Todd is amused by the perplexed look on Téa's face.
"What are you talking about?"
"Come on, Delgado...work with me here. The key...the key I sent you..."
Realization dawns on Téa's face. "It's for this?"
"Yeah....uh...I bought it before our wedding....I was gonna bring you here the next day...but...." his voice trails off, and he glances away from her awkwardly. Téa reaches into her purse and pulls out the pouch she always carries with her. She wordlessly removes the key, staring at it with tear filled eyes. Todd clears his throat and looks at her.
"So...uh...you want to see the rest?"
She nods, and walks slowly towards the door, clutching the key. Todd remains behind her...rooted to his spot...watching her...his eyes filled with longing...as he watches her unlock the door to their house. Téa inserts her key, and opens the door. She slowly walks in, taking in everything around her. The sadness that fills her is profound, for as she looks around at the beautiful house, it feels like she lost her dream all over again. She blinks back tears, not wanting Todd to see that she is upset...not wanting him to see that he gets to her.
"It's beautiful," she whispers, turning to face him.
Noticing the sadness in her eyes, he walks towards her. So many times he had imagined what it would have been like to surprise her with this after their wedding...how happy she would have been...to raise their family in a place like this. The power of those images further strengthens his resolve to win her back...and to finally make those dreams come true. He reaches for her hand.
"Come on, I'll give you the tour."

**********************************************************************************

John Sykes sits at his desk at the police station. He picks up his cup of coffee, now cold, but he doesn't care. His mind is still on the scene with Téa. He couldn't believe he had lost her.
Just temporary, he thinks.
He reaches into his desk, and pulls out an old newspaper clipping. It was from the Sun, November 1998...the wedding announcement of Todd Manning and Tea Delgado. He stares at the picture of the couple, Téa looking stunning and Todd looking uncharacteristically happy. He grins smugly as he tears the picture down the middle, tossing the picture of Todd onto the desk. He runs a finger over Téa's radiant face.
"I won't let him take you away from me," he whispers.

**********************************************************************************

Todd sits down next to Téa on the front porch and hands her a beer.
"Thanks," she says.
"So, you like it?"
She turns and smiles at him, a wistful smile. "What's not to like, it's a beautiful house Todd."
"Good. When I bought it...I tried to picture what you would want our house to be like...glad I got it right."
Téa looks down. "It's your house, Todd, not ours," she says softly.
Todd's eyes fill with pain at her statement. "No, Téa, it's ours. It's in both of our names....it's for us," he replies.
"Todd..."
"No listen, okay...so I know right now it's just me here and you're not ready for this...but you will be someday..."
"Todd..."
"And I know you said you weren't making any promises...but you know we're gonna end up doing things my way anyway," he says, grinning.
Téa just chuckles and shakes her head. How could she argue with that?
"Have you seen Starr again?"
She notices an angry look pass over Todd's face at her question.
"No, and I won't for at least a week now," he replies bitterly.
"Why?"
"Cause I went to see Blair and she doesn't want me to see Starr alone without Viki around...doesn't trust me I guess...and Viki's out of town...and Blair's being a witch about it. Payback, I guess," he says wryly.
Téa listens and feels a pang of sympathy. She knows how terribly hard it is for Todd to be away from his daughter. An idea occurs to her. Should she? She takes a deep breath.
"Umm....that's too bad. You know...I get to see Starr on Tuesday...we'll probably go to the park...around 1:00...you know..so if you're in the neighborhood...." her voice trails off, and she looks at him with a mischeivous gleam in her eyes.
Todd grins. "Blair will have a fit if she finds out."
"What Blair doesn't know won't hurt her. You're Starr's father, and I know she wants to see you too."
Todd looks at her, love clear in his eyes. "Thanks , Delgado."
She smiles at him, a smile that tugs at his heart. This was going well....so well that Todd decides to take another chance.
"Uh. ...so Delgado...can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
He runs his hand through his hair. He glances at her, wondering if he should even bring this up.
"So, Viki thinks I should see a shrink."
Téa's eyes pop out of her head....not believing what she is hearing.
"Really?"
"Yeah...so...uh...what do you think?"

