PREVIOUSLY

Blair: (Following RJ to the front door, whispering:) Not a word to anyone until this thing hits the stands. Do you want credit as a source?

RJ: (Whispering:) No, thank you. I'd prefer to remain anonymous. (Grins broadly at her.)

Blair: (Look of surprise as RJ leaves the house. Quietly to herself.) Not you. How would you know this stuff, RJ? (Closes front door, and turns around to go into the study and to greet Dorian. She affects an innocent expression.)

[Scene ends.]

**************************************************************************************************

[Scene: Diner, that night. Carlotta has locked up, lets Tea in as she is finishing cleaning. It's already dark outside.]

Tea: Do you have any coffee left?

Carlotta: (Apologetic:) It's the last of the day, mija.....

Tea: (Tiredly:) I don't care, Carlotta.....

Carlotta: (Pouring coffee:) Why do you put up with Todd?

Tea: (Fussing with sugar packets and stirring her coffee.) I understand him. I know that he's trying very hard to get better and to be a better person.

Carlotta: Why do you go back to him? All I see is the same Todd, the one who humiliated you on your Wedding Day more than once and has hurt you over and over again since the beginning.

Tea: Under all his rage and pain, underneath that snarl of his; is someone very vulnerable, gentle, sweet, sensitive, even tender and loving. You yourself commented on how terrified he was on our wedding day when he ran out because he couldn't say the vows. The irony is that he is afraid of hurting me.

Carlotta: How come I've never met him?

Tea: (Sips her coffee, makes a face.) You have, many times, he's just usually hiding. You saw him here, when he proposed to me here in November. He was actually smiling. He almost never smiled last year. Todd wants you to accept him, you're my family, but he knows you think he's a monster so he keeps his defenses up around you.

Carlotta: And you've seen him?

Tea: Yes. Think about it, Carlotta. He must be there or I would not return to him, and Starr would be afraid of her father. She adoresher father. Todd is a completely different person with Starr. I swear she kept him literally alive after Blair's betrayal with Patrick when Todd came home from Ireland. He shut down, Carlotta, became almost completely unreachable, shutting everyone out but Starr and Viki. Sometimes even Viki.

Carlotta: How do you know he isn't just another cold, inaccessible guy you think you can change, but who will never change?

Tea: I don't try to change him. I try to help him be who he is and show him who he is. You saw how scared he was. He usually hides his terror behind bravado. That fear is the real Todd, or part of him. So is the bravado, the swaggering entrances, the arrogant bellowing of orders, the moodiness. The way he shuts down so completely, like I do when I'm really hurting, and the way he throws himself into his work so he doesn't have to feel just how awful he feels. Those are all him.

Carlotta: He yells at everybody, he's rude, he treats you terribly.

Tea: He says I'm the only girl for him. He is also the only boy for me.

Carlotta: That's another thing: he's a boy, like he's not even a man yet.

Tea: He's a man. Todd's the only man for me. He frees me.

Carlotta: Frees you? He holds onto you with a deathgrip! And what about Andrew?

Tea: What aboutAndrew? We're friends now.

Carlotta: He's much better for you than Todd ever was. So was Detective Sykes.

Tea: (Bristling:) That's for me to judge, Carlotta.

Carlotta: Does Todd love you?

Tea: (Confidently:) Yes. Yes, he does, Carlotta.

Carlotta: How do you know?

Tea: He tells me.

Carlotta: And you believe him?

Tea: Yes. He touches me now -- well, he often did but now it's different -- and he tells me he loves me. Milestones for Todd.

Carlotta: He tells you?

Tea: Sometimes he's able to, yes. Sometimes he can show me. When I went after Andrew, I thought Todd didn't love me. He wouldn't let me touch him, as if it hurt him or frightened him. He wouldn't touch me. When I was off with Andrew, Todd was writing me a heartfelt love letter, and then he got scared and I only found it by accident. Then he was shy about it when he realized I'd found it all crumpled up and I'd read it. He'd poured his heart out in that letter. Do you remember my plaid scarf?

