"Wake up!"

"Mmm...," he groans.

"Todd! Wake up!"

He groans, again, and rolls onto his side, draping an arm and a leg over her body and pulling her into him.

"Todd!," she growls. "Wake up and get off of me!"

Instead of doing as Téa wishes, Todd unconsciously moves his body further onto her body, bringing his head to rest on her chest. As he nestles his cheek in between her breasts, he wraps his arms around her. Content in his new position, he softly sighs and drifts deeper into sleep.

Téa stares at the ceiling in disbelief, shaking her head and muttering softly in Spanish. She looks down at him and hears him take in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She can feel his body relax completely. Knowing how difficult it is for him to sleep, she decides to remain still and allow him to use her body as a pillow. Not having anywhere better to put them, she places her hands on his back and gently pats him. Soon, the pats turn into slow caresses, up and down his back and over his silky hair, and Téa finds herself enjoying the intimate contact. They stay like that for a couple of hours.

~~~

The only sound in the room is their quiet breathing, and the peacefulness causes Téa's mind to wander. She thinks about all Todd has done to get to her...enlisting the help of her FBI agent brother, stowing away in a cargo hold, jumping out of the boat that was taking him away from her and swimming to shore. "You're crazy," she says, softly, as she kisses the top of his head.

"I know," he mumbles.

Téa rolls her eyes. "And awake, apparently."

"Yep," he says, as he lifts his head and leans up a little, so he can look into her eyes.

"How long have you been awake? Or, I should probably ask how long have you been feigning sleep? Have you been awake this whole time?"

"No. I just woke up about a minute ago. Honest."

"Oh. Well, since you're awake, you no longer need me for a pillow."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"I would. Get up."

"No."

"Todd..."

"I don't want to get up. Not yet."

"Todd, come on, I have to pee."

"Hold it."

"Todd!"

"Do you remember anything about last night?"

"We can discuss this later. Right now, I want you to get off of me, so I can go to the bathroom."

"You can hold it a little while longer."

"Only I know for sure. Do you want to risk being wrong?"

"Yeah, Delgado, I'll risk it, because I like where I'm at right now."

"Todd, please? I want to get a drink of water and brush my teeth and stuff. Come on, get off of me."

"No can do. Sorry, but I think we need to stay here, like this."

"Why?"

"Because, it makes it easier to do this," he says, as he leans down slowly to kiss her. Téa turns her face away at the last possible second, so he ends up kissing her cheek. "Todd! Gross! We need to brush our teeth and get rid of eye gunk and stuff. Eww. You gotta be kidding, now let me up."

Todd laughs, softly, as he brings a hand to touch her chin and turn her back to face him. "Morning grog...it's a fact of life, no big deal, get over it." He barely finishes his sentence, before he touches his lips to hers. She starts to moan a protest, when she feels his tongue enter her mouth, and suddenly, hygiene matters become a little less important. They kiss and caress and embrace for a long time, enjoying each other very much. Todd reaches down with one hand and begins to hike up Téa's long skirt, but Téa's hand quickly stops him.

"What's wrong, Delgado?"

"I don't want to do this," she says, speaking rapidly.

"Huh?"

"I don't want to do this, okay?"

Todd is stunned. "Uh, okay." Reluctantly, he rolls off of her, and she quickly leaves the bed and goes into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Todd stays on the bed, looking up at the ceiling and wondering what he did wrong. He checks his breath, and figures that might have been more of a problem than he originally realized. When he hears the shower start, he gets up and leaves the room, heading for his own bathroom, in an effort to eradicate the morning grog...even though he knows that's not the real reason Téa pulled back. Pulling back is just something she does. It's part of who she is...just like him.

~~~

"So, everything's going okay, huh?"

"Yeah, Téa, everything is going well. Nobody suspects a thing, and nobody ever will, so you can relax," says Del.

"How can you be so sure? I mean, maybe we overlooked something. Maybe something or someone got by us or..."

"Mija! Stop it. Everything's cool. Jesus, you weren't this tense when the actual project was underway, so why don't you just come clean with me, hmm? This has got to be about Manning. Nothing else in the world gets you as tightly wound as that guy. What did he do this time?"

"Nothing."

"Uh-huh."

"Del, he didn't do anything."

"Yeah, right. Put him on."

"No."

"Put him on the phone."

"No. He's not even here."

