Summary: Proof that Regina Mills has a soul.
August 19, 2013
15 months after the curse break
3 months after Regina is released from prison
A sudden chill, and a tightness in her chest, woke Emma from her peaceful slumber.
By now, she was used to the view that greeted her. The darkness of what was once, and now again Regina's room, filled her with... complacency? Comfort was a better word.
Throughout her house-sitting days, the room had always reeked of apples, because of course it would, and even upon the former mayor's (and, on a lighter note, former prisoner's) return, she noted that the lovely scent hadn't changed.
She still remembered when the newly released brunette stepped into the house, three months ago. She had almost expected a ghost house - a haunted mansion, with Henry staying at the new Mayor's loft. As soon as she crossed the threshold into the welcome abode, she broke into tears. Only Emma and Henry were there to bear witness to the sight, and Regina showed no shame in her actions. Instead, she made a simple joke - "I hope they didn't give you too much of a mess to clean on Halloween." - and they proceeded up the staircase, where they fell straight to sleep, holding each other.
Emma was glad. She fought like hell to prevent Leroy - Grumpy - from tearing the Mills Mansion down, and an easier solution had been to move in herself. She would have had him arrested, but she would rather spare her girlfriend's ire, and his jealousy, due to her accommodations. She'd only get him a dresser if he behaved, and past arrests have shown that it just wasn't possible.
It was fine. Snow White didn't have the fortitude to have anyone arrested anyway. Any criminal or offenses were chalked up to confusion in this 'new world' (at which Regina pointed out that their restored memories do not take away their 'new' memories), so she didn't have much to do as the sheriff - besides counseling Snow on how to run the town, with the former mayor's advice occasionally in her ear. The jail cells had only one occupant in the past year, and could potentially close down. Somehow, they had managed to keep their forbidden romance a secret from everyone.
Nearly everyone.
It was only a few days before Regina's release, when they got an unexpected visitor. Apparently, Red decided that the Sheriff had been working far too many late nights, and dropped by to bring a turkey sub and some lemonade.
"I probably should've brought something stronger," she decided after a few embarrassing seconds, and Emma blinked in confusion from her desk. Regina said nothing, prone still under the covers, calming her breathing.
"What?" She briefly looked down, checking to make sure she didn't miss a button, and only when she did, was when the statuesque brunette chuckled. "What are you talking about?"
"Ever since my transitions started back up, my nose has been a lot more sensitive. At least, I've been more in tune with it. And it can't be a coincidence that you two smell exactly like each other. I don't care how much time you spend near each other, this nose can tell twins or lovers apart, you know." She shrugged helplessly. "Also, I can smell... other things. It's faint, but it's there. Sorry, I twat-swatted you."
The sheriff gave her a cool look. "I knew I should have kept you around. You'd have made a good detective."
Ruby shrugged. "Everyone has their calling in Storybrooke. Granny takes care of the city, and I take care of Granny; that keeps me too busy to care for the rest of the town."
"I can respect that." She bit her lip. "So what are you telling Mother Mayor?"
"Nothing yet; nothing at all, if you can tell me why I shouldn't." She looked understanding enough, and Emma was more than ready to put her trust in anyone who didn't show blind faith and devotion to her mother at this point to ask for something more concrete. They had grown closer since the beginning of Ruby's condition, twelve months ago, but she never got around to explaining... this. Though, honestly, she didn't make it too difficult a puzzle for Ruby to solve.
"Yeah, uh... one sec." Slowly making her way around the grinning wolf to her girlfriend's cell, she leaned against the bars. "What do you think?"
"I think that there's no fooling a wolf's senses," she grumbled, popping her head out of the covers, making sure only her head was visible. "And even if there were, your actions just now told her everything."
She blushed, and Ruby's grin got bigger. "You know I don't have the best poker face."
"I mean, I kinda knew. Lacey had a suspicion. You never show up at the diner anymore, and when you do, it's always enough for two or three people, and I still remember our Mayor's favorite foods." She let that sink in for a moment. "You never talk shit about her when I bring it up. And sometimes, you smell too clean after clock-out time. I know you have a shower here, but I was starting to think that you never use the shower at home. Snow's worried."
"Emma, darling?" Regina simpered in an overly sweet voice. "Remember when I pleaded with you to be more tactful?"