Carlotta: Yes. You always wear it when it's cold.

Tea: Why do you think I do?

Carlotta: Todd gave it to you?

Tea: Yes. It was I think the first item he gave me that was a spontaneous gift from his heart.

Carlotta: It's just a scarf, mija.

Tea: (Firmly:) Which Todd presented to me by putting it around my neck with such gentleness and care, love written all over his face and in every move he made. He was shy and nervous, but he did it. He had been thinking that it might be something I would like, that it might make me happy. More than anything in the world, he wants to make me happy.

Carlotta: A wool scarf?

Tea: It was a simple gesture. He wanted me to be warm when we went to the Bayberry Inn.

Carlotta: I still don't trust him. You were miserable when you got back.

Tea: So was he. You don't know him.

Carlotta: I think I do.

Tea: (Calm, controlled.) No. You don't. Christmas has meant little more than pain and horror and hypocrisy to Todd, since he was a little boy. He tried to make it work, but he couldn't at the Bayberry. He ran out on me because he was so frightened of being close to anyone and he didn't want to hurt me if he got close.

Carlotta: He's a coward.

Tea: No. For him, running away in order to protect someone takes a lot of courage. He wants more than anything to stay, but he thinks he's poison to those he cares about and they would be better off if he wasn't around. So, he runs away, or he pushes them away. Often with him the expected response is turned on its head.

Carlotta: I still think he's a coward to run.

Tea: Yet, he has a well-earned reputation for being a bully, and for staying and fighting until the bitter end. He's not a coward. You aren't there in the middle of the night when he's finally gotten to sleep and he's screaming in his sleep for his mother during a nightmare. Or screaming for help as if something terrible is chasing him. You aren't there when this man who can't cry in the day is crying hard in his hard-won sleep, and a small touch can settle him.

Carlotta: Crying?

Tea: Like a frightened, lost little boy. A child whose mother left him behind one day with a monster. Do you remember Valentine's Day?

Carlotta: I guess I do, yes.

Tea: How was Todd when he put his order in that day?

Carlotta: Actually, he was like a schoolboy.

Tea: (Scowls at Carlotta.)

Carlotta: No, Tea, he was just -- he seemed very unsure of how to proceed, but determined. He was very nervous, kept shifting from one foot to the other, he said he really wanted to make it a special day for you. He wanted to make you happy.

Tea: (Quietly:) He didn't yell, did he?

Carlotta: No. He was a bit shy, actually, almost warm. He smiled and was well-mannered, although restless. He finally left it up to me to choose, pointing out he hadn't a clue what your favourite traditional foods are.

Tea: Do you realize he trusted you, Carlotta? He trusted you to take care of me, like he trusts me with Starr. He doesn't trust anyone. For certain kinds of things, he doesn't even trust himself. I know the feeling. I hadn't the first clue he even had a plan until he picked me up from work. I'd gone to his office in the morning to remind him of the day and he bolted out.

Carlotta: At some point, he showed up here.

Tea: Did Cristian tell you about the roses?

Carlotta: He said they seemed to be everywhere.

Tea: Did he also tell you about the candles?

Carlotta: Everywhere.

Tea: Todd had done all of that himself. He must've taken the rest of the day off.

Carlotta: That sounds sweet and romantic. Not at all what I would expect from Todd. After that, you were miserable for the next couple of months. Do you see how this works, mija?

Tea: I was miserable because he was miserable and he wouldn't discuss it with anyone. We were both losing sleep, and he was a wreck. Within days, he had started having problems. It started even before Bo beat him up, it's why he hadn't slept the previous night or so.

Carlotta: You mentioned nightmares?

Tea: This is what I had meant. I can't give details, but in a nutshell, he was having this one nightmare for weeks. Except it wasn't a nightmare.

Carlotta: He was faking?!

