Last Chapter!

Aftermath

The judges of the Tribunal sat stone faced as Alonzo Quinn was brought before them with his hands and feet shackled. The chains made a scraping sound on the wooden floor as he shuffled carefully to his seat, but he was unbowed. He held his head high as he was placed in a seat in the middle of the room facing the judges. The head judge rapped his gavel, bringing the attention of the defendant, the prosecutor and the spectators to him. "I hereby declare these proceedings open. Alonzo Quinn, do you know the charges against you?"

Quinn raised his chin. "Am I on trial for challenging the Queen?" he asked in a loud clear voice.

"No, you are not," the judge glared at him. "But I suspect you know that. You were well within your rights to issue a challenge. Such is our law.

"Mr. Quinn, you are charged with trying to start a war between our kind and the humans, a war that would have had disastrous consequences for our community. A war we could not have won. A war that would have destroyed us and all we have built. How do you plead?"

"Guilty of trying to better our people. We're not sheep. We shouldn't hide in the shadows. We should take our place at the top of the food chain!"

The judge shook his head. "That is a pretty speech, Mr. Quinn, but did you realize the consequences of your plea?"

"I'm condemned anyway."

"No, Mr. Quinn. You do have the right to mount a defense. I suggest you take it. We are not savages. We will listen to the evidence and decide based solely on the evidence."

Quinn simply glared defiantly at the judge. The judge was not intimidated and stared back. The spectators in the courtroom held their breath, but Quinn did not budge. The judge waited for several minutes, then sighed. "Very well, Mr. Quinn. You leave us no choice but to find you guilty of actions that would have resulted in destruction of the New York Vampire community. The sentence is execution. May whatever gods you believe in have mercy on your soul."

Quinn showed no fear as a shirtless man with light brown skin wearing an executioner's hood and carrying a large silver ax that gleamed in the light stepped forward. The judge's faces were grim, but they nodded when the executioner turned to them. The executioner nodded back then moved behind Quinn. Quinn sat straight in his seat, staring defiantly ahead.

"Do you have any last words?" one of the judges asked.

"You may kill me today, thinking you have done justice, but you have only created a martyr," Quinn's voice was steady. "I will live on in my ideas."

The judge in the middle raised his hand, and the executioner lifted his ax, his eyes locked on the judge. The judge dropped his arm and the executioner removed Quinn's head with a single, mighty swing. Quinn's body toppled over and lay on a heap on the floor. The executioner set his ax down and picked up Quinn's head, holding it up so everyone in the courtroom could see.

"Justice has been done," The judges chorused.

In the audience, Dominic, his hand still wrapped and splinted, used his good hand to text Tony.

Control snapped awake when she heard a small noise inside her house. Her blood ran cold as she realized that somehow someone had beat all her security precautions. She shuddered to think who or what could get by the sophisticated alarm system and the six highly trained agents guarding her house. She had a bad feeling she knew who had come for her.

She reached for her gun that was usually under her pillow but felt nothing. She sat up and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She sat for a second, then took a deep breath and stood up. Her face grim, she walked out to the living room.

What she saw when she reached the living room made her knees weak and she had to brace herself with a hand against the wall. The Vampire Queen of New York was sitting on the couch with Control's daughter in her lap, reading the child a story.

Carter finished the story and looked up at Control. She smiled then gave the little girl a hug. "Sweetie, why don't you go to bed now? I have to speak with your mother."

"OK," the little girl replied cheerfully and slid off Carter's lap. She strolled by her mother as if she was read a story by a stranger who broke into her house every night. "Night, Mommy."

Control managed to croak out a "Good night" despite her dry mouth. She watched her daughter walk down the hall and shut the door to her room. Then she turned to face the vampire in her living room.

Carter lounged casually on the couch, ankles crossed, one arm resting on the back. She didn't say anything, waiting for Control to speak first.

"Are you here to kill me?" Control asked.

Carter shook her head. "No, I thought about it, but killing a person of your status comes with consequences, and I'm not sure killing you is worth it… yet. No, I came here to return your people to you." With a wave of her hand she indicated the front window.

Control walked over to the window and looked out. Even in the dark of night she could see three bodies covered by white sheets on her front lawn. "Reese, Snow and Stanton?" she asked.

"Hersh, Snow and Stanton," Carter replied. "John Reese is no longer your concern."

