"I have. I started working out to relieve stress and found that I kind of liked being a little buff, so I just kept at it."

"Well, you look great!"

"You look pretty good yourself," Rachel remarked. Téa was still glowing from all that had happened with Todd, Tom and Rodd today.

Téa looked toward Susannah. "I know you came here to see your aunt. I'm meeting Rodd, he's one of Todd's alters . . . Bo did tell you that Todd has DID?" Téa asked.

"Yes, he told me. I couldn't believe it. Although it does explain a lot," Rachel admitted.

"Anyway, I'm meeting Rodd soon. Why don't I call you and perhaps we can get together for lunch or dinner? I'm staying at the Palace Hotel. That is when I'm not here, which is not too often these days." Téa smiled and continued. "Are you staying with your mom and Bo?" Téa inquired.

"Yes. I will be, for now, but as soon as I get a job I'm going to be looking for my own place."

"You will be?" Susannah picked up on that.

Rachel looked a little ashamed and confessed. “I came here straight from the airport. I took a room near there. It's just for a day or two. I know how mom is going to be once she gets me back home. It will be like I'm five years old again. I had enough babying from Grandma and Grandpa Hanen. In fact I couldn't take it anymore. That's why I left early. Susannah, I wanted to talk to you about how I should handle things with mom before I see her. I want to make sure she understands that I'm okay, and while I could use some mothering, I don't want to be babied."

Susannah knew Nora would not be at all happy that Rachel came to see her before she even went home. She would deal with that when she had too. Right now she was happy to see her niece and she would help her in any way she could.

"Rachel, I will leave you to talk to your aunt. Call me so we can get together, okay?" Téa suggested.

Rachel walked up to Téa and hugged her again. "You got it girlfriend," she said lovingly to Téa.

Téa left to freshen up before her "movie date" with Rodd.

Frank had come back while Susannah was with Rachel and Téa. Viki and Sam had already left for lunch and, if Sam was still willing, court. Frank had brought back some linguini in a simple red sauce and some pasta primavera. He bought two portions of each in case both Téa and Rodd wanted the same thing. If they didn't, he knew the staff would have no problems eating it themselves. He made sure to get lots of crusty bread that they would heat up when Téa and Rodd were ready for it. He also brought back some sparkling grape juice and apple cider. He knew that Rodd would have liked wine with the meal and this was as close as Rodd could get because of the medications he was on. Frank had one more surprise for Rodd.

"Whoa! You're loaded down. Let me take that stuff to the pantry. We'll heat it up again when they're ready to eat," Terry stated as she took the take out food from Frank. "What do we have here?" Terry inquired, pointing to the other bags in Frank's arms.

Frank let her peek into the bags. "Do you think he'll like them?" Frank asked.

"I think he'll love them. It looks just like what he'd buy for himself if he could," Terry assured him.

"Is he in the day room?" Frank asked.

Terry smiled. Frank was so happy and excited to be able to do this for Rodd. "He's in his room resting. He's not asleep. He's just daydreaming with a smile on his face. Perhaps he's thinking of his date with Téa," Terry guessed.

"Well, a guy likes to look nice when he's on a date with the girl of his dreams. So I'd better get in there,” Frank proclaimed happily. He headed for Todd's room.

"Hey what've you got there?” Jeff asked from his post at the door when he saw Frank approached with the packages.

Frank opened them wide enough for Jeff to see inside. Jeff whistled. "Cool! From Italy I hope," Jeff kidded.

"Would I get him any other kind?" Frank joked back.

Frank walked into the room. He looked to make sure Rodd wasn't asleep. He wasn't. He appeared to still be daydreaming. "Hi Rodd. How are you feeling?" Frank asked.

"Wonderful. I have more energy than last time and I have more Téa than last time. She is going to spend the day with me." Rodd smiled broadly.

"Yes, you and Téa have quite and afternoon planned. I was wondering if you might like to change clothes before you meet with Téa. I brought you some things you might like to change into."

Rodd looked shocked. He sat up and pointed to the bags Frank was holding. "For me?" Frank heard the emotion in Rodd's voice.

"All for you. I hope they fit." Frank didn't want to add that finding ready to wear designer clothing to fit someone of Todd's height and slight weight was not easy.

Rodd slowly took the black pants and jacket, blue shirt, black stockings and slippers out of the bag. Frank knew he couldn't get him shoes. He hoped Rodd wouldn't be too disappointed with the slippers. Rodd held the items and rubbed his hand over them for a few minutes. He looked up at Frank. He had tears in his eyes. "You do this for me alone, yes? The others don't wear anything like this."

