Everything's gonna be great from now on, she thinks...or...she hopes, is more like it. Even though the day had gone without a hitch, and everyone seemed happy...she notices that her father has disappeared. Something had been up with him all day, something she couldn't put a finger on. She looks around, trying to guess where he might have gone. Then she sees the sitting room tucked away in the corner, the double doors closed. Target acquired, she makes a beeline for them. She glances back at the party, making sure she's not being missed...then she slips inside.

Sunken into the small couch in the back of the room, Todd looks up at the sudden rising noise level...he sees Starr, closing the door behind her. Then it gets quiet again, as the two of them look at each other for a moment. Todd sighs, pulling himself up and leaning forward.

"Hey Shorty...what's up?" he asks, rubbing his face like he just woke up.

Starr doesn't answer at first, taking another moment to study her dad's face. He wags his eyebrows at her in response.

"Just wanted to see if you were okay," she finally says.

Todd takes that in...apparently, she was the only one who even noticed he was gone. Typical, he thinks, with a half-laugh. Then he shrugs.

"Yeah, I'm okay. You okay?" he asks, gesturing for her to join him on the couch. She nods as she walks over and sits down, tucking one leg under and smoothing her long satin skirt over neatly. Todd turns to face her, propping himself up on the back cushion. Another short silence passes, as Starr smiles a little smile up at him, trying to get a reaction. He grins back, but it's a halfhearted one.

"You look great," he says, quietly.

She smiles wider. "Thank you. So do you."

He raises an eyebrow, reaching up to straighten his tie. "Yeah? Think so?"

Starr nods back with a giggle...then it fades, and her expression quickly turns to a more serious one.

"You SURE you're okay, Dad?"

Todd does a slight take at that, wondering how she knows...then he suddenly realizes how obvious it is. His wedding day, supposedly the happiest day of his life; and here he is, hiding out from everyone, including Blair. He was about as okay on this day as he was any other...which was to say, not very. He looks at Starr, his beautiful girl...beautiful...beautiful...god, she's so beautiful.

Get your shit together, man...snap out of it. Remember, you're doing this FOR HER.

He sighs heavily, rubbing his face again...then he reaches out and runs a finger across her cheek and chin.

"I'm fine...really...it's just...been a long day, that's all. I'm just tired. You know I don't sleep much."

She looks at him like she's trying to decide whether to believe him or not. Then she nods, at least somewhat satisfied with the answer. Todd grins at her again, then leans in and kisses her forehead. Starr wraps her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek.

"I love you, Dad. I'm so happy you and Mom are back together."

Todd shuts his eyes at that...relieved that she can't see his pained expression. It always hit him hard, when Starr said she loved him...when ANYBODY said they loved him...because he never thought he deserved it. This time was no different, but it hit harder than usual...because on top of everything else, he hated what he was doing. Blair was definitely not the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and the thought of living under the same roof with her again was unsettling, to say the least. He also knew that he was kind of, sort of lying to Starr by going along with the 'one big happy family' crap.

Happiness. That thing he could never have. He'd made several attempts in his life to get it, and had failed miserably. Every time he got close, something happened to screw everything up. Something always happened...whether it was an Irish poet, or a stupid pink tape, or...

...he shakes off the thought that was about to go through his mind. Doesn't matter, he thinks instead, reminding himself of the reason he came back to town in the first place...the only thing that DID matter...getting his daughter back. If he couldn't have happiness, if he couldn't have the family he really wanted, he'd have the next best thing: Starr, all to himself.

The doors open suddenly, and the two of them look over to see Blair, radiant and lovely in her sleek gown, watching them with a smile. Starr jumps up and runs over to her, hugging her legs. Todd gets up, and they exchange looks...awkward, and somewhat distrustful...but not entirely. Blair sighs, attempting another smile.

"You okay?"

He nods. Blair nods back, lingering on his eyes for a second, then turns her attention to Starr.

"Hey...it's almost time to go. Wanna help me get ready?"

"Yeah! Let's go!" Starr replies, grabbing her hand and leading her out. Blair laughs, looking back over her shoulder at Todd.

"I'll be back in a bit."

He nods again, with an unenthusiastic wave. Then he paces around, still not wanting to leave the room. He peeks out the door, watching as Blair and Starr breeze along, grabbing Kelly's hand and dragging her off with them. Then he looks at the few remaining people...Viki, Sam, and...he makes a disgusted face...Kevin. The catering staff bustles around them, starting to clean up. Todd sighs...a long one. Well...it's showtime. You're on. He makes a lame attempt at straightening himself up and walks out. As he crosses the room, they all look over at him. Kevin instantly frowns.