"Duly noted," Control replied. "I know Hersch killed Stanton and Snow, did you kill him?"

"Yes. He double crossed me, I couldn't let that pass."

Control lifted her chin in defiance. "He did so under my orders."

Carter shrugged. "As I explained, I can't kill you without consequences. So he will have to do, for now. You will be happy to know he died honorably. He didn't beg for his life."

Control's shoulders slumped just a tiny bit, but Joss saw it. "What about my security detail?" she asked.

"Asleep, no permanent damage was done. I do not kill unnecessarily."

Control ignored the dig at her proclivity for ordering her own people killed. "Impressive display of power," she said bitterly. "Did you have to drag my daughter into it?"

"Yes," Carter replied flatly as she gracefully rose from the couch. "I needed to get your attention."

"You have it," Control snapped.

"Good." Carter came to stand in front of Control, her eyes hard and cold. She parted her lips just enough to show her fully extended fangs. "Pay attention. We could have been allies, but you chose to abuse my trust, so we are now enemies. I do not forgive and I do not forget. If you ever target me or my people again I will return. No security measure will stop me. You cannot hide from me. I will find you, and I will kill you. Slowly. Painfully. Your daughter will wake up in the morning to find your blood coating the walls."

Carter noted the flicker of fear she saw in Control's eyes with satisfaction. Her point had been made. But she still had one final question. "Tell me, Control, why do you kill your own people? They were loyal, they were good at their jobs. I see no reason to waste their lives so casually."

"They out-lived their usefulness," Control shrugged.

Carter stared at Control until the other woman began to fidget. "You know, it's funny," the vampire finally spoke, "You consider me a monster, but I've lived a thousand years, and none of my people has ever out-lived their usefulness to me." She pulled a flash drive from her pocket and held it out to Control. "Not even you."

Control took the flash without touching Joss's fingers. "What is this?"

"Have you ever heard of a place called Castelul Odihnei Lupului, English translation Wolf's Rest Castle, in Transylvania?"

"No, should I have?" Control grunted.

"Yes. It's the home of Dr. Helmut Oppermann, Nazi war criminal and inventor of the bio agent designed to wipe out most of the human population of Manhattan."

"Human or vampire?"

"Vampire, he was turned in 1943. He was an associate of Josef Mengele during the war."

Control turned the flash drive around in her fingers. "Why give me this? I thought we were enemies?"

One corner of Joss's mouth turned up. "We are enemies, but you're still useful. Oppermann and his work needs to be destroyed, and I don't have time to do it right now. I have other things to attend to, so I will leave this project in your bloody yet capable hands. Don't fail."

With that, Carter turned and walked out the door.

A black car was waiting at the curb for her with the lights off. She got in the back. The driver looked up in the rear view mirror and Joss saw a brief flash of fang. "Where to?"

"Please take me to the airport."

"You got it," he replied and pulled away from the curb.

Joss directed her driver to a private entrance in the back of the airport and into an anonymous hanger in a corner of the airfield. She stepped out of the car and up the steps leading to a waiting LearJet. Finch was waiting for her aboard the plane.

"Were you successful?" he asked as Joss seated herself across from him.

"For now," she replied. "Thank you for hacking her security system for me. She was quite surprised."

"It was my pleasure," Finch replied. "But I am concerned by your 'For now' comment."

Joss's full lips vanished into a thin line. "Control is a proud woman, and it hurts her pride that John and I are still alive. I suspect she will try to kill us again. All I've done is buy us some time."

"Then we will be ready for her when she returns," Finch replied.

"Thank you, my friend," Joss replied. "Have you heard anything on our patient?"

"I spoke with Mr. Marconi a few minutes ago, he says Mr. Reese is still sleeping peacefully."

"Good, the change is progressing smoothly," Joss replied. She smiled at Finch. "Thank you, for everything. You found Drake before he set his device. If you hadn't hacked the building's climate controls and kept the gas contained to the empty apartment, a lot of other people in that building would not have survived." She looked out the window. "I can't believe Hersh was willing to kill hundreds, just to kill a few agents who were on his side."

"It's not the first time, Jocelyn."

Joss looked up sharply. "What?"

"Agent Hersh was the one who placed the van of explosives on the ferry that killed Nathan. I thought he looked familiar, but I didn't have time to pursue it while we were looking for Drake. After he tried to kill you, I realized I had seen him on the security camera footage from the ferry. I went back and re-watched it. The footage is grainy, but it was definitely him."

