Author's note to follow.
Chapter 21: Sontaran Stratagam
Donna and Ianto retired quite quickly to their rooms for a good night's sleep, leaving Freya and the Doctor in the console room.
"That blood wasn't from running through a battlefield," the Doctor stated simply.
"No," Freya agreed as she ran her fingers over the console of the TARDIS.
"What was it from?"
"I can't tell you."
The Doctor frowned at her, really, truly frowned at her. As if he didn't like what he was seeing.
And Freya hated that look.
"I think it's high time I dropped you off at the house. For awhile. You don't enjoy travelling, and the only thing that's come from it is you changing. Into something I don't think I like," the Doctor admitted.
"I have to change. To keep up with you!" Freya protested, feeling anger rush up inside of her.
The Doctor just stared at her sadly.
"I think you need time. Away from me," he said. The words came out all wrong, as if he was regretting having to say them.
"So you're just going to leave me behind," Freya said, bitterness creeping into her words.
"Not forever!" the Doctor protested.
"No. Just until you're ready for me again. Dropping me off like yesterday's rubbish. Fine. Can you at least land in the right place?" she challenged him.
The Doctor's jaw tightened and he nodded, flipping a few switches before the TARDIS gently landed.
"You had bettered take care of Ianto and Donna," Freya ordered him.
He gave her a curt nod as she hurried for the door, not even glancing back.
She even slammed the door on her way out, something she'd never done. The TARDIS sent a wave of regret to her, but Freya ignored it.
Ignored it as the TARDIS faded out of sight.
She stared up at the Torchwood Manor, wondering how big of a mess it would be on the inside. She was sure it wouldn't be nice and neat – she hadn't been there in ages.
And then she laughed. She was standing there, worried about how the house looked, when her husband had just kicked her out the TARDIS for God knew how long.
She didn't even have keys to get into her house on her.
Her throat tightened at the realization. What was she supposed to? She was sure all her important documents, everything was on the TARDIS. Her keys. Her phone charger. Her ID. Everything.
She didn't even have her children there. No children, no friends. Nothing.
It was all the Doctor's fault.
Throat still tight, she grabbed the nearest potted plant and threw it against the pavement in anger, watching with little satisfaction as the ceramic pot shattered.
He'd done this. He took her from her home. Showed her everything. Married her. Gave her children. And then just decided she was changing too much. Too much for him.
First she couldn't keep up with him. Well, now she could. She could keep up just fine.
But he didn't like that anymore.
Her heart ached. She missed the last version of him. Even his future selves seemed better – this version of him just didn't like her.
And she didn't like him.
"Throw the lavender next. It's his favorite."
The words were soft, gentle. She barely heard them over the sound of her labored breathing. She dragged her eyes from the mess on the ground to the Doctor, the next Doctor. He was standing there with the saddest eyes she'd seen, watching her with a soft smile on his lips. He didn't move closer – he gave her space.
"I hate him," Freya muttered angrily. The Doctor took a step closer to her, running a hand through his hair.
"I know you do," he told her. She shook her head, eyes landing once more on the plant.
"Why are you so much better than him?" Freya wanted to know, her eyes not meeting his. His feet shuffled into sight and he lifted her chin slightly.
"I'm not, you know," he informed her, "I'm just as bad, if not worse. Just in different ways. I only show you the good side of me. You'll see enough of the bad side when you're travelling with me."
There were tears in his eyes.
But the Doctor didn't cry. Not really, not often.
Why was he crying now?
"What's wrong?" Freya asked, lifting a hand to his cheek. She brushed a tear away. The Doctor seemed surprised that the tear was there.
"You're gone, for me," he admitted.
"Am I?" she asked, her throat feeling tight. She knew she wasn't, not really, but it was painful to see this. To see him, right now in pain over her death when she knew it hadn't happened. Wouldn't happen. And she had to lie to him about it.
"Not dead. Well, by now you're dead. But this is it for me. I'll never see you in my right order again," he admitted. Freya wrapped her arms around the tall man, her anger at her version of the Doctor fading slightly at the sight of the older Doctor in pain. Pain over her.
"But I'm here now," Freya told him.
"You are. Because younger me is an idiot," the Doctor told him.
