Chapter 11 – Life is a Highway
"Life's like a road that you travel on when there's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend sometimes you stand sometimes you turn your back to the wind
There's a world outside every darkened Door where blues won't haunt you anymore
Where the brave are free and lovers soar, come ride with me to the distant shore
We won't hesitate to break down the garden gate there's not much left today
Life is a highway, I want to ride it all night long
If you're going my way, I want to drive it all night long
There was a distance between you and I, a misunderstanding once
but now we look it in the eye there's no load I can't hold road so rough this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in, tell 'em we're survivors"
Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane
They made good time as they crested the hill that looked down on the ravine below that was scattered with both human and Darkspawn corpses. As the descended down the slope the smell was almost overpowering from the hot sun baking the bodies. As they neared the site Josie leapt from her horse and ducked behind a tree to relieve the contents of her stomach.
"Maker's breath that's horrific," Josie gasped as she wiped her mouth on her sleeve.
"I've smelled worse," Zevran replied.
"Only thing worse than this stench is Oghren's arse after week long bender," Loghain grunted.
"By the Paragons tits! What where you doing that close to my arse, Loghain?" Oghren growled.
Alistair looked at Oghren with a huge grin. "I'm surprised you'd ask that. Didn't you know that Loghain was known for being a huge ass-kisser? He's famous for it actually."
"I don't need my ass kissed... well at least not by some stuffy overzealous noble... excuse me, I mean Warden," Oghren snorted.
"Noble, Warden... hell, he could be the Divine herself, and I still wouldn't want him anywhere near my ass... or any part of me, for that matter," Zevran chortled.
"And coming from you, that's saying a lot!" Josie laughed.
"Since when has the assassin become so picky?" Alistair questioned.
"You're on that list too, my dear landless prince," Zevran retorted.
"Thank the Maker for that!" Alistair exclaimed.
"Who knew that you and Loghain had something in common," Josie stated.
"Would you mind concentrating on the mission at hand, instead of whose ass I'm supposed to kiss next?" Loghain growled.
"Oh, yes fearless ass-kisser. Your wish is our command," Jo chuckled.
Josie pulled a scarf up that hung around her neck to cover her mouth and nose, trying to easy the foul smell as she surveyed the battle ground. There were about a hundred Darkspawn bodies scattered everywhere with only a few human remains strewn throughout the site. It looked like it had been a bloody battle and that the Templars were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Well on the bright side, at least they are killing off each other and not humans," Alistair said.
"Yes, that is the only silver lining in this mess," Loghain grunted.
"I know some may consider Templars less than human, but they are still among the casualties, so please show a little respect," Josie reminded.
"Shouldn't they be busy hunting for another old god to corrupt? What the hell are they doing fighting amongst themselves on the surface?" Alistair asked.
"That is a very good question," Zevran said.
"One I intend to find an answer for, but first we are going to need to clean up and burn these bodies. We can't let anyone else handle them. I don't want someone to come across them and accidentally expose themselves to possible Blight sickness," Josie stated.
"By the Ancestors, that's a lot of burning, Boss. Can't we just bury them?" Oghren asked.
"No, the taint will corrupt the ground," Alistair said before she could reply.
"He's right," Josie confirmed. "Let's move quickly and then explore the mountainside for a cave entrance. They had to come from somewhere."
They moved into the center of the battlefield when Josie felt the first twinge in her blood. She drew her blades and spun round. The bushes on the hillside began to move.
"Darkspawn!" Both she and Alistair yelled together.
As if they had been fighting together every day for the past seven years, Josie dropped into an attack position as Alistair flanked her right side and the two of them charged up the hill. Alistair blocked, Josie attacked, he would attack as she back-stabbed. Not even losing a step, together they fought in tandem just as they had done all those years ago, as they cut a path through a dozen Darkspawn and made their way toward the emissary. They were so synchronized with their movements it was as if they were fighting as one. Josie reached out through the taint to Alistair, he was happy, excited, exhilarated and this made her smile. She was elated that she could give him this part of his life back. She wanted him to find happiness again.
Once they had taken out the emissary, they both spun around to see if anyone else was in need of assistance, but all of the Darkspawn were down or in the process of going down. Alistair looked over at her and grinned as he wiped some blood from his face. "That was fun."
"Yes, you did seem to be enjoying yourself."
