Few straws to grasp
"Can you stand?" Skoodge asked, relieved Zim was willing to trust him.
Zim rubbed his eyes with a small sniff. "I…I don't k-know" he said quietly, looking down at his legs.
Skoodge nodded understandingly "I can help" he offered gently, doing his best to make Zim feel as safe and comfortable as he could. He may have no idea what was going on, but if he could alleviate some of the little Irkens fear, he would.
Despite his best efforts, he could tell Zim was still apprehensive as he slowly took his hand back and wrapped them both around the IV poll with a small shake of his head. "I…I c-can…" he stuttered as he began trying to pull himself up, but barley got to his feet when his knees buckled and he collapsed with a squeak.
Fortunately, Skoodge was able to catch him before he hit the ground. The small Irken tensed up instantly, gripping the other out of instinct. Skoodge held Zim as gently as a trained Irken Invader could.
"It's okay Zim" he said softly, "I got you."
Still being gentle, Skoodge shifted them until Zim was back on his feet with Skoodge standing at his right, avoiding the IV, an arm around his waist. Moving slowly, Skoodge helped Zim walk out of the storage room.
"…Th-thank…you" Zim whispered, looking down at their feet.
Skoodge smiled sadly "your welcome."
The rest of the group cautiously followed behind, not wanting to spook the Irken further. "Slacks, contact the others and let them know we found Zim" Tenn told him quietly, her attention still on the two in front of her, vaguely aware of him nodding and making the call.
"Should we tell them about the other stuff too?" Slacks asked.
Tenn chewed her lip, before reluctantly nodding. "I don't think we have much of a choice, hey" she directed her attention to the navigator "what's your name?"
"Oh, uh, Navigator Knox. Invader Tenn" the navigator, Knox, said with a salute.
"I want you to retrieve a medical officer and bring them to Zim's room" she ordered in a serious manor. "Maybe they can figure out what's going on. At the very least, we should get Zim examined" he gave her a nod and jogged off.
"You guys used to be medics" El said hopefully as she looked at Zee and Sneakyonfoota. "Do either of you have any idea why he can't remember anything or why he's seeing…that" she pointed to the data pad still in Tenns hands "instead of our faces?"
"I was a field medic!" Zee cried helplessly "my specialty was treating battel wounds while avoiding getting shot! Sof was the one in the office, Sof?"
Sneakyonfoota frowned thoughtfully, rubbing his chin as he glanced between them and the others. "I may have a theory" he admitted "but we should still get him examined first."
The group all shared a look of defeat. They were so far up the creek right now; they couldn't even see the paddles anymore. They could only hope the medic would be able to find some kind of answers.
It hadn't been too difficult getting Zim back to his room thankfully. At least, they'd had no issues with Zim himself. The problem came from all the gawks they'd received from the Irkens they passed along the way. Which, of course, did wonders for Zims current, agitated state.
Honestly it was a miracle he didn't have another panic attack.
Not surprisingly, everyone was just as desperate for answers as they were. They couldn't really blame them, but Zim was overwhelmed enough and the last thing they needed or wanted to do right now was make things worse.
As if they could.
They also weren't up to dealing with trying to answer questions they were still asking themselves. So to make things easier, five of them went into Zims room with him while the rest of the group remained outside on crowed control. Doing what they could to keep the growing mob at bay.
They decided Skoodge, Tenn, and Larb would go in. As well as Zee and Sneakyonfoota, being the only ones present with experience in the medical field.
Currently, they were waiting for a medic to arrive, having been informed by Knox one was on the way. Zim was sitting on his bed, curled up into a ball. At the very least he was looking a little less tense, but was still clearly uneasy.
Tenn came out of the bathroom holding a cup of water, making her way over to the bed like she was trying not to spook a wild animal. "Just so you know" she said lightly as she handed him the cup "you can get a drink in the bathroom over there."
Zim cautiously took the cup from her, eyeing it for a few seconds. He took a small, hesitant sip before downing the whole thing in one go. The others stared as he gave a small sigh in relief, his throat already feeling ten times better. That was at least one of his problems solved.
"Boy, you weren't kidding about being thirsty" Larb mumbled.
