Episode 7 – Older Than Scotland
Lauren stood just outside the door to that led into the coffee shop and looked inside. It was relatively empty considering the time, and she wasn't sure if she was happy or apprehensive because of this. Maura was already there, the honey-blonde's profile easily distinguishable despite what little interaction they'd had.
She took a calming breath, put a smile on her face and pushed the door to enter the café.
Nothing happened.
She looked down, reading the small sign and her smile turned into genuine amusement as she pulled the door open. A few eyes turned in her direction at the sound of her entering. She nodded at the only person who made eye contact, despite not recognizing the man. He smiled at her, but her eyes already moved on to Maura who was getting up from her seat. Lauren quickly made her way over to the other woman.
"Hi." She hoped that didn't sound as awkward as she felt.
"Hello, Lauren." Maura leaned forward to kiss her cheek in greeting. A move spurred by years of conditioning to social interactions that always made her uncomfortable. "Please, have a seat." She motioned to the chair across from where she stood. "I apologize if that made you uncomfortable. My mother and my school instilled a few things in me when it comes to social interaction. I can see however that it caused rigidness of your trapezius and deltoid muscles carrying all the way to the positioning of your arms and hands. And I'm pretty sure that both latissimus dorsi and trapezoids are taut as well."
Lauren blinked, and then laughed, removing her jacket and placing it on the back of her chair before sitting down.
"I am a bit nervous, but you naming most of the larger back and shoulder muscles, says a bit about your comfort levels too, doesn't it?" Maura smiled gingerly.
"I find this – us sitting down together, strange. A few months ago I hated you for taking work away from me while Jane was allowed to remain on the case."
Lauren nodded, her smile softening to an understanding one. "I thought as much. But that wasn't my fault, nor was it personal... We all have orders and procedures to follow."
Maura nodded. "I am aware. It does not, however, mean that I have to like it." She finished with a smile.
A waitress broke their conversation by asking if they would like to order anything. Maura looked questioningly at Lauren who glanced down at the menu, then up at the chalkboard. "Go ahead. If you know what you'd like, of course." Lauren offered. A few moments later the waitress left with their orders of food and drink, and Lauren leaned back in her chair, draping an arm around the back rest as she took a look around.
"I haven't been here in ages." She told Maura when their eyes met again. "I've gotten to going to the same old place. And it's nothing like this. It's nice to change things up. Thank you for this."
Maura's smile faltered a bit.
"Maura, are you alright?" Lauren moved forward in her chair, the hand that was previously resting on the back of the chair moving to hold the one that Maura had on the table in front of her. Maura pulled her hand away from the blonde's touch.
"I can't lie."
"Excuse me?" The lack of context was confusing.
"I physically cannot lie. I start to hyperventilate, then develop urticarial, or in some cases – a vasovagal syncope." Lauren's eyebrows climbed steadily higher throughout this sentence.
"You get hives and possibly faint if you lie?" Lauren was even more confused, but Maura nodded.
"That is why I do not want to answer your question yet. I will, later this evening. But I would like us to first enjoy our dinner."
Lauren ran a hand through her hair. "We both know that something is bothering you but you want to pretend that we don't?"
Maura nodded. Lauren opened her mouth, then closed it.
She opened it again, but it took a moment for her to say anything. "I can respect that."
Maura smiled in relief.
"You really cannot lie?"
Maura shook her head. "No."
"Not even a white lie?"
"That's still a lie."
"Haven't you ever old a patient that they looked better when they really didn't?"
"I'm a medical examiner. If my patients start looking better I would start worrying that I'm one of the horror movies that Jane likes so much."
"You have a point. A sick friend, then? Wait, Jane likes horror flicks?"
"I have not." Maura shrugs. "And Jane says she finds the horror genre far more funny than scary." She paused momentarily, "it's funny – when I told Jane about my inability to lie, her first question was whether I have ever lied to a man about being good in bed. You ask about lying to patients."
Lauren grinned. "Before I forget, thank you for inviting me. It's been a while since I just went out with a friend with no work-related obligations standing, well – anywhere near us. This is nice." Her grin grew into a smile as she spoke.
The conversation was kept light after that, and the two flowed from topic to topic easily. Though Lauren was shocked, and slightly dismayed, about the other woman's minimal knowledge of Star Trek, Star Wars, the difference between them, and popular culture as a whole. They stayed on those topics for a few long minutes.
