***Hey people! Here comes chapter 14! Had to give myself a day off...but I
put all my chapters so far on ff.net, except today it's being stupid...and
I can't sign on to add this one!***
CHAPTER 14:
((This takes place in a bunch of places, I'll tell you when I get to that section! And its 2 days after chapter 13.))
~~Garret~~ Thank God we don't have any cases today that won't keep until tomorrow...we're not going to be able to think straight after this afternoon... I grabbed a empty folder out of the drawer in my desk and placed a stack of papers in it. I'll need to go over these tomorrow...so just put them right here...
"Excuse me, Dr. Macy?"
I looked up to see Lily standing in the doorway. "Yeah Lily?"
"The police chief just called, and he wants to confirm that we're all coming to Woody's funeral this afternoon."
"Can you call him back and tell him that, yes, we're all coming?"
"Sure Garret. You know that we're all going to the Pogue afterwards right?" She smiled at me.
"Yeah, Max called me eariler and let me know. He's been really generous with the whole arrangements."
"Well, you know how much Jordan liked Woody, so I know he liked him too."
"Yeah, I know." I paused for a minute. "The funeral's at one right? I just want to double check."
"Yes, it's at one."
I nodded. "Alright. Lily?"
"Yes Garret?"
"Were you planning on driving yourself there?" I looked up at her again.
"I hadn't decided yet...why do you ask?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to ride with me maybe, so that you wouldn't have to drive?"
She smiled. "Sure Garret! That would be great."
I checked my watch. 11:30. I figured that we should all leave around 12:15 so we could get to the church on time. "How about we leave here at like twelve...fifteenish?"
"Sounds good. You want me to tell Nige and them too?"
"Sure, if you want."
"Ok Garret." She turned and walked out of the room. I thought to myself. This is going to be one interesting day...and a very interesting funeral...
~~Nigel~~ Alright. I've gotta get changed out of these scrubs in a few minutes and get ready for Woodrow's funeral...let me just finish up this roll of film...and we'll be done!
"Hey, Nigel?"
"Yeah Peter?" I glanced up at him from the other side of the table.
"Are you going this afternoon? To Woody's thing?"
"Of course. Are you?"
"Yeah, I was just wondering if maybe I could ride with you over there...my car doesn't have much gas in it right now..."
"Sure Mate. Do you know where the services are being held?"
"Yeah, I got the directions from Lily. She says her and Garret are leaving here at like twelve-fifteen."
"Okay, we can leave then, too. I've just gotta get this guy put away, then change out of these scrubs. Don't think they'd appriciate me showing up in these babys..."
"Probably not Nigel. I've gotta go change too. See you in a little bit." He turned and walked out of the room.
I grabbed the sheet and recovered the body on the table, then pushed him back into the crypt, sliding the drawer shut, and pulling my gloves off and throwing them into the trashbin. I walked out towards the locker room to get changed. Time to go get ready for the wrath of Jordan...
~~Jordan~~ Alright. Just get ready. Dad's in the other room with Woody's family. We've gotta get throught this today. Just get ready, goto the funeral, then goto the Pogue and hang out. Just like a normal day... I heard someone knock softy on the door. "Who is it?"
"Jordan, it's me. Can I come in for a minute?"
"Sure Dad, just a second. Let me finish putting on my shirt." I quickly buttoned up my shirt and opened the door and let Dad in my room. "How are things going out there?"
"Alright. Woody's mom's pretty shook up, but then, so would anyone's mother..." He looked at me and smiled. "You look beautiful today sweetheart."
"Thanks Dad. Did you talk to Garret or anybody yet?" I really hoped they were all going to come. Please God, I hope they all come to his funeral...
"Yeah, I talked to Garret about an hour ago. He's coming, and so is everybody else. They're going to meet us at the church."
"Great. I'm glad they all decided to come." I smiled up at Dad and attempted to fix my hair. Wear it up or down...that's the big question of the day...
"I knew they would, they wouldn't miss it Jordan." He turned to walk out of the room. "Oh, and Jordan?"
"Yes Dad?"
"Wear it down. You've always looked good with your hair down."
"Thanks Dad. I'll be out in a minute."
"Alright Jordan." He walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.