"I was," she whined, "but you just said it - there's no fooling a wolf!"
"How the hell did you keep this a secret? Shouldn't she be getting visitors, or like, tourists, all the time? Wouldn't people ask more questions if you kept this place locked?"
"A captured Evil Queen is news for all of two months. Once upon a time, your crew had Rumple locked up, and Snow bragged about it to her kingdom, and any other kingdom she came across. Did he get a lot of 'tourists' after the novelty wore off?"
"Cricket showed up to offer his services," Emma answered her, "Blue came here to pray-slash-taunt her, Glass came for an interview for some documentary, George came by to get his ass incriminated and sent over the town line, and Snow or David does the occasional check-up. I take her to the hospital from time to time, cause she's still paying for insurance."
"Hold on; she's paying for her own check-ups? Why?"
"Blame Snow White."
"Why do I feel like I'd hear that at least once tonight?"
"Apparently, my rights as a human being have been revoked - they halved my supply of prison food, even if I wanted that slop - a waste of resources, they claimed. They nearly seized my assets, until I signed them all over to my son. By proxy, Emma, as his legal guardian, is in charge of my holdings until he's eighteen." She didn't look so sour about it as she did eight months previously. But Emma could claim that for most things she said nowadays.
"She's going back home in a couple of weeks. One last wellness check, and she's in the clear." Her big green eyes bored through the skeptical brunette's. "Please, Ruby. You of all people know how it feels to be called a monster. To be persecuted for crimes you committed, but didn't mean to."
"Em, you're... I don't really know what you're asking for, here. You've helped me a ton, and I've never really returned the favor. But I will have to tell Snow something. I'm... she sent me over to check on you. I don't know if she suspected anything, but I guess I'm supposed to be your last wellness check? She didn't really explain it to me, she wanted me to tell her what I think of her... rehab?" Even she seemed tired of her own questioning statements, shaking her head. "Before I got here, I thought it was all so fucking stupid, but now I don't know what to think."
"Yeah, well, that's the idea, isn't it? She's not who you thought she was."
"I'm sorry, I can't jeopardize the safety of this town, this entire realm, on a good time." At Emma's set jaw, she hesitated, only slightly, before she continued. "But I trust you, Emma. So, be real with me. This thing with her; is this really worth it?"
"Yes," she said simply, crossing her arms.
The statuesque brunette brought her own arms up, copying the blonde. "That's it? Just, yes?"
"Not all of us grew up in a professionally written fairytale, Rubes. If I'm being recorded or on trial, I'll drop a monologue, just for you. Until then, 'yes' is the answer I have. Yes. She's worth it." That last part was whispered, but it felt like the loudest statement in the room to her.
"And she has full control of her magic again?"
Emma hesitated, for a moment. That was something they absolutely had to keep from Snow White. "I can't answer that."
"I can," a voice whispered from behind, and Ruby jumped, turning to face a grinning prisoner, orange jumpsuit and all. "It's still a work in progress, but it's certainly enough for me to do that. The cell door is locked, by the way; you can check if you want."
"I don't need to," Red squeaked out, before clearing her throat, glancing at Emma, who only shared with her a look of amusement. "You'd unlock it anyway. And I trust Emma to stick to some protocol. But you're supposed to be the prisoner, here, so I have to ask; I assume all of this is consensual?" Regina gave her a dull look in return. "I have to hear it."
"No. You just want to hear it. I expect you want the truth?" She breathed through her nose. "For all the faults of your masters, they managed to do one thing right. She is the antithesis of everything they've ever wanted in a perfect daughter. She's exactly what I feared would defeat me one day. Someone with actual human decency, and someone incapable of betrayal. Someone who can understand that the world isn't strictly black and snow-white." She crossed her arms, grinning at the former Queen's guard. "Snow couldn't have not raised her any better."
"That's not... okay, I guess that's close enough."
"You wanted the truth, didn't you? Snow White and Charming need not worry, they won't die by my hands, as long as their daughter remains within my grasp." She worried her lip for a moment, before straightening up, staring back defiantly. Not with the same gravitas as the former mayor, but pretty damn close. "And, yes, it's consensual. Any other sordid details you would like to know? Favorite positions? For such a small cell, she has a very flexible - "
"Regina!"
