"Daddy!"
Todd bends down and eagerly scoops up his precious daughter, holding her close.
"Hey Shorty...Blair," he says, acknowledging his ex-wife.
He puts Starr down and walks over to Blair. "Thanks for bringing her by."
"Well, I don't like it Todd, but as long as Viki's here."
"Look, Blair," he says, lowering his voice so Starr won't hear, "I'm her father, and I will see her. By the way, congrats on you and Kevin...you two were made for each other."
"I'm so glad you're pleased, not that it's any of your business."
"You're right, about you anyway, but it is my business in so far as it affects Shorty."
"Kevin is good with her, Todd, I wouldn't let anyone who wasn't around her, you know that."
"Whatever."
Blair grins as a thought occurs to her. "Oh, boy. The Ice Queen must be thrilled that you're back. I would have loved to have seen the look on her face."
Todd steps closer to Blair, and speaks in a low tone, "Watch how you talk about her."
Blair realizes she hit a nerve. "Oh yeah, I bet it went real well. After you made a complete fool of her and all..."
"Shut up, Blair!" Todd says, careful to keep his voice down, "What's going on with me and Delgado is none of your business...except of course where Shorty is concerned...but you don't have to worry cause you know Delgado is good with her."
"You actually think you are going to be able to get her back?" Blair asks, laughing.
"I know this, I'm not gonna stop trying."
Blair stops laughing, struck by the intensity and sincerity in his voice.
"Alright, well , if she's dumb enough to take you back then you two truly deserve each other. Gotta run. Bye sweetie!" she says to Starr, and walks out.
Todd rolls his eyes. Blair had never really understood him....she tried and she thought she did, but she really didn't. Now Delgado, she was another story, and it was why he had to get her back...she is the one. He walks over and kneels down on the floor next to his daughter.
"Did Fred give you my messages, Daddy?"
Todd smiles. "He sure did, Shorty. I'm sorry, you know, that I left...but I love you...and I thought about you all the time."
"I know, Daddy. But why did you have to go?"
Todd takes a deep breath. "Sometimes...you know grown ups...they have a lot of stuff going on...and it makes them not feel great...that's what happened to me...so I went away til I could feel better."
"Do you feel better?"
"A little."
"Maybe you should go to a doctor."
The innocence of her statement struck Todd. It was a thought that had been swirling through his mind since his conversation with Viki, since seeing Delgado....and now his daughter. Of course, she didn't mean it the way Viki did, but somehow....it managed to have the same impact.
"Maybe I will Shorty," he says, meaning it...at least he would think about it.
"Did you see Tee?"
"Yeah."
"I bet she was happy, she missed you a whole lot, but you know that cause Fred gave you her messages too."
Todd smiles. If she only knew, he thinks. But that was another testament to how much Téa truly loved Starr...no matter how angry and hurt she was because of Todd, she never let on to Shorty.
"Are you gonna stay, Daddy?"
"Shorty, I'm not leaving you again, I promise."

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

Téa walks into an empty Club Indigo, searching for RJ. She desperately needed to talk to him, someone who wouldn't judge her feelings about Todd. She spots him behind the bar, and smiles.
"Hey RJ."
"Hey, how are you?"
"I've had better weeks."
"I'll bet. Manning was in here last night."
"He was?"
"Yeah, he and I had a little chat."
Téa rolls her eyes, "Do I want to hear this?"
"Hey," RJ says, smiling, "I just told him I didn't want to see you hurt. The rest is between the two of you."
Téa just stares at him. He is such a good friend. "Thank you. I appreciate you looking out for me and I appreciate you NOT trying to run my life. You have no idea how many times I have heard, "you have to stay away from Todd Manning, you'll just get hurt again," in the past 48 hours."
"Well, you're a big girl. So, what are you going to do?"
"Who knows. I'll tell you....Todd is definitely persistent. He tore up the annulment papers yesterday."
RJ laughs. "That's one way to keep you from signing."
"Yeah, I was supposed to call Sam this morning to have him draw up new ones....I just haven't gotten around to it."
"Avoidance."
"What?"
"You're avoiding it, cause you don't really want an annulment, if you did you would have signed those papers a long time ago."
"Thanks for the analysis, Doctor Gannon. But how on earth can I stay married to him...after everything that happened?"
"Why don't you just see what happens? No rush, right?"
"I don't know...I just don't know."
She pauses, and takes a sip of the coffee RJ has placed in front of her.
"So you going to that charity shindig tomorrow?"
Téa rolls her eyes, "Yeah, I don't really want to, but it's for a good cause...and Viki's a friend."
"Going with Sykes?"
"Yeah, he asked me...why not?"
"Cause you really want to go with Todd."
Téa glares at him in mock reproach. "Stop that! Look it doesn't matter what I want, I'm not doing it again RJ...I just can't."

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

"Did you have a nice visit with Starr?"
"Yeah," Todd gives a rare smile, "not long enough though."
Viki smiles back. Todd loves his daughter so much, it's so hard on him to not be able to be with her.
"Well, maybe you and Blair can work out a custody agreement."
"Maybe...I tend to doubt it...with her dating my biggest fan and all."
"Well, Téa and Blair certainly don't like each other but they managed to put their differences aside for Starr's sake....maybe you and Kevin can do the same."
"Whatever."
Viki sits down on the couch next to him. "So, how is it going with Téa?"
Todd grins, "Well, she's tough, good thing I'm stubborn as hell and I won't give up. Tore up the annulment papers," he says proudly.
Viki shakes her head, "I'll bet she was thrilled with that. Todd, I know it's hard for you, but both you and Téa have been through a lot, just don't push too hard. I believe you two can work things out...it's obvious you love each other, but it's going to take time. Try and be patient."
"Patience is overrated."
Viki just stares at him. He is exasperating for sure, but she loves him.
"Hey Viki, look...I've been thinking..you know...about what you said...seeing a shrink."
"Todd, that's great!"
"Hey, I said I was thinking about it, not that I was gonna do it."
"Just thinking about it is good enough right now. Listen, you probably won't want to, but I'm having a benefit tomorrow night at the country club. In Megan's honor, to raise money for Lupus research. Want to come?"
"Not on your life, but I'll make a donation, her being your kid and all."
"Thanks."
A thought occurs to Todd. "Wait, will Delgado be there?"
"I believe so."
Todd grins. "Changed my mind....I'll be there."