***************************************

PART 15

Todd looks at her anxiously, awaiting her answer.
"Todd, it doesn't matter what I think."
"It does to me."
Téa sighs. "Look, you have to go to therapy because you want to....not because I want you too or even Viki wants you too. It has to be something you want to do."
"I'm just asking your opinion!" he says, his voice rising.
Téa looks at him. "Fine, look, do I think you could benefit from therapy? Yeah...but only if its something you do for the right reasons."
He shakes his head. "I just....I'm scared," he says softly.
"Scared?"
"Téa, there's a lot of garbage in here....stuff I'd rather forget...stuff I did forget for a while. I just want it to go away."
Despite herself, she reaches over and gently strokes his hair. "Todd, even with therapy, it probably won't ever completely go away...but hopefully you will be able to deal with it and get on with your life."
He closes his eyes at her touch, as always it is soothing to him. "I just want the spinning to stop...you know? I want to stop feeling so out of control."
Téa continues stroking his hair. "I know," she says softly. He turns his head and his eyes meet hers. The intensity of his stare causes a momentary flash of panic in Téa as she feels herself being drawn to him, as she always is. She pulls her hand away from his hair and looks down.
"So, Viki gave me the name of this shrink....I guess I'll check him out."
"That's a good idea...I mean you'll never know unless you go right?" she says nervously, still looking down.
Todd notices her nervousness, and actually feels relief. He'd take her nervousness over her anger any day. He begins to feel his own anxiety begin to rise as he prepares to ask her a favor...something he'd been thinking about since he began considering therapy.
He clears his throat. "So..Delgado...uh...you know...I don't have any friends. I mean Viki..she's family...and she's got a blind spot where I'm concerned...and I think Sam does too. But you....you see everything...the bad and the good...that you actually still see good is pretty amazing considering what I put you through. But anyway...I was wondering...see if I do this therapy thing...I'm gonna be pretty miserable..probably more than usual...and it gets pretty lonely up here you know?" he gets up and walks a few steps in front of her, staring out at the yard in front of him. "So I was thinking....maybe we could hang out sometimes you know? I mean watch a movie or just hang out....maybe talk and stuff....oh forget it ...stupid idea," he says, frustrated.
Téa stares at his back, wondering what to do. Part of her wants to run away, knowing full well she is on the brink of getting sucked back into his world. On the other hand, he is reaching out to her. She knows in her heart that she can't turn her back on him.
"Todd..."
"No..forget it...you probably think I'm just using therapy as an excuse to get you back...you know like emotional blackmail or something."
"No, I don't think that," she says, standing up and taking a few steps toward him. "Are you saying you want us to be ....friends?"
Todd runs his hand through his hair. He wants them to be more than friends, but he realizes taking it slow is probably the best for both of them. "Yeah, I guess....I mean...I can talk to you about stuff...it seems like craziness inside me isn't so bad when you're around," he says softly.
A small smile crosses her lips. She walks in front of him and looks up into his eyes. "You know...I could use a friend too."
"You've got friends."
"None like you," she says smiling.
"Good point."
She takes a deep breath and continues. "Just friends, Todd, okay? I mean..."
"I know...no promises...as long as you know that I'm not gonna give up. I mean...we understand each other, right?"
She smiles wryly. "Yeah, we do." Her eyes meet his again, and longing in his eyes strikes at her heart.
"Um...you know I should probably go."
"Already?" he asks, disappointed.
"Yeah, I've got plans," she says, handing him her beer.
"With Sykes?" he asks bitterly.
Téa rolls her eyes. "No....actually, I'm not seeing him anymore," she says, looking away.
"Really," Todd brightens, "Too boring for you, huh?"
Téa shakes her head, grinning. "Okay, listen closely, cause I'm only gonna say this once. You were right, he's not my type."
"No kidding. So then who do you have plans with?"
"If you must know, I'm meeting Roseanne."
"Oh. Okay, so I'll see you on Tuesday, right?"
"Yeah, Starr will be thrilled." She starts to back away towards her car. She watches as he leans against the side of the porch. A tremendous sense of longing washes over her as she comes to the realization that she would give anything to stay with him right now.
"Bye," she says, resisting the urge to run back to him.
"Bye Delgado," he says, watching her leave, allowing the tiniest flame of hope in his heart.

**********************************************************************************

Tea's suite at the Palace, Later that evening

Téa sits down on her sofa, looking at the stack of mail sitting in front of her. Her evening with Roseanne had pretty much gone as expected. She had no idea why her niece seemed to have such an attitude towards her, but she was sick of it ...that much was for sure. She begins to pick through the stack of mail, when a large manila envelope catches her eye. She takes it out, and notices Sam's office is the return address. Her heart stops. The past few days had caused her to forget that she had asked Sam to draw up new annulment papers.
"He's quick," she says to herself.
She pulls out the new papers and looks at them. The past few days play over and over in her mind as she stares at them. Todd's voice, his eyes, his words.....she can't stop thinking about him. They had made some progress in the last couple of days. She still wasn't sure where it was going, but suddenly that didn't seem so important. She grins, taking the papers in her hands, and ripping them to shreds. She walks over to the garbage and dumps the torn papers in there.
"Well, Todd, let's see what happens," she says softly.