"Then I'm doubly glad I killed him."

Finch looked out the window, his face troubled. "I'm ashamed to say it, but I'm glad you did too."

Joss gave the billionaire a soft smile. "I believe that just makes you human, Harold."

Finch just made a tiny little one shoulder shrug and kept staring out the window.

Joss cocked her head as she studied her friend. Despite the violence that had constantly surrounded him since he started his crusade to protect the good people of the world from bad things, Finch continued to be troubled by death. She often wondered how long he could hang on before it became too much for her gentle, cultured friend. She decided to distract him. "How is Sam doing?"

Finch turned to her with a smile. "The doctors say she will make a full recovery. She's already complaining about the food in the hospital."

Joss laughed. "I'll have to sneak a steak in when I go to see her."

John woke slowly, in contrast to his normal habit of coming awake and aware almost instantly. He blinked as the room around him slowly swam into focus, though it still looked a bit like he was looking at the world through slightly smudged glasses. His mouth was dry, and so were his eyes. His head was pounding. Every part of his body felt sore, tired, and sluggish, yet he was strangely disconnected from it. It was like his body was not his own.

As he struggled for awareness of his surroundings, he realized from the décor that he was back at Joss's house. In a bed from the feel of it. The room was dark, with only a single lamp set to very low light on the other side of the room. Even that was too much light.

"How do you feel?," Joss's voice came from next to him.

John paused for a second before he answered. "Sore…dehydrated…strange."

Joss nodded. "That's to be expected. You're still undergoing the change."

John's tongue gently felt around his new fangs. "How much longer until it's complete?" he croaked.

Joss cocked her head "A month, maybe two. I'll do what I can to help you through it. You're already through the worst of it."

Tony entered, carrying a red drink in a large water glass with a straw. "Thank you, Tony."

"Of course, Boss," then he withdrew.

"Is that…?" John asked as he struggled to sit up.

"Blood, yes." Joss picked up a remote from the bedside table and clicked a button on a remote. The head of the bed slowly rose up until John was in a semi sitting position. She held the straw to John's lips. "Drink," she ordered gently.

John obeyed, expected to be repulsed, but it had the most exquisite taste. He drank greedily.

When he was done, Joss handed him a linen napkin so he could wipe his mouth. His vision was clear and sharp now. His mouth was no longer dry. It took a few minutes for his mind to catch up with what had just happened.

"That was human, wasn't it?" he said.

Joss nodded. "Yes. When you are stronger animal blood will be enough to feed you, but only human blood will sustain you through the change."

John looked down at the glass still in her hand. "Who?"

"Kara Stanton or Mark Snow or George Hersh. We drained their blood before we returned their bodies."

"Mark and Kara are gone?" John's voice choked. As abusive and sick the relationship between them had been, they had been a team for years.

Joss nodded. "I'm sorry, I know they were important to you, especially Kara."

"She saved my life several times," John said.

"Then I am grateful to her," Joss replied.

"What happened?" He asked.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

John closed his eyes and lay back and he tried to play back the events in his mind. "Shooting at Drake. Then you killed him and Finch disarmed the device. Mark, Kara and Hersh showed up." John's eyes opened and he turned his head to look at her, his eyes hard. "Hersh betrayed us. He dropped poison gas grenades and locked us in that apartment."

Joss nodded. "Yes, he tried to kill us all. You and I survived, thanks to you."

John closed his eyes again. "It was the vampire blood."

"That blood made you as strong as a vampire. Too strong for the human poison to kill you quickly, like Mark and Kara." She stroked his cheek. "You saved me."

"I asked you to turn me," John said. "That's the last thing I remember. What happened after I died? Did anyone else die? What about that gas?"

"Harold was able to use the building's environmental controls to hold the poison gas in the empty apartment, until it dissipated, no one else was hurt. Had Harold not been able to do that, there would have been other deaths." She paused. "Hersh had to know the gas might hurt innocent civilians. I can't believe he would be so careless."

John shrugged. "I'm sure he had his orders to retire us all. He was a good soldier."

"Did you know he was responsible for the Staten Island Ferry bombing that almost killed Harold and killed his friend? Over a hundred people died, just to kill one man."

