Hi, everyone! I'm so stoked right now, cause I's just got the new HP DVD! So
I wanna post this as fast as I can then go lock myself in my room for days
and watch it. Hope you enjoy this long chapter.

After the Fall: Chapter Ten, 'Problem Child'.

By: LolitaRed.

Rated: PG-13.

The whole forest was engrossed with fog. A thick silver haze blocked out any
view past a two-foot radius. The heavy, moist air expanded the lungs but was
still somehow hard to breathe.

Xavier rolled along in front of them as easily as if he was on a sunny
sidewalk. While Beth stumbled, scuffed, and stubbed her way through the
rocky dirt, his wheelchair barely bobbed.

Munroe walked slightly behind, gliding as smoothly as the fog, which was
getting thicker by the minute. Standing beside those two pillars of grace
intimidated the hell out of Beth.

She felt so pathetically awkward; her bulging body jiggled and bounced as
she walked, her breathing came out in wheezing pants, and her face was
already flushed and sweaty.

All she could think about was the impending plane ride. Thousands of morbid
scenarios played out like slide shows in her mind, each more gruesome than
the last. She was just imagining Xavier's shiny baldhead rolling down an
aisle, (which looked an awful lot like the SilverBird), when a hand grabbed
her shoulder.

"Child, are you alright?" asked Munroe, taking her hand away after Beth's
startled reaction. "You seem on edge."

Beth hurried ahead, almost tripping over an embedded rock, trying to calm
her trembling insides.

"Yeah, I'm good." she lied, which was becoming natural to her. "This fog is
just creeping me out."

Munroe smiled softly, the coy smile conspirators and jokers wear.

"Where'd it come from?" she asked, eyebrow quirked.

Munroe's mouth opened in a small circle, but Xavier silenced whatever she
would have said.

"Ororo, would you please clear our pathway a little?" he asked, gesturing to
the cloudbank in front of them.

"Of course, Charles." she said, stepping forward, her right hand raised in
front of her. Gracefully, she let her arm fall in a swooping motion.

Instantly the fog split down the middle and moved to the side, like a
curtain being opened. The scenery behind the fog became clear and sharp.
They could see the path ahead, and what was in front of them.

A few feet to the right of the path was a chunk of fog so thick it looked
like a giant cotton ball.

"Ah, there it is." said Xavier, more to himself than to anyone else.

Beth looked up at Munroe, awed and slightly afraid.

"So you made the fog." she said, as they all headed to the hunk of cloud.

"Yes." said Munroe, sweeping back the end of her purple scarf. "That's my
gift. Weather control."

"You mean, you can make storms and stuff?" Beth asked, the dreaded plane
ride temporally forgotten.

"Yes." she said smiling that coy smile again. "It comes quite in handy when
we need a little 'camouflage'."

She was about to ask what that meant, when again Xavier interrupted.

"You can disperse this fog now, Storm." he said, facing the cloud.

Without saying a word, Munroe raised both her arms over her head, palms up
and open. She looked like an emaciated person embracing a sudden rainstorm,
or a Christian reaching for God. Beth studied her closely this time, taking
in every detail. She watched, mesmerized, as the woman's eyes turned
completely white, afraid for a moment she had gone blind, before Munroe
slowly brought her arms down to her sides.

Just as slowly the fog faded, the pines and night sky getting clearer,
before long all traces of it vanished.

The big chunk of cloud had faded too, and what it left behind was even
stranger.

A huge black machine sat in its place. Beth supposed it could be called
'plane-like', but it was unlike any she's seen before.

First off, the wings were switched around to look like a dark boomerang
coming out of the body. The nose of the thing, as she guessed it was called,
was wider than a standard plane and shaped kind of like the head of a broad
sword. The whole thing had to be as big as the store.

"What is that thing?" she asked softly.

"This is the SR77 Blackbird." said Xavier, wheeling towards it. "The
Institute's private jet, if you will."

"Wow." whispered Beth. Her sense of wonder quickly replaced with dread;
which was becoming all-too familiar with her this past month.

A door on the side of the plane slid open and a gruff looking man stuck his
dark head out.

"'Bout time." he said in a deep, crusty voice. "I was gettin' sick and tired
of starring at that fog."

The man pressed a hidden button from somewhere inside and a metal tray thing
lowered from under the plane.