The door whooshed open as a medic almost tripped over himself rushing inside, catching his breath as the door closed behind him. He was about Tim's height with dark red eyes, and a little on the thick side. "Quiet an audience you've got out there" he panted, wiping some sweat from his head and dusting himself off. He froze as his gaze fell on Zim, staring at him in awe "I don't believe it" he said softly as Zim shrunk back a bit "he's really awake."
"Did you think we were making it up?" Larb asked accusingly, glaring at the medic.
The medic held up a hand defensively "I meant no disrespect, Invader Larb" he assured him. He cleared his throat and gave the Invaders a salute "Medical officer Mayo reporting, how may I be of assistance?"
"We need you to give Zim an exam" Zee explained, both hers and Sneakyonfootas old training kicking in. "He just woke up from a coma and the first thing he did was wander around the Massive."
"He was running at a point, could barely stand when we found him. And he's exhibited high levels of stress and anxiety" Sneakyonfoota added.
Mayo nodded "I can see why you'd be concerned" he said in agreement.
"Also…" Skoodge motioned for Mayo to come closer, speaking under his breath. "…For some reason, Zims memory is gone" he explained quietly "he doesn't seem to remember anything."
Mayo looked at him in surprise "really?" He asked as they all nodded in confirmation. He glanced over at the Irken in question curiously "that shouldn't be happening" he began scrolling through his data pad, looking over the notes on Zims condition.
"There's…more" Tenn said hesitantly. "Zim says this is what he sees when he looks at any of us" she held out the pad with the drawing to the medic. Mayo's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets at the sight of the picture.
He looked at the Invaders, pointing to the doodle as they nodded again. "Uh, well, that's…huh" he scratched his head, not really sure what to make of this. He cleared his throat awkwardly, deciding to not to focus on that for now "alright, I'll see what I can do" he promised.
He allowed Skoodge to guide him over to the bed, greeting the Irken on it with a smile. "Hello Zim" he said a little too loudly, making him back away fearfully. Skoodge shot Mayo a threatening look, as he held his hand up again. "Sorry! Sorry, I'm not used to my patients being so skittish" he said sheepishly.
"Uh, let's try again, my name is Mayo" he introduced himself "and I'm here to make sure that you're doing alright." He approached the bed, more gingerly this time, being more mindful of his patient's current mental state.
Zim eyed the newcomer. He wasn't sure he liked the look of that bag he was carrying, or whatever was hanging around his neck. "What…are you going to do?" He asked suspiciously, his voice sounding better thanks to the water.
"Nothing bad" Mayo assured him as he set the bag down on the end of the bed, patting the mattress to get him to uncurl. "Would it make you feel better if Invader Skoodge was nearby?" He offered, motioning to the others.
Zim stared at them in confusion, making them more worried, had they missed something? That's when Zee's eyes widened with a gasp "we never told him our names!"
Skoodge gasped as well. She was right! Oh Irk, he could kick himself! No wonder Zim was looking at them like that, he didn't know which of them the medic was talking about.
Skoodge took a step forward, holding up a hand to get Zim's attention. "He means me, I'm Skoodge" he explained, looking down "I…I'm so sorry I didn't introduce myself before" he glanced up at Zim hopefully "dose…dose my name sound familiar at all?"
Zim's face scrunched up in concentration, trying to find any recollection of the name, but kept drawing a blank. "I-I'm sorry" he shook his head with a frown. He was starting to feel bad about not recognizing this 'Skoodge' person, he'd been so nice to him and seemed so sad he didn't remember him.
Skoodges face fell, he couldn't say he was surprised, but he still couldn't help but feel disappointed. "That's okay" he said reluctantly, "so…would you feel better if I was close by during the exam?" He asked gently.
Zim debated for a bit. Then, with some lingering doubt, gave him a small nod.
Skoodge smiled and stood next to the bed, giving Mayo the okay to proceed. At least Zim was willing to give him a chance. With a nod, Mayo decided it would be best to use the same approach he used when examining smeets, so not to cause any additional stress. Or at least to better avoid it.
"Alright, let's start with something easy" he began, keeping his voice even and holding up a finger. "Can you follow my finger with your eyes?" Zim was a little confused by the request, but nodded. Mayo moved his finger up, down, and side to side, Zim following it easily each time. Mayo hummed and pulled out a small light "alright, I'm going to shine this into your eyes for a few seconds, okay?"
"Is it going to hurt?" Zim asked, staring at the little light.
