This is an Authors' Note.

Hi…After posting Chapter 24, I received an anonymous review. My stomach fell. I had offended someone and I felt awful. I was near tears because I felt so guilty. Here is the review, and hopefully, if they haven't written me off completely as the Worst Author on …she may see this.

"Seriously i'm done with your story. You guys are freaks. Is it exciting to you ? Have you ever been raped, i don't think so ? Why do you people need to do this in like every story ? What is wrong with you ?

I don't care if Ziva is raped again or not in this story, it doesn't matter, what matter is that you had the idea and make us fear rape."

Though it was an anonymous post, they did put her name in as Sara. So…this is my response, Sara.

I'm sorry. I didn't ever mean for my story to offend you, or anyone else. There was an episode of Season 7 in which a woman was brutalized and raped, and Ziva was very passionate about finding who the offender was. She pretty much broke down right then and there in front of both Tony and McGee. I am only verbalizing what I took from that scene; the possibility that Ziva had been raped in Somalia. My goal was not to 'make you fear rape,' or write an 'exciting' story. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone or make some fantastical fan-trip out of such a serious topic. Though I have never been raped, my cousin was, and my best friend was sexually assaulted. The physical, mental, and emotional traumas done to both have not yet healed. I was only taking facts from what I have observed with those two women and their situations, not from personal experience. I can't even imagine what it would actually be like to be violated in such a horrible and violent way. I apologise publicly to you and to the rest of my readers for offending. I am so, so sorry.

I equally know that I am not supposed to post authors' notes as chapters, but I felt that this was another situation in which it was necessary.

I don't wish to spoil the ending, but know that Ziva was never going to be raped again. Never. I couldn't ever do something like that. I know that it makes me the worst author in the world to disclose the ending to her story.

But, I'm discouraged and I've gotten so many reviews of chapter twenty-four that ask me whether I'm going to 'rape' her again or not. No. Nor did I ever want her to be. I promise. I'm so extremely sorry for ever inferring that I would have the members of LINAS do horrible things to Ziva. Although life is full of challenges and horrors—perhaps it's the over-watching of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit that puts these plot-lines into my head in the first place—I could never create such a horrific nightmare-life for Ziva.

If I have offended you…please give me a second chance. See the story to the end. I'm so sorry. ::frowns:: I'm angry with myself for letting it even sound like a rape story. This is simply not the case. I'm a sensitive and over-analytical person. I overthink and get hurt easily, especially when it comes to my writing. So know that your words, Sara, definitely hit home. I'm so very sorry for hurting and offending you and anyone else out there who silently left the fic. As I said before, it was never my intention.

Thank you, to those of you whose support has not wavered.

Sincerely, Kathryn.