She stops...and swallows hard...nervous about what her grandmother's reaction will be to her showing up like this...out of the blue, after not having any contact for so long. The silhouette slowly, cautiously makes its way down the steps. Tea stays where she is, her hands locked together nervously, as her grandmother gets to the base of the steps, still barely visible in the poor light. Tea takes an anxious breath, pushing her hair behind her ears...then walks toward her, stopping a few feet away. Coming into the light from the door, she can see her grandmother's face a little better now, her wispy, white hair blowing about in the breeze. Tea immediately bows her head, somewhat shamefully...then looks up...to see a hand stretching out to her.

And a kind, gentle voice speaks to her...one she hasn't heard in years.

"Tea..."

Tea bites her lip, suddenly remembering the last time she was in a situation like this...when Todd had done the same thing...

"...come with me...please..."

The thought instantly sends tears out through her eyes, and she catches her breath. Abuelita's hand gestures for her to approach...and finally, Tea reaches for her hand, letting Abuelita pull her closer. Finally, the two women are able to see each other clearly...and Tea has to look down a little, into the eyes of her grandmother...who smiles up at her, and wipes the tears from her cheeks.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again...I'm so happy you're here," she says.

Tea lets out a quiet sob at that, half-relieved and half in pain. She lets go of her hand to hug her, holding onto her with everything she has. Abuelita rubs her back soothingly, letting Tea bury her head in her shoulder. They stand there like that for a moment, hugging in the dim light. Finally, Abuelita pulls away, grabbing Tea's hand again.

"Come inside now...come on."

Tea wipes her face, nodding...letting Abuelita lead her up the steps and into the house.

*****

Kevin's eyes scan the turnpike nervously, as they drive back to Llanview...occasionally stealing a glance at the back of RJ's head, as he stares out the window. They'd been in the car at least an hour, and not a word had been said between them. After a few more moments, the silence, combined with his own paranoia, become too much for Kevin to handle. He looks over at RJ again...

...then at the first opportunity, swerves to the right...pulling over and stopping suddenly. RJ slowly turns his head to look at him, as Kevin shuts the engine off.

"Alright...what the hell happened back there?? Where's Todd??"

Kevin waits for a response, but RJ just continues to glare back at him, without a word.

Frustrated, Kevin growls through clenched teeth, banging on the steering wheel.

"Goddammit, RJ!!! What the hell is going ON?! What happened to him??!"

RJ looks away for a moment, out the windshield...scratching the back of his head. Then he sighs, looking back at him.

"He's dead. I shot him, and tossed him in the drink..." he answers, with a disturbing calmness. "...can we get going now?"

Kevin's mouth falls open, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head. RJ rolls his eyes, sighing again.

"Well, what'd you THINK I was gonna do? Give him cab fare and send him on his merry way?"

"Oh my god...you killed him...you really killed him..." Kevin mutters, butting his head against the steering wheel. Then he looks over at him again, in full-on panic mode now.

"...do you realize what you're saying? You just KILLED SOMEBODY, MAN!!! KILLED!! As in DEAD! As in...oh, jesus...what the hell is WRONG WITH YOU??!!!"

RJ just sits there calmly, in stark contrast to Kevin's meltdown.

"There's nothing wrong with me. I just did what had to be done."

"What HAD to be done...what...oh..." Kevin slaps his hands over his eyes, continuing to mutter to himself.

"...that's it...we're screwed...we're SCREWED...WE'RE the ones who're gonna end up Statesville now...oh, god..."

RJ watches him squirm...his face contorting into a disgusted look. "Oh, will you calm down already?? NOTHING is gonna happen...to EITHER of us."

Kevin looks up, still gripping the wheel. "CALM DOWN??? The hell is WITH you, man?? Are you on DRUGS or somethin'?? 'Nothing is gonna happen'...are you KIDDING me??!! WE...are on the express train to Statesville, right now...and it's all YOUR FAULT, you friggin' NUTBAG!!"

RJ puts a hand up, trying to interject. "Alright...will you shut up and just listen to me for a sec---"

"I mean, all you had to do was help me get him back to Llanview, but NOOOO---"

"I SAID SHUT UP!!!"

Silence fills the car suddenly, as Kevin shrinks back a little. RJ glares at him, waiting a second...making sure he's not going to say anything else. Then he sighs, running a hand over his braided hair.

"Look...as far as ANYBODY is concerned, Manning has simply disappeared. He's done it before, so nobody's gonna think twice about him doing it again...not Rappaport, not your mother...not even his own kid. It's gonna be months...maybe even YEARS before anybody even THINKS to look for him."

"But why'd you have to KILL him, RJ?" Kevin asks, suddenly...directly...taking RJ off-guard for a second.

He glances away, taking a deep breath. "I told you. I did what had to be done."