"It might be a little uncomfortable, but it shouldn't hurt" Mayo assured him. Zim glanced over to Skoodge, who nodded reassuringly. "Just count to nine in your head" Mayo advised, turning the light on and shining it into Zims right eye.
Zim did as he was told and began mentally counting, all while trying not to look directly at the medic standing far too close for his liking. Sure enough, by the time he reached nine, Mayo had switched over to his left.
Zim rubbed his eyes once they were done, blinking a few times to get rid of the spots. The medic had been right about that not hurting, but the tiny hammer he'd just pulled out looked like it could. "I'm just going to check your reflexes" Mayo said quickly, seeing Zim flinch. Acting fast, he gave both of Zims knees a tap, satisfied when his legs twitched as they were supposed to. "His legs are functioning, that's good news" Mayo said with a nod.
"What was the point of that?" Zim asked in confusion, staring at the medic oddly.
"Like I said, checking your reflexes" Mayo explained. "Plus, after being so active so soon, I wanted to be sure there were no issues" he pulled out a blood pressure cup "arm please?"
Zim slowly held out his arm, he appeared to be getting a little more comfortable with the medic, at least enough that he was more willing to cooperate. Mayo went to attach the cup but stopped when he realized Zim was holding out his left arm.
The one with the IV.
"Uh, could I have your right arm actually?" He asked awkwardly. Zim stared at him, not really understanding what difference it made "I don't want to disturb the IV" he explained, pointing to the tube before frowning. He set the cup down and gently took hod of his arm, inspecting the area it was inserted in "there's some swelling, was this pulled at any point?" he asked, looking up at his patient.
"I tried to take it out" Zim admitted, frowning. Something told him he'd done something wrong "is that bad?"
"Well, you didn't know, but try to leave it be from now on" he explained calmly.
"Actually, does Zim need that now that he's awake?" Larb asked from the side.
Mayo hummed "it'd probably be best to finish this one off" he suggested, pointing to the bag hanging from the poll "afterwards, we'll see." Gently taking hold of Zims right arm, he picked the cup back up and attached it "now you're going to feel some pressure" he warned, putting on the stethoscope and placing the disk under the cup.
Mayo kept a close eye on the dial as he squeezed the small pump. Zim squirmed a bit as the device tightened around his arm, when he felt a hand on his knee and looked over to Skoodge.
Skoodge gave him a reassuring smile, but seeing Zims blank stare reminded him that he couldn't see it thanks to those damn scribbles. So he gave his knee a small pat "don't worry, it'll be over soon" he told him gently. This seemed to work as Zim gave him a small nod.
After another few seconds, Mayo finished and removed the cup. "His blood pressures a little high" he said, removing the earpieces "but given the circumstances, that's not surprising."
"Is that something we should be concerned about?" Tenn asked worriedly "he did just wake up from a two-month coma."
"Well, the readings aren't that high, for now I'd recommend keeping an eye on it" Mayo explained as he put away the blood pressure cup. He then took hold of both Zims arms. "Can you wiggle your fingers for me?"
"Why does he need to do that?" Larb asked.
"Now that he's conscious, I can check for signs of damage" Mayo explained. Zim, fortunately, didn't argue and wiggled his fingers as asked. "Good, now can you make a fist?" Again, Zim did as asked without question, both hands forming fist. "All right, now" Mayo took both Zims hands into his "squeeze my hands as hard as you can."
Zim didn't really understand why he was doing any of this, or what the medic meant by 'damage', but did it anyway. He tightened his grip on the medic's hands as much as he could before it started to hurt. "Hmm, grips a little weak" Mayo commented, before noticing the other Irkens looks of concern "but it could be muscle loss from the coma" he assured them "uh, bend your arms please?" He asked, letting go and moving his own to demonstrate.
Zim copied his movements, following along closely. "Well, so far there doesn't appear to be any problems, which is excellent news" Mayo said, taking hold of Zims arm again, eyeing the bandages with a hum.
Skoodge watched in unease, his anxiety growing when he saw the medic begin to reach into his bag. "Uh, can I talk to you for a second?" Skoodge said quickly, getting the medics attention. Reluctantly, Mayo left the bedside and followed the Invader to where the others were standing "is there a chance we can keep the bandages on for now?" He asked in a hushed voice in the hopes Zim wouldn't hear them.
