7:00am

Her workday begins, just like the day before and the day before that. Téa arrives at work early, after having stayed late the night before, even though it had been a Sunday. She doesn't have a particularly large caseload, but she spends nearly every waking hour at the office anyway.

She tears off the previous day from her Far Side calendar, grinning at the new day's joke. "Hmm, Valentine's Day. Who needs it?," she mutters, quickly turning her attention to her work.

9:30am

She leans back in her chair, turning it so she can look out her office window. It's a cold, dreary day outside, and Téa pulls her soft cashmere sweater closer around herself for warmth. Her phone rings, and as she answers it, she catches another glimpse at the calendar. She finishes the call and returns her gaze out the window. She sadly thinks about how she has never in her life had a truly happy Valentine's Day...at least not like the greeting card companies tell her she should be having. "Oh, well...guess it's just not in the cards for me," she says, grinning slightly at her choice of words.

There is a knock on her office door. "Come in."

"Ms. Delgado, there's a delivery for you," says her secretary, Beth.

"Oh? What is it?," asks Téa.

"Flowers. Shall I bring them in?"

"Flowers? Uh, yeah, I guess."

Beth brings in a beautiful arrangement of spring flowers. "Secret admirer?," she asks, with a raised eyebrow.

"I doubt it."

After Beth leaves, Téa reads the card. I'm glad we can still be friends. I wish you only the best. Happy Valentine's Day, John. Téa grins. "That was sweet. Weird, but sweet." She places the flowers on the window sill and gets back to work.

10:15am

There is a knock on her door. "Yeah?"

"Me, again, Ms. Delgado. You have another delivery."

"I do?"

"Uh-huh. Here you go."

"Thanks," says Téa, as she accepts a large pot of tulips. She reads the card. Téa, here's a little bit of early spring to brighten your day. The florist said they forced the bulbs to bloom now. Sounds odd, but I hope you like them. Happy Valentine's Day. God bless you. Andrew. "How nice," Téa says, as she places them next to her other flowers.

11:30am

Téa's stomach is rumbling, so she stops working to place an order to go with Carlotta. As soon as she hangs up, there is a knock on her door. "Come in, Beth."

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Lucky guess," Téa quips. She looks up to see Beth standing in her doorway, holding a dozen red roses in a vase.

"They're getting fancier. You're a popular woman, Ms. D."

"Only for the past couple of hours." Beth leaves, and Téa reads the card. How can I make it up to you? Just tell me how. I'll do anything. I love you. Call me. Please? Love, RJ. "Oh, yeah. I'll call you, RJ...the day that Asa Buchanan kisses Sam Rappaport full on the lips in public, while singing ‘Nobody Does it Better.'" Still, the flowers are wonderful, so, even though she is beyond finished with him, there's no reason not to enjoy one of nature's most perfect creations. She places them on the window sill and returns to work.

12:15pm

Téa returns to her office, after having picked up her lunch at Carlotta's diner. She had the oddest feeling of being watched during her trip to get lunch, but that's hardly a new feeling. Paranoia seems to be her new hobby. As she quickly eats her lunch and prepares for her court appearance that is only an hour away, there is a knock on her door.

"It's open."

"This is unbelievable! More leafy thingies for you, boss."

"Thanks, Beth." Once she is alone, she opens the card from the potted green plant. Hey, Téa. I'm trying to make amends to all the people I've treated badly in the past, and I wanted to start with you. Think I'm turning over a new leaf? Ha. Anyway, I hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day. Kevin. "Man, they're coming out of the woodwork today. If only I gave a damn about any of them." She adds the plant to her collection and finishes her lunch.

1:30pm

Court is in session, and Téa is mopping the floor with the witness. She is trying extra hard to concentrate, because she feels that paranoid sensation, again. She wants to glance at the onlookers, but she knows she shouldn't. This feeling is just so strange...and strong.

5:00pm

As Téa is finishing up paperwork from the case she just won, there is yet another knock on her door. Without waiting to be invited in, Beth pokes her head inside.

"Hey, Ms. Delgado! Betcha can't guess what I have for you!," Beth giggles.

"Hmm...more flowers, maybe?"

