In the early afternoon of Saturday, Royal Woods, Michigan currently housed the event of what one Lola Loud considered to be of the utmost importance, a tea party to commemorate all things fancy, regal and proper. Presently, she was sitting in her room, alongside a plethora of stuffed animals, all dressed up for the event. They were all seated around a small pink table that had plenty of teacups of all shapes and sizes. Lola raised her teacup in the air and lightly tapped on it to call attention to herself.

"Alright, my loyal subjects, you have all been gathered here on this occasion to revel in the finer things in life.", Lola brashly declared. "I trust that you were honored to be cordially invited to such a prestigious gathering such as this but alas, I must inform you all of the most dreadful of news. Sir Percy Penguin is currently on a trip to the Arctic to visit some relatives so he will not be joining us today. Thankfully, I was able to find a…not so suitable replacement but hopefully, one that will learn to appreciate tea parties as much as we do. So, without further delay, please join me in welcoming to this gathering…Bun Bun!"

She pulled out her brother Lincoln's stuffed rabbit, Bun Bun, from behind her back. Evidently, all of her guests were shocked that she had acquired him with permission from Lincoln. Lola had to abashedly admit what she had done to get him.

"Well, actually, Lincoln doesn't know I took him out of his room so…yeah. Hey, don't give me that look, Count Crocodile! It's for Bun Bun's own good! He ought to learn the ways of refinement and become civil and regal just like all of us. Besides, I would've asked him for permission but he's having a tussle with Lynn out in the backyard right now so it can't be helped! Now, enough of all that!"

She sat Bun Bun next to her, not wanting him to be near guests that weren't welcome to him being invited just yet. She hoped that would change soon but for now, there was a tea party that she needed to start.

"Let's get on with the pleasantries and may this party go off without a hitch! Cheers!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"That's it! I've had enough of you, Bun Bun! You're absolutely impossible!"

Her tea party most certainly did not go off without a hitch. To her shock, Bun Bun had made rude remarks to Duke Frances the Flamingo about how girly his name sounded, drank most of the tea, and showed off a party trick of his that he had picked up from Lincoln…which involved burping the Alphabet. He couldn't even last five minutes without him screwing things up! Well, Lola was not about to let him have his way. He was out of control and needed to be punished!

"For what you've done today, Bun Bun, you must face the consequences of your actions! For atrocities as the ones you've committed today, there is only suitable punishment…THE OVEN!"

With that, Lola grabbed Bun Bun by one of his ears and began dragging him out of her room. She was singled-minded in her goal to make sure Bun Bun got what he deserved. She weaved past Luan, who was practicing some stand-up routine she didn't pretend to be the least bit interested in hearing, Luna, who was experimenting on her guitar again, Lori, who was chatting it up with Bobby for the 8th time today, and her twin sister, Lana, who was chasing Charles around the house, looking to retrieve her hat that he had in between his teeth. She probably guessed that Lisa was in her room, brewing up some concoction that was sure to result in cataclysmic results but as she descended down the stairs, she instead found Lucy, Leni, and Lisa all sitting on the couch, watching TV. She couldn't make up what was on the screen but she did hear a brief conversation between Leni and Lisa.

"So, like Lisa, I'm totes confused about something."

"You? Confused? Never would've guessed that. What seems to be vexing you, dear sister?"

"So, you know how they call it a remote control, right? Well, how can it be remote if I'm holding it and it's close to me?"

"I just…I…uuuuuuuuugh."

"See?! It doesn't make any sense!"

Lola chuckled to herself but wouldn't allow herself to feel any merriment. She had a stuffed bunny to fry! Once she finally arrived in the kitchen, she pulled out a loaf pan from the cupboard and threw Bun Bun onto it.

"Oh no you don't! You're not walking away from this one! You're gonna get what's coming to you!"

She cranked up the heat setting on the oven to its highest setting and tossed the loaf pan in without hesitation.

"You got five minutes, in there, Bun Bun! FIVE! And once you come out, I hope you've learned your lesson!"

Lola smirked triumphantly and sat down, waiting for the five minutes to be up. But rather than wait around in front of an oven with nothing to do, she decided to join her sisters on the couch and watch TV. Unfortunately for her, a six-year-old tends to lose track of time when she's preoccupied and soon enough, five minutes crawled to nearly fifteen minutes later. It wasn't until he heard the door, that connected the backyard to the kitchen, open and heard the sound of Lincoln's voice did Lola perk up from her TV induced stupor.

