Bo and West walk in, shaking off the rain as they walk up to the information desk. Bo looks over and spots Todd. He whispers to West, then walks over to the waiting area. He stops a few feet away, watching Todd silently, hands in his pockets. Todd turns, pacing back...he sees Bo and stops. They look at each other uncomfortably for a moment. Then Bo clears his throat, taking a step toward him.

"Um...any word on Tea?"

Todd tosses his hair, shaking his head as he squeezes the gel pack. Bo nods, stretching his neck as he takes a seat in front of Todd, letting out a long breath and rubbing his face.

Todd looks down at him. "Look tired, Buchanan."

Bo glances up at him, smirking. "Could say that, yeah...not as tired as YOU, I'm sure."

Todd sniffs, then looks behind him. Seeing a seat, he sits down, across from him. He leans forward, resting elbows on his knees, playing with the ice pack. Bo leans forward to match him. They sit in a surprisingly comfortable silence for a moment. Then Todd speaks, quietly, still staring at the ice pack.

"You find Sykes?"

Bo looks up, raising an eyebrow. He sighs. "Well...yeah...what's LEFT of him, anyway. Coroner's gonna have to use dental records...assuming they find any of his teeth."

Todd makes a face, his tone thoughtful. "All that blood...must've been his, huh?"

Bo nods, clicking his tongue. Todd looks up at him, eyes sharp.

"You KNOW he's the one that kidnapped my kid, don't you? I mean, that's why you're here."

Bo nods again, glancing away for a second, guiltily. He looks back, looking at him straight on.

"Well, needless to say, Blair's dropped the charges, and I, uh...I'm sorry about all that."

Todd blinks at him slowly, then nods, slightly, and looks down at his hands. Another short silence passes. Bo takes a deep breath, rubbing his eyes.

"...the hell happened back there, Manning? I never would've guessed in a million years that John would've done something stupid like this, especially after..."

He sighs, continuing. "...after Drew. I mean, I always knew he had a thing for Tea, but..."

Todd interrupts. "He was gonna kill me."

Bo stares at him as he looks back up, meeting his gaze. "Yeah, we fought, but...uh...well, he had the gun, y'know? ...and he was gonna splatter my brains all over Doc's floor. But Tea...she stopped him, and...and he just handcuffed me to the railing instead. And then he just..."

Todd makes a sweeping gesture with his hand, looking away now. "...just picked her up, and carried her out. I...I couldn't do anything."

Bo's face covers over with shock...and sympathy. He tries to think of something to say, but nothing comes. He sighs, finally, falling back in the chair, shaking his head in disbelief. Just then, the trauma doors open. They both look up, seeing one of the doctors walking out, a young man in his thirties. He tosses his used scrubs in the can, looking over at the waiting area. He sees them and starts to walk over. Todd and Bo both get up...Todd sprints over to him, and Bo follows, walking up beside him. The doctor stops, looking between them, confused.

"Uh...which one of you is Mr. Manning?"

Todd and Bo exchange embarrassed glances, almost cracking up, despite themselves. Bo rubs his face, trying not to laugh.

Todd looks back at the doctor. "Oh, me. That's me."

The doctor looks at Bo. "And you are?"

Bo jumps a little, surprised, then fishes around for his badge. He holds it up. "Oh, uh...Bo Buchanan. I'm the police commissioner back in Llanview."

The doctor nods, then looks back at Todd. "Uh huh. Well, um...I'm Doctor Powell. Just so you know what's happening with your wife..."

He trails off, looking over at Bo, still standing there. Todd looks between them, then runs a hand through his hair, shifting around.

"It's okay, uh...he probably should hear this anyway. I-I-Is she alright?"

Dr. Powell nods. "We've gotten her stabilized, and we're gonna move her down to x-ray. Her left arm and right leg are broken..."

Todd bites his lip, listening.

"...but we won't know how badly until we see the x-rays. There doesn't seem to be any serious head or neck injury...maybe some whiplash...and no indications of internal trauma, but I'm waiting on some test results. Your wife isn't pregnant, is she?"

Todd glances away, thinking. "No, I...I don't think so."

"Hmmm...well, I'll have them test her. We need to know that for sure before giving her the x-rays or any pain medication. So, let me get that going, and, uh...I'll let you know when we move her."

