A/N: Ohiyo Gasaimas! ^_^ Well, once again I'm sorry it took a while for me
to update this fic again, but I think the marjority of you can understand
me when I say I was a bit preoccupied with a certain book that came out the
21st :D Yupyup! Harry Potter ^_^ It was great! Too bad about...well, I
won't spoil it for those who haven't read it yet...about the person who
died...well, just's long as it wasn't my Percy! .:huggles him:. Yes yes,
he was a bit pricky in this new book, but I'm sure he'll come around in the
next one .:pats his head:. Anyway, my head's still with Harry Potter, so
sorry if this chapter comes out a bit British-y lol Well, I had to split
this chapter up into two separate ones as this was going to be a rather
long chapter that would have taken me some time to write, and I know how
all you get when I don't update in a while ^^;; So, here's the first half:
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I bolted upright on the bed. "What was that?" I asked, my eyes wide.
Jamie quickly jumped off the armchair he had been sitting on and turned off the CD player. We both strained our hearing for any tiny sign that would distinguish weither it had been a tornado or Jason that had broken the glass, but all was silent. Jamie gulped. "I...Idon't know," he finally whispered, his voice hoarse. Jamie was scared. Though he tried not to let it show, I could tell deep inside he was just as frightened as I was.
"Is it a tornado?"
"...I don't know," he repeated, slowly and quietly inching his way towards the bedroom door, the flashlight in hand.
"Where are you going?"
"To see what that was."
"Jamie!" I squealed. "But...but...but what if it's...*him*?"
"So?" he shrugged boldly. "I can take him. I did before, didn't I? Besides, I really don't think he would go *thisd* far just for...well, *that*." He reached the wooden steps and paused for a moment at the bottom, though the only audiable sound was the constant pattering of rain.
"Oh, God! Please don't let it be Jason!" I whimpered to myself, pulling the pink bedspread up over my head and rocking back and forth insanely. "Please don't let it be him! Not Jason, anything but Jason! Please, please, *please*, God...!"
Jamie looked back at me a moment, his eyes narrowed and determined, before he turned and began carefully ascending the stairs, always stepping in the exact center where the wooden supports running underneath would keep it from creaking. With painstaking slowness he took one small step at a time, stopping at each on to listen for any unusual noises.
I sniffled and rubbed my eyes with the corner of the blanket. This wasn't right. Clenching my hands into fists to give me the strength I so badly needed, I stretched out my legs and slid off the bed. Taking a deep breath, I hurriedly tip-toed out of the carpeted bedroom and across the tiled floor to the foot of the staircase. "Jamie!" I whispered up to him as quietly as I could. "Jamie, wait for me!"
He turned around and shined the flashlight beam down on me. "No, stay here, Caitie," he mouthed, motioning for me to go back, but I shook my head.
I wouldn't hear of it. It wouldn't be right to just sit back and let Jamie do all the protecting and risk-taking. I wasn't helpless and I had to prove this to both him and myself. Taking the steps as cautiously as he had, he waitied for me to catch up to him and caught my hand in his. "You really should just stay down here..." he whispered reluctantly.
"I'll be fine," I refused. "Come on."
Still holding my hand, he led me up the remaining stairs and pulled me closer to him as we reached the closed door at the top. His right hand now lightly resting around my waist, he motioned for me to be quiet with his left as in one quick movement he flicked the flashlight off, leaving us both in the suffocating blackness.
I inhaled sharply and instinctively clung to his shirt, but hsi strong breif squeeze helped to calm my nerves and ease my tense muscles. Gradually my eyes were getting used to the dark and I could make out Jamie's hand twisting the door knob and pushing it open.
My breath caught in my throat. They few seconds we were standing there motionless seemed like eternity. We didn't dare move anything but our eyes as we surveyed the area, looking for any possible causes of the broken glass. We had a perfect view of the livingroom and most of the kitchen from our position at the top of the stairwell. The long beige curtains that covered the sliding glass door were billowing in and out as if ghosts and other unsees creatures were playing behind it. The window was obviously missing, so that's what had broken...but had it been a tornado or Jason?