"Did ya find the girl, Chuck?" asked the man, as Xavier rolled onto the tray
and was lifted to the door.

"Yes, we did." he said, wheeling inside. "Bethany, I'd like you to meet one
of the Institute's instructors, Logan. Logan, this is Bethany Bancroft."

She walked over to the plane, wondering how the hell she'd get up there, and
nodded at Logan, who nodded back.

She placed her arms on the floor of the Blackbird and was about to hoist
herself up when Logan, in a display of phenomenal strength, grabbed her by
the upper-arms and lifted her up. Beth was stunned. No one had ever been
able to pick her up since she was twelve. A couple of Mom's boyfriends had
tried now and then, (most in a drunken stupor), but with awkward and often
embarrassing results.

The blue denim and leather-clad man gave Munroe a hand, and then shut the circular door, sealing everyone inside.

The walls and floor of the Blackbird were a clean, stainless steel that gave
it a military feel. Black, stiff, fabric seats were the only soft spots on
the plane. She didn't know where to sit, so she wandered to the back and
tried to stay out of the way.

Xavier wheeled himself to the copilot's position; Logan took the helm, while

Munroe stayed standing.

"You can have a seat over here, dear." she said, taking notice of Beth's
plight and showing her to a chair just behind the Engineer's seat.

She sat and fiddled with the buckle. The strange thing had two straps over
the shoulders and two coming up from the seat to meet at the middle.

"Here, let me help you." said Munroe, leaning over her.

Beth didn't need help.

"Are you sure?" she asked, concerned and hurt.

Definitely. She didn't want to be a problem.

She finally got buckled and watched Munroe take her seat behind Logan. This
was it. She could see the man's hands move across the controls and felt a cold sweat roll down her back. Trying not to think about it, she let her
eyes wander around the steel walls, then her gaze landed on Xavier. He was
watching her. Did he know what she was thinking? Was he reading her
thoughts? Mentally, she gave a warning, not knowing if he could hear it.

'Stay out of my head. Stay out of my head. Stay out of my head.' she
thought, looking at his olive jacket. Out of the corner of her eye she saw
him turn his head away and heard him talking to Logan about some mechanical
thing he had to fix when he got back.

Besides some small turbulence, the take off was blessedly smooth. Beth still
felt like she was dangling by a thread over a canyon of doom. And what she
was afraid of, was herself. These people had no idea what they were getting
themselves into.

The clouds and dark sky could be seen out of the wide front window. Watching
the clouds smash and collide with the plane made her stomach churn horribly.
Instead she closed her eyes. Remembering the day she first realized what a
problem she was.

Beth, August 12, 2000.

God, it is hot in Kentucky. So hot if you look out on the streets around my
house, you can see invisible heat waves shaking above the asphalt. Sometimes
it's so hot it feels like the sun is sitting right on your shoulders. And
it's not just hot in the daytime either. The heat somehow sneaks its way
into the nighttime too.

I would lay under the sheet in bed and sweat like a hog. The back of my neck
just drips on the pillows.

Tonight Momma's boyfriend, Danny, is coming over for dinner. I like Danny.

He is so cool. All the girls in my old class are so jealous, causeway back
when he and Momma were first dating, he would come to lunch at the school
and hang out with me. Not Lisa, or Courtney, or even snotty-ass Chelsea.
Just me. At recess he would push me on the swings. Even after all the other
kids would line up on the swings, begging him to push them, he would make
sure I was still swinging high.

But, above all that, the coolest thing about Danny is his motorcycle. He has
an honest-to-God motorcycle, not one of those stupid scooters old people
ride around on.

I love that bike. It has two long metal bars connected to the front wheel,
(which is bigger than any of Momma's car tires!) And it has a black body
with long leather seats. It scares me when he starts it up, though. The
noise is ten-times louder than thunder, sounds like it's about to explode!

Momma won't let me ride it though. She says I'm too young, that I'm only
eleven, or that I'll fall off. She just wants to ride it herself but she's
too scared. What Momma doesn't know is that while she's at work, Danny comes
over and takes me for a ride. He makes sure everything is safe, he even
bought me a cherry-red helmet that he hides under the 'bitch-seat'. So when
Momma leaves I'll wait for hours till I hear his bike pull upon our
driveway. He'll come in and drink a beer or watch TV for a while till I simply beg him to go for a ride.