"Guess this is my cue," he says, kissing his mother on the cheek. "I'll see you later."

Viki nods as Todd reaches them...then she bites her lip, looking between the two of them. Todd just stands there, silent, glaring.

Kevin glares right back, then starts out, calling over his shoulder. "It's been fun. Have a happy...WHATEVER."

Viki and Sam exchange looks, both of them eyeing Todd nervously. Todd watches him go, then looks at them both. Sam grins, chucking him on the shoulder.

"Well, you did it, Boomer. You survived."

"Barely," Todd mutters, as his eyes drift back to the entranceway. He makes a face.

"What the hell's he doing here?"

Sam and Viki turn, following his look. All three of them stare at the person in front of them...a dark-haired, handsome man with blue eyes, standing there in jeans, a t-shirt and a long coat...obviously not a wedding guest. But the man stands with a definite air of self-confidence all the same, staring back at them with an amused grin.

"Did I miss the party? Awww."

Todd, Viki and Sam all exchange confused looks. Then Sam takes the lead, stepping forward and blocking the man's way as he starts to walk toward them.

"I hate to break it to ya, pal...but you weren't invited. Get lost."

"Oooh," the man says, with a phony shudder of fear. "Wow...working on that threatening tone, huh, Sam?"

Sam gets right in his face. "Don't EVEN start with me, Colin. I mean it...get outtta here."

"Oh, give it a rest," Colin replies, pushing him aside. "I didn't come here to see you anyhow."

He walks right up to Todd, folding his arms. "So...I guess congratulations are in order."

Todd just stares at him, strangely. Colin sneers back. "Yeah, well...I'll hold off on mine. Something tells me long, happy marriages aren't your strong point."

Todd half-laughs at that. "Right...whatever, man. Did you want something?"

Another slow grin crosses Colin's face. "Yes, actually. Got a minute?"

"For you? No."

"Aww, come on. It'll be fun."

A short silence passes as Todd studies Colin, wondering what he could possibly have to say that would be of ANY interest to him. Finally, he glances at Sam and Viki, then turns and takes a few steps away from them.

"If you'll excuse us," Colin says, then follows Todd over to the bar. Todd turns to face him, leaning on the counter.

"What?"

Colin does a slight take, making a face. "Damn, you're rude. You're gonna be a LOT of fun on the honeymoon, I can tell."

Todd rolls his eyes. "WHAT do you WANT, McIver?"

A slight pause...then Colin's grin widens. "Well...I had a question for you. I should give you a little back story beforehand though."

Todd sighs, slumping against the bar, as Colin continues. "See...I recently had the pleasure of getting to know a pretty young thing named Roseanne Delgado. I think you actually saw us that night in the bar, didn't you?"

No response. Colin shrugs, not really expecting one...so he gets right back into it. "Anyway, we closed the place...sat there for hours, just talking about all kinds of things. You weren't one of them, but...I could tell you two had some history. That really peaked my curiosity, so I did a little digging."

"What history? She was living in my house illegally. I kicked her out. That's it...big deal."

Colin raises an eyebrow. "That's IT, huh? So...you're saying have no connection to her other than that."

Todd hesitates...then straightens up, starting to get an idea of where he's heading with this conversation...and not liking it. He takes a step toward Colin, lowering his voice.

"You're wasting my time. Either get to the point, or get out."

Colin lifts his chin, defiantly. "Fine. I'll just ask you, then."

Todd stares at him, unblinking...ready for anything. Colin leans in a bit, lowering his voice as well.

"I just wanted to know...if Tea's as good as her little niece, know what I mean?"

Ready for anything...at least, Todd thought he was. But his eyes widen with shock and a flare of temper. Colin's grin spreads across his face, knowing he just struck a nerve.

"Yeah, you see...that's the one good thing about not having a job. I have plenty of time to study up on ALL KINDS of things," he says, moving in closer...taking his voice down to a whisper.

"Don't think I've forgotten about what you did. You put Nora's life in danger when you took her out of my house, you know that? *I* was treating her injuries...*I* was the only one who knew how to take care of her. If she had died, it would've been YOUR fault. You just got lucky, that's all."

Todd stares at him, in disbelief. "YOU were holding her hostage. *I* got her outta there. *I* brought her home.">[? "Oh, like you meant to do that. BullSHIT. You wanted her outta the picture as much as Lindsey did," Colin says, pointing. "You're no hero. You have it in for just about EVERYBODY in this town. YOU'RE the one who packed Will up and shipped him off to Ireland in a box."

"YOU'RE the one who kept him locked up in your basement," Todd replies, still keeping his voice low.