"There are spots of blood on them, I should really check on the stitches" he argued lightly, crossing his arms.
Skoodge sighed stressfully "I-I know but…I'm just worried about Zim…seeing them right now" he explained, running a hand over his head. "Look, can't we wait until he's asleep?" He pleaded "it's not like it would be any different from before, right?"
Mayo frowned in disproval, tapping his finger against his arm. He looked at Skoodges pleading expression and sighed in defeat "fine, but just this once."
Skoodge sighed in relief "thank you."
"I do hope you understand you can't keep him in the dark forever" Mayo said, giving the shorter Irken a hard stare.
Skoodge tensed as his fellow Invaders glared at the medic. "I'm sorry, did we ask for a lecture?" Larb asked sharply "because last I checked; you were here to do a physical."
"Larb" Sneakyonfoota hissed, but he looked just as displeased by the medics' words as the rest of them.
"Well last I checked; my job was to ensure the well-being of my patient! Including his mental state!" Mayo snapped back. He sighed, pinching the area between his eyes "listen, I understand this is a delicate situation" he said more patiently, placing a hand on Skoodges shoulder "but trust me, leaving the band aid on too long is just as bad as ripping it off too soon."
Skoodge looked away in confliction. He understood what the medic was saying, and knew he was right, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Mayo gave his shoulder a squeeze "I'll take them off when he's asleep" he promised, walking back to the bed, Skoodge following behind.
Zim watched as the two returned. He'd been trying to hear their conversation, almost falling off the bed in the process, but hadn't been able to pick up anything. He was pretty sure they were talking about him though "did I do something?" He asked.
"No, no, just discussing the physical so far" Mayo assured him. "That's all I'm here for after all" he added, giving Larb a stink eye, who stuck out his tongue at the medic in response.
Rolling his eyes, Mayo put the earbuds of the stethoscopes back in and rubbed the disk against the palm of his hand as he stepped closer. "Alright, now I'm just going to…" he trailed off when he noticed Zim had backed away with a fearful expression, curling into himself again. He took another step, which made Zim back away more. "You don't have to worry, this is one of the least uncomfortable parts of the exam, if not the least" he said, trying to reassure his patient.
"Do you…Do you have to be so close?" he asked softly.
"Uh, kind of?" Mayo replied awkwardly looking at the Invaders for any kind of explanation. "Really, it's just a stethoscope, see" he held it to his own chest, moving it around "see? Its harmless."
"Um, I don't think it's the stethoscope he's afraid of" Zee explained while waving her hand around her face. They all instantly understood she was referring to those scribbles.
Zim hadn't looked any of them in the eye once since they'd found him. Even now, he was keeping his gaze below their necks. Looking in their direction but his line of sight never meeting theirs.
Even during the eye exam, he hadn't actually looked at the medic's face. At least then Mayo still kept some kind of distance and there was a light in the way.
"I'm sorry, but I can't really work around this" Mayo said as politely as he could.
"I-I understand, just…" Skoodge trailed off, biting his lip. What was he going to do? He doubted he could convince Zim the scribbles weren't real, not within the next few seconds anyway.
"What if you held his hand Skoodge?" Tenn suggested. "Would that help?" She asked Zim gently, making sure to motion to Skoodge so he'd know who she was talking about "if Skoodge held your hand?"
Zim looked between the three Irkens, thinking it over before giving a small nod. "I…maybe, I could try that" he agreed reluctantly.
Skoodge, Tenn, Mayo, and the rest of the Invaders blinked in astonishment.
That worked?
Zim had actually agreed?
Regaining his composure, Skoodge wordlessly held out his hand. Zim was a bit quicker to except it this time, and Skoodge could only hope this was a good sign, he did look a little calmer. Or he was just eager to get this over with, either way.
"Alright, this won't take long" Mayo assured him and approached once more. Zim reluctantly scooted closer and squeezed his eyes shut, tightening his grip on Skoodges hand.
Skoodge glanced down at their hands with a frown. He knew the medic said Zims grip was weak, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad. It was almost non excitant.
Gently as he could, Mayo slid his arm up Zim's shirt and placed the disc against his chest. "Please don't hold your breath?" He asked patiently. Wanting to cooperate, Zim willed himself to breathe normally.
