"How you holdin' up?"

Blair shrugs. "Not too well, actually."

Bo nods, sympathetically. "Yeah, I guess not," he says, looking toward the living room.

The PD has the phone tap set up...the detective monitoring looks up from his newspaper and nods at Bo, who nods back, then gently touches Blair's shoulder, guiding her toward the living room. They sit down on the couch, and Blair takes a sip from her glass of wine. She looks at Bo hopefully.

"Any news? Anything?"

Bo turns toward her, speaking quietly. "Not really. We've had people all over the place checking leads out, but nothing so far....and we spoke to the security company, and all they could tell us was that a virus got into their computer system somehow, and it shut the whole thing down about an hour before we estimate the break-in took place here. So, all the sensors, in the entire house, were inoperative for quite some time."

Blair makes a face. "Seems like...very convenient timing."

Bo nods. "Yeah...it certainly does. This whole thing was pretty well planned, Blair...these aren't a couple of dumb kids we're talking about here. These people are professionals, whoever they are."

"You seem pretty sure about it being more than one person."

"It'd have to be. Somebody had to be taking care of the security company...somebody besides the person or persons who broke in here. It's the only way they could have pulled it off."

She sighs heavily, feeling a wave of anxiety coming on. She shuts her eyes.

"Oh, God..." she whispers. "I hope she's alright."

Bo leans in. "Something tells me she's fine, Blair...for now, anyway. But we gotta find her."

Blair nods, wiping her eyes. He pauses, getting ready to make his pitch, trying to find the right words.

"Blair..."

She looks up. Bo moves in closer, then remembers the detective sitting there. He looks over at him.

"Could you give us a minute here?"

The detective drops his paper and nods, walking out quickly and closing the double doors. Bo waits for a second, then looks back at her.

"Blair, I have a theory...and I want to hear what you think. Now, it's JUST a theory...but, I have a feeling I'm right."

She looks at him, eyes wider, waiting. He clears his throat.

"Um...when was the last time you heard from Todd?"

She blinks, slowly, her mouth opening slightly. She looks down, then back up.

"I haven't talked to Todd since that night...the wedding."

Bo rubs his face. "Not a word since?"

She shakes her head, growing suspicious. Suddenly, she tilts her head, folding her arms.

"You think he took her, don't you?"

He shrinks back from answering directly, but realizes he can't talk around it with her. He sighs, nodding.

"I think...yeah...I think he did...not by himself, though. I think he hired someone to do it."

Blair takes a deep breath, and bites her lip, knowing the same thought has already crossed her mind a couple of times. She gets up and starts walking all around the room. Bo follows her with his eyes.

"Blair, you know him better than I do. That's why I'm asking for your opinion."

She mulls it over as she walks, shaking her head.

"H-he wouldn't do that."

"How do you know?"

She throws her hands up, as she stares out the window, growing increasingly apprehensive.

"I know because Todd...Todd loves Starr more than anything...and he knows that she's better off with me, he KNOWS that. He knows he can't take care of her now."

"But...hasn't he already TRIED to take her from you? He did win custody of her before."

She whirls around, furious. "He wouldn't take her from me, Bo! You're just looking for an excuse to go after him!"

Bo recoils from her accusation, knowing there's truth in it. Then he studies her face...he sees denial...she's saying the words, but he can tell she's unsure about it...she knows it's a possibility. She sighs, covering her face with her hands, and starting to cry. He hears her muttering to herself, as he gets up and walks over to her.

"He wouldn't do this to me...it's not possible. This is NOT happening..."

"Blair, look at me."

She slowly uncovers her face.

"I don't mean to upset you, I'm sorry. And yes, I admit...I want that sonofabitch put away forever. But...you KNOW."

She shuts her eyes, letting more tears fall. Bo holds her shoulders.

"You KNOW this is a possibility. And it becomes more and more likely with every minute that passes. THINK about it, Blair...there was no note...there's been no call all day...no ransom demand. And personally, I don't think there's gonna BE any. Todd KNOWS if he steps one foot back in Llanview, he's a dead man. My guess is that he's planning to stay gone...and he wants Starr with him."

Blair covers her face back up, sobbing now, and shaking her head. Bo sighs, and hugs her. He whispers to her softly.

"I don't doubt that he loves her. But...fact is, she's gone. He HAS taken her from you, I know it."

He holds her away from him. "Blair...he could be anywhere. He could be planning to flee the country, if he hasn't done it already. If we are going to catch them...we have to act fast."

She pauses, taking a moment to pull herself together. She wipes her eyes, clearing her throat.