"For who?? YOU??"

"YES, for me...I did it for ME, I did it for TEA...and...I did it for the good of the planet."

Kevin just looks at him, amazed. "God...you're really...okay with this, aren't you? I mean, you really think you just did the world a favor...the fact that you just shot a man to death doesn't bother you in the slightest, does it?"

And RJ just stares right back, with those clear, steady eyes. "Y'know, this two-faced self-righteous B.S. just doesn't become you, man...pick a side and stay there. And don't EVEN try pullin' this morality crap with me, 'cause y'know what? It just DOESN'T APPLY. That was no MAN. THAT was a diseased, rabid animal...that poisoned every person IT came into contact with. You know what you do with animals like that? You put them DOWN before they can do anymore damage...and THAT...is what I did."

There's another silence as Kevin takes that in, sinking back against the door, stunned speechless by the cold conviction in RJ's voice. RJ lingers on him for a moment, then turns away, settling into the seat again.

"What are we gonna do?" Kevin finally asks, quietly. RJ doesn't answer right away, staring out the windshield.

"Well, first off, you're gonna start this car and get us back to Llanview. Then...you're gonna tell everyone that we found him up here looking for Tea...but that he got away from us when we tried to bring him back. We looked everywhere, couldn't find him. He disappeared. Period...end of story."

Kevin makes a face. "Me? I'M gonna tell...what about YOU? Where the hell you think YOU'RE going?"

RJ laughs to himself, shaking his head. "Let's just say...I'm gonna pull a disappearing act of my own. Now get movin'."

With that, RJ turns to look out the window...putting an end to the conversation. Silence fills the car again for a moment...then Kevin sighs, reluctantly starting the car and pulling back onto the road.

*****

Abuelita nearly jumps out of her skin when the phone rings. Tea jumps up from the kitchen table to answer it.

"Oh, it's just the phone, I'll get it."

Abuelita laughs, a hand on her chest. "I'm just not used to hearing it ring."

Tea smiles sadly...then picks up the phone, knowing who it probably is. "Del?"

"Yeah, it's me..." Del answers on the other end. "...you guys okay?"

She sighs, stretching the phone cord to sit back down. "Yeah, we're okay...so what'd you find out?"

"Well...Todd IS with them. Buchanan told me they're gonna take him back to Llanview, let Bo deal with him."

Abuelita sits down across from Tea, looking at her, concerned...as she leans on the table, burying her face in her hand.

"Is he alright?"

Del makes a face, confused at her lingering concern...he paces around the apartment for a moment. Tea waits, growing anxious with the silence.

"Del? You still there?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know??"

"I mean, I DON'T KNOW...and I wasn't concerned enough to ask."

"Ohhh..." Tea falls back in the chair, a hand over her eyes.

"Look, as soon as Buchanan said they had him, I knew he was still alive. I didn't think to ask how he was feelin' at the moment, sorry," he says sarcastically.

Tea just sits there, silent...her hand still over her eyes...her mind going in a million directions at once. Del sits down on the window ledge in his apartment...and sighs, knowing he has to say something.

"They wanted YOU to go back with them, too...so you could press charges."

Tea's hand drops away from her face at that. "WHAT charges?"

Del thunks his head against the window, tired of trying to figure out what's going on. "Tea..." he starts, hesitating a moment...then he sighs again, deciding to just blurt it out.

"...look, Buchanan told me he overheard Manning talking to his kid, and he admitted it to HER! So YOU tell ME...were you lying to me??"

"Lying to you about what?? I don't even know WHAT you're talking about!"

"You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about! He DID rape you, didn't he??!!"

Abuelita looks on, eyes wide, as Tea jumps up from the table at that. "WHAT?? NO!! I TOLD you what happened...I TOLD you the truth!"

"Tea, I swear to god, if you're coverin' for him---"

"I'm not COVERING for anybody!!! I TOLD YOU, NOTHING HAPPENED!!! And I can't BELIEVE you would take KEVIN BUCHANAN'S word over MINE!!" she yells back, pacing around the tiny kitchen...then she stops...realizing...

"Oh, my god...can't you see what he's doing?? He's trying to get me to bring phony rape charges against him just to get him locked up!!"

"He's already gonna get locked up for what he did to Gannon!"

Del listens to the silence...then nods. "...yeah, he told me about THAT, too...something ELSE you neglected to tell me."

Tea sighs...unable to answer back for a second...then she continues, more quietly. "Look, Del...everybody knows that Todd took that shot at RJ, alright? But there's no way they're ever gonna be able to PROVE it...and everybody knows THAT, too. But a rape charge...god...that would send him up for a LONG time...especially considering the fact that it would be a repeat offense. Now I know EXACTLY what Kevin's thinking...he KNOWS it might not be true, but all he sees is that we're not together anymore...so he's COUNTING on the fact that I must HATE Todd now...enough that I'd say anything just to get back at him...even if it's not true."

