A young male's voice, sing-songy loud and pissed off...wakes Tea up. She opens her eyes, and squints...listening...trying to recognize...

"...this time I'm 'a let it all come out...this time I'm 'a stand up and shout...I'm 'a do things my way..."

Ugh...rap...I hate rap, she thinks, as she sits up, slowly...her joints stiff and bent from sleeping in an odd position. As she straightens up, she looks around...and suddenly realizes she doesn't know where she is. This was a different place entirely...a run-down house with graffiti all over the walls. The only light is from a fire, burning somewhere out in the hall. The smell of the smoke mixed with other nasty odors, stings her nose. She stands up quickly, trying to get her bearings...

...then she realizes something else...that it isn't unfamiliar at all. She's been here before. Her mouth falls open as she looks around again, and the place reintroduces itself, sending a flood of bad memories back through her. A hard breath catches in her throat as she runs out of the room and down the hall, frantically looking for the way out.

"God...no...no..." she whispers, as she runs and runs...but the hallway just keeps going, stretching out for miles in front of her. She becomes aware of another sound, underneath the deafening rap...a woman? Someone...crying out. Tea stops, trying to find the source...then she hears it again, coming from a room just in front of her...a girl's muffled crying...

"Help me!!!!"

Tea's breath catches again, as she walks toward the sound, cautiously. She hears struggling, more crying...muffled...as if the girl were gagged, her mouth covered. Tea shuts her eyes, afraid to see what's going on...but knowing she must. The rap continues on over it all, hiding the sounds of resistance, as Tea cranes her neck, peering into the room. She hears a loud, fleshy SLAP! which makes her jump. Her eyes open again, wide...staring into the room, at the girl on the floor...her face turned to one side, reeling from the hit. A man...no...a teenager...a boy...hovers over her, whispering to her. The girl cries, still trying to squirm and struggle her way out of his grasp. But he holds her in, his body doubling as a sort-of cage.

No...please...let me go!!! she cries...but the boy just laughs at her, whispering to her again.

Tea stands outside the door, swallowing hard...trying to get up the nerve to intervene. She looks at the boy, long and hard...finding something familiar about him, even though she's never seen him before. Longish, light-colored hair hides his face; and dark, dingy clothes hang loosely on his scrawny frame. Tea swallows again...finding herself getting angrier, as she watches him terrorize the girl.

HEY!! she finally yells, with a volume and strength that carries over all the noise...just like a mother. The girl looks right over, crying now with relief. The boy takes longer though, turning his head slowly, deliberately. And Tea's breath catches in her throat once again, when he finally makes eye contact with her...

...because it's as if...she's looking at herself. The face that faces her...is her own...but not entirely. Her features...mixed with someone else's. The boy grins...malicious, with a rage that lights his eyes green, blue and brown all at the same time.

Just like Todd's.

...oh my god...

....I'm a' do things my way...it's my way...my way, or the highway…

*****

Tea coughs, almost choking as she bolts up in the bed. Eyes still closed, she freezes immediately...afraid to see where she might be now. She breathes hard, open-mouthed and panicked, as she opens her eyes. Then her shoulders start to relax, dropping down as she recognizes the room...the tiny house...her hiding place, deep in the middle of nowhere. She brings her knees up under the covers, to support her elbows as she buries her head and cries for a moment...purging the nightmare.

Then she hears a soft gurgling...the unmistakable sound of the babies. She looks up, toward the small, portable crib on the floor in front of the fireplace. Through the mesh net, she can see the boys lying there, legs kicking, arms flailing...doing what babies do. Sniffling, Tea looks at her watch to see how long she'd been asleep...wondering how long they'd been awake. Had she neglected them? Had they been crying? She wonders as she throws the covers off and quickly moves over to them, bending down to scoop Evan up...always attending to the needy one first. The baby makes a high-pitched cooing noise, like a bird, as she hugs him.

"Oh, god...I'm sorry," she whispers...burying her face in his little shoulder, comforting herself as well as him. Evan kicks happily, seemingly content for a change, as she looks down at Brendan. When she makes eye contact with him, with those steady eyes of his...her stomach drops.

It was him...his eyes...they were his eyes she'd seen.