"Oh, not just flowers this time, Ms. D. These are phenomenal!," Beth exclaims. She opens the door all the way to reveal the bouquet in her arms. Téa gasps at the extraordinary long stem roses. Peach, to be exact. She gets up from behind her desk and takes them into her arms, smelling their divine fragrance.

"It's weird, though. This time, there's no card. So! You do have a secret admirer!," proclaims Beth.

"No."

"But, you don't know who these are from."

"Yes, I do."

Beth raises an eyebrow, but judging by the far away look on her boss' face, she decides not to pry any further. She quietly lets herself out of Téa's office.

Téa stands there, in the middle of her office, trying hard to hold back the tears that are threatening to spill. "He remembered," she whispers. "And, he thought of me on Valentine's Day." She smiles, as the tears run down her cheeks. She doesn't hear the soft knock on the door, so Beth enters anyway. She is carrying a vase full of water.

"Here ya go, Ms. D."

"Oh...thank you, Beth."

"Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Yes, I'm fine."

Beth leaves, as Téa arranges the bouquet in the vase. She carries them over to the window and pushes all the other flower arrangements out to the sides, placing the roses Todd sent her right in the middle. She carefully runs her fingers along the delicate blossoms, lost in thought, wondering where he is, what he's doing, if he's okay, if he's lonely, if he's alone. She notices one of the roses touching the window, and she leans forward slightly to reposition it. As soon as she moves it, her eyes shift their focus to the street below. In that instant, her eyes lock with his. There he is, on the street below, leaning against a parking meter, watching her with her bouquet of peach roses that he had ordered...just for her.

She blinks several times, trying to clear this perfect mirage from her eyes, but it doesn't fade away. It just grows clearer. It's him. It is definitely him. His hair is a lot shorter, and he doesn't have his goatee, but it's him. Téa's hand instinctively goes to her mouth, covering the muffled cry that escapes. She watches as he raises his hand and slightly waves it, a small grin slowly spreading across his face. She moves her hand away from her mouth and slightly waves back at him for a moment, before resting her hand on the window, as if to touch him. She can hardly believe her eyes, as she sees him mouth the words "I love you."

Thinking that things are going remarkably well for their first meeting in over a year, Todd becomes suddenly concerned, because Téa disappears from view. He waits for her to reappear, but she doesn't. His heart sinks, and he berates himself for pushing her, for moving too fast, after having been gone for so long. He pushes away from the parking meter, with his head down, and begins to walk away. He only takes a couple steps, when he hears Téa shouting his name.

"Todd! Wait! Don't go!," Téa yells breathlessly, from the doorway of the courthouse. Todd watches, stunned, as she runs down the courthouse steps and across the street, straight into his arms. He picks her up and swings her around. He stops moving, but he doesn't lower her completely to the ground. He tilts his head back, so he can look up at her, and before he can say anything, she plants a kiss on his lips. She pulls away, and he tries to speak, again. She silences him with another kiss. This one is longer and slower and leaves them both panting. He attempts to talk, again, but Téa shakes her head.

"No, Todd. Don't say anything. Not a word. Just take me home. Right now."

He slowly lowers her to the ground, keeping his arms around her, inside her open coat.

"Home?"

"Yes, Todd. Home. Let's go home."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. I don't care where you've been or with whom. You're here now, and that's all that matters to me. I don't care about anything else right now."

"You will later."

"Of course, I will, Manning. But for right now, I don't. Take me home."

A smirk spreads across Todd's face. "What will we do when we get there?"

"Whatever you want."

"Damn. Here I've been staying away from you all this time, figuring you hate me, but all I had to do was send you some flowers and all is forgiven? Who knew?"

"No. All is not forgiven. All is not understood or excused. All is not okay. But, all I want right now is you. I've missed you so. I've been waiting for you to come back to me. Finally, you're here, and that's all I need to know right now. We'll deal with the rest later. And, believe me, we will deal with it. But, we've wasted so much time, and I don't want to waste another minute. So, are you going to take me home or not?"

"You want it, you got it." With that, Todd leans forward and lifts Téa over his shoulder, with his hand holding on to her legs. She laughs and swats at him.

"Put me down, Todd. People are staring."

"Like I care. Let them look. I hope they know exactly what we're about to do and are way jealous of me, because I really have waited a long time to play with you. And, boy, am I gonna."

And boy, did he.

The End