Ok, Ok, I thought to myself. Think rationally. With Jamie still attempting to hold me back, I tried to worm my way forward to get a better look. Was there glass on the ground? I couldn't tell. Ok, Caitie, think, I commanded. Tornadoes were suction, right? So if it was a tornado the glass pieces would be on the outside, but if it was...someone breaking in, they would of course be on the inside. But what if it was something picked up by high winds and thrown into the window? As far as I could tell there was no debris on the ground...Oh, I didn't know! The only sure thing was that there was no one here.
Letting out the breath he had been holding, Jamie removed his arm from around me and stepped further out into the open, clicking the flashlight back on. He shined it aroudn the livingroom, then in the kitchen and down the hallway that led to the bathroom, office, and my bedroom. Finding nothing, he gestured to me that it was ok to come on out and started for the broken window.
Not sure what to do, I stood my ground for a moment longer, still praying to God that it wasn't Jason, before following Jamie into the livingroom.
"Careful," he warned as I approached him.
"Hmm?"
His eyes glanced at my stocking feet, and I followed his gaze downward to the carpet which was now soaked with rain, where millions of tiny splinters of glass glinted spitefully from the worn fibers. I choked on my own saliva and coughed a few times to clear my throat, an "Oh God!" escaping my lips.
Jamie pulled the curtain aside revieling the shattered window. What had once been a solid single pane was now almost completely gone, lying in uncountable shards on the ground, a few jagged pieces still attatched to the metal frame. "...I don't think it was a tornado..." he muttered.
My blood ran cold as goosebumps rippled across my pale flesh, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. My voice lost, I turned away from him and walked back towards the kitchen. I stopped on the step of the sunken livingroom and crossed my arms over my chest, my whole body trembling slightly.
"...I have no idea what could have done this," he tried to comfort me, but I only laughed bitterly.
"Don't lie," I shook my head. He didn't respond, so I opened my mouth to say more...but I couldn't. I tried to talk...but I simply...couldn't. What was happening didn't register at first, but when it did, I sure as hell panicked. I couldn't speak because something was covering my mouth, and that something was unmistakeably a human hand. What the hell was going on!? Who was doing this to me?! Was it Jason? Oh, God, it had to be! Oh, God, Oh, God, it was Jason! I tried to scream, but he had my mouth sealed air tight and my nose pinched completely shut. My ears popped witht he tremendous pressure I was putting on them, but i still couldn't make a sound, couldn't alert Jamie to the urgency of my plight.
"I...Ok, so maybe it might have been Jason..." Jamie spoke as if nothing was happening. Where was he? I couldn't see him and he obviously couldn't see me.
Jamie! Jamie, help me! I mentally yelled at him. Turn around! Stop whatever it is you're doing and look! Please! My chest was aching. I couldn't breath! I tried to pry his hand off my face, but that was like trying to rip apart two pieces of welded metal. Where was Jamie?! I needed help! Air! Air! My lungs burned for the oxygen that wasn't there. Jamie, please! I stomped my feet in hopes to catch Jamie's attention but the stupid rug was muffling the sound and the force behind my blows slowly dwindled as the lack of air was beginning to make me light headed and dizzy.
"Well, I'm sorry...he's after me, and if I hadn't have stayed, none of this would have happened," Jamie continued.
No! No! Forget the apologies! If he didn't help me soon, i would die. I would gradually suffocate until my lungs collapsed and my whole body completely shut down.
"Maybe I should leave...I'll get Val to come over, you'll be ok...He'll probably follow me away...it'll be fine..." Jamie continued rambling on. Just then the lamps flickered back to life, as did the TV and the beloved Rat Race.
Startled by the sudden and unexpected turn of events, my captro released his hold on my mouth, instead wrapping his arm around my neck in a ehad lock as he twisted around to face Jamie, dragging me along with him. Gasping for the breaths I had been so wrongly deprived of, I slumped weakly in his grasp, no longer fighting against him. Brightly coloured starbursts paraded in front of my eyes as I glanced downward. There were no mistaking the pair of black cargo pants and canvas Chucks of the person standing behind me.
As I had gathered, Jamie was standing with his back towards us, staring at the TV. "Hey, well, the power's back on," he anounced, turning around. Never in a million years could I ever find the words to fully describe Jamie's face and do it any justice. His skin was a pasty grey and his expression was a mixture of surprise, panic, confusion, terror, and helplessness as he stared open-mouthed. "C...Caitie, Jason..!" His eyes kept darting back and forth between the two of us.