She takes a deep breath, reaching in to touch him; but she finds herself actually hesitating for a second. She has to close her eyes, and clear her head with another deep breath to get her hand to go all the way down, and touch the baby's tummy. Once she does, though, his softness and warmth go right up her arm, erasing the horrible images of her nightmare. She relaxes a little, rubbing his belly soothingly...while Brendan opens his mouth wide, in the way babies usually show their approval...his eyes lighting up green-blue-brown...but with happiness, with recognition of her...not a trace of anger. Relieved, Tea smiles, as she squeezes his toes affectionately, then looks over toward the window, seeing streaks of light cutting through the musty curtains. Shifting Evan around onto her other shoulder, Tea walks over and peeks out, squinting at the drab, cloudy-day light. She sees the gravel drive, the trees beyond, the tall weeds all around the house...about all there is to see.

She sighs, coming away from the window...patting Evan's back as she puts him back down next to Brendan. Then she opens the bedroom door, making a face when it squeaks. She steps lightly out into the main room, trying to be quiet, as she heads for the kitchen to cook up some formula for the boys. She looks over toward the couch, where she assumes Dean is sleeping...as her hand reaches for a small pot on a shelf.

PA-PING! CRASH!

Tea cringes, as the pot clatters to the floor, and the noise dies down. She looks over at the couch, expecting him to jump up. But he doesn't. In fact, nothing happens. She makes a face, bending down to pick up the pot...then she walks over toward the couch, and makes another face when she sees he's not there. It only takes one look to either side of her to see that she's alone. So she grabs her coat, and runs outside, to the back of the house, where the car was.

Was. Not anymore. Tea sighs harshly, throwing her hands up in frustration. Her breath comes out in steamy clouds, as she looks all around, uselessly...knowing he certainly wasn't hiding in the woods or anything. Nope...she was alone. Stranded. Trapped. She almost starts to cry, but anger pulls the tears back. She looks up at the sky, then down at the woods...featureless, surrounding her like a fortress. She and the boys are at least a hundred miles from the nearest town, and at least five or ten from the nearest house.

She is, in the classic sense...fucked.

With a low grumble, Tea kicks at the gravel as she turns and storms back into the house, slamming the door behind her.

*****

Sure it took him a while to figure it out, to dig up this one piece of the puzzle, but he feels closer to Tea because of it, closer to learning where she had run off to, and that's what mattered…yeah, yeah. He can't remember exactly what triggered the final connection - maybe it was the scent of mildew-covered concrete on her mystical skin, or the way the funeral moonlight belly-danced in the gloss of her dead eyes, eyes that saw him through prison walls, across barbed wire. Could have even been her bony structure...ankles, ribs, hips, skin-covered ivory digging into his flesh, a skinny body thanks to anemic prison food. Or maybe it was the feel of metal handcuffs scraping down his back...ankle cuffs cold against his calves.

That's right, the whole picture had smashed together in one brutalizing moment, somewhere between his wrecked bedroom, and the unconscious Randall James laid out on the living room floor, spat upon. He needs more, though...more information, more proof... more.

"Sorry about that shit, man," Todd mumbles to himself, glancing up at a blackish cloud shifting above him. "Had no choice, Gannon - you were in my way."

The Llantano County Women's Correctional Facility disfigures the looming skyline in front of him, graying the emerald hills and muddying serene country estates. Government-sanctioned hell, Todd sniffs, leaning back against the door of his truck as he considers prison life...remembering, preparing to step back into that world. Even if for just a short time. He will need everything inside of him - he'll need all that power. Fingering the bruise on his neck, he inhales the cool air and relaxes...lets his mind wander...lets it drift away, swirling around his still body, quick as a snake in water. But then that snake grows wings and rises up dragon-like into the sky, a wild plume of energy piercing the clouds, turning mid-air and crashing down in a burst of sparks and light - landing invisibly before Roseanne Delgado.

"And so she shows herself," he breathes.

Strange the way he can sense her, because he doesn't exactly "see" her...no, it is more of a vivid, spatial awareness. Every detail of her sharp-featured face presses into him, her black hair flaps in the breeze and swipes at his face...the bright prison jumpsuit covering up her familiar bony figure. An old tattoo on the inside of her forearm hisses itself to him, "Dreamgirl." Smallish black letters marching a goose step across perfect buttery skin. She grins, smirks, but then becomes serious and suddenly, she looks him directly in the eyes.

