"Whoa, Boomer. You almost tripped on the table. Tell me where you want to go and I'll help you."

"Straight to hell Sam. That's where I belong. Let go of me!" Todd tried to pull away, but he was too weak to do it. He was terrified of the condition his body was in. "Why do you want to keep me around to torture me like this? Why? I can't do anything anymore. I can't even walk a step without bumping into to something."

"Todd, it doesn't have to be this way. You can learn to walk without hurting yourself. Do you remember Ryan Morgan? He is an instructor for the blind. He can teach you to get around without hurting yourself," Susannah reminded him.

"I don't need blind lessons! I can learn it myself if you just let go of me," Todd cried out. He tried to pull away from them again.

"No, honey. You can't. There are special skills that you need to learn. Do you remember how well you did on the one lesson you had with Ryan?" Susannah hoped to encourage him. "Ryan said you caught on faster than anyone he had ever worked with before."

"He did?" Todd sounded shocked.

"Yes, he did. Todd you are very, very smart. Much more so than the average person," Susannah informed him.

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better," Todd snapped. He didn't believe her.

"I'm not lying to you. Todd, do you know what an IQ is?" Susannah took nothing for granted.

"It says how smart you are," Todd remembered.

"That right. You have a very high IQ. It's in the genius level."

Todd thought about what Susannah just told him for a moment and then quickly rejected it, as it didn't fit in with his image he had of himself. "Stop lying to me! I know I'm stupid. I have plenty of proof of that."

"What proof do you have?" Susannah tried to throw doubt on his belief that he was stupid.

"I did lousy in school. I couldn't remember half of what was taught. I was always getting in trouble. I was always screwing up at home. I was stupid. I'm a loser, a worthless loser. No one wants me with them. They all leave or they send me away."

"Who sent you away? Who made you feel like they didn't love you or care about you because they sent you away? Come on Todd. Say it. Who did that to you?" Susannah pushed.

Sam and Susannah felt Todd's legs buckling. They lowered him to a sitting position on the floor. He pulled his knees to his chest. Susannah sat down next to him. "Come on, honey. Say it. Who sent you away?"

"My mom," he whispered. Susannah looked up at Sam and Viki. They both had tears in their eyes. "She left me. She always left me. First she walked out. Then I found her and she sent me away. Then she died. She needed to get away from me so bad that she died." Tears poured down Todd's cheeks.

"No, sweetheart," Viki said. She knelt down to where he sat. "Todd, your mom loved you. She was just too weak to stand up to your father. Sweetheart, you did nothing wrong."

"Viki, I did. I don't know what it was, but I did. I made her leave. One day she just went away. I came home from school and there was a note. She said she couldn't take it anymore. I ran away from camp and found her. I walked through the woods for two days. I was so scared and cold. I heard the water. I heard voices telling me how to find her. I guess I was crazy then too. I found her and she acted like she was happy to see me. She hugged me and kissed me. She did things with me. She took me to a fair in Mount Joy. She bought me baseball cards and I found an old Indian arrowhead. I tried to get her husband to like me. I stayed real quiet and I didn't get in his way. I didn't touch anything that wasn't mine or spill anything. I didn't eat very much or ask for anything. I waited until it was offered. I didn't talk to him. I waited for him to talk first, but he never did. He hated me. He knew I couldn't be loved. He knew I was a bad and stupid and worthless. He didn't want a loser and a piece of garbage for a son either and my mom knew he was right. She loved him. She didn't love me. That was why she sent me back."

"Do you remember hearing your mom and step dad talking about you?" Susannah asked as she gently rubbed Todd's back.

Todd started rocking back and forth. "He told her to get rid of me. He didn't want me around. I wanted him to want me so bad. I wanted him to be my dad."

"Did you love him?" Susannah posed.

"I didn't even know him. My mom loved him, so I wanted him to love me and be my dad. I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted him to think I was worth loving."

"Boomer, that was a perfectly normal wish. Every child wants to have a father who loves him or her," Sam pointed out.

"No! It was a bad thing to do. It made him hate me even more. He told my mom to get rid of me and she did. She said she'd take care of it. Like I was a pile of garbage, and I was! That's all I ever was and what I am now. A worthless pile of garbage."

Their hearts broke for him. "Did you feel that your mom hated you because she sent you away?" Susannah asked.

"Why else would she have done it?" Todd responded. He started to tremble. "Oh, God! Please, I don't want to go back to him. Please! I'm so scared. Don't make me go on the plane. Mama! Please!"

