Todd would glance over at her and smile each time she said, "ooh," as her head knocked against the glass. He knew for a fact that she had been up most of the night, only drifting off for a few minutes here and there. Seeing her sleeping and hearing her snoring did wonders for him, even though he rarely slept either.

This was the way it was supposed to be. The two of them, driving out to what would soon be their country home, away from everyone and everything else; just the two of them going home. After all they had been through, it still never ceased to amaze him that they had reached this wonderful place together, filled with the kind of love that he thought existed in only cheesy movies. He was so wrong and so grateful that he was.

He pulled off the main road onto a gravel side street. Since he had just washed their black Range Rover and he knew how Tea hated seeing it dirty, he slowed down to where he could hear the gravel crunching beneath the tires, not ricocheting against the paint. Tea woke up at the sound and the slow movement of the vehicle and looked around her. She didn't say anything, simply watched as they neared the house.

The trees provided a beautiful "windbreak" and shade as they lined either side of the driveway. They were oak trees, and judging from their massive size, it was likely that they'd been there since the dawn of time. Todd slowed even more as they'd reached the end of the driveway. Her mouth dropped in awe and she audibly gasped.

Todd smiled to himself as he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "You like?"

"I LOVE IT! Todd, it's beautiful."

"You haven't even seen the inside, so don't speak too soon. It could be nice on the outside but crap on the inside."

"If it is, we'll just have it gutted." She jumped out of the truck and yelled, "come on," before slamming the door.

She's worse than Starr at Christmas, he thought and he loved it. It wasn't often that he saw that beautiful smile of hers but when he did, it always touched his soul. "I'm comin'."

Inside was no less impressive than the outside. Corena, the Real Estate Agent was waiting for them in the foyer when Tea burst through the front door. They already knew the house was empty; the old tenant passed away and the house and just gone on the market.

"Hi, I'm Corena, and I see you've already fallen in love with this place."

"I'm Tea and that's," she pointed to Todd who had just walked in the room, "Todd. This place is gorgeous." The two women shook hands and Corena walked them through the house as she spoke if its history.

Todd cringed because he knew Tea was going to blow any chance they had of getting a deal on the house. Through her excitement, she would probably offer much more than the asking price. When Corena left them alone to discuss things and wander around the place by themselves, he pulled her into the master bedroom, not realizing that's where they were immediately. "Tea, you're going to blow it."

"What are you talking about?"

"We're never going to get a deal on this house if you keep acting like you're so in love with it."

"Well I am."

"Yeah, well, can you be a little more discreet in your love?" All she had to do was smile at him and he reached into his pocket for the checkbook. He finally looked around and realized they were in the bedroom. His eyes darted around nervously, like he wanted to escape and finally they landed on her. He waited for her to give him some indication of her discomfort but there was none.

"I love all this space. Oh, I can't wait to decorate." She threw her arms around him and he lifted her off the ground. "Do you know how much I love you right now?"

"You only love me 'cause I buy you stuff," he joked, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. It was only because they were alone that he could do that. He inhaled the scent of her hair as he held her close to him and when he placed her gently back on the ground, he leaned over and kissed her. As soon as he realized what he did, he tried to pull away but she was faster and pulled him into another kiss, a more passionate kiss.

When they separated, they were both out of breath and smiling like two children who had been caught being naughty. "Did you see how big Starr's room is? She's going to love it!"

"Yeah. What do you say we find that annoying lady and make an offer?"

*****

Llanfair

Tea was floating high when they arrived back at Llanfair. She had talked non-stop about what she was going to do to the place when she started decorating. All he could do was not his head and groan inwardly. Honestly, he enjoyed being dragged around town by Tea and watching her eyes regain that fire. Decorating was something important; it symbolized a certain commitment by both people. This was really it; they were moving forward after so much time and it never seemed more perfect.

Viki smiled knowingly when they walked into the study. They tried to look serious, but it was impossible under the circumstances. A few months before, she never thought she would see Tea's smile again; she was that depressed. That depression seeped into Todd, not that he needed any help in that department.

"Well, I see somebody had a good day house hunting," Viki said with a grin on her face, mirroring theirs.

"Whatever," Todd responded as he plopped down onto the couch.

Tea shot Todd a look of warning that disappeared as soon as he grinned at her. "We bought the most beautiful house at the edge of town. Oh, Viki, it's everything I dreamed of."