It was only after they received their second cup of coffee that Maura decided to raise the topic that brought her to ask for this meeting. And so as she raised the mug to her lips she asked, with as much nonchalance as she could muster, "Jane's wolf was brought to my knowledge lately."
Lauren nearly choked on her drink. "She actually told you?" She managed to sputter after she stopped coughing.
Maura made sure to take a sip before lowering her mug. Her features controlled as she tried to keep the hurt about being unaware of Jane's secret while this woman apparently knew. Maura and Jane were supposedly best friends. Why is it that she didn't know while Lauren did?
"Wow," Lauren continued, then scratched the back of her neck, "That's... surprising. From what I understood from Bo, I didn't think Jane wanted you to know any of this." Maura looked away. "I'm sorry." Lauren apologized. "I just meant that -" she huffed, her voice was lowered when she spoke again. "The Fae are very quiet about their business. The fact that we know three full blooded humans who interact with them while knowing that they are Fae is very unusual, even if two of them are us. And the fact that she told you what kind of Fae she is even more remarkable. It's a very private matter, she didn't tell Bo for weeks, and if she didn't have to shift into her other form in front of Kenzi to rescue Bo from that Kappa in time than I doubt if they would know." Maura was fighting with great difficulty to keep her facial features neutral.
"How did you discover this about her?" Maura asked the blonde, her tone falling a bit flat.
"I'm her doctor." Lauren shrugged. "I serve as the main medical authority to all the Light Fae. And, well, Bo. And since certain types of Fae have different physiologies, I need to know what type of patient I'm treating if I'm to..." She paused, and gave Maura a long look.
Then she paled, slumping into herself.
"You don't know..." Lauren concluded in a voice that was barely above an exhale. "You didn't know..." She shifted back a bit, her hands going into her hair, and her elbows coming to rest on her knees. "And I've just... Oh my god. He's going to kill me."
"What?" Maura did not expect this turn in the conversation. "How did you realize this? And who is he?"
Lauren barked out a laugh. "Your face gave you away when I was talking about different physiologies." Her face went back between her hands. "He warned me not to..." she exhaled deeply in her frustration, "and I fell right into this." She raised her head, meeting the other woman's eyes again. "For someone who can't lie you sure cut it close."
"I'm sorry." Maura's apology was heartfelt, and she told Lauren the story of how she came to learn about Jane's wolf and her earlier inquiries which led nowhere. "I thought that maybe if I went to someone outside her immediate circle than maybe I could finally find answers. With you dating her cousin, Bo might have let something slip." She concluded and Lauren laughed bitterly. A sentence the blonde said earlier finally seemed to make sense to Maura.
"Wait, Bo and Jane are not cousins are they?" Lauren shook her head. "Why would they lie?" Her sentence trailed off.
"Probably to get Bo easier access to the precinct." Lauren shrugged as she rubbed her face against her hands.
"I never thought that I might be making any sort of problems for you. I am, truly, very sorry."
Lauren raised her head. "Please," she locked eyes with the medical examiner, "do not repeat this to anyone. Please. If anyone knew that I gave you this information, I don't know what will happen."
"Surly, you can't be serious?"
"I am serious. And don't call me Shirley." Lauren deadpanned, and Maura tilted her head. "Old movie quote. You really haven't seen 'Airplane!'?" Maura shook her head. Lauren turned serious again. "Will you promise me? No one can know that I told you about this."
"I promise." Maura reached out to the woman sitting on front of her, taking hold of her forearm and gently rubbing it with her thumb. "And again - I apologize for my deceit. I was simply worried about Jane. As a doctor, you have to admit that this is odd."
Lauren relaxed a bit. "I'll admit that this is odd even without being a doctor."
"You're not a doctor?" Lauren sighed.
"I am a doctor. But this would be odd even if I wasn't." Maura made a silent oh in understanding.
Lauren shook her head, removing her arm from the other woman's reach.
"I have made a mess of things haven't I?" Maura said sadly, retracting her hand. "The thing is that I really did, do, want to get to know you better. And I have enjoyed our dinner – before promptly ruining it for you." Lauren managed a small smile.
"I did too. It's nice to have someone outside of my usual circle."
"I would like to make it up to you," Maura leaned closer to the table as she spoke, "if you will allow me to do so, of course. I promise that I will not raise this matter again."
