for me to get there with the baby. But I need to make a stop first." He pauses a moment as he looks at his baby's sweet, angelic face. "There's somebody we need to go see."

He holds the baby snugly against his chest and starts his trek down the hall towards Tea's room. The closer he gets, the harder it becomes to make the steps. He has to hold back the tears as he peeks into the room and spys a still unconscious Tea across the room. He takes a deep breath and slowly opens the door, standing in the doorway for a few moments before finally venturing to her bedside.

"This is our stop, Ana Marisa. There's somebody here I want you to meet," Todd says, as he sits down, turning the baby around to face Tea.

"This is a very special lady. Now, she's not going to say much. But you have to believe me when I tell you that she loves you very much. Ana Marisa, this is your mother. Tea, this is our baby girl." He finally allows the emotions to take over as the tears begin to fall. He grabs Tea's hand and wraps the baby's hand around one of Tea's fingers.

"Tea, we love you. And we want you to come back to us. But I need for you to know how much I love you and miss you. Every moment with you felt like a lifetime of happiness. I'm the luckiest man in the world, Tea. Because of you. So, even if you can't come back to us, I thank God for every moment we had together. And everytime I look in this little baby's eyes, I'll see you and remember our happiness. Then I'll thank God again for her." Todd leans across the bed and gently strokes Tea's face, studying every detail and etching it into his memory.

"We need to get going, Tea. But I'll always be here for you. Remember that. You just get plenty of rest and concentrate on geting better. We need you Delgado." Todd gets halfway to the door when a sound stops him in his tracks.

"How's a girl supposed to rest around here with you yapping on and on," a weak voice whispers from behind him. Todd spins around and runs back to Tea's side and is shocked to find her eyes squinted as she struggles to focus.

"Tea? Was that you?" he asks, still in shock over hearing her voice again and seeing signs of life in her body. "Tea, you're awake! Don't move, I'm going to get a doctor." He starts to leave again, but she stops him.

"No, don't go. What's happened to me? How long have I been here?" She gets panicked when she feels her flattened stomach. "The baby!"

"Hey, calm down," Todd says reasurringly. "The baby's fine. You've been in here for almost a month now. Unconscious. You had us all scared to death, Delgado."

"The baby's okay? Really?"

"Really. You can see her for yourself." Todd holds the baby up for Tea to see. Tea's eyes instantly well up with tears. She struggles to lift her hand to the baby's face, but doesn't make it that far.

Todd notices how weak she is and comes up with an idea to help mother and child bond. He somehow props Tea up in her bed and then sits behind her, so that she's leaning back on his chest. Then he places the baby in her arms, making sure to keep a firm grip on them both.

"Todd, she's perfect. And so beautiful."

"Say thank you to your mommy, Ana Marisa," Todd says with a smile, but then he stiffens slightly, hoping Tea isn't uncomfortable about the baby's name. "Is it alright that I named her already?"

"Of course it is, Todd. I love the name. And it suits you, Miss Ana Marisa Manning." Tea says, looking down at her daughter. She leans back farther onto Todd's chest and enjoys the feeling of his arms around her. And she revels in the joy of feeling the little, soft, warm baby squirming in her arms. She still doesn't know what all happened to her. All she knows is that none of that matters because at that moment, she has all that she could ever need or want.

Todd looks at them both. And at that moment he was stunned to realize that he could actually feel Tea's joy and contentment. He could actually see the peace on Ana Marisa's face. There was nothing as important as what he was experiencing right then and there. That's when the epiphany came. This is what life is supposed to be all about. Not about trying to fix the problems of the past or seeking revenge on those you thought wronged you. It was all about taking the stolen chances and enjoying them to the fullest because they were few and far between. Moments like this one.

Todd leans his head back against the wall and listens as both Tea and Ana Marisa's breathing gets deeper and more regular as they fall asleep. He smiles to himself as another wave of peace covers him, rocking him into his own slumber state, leading him to dreams and visions of their happy future.

THE END.