PREVIOUSLY

"Mr. Manning," the judge begins. "I assume that you can guess that I'm here about that article in your newspaper. Before this thing got out of hand, I wanted to speak with everyone involved in this custody case. Get a few things settled and out in the open."

"I understand, Judge," Todd says meekly. "I'm anxious to get things out in the open too." He throws Blair a threatening glance and notices that she flinches slightly. "I'll go get my wife."

He slowly walks up the stairs. Dreading every step. The article was bad enough for Tea. She definitely doesn't need this, he thinks to himself. Whatever happens, he has to be strong. Strong for her and strong for his family. They needed him now. And he wasn't about to let them down.

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A few minutes later, he reemerges from upstairs, with Tea holding on tightly to his hand. She's so scared that he can feel her shaking, so he puts his arm around her to steady her as they walk towards the couch across from where Max and Blair are sitting. The judge finds a big chair between the two couples and begins the unofficial trial.

"Mr. Manning, I'm going to give you a chance to explain the article," says the judge.

"No explanations are necessary, your honor." Todd looks at Tea and squeezes her hand a little.

"I knew you were faking," Blair laughs. "It's a shame, Todd. Having to pay a woman to marry you. And now, the whole town knows all about it."

"Miss Cramer, that's enough," the judge scolds. "This may not be my courtroom, but I will not have this meeting get out of control. You need to contain your outbursts."

"I'm sorry, Judge," Blair apologizes. "I was out of line. But, Your Honor. Todd and Tea were out of line, too. Tricking the court into giving them custody of my child. What are we going to do about that tonight?"

"As far as granting custody one way or the other, I cannot do that. That can only be settled in court. But, there are rumors flying around about the validity of this family structure that Starr has been placed in. I feel that it's in the child's best interest that I check things out for myself," the judge says, turning to Todd and Tea to give them a chance to explain.

"Your Honor," Todd starts. "Things look bad. I know they do. And I know the kinds of things you've been hearing. And I'm going to tell you now that they're all true. What Blair said. What everyone's saying is true. Tea and I made an arrangement to get married so that it would appear to the court that we were a stable family for Starr." He pauses for a moment and looks over at Tea. She's holding her head down, but he can see that she's barely able to hold in her tears. She's holding his hand so tightly that he can see the impressions from her fingers. He knows that she's tense and afraid. He reaches behind her and begins to rub her back, trying to get her to relax a little.

"At the time, I was so angry at my ex-wife that I wanted to punish her. And I wanted to make sure that Starr was able to stay with me forever. But, the more time passed, the more Blair was convincing the social worker that she was capable of taking care of Starr. So, we came up with the idea of having a baby to strengthen our case. We never thought the plan would backfire."

"And it backfired in a big way, Todd," Blair teases. "You should have known that you wouldn't have been able to take my child away from me. I wasn't going to let you get away with it."

"Miss Cramer, that is not for you to decide," the judge scolds. "I've warned you once about your outbursts. One more and you will be sorry. Your daughter is right upstairs. Don't you even care about upsetting her?"

"Again, I'm sorry Judge. So now that the truth is out, what do I need to do to get my daughter out of this house?"

"I honestly don't think that you will," the judge snaps. "Not by yourself, anyway. All of your behavior has been reprehensible. All four of you. I am appalled, but mostly disappointed. Especially in you, Counselor." She looks over at Tea and can see the remorse on her face. "But I'm not here to scold. I just needed to see for myself how things really were. And this meeting today has taught me something about all of you."

"Miss Cramer," she says, looking at Blair. "You wanted to know how to get your child out of this house. If I were you, I'd be thanking God that she had such a good and loving home. One where the people love and adore her. And one where she's happy. If you'd open your eyes enough, you could see that her happiness should come before your own."

"Mr. Manning. I can see that you have learned that lesson." She turns towards Todd and Tea. "Although you started this whole custody battle with the wrong attitude, your recent actions have indicated that you are willing to sacrifice your happiness for the sake of your children."

"What's she talking about, Todd?" Tea asks, suddenly looking up at Todd. This is the first she's ever heard of any of this.

"Mrs. Manning, your husband came to my chambers the other day for a visit. It was a bit out of the ordinary, but I let him speak. I thought he was there to do what most people in his situation do - try to bribe me. But I was surprised. Mr. Manning came to me that day and asked me to drop the whole custody fight. He didn't want it to go on any longer than it had. That day, he was willing to share custody with Miss Cramer."