John shook his head. "There were…rumors in the intelligence community that it may not have been all it seemed, but I had no idea the CIA was responsible." He looked down at his hands on his lap. "I went all around the world chasing bad guys, and they were here the whole time."*

Joss leaned forward and laid a hand on his forearm. "Don't blame yourself. One thing I have learned over the last millennium is that there is no shortage of bad guys anywhere in the world. After viewing your CIA file, Harold said that you had prevented many deaths. You did kill a lot of bad people, John."

"Thank you," John whispered. "What else happened?"

"Because there were no other casualties, we were able to, shall we say, control the narrative. We removed the bodies of Quinn's men and cleaned up the blood." She shook her head, "Quinn had a troubling amount of young vampires. He'd managed to turn many more than I had known about before now.

"Fusco was able to convince the NYPD and the FBI that we had thwarted a lone wolf attack. Once Drake was identified, his reputation cemented the lone terrorist story. It was easy to believe a mercenary like him would try to carry out a terrorist attack on his own."

"So no one knows it was planned by vampires?" John asked.

"No, no one knows who he was working for. Fusco said he would keep the vampire connection out of his reports as long as I dealt with Quinn so that this would never happen again."

"Did you? Deal with Quinn?"

Joss smiled but her eyes were sad. "I didn't have to. He was tried according to our laws. He refused to mount a defense, and he was executed."

John looked over at her. "It had to happen, Joss. He would never back down. He would have just come back with another plan. I've dealt with too many like him, they don't stop until they're dead."

Joss met his eyes. "I know, I'm still sad it had to be this way. It's such a waste."

They sat in silence for several minutes, then something Joss had said earlier hit him. "You said Hersh was dead?"

Joss nodded. "Yes. He betrayed and tried to murder me. I had to show Control that I was not to be taken lightly. It was personal. He had not expected any of us to survive, so he was easy to track down. I caught him that night in that seedy little motel where you were staying and I snapped his neck."

"I'm sure he was only following orders."

"Yes, he was. I already had that discussion with Control."

"Oh. How did that go?"

Joss's lips disappeared into a thin line once again and her eyes hardened. "As well as can be expected. But I'm sure we have not seen the last of her."

Again, silence fell over them for several minutes.

"Now what?" John asked.

"That depends on you," Joss replied. "Your body will continue to change for another month, maybe two. It's different for everyone. You should stay here with us so we can help you. You are, of course, free to leave anytime, but I doubt you have the resources to make the change smoothly on your own. After that…Well, there are all sorts of possibilities open to you. We can discuss them later, but right now you need to focus on your change."

John lay back and stared up at the ceiling. All he had ever wanted to do with his life is protect good people from bad things. As a human, he had taken the wrong path and turned into a monster. Now he was truly a monster. What would he do now?

John had thought basic training was tough, then he went to Ranger school, then he went to war, then he went to CIA training, then he went all over the world looking for enemies of America to kill. All of that was a cake walk compared to the change. He was a natural athlete, always graceful in his movements and in complete control of his body; that all changed as his body adjusted to his new condition. He felt like an awkward toddler the first time he tried to get out of bed. He would have fallen had it not been for Tony's strong grip on his arm.

While the physical changes were disconcerting, it was nothing compared to the all consuming blood lust. John was completely unprepared for the constant need for blood. He was a disciplined man, a man used to putting emotions and physical needs aside and getting on with the job. Now all he could think about was his next drink of blood. He went to sleep thinking about blood and woke up thinking about blood. He didn't just need it, he burned for it. This must be what being a drug addict felt like, always looking forward to the next fix and nothing else.

His lowest point came about two weeks after he regained consciousness. He had been prowling around the mansion restlessly, his changing body prevented him from sitting still for any length of time. He passed by a window where someone had carelessly left the curtains open when he spied a woman walking by on the sidewalk out front. As he watched her, his vision went dark around the edges. His lips rolled back, baring his fangs. He swore he could smell the blood coursing through her veins and feel her heart beating from where he stood. His body coiled. He was ready to strike…

"Hey newbie, looks like someone is ready for his next fix," Paul said loudly. John turned and saw Paul standing next to him. Paul handed him a large glass of blood.

The interruption pulled John back to reality . He closed his eyes and turned his back to the window while Paul hastily closed the curtains. John gulped down the blood quickly and handed the glass back to Paul without looking at him. He braced one arm against the wall and leaned on it while running his other hand over his face. His blood craving dissipated quickly, but his shame at wanting to kill and drain an innocent woman would stick with him for a very long time.