'Uh…oh.'

She quickly left her seat to bolt into the kitchen, hoping to find some way to get Bun Bun out of the oven and away from Lincolns notice. Upon entering, she found Lincoln groaning in pain, trying to unstiffen his joints, particularly the ones in his neck.

"Sheesh, Lynn, would it kill you to take it easy on me next time?", he lamented to no one in particular. "I thought we agreed that we weren't going to do any Full Nelson's this ti…oh hey, Lola. What's up?"

"M-m-m-m-me. N-nothing, oh dear, noble brother of mine. What could you possibly think I'd be up to?"

Lola tried her best to flash her award winning smile and convince Lincoln that everything was fine but Lincoln wasn't buying it.

"Uh…I never said you were 'up to anything'. Alright, spill it, what did you do?"

Curses! She didn't think she'd get caught so easily but alas, here she was, contemplating how she was going to get out of this one. She looked up to see Lincoln looking rather impatient, as if waiting for her to come clean already. Finding no lie easy enough to fool him, she decided that it was best to just tell that truth.

"*sigh* Okay, look, Lincoln…there was a…shortage of guests for my tea party and I figured that it'd be…appropriate to, um, borrow, y-yes, BORROW your Bun Bun to fill in the vacancy and well…I…"

"You what? What happened, Lola?"

"Well, see, he was being a very rude guest so I had to punish him by…um…well, take a look for yourself."

Lola meekly walked over to the oven and opened it up. Upon doing so, the kitchen began to fill with the oddest of fumes, with Lola not being sure to make of it. Lincoln, on the other hand, was able to quickly put two and two together and dragged Lola away from the oven as he grabbed a pair of oven mitts and turned the oven off. Then, in a flash, he had swiped the loaf pan out and set it on the stove with a loud clang. To his horror, there was his once whole Bun Bun, now a drippy, melted mess. One of his ears was still mercifully intact but as for the rest of him, he was damaged beyond repair. Lincoln leaned over the stove, silently soaking up the horrible image. Lola looked on distraughtly. She didn't mean to do that to him! She wanted to tell Lincoln how sorry she was for basically killing Bun Bun the way that she did but she soon found out she wasn't in store for any forgiveness or mercy from Lincoln as he spun around and marched towards her.

"What did you do to Bun Bun?! How could you let this happen?! I leave for less than half an hour and I come back to find this! What on Earth possessed you to think that this was a good idea?!"

Lincoln was seeing red now. He didn't care to let Lola have a word in. How could she? She was wrong and by the tears that were no running down her face, she knew it, too! Or maybe it was all just an act to get his sympathy despite her destroying his prized stuffed rabbit. He didn't know and he didn't care. Either way, he was going to give Lola a piece of his mind.

"Why can't you just leave my stuff alone, huh?! I can't put so much as a speck of dirt on your dress without you flipping out and yet you can't even bother to respect my stuff in return! Seriously, did Lana get all the brains between you two when you were born or do you just act this stupid on purpose, just to see if you can get away with it?!"

"Lincoln, I…I'm so sorry."

Did she really have the nerve to say to him? There was no way she was getting off scot-free like that, not after what she did to something as cherished and beloved as Bun Bun!

"Don't give me any of that! You're not sorry! You're NEVER sorry! You act like the entire world should just bow down to you because you're too much of a spoiled brat to think about anyone but yourself! Seriously, you'd think that the least I could get from you is not having my stuff melted but noooooo!"

While he was ranting, Lincoln looked across the kitchen to confirm his suspicions, his sisters were looking on at the scene unfolding before them. They must've overheard his yelling and went to check out what was going on. To no surprise of his own, most of them looked disgusted by his words, a fact that kindled his anger into a blazing inferno.

'How can they take her side?! It's not fair!'

"No sister of mine should act like this! In fact, I can't even look at you and think of you as my sister! You're just a troll, an annoying troll that can't bother to act like a normal human being and leave my stuff alone! All you do is make my life miserable! 'Move over, Lincoln! I want the TV remote!' 'That fudge popsicle is mine, Lincoln! Give it or I'm telling Mom!' Well, I've had it! You know what, I'm glad you got what you wanted because now everyone can see how much of a pain in the butt you are!"