"Ohhh, look...it's my cemetery lover," she whispers. "You've found ME, but what about THEM? Can you hear your babies crying, Todd? Can you see their sweet bellies, their bitable toes?" A chuckle belts out into a laugh, almost a cackle, as she concludes:

"No...I BET you CAN'T."

Poof, the vision disintegrates and Todd shakes his head, thinking he dreamt the pictures - he knows better, though. He had seen Roseanne just now, had stood in front of her and she had seen him. Anger simmers in the pit of his stomach, he knowing, just knowing how close he is to evil's teat, it offering a sugary suck. Let me taste the milk if only a drop, he thinks, enough to shut her up, enough to… How dare she mention his boys...that bitch, that serpentine, coveting, sick bitch.

He raises his hands, sees them shaking - he isn't getting through this unscathed. His own hatred has once again burned a hole in his heart and it's weakened him. It had forced Tea to take herself and their boys away, she escaping what must have been her own imprisonment, he the warden, he the bars themselves. Good reason - what he'd done to Starr, his reaction, must have scared her something harsh, because that look on her face said it all, told him how ugly he was, how...monstrous. He'd run, too, if he could. If he could crawl out of himself, he'd slither away and be free. He'd do it.

Straightening up, he rubs his rough chin with the back of his hand...his tongue running along the inside of his cheek, chasing around a bullet of anxiety. Slowly, he trudges across the lot, gravel crunching beneath his feet. He walked a similar route before, crossed ruined county asphalt when he'd been released from the men's facility. He had a lot of hope in those days, thinking of another woman. Thinking she'd love him, she'd free him. He remembers the crushed hope, too - not so different from what he feels now.

"No woman can save you, Manning," he reminds himself as he looks left and right, absorbing the length of the building - its seeming impenetrability. "It's gotta come from you...inside of you." Takes a deep breath.

The massive iron gate rolls open, and a hefty guard approaches him, snarling, "State your business."

"I'm here on visitation - I want to see prisoner Roseanne Delgado."

"You family?"

"Extended - she's my sister-in-law. Bringing her news."

The man regards Todd suspiciously. Chews on his fat lip a moment and then nods him in. "'spect to be searched. Don't be shy."

"Yeah...right."

The thought of a cop's hands poking at him makes him edgy and he swallows back the hesitation. Reaches deep and forces himself to forget about it - reminds himself of those "sweet bellies and bitable toes." Dips himself in the madness and focuses his attention where it belongs - on Roseanne. He gets stopped at the next checkpoint.

The guard checks his identification, flipping the card front and back - then types Todd's name into the computer. After a second, he then looks back up, a strange little grin playing on thin lips. "Todd Manning. Nice name...nice RECORD."

"Mmm...glad our U.S. of A. is still hiring LITERATES to work our beloved prison system."

The guard gives him an unimpressed, 'hardy-har-har' look. "Hands behind your head, Mr. Manning. Spread 'em." He then adds, too close to Todd's ear, "Welcome home."

"Fucker," Todd grumbles, shaking his head as he assumes the familiar stance of hands raised and feet apart - hands patting him, checking for contraband. Todd grunts at the intrusion - hating this place, hating being under a cop's screws again, even this way.

The guard backs away and stares Todd down. "You carrying?"

"Yeah - a lot of patience."

"Y'know, I COULD strip-search you. Your record entitles me to do that---"

"I'm not carrying anything other than the clothes on my back and my wallet and my keys," Todd replies, abruptly cutting him off.

Another guard snorts arrogantly, and then after a moment or two, motions for the first guard to wave Todd through...adding that quitting time was near, and that Delgado wasn't a known druggie...so contraband wasn't likely to be found, as fun as a strip-search might be. The doors unlocked noisily and in seconds, Todd follows another officer down a series of barred hallways, a disconcerting silence surrounding them.

"Well...this is your lucky day," the guard says as they walk, with a distinct lack of emotion. "They just finished putting in the new visiting room. No more chatting through bulletproof glass."

Todd eyes him, taking the information in, as they get to the end of the hall. The new guard stops and says, "Wait here - this gate'll buzz open. And remember...no funny business. NO TOUCHING. Just talking." Then he walks away, leaving Todd alone. He lets out a heavy sigh of odd relief at that, and grabs onto the bars. Leans forward to feel the coolness of them against his cheeks...their familiarity. A mere closing of his eyes, and it is him behind the bars, hitting his head against the metal to be let out, begging to be released...teeth biting skin and the taste of blood filling his mouth...so very alone. Standing tall again, he shoos away the images, the memories. No time for self-pity, no time, no time.