"I..." Lauren fumbled for words, "I will need to keep to myself for some time. I need to make sure that there is no backlash against me."
"I understand. Please, let me pay for dinner. I think that's it's the least I can do..."
Lauren accepted with a nod, and in less than five minutes, the two were stepping out of the café.
"Goodbye, Maura." Lauren didn't wait for a reply before walking off towards her car, and Maura couldn't help but watch her walk away, her mind both thinking ahead and worrying about potentially exposing this woman to danger.
~~~Boston*Fae~~~
Jane was smiling contently as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. The weekend with Frankie went even better than she had expected. They ran, they hunted, and they even played a bit. Swimming in that small pool they happened to find felt divine. The water would have been too cold for a human, but her fur made the swim not only refreshing, but enjoyable. And now she was back feeling both calmer and more refreshed than she had in months.
She took a deep breath when she reached her front door. Her nose alerting her to faint traces of smells. Smells that she knew very well. She unlocked the door and stepped inside. The living room was empty, but she could hear the woman who was the source of the smells making her way out of the bathroom. She closed the door, locking it behind her.
"Jane!" Maura exclaimed in surprise when she finally saw the brunette. The medical examiner smiled, then frowned, as she made her way back to the living room to join her friend. "I thought you would be back earlier. I was almost ready to leave."
"I had no idea you'd be here, Maur." Jane removed a backpack from her shoulders and placed it on the floor by the door. "Is everything okay?"
Instead of coming towards her like she usually did, Maura turned into the kitchen. Jane frowned.
"I've been keeping some dinner warm for us. Are you hungry?" She knew Maura too well not to know why Maura was avoiding questions.
"I can eat," she shrugged, "but only if you tell me what's wrong."
Maura looked back over her shoulder then proceeded to open the oven and take out a small tray of lasagna. Jane's mouth instantly watered. "Will you get me some wine?"
"Maura..." She was really not in the mood to get exasperated. The weekend spent running through the woods was far too enjoyable to end on this note. But she moved to the fridge to get Maura some wine, and a beer for herself. Meanwhile, Maura was setting plates, cutlery, and glasses at their usual dining spot.
"So," Jane started once they both sat down, their food in drinks in front of them. "What's going on?"
Maura took a deep breath, exhaling slowly though her nose. Jane set her utensils down and leaned forward; this was going to be serious. The knowledge was confirmed when Maura met her eyes, her expression serious, her eyes hurt.
"Jane, I know." Jane blinked, then raised an eyebrow.
"You know a great many things, Maur, more than practically anybody I know."
Maura paused for a moment, then looked away. "Don't you mean – any human you know?"
"What?" Jane's mouth went dry, and she fought the urge to sink her fingernails into the countertop. It was taking a great effort to control herself.
Maura met her eyes again.
"I know that you are Fae, Jane. I may not know exactly what that means, but I know that it means that you are not exactly human. I know that you change your form, though I don't understand how that is possible. I know that your other form is a wolf. And I know that you are not related to Bo."
Jane sat back in her chair, shocked. Maura's delivery was slow, careful, probably even rehearsed, and every syllable dripped with hurt and betrayal.
"I want to ask you why you didn't tell me all of this in the years we have come to know each other. But I am no longer sure that I can say that. Do I even know you, Jane?" Tears were welling up in Maura's eyes and she grabbed a napkin to dab them away.
"How do you know all of this?" Jane could feel a stab with every sentence Maura spoke. And she recognized most of them as guilt. This was a human. Maura was a human. She should not be ashamed of keeping being a Fae secret from her.
But the hurt in Maura's eyes, and the tears, caused Jane's heart to clench painfully in her chest. Maura gave a short bitter laugh.
"That is what you ask me? How did I discover this secret of yours?" Maura clenched her jaw, but the tears kept coming. Jane leaned forward, placing her forearms on the counter.
"Maura, I..."
"I overheard you talking with Bo. That's how I discovered it."
The raven haired woman was confused for a brief moment before realizing the only instance when that was possible. "At the morgue?" Maura nodded. "That was nearly a week ago. And I never said..."
Maura cut her off. "I conducted some research." She stated flatly. "Stop avoiding my question, Jane." The honey-blonde's eyes hardened. "Just tell me – how much of what I know of you is a lie?"
