Finally, Todd turns towards her. "Aren't you gonna go congratulate the love birds? Oh wait, I know, you're waiting for me to nod off before you make your exit, right Delgado?"

*****

Téa looks down, fresh tears stinging her eyes. "I guess I deserved that," she says quietly.

"Yeah I guess you did," Todd snaps back, standing up. He walks out the opposite side of the pew, intent on walking right out the door. But despite his resolve, he looks back at her, her head down. He struggles against himself to not feel any sympathy, hell she deserved his anger, his biting remarks. She deserved the full gamut of his defense mechanism. He NEEDED to be angry at her, because if he allowed himself to actually work through those feelings, he would discover he still loved her deeply, despite all that happened. But she had blown it.

He would not let her in again.

Téa closes her eyes, waiting for what seems like forever for the sound of his footsteps to fade. She hears the buzz of the crowd rise and fall as the door opens and closes behind him. Her shoulders begin to shake as she allows intense sobs to take over her body. His face so full of pain, his voice so full of anger. Matching the pain and anger in her own heart. Anger at him for not even trying with her, anger at herself for giving up, and the pain of knowing what would never be between them. The pain of knowing she would live the rest of her life in love with a man she could never have.

*****

Llanfair

Todd sulks in a folding chair near the back of the main room. All the flowers and decorations in this room made him want to puke. Viki had certainly gone all out, not that he expected anything less. He hadn't want to come anywhere near this reception, after seeing Téa, he had wanted to go crawl into some dark hole with a bottle of scotch and get obliterated. But as he tried to make feeble excuses to his radiant niece, he could see the disappointment that flickered across her face. So, he had sucked it up. Secretly, he relished the opportunity to just stare at Téa from afar for a while, while she wasn't looking.

He didn't have to wait long. As he glanced up from his station in the back of the room, he saw her glide through the doors. Her smooth easy walk, like it always was...graceful, beautiful. She was dressed in a long, fitted burgundy dress, the dark color only enhancing her natural beauty. She had her hair up, like he liked it, with a few tendrils framing her face. She took his breath away, and he hated that. He wanted not to be attracted to her. But he also couldn't stop looking at her. Thus, the double edged sword that constantly plagued Todd's life.

A jubilant young voice pulls him out of his thoughts.

"TEE!"

He watches as Téa turns towards the voice, and her face immediately brightens as Starr wraps her arms around her former step-mother. The sight was almost enough to break the little bit of heart he thought he had left. Starr, in her beautiful white dress, having had been a flower girl in the wedding, clinging to Téa for dear life. She breaks the hug and immediately latches onto Téa's hand. Starr insistently starts tugging on Téa's hand, pulling her towards Todd. Téa looks up and sees where Starr is leading her. She swallows hard, squeezing Starr's hand a little tighter.

"Daddy, Tee's here!" Starr announces, her smile blinding.

"Yeah I see that Shorty," Todd mutters, glancing quickly at Téa, then back to the much safer face of his daughter. Téa blinks quickly, then lowers herself down to Starr's level.

"You look absolutely beautiful mi estrellita," she says softly, her hand gently carressing the side of Starr's face. She beams.

"Daddy says I'm the prettiest flower girl in the whole world."

Téa looks quickly at Todd, who has a strange expression on his face. Sadness, confusion, anger all mixed up there.

"Well of course you are."

Starr turns to Todd. "See Daddy, I was right!"

"About what Shorty?"

"I told you Tee would come back for us," she says, smiling. Todd and Téa glance at each other awkwardly, then back at Starr. Not knowing what to say, not wanting to crush a little girl's dreams. Todd had been very careful in explaining to Starr what had happened between him and Téa. As angry and hurt as he was, he did not want Starr's feelings for Téa to be affected. After all, for a long time, Téa had helped raise Starr, and he knew how much Starr loved her. Téa opens her mouth to speak, but is interrupted by the sound of Jessica's voice calling Starr.

"Starr! Time for pictures!"

"Okay," she calls back and looks at Téa, "does my hair look okay Tee?"

"Looks fine Shorty," Todd grumbles.

"Daddy, this is girl stuff," she says, in her very mature eight old way. Despite the tension of the moment, Téa smiles. She gently flips Starr's hair back off her shoulders.

"It looks beautiful sweetie."

She's rewarded with another one of Starr's blinding smiles, before she turns and scampers off towards Jessica. Their eyes both follow her, lingering on her as long as possible before they inevitably turn back to each other.

"I can't believe how big she's gotten," Téa rambles nervously.

Todd doesn't reply, just fixes her with his patented cold glare. Téa stands there, unsure of what to do, how to handle this. She glances around the room, doing anything to avoid his angry, hurt eyes. Finally, she turns and walks to the other side of the room.

As he watches her retreating back, Todd exhales loudly, swallowing the lump in his throat.

The festive gathering only grows as the hours drift by. The music, dancing, and hugging made Todd almost wish for the quiet solitude of prison, almost. But really, he was in his own private prison. Unable to take his eyes off her when she wasn't looking, unable to understand how he could still have feelings for her after everything. Unable to let her go. The worst kind of prison, because really, there was no parole, no chance at getting out. He knew that now. She had him behind bars she constructed herself when she made him believe in her, in love. And for a while, she had joined him, but then she had been released, a commuted sentence. Time off for putting up with Todd Manning on a daily basis for an extended period of time. And when she left, he had decided to throw away the key. Banishing himself to this lonely prison where he longed for her and hated her all at the same time, and making damn sure she never got a hold of that key again. Never again.