I carefully brushed my hair, smoothed out my skirt, and readjusted my shirt. I looked at myself in the mirror, then sighed. "Well, looks like you're ready." I turned and walked out of the room, and joined the rest of the people who were gathered in Dad's house.
~~Garret~~ "Alright. Twelve O' clock." I muttered to myself. Time was passing so slowly. I stood up and walked down the hall to the locker room to change my shirt and put on a tie. I walked in to see Nigel finish buttoning up his shirt, and Peter was attempting to put on a tie. Key word here was 'attempting'...I walked over to him and looked at him. "Need help?"
He looked down at the tie, then back up at me. "Yeah, I guess so..." He took it off his neck and handed it to me. "Here...it's hopeless."
I placed it around my neck so I could tie it around my own neck first. "It's easier to do if you've had to wear them alot...I can testify to that." I finished tying it, then slipped it off and handed it to him. "Here you go."
"Thanks Dr. Macy." He took it from me and put it around his neck and tightened it.
"You can call me Garret you know...at least when we aren't working..." I smiled at him.
"Alright...Garret..." He fixed his collar and then looked over at Nigel. "You almost ready?"
"Yeah." Nigel dragged a comb through his hair a few times, then nodded. "You driving by yourself Garret?"
"No, I'm driving with Lily." I changed into a fresh shirt and put my own tie on.
"Oh, okay." He threw his scrubs into the bin to be washed. "You ready Peter?"
"Yeah. Let's go." He stood up and walked out of the room, but Nigel stayed behind for a second.
"You talked to Jordan today, Garret?" He looked up at me.
"No, not yet. I haven't had a chance to. I spoke with Max earlier, talked about plans for after the services." I reached down and tied my shoes for a second time.
"Oh. I was wondering how she was doing so far..."
"We'll find out soon enough. We've gotta get going if we want to get to the church on time." I stood up and put my other change of clothes into a locker, then walked out of the room, Nigel following me.
"I'm driving Peter in my truck...you know how Bug's getting there?" He grabbed his keys from off his desk.
"I think he's driving himself. He was going to just come straight from home, since he took today off."
Nigel nodded. "Alright. I'll meet you at the church okay?"
"Sure Nigel, see you there." I grabbed my keys and walked down the hall and poked my head into Lily's office. "You almost ready?"
She glanced up. "Sure Garret. I was just waiting for you to come by..."
"Well, I'm here, so let's go. Don't want to be late you know."
She grabbed her purse and her sweater, then flicked off the lights in her office and smiled at me. "Ready." As we walked down the hall, she looked over at me and sighed. "I can't believe we're doing this...going to Woody's funeral..."
"Neither can I Lily, neither can I..." I hit the button for the elevator, and we both stepped in, and she hit the button for the ground floor. Here goes nothing Garret...
***AT THE CHURCH FOR THE FUNERAL***
~~Jordan~~ Wow. There are alot of people here. It looks like all the department showed up for this...there's Lily and Bug...I see Nigel and Peter over there talking to Eddie...but where's Garret? I skimmed over the top of the crowd trying to find him. There he is. Next to Dad and Woody's parents. This church sure is beautiful...they sure picked out a good place to hold this thing...I hope there's enough room to seat everyone though!
"Hey Jordan."
I turned around to see Garret standing behind me.
"How you holding up?" He smiled weakly at me.
"Well, if my personal shrink MUST know, I'm doing alright. How are you doing?" I gave him a quick hug.
"I'm doing fine. You know, Woody's parents seem like really nice people..."
"Yeah they are. His mom's so sweet...she's always talking about Woody when he was a little kid."
Nigel and Peter walked over to us and we created a little circle of morgue people. "Look, we're banding together guys...this can't be a good sign..."
"Well, there are so many cops here, I'm starting to hope no INS agents are lurking around..." Nigel shifted his glance around jokingly.
"INS agents?" Peter looked at all of us, obviously confused.
"Peter, just be glad there aren't any here. Or Nigel might be asking you to marry him..." I laughed at him playfully.
"You get desperate sometimes...you know Mate?" Nigel playfully nudged at him. "Although...you do strike me as quite attractive sometimes..."
Garret laughed. "We'll have none of that right now guys...no matter how hot you think Peter is, Nigel."
"Excuse me? Could I have everyone's attention?"
We all turned towards the voice of the minister, who was standing by the door to the chapel.