"He is," Freya agreed, her lips tugging into a smile.
"His loss, my gain," the Doctor said as he pulled back, giving her a smile as well.
"You wouldn't by any chance have the keys to my house, would you?" she asked him. He nodded quickly.
"Right after I dropped you off, I realized you didn't have the keys. I was going to come back, but I was stubborn," the Doctor said ruefully.
"It's a good thing you showed up when you did. I would have broken a lot more than one pot," Freya told him.
"Oh, I know you would have. Honestly, I was worried you would pick one up and throw it at me," the Doctor admitted.
"Not you. Never you," Freya told him.
"Sometimes me. I don't always act as I should. I get carried away," the Doctor told her.
"You do," Freya agreed, "At one point, you go and kidnap me."
"Do I really?" he asked, a grin forming rapidly.
"You do," she agreed, her own grin mirroring his.
"I feel like I should kidnap you now," he told her.
"Go right ahead."
But the Doctor didn't. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, frowning at all the mail on the floor. He wasted no time in scooping all the papers up and bringing them to a dining room table, tossing them all on the already massive piles of mail.
"You should hire someone to read your mail. This is ridiculous," the Doctor complained.
"Most of them are probably bills," Freya said regretfully. She hadn't really thought of bills in ages. But she was sure she had quite a few of them. Overdue bills, at that.
"We can take care of those! Let's be adults!" the Doctor exclaimed cheerfully.
"Being an adult requires money," Freya pointed out.
"I have money! Lots of it, if I remember correctly. We'll get all these paid," the Doctor said cheerfully.
"I've never been happy about paying bills, so I'll let you knock yourself out," Freya told him wryly, "I'll go check out the kitchen. See how much spoiled food there is."
She left the Doctor gleefully opening letters while she made her own way to the kitchen.
Much to her surprise, there was no rotting food. In fact, there was some food that was actually relatively fresh.
Her eyes fell on a card resting on the counter. She walked over to it, picking it up.
Freya –
I leave a card each visit, just in case you come back. I've tried to keep the place at least somewhat habitable.
I know it's hard for you to know how much time passes here while you travel, but I miss you. We all do. I even miss Donna, believe it or not. And Jack's going crazy, not having Ianto around to make coffee for him.
Give me a ring when you show up. I'd like to talk to you.
James
Freya felt her throat close slightly at the words. She wiped her eyes furiously, blinking away tears.
"He loves you too, you know."
The Doctor was standing there, eyes staring at her with an unreadable expression.
"I know," was all Freya could manage.
"Would you stay with him? He'd be happy to have you," the Doctor pointed out.
"He would," Freya agreed, but shook her head.
"I love James, too, but I'm married to you. It doesn't matter if this current version of you is an arse, I'm married to you. Better or for worse. And he's worse. You're better. I can hold on and wait it out," Freya said.
"I know you can. But should you?" the Doctor wanted to know. He looked almost resigned, as if he believed this was the moment she would choose James over him.
"It doesn't matter what I should do. It's what I'm going to do. And I'm just fine waiting for you, thanks," Freya told him.
The Doctor's face lit up at her words. He swooped in, pulling her into a tight hug before kissing her.
The two of them slammed into the wall, the Doctor's lips still moving against hers.
"Where's the bedroom?" the Doctor asked her, his voice a pitch higher than normal. Freya could only laugh at him.
"There's a bedroom two rooms over," she managed to say.
That was all the incentive the Doctor needed for picking her up and dashing out of the room.
"Do you ever miss the normal life?"
The Doctor's words were careful, as if he'd been crafting his question since they'd finished having sex. He propped himself up, staring at her as he waited for her answer.
"Of course I do," Freya told him honestly, "I miss that I don't really have any friends here on Earth I'm close to anymore. I miss knowing where everything I own is. I miss being able to keep everything together."
The Doctor's shoulders sagged at her words.
"But you know what? If I was living the normal life, I'd still be alone in that little cottage. I wouldn't have children. And I wouldn't have seen the world," Freya continued.
"So you don't regret it?"
"Of course I don't. No decision is an easy one. No path is completely smooth. There are difficulties. There always are," Freya pointed out.