Viki Carpenter watches the scene before her with fascination. Had been watching it all day really, between greeting and mingling with her guests. They had to be the two most stubborn people on the planet, Todd and Téa. She had watched them deliberately stay across the room from each other, trying way to hard to ignore each other. She had seen them look at the other, when one wasn't looking. She had seen the pain in both sets of eyes.

"Penny for your thoughts," Sam Rappaport grins as he walks up next to Viki. Although it had been difficult for Sam to watch his son's heart get broken when Jessica and Cristian had found their way back to each other, he was happy for Viki. They had managed to put any differences about their children aside and just enjoy the day, and their friendship. Todd coming back into town had been a major factor, with Sam and Viki really his surrogate parents.

"Have you been watching this?" Viki asks, pointing between Todd and Téa.

"I've noticed a few longing looks go from one to the other."

"I swear, sometimes I think I should just lock these two in a room and let them hash it out. They are both so good at avoiding things, it's truly amazing."

Sam laughs. "Probably not a bad idea."

Viki turns to Sam. "He still loves her so much Sam."

"I know," Sam says quietly, "and it seems that the feeling is mutual. But you know Todd, Viki. She left him, and he's not one to just forgive and forget."

"And as much as I love my brother, I'm sure he gave her reasons to leave him. Reasons that may still be there, reasons she may not want to forgive. He certainly isn't the easiest person in the world to love."

"True enough."

Viki sighs. "I wonder how long she'll be in town."

"Why?"

"I don't know, maybe I'm hoping they can work some things out. They're obviously both miserable without each other. I mean, you have to admit, Todd has been even more miserable than usual since he's been back."

"You really think there's still a chance? For them?"

"I think that there is a kind of love that people don't often find. It's real, and it's not always easy, but it lasts forever. Through all sorts of hardships, betrayals, fights. And I think they have it. They probably don't realize it, but they do. Sam, I've watched them since the beginning of their first marriage. I watched them both fight like hell not to fall in love with each other, and I watched them fight their feelings for each other once it happened. I watched lies destroy them and tear them apart and I watched them try and put it back together. I watched Téa care enough to try and really understand him and I watched Todd open up to her, as much as he was capable of . I think if they both let go of some of their pride and just talk to each other, yes I do believe there is a chance for them. I think there will always be a chance for them. And I believe they need each other desperately. I don't know what Téa's life has been like the past few months, but judging from the sadness that seems to be radiating from her, I would guess it's not been great. And you and I have both seen what being without her has done to Todd."

Sam nods silently. He glances over at Todd, who is looking across the room at Téa. He notices Todd quickly look down. Shifting his eyes, he sees Téa looking back at Todd, her shoulders sinking as she watches him look away from her.

"I just wish I knew how long she was going to be around," Viki says. She glances back and forth between Todd and Téa, and turns to Sam. She notices a familiar grin pulling at the corners of Sam's mouth. "What?" she asks curiously.

Sam looks down at her. "Huh? Oh, nothing. I think I just had a great idea," he answers mysteriously.

Téa picks up her glass of champagne, taking a nice healthy sip. She smiled at this person and that, all welcoming her back to Llanview. Every once in a while, she could feel Todd's eyes on her, boring into her. It was both comforting and disconcerting. Comforting to know he was looking, disconcerting to know that it was no doubt a hurtful gaze, not an admiring one.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turns around. Téa's face breaks into a smile as she sees Jessica behind her.

"Hey, congratulations," she says, hugging her.

"Thanks, Cris and I are so glad you could come."

"Are you kidding, I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

Jessica nods, adjusting the folds on her dress. "I would have understood if you didn't want to come," she says, her eyes quickly glancing at Todd. "I mean, what with everything that happened."

"Yeah," Téa sighs, "I heard you were the first one he ran into. Guess you got the full story," she finishes, her eyes glistening.

Jessica grins. "You could say that."

"Well, you're still talking to me, I guess that's a good sign."

Jessica shakes her head. "Look Téa, we all make mistakes. We all do things spur of the moment that we regret later on. I mean, look at me and Cristian! I was pregnant with another man's child, but he never stopped loving me, ever. And he slept with Roseanne, but I never stopped loving him either. We both made mistakes, but we overcame them. You and Todd can too."

"Jessica, you and Cristian are a lot more forgiving than Todd is, and you know it."

"That may be true, but that doesn't change the fact that you two still have feelings for each other. Just don't give up."

"When did you get so wise about love?" Téa asks kiddingly. Jessica smiles.

"When I finally realized that Cristian was mine," she answers. She gives Téa a quick hug, then walks over to meet her new husband. Téa watches them embrace, her heart envious for that kind of affection, that kind of love. For Todd to show it to her, for them to be allowed yet another chance. She glances over to where Todd is sitting, and like so many times before during the day, she finds his eyes staring straight at her. An icy look passes over his face before he quickly breaks eye contact with her and looks away.

But Téa notices. For a moment, just a moment, he was looking at her with...love.