Tea listens to the silence as Del takes that in. He gets up, shuffling over to the couch...sitting down with a heavy sigh.

"Well, call me cold-hearted, but I don't really see a problem here. Sounds like he DESERVES at least a few years in lockup."

Tea lets out a surprised breath at that. "So...what...are you saying you WANT me to agree to this? You WANT me to lie? You WANT me to accuse him of something he DIDN'T do?"

Del rolls his eyes. "I'm just sayin'---" he starts, but she cuts him off.

"No-no-no...you listen to me. Yeah, okay, I knew what he did to RJ...I didn't tell you. I apologize...and I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I'm gonna hop the next plane back to Llanview and bail him out, right? Well, you're wrong. I'm NOT excusing him, I'm NOT condoning what he did...and I will wholeheartedly agree that Todd can be the coldest, meanest, most vindictive person on the face of the earth when he wants to be. And if Hank actually gets him locked up on that shooting attempt, then..."

Del listens as she trails off...sniffing tears back...tears full of mixed emotion.

"...well...fact is that RJ has always been a good friend to me...and if he hadn't had that vest on, that shot would have KILLED him. I KNOW that...and I know that nobody told Todd to shoot at RJ...he did that all by himself. He made THAT bed...he can damn well lie in it..." She stops for a moment, her voice faltering...then she sniffs again, wiping her face.

"...but I'm telling you, for the last time, there was no rape. And I am NOT about to play along with Kevin's little revenge plan. He can just forget it."

He nods. "Is there anything you want ME to do?"

She hesitates, rubbing the bridge of her nose...feeling the stress pulsing under her skin.

"Well...could you go to Llanview PD and MAKE SURE that Todd is really there...and that he's alright?"

A reluctant sigh is her response...she sighs back. "Del, this whole thing just sounds very wrong to me, okay? I mean, Kevin's a slimeball, but he's gutless...it's not him I'm worried about...it's RJ. Now, I told you, he's dangerous...and I'm not kidding around here. The very idea that he's simply gonna bring Todd back to Llanview and turn him over to Bo...is ridiculous! There is NO WAY that RJ could confront Todd without trying to KILL him, do you understand me? Now I just want to know for SURE that Todd is THERE, and that he's alright. That's it...that's all I'm asking."

Del shakes his head, getting up and pacing. Tea waits for a moment, then tries again.

"Please...please, can you just do this one thing for me?"

"And then what? I mean, what if I go there and find out that Manning's in a coma 'cause Gannon beat him within an inch of his life? What're you gonna do then?"

Tea tries to answer, but can't. Del nods. "Uh-huh...that's what I thought. Y'know, you can sit there and tell me 'til you're blue in the face that you'll stay out of it, but YOU...ARE...LYING. You're lying to ME, and you're lying to YOURSELF."

Tears start streaming down her cheeks again, as she sniffs, angrily.

"Well, what do you want me to do?? I can't just stand by and let RJ try to kill him!"

"WHY NOT??!! I mean, Manning shoulda thought of all this BEFORE he took that shot!!"

"I KNOW THAT...but..."

"But WHAT? Tea, listen to me...you're talking about how dangerous Gannon is...and that may be...but to ME, he's not NEARLY as dangerous as Manning is. Y'know why? 'Cause HE'S the one who has the hold on you!"

Tea lets out a short breath at that, biting her lip as Del continues...his voice rising as he becomes desperate to reach her.

"...look, I'm not trying to beat you down, okay? I'm your brother...I LOVE you. I'm just trying to get you to see that this guy has got your head so screwed up that you have no sense of YOURSELF anymore! I mean, just listen to what you're saying! All you KNOW...is HIM, and what HE needs...what about what YOU need?? You're INCAPABLE of cutting him loose! You couldn't do it before, you can't do it now, and if somebody doesn't make you realize what's going on, you won't EVER be able to do it! And I'm sorry...but I'm not gonna sit back and let this bastard suck the life outta you. Now I understand he's had it hard, and I understand that you love him...but the fact is, Tea, that he is just BAD NEWS. The guy has done hard time at Statesville, for chrissake, and STILL hasn't learned his lesson! Y'know what that says to me?? He's not gonna! EVER! ESPECIALLY when he knows he has YOU to bail him out!!"

A sudden, tense silence travels through the phone line between them. Tea just sits there listening...eyes closed, her face soaked with tears. Del paces madly, back and forth across the living room. Finally, he speaks again, more quietly now.

"I'm sorry...I don't mean to scream at you, but...I don't know how else to get through to you at this point..." he starts, listening to the silence on the other end.

