This part contains a description of an attempted rape. Before you read it, I just want to make one thing VERY clear. IT IS NOT my intention to glorify, sensationalize or make light of, this kind of violence.

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PART FOURTEEN

Tea lifts her head, waking up slowly. As she blinks behind the blindfold, she starts to get a sense of her new reality. She listens...then furrows her brow, hearing the distant sounds of...voices, talking, singing, music... and people walking around. She breathes in the air...thick, stale...a nasty mixture of cigarette smoke, burnt incense, beer, body odor and urine. She makes a face, recognizing the familiar stench of the big city. She turns her head, looking around as if she could see through the blindfold.

Two sloppily-dressed young men stroll up the stairs, and down the hallway of this abandoned building that now serves as a refuge for drug users and the homeless. They walk with an arrogant, exaggerated, hip-hop bounce, posing for their very own music video...kicking things out of their way, punching holes in the wall...desperate to release some of their crack-induced aggression.

Tea turns her head toward the sounds, echoing behind her. She hears distinct voices...two men...loud, obnoxious, slurring their words...neither of them sound like her captor. Starting to get an awful feeling, she squirms, and holds her breath...trying to make herself as small as possible.

The two guys stroll right by the open doorway, only glancing inside. They continue down the hall for a bit...until one of them stops, turning back. He calls to his buddy.

"Yo...hol'up..."

The other guy turns around, watching as his friend walks back to the room they just passed.

"Nothin' IN there, man! C'mon, lesgo..."

The guy in the doorway pokes his head inside, looking around more closely.

Tea shuts her eyes behind the blindfold, trying to make herself invisible.

The guy narrows his bloodshot eyes, squinting into the room. His eyes go back to what he thought he saw...hands...tied together around a beam in the middle of the room. He takes a few steps inside...and stops. He sees Tea, with her back to him, her arms tied behind her back and around the beam.

Tea turns her head toward him slightly, not hearing anything.

The guy walks around in front of her, dragging his feet lazily. Tea turns her head with the sound. He looks down on her...and grins, as his buddy appears in the doorway.

"Come ON, man! The hell're you DOIN'?"

He waves him in. "Check THIS out."

The other guy sighs, as he comes over to him. He looks down...and sees her. The two guys exchange looks...and crack up. They do a weird secret handshake-thing, and start laughing.

She hears them get down on the floor...and start to move closer to her, lowering their voices.

"Mmm, mmm, MMM! Ooooh, man...check HER out."

"Ohhh, yeah...who are YOU, baby? Where'd YOU come from?"

"Whoa, check it, she's like...handicapped. Look at thing on her leg."

"Forget THAT, dog...she is STACKED. Dang!"

They giggle. Tea starts sweating with fear.

"Damn...now WHO would go and leave a luscious piece-o-ass like YOU all by yourself, huh?"

Tea feels hands starting to roam over her...her head turns all around, wildly. She tries to scream, but her mouth is glued shut with tape. She can't see a thing...and is terrified...listening to these two strangers' obscene words, and feeling their hands on her. One of them gets his mouth right by her ear and whispers...

"Must be lonely, baby girl. Whaddaya say we getcha outta these ropes...then we can REALLY party."

The two guys laugh as they start to untie her...she feels the rope loosening around her wrists. Her mind races, trying to figure out what to do...as her hands slip out of the rope. She thrashes around wildly, trying to make a run for it...but the two guys grab her arms fast. She kicks, screaming through the tape on her mouth as they drag her out into the middle of the room, and lay her flat on her back. She tries immediately to get up...

...as one of them sits down on her legs, straddling her. The other sits down behind her head, holding her wrists tightly. The one sitting on her legs rips the straps on the brace and pulls it free, tossing it aside. She squirms around, her screams muffled...trying desperately to free herself. They just laugh at her...the one holding her wrists notices her disproportionate belly.

"Yo, dog...check it out."

The one sitting on her legs looks down at her tummy...he pushes her t-shirt up. Tea flinches...he stares, sort-of entranced by it. He puts his hands on it and pushes down on it with his finger, making a strange face at the firmness. Tea tries to kick him, but is completely immobilized. The guy looks up at his buddy.

"Hmm. Never done it with a pregnant woman."

His buddy looks at him, clueless. "Hey...can you?"

He shrugs...then grins. "I dunno, man. Let's find out!"

They laugh again. Involuntarily, Tea starts sobbing hysterically behind the blindfold as the guy on her legs slides his hands farther up her shirt. She turns her face away as he lowers himself down on top of her...whispering obscenities in her ear as he starts to move himself against her.

Just then, a young, strung-out, runaway girl walks by the doorway...pale, thin, sick-looking. She sees them inside and stops, gaping.

"Hey!"

