PREVIOUSLY

"I was scared too, Todd. But I knew you were out there. I knew you were here for me." She reaches over to the edge of the bed and grabs hold to his hand. She gently places it on her stomach and hugs it close to her body.

Todd turns back around towards her, but notices that she's already drifted off to sleep.

"Oh Tea. You have so much faith in me," he whispers, not wanting to wake her. "You've taken care of me and Starr all this time. Now it's time to take care of you. I'm going to fix this. I promise. One way or another, Blair is not going to bother you anymore."

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"Rise and shine, Honey. It's time to get up!" Max playfully nudges Blair until she begins to stir.

She reluctantly opens her eyes and sees the fuzzy image of Max standing over her with a tray of dry toast and coffee.

"What are you doing here, Max?" she grumpily asks.

"Good morning to you too, Sunshine. What kind of way was that to greet the man you say you want to marry?" He laughs at her as he puts the tray down next to her. He walks over to the windows and opens the blinds wide, letting in a shower of sunlight to every corner of the room and causing Blair to retreat back under the covers.

"No, no, no," he scolds, pulling back the blankets again. "It's time for you to get out of that bed and start explaining to me what exactly it is you were up to last night."

"What do you mean, Max?" Blair asks innocently.

"What do you mean, 'what do I mean'? You know exactly what I mean. What happened Blair? What happened to get you so upset that you went over to Rodi's and got trashed?"

"I wasn't that drunk . . ."

"Trust me, Blair. You'll never know how drunk you really were. But that's besides the point. All I want to know is why?" He stares at her and waits for the explanation. "It was Todd, wasn't it? Todd did something that got you all worked up that you ended up at the nearest bar drowning your sorrows. Blair, what I don't understand is why you let that man get to you."

"It wasn't just him. It was that annoying little wife of his. Max, that woman gets on my last nerve. I can't stand her. Last night, I met Dorian, Kelly, and Cassie at Club Indigo for a ladies night of sorts. Well, in prances Todd with that tramp on his arm. I go over to be polite and say hello. But somehow, a drink ends up all over Tea and Todd blames me!"

"Imagine that," Max adds, sarcastically.

"Anyway, Tea goes to the bathroom to clean up her dress, which by the way she should be thanking me for ruining it for her because it made her look fat. I follow her in there to . . .discuss a few things," Blair says with a wicked grin, remembering how she left Tea a crying, quivering mess. "I guess Aunt Dorian overheard a few things that she didn't like and she ended up taking Tea's side. They all did. By then, I was so mad that I just stormed out and left them there with her. If they want to be Tea's new best friend, then so be it. I don't need them. I don't need any of them!"

The phone rings, interrupting Blair's tirade.

"Hello," she says as she picks up the phone.

"Good morning, Miss Cramer. This is Mrs. Evans, nurse of the Llanview Christian Day School. I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"What's wrong! Is Starr alright?" Blair immediately assumes the worst.

"Oh, everything is fine. Starr says she isn't feeling well, although I can't find anything wrong with her. I think she just might need you to talk to her for a few minutes. I tried calling her father, but I didn't get an answer. I hope it was alright calling you."

"Mrs. Evans, it was more than alright. In fact, I'm really glad you contacted me. Tell Starr that I'll be there as soon as I can." She hangs up the phone and runs into her bathroom to get ready.

"What's wrong with Starr?" Max asks with some concern.

"Nothing that some time with her real mommy won't cure. I don't know what Tea did to my poor little baby, but she's at school pretending to be sick just to get some attention. I have to get her out of that house, Max. Before it's too late."

An hour later, Blair is rushing down the school hall towards Starr's classroom.

"Mommy!" The little girl excitedly runs to her mother's open arms.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, the nurse called and told me you weren't feeling well. I had to come and check on you," she says, still hugging Starr.

"Hi Miss Cramer. I'm glad you could make it. The other students are out at recess, but Starr wanted to say inside and help me." Starr's teacher gives them both a warm smile. "But I think she's okay now. She probably just needed to see a familiar face."

"Should I take her home?"

"You know, she looks fine now. I think she'll be alright the rest of the day. Sorry to drag you all the way out here. I know you must be pretty tired and everything."

Blair tries to fake a smile. She knows that she had a rough night, but she didn't realize that she looked that bad. Her smile begins to fade a little when she thinks about how rude the teacher was remarking on her looks.

"No, don't misunderstand me," the teacher quickly says when she notices Blair's look of aggravation. "I think you look great. I looked like a whale the entire time I was carrying my baby. But you don't even look pregnant. How far along are you?"

