He looks over his shoulder at her, asleep on the bed...still fully clothed, using her coat as a blanket, the cell phone resting in her hand. He sighs, feeling badly for saying what he said. He knows she loves Starr...and he also knows, deep down, that there was no way she could have known this might happen. But, on the other hand...he can't shake the innate paranoia that has become so much a part of who he is. Horrible images drift through his mind, of Tea, HIS Tea, with that...that...

He starts running a hand through his hair, sighing heavily, unable to complete the thought without feeling his blood boiling. His hand stops about halfway through his hair, and he shuts his eyes. He grimaces, feeling a terrible headache coming on. He glances behind him and, seeing a chair right there, finally sits down. He rests his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, eyes shut, and rubbing his temples.

He stays like that for a long time, silent.

Finally, his hands drop. He blinks, looking around him, disoriented...like he doesn't know where he is. His eyes scan the room, and fall on Tea. He takes a deep breath, smiles, and gets up. He catches his reflection in the window and stops, checking himself out...he frowns, as he runs a hand through his mussed-up hair, flipping it around flamboyantly and finally throwing his hands up, at a loss. He straightens his clothes out, brushing himself off...then turns his attention back to Tea, snoozing away. He strolls over to the bed, cool and confident, sitting down and sliding over next to her. He props himself up on his elbow and looks down at her as she lies sleeping, on her back, her face turned away from him.

He gazes at her adoringly...then lowers his face down closer to hers, catching a whiff of her hair. He closes his eyes, drinking it in, the smell of shampoo and her perfume mixed with her warmth. Letting out a deep breath that sounds almost like a growl, he starts nuzzling the skin along her jawbone with his nose. She stirs, twitching a little as her head turns toward him. He smiles slyly, whispering to her.

"Tea..." He stretches her name out, slowly.

She takes a deep breath, eyes opening slightly, bringing a hand up to rub her eyes.

"Mmmmm."

He starts stroking her hair gently, as she looks up at him, blinking, focusing. Her mouth opens slightly, taken aback by his loving gesture after not speaking for hours. Her brow crinkles.

"Hi Todd," she says quietly, and more like a question.

He smiles like a cat, gently shaking his head. His voice pours out smoothly, in a soft, accented whisper.

"Tea...even with-a ze short hair, jou are steel...bellissimo."

She blinks, drawing back. Her slightly parted lips go to a full gape, as her eyes widen. She sits up, letting the coat fall to the floor, clutching the cell phone. He pushes himself up to a sitting position, eyeing her seductively. They stare at each other for a moment...then Tea leans in, examining his face more closely.

She lets out a word hidden in a breath. "Ohhhhhh..."

He raises an eyebrow, lifting his chin. "Jou miss me?"

She sits there, speechless, her mouth trying to form words, but failing. Finally, she runs a hand through her hair and covers her mouth. He slides closer to her, taking her hand away from her mouth and kissing it, nuzzling the skin on the back of her hand, looking up at her. He lowers their intertwined hands.

"Jou no happy to zee me?"

Despite herself, and everything else going on...she laughs, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Rod. Ohhhh my...it IS you, isn't it?"

"Si..." he purrs, sandwiching her hand between both of his, rubbing it.

She continues to giggle nervously, still not quite believing it. He lifts her hand back up to his face, rubbing it against his cheek. She sighs, feeling that familiar attraction between them...and getting suddenly uncomfortable. She snaps out of it, and pulls her hand away gently. He blinks at her as she smiles back, taking a deep breath.

"Uh...Rod...uh...hi. I-I-I'm...no, I'm very happy to see you. Really. I-It's just that...uh..."

He reaches out and touches her face gently. She settles instantly, melting.

"Shhhhh. Iz okay...I know...jou are zurprized to zee me now. Jou are probably wondering...where ees-a ze Todd, jes?"

She nods slowly, still not quite believing this is happening...still not quite believing Rod is appearing NOW, after all this time...still not quite believing he's for real. Rod smiles at her, gently, lovingly, stroking her cheek for a moment. Finally, he slaps his knees and gets up, starting to pace around in front of her, rubbing his goatee.

"Ze Todd, ze Todd...jes..."

She watches him pace, noticing the difference in attitude, his casual strutting...she furrows her brow.

"Rod..."

"Si?" He turns to face her.

"Rod...do YOU know about...Starr?"

He holds his hands out to her, then claps them together. "Ahhh, stella...ze Starr, jes...oh...iz terrible, no? She is juzt ze bambini...oh...iz terrible."

Tea nods, then gets up, approaching him slowly. "Listen, Rod...I AM glad to see you, really. I...I...missed you."

He steps closer to her, taking her hands in his and kissing them. "Tea...I wanted-a zo much to come out when jou came...I was zo happy to see jou. But-a, ze Todd...he, he jis in control now, zo I...I cannot."

She whispers to him. "But you're here NOW, Rod. So...where IS Todd? Do you know?"

He nods. "Ze Todd...he jis...ah, how you say...he jis, ah...worried, jou know...about ze stella. Jou and he...jou fight, no?"

"Well...it wasn't really a fight."

He shrugs. "Ah...well. Ze Todd...h-he need to GO for a while, jou know...to...to think. I zay to ah, ze Todd, I zay...*I* come, *I* stay with jou."

Unconsciously, she starts shaking her head. Rod smiles at her knowingly.

"Ah, Tea...jou...jou no believe me."

