Chapter Three
Cid's shriek of terror could be heard for miles around, including at Balamb Garden. Squall had closed his eyes, waiting for the stingers to pierce his flesh, waiting for his son to start screaming in pain, waiting for death. When no feeling of pain reached him and noticed that Cid wasn't crying anymore, Squall opened his eyes to see the Bite Bugs on the ground. Normally, when a monster would die, it's body would become transparent and then vanish. But the Bite Bugs' bodies remained on the ground. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Squall realized why the bodies hadn't vanished yet. He knelt down, with Cid still in his arms, and touched the surface of one of the Bite Bugs.
"Stone..." Squall retracted his hand and stood up. Rinoa hovered above them. Squall looked over and saw that the T-Rexaur's body had already disappeared.
Did she cast Break? Squall wondered looking back up at his wife, Of course she did. Who else could have cast it? But when did she learn to target multiple enemies? Squall's questions buzzed in his head, and then there was the question with the T-Rexaur. Why had it stopped also?
Squall felt the sudden sag as Cid passed out in his arms.
I guess all the excitement tired him out. Squall thought and smiled, happy to see his son again. Rinoa slowly descended from the sky until her feet reached the ground. Her wings folded up behind her and with a small breeze her wings vanished and a single white feather lightly swayed to the ground next to a Bite Bug statue. Rinoa's pupils and irises returned to her eyes after she blinked a few times, but her eyes slowly closed as she passed out. Squall was able to lessen her fall with his arm, but he couldn't catch her because he was still holding on to Cid. Squall softly placed her on the ground and then sat down, placing his son on the ground as well.
Squall let out a long sigh. He began to stare at his wife, noticing the little details that he hadn't recognized in a while. How her black hair fell around her face, how she still wore that same ring around her neck, how eight years really hadn't changed much - she was still as beautiful as the day he had met her.
We're only twenty-five. That thought surprised Squall. He felt he was at least fifty. It was because of his son. Squall knew that he was a young father, a very young father, but he wouldn't have changed any part of his life if he could.
Squall laid his hand on his son's head and smiled to himself. He loved his son, this small ordeal had proven that. But sometimes he had fears for his son. His son was already seven, and he had no interest in what type of weapon he wanted, or how to use magic, or how to junction a GF. He hadn't pushed his son to learn these essentials, but Squall kept promising himself that he would soon.
He shifted his glance to Rinoa, lying peacefully among the grass. A mixture of feelings raced through his head. It wasn't that Squall didn't love Rinoa - far from it. It was just he hadn't seen her use her powers in a while. In fact, Squall had almost forgotten that Rinoa was a sorceress.
And I am her knight... Squall remembered the promise he had made to her. There was just a certain uneasiness whenever he saw Rinoa use her powers. Squall couldn't really describe it, but he had learned to live with it. His love for Rinoa was constant, whether she was a sorceress or not.
Squall thought that Rinoa didn't like being a sorceress either. She couldn't use just any magic at any time. It would take practice to summon magic whenever desired, practice that Rinoa didn't think necessary. As she had just proved, when the need came up, Rinoa could protect herself.
The thought of another monster sneaking up on Squall while he was still vulnerable entered his head, and with the two most important people in his life passed out on the ground. It scared him to think of what might happen. Squall swung Rinoa up and over his right shoulder, which was no easy task. But the real challenge was in kneeling down and scooping his son up in his other arm. Squall slowly stood up, careful not to drop Cid nor Rinoa. The weight of both bodies on his own seemed especially heavy to Squall.
Squall softly swore as he tried walking, almost dropping Rinoa. Squall made a silent promise to himself to spend more time in the Training Center to rebuild his strength and stamina.
The walk back to the Garden was long and strenuous, but along the way, Cid woke up and was able to walk alongside his father. Squall received many strange looks from people as he arrived at Balamb Garden. He couldn't blame them though. Squall decided to bring Rinoa to the Infirmary just to be safe.
"Hello, Squall." Dr. Kadowaki greeted him. As soon as her eyes rested on Rinoa, she immediately pulled back one of the curtains, showing a bed for Rinoa to lie down in. She instantly became serious.
"What happened?" Dr. Kadowaki asked.
"Monsters." Cid remarked from behind Squall.
"Yes, we ran into some monsters on our way back from the beach." Squall explained.
