She twitches her nose slightly at the feeling of something wet against her face. Strange...it was wet...then it seemed to...pop. She waves her hand over her face, turning over on her side...but the weird feeling continues. She rubs her nose, trying to get the feeling to stop. Then...a sound hits her ears...

Sounds like...laughing...a familiar laugh...

She tenses slightly, opening her eyes slowly. She flips over towards the source of the sound...and suddenly stops breathing...

Cracking up with laughter, Todd falls backward on the floor. "Oh Delgado...you should see your face," he says, laughing hysterically. He replaces the lid on the bottle of bubbles that he had been using, still watching her as he laughs.

Téa can't do anything but stare at him, barely able to breathe.

What's going on?

Suddenly, she bolts up. "Todd?" she asks weakly.

Todd's laughing dies down, as he looks at her strangely. "Who the hell else did you expect to wake up with?"

"Where am I?"

He gets up and sits on the edge of the bed. "Are you drunk? What do you mean 'where are you'?"

She takes air in gulps, having some trouble breathing, looking around the beautifully decorated room. It was exactly what she would have imagined...dark greens and burgundys. Richly decorated, not too 'girly', as Todd would have objected. Her eyes go back to him, taking in every inch of his face.

"What the hell is the matter with you Delgado? You're in our room...at home."

Tears immediately spring to her eyes. Home....

Todd's brow creases as he watches her look around, seemingly disoriented. "Seriously Delgado, were you up sneaking the sauce before daylight? You look like you haven't seen me in years for crying out loud."

Her eyes go back to him, her hands clutching at her blanket. If this is a dream...I wanna sleep forever..

"Umm..no, I just had a really awful dream," she says quietly, looking at him.

"I know all about that, what was it about?"

"We...we weren't together...I was living in New York by myself."

"Yeah, well, it was just a dream...I guess my bubbles saved you."

"Huh?"

"Yeah...you shoulda seen your face all twitching when I blew the bubbles on you, I haven't laughed so hard in a while."

She grins, relaxing a little. "Doesn't take much to entertain you does it?"

"Nope, not really. Come on, you gotta get up...Shorty will be here soon," he says, getting off the bed and heading towards the door.

"Shorty?" she looks at him confused. Todd rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, Shorty. Starr? Remember? Jeez Delgado, that must have been some dream."

"We're in Llanview?"

He shakes his head, becoming exasperated. "Oh don't tell me you don't remember that it was your dumb idea to come back here and, how did you put it...'reconnect' with our family?"

She blinks quickly, playing along. "Oh, yeah, right. Sorry, man I must still be asleep. I'm still surprised Blair agreed to let Starr spend Christmas here," she ventured.

"Well it's not like she had much choice, what with us knowing her dirty little secret. She's really gotta stop with this long lost heir crap. Now come on, get up woman, I want breakfast," he says, dodging a pillow she throws at him before heading out the door of her bedroom. When he's gone, Téa looks around slowly, taking everything in. She runs her hand over the soft, dark green comforter, noticing the dishevelment next to her, signifying Todd had been in bed with her. Her eyes fill with tears, as she looks upward.

"Please, please, if this is a dream...I don't want to ever wake up," she whispers, tears escaping her eyes.

"It's not a dream," she hears a male voice say...startling her. She whips her head towards the sound of the voice. She squints at him, for some reason, unafraid.

"I know you," her voice trails off as she studies him. Her eyes fall on his cap. "The cab driver? From last night?"

"The one and only."

She shakes her head. "Alright, I'm crazy."

He grins. "No, you're not crazy, and you're not dreaming. Téa Delgado, this is your life," he says, smiling at his corny joke.

"Huh?"

"You made a choice...remember? A while back?"

A lump forms in her throat as she remembers her decision to leave Todd. "Yes," she whispers.

"Choices are funny. There is usually no right or wrong answer, but a lot of pros and cons on either side. Let's just say I'm a friend of destiny, and I'm here to show you and let you live the life you would have had if you had chosen differently."

"But.." her voice trails off as he disappears before her eyes. She runs her hand through her hair, startled, confused.

"Delgado!" she hears Todd bellow from downstairs. She looks back towards the corner where the cabbie was standing, and then towards the door. Smiling slightly, she gets up, throws on a robe, and heads downstairs to Todd....to her life.

(to be continued)