PREVIOUSLY

"No, I'm sorry. I was a little over sensitive," she stays, stepping out of the bathroom. "Okay, so how does it look? Should I just start moo-ing now?"

"Wow! Delgado, you look great." He walks over to her and gives her a quick peck on the cheek. "Let's go," he says, grabbing her hand and leading her out the door.

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Blair looks around Club Indigo one last time for some trace of Cassie, Dorian, or Kelly. She had arrived a little early and had to wait for them. She decided to take a seat at the bar until they arrived. She fiddles with her drink while thinking about the person she's not supposed to be thinking about - Todd.

"Why couldn't I have been the one to make you happy, Todd?" she thinks to herself. She hated the fact that she had to put up with so much misery and pain from Todd while Tea reaps all the rewards. Tea gets all the good times. Tea is one who gets to raise her daughter. Tea is the one Todd wants. Blair will never forgive her for that. She makes a private toast with herself and vows to do whatever she could to make Tea's life miserable.

"I see you started the party without us," Dorian says, surprising Blair from behind.

"Just water, Aunt Dorian. Besides, I was waiting on you all to show up. Now, we can get really get this party started. Let's go to our table."

"Blair, Cassie was telling me about your issues with Todd. I thought you had him out of your system," Dorian says.

"Come on, Aunt Dorian. She loved the guy. I can see how she'd be jealous of Tea," Kelly states.

"Jealous? You think I'm jealous? They could come skipping through that door right now for all I care. It wouldn't bother me one bit."

"Well, here's your chance to test that theory, Blair. Look."

They all turn towards the door to see Todd and Tea walking towards a table on the other side of the room. They don't seem to notice the group of women gawking at them as they find their seats at a table with Viki.

"Sorry we were late Viki. Something came up," Tea explains.

"Yeah. A fashion crisis of sorts," Todd teases.

"Well, that's alright. You're here now, and looking lovely, Tea." Viki says with a smile. She notices a gleam in both of their eyes, as if they were sharing a secret. "I'm just glad to be here with you. But I must say, Todd. I was a bit surprised to get your dinner invitation. It's a little unlike you."

"What? I can't invite my sister out to dinner occassionally?"

"Todd, I would love that. But getting you to spend time with your family is like pulling teeth. My guess is that you either want to ask me something or tell me something."

"You're good at reading him," Tea giggles. "You have to tell me your secret one day, Viki."

"Okay, since you already know something is up, I might as well come out and tell you what's going on."

"We have some news," Tea interrupts.

"Good news?" Viki wonders.

"Surprising news," Todd says. "Okay, I guess you can say it's good news," he corrects himself after catching a playful scolding glare from Tea. "Let's just say that in about 5 months or so, you're going to have another niece or nephew to spoil."

"No . . . you two are . . ," Viki sputters, completely surprised.

"We're going to have a baby!" Tea says excitedly.

"Oh, well this is good news. Todd, why didn't you tell me before now? You're about 4 months along, Tea? You look amazing! Come here and give me a hug, both of you. This is all so wonderful. I'm so very happy for you," Viki says, with a tear in her eye.

"Oh no. Please don't start that crying, Viki. You're going to make Delgado start . . . "

But it was too late. Both women were smiling and laughing through their tears of joy. Todd watches them and can't help but smiling too. Tea seemed so happy. And he was just happy that he was a part of that joy. For once in his life he felt like his presence in someone else's life wasn't like poison. That was the effect Tea had on him. She was a fresh shower of optimism when it seemed like his life was nothing but a disaster waiting to happen. Never before had he ever had feelings of hope.

His hope is short lived, however, when he glances around the room and notices Blair staring in their direction. Something in her eyes was telling him to beware. Part of him told him to take his wife and leave. Get her away from Blair and any schemes she might try to pull. But another part of him welcomed the danger. Almost challenging Blair to try something.

Blair didn't care, though. She used to fear Todd. She used to be afraid of what he could do to her. But she could see that he was losing his edge. And she blamed Tea for that.

"Blair? Would you just stop looking over there at them? You're just making things worse for yourself," Cassie warns.