"Throwing crates around on the docks isn't nearly as gratifying as decapitating a Hurlock," Alistair chuckled.
"Well, job satisfaction is one of the few benefits that the Wardens have to offer," Josie said as she started back toward the center of battlefield.
"It's a good feeling… to once again be a part of something that is larger than one's self," Alistair said humbly.
Josie smiled at him. "I'm glad… that you are once again with the Wardens… this is where you're supposed to be."
Alistair smiled tentatively back at her. "Thanks, Josie… I owe you…"
"You owe me nothing," she interrupted as she waved him off; feeling uncomfortable with his gratitude.
"What the hell, Commander? Now they're coming up with their own sneaky off-handish ambushes? The thought is enough to make a drunk dwarf sober," Oghren grunted as he trotted up to them.
"That isn't good," Zevran said as he strolled up to them wiping his blade off before sheathing it.
"As if those bastards talking weren't bad enough, now they are smart enough to plan an ambush," Alistair stated.
Josie half-heartedly listened to the banter as she glanced around the valley and hillside. She reached out through the taint and felt nothing. Not a living thing.
"Where's Loghain?" She asked.
"The last time I saw him, he was fighting a Genlock and two Hurlocks over there," Oghren said as he pointed toward the opposite side of the valley from where Josie and Alistair had been fighting.
She ran up the hill searching for him through both sight and the taint, but saw and felt nothing. She whirled around several times looking for an opening or fissure in the hillside. Then she saw it towards the top of the hill, a slight out cropping of rocks and she raced up the hill. As she neared the opening, she reached out for his taint and this time she felt the faint pulse of his tainted blood.
She drew her swords just as the rest of the group made their way up to her. "They took him," Josie announced.
"Well, is that really a bad thing?" Oghren asked.
"Took him? Why in the Maker's mercy would they take him?" Alistair asked.
"For his blood… his tainted blood, the Architect used Warden's blood to create the talking Darkspawn," Josie explained.
"Looks like the beasts are looking to reopen the conversing, thinking Darkspawn factory," Zevran stated.
"We have to go after him," Josie said.
"That's the craziest thing I ever heard," Alistair replied.
"Which bit? The creating talking Darkspawn from Warden's blood or the going after Loghain?" Zevran asked.
Alistair cocked an eyebrow and grinned. "Well both bits actually."
"He's a Warden and as much as I despise the man, I'm not going to let him die at the hands of the Darkspawn. That would make me no better than him. Now let's go," Josie demanded as she walked into the cave opening.
The group cautiously followed Josie as she tracked the pulse of Loghain's taint through the maze of tunnels. When she came to a fork in the road, she paused trying to decide which one to take. She took several steps into the passageway on the left and reached out searching for him, but he felt further away. She turned toward the other cave and his taint felt stronger.
"It's that one," she instructed.
"How do you know that?" Alistair asked.
"His taint… I'm tracking his taint," she replied as she concentrated on the direction of the pulse.
"H-how are you able to do that?"
"I'll explain later, Alistair," Josie replied as her pace began to pick up, the stronger Loghain's taint became.
Moments later, they burst into a small cavern that was occupied by at least eight Darkspawn and an emissary who was standing over an unconscious Loghain. He was strapped down to a table. The fight immediately commenced, but was hampered by the tight confines they were in. Oghren and Alistair struggled to find the room they needed to properly fight, so all they could do was keep the monsters occupied as Josie and Zevran slipped in and out of the shadows taking the beasts out from behind. When the last Hurlock hit the floor, they turned to face the emissary who was now backing up towards the door.
It grinned at Josie. "You're too late. I got what I came for, Commander." It said with a smirk as it held up several large vials of blood. "Not as much as I had hoped for, but it's a start for now. However, it's your blood I really want, Josie."
There were three distinct growls that came from the men standing behind her, but the emissary ignored them as it continued.
"The essence of Urthemiel courses through your veins. He is the one that gives you all of that strength, that keen insight of yours and the ability to distinguish your Wardens' taint. He has made you even more powerful than you know."
"That's bullshit! I had those abilities before I sank my blade into your master," Josie retorted.
"Urthemiel heightened those abilities, Josie," it stated.
"You know my name, but I don't know yours," Josie replied.
It paused as it grinned at her. "They call me the Avenger because I am sworn to kill the Warden that betrayed the Architect and took his life."