"Alright, sugerbean, let me finish this can then we'll go." Of course, I'm
already outside buckling on my helmet before he even comes out the door. I'm
real short for my age so he has to pick me up and put me on the bike. Then
he gets on and starts it.

This is the scariest part, when the engines are roaring and my feet aren't
touching the ground and I have to hold onto him. I think the bike will tip
over when we go. But it doesn't.

He kicks out the stands and we go flying down the street. He just doesn't go
around the block either. He takes me all around town, and I love every
minute of it, even though my legs and butt were sore for days afterwards.

We can't go riding tonight though.

Momma sets the table while I stir the peas. Then I hear Danny coming and run
outside. "Beth! Don't run off like that!" Momma hollers after me.

Danny's wearing his shiny new leather jacket Momma bought him for his
birthday. I run up and hug him, the new leather smell filling my nostrils.

He has his long dark blonde hair pulled back and has a blue bandana wrapped
around his head. He puts me at arms length and looks at me. Then, if you can
believe it, he leans in and kisses me right on the mouth!
Oh, Chelsea would be so jealous! My face heats up and my legs feel like
jelly. No one but Momma's ever kissed me before. When he pulls away, I lick my lips and taste the beer he left behind. Momma's standing by the door
looking mad 'bout something. I don't care. I feel just like a grown up
woman. I don't have to listen to her anymore.

I come inside and we all start eating dinner. Momma's gone all out tonight.
She made peas, mashed potatoes, and her special roast beef casserole. No one
talks during dinner. I try to get a conversation going and tell them about
Lisa's new pool, but Momma tells me to eat my food and I shut up.

After dinner, things get better. We all go into the living room and watch
TV. Momma sits on the couch with Danny. I lay down on the floor and try to
understand Jay Leno's jokes. Then I get a bright idea and run into my room
to get my deck of cards. Me and Danny play Texas Hold 'em for about two
hours before Momma tells me to go to bed. I tell her I ain't tired yet. She
yells at me in front of Danny and I make a scene. I end up stomping off into
my room and slamming the door.

I was so embarrassed! How could Momma do that to me in front of Danny?! I
hate her. I wish she was dead!

To get my mind off of Momma, I pick up my notebook, hop on my bed, and draw.
I drew Danny's bike out in our driveway. I could hear Momma and Danny
talking back in the living room but couldn't make out what they were saying.

The talking turned to shouting. Momma was the loudest. I could hear her yell
my name. I put down my notebook and sat down by the door. I sat there
listening, excited and scared at the same time.

". . . Don't ever touch her like that! . . . got a call from her teacher
asking about you. . . you monster!"

I couldn't take it anymore. Getting up, I threw on my grey sweatshirt over
my red tank top and white short-shorts, (that I wear almost every day during
the summer). I grabbed one of my hair-ties and pulled back my long black
hair. I had to get out but I sure as hell wasn't going back out there, so I
went to my window. I hate that window. It's old and crusty and almost
painted shut. I have to push as hard as I can just to open it a little. But

I get it open enough so that I can squeeze through.

I let myself drop to the ground. My arms are sore and twitchy and my hands
are red and stinging.

The sky outside is a bright pink and yellow. The grass on the yards looks so
green.
I get up and run as fast as I can down the street and around the block.
Now that I was a good distance away, I slowed to a walk.

The neighborhood here was nice. All the yards were big and open, none of
those ugly chain link fences. I walked around the neighborhood till I got to
Lisa's house. The curtains were closed but I could see the lights shining
through. They were probably eating dinner and laughing with each other.

Lisa's mom didn't have thousands of boyfriends and fights and breakups.

In front of their yard stood a huge outdoor swimming pool. I walked over and looked at it. Lisa had called and told me all about it. Dying of jealousy, I
leaned over and hawked a huge logie into the bright blue waters and took
off.

I walked around till the sun went down and all the streetlights came on,
praying Danny wouldn't leave too. My legs hurt and my stomach cramped. I
just had to get inside and sit down.

The house was so silent when I got there. Danny was still in the living
room. He didn't look at me or anything. Momma was sitting at the kitchen
table, smoking.

Her eyes were all puffy and I know she'd been crying. Her hair was all
frizzy and falling out of her little bun.