Dr. Kadowaki glanced at Squall, "Does she need a Phoenix Down?"
"No, no." Squall reassured her, "She had to use her Angel Wing, and I wanted her to get some rest."
"Oh, good." Dr. Kadowaki exhaled. She sat down again behind her desk, "You had me worried." Cid came out from behind Squall and sat on the other bed in the Infirmary.
"How is Cid doing?" Dr. Kadowaki asked Squall.
"He's doing good, but I'm a little worried about him." Squall admitted. Squall smiled as Dr. Kadowaki's eyes widened.
I guess she's still used to the old me. Squall thought. Normally, Squall would have just said a "He's fine" or maybe a simple "Good". But if there was one thing Squall learned during his adventure eight years ago, it was to talk to others and let them into your life.
"I'd worry about him too, if he was my son." a familiar voice remarked. Squall turned to find a blond haired man in an old gray trenchcoat with red crosses on the sleeves and a gunblade by his hip. A smaller version of Seifer stood beside him. He had the same slicked-back blond hair as his father and a smaller version of the trenchcoat. He also had a gunblade in a holster by his hip. This smaller version walked to the bed and sat beside Cid.
"What do you mean by that?" Squall could feel the anger rising inside him. Seifer was the last person he wanted to see at that moment.
"Just what I said." was Seifer's remark.
"There's nothing wrong with my son." Squall could hear his voice steadily rising. He didn't want to say this in front of Cid, but he refused to let Seifer insult his son like that.
"Oh, I know that," Seifer smiled, "If you exclude being weak."
"Weak??!!" Squall clenched his fists. Seifer's lucky Rinoa isn't awake... Squall thought.
Seifer smiled again, "Has he finally learned to junction a GF? Braza just learned it this morning." Seifer looked over at his son with pride. The two boys were talking, but it was obvious that they weren't becoming friends.
"Really? How nice." Squall retorted, "But I see you've already chosen your son's weapon for him. I believe I'll let my son make his own decisions."
"Oh, I see." Seifer remained calm, "So you're going to let your son stay weak his whole life, or at least he grows some balls and decides to start his own training?" Squall lost it. He retracted his fist and thrust it forward connecting with Seifer's face. Seifer staggered back and both boys stopped talking, waiting to see what would happen next.
"Well, I see I've overstayed my welcome." Seifer recovered from the punch, spitting out some bloody saliva. "Come on Braza, let's go." Immediately the mini-Seifer stood up and followed behind his father. "See you around Squall." Seifer closed the door to the Infirmary behind him. Squall sighed looking down at the floor, letting Seifer's words sink in. He looked over at Cid. Cid was crying yet again.
"Daddy...Braza...was mean...to me...again..." Cid explained as he continued to cry. Squall sighed again.
Maybe Seifer had too much truth to his comments... Squall wondered and went over to hug his son, I think it's about time to take Cid to the Training Center.
"Squall..." Squall turned to see that Dr. Kadowaki hadn't moved from behind the desk. He had forgotten she was there. "Squall, we all know that Cid is...well...acts a little young." Squall gave her a stern look. She immediately came to her own rescue, "And there's nothing wrong with that. Remember he's only seven."
"I'm no baby!" Cid said with an angry look on his face.
"I know that dear." Dr. Kadowaki leaned over a little to talk to Cid, "But maybe it's about time you started learning how to fight and use magic and junction with a GF."
"But monsters are scary." Cid stated simply.
"Son, if you never face your fears, you'll let people like Braza make fun of you all your life. You don't want that do you?" Squall looked down at Cid.
"No, Daddy." Cid looked down at the floor.
"That's my boy!" Squall picked Cid up and smiled at him. Cid eventually smiled too, but Squall could see that the conversation had bothered him. "Now why don't you go to the Cafeteria and see if there are any hot dogs left or if Uncle Zell has eaten them all." Cid wiped the tears from his face and ran from the Infirmary to the Cafeteria.
"He's sure not anything like you."
"Huh?" Squall turned away from the door and looked at Dr. Kadowaki.
"Cid, " she noticed, "is nothing like you. You were never emotional. You always kept to yourself." Squall let out a slight chuckle. You didn't know me back when I was a child. Squall thought back to his days in the Orphanage. He cried almost everyday, but she always made him feel better.