Susannah knew he was slipping into a flashback. Susannah held onto Todd's hands. "Todd, that happened a long time ago. It isn't happening now. Stay here with us. Don't let the memory pull you back. That's all it is, just a memory. You are here with Viki and Sam and me now. You're safe. No one is sending you back to your father. You're father is dead. He can't hurt you anymore."

Todd held onto Susannah's hands tightly. "That's it Todd. Hold on to now. Stay here with us. It's not happening now." Susannah's voice was soothing and assuring.

"It's not now," Todd whispered.

"It's not now," Susannah repeated what he said." She smiled. Todd had been able to keep himself in the present. He pulled himself out of the flashback. "You did a great job of staying with us," Susannah praised him. She waited a few minutes. He remained calm. She continued. "Todd, tell me what happened when you got back home. What did your father do to you?"

"I don't remember. Leave me alone! I want to go back to my room!" Todd's breathing was becoming erratic.

"Susannah, maybe he's had enough for one day?" Viki asked. She was frightened for Todd.

"I think Todd is strong enough to handle this," Susannah replied to Viki. "Todd you can do this. Come on, honey. Tell us what happened when you got off the plane in Chicago."

"I don't remember. I was at the airport in New York with my mother. I remember going up on the plane and then nothing. I don't remember the plane ride. I remember waking up and I was home and . . . and . . . I . . . I was . . .” Todd’s breathing was coming in short erratic gasps. His trembling increased as perspiration broke out on his forehead.

"You were what Todd? Tell us what you remember. It can't hurt you now. It's just a memory. Nothing bad will happen if you tell. No one will get hurt. I promise. Sam and Viki and I are here to protect you. Nothing bad will happen."

"It hurrrt! I woke up and it was hurting so much. Everything hurt. Oh God! NO! NOOOO!"

Todd tried to crawl away from where he sat on the floor. Sam grabbed him just before his head hit the coffee table. He hugged Todd close to him and rocked him. Todd was screaming and crying and trying to pull away from Sam's firm grip. Frank stuck his head in the door as soon as he heard Todd's screams. Susannah motioned for him and Jeff to remain outside. She didn't want Todd to panic even more. Todd's body was weak and he was not fighting Sam, he was just trying to pull away.

"It's okay, Boomer. Shhhh. You're safe now. I'll never let anyone hurt you again. I'm so sorry I didn't stop your father from hurting you. Todd, I love you. I loved you then too. I'll never forgive myself. I should have stopped your father. I should have killed that miserable bastard before I ever let him lay a hand on you again."

Suddenly, Todd pushed Sam away so hard he almost fell over. Sam was shocked that Todd could exert that much strength.

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY DAD THAT WAY! WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

They were all taken back. This was a voice they hadn't heard before. He sounded and looked young, so his use of profanity surprised them. He scrambled up and backed away from Sam. He teetered for a moment as dizziness overcame him. But then seemingly over it, he continued to back away from where Sam, Viki and Susannah stood.

"Can you tell us your name?" Susannah asked.

"It's none of your Goddamn business. No one has the right to stick their nose into our business. My dad will teach you to mind your own business. No one can hurt my dad. If you try he'll make you sorry and so will I." This alter looked at them fiercely. Yet there was a childlike innocence in his eyes at the same time.

"Are you trying to protect your dad?" Susannah persisted.

"Everyone says bad things about him. I hear you. You do and they do." He pointed to Sam and Viki. "All those little bastards say bad things about him too. They're all a bunch of liars! My dad always does the right thing."

"Is the right thing hurting and torturing Todd?" Viki asked.

"SHUT UP, YOU BITCH! ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS TODD. YOU DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE REST OF US. I HATE YOU!"

Even though she knew better, his words hurt Viki.

"All right Boomer, why don't you calm down? Viki loves all of you." Sam saw Viki was upset.

"I'M NOT YOUR FUCKIN' BOOMER. I'M ROCKY! I DON'T NEED YOU. YOU COULD NEVER STAND UP TO MY DAD. YOU KNOW HE COULD WIPE THE FLOOR WITH YOU. YOU KNOW TODD DESERVES TO BE PUNISHED. THAT'S WHY YOU NEVER HELP HIM. NOW YOU PRETEND TO LOVE HIM. WELL, HE'S STUPID AND BELIEVES THAT. I KNOW WHAT A LIAR YOU ARE. I HATE YOU TOO."