Jane looked down and away.
A few long and silent moments passed, Jane couldn't quite bring herself to look back the woman sitting before her. Finally Maura stood, stepping away from her chair and starting for the door.
"Thank you, Detective Rizzoli, for finally opening my eyes." Her voice was thick, her vision blurred from tears. "I will give you your apartment key back first thing tomorrow morning," Jane's mouth fell open as her brain raced to catch up with all that was happening.
"Maura," she tried but was ignored.
"And I would greatly appreciate it if you did the same. If you do not-"
Jane tried to interject again, "Maura," but was once again ignored. The honey-blonde was almost at the door, so Jane ran.
"I will be forced to have the locks to my house changed. So I would-" the gasp Maura emitted at being caught and spun so that her back met the door stopped her flow of words.
"Maura, stop, please." Jane nearly begged, then moved back, not wanting the smaller woman to feel trapped. "I," she trailed off momentarily as she ran a hand through her hair, "This is not something that I ever imagined getting out. Can you understand my surprise?"
Maura stood silent.
Jane grimaced.
"As for your question – what you know about me – emotions, likes, dislikes - those are all real."
"What about your family?" Jane flashed a quick smile, before looking self-conscious.
"I'm older than Angela." It was enough of an explanation, she figured.
Maura looked at her in disbelief.
"I won't deny that I wanted to keep this information from you." Jane said solemnly. "But it was because I thought you would be safer not knowing. But if you managed to gather enough information to do research about us, I might as well tell you whatever it is that you want to know. Leaving you to gather information on your own will likely get you dead, get someone to feed off of you, and not in a way that would be good for you, " she took a deep breath, "or worse." She motioned to the couch. "Let's sit."
Maura nodded, and moved from the door. Jane ran her hand through her hair once again before joining her. She just hoped she wasn't making a mistake by doing this.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything." Jane couldn't help but smile.
"A general, all inclusive statement, Maura? If I didn't know you're upset, this would have been my first tip-off." She leaned back into the cushions, then looked around. "Where's Jo Friday, by the way?"
"Asleep on your bed." The answer was flat. Jane nodded.
"You said you've done research." Maura nodded. "So give me a starting point."
"What are the Fae? And how is it that you can turn yourself into a wolf?"
Jane sighed. "We are a different family, taxonomically speaking," Maura's eyes grew wide, "than humans. What? I know some biology. I was alive when Darwin published the Origin of Species."
"How old are you?" Maura couldn't help but ask as stared at the woman she thought she knew.
"Old. I was around when Scotland was established. I didn't keep much of a calendar before then, though." Maura was quick to do the math.
"You are over 1100 years old?" Jane looked up at the ceiling, her eyes moving from side to side as she did the math.
"I suppose I am."
"Yet you look younger than Angela? How is that possible?"
"I'll get to that." Jane took a deep breath and looked at the woman sitting beside her. The woman's smell was starting to become distracting. She shook her head to clear the thoughts and continued talking. "Don't ask me about how we evolved; I was never much for studying. But we, the Fae, feed off humans. Some feed of curtain kinds of energies – like Bo who feeds on sexual energy, other feed off luck, talent, or..." she gestured vaguely. "There are many kinds of Fae, and many ways to feed."
"I am a shape changer. I can turn into a wolf, which means that I'm referred to as a Wolf-Shifter. Half of the Rizzolis are also canine shifters, though they don't turn to wolves."
"What do they turn into? And how is it that I am asking this so calmly?" Jane smiled softly at her friend's comment.
"They will tell you if they wish. It's a very personal question to ask a Fae since it can tell much about our strengths and weaknesses. As for your other question - something in you still doesn't believe this."
Maura shook her head. "It does sound very outlandish."
Jane was quiet for a minute, before getting to her feet. "Give me a minute, then come to my room." She said and headed into the back of the apartment. Maura stared after her, unsure, but glanced at the clock and waited.
Three steps away from the room she was almost knocked off her feet when Jo Friday came running out at full speed, her little tail held high. Maura looked back at the small dog who proceeded to jump onto the couch, and thus remove herself from Maura's line of sight. She looked back to the bedroom door, and swallowed.
She moved forward again, stopping just inside the room. The clothes Jane had just worn lay on the half made bed; the covers seemingly pulled nearly half off. On the floor, just beside the blanket, a large black wolf sat on its haunches and looked up at her. "Jane?"