"Sis..." Squall quietly thought out loud.
"What did you say?" Dr. Kadowaki asked him.
"Nothing."
"Now that's the Squall I know." Squall let out another small chuckle and decided to go join Cid at the Cafeteria. "When Rinoa wakes up, tell her that Cid and I went to the Cafeteria." Dr. Kadowaki said that she would and Squall left the Infirmary. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Zell was sitting in the Cafeteria stuffing his face with hot dogs when he saw Cid walk in. He motioned with his hand to the other people sitting around the table because his mouth was too full to talk.
"Look, it's Cid." Selphie smiled.
"Where?" was the immediate question.
"Yeah, where?" came the echo. Selphie looked over at the twins sitting at the table.
"Over there." Selphie smiled and pointed.
"Whoohoo!" came the cry in unison. Selphie's two girls had obviously learned that phrase from her, and it reminded her of her happy-go-lucky days. Selphie had sure grown up a lot, especially after her marriage with Irvine.
"Trina! Kyra!" Selphie called after them, "Walk in the Cafetria!"
"Well, I never thought I'd hear that from you." Irvine walked up to the table from behind Selphie. She immediately stood to leave. "Hey, wait." Irvine grabbed her arm, "I just got here."
"Yeah?" Selphie pulled her arm away, "From which girl's dormitory this time? Janis? Irania? Or was it Xu?"
Zell started choking on his hot dog. A hurt look crossed Irvine's face.
"Well, I 'm glad you're enjoying our divorce." Selphie hissed at him and walked to her girls, who were still talking with Cid.
"Don't I even get any time with my daughters?" Irvine walked up behind Selphie yet again.
"Dad!" the twins cried in unison. Cid could sense the awkwardness of the situation and walked over to Zell, hoping to swipe one of his hot dogs.
"Fine." was Selphie's answer and she marched out of the Cafeteria. Cid sat in silence at the table, while Zell continued to gorge himself. Finally, Cid recognized his father walking into the Cafeteria. He was talking with Quistis, probably getting the most recent information. Squall noticed his son sitting with Zell and he walked towards that table with Quistis right behind him.
"Hi son." Squall greeted his son, "I was just talking with Aunt Quistis about your training. If you have any questions about anything, ask her."
Cid thought for a moment and then asked, "Who is Braza's mommy?" The question surprised both Squall and Quistis and Zell choked on his hot dog yet again. Fortunetly, it was also his last, so now he could do something other than eat and choke.
"Well honey, no one knows that. Only Seifer knows, and he doesn't want to tell." Quistis explained to Cid.
"Why not?"
"Because Seifer likes to keep his secrets." Quistis smiled at the boy in front of her.
"Cid, what I meant was, if you have any questions about battle, then you ask Quistis."
"Nope." Cid finally determined, "I don't have any questions."
"Zell, Quistis." Squall addressed both of them, "I want to take Cid into the Training Center soon. Will the both of you come with me?"
"Sure." Quistis replied sweetly.
"Oh yeah!" Zell cried, "Time to kick some monster a-" Zell glanced at Cid for a moment, "...some monster butt. When do you want to go?"
"Well, how about tonight?" Squall suggested.
"Squall, you as commander, must know that the Training Session is closed at nights." Quistis lectured.
"Then why did you take me that time -" Squall was interrupted.
"Fine. Forget I said anything." Quistis conceded. Zell looked from Squall to Quistis, and an image formed in his mind.
"Oh, I get it!" Zell smiled. Quistis gave him a harsh look and Squall just stared at him, so Zell decided to shut up.
"Then we'll meet tonight?" Squall asked.
"Okay, tonight." Quistis agreed.
"Tonight." Zell chimed in. Squall could feel some excitement rising in his stomach. Squall had been waiting for a time to take his son to the Training Center, and now he had the chance. He had to admit it to himself, he was feeling anxious. Now it was time to bond with his son, and teach him methods that could save his life someday. Squall looked across the table at his son and thought, I'm so lucky to have him and Rinoa in my life. I don't think I've ever been happier, and I don't think I ever will. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Okay, I know that was a boring chapter, but you need one every once in a while. Also, by the way, I forget to reserve all those rights and stuff, so I'm doing it now, and any similarity in any part of this story to another is purely coincidental. Thanks for reading!!
