Bit of a warning...assault happens in this chapter...Doesn't get too far, but it could still trigger some readers, so I figure I should give a warning...
She wasn't passed out. Tea could see and hear everything. She just couldn't register it. Daryl kept telling her not to look, but all she could do was sit and stare at the woman who had once been considered a sister. Why didn' they let me end it? They didn' know Jesse. They didn' care about her. What right did Daryl have ta hold me back? What right did Rick have ta kill her? Why? It should a been me. Why wasn' it me? It needed to be me. The thoughts repeated themselves over and over in her head.
Tea could barely move as her internal mantra ran rampant, wondering what she could have done differently back before the world ended to keep her only friend safe. She was still trying to figure out why Rick and Daryl had not listened to her at all when she told them to let her do it. Every second replayed like a damn music video in her head, complete with over dramatic music her brain offered to the scenario. The image of the walker version mingled with the memory of her pristine looks; if she didn't know Rick had killed a walker, she would have believed he'd killed her living friend.
"Who is that?" Glenn asked Rick.
"Jesse," came the whispered, weak reply.
"Your sister?" Andrea asked.
"Best friend. Sista from anotha mista," Tea said, voice gaining strength.
"She was the first friend Ania ever had," Daryl explained further, still holding onto the girl. "They had a fallin' out 'bout six months back."
"Are you going to be okay, Miss Tea?" Sophia asked, Carol looking at her daughter disapprovingly.
"I'm fine. I jus'," Tea was at a loss for words as her mind settled itself from the state of shock, tearing herself out of Daryl's arms. "I wasn' 'xpectin' it is all. Last I knew, she was in Atlanta."
She walked up to the corpse calm as day, making many of the members uneasy at how fast she went from hysterics to calm. Walking up to the corpse that had just a few moments ago been the cause of such fight in the girl, she simply turned it on its back folding its arms over its chest while looking at it blankly. She knew this would be something she would be judged for again. Death was death to her; even though Jesse had been reanimated, she had still been dead. It had simply taken her a few moments to process that she was a walker followed by the overwhelming desire to be the one to finally end it. As it was, Tea knew that even if she had pulled that final trigger, she would carry the guilt to her grave, but at least she would have been the one to put her to rest.
As she sat there staring at the walker, a crying Beth walked past the group an up to the other walkers sobbing for her mother. Rick tried to stop her, but she just brushed him off. She pushed another walker off the one of her mother and flipped her, much like Tea had done, only for the walker to come alive and start grabbing at the girl. The girl's screams had everyone in the group on the move except Tea. As Rick and Shane grabbed Beth, Glenn grabbed the walker's arms. Thanks to Glenn, the others were able to get Beth away, Hershel going to check on her. T-Dog started kicking the walker in the head as Glenn was struggling with it. Tea couldn't help but roll her eyes and pull out one of her throwing knives, taking careful aim and throwing it. It landed right in the temple of the walker, making Glenn, T-Dog, and Andrea, who'd been looking for something to end it, jump. Glenn dropped the walker and looked at Tea who was looking at Jesse's corpse with a blank expression.
Hershel and Maggie went with a weeping Beth and the rest of his people back up to the house, followed by Glenn. The rest just stood looking at the carnage. Tea was still sitting beside Jesse's walker and decided that that was enough time mourning. It wasn't news to her that Jesse was dead; she'd long ago gotten used to the idea that everyone she ever knew was. But the shock of seeing her as a walker had brought up everything Jesse ever stood for to her. She stood up from her spot and walked over to the walker she fell, retrieving her knife and wiping it on her jeans.
Lori had been talking to Carl, but as Rick and Shane walked back up from their little powwow, she asked Dale to take him back to the house. Rick looked at the carnage before him at a loss of words as Shane walked past a glaring Tea. The thing was, she wasn't glaring at Shane, she was glaring at him. He shared a look with Daryl who just shook his head. A final look at the girl trying to convey everything, all the sorrow, regret, and grief, was all Rick could give her as he turned to the group and prepared for the next move.
"You want us to start burying?" T-Dog asked him.
"We need a service. Hershel would want that," Andrea said.
"Yeah, we all want that," T-Dog responded.
"Leave Jesse's. I'll take care a it," Tea said.
Everyone looked at the girl and then back around as Lori said, "Let's, let's did a grave for Annette and Shawn, and Jesse too?"