" - Imagination. What? I always compliment Henry on his creativity. I'd assume you'd be just as receptive." Ruby had seen The Evil Queen's playful grin before, but she was only moderately assured this time that no one was dying immediately after the sight. At least, the town's entire enforcement brigade didn't seem concerned, only groaning in embarrassment.
"See what I've been dealing with, Rubes? She's something special."
She could tell that Regina wasn't sure if it was a compliment or an insult, and Emma probably meant it to be ambiguous, so she owned it. "I have to be, since murdering your parents is no longer an option. The last forty years should tell you that I'm not so easy to stray from a track. You've done a passable job."
"Love you, too," the blonde murmured, and the statement was less sarcastic than any of them expected. "I'll take personal blame for anything she does, Rubes. Just like Lacey does for you."
She stuttered at the mention of her best friend's sacrifices. "Yeah, yeah... I get it. So, I know the truth. So what are we gonna tell Snow?"
In a way, Red felt like she was trapped in a corner; for everything Emma did to help her, she'd be quite the hypocrite to turn down this favor.
No matter how much it hurt her to betray her best friend, the Sheriff managed to find just as special a place in her heart in the past two years. In fact, she introduced her to someone who may have eclipsed the both of them, in the form of her librarian.
Her cheeks pinkened at the thought, and she coughed. "Well?"
So, Emma found herself living with Regina. Instead of visiting every day, she spent every night as well, promoting herself from parole officer to in-house security. A knight, if you will. Since Regina was 'helpless', it was only logical that she would need protection, right? And, of course, should her magic return and the darkness claim her again, someone had to be there at all times to 'neutralize the threat', didn't they?
She reminded herself to get a couple more tops from the guest room, and muss up her actual bed a little more, in case Snow or David decided to make a surprise early morning visit.
The 'idiot inquisition', Regina called it, and she struggled not to laugh every time to avoid Snow's disapproving frown. She couldn't let the Good Mayor assume that her only princess daughter had been thoroughly brainwashed by the Evil Queen, could she?
Perish the thought.
She rubbed at the sleep in her eyes as she trudged out the doorway, wondering where her girlfriend could be. Unlike Regina, Emma was quite the heavy sleeper (you'd have to be to live in a beetle), but with major paranoia and awareness (again, you'd have to be to live in a beetle). A contradiction that caused many sleepless nights, but the past few months rectified that - and then some.
It was a good investment, buying that bed for her cell. Regina loved it so much that she managed to copy it to spread across her King frame. Of course, neither at the time knew that they would be sharing that bed, but hindsight as it was, made it the greatest purchase she had made in quite a while.
That, and the set of chairs that surrounded the small dining table. A third seat at the table was something that made her feel less like an outsider, less of an intruder, and more like the family she didn't know she wanted - to avoid the family she once wished for so long ago, and now had, in a monkey's paw sort of way.
Peeking into Henry's room, seeing him splayed out across the top of the covers, she briefly thought about covering him up, before frowning. It was sweltering right now, wasn't it? Her own bedclothes consisted of an oversized t-shirt and boxers, while even Regina had foregone the silk garments in favor of similar nightwear - something that Emma made very clear that she appreciated.
Creaking the door closed, she made her way down the hall and down the stairs, wondering if Regina had gone to the kitchen for a late-night snack. Usually, she'd wake her up, or at least bring something upstairs to share, though she could have just used a summoning spell. Domesticity had really grown on the witch in the past thirty years. But she wasn't going to tell her that.
Honestly, the biggest miracle she had noticed so far, was that she herself wasn't trying to run away from it all.
She probably would have by now. The times she had tried to run away from Storybrooke - it was embarrassing. She had tried once to take Henry with her, and after the curse broke she was ready to grab the whole 'family', before Snow White caught up with them. The town line's magic probably wouldn't have affected the originator of the curse, but it wasn't something she was eager to test - and wiping away Regina's memories was not an option.
Emma had kept her promise, before she even knew what she was truly promising. She'd protect her family, with her life, and in the process, they had basically become her life.
All this talk of a family - wouldn't that be nice?
Henry might have been ready to move back in with his mother, but leaving the town behind? It was a pipedream, at best. The magic of the town line, and Regina regaining control of her own magic, was the only thing that kept her from some serious home browsing.
If Regina would even agree to such a thing. Would she be ready to leave what was essentially her kingdom? Did she have aspirations to one day make it back to what she once was? Had she fully accepted that Snow White had won? Or was she just laying low, waiting for the right moment to strike back? Namely, through her only daughter?