Cid's shriek of terror could be heard for miles around, including at Balamb Garden. Squall had closed his eyes, waiting for the stingers to pierce his flesh, waiting for his son to start screaming in pain, waiting for death. When no feeling of pain reached him and noticed that Cid wasn't crying anymore, Squall opened his eyes to see the Bite Bugs on the ground. Normally, when a monster would die, it's body would become transparent and then vanish. But the Bite Bugs' bodies remained on the ground. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Squall realized why the bodies hadn't vanished yet. He knelt down, with Cid still in his arms, and touched the surface of one of the Bite Bugs.
"Stone..." Squall retracted his hand and stood up. Rinoa hovered above them. Squall looked over and saw that the T-Rexaur's body had already disappeared.
Did she cast Break? Squall wondered looking back up at his wife, Of course she did. Who else could have cast it? But when did she learn to target multiple enemies? Squall's questions buzzed in his head, and then there was the question with the T-Rexaur. Why had it stopped also?
Squall felt the sudden sag as Cid passed out in his arms.
I guess all the excitement tired him out. Squall thought and smiled, happy to see his son again. Rinoa slowly descended from the sky until her feet reached the ground. Her wings folded up behind her and with a small breeze her wings vanished and a single white feather lightly swayed to the ground next to a Bite Bug statue. Rinoa's pupils and irises returned to her eyes after she blinked a few times, but her eyes slowly closed as she passed out. Squall was able to lessen her fall with his arm, but he couldn't catch her because he was still holding on to Cid. Squall softly placed her on the ground and then sat down, placing his son on the ground as well.
Squall let out a long sigh. He began to stare at his wife, noticing the little details that he hadn't recognized in a while. How her black hair fell around her face, how she still wore that same ring around her neck, how eight years really hadn't changed much - she was still as beautiful as the day he had met her.
We're only twenty-five. That thought surprised Squall. He felt he was at least fifty. It was because of his son. Squall knew that he was a young father, a very young father, but he wouldn't have changed any part of his life if he could.
Squall laid his hand on his son's head and smiled to himself. He loved his son, this small ordeal had proven that. But sometimes he had fears for his son. His son was already seven, and he had no interest in what type of weapon he wanted, or how to use magic, or how to junction a GF. He hadn't pushed his son to learn these essentials, but Squall kept promising himself that he would soon.
He shifted his glance to Rinoa, lying peacefully among the grass. A mixture of feelings raced through his head. It wasn't that Squall didn't love Rinoa - far from it. It was just he hadn't seen her use her powers in a while. In fact, Squall had almost forgotten that Rinoa was a sorceress.
And I am her knight... Squall remembered the promise he had made to her. There was just a certain uneasiness whenever he saw Rinoa use her powers. Squall couldn't really describe it, but he had learned to live with it. His love for Rinoa was constant, whether she was a sorceress or not.
Squall thought that Rinoa didn't like being a sorceress either. She couldn't use just any magic at any time. It would take practice to summon magic whenever desired, practice that Rinoa didn't think necessary. As she had just proved, when the need came up, Rinoa could protect herself.
The thought of another monster sneaking up on Squall while he was still vulnerable entered his head, and with the two most important people in his life passed out on the ground. It scared him to think of what might happen. Squall swung Rinoa up and over his right shoulder, which was no easy task. But the real challenge was in kneeling down and scooping his son up in his other arm. Squall slowly stood up, careful not to drop Cid nor Rinoa. The weight of both bodies on his own seemed especially heavy to Squall.
Squall softly swore as he tried walking, almost dropping Rinoa. Squall made a silent promise to himself to spend more time in the Training Center to rebuild his strength and stamina.
The walk back to the Garden was long and strenuous, but along the way, Cid woke up and was able to walk alongside his father. Squall received many strange looks from people as he arrived at Balamb Garden. He couldn't blame them though. Squall decided to bring Rinoa to the Infirmary just to be safe.
"Hello, Squall." Dr. Kadowaki greeted him. As soon as her eyes rested on Rinoa, she immediately pulled back one of the curtains, showing a bed for Rinoa to lie down in. She instantly became serious.
"What happened?" Dr. Kadowaki asked.
"Monsters." Cid remarked from behind Squall.
"Yes, we ran into some monsters on our way back from the beach." Squall explained.