Both guys look over at her...but only for a second, not paying her much mind. The one holding Tea's arms glares at her.

"Private party, baby...GET LOST." The girl stands in the doorway, not sure what to do. But she looks at Tea...blindfolded, gagged...and helpless against these two. She watches as the one straddling her starts to tug on her pants, trying to get them down. The girl bites her lip. The guy holding Tea's arms shoots another look at her.

"Ohhhh...like to watch, huh? Cool. We'll do YOU next!"

They both laugh loudly. The girl stands there for another minute, still too scared to do anything. The two guys have completely tuned her out, as the drawstring on Tea's pants loosens, and they start to slide down, revealing bare skin. The one sitting on her legs tugs at them urgently, ready to get busy. Tea thrashes, pulls, and squirms against them, screaming through the tape.

The girl in the doorway hears her cries...her eyes filling with fear and concern for the woman on the floor. She takes off, unnoticed.

Tea feels her pants slide all the way down. The guy on her legs puts his knees between her legs, pushing down, trying to force her to spread them. She fights, stiffening up. The guy curses to himself, and suddenly lowers himself down on her, putting his face right in hers, snarling.

"Go ahead, bitch...you fight me. I'll just go find myself a coat hanger...start my own little abortion clinic, right here..."

Tea's whole body tightens in panic, reacting to his horrible words...his face twists with rage.

"...what's it gonna be, baby girl?"

The blindfold over Tea's eyes is soaked with tears. She wants to fight, to escape this hellish situation...but his threat seems to drain her of any remaining resistance. Her legs relax, and she turns her face away, crying softly. The guys grin at each other...the one on top of her pushes her legs apart and undoes his fly.

Tea feels hands between her thighs...she tenses, feeling them inside her, probing roughly. Then she feels his weight bearing down on her, his foul breath hot on her neck.

She closes her eyes...

BANG!!!

A bullet streaks past the guy's head, barely missing him. He shrieks, ducking, dropping flat on top of Tea. Both of them freeze, looking toward the doorway...

Dean stands there, still aimed in on the would-be rapist. Roseanne and the young runaway girl stand behind him, trying to see around him. The guy on top of Tea glares at Dean, like a predator guarding its kill. The other guy holding her arms just sits, frozen solid...and definitely scared. Dean's eyes look between the two of them...steady, steely. His voice comes out calm and quiet.

"You get off of her, NOW."

Tea hears the familiar voice of her captor...and whips her head around to face him. Dean looks down at her, obviously affected by what he sees. In spite of himself, Dean's face starts to contort with rising anger...at himself, mostly, for leaving her alone. He speaks again, almost snarling.

"That was a warning shot. I WON'T miss next time."

The guy on top of Tea glances at his buddy...who looks like he probably wet himself. He lets go of Tea's wrists.

"C'mon, man...lesgo," he says, urgently, getting up.

The other guy is still hesitant, still high enough to think he has a chance. Her arms free now, Tea suddenly reaches up and pushes him off of her, startling him. He falls over, and she scrambles away, as far as she can. She rips the tape off her mouth and claws at the blindfold, trying to get it off...but it's tied too tightly to come off easily. So she folds herself up, clutching her knees to her chest and pushing herself up against the wall. The would-be rapist glances over at her...then stands up, buttoning himself back up casually.

"S'cool, dog...don'trip."

Dean's eyes drill into him, unblinking. He keeps the gun aimed in on him as he steps back, out into the hall, pushing Roseanne back too. The runaway girl sees the two guys approaching the doorway and takes off.

"Well...you're not as stupid as you look. Now get your junkie punk-asses outta here."

The guys move toward the door, slowly, hands up. The one who was holding Tea's arms scoots out quickly, taking off down the hall. The other walks out slowly, still oozing that street credibility. He and Dean stare each other down as he moves past him. Dean keeps the guy in his sights as he backs his way down the hall. When he gets a safe distance away, he laughs...

"Hmm. I KNOW you now, dog. If I see you again---"

Dean doesn't even blink. "Not likely."

The guy grins...he makes a "gun" with his thumb and index finger and turns it sideways, "shooting" at Dean. Then he backs up a few steps...and finally turns, running down the stairs after his buddy.

Dean and Roseanne stand there for a minute, waiting to see if they come back. Then they exchange glances and walk back inside the room. They get a few steps inside, and see Tea, folded up in the shadows. Roseanne puts a hand to her mouth, horrified, as she looks at Tea...who sits pressed up against the wall, knees to her chest, crying...still blindfolded, with her pants hanging loosely around one ankle. Dean rushes over to her, dropping to the floor.

"Tea..." he says softly, touching her arm gently.