He tried counting in his head again like he did with the flashlight, hoping to distract himself as he felt the disc be shifted around. If nothing else, maybe it would distract him from the knowledge of how close those scribbles were to him right now.
Zim squeezed his eyes shut tighter as thinking about it nearly made him open them.
"You can open your eyes now" Mayo said just as he reached twenty-nine, stepping back. Zim cracked one eye open a bit, just to be sure, then blinked both eyes open again seeing it was clear. "Thank you for your cooperation, I'm going to talk to Skoodge and the others for a few minutes, alright?" The medic said, giving him a lollypop.
Zim wordlessly took the candy, staring at it in mild confusion as Mayo lead the group of Invaders into a corner so they wouldn't be heard. "He likes cherry, right?"
Skoodge shrugged "I mean, he prefers grape."
"On the bright side, he won't remember either way" Larb said with a shrug.
The group side eyed him in annoyance as Tenn shook her head with a sigh. "So?" She asked patiently.
"Well physically speaking, he appears to be doing well" Mayo began, pulling out his data pad again. "Normally I'd do a more thorough exam, but given the circumstance, we can wait a week or two until he's more…accustomed, let's say" he explained as he jotted down some notes. "Standard procedures call for post-comatose patient's to be under close observation for roughly the same amount of time anyway, so that should work out just fine."
"Close observation?" Skoodge asked in concern.
"Just a precaution" the medic assured him. "You know, make sure there are no short- or long-term complications, permanent or temporary, that sort of thing."
"What about his earlier exploit?" Tenn reminded him.
"Well, aside from the IV, I'm not seeing any issues" Mayo said. "Of course, I still need to examen the stitches" he glanced up at Skoodge, who met his gaze "but beyond that?" He shrugged "although if something dose come up-"
"I'll keep you posted" Skoodge promised.
"We'll all keep you posted" Tenn promised as well, the others nodded in agreement, all of them pretending they didn't see Skoodges eyes narrow at them in distrust. Fortunately, Mayo seemed satisfied with this and nodded "so…" Tenn began hesitantly "what about…what's the diagnosis…mentally?"
"Right" he hummed "give me a few minutes" he said as he walked back to Zim, still staring at his lollypop. He cleared his throat to get his attention "Zim, I'm going to ask you a few questions, okay?"
Zim slowly nodded. Honestly, as long as the medic wasn't poking him anymore, he didn't mind a few questions. Mayo held out his data pad, pen at ready "now, do you hear any ringing in your ears?" He asked. Zim shook his head "alright then, any headaches? Drowsiness?" He asked each question after the other, each time receiving a no.
Mayo hummed, looking over his notes. No physical symptoms so far, time to determine just how bad his memory loss was "alright now something a little different" he looked at Zim "what's the last thing you can remember?"
"I woke up here in the dark" Zim answered easily, having been asked this already.
Mayo nodded, jotting down this down. "Nothing else?" Zim shook his head "so you don't recognize anyone in this room?" He gestured to the group of Invaders.
Zim looked at each of them intently, gaze still below their necks. He couldn't pick out anything familiar "no" he answered honestly.
"Uh huh, dose the title "Invader" sound familiar?"
"I-Invader?" Zim stared at the medic like he'd just spoken another language. It was actually kind of uncomfortable seeing Zim unable to recognize the rank he once craved so fiercely.
"How about your time on planet Earth?"
Zim tilted his head "what's an Earth?"
"What can you tell me about the current Tallest?"
"The who?"
Mayo's pen froze, almost scratching the page as everyone in the room gasped.
Zim glanced around in unease "d-did I…say something wrong?" He asked nervously. He may not be able to make out their expressions, but he could still get a gauge on their reactions.
"…No, it's-" Mayo trailed off, tapping his pen against his chin as he and the Invaders exchanged glances. "It's nothing you need to worry about for now" somehow hearing such a question come from Zim's mouth felt especially wrong.
"I…think I have enough information for now" Mayo said "thank you again, Zim" he thanked the small Irken and went back to the group. "You weren't kidding about his memory" he sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"But why can't he remember?!" Skoodge asked almost desperately.
"Well there doesn't appear to be any physical cause" Mayo explained as he compared his notes to the ones in the file "which isn't that big a shock because, as I said before, this shouldn't be happening."