Dr. Kadowaki glanced at Squall, "Does she need a Phoenix Down?"
"No, no." Squall reassured her, "She had to use her Angel Wing, and I wanted her to get some rest."
"Oh, good." Dr. Kadowaki exhaled. She sat down again behind her desk, "You had me worried." Cid came out from behind Squall and sat on the other bed in the Infirmary.
"How is Cid doing?" Dr. Kadowaki asked Squall.
"He's doing good, but I'm a little worried about him." Squall admitted. Squall smiled as Dr. Kadowaki's eyes widened.
I guess she's still used to the old me. Squall thought. Normally, Squall would have just said a "He's fine" or maybe a simple "Good". But if there was one thing Squall learned during his adventure eight years ago, it was to talk to others and let them into your life.
"I'd worry about him too, if he was my son." a familiar voice remarked. Squall turned to find a blond haired man in an old gray trenchcoat with red crosses on the sleeves and a gunblade by his hip. A smaller version of Seifer stood beside him. He had the same slicked-back blond hair as his father and a smaller version of the trenchcoat. He also had a gunblade in a holster by his hip. This smaller version walked to the bed and sat beside Cid.
"What do you mean by that?" Squall could feel the anger rising inside him. Seifer was the last person he wanted to see at that moment.
"Just what I said." was Seifer's remark.
"There's nothing wrong with my son." Squall could hear his voice steadily rising. He didn't want to say this in front of Cid, but he refused to let Seifer insult his son like that.
"Oh, I know that," Seifer smiled, "If you exclude being weak."
"Weak??!!" Squall clenched his fists. Seifer's lucky Rinoa isn't awake... Squall thought.
Seifer smiled again, "Has he finally learned to junction a GF? Braza just learned it this morning." Seifer looked over at his son with pride. The two boys were talking, but it was obvious that they weren't becoming friends.
"Really? How nice." Squall retorted, "But I see you've already chosen your son's weapon for him. I believe I'll let my son make his own decisions."
"Oh, I see." Seifer remained calm, "So you're going to let your son stay weak his whole life, or at least he grows some balls and decides to start his own training?" Squall lost it. He retracted his fist and thrust it forward connecting with Seifer's face. Seifer staggered back and both boys stopped talking, waiting to see what would happen next.
"Well, I see I've overstayed my welcome." Seifer recovered from the punch, spitting out some bloody saliva. "Come on Braza, let's go." Immediately the mini-Seifer stood up and followed behind his father. "See you around Squall." Seifer closed the door to the Infirmary behind him. Squall sighed looking down at the floor, letting Seifer's words sink in. He looked over at Cid. Cid was crying yet again.
"Daddy...Braza...was mean...to me...again..." Cid explained as he continued to cry. Squall sighed again.
Maybe Seifer had too much truth to his comments... Squall wondered and went over to hug his son, I think it's about time to take Cid to the Training Center.
"Squall..." Squall turned to see that Dr. Kadowaki hadn't moved from behind the desk. He had forgotten she was there. "Squall, we all know that Cid is...well...acts a little young." Squall gave her a stern look. She immediately came to her own rescue, "And there's nothing wrong with that. Remember he's only seven."
"I'm no baby!" Cid said with an angry look on his face.
"I know that dear." Dr. Kadowaki leaned over a little to talk to Cid, "But maybe it's about time you started learning how to fight and use magic and junction with a GF."
"But monsters are scary." Cid stated simply.
"Son, if you never face your fears, you'll let people like Braza make fun of you all your life. You don't want that do you?" Squall looked down at Cid.
"No, Daddy." Cid looked down at the floor.
"That's my boy!" Squall picked Cid up and smiled at him. Cid eventually smiled too, but Squall could see that the conversation had bothered him. "Now why don't you go to the Cafeteria and see if there are any hot dogs left or if Uncle Zell has eaten them all." Cid wiped the tears from his face and ran from the Infirmary to the Cafeteria.
"He's sure not anything like you."
"Huh?" Squall turned away from the door and looked at Dr. Kadowaki.
"Cid, " she noticed, "is nothing like you. You were never emotional. You always kept to yourself." Squall let out a slight chuckle. You didn't know me back when I was a child. Squall thought back to his days in the Orphanage. He cried almost everyday, but she always made him feel better.