"Yep. Those are just for you Rodd. I somehow can't picture Timmy or Tom in Armani," Frank joked.

Rodd laughed and then said, "Frank, this is so much." Rodd looked at each item again. A tear slid down his right cheek. "I can look nice for my Téa." Then he suddenly realized something. "These are very expensive clothes. You talk to Viki. You tell her to take the money from Todd's bank account to pay you back."

"It's all right Rodd. Doctor Hanen paid for it. She wants to. It is her present to you."

"No, it is too much. Todd has very much money. I know some doctors have very much money too, but not as much as Todd. I'll talk to Viki. She will reimburse Doctor Hanen for her kindness." Rodd gently laid the clothes on the bed. Rodd went up to Frank. "Frank, to hug you is okay?"

Frank smiled. "Yes, to hug me is okay."

Rodd hugged Frank then he stood with just his right arm around Frank's shoulder. "Frank, you have excellent taste in men's clothing. Are you sure you are not Italian?"

Frank laughed. "Yes, Rodd. I'm sure. But thank you for the compliment."

Rodd held the clothes one more time and then tenderly and lovingly placed them on the bed. "Frank. I don't know what to say. You have shown me much kindness. I will now be dressed the way I would like to be for my Téa. It means the world to me. You and the rest of the staff here have treated me almost as good as my family back home. When Todd is well and I can go to my family you come to visit, yes? My mama will make you the best dinner and she will sing for you. My mama is a very happy woman. She sings all the time. My papa will also sing and play the piano for you. My sisters will paint and draw for you. Papa encourages all of us to be artistic. My family will be so grateful for the care and love I get from all of you and from Todd's family. You will come yes?"

Now it was time for Frank's eyes to fill with tears. "It sounds like you have some great memories of your family." Frank phrased it in a way that neither fed into nor tore down Rodd's belief in his family.

Rodd seemed to accept that. "So, now I get dressed up for my Téa," Rodd announced.

"I'll help you," Frank offered.

Once Téa left, Susannah called to make sure Rodd was still in his room. Assured he was, she escorted Rachel to her office. Kevin, who had been waiting in the lounge near Susannah's office, turned when he heard the women's voices. Kevin nearly jumped out of his seat.

"Rachel?" Kevin could not believe his eyes. "Rachel, I'll wait for you in my office. I have plenty of time. You just pop in after you've caught up with Kevin." Susannah wanted to give Rachel some time with Kevin. She knew there was unfinished business between them.

Rachel walked to where he stood. "Hi Kevin. It's been a while," Rachel stated awkwardly.

"Yes it has. How are you?" Kevin noticed how good Rachel looked.

"I'm fine. I'm actually doing very well. I've really been able to get myself together since I went to Statesville."

Kevin noticed Rachel was comfortable talking about going to prison. "Rachel, I'm sorry you had to go through that." Kevin smiled. "I have to say that you don't seem the worse for it. You look . . ." Kevin paused for a second as he took a long look at Rachel. "You look incredible."

"I've been working out," Rachel admitted. "I also have my head on a lot straighter than I did before I went to Statesville. I don't think Georgie could get to me now the way she did then. I learned a lot about myself in prison."

Kevin noticed a new self-assuredness and confidence in Rachel. "Are you in Llanview to stay?" Kevin inquired.

"I'm not sure. I'd like to stay for a while and see how things work out. I also have to see what opportunities there are for me here. How about you? I heard you are running the Banner now that your dad is in Arizona and your mom needs to be with Todd?"

"I'm just filling in for mom. They tolerate me. Everyone there knows I'm in charge because I'm Kevin Buchanan and not because I earned it."

"Why are you putting yourself down? I've read some of your pieces. My grandparents subscribe to the out of town edition of the Banner. They still kind of think of it as a family newspaper because Bo is Clint's brother and . . . well you know the rest. I read the series you did on child abuse. It was outstanding. Grandma Hanen was crying over her newspaper every day."

Kevin felt embarrassed. "I'm not putting myself down. I'm merely stating a fact. Most of the staff considers my mom the boss. I'm just this little pisher whose mommy owns the newspaper. The only reason they follow my orders is because they don't want to have to answer to my mom or dad."

"You're a good writer, Kevin." Rachel stated firmly.