Todd nods at him as he starts to walk away. Then he suddenly holds up a hand. "Uh...Doc?"

He turns back. Todd shifts around, nervous. "She gonna be okay?"

Powell sees how worried he is...and smiles at him, nodding.

"Your wife must be a really tough lady, Mr. Manning. EMT's told me that was one of the worst wrecks they ever saw. So the fact that she made it at all...is a miracle. And other than the broken bones, and some really nasty cuts, I think she'll be fine. Uncomfortable for a while, but fine."

Todd lets out a long breath, somewhat relieved. Powell turns and walks back to the trauma room, leaving Todd and Bo standing there.

Bo leans over, whispering. "Thank God, huh?"

Todd looks at him, raising an eyebrow, nodding. Bo hesitates a moment, then gently pats his shoulder.

"I'll check back later...hang in there, man."

Todd watches him walk away, heading back toward the entrance. He paces around, bouncing with nervous energy.

It's the first quiet evening at home for Starr, who sits on the floor, leaning on the coffee table, scribbling away in a coloring book. Blair sits across from her, looking over some research for an article she's working on. The phone starts ringing...Starr gets up to answer it...Blair sees her and jumps up.

"No, no, sweetie. I'll get it."

Starr shrugs and sits back down. Blair takes a deep breath as she picks up the phone, expecting it to be another reporter.

"Yeah?"

On the other end, Todd does a take, then sighs. "Blair."

Her face pales. She stands there, speechless. Todd listens to the silence.

"Blair...hello?"

"Y-y-yeah..." She takes a deep breath. "Where are you?"

Todd turns around, phone to his ear, looking over at the x-ray room where Tea is now. He leans on the wall next to the phone.

"I'm, uh, at the hospital."

"You still in Montana?"

"Yeah."

Blair turns and looks at Starr, sighing. "Um...are you alright?"

Todd runs a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I'm fine. Delgado's not so good, but, uh...anyway. Long story."

"Did they catch Sykes?"

"Well...apparently there wasn't much left to catch after he wrecked."

Blair covers her mouth. "Listen, Todd, I'm..." She sighs. "I'm really sorry."

Starr's head snaps over, hearing her father's name. She jumps up and runs over, tugging on Blair's pants. Blair looks down at her, and smiles. On the other end, Todd hesitates, wanting to throttle Blair through the phone. He takes a few seconds to calm himself, then sniffs.

"Yeah, whatever. Can you put Shorty on?"

"Yeah. Here she is," Blair says quietly, as she hands the phone to Starr, who grabs it, beaming.

"DADDY!!!"

Todd shuts his eyes, stifling tears. He can barely talk. "Hey, there, Shorty."

Starr starts to babble, excitedly. "Daddy!! Oh, Daddy guess what happened it was so weird this guy came into my room and took me off to this hotel and I had to stay there for a while but Mommy and all these people came to get me..."

Blair keeps a hand over her mouth, misting up as she looks at her daughter, who's practically bursting with joy. On the other end, Todd listens to his daughter's rambling, eyes closed, still in shock.

"...it was kinda scary but I'm okay now and oh did Tee bring you that tape she said it would help you get better are you better now Daddy?"

It takes a second for him to notice that she's stopped talking. He opens his eyes.

"Oh...oh, I'm sorry. Did you ask me something?"

Starr rolls her eyes. "Yesssss."

Todd smiles...then actually laughs. "Oh...OOOPS. SOR--RY. Ask me again."

Blair cracks up as Starr strikes a pose, jutting her hip out and sticking a hand on it. She sighs impatiently.

"I SAID, are you better now?"

He hesitates, a million thoughts rushing through his head as he contemplates the question. His eyes seem faraway as he answers her quietly.

"Yeah...yeah, I think...I think I AM better now."

Starr jumps around, hyper now. "YAY!!" She looks at Blair. "Mommy!! Daddy's all better now!!"

Blair smiles big and wide at her little girl. "Oh, sweetie, that's...that's so great!"

"When are you coming home?"

Todd laughs to himself again. "Oh...well, uh...uh, listen...Starr...not for a little while yet."

She suddenly stops jumping. "But..."

"Just listen for a second..." He sighs. "...uh...I'm at a hospital now, with Tee...she's, uh...sh-she was in a...a car accident."