He heard more footsteps approaching the scene and knew that they belonged to his parents, no doubt running down to break up the tension. Lincoln had much more to say but decided that wrapping up his monologue with one last barb would do the trick for a cathartic release.

"I…I wish I didn't have to see you every day! I wish I didn't have to hear your irritating voice! I wish…I wish…"

"Don't do it, bro." He could hear Luna harshly whispering to him, pleading for him not to go through with his tirade any further but his frustration blinded him to reason.

"I WISH THAT YOU WERE NEVER BORN!"

"Lincoln Loud!"

Lincoln spun around at the sound of his father angrily rebuking him. There he was, along with his wife, standing in front of his eavesdropping siblings. The folded arms and scowling faces suggested that they were very upset with Lincoln's poor choice of words.

"You apologize to Lola right now and…LINCOLN!"

Lincoln ran past them and slipped through the blockade of sisters to run upstairs. Some of them cringed at the loud sound of his door slamming shut. Lola, on the other hand, was quietly crying, not caring to look dignified in the slightest as mascara and mucus dripped down onto her dress. Rita and Lynn Sr. decided that there was a serious talk that needed to be done and for that to happen, every Loud child not named Lola and Lincoln needed to leave for a bit. Rita turned to her kids to give them some instruction.

"Alright, kids, go back to what you were doing before. Lola, you go upstairs to your room. Your father and I will talk to you in a bit."

"Y-yes, Mom."

Lola slowly trudged out of the kitchen and made her way up the stairs while the other Loud kids talked among themselves at what they just saw. Before Lori could go anywhere, however, her father put a stop to her exit.

"Actually, Lori. Could you stay behind for a bit?"

Lori put her phone away, quickly sending a text to Bobby that assured him that they could continue their conversation later. Family always came first.

"What's up, Dad?"

"We both think it'd be a good idea for you to talk with Lincoln while we sort things out with Lola. We'll deal with him later."

Lori found that proposal fitting. Out of anyone in the entire house, she probably knew how much Bun Bun had meant to Lincoln more than anyone else.

"Yeah, I guess I can knock some sense into the little twerp."

"Thanks, Lori. We knew we could count on you."

It was then that Lori had the brightest of ideas. She supposed it couldn't hurt to ask about "that" again.

"Soooooooo, if I do a really good job, does that mean I can go on that trip to France with Bobby that I proposed a few months ago after all?! You know how much I can't have a true relationship with my Bobby Boo Boo Bear unless we travel to a romantic country by ourselves!"

Rita interjected before her husband could go on another indignant rant. Getting his golf club out of their bedroom wall was bad enough as it was the first time she thought to ask them that.

"Yeah, no. Nice try, young lady."

"Dang it."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lying down on his bed, one leg crossed over the other, Lincoln continually tossed his rubber ball against the ceiling and caught it on the rebound. This is what he'd do when he was either bored or needed to do some thinking. As he let the events surrounding his meltdown sink in, he felt his once iron resolve start to crumble. Of course, he knew that he was totally right to be angry about Lola mistreating his possessions AND he was right to call her out on it but perhaps, yelling at her like that wasn't the right approach? Sure, it seemed as if her getting a light slap on the wrist wouldn't sink in at times but she was still only six years old and telling her that he wished that she had never been born WAS pretty mean. It made him feel pretty guilty about the whole thing. All that was left to do was wait for his parents to head to his room, lay down the law, and let him know that he was in the wrong for…for being angry that Bun Bun had gotten destroyed because of Lola! That reignited his ire and forged a newfound stubbornness that he vowed not to let go of. He was right and they were wrong! They'd just have to deal with it!

"Lincoln?"

Was that Lori? What could she possibly want? Yeah, it was no surprise to him that she was there to listen in him berate Lola but that didn't mean that she should have THAT much personal interest in him now unless…she wanted to tell him off herself before Mom and Dad could.

'Just my luck', he mused in despair. Could today get any worse?

"Lincoln, I know you're in there. Open up, would you? You know you need to talk this out."

And by talk it out, she probably meant make Lincoln out to be the bad guy for being a victim that took a stand against injustice. Heck no! He wasn't about to open that door for that!

