Tea approaches the doors of Llanfair, sets her bag down and rings the bell. She takes a quick look around as she waits...she hasn't been there in so long.

The door opens and Tea turns around to find Viki smiling at her. There's a silence as the two women stand there, admiring each other. Tea's famous smile appears.

"Hey, Viki..."

Viki steps forward, opening her arms. "Tea..."

Tea walks into her arms and they stand there, hugging for a moment, like two long-lost friends, before separating and pausing to just look at each other again.

"It's SO good to see you again, sweetie," Viki says, reaching up and pushing some of Tea's hair behind her ear, like the mother she is.

Tea cracks up, rolling her eyes and dropping her tone to sound dumb. "Thaaaanks, Mom..."

Viki laughs, slapping her on the arm as she pulls Tea inside. "Get in here."

Viki gets up from the little table in the kitchen and walks over to the coffee maker on the counter.

She reaches up and grabs two mugs out of a cabinet.

"Cream? Sugar?"

"Yes, please." Tea sits back in the chair, relaxing somewhat after a nice home-cooked meal.

"Where IS everybody? I kinda figured this was gonna be the full-on dining room deal."

Viki laughs as she stirs the coffee. "Oh, no...actually that hardly ever happens anymore. Kevin's at the office, of course...Joey...I think he might be over there too, and Jess is out with Cristian, so..."

She walks back to the table and hands Tea her mug as she sits down.

"...it's usually just me and the housekeeper until they all get home."

Tea nods, sitting up and putting her elbows on the table as she sips her coffee. Their eyes meet, and there's a short silence, as they both realize it's time to get down to business. Viki takes a sip, and sighs. Tea decides to start, as she's busting with curiosity anyway.

"So...you've talked to him?"

Viki shakes her head. "No, but I got it."

Tea does a take. "Got...what?"

Viki does one too, assuming Tea already knows. Then she looks at her face...it's pretty blank.

"Well...you told me you got it too."

"Hold up." Tea throws her hands up, realizing that they're probably NOT talking about the same thing. She grabs her purse, takes the key out and holds it up.

"I got THIS for Christmas..." Then she reaches into her pocket as Viki looks on, perplexed.

She takes out the puzzle piece. "...which led to THIS. THAT'S what *I* got."

Viki puts a hand to her mouth, then shrugs. "What IS that?"

"It's...uh...long story. But somehow I don't think THIS is what you're talking about."

"Wait...I'm confused now...hold on a sec."

Viki gets up from the table and walks through the swinging door, coming back after a moment with the envelope and plane ticket. She puts the ticket down in front of Tea.

"THIS is what *I* got...this morning." She sits back down and holds up the envelope. "And THIS."

Tea's totally baffled. "...a plane ticket?"

Viki nods as she opens the other envelope. "I wanted to wait until you got here to open this."

Tea looks on as Viki takes out what looks like a note. A business card falls out, and Viki picks it up, reading aloud.

"Doctor..." Her brow furrows in. "...Joely Resse-Atherton...psychotherapist..."

Their eyes lock in surprise. Viki puts the card down and opens the accompanying note. Tea grabs the card and examines it.

"Montana...the Atherton Foundation...?"

Viki holds a finger up and reads aloud.

"Dear Mrs. Carpenter...I am writing to you at the request of your brother Todd Manning. Enclosed you will find an airline ticket and my business card. I'm the founder of the Atherton Foundation here in Montana, which specializes in the treatment of dissociative disorders. I am also handling your brother's case personally. Todd has been here at the Foundation the past three months, going through intensive inpatient treatment for his illness, which I believe to be a true case of DID. He is still quite fragile, but he has gotten to a point in his therapy where he needs to start dealing with his loved ones if he is going to eventually rejoin them. He apparently tried to contact his wife himself before arriving here, but feels that the amount of time that's passed since then, means she is no longer willing to be involved with him. He then asked me to contact you. Please call me when you receive this. I do hope you will come, as it is vital to Todd's recovery."

There's a long silence, as Viki and Tea look at each other, taking it all in. Finally Viki finishes the last line.

"Sincerely...Doctor Joely Reese-Atherton."

Tea stands up and starts pacing, her temper rising, talking to herself more than Viki.

"What...what the hell is he TALKING about?! CONTACT??"

She storms back to the table, picking up the key and puzzle piece. Viki sits with a hand to her mouth, deep in thought.

"You call THIS contact?!" Tea makes a frustrated growling noise and locs her arms down to her sides, stiffening up, so angry she doesn't know what to do.

Viki finally stands up and holds her arms, speaking quietly, calmly.

"Tea...Tea...listen. Something...doesn't seem right here."

"Damn right! I'm supposed to get 'come to Montana' from a ring, a key, annulment papers and a puzzle piece?!! No, I don't THINK so....aaaaarrrrgggh!" Tea shuts her eyes tightly, and tosses her head back in frustration.

Viki can't help but smile at Tea's observation. She shakes her head.

"Tea...look at me."

Tea takes a deep breath and looks at her. "Are you SURE you didn't receive this stuff?"

Tea's eyes widen. "Viki...no! Are you kidding me? I would've been LONG GONE if I had."

Viki raises an eyebrow. Tea raises one right back at her.

"What?"

"You mean to tell me if Todd HAD contacted you with this, you would have dropped EVERYTHING and gone to him...after everything that happened?"