"Where is he?"

"Upstairs...I think. I really don't know. Maybe he's outside."

Del sighs and rubs his tired eyes. "Have you gotten anywhere? Have the two of you even tried to talk, or are you just avoiding each other? You know what that's gonna solve, right? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. You need to give each other a chance. Are either of you willing to do that?"

"I don't know. He is. Maybe. Apparently. I think. I dunno."

"And you?"

"I don't know! Can we just drop this, please?"

"Fine. You do what you need to do, but I think we all know that if you guys blow it this time, it's over for good, because there isn't going to be anything left of either of you. Without each other, you will both become as emotionally empty as you already fear you are. Neither of you is that empty, yet, but you're both on your way. Every time you two separate, a little piece of each of you dies. How bad are you gonna let it get, and can you live with the end result, if you walk away, again? If you let him walk away, again? Suck it up, baby girl, and deal with it head on. Deal with him, deal with you, deal with the two of you as a couple. And if for no one else's sake but mine, would you two just get it right for once? Get it right this time. Whether you go on together or alone, just make a freaking decision and stick to it. Commit one way or the other, before I lose what's left of my mind!"

"Yeah, Del," she deadpans. "It's all about you."

"Téa! Look, all I'm saying is..."

"I know what you're saying, and all I can say in response is that it is way easier said than done, okay?"

Del sighs. "Okay. I hear you. I just want good things for you, and I want you to be happy. Now, Todd Manning isn't my first choice in a man for you, but he is under your skin, and you're miserable without him in your life...so, you know, it seems kind of obvious what you need to do. Hint, hint."

"It's obvious?"

"Yes. Let down your guard for a little while and let him into your heart. I know it's scary, but he already has quite a chunk of real estate in there, so that makes it his spot, so you should let him have it."

Téa scrunches her face in confusion. "What? What the hell does that mean?"

"You don't get it? Damn, I thought I was being so deep...profound even."

"Deeply disturbed, maybe...profoundly stupid, yeah."

"Okay, let me put it to you this way: Love him or leave him."

"I did both already. Next idea."

"Listen to your heart. Go with your gut."

"Follow the yellow brick road? No, wait, you were going for a body part theme, huh?"

"Thank you for your contribution, smart ass. Hey, Téa, I'm just trying to help. The way I see it, the two of you can use all the help you can get."

"I know," she says, softly. "And, I do appreciate your concern and your suggestions."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I haven't got a clue."

"Well, I'm happy to have helped," he laughs.

"Your happiness is of the utmost importance, as we established earlier in our conversation."

Del smiles. "That is as it should be."

"Whatever."

"Listen, I gotta go. I'm not having much luck on this case of the disappearing Buke billions."

"You're not? Golly, that's a shame."

"Isn't it, though? I just keep coming up empty handed. Every time I think I've come up with something, it turns out to be nothing...or just plain disappears. It's just so darned strange."