Viki and Susannah knew that Rocky had hit on Sam's most vulnerable emotion, the guilt he always carried over not helping Todd. "Rocky, can you tell us how old you are?" Susannah calmly inquired.

"I'm ten! So, nobody better mess with me. I'm just as old as those stupid twins and a lot older then those wimpy brats."

Susannah walked a little closer to him. "You seem to be very angry," she observed.

"Because everyone talks mean about my dad. He's the best dad ever!"

"You love your dad a lot," Susannah acknowledged.

"A lot! It's just me and him now that the drunken bitch is gone. We don't need her. We don't need anyone. Dad and me have each other. I have the best dad in the whole world. He takes the best care of me and shows me how to be a real man. My dad loves me!"

"Does your dad ever hurt you?" Susannah probed.

"No! Don't tell lies about my dad. I know you're a doctor person. My dad don't like doctors. My dad hates you. And he hates both of you too!" he pointed to Sam and Viki.

"Your dad hates a lot of things and people, doesn't he?" Sam remarked.

"Only what's bad. He hates that whore who left us so she could go fuck her new husband and the lady at work who's a snotty bitch and the people down the street cause they're black and the cleaning lady's dog and his last girl friend because she's a lousy fuck and he hates Todd the most."

"Do you hate everything and everyone that your dad hates?" Susannah pressed.

"My dad and me are a team. My dad is always right. If he says they're bad, then they are!"

"Does your dad tell you about his girlfriends?" Susannah asked. She kept her voice nonchalant.

"It's just me and dad. We're buddies. He helps me to be a man. Men tell each other stuff. My dad loves me!" Rocky repeated again.

Rocky started to pace. He would stop occasionally to look at some of the things on Susannah's desk. He stopped when he noticed some pictures some of the alters had drawn and painted. They were hanging up on a bulletin board. He stood in front of the board and stared at the pictures. He started to laugh. Then a look of hatred crossed his face. Before anyone could stop him he ripped a handful off the board and started to tear them into shreds. Sam put his arms around him and stopped him from tearing the remaining pictures.

"Get your hands off of me you stupid fuck. Only my dad has a right to touch me. I'll tell him what you did. He'll beat the shit out of you."

Rocky was harder to, physically, control than Todd or most of the children, but he was still weak. When he seemed a little calmer Sam let go of him. Rocky pulled away and threw down the remaining shreds of paper. He plopped down on the floor and sat cross-legged. "They're gonna get punished for drawing such dumb pictures. Only girls like to draw. Todd and the others act like little girls. Dad says they act like fags," Rocky declared.

Susannah walked over to him and knelt down. "Rocky, we have some rules here. One of them is that you don't take or harm someone else's property."

"Are you gonna punish me?" For a second, his tough veneer slipped a little and Susannah saw fear in his eyes.

"No, no one gets punished here. No matter what you do. I just want you to know that some kinds or behavior are not acceptable."

With his tough guy attitude back in place, he announced, "I only follow my dad's rules. He knows the best things to do. I don't have to follow the rules from some dumb lady doctor."

Susannah decided to let the picture incident drop. "Do you live with Carol and Goodone?"

"No! I hate them. I hate that old bat too. I live with Saber. My dad wants him to take care of me until he comes to get me. He takes good care of me."

"Is Saber ever mean to you?" Susannah inquired.

"I'm a man. I can take whatever anyone dishes out," Rocky replied proudly.

"What about your mom? Is she coming back for you too?"

"No, that bitch is gone. Me and my dad don't need her. She thinks her new husband is a better fuck than my dad. He'll teach her a lesson if she ever comes crawling back."

They all realized that Rocky was probably quoting Peter's exact words.

"Do you miss your mom at all?" Susannah pressed.

"No, she was a stupid bitch, like you and her," he pointed to Viki. He then walked closer to Viki. Sam and Susannah moved toward them. They were ready to protect Viki if it became necessary. Susannah did not want to call Frank and Jeff in yet. She knew there would be a confrontation. A code would end up being called and Rocky would end up sedated and in restraints. She was hoping to keep the situation under control. Susannah realized it was a gamble.

Rocky looked Viki in the eye and smugly stated, "I see you with Todd. Saber and me laugh at Todd because we know you're making a fool out of him."

"How am I making a fool out of him?" Viki asked patiently. She had collected herself and realized that this was a very angry child she was dealing with. She knew better than to take his remarks personally.