Tea: Remembering.

Carlotta: Remembering?

Tea: Remembering some of the horrendous abuse he suffered for more than two decades. He couldn't sleep, for fear it would come back. Everytime he slept a little more came back. So he stopped sleeping and lived on coffee.

Carlotta: And you're just finding this out?

Tea: This incident, no, he filled me in some time ago. It took him a while before he felt he could tell us about it. Even you know there were others. He said in court that his father had raped him. I don't think it was the only time.

Carlotta: (Touched and concerned:) How did he survive?

Tea: (Quietly, looks at Carlotta:) I think you know how.

Carlotta: (Looking in Tea's eyes:) It's real, then? You believe him?

Tea: Yes. He was so shaken up by it all he stopped sleeping entirely for days at a time, and then he'd collapse and get a few hours sleep and the dream would come back, bit by bit until he had the whole story. We now have an agreement that he tell one of us as soon as something happens.

Carlotta: Does he?

Tea: We're still working on it. He lets me sleep with him most nights now. He says having me there helps him sleep now. It used to terrify him.

Carlotta: Todd's very weird. I still don't see what you see in him. Your marriage has been too weird, not even consummated.

Tea: (A bit sheepishly:) Ummm. It has.

Carlotta: It has??

Tea: Yes.

Carlotta: He didn't hurt you?!

Tea: Not at all. Todd loves me. It's hard to resist a guy as sexy as he is who is also so tough on the outside, yet has this really tender side to him he struggles so hard to let out. He was very gentle. He's afraid to try again, though.

Carlotta: Is that why you've been drinking more coffee for the past few months and looking so tired? I've been worried about you, Tea.

Tea: The nightmares?

Carlotta: Yes.

Tea: (Smiles slyly.) Oh. Yes. (Reassuringly:) Sometimes I go home early and take a nap.

Carlotta: The stress is going to destroy your health, mija.

Tea: (Smiles slightly.) I'm a big girl, Carlotta, I can take care of myself.

Carlotta: Can you take care of Todd, too? He's like a dangerous child, a bully. He's hurt you over and over again and yet you go back.

Tea: Believe it or not, he's doing it, pushing me away, to keep from hurting me in ways he feels would be even worse. He's very hard to love, and very hard not to love, once you know him.

Carlotta: The fact remains that he hurts you everytime you return to him. You have a history with the bad boys.

Tea: (Bristling, firmly:) I also have a history with Todd, Carlotta. You spent months and months dressing him down to me, and you don't even know him. You only know the public Todd Manning, the one everyone calls a monster. His father called him that, he told him he was garbage. Think about what that means to a little boy.

Carlotta: I can believe it.

Tea: How would you have felt if Diego had called your sons "garbage", to their faces, especially?

Carlotta: I'd've kicked him out.

Tea: Exactly.

Carlotta: Why didn't Todd's mother do anything about this?

Tea: She was too terrified to cross Peter, apparently. Todd says they yelled at each other many nights for hours and he could often hear Peter beating her. You don't know Todd. You met him as an adult, long after the damage had already been done. What might I have been like without you after my mother left? After she died?

Carlotta: You became hard and driven enough even with my care.

Tea: Todd had no one. Except a brutal man who spent his son's whole life torturing and humiliating him. He had Sam, but he was always returned to Peter. Control over himself is of enormous importance to Todd. He is horrified at and ashamed of himself, heartsick that he broke his vow to himself and to Marty in particular to never hurt another woman, but he does not rape anymore. He's learned that lesson. He loves me to distraction and he doesn't want to keep hurting me in any way.

Carlotta: And you're willing to spend your life, drop the career you worked so hard to train for and build, that your brother Enrique slaved to pay for, to live in the shadow of this broken, destructive man?

Tea: I am not in Todd's shadow, Carlotta. If anything, we're both in the shadow of Peter Manning.

Carlotta: Then he casts quite a shadow, not only over Todd and you, but over everyone Todd comes in contact with.