Then a startling, buzzing sound rings out and the gate slides open, a door opening beyond that. His nose wrinkles at the smell of new paint as he walks into a large, bright room, eyeing the ten or so tables scattered throughout, chairs flanking each side. A few guards stand at various points, almost statuesque with their automatic rifles pointed towards the ceiling. No other visitors, though. Todd sits down at one of the tables - facing the door where Roseanne would soon be shuffled through. Taps his fingers against the already scratched-up, painted steel.

The door clanks open, and there she is in all her trussed glory: black hair pulled back into a barely-there ponytail, a skeletal body inside an orange jumpsuit, an inmate number stamped on the pocket. Wrists handcuffed together, hands limp in front of her. Roseanne can barely muster a sneer, as her trepidation plays out chaotically in her eyes. She looks at him strangely, like she's surprised he's actually there...like she'd seen him coming, but hadn't really been expecting him. He likes that.

"The hell do YOU want?" she grumbles.

Todd rakes his eyes up and down her figure and grins. "Is that any way to greet me, your only 'brother-in-law?' Your 'friend?'"

"Oh, fuck you, you sick bastard," she fires back, then she screams out to the guards. "This sonofabitch isn't my brother-in-law!! Arrest him!!"

"Shut up, Delgado...and siddown," one of the monotone guards responds.

Todd chuckles, "Oh, they SO respect you."

With a disgusted sigh, she plops into the hard chair across from him and hisses, "What do you want?"

"I want to know where Tea is."

She laughs uproariously, finally settling in and staring at him straight on. "Awww, what's the matter, Bo Beep? Lost your SHEEP?"

"Something like that. I think you know where she is...and I want you to tell me."

He watches her lips rub together, a reddish tip of a serpentine tongue wetting them. Then, words slip out, venom spraying towards him. "Mmmm...well, do the words, 'cold day in hell' mean anything to you?"

The air about them suddenly calms...a hesitation similar to the seconds before a rocky tide washes out to sea in a rush of speed. The guards poise themselves to shoot...they are stilled though - time holds them back against the walls, an unseen force pinning them in place. Nothing moves, no sounds intrude from the outside, no sounds from inside. Todd has reached across the table, feet planted firmly on the ground, energy balled up tight - one of his hands has gotten hold of a chunk of Roseanne's hair, the ponytail unraveling. The other hand grips the front of her jumpsuit, pulling it, clenching it into his tightening fist. It's as if a string has been strung right through her, and her chest juts forward, she a fish caught by a hunter.

Roseanne glares back at him, but it's only a show of fury...because behind the fire lurks fear. Todd growls, close, so close to her, "Not so tough now, huh? Cemetery lover of mine."

Her eyes wander to the side, and she sees the frozen men - there's no one to help her. Oba is far, far away now, ill from something...something big, hidden...sicker than anyone can say. She probably doesn't even know about this meeting. The guards…why don't they come, why don't they stop him? She can feel his body, she can feel the radiating energy, the power...almost electrical. And her eyes widen slightly, realizing that he's the one who's stopped the guards, whether he knows it or not. They can't see her, they can't move...and neither can she.

"Talk to me...talk to me..." he says.

"A dream...it was a dream you had," she sputters.

"Nah---ain't no dream."

"You're making more out of this than there really is," she replies, calmly, trying to refocus.

"Stop dancing, you voodoo BITCH!! TALK!!!!"

"You're powerless against me."

"You think so?"

She then notices the bite mark on his neck, and realizes that she had done that to him...and she can remember the taste of his skin, the smell of whiskey on his breath, everywhere. "You're NOTHING in comparison to me," she says, new triumph lacing her words.

But something comes to him...and his eyes brighten even more, throwing her off again. He yanks her closer to him, yanks her hard and she grunts - pain maybe. He then asks, smooth as syrup dripping over her body, "Yeah? Where's my bite on YOU?? Hmm?"

"NOWHERE...you motherfucker," she hisses back.

"Oh, come on, tell me, tell me where I bit you ... here? On your neck?" he purrs, kissing her neck, no...it's more like nibbling. He chuckles as he does it, because he can hear her tortured groan...because she can't fight him. "Or is it HERE?" He's at the base of her throat now, vibrating with her animal-like groan...her head is forced backwards, and he licks her skin.