"You tell him you love him more than anything and that you want him to live with you and that he is good and brave and that you won't ever leave him."

"Rocky, I mean every word of that," Viki stated firmly.

"You're a big fat liar," he said in a teasing singsong quality. Still using the same tone, he added, "Todd's a big mistake. Mistakes should never be born." Then in an angry tone he spat out, "Todd is weak and stupid and acts like a little girl. He so stupid he doesn't even know he has the best dad in the whole world. Our dad teaches us to be a man. He loves us."

"Do you ever see your dad hurt Todd or some of the others?" Susannah questioned.

"They deserve it. I like to watch him hurt them. My dad knows best." Rocky was adamant.

"Rocky, what has Todd or any the others ever done to deserve being tortured that way?" Sam asked.

"I told you, stupid! He was born and he shouldn't have been. He cries because that stupid drunken bitch left." Rocky started to laugh.

"Can you tell us what's funny?" Susannah asked calmly.

"The way my dad makes fun of Todd when he cries for his mama." Rocky mocked the words, "cries for his mama." He continued. "Todd is such a wimp." They heard the hatred for Todd in Rocky's voice.

Something occurred to Susannah. "Rocky, were you the one to come out when Todd came home from his mom's summerhouse?"

"I wanna be with my dad. I would never run away from him. They deserve what they got."

"What who got?" Susannah asked.

"Those stupid girl twins."

"What did they get?" Susannah took a deep breath and asked. She could see Sam and Viki were horrified that it was the girls who were the ones to be there for Peter's wrath. Not that they wanted any of the children or Todd to have been subjected to it.

"It was really good," Rocky smiled at the memory. "He made sure they would never leave again."

"I would like to hear about it." Susannah encouraged him to talk.

"It's a secret and it's my dad's business. Not yours or theirs!"

"If it was so good, why don't you tell us what your father did?" Susannah tried to coax him into telling what happened.

Rocky uncrossed his legs and got on his knees. He leaned back on his heels. He picked up one of the larger pieces of one of the ripped pictures and started shaping it into a paper airplane. Susannah waited patiently in silence. When he got it right, he sent it flying a few feet. Still on his knees, Rocky crawled to where it landed and threw it again. He did this several times before becoming bored with it. He crumpled it up in his hand and sat back against the wall with his knees up towards his chest.

"I made the airplane so it's mine and I can do what I want with it," he looked up at Susannah and declared.

"Yes, it was yours to do what you like with," Susannah acknowledged.

"That don't mean I'm following your dumb rules. I just don't want to hear you yapping about it," he proclaimed as he moved his fingers and thumb up and down in a talking motion.

Susannah tried to hold back her smile. She knew he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of him obeying the rules. Susannah sat down on the floor, facing him, and stated, "So, you were about to tell us how your dad made sure Todd would never run away again."

"My dad don't like people knowing his business," Rocky insisted.

"Do you think your dad was proud of what he did?" Susannah tried this approach.

"Yeah! He taught them good."

"Then I think he would be happy if you bragged about what he did." Susannah tried to go in this new direction.

Rocky thought about it for a minute. "He went to the airport and those stupid girl twins were out. They got in the car with him. Those wimpy boy twins were with their new mama and papa. Dad didn't talk to those girls at all on the way home. They sat in the back seat and held each other's hand. When the car pulled into the garage they got real scared. They walked into the house. It was all strange to them because they’d never been there before. Dad didn't say nothing and went to take a drink. He lets me drink the booze stuff sometimes. I don't make a face like the others do when he tells us to drink it," Rocky bragged and continued. "Dad laughs at them when they do that. He never laughs at me. Dad once made Scared drink so much he fell down and threw up. Dad got real mad at him and pushed his face in it and made him lick it. This time dad put the bottle of booze in Sarah's hand and told her to drink it. Sarah didn't want to, but Lisa whispered to her to. Sarah drank some and started to cry because it tasted so bad and made her feel sick. Dad pulled the bottle away so hard that it made her tooth cut her lip. He said, 'you'd think your mother would have taught you a thing or two about drinking,' and he laughed. He said, 'this is how you do it you little shit,' and he drank a whole lot of it. He sat in his chair and called for Todd to come over. Sarah was real scared so Lisa went. He pulled her up on his lap. He said, 'so, you wanted to find your mother? That was pretty crafty. You managed to find her even when I can't. You can tell me, Todd, where is she?'"