"I didn't say I wasn't. I just said that it's all been handed to me. I never had to work for any of it." Kevin never said it out loud to anyone, but he believed that if he had been in Todd's shoes, not knowing a damn thing about running a newspaper or being a writer, he never would have been able to turn a rag like the Intruder into something as successful as the Sun. Sure, in Kevin's opinion many of Todd's stories had been Intruder like garbage, but there were also many good and important stories Todd had covered. He had also instituted many innovative ideas that Kevin had always been secretly jealous of.

"I do kind of understand what it's like to always be looked at as second best to your parents. I learned that lesson when I went to law school. Anyone who knew my parents either expected me to live up to them or never thought I could be as good as them. No one ever allowed me to be as good Rachel was able to be. I'm still working on that one," Rachel smiled sadly.

"Yeah, I guess having very successful parents has its cons as well as its pros," Kevin agreed.

"So, how is Cassie?" Rachel asked.

Kevin looked to see if she was being sarcastic. He saw she wasn't. "I thought you'd have heard. Cassie and I are getting a divorce."

Rachel looked embarrassed. "No, I haven't heard." Rachel looked into Kevin's eyes. "I'm sorry. Are you all right with it?" Rachel asked.

"I'm okay. It was a mutual decision. We both realized that sometimes love alone is not enough to hold a marriage together. Maybe it's not even enough of a reason to get married in the first place."

"You sound cynical and hopeless," Rachel commented.

"What did you do, come back here to take over for your aunt?"

Rachel noticed the annoyed tone in Kevin's voice. She realized she had struck a nerve.

"No, I've just been through a lot myself. I've had some therapy. I look at things a little differently than I used to, closer, I'm more introspective as well. I'm sorry. I had no right to say that. It's really none of my business."

Now it was Kevin's turn to apologize. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped down your throat. It's been a rough day. Not that that's any excuse. I'm just not in the mood to be analyzed or for any self-analyzation. Well, I should be going. Someone has to run the paper, even if it is only me." Kevin smiled when he noticed the look on Rachel's face. "Just kidding. I was seeing if you were paying attention."

"Weren't you here to see Susannah?" Rachel asked.

"It's nothing that can't wait." Kevin had wanted to talk about what had happened with Tom and his feelings about that and about Rodd. Now he was very tired. He just wanted to lose himself in some work. He didn't now how Todd or the alters could stand having sessions whether they wanted to or not. He would hate it if the freedom to just walk out of there were taken away from him.

Rachel smiled at him. "It was nice to see you again, Kevin."

"It was really good seeing you, Rachel." Kevin hesitated for a few seconds before he turned to leave. "Maybe we can go have coffee or a drink while you're in town?"

Now Rachel hesitated before she answered. "Yeah, I think I would like that. We can catch up on old times. I'm going to be meeting Téa too. Time to catch up with all my old friends," Rachel added.

"Yeah," Kevin confirmed. Rachel noticed the sadness in his eyes. 'Damn!' she thought. 'Now why did I do that?' Rachel wanted to make sure Kevin didn't think seeing him meant any more to her than seeing any of her old friends. She realized if she had set out to hurt him she did a good job.

"Okay, take care. Are you going to be staying with your mom and Bo?" Kevin inquired.

"Yes, for a while," Rachel replied.

"I'll call you," Kevin stated and headed to be let off the unit.

Rachel sighed and headed into Susannah's office.

"Susannah, is Kevin all right? He seems kind of . . . I don't know . . . sad . . . troubled . . . he just doesn't seem like himself."

"Kevin's has had a lot to deal with these past few months. He has a lot on his shoulders." This was as much as Susannah would divulge about Kevin. "So, when do you plan on letting your mom and Bo know you're in Llanview?" Susannah broached the subject.

"I guess as soon as I lay some ground rules for mom. Bo won't be a problem. I also want to make sure my dad does not start pushing me to do what he thinks will make me happy."

"What do you think will make you happy?" Susannah pressed.

Rachel laughed. I don't really know. I do know what doesn't make me happy. Law school doesn't make me happy. Being treated like I'm still a little girl doesn't make me happy. Having them hear me, but not really listen to me doesn't make me happy."

"Are you ready to confront your parents on those issues?" Susannah pressed.

"I think I am. I hope I am. I guess I'll soon find out."

"Your mom tells me that you've been working with children with autism. Do you think that's something you'd like to make a career of?" Susannah inquired.