"I jus' said I'd take care a it, Lori."
"Alright, I guess. We'll bury them over there, by those trees. We'll need a truck to move the bodies," Lori kept with the change of subject, not wanting to deal with whatever tailspin the crazy girl was in.
"I'll get the keys," Jimmy said.
"No, no," Shane stopped him. "I got the truck."
"And the others? That's a lot of digging," the boy asked.
"We bury the ones we love, and burn the rest," Andrea told him. "What are you going to do with her, Tea?"
"I'll build 'er a pyre. Do me a favor and wrap 'er body. I gotta go find some wood ta build it on," Tea said, her voice void of any and all emotion as she tried to contain her rage.
"A pyre?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah, funeral pyre. Cremation," she explained making many in the group uncomfortable.
"Let's get to work," Lori said.
Tea limped away then, holding a hand up to stop Daryl from coming with her. She had no desire to be around anyone right now. Her rage was not going to be going away. What was rightfully hers had been stolen. Her duty as a sister and a friend. Taken by the hands of the only two people in camp that she had learned to fully trust. In some part of her mind, she knew they had done it to protect her, but in protecting her they had taken the one thing that would bring her peace of mind. She grabbed an ax and a wheelbarrow and headed out into the woods. It took hours and her hands were blistered and bleeding by the time she was done hacking away at various trees and picking up all the fallen logs. No one had bothered to come talk to her, but she knew that Daryl and Rick both had been by a couple times to check on her.
It was midday by the time she had the funeral pyre built. Logs upon logs sat up to her thighs with Jesse laid over top. She'd taken some hay and stuffed it in the wood to help the fire catch faster. As everyone else stood by the trees listening to the service Hershel provided his family members, Tea was way out in a field saying her own goodbye.
"Ya were a bitch for tellin' me ya were usin' me jus' 'cause he dumped ya. He wasn' any good for ya ta begin with. I knew ya were hurt. Knew ya were jus' lyin' when I found out what he'd said ta ya for bein' me friend. How he broke ya heart. I jus' couldn' bring meself ta pick up the damn phone when ya called. I felt too guilty 'bout it all. And now look at ya. I'm sorry I was such a shite friend, Jesse," she said as she walked around the pyre, lighting the four corners before standing back.
She stayed long enough for the smell of rotten flesh burning became too much. As it was, she didn't want to stay anyway. It was done and over with and the pyre would burn for hours on end whether she remained vigilant or not. The area she'd chosen was mostly dirt, so it wouldn't catch fire. There was simply no need for her to stand watch. She was sick of people trying to make choices for her and deeply hurting by the actions of the day. With every intention of spending some more time alone, she walked back to camp and pulled out a familiar and very much missed bag, tossing it over her shoulder and grabbing Jewel. Daryl could go fuck himself for a while for all she cared.
"Hey, you alright?" Daryl asked as he walked up and tried to pull her bag from her shoulder; the last thing she needed right now was to smoke when she'd been clean for over a week now.
"Don't fuckin' touch me," she hissed and pulled the bag back. "Ya don't get ta touch me."
"What the fuck is wrong with you now?" Daryl asked angrily now that she was pulling away from him again.
"Ya wouldn' let go! I told ya ta let go! Ta let me handle it!" she screamed at him.
"I was tryin' to keep you from havin' to kill your friend," he said flatly, as if it should have been obvious; of course it was, but that wasn't what Tea was trying to get through to him.
"Ya had no fuckin' right!" she screamed at him as she pushed him away.
Daryl stumbled back a good two feet before catching himself, just as pissed as she was now, "You once said you had every right to protect me! I got the same fuckin' right!"
"Not when it comes ta that!" Tea spat at him. "Would ya like it if we found Merle as one a 'em things and I took that kill away from you?! Ya were selfish! Ya didn' think 'bout what I needed! Jus' what ya thought I needed!"
"I was tryin' to protect you, Titania!" he roared in her face. "You almost died in those woods and look what it did to you! You just started talkin' right this mornin'! You keep talkin' in your sleep 'bout Merle! How the hell was I supposed to let you do it when you'd drown yourself in guilt? Fuckin' blame me all you want, but don't be fuckin' blame yourself this time. I'm the one who kept you from doin' what you felt you had to," he mellowed out by the time he was done talking.