When I come into the kitchen, she doesn't even look up, just stares out the
window above the sink, like she wanted to jump through it or something. I
didn't wanna sit next to her after everything she did, so I hopped up on the
counter, swinging my legs.

"Stop doing that!" hissed Momma. "You're givin' me a headache." I stopped
swinging and watched the filmy cigarette smoke twirl in the air. "What is
that?" she asked.

She was looking down at my crotch. I looked too.

A big red stain was right in the middle of my white shorts. I felt
embarrassed and scared.

"Great." said Momma. "That's all I need." Then she got up, slammed the chair
into the table and walked off into the hallway.

My face twisted and I knew I was about to cry, but then the front door
slammed and I heard Danny's bike start up.

Forgetting all about my first period, I rushed out into the yard.

"Danny! Don't go! Take me with you!" I yelled but he couldn't hear me. He
was halfway down the block already. I ran after him, as fast as I could. My
legs were pumping up and down so fast it felt like they didn't touch the
ground at all. All I could see was the back of his jacket and his ponytail
flying in the wind.

"Danny!" I screamed, but I was out of breath and not loud enough. I crashed
down in the middle of the road. My heart pounding so bad it hurt, my lungs
burning.

Maybe, if I had only been faster, things would have turned out different.

"We're about to land, dear." said Munroe, looking back at my from the
Engineer's seat.

"Oh, okay." Beth said, tumbling back into the present. Leaning to the side,
she looked out the front window.

Rocky, jagged cliffs zoomed by. The Blackbird slowed slightly as it turned
to face a waterfall. Beth thought they would fly over it, but they didn't.

They were heading straight towards it.

Her fears were confirmed. They would crash. Immediately her body tensed, and
she couldn't breathe.

"Hey! Look out!" she called. Logan quirked an eyebrow at her then turned
back to the controls. Xavier and Munroe turned and looked at her.

"Bethany, dear." she said, reaching her hand out to touch Beth, who jerked
back. "It's alright. There's nothing behind-"

"Are you all crazy?!" Beth screamed. "We're gonna crash! Turn this plane
around!"

The safety kits hanging on the wall started shot open, their continents
floating and spinning in the air.

"Bethany, you must calm down." said Xavier firmly, ducking as a roll of
bandages shot at his head. "Everything will be fine."

She didn't listen and was jerking at her seat belt trying to get it to
unbuckle. "Hysterical kid." she heard Logan mutter as she stood up. Munroe
got out of her seat too.

"Child, calm yourself." she said, grabbing Beth from behind and holding her
in place. "You must stay seated."

"Let me go!" she screamed, tubes of cream and soft white gloves zooming by.

'Listen to my voice.' said Xavier's voice in her head.

"I told you to stay out!" Beth screamed aloud, fighting to break away from
Munroe. "Get me off this thing!"

"Beth, you leave me no choice." he said, then telepathically added, 'This
won't hurt you.'

The same feeling she had back in the hospital came rushing back. Tiny ants
swarmed over her pulsing brain, engulfing and compressing it. The room
suddenly went mute and then filled with a gentle rushing. He was filling her
head with the sound of the ocean. It was all she could hear. Her over strung
muscles relaxed and felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. She stopped
jerking and tugging away from Munroe, who led her back to her seat. The
safety kit stuff fell to the floor.

Dimly, through heavy-lidded eyes, she saw the waterfall getting closer and
felt the Blackbird slow down. Then the water split down the middle and a
metal cave appeared behind it.

Letting her head flop down onto her shoulders, Beth felt the first wave of embarrassment wash over her, as another roll of bandages unfurled down the
length of the jet. Sounds came back to her as the roaring ocean faded away.

"Engines one, two, and three are deactivated." muttered Logan, flipping
switches and pushing buttons as the plane came to a halt inside the hanger.

"Thank you, Logan." said Xavier, rolling away from the controls and closer
to her.

Logan stood and surveyed the damage she had done. "I'm guessin' this kid's a
'kinesis like Jean." he said, stepping over the bandages.

"Unfortunately, she is." said Xavier curtly, as Logan opened the door and
prepared the tray. "A very emotional one at that."

"Are you alright now?" asked Munroe, who had been holding her to the chair.

"Uh-huh." she grunted, nodding her head, stumbling to her feet.

"Can you walk?" she asked, her grip on Beth's arm loosening.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she said, humiliated.