"Come on...come, little lamb...come to Mary...my little, little lamb," he teases, readjusting his hold on her as he drags her up onto the table. She lies flat, shivering like a fish...a fish, flopping about as the hunter's about to gut it. She starts to scream, her body shaking with building fury.

"Ooooh...she's so MAD," he sighs, as he straddles her on the table now, pulling at her jumpsuit, searching her for the markings he knows he left on her. He finally finds it, black-and-blue teeth marks on her shoulder...and he pops up, his eyes blazing, he laughing, "I was there...oh yeah...I was on you, my sweet, spirited mate!"

"Get OFF me...you fuckin' BASTARD!!" she yells, and suddenly, the room sizzles with a new energy...and Todd looks around him, his eyes quick and aware. The windows begin to rattle and Roseanne sits up, moving now, able to fight now. They are face to face, he on his knees, one knee pressing down on each side of her.

"You're an impotent, worthless, NOTHING of a human," she says, between bit-down teeth, "YOU...are refuse...leftover shit."

He smirks slightly at her, stunned in truth. He tries to answer, but nothing comes out. He wants to push her back down, rip into her, make her pay...hurt her. But he can't seem to make it happen. A strangely warm wind picks up around them suddenly, swirling...distorting space...the sound of chimes in the wind catch his attention and he, animal-like too, looks about again, for the maker of the sounds. Then he looks back at Roseanne, whose big eyes are closed...as if she's meditating...

"Sand beneath your boots, your coat flaps in wild wind." Roseanne is talking to him, it seems, and he's mesmerized by her words, he hangs on to them...waiting, waiting. The windows continue to shake, as if a storm pounds at them, threatening to smash them into a million pieces, an unstoppable rain of glass about to happen.

"Listen, my sweet, listen to their songs of sadness...tears on their faces, the new tears of babies...shhhhh...don't be scared of the man who approaches them. He can only offer peace and the light of heaven."

Todd's eyes mist over, and he watches her lips, so pretty...so pretty as they part and sing to him. He reaches for them and she delicately backs away, eyes open now, getting out from underneath him. He falls back onto his haunches, paralyzed by her power...her endless power.

"Can you see yourself, my lover? Can you see how you tower over the children in their cradles?"

"Yes," he whispers, because he can see himself, he can see himself vividly. He can see his long, untamed hair, he can see the raincoat protecting him against that wind on the beach, and he can see the palm trees whipping about. And then...above all, he can see Brendan and Evan in their cradles...the cradles roll back and forth, and the precious boys are crying...oh they're crying.

"You want to pick them up, don't you?"

"Yes...I can help them."

"Oh yes...of course you can...you will help them. You will pick them up..." She smiles, grinning at him...the sounds of the room keep getting louder, and louder. Todd covers his ears because they hurt and he can see more now...

"You're picking them up, my lover, with your powerful hands...powerful hands, closing around their throats, my lover..." Her voice has changed, now...and Todd can see it all so clearly, can see himself jerking the little ones up by their throats and they dangle so loosely, so dangerously.

"No..." he groans and can't breathe. "Stop..." he gasps.

"Ohhhh...NOW look who's so tough...my sugary pet...my little lamb."

He tries to look at her, tries to gather his strength except it's like being trapped in tar...his feet can't move, his arms are stiff, tied down. He can only gaze at her, trying...trying so hard to get to her.

"You're killing them, Todd..." she continues, "...right in front of Tea. Imagine that...your wife...your beautiful wife...is watching you kill her very own children. Do you see now what she's been seeing all along? She had to run from you...because she knows what you're capable of. You and I...we fuck in the mausoleum because *I*...am NOT afraid of you...because *I* can cripple you - I enjoy crippling you. I am SO much more than you...you little...piece...of...shit."

At that, Todd manages to break loose from his hypnotic daze and he pushes her off the table - shoving her hard to the ground. He scrambles to his feet, intent on doing what he has to do to shut her up, to shut her poison mouth...to punish her for hurting Tea because it's obvious now, why Tea ran. Tea saw him kill her boys, a picture planted in her mind by Roseanne...and she saw him so angry with Starr...which only made the image more real.