They both laugh a little and say their goodbyes.

~~~

Téa is growing frustrated in her attempts at locating Todd. She has been all over the island looking for him, but he is nowhere to be found. She has called his name so many times, her throat is getting sore. She is concerned that he really did try to swim out to a boat, as she had suggested earlier. The sun is setting, and she is starting to worry.

She walks out to the beach one more time to take another look around, but she doesn't see him. "Todd!," she yells. "This isn't funny! Where are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Answer me!"

"Ah, you do still care," he says.

Téa quickly scans the area with her eyes, but she can't see him. She isn't even sure which direction the voice came from. "Where are you?"

He doesn't answer her.

"Todd! Dammit! If you don't show yourself right now, I swear to you, I'll lock you out of the house, again!"

"You've already locked me out of your heart, why not your house?"

Téa realizes where the sound is coming from, and she looks up to see Todd, lounging on his stomach, high in a bent over palm tree. "Yeah, up here, Delgado."

"What are you doing all the way up there? Have you been there all this time?"

"Yeah, I've been watching you search for me. You're not very good at it."

"Well, I'm sorry to be such a disappointment to you, Todd."

"Hey, I'm the disappointment here, not you. Duh."

"Todd, would you just come down, please?"

"Nah, I kinda like it up here. I can see for miles. Oh, by the way, Columbus didn't know shit...from what I can see, the world is definitely flat."

"Fine, the world is flat. A great big pancake. Now, will you please climb down?"

"Mmm...pancakes. You're making me hungry, Delgado."

"If you come down now, I'll make you some pancakes, okay?"

"Why are you so nervous about me being way up here, huh? You're giving off the impression that you care about my safety, about me. What's up with that?"

"I do care about you, Todd, and I don't want you to get hurt. If you fell, I wouldn't know what to do to help you. I have no medical training."

"That's too bad."

"Why?"

"Because, I was hoping you could give me a medically therapeutic massage. I'm getting cramps in weird places, from being up here for hours. I'm experiencing some numbness, too."

"Well, get down, and I'll give you a massage."

"I don't think you'd agree to massage me where the problem is."

"Where is the problem?"

"Let me put it to you this way...look how I'm sitting."

Téa rolls her eyes at him. "I don't believe you!"

"So, does that mean that you know where it hurts?"

"Given that you are straddling a palm tree, I can hazard a guess as to where on your body your discomfort can be found. And let me tell you, Manning, I am not rubbing you there, got it?"

"If you rubbed me there, then I would be getting it...or something pretty close." He cracks up at her expression. "Lighten up, Delgado. I'm only kidding. When did you become such a prude?"

"I'm not a prude. I'm just tired of all the innuendos and bullshit. We both know nothing is ever going to happen, so let's just stop the word games and double entendres."

"We know that, huh?"

"Yes, we do. Now, climb down from the tree. God, I sound like I'm talking to a child."

"I will come down, but only if certain conditions are met."

"You are in no position to bargain, Manning."

"Yes, I am. Here are my terms."

"Good grief."

"If I come down, you will cook me dinner..."

"I already said I would make pancakes."

"Hey! No interrupting. I said dinner, not breakfast. I don't want pancakes for dinner. I want a real dinner, okay?"

"Okay, fine. Just climb down."

"Not so fast, there's more."

"Of course, there is."

"You have to be nice to me for the rest of the night."

"Define nice."

"Not a bitch."

"Done. What else?"

"After dinner, you have to dance with me."

"Fine."

"The slow kind."

"Fine."

"On the beach."

"Fine, Todd. We'll slow dance on the beach. Now, get down."

"There's more."

"What?!"

"I might feel like kissing you."

"No."

"Then, I'm not coming down."

"I thought your, um, certain body parts were getting sore, from straddling that tree all afternoon? If the day ever comes when you would like them to be in working order, you might want to consider relieving the pressure they are currently experiencing. Just a thought."

"You have no idea how much pressure they are experiencing."

"Todd..."

"I get to kiss you, or the deal is off, Delgado."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because, I want to. I want to continue where we left off last night."

Téa narrows her eyes slightly. "What exactly happened last night?"

"You don't remember?"

"Uh, no...things are a little hazy. I think I've lost some of the details."

"Oh, you mean like how you pulled me on top of you and started kissing me and groping me and stuff?"

"I did not."

"Oh, yes, you did!"

She looks at the ground and puts her hands over her face, groaning in frustration. He grins, loving his advantage.

She looks back up at him. "If I groped you, and I'm not saying I did, but if I did, then I apologize, Todd. I shouldn't have done that to you."

"Hey, I groped you back, so it's okay."

"You did?"

"Uh-huh."

"Todd, we didn't, um...you know...we didn't..."

"No, Delgado, we didn't. Contrary to popular belief, I can actually be a gentleman sometimes...at least when it comes to you, and I would never take advantage of you like that, okay?" He drops down from his perch and walks up to her. "Besides, when you and I are finally together that way, I promise you, Delgado, you will remember it. Most definitely, you will remember."

As she stares at him, unable to speak, he grins at her. "Now, I held up my end of the deal, I came down from the tree, so it's your turn. Get in that kitchen and make me some dinner, woman." As he walks by her, he playfully swats her butt. She jumps at his actions, covering her butt with her hands. She looks at him in total confusion, as she watches him walk into the house. Once inside, he laughs with satisfaction at how flustered he has made her. "I've got you right where I want you, Téa," he says out loud. "Give it up, because this is one fight you are not going to win. Not this time. Nope, this time, we're actually gonna make it work between us, no matter what it takes."

Todd heads upstairs to clean up from his tree escapades, while Téa remains on the beach, with her hands still on her butt, wondering what the hell just happened here.

To be continued...

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