Tea: And my mother's leaving, her death, doesn't cast a shadow over me?

Carlotta: (Looks surprised.)

Tea: That's why Todd feels his vileness is so dangerous, it seems so contagious. He lives in fear that anyone he cares about he will hurt, or they will hurt or leave him. Just like I do. His mother left him, too, Carlotta, and like me it broke his heart.

Carlotta: But you recovered.

Tea: Not really. I live in fear, as he does, that if I let myself care about someone that they will leave me, like Mami.

Carlotta: Mija!

Tea: Si, Carlotta. So, I see the importance of sticking by him, as hard as it is at times, because he would be crushed if I left and it would tear my heart out to leave him. I told him I would stay. It isn't just for me, it's for him and for Starr. I can't leave Starr.

Carlotta: And he betrayed you.

Tea: You don't know how many times I've betrayed him.

Carlotta: You betrayed him?

Tea: Yes, and in ways where his usual ready accusations of betrayal really would accurately apply. Like with Andrew.

Carlotta: He's got you cowed, bullied into so much self-blame, guilt, and denial you're defending him with all this.

Tea: (Calm:) Actually not, Carlotta. I testified in court against him, wanting to put him away for a very long time. I called the cops on him when he had me in that shed. Those were deep betrayals. He had asked me to help him, first to escape, and then I had the option to betray him on that and get him psychiatric help instead, something he is deathly afraid of. I chose to call the police on him. I did that out of my anger at him, and in the process forgot how much I love him and it didn’t register he was struggling to cope and not very well. I'd be the first to point out his faults and misdeeds, to his face especially; but as his wife I am also the first to point out his good points to those who believe he has none and is only capable of violence and mayhem. Even you know he's capable of much more than that.

Carlotta: I don't have to like him.

Tea: No, but he deserves the benefit of the doubt if only for my sake. Eli is alive because Todd set up that trust to cover his medical bills. You're a big part of my family, Todd wants a family. Give him time to prove there's more to him than you think.

Carlotta: (Still cautious and skeptical:) I don't know, mija.

Tea: (Kisses Carlotta's cheek.) Speaking of Todd, I think he may be waiting up for me, since he doesn't sleep. He'll pretend he isn't, of course. Thank you for the coffee, I'll see you tomorrow.

Carlotta: Sleep well, mija. Buenos noches.

Tea: Buenos noches, Carlotta. (Leaves.)

[Scene ends.]

[Scene: PH2, night-time. Todd is asleep on the couch, his face to the back cushions, his knees drawn. The lighting is muted. Tea arrives home very late, after talking with Carlotta, and sees Todd on the couch. Music under the scene: "I'll stand by you", The Pretenders. Plays quietly under the scene until the song ends.]

Tea: (Watches Todd sleeping, tiptoes over to him. She stands over him, watching.)

Todd: (Sleeps restlessly, seems agitated in his sleep. He breathes shallowly and rapidly and holds himself in his sleep, almost as if he's trying very hard to keep himself quiet and comfort himself, as if terribly frightened.)

Tea: (Takes all of this in, a look of alarm crosses her face. Quietly:) Todd? Todd? What's wrong?

Todd: (No response, he appears very deeply asleep.)

Tea: (More insistently:) Todd? (Reaches hesitantly towards him but stops short of touching him and withdraws her hand. Observes Todd again.)

Todd: (Seems more agitated.)

Tea: Todd? (Reaches out to touch his back.)

Todd: (As if he has had an electric shock, he startles violently, nearly falling off of the couch as he flails around.)

Tea: (Backs away quickly enough that he doesn’t hit her in his confusion.)

Todd: (He holds onto the back of the couch for leverage and draws himself to sit long enough to back into the corner of the couch, seeming to tremble with fear. He curls up tightly in the corner, one arm around his knees. His eyes open only briefly and then close again as he breathes with some difficulty, gasping a lot, his hair everywhere.)