But a light zips through the room just then, lightning really...and it halts his advance on Roseanne. They both freeze - waiting ... waiting...because it's so loud in the room now, the windows, the walls, everything is screaming, wailing...and then a blast of thunder explodes along with glass. The thick windows burst apart at last, and rain down on top of everyone.

They all dive for cover, protecting themselves - the guards, Roseanne, and Todd...they all cower under the tables until the sounds of sprinkling glass slows...and stops. Within seconds, Todd finds himself pushed down on his stomach, being handcuffed, his face shoved against the glass bits on the floor. Another large guard jerks Roseanne to her feet, hauling her bony butt up with one hand. Roseanne shakes the glass out of her hair, her eyes drawn to the blown-out windows, as the real rain pours in now, scattering on the wind. It starts to rain, right there inside the room.

Roseanne just stares...blinking, as the raindrops spit and spatter on her face, getting in her eyes. She sucks her lips in, tasting it...tasting the rain...but...something about it isn't right, like...it doesn't belong there. It's not the clean-tasting rain of the country hills where they are...

...it's a dirty, metallic-tasting rain...city rain...

She turns her eyes to Todd, who's across the room now. They stare each other down again, then slowly, a knowing grin spreads over Roseanne's face, as she blinks the rain out of her eyes. Todd watches her with a strange look, he too, blinking the rain out of his face. She knows something...goddammit, I KNEW IT...she DOES KNOW, that fuckin' bitch…

Roseanne starts giggling at him...then laughing, out of control as Todd strains against the guards holding him back.

"Oh, baby..." she taunts, from across the room. "...don't you know? She's with HIM!! She's with Dean Shelton, my pet!! And it'll be a cold day in hell when YOU'LL be able to stop them from loving each other..." she yells, as the guards start to drag her out of the room.

"...open as sunlight on sand, baby!! And bright as blood!! He'll be fucking her...RIGHT IN YOUR FACE, ASSHOLE!!" Her voice disappears into the depths of the prison.

"C'mon!! Get the fuck up!" someone yells, and Todd is jerked to his feet. The same guard spits, "What the hell do you think this IS??"

"Huh?" Todd asks, confused. Not sure what he's done...what the guards saw...or what HE saw.

"I told you no touching - and there you were, grabbing for her...idiot. You're lucky that storm came - I dunno WHAT you thought you were going to get away with," he grumbles as he grabs Todd, and they walk out, down the hall. Todd drops his head down, and...

...Dean...Dean Shelton...oh my god, oh my god... is all he can think.

*****

A single pair of headlights swirls along the wet road, as Dean navigates the twists and turns leading him back to the house. He yawns, shaking his head to wake himself up, and looking all around to keep himself from getting hypnotized by the road. The sky was darkening, going from light gray to a darker, blue-ish gray...and he half-laughs at how he has to gauge the grays to determine what time of day it is. Just then, it starts to rain...again...and Dean sighs, disgusted, as he hits the wipers...flip, flop, flip, flop...

God, I can't wait to get outta here...can't wait 'til this stupid job is over, he thinks, running a hand through his hair, growing longer on top now. A fleeting thought about another cut and dye job, then back to the road, stretching out in front of him. He suddenly sees Tea's face in his mind, at the horizon line...the end of the road...

...home?

He rolls his eyes at that. Stupid. The house is just a way station...a hiding spot for both of them. When the job's done, he'll disappear...and Tea...Tea would undoubtedly find somewhere else to go, whether it was back to that mental-patient husband of hers, or someplace else entirely. So it would be stupid of him to even think...

...think what? WHAT are you thinkin', genius? That she's gonna run away with YOU? He half-laughs again, not believing he's having this conversation with himself...again. But he couldn't deny that several times during the day, as he pored over blueprints and schematics, as he immersed himself in the details of the job...he'd thought about her. He sighs, glancing around...getting closer to the house now. Tonight would be the first time they'd have to spend an entire evening in each other's orbit...voluntarily. Man...talk about weird, he thinks, trying to think of things to talk about.

Then he shakes his head, answering himself. Nothing to say. No...he wouldn't be the one to start chatting away like an idiot. This wasn't any kind of 'normal' relationship, anyway...so 'normal' things wouldn't apply. No...best to stay quiet...and let her think. That's what she'd come there for, anyway...not for him, or his conversational skills. He sighs again, staring back out at the road...and he makes a face, squinting...seeing something up ahead.