"Sis..." Squall quietly thought out loud.
"What did you say?" Dr. Kadowaki asked him.
"Nothing."
"Now that's the Squall I know." Squall let out another small chuckle and decided to go join Cid at the Cafeteria. "When Rinoa wakes up, tell her that Cid and I went to the Cafeteria." Dr. Kadowaki said that she would and Squall left the Infirmary. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Zell was sitting in the Cafeteria stuffing his face with hot dogs when he saw Cid walk in. He motioned with his hand to the other people sitting around the table because his mouth was too full to talk.
"Look, it's Cid." Selphie smiled.
"Where?" was the immediate question.
"Yeah, where?" came the echo. Selphie looked over at the twins sitting at the table.
"Over there." Selphie smiled and pointed.
"Whoohoo!" came the cry in unison. Selphie's two girls had obviously learned that phrase from her, and it reminded her of her happy-go-lucky days. Selphie had sure grown up a lot, especially after her marriage with Irvine.
"Trina! Kyra!" Selphie called after them, "Walk in the Cafetria!"
"Well, I never thought I'd hear that from you." Irvine walked up to the table from behind Selphie. She immediately stood to leave. "Hey, wait." Irvine grabbed her arm, "I just got here."
"Yeah?" Selphie pulled her arm away, "From which girl's dormitory this time? Janis? Irania? Or was it Xu?"
Zell started choking on his hot dog. A hurt look crossed Irvine's face.
"Well, I 'm glad you're enjoying our divorce." Selphie hissed at him and walked to her girls, who were still talking with Cid.
"Don't I even get any time with my daughters?" Irvine walked up behind Selphie yet again.
"Dad!" the twins cried in unison. Cid could sense the awkwardness of the situation and walked over to Zell, hoping to swipe one of his hot dogs.
"Fine." was Selphie's answer and she marched out of the Cafeteria. Cid sat in silence at the table, while Zell continued to gorge himself. Finally, Cid recognized his father walking into the Cafeteria. He was talking with Quistis, probably getting the most recent information. Squall noticed his son sitting with Zell and he walked towards that table with Quistis right behind him.
"Hi son." Squall greeted his son, "I was just talking with Aunt Quistis about your training. If you have any questions about anything, ask her."
Cid thought for a moment and then asked, "Who is Braza's mommy?" The question surprised both Squall and Quistis and Zell choked on his hot dog yet again. Fortunetly, it was also his last, so now he could do something other than eat and choke.
"Well honey, no one knows that. Only Seifer knows, and he doesn't want to tell." Quistis explained to Cid.
"Why not?"
"Because Seifer likes to keep his secrets." Quistis smiled at the boy in front of her.
"Cid, what I meant was, if you have any questions about battle, then you ask Quistis."
"Nope." Cid finally determined, "I don't have any questions."
"Zell, Quistis." Squall addressed both of them, "I want to take Cid into the Training Center soon. Will the both of you come with me?"
"Sure." Quistis replied sweetly.
"Oh yeah!" Zell cried, "Time to kick some monster a-" Zell glanced at Cid for a moment, "...some monster butt. When do you want to go?"
"Well, how about tonight?" Squall suggested.
"Squall, you as commander, must know that the Training Session is closed at nights." Quistis lectured.
"Then why did you take me that time -" Squall was interrupted.
"Fine. Forget I said anything." Quistis conceded. Zell looked from Squall to Quistis, and an image formed in his mind.
"Oh, I get it!" Zell smiled. Quistis gave him a harsh look and Squall just stared at him, so Zell decided to shut up.
"Then we'll meet tonight?" Squall asked.
"Okay, tonight." Quistis agreed.
"Tonight." Zell chimed in. Squall could feel some excitement rising in his stomach. Squall had been waiting for a time to take his son to the Training Center, and now he had the chance. He had to admit it to himself, he was feeling anxious. Now it was time to bond with his son, and teach him methods that could save his life someday. Squall looked across the table at his son and thought, I'm so lucky to have him and Rinoa in my life. I don't think I've ever been happier, and I don't think I ever will. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Okay, I know that was a boring chapter, but you need one every once in a while. Also, by the way, I forget to reserve all those rights and stuff, so I'm doing it now, and any similarity in any part of this story to another is purely coincidental. Thanks for reading!!