"A Darkspawn with a vendetta; what will they come up with next?" Zevran chuckled.
"I feel a special kinship with you. It will sadden me when I have to take your life."
"Who knew they had feelings?" Alistair muttered.
"Perhaps I should call you mother? You see, I was made from your blood. The Architect used your taint to create me. Can't you feel your essence flowing through my veins?"
"The only thing I feel is the need to watch your blood flow upon the floor," she snarled as she lunged toward him, but he was too quick. He whirled out of her reach and started down a dark corridor. Josie raced after him, but Zevran grabbed her by the arm stopping her.
"It's a trap. You know this. He wants you to follow him. We need to get Loghain and get the hell out of here," Zevran demanded.
"He's right, Josie. Don't fight him on his terms," Alistair stated.
Josie gave a nod of consent. "Zevran, unhook those tubes in his arm so we can leave."
As Zevran began to work on Loghain, Josie walked around the small laboratory gathering all of the material and journals that she could find. Once done, with Alistair and Oghren's aid, they carried the unconscious man through the dark tunnels and emerged back to the hillside.
"Alistair and Oghren can you get our horses? We need to carry Loghain as far away from here as possible. I don't want to make camp anywhere near this opening. I wish I had a mage to close that damn thing up," Josie muttered.
"Would you like me to say it now or wait till later, la mia caramella dolce?" Zevran asked.
Josie just glared at him. "Yes, it might be best if I wait till later for the 'I told you so'," Zevran chuckled.
They rode south for an hour before they found a spot near a pond to make camp. The Avenger must have taken more than the three vials of blood, because Loghain was still unconscious when they all sat down to a bowl of stew that Josie had made. When Zevran had examined him, the assassin didn't think that Loghain was poisoned. He believed that Loghain remained catatonic due to the blood loss.
Josie nodded at his assessment then she started to read through the notes and journals that she had confiscated from the laboratory. None of it made sense, parts of it were written in what looked like Dalish and other parts in a language she had never seen.
"Find any useful information from that," Alistair inquired.
"No, I'm going to need to find someone who can transcript this for me. I'll be pissed if it's nothing but a recipe for sweet cakes."
"Just what you need to add to your repertoire, Darkspawn Sweet Cakes," Alistair chuckled.
"I think I'll pass on that," Josie replied with a smile.
Alistair sat down beside her. "I didn't realize when you explained about the talking Darkspawn that they kidnapped Wardens for their blood."
"Yes, that is what happened to all of the Orlesian Wardens that had arrived at Vigil's Keep to help us set-up the new Ferelden stronghold. All of those Wardens simply disappeared."
"That's terrible," Alistair muttered.
"Yes it was. It seems that they will use any Warden's blood if they have to, but they have a fondness for my blood. Aren't I special?"
Alistair hesitated in reply as if debating with himself. He finally said, "The Avenger mentioned the ability to distinguish between Warden's taints. How does that work?"
"Remember when we traveled together, we learned that we could tell the difference between our taint and Darkspawn taint."
Alistair nodded so she continued. "And do you also remember that at times we had this uncanny ability to read each other's emotions."
Again Alistair nodded. "Well, when I arrived at Vigil's Keep and started putting recruits through the Joining, I realized that it wasn't just your taint that I could differentiate from, but it was all Wardens. I also realized that each taint felt slightly different. So I went to Avernus since he was an expert in all things taint related and if anyone could help explain this phenomenon he could. However, he found it just as fascinating as I did."
She paused as she remembered Avenger's exact words and smiled sardonically. "Fucking Darkspawn wasn't lying...Avernus told me that the ability that you and I shared had to be due to the fact that we were the only Grey Wardens left in all of Ferelden so it was easy for us to distinguish between Warden taint and Darkspawn taint. However, he felt that the ability to read other Warden's emotions had to be some kind of effect from slaying the Archdemon and the soul of the old god passing through me before it moved on. Although this was beyond his practical knowledge. He theorized that together we could explore the depths of this ability and learn to use it to our advantage. It took some time, but by working together, we learned to hone in on each other's taints. Once I was able to master my taint and have a clear understanding of his taint, I was able to teach this skill to other Wardens."
"Can you teach me?" Alistair asked.
"Only if you teach me how to mask my taint the way you do?"
Alistair raised an eyebrow and grinned. "You know about that?"