After Xavier rolled off his tray, Beth and Ororo hopped down.

"I'll stay and pick up this mess." said Logan, still in the jet.

"Thank you." said Xavier, wheeling to the other end of the tall metal room.

"I'm sorry." whispered Beth, as she and Munroe followed Xavier.

"Don't be." assured the woman. "It's a natural reaction."

Not wanting to say the wrong thing, Beth said nothing.

At the other end of the hanger was a circular, steel hallway. As Beth walked
down it, her stomach shriveled. This place looked like a hospital, like an
institution. Was this a psychiatric ward? Would they lock her up after what
she did?

"Come along." said Xavier, already at the end of the hallway. Some stray
ants still scurried along her brain. Beth hurried back to Munroe's side.

At the end of the hallway was an elevator. The doors slid open and they all
went in. Xavier pushed the second button from the top that had a big, bold
'G' on it. Her stomach jumped as the small room shot up into the building.

She couldn't look at Xavier or Munroe. Why did she have to freak out like
that? Is she really insane? Will they think she is?

Dread and doom rolled around in her gut as the elevator doors opened again.

But what she walked out into took her breath away.

Instead of steel metal walls, warm, golden beige filled the room. Rich,
burgundy carpet stretched down the middle of the hallway over the dark hard
wood floor. Small, glowing sconces were bolted along the walls, and polished
wood tables with bright flowers graced the hall.

They all went around a corner, Xavier leading, and Beth saw a huge entrance,
and a magnificent staircase. Xavier and Munroe went into a different room
and Beth was forced to leave.

They walked through a wonderful library with shelves of books so tall they
touched the ceiling, (which had to be thirty feet high). Passing the warm
crackling fireplace and overstuffed couches, they went into another room.

This one was defiantly and office. At the end of the room was a huge desk.
Seven tall windows stood, black and slightly menacing around the room. Two
to the left of the desk, three to the right, and three right behind it.
Paintings of mountains and landscapes adorned the walls, along with several
framed degrees.

Xavier wheeled behind the desk while Munroe sat in one of the couches near
the wall. Beth stood, again not knowing what to do.

"Please," said Xavier, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk, "have a
seat."

Beth sat. The chair was shaped so that it scooped near the back, hugging the
sitter.

"Professor," she began, outwardly calm, inwardly trembling. "About what
happened, I'm-"

"Bethany." he said, rasing his hand, silencing her. His face somber. "First
of all, you have nothing to be sorry for. What happened on the plane was
completely my fault."

"What?" she said, shocked and confused.

"I should have warned you about the location of our hanger." he said,
peering at her with his light brown eyes. "It is only natural, after what
you've been through, that you would react as you did. And for that, I
apologies."

"Um," she said, looking down at her chubby hands. "Thank you, I guess."

"But," he continued, "What happened on the plane will not be tolerated at
this Institute."

Her head shot up. "I'm sorry, Professor, really I am. I didn't mean-"

"Don't be sorry, Beth." he said, waving away her apology. "I'm just stating
a fact. We cannot allow incidents like that to happen. Which is precisely
the reason why you're here. Here at the institute we will help you learn to
control your budding powers and to use them efficiently."

"How?" she asked, wondering where this little speech was going.

"By training and practice." he said, leaning closer. "We have special rooms
here to use for training. Don't worry. We won't give you anything too
advanced. This first week will be mostly about finding out how much control
you have of your powers. We will move on from there."

"Okay." she said, dumbly. This was all so strange. Then something occurred
to her. "What about my clothes? Where will I stay?"

Xavier smiled gently. "We have rooms upstairs for all our students. I'm sure
you'll find them to your liking. About your clothes, or moreover, lack
thereof. We will take you shopping for new items later this week. For now
you can borrow from the other girls."

Beth laughed inwardly. Would any of those clothes fit her?

"Which leads me to something else." he continued, leaning back into his
chair, back as straight as a board. "Besides common decency, obedience, and
politeness, we have only one rule: Never, unless under extreme circumstances
are you to use your powers in public. It is crucial to us that yours and the
other student's powers remain secret. As I'm sure you know, the general
public does not know of mutants, and we would like to keep it that way, for
as long as we can."

"I understand." she said, knowing she wouldn't show her powers to people
even if she was allowed.