"Okay, fine, don't open up. I'll just be sure to text Ronnie Anne and talk to her about how her boyfriend threw a fit over a toy he got when he was a toddler."

As quick as a flash of lightning, his door was swung open, pushing back Lori's hair slightly with the gust that the sudden swing created. She looked at her brother's frowning face and knew that she'd have some ways to go to get through to him before a breakthrough was made. But, a promise was a promise. Her honey bunny Bobby would have to wait. She watched in slight amusement as Lincoln exaggeratedly stomped over to his bed and threw himself down.

"Let me guess, you're here to tell me that I'm wrong for yelling at someone that had no regard for my stuff, right?"

"Almost."

That was Lori Loud, blunt and without much leniency. Lincoln supposed he couldn't fault her for being who she was but still, it hurt him knowing what he thought he already knew, that a line was drawn in the sand and he was alone on one side. Would it kill someone to stick up for him? He was shaken out of his thoughts at the sensation of Lori sitting close to him on his bed, the shift in weight causing him to slightly bounce up. He looked across to the eldest Loud sibling and saw a look of exertion, as if Lori was contemplating how she should tell her brother off. Lincoln sighed internally. He just wished she would get it over with.

"What Lola did was reckless and selfish. No one here denies that…"

Now THAT was surprising. He was sure that she would berate him for making the "wittle pwincess" cry, even though she was totally in the wrong and he had every right to tell her how much of an annoying, careless brat she was. Things were starting to look up for him…

"…but all the same…all the same…gosh, how should I put this?"

And there it was! "But". In his experience, "but" was one of the worst words in the English language. "But" was always a precursor for disappointment, a cruel bait and switch that meant that things would seemingly go his way only for things to take a turn for the worse. Thanks for getting your report in on time, Lincoln, BUT I'm afraid you didn't type enough words so you'll have to accept the minimum credit! Oh, Lincoln, we know you wanted to go to the arcade with Clyde this afternoon BUT it looks like Lucy has a fever and we need you to go look after her along with your other sisters! And now it was being used against him here, where HIS precious Bun Bun got unfairly roasted in the oven! It made Lincoln's blood boil.

"Look, Lincoln, there's no easy way for me to say this but all the same, it's kind of a good thing that Bun Bun got destroyed."

THAT WAS IT! There was no way he was going to stand by and not only listen to Lola getting backed up for something reckless she did to his stuff but hear anyone, even Lori, suggest that Bun Bun getting melted in the oven was a "good thing". If she thought his "worst sister ever" monologue was bad, this one would be ten times worse! No, fifty times worse! She was going to get it and get it in the worst way! As Lincoln was prepared to deliver the verbal lashing of a lifetime, Lori had read enough of his tense body language to know where he was headed and firmly put a stop to it.

"Don't, Lincoln. Just…don't. Trust me, you don't want to go there. You think a human pretzel is bad? Yeah, try a human slinky. Now do us both a favor and just listen."

Lincoln begrudgingly obeyed, not wanting to develop scoliosis at the tender age of 11. He still pouted, though, as a jab at Lori for her to know just how unhappy he was. Lori just rolled her eyes at his childish resistance and continued.

"Again, I'm not saying that what she did was right or anything but Lincoln, you're 11 years old and you're throwing a temper tantrum and pouting in your room over a stuffed bunny. Don't you think that's a little…silly? And by 'little', I mean very silly."

This time, Lincoln decided to plead his case but choosing to do so without words that would land him in the hospital.

"So? Why should any of that matter? Who cares if I'm "too old" for him? He meant a lot to me. YOU of all people should know that."

Lori had to chuckle at that as his words brought back memories.

"Of course I do. I still remember how hot and sweaty I was because you couldn't bother to give me some space when you snuck into my bed at night. Summers were the worst because of that."

Lincoln was relieved that the prior tension seemed to dissipate but still couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.

"Yeah, uh, sorry about that."

Lori playfully ruffled his hair to tease him more.

