Previously...If I don't win this one...she's gonna think that's true...that I didn't fight for her... He pushes against the invisible wall that is Pete...trying to force him back.
Tea is glaring into those hateful eyes.
Todd ...where are you? I need you...I can't do this alone...

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Pete lifts his head momentarily to stare into those eyes. He has to admit, he is somewhat impressed...she doesn't have the look of fear and disgust the others had...her eyes are filled with anger and defiance....he had always known she was different.
Tea stares back. At the moment...her angry glare is her only weapon....his weight on top of her makes it nearly impossible to move and his large hand has her wrists securely pinned above her head.
Pete licks his lips and his mouth spreads into an evil grin. "I have waited a long time for this, Delgado." She remains silent, letting the sparks of anger that are flying out of her brown eyes speak for her. Pete lowers his head and begins kissing her neck. Tea bites her lip, an attempt to hold back the tears. Only last night, she and Todd had found each other again, in this same bed. And now, she was prey to a monster. But she certainly was not going to simply allow this to happen. She began to attempt to loosen her wrists from Pete's grasp.
Pete laughs, which is slightly muffled by his close proximity to her neck. "Feisty til the end, huh Delgado?"
Tea struggles against him some more...but it is useless...he is so strong....

Todd is becoming much stronger. His senses are now heightened to the point he can feel what is going on. And he had managed to fight back in silence...like Pete had done to him. He feels Tea beneath him...struggling...and it makes him angry. She of all people did not deserve to fall victim to Pete's rage...but Todd would stop it...if it was the last thing he did.

Tea's head is turned away as Pete continues to feast on her neck. She feels his free hand move up her body....heading towards the strap on her nightgown.
Oh please God, no...she thinks.
She feels Pete tense suddenly. And from out of nowhere...his harsh voice yells.
"Get the hell out of here!"
Tea is confused...was he talking to her?
"I said go away, you loser, she's mine now!"
Tea turns her head back toward Pete...confusion swirling her brain. Suddenly, Pete jumps off her and walks quickly across the room. Or was that....?
"She will NEVER be yours...I won't let you hurt her!"
A feeling of relief washes over Tea. "Todd?"
"Todd, listen to me...she's trouble...just like the others...WE DON'T NEED HER!"
"You're the one I don't need, Pete!"
Tea watches in panic as her husband's personalities flip back and forth in front of her. Todd's head is spinning...but he can feel himself getting stronger every second...but he has to get rid of him for sure.... He stumbles back against the bedroom wall...and begins banging his head repeatedly against the wall. He brings his hands up to his face....trying to make Pete leave...to make the confusion stop....to make the pain stop...
Tea's eyes grow wide with horror. "Todd, stop! You're hurting yourself!" She wants to run over to him...but something tells her to stay back...he needs to do this himself.
All of the sudden, Todd begins to speak, repeating the words over and over as he holds his head, "She loves me Pete...go away...she loves me Pete...go away..."
Tea hears his words, and the tears she had tried so hard to hold back fall down her cheeks.
"I do love you Todd," she says reassuringly, her voice choked with emotion.
After what seems like an eternity, Todd is silent. He stops banging his head, and slowly sinks down the wall until he is seated on the floor. His face is still in his hands.
"Todd?" Tea whispers.
He looks up at her, "Yeah, it's me...are you okay?"
"Yeah...are you?"
"I will be...eventually."
Tea walks slowly towards him and kneels in front of him. She wants desperately to take him in her arms and hold him...but how would he react? Todd is feeling the same confusion...he wants to hold her close...but what if Pete returns? At the moment, he was too exhausted, and he desperately needed to feel her strength. He quickly reaches out and gathers her close.
"I'm sorry," he whispers into her hair.

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Todd watches Tea sleep soundly next to him. They had talked a little, but he had been so drained that Tea said they could wait to talk. She was exhausted too, and said all she wanted to do was fall asleep in his arms. That comment shocked the hell out of Todd...after what just happened she still wanted to sleep in the same bed with him? The events of the night play over and over in his head, and with a sinking heart, he realizes maybe he is not as okay as he thought. And if that was true....then he was putting Tea, T.J. and Starr in danger. He would not have that. He would not risk what happened tonight happening again. He leans down and gently kisses his wife's forehead, his eyes filling with tears at the thought of what he is about to do. He gets up and goes downstairs, and prepares to write the hardest letter he has ever had to write....

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NEVER TEAR US APART 21

The sunlight that drifts into the room rouses Tea from her deep sleep. She rolls over and reaches for Todd. Her eyes pop open when she feels nothing but empty space next to her.
"Todd?" she calls softly.
She's actually not all that surprised to find herself alone. Although Todd slept more than he used to, it still wasn't all that much. She gets up, and looks down at the red nightie she is still wearing. She shivers as memories of the night before fill her mind. The momentary fear is erased by a warmth that fills Tea's heart. Todd had fought for her...and he had won. She smiles to herself, and gets up and throws on a robe. She walks downstairs, noticing how quiet the house is.
"Todd?" she calls again. No answer.
"Probably headed over to the Sun early," she says aloud. She heads towards the kitchen to make some coffee, and then plans to pick up T.J. from Viki's. As she walks into the kitchen, her heart stops. On the table is a folded note with her name on it. Tea feels her heart sink like a stone. Without even reading it, she knows exactly what it is....

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Viki opens the door and is shocked to see Todd standing there this early in the morning.
"Todd? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," Todd walks in, obviously on edge. "Junior sleeping?"
"He's upstairs." Todd walks upstairs, leaving a perplexed Viki standing behind him.
Todd walks into the bedroom and stands over his sleeping son. Unbidden tears spring to his eyes as he runs his finger over his soft face. The thought of leaving him...missing out on so much...was tearing him apart. But, it was for the best...and it wouldn't be forever...

