PREVIOUSLY

Tea: You don't remember any of last night?

Todd: (Warily.) Nothing. Maybe you dreamed it?

Tea: (Sighs, throwing up her arms and then growls in frustration at Todd. Tea walks off, shaking her head.)

Todd: (Looks baffled momentarily, and then shrugs it off. He opens the refrigerator door.)

[Scene ends.]

*****

[Second night:]

[Dream sequence, what the audience sees starting the second night:]

(A very young Todd Manning, clutching a large brown teddy bear to his side under his arm. He is about 4-5yrs old, the hallway is dark with wood flooring and a long runner rug down the middle of it. He is running down this hallway in stocking feet and PJs.)

Peter: Thomas! THOMAS! You come back here, Thomas! *NOW, THOMAS!* Come back here, Thomas! (It is now clear that Peter Manning is tired, drunk, and out of control.)

Todd: (Running down the hallway away from Peter, looks terrified, is about halfway down the hallway but everytime we see it from his view it seems to lengthen, to telescope before him. There is a sense of impending doom and a pall of hopelessness to the scene. The hallway is pretty dark, but we can see the action well.)

[Cut to: Todd: (Screams incoherently a few times, mostly strangled cries, flailing.)

Tea: (Appears at his doorway, looks in on him briefly, and doesn't comfort him.)

[Scene ends.]

[Third night.]

Young Todd: (Continuing to run down the hall in silence while Peter raves at him and remains in the doorway to his own room, ineffectual so far. He is very clearly menacing his small son, who is beside himself with terror. Peter's voice is overwhelming, it seems to almost echo in Todd's mind. Peter gestures at Todd frequently with a closed fist, punctuating the tirade.)

[Intercuts with: the adult Thomas Todd Lord Manning beginning to make small noises, and his flailing and running in his sleep.]

Todd: (Awakens screaming and struggling out of tangled bedclothes, as if feeling bound and trapped. Gasping, wide-eyed, panting, clutching the pillow:) Ogod! Ogod! Flashbacks! Oh nooo..... (Backs up against the headboard, sits clutching pillow tightly to him, and draws his knees up as tight as he can, burying his face in the pillow. He seems to be crying. There is a sense of intense aloneness about Todd. Just as it seems unbearable, Tea rushes into the room, pauses in the doorway a moment to take the scene in. Tea comes and sits with him, holding Todd's foot wordlessly. Todd doesn't respond to Tea's presence.)

[Scene ends.]

==============================================================================================================================================================

[Next day:]

Todd: (On phone in his room, lying on his bed. It is obviously still early morning for him, mid-morning for Viki.) Viki?

Viki: Todd? Are you ok? You sound terrible.

Todd: Tea told you about my nightmares?

Viki: Yes, although she didn't tell me much.

Todd: I can't really talk about them.

Viki: Can you tell me a little about them?

Todd: Can you come over?

Viki: (Quietly looking over her dayplanner and a stack of papers on her desk, papers can be heard over the phone.) Hmmm.

Todd: (Sounding scared, quietly:) Please? (Pause as he struggles for composure.) I really need you. After all I've done to you, I can't believe you'd even speak to me again. I'm sorry, Viki.

Viki: There's nothing here that can't wait an extra hour or two. I am still very hurt and very angry at you, Todd.

Todd: (Not thinking clearly.) Is that a "no", then?

Viki: Oddly enough, it's a yes.

Todd: (Heavy sigh of relief. Heartfelt:) Thank you. (They both hang up. Todd lays down again and huddles up in the blankets, holding the pillow, eyes open.)

[Scene ends.]

[Scene: Livingroom at Llanfair. Clint drops by, sans Lindsay. Jessica answers the door.]

Jessica: Hi, dad. (hugs Clint.)

Clilnt: Hi, Jessie. Is your mom still here?

Jessica: I think so.

[They cross into the livingroom together.]

Clint: Do you have those papers ready?

Viki: Yes, I do, Clint. (Finds them on the top of the stack and moves to hand them to Clint.)

Clint: (Moves to receive them from Viki.) You ready?

Viki: Clint?

Clint: Yes?

Viki: I'm going to be at least an hour late coming in today, something's come up.

Clint: What?

Viki: Personal business.

Clint: Family?

Viki: Yes.

Clint: (Looks at his daughter.) Jessie?

Jessica: (Puzzled.) No, I'm fine, dad. Mom?

Viki: Todd needs me. (Pause)

Clint: You're talking to him??!

Viki: Don't start! He's still my brother. Not that I'm not still very angry at him, because I am.

Clint: It's a ploy, Viki. Don't fall for his manipulations again.

Viki: I'm a big girl. Right now he's a very wounded, frightened boy.

Clint: He's a grown man!

Jessica: Why do you think so, Mom?

Viki: Tea says he's been having some severe problems. He called me this morning, asking for help. Do you know how hard that is for Todd?

Clint: When he wants something, it's not hard for him to ask.

Viki: Have you ever watched him? It is.

Jessica: He wants something else, I'm sure of it.

Viki: When I spoke to him he sounded awful, it was clear how hard it was for him to talk about what's wrong.

Clint: He's faking.

Viki: This time, I don't think he is.

Clint: None of us did last time!

Jessica: Mom! He hurt this family so much, why would you ever want to talk to him again?

Viki: Because for him to hurt others like he has, knowing what Peter Manning did to him, I think it's a gauge of how badly he was hurt and how much he hates himself, which he does.