"We're ready to start the ceremony now. We're going to open these doors, and whoever would like to walk past the casket and pay their respects may do so. Please keep in mind that this is an open-casket funeral, so I'd like you all to be prepared in that aspect. Thank you." With that said, he opened a set of double doors that led into the main chapel. We all started to form in a line, most everybody wanted to walk past and say goodbye to Woody. We slowly moved forwards, chatting softly amongst ourselves about him, about what he did, and all the memories we had. When it got to be my turn to walk up to the casket. Garret placed a hand on my shoulder and held it there for a few seconds, then removed it. I knew what he was saying. I walked up to the casket and gently held the edge of it and looked in.
Well...I suppose this is goodbye Woody. I just want to let you know that I love you...that we all love you, and that we're going to miss you alot...I going to miss you alot. He was very handsome, dressed in his police uniform, hair spiked in the way he normally did it, looking like he was asleep. My intuition said he wasn't, but I couldn't make myself think it. I'm going to miss you farmboy...just be safe...and I love you. I slowly walked away from the casket and took one look back at the rest of the staff, then went and sat in a pew next to Dad.
~~Garret~~ Well, she isn't crying yet, so maybe we can get through this... I walked up to the casket and looked in at Woody. This was interesting. What to say? Detective Woodrow Hoyt...that has a good ring to it, I suppose...you were a good kid. A great cop, and a great guy. I'll always remember that time that we first worked together. You know, where I headbutted that jerk...your first arrest here in Boston...you were so green then, but you've matured alot. Don't worry about Jordan. Me and Nigel and Max are trying to get her over this...I know it won't be easy, but we've gotta try. She knows you loved her...we know you loved her too. You two would have been great together...just, sometimes things don't work out. I'm gonna miss you Woody...we're all going to miss you... I stepped away from the casket and went and sat next to Jordan, who was just staring straight ahead at the picture of Woody with the black ribbon across it. This has got to be the worst day of my life...
~~Nigel~~ Well, what do I have to say? First off, sorry mate...I know you would have asked her soon enough...I just couldn't stand watching you drool over her for so long...but it all worked out right? You gave Jordan some of the best weeks of her life...no matter what happened at the end. Woodrow...I honestly wish I could have got to know you better. I glanced down at his body lying there in the casket and sighed. I hope now you're alright...and I want you to know that I swear...I am going to do everything in my power to keep Jordan safe. I won't let her get hurt. Ever. You have my word. I stared down at him for a few more seconds, then I went and sat next to Garret, Jordan, and Max quietly.
Lily, Bug, and Peter walked up to him together, and they just stood and looked at him for a few minutes, occasionally muttering a few words quietly. They walked over and sat next to us, and we just sat and waited for the services to begin.
~~Jordan~~ Well, this is it. Woody's funeral. Everybody's here, sitting down, ready to go. Let's try not to cry all over the dang place...nobody needs to see that. The ceremony was wonderful. Cal, (Woody's brother) got up and delivered a beautiful eulogy, and so did a few of Woody's close friends on the force. Everyone that was there knew Woody in one way or anyother, even a few of his old high school friends had flown in from Wisconsin to be here. When we got to the cemetary, everyone was given a single rose to place of his casket. It was covered by the time everyone had walked by. The graveside ceremony was short, and simple, and it was very nicely put together. We all stood around for a few minutes after it had ended, then I walked over and found Dad, who was getting ready to head back to the Pogue.
"Want a ride sweetheart? I'm headed back to the Pogue to get ready for the all the guests." He put an arm around me.
"Yeah, one minute though. I want to make sure the guys are coming." I quickly walked over to where Garret, Nigel, Peter, Eddie, Bug, and Lily were standing in a group with a few other detectives. "You all planning on coming back to the Pogue?"
Nigel nodded. "Of course, Love. I'll be there."
"Nigel's my ride, but I was planning on coming anyways...so yeah!" Peter smiled at me.
Bug and Lily both nodded, and said "Yeah, we are.", at the same time.
"I'm planning on going...how about you guys?" Eddie looked around at the other detectives and smiled. They nodded.
"And you know I'll be there Jordan." Garret smiled at me.
"Alright then, see you in a little bit. I'm gonna go help Dad get set up." I turned and walked off, then climbed into the car with Dad and drove away.