"But it is happening!" Skoodge cried, not even trying to keep his voice down as his stress began to boil over. Tenn hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder, managing to calm him slightly with a strained sigh "there has to besomething, anything you can tell us" he pleaded.
Mayo shook his head, looking down "I'm sorry" he said apologetically "but I've got nothing."
Skoodge felt his eyes beginning to sting as it took all his will power not to cry. Something was wrong with Zim and no one could figure out what was causing it or what to do about it.
"Uh, I have a theory" Sneakyonfoota suddenly spoke up, catching the groups attention and breaking through the tension just a bit.
Mayo looked at him in interest "Invader Sneakyonfoota, correct?" He asked as he did a quick search on his pad. "You served as a medical officer in the past, by all means" he encouraged him with a nod.
Sneakyonfoota nodded and cleared his throat "well, like you said, there's no physical reason for Zims memory loss, at least none we can find so far" he began. "But I'm wondering if maybe the cause could be phycological?"
Larb and Tenn looked at him in confusion while Mayo and Zee had a look of enlightenment. Skoodge, on the other hand, had an expression somewhere between disbelief and fury "did you just call him crazy?" He asked, his voice low and even.
Sneakyonfoota shrunk back, beginning to sweat a bit as he held up his hands in defense "uh…"
"No! I think I see what you're saying!" Zee said quickly, coming to his rescue. Skoodge glared at her, waiting to hear her explanation "You're suggesting Zim may have repressed everything, right?" She offered as Sneakyonfoota franticly nodded.
"Repressed?" Skoodge, Tenn, and Larb asked in unison.
"Huh" Mayo rubbed his chin "that's not impossible" he agreed as he took more notes.
"I can't believe I didn't think of that, I saw something similar in a few soldiers I treated back in the day" Zee confessed. "Admittedly, never to this degree, but this is Zim we're talking about. He's pretty good at going one step beyond."
"Uh, what are you guys talking about?" Tenn asked, glancing between the three completely lost.
"Sometimes when one experiences an emotionally traumatic event, they repress all memory of said event" Mayo explained. "It is the best theory we've got at the moment."
"That's what I'm thinking "Sneakyonfoota said quickly.
"Wait, wait, wait, hold on" Larb interrupted, waving his hands. "Are you guys saying Zim made himself forget?!" He asked in disbelief.
Mayo glanced at him with a raised brow "in layman's terms? Yes." He said as he finished his notes "although I'd recommend getting an expert to do an evaluation to be sure."
Almost numbly, Skoodge nodded in understanding and agreement. It wasn't much, hell, it was a hail mary at best, but it was more then they'd started off with. If nothing else, it was something they could work with.
Although it did create a whole new set of problems. "What about the scribbles?" He asked weakly, trying not to think about that right now.
Mayo gave him another apologetic look "well again, I couldn't find any physical cause so I doubt its visual. You could get further experts to closer examine his eyes and reexamine his Pak, but honestly, your guess is as good as mine" he admitted. "I've been a medic my whole life and I've never heard of anything like this before."
"Do you…" Tenn began slowly "…do you think they could be phycological too?"
Mayo hummed thoughtfully "trauma has been known to manifest in unusual ways" he admitted. "And sometimes that dose includes physically like a tick or…or mutism" he finished, looking down sadly.
The others shared his dejected look, minus Skoodge whose expression was unreadable. "Assuming he is repressing his memories" Mayo continued after a bit "then…it's a possibility. I'd still recommend the follow up exams before confirming anything."
Skoodge nodded again as he and the others looked over at Zim. He'd removed the plastic from the lollypop and was giving it a hesitant lick, eventually sliding the whole candy into his mouth. Looking more content than he had since they'd found him as the dread in their spooches grew.
If this theory was right, if Zim had made himself forget, if that was the cause of the scribbles…
…What were they going to do?
I feel like this was a slightly slower chapter, but given some of what I've got planned for the future, that might not be a bad thing. Odds are there'll be a couple of breather chapters.
Fun fact, Knox is the name I gave the navigator from the movie. You know the one. I tend to reintroduce him in each fic just to make it easy.
Also, in case it wasn't obvious, I know next to nothing about medical procedures or first aid. So, forgive any inaccuracies.
Once again, thank you for all the lovely comments, I'm glad that you're all enjoying this so far.
I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and here's hoping next year…
…Well here's hoping.
For now, I bid you adieu.