"That's what you were at the courthouse for, Todd? To tell to the judge you were dropping the custody case?" Blair is shocked. She can hardly believe what she's hearing. Then she gets angry. "Why is this the first I'm hearing about this? You mean to tell me that I could have been preparing to get Starr back all this time?"

"Miss Cramer, for the last time. You need to remain calm!" the judge yells. "Yes, it's true. Mr. Manning came to drop the suit. But it's not that easy. I have sworn to protect the lives of the innocent. I have to make sure that any decision I make is in the best interest of Starr. And seeing your behavior today, Miss Cramer, I was wise for waiting."

"So what does all this mean?" Tea asks.

"It means that Todd and Blair will have a chance to work out a custody arrangement on their own. Once they bring that to the court, I will approve it or not. It all depends on Starr's best interest. But, that final document will be legal and binding. And deviation from it from either side will be punished. Blair, do you think you can deal with this solution? If I were you, I'd seriously think about it. If this custody battle continues, the next meeting we have may be at your house. And we'll be talking about the rumors going around about you. And your proclivity for threatening Mrs. Manning's life."

Blair gasps in shock. She knows that the judge had no proof that she's ever harmed Tea, but the gossip around town says otherwise. And unfortunately this gossip was true. And although Todd and Tea haven't used it against her yet, if things get desperate, they just might. She couldn't push them on this. She was going to take what she could get. But, she wouldn't let them know just yet. Make them sweat a little, she thinks to herself, smiling inwardly at the small bit of power she felt she still had over the situation.

"I'll have to get back to you on this. I don't know if I can deal with you letting them get away with deceiving the court like that," Blair whines.

"Oh, Miss Cramer. I'm sure you've gotten away with much worse," the judge replies, cooling her with an icy glare. "I'd say you were the one getting over on the courts. Not the Mannings. They got caught. In more ways than one." The judge laughs when they all look at her like she had suddenly grown another head.

"What do you mean by that? Caught in more ways than one," Todd finally asks.

"I'm sure you know, Mr. Manning," the judge says with a kind smile. The first they'd seen from her that night. "You and Tea thought you were playing a trick with this marriage act. Well, from where I'm standing, this marriage act played a trick on you. Not only were you caught by the law, but you were also caught by love. Don't laugh. I can see it," the judge says when Todd and Tea look at each other and nervously giggle, trying to deny what she just said.

"Don't believe me? You don't see it now, but I know that you feel it," she continues. "Why did you come to my office that day, Todd? Why would you suddenly decide to end this custody battle, when the odds were so much in your favor that you'd win? Because of Tea. You came to me because you wanted to protect her. You needed a way to stop Blair from hurting her, so you decided to give her what she wanted - Starr. I know what it took for a man like you to offer something like that. But it was the only way you could see to protect your wife and unborn child. I saw past what you were saying that day. I saw past the monster that everyone in town thinks you are. I saw a loving husband and devoted father. I saw a man in love."

"I don't have to stand here and listen to this," Blair says suddenly. She can see that the judge is right and it's tearing at her heart. As much as she's been through with Todd, a part of her will always want him to love her. "I'll get back to you about my decision," she says as she hastily makes it towards the front door. She barely makes it out before the tears start to flow.

"I think I'll take my cue from Blair," the judge says. "It's time for me to leave, too. Just think about what I said. And open your eyes. I'm sure you'll be surprised at what you see. Good night." She smiles once more at them before letting herself out.

Todd and Tea just sit there, stunned. It was crazy that the judge thinks they're in love. Isn't it? Todd can't quite wrap his mind around it, but something tells him that it's all true. Something tells him to grab Tea and never let her go. But his mind takes over instead. It wins the battle with his heart.

"We sure fooled them," he says, finally breaking the silence. "This didn't end like I had quite expected. I never thought we'd get caught. But at least the judge had compassion and didn't throw the book at us. Thinking that this marriage is actually real. But that's just crazy."

Tea's eyes shoot up to look at Todd directly. Her eyes flashed with all kinds of emotions - anger, disbelief, disappointment. But mostly hurt. His last comment had stung her. Why couldn't he just admit it, she wonders to herself. Maybe she was just imagining it all. The way she felt. The way she thought he felt. To him, the idea of them being together was just - crazy. Yeah, crazy was the word he used. Maybe she was crazy. But she didn't have to stand there and look foolish, too. She turns and runs up the stairs before he could see her tears.

"What have I done?" Todd mumbles to himself. She looked so hurt. Like she was about to cry. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt her, but that's exactly what he just did. "What have I done now?"

TO BE CONTINUED...