The wolf's mouth opened, its tongue lolling out. A moment later it moved to bury itself under the blanket, only pocking its head back out. It gave a shake of its head and the hair began to lengthen, the muzzle to retract, and entire body's shape began to change. A moment later Jane stood in the wolf's place, laughing softly, and holding the blanket close to her body. "You can check under the bed if you'd like, but I swear I'm not there."
Maura's eyes rolled back in their sockets, and Jane dropped the blanket as she jumped to catch the woman before she fell to the floor.
~~~Boston*Fae~~~
Maura opened her eyes and tried to refocus. She was lying down. On a bed. On Jane's bed
"Hey." A soft voice said from somewhere to her left, and she moved her eyes in the direction of Jane's voice. She was dressed again. "Welcome back." She sat up. Jane's hand flew to her shoulder but stopped before making contact. Jane pulled her hand back. "I have some water here for you if you want." She turned to the bedside table and offered Maura a glass.
"Thank you." She accepted quietly. "How long was I unconscious?"
"Less than five minutes. Are you alright?" Maura took a moment to mentally examine her body and noted no aches or pains.
"I seem to be. Though it has been a while since I've experienced a vasovagal syncope." Jane rolled her eyes, a gentle smile of her lips. She brought her hand to the back of her head. "How is it that I don't feel a contusion?" Jane's look turned confused. "A bruise," Maura explained. Jane nodded in understanding.
"I caught you before you managed to make contact with the floor." The dark haired woman stood and stepped away from the bed. "I'm sorry about that. But I thought that would be the easiest way to explain how I shift and prove that this is all real. I'm sure there is some physiological-bio-molecular explanation for all of this. But I can't give them to you. Lauren, Doctor Lewis, will be far better at that than I. I'm, sorry - I honestly never thought you'd faint."
Maura sighed.
"I didn't expect it myself." She stood and looked down, only now noticing that Jane had removed her shoes. When she looked back at Jane it was clear that her words had the desired effect, and Jane was a little less stressed. "Shall we continue?"
Jane nodded solemnly. "Do you want to go back to the living room?"
"Yes, please." They were soon back on the couch, with Jo Friday in Jane's lap. "She's not afraid of you."
"She's a brave little puppy." Jane smiled down at the dog, who was in the process of finding a new comfortable sleeping spot. "And we're in each other's pack now. What else did you want to know?"
"You said that you're younger than your... than Angela." Jane nodded. "Yet you look young enough to be her daughter. How is that possible?"
"We all have our roles in the pack." Jane began after taking a deep breath. "She wanted to, and was meant to, be a mother. So her appearance matches that. I, on the other hand, was born and trained as a warrior. My appearance matches my function as well."
"Does that mean that you cannot have children?"
"Of course I can." Jane scoffed. "But I have yet to give my love to anyone. I never really found my Mate. And bringing young ones to a place where there is no love?" Jane shrugged, "people do it, I suppose. But I never wanted to."
"How is it that you're still alive? If you're over a millennia in age, then all of your cells must have reached the Hayflick limit by now!" Jane stared at her blankly.
"My cells have reached the hey-what-now?"
"The Hayflick limit. It's the number of times that a cell can divide before reaching senescence, and triggering apoptosis."
"I have no idea what you just said. And I need another beer." The raven haired woman looked at the counter. "Actually – our food is getting cold. Explain yourself over food?" She stood and offered her hand to Maura, who looked at her for a brief moment before pushing herself to a standing position, ignoring the offered hand. Jane sighed quietly.
"Living cells can only divide, only live, for so long before reaching the point where carrying on further will leave them with two options - transform and turn into cancerous cells, or die. If you are over 1000 years old all of your dividing cells should have reached this point."
Jane nodded slowly as they took their seats. "I see. Honestly, I don't know. But Lauren might, you can ask her. I can try and arrange a meeting or something if you'd like."
"She gave me her number."
"Oh, right. Sorry." Jane apologized, waiting to see what the woman in front of her would do.
They lapsed into a short silence while Maura, then Jane picked up their utensils and began to eat.
"Who else is Fae? Out of the people in our social circle, I mean. Is anyone except the Rizzolis Fae?"