Todd's heart filled up as he watched her. She was so animated as she talked to Viki about the layout and the things she was going to do it. He realized, at that moment, that he had everything he ever wanted. The smile on her face was heart stopping as usual, but there was something more there. It may have been something like contentment. He couldn't believe that he was the reason for it.

He had always been so worried that he could never make her happy. It used to keep him awake at nights but seeing her with Viki and her hands moving around rapidly with that thousand-watt smile, all of his worries disappeared.

Every now and then, Tea would look over at him and give him a grin and he filled up all over again. When Viki looked in his direction, he pretended to be annoyed, even though nothing was further from the truth. This was meant to be and he knew it. They had been through so much and struggled so much, yet they still reached a plateau that few couples ever see.

"The house is empty and we're going out tomorrow to look for some furniture," he heard Tea say. They were really going to do it. On the way back to Llanfair, they discussed sleeping arrangements. Tea was the one that brought it up, not by telling him which room she wanted, but by asking how he wanted their room furnished.

He almost drove off the road when she asked. He had assumed that they wouldn't share a room because that would make her uncomfortable. She wasn't his scapegoat; he really was concerned about how she would handle it. A long time ago, he made a little vow to himself that he would no longer run from his natural instincts where she was concerned.

She spoke again, said something like they both needed to stop running away from each other and move toward each other. She actually said that without a hint of fear or trepidation in her voice. Amazingly, she trusted him with everything. The conversation continued, at least her side, and she started quoting Carol and her theories.

"Everybody has to move forward to learn to trust again."

"Everybody is scared to take that first step again, so work your way up to it."

"Love each other the best way you know how."

"Follow your heart."

She managed to work them all in the conversation but ended by saying she didn't know if she was ready, or when she would be ready, but that she wanted to share that part of herself with him. She didn't force him to say anything but she did reach over and touch his hand. She did stroke his cheek and tell him everything was okay and that they both were going to be okay together.

He watched her from a distance as she tried to diagram the layout of the new house and the land. He imagined her holding their child in the porch swing, rocking their little girl to sleep. The dog would be lying at Tea's feet, lazing around. And Starr would be playing catch with him in the front yard. Everything would be perfect.

"Viki, you should see the grounds. I told Todd we could have a pool installed for Starr, she'd love that and we'd get her a horse."

"I'm so happy for both of you. I bet you never thought you'd have all of this, did you Todd?"

"What? Oh, yeah…whatever."

"Oh…yeah…whatever," Viki mocked, "you don't even know what I said."

"You're right, I don't. I'm going upstairs before the two of you bore me to death." He hopped up and disappeared before either of them could stop him.

"Anyway, Tea, this sounds wonderful for the two of you. I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds, but I've been meaning to ask how things are going between the two of you?"

"Good," she answered, "things are good." She sat in the spot that Todd once occupied on the couch and Viki sat next to her. The conversation that she had with Todd earlier weighed heavily on her mind. He seemed receptive to the idea of them sharing a bedroom but he had the tendency to change his mind with the wind.

"I don't think I've ever seen Todd have to work so hard at pretending he's miserable. You have had such a wonderful effect on his life."

"Oh, Viki, he has been everything to me. I can't tell you how much I love him; everything that he is and everything that he's been to me." She took a deep breath, held it and let it out before speaking again. "He saved my life."

Viki reached out and took Tea's hands in hers. "Sweetheart, don't you know you did the exact same thing for him?"

"If you say so."

"May I offer a word of advice?"

"Sure."

"Let things develop slowly and naturally. Things are going to be difficult, but you'll get there. There is so much love between the two of you, maybe more than I have seen and definitely more than I've experienced."

Tea knew exactly what she was talking about without her ever having to say it. She was so worried about that aspect of their relationship, primarily because of all the books she'd read. There were all these possibilities of flashbacks and freezing up, ruining the moments. There were possibilities of his touch making her skin crawl. Add to that his history of pulling away from her; the last thing she wanted was to have to pull away and for him to think it was his fault.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Uh, huh." Viki eyed her skeptically, trying to read her mind the way Todd could. Tea was as much of an enigma as Todd and just as impossible to read. "Well, this is going to be quite an adjustment for both of you. It'll all fall into place with the time is right. Of that, I have no doubt. The two of you have so much love between you and you have to believe that the love will carry you through anything. And there are going to be mis-steps and fall backs, but you know what? You just have to keep at it."