Bo makes one last selling remark. "The longer we wait...the less likely it is we'll ever get her back." Blair bites her lip again, a million thoughts rushing through her head. But the most important thoughts are the ones about Starr. She nods, finally.

"Okay. What do we do?"

"Press charges. I mean, we'll still keep the phone tapped here, in case a ransom demand does come in...and we'll continue to follow any leads we get. But if you press kidnapping charges against Todd and Tea, then we can check them out, search their places...see if they left any clues as to where they are now..."

She interrupts. "Tea? What the hell does she have to do with this?"

Bo pauses, then throws his hands up. "It would seem that Tea's been gone for a few weeks now. No one seems to know where. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who she's probably with."

She shuts her eyes, shaking her head in disgust, her grief turning to anger.

"They've always been hell-bent on taking Starr from me so they could live out their twisted little happy-family fantasy."

"Well, we'll find them pretty quick once the FBI gets here tomorrow."

She pauses, taking a deep breath, then folds her arms. "Why would you wait 'til tomorrow?"

"Standard procedure...feds won't get involved until twenty-four hours have passed."

Blair's whole body seems to deflate a little. "All of tonight has to go by. Oh, God."

He steps closer, lowering his voice. "Try not to worry, Blair...it'll be alright. We'll find her. We should get going to the station, though...get the charges filed."

She sighs, nodding. She picks up her purse and coat, sitting on the couch. Bo opens the double doors and they leave together.

Tea sits on the edge of the guest house porch, leaning against the rail, her hands wrapped around the cup of coffee in her lap. She takes in the beautiful view of the main house, the field and the woods beyond...everything covered in the blue light of evening. She closes her eyes, listening to the sounds of air moving through the tall grasses...and feeling that sleepy peacefulness relaxing her whole body. She smiles to herself, watching the steam rise from her coffee. Then she sighs, running a hand through her mussed up hair. She hears the front door opening and turns her head.

She follows with her eyes as Todd plops down on the step across from her, leaning against the opposite rail. He pulls his coat around him, then tosses his hair out of his way. He looks at her, and they smile at each other knowingly. They sit in silence for a moment. Finally, Todd glances out at the view, then down at his lap.

Tea takes a sip. "What?"

He speaks quietly, still looking down. "Guess I should call Shorty now...before she goes to bed."

She nods, then tilts her head. "What's wrong?"

He sighs. "I just...mmm. I mean, what if she's mad at me?"

"Todd..."

"I'd be mad at me."

She starts giggling, putting her cup down and moving over, closer to him. He pulls his knees up, giving her room to sit. He looks up at her as she leans on his leg.

"Todd, don't even waste your time worrying. If there is one certainty in the universe, it's that Starr loves, I mean, LOVES you. There isn't anything she wouldn't forgive you for. Now get going, before she's in bed and Blair takes your head off."

He looks at her for a moment, a little smile appearing. Then in one swift, sudden move, he leans forward and kisses her. She smiles, then starts laughing, as he lingers on her lips, starting to push her mouth open.

She hits him on the arm as she pulls away. "Call your daughter, Manning."

He cracks up, and starts to get up, looking out toward the house. He stops when he sees Joely running toward them. Tea sees her and stands up.

Joely gets up to the steps and stops, trying to catch her breath. Then she gestures for them to follow her.

"Todd...I have your sister on the phone. She's been trying to find you. It's about your daughter."

His eyes widen. He and Tea exchange glances, then follow Joely back to the house quickly. They sprint into her office. Joely sits down on the edge of her desk and takes Viki off hold, turning the phone in the direction of Todd and Tea, as they walk over to the desk.

"Hallo...Mrs. Carpenter?"

The tinny sound of Viki's voice comes through. "Yes...hello...?"

"Yes...Todd and Tea are both here with me."

"Oh, thank God...Todd, can you hear me?"

He steps closer. "Yeah...yeah, what's going on?"

"Todd...uh..." They can hear her struggling with the words, her voice faltering a bit.

"Spit it out, sis, jeez."

"Todd...Starr's been kidnapped."

The room grows deathly quiet as all three of them stare at the phone in horror. Slowly, they all exchange glances, all three of them speechless. Tea covers her mouth, looking at Todd. He looks at her for a long time, his face draining of color.

"Todd? Are you there?"

He tries, but still can't get any words out. Tea looks at him, then at the phone, speaking up.

"Yeah, we're still here, Viki...what happened?"

"Well, no one knows for sure, but...someone broke into the house late last night after disabling the alarm system. Apparently, Blair didn't even know she was gone until early this morning. I tried to call, but I couldn't get a hold of you."

Tea covers her mouth again, her pulse racing. She looks over at Todd, who's absolutely frozen in shock.