Jason backed up a couple of steps, pulling me in front of him. "Stay away from me, Waite! Or...or she'll get it!" he stammered.
"Jason...please..." Jamie slowly approached him, his hands spread wide open and trembling slightly. "Please...just put the knife down..."
Knife? What? He had a knife?! Now that he mentioned it, I did feel somethign poking me in the back through my T-shirt. Oh my God! It was one thing to get beat up or roughed around or even raped...but murder was a whole separate deal entirely! Death? No, no! I was too young to die! Not yet! No! A whimpering wail rose from my throat and Jason tightened his hold on my neck. He was pressing my Adam's apple painfully against my esophagus, making my breathing irregular and ragged. "Please!" I croaked. "I don't care anymore. Rape me if you want, whatever, just please, *please* don't kill me..!"
"Ha ha!" I winced as Jason's malicious laughter filled my ears. "Coward!" He snorted, jamming the knife tip harder into me, forcing me to arch my back in pain, met with more of his devilish snickering. "Oh, don't worry my Precious...Stay back, you!" he snarled at Jamie before turning back to me. "Oh, I wasn't going to *kill* you...that's a bit *far,* don't you think?" His sinister voice hissed in my ear. "Oh, no, certainly not *kill*...*Hurt*? *Maime*, maybe? Does *pain*," he emphisiszed the word with a twist of the knife and I let out a small yelp, "sound good to you?"
"Stop it!" Jamie shouted, determinedly. "Let her go!"
"Oh ho, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"*Why* are you doing this to her?! What did Caitie *ever* do to you?!"
"Hmm, let's see..." He made a big show out of removing the knife from my back and drumming its tip lightly on his lower lip as he seemed to be searching for the right words to say. "Well," he finally spoke. "It's...well, *she's* not really the main person whome I'm...well, whome I'm trying to make miserable..." The knife returned to its former position. "Though she is a nice bonus," he added as an afterthought, as though that made it a great deal.
"You mean you're doing all this just to get back at me?" Jamie looked at him increadulusly.
His expression now dark and threateneing, Jason glared back. "THINK about what you did. You can't honestly tell me you don't deserve it."
"If you're still mad about me beating you up int he alley way and ruining your chance to score with Caitie, then-"
"That's not what i'm referring to and you know it!"
The incredulus look on Jamie's face quickly turned into a bemused one. Really, I don't know what else you could be pissed at me for, but whatever it is, take it out with me, not her. She doesn't deserve your...your...your methods of torture."
A slow smile snaked across his lips as he repeated Jamie's last word. "Torture...I like that terminology, James."
Jamie's hands were clenched so tightly into fists that his knuckles were turning white, his eyes narrowed.
Jason let out a small sigh and looked at Jamie disappointedly as though he had just ruined all his fun. "Fine," he said, reluctantly. "Take your little girl." He released me and shoved me down towards Jamie's feet. I landed on my side, my head missing the corner of the couch's wooden armrest by a centieter. I quickly scrambled to my feet and scuttled behind Jamie, gripping his right arm firmly. From here I could see the weapon Jason so valiantly brandished in his right hand. It was one of those huge longe machetti-looking kitchen knives, like the one Michael Meyers always carried around with him in all the Halloween movies.
"Well, James?" Jason held his arms out as if expecting Jamie to give him a big hug. "I'm waiting."
"For...?" Jamie questioned, though I thought it was pretty obvious what he wanted.
"Let's go."
Jamie didn't move from his position, trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation.
"Aw, what's the matter? Got your little girl back so you gonna wimp out now? Is widdle Jamie scared of the big bad bully, Jason?" His voice dripped challenging sarcasm. Though I did feel Jamie stiffen beside me, he still refused to move. "Come on," Jason said, dropping the baby voice. "Weither you want to or not, you're gonna pay for every ounce of pain you've ever caused Bobbi."
"What? Bobbi? Who? Bobbi 'the Bullet'?" Jamie stuttered. "What's this gotta do with her?!"
"You hurt her SO much!"
"W-what?!" was all he could spit out.