"Hey man, we've all been there," Paul said softly. "During the first couple of weeks, I would have eaten my own kid if Joss and Tony hadn't kept me locked up. It gets better, you won't always feel like this." He clamped John on the shoulder and left him alone.

Looking back on that time, he understood why vampires got their reputation for being so violent with an insatiable lust for blood. Had it not been for Joss or one of her men handing him a large glass of blood every time he got the slightest bit twitchy, he would have been out hunting and killing indiscriminately.

But Paul was right, it did get better. As the weeks wore on, the blood lust receded until it was no more than an occasional hunger pang. Gradually John felt more like his old self. He regained control over his body and his ability to focus returned. His thoughts and feelings were no longer consumed by the constant, aching need for blood.

As the bloodlust receded, the restlessness set in. The prolonged period of convalescing was wearing on him. He had always been a man of action, directing his efforts towards protecting people. It was why he had entered the Army, and why he had entered the CIA. Now he had nothing to do. He hated it.

One day Mr. Finch came to visit him. "Jocelyn tells me you have been somewhat restive."

John wondered why it was this odd little man's business, but sensed this was going somewhere. Joss would not have said anything to this Finch fellow unless she thought he could help, so John simply nodded.

"You need a purpose," Finch said matter of factly. "You need a job."

And that was how John began working the numbers with Finch and Shaw. Despite nearly being murdered by the country he had sacrificed so much for, and then being turned into something most people would consider a monster, he had never been more at peace. He had finally found his true calling.

Joss was happy that John was happy fulfilling his purpose, however that purpose made for some interesting conversations. One night John came home after a very trying number to find Joss waiting for him. As she moved to embrace him, her eyes grew wide and she stopped in her tracks. "Are you smoking?" She asked.

John frowned. "You know I don't smoke."

"No," Joss pointed to a spot on his coat that was smoldering, "you're literally smoking."

"Oh." John hit at it to put it out. "I got locked in the trunk of a burning car, but I'm OK now."

Joss arched one perfectly groomed eyebrow. "You know, we can burn to death."

John blinked rapidly a couple of times. "Wait, you said we have to be impaled through the heart or beheaded to die."

"That wasn't meant to be a complete list. We can burn too," Joss sighed.

"Oh. Good to know," John shrugged.

As John settled into vampire life and his new job, his thoughts turned to Joss. She and her trusted lieutenants had been there for him through his transformation. She supported him without pressuring him to make any decisions on his future. She had given him the space he needed to get used to his new life without imposing the master/ child bond. She had placed John in a guest bedroom instead of her room to keep him from feeling obligated to sleep with her, but John knew all along that he wasn't going anywhere. That single night he had had with Joss was probably the best night of his life and he wanted many more nights like that. He felt whole when he was with her. He just didn't know how to tell her.

Tony was no help. When John asked him if there were any special vampire dating rituals, Joss's right hand man merely laughed and replied, "We date the same as humans. We buy flowers and jewelry, go to the movies, make promises we're not gonna keep. All that…just with more biting."

Sameen Shaw was no better. "I don't do that lovey dovey stuff. I hit 'em and get out."

And neither was Fusco. "You're asking a divorced cop about romance? Bad move, pal. My ex will tell you there are more romantic honey badgers out there."

It was Finch who came to his rescue. "I once rented out an entire museum for my fiancée, but I doubt that would work for Jocelyn. John, each woman is unique, and the way to her heart is that you have to determine what makes her unique. For my fiancée, it was art, for Ms. Shaw, it's food and weapons. For Jocelyn, I submit that it is care and concern for her people."

With that advice, John knew what he had to do. He asked Tony to clear Joss's schedule on a certain night. When that night arrived, he told Joss to dress in cocktail attire. He refused to tell her where they were going until Joss saw the sign out in front of the venue.

"Isn't that Maria's show?" Joss gasped.

John smiled and nodded. "I thought you should see the fruits of your labor. You've worked so hard to make this possible."

Joss squealed and clapped her hands. John was reminded once again of Jossari, back in a time that was a lot less complicated than this one.