It didn't worry her as much as she was, predictably, told to worry, by Snow herself. She had brought it up, often, during their town meetings. She understood the arch-rivalry and all, but for someone once known as 'the fairest in all the land', she was being very judgmental, and she didn't take her update reports very seriously at all.
She wasn't even sure if Regina had planned it, but she was slowly driving a wedge between her and her mother, and Emma - maybe unsurprisingly, at this point - welcomed it with open arms.
What worried her is what would happen if Snow managed to put together that she wasn't coming back 'home' anytime soon. That was something actually worth worrying about. Leaving Storybrooke to find their new home, and forced exile, were two very different mindsets that affected how Regina would respond.
But right now, she could only take one worry at a time, her usual speed. And that consisted of hoping that she picked the ice cream for their snack of choice, this particular night.
The light wasn't on - that didn't surprise her. If Henry saw the light, and decided to join them, that would mess up his schedule, and he had just started going back to school. The midnight snack runs weren't something Regina wanted to support, but it brought her and Henry closer together over the summer, until he suddenly made the decision to stay a few more days, and... then a few more.
Then, on his birthday, once again held at Granny's diner, he gave her a present instead, announcing that he would be going to The Charming Loft once again; and asked them both to help him pack his things so he could move back in.
She kept it together when he made that announcement. Hell, Emma had to excuse herself to the restroom to rob some Kleenex.
It worried Mary Margaret at first, but anything that Regina did and anyone she affected worried her. She still wanted to have that conversation that Emma had successfully avoided for the past year, and would happily continue to do so.
She had grown up an orphan, and as far as she was concerned, she was still an orphan. Perhaps it was a harsh thing to reason, but connecting with Snow White, as a parent, was creepy. She had never even owned a car before, never voted, never had a mortgage to her name; yet the woman looked at her like she wanted to put her in diapers again, and that was a lifestyle fetish Emma wanted no part of. She had never been a fan of the doting type, anyway.
She never even pretended to play princess when she was a kid, and if she had a chance to relive her childhood, she would trade it for a better life, but not for the spoiled upstart.
She sent a silent 'no offense' to her son.
The kitchen table was empty, as well as the counter, and that was odd. She expected to see her, barefoot and leaning against the sink, humming around the spoon as she relished in the Häagen-Dazs container between her dainty fingers, her eyes closed in utter bliss.
Emma wished she could paint. Regina didn't even look that comfortable in her sleep. There were so many lewd jokes she could make, but she never wanted to ruin the moment. But it did give her a few ideas for future hot nights.
The blonde frowned, stopping in her tracks at the fridge. Hot night? She could feel the sheen of sweat dotting her skin, now. She definitely felt like she needed a shower.
So... how...?
Didn't she feel a chill when she woke up?
She hadn't paid attention when she was in the room, but perhaps her partner had the same idea and had gone to the bathroom, maybe to wash her face. A cold shower would feel heavenly right about now.
But first, a Rocky Road for the road. And, a Caramel Apple Pie for the lady. She should've suspected that was her favorite flavor.
She closed the freezer door, shivering in delight when her hands wrapped around the tiny frosted cups, when a piece of paper fell from the fridge door.
She briefly considered leaving it there, more awake and ready to enjoy a shower with her lover and a midnight snack in bed, but the lady liked her house impeccable, and trying to remember a piece of paper before she woke up super early for breakfast - yeah, not gonna happen.
Scooping up the paper with one hand, she glanced at the blank page, and turned the sheet over.
The snack-sized ice cream cup hit the top of her naked foot on the way down, and before the other cup hit, she was already in motion, running towards the stairs. The paper crumpled in her fist, and when she reached the top of the stairs in record time, she slammed open the door to the master bedroom.
The bathroom was empty, and Emma had the idea to slip on her jeans and boots before she went to check the study, where she often found Regina late at night (even when she assured her that the lamplight wouldn't wake her).
Changing course abruptly, she went straight out the front door. There was a time for denial, and there was a time to be a cop, and you don't leave a fucking note like that and proceed to hide in the library.
I'm sorry.
Please take care of our son.
I love you.
Don't cry. Cry later. Do your job now. Then cry.