She screams as she jumps, trying to back away. He jumps too, startled...then swallows hard, and tries again. Roseanne looks between the two of them. Any concern she may have just felt quickly disappears, as she watches Dean interact with her, speaking softly, gently...like he was really concerned...like he really cared about her.

Tea rocks herself back and forth, crying now to the point of making herself nauseous. Dean whispers, trying to soothe her...

"Tea...shhhh....it's okay, they're gone. They can't hurt you now, it's alright. Shhhh..."

After a moment, Tea's breathing starts to slow down, as she listens to the only thing that's familiar...his voice. Her rocking slows...and finally stops. Dean takes a deep breath, trying to reach out to her again.

"That's it, that's it...it's okay now."

He touches her arm, lightly...she stiffens, but doesn't back away. He remains steady.

"It's just me, Tea...I won't hurt you, I promise. Just give me your hand, okay? Let me get you out of here."

He hears her whimpering to herself, something unintelligible. He touches her hand, locked with a death grip on her knee.

"It's okay...just give me your hand."

She hesitates...but she feels his hand on top of hers...and somehow, in some strange way, she's reassured by it. All she knows for sure is that she doesn't want to be left alone in this place. Slowly, gradually...she relaxes her grip...and allows him to clasp her hand. He nods, holding her hand delicately.

"There you go...that's it...c'mon up...you're doin' great," he says, encouragingly, as he starts to ease her up, onto her feet.

He stands up, guiding her along with him. Tea straightens up, losing her balance a bit, still not used to standing alone. Dean does a quick take, suddenly noticing that she's naked from the waist down. He averts his eyes as much as he can as he crouches down.

"Uh...you wanna just...step back in to your pants, there..." Tea feels a sudden flush of embarrassment in her face...she moves her foot around and feels him putting the other pant leg on it. Without a word, she bends down and grabs the waistband, pulling them up as fast as she can. Dean clears his throat as he stands up.

Roseanne watches the two of them...getting angrier by the second, as he steps closer to her, speaking softly, almost lovingly.

"Okay, um...let's get you outta here. I...I guess I should carry you, it'll be faster."

Too shell-shocked to do anything, she stands there passively, as he bends down and scoops her up into his arms. Dean turns around to face Roseanne...who practically impales him with her accusatory stare. He does a take, then just stares right back, unthreatened.

"I don't wanna hear it. Grab her brace and let's get the hell outta here."

Roseanne folds her arms, refusing to budge. Dean lifts his chin, matching her move.

"Okay, fine. Stay here. Crackheads should be back soon...packing this time, I would think. I'm sure they'd find YOU JUST as appealing as her."

She clenches her teeth, looking away, furious. Without another word, Dean walks past her with Tea in his arms. He starts down the hall without even looking back. Tea hangs in his arms...nauseous, dizzy and exhausted...so much so that she can't even hold her head up. Dean's eyes widen a little, as she lets her head drop onto his shoulder...her entire body going limp in his arms. He secures his grip, holding her more protectively, as he heads for the stairs.

Roseanne stands alone in the room for a few seconds, just about ready to bail on the whole thing. Then she looks around her. She gets a good look at where she is...and thinks about those two guys coming back.

"Hijo de puta," she spits, as she picks up the brace and goes running out after him.

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Later that night, Joely approaches the front doors of Llanfair, clutching a couple of bags. She sighs as she puts them down and rings the doorbell.

The house is filled with people now, milling around, all waiting for news. Sitting on the couch, Viki makes a face when she hears the doorbell, tired of dealing with the press and all the other snoops who have come to the house that day. Kevin sits across from her, and sees her expression.

He gets up. "I'll get it, Mom."

Viki sighs. "Thanks."

He walks through the foyer and throws open the door, ready to turn whomever it is away. Joely looks up at him and smiles a little.

"Hallo..."

Kevin creases his brow at her accent...then he sighs, not even wanting to deal.

"Look, we've said everything we want to say, alright? We haven't heard anything else. Now get lost."

Joely does a take, confused. "Uh, no, no...I was asked to come here. I'm Joely Reese-Atherton."

Kevin folds his arms. "That means nothin' to ME, lady. Now you heard me, scram."

He shuts the door in her face before she can respond. Joely shrinks back, not sure what to do. Kevin shakes his head as he walks back into the living room. Viki looks up at him.

"Who was it now?"

He sighs as he falls back down on the couch, next to Kelly. Joey turns from his seat on the back of the couch, and they both look over at him.

"Some weird Englishwoman with a hyphenated name...said she was 'ahhhh-sssked' to come here. Right."

Viki's eyes widen...Kevin and Joey exchange glances, then look back at her.

"What?" they both ask, in sync.

She jumps up from the couch and runs out into the foyer. They all shrug at each other. Viki opens the door...and sees Joely, starting to walk away. She runs out after her.

