Be Not Nobody 

Chapter Three: Unspoken Truth 

She stared at him for a moment her eyes unblinking, as if perhaps she heard him wrong… “I’m sorry… is what yours?” She asked. There was a slight quirk at the corners of her lips that she fought against as she stared him in the eyes.

“You said that you’re pregnant… I’m asking if…”

“Unless there was some kind of twisted divine intervention how in the hell could this baby be yours Todd?!” She asked feeling the slight laugh stick in her throat. “I mean I know you’ve been locked up but have they been slipping you something through these bars that you’re not telling me about?”

He gave her that trademark smirk as he took a stand and walked up to the metal bars separating them. Reaching out he wrapped his fingers around hers in such a tender fashion that it caught her off guard. “I guess what I should have asked is… do you want this baby to be mine?” His stare was intense and his intention was unquestionable. What he was offering… what he was willing to do for her in the midst of everything that was going on, was very clear.

“You would claim my baby if I asked you to?” She asked softly looking down at his hand covering her own. She already knew the answer. “You don’t even know who this baby belongs to.” She remarked.

“It belongs to you. This is your baby…” He replied adamantly. The conviction in his voice was so strong that it caught her off guard. “This is your child…everything else is just semantics.” He shrugged off with that smile.

“I’m not even sure what I’m going to do yet… I mean I haven’t even decided if…”

His eyes shifted to her midsection and she found herself rubbing her stomach almost instantly. There was a ghost of a smile already on his lips. “You’ve already decided… you’ll have it. You want it.” The statement was so simple… so true. The nonchalance in his voice was throwing her for a loop. He was so sure…

“I can’t be a single mother… I work all the time and…”

“I’ve already said I’ll help you.”

She shook her head. “Todd… this could… this would destroy your family.”

“My family is indestructible. Look at all the things we’ve been through. Having a baby won’t change much… I mean Blair will probably give you the cold shoulder for a while. You might want to sleep with one eye open too.” He stated with a dark chuckle not realizing just how wrong he was about his own family.

“Even if I keep her husband off of death row,” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

He stared at her for a moment. “I’m not doing this so you will take my case.” He responded seriously.

“I know that.” She sighed. “You didn’t kill Margaret. I don’t think you could… I know that you couldn’t. You may have wanted to… you may have thought about it and even seriously contemplated doing it… but I don’t think you would have… not while she was pregnant.” Running her free hand through her hair she sighed looking away from him for a moment. “You are a lot of things Todd Manning… but you’re not a baby killer.”

He took a moment before replying. “Not that I’m complaining… but what convinced you?”

“I always knew that you didn’t do it… I guess I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“But I didn’t say it.”

“Yes you did… not out loud but your eyes… your eyes told me the truth.”

“Well that’s a first!” he quipped.

“Why would you do this for me?” She asked suddenly.

He shrugged. “Because you’re my lawyer… because you’re my friend. And let’s be honest… I’m in short supply of both when you think about it. I really can’t afford to lose either.”

She smiled albeit teary and emotional. “Do you even want to know who the father is?” She questioned.

“I am the father.” He stated.

She shook her head. “Let’s not… Let’s not go there. I mean… I just… let’s not think about going there just yet… okay?” She exhaled a deep breath. She really didn’t want to have to go that route if she could prevent it. It was bound to get complicated and she really wasn’t up for taking on Blair Manning along with an entire legal system trying to get Todd out of this mess. One problem at a time. “Let’s focus on you right now… and first thing is first… I’m going upstairs to negotiate your bail. Once that’s been taken care of we can work on getting you cleared of these charges and if we’re lucky… find out who really murdered Margaret and her baby.”

“Good luck with that… haven’t you heard?” He asked seeing the questionable look in her eyes.

“No… what?”

“Oh man… you don’t know do you? They’re claiming I murdered her… but the astute detectives can’t even find a body. A few bloody tatters found in a stream and suddenly I’m just a convicted baby killer… there’s no body Evangeline. Who knows… there may not be a murder!”