"I could sense you from the moment I arrived in Kirkwall, but then the sensation would quickly disappear. Once I realized it was you I was feeling, I figured you had devised a way to hide your taint."
"Well, it would seem that you weren't the only one who paid good ole Avernus a visit. On my way out of Ferelden, I stopped by Soldier's Peak to pick up a few items that I had left there. I told Avernus that I was worried about other Wardens sensing me if I ran into any, so he showed me how to hide myself for brief periods of time. He told me to imagine drawing my taint inward toward the center of my body and away from my limbs. It took a while, but eventually I was able to master this. I can hold it for short periods, but after a while it begins to burn and I have to let it go."
"Huh? That's fascinating and now I'm going to have to kick Avernus' ass for not telling me about this. That would come in blood handy if you're trying to avoid a horde of Darkspawn."
Alistair laughed. "Don't be too hard on him. I paid him a sodding fortune not to mention to you that he saw me."
"Bloody hell, now I'm really going to kick his ass."
"So how does this whole distinguishing taint work?"
"Well, first you need to lie down."
Alistair did as instructed and stretched out on his bedroll. Josie sat down beside him. "Now close your eyes and concentrate on the taint in your blood."
Josie remained quiet while Alistair focused on his taint. After a few minutes he said that he was ready.
"What does your taint feel like to you?" Josie asked.
"It feels like a slight tremor running through my veins," Alistair said.
Josie smiled. "That's what it feels like to me too."
"Okay, so once again focus on the tremble of your taint then reach out towards me like we use to do when we were trying to sense each other," Josie instructed.
Alistair did as instructed. After a few seconds he said, "I can feel you, but you don't feel any different than you did back then."
"That's okay. Now, while still concentrating on my taint, push out further and try to sense Oghren."
Alistair remained still for a while, absorbed in the sensations that were flooding him then a smile spread across his face. "Yours is like a soft pleasant whistle while Oghren's gurgles."
Josie laughed. "Yes, exactly. Now once you begin to recognize each Warden's different taints, you will be able to feel the fluctuation in the sensation of their taint, depending on their emotional states. Different emotions will cause greater fluctuations. In time, you will learn the difference between anxiety and fear, joy and sadness."
"Wow, this amazing and very handy in battle," Alistair said.
"That isn't all its handy for, from what I hear," Zevran purred as he sat down beside them.
"Shut up, Zev," Josie demanded, but Zevran chuckled as Alistair looked at them questioningly.
"What else?" Alistair asked.
"Nothing… it's just a good way to judge a fellow Warden's emotional state."
"Emotional state… is that what we are calling it now-a-days?" Zevran cooed.
Alistair still had a dumbfounded look so Zevran continued. "How about 'a heightened sense of arousal'? That's more accurate don't you think, my pet?"
"And how would you know any of this, Zev? You're neither a Warden nor a lover of mine?"
"Pillow talk, my dear."
Josie's eyebrows went up. "Whose pillow have you been talking on?"
Zevran grinned at her. "Now you don't think your sexy apostate has been unfaithful to you, do you, my sweet?"
"No!" Josie said a bit louder than she intended. She glanced over at Alistair who was turning red as the realization of what Zevran was referring to dawned on him.
"It was Kai. You girls sure do know how to have some very smutty conversations. I am very pleased that you showed her that thing that you do with your tongue when…"
"Zev, this conversation is over," Josie said as she leapt to her feet yanking him up with her.
"Okay well, I think that concludes today's lesson," Josie said to Alistair. Then as she dragged Zevran off, she whispered, "Remind me to kick your ass tomorrow for that little stunt."
"If that's the only action I can get from you, dolce cuore, I will take it with a smile."
"When I'm through with you, you'll be lucky if you will have the ability to get any action from your hand let alone a dolce cuore."
"I love it when you talk dirty. You know how whips and chains excite me," Zevran purred.
"No…I actually didn't know that, but that explains a lot," Josie replied.
"And what exactly does it explain?"
Josie smacked her hands together loudly then cried out, "Thank you, Mistress Kai. May I have another?"
Zevran burst out laughing then kissed her forehead. "I truly love how your mind works, my pet. It keeps me very entertained."