Tea leaned over and pulled Viki into an embrace. "Thank you so much, Viki. You have no idea how much your kindness has meant to me."

Viki hugged her back just as tightly as Tea held onto her. "You're welcome, sweetheart. You are very welcome."

*****

Todd waited until they were finished talking before going back into the study. Tea was so excited about the new house and so was he, but he had to keep up the nonchalant, macho act. He let them discuss things while he caught a quick nap to prepare for the nighttime hours. Had to be fresh in case Tea had more nightmares and needed him. Weird how they had been fewer and farther between over the past few weeks. She even let him get close a couple of times and he didn't push her away.

He had always had urges for her but they were always overruled by feelings of guilt, or maybe something that more closely resembled fear of hurting her. Lately, the fear wasn't there; it was pure desire. Every minute of every day he wanted her and not in a cheap way, the sort of rushed way that he was with Blair. Then again, Blair was always the one controlling things. With Tea, he didn't just want sex; he wanted the making love beginning from the heart, pushing its way to the surface until it resulted in a physical encounter.

He thought he was alone when he snuck into the study and quietly closed the doors behind him. Jess watched him from a corner, smiling in a way she'd never seen. He didn't smile often but when he did, it always had something to do with Tea, Starr or both.

"Hey, Uncle Todd."

He whipped around, wiping the grin from his fact and casually strolling over to the couch. "Hey. What're you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep. You?"

"Same."

They were both at a loss for words, so they stared at each other for a moment before Todd sat down on the couch and picked up a copy of "The Banner." Flipping through it he finally said, "this is garbage," throwing it back onto the pile of periodicals.

"Well, don't read it."

"You sure got a smart mouth."

"Mom says the same thing." She strolled over to the couch and sat next to Todd, curling her legs underneath her. He thought all women must like to sit that way because Tea did the same thing. "She told me you guys found a house."

"Yeah."

"So?"

"So what?"

"So, does Tea like it?"

"Well, she must. Whatever Tea wants, Tea gets."

She marveled at how much he so obviously loved Tea. If someone had told her three years before, or even a year, she never would have believed that he would be this much in love with anyone. While she was happy for them, there was a small part that envied what they had and she wondered if she would ever be that much in love with anyone. Her mother always said, when they discussed Todd and Tea, that they had something that was rare and she shouldn't settle for just anybody, not unless she loved him like Tea loved Todd and vice versa.

"What's up?" Todd asked, watching her face turn from a smile to a frown.

"Nothin'."

He eyed her skeptically but said nothing. He picked up another magazine, knowing she would eventually say whatever was on her mind once she thought he didn't care.

"It's just that…well…when did you know Tea was the one?"

"Oh geez, you're just like Viki, you wanna hear all the mushy junk."

"No, I'm just curious."

"I don't know. Tea's different, you know? She's one of those pushy chicks that, you know, no matter how much you tell her nothing's gonna happen, she makes somethin' happen and then you can't control it."

"Huh?"

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He knew she was different from the first moment he laid eyes on her, only then he didn't think someone like her would ever look at him with anything other than hatred in her eyes. He knew it from the way she walked like the world around her should be kneeling at her feet. He knew it from the first time he looked into her eyes and got lost in them.

"Uncle Todd?"

"Huh? Yeah? Oh, okay, I guess maybe I knew it the first time I saw her. Why are you asking anyway?"

"You guys are just so happy and I guess I wanna find something like that." She was beginning to get depressed because, as much as she believed in the idea of love, no one around her had ever been entrenched as deeply as Todd and Tea. If she searched for that, she might be waiting her whole life. "So, are you going to get married again??"

He was surprised that no one had asked the question earlier. He had been wondering the same thing even though he knew he wanted to marry her, it was really a question of whether she was ready to re-marry him. He had a ring specially designed for her, and kept it close to him at all times. Problem was the right time hadn't come so he just kept it close to his heart. "Whatever Tea wants, Tea gets," he finally said cryptically.

"Well, I think Tea wants, so the question is when are you going to give it to her?"

"Wait, did she tell you that?"

"She didn't have to. It's all on her face whenever she talks about you."

"So, you think she's just waitin' on me?"

"Yup."