*******************************************

NEAR YOU ALWAYS 16

Carlotta's Diner

"So...how's Melinda?" Téa asks, with a sly grin.
RJ looks at her across the table, a grin of his own spreading across his face. "Good, very good."
"Do I sense something serious?"
"I wouldn't say that...yet....just taking things slow."
"Boy, do I know that one."
"That's right," RJ says, and leans forward with his elbows on the table, "How is your husband?"
Téa sighs. "Okay...I think. We've talked some...not nearly enough..but a good start."
"What about the annulment?"
Téa looks at him carefully. "Just between you and me, right?"
RJ smiles. "Scout's honor," he says, holding up two fingers.
Téa shakes her head and laughs. "RJ, no one would ever mistake you for a boy scout!"
He laughs. "No kidding...but I promise anyway."
Téa leans forward and slightly lowers her voice. "Well, I did get new papers drawn up...but I ended up tearing them up."
"Isn't that what he did?"
"Yeah it is."
RJ laughs. "Man...are you two a match made in heaven!"
Téa shakes her head, sighing with both hope and confusion. "Don't I know it."

**********************************************************************************

Todd is wandering aimlessly around Angel Square. He was hoping maybe his luck would be good and he would get a glimpse of Shorty at the park with Minnie...but as of yet no dice. He thinks back to the day before when he and Téa had spent time with Shorty. It was so great to play with her again...he couldn't believe how big she had gotten in just a few months. His mind drifted to Téa. She had been so careful around Starr...not to let on about their problems. For one afternoon, they were like a family again.
As he continues walking, his eyes glance from here to there, hoping maybe to see Téa. He didn't want to go to her office again..he didn't want to pressure her. Besides, she had said she would come over and see him tonight...maybe have dinner. But he also wanted to see her...even just to look at her...just to calm the spinning that seemed to be going on inside his head. He had an appointment tomorrow...the first with the therapist Viki recommended. He was pretty stressed about it...maybe just seeing Delgado would help a little. He is a few blocks away from the diner when he looks up and sees her. He smiles slightly, noticing even from a distance how the sun plays off her hair. His smile quickly fades as he notices her laughing and talking with RJ Gannon.
They're friends, he thinks, trying to quell the insecurity and jealousy that is beginning to well inside him, they're just friends.
He shrinks back and continues to watch, every moment his insecurity growing. RJ and Tea stop in front of her car, still talking. Then, Todd clenches his fists, as he watches his wife reach up and kiss RJ on the cheek, and give him a hug. Todd's body tenses, rage beginning to overtake him. He watches through narrowed eyes as Tea gets in her car and drives away.
Friends, huh? he thinks sarcastically, looked pretty cozy to me.
He slowly turns around, walking slowly back to his car.

**********************************************************************************

Later that evening

Tea walks up the front steps to the house holding a bag of groceries. She was quite sure that Todd had been eating nothing but take out, so she thought she would cook them both dinner. She also knew how anxious he was about his first appointment tomorrow. She hoped she would be able to help him relax somewhat. She knocks on the front door, and receives no answer. She looks around questioningly, and notices that Todd's car is there.
"Todd?" she calls, trying the door handle, which she finds is locked. Finally, she reaches into her purse and takes out her key. Inserting it, she opens the door and walks in. Her eyes bulge in shock at the sight that greets her. Putting down her bag of groceries, she slowly walks into the living room, taking in the sight. There is broken glass everywhere, from what she can't tell. All the cushions are off the sofa and chairs, thrown haphazardly around the room. Téa feels her heart lurch....where is Todd? Is he okay? What's going on?
"Todd?"she calls again, nervously looking around. She looks up and sees him walk into the room. His clothing is disheveled, his hair hanging wildly around his face. The cold, harsh look in his hazel eyes tells her he did this...but why?
Todd never takes his eyes off her. Seeing her standing there, so beautiful....causes the jealousy and insecurity that had been temporarily quieted to come to the surface again. He takes a swig of the beer he is holding and leans against the wall, his cold, angry stare meeting her concerned one.
"So Delgado, what the hell do you want?"

To be continued....