"Thank you, I'm here all week. Try the mutton and don't forget to tip your bar wenches."
xxXxx
The next morning, Loghain was awake, but still very weak. So Josie took Alistair and Oghren with her to clean up the battle sight while Zevran stayed with the lame Warden to offer protection if any trouble should arise. Being two men down, it took them all day to collect and burn the bodies. They would have to spend one more night at camp before heading back to Kirkwall in the morning. Wearily, they dragged themselves into camp and Josie was thrilled that Loghain, not Zevran, had cooked the dinner. The man had many faults, but cooking wasn't one of them. After the hearty meal, Oghren pulled out two bottles of Mackay's epic single malt whiskey.
"Not one, but two bottles. To what do we owe this honor?" Loghain asked.
"I'm going to need the extra alcohol to drown out the smell of burning Darkspawn flesh from my memory," Oghren grunted as he opened one bottle and took a swig.
"Amen brother. Pass that this way," Josie said as she reached for the bottle, took a big swig then a second one before she handed it to Alistair.
Alistair rubbed at his hands. "I think my blisters have blisters," he muttered as he took a large gulp.
Then he handed it to Zevran. "Well at least you didn't have to play man servant to Loghain all day."
"My heart is breaking because of your pain," Josie said sarcastically.
"It should be," Zevran chortled as he took a long sip then waved his arm around. "He had me running all over the damn place gathering herbs, vegetables and other things just so you could have a decent meal when you got home. And what gratitude is shown me? None! Just use me, abuse me, then toss me aside," Zevran said as he feigned outrage.
Josie moved over beside Zevran and put her arm around him. "Aaah, my poor assassin, I didn't realize the dire straits you were in. What can I do to make it up to you?"
"A few wenches to tend to my every whim and desire would be an excellent start," Zevran muttered.
"Done!" Josie said enthusiastically.
A smirk spread across his lips."That's just a start. I'm not done with you yet, my pet."
"Well I can't make it up to you if don't tell me what I can do for you. What else can I do to set right this injustice done to you my trusty friend?"
"Okay, well then I think that you and I should take a trip to the Randy Stag together," Zevran replied.
"Again? Fine, Kat is finally starting to mix my drinks just the way I like them," Josie said.
"That isn't all, I want a chamber pot made of solid gold," Zevran countered.
"Done!" Josie stated.
Oghren looked at the bottle of malt that had just been handed him then back at Josie. "This is some strong shit. I thought I just heard the Commander agree to give Zevran a chamber pot made of solid gold."
"No need to clean the wax out of your ears. That is exactly what she agreed to," Alistair confirmed.
"Well, damn if I had known being Loghain's bitch for the day would earn a pot of solid gold I would have stayed and been his errand boy," Oghren growled.
"I would have been my own bitch if I had known that," Loghain stated matter-of-factly.
Everyone looked stunned by the statement then burst out laughing. "I always knew there was a sense of humor lurking underneath all that malice and hate," Oghren chuckled.
"Yes, well I work hard at suppressing it. It works against my nefarious reputation," Loghain grunted.
Josie glanced over at Alistair; he grinned knowingly at her then gave her a wink.
"What was that about?" Zev inquired.
"What was what about?" Josie asked.
"That exchange between the two of you… it was mysterious and secretive," Zevran replied.
"You know just because you're an assassin doesn't mean you have to know everything about everyone," Alistair interjected.
"It most certainly does. How else am I supposed to protect, my dear Warden," Zevran retorted.
"Zev, it's nothing, really. Once in camp Alistair asked my opinion on all of our companions, when I questioned why he wanted my opinion, he said that he had this nefarious plan to tell everyone all the nasty things I said so he could become the group leader."
"Really? And what exactly did she say about us?" Oghren asked.
Josie smiled an impish grin and winked at Alistair. "Are you sure you really want to know? You might not like what you hear."
Now both Zevran and Oghren sat up and Oghren waved for Zevran to pass him the bottle. "We are grown men, we can take it."
"Just remember you asked for it," Alistair said with a chuckle. "Well… let's see… Oghren she said that she didn't trusted you as far as she could throw you and since she hadn't been in any dwarf throwing contests lately that wasn't too far. She also said that if she found you anywhere near her brandy, she would feed you to the first Hurlock she could find."
Oghren's eyes went wide as his lips moved, but nothing came out. Josie had to bite the side of her mouth to keep from laughing. She took the bottle that Zevran had just handed her and to keep from laughing took a big swig.