"Ya ever think I needed that kill ta at least give meself a little break from the fuckin' guilt, ya prick?! It's me fault I didn' try ta make things up with 'er! She kept callin' me askin' how I was and I jus' ignored 'er! We coulda been tagetha when all this shite happened, but no! I was a fuckin' bitch 'cause I couldn' get the voices outta me head! Fuck, it's me fault Merle's gone, too! Me fault so many died at the quarry! For Amy! For Jim! Me fault Sophia was lost for so fuckin' long! Me fault Carol's pissed at the both a us 'cause Sophia learned ta fight! Fuck, it's me fuckin' fault ya got hurt, Daryl! All I had ta do was stay in that damn farmhouse and ya would a been okay! But no! I can' fuckin' do anythin' right, and the one thing. The one damn thing I could a done! Ya took it away!"
She stormed off as best she could not giving him a chance to respond. Everyone had heard the fight. She hadn't even bothered trying to lower her voice and was pretty sure the house could hear her. Now that the shock had completely worn off and the burials had been dealt with, all that was left was a seething anger. Most of it was directed at herself, but she hadn't been able to help but lash out at Daryl when he asked if she was really alright. She hated herself for lashing out like that. There was no need to make him feel even worse than he already did, especially when it only served to make her feel worse herself. Tea walked up to the farmhouse, knocking on the door and asked if she could come in. Patricia met her at the door and allowed it.
"Shouldn't be on that ankle so much," she said as Tea hobbled through the doorway.
"I'm sorry 'bout what happened at the barn. I didn' know y'all had people in there," she told the older woman, leaning against the wall and taking weight off her foot and ignoring the comment about it.
"Not your fault."
"I still should a known y'all had ya reasons. I'm sorry it happened the way it did."
"It was kind of eye opening, to be honest," was her response.
"The one that tried ta kill Beth?"
"Yeah, that was her momma. Woman loved Beth to death. Would never allow harm to come to her. I never realized –" Patricia trailed off.
"I get it. If ya need someone ta talk ta, I know I don' look or sound like much, but I was a shrink a sorts."
"Really?"
"Yeah, forensic psychologist, but still need ta know how ta talk ta people," she said as a loud crash was heard from elsewhere in the house.
"Maggie?!" Patricia shouted.
"It's Beth!" came the reply as Tea followed Patricia through the house.
They found Maggie and Glenn crouching next to an unresponsive Beth who was lying on the floor, broken and scattered dishes all around. Tea instructed Glenn to take Beth to her room and put her down on the bed flat on her back. Immediately, she got to work checking things to make sure her assumption was correct. Her skin was cold and clammy and her muscles were stiff. She was having palpitations and while she wasn't unconscious, she was unresponsive and staring into space. Tea knew the girl was in shock.
"Sweetie, can you hear me?" Maggie asked Tea as Lori ran up. "What's wrong with her?"
"She might be in shock. Where's Hershel?" the woman said unhelpfully.
"No might be 'bout it. She is in a catatonic shock. Keep 'er warm, but keep 'er clothin' loose. Stay with 'er 'til she comes out a it. She should be fine, jus' can' process everythin' that happened taday. Watch for a fever and use a cool cloth ta keep it unda control if one develops," Tea said.
"How do you know that?" Lori asked as Maggie got to work doing what she'd said.
"I was a psychologist, Lori. How many times I gotta say it? Might a been mostly centered around law, but we still had ta know what ta look for in patients and how ta treat 'em. When ya got generally nice people who have violent experiences bein' asked to try remembarin' it all, sometimes they go inta shock like this, where's it's driven more by a shutdown a the brain caused by emotional disturbance. As their shrink, I had ta know how ta help 'em through it. Best thing ya can do for 'er right now is jus' ta stay with 'er," Tea said, deciding that if the woman wanted to doubt her, she'd let her. She was just too exhausted to care.
Walking back out of the house, she caught sight of the camp and noticed a distinct difference. Daryl's tent and motorcycle were no where to be seen. Fear struck her as she did her best not to run past the camp in search of him. Her ankle couldn't take much more and she needed to sit down, but right now finding Daryl took priority. She'd been gone for a couple hours and hadn't seen hide nor hair of the hunter. Having something other than anger to focus on had allowed Tea to essentially let go of the fact that she was ever angry, and she had one major dose of ass kissing and boot licking to dole out now that she was through it.