Clint: He should hate himself!

Viki: Would you say that if it were Bo?

Clint: No.

Viki: Then don't say it about my brother. With Tina in Baltimore, Tony and Merrie dead, Todd is all I have left of my siblings.

Jessica: Mom?

Viki: I have to go meet him.

Jessica: You're not going!

Viki: Jessica, I am. If this were one of your brothers, you'd go too. (Kisses Jessica. Holds her shoulders.) I can't tell you what we discussed, maybe I can get him to talk to you.

Jessica: I won't listen to him.

Viki: He's always listened to you. He's always protected you. Jessica, he needs his family. He really is not well this time. (Looks to Clint.) I'll see you at The Banner.

Clint: All right, but I really think you should avoid Todd at all costs. I still think he's really faking this time. I agree with Kevin.

Viki: (Leaving.) Bye.

Clint: (Turns to Jessica.) She's making a big mistake.

Jessica: (Nods.)

[Scene ends.]

==============================================================================================================================================================

[Penthouse. Viki rings the bell, the housekeeper answers it, and lets her in.]

Housekeeper: Mrs. Carpenter, Mr. Manning isn't up yet.

Viki: He called me, he's expecting me. I'll show myself. Thank you.

[Todd's bedroom door. Viki stands in the hallway and knocks.]

Viki: Todd? It's Viki. May I come in? (Pokes head inside door, sees him lying curled up on his bed.)

Todd: Yes. (Rolls over and unfolds, props himself up against the headboard, pulls hair out of face.)

Viki: (Enters Todd's room as he does so. Stands near him at side of bed.)

Todd: (Emotional but quiet.) I know I don't deserve your help, Viki, but I'm glad you came.

Viki: You're my brother, and as angry as I am at you, that doesn't change that fact.

Todd: I know how important family and honesty are to you, Viki. I hurt you.

Viki: Yes, you did, Todd. Very badly. You hurt our whole family.

Todd: "Our?"

Viki: Ours.

[There is a quiet between them, while Todd struggles with his emotions and Viki studies him.]

Viki: (Sits on bed next to Todd.) What about the dreams, Todd? Can you tell me?

Todd: Only a little. (Pause.) I think they're flashbacks.

Viki: Flashbacks?

Todd: Yeah.

Viki: To what?

Todd/Tom: (Switching.) Something really bad the man did to Todd. (Serious:) If I tell you, will you still be my friend?

Viki: (Following the switch easily.) Yes, of course I will. You're my brother and I love you.

Todd/Tom: Really?

Viki: Yes. (Pauses.)

Todd/Tom: Even after you thought we were faking all this? We're not faking.

Viki: Finding that out did hurt, and I wasn't able to speak to Todd at all for a long time after that. I was so hurt and angry at him. I even disowned you.

Todd: (Upset and frightened:) You're still mad at me?

Viki: Very.

Todd: Please don't leave me.

Viki: Not as long as you tell me the truth from now on.

Todd/Tom: Why do you believe me now?

Viki: I know more of what happened now. I've read Kevin's notes. I've done some investigation of my own. I know about more of Todd's abuse, and I feel that he needs help and support, not more anger from his family. Then I remembered you're not soulless, and how gentle you can be sometimes, and now I don't feel so sure you were faking after all but very scared and wounded. That's always been when you were at your worst if something went wrong.

Todd: (Heavy sigh. Pause. Upset, quiet:) I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment to you.

Viki: You've never disappointed me.

Todd: Not until then. When I try to be good, I fail miserably. I'm sorry. I don't deserve you.

Viki: You deserve a family that loves you.

Todd/Tom: Are you still my friend?

Viki: Yes. But you have to be honest with me, and tell me the truth.

Todd/Tom: (Struggling for composure) Ok. (Heavy sigh.)

Viki: (Pause.) Can we talk about the nightmare?

Todd: I'll try.

Viki: Did the nightmare have something to do with what Peter did to Todd at night?

Todd/Tom: Yeah.

Viki: Is that why Todd sleeps with the lights on, when he does sleep?

Todd/Tom: Uh-huh. We keep trying to sleep with the lights off. Mistake.

Viki: Tea says Todd was screaming in his sleep, and begging that Peter stop doing something. Can you tell me about that?

Todd/Tom: (Hesitating. Pauses. Can't look at Viki.) Just that the man was chasing us.

Viki: Was Todd scared?

Todd/Tom: Yes.

Viki: Can you talk to me about it some more?

Todd/Tom: No. We're just not ready yet. It was really bad. I was really bad.

Viki: Can you tell me why you think you were bad?

Todd: (Looks anguished and ashamed.) No.

Viki: Are you afraid that if you talk about it it will bring the dream to life during the day?

Todd/Tom: Very. It's happened before.

Viki: Ok, then. I won't pressure you to tell me just yet. Todd?

Todd/Tom: Tom.

Viki: Tom. I'm here if you need me.

Todd/Tom: (Touched.) Thank you.

Viki: We'll talk more later, ok? Get some sleep. You look exhausted.

Todd/Tom: Ok.

Viki: Bye.

Todd/Tom: Bye, Viki.

Viki: (Leaves the room, closing the door behind her)

Todd: (Lies back on the bed, stretches himself out. He then pulls the covers over his head, holds them in place with his hands, and lies very still.)

[Scene ends.]

To Be Continued...