"You heard me. And now you're gonna pay." Beofre I knew what was happening, Jason grabbed Jamie by the collar of his shirt, ripped him away from my grasp, and threw him down on the floor, jumping down after him.
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A/N: And that's where I decided to split the chapter in half ^_^ Please R/R! Thanks a bunch! And one more question, does anyone know what Angst means? ^^;; I know, I know, I'm...misinformed ;) Thanks!
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I bolted upright on the bed. "What was that?" I asked, my eyes wide.
Jamie quickly jumped off the armchair he had been sitting on and turned off the CD player. We both strained our hearing for any tiny sign that would distinguish weither it had been a tornado or Jason that had broken the glass, but all was silent. Jamie gulped. "I...Idon't know," he finally whispered, his voice hoarse. Jamie was scared. Though he tried not to let it show, I could tell deep inside he was just as frightened as I was.
"Is it a tornado?"
"...I don't know," he repeated, slowly and quietly inching his way towards the bedroom door, the flashlight in hand.
"Where are you going?"
"To see what that was."
"Jamie!" I squealed. "But...but...but what if it's...*him*?"
"So?" he shrugged boldly. "I can take him. I did before, didn't I? Besides, I really don't think he would go *thisd* far just for...well, *that*." He reached the wooden steps and paused for a moment at the bottom, though the only audiable sound was the constant pattering of rain.
"Oh, God! Please don't let it be Jason!" I whimpered to myself, pulling the pink bedspread up over my head and rocking back and forth insanely. "Please don't let it be him! Not Jason, anything but Jason! Please, please, *please*, God...!"
Jamie looked back at me a moment, his eyes narrowed and determined, before he turned and began carefully ascending the stairs, always stepping in the exact center where the wooden supports running underneath would keep it from creaking. With painstaking slowness he took one small step at a time, stopping at each on to listen for any unusual noises.
I sniffled and rubbed my eyes with the corner of the blanket. This wasn't right. Clenching my hands into fists to give me the strength I so badly needed, I stretched out my legs and slid off the bed. Taking a deep breath, I hurriedly tip-toed out of the carpeted bedroom and across the tiled floor to the foot of the staircase. "Jamie!" I whispered up to him as quietly as I could. "Jamie, wait for me!"
He turned around and shined the flashlight beam down on me. "No, stay here, Caitie," he mouthed, motioning for me to go back, but I shook my head.
I wouldn't hear of it. It wouldn't be right to just sit back and let Jamie do all the protecting and risk-taking. I wasn't helpless and I had to prove this to both him and myself. Taking the steps as cautiously as he had, he waitied for me to catch up to him and caught my hand in his. "You really should just stay down here..." he whispered reluctantly.
"I'll be fine," I refused. "Come on."
Still holding my hand, he led me up the remaining stairs and pulled me closer to him as we reached the closed door at the top. His right hand now lightly resting around my waist, he motioned for me to be quiet with his left as in one quick movement he flicked the flashlight off, leaving us both in the suffocating blackness.
I inhaled sharply and instinctively clung to his shirt, but hsi strong breif squeeze helped to calm my nerves and ease my tense muscles. Gradually my eyes were getting used to the dark and I could make out Jamie's hand twisting the door knob and pushing it open.
My breath caught in my throat. They few seconds we were standing there motionless seemed like eternity. We didn't dare move anything but our eyes as we surveyed the area, looking for any possible causes of the broken glass. We had a perfect view of the livingroom and most of the kitchen from our position at the top of the stairwell. The long beige curtains that covered the sliding glass door were billowing in and out as if ghosts and other unsees creatures were playing behind it. The window was obviously missing, so that's what had broken...but had it been a tornado or Jason?
Ok, Ok, I thought to myself. Think rationally. With Jamie still attempting to hold me back, I tried to worm my way forward to get a better look. Was there glass on the ground? I couldn't tell. Ok, Caitie, think, I commanded. Tornadoes were suction, right? So if it was a tornado the glass pieces would be on the outside, but if it was...someone breaking in, they would of course be on the inside. But what if it was something picked up by high winds and thrown into the window? As far as I could tell there was no debris on the ground...Oh, I didn't know! The only sure thing was that there was no one here.