~x~
Daryl watched her walk off. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. She was angry that she hadn't gotten to kill a walker he thought she would blame herself for killing. Instead, she was angry and asked him how he would feel if it was Merle, told him that she had needed that kill to not feel so guilty. And she was blaming herself for his stupidity of falling on his own damn arrow? He knew she was still blaming herself about Merle, he did too, but it seemed like every little thing bad that had happened to the camp the girl had convinced herself was her fault. And killing the walker of the one friend she had, while it wouldn't make it right, it would at least have been something she could do. She was feeling like she had done nothing right, and he took away the one thing she knew she could. That's when he began to feel like an ass for not just doing as she asked.
Looking around camp, he was pissed at himself. He found Lori, Carol, Dale, and Rick looking at him with looks of sympathy. What the hell do I need sympathy for? he thought to himself. It was Ania that had suffered the loss and Ania who was once again being looked at like she was insane. Sure, it wasn't the normal reaction someone would have at the face of death, but Ania didn't have a normal person's way of dealing with emotions. She had grieved Merle; she'd shut down and had to have him put her in her place to snap out of it. She wasn't grieving at all right now. Ania was on a warpath and he needed to get ahead of it and apologize now that he understood he was wrong.
"I'm sure she's just grieving," Rick said from next to him.
"Ain't grief. She's just pissed," Daryl huffed. "Girl's got issues sometimes even I can't understand. We were wrong not lettin' her do it. Says she needed it to not feel so guilty."
"We'll apologize when we can. I'm sure she'll come around. Doesn't seem like the type to hold a grudge."
Daryl just scoffed and walked over to his tent. There were still too many eyes on him and he was getting antsy now. Not caring about the looks he was getting, he started getting everything out of the tent and organized it. Neither he nor Ania needed the camp's judgments right now. Being given sympathetic looks just for getting into a fight with his girl was ridiculous, no matter how strange the topic of the fight was about. Especially when they looked at her back like she was insane. The looks they had been giving her since the whole ordeal in the woods were also pissing him off because they didn't know her. No one understood Ania like he did.
Where he had been protected for a time by his mother and Merle, she'd been abused by her entire family her entire life. Where he was taught how to hunt by Merle as soon as he could hold a bow, she'd gone hungry for years due to simple neglect. Where his entire life was a living hell where he knew exactly where his place in life was, hers was colored with confusion due to times where she was shown the affection she should have gotten. Everyone knew that Will Dixon was a drunk and a bastard that abused his kids, they just did nothing about it but talk behind his back. Everyone praised Ania's parents for how good they were with their kids and how proud they were, all in front of Ania who would be covered in unseen bruises. They lived parallel lives, and while he was sure he wasn't any of those neurodiverse things Ania went on about, they had similar survival tactics and emotional roadblocks thanks to their childhoods. His scowl deepened the longer the glances his way kept up.
As fast as he could, he broke down his tent. If he and Ania were going to keep yelling at each other until they could figure this shit out, he wanted to be away from everyone else. He'd do whatever he needed to for her if it meant he could make things right. Hell, he almost wished she would throw a punch at him. Packing up everything, he loaded it onto the motorcycle and drove out of camp, returning twice more to get it all. There was an old, run down brick wall near the edge of the woods far away from the camp. It was far enough away that the house looked small and blurry in the distance. He reset up the tent and put all the supplies he'd brought inside. Making sure to put things in the order Ania preferred, Daryl hoped that she would hurry up with whatever she was doing and come find him.
He was sitting watching the house while sharpening his knife when Lori walked up and quipped, "Moving to the suburbs? Listen, Beth's in some kind of catatonic shock according to Tea. We need Hershel."
"Yeah, so what?" he spat at her while internally thanking the woman for telling him where Ania'd been.
"So I need you to run into town real quick and bring him and Rick back," she told him, as if he was obligated to do as she said. "Daryl?"
He looked at her before going back to sharpening his knife, thoroughly pissed at how she was expecting him to do what she wanted. "Your bitch went window-shopping. You want him? Fetch him yourself. I got better things to do. Don't even think 'bout askin' Ania either. Dumb broad shouldn't even be walkin' on that ankle," he told her, thinking about how he had to talk to Ania and not wanting either of them to leave the farm until he had the chance.