She probably didn't expect her to read it before breakfast time, or else it would've been left on the nightstand. Even so, she couldn't have been far; the car was still parked -
Oh. Magic.
Please, don't cry.
Hoping more than anything that she left her key in her pants, and thankful when she dug them out of her pocket after an embarrassing amount of time, she hopped into the patrol vehicle and turned the siren on.
She didn't want to alert the town, but what choice did she have?
She sniffed, before roughly shaking her head.
No. Don't. Not now. Later. NOT NOW.
Her high beams were on as she sped down the street. The toll bridge was her first thought, and since she was only one cop, she made the choice to start at the perimeter of the town and work her way inward, starting in the forest.
What was Regina sorry about? After the hell they had gone through the year previous, she wouldn't have left Henry. Hell, after the year that had just passed, she was pretty sure that she wouldn't have left either of them willingly.
There were no hints that Regina was having second thoughts about them, or the tease of their new life. She was guarded at times, and doubtful and sarcastic in others, but she was always honest. She didn't know what she would do if her lie detector started lying to her.
She'd never said those words directly, either. Granted, Emma had trouble saying it, but she had, with full understanding that she might not hear them back anytime soon. Adore, and intrigue, amuse (that word comes up a lot), enamor, delight and admire; those were words that Emma heard, and it was enough for her; it made her stomach lurch, her chest ache, her body lighter, every time. It was a difficult word, when you weren't used to saying it (and boy, did she understand the feeling). She hadn't even said it to Henry since his birthday. At least, not with Emma around. She didn't think she would be jealous of their son's attention, but hell, one of them had ignored her for a year.
I love you.
She did not leave the house of her own free will, the Sheriff decided.
Or, maybe she did. To protect them from something. She was the one with magic, after all.
The tears in her eyes didn't blind her. She was used to them getting in her way, all her life. Sometimes she blocked them, and sometimes, she just ignored them. And not since she was trapped in prison, had she been forced to actually face them.
All she knew was that if she didn't find her, this would break her, and every promise she had made to herself, the person she had become and everything she tried to be after prison, would have been for nothing.
She had to find her. She needed to find her. She would find her.
Regina was sorry... for leaving them. The apology was for the abrupt way she left, and possibly, the consequences that might follow. "I'm sorry" might as well have been "goodbye".
She had asked her to take care of their son. She had difficulty saying that before, not from a place of anger, but as a sign of insecurity. Faced with the possibility of not returning, it was an acceptance she might not have been ready for - or maybe she had, she just couldn't find a way to admit defeat. Yet another way of saying "goodbye".
Perhaps, looking back, she would laugh, that her response to 'taking care of their son' comprised of immediately leaving him in the house in the middle of the night, but that would be long after her tears had dried.
"I love you," was usually a welcome into a better life. A fresh, sweet hello, and an encouraging step into deeper waters; one Emma thought would drown her, but instead, gave her a second breath.
Not this time.
I'm sorry. Goodbye.
Please take care of our son. Goodbye.
I love you so much. Goodbye, my son. Goodbye, my darling Emma.
She blinked rapidly, squeezing tighter on the steering wheel. She was even beginning to hear her voice, ever so clear.
So many things I wished I could tell you... so many regrets...
The tires screeched as she gasped to herself. Regina?
Through her confusion, her spinning thoughts and half-formed theories, nothing stood out as much as Regina's voice. But it had gone silent.
Hopefully, that meant she was still nearb-
A pulse of - something, ran through her mind, and before she knew it, without even thinking about it, she turned the car around and made her way to Heritage Park. It was a short drive, but she couldn't come up with a valid reason why she was going this way, why she was suddenly given this greater sense of urgency, but only one name ran through, permeated her thoughts -
It would be a while before she could rationalize how the sword she used to vanquish the dragon ended up in the passenger seat when she needed it, but she didn't have the time to question it then. Grabbing the sword and hopping out of the car, she didn't bother to close the door, running with all her might.
She could see flashes of orange in the distance, on the other side of the massive lake. She would bet anything that it was a fire spell.
Oh, God. The wraith was back.
It was so dark, and there were no lamp posts to illuminate the shadow creature, so she took out her phone and went into the camera. When the fire abruptly stopped, she shot at the scene, her eyes focused on the darkness ahead.
It was a micro-second, but she didn't think she would ever forget the sight. Never mind the fact that she had seen it during the day - it looked to be a different beast altogether.