"S'alright. I'd do it for you all over again if I had to but thankfully, Bun Bun made things easier for you. Going to bed by yourself was a cinch after Mom and Dad got him for your fourth birthday. The thing is, Lincoln, there's a difference between holding onto things that you love because they really meant something to you and being so dependent on them that you can never let go, all while you forget even more important things in your life. You were definitely leaning towards the former if we're being honest. I mean, you did tell your own sister that you wished she was never born and over her ruining your toy. Like I said before, your rabbit getting roasted like that was just what the doctor ordered. It was a crutch and you let your affection get to the point where you held onto it like a pacifier. But besides that, Bun Bun may be gone but all the memories of the great times that you had together won't be, especially at the age where you REALLY needed him. Shouldn't that matter the most more than anything else?"

Lincoln couldn't help but feel like a monster. He had lost sight of what was important to him and all it took was something as menial as his toy being melted. What kind of brother was he? All the "I love you's", all the promises of always being there for his sisters...it all felt like a cruel lie, a lie that got dragged into the open by one simple inconvenience. He wanted to cry but knew deep that that he didn't deserve to be look vulnerable and get sympathy for what he did so he fought back his tears.

"I want you to look at something."

While he was sulking, Lori had searched for some images on her phone through the Fling mobile browser, images that would hopefully driver her point home. She chose one image in particular and presently had it held up for Lincoln to see.

"See those? That's an entire shelf of Bun Bun's, literally a mile long. We could go to the local Roy's Toys of Joy and pick you up another Bun Bun. It'd take us half an hour at the worst and only cost me about six bucks. Now then…"

Lori quickly went into her images folder on her phone, wading through hordes upon hordes of selfies that she had taken with Bobby and found what she was looking for. It was an image of Lola, proudly accepting a blue ribbon on stage. It had been for a pageant that she had won last week and the entire family attended the night she won. She held up the phone to Lincoln again.

"See her? That's Lola Loud, your sister and she's one of a kind. You can't put a price tag on her because she's priceless. Making sure that she knows and understanding that yourself should be way more important than some stuffed toy that you can replace in under an hour. I'm not going to tell you when or how you should tell her that but the longer you wait, the more she may feel like you don't love her anymore, that you care about your cotton and thread more than your own flesh and blood. And lastly, don't beat yourself up over this. You didn't mean what you said back there. You just lost it. It happens to the best of us."

She decided that he had heard enough. He looked somber and downtrodden but at least he wasn't indignant and repulsed by the idea of him being corrected. He looked more than malleable enough for their parent's wisdom to take root. She got up and went to walk out of his room but turned around to say some departing words.

"Oh yeah but before you go talk to her, Mom and Dad want to talk with you. And by talk, they probably meant spell out how you're going to be grounded for chewing out Lola like you did so have fun with that. Meanwhile, I got a future hubby to get texting with. You literally ate up about 6 minutes of our time, time that COULD'VE been spent on him complimenting me."

With that, she shut the door behind her on the way out. With solitude belonging to him once more, Lincoln grabbed his pillow and cried bitterly into it, hoping that his cries of anguish and pain would be muffled. Lola would never forgive him. He just knew it. There was no way that she'd ever want him in her life anymore, not after what he did.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

True to Lori's word, Lincoln's parents had gone upstairs to talk with him. Much like Lori, they told him that they understood why he was so frustrated but let him know that that was also no excuse to berate and demean Lola like that. He took his sentence without fighting back; an entire week of no video games. He supposed it could've been worse, especially considering that his relationship with Lola may never be the same again and it was all because he couldn't keep a lid on his anger.

'No. No time for pity parties. I've got a job to do', Lincoln thought as he walked out of his room to head over to the twins'. He noticed that the door was open. He slowly peeked his head through the opening and much to dismay, there was Lola, sitting at the edge of her bed, head hung and feet rocking back and forth. It didn't take a genius to know that she looked miserable with all that had happened today. Before he could take a step further, he bumped into something that he didn't see. He looked down and discovered Lana, glaring at him and arms folded across her chest. He must not have spotted her on the other side of the room.

"What do you want?"

Lincoln sighed. He knew this wasn't going to be easy and seeing one of his other sisters not take kindly to him was something he should've seen coming.

"I-I just wanna talk to Lola, Lana."

Lana's eyes narrowed in disapproval.

"Don't you think you've talked to her enough already?"

Ouch. Guess he deserved that.

"No, Lana. It's okay. Let him in."

Both Lana and Lincoln looked back at Lola in shock with Lana being the most taken aback and indignant.