Jane nodded. "Well, like you said – there's the Rizzolis, and Bo. From the precinct - Frost, as well as Jones and Strax over at narcotics." Maura's eyes grew large. Jane gave her a sad grin.
"Most of the Fae blend well with the human population."
"But not all Fae? "
"No. Those who don't are called Under-Fae, and are kept hidden from your kind."
Maura's eyebrows rose. "My kind?"
Jane shrugged. "Figure of speech."
They stayed up for hours that night, Maura asking questions, and Jane explaining what she knew. They moved from the kitchen back to the living room once they were done with their meal. At some point the conversation turned from the Fae as two groups – Light and Dark, to Jane herself; to her past, and experiences. But when Jane noticed that the time was nearing 2:30am, she called a stop to their conversation, claiming that they both need to sleep before going in to work.
Maura agreed, and reached for her bag. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going home." She explained as if it was meant to be obvious.
"It's late, Maur, sleep over."
"Jane, I..." Maura faltered, and the taller woman could see in her friend's eyes everything that the woman thought and felt. All the new information that needed to be processed. All the hurt from being kept in the dark throughout the entire length of their friendship. The depth of the betrayal that Maura felt due to being kept in the dark and lied to. But worse than all of those was the emotion swimming just below the surface – uncertainty. Maura didn't know how much she could trust Jane.
Not with the information given now, but because of the misinformation given in the past.
"I should go home."
"You should sleep." Jane countered softly. "Take the bed, I'll take the couch. I insist, please. If you leave I will only get in my car and follow you to make sure you get home okay."
Maura deflated at the last sentence, finally nodding her agreement.
Jane smiled softly. "I'll go grab myself a blanket, and sleep on the couch. Take the bed. You and I both know that it's by far the more comfortable of the two."
"I can't take your bed from you." Maura started to object but stopped when Jane raised her hand.
"I've slept on the ground and between bushes with only my fur for warmth for the past two days. When it's still very early spring in Massachusetts. Trust me, inside a house on a couch with a blanket, is fine." Jane started for her bedroom before adding over her shoulder, "we can likely talk about this for days. Let's get to bed. We have work tomorrow, and we should get there at least a little rested." Maura was quiet while Jane was out of her sight, but stood when the taller woman returned.
"You're right. But I still wish to discuss this further."
Jane nodded.
They bid each other good night and Maura left for the bedroom.
Jane flopped back down on the couch and spread the blanket. Jo Friday padded over to her, and Jane made room for the small dog between herself and the blanket before scratching the little head that rested itself against her arm.
"Did you see her face, Jo?" A small whine came in response. "Yes. I know. It was all in her eyes. I don't know if she can pull out of this. If we can pull out of this." The dog's ear twitched. "I've never seen a human take this so hard. Then again I never knew any human quite like Maura." Jo turned her head, looking at the woman beside her, then licked her face.
Jane chuckled softly.
"Thanks Jo. I appreciate the vote of confidence, but it's not only up to me." Jo tilted her head, then rested it back on her forepaws and closed her eyes. "Oh, shut up."
In the other room, Maura had taken out an oversized shirt and a pair of yoga pants and was folding her clothes as she considered all that she learned tonight. Hoping that she could trust that the information Jane gave her was true. After the years they knew each other, the countless hours spent together, to only have discovered about this huge part of Jane now, and by accident? A part that seemed to weave into her entire being yet was kept a secret from her all this time.
So many secrets woven into one. So many lies told to perpetuate the ignorance of the people around her.
Around them. Barry Frost was Fae too. As were the rest of the Rizzolis.
But Barry Frost was not pretending to be her best friend. As far as she knew, he didn't build an entire family and pretend to live one life while living another simultaneously. She could only guess about the other Rizzolis, and she refused to do that.
Over 1100 years old...
How many people like Maura has Jane had in her life?
Was Jane even her real name?
A/N:
For the record – Maura didn't lie! I know it's really subtle, but Lauren asked Maura to promise that no one would know that she was the one who gave Maura the information, and Maura kept true to that.
But Maura (and we!) deserve to have this confrontation with Jane...
Another note – I have a few insane family events coming up next week, so it's highly likely that I won't get to post chapter 8... The chances of me sitting down at a computer are about 3 in 74345682... *sigh*
Having said that – I will try to post chapter 8 as soon as possible after all the mess that will likely take over next week.
Wish me luck! ;)