"I-Is she alright? Did they leave a note? Have they called?"

There's silence on the other end for a moment. They wait nervously, exchanging glances. Finally, Viki puts the words together.

"Tea...both of you are in serious trouble. You have to get out of there."

Joely does a take, speaking up. "What's going on, Mrs. Carpenter?"

"We just got word at the Banner from our sources at the PD.... somehow, they convinced Blair that since there's been no ransom demand, that it's more likely that YOU had Starr kidnapped, and that you'll try to flee the country with her. Blair's filed kidnapping charges against you, Todd...and Tea...you're going to be named as an accessory. They know you're together, they just don't know where yet. But Bo will be calling in the FBI early tomorrow morning."

Joely puts a hand to her mouth. "Do you know all of this for sure, Mrs. Carpenter?"

"Yes...yes, we do. Tea...can you hear me?"

She speaks up quietly, a sense of dread filling her. "Yeah, I hear you."

"Tea, you KNOW who's behind this."

Tea bites her lip hard. She nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

"He knows where you are. It won't be long before he finds some way to leak it. They're going to come after you both...you have to get out of there, NOW."

By this time, Todd has sunk down into one of the chairs in front of Joely's desk, head buried in his hands, silent. Tea turns and looks at him, then sighs roughly. She looks at Joely, who's speechless.

"Okay...okay. Um...Viki, we're gonna need a minute here to figure things out...uh...can we...uh..."

"Call me right back...I have to go anyway, I think...I think Jessica's home."

"Okay. Bye."

They hear Viki hang up. Joely hangs up the receiver, then folds her arms, looking at Todd. She looks at Tea, concerned. They exchange looks...finally, Joely speaks up, quietly.

"Todd?"

He lets his hands drop slowly, and looks up at her. Joely sighs, kneeling down.

"Todd, I'm so sorry...I...I have no idea what to say. But I'll help you in any way I can."

He nods. Tea watches him, carefully. He looks up at her, and their eyes lock. Joely watches them communicate silently. Finally...

"Doc...could you, uh...give us a minute?"

Joely stands up, nodding. "Of course...um...I'll be right outside if you need me."

She grabs her notes and walks out, shutting the door behind her. They stay put for a moment, quiet. Then Todd gets up suddenly and starts pacing. Tea stays where she is, her eyes following him back and forth. Finally, he stops...and walks up to her, stopping a foot or two away. She remains unmoved, arms folded and waiting. He sighs, his breathing jagged now, running a hand through his hair.

"So...Sykes took MY kid..."

Tea glances down, then back up, nodding reluctantly.

"...trying to make it look like I did it...so he can throw MY ass in the slammer."

Tea speaks softly. "Would seem that way, yeah."

"He'd better not touch one hair on her head...but wait, you know what...he could let her go right now, right this minute and I wouldn't care, I'll kill him...he's a dead man."

She lifts up off the edge of the desk and stands up, approaching him. She holds her hands out. He stands frozen for a minute, then takes them in his. She pulls him to her, wrapping her arms around him. He remains frozen for a second, then relaxes, squeezing her tightly and whispering into her ear.

"We have to go back."

She pulls away, holding his arms. "Todd, we can't...you heard what Viki said...WE'RE the suspects now."

"Doesn't matter. We have to go back...we have to find her."

"Listen to me...he's not gonna waste any time here. Ten to one the FBI'll be banging on Joely's door by tomorrow night. We have to get out of here."

Todd pauses, hearing her gentle voice and studying her eyes, a million thoughts racing through his head...none of them good.

"If we don't make an appearance, he's gonna get desperate."

"Todd, it's a trick, don't you see that? We can't let ourselves get taken into custody...then he wins. He's just using her...he won't hurt her."

He does a take. "How do YOU know that?"

"Because it doesn't get him anywhere. He's trying to make it look like YOU did it...and you would never hurt her."

Todd shakes his head, frustrated...and feeling trapped.

She takes a deep breath. "I have an idea. You wanna hear it?"

He sighs, nodding.

"Let me call RJ," she says, as he looks at her strangely. She holds her hands out in a calming motion.

"Just listen for a second. Sykes must have hired somebody to watch Starr. Eventually he'll HAVE to go check on her. RJ can tail him, and find out where she is. Then he can tip off the PD. In the meantime, we get out of here and stay out of sight..."

Todd studies her face as she speaks. He thinks it over, and knows it's probably the only option they have at this point. But the frustration of not being able to do anything to help his daughter is sending horrible thoughts through his head, enraging him. Inside, he knows it's Sykes who's to blame for it all...but he's not there. Todd feels consumed by the need to lash out...and some little part of him is screaming now...to lash out at her.