It looks like somebody walking toward him, but he couldn't see well enough yet. He slows down as he approaches, curious...finding it odd to see anyone taking a walk in this god-forsaken place. He gets closer...and as the car coasts by, he sees someone bundled up, carrying what looks like two big baskets, or something. He passes them, continuing on down the road for a bit...looking in the rearview mirror.

That's weird…

The person starts to disappear into the mushy darkness, blending in. Dean looks back at the road, but is edgy now...bothered...

...oh, shit…

Dean slams on the brakes, and throws it in reverse, speeding backwards along the slippery road. Up ahead, Tea hears the squealing brakes and turns around. She sees the car coming back toward her, and starts panicking. Is it him? She doesn't know...she can't remember what kind of car he has. It could be him...or it could be some psycho...or it could be some nice person just wanting to help. She was so confused now...so uncertain, so afraid...

...oh, shit...what do I do?

She looks down at the boys' seats, weighing heavily on her. She'd only been walking for maybe a half-hour...but already, she was cold, and tired...and now it was raining. The twins are completely covered with blankets, but she knows they have to be freezing, too. It was crazy to be out here with them...but as hour after hour had passed, she became convinced...that she'd been stranded. Left to her own devices...left to die...just...left. The only thing she could think of to do was to just start walking, find the nearest house, and call...someone.

"...ohgod...please help me..." she whispers, as the car comes to a stop in front of her. All she could do now was pray...pray that whoever was inside would help her. She swallows hard, and stares intently at the window, unable to see inside. Then the car door opens...and Dean gets out. Tea's eyes widen, and her mouth drops open, instantly relieved...and infuriated. A cloud of her steamy breath covers his face as he looks back at her, with eyes just as wide.

"What...what're you doing out here? Are you NUTS?" he says, reaching for one of the seats...but she recoils, tripping backward with the twins' weight. Dean stares at her, confused...then he steps toward her again. And again, she steps back, into the tall weeds beside the road.

"Tea...what's the matter with you? You're gonna freeze to death...c'mon..." he says, trying to help her with the boys yet again. But Tea snatches the seat back, glaring at him.

"Why did you leave me??" she yells, angry...but relieved, too.

Dean does a take, haunted by that question...one that she had asked him before. It sends a chill through him, colder than the air. Shaking it off, he suddenly realizes why she's asking it now.

"Ohh...shit," he sighs, putting his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you where I was going, okay?"

Tea stares at him, unsure, as a soft cry floats up from one of the seats...Evan, expressing his discomfort. She sighs, feeling sick to her stomach with guilt. Her head drops down, as warm tears mix with the rain on her cold skin.

"I thought you left me," she says, softly, still looking at the ground. Then she sniffs, as she lifts her head, switching gears rapidly, too rapidly...sick-sad-scared-angry...

"Do you know what I've been through all day?? Huh?? DO YOU?? I have NO idea where the fuck I am, and you go and LEAVE! Without a word, without a note, NOTHING!! I didn't know where you were, or if you were ever gonna come back!! How could you DO that?? What were you thinking??!!"

Dean's mouth falls open a bit, surprised at her sudden lashing out. "Tea, I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to SCARE you, I just...I..." he starts, stuttering, then finally shrugging. Tea nods, laughing in a pissed-off way, mocking his shrug.

"You just...what? Figured I'd just KNOW?? I'm not a fucking mind-reader!!"

Now it's Dean's turn to laugh right back at her. "What is WITH you? Look, I screwed up, okay?? I should have said something or wrote you a note, but I didn't. I wasn't THINKING anything. So...I'M SORRY, okay? Can we just..." he says, gesturing toward the car.

Tea hesitates, downshifting from angry back to scared for a second...considering, debating with herself. Should I trust him? Do I have a choice? Evan's crying gets a little louder now, more insistent, and suddenly, all thoughts turn to the fact that she's endangering her children's lives, and that she's done nothing BUT endanger them for the last two days, despite all her good intentions. Frustration...directed at herself, and anyone else in range...

"No..." she replies, firmly. "...no...fuck you."

Tea turns on her heel and starts walking again, slowly. Dean watches her go for a second, stunned...then he quickly reaches into the car and shuts it off, grabbing the keys before chasing after her.

