AUTHOR'S NOTE:
First I want to thank those of you who took the time to read this story. I truly appreciate those of you who also made the effort to leave reviews and comments. As an unpaid writer, those are the things that motive me as a writer to take the time to write and share the stories. The kudos are always welcome as is any constructive criticism that helps me improve as a writer. I'm pretty thick skinned so I can take it if you don't like a part of the story. I tend to get too close to my stories and characters and readers often have valid points. I know I can't please everyone all the time anyway.
A little history on this story. I'm a huge fan of "The Unit" which also makes me more critical of it than of a show I merely watch. I have been founder and president of the "Kick Tiffy to the curb" club since that end of the first episode. Mack isn't perfect but I despise Tiffy. The show's writers have managed to enforce that with her subsequent bad choices and so most of my story ideas are geared toward providing a suitable love interest for MSGT Mack Gerhardt (my current muse.)
I began writing this story after several members of a fan board for Max Martini/Mack suggested they'd like to see Mack single again after the end of Season Two when Tiffy had the emotional affair with Wilson. However, some wanted to see he and Tiffy reunite mostly for the sake of their daughters. My challenge in this story was to make those that liked Tiffy, or wanted a reconciliation between her and Mack, to also despise Tiffy and cheer for Kristie. But rather than draw this out another hundred pages with emotional angst and a happy ending (that will be in the novel "Second Chance" that I'm writing when I'm not writing for your entertainment) I decided to do the twist with Kristie's death (which I rejected for my novel) and attempt the biggest challenge—redeem Tiffy Gerhardt so that even the hardest cynic (me!) might actually be able to root for her to have a second or third chance.
Will she and Mack really be able to reconcile? You decide. I've merely opened Mack up to that possibility. Does Tiffy deserve Mack? Not the old Tiffy but I believe that people can change but typically not without a strong reason or motivation. My perception of her character is of a woman who likes attention and can't function without a man in her life; often seeking that love and attention in the wrong places. And based on how his character is portrayed, poor Mack can't get a clue and dump Tiffy and move on. Okay, I'm still biased I admit it but I'm not writing love scenes with Mack kissing Tiffy! Call me a cop out if you will but that is so not my fantasy.
The good news is that I am currently writing another story featuring our favorite red-headed special ops soldier. It will feature some mission action with an emphasis on the relational aspect. I'm not crazy about the story title, "Making the World a Better Place," but I will probably leave it if the next chapter ties in after all. I do want to warn you though that it will contain some detailed love scenes and will be rated at least 'Teen' so if you pop in to the site and only see things rated K or lower, it won't appear but I guess you could mark it for story or author alert. And based on the reviews to date, I think most of y'all will enjoy the story.
Have a good 'un.
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