TO BE CONTINUED:
***Next chapter soon, Converstations in the Pogue and such...thanks for reading this LOONG chapter!***
CHAPTER 14:
((This takes place in a bunch of places, I'll tell you when I get to that section! And its 2 days after chapter 13.))
~~Garret~~ Thank God we don't have any cases today that won't keep until tomorrow...we're not going to be able to think straight after this afternoon... I grabbed a empty folder out of the drawer in my desk and placed a stack of papers in it. I'll need to go over these tomorrow...so just put them right here...
"Excuse me, Dr. Macy?"
I looked up to see Lily standing in the doorway. "Yeah Lily?"
"The police chief just called, and he wants to confirm that we're all coming to Woody's funeral this afternoon."
"Can you call him back and tell him that, yes, we're all coming?"
"Sure Garret. You know that we're all going to the Pogue afterwards right?" She smiled at me.
"Yeah, Max called me eariler and let me know. He's been really generous with the whole arrangements."
"Well, you know how much Jordan liked Woody, so I know he liked him too."
"Yeah, I know." I paused for a minute. "The funeral's at one right? I just want to double check."
"Yes, it's at one."
I nodded. "Alright. Lily?"
"Yes Garret?"
"Were you planning on driving yourself there?" I looked up at her again.
"I hadn't decided yet...why do you ask?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to ride with me maybe, so that you wouldn't have to drive?"
She smiled. "Sure Garret! That would be great."
I checked my watch. 11:30. I figured that we should all leave around 12:15 so we could get to the church on time. "How about we leave here at like twelve...fifteenish?"
"Sounds good. You want me to tell Nige and them too?"
"Sure, if you want."
"Ok Garret." She turned and walked out of the room. I thought to myself. This is going to be one interesting day...and a very interesting funeral...
~~Nigel~~ Alright. I've gotta get changed out of these scrubs in a few minutes and get ready for Woodrow's funeral...let me just finish up this roll of film...and we'll be done!
"Hey, Nigel?"
"Yeah Peter?" I glanced up at him from the other side of the table.
"Are you going this afternoon? To Woody's thing?"
"Of course. Are you?"
"Yeah, I was just wondering if maybe I could ride with you over there...my car doesn't have much gas in it right now..."
"Sure Mate. Do you know where the services are being held?"
"Yeah, I got the directions from Lily. She says her and Garret are leaving here at like twelve-fifteen."
"Okay, we can leave then, too. I've just gotta get this guy put away, then change out of these scrubs. Don't think they'd appriciate me showing up in these babys..."
"Probably not Nigel. I've gotta go change too. See you in a little bit." He turned and walked out of the room.
I grabbed the sheet and recovered the body on the table, then pushed him back into the crypt, sliding the drawer shut, and pulling my gloves off and throwing them into the trashbin. I walked out towards the locker room to get changed. Time to go get ready for the wrath of Jordan...
~~Jordan~~ Alright. Just get ready. Dad's in the other room with Woody's family. We've gotta get throught this today. Just get ready, goto the funeral, then goto the Pogue and hang out. Just like a normal day... I heard someone knock softy on the door. "Who is it?"
"Jordan, it's me. Can I come in for a minute?"
"Sure Dad, just a second. Let me finish putting on my shirt." I quickly buttoned up my shirt and opened the door and let Dad in my room. "How are things going out there?"
"Alright. Woody's mom's pretty shook up, but then, so would anyone's mother..." He looked at me and smiled. "You look beautiful today sweetheart."
"Thanks Dad. Did you talk to Garret or anybody yet?" I really hoped they were all going to come. Please God, I hope they all come to his funeral...
"Yeah, I talked to Garret about an hour ago. He's coming, and so is everybody else. They're going to meet us at the church."
"Great. I'm glad they all decided to come." I smiled up at Dad and attempted to fix my hair. Wear it up or down...that's the big question of the day...
"I knew they would, they wouldn't miss it Jordan." He turned to walk out of the room. "Oh, and Jordan?"
"Yes Dad?"
"Wear it down. You've always looked good with your hair down."
"Thanks Dad. I'll be out in a minute."
"Alright Jordan." He walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.
I carefully brushed my hair, smoothed out my skirt, and readjusted my shirt. I looked at myself in the mirror, then sighed. "Well, looks like you're ready." I turned and walked out of the room, and joined the rest of the people who were gathered in Dad's house.