Colin does a take at that. "Ohhh. Tou-CHE. Okay, I've done some pretty awful things...but y'know, I don't even come CLOSE to the likes of you."

Todd shifts around, somewhat uncomfortably at that...Colin nods. "Yeah, like I was saying...I've been checking up on you. Kidnapping, attempted murder...rape. That's quite a list. I'll bet ol' Bo is just looking for ANY excuse to lock you up."

"If that's your idea of a threat, it's not working."

"No? Well, how 'bout this," Colin says, taking another half-step forward, putting himself nose-to-nose with Todd.

"If I'm gonna go down for what happened to Nora...I'm taking everybody with me. Lindsey, and even RJ'll be easy enough...but you...well. I have a feeling you're probably a lot better at covering your own ass, so...I think maybe I'll try a more...shall we say, indirect route to get to you."

Todd bites the inside of his lip at that, trying to keep his cool. Bluffing...he's just bluffing. He's just a puny little worm with a big mouth, he doesn't know anything about anything.

Colin takes a step back. "Anyway...that's all I wanted to say."

Todd just glares at him, without a word. Colin laughs a little, turning to head out. Todd's eyes follow him as he takes a few steps away, then turns back around.

"Oh...one more thing, just in case you think I'm not serious about all this. There's an awful lot of information on you and Tea, just in the local papers. I spent a whole afternoon reading about you guys...man, talk about drama. I had a feeling things weren't over between you...when you've been through that much together, it's never over. Believe me, I know. I definitely know how THAT is."

Todd's eyes narrow and darken; and his chest starts rising and falling faster, as the anger bubbles up inside him.

"And I have no idea what your game is here," Colin continues, gesturing around broadly. "But I have a feeling love's got NOTHING to do with it. I bet you could care less about your new-old wife, really... 'cause she's not the one...IS she?"

Their conversation loud enough now to be heard, Sam and Viki look over at Todd, waiting to see what he'll do. But he doesn't even see them anymore...the only other person in the room is Colin. Finally, his voice comes out low, but threatening.

"Well, I don't think you're gonna have much luck finding her," he says, walking right up to him, getting right back in his face. "But I'm warning you right now...leave her alone."

Colin shrugs back, unimpressed. "Or you'll...what? I hate to break it to you, but you're married to another woman now...thereby forfeiting all rights to the LOVELY Ms. Delgado," he says...then suddenly grabs Todd's jacket lapels, pulling him right up to his nose.

"It's open season, Manning...and I WILL find her. And you can just imagine what I'll do to her when I do."

With that, Colin shoves Todd away. Sam immediately runs over and gets between them, before Todd can throw the first punch.

"Alright, alright, THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Todd pushes against Sam's arms, eyes flashing with rage. Colin steps back, grinning... taunting him by licking his lips.

"Yeah, baby...I bet she tastes REALLY GOOD. I know her niece did."

Todd lets out a growl through clenched teeth, pushing Sam out of the way for a second...but Sam jumps right back in, trying with all his might to restrain him.

"DON'T! He's not worth it!"

"I swear to god, McIver...you go anywhere NEAR her, and I'll kill you!!"

Colin watches him flail around, completely amused...and completely unthreatened. He lingers on Todd's eyes for another moment...then he waves, and turns to leave, strolling out casually. Todd bucks against Sam, pushing him off hard enough to send him to the floor. Viki runs over, grabbing Todd's arm to try to stop him.

"Todd, he's just trying to mess with your head...let him go."

Ignoring her, he wrestles his arm out of her grip and takes off like a shot. She watches after him, then turns to look at Sam, who pulls himself up, resting against the bar. The two of them can only shake their heads and sigh, in unison.

Todd gets outside, and looks around wildly for Colin...but he's nowhere to be found. The cold night air swirls around him, filling his lungs, slowing his breathing down. He looks all around again, uselessly...then he sits down on the step, burying his face in his hands, trying to think. He had to admit to himself, he never saw this coming...not from Colin McIver. The guy was a perverted little bastard, to be sure; and he had to have been pretty cold to keep people captive in his house, but...for some reason, Todd didn't see him as a threat until now. Every other time they'd come into contact, Colin had seemed pretty weak. But not tonight...something was different about him. He was suddenly so...ballsy, like he had nothing to lose. And he knew...he knew EXACTLY how to get to him. That bothered Todd more than anything. Colin hardly even knew him, but he was dead-on right about him and Tea...and that made him dangerous.

As he sits there on the step, his breath coming out in steamy wisps, he remembers Tea, and the last time they were together...but god only knew where she was now. He rubs his face, realizing that Colin probably wasn't bluffing, either. He was going to go after her. The only way to stop him...was to find her before he did.

The race had begun.