"...that way we get Starr back, and we stay out of custody. He loses."

The anger and frustration win momentarily, pushing words out of his mouth before he can stop them.

"Well, what are you worried about, Delgado, YOU won't go to jail." She does a take, eyes widening. "W-what?"

He just stares at her, trying desperately to keep his mouth from doing anymore damage. But it's too late..he knows she heard him. He runs a hand through his hair, walking away from her, starting to pace again. She sinks back, leaning on the desk, watching him.

"What did you just say?" she asks, quietly.

He stops pacing, walks over to the chair in front of her, and plops down, burying his face.

"Nothing," he replies, through his hands.

She kneels down to be at eye-level with him. "Tell me."

He shakes his head. "It's nothing. Nevermind."

She sighs heavily, and shuts her eyes, feeling a sudden wave of nausea in her gut. Her voice stays low.

"I did NOT come all the way out here so you could start clamming up on me again. Now tell me." He remains silent, face hidden behind his hands. Tea opens her eyes, feeling her gag reflex kicking in. Her voice strains, lowering to a whisper.

"Todd, I think I've endured just about every emotion you have in you, so...I think I can take it. Now you obviously have something to say to me...so just say it...and look at me. I deserve that."

He lets his hands drop, and looks at her. She swallows hard to push the nausea down, and locks eyes with him. She reads his eyes, and pretty much knows what he's thinking. But she pushes it anyway.

"Say it, Todd."

"Delgado..."

"If you STILL can't get honest with me...we're nowhere. Now say it."

He sighs, knowing what this will do to her. But she won't relent...it's THAT important to her. He shakes his head, then shuts his eyes...and lets it go.

"It's you he wants, not Starr...not even me, really, it's...it's all about YOU."

She takes a deep breath. He opens his eyes and sees her blinking slowly, her eyes getting that glassy look as tears form over them. He's frozen now, speechless...all he can do is watch his wife as she takes the hit, bowing her head slightly. They sit there for a moment like that... Tea, with her head down, thinking...and Todd, watching her carefully, waiting. Finally, she looks up, bravely, her chin out, her eyes wide...barely managing to hold the tears back. Todd's face softens as she blinks, and some of the tears escape. Her voice is practically gone.

"So, uh...y-you blame...me...for this."

His face is still soft, but he says nothing. She nods, still whispering.

"...and if something happens to her, it'll be...MY fault...right? ...you'll hold ME responsible."

Their eyes lock...and Tea sees that awful hesitation in his eyes. She sighs heavily, looking down again for a moment. As the seconds pass quietly, with her head down, he starts wishing she would lash back at him... retaliate...it would make him feel better. But more time passes...and still nothing. He wants to say something...but he can't...he's still paralyzed, confused by that all-consuming frustration and rage. Finally, she lifts her head slowly. He holds his breath as she makes eye contact. She lifts a hand to her eyes and wipes them, shrugging weakly, her voice still low, and calm.

"Well...hmmm. I...uh...what can I say to that? I mean...you're right."

His eyes widen, then his brow creases. He opens his mouth to try and speak, but nothing comes out.

"No, you're right...I mean...it's pretty plain. He's using Starr to get you out of the way...and if I were with him now, none of this would be happening...it's that simple. It IS my fault..."

She rubs her legs, then stands up, slowly. He lifts his head, following her. She wipes her eyes again.

"...and there's nothing I can say to dispute that. All I can do...is say I'm sorry..."

Her voice cracks...she shuts her eyes, unable to stop the tears from gushing out. Todd stands up, steps up to her and gently lifts her face to look at him. She opens her eyes again...and he feels a sharp stab, seeing and feeling her pain as she whispers.

"Todd...I just hope you know that I love Starr, and...if anything happens to her, I'll never forgive myself..."

He tries again to speak, but it still isn't happening. He shakes his head. She swallows hard to get one last thing out...

"...and you can't possibly blame me as much as *I* blame me. I am SO sorry."

She sniffs, and breaks away from his stare. She wipes her eyes and starts to head for the door. The rage that disabled him before gives way to a paralyzing helplessness. She grabs her coat and purse off the couch, opening the door. She stops for a second, feeling his eyes on her. She bites her lip, turning her head slightly.

"You should call Viki...let her know what you're going to do. I...I'm gonna call RJ."

She sighs, wiping her eyes again roughly before walking out and shutting the door. Todd just stands there for a minute, feeling her pain tightening his chest up. He feels himself folding, the paralysis finally letting him go. He falls back down into the chair, and buries his face in his hands, sighing roughly, heavily.