"Doctor Atherton!"

Joely turns around and stares at her...her eyes gleam with recognition, even though they've never actually met.

"Mrs. Carpenter," she replies, smiling.

"Oh!" Viki says, relieved...she reaches out and holds her arms. "I'm so sorry about...that. It's just that we've been dealing with a lot of annoying people all day, and..."

Joely nods. "I understand, it's alright."

Viki picks up one of her bags. "Please, please, come in," she says, as they enter the foyer and she shuts the door.

Everyone who was milling around in the living room and kitchen...Kevin, Joey, Kelly, Jessica, Cristian, Carlotta and RJ...all come out into the foyer and surround them. Joely looks at all of the faces, taken aback somewhat. Viki smiles...then speaks to everyone.

"Um, everyone, this is Joely Atherton. She was Todd's therapist in Montana."

Joely offers them a little smile. "Hallo."

Most of them nod and smile at her politely, then go back to whatever it was they were doing...except for Kevin, who folds his arms, frowning...as unfriendly as he was at the door. Joely's eyes narrow slightly as she looks at him. Viki makes an embarrassed face, knowing his feelings about Todd are coloring his first impressions of her.

"Kevin, honey...don't start. The poor woman just GOT here."

His eyes dart over to his mom's...then back to Joely. Then he turns and walks back into the living room, without a word. Viki runs a hand through her hair, sighing, as Joely turns and looks at her.

"So THAT was Kevin. Hmm."

"I'm sorry. He and Todd...just..."

"Yes, I know. It's alright. I'm not here to see him anyway."

Viki smiles. "I'm so glad you're here. Todd's been...oh. I'm afraid what happened this morning has really affected him badly."

Joely looks at her questioningly. "Oh...he didn't really say much when he called. What happened? Did they find her?"

Viki shakes her head, sadly. "I don't have a lot of details...but from what I understand, Todd went up to meet the kidnapper early this morning...and somehow, the man found out that the police were there. He blew up the car he drove up in, and escaped."

Joely's eyes widen. "Oh, God...Tea..."

Viki shakes her head again. "Tea WASN'T in the car. But he made it seem like she was...JUST to scare Todd, apparently. And it worked...he's been sitting in my attic all day. He won't talk to any of us. I'm surprised he actually called you."

Joely sighs...then nods. "Well. I should get up there, then."

Viki nods back. "I'll show you where it is."

They walk to the stairs, each of them carrying one of Joely's bags. Kevin pokes his head out, watching as they head up to the attic. He shakes his head, laughing to himself...then turns back, leaning against the doorsill.

"What, Kev?" Joey asks, sitting on the back of the couch. Kelly turns around and rests her elbows on the back of the couch. Everybody else in the room looks at Kevin, too, awaiting his response. He looks back at them all, tipping his head slightly.

"Amazing, isn't it? *I* think it is. I mean, TEA is the one who's missing here, right? SHE'S the one being held hostage somewhere, enduring god-only-knows-what. But WHO'S getting all the attention?"

Everyone exchanges looks...some agreeing, some not. They look back at Kevin as he continues, exaggerating his voice and gestures to make his point.

"Who ALWAYS gets the attention whenever he's in a room? Poor little Todd Manning...the abused child can get away with ANYTHING in this town just because he has ANGST."

Everyone looks at each other...again, some agreeing...some not. Jessica speaks up, sitting with Cristian and Carlotta on the other couch.

"Well...he IS Tea's husband, Kev. He has every right to be scared...especially after this morning."

Kevin walks back over and sits down on the lounge in front of the fireplace.

"That's not the point, Jess. I'm not saying he shouldn't be acting weird now, he should. But it seems like everybody's ALWAYS more concerned with HIM. 'Oh...is Todd alright? He's so fragile...he might bust a spring any second and fracture into five MORE personalities.' God...after everything he's done, he STILL gets all the sympathy."

Everyone seems to sigh, collectively...whether they agree or not. RJ, who's been standing on the other side of the room by the window, shakes his head at Kevin...then starts to head out.

"Well...on that note, I'll be leaving. See you all later."

Kevin glares at him as he walks by, and into the foyer. He gets up and walks out after him, as RJ opens the door.

"So, Gannon..."

RJ rolls his eyes, turning around. Kevin looks at him, suspiciously.

"...you gettin' all soft on Todd now, too?"

RJ just stares at him. Kevin folds his arms, waiting. Finally, RJ shakes his head again.

"No, man. I'm not 'all soft' on Todd. I'm just getting REAL tired of listening to YOU run your big ol' mouth."

Kevin does a take at that, speechless. RJ glares at him for another second, then walks out, quietly shutting the door behind him. He takes a few steps away from the door...and breaks into a sly smile as he walks away from the house.

To be continued...