Dear Readers,

Wow. Looks like we've finally made it.

Time for some accolades, don't you think? Let's see now…

The better question here would be… Who not to thank?

My readers. My fans… To those of you who've been there since day one, and to those of you who are just figuring it out now. You are the cream of the crop. Thank you for reading chapter 1, and thanks for coming back for more. Thank you for reminding me that I was indeed the author of an episodic serial, and that it was high time I updated. And thank you for not hunting me down when I was tardy with the chapters. Thank you for all 129 reviews. I loved every single one of them.

You know who you are, and you make up the best.

My betas. Pix was the first, eons ago when I was just a new author. And even though she had no advance glance at the makings of the series as it unfolded, she still played a part in this project. She took a chance on me way back when, and I kept going. So if you want to blame someone, blame her. Cheers, Pix!

Starsy… What can I say. Ever faithful, ever loyal. Even when I wasn't so much. Time differences (no matter how small) and other limits suck, my friend. Still you were there. Thank you for you enthusiasm, for your encouragement, and your unflappable support. Don't ever change.

This series is dedicated to the wonderful group of chums at the Carby Board, where I've whittled away many hours over the past year. Thanks for corrupting me with kindness. You make it hard to say goodbye (so maybe I won't).

Taylor_Wise… Wow. Here we are, huh? It's like… The end of an era… What's going to happen, now? Seriously, though. You rock. If it wasn't for you continuously raising the bar and giving me the incentive to outwit, outlast and outwrite you, I'd probably be straggling back on the 15th lap. I'll tell you know lies … I thrive on competition, you were a worthy opponent, and I'm proud to call you friend.

And finally… sigh … KenzieGal. What's left to say? You're my rock. My shining star. The epitome of class and style. Would you like me to go on? If I started to list all the things I'm grateful to you for… well… we'd likely be here all day. So let me sum it all up with this: It's you, and everything you've brought to the table. Your friendship is my gold star, and I show it to everyone. I'm so happy we're not done yet.

What's that you say? "You're not done, yet?"

Ah ha… Some words on what you have to look forward to in the coming times…

If you haven't noticed, KenzieGal and I have kind of bonded in the last seven months. Kind of? We're pretty much inseparable. She's been Carter to my Abby, in more ways than one. And isn't she the best? Okay, okay, I promised her I wouldn't keep gushing… I have a point to make! We started a little project during the latter half of season 9, and even though we could mirror TPTB's tendency to leave us all hanging… We won't. And so we're currently putting a summer series together as a joint epilogue for both "Reflections" and "The Long Way," in which we plan to tie up all the Carby loose ends and finally yield to our fantasies about writing what we want to write. So there you go. The new collaboration is in development and we will keep you updated on its progress and when you can look for it.

As for "Reflections", there are a few announcements to make. I know I said it was over, and it is… Only not really. Over the summer you can look forward to two all-new installments to be added after this note. Both will serve as post-eps to the episodes I didn't write chapters for.. I felt I owed it to myself and to all of you to truly make this series complete. Can't remember what episodes I'm talking about? Keep watching…

Also, by the end of the summer, "Reflections" will be available (in archive) on my own web server. Don't worry, I'll give you plenty of notice as to where it's going to be relocated, and hopefully by the time season ten rolls our way, everything will be up and running. In the meantime (and after the party), I will continue to post new work up on ff.net.

Speaking of season ten… I'm sorry to have to announce this, since I do hate to disappoint you, but I have no immediate plans to recreate and/or extend this series into the new season. Sadly, there will be no "Reflections: Part 2." This has been a long and exciting journey, but I feel I should bow out now while I've still got room left to breathe. Alas, even as I write, I'm already beginning to feel the twinge of nostalgia and maybe perhaps even regret, however I do feel this is for the best.

And so, with that, I bid you all adieu… It's been a blast.

~ Lanie