Letting out the breath he had been holding, Jamie removed his arm from around me and stepped further out into the open, clicking the flashlight back on. He shined it aroudn the livingroom, then in the kitchen and down the hallway that led to the bathroom, office, and my bedroom. Finding nothing, he gestured to me that it was ok to come on out and started for the broken window.
Not sure what to do, I stood my ground for a moment longer, still praying to God that it wasn't Jason, before following Jamie into the livingroom.
"Careful," he warned as I approached him.
"Hmm?"
His eyes glanced at my stocking feet, and I followed his gaze downward to the carpet which was now soaked with rain, where millions of tiny splinters of glass glinted spitefully from the worn fibers. I choked on my own saliva and coughed a few times to clear my throat, an "Oh God!" escaping my lips.
Jamie pulled the curtain aside revieling the shattered window. What had once been a solid single pane was now almost completely gone, lying in uncountable shards on the ground, a few jagged pieces still attatched to the metal frame. "...I don't think it was a tornado..." he muttered.
My blood ran cold as goosebumps rippled across my pale flesh, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. My voice lost, I turned away from him and walked back towards the kitchen. I stopped on the step of the sunken livingroom and crossed my arms over my chest, my whole body trembling slightly.
"...I have no idea what could have done this," he tried to comfort me, but I only laughed bitterly.
"Don't lie," I shook my head. He didn't respond, so I opened my mouth to say more...but I couldn't. I tried to talk...but I simply...couldn't. What was happening didn't register at first, but when it did, I sure as hell panicked. I couldn't speak because something was covering my mouth, and that something was unmistakeably a human hand. What the hell was going on!? Who was doing this to me?! Was it Jason? Oh, God, it had to be! Oh, God, Oh, God, it was Jason! I tried to scream, but he had my mouth sealed air tight and my nose pinched completely shut. My ears popped witht he tremendous pressure I was putting on them, but i still couldn't make a sound, couldn't alert Jamie to the urgency of my plight.
"I...Ok, so maybe it might have been Jason..." Jamie spoke as if nothing was happening. Where was he? I couldn't see him and he obviously couldn't see me.
Jamie! Jamie, help me! I mentally yelled at him. Turn around! Stop whatever it is you're doing and look! Please! My chest was aching. I couldn't breath! I tried to pry his hand off my face, but that was like trying to rip apart two pieces of welded metal. Where was Jamie?! I needed help! Air! Air! My lungs burned for the oxygen that wasn't there. Jamie, please! I stomped my feet in hopes to catch Jamie's attention but the stupid rug was muffling the sound and the force behind my blows slowly dwindled as the lack of air was beginning to make me light headed and dizzy.
"Well, I'm sorry...he's after me, and if I hadn't have stayed, none of this would have happened," Jamie continued.
No! No! Forget the apologies! If he didn't help me soon, i would die. I would gradually suffocate until my lungs collapsed and my whole body completely shut down.
"Maybe I should leave...I'll get Val to come over, you'll be ok...He'll probably follow me away...it'll be fine..." Jamie continued rambling on. Just then the lamps flickered back to life, as did the TV and the beloved Rat Race.
Startled by the sudden and unexpected turn of events, my captro released his hold on my mouth, instead wrapping his arm around my neck in a ehad lock as he twisted around to face Jamie, dragging me along with him. Gasping for the breaths I had been so wrongly deprived of, I slumped weakly in his grasp, no longer fighting against him. Brightly coloured starbursts paraded in front of my eyes as I glanced downward. There were no mistaking the pair of black cargo pants and canvas Chucks of the person standing behind me.
As I had gathered, Jamie was standing with his back towards us, staring at the TV. "Hey, well, the power's back on," he anounced, turning around. Never in a million years could I ever find the words to fully describe Jamie's face and do it any justice. His skin was a pasty grey and his expression was a mixture of surprise, panic, confusion, terror, and helplessness as he stared open-mouthed. "C...Caitie, Jason..!" His eyes kept darting back and forth between the two of us.
Jason backed up a couple of steps, pulling me in front of him. "Stay away from me, Waite! Or...or she'll get it!" he stammered.
"Jason...please..." Jamie slowly approached him, his hands spread wide open and trembling slightly. "Please...just put the knife down..."