Rocky looked off into space for a moment. Susannah could see he was seeing what happened as he told them. He was not experiencing a flashback. As far as Rocky was concerned this did not happen to him. He continued calmly. "Lisa was real scared and she said, 'I don't know.' Those dumb girls really didn't know. They just came out going up the airplane and didn't know where they were. Dad said, 'Todd, I know you're stupid, but even you have to know where you were.' Lisa didn't say anything. Dad rubbed her hair and she got those little bumps all over her body. She started to shake. Dad gets real mad when someone does that, but this time he didn't. He said, 'Come on Todd. It'll be just between us. I'm your father. You're not supposed to keep secrets from me. I won't hurt her. Tell me where your mother is.' Lisa said, 'I don't know,' again. Dad kept rubbing her hair and she kept getting more scared. Sarah ran up to Lisa and climbed on dad's lap and held Lisa's hand."

Rocky stopped talking. He picked up the piece of paper he had wadded into a ball and threw it up in the air and caught it a few times. Again, Susannah waited patiently. Rocky continued on his own. "Dad said, 'who pays for this house and for the food you eat and the toys you play with and the clothes you wear?' Lisa said, 'you do.' Dad grabbed her hair real hard and pulled her head back so she was looking him right in the face. He said, 'that's right! I do! I do you fucking little shit. You don't keep secrets from me! You're going to tell me where your mother is.' Lisa and Sarah started to cry. Dad said, 'oh, did I make the little mama's boy cry? Am I scaring you?' He grabbed her by the arms and put her back on the floor so she could face him and he said, ' you'd better be scared, you rotten, ugly little bastard. Mama isn't here to help you. No! Mama wants no part of you. She walked out on you and now she couldn't wait to get rid of you. Mama doesn't want you cramping her style with her new husband. Mama never loved you. As soon as she got the chance she dumped you. She'd rather spend her time fucking her new husband than being with you. You're protecting someone who doesn't give two shits about you, you little asshole.'"

Rocky threw the paper ball in the air a few more times and continued spontaneously. "Lisa and Sarah didn't care because they knew she wasn't their mama, but they were scared about what he was gonna do to them. Dad took Sarah by the shoulders and shook her real hard. He yelled, 'tell me!' Lisa tried to push him off of Sarah. Dad's face got all red and he grabbed Lisa's arms. He started screaming, 'you tried to hit me! You tried to push me! You run away. You keep secrets from me and now you raise your hands to me!' Then he stopped yelling and he started to laugh. Lisa and Sarah felt funny from being shaken. Dad started to rub Lisa's head again. He told her, "oh, you're gonna learn a lesson. Todd, you are going to learn a good lesson. I have been too good to you up until now and look what I get for it. You don't want to tell me where that bitch is. Let's see how long you stay loyal to someone who doesn't care about you.'"

Rocky stared off again. It was clear to them that he was seeing what happened as if it were now. His face showed no emotion. He continued. "Dad started to drag Lisa to the basement. Sarah ran to her and Lisa and Sarah held on to each other. They saw him taking them to a door. They didn't know it was to the basement because they just came to the house and didn't now where anything was yet. When dad opened the door and Lisa and Sarah saw the spooky basement. They tried to get away from him. They started kicking and screaming. Stupid! No one gets away from my dad. Those stupid girls should have known better. They deserved what happened."

"Rocky, didn't your mother get away from your dad?" Susannah pointed out.

"NO! Dad said he let her go. He said he didn't really try to stop her. He said he knew she wanted to get away from Todd. He could have stopped her if he wanted to. Dad can do anything he wants to and no one can ever stop him," Rocky boasted.

Susannah looked at Sam and Viki. She knew they were as afraid as she was to hear what Peter did to Lisa and Sarah when he got them down to the basement. "Rocky, what did your dad do to Sarah and Lisa once they were in the basement?"

"He hit them until they stopped crying. Then I don't remember for a while."

Susannah realized that Peter must have caused Todd's body to lose consciousness.

Rocky looked a little confused about not remembering. He continued anyway. "Then they opened their eyes and they were tied up and a rag was stuffed in their mouth. Their noses was all stuffed up from crying and now they felt like they couldn't breathe. Dad kept saying to them . . . 'so, you were unhappy here? You don't think I did enough for you? You have loyalty to a slut who wants no part of you, but you shit on the man who breaks his balls taking care of you. You think you had it bad? You're gonna learn what bad is.' Dad tore their clothes off. Lisa and Sarah were real ashamed to be naked in front of him. Then he taught them good."

