Téa Delgado Manning made the supreme sacrifice: Her face covered with bruises, her arm in a sling and walking with the aid of a crutch, she got out of her hospital bed and went to court. She was determined to act as her husband Todd's lawyer in his custody case against Blair-- the very person who had pushed Téa out of the window.

Téa's brave effort shocked everyone, including her husband, but she couldn't let Todd act as his own attorney and ruin everything they had worked for-- getting custody of his daughter Starr.

Florencia Lozano (Téa) not only looked the part, but played it to perfection. "I think she had taken it this far-- she had been willing to go out a window-- so she wasn't going to let Todd go in there and blow his top," the actress explains. "She wasn't going to let it be ruined, and she really wanted to do this for him."

Although she was weak and unsteady, Téa took things in hand in the courtroom. She calmly set the stage to expose Blair's explosive behavior and even called Kelly, Blair's cousin, to testify, which had a major effect on the outcome of the case.

Thanks to his wife's efforts, Todd was awarded custody of Starr and Téa went back to her hospital bed, satisfied that she had done what she'd set out to do. "I think that she's used to doing things, to feel in some way if she can that she's contributing," Lozano says. "She's not comfortable letting things run their course.

"I also think she used the physical injury to its utmost," Lozano adds with a smile.

Indeed, Lozano did a superb job of playing the scenes where she had to show that Téa was in great pain. "Honestly, I think she was probably still a little in shock," says the actress. "When something happens to you physically, you don't let yourself feel it. Once she says she's going to go in there, she has so much adrenalin pumping that it's almost like when I'm on stage and don't feel any physical sensation. I once cut myself on stage and didn't realize it until I came off stage because you are in such a heightened reality of getting what you need to get done."

Playing Téa's physical injuries was difficult, Lozano admits. "I got a couple of suggestions from my sister, who is a doctor, and from a medical technician around here about how you can't take deep breaths because when your ribs are broken, they poke at your lungs," she says. "Actually Clint Ritchie (Clint) told me about his accident with the tractor and how you have to fight the sensation of never being able to get a deep enough breath. He was very helpful."

In the end, Lozano quite liked the experience, especially not having to look beautiful. "It was actually kind of fun to play having the bruises and not looking that glamorous because people reacted differently to me," she reveals. "Even walking around the studio, people were affected by what I looked like-- not having the full make-up and the full hair. That was just an interesting experience."

Interesting-- and rewarding. This was definitely a time when the sacrifices an actress will make for her work paid off.