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Tea walks in slow motion over to the kitchen table and picks up the note. Sitting down, she opens it...

Tea,
Okay...don't be mad. Last night was...it was scary. I never want to scare you...ever. I guess maybe I'm not as okay as I thought. I'm just gonna go...just for a little while...til everything's better. I won't let you, Shorty, or Junior get hurt...I'll come back as soon as I can...I promise. And Delgado...I love you.

Tea puts the note down, the tears of sadness running down her face betraying the anger in her brown eyes.
"I can't believe he did this to me again!" she yells as she slams her hand down on the table. With resolve, she wipes the tears from her face and runs upstairs. She quickly throws on jeans and a sweater. She goes back downstairs and grabs her keys. Tea has a sneaking suspicion that she might be able to catch Todd before he disappears...

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Todd is playing with his now fully awake son. He's been here about a half an hour now...he can't seem to bring himself to leave.
"Okay, buddy, listen...I gotta go away for a while. I don't want to...it's just better right now...I guess. But I love you...a lot. And you have Shorty and your Aunt Viki here. And your mom..." his voice trails off as Tea's face springs into his mind. He swallows the lump that has formed in his throat and continues, "...you know kid, you got pretty lucky. You got a great mom...she'll take real good care of you. I know cause she's always taken care of me...even though I don't always deserve it. You know, you, your mom, and your sister...you guys are the best things in my life..." his voice trails off again, unable to continue. T.J. continues to smile, grabbing at Todd's hair. Todd pulls him close for one last hug.
Unbeknownst to him, Tea had walked into the doorway just in time to hear what he said to T.J. Although his words had touched her, it did not overpower the anger she felt.
"Well, at least you thought to say good bye to our son in person."
Todd whirls around, and stares into the angry and hurt face of his wife.

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NEVER TEAR US APART 22

I swear, I will fight this, I vow not to lose, I'll be damned if this destroys us, I'll be damned if I lose you.

Song credit...."Stay Awhile" by Soraya.

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Todd gently places T.J. back in his crib, and turns to face Tea.
"But, I guess you only said goodbye to him in person because he can't read yet," Tea says angrily, not attempting to hold back the pain she feels.
"I guess I should thank you for one thing though, at least you didn't leave a check this time."
Todd feels his heart twist. He deserves this....and Delgado certainly wasn't one to hold back. Their eyes are locked, one pair angry and one pained, when Viki walks in. She looks back and forth between Todd and Tea.
"Umm...why don't I take T.J. downstairs and feed him," she says, sensing they needed some time.
"Thank you, Viki," Tea says, as Viki takes T.J. downstairs.
Tea looks at Todd, waiting for some sort of explanation, but he remains silent.
Tea continues, her voice softening somewhat from anger to hurt. "You know, when I woke up, I thought, Hey he's probably at the Sun already. And I went downstairs and I saw that note on the table....and I knew exactly what it was....I got a sickening sense of deja vu....how could you do this Todd....after everything that happened last night....how can you just leave me a note and go off to who knows where? You, of all people, who knows how I feel about that?"
"It's not forever," he says.
"Oh and that makes it okay? I'm just supposed to let you go and sit idly by waiting for you to come back? I thought you knew me better."
"Look," Todd says, his voice beginning to rise, "I'm trying to do the right thing, I'm trying to do what's best for us!"
Tea loses it, tears of anger beginning to stream down her face. "What's best for us? Tell me Todd... why do YOU get to decide what's best for us? Aren't I a part of this relationship? Don't I get a say in what's best for us?"
"Come on, Tea, you would try to get me to stay...and considering what happened last night, I don't think it's a good idea."
"You're right Todd, I would try to get you to stay. For me, for your children. We need you....and you need us," she pauses, attempting to contorl her raging emotions, "You know, I was there last night too."
"Yeah, I know, and that's why I have to go. What if it happens again, and what if next time I can't stop him?"
"And what if you can? And what if it doesn't happen?"
"And what if it does, Tea?"
Tea walks closer to him. "If it does Todd, we'll deal with it, just like we dealt with it last night. I need you, I love you. T.J. and Starr need you and love you. You belong here with your family."
Todd looks at her, knowing she is right. He doesn't want to go....but he can never allow himself to put his family in danger.
Tea watches him closely. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, she throws up her hands.
"Look, Todd, I'm not going to beg okay? You're gonna do what you want to do anyway. So I'm gonna go downstairs and get our son. Then I'm going home....I hope you decide to come home too." With one last look, she walks out, leaving Todd staring after her.

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Later that evening...

Tea is sitting on the couch playing with T.J. She looks at her watch...7:00...and no sign of Todd. She swallows the lump in her throat and attempts a smile at her adorable son.
"Don't worry, T.J. , your Daddy loves us....I know he does."
She had begun to feel a little guilty over their fight, she had said some pretty tough things, but when she is angry it's hard to hold back.
She grins slightly at the thought. Another way we're alike Todd.
Suddenly she hears the front door open. She looks up and sees Todd walking into the living room. Their eyes meet, and Tea smiles.
"I'm glad to see you, " she says softly.
He slowly walks over and takes T.J. from Tea. He sits down next to her.
"I'm sorry."
Tea reaches up and gently strokes his hair. "Me, too."
"You didn't do anything."
"Well, I was pretty hard on you."
"I wouldn't expect anything less of you Delgado."
She grins, and he grins back.
"I was scared."
"I know."
"Look, Delgado, I don't know what's gonna happen..."
"Todd, whatever happens we will deal with it, okay."
Todd leans over and gently kisses her.
"I love you Delgado."
"I love you Manning."