*****

Two weeks later,
Todd and Téa's house

Todd looks up from that morning's copy of the Sun and glances at Téa. It had become a normal sight over the last few weeks, watching her bury herself in her work. The realization that they shared that habit, throwing themselves into work to avoid more painful issues, was one that had washed over him several times over the past couple of weeks since she had been found.

She had been pretty much close mouthed about the whole ordeal, which again, frightened Todd. Because she was always one to talk about stuff, and she was not budging on this one. The only time she talked about it was when she gave her statement to Bo, and even then, she had seemed almost detached from the whole experience.

It was not lost on him that they had switched roles somewhere along the line. He had new empathy for all she had tried to do for him the first time around, trying to get him to talk about things, and him constantly shutting her out. These past few weeks, he would have given anything to break down that wall that she had thrown up there.

He also had to admit he was using her pain as an excuse to avoid his own. He had blown off therapy, using the excuse that he needed to be around for Téa's sake. The truth was, he and his doctor were getting into some stuff he didn't really want to deal with, and this was the perfect way, in his mind to get out of it. By concentrating on Téa's pain, he could, for a while anyway, ignore the demons that were still eating away at him.

He was also avoiding his own anger about the whole situation. In a big way, he felt that he had failed her. He knew damn well Sykes was a whackjob, hell he and RJ had had that conversation months ago. But he had just let him take her. Rationally, he knew that if that psycho had wanted to get his hands on Téa, there was probably little Todd could have done to stop him outside of being with her every moment of every day. But his not so rational side was simmering with rage that this nightmare had happened to her. And as much as he hated to admit it, there was a part of him that was angry at her. For dating Sykes while he was gone, for ever getting involved with that jerk in the first place. The truth was, he needed someone to blame, and Sykes wasn't around for him to take out his anger on.

For her part, Téa had completely retreated into herself. She spoke of work and Starr and nothing else. After Bo had questioned her about the kidnapping, she had done her best to block the whole ordeal from her mind. And it normally worked while she was awake.

But asleep was another story. Sykes' face haunted her dreams, the thought of his hands on her unconscious body was nauseating to her. Almost every night since she had returned home, she had woken up shaking, sweating. Todd did his best to comfort her, gently trying to push her to talk about what happened. She just wanted to forget. It amazed her, actually, how incredibly patient Todd was being. And how affectionate. He was not a touchy feely kinda guy, but he was doing his best to try and make things easier. Knowing how hard it was for him made her love him all the more.

Téa continued to be engrossed in her law book and Todd continued to be engrossed in watching her when they hear a knock on their front door. Tossing down the paper, Todd walks over to the door and answers it.

"Aww man," Todd rolls his eyes, "a perfectly good morning ruined by a visit by the Keystone cops."

"Cute, Manning. Téa home?" Bo asks.

"What's it to you?"

"I need to ask her some more questions."

Todd immediately goes into protective mode. "She gave her statement Buchanan, now leave her the hell alone."

"Todd? What's going on?" he hears Téa's voice behind him. She walks up next to him and sees Bo. "Bo, is something wrong?"

"I need to ask you a few more questions Téa," he answers, his straight, businesslike tone causing a small twinge of fear to run through Téa.

"Uh, sure, come on in," she answers, stepping aside.

"Wait, wait, wait. What the hell do you need to ask her that you haven't already asked her?" Todd asks.

"Just want to clear up a few things."

"Yeah, well, you can wait til Sam gets here," Todd says, heading for the phone. Téa follows him.

"Todd, it's not necessary. I AM a lawyer, I think I can handle this."

"Delgado...you're a damn good lawyer, but you've also been through the ringer here. Plus, I know Bukie, he's just dying to find some angle to screw us on this, especially since one of his wacked out cops bit the big one. Not too mention, he's got what could be considered a confession on tape," Todd reminds her.

"I admitted to killing him Todd," she responds quietly, "that's not a big secret."

"Yeah, but he'd love to make it look like something it wasn't."

"Todd, look, I just want this over with, I don't want to have to wait on Sam. I can handle this, really."

Todd looks at the phone and back up at her. "Fine...but the first sign that he's trying to screw us, I'm calling Sam."

"Okay."

Todd and Téa walk over and sit on the sofa, across from Bo.

"We've been going through some of Sykes' effects. Since he doesn't have a family to speak of, we were hoping to get some answers."

"Did you find any?"

"You could say that. How long were you and Sykes dating Téa?"

"Umm..not long. I mean, he was after me for months before I finally took him up on his offer. We went out on a few dates...but I definitely got the impression that he was more into it than I was."

"And it ended badly?"

"Well, I don't know, I guess. He wasn't thrilled that I had decided to go back to Todd."

"When was the last time you went out with him?"

"Oh I don't know, months ago now."

Bo glances at Todd, then back at Téa. "Were you seeing him on the side?"

"What?" Téa asks incredulously. She turns to Todd, whose face has gone completely impassive. Cold. Oh no. "What on earth would give you that idea?"

Bo pulls out a small plastic bag which is holding several white slips of paper.

"Found these in Sykes' things. Hotel receipts. For two. The dates are pretty recent."

"And you think it's me?"

"They're billed to your credit card."

Téa stares wide eyed at Bo. Swallowing hard, she turns to Todd, noticing his clenched fists resting on his legs. Calmly listening. Too calmly.

"Well, he must have gotten a hold of my credit card number Bo! Did you go to these places and talk to anyone?"

"Not yet, but it's my next step. I just wanted to hear from you first. See if maybe you wanted to change your story at all."

Téa leans forward, her head in her hands. Waiting for Todd to jump up and call Sam. She turns towards him again, and is met by his icy glare. A sickening thought washes over her.

Oh my God, he believes Bo....

"What are you trying to say Bo?" she asks, her voice strained.

Bo notices Todd's glaring at Téa. Interesting. "No offense Téa, there just seem to be some holes in your story...and I just wanted to give you the chance to fill them in."

"Holes?" Téa asks worriedly.

"That place you were holed up in, sure was romantic. Cute little nightie. No ransom note. Maybe you were in on it. Maybe Sykes' wasn't following your plan, and you had to get rid of him," Bo finishes, watching her reaction closely.

Téa shakes her head disbelievingly. "God, Bo, I thought you knew me better than that."

"Honestly Téa, I don't know what you're into. And I don't care, except for the fact that one of my officers died."

"After he kidnapped me!"

"Well, we'll have to see about that, won't we?" Bo answers, standing up. He glances at Todd, and he can see the doubt he's cast. Todd notices Bo looking at him and stands up.

"You done here?" Todd asks gruffly.

"For now."

"Good, get the hell out."

"Charming as always Manning."

Bo walks out, and Todd shuts the door slowly behind him. He didn't know quite how to handle what was going on inside him. No. No. Bo was wrong. He had to be. There was no way...was there?

Téa watches him carefully. He turns back towards her and walks over, leaning against a chair.

"Don't worry Delgado, he's blowing smoke. He doesn't have anything," he says, but he refused to meet her eyes. His tone was flat...unconvincing.

Oh no

Téa searches his face. Seeing the anger. Worse, seeing the doubt that had crept in to his features.

"Oh God," she whispers, looking at him, "You believe him."