"What did he do to them?" Susannah's voice trembled slightly as she asked this.

"Everything! He burned them with his cigarettes and with the lighter. He stepped on their hands and feet. He shook them some more and hit them with his hands and he hit them with the belt. He turned them over and shoved his cock into their asses. He didn't feed them and just gave them a little water every day."

"Every day?" Viki asked. She was horrified. "How long did he keep them like that?"

"I think it was for a week. I got kind of mixed up after a while. We would all sleep a lot. Then I heard dad waking them up and he yelled at them to tell where Todd's mother was. He thought they were lying when they said, they didn't know. Then one day we all woke up and dad was hitting their face and yelling 'Todd, Todd, answer me. Don't you dare die on me you little bastard. You're worth nothing dead. Wake up!' He forced them to drink some water and eat some melted ice cream. He untied them and carried them up to Todd's bed. He said, 'you really would die before you tell me where she is, wouldn't you? You stupid little bastard. Forget it! I don't need to know where that slut is, but you just know this. I will never let you out of my sight again. You will never see her again. Never! Do you hear me!' Lisa and Sarah nodded. They heard their mama and papa calling to them. They went inside and Todd came out. Everything was hurting him a lot. He looked down and saw he had no clothes on. He saw all the hurts on his body. He felt too sick to get out of the bed. Then he saw our dad come into the room and he had this bottle of stuff and some cotton. He poured the stuff on the cotton and pressed it all over Todd's body, on all the hurts. Todd screamed cause it hurt so much. He got slapped real hard for being a wimp. He stopped screaming and stopped thinking and didn't feel nothing for a few days and then I came out. I told my dad that I was sorry I ever thought I'd rather be with a slut who left us than with him and that no one worked harder or was better to their son then him. Dad let me watch the baseball game on television with him. He let me drink some of his beer and taste his cigarette. My dad is real good to me. He's the best dad in the whole world. He love me more than anyone and I love him best. I don't love you or you or you," Rocky proclaimed, pointing to Viki and Sam and Susannah. "And I don't love my mom. I just love my dad and he loves me. He does! If any of you say he don't, I'll hit you!" Rocky formed his hands into fists and held them up.

"Rocky, you're not going to hit anyone. We don't hit anyone here." Susannah stated firmly.

"I can do whatever I want. Just like my dad. WATCH!" He picked up a lamp and sent it crashing to the floor."

Hearing the crash, Frank and Jeff came rushing into the room. Before they or anyone could stop him, Rocky grabbed the broken light bulb in his hand and screamed. "I CAN CUT TODD'S HEART OUT IF I WANT TO! He slashed through his shirt and deeply into his chest with the ragged glass.

"TODD NO!" Viki screamed.

Frank, Jeff and Sam all grabbed him. Susannah hit the code button near the door. Blood was already saturating Rocky's shirt. His hand was cut and bleeding from holding the ragged glass tightly. He didn't seem to feel any of the pain he was causing Todd's body. Frank and Jeff were as surprised as Sam at Rocky's ability to resist. He was very weak, but still stronger than the others. They wrestled him to the floor. Susannah was able to hold his arm down while Frank tried to take the remaining glass out of Rocky's bleeding hand. They were becoming covered with Todd's blood. Rocky was screaming obscenities and fighting them with all his might. Just as Susannah's office was flooded with the staff that came running to assist, Frank managed to get the broken glass out of Rocky's hand. He cut his own hand in the process. Terry came running in with the strong sedative Susannah ordered. Rocky screamed in protest and called Terry every vile name he had ever learned from Peter. When Susannah knelt down and cut his shirt open and put pressure on his wound, Rocky spit in her face.

"I love my dad . . . My dad loves me! . . . I love my da . . . ." The medication put him to sleep. They lifted him to a gurney. Susannah knew he was going to need at least fifteen stitches to close his chest wound and perhaps as many to close the wounds on his right palm and his fingers. Susannah checked out Frank's hand. He too would need some stitches. She ordered him to go to the ER. Susannah had them call a surgeon. As they wheeled Todd to the treatment room, Susannah put her arm around Viki, who was as pale as Todd. Just as they approached the door to the treatment room, they all saw Blair and Dorian waiting to be let onto the unit.

TO BE CONTINUED