Tea sighs, falling back down in the chair and putting her head in her hands. Viki sits down too, patting Tea's back.

"I never wanted to ask you this before Tea, 'cause I didn't think it was any of my business, but...did the two of you ever see each other before he left?"

Still covering her face, she shakes her head no. Viki nods, sitting back in the chair.

"Can I ask you what DID happen that night after we all heard the tape?"

Tea takes a deep breath, finally uncovering her face. She closes her eyes, deciding whether or not to say. She opens them after a minute, her eyes covered over with tears that are about to fall. Deeply affected by her face, Viki leans over and puts an arm around her, resting her chin on Téa's shoulder.

"Oh...it's okay...you don't have to..."

"...it was so horrible, Viki." Tea interrupts, and speaking with that faraway tone again. All Viki can do is listen.

"Everything just...fell apart...after you and Sam came in...I...I was in the bathroom and he came in and hauled me out, back to the cabana, and..."

She stops to let the tears fall. Viki covers her mouth, feeling her sadness deeply.

"...and we fought...and by that time I didn't want to hear anything else. I couldn't...all I could hear in my head was that tape...and my own voices. EVERYTHING he said sounded like an excuse...and I was so humiliated...if he really was TRYING to explain...I wasn't...I didn't care anymore. All I knew was that I was so tired...of being used...of playing games. I finally screamed at him to get out of my life...and he left."

Tea pauses to take a breath and wipe her face. She wants to break down right here and cry like a baby on Viki's shoulder, but she stops herself..stops herself from saying anymore. But before she can, a last thought slips out...she says it like she's thinking aloud.

"But...all he kept saying was 'I love you.' God, I waited SO long to hear him say that...and when he finally did it meant nothing to me." She half-laughs to herself, then looks at Viki, who's become teary-eyed just listening to her. Viki smiles sympathetically.

"Kinda like putting a band-aid on a broken leg, huh?"

Tea nods, sniffing. Viki hugs her tightly. "And that was the last you saw of him?"

"Well, he tried one last ditch attempt while I was in the hospital...at some point he put my ring back on my finger and left me a check for another five million...but I never actually saw him."

Viki rolls her eyes and sighs at the stupidity of the check business, pulling away from Tea.

"You know he came to see me before he left...I never saw him like that before."

Tea looks at her, intrigued. Viki smiles and fusses with Tea's hair.

"He was so...lost, Tea...and so very sad. I could tell he had NO idea what to do with himself, except to get away from everyone...and I just couldn't bring myself to be hostile toward him. He asked me for advice...I told him to go somewhere where the only voice he could hear was his OWN. I guess he finally realized that he needed help finding it."

She pauses a second, searching Tea's face. "Oh, Tea...do you realize what a big step that was for him?"

Tea bites her lip, nodding. There's another long silence between them. Finally, Viki gets up with a sigh, taking some of the dishes over to the sink. Tea sits there at the table, lost in her own thoughts again...

"He MUST have sent it to me..."

Viki turns around, thinking Tea's talking to her, but sees that she's really just thinking aloud.

"But...there was nothing else in the locker..."

Viki pipes up from across the room. "How DID you manage to find out what that key was for?"

Tea's head snaps over in her direction. "Huh? Oh...uh...John Sykes..."

As she says this, she suddenly flashes back to the docks...

...when he handed her back another copy of the key...

"...I asked for his help..."

...when he denied seeing anything in the locker...

"...and he... actually...was..."

...and the envelope that wasn't sealed...

Her eyes widen, and her breathing quickens. "Oh...OH...no..."

Viki drops everything and runs back to her. "Tea? What is it?"

Tea's face pales as she turns to Viki.

"It's the only reasonable explanation...if Todd really did send me anything else...JOHN must have taken it out of the locker...HE got to it first."

"Are you sure?"

Tea covers her mouth, and nods, slowly, with the sinking feeling that she's right about the ticket...and that RJ was right, about HIM. She gradually goes back to covering her whole face, becoming aware of what this means.

"Are you...involved with him?" Viki asks, still confused.

"No...well...kind of...I guess it depends on which one of us you're asking." Tea is trembling now, and becoming increasingly frightened. Viki gently turns Tea's head to look at her. Reading her eyes, she gets the picture.

"Oh, God, Viki...I KNOW I'm right...oh...I'm really scared now."

Viki hugs her again, tightly...she can feel Tea shaking. The wheels turn in Viki's head, trying to come up with a solution. It isn't long before she holds Tea away from her, looking her square in the face.

"Tea...listen to me. Are you listening?"

Tea looks at her and focuses.

"Do you still love Todd?"

Tea shrinks back from the directness of the question for a second. She opens her mouth, pausing before getting up the nerve to answer, in a wavering, heartbreaking almost-whisper...

"Yeah...I never stopped."

Viki smiles, nodding. She picks up the ticket and doctor's card, and holds them out to her.

"Then pack your bags. Sykes may think he's got you, but...WE'VE got the jump on HIM, don't we?"

Tea cautiously takes the ticket and card out of her hand, looking at them like they were gold.

"Are you sure? He meant this for you..."

Viki stands up, pulling Tea up with her.

"It's not ME he needs...it's YOU...and Starr, but who are we kidding...like Blair would ever agree to something like this."

They both smile at that. Viki hugs her one more time. Tea hugs back, still scared, but...also relieved.

"Go, Tea...please, before we lose him for good. You're the only hope we have of getting him back."