~~Garret~~ "Alright. Twelve O' clock." I muttered to myself. Time was passing so slowly. I stood up and walked down the hall to the locker room to change my shirt and put on a tie. I walked in to see Nigel finish buttoning up his shirt, and Peter was attempting to put on a tie. Key word here was 'attempting'...I walked over to him and looked at him. "Need help?"
He looked down at the tie, then back up at me. "Yeah, I guess so..." He took it off his neck and handed it to me. "Here...it's hopeless."
I placed it around my neck so I could tie it around my own neck first. "It's easier to do if you've had to wear them alot...I can testify to that." I finished tying it, then slipped it off and handed it to him. "Here you go."
"Thanks Dr. Macy." He took it from me and put it around his neck and tightened it.
"You can call me Garret you know...at least when we aren't working..." I smiled at him.
"Alright...Garret..." He fixed his collar and then looked over at Nigel. "You almost ready?"
"Yeah." Nigel dragged a comb through his hair a few times, then nodded. "You driving by yourself Garret?"
"No, I'm driving with Lily." I changed into a fresh shirt and put my own tie on.
"Oh, okay." He threw his scrubs into the bin to be washed. "You ready Peter?"
"Yeah. Let's go." He stood up and walked out of the room, but Nigel stayed behind for a second.
"You talked to Jordan today, Garret?" He looked up at me.
"No, not yet. I haven't had a chance to. I spoke with Max earlier, talked about plans for after the services." I reached down and tied my shoes for a second time.
"Oh. I was wondering how she was doing so far..."
"We'll find out soon enough. We've gotta get going if we want to get to the church on time." I stood up and put my other change of clothes into a locker, then walked out of the room, Nigel following me.
"I'm driving Peter in my truck...you know how Bug's getting there?" He grabbed his keys from off his desk.
"I think he's driving himself. He was going to just come straight from home, since he took today off."
Nigel nodded. "Alright. I'll meet you at the church okay?"
"Sure Nigel, see you there." I grabbed my keys and walked down the hall and poked my head into Lily's office. "You almost ready?"
She glanced up. "Sure Garret. I was just waiting for you to come by..."
"Well, I'm here, so let's go. Don't want to be late you know."
She grabbed her purse and her sweater, then flicked off the lights in her office and smiled at me. "Ready." As we walked down the hall, she looked over at me and sighed. "I can't believe we're doing this...going to Woody's funeral..."
"Neither can I Lily, neither can I..." I hit the button for the elevator, and we both stepped in, and she hit the button for the ground floor. Here goes nothing Garret...
***AT THE CHURCH FOR THE FUNERAL***
~~Jordan~~ Wow. There are alot of people here. It looks like all the department showed up for this...there's Lily and Bug...I see Nigel and Peter over there talking to Eddie...but where's Garret? I skimmed over the top of the crowd trying to find him. There he is. Next to Dad and Woody's parents. This church sure is beautiful...they sure picked out a good place to hold this thing...I hope there's enough room to seat everyone though!
"Hey Jordan."
I turned around to see Garret standing behind me.
"How you holding up?" He smiled weakly at me.
"Well, if my personal shrink MUST know, I'm doing alright. How are you doing?" I gave him a quick hug.
"I'm doing fine. You know, Woody's parents seem like really nice people..."
"Yeah they are. His mom's so sweet...she's always talking about Woody when he was a little kid."
Nigel and Peter walked over to us and we created a little circle of morgue people. "Look, we're banding together guys...this can't be a good sign..."
"Well, there are so many cops here, I'm starting to hope no INS agents are lurking around..." Nigel shifted his glance around jokingly.
"INS agents?" Peter looked at all of us, obviously confused.
"Peter, just be glad there aren't any here. Or Nigel might be asking you to marry him..." I laughed at him playfully.
"You get desperate sometimes...you know Mate?" Nigel playfully nudged at him. "Although...you do strike me as quite attractive sometimes..."
Garret laughed. "We'll have none of that right now guys...no matter how hot you think Peter is, Nigel."
"Excuse me? Could I have everyone's attention?"
We all turned towards the voice of the minister, who was standing by the door to the chapel.
