Thanks, Maria, Kitt and Paul, for both reading and taking the time to offer feedback!! I really appreciate it.

Paul - I understand completely if you have to stop reading. This story is rather long (put it this way - I needed to start posting now in order to make sure I got the entire story in before the holidays), so I know that RL and other things will most likely come up. Too, since I've said this was a dark fic but have left that warnking kind of ambiguous, I know that it's possible for it to become "too" dark.

But any feedback is so valuable, so I really do thank you all for it. smile smile I'm off to post Part 2 now.

Lynn

You know that boy'd walk on water for you? Or he'd drown tryin'. -Perry White to Lois in Just Say Noah