Tea: Todd! It's me, it's Tea! What's wrong? Todd?

Todd: (Eyes still closed, his hands fly to his head, he starts screaming at the top of his lungs.)

Tea: Stop it! Stop it,Todd!

Todd: (Stops screaming. Rocks himself, still holding his head, now sobbing.)

Tea: Todd, I can't take much more of this. Talk to me!

Todd: (Between sobs, murmuring:) Don't hurt me....... don't leave me here..... I won't tell, I won't.... (shaking head no.)

Tea: (Alarmed:) Todd?! What's wrong? Todd, where are you?

Todd: (Small voice, almost a whisper:) Closet. (Gasping a lot, as if strangling.)

Tea: Why? Take a deep breath, Todd. You're ok.

Todd: (Tries to breathe more easily, his hand on his upper chest.) Bad boy.

Tea: Who says so?

Todd: Daddy. (Gasping again and beginning to sob.)

Tea: Did your father do something to you?

Todd: Hurt me. (Through barely controlled sobs:) Daddy hurt me real bad.

Tea: (Quietly, gently:) How did your father hurt you, Todd?

Todd: (Evasive:) Daddy did something very dirty. It hurt a lot. Very messy. Hide. Gotta hide. Can't feel. Can't feel this. Don't feel....

Tea: Why are you in the closet?

Todd: Safe. (Eyes flutter open, he looks around for Tea.)

Tea: Can you look at me, Todd?

Todd: (Seems disoriented, orients to her voice. Looks at her, face blank but shocky.)

Tea: (Reassuringly:) Bad dream, Todd. You were in a closet. Remember anything?

Todd: (Lucid but far away:) Different closet. Hiding.

Tea: Different incident?

Todd: Smaller. (Long pause, he seems very far away.)

Tea: (Trying to hold his attention and catch his eyes:) Smaller closet than in the other nightmare?

Todd: (Stirs. Looks at her, heavy sigh. Nods.) Bad touch.

Tea: Huh?

Todd: (Stares into space.) Only worse.... (Visibly upset again:) I can't say it!

Tea: He didn't.....!

Todd: I deserved it.

Tea: No. Why do you persist in believing that? Look at me, Todd. Look at me.

Todd: (Looks at her. With certainty:) I know I'm going straight to hell, I just know it. And you know who's gonna be there to greet me? My Dad, Peter Manning. (Flatly:) He's right. I'm weak. I let him do it. My punishment for being weak. I'm pathetic. (His voice catches.)

Tea: You're not pathetic, Todd. How old were you?

Todd: Doesn't matter. (Shrugs.) I don't know.

Tea: Does.

Todd: (Thinks.) Seven?

Tea: That's little.

Todd: (Wails:) Tea, it hurt! He said it was all my fault, 'cos I'd been bad, (anger and anguish:) but I never knew what I'd done!

Tea: (Touches his head.)

Todd: (Jerks violently away, as if shocked again. Bolts off the couch and crosses the room, to a corner beyond the stairs and wedges himself in by the window, sitting, knees drawn to his chest.)

Tea: (Follows.)

Todd: Stay away from me! Don't touchme! Get the hell away from me! Get the hell awayfrom me! Go away! Don't touch me! (Anguished wail:) Go away! (Sobbing:) Please go away! (Screaming:) GO AWAAAAYYY!!!! (Panting and trying to contain sobs of panic.)

Tea: (In a calming, quiet tone:) I'm not leaving you, Todd. I'll sit right here. I won't touch you. (Sits in front of him.)

Todd: (Whispering:) Don't go....... please. I'm so scared. I-I'll promise you anything you want, more money, your own practice, anything.

Tea: (Growing angrier by the moment. Quietly, seething, almost a whisper:) Haven't you learned anything, Manning?

Todd: (Eyes closed, trying to contain intense emotions:) Only, please, just don't leave me.

Tea: You don't get it!