They left the car with the valet and went inside. Finch had gotten them a table in a dark corner where they wouldn't be noticed, but still had a good view of the small orchestra. The show was in a cabaret format and all the performances were excellent. Maria even had a solo. The vampire musician's eyes closed and her face took on a look of sheer bliss as the music flowed from her cello. Joss leaned forward in her seat the entire time, her eyes fixed on the cellist. As the orchestra took their final bow for the evening, Joss was nearly in tears.

"You did that, Joss. You made this possible for her," John said as he kissed her temple.

That was the night John found out that vampires can cry.

As they were leaving the venue, John noticed a human openly leering at Joss. John stared at the man until the man turned to look at him. His face went pale when he saw the anger in the vampire's icy blue eyes. John rolled his lip back to show one fully extended shiny white fang and the man's eyes opened wide. He must have pissed himself because John's vampire sense of smell caught a whiff of urine as the man turned and scurried off in the night.

John glanced down at Joss to see her glaring at him. He gave her a tiny smirk and shrugged his shoulders. Joss rolled her eyes and laughed.

When they returned to the mansion, they walked up the stairs to the second floor, stopping several times to kiss. They walked down the hallway to Joss's room like there was an unspoken agreement between them. John walked right by the room where he had been staying, nothing needed to be said. Joss opened the door to her room and looked at him, one eyebrow raised. John smiled and walked in. Joss paused for a second with her eyes closed, then she broke out into a brilliant smile and followed John into the room, shutting the door behind her.

Unseen in a shadow at the other end of the hall, Tony smiled. "Be happy, boss," he whispered, then he walked away, whistling cheerfully.

In the room, John took Joss in his arms and kissed her. A kiss so deep and passionate, Joss felt it touch the soul she wasn't even sure she still had until that moment.

Joss looked up at him. "So I guess this means you're staying?"

John looked down at her, a smile paying at the corners of his mouth. "All my life, I knew something was missing. I thought it was because I was adopted and my dad died when I was kid. Then I met this thousand year old vampire, and I found what was missing. It was you, Joss."

A tear rolled down Joss's cheek. "You were worth the wait. I would have waited another thousand years for you."

John kissed her tenderly. "Here's to the next thousand years," he said.

2 years later

John stood at the edge of the grounds of the ancient ruin, watching the sun set. He glanced over his shoulder to see Joss walking the archaeologists through the layout of the old palace. He couldn't help but smile as his beloved gestured widely as the archaeologists listened carefully.

Just a few months ago, they had read about archaeologists unearthing the ancient palace where he had first met Jossari. Joss had immediately contacted the university to offer their help. There had been some hesitation on the part of the team studying the ruins to have a couple of vampires around, even if those vampires had first hand knowledge of the site. The site was in a remote area, far away from any help, so had Joss or he decided to snack on the archaeologists, there was nothing they could do to defend themselves.

However Joss's record of cooperation with human officials and the archaeologists' natural curiosity won out and Joss's offer of help had been accepted. They had been onsite for only a few days, and while the team was still a little jumpy around them, things were getting better.

John turned back to watching the sunset. This was the spot he had been standing in that morning a thousand years ago when he had made the decision to stay with Jossari rather than return to the Crusades. The same day the Egyptians attacked. The same day Joss became a vampire. He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the wildlife around him. He could almost convince himself that he was back in that time.

He opened his eyes when he felt Joss's arms encircle him from behind and she rested her forehead against his back. With a smile, John turned in her arms and wrapped his arms around her. She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. "What are you brooding about over here by yourself?"

"Not brooding, for once," John replied. "Just remembering. This is the spot where I made the decision to stay with you for as long as you would have me." he paused. "Then the Egyptians came."

"It only took a millennium, but now that I've got you, I'm not letting you go," Joss said.

"Better late than never." John kissed the top of her head.

Joss laughed and stepped out of his arms. She took his hand and pulled him towards the palace ruin. "Come on, we need to show them where the throne room was."

The End

*John says this line in the Pilot episode to the late, unlamented Detective Stills

This is the end of our journey with the vampires, I hope you enjoyed the ride! It's going to a bit weird to hit that "Post New Chapter" button today, I've been working on this fic on and off for over a year. Please let me know how you liked it.

Another shout out to nicdvdmaker for her beta skills and PiscesChikk for her suggestions for improving the fic.

I want to thank everyone who read and left me a review. I confess I was nervous about posting this this AU, but you all have been fabulous. I love you all!