Starr's face crinkles up. "Ohhhh. Did she get hurt?"

Todd chews on his lip. "Yeah...yeah, she did. She broke a few bones."

Starr sticks a finger between her lips, concerned. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, yeah...don't worry, she'll be fine. But I...I have to stay here with her."

She takes the finger out of her mouth, then pushes her lips over to one side of her face, thinking.

"Okay...hmmm. Should I make another tape...one for Tee?"

Todd shuts his eyes, fighting back tears again. "Oh...you know, that...THAT is a GREAT idea. You should do that. Make a tape for her, and send it to us here. She'll get better in no time, and then, uh...and then we can come home."

Just then, the doors of the x-ray room open...Todd looks up as an orderly wheels Tea out into the hall.

"Sorry, Shorty, but I gotta go now."

Starr pouts a little, tugging on the phone cord. "Oh. Okay."

"Will you make that tape? I'm counting on you now."

She nods. "I will, I promise...Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"W-will you call me tomorrow?"

Todd smiles, nodding. "Yeah, I will. I will. You be good, okay? Take care of your mom...and make that tape."

"Okay. Bye. I love you."

The words wash over him like a wave. He can barely answer her. "...not as much as I love YOU."

Starr smiles, giggling. "'kay, bye."

She hangs up, looking at her mom with a wistful smile. Blair squats down, holding her arms out...Starr runs into them, hugging her tightly.

Todd hears the click, and shuts his eyes for a second. He rubs the receiver against his forehead, taking a deep breath. Then he hangs up, and looks over as Dr. Powell comes over to him.

"How you holdin' up?"

Todd rubs his face, sniffing. "Fine. So what now?"

"Well, it'll be a few minutes before I get the x-rays back. Then we'll get her casts made, and uh, get her into a room so she can rest."

"Okay...uh, Doc...you know if my shrink's okay?"

Powell makes a face. "Your shrink? Who's that?"

"Uh, I mean...Joely Atherton. I saw them taking her away."

Powell nods, getting it. "Oh...oh, yeah...I DID see them bringing her in. I didn't work on her myself, but...I could find out how she's doing, if you want."

Todd sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, yeah...that'd be great," he says, then suddenly looks up at him.

"Oh, so where's Delgado? Can I see her now?"

"Sure, yeah, she's right over there," Powell answers, pointing around the corner.

Todd goes running off before he can stop him. "Okay, thanks..."

"Oh, wait--"

Just then, his pager goes off...Powell looks down at it, then sighs. He looks after Todd, torn for a second, then rushes off to answer the page.

Todd dashes around the corner, skidding to avoid hitting the wall. The nurse standing next to the gurney looks up at him, as she takes Tea's pulse. He hurries over, practically jumping on the gurney with her.

"Delgado..."

The nurse sets Tea's arm back down gently, smiling at Todd a little as she walks back to the desk.

Todd stares down at Tea lying there, practically asleep. She looks at him, blinking slowly, with heavy eyelids.

He grabs her hand and squats down. "Hey..."

She turns her head slowly, and tries to smile, but it's not working. She shuts her eyes, squeezing his hand as she grimaces in pain. She swallows, trying to speak...Todd moves in closer.

She whispers to him. "If I move ANYTHING, it hurts."

"Then don't move."

She smiles, as much as she can...then takes a deep, labored breath, feeling discomfort, even in that.

"Ohhhh...this SUCKS."

He cracks up, rubbing her hand in his. "You sound like me now."

She smiles again, locking her eyes with his. His eyes mist up as he places her hand against his cheek. He holds it there, closing his eyes. She shuts her own eyes, weak and exhausted.

Just then, the orderly comes up, tapping Todd on the shoulder. He looks up.

"Uh, sorry, but...I gotta take her down to get her casts made."

"Oh...okay. I'll go with you."

The orderly hits the foot brake, and starts to wheel her down the hall. Todd walks alongside, still holding her hand. They get to the elevator, and the orderly pushes the down button. They stand there for a minute, waiting.

Todd looks down at Tea, who's dozed off...her hand resting limp in his. He gazes at the bruises and cuts on her face, as he sandwiches her hand between both of his, rubbing it gently. Overcome with simultaneous grief, joy and stress...a few tears escape, rolling quickly down his face. He sniffs, wiping his face before anyone can see.