Knife? What? He had a knife?! Now that he mentioned it, I did feel somethign poking me in the back through my T-shirt. Oh my God! It was one thing to get beat up or roughed around or even raped...but murder was a whole separate deal entirely! Death? No, no! I was too young to die! Not yet! No! A whimpering wail rose from my throat and Jason tightened his hold on my neck. He was pressing my Adam's apple painfully against my esophagus, making my breathing irregular and ragged. "Please!" I croaked. "I don't care anymore. Rape me if you want, whatever, just please, *please* don't kill me..!"
"Ha ha!" I winced as Jason's malicious laughter filled my ears. "Coward!" He snorted, jamming the knife tip harder into me, forcing me to arch my back in pain, met with more of his devilish snickering. "Oh, don't worry my Precious...Stay back, you!" he snarled at Jamie before turning back to me. "Oh, I wasn't going to *kill* you...that's a bit *far,* don't you think?" His sinister voice hissed in my ear. "Oh, no, certainly not *kill*...*Hurt*? *Maime*, maybe? Does *pain*," he emphisiszed the word with a twist of the knife and I let out a small yelp, "sound good to you?"
"Stop it!" Jamie shouted, determinedly. "Let her go!"
"Oh ho, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"*Why* are you doing this to her?! What did Caitie *ever* do to you?!"
"Hmm, let's see..." He made a big show out of removing the knife from my back and drumming its tip lightly on his lower lip as he seemed to be searching for the right words to say. "Well," he finally spoke. "It's...well, *she's* not really the main person whome I'm...well, whome I'm trying to make miserable..." The knife returned to its former position. "Though she is a nice bonus," he added as an afterthought, as though that made it a great deal.
"You mean you're doing all this just to get back at me?" Jamie looked at him increadulusly.
His expression now dark and threateneing, Jason glared back. "THINK about what you did. You can't honestly tell me you don't deserve it."
"If you're still mad about me beating you up int he alley way and ruining your chance to score with Caitie, then-"
"That's not what i'm referring to and you know it!"
The incredulus look on Jamie's face quickly turned into a bemused one. Really, I don't know what else you could be pissed at me for, but whatever it is, take it out with me, not her. She doesn't deserve your...your...your methods of torture."
A slow smile snaked across his lips as he repeated Jamie's last word. "Torture...I like that terminology, James."
Jamie's hands were clenched so tightly into fists that his knuckles were turning white, his eyes narrowed.
Jason let out a small sigh and looked at Jamie disappointedly as though he had just ruined all his fun. "Fine," he said, reluctantly. "Take your little girl." He released me and shoved me down towards Jamie's feet. I landed on my side, my head missing the corner of the couch's wooden armrest by a centieter. I quickly scrambled to my feet and scuttled behind Jamie, gripping his right arm firmly. From here I could see the weapon Jason so valiantly brandished in his right hand. It was one of those huge longe machetti-looking kitchen knives, like the one Michael Meyers always carried around with him in all the Halloween movies.
"Well, James?" Jason held his arms out as if expecting Jamie to give him a big hug. "I'm waiting."
"For...?" Jamie questioned, though I thought it was pretty obvious what he wanted.
"Let's go."
Jamie didn't move from his position, trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation.
"Aw, what's the matter? Got your little girl back so you gonna wimp out now? Is widdle Jamie scared of the big bad bully, Jason?" His voice dripped challenging sarcasm. Though I did feel Jamie stiffen beside me, he still refused to move. "Come on," Jason said, dropping the baby voice. "Weither you want to or not, you're gonna pay for every ounce of pain you've ever caused Bobbi."
"What? Bobbi? Who? Bobbi 'the Bullet'?" Jamie stuttered. "What's this gotta do with her?!"
"You hurt her SO much!"
"W-what?!" was all he could spit out.
"You heard me. And now you're gonna pay." Beofre I knew what was happening, Jason grabbed Jamie by the collar of his shirt, ripped him away from my grasp, and threw him down on the floor, jumping down after him.
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A/N: And that's where I decided to split the chapter in half ^_^ Please R/R! Thanks a bunch! And one more question, does anyone know what Angst means? ^^;; I know, I know, I'm...misinformed ;) Thanks!