"Excuse me?" Blair's look of aggravation turns into confusion. "I'm not pregnant. Where did you get that idea?"

"From Starr." The teacher looks down at the little girl and it's her turn to be confused. "She told the whole class about how her daddy and mommy were going to have a baby. She's been so excited. It's all she's been talking about this whole week."

"Well, you must be mistaken. Her father and I aren't even married anymore," Blair insists.

"Starr, why would you say such a thing?" the teacher asks.

"I was talking about my other mommy. Mommy Tee. She says that I'm going to have a baby brother or sister soon. And every morning she lets me rub her belly and wake up the baby. But not this morning because she wasn't there." Starr starts to get tears in her eyes. "Mommy Tee and the baby got sick and had to go to the hospital last night. Auntie Viki stayed at home with me. I hope she's alright." The little girl is sobbing now.

Blair bends down and scoops up her daughter, trying to comfort her as her own thoughts swirled wildly in her head. She's almost dizzy with the thought that she might have something to do with Tea's condition.

"What have I done?" she asks herself. "What have I gotten myself into this time?"

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Todd paces nervously in front of the courthouse. He promised Tea that Blair would never be able to hurt her or the baby again. He's here to keep that promise to her. He just hopes that he can go through with what he knows he has to do. Gathering up his courage, he boldly struts through the doors, making his way to the family court floor. He approaches Judge Ryan's door and takes a deep breath before knocking.

"Come in," he hears the judge mumble through the door. "Ah, Mr. Manning. I got the message you wanted to see me. Although I don't really understand why. It's not customary for me to meet with one of the parties involved in a custody case without council present. You do realize that nothing we say here today can have a direct bearing on the case?"

"I understand that, Judge. I just needed to talk to you. See if I can clear up this problem right here and right now," Todd states clearly and matter of factly.

"What about your attorney? Will she be joining us?"

"She won't be here today, Judge. That's really why I'm here." Todd takes another deep breath and starts his story. "As you are aware, my attorney is also my wife."

"I am aware. You two married rather unexpectedly almost a year ago. Am I right? And you currently have custody of your daughter, Starr, while her mother undergoes psychiatric evaluation. I see here from the case notes that your ex-wife has been having supervised visitations with and the social worker seems to think that your ex-wife is progressing quite well. Are you here because you're worried about her getting custody?"

"Judge, that's complicated. When this whole thing started, I wanted nothing more than to keep my daughter with me. Permanently. But I can see how happy she is when she sees her mother. I wouldn't dream of taking that away from her. At the same time, it's not fair to her to have to bounce between two homes. Tea and I have made a home for her. One that she's happy in."

"Mr. Manning, we really shouldn't be discussing . . . "

"No, let me finish, Judge. Please. I love my daughter. And I want her with me. But there has been a lot of tension and stress lately because of it." Todd slowly speaks, carefully choosing his words. "As a result, my wife is suffering. I don't want to see that."

"What are you trying to say, Mr. Manning?" The judge looks at him confused.

"Judge, you know that I am currently married to my attorney, Tea Delgado. But what you don't know is that we're expecting a child. This custody war has been having adverse affects on her. . . and the baby." His voice is barely a whisper. Clearly shaken, he stands up and walks over to a window, staring out of it blankly. "Tea and Blair don't get along. And before, I never thought much of it. Starr loves them both and they both love her. But now with the baby, I have to protect an innocent child."

"What do you mean adverse affects? Mr. Manning, what's going on? Is your ex-wife threatening your wife and unborn child? I remember when she pushed your wife out of that window. Is your wife in physical danger?"

"I know that none of this is going to be on the record, but I'd rather not comment to that. We've all done things that we're not proud of, Judge. But despite what she's done, she is Starr's mother. And Starr loves her. And I don't want to hurt Starr in any way. And if she couldn't ever see her mother again, that would hurt her." Todd turns around and faces the judge again. "But at the same time, I'm not going to let my wife and unborn child suffer. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to end this battle. And if that means joint custody, then I'll go for it."

"I agree that it would be best to keep this thing out of court, Mr. Manning. I'll contact the attorneys and see what I can work out," the judge says.

"I'd rather Tea stay out of it," Todd asserts. "Her doctors say that she has to keep her stress level down. And dealing with Blair is nothing but stress for her."

"Give me a few days, Mr. Manning. I need to think about what you've said and review the case some more."

"Thank you, Judge. I'll be waiting to hear from you," Todd says as he walks out of the judge's chambers. He gets down the hall before collapsing against a wall, letting out a sigh of relief. He's still not sure he's doing the right thing, but hopefully it'll all work out. It has to.

TO BE CONTINUED...