"And Zevran she said that she found your accent extremely sexy and that she was having trouble keeping her hands off of you. She said that she had to keep her hands behind her back to keep from pinching that tight ass of yours. She was seriously considering asking you to visit her tent until I gave her that rose and buggered the whole thing up for you. Sorry about that, mate."
A sly grin spread across Zevran's face as he sat-up straight. "I knew it. It's hard to resist my charms and good…"
His speech was interrupted as Josie spit the whiskey out that was in her mouth and began to choke and laugh at the same time. Alistair couldn't control his laughter either and joined in.
"What? You just made that whole thing up!" Zevran exclaimed.
Not able to speak from laughing so hard, both Alistair and Josie just nodded.
"Maker's arse that has to be…well to be honest, that was pretty damn good," Zevran conceded.
"Oh Z-zev….if you could…h-have seen your face…that was priceless," Josie said as she gasped for air.
"It wasn't nearly as funny as Oghren's lips moving like he was a fish out of water," Loghain grunted.
"So what did you actually say?" Zevran asked.
"I believe what I actually said was that despite Oghren's choice of cologne which I believe is O'de Ale Toilette that I found his brash manner and crude jokes refreshing and that anyone that could swing an axe as skillfully as he could was welcome to travel with me."
Josie looked over at Alistair. He nodded. "Yep, that pretty much sums it up."
She looked over at Oghren whose face had turned bright red. She smiled at him. "Are you blushing, my stout friend?"
"What? No… it must be the heat from the fire," the dwarf stammered as he backed away from the flames.
"Oh okay…well be careful. Wouldn't want you to be overcome by heat exhaustion and fall into the fire," Josie chuckled.
"Well what else did you say?" Zevran asked trying to steer the conversation back.
"Oh yeah, well I said that I thought Leliana was very pretty and crazy, but not in a stabbity stab psycho way…"
"I don't care what you thought about Lel," Zevran interrupted.
"Was there someone in particular you wanted to hear about," Josie cooed.
"Now you're just being cruel," Zevran retorted.
"Oh you wanted to hear what I thought about you…hmm, let's see…Zev, I thought you were very interesting and funny. Even though you tried to kill me, once you had sworn your oath to me I believed you would have died trying to protect me…"
"I still would," Zevran mumbled.
Josie reached over and grasped his hand. "I know you would as I would for you. I also told Alistair that I felt an immediate connection with you and that I thought we would be lifelong friends."
Zevran looked over at Alistair. He nodded to confirm her statement. Zevran smiled at Josie as he slid his arm around her shoulder. "I felt the same way and still do."
"I know," she said as she rested her head against her best friend's shoulder. She looked across the fire at Alistair. It was good to see him smiling and laughing again. He had been so quite at the Estate; not the happy, easygoing man that he had been when they were traveling together… but she guessed that it was to be expected. A lot had happened to both of them since then and both of them were trying to adjust to being around the other. If he was going to remain with the Wardens, she was going to have to come to terms with their past and find a way to forgive him. She knew that he needed her to do so that he could move on, and she needed it too so that she could find peace. He was trying, in his words and actions, he was trying to set things right and to be honest, watching his attempts to make amends had softened her heart towards him more than his words ever could.
She had enjoyed joking around with him as they retold that story and for a while it was easy to pretend that they were back in camp during their Blight travels…laughing, joking and having fun with their companions… their friends. She hoped that this was the first few steps needed to rebuild their trust and friendship. Alistair looked up and caught her staring at him. He smiled and tilted his bottle toward her as a sign of camaraderie. She acknowledged the gesture by tilting hers back at him.
A/N – Italian refresher course - la mia caramella dolce – my sweet candy and dolce cuore – sweetheart
*Thank you everyone that has added this story to their favs and alert lists. It warms my heart to know that you are enjoying my little tale. A huge shout out to everyone who took the time to write review; your thoughts and opinions bring a smile to my face.
*I want to take a moment to acknowledge not just a wonderful beta, but an awesome friend. Jinx, thanks for all the little things you do from letting me vent, to trusting me enough to tell me what's bothering you, for being honest with me when I really needed you to be and for understanding that I could never write a long enough A/N to express how much mean to me. Thank you for all that you do.
*My beta and friend, Jinx, is taking a much needed break from beta-ing and the fantabulous Bonkzy has agreed to step in for her. Thank you so much for your help, my friend. I really appreciate it and as always you are going a smashing job.