"We're ready to start the ceremony now. We're going to open these doors, and whoever would like to walk past the casket and pay their respects may do so. Please keep in mind that this is an open-casket funeral, so I'd like you all to be prepared in that aspect. Thank you." With that said, he opened a set of double doors that led into the main chapel. We all started to form in a line, most everybody wanted to walk past and say goodbye to Woody. We slowly moved forwards, chatting softly amongst ourselves about him, about what he did, and all the memories we had. When it got to be my turn to walk up to the casket. Garret placed a hand on my shoulder and held it there for a few seconds, then removed it. I knew what he was saying. I walked up to the casket and gently held the edge of it and looked in.
Well...I suppose this is goodbye Woody. I just want to let you know that I love you...that we all love you, and that we're going to miss you alot...I going to miss you alot. He was very handsome, dressed in his police uniform, hair spiked in the way he normally did it, looking like he was asleep. My intuition said he wasn't, but I couldn't make myself think it. I'm going to miss you farmboy...just be safe...and I love you. I slowly walked away from the casket and took one look back at the rest of the staff, then went and sat in a pew next to Dad.
~~Garret~~ Well, she isn't crying yet, so maybe we can get through this... I walked up to the casket and looked in at Woody. This was interesting. What to say? Detective Woodrow Hoyt...that has a good ring to it, I suppose...you were a good kid. A great cop, and a great guy. I'll always remember that time that we first worked together. You know, where I headbutted that jerk...your first arrest here in Boston...you were so green then, but you've matured alot. Don't worry about Jordan. Me and Nigel and Max are trying to get her over this...I know it won't be easy, but we've gotta try. She knows you loved her...we know you loved her too. You two would have been great together...just, sometimes things don't work out. I'm gonna miss you Woody...we're all going to miss you... I stepped away from the casket and went and sat next to Jordan, who was just staring straight ahead at the picture of Woody with the black ribbon across it. This has got to be the worst day of my life...
~~Nigel~~ Well, what do I have to say? First off, sorry mate...I know you would have asked her soon enough...I just couldn't stand watching you drool over her for so long...but it all worked out right? You gave Jordan some of the best weeks of her life...no matter what happened at the end. Woodrow...I honestly wish I could have got to know you better. I glanced down at his body lying there in the casket and sighed. I hope now you're alright...and I want you to know that I swear...I am going to do everything in my power to keep Jordan safe. I won't let her get hurt. Ever. You have my word. I stared down at him for a few more seconds, then I went and sat next to Garret, Jordan, and Max quietly.
Lily, Bug, and Peter walked up to him together, and they just stood and looked at him for a few minutes, occasionally muttering a few words quietly. They walked over and sat next to us, and we just sat and waited for the services to begin.
~~Jordan~~ Well, this is it. Woody's funeral. Everybody's here, sitting down, ready to go. Let's try not to cry all over the dang place...nobody needs to see that. The ceremony was wonderful. Cal, (Woody's brother) got up and delivered a beautiful eulogy, and so did a few of Woody's close friends on the force. Everyone that was there knew Woody in one way or anyother, even a few of his old high school friends had flown in from Wisconsin to be here. When we got to the cemetary, everyone was given a single rose to place of his casket. It was covered by the time everyone had walked by. The graveside ceremony was short, and simple, and it was very nicely put together. We all stood around for a few minutes after it had ended, then I walked over and found Dad, who was getting ready to head back to the Pogue.
"Want a ride sweetheart? I'm headed back to the Pogue to get ready for the all the guests." He put an arm around me.
"Yeah, one minute though. I want to make sure the guys are coming." I quickly walked over to where Garret, Nigel, Peter, Eddie, Bug, and Lily were standing in a group with a few other detectives. "You all planning on coming back to the Pogue?"
Nigel nodded. "Of course, Love. I'll be there."
"Nigel's my ride, but I was planning on coming anyways...so yeah!" Peter smiled at me.
Bug and Lily both nodded, and said "Yeah, we are.", at the same time.
"I'm planning on going...how about you guys?" Eddie looked around at the other detectives and smiled. They nodded.
"And you know I'll be there Jordan." Garret smiled at me.
"Alright then, see you in a little bit. I'm gonna go help Dad get set up." I turned and walked off, then climbed into the car with Dad and drove away.
TO BE CONTINUED:
***Next chapter soon, Converstations in the Pogue and such...thanks for reading this LOONG chapter!***