"I told you before. I'm fine," Blair claims. "They're not bothering me at all. Watch. I'll prove it to you."

Blair picks up the drink and walks over to Todd, Tea, and Viki.

"What do you want, Blair?" Todd asks angrily.

"Would you just calm down, Todd? I just came to thank you for your hospitality the other night. You went out of your way and I appreciate it," Blair says, almost sounding sincere.

Tea doesn't buy it, though. She can tell that Blair has other, less than noble intentions.

"You're welcome, Blair," Tea says, playing along with Blair to see what she's going do next. "We couldn't have very well thrown you out into the storm, now could we?"

"I would have," Todd mutters under his breath, then catching a glare from all three women.

"Well, it was still very kind of you to offer. And as a token of my gratitude, let me buy you all some drinks. Oh waiter," she yells. She spins towards the passing waiter, intentionally letting her drink spill all over Tea in the process.

"Did I do that?" Blair asks sheepishly. "I'm so sorry, Tea. And all over your beautiful dress," she laughs and turns to walk away. Todd grabs her arms and jerks her back.

"No, Todd. Don't. Just leave her alone," Tea says. "I can't deal with her right now. I'm going to go dry off in the ladies room. Let's just go home. Viki, I'm sorry about tonight. Maybe we can continue the celebration another time." She gets up and through her tears, makes her way towards the ladies room.

"I can't believe you, Blair. That was lower than what I gave you credit for," Todd says in a cold, even tone that scared Blair. It meant he was calmly calculating how he was going to get even with her. He drags back to her table and throws her on her chair.

"Ladies, I'd appreciate it if you would keep a tighter reign on this one. The next time she attacks, I'll shoot to kill."

"You can't talk about me like I'm sort of dog, Todd. Your little wife got just what she deserved," Blair yells at him, hoping to provoke him. When he remains stoic, she gets up and storms off in anger.

"Todd, we're really sorry about that," Kelly tries to apologize. "That was uncalled for. Blair's just a little . . ."

"Crazy? Psychotic? And people think I'm insane," Todd says just before stomping back to his table. "Is Delgado finished yet, Viki? It's time to get out of here."

"Are you okay, Todd?" she asks, concerned. "It breaks my heart to see . . ."

"Don't be worried about me. Worry about Tea. Blair gets her so wound up and upset. It can't be good for her or the baby. And worry about Blair, because if anything happens to Tea . . ," he trails off.

"How has Tea been doing? I didn't want to tell her this, but she looked really tired. I know the first few months of pregnancy can be kind of rough."

"She was doing fine until last week when Blair stayed over. Ever since then, she's been having little twinges that she claims are normal growing pains. But, we'll find out tomorrow. She has a doctor's appointment in the morning. I just hope I don't regret not making her go sooner."

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Tea stands in the mirror of the ladies room, eyeing the damage done to her dress. Just when she thinks Blair can't be any more petty and vindictive, she's proven wrong. And tonight was just the tip of the iceburg. Tea knew that. Once Blair got her mind set on doing something, she kept on until the job was finished. And her mission was breaking Tea.

Nothing more can be done for the dress. Tea takes one last glance in the mirror and then turns to leave. She walks through the lounge portion of ladies room and runs right into Blair.

"What do you want, Blair? To finish the job? I think you've done enough for tonight. You ruined my dress. You ruined my evening. And you managed to embarrass me in front of a room full of people. Isn't that enough for one night?" Tea asks, her voice almost a scream.

"Tea. You should know that this is only the beginning. I've got much more planned for you," Blair says calmly, forming a wicked grin with her mouth.

"Well, whatever you have on your mind, I'm not up for it tonight, Blair. It's going to have to wait for another day. Now, excuse me." Tea tries to walk through the door, but Blair blocks her way. Seeing that any efforts to leave would be futile, Tea looks around and sits down in the nearest chair. She rubs the back of her neck as a dull pain slowly spreads from the base of her head down to her back. She settles in for what she can only assume to be a long night.

TO BE CONTINUED