Todd: (Flinches at her raised voice. Looks at her.)

Tea: You stilldon't get it!

Todd: Get what?

Tea: I don't want your money!

Todd: Then what doyou want of me?

Tea: You! You and Starr! A family with you,you jerk! Remember? "The whole wedding deluxe", you said. I want that with you.

Todd: (Looks surprised. Shakily, incredulous:) I'm freaking out completely, and you're talking about wedding vows.

Tea: That's my point! Can't you get that I love all of you? That I want allof you?

Todd: (Morose:) I'm not worth anything.

Tea: If you lost all your money tomorrow I'd still marry you again.

Todd: Why?

Tea: You!

Todd: (Still trying to stop crying.) I'm a mess! What have I got to offer, except more pain?

Tea: You.

Todd: Me?

Tea: Your laughter, gentleness..... I don't care about the money. I want you.

Todd: Me? How could anyone want me?

Tea: Just you. I want all of you. You and Starr are all I want or need.

Todd: I'll hurt you. You don't want me.

Tea: Oh, I do. I do. Yes, you've hurt me, and it's been quite terrible. It's much worse still without you. Emptier. Too quiet. Try as I might, I could never stop loving you.

Todd: (Gulps.) Never?

Tea: Never. (Seems to come to a decision. Carefully places her hand flat in the middle of his chest.) Hussshhh.......

Todd: (Heavy sigh. Begins to relax a little. Looks at her.)

Tea: (Continuing quietly:) I promised you we would work together to make this marriage work, you promised me that you wanted to be with me no matter how bumpy the road, or how many potholes, and that you wanted more than anything to make me happy. You said you were scared, and the only person you wanted to be scared with was me. (Very quietly:) I'm here.

Todd: (Melts, looking deep into her eyes. Takes a deep breath.)

Tea: (Stands up.)

Todd: (Panic.) You're not leaving?!

[Music: "Everybody Hurts", REM. Plays quietly under the whole scene until the song ends.]

Tea: Pillows. I'm going to get some pillows from the couch to sit on. My butt hurts already. (Reassuring:) I'm going to be right where you can see me the whole time.

Todd: Ok... (Cannot take his eyes off her the whole time she is retrieving the pillows, craning around to keep watch on her.)

Tea: (Returns.) See? Here, sit on this, "dagger cheeks". (Flashes him a gentle grin.)

Todd: (Watches in silence as she settles down on one, and then settles onto the proffered one. His expression settles into one of vulnerability and awe. He reaches out his hand to her.)

Tea: (Cautiously takes his hand, waiting for him to recoil.)

Todd: (As soon as contact is made, he inhales sharply, letting it out in little puffs, as if trying hard to calm himself. He remains in contact. Swallows.) I'm sorry I've been such a handful. No. That... came out all wrong -- (Closes his eyes tightly and turns his head away a little)

Tea: (Leans down to catch his eye, looks him in the eyes. Gently:) Open your eyes. (He does.) You're myhandful.

Todd: (Looks in her eyes. Tugs on her hand, drawing her closer, looking intently at her. Quietly:) Mom never heard it happening. Not even my screams.

Tea: (Moves closer. They face each other and look in each other's eyes. Quietly:) You're ok now, Todd. Safe with me.

Todd: (Looks down, seems to compose himself, looks at Tea from under his brow, looks down at their hands.)

Tea: (Carefully:) I.... want to... do something.

Todd: (Looks up at her sharply.)

Tea: (Gently:) Will you let me try something with you?

Todd: (Backs away, still holding her hand.) No, no, Delgado. Not now.....

Tea: (Calmly reassuring, looks in his eyes, hand on his chest again:) Nonono, nothing of that sort. Really. I said I would wait, and I mean it.

Todd: (Closes his eyes and takes a deep, shaky breath. Opens his eyes. Warily:) Then, what?