"Well, it's late." he said, looking out at the dark sky. Beth looked around for a clock. Sure enough it was nearly 1:00 am. "You had a very busy
evening. I suggest you get some rest and call your grandmother first thing
in the morning."

"Okay." she said, then added. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Beth." he said, smiling. His face looked tired and old. The
bags under his eyes illuminated by the golden lamplight. "Ill speak with you
tomorrow morning. Ms. Munroe will show you to your room. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." she said, getting up.

"Goodnight, Charles." said Munroe, opening the door for Beth.

"Likewise." he said, smiling, pulling out some papers from inside his desk.

Leaving Xavier's office, Munroe led Beth back out through the library, and
up the staircase. Munroe told her where everything is.

"That's Xavier's room." she said, pointing to the door in front of the
staircase. "The boy's dorm is the wing to the right, and the girl's is here
on the left."

They walked down the left wing, Beth looked back and though she had seen,
for a brief second, a red dog's tail whip around the corner.

"That's my room over there, you can come visit me anytime you want." she said, bursting Beth's thought and pointing to a room at the end of the wing.

"This is the bathroom, and here is your room." she said, opening the door
second on the right side.

Beth walked in and was floored.

A big bed stood near the west wall, with a warm orange quilt comforter and
clean white sheets. A vanity mirror stood opposite the bed with wall sconces
on either side. A night stand was next to the bed with an alarm clock and
lamp. A big stereo was next to the vanity with two speakers at each end of
the wall. Two tall windows stood on the north sidewall, each leading out
onto an honest-to-God balcony. Connected to the tall ceiling was an overhead
fan, and on each side of the window were two tall bookshelves. Next to the
bed stood a smaller version of Xavier's desk.

"Wow." said Beth, sitting down on the bed. It had the stiff, unused feel
that hotel rooms have. "This is amazing."

"Do you like it?" asked Munroe, turning on the floor lamp near the door.

"Yeah, I love it." she said, getting up and taking off her coat. "Where did
Xavier get all this?"

"He is a very generous man." was all she would say. "Will you be alright?"

"Yeah," she said, hanging her coat up in the closet near the nightstand.

"I'll be fine."

"Okay then," said the woman, giving her a brief hug. "I'll check up on you
in the morning."

"Alright." Beth said, sitting back down.

After Munroe left, Beth got up and went to the window. She pushed back one
of the beige curtains and looked outside. The balcony had two potted palms
and a reclining white lawn chair. The scenery beyond it was black.

Shutting the curtains, she turned off the lights and turned on the fan, and
went back to the bed. Pulling off her worn jeans, she slipped under the
covers wearing only her dirty white T-shirt.

She laid there, in the dark, alone, and thought about everything. Everything
had happened so fast. One minute she was at Gran's, the next she was in
Bayville New York, at an institute for the 'gifted'.

And, no matter how much she liked it here, no matter how nice these people
had been, no matter what they had to offer, she still wanted to be home, in
Kentucky, in her old bed, with Mom.

'But I can't have that anymore.' she thought, in that haze, heavy state
before sleep takes over. She'd never felt more alone, or more helpless. At
least, if this was all she had left, it wasn't that bad.

Not that bad at all.

Good god! I just broke my own personal record. Hope the bulk of the chap
makes up for the wait. Finally, Beth is at the actual Institute. Now the
real fun starts. Well, I'm not really sure what else to say. How was
everyone's Thanksgiving? Mine was full of food and we ate desert first. I'm
not sure what's wrong with me, but I'm experimenting with different writing
styles. This chap's was more 'wordy' than the last one. Tell me what ya
think? I'll see ya'll soon.

Review Response:

To Absolute Omega: I'm feeling much better, thank you. What 'cha think of the
regulars? Did I do a good job? Sorry about the Gambit paring thing, I just
luv him so much and don't really like him with Rogue. Can't wait for your
review. Lo.

To DreamerLady: Matt is my bitch, (matt, if your reading this don't pay any
attention to me!). Glad this helped dim the horror of Sexual Education. So
glad to hear you passed with flying colors! J/k. Talk to ya soon. Red.

To Matt3671: Life at the mansion is defiantly better than life with Gran.
Hope your back feels better. What do ya think of the story so far? Oh, and
I'm so sorry but I haven't had time, with the writing and Thanksgiving and
all to read your fic. Can I cash a raincheck? Talk to you soon. Email me!