Blair, who has just had a huge fight with Todd, is alone in her Palace suite when John comes into the room. She is flustered both from the fight with Todd and from John's sudden, suspicious appearance.

John: You all right, Blair?
Blair: Please leave.
John: Why? Are you, uh, afraid of what Todd will do if he comes back and finds me here?
Blair: You know, Todd doesn't tell me who I can see.
John: Oh, good, I'm glad to hear that, because, uh, something must have gotten to him, because he was a wild man out there right now. Actually, you look pretty upset yourself.
Blair: Yeah, well, we get to each other. It's a very passionate relationship -- it always has been.

Blair turns toward John.

Blair: Now, I really would like for you to leave now, please.
John: I think you're mistaking "passion" for intimidation. Yeah, he's a man who bullies and threatens people to get what he wants done, doesn't he? Look, I know about the trouble that you've had with him. It's got to be tough sharing a child together. Must make it hard to, uh, think about writing him off for good --
Blair: (quickly interrupting him) I don't want to write Todd off.
John: Are you still planning to marry him -- again?
Blair: Yes, I am.
John: But you don't want to, do you? What is it, Blair? What's going on with you? Is he blackmailing you into doing this?

Blair looks at John defiantly and stays silent.

--end scene--

Blair walks away from John to go and mess with her purse on the bed.

Blair: Todd isn't blackmailing me into anything. (pause) I want to marry him.
John: No, I don't believe you do. But I think you're too afraid to back out at this point.
Blair: Well, I think that you're really way off.
John: Lisa told me about the show that Todd put on at the airport when you and, uh, Starr came back from Florida. He had you arrested on Christmas Eve, thrown into jail, and wouldn't drop the charges until he felt that you had, uh, learned your lesson? What else is he doing to threaten you, Blair? Come on -- what does he have on you?
Blair: Nothing. Todd loves me.
John: Hm. Just like he loved Tea?

Blair reacts to this.

John: She had to drop off the face of the Earth to finally get away from him. And it looks to to me like you're just about to follow her. But you know something? You have a choice. Yeah, you have an option -- and one that's guaranteed to work.
Blair: What's that?
John: You can stop protecting him -- get rid of him once and for all. All you have to do is tell me how Todd was involved in Max's shooting.

Blair stares at John.

--end scene--

Blair: Todd had nothing to do with Max being shot.

Blair tries to walk away from John, but he grabs her arm to turn her back to face him.

John: When are you going to stop protecting him and start protecting yourself?

Blair rips her arm away from him.

Blair: I don't need to protect myself from anything!
John: Oh, come on, Blair -- admit it! You can be finished with him forever. No more ugly scenes, no more tugs of war about your daughter.
Blair: Todd loves Starr.
John: (skeptically) Really? I wonder. Oh, come on, when is he ever been a real father to her, hmm? When has he ever nurtured her like a father? When has he ever set an example for her like a father?

John doesn't even realize how easily triggered this particular button is for Blair right now, on the heels of the scene at Starr's school.

Blair: Todd -- he does the best that he can.
John: Yeah. But we both know that his best isn't very good, don't we? Come on, Blair. What about you, huh? When has he ever really given you more than a few fleeting moments of happiness? Hm?
Blair: Well, maybe happiness isn't all it's cracked up to be.
John: Hm. Yeah, well, how can it be when you're looking at a life of misery with a man who acts like a willful child. Look, I know that you have had it rough, but Todd isn't the answer. Let him go. Let him pay for his crime.

John is getting more worked up now.

John: Come on -- hasn't he gotten away with enough?? You know, everyone in this town would believe you over him!

He calms down.

John: He did it, didn't he? He did it. Todd shot Max. Come on, Blair -- just say it! Save yourself! Just say it!
Blair: All right! Okay!

--end scene--

John: Come on, Blair. Did you walk in the room right after Todd had shot Max? Come on.
Blair: I -- uh --

Before Blair can say another word, the door opens and Todd comes into the room.

Todd: Well, well, well, well, well.

Todd strolls over to stand beside Blair.

Todd: Well, well, Johnny Law. I knew I'd find you up here playing good cop. You want to know how I knew that, Blair?
Blair: I'm not in the mood for your riddles, Todd.
Todd: This one's easy to solve. You know who cozied up to my elbow in the downstairs bar? Llanview's favorite red-headed alcoholic.
Blair: (surprised) Skye? Well, what did she want?

John glares at Todd -- he knows that the jig is up.

Todd: Same thing he wants, I'd imagine, only opposite. She wanted me to turn you in. (to John) Am I right? When I'm right, I'm right.
John: Come on, look -- he's doing it again! He comes in, he takes over, he's telling you what to think -- he's telling you what to do! Don't let him do it, Blair. You have the power to stop him. All you have to do is tell me the truth.

Blair takes a beat to look between Todd, who is watching her calmly, and John, who is excited with anger, and then she makes her choice, turning on John furiously.

Blair: I want you out of here now!
John: Okay.

John goes out the door, closing it behind him. As soon as he's gone, Todd drops the calm facade as he turns on Blair, anger barely kept in check now that John's not there to pretend in front of.

Todd: You were this close to giving me up, weren't you?

But before Todd can fly into a fury, he realizes that Blair is tearful and just barely keeping it together.

Blair: (sighing) Is it ever gonna end, Todd?

She walks away from him and toward the bed.

Blair: The cops aren't giving up! Skye is not giving up!
Todd: (passionately) Well, I'm not giving up either, unless you've got some crazy idea that you can do this kind of thing by yourself! (trying to be calm again) Now, Blair, you have to decide who has your best interests in mind -- Skye Chandler, or John Sykes, or me.

--end scene--

Blair slowly turns to look at Todd -- her face is open, vulnerable.

Blair: I want to trust you, Todd. But I'm afraid.

Todd swallows, hard, as he considers what to say.

Todd: It would be a mistake not to.

He gives her a wry half-smile, as if to reassure.

Blair: So how did, um, Skye think that she could get you to turn against me? What'd she say?
Todd: She said that you and Max couldn't spend more than a few days apart and that you use people like her and me to liven up your relationship with Max.

Todd's answer is in a measured, calm tone of voice that just barely hints at the way the Max/Blair question has been and will continue to be a problem for them going forward. It prompts Blair to ask him....

Blair: Did you believe her?
Todd: (calmly) Should I?
Blair: No. It's all lies.

This is a pivitol moment here. Blair speaks confidently, but Todd, when he answers, doesn't match that confidence. One gets the sense he doesn't believe her but doesn't want to dwell on it.

Todd: (nodding slightly) Okay. So what schpiel did John use on you?
Blair: Oh, that -- that it's always about you, and, uh -- that you could never make me happy.

Blair's voice breaks on this last note, but Todd's got a quick answer to this one. The Christmas fantasy he had, in which he ends up unhappy and alone, is probably on his mind here.

Todd: (sighing) There's no such thing as happiness.
Blair: (laughing bitterly) Well, that's probably the most depressing thing I've ever heard.
Todd: I want something better than happiness. Anybody can think that they're happy. I want us to feel something that nobody else can feel.
Blair: Oh, Todd, how? I mean, what -- what can we feel? How are we supposed to do that?
Todd: We are supposed to feel satisfaction. Triumph.
Blair: How?
Todd: That's easy -- we get married, and then we get even.

Todd smiles at her slightly, but Blair seems less than convinced.

--end transcript--