*****

Manning House, Later that evening

Todd dumps the last box he had carried in from Téa's car and flops down on the couch. Téa walks into the room and sees him. She walks over to him and hands him a cold beer she had just gotten out of the fridge. She pops the top of her own and sits in the chair across from him.
Todd grins. "So, can I expect this kind of service all the time now that you'll be living here?"
She rolls her eyes. "Not on your life Manning."
They both take a swig of their beer, and are both struck by the suddenly awkward silence. Téa's things are in a pile in the middle of the living room, and she still had some stuff back at the Palace. Todd looks at it. All of the sudden it occurs to him that for all the talking they've done since he's been back, this living together thing really hadn't been discussed too much. Sure, he'd asked her, and he wanted her to live with him. It was then he realized what had been bugging him so much during his therapy appointment. He had asked her to live with him, but certain "particulars" had not been discussed. He had been so anxious for her to say "yes", that details hadn't seemed all that important at the time.

Téa's eyes are attracted to the same pile, and similar thoughts are running through her head. So...what ..did she have her own room...were they going to share one? Should she bring it up? She sighs. Why must EVERY little thing be so complicated with them? She glances at Todd, and notices his fixed stare on her things. She also notices the slight hint of nervousness in his features.

She clears her throat, seeing that she's gonna have to get the ball rolling on this one.
"So...umm...I'd kind of like to get settled," she says.
Her voice snaps Todd's trancelike stare on her things. He shakes his head slightly and looks at her.
"Huh? Oh...yeah...okay," he says, still a little distracted.
Seeing he did not bite, Téa takes a deep breath and tries again.
"Okay....and where will I be getting settled?"

*****

Téa's suite at the Palace

Sykes leans around the corner of the hallway to Téa's room. No one in sight. He walks slowly to her door, a small bag in his hand. Arriving at her door, he kneels down, trying the doorknob. Locked...just as he had figured. He shrugs, no big deal, and begins to work on the lock. After several minutes, he's got her door open. He walks in, noticing she still had some bags there. He smiles. Perfect.

He walks over to them and starts rummaging through. He finds an old piece of paper with some messages on it. Looking at it, judging the handwriting, he pockets it. He then opens on of the suitcases on the floor. His eyes light up at the sight of her lingerie spread before him. He carefully picks through it. Finally, his hands linger upon a short, flimsy navy blue negligee. He picks it up and smiles.

"I think this will do just fine, princess."

*****

Manning House

Todd glances quickly at her, then looks down.
"Todd?"
"Yeah?" "You didn't answer my question."
He rakes his hand through his hair. "Oh...you can put your stuff in my room," he says, then looks up, "I guess our room now."
The momentary happiness at those words vanishes quickly as Téa notices the very reluctant look on his face. She feels a pang of hurt run through her.
"Don't do me any favors," she mumbles, her head down. She hadn't intended for Todd to hear that, but his head shoots up. He looks over at her bowed head, realizing she saw through him. How did she do that?
"Téa, I mean it..."
"No, you don't Todd. You want me here, you want me to be your wife...but you don't want to share a room with me. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Maybe I'm the stupid one who expected something more this time around," she says, the pain evident in her voice. Todd immediately gets up and starts pacing.
"You don't understand Delgado...you just don't. I want you here....I want you to be my wife...and I do want to share a room with you. I do. I just...I just don't know about ..." his voice trails off.
But somehow...he doesn't need to finish. She knows. She stands up and walks over to him.
"Is this about sex, Todd?"
He slowly lifts his head to look at her.
"Isn't that what you want?"
Téa bites her lip to hold back tears.
"Do you really think I only want sex from you?"
Todd shakes his head. "But that's part of it...right?"
She nods. "Yeah....I guess it is. I want to be with you that way....but I don't think either of us are ready yet....I mean...I'm not...not yet. But us sharing a bedroom doesn't have to have anything to do with sex...at least not yet."
He looks at her, a quizzical look on his face.
"I want...I just want to sleep in the same bed with you. I know ...I know..you don't sleep. But when you do...I'd like it to be with me. Can you do that? Can we do that?"
Todd runs his hand through his hair again. Could he handle that? His mind flashes back to the night of his nightmare. He had slept so well with her that night. But he also remembers before....when in the throes of his nightmare he had hit her. And another time....this more painful...when he had lashed out....and it haunted him every waking minute. What was he doing? Could he trust himself not to hurt her again? Even accidentally? The self doubt started to eat away at him, and he turned and walked towards the window. NO....he wouldn't let himself hurt her....not on purpose...but what if he had a nightmare while he was with her? He couldn't stand the thought of her beautiful face marred by another bruise he had put there, accidentally or not.

But he wants her to stay...that he knows. It's so confusing to him. He needs her, but he's also afraid to let himself need her because of his fear of hurting her. He places his forehead against the window, relishing the coolness of the glass.

Téa watches him, her heart sinking. Finally, unable to take the strained silence that had follwed her question, she slumps down on the couch. Her whispered words reach Todd's ears and cause a stab of pain and fear to rip through his heart.
"Maybe this was a mistake," she whipers sadly.