"...baby...you remember when we were in the diner...when you said you wanted a life with him? Well, what kind of life can you ever expect to HAVE with him if he won't ever turn his OWN life around? You said yourself, he needs help YOU can't give him. You said YOURSELF, that the best thing you can do for him is to remove yourself from the situation entirely. Remember that? Remember five minutes ago...when you said he made his bed and he can lie in it?"

She nods, guiltily...as if he could see her. Del listens to the faint static on the line for a moment...the only indicator that she's still there. Then he shakes his head sadly, sighing.

"Look...I'll drive down to Llanview in the morning, and check in with Bo. I'll call you from there, let you know what's what. Then it's up to you, baby...but MY advice...is to listen to your OWN advice. Cut him loose."

Tea blinks slowly, her eyes swollen now, glazed over with exhaustion...the fight drained out of her at this point. She gets up from the table.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," she whispers...and hangs up, quietly.

Del lets out a long, frustrated sigh, tossing the phone into one of the chairs...then he collapses onto the couch, face buried in his hands.

Tea turns to look at her grandmother, who's just been sitting there, listening...taking it all in. Then she walks over to her, kneeling in front of her. Abuelita looks down at her, gently caressing her wet face with her delicate, worn hands. A silence passes between them for a moment, as they communicate without words...then Tea simply lets her head drop onto her lap, letting her grandmother smooth out her hair, soothingly...the way she used to when she was a child.

*****

"...where the hell was this guy?"

"...somebody flagged us down while we were patrolling the docks, some homeless guy...said he saw him floating in the water...pulled him out..."

"...jesus...alright, we'll take it from here...tell OR to make room, we gotta get him stable and get him up there NOW..."

"...where's that o-neg???"

"...come on, get that line going!"

The voices swirl around in Todd's head...like the water he fell into...as he slowly opens his eyes. As soon as he does, he shuts them again, the bright lights of the emergency room blinding him. The attending doctor sees this, and leans in closer.

"Sir? Sir...can you hear me?"

Todd attempts to respond, but his body won't cooperate...too traumatized, too busy trying to keep his heart going. His eyelids flutter...and his eyes water, unable to focus...unable to see who's talking to him. He shivers uncontrollably, in shock from loss of blood and freezing from being in the water. The doctor watches him closely, clearing the wet strands of hair away from Todd's face, as the ER staff buzzes around them.

"Can you hear me? Do you know where you are?"

Todd's attempt to speak fails miserably...his voice gone, his throat completely dried out. All he can do is open his mouth, and close it again. The doctor checks his eyes, holding the eyelids, shining a penlight into them. He looks at the other ER doctor, working on the bullet wound. "Can you get to it?"

"Hold on..." the other doctor says, as he attempts to reach the slug embedded deep in Todd's shoulder.

"...got it!"

Suddenly, Todd lets out a loud grunt through clenched teeth, and his whole body jerks violently, stiffening as the bullet is pulled out. One of the nurses holds out a pan and the doctor drops the bloody slug into it with a dull ping. Then he covers the wound, keeping pressure on it.

"BP?"

One of the nurses checks the monitors behind her. "On the low end...but he's stable."

"What's the word on OR?"

"They're waiting for us."

The two doctors exchange glances, nodding. "Alright, let's get him up there, c'mon!"

Todd looks around as they start to wheel him out. The attending doctor leans in close as they push the gurney down the hall and into the elevator.

"We're taking you up to surgery now, sir...you're gonna be okay."

Todd stares at him, still unable to really see him well...and can only blink in response. He feels the slight change in the space around him as the elevator carries him up and up...then the jarring motion as they come off the elevator and wheel him down to surgery. Suddenly he's surrounded by people in green hats and masks...and the environment becomes utterly silent...sterile...and cold...

"Hi..." a woman's voice says to him, as they set him down on the operating table. Todd grimaces from the movement, looking up at the woman...at the tiny bit of her face he can make out beneath the scrubs.

...kind eyes...brown eyes...

...his voice still gone, he can only mouth the first thing that comes to his mind. The woman squints, trying to read his lips...something with a "T"...but doesn't understand. So she just smiles, and speaks softly to him.

"...hi...you're in surgery. Everything's gonna be fine...we're just gonna put you to sleep for a little bit, okay?"

As she says this, Todd suddenly feels a freezing liquid shooting through his veins...and a half-second later, the world starts disappearing again, fading back into that murky water...a place he was more than happy to return to at the moment. His eyes close, and his body relaxes...as he loses consciousness, he sees himself under the surface...the water surrounding him, holding his arms up...but slowly pulling him down at the same time. The light from the surface gets dimmer...finally disappearing completely...

...for a second, he wonders if he'll ever see that light again...

...and then he gives over, too exhausted...too badly injured to fight anymore. He lets his head drop...letting the water play with his hair and move against his skin...letting it soothe him back to sleep.