"But Lola…"

"Let him in, Lana. Please?"

Lana sighed heavily. As much as she thought it was a bad idea, she felt as if she couldn't deny her twin sister now. She turned back to Lincoln who, admittedly, did look guilty enough for his wanted talk with Lola to be an apology but she still had her reservations.

"Okay but if he does anything mean again, you let me know. It'll take days to un-muddy his shoes when I get through with them. You hear that, Lincoln?"

He wouldn't have it any other way. Despite everything, he was happy to see that someone was looking out for Lola in all of this.

"I hear you, Lana. Thanks."

Lana went back inside to grab a few of her pet frogs before she left them by themselves. Lincoln walked over to Lola, deciding that instead of sitting on her bed with her, to sit right in front of her instead. They both sat in silence, looking at anything but the person in front of them. After about thirty seconds of awkward silence, Lincoln began to speak.

"Um…Lola, I…"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Lincoln had the air knocked out of him as Lola sprung forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing them both down on the floor. Although he couldn't see her face, he could tell she was crying by the tears he felt trickling down onto his face.

"LincolnI'msosorryaboutBunBunandIdidn'tmeantokillhimIswearitwasanaccidentIreallydidn'tmeanit! PLEASEDON'THATEMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Despite her rushed and frantic apology, Lincoln managed to catch all of that and assuredly stroked her back as she continued to wail and sob. He couldn't help but feel conflicted. Hearing how deeply his words had hurt her made regret and self-pity resurface all over again but knowing how much she truly loved him, despite the way he treated her, was extremely gratifying. He picked himself up off the ground and lifted her up off of him so he could sit them both down on her bed.

"No, Lola. I'M the one who should be sorry. Bun Bun was great but you're better than great. I'd trade all the Bun Bun's in the world to keep you as my sister. You're worth it."

Lola's crying had devolved to sniffles and small whimpering at his words. Did Lincoln really say what she thought he said? Did that mean that?

"R-really? You don't…you don't hate me?"

"No, Lola, I don't hate you now and I'll never hate you. EVER. I'll never say anything awful like that to you again. I just hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me for everything that I said to you."

As quickly as it took for her to get into a crying fit, Lola was now grinning from ear to ear. Lincoln was so happy he could make her sister smile again, something he thought he'd never see her do as often because of him.

"Thanks, Lincy!"

They both embraced in a tight hug, better than any they had shared in the past. This was a reassurance from Lincoln to Lola that he would never let anything in the world mean anything to him more than her or any of his sisters for that matter. They broke apart and Lola couldn't have been happier. But to her, there was still an elephant in the room that she thought would be best to address here and now, while both their spirits were high.

"So, uh, how long did they ground you?"

Lincoln's mood soured a bit but not enough for him to feel utterly dejected.

"A whole week without video games. But hey, I can't say that I didn't deserve it."

"Pssh. You got off easy. Five days without Dream Boat for me and no one can tell me what happens. Five days! I mean, I'm not saying that I don't deserve to get grounded or anything but how am I supposed to know if Hank and Veronica get together or not until the five days are over?!"

'Man, that's rough. Sorry, Lola. But you know what, I think there's one way that we can both grin and bear this together.'

"You know, I hear you still have one member short of a full set for your tea party, right?"

"Yeah?"

"How about…for as long as we're grounded, I can fill that spot in for you?"

Her elated gasp was enough for Lincoln to feel proud in himself for his selfless suggestion.

"REALLY?!"

"Sure. I always wanted to know how these tea parties always went anyways. Although, Lola, let's promise not to use the oven for them, okay?"

They both shared a laugh at that. Meanwhile, for the second time that day, the other Loud children had listened in on a conversation between Lincoln and Lola, standing quietly outside by the doorway as both of their siblings made amends. This time, however, they were content with what they heard and were happy that things were finally back to normal…or at the very least, Loud house normal.

A/N: Ooooooooh boy. Finally got through with this one. Seriously, what is it with me wanting to write drabbles and them evolving into 5,000 word monsters like this? Okay so it's first time it happened but you get the idea..Hope I didn't bore all of you to death with this one. I guess it's a good thing I got a story with this much content out there. That way, I know how to approach this better the next time. As always, criticism of the constructive kind would be most appreciated! (^_^)