Tea: (Rising:) Hold on, I'll be right back. Will you trust me? I'm getting us some blankets. (Takes his chin in her hand and gently strokes it, looking in his eyes.) Do you want them from your bed or mine?

Todd: (Briefly pauses, uncomfortably:) Yours, I guess. Whatever you want.

Tea: (Standing above him, looking down.) I'll be right back. (Strokes his cheek gently, almost like a kiss, and bounds up the stairs. He closes his eyes, soaking this in.)

Todd: (Turns his head away and stares blankly, looks anxious and vulnerable. He hugs his knees to his chest.)

Tea: (Returns moments later with quilts, smiling.) See?

Todd: (Looks up, face awash in relief for a moment, then the blank mask clouds his face. He watches her every movement again until she is sitting near him again. Quietly:) What are you doing?

Tea: (Small smile:) Nothing bad. (Ducks her head down slightly to catch his gaze. Quietly playful:) Peek-a-boo. (Slowly smiles.)

Todd: (His brow furrows, evidently not understanding her. Looks like he doubts her sanity for a moment.)

Tea: I keep coming and going and you keep trusting me to come back, and I do.

Todd: (Quietly:) Oh.

Tea: I didn't even realize I was doing it at first. Look: I'm not going to push you into something you're not ready for, ok? This is innocent.

Todd: (Squirming as she speaks, looking pointedly at the pile of quilts:) Look, I know you want to go to bed with me... (looks at her) I can't,ok? (Looks away, sad.)

Tea: Hushshsh..... Todd? Please (touches his arm), please look at me.

Todd: (Shakes his head, closing his eyes.)

Tea: (Touches his face.)

Todd: (Jerks his head away, looks at her, turns away.)

Tea: (Thinks.) Ok. Look at me?

Todd: (Slowly turns to look at her again.)

Tea: (Smiles. Gently says:) Peek-a-boo, Todd. (Grins a little at him, looking in his eyes. Quietly:) I'm still here. You've got nothing here to be ashamed of, ok?

Todd: (Listens, his eyes flit intensely from her eyes to her mouth several times, studying her, as if trying to connect and to orient to her.)

Tea: (Gently:) I love you, Todd. (Pauses, watching his face. Quietly:) Here's what I want to try, ok?

Todd: (Cautiously:) Ok....

Tea: (Gently:) Would you like me to hold you?

Todd: (Seems to visibly melt.)

Tea: (Gently:) No more than just that, ok?

Todd: (Tenses again.) I don't know if I can let you do that, Delgado. (Looks away.)

Tea: Let me try? (Tracks his eyes again and locks on. Strokes his face, holding his chin and stroking it. His eyes visibly soften as he looks in her eyes while she does this. He is very obviously in love. He's also very frightened, but so far he tolerates her touch.)

Todd: (Takes her hand again, breathes, looks at their hands and then her eyes.)

Tea: (Looking in his eyes, quietly:) Few things give me more pleasure than touching you.

Todd: (Breathes. Quietly:) Ok.

Tea: (Grabs a quilt and drags it with her. Moves to his side and leans against the wall, her legs across his, and hugs him towards her.)

Todd: (Warily watches her. Scootches over to her cautiously.)

Tea: (Reassuring:) It's ok. It's gonna be ok, Todd.

Todd: (Slowly moves and slips his arms around her, rests his head on her shoulder, hesitantly.)

Tea: (Lightly places her hand on his head, kissing his head.) I love you, Todd.

Todd: (His eyes close with much emotion, as if he has waited a long time to hear her say this. His body seems to relax somewhat.)

Tea: (Quietly:) I've got you. I'm not letting you go.

Todd: (Seems to melt against her body.)

Tea: (Adjusts the quilt around them.)

Todd: (Snuggles closer against her, eyes closed. Almost inaudible:) I love you, Tea.

Tea: (Smiles quietly. Quietly soothing, her hand on his head protectively:) Try to sleep, querido.....

[Scene ends.]

TO BE CONTINUED