"Hey!! What the...Tea, would you STOP??" he yells. Tea keeps going for a few steps, out of spite...and only spite, since she had no clue where she was going or what she was doing. But finally, she tires again, and puts the boys down. Dean walks around her, cautious...keeping a distance. Then he gets in front of her and stops, looking at her lowered head...hearing her labored breaths, seeing them in the air.

"Alright..." he says, quietly. "Would you just...tell me WHY you're doing this?"

The sound that comes from her seems like a laugh...a tired, fed-up one. She looks up at him, tears and rain freezing on her face.

"I made a BIG mistake in coming here. That's obvious to me now. I can't trust you. Seems I can't trust anybody," she replies...suddenly realizing how much she sounds like...Todd.

Dean makes a face at her, mystified. "What?? Ohh, y'know...you gotta stop, okay? Just...STOP."

Tea makes the same face back at him, as he continues. "Think about what you're doing, okay? About where you are, RIGHT NOW. You...are out in the middle of nowhere, in a country you've never been to, it's probably about forty degrees out here, and it's only gonna get colder. AND...you have two kids with you. Two BABIES. So excuse ME, but what, in the FUCK...are YOU thinking??"

Her jaw sets, changing her face from confused back to enraged, just like that. But Dean holds up a finger, not done yet.

"I'm not gonna bullshit around with you, Tea. I know you've been through a lot, but...you're being stupid...and reckless. I mean, look at your kids! They're gonna catch fuckin' pneumonia if you don't get them back inside. And so will you."

Tea's expression changes again, to surprised now. Exasperated, Dean sighs, grabbing the two seats away from her.

"Look, you..." he says, with a soft laugh, "...have NOTHING to fear from ME, okay? For the millionth time, I want to HELP you...and that's all. But if you still think you can't trust me, then, fine. Get in the car, I'll drive you to Heathrow right now, and you can go home. Or...wherever."

The rain hits the ground around them softly, as a strange and powerful silence passes between them. Tea looks at him, speechless...she feels as if he just reached out, and shook her awake. Everything around her seems clearer now, colder, and more real. And she realizes, fast...that he's right. So she nods, giving over and following him back to the car without another word. He opens the door for her, and as she gets in the back with the twins, he bends down to look at her. Tea tries to ignore him for a moment, busying herself with the boys' hands and faces, trying to warm them up. But she feels his eyes on her as she puts Brendan's little hand to her cheek, kissing it.

"So...where are we goin'?" he asks.

Tea rolls her eyes upward, feeling more tears coming. Then she looks at Brendan, who stares back at her with his father's eyes. She shakes her head, sniffling, an ache inside of her ... tap, tapping. But she can't think about it now... don't listen to it, she tells herself. Bigger things to worry about ... smaller things. The babies. Not him ... no ... she repeats, over and over, getting lost in her son's eyes...thinking she sees a flicker there, a spark of orangey-red...just for an instant.

"Guess I don't have much of a choice."

"You always have a choice."

She laughs. "Yeah...right."

Dean tips his head slightly, looking at her with a sort-of amusement. "Look, Tea...you're making this a lot more complicated than it has to be."

Her eyes dart over to him at that, finally looking at him. "Yeah, well. My LIFE is pretty damned complicated at the moment...and I just...I don't know if I'm doing the right thing."

He takes that in...takes her in, lingering on her tear-stained face, as the rain falls with a gentle patter. Then he shrugs, giving up with a slight shake of his head. "Fine. Airport it is," he says, starting to shut the door.

A million choices rush through Tea's brain at once...spinning madly on a wheel of fortune, too fast to see clearly. But she knows she must make a choice...and make it now. Reach out...and stop the wheel.

"Dean."

He stops, looking back in...both of them suddenly taken aback, their worlds having just changed with that one little word.

"Just...let me know where you're going next time...okay?" she asks, softly.

Dean almost smiles, feeling a sudden, almost dizzying rush of relief. He doesn't nod, or say anything...he just looks at her. And Tea finds that she's not uncomfortable with it anymore. Because things are different now...it's not kidnapper-to-hostage anymore...it's more like...

...friend-to-friend.

She holds his gaze for a second, then turns her attention back to the boys, lifting a fussing Evan out of his seat and cradling him. Dean watches her for another moment...then nods, to himself, as he shuts the door, and takes them back to the house.

To Be Continued...