"What's the matter with you?" she asked incredulously. "Why would you be so selfish?"
"Selfish?" he asked while standing up, completely pissed off. "Listen to me, Olive Oyl. I was out there lookin' for them girls every single day. I lost Ania and took an arrow in the process. She busted her ankle and took a bullet. And has anyone other than Rick even bothered to thank us? Hell naw. Carol thanks me, but looks at my girl like she's the devil for Sophia steppin' up and savin' her ass 'stead of runnin'. Don't you tell me 'bout me gettin' my hands dirty! Or Ania's! You want those two idiots? Have a nice ride! I'm done playin' errand boy," he said as he sat back down, making bolts this time as Lori walked away.
~x~
She was near the butcher shed when a pit formed in her stomach. My spidey senses are tinglin', she thought to herself, letting out a stupid giggle. The fight in her had gone out without tears thanks to Beth and now she was left feeling giddy as hell. The adrenaline the emotional spike had given her had yet to be absorbed and negated, leaving her in a silly state. She could only hope that Daryl would forgive her and accept this side of her as well. There were few times were she turned giddy, but without a doubt, any time she was angry and got distracted from it, she would be a giggling mess of energy and happiness for a while afterwards. She simply couldn't help it.
She was just passing the butcher shack, wandering aimlessly looking for Daryl, when she was grabbed from behind. Shane had her back against the shack and had pushed his body flush against her. One hand covered her mouth while the other had both of her wrists held behind her. She knew the look in his eye, it was one her daddy had gotten a few times when he'd been drunk and she'd had to run to the woods for protection. This time, she would be completely trapped if she wasn't careful. Her brain was going into overdrive in the best way possible, thinking of every move, every technique she could use to overcome this situation. She just needed to create a little bit of leeway between the two so that she could get a hand free.
"Now, you're gonna listen, you crazy bitch. You're going to go back to that camp, you're going to sit your ass down, and you're going to listen to my every damn word or else, you got it?" Shane asked scathingly.
She muffled a fuck you into his hand, earning a sneer before he stepped back and back-handed her right across the face. Having already been expecting it, she'd braced herself and placed her tongue between her teeth to keep them from breaking. Scoffing at his attempt to get her to submit, she just looked at him with defiance showing in her eyes.
"You really want me to do this? You must like it rough, bein' with a man like Daryl. A straight up psycho all around."
"Only one psycho here is ya, Shane," she spat before another smack was delivered to her face followed by a punch to the gut.
He'd made a fatal error, though, in letting go of her wrists when he punched her. As soon as she'd been free, she doubled over, letting him hit her but backing up enough to not take the full blow, allowing her to keep the breath he had hoped to knock out. She then brought her elbow down hard in the crook of his elbow before putting her fist into her other hand and using both arms at full force to hit him under the chin with her elbow. This caused him to stumble a few steps back, giving her enough space to deliver a roundhouse kick to his face. He dodged it, however, tackling her to the ground and pinning her hands under his knees. She did scream then; it wasn't the loud, high-pitched scream he had been expecting, but an almost deafening roar. He slammed his mouth down on hers to cut it off, tearing her shirt in the process. He forced his tongue into her mouth, but all it did was cause her to bite him hard enough to draw blood. When he sat up quickly, she spat the blood in his face and he went to back-hand her again.
What he didn't expect was that she had managed to get one of her Darts in her hand and was currently aiming a well placed stab to the thigh. When he leaned back just slightly while raising his hand, she sliced clean through his muscle, hopefully in a fatal wound. She didn't want to kill the living, but in this situation it was kill or be killed to her. Shane roared himself and rolled off her. She used the opportunity to chop him in the throat, leaving him choking before twisting herself up onto her feet. With a well placed kick, she felt gratified at the popping sound she heard. The man wouldn't be getting it up any time soon.
"Let this be a lesson ta ya," she spat at him. "When a woman isn' interested, back the fuck off. Ya try somethin' like this again, I won' just pop a nut back up inta ya ass. I'll cut the fuckas off and feed 'em ta ya!" She gave him one last kick where she stabbed him before walking away.