Its bony fingers reached out, almost towards Emma, empty husks as eye sockets, black smoke drifting out the holes to sink to the ground. At least, she thought its eyes were dark and empty, until a speck of orange light gleamed through the darkness, drifting directly towards her. She shook on her feet.
Then it looked away, and she felt a second wind overtake her. What she didn't notice was the witch quickly waving in front of her, mouthing an apology in her direction, sorrow in her brown eyes before they snapped back to the phantom, unblinking.
A bluish-gray glow emitted from Regina's face, shooting towards the reaper's own maw, and her burning hands began to emit black smoke instead.
She was too late.
"REGINA!"
She didn't acknowledge her. She couldn't, not with her soul being sucked out of her body. Emma swallowed and ran forward with her sword, daring to cut the tether that connected her to the wraith, but an abrupt force knocked her back.
That may have literally only happened one time, and it might have been a year ago, but something about it felt way too familiar.
The tether released, and the witch collapsed to the ground, crumpled in a heap. Lifeless. Emma watched helplessly as the wraith trailed over the lake, freezing the water behind it as it meandered into the night - as if it hasn't just destroyed three lives on its own midnight snack.
The fire on the grass faded into embers, passing over the still form of Regina Mills. Immediately, the heat died, and she was left in the cold. She didn't shiver. She didn't do anything.
"Why," she whispered brokenly, approaching the olive-skinned doll, her open brown eyes unknowingly staring back. "Why did you do that? Why did you push me away?"
Unsurprisingly, she didn't respond. But Emma would have appreciated an answer.
Crashing to her knees, she held her clammy hands to the beautiful brunette's cold cheeks, and hugged her close.
It was like hugging a block of ice.
She knew it wouldn't work, but after she gently closed her eyelids, she leaned down and pressed her mouth to slack lips, before quickly pulling away, shuddering.
Henry wasn't this cold when he ate the turnover.
Some fucking Savior she was.
She didn't know how long she sat there, holding her love to her heart, silently cursing everything and everyone that she could for the fate of the incredible Regina Mills, before she remembered that she had gotten a picture of the thing. Not exactly something she could put on a wanted poster, but she had tracked people down with less information.
She tried to zoom in on the thing, but before she could pinch the screen, her mother's name popped up as an incoming call, and the accept prompt intercepted her fingers.
"Emma? Emma, are you there? I think we have a problem. We finally managed to open the portal back up again, but I think something might have come out! You're not at home, and your father just told me you're not at Regina's with Henry - where are you? Please, pick up! Tell me if you're okay! Don't let her use you as a shield again! It's not here for you! Emma, please pick - !"
End Call. Messages. Regina. Choose Photo. Send.
Choose Photo. Send. Choose Photo. Send. Choose Photo. Send. Choose...
A picture of the three of them, together. Henry's Birthday. She didn't take many pictures with her phone, but this one... Send.
Send. Send. And... Send.
Contacts. Henry. Call -
End Call. No. This wasn't something she could tell him over the phone.
Considering she was sitting down, she was amazed at her own strength as she watched the phone fly away, hitting near the middle of the lake. She could've sworn she saw her mother's face flash right before it dunked and sunk below.
Keep calling. Doubtful anyone in this town had Regina's number, except the people that mattered.
Carefully, she made her way back to her feet, carrying her love's body tenderly, bringing her arms around her neck and hauling her by the crook of her thighs. She kicked the sword aside as she trudged her way to the car. No one would find it. No one would know, remember, or glorify what happened here tonight.
She needed to hide Regina's body. Unfortunately, the only place she could think of was the cemetery.
Magic was still very confusing to her, but she knew enough to tell that her soul was clearly taken, and not obliterated. Not yet, anyway. So there was still something to save. She could work with that.
She ignored the pang in her heart. Not yet, not yet. Job's not done. Just a different occupation.
Back to Bounty Hunting.
She wouldn't be able to head it off at the portal, but she'd be damn sure to be hot on its trail.
And God, Merlin, or anyone else out there, save the "Queen". Especially if she was still hanging around that fucking portal by the time she got there.
Special Thank you to every(one) who decided to review! Thank you, Sammii16!
If you guys stop reading, tell me why! I'd like to know. It's still one of my fav stories, but I'm a wierdo.