She snaps out of it, blinking rapidly, stuttering. "Well, I...I-I..."

"Jou still no think jis is-a for real, eh?"

She sighs heavily, pulling her hands away and rubbing her face. She turns away and starts walking, slowly.

"Don't take it personally, Rod...I've...just had a really bad night."

He nods, rubbing his goatee slowly. "I know. I know...jou are worried about ze bambini too, eh?"

Her back turned to him, she sighs again, feeling the urge to cry. She keeps her face buried, nodding.

"I know...she ees-a...piccolissimo, eh? Leetle...and-a zo beautiful...juzt like you. I, ah...I hope she will be okay."

Tea feels herself trembling...and the pain of holding tears back becomes too much. She starts to cry, behind her hands, whimpering softly. Rod steps up behind her, turning her toward him. Feeling alone and desperate, she reaches out, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in his chest, sobbing. He holds her tightly, stroking her hair, and whispering.

"Shhhh...Tea...iz-a okay. Ze Todd, he cannot be here now, but he know...he know jou need someone. So *I* stay...I will stay with jou. Come...come...sit."

He walks her back to the bed and sits her down. Then he kneels in front of her, wiping her tears. She sniffles, looking at him in awe. Rod folds his arms, and rests them on her lap, looking up at her.

"Tea...jou look-a me like-a jou never see me before, eh? What...what troubles you?"

She smiles, despite herself, as she listens to that silly accent. She shakes her head, rubbing the spot between her eyes.

"Aiiii...sorry. It's just that...I've gotten so used to being around Todd again, and I..."

She shrugs. "...I guess I thought you guys had integrated. You know it always surprised me when you switched."

"Ah, si...ze Tom, and I...we have been-a verrrry quiet, no?"

She nods. "Yeah...yeah you have."

He holds a finger up to her nose, his tone suddenly serious. "But...jou have seen-a ze Pete."

She draws back. "Yeah...I did...how did you know that?"

He starts waving his hands around. "Ah. We, ah...we talk now. Ze dottore, ze Englishwoman, she, ah...she show us how to work together, no? How-a she say...ah...ze...co-consciousness."

"So...you all know what each other are doing?"

"Si. Jou always-a zo zmart..."

She smiles again, bigger this time, glancing down. Rod stares at her adoringly.

"...and zo amazing...jou...jou took on ze Pete...all by-a yourzelf. He try-a to hurt you...but jou zay jou NO afraid. Hmmm. Jou are ZO brave, Tea."

She blinks, tilting her head back and staring up at the ceiling for a moment, then back down at him. He cocks his head.

"...but...jou still, triste...ah, zo sad. Jou no happy we work-a together now, ze Todd, ze Tom, ze Rod? Ze dottore, she say...we work-a together, then soon we ah...oh...how you juzt zay, ah...eentegrate."

She shakes her head, reaching out and playing with his hair. "Oh, it's not that. I...of course I'm glad you're all working together...that's what I always wanted. But...but I...I need-a ze Todd right now."

He smiles, nodding...his eyes darting upward, watching her play with his hair. Her voice cracks, lowering to a whisper.

"I'm afraid, Rod...I'm so afraid he won't forgive me for what's happening to Starr."

He sits up on his knees, reaching out and cradling her face as a few more tears escape.

"Ohhhh...no, no...shhhh. Jou stop that now. Iz-a NO your fault, Tea...we know...iz, ah...ze ze...Sykes. HE is-a to blame...NOT you. Don't cry, bella...shhhh."

She stares at him in awe, then cocks her head. "Thank you, Rod...but I...I really need to hear that from TODD, you know?"

He drops his hands. He starts to get up, and sees her coat on the floor. He picks it up and sits down next to her.

"Jou no worry about-a ze Todd right now. And jou no worry about ze bambini, no...ze Starr... ze angelos, they, they watch over her...she will be okay, jou will see...and-a ze Todd will come back, si. Jou will talk to him then...jou need to rest now."

He pushes himself back toward the top of the bed, and lies down. He holds a hand out to her. She looks back at him, confused. He waves her toward him. She drops her head back, giving him a disapproving look. He laughs.

"Tea...ze Todd...he know, I am here now. He knows *I* will take care of jou. I swear, I no try anything funny. Jou come...rest here with me."

She sighs, still feeling tired, drained. She shuts her eyes and looks away for a moment, considering. Finally, she shrugs, and pushes herself back next to him. He wraps an arm around her as she lies down, resting her head on his chest. He throws the coat over them and pulls her in closer. She stretches an arm across his chest, still holding the cell phone. She feels her eyelids getting heavy, and smiles as she starts to nod off.

"Rod...I can't believe it...it's been a full five minutes and you haven't tried to make love to me. What's up with THAT?"

He smiles, stroking her hair. "Ah, Tea...ze great thing about-a ze co-consciousness...I am part of ze Todd, no? I HAVE made love to jou."

She laughs to herself. "Hmmm. Yeah...I guess you have."

She yawns, nestling in closer, eyes closed. She raises an eyebrow.

"So...YOU must have given him some of those...uh...pointers."

He plants a kiss on her forehead, whispering. "As I say before...jou always-a zo zmart. Jou know everything."

He hears her giggle a little as her breathing slows, getting deeper. He looks down at her and sees she's fallen asleep. He lies there stroking her hair for a long time, until finally his own eyes close, and he nods off.

To be continued...