~x~
Daryl was beyond antsy. He'd gone into the woods and done some squirrel hunting, hoping Ania would be at the tent when he got back, but she wasn't. He knew then that something was off. She'd been gone all day and that wasn't like her at all. Deciding that he had enough of waiting around for her, he stormed off to the farmhouse where he'd last seen her. Not stopping to talk to anyone, he paused only momentarily to find her tracks before taking off on their trail. He was near the butcher shed when he found a lot of blood, signs of a dust up, and a piece of her shirt. Dread filled his core as he spotted two sets of tracks heading off in opposite directions; Ania's walking in a straight line to the fields and another that scuffled off towards the woods. He followed Ania's as she could simply tell him who the son of a bitch who'd hurt her was herself.
When he found her, she must have heard him approach because one of her Darts sliced against his cheek, telling him that her aim had faltered at the last second. She never missed with the damn things, so a sliced cheek meant she was aiming for the head. It didn't even matter to him as her body crashed against his so hard it sent them both to the ground. She was in somewhat hysterics, sobbing through laughter she couldn't control. Holding her face up, he could see the outline of a hand, definitely a man's, on the side of her face complete with a gash on her cheek and a busted lip. Dry blood was around her mouth and there was a rash on her chest where her shirt had been roughly torn open, her chest plainly visible. Her pants, thank whatever the fuck was out there, didn't look like they had been touched.
"Who?" was all he could choke out.
"Shane," came his reply.
"I'm gonna kill him."
"Might a already done it if I managed ta nick the femoral artery like I thought I did."
"Fuck ya mean?"
"T'was self-defense! Came outta no where and was talkin' crazy, smacked me a bit and then had me fuckin' pinned ta the ground! Thought 'e had the upper hand 'cause 'e had me pinned. He forgot how many knives I carry with me at all times," she said with a scoff. "Fuckin' bastard kissed me! I threw up not too long ago 'cause a it."
"I seen," Daryl quipped as he held her tighter, anger surging through his veins at what Shane tried to do.
"I bit 'is tongue hard 'nough ta bloody the bastard. When 'e sat up ta hit me, I spat in 'is face ta give me a little more time ta aim, and sure 'nough, the ass reared back and right inta a well placed thrust with me Dart! Sliced right through the muscle like butta. When 'e rolled off, I karate chopped 'is fuckin' neck and blocked 'is windpipe 'fore I sent 'is nuts back up inta 'is spine and kicked the wound for good measure!" she said animatedly as she did various motions with her hands.
"We need to get you back to camp," Daryl told her, worried Shane might already be back and spinning a different tale. "Gotta tell 'em what happened."
"Yeah, prolly," Tea said looking towards the house. "What way'd the tracks go?"
"Towards the woods, not the house," Daryl said. "Think we should look for him?"
"Nah. If he comes back and starts shite, I'll deal with 'im. Hershel and his family know I ain' that kind a person from the little I've talked ta 'em, and Rick's seen first hand how Shane's been ta me. He ain' gonna get much word in against me if he tries ta deny anythin'. 'Sides, we're gonna at least tell someone. The rest a the camp'll find out soon 'nough."
"Alright. Let's go," Daryl said, helping her up. Looking at her, he pulled his outer shirt off and tied it around her chest, "Ain't walkin' 'round with your tits hangin' out."
"Not 'til we get ta the tent," she said with a wink while running her hands down his chest.
"Seriously girl?"
"What? Ya neva got horny afta a hunt? Same thing, though different principle. I kept meself safe for me man, now I wanna feel me man. What's so wrong with that?" the smile she gave him had him hardening beneath her.
"Let's hurry up and tell someone what happened and get the fuck to the tent, then, yeah?"
So, a little off canon, but it saves so much time and gives much more opportunity for Tea to shine...also, Shane's a bastard and I hated him in the show and felt he needed to die a long time ago...So...yeah...bastard got what he deserved from our girl, though...^_^ Also, this is my last 'free' chapter. I'll be posting as I complete and edit chapters from now on, so don't expect consistent daily updates. It might take me a day or two to get a chapter done and edited to at least acceptance from now on. I'll let you know when I'm taking a break, and said break will consist of me editing previous chapters. I'm not giving up on this story until the end of the series. There will be no sequel, just one super long story...So please stick it out and continue to be the awesome reviewers you've been. Some of you have been dead on, some hopeful, some speculative. And I love every single review because they sometimes give me ideas and sometimes spur me onwards in the direction I'm taking. So thank you for reading and I hope you are willing to be patient with me from now on as I write chapter to chapter...
Updated 9/7/21