"Half the time I see you and I see someone whose life I ruined," the Doctor admitted sadly.
"You've ruined nothing," Freya informed him.
"What am I going to do with you?" the Doctor asked with a sigh.
"Take me away from your younger self?" Freya suggested hopefully.
"As much as I'd love to do that, it'd cause a paradox. But don't worry. You won't be travelling too much more with my younger self," the Doctor said regretfully, although he looked as if he were seriously considering whisking her off with him.
"What do you mean?" Freya asked, sitting up.
"There's not much more than a year you'll spend, travelling with him," the Doctor told her.
"You regenerate that soon? But…don't you have a set number of regenerations?" Freya asked with a frown.
"How did you know about that?" the Doctor asked sharply.
"The TARDIS lets me read what I want," Freya said. And while that was true, she knew it because his older self had cited that as a reason as to why she couldn't tell his younger selves about him.
"Yeah. I'm on my last form, right now," the Doctor admitted.
"He didn't have either other version of himself that long," Freya commented, feeling alarmed at that.
"It's sometimes like that. Don't worry. It had nothing to do with you," the Doctor reassured her.
"How could it not? I caused your last regeneration. I'm sure I caused this one too," Freya said sadly.
"Don't worry about it," the Doctor told her gently. Freya sighed and climbed out of the bed.
"Oi! Where are you going?" the Doctor demanded.
"To go take care of the mail, like we were originally going to do," Freya told him.
"You're forgetting something," the Doctor told her, his eyes following her naked body as she headed for the door.
"I don't think I am," she said with a grin before making her way to the dining room.
The Doctor crashed out of the bed, running after her. Freya couldn't help but giggle at him. She also took off running for the dining room, the Doctor right on her heels.
She stopped right in her tracks upon entering the dining room, causing the Doctor to slam into her back.
Standing there, in the dining room with a card in his hand, was James.
He must've come to move the mail to the table and leave a card, as he'd done before, Freya supposed. All she knew was that here she was, standing naked in front of him with the Doctor, a version of the Doctor he didn't know.
It didn't take much for her to see the hurt in his eyes.
"James," Freya said.
"Nice to see you choosing other men over me once more," James said simply, his expression steeling itself.
"No. This is the Doctor. A future version of the Doctor," Freya tried. The Doctor disappeared behind her, reappearing in a robe with a robe for Freya. She slid it on quickly.
"Whatever. It's none of my business," James said, his words cutting.
"No," the Doctor agreed, "It isn't. And you're really hurting her by doing this. You're holding her back. Constantly there with your puppy dog eyes, reminding her of a man she loved and lost."
"She obviously hasn't lost you. You're right here," James spat at him.
"Yes. I am. But I change. I'm no longer the man she fell in love with. I'm a man she learns to accept. The man she's currently with? This version of the Doctor? He doesn't make her happy. All he does is hurt her. I have to show up and pick up the pieces," the Doctor shot right back.
James didn't look happy, but he didn't say anything to contradict him.
Instead, he just looked…sad, and resigned.
"I was sent to come get you," he said.
"By who?" Freya asked.
"The Doctor. The current Doctor. He's at UNIT with Martha. We're having an issue," James said.
"ATMOS?" the Doctor asked knowingly.
"Yes. I'm sure you know all about that," James said.
"I do. Because I lived through it. Come on. We'll get dressed. And I'll take off, leaving the two of you to head back to London….er, wait. How did you get here so fast?" the Doctor asked.
"The Doctor dropped me off with the TARDIS, about a mile back. Didn't want to get too close. Wouldn't say why, though," James said.
"Probably because he just kicked me off of the TARDIS a few hours ago," Freya grumbled.
"Do I have to go? Because I don't want to see him right now. He has no right to call me like a dog whenever he decides he wants me," Freya said.
The Doctor gave her a sad smile.
"There's always me. I'll always be there to take you away if he gets too much," the Doctor promised her.
"Right. Then I guess that means we'd bettered get dressed," Freya said.
"I would recommend that," James said drily.
"Right. Clothes. Then off to save the world!" the Doctor said, rushing off to the back room.
"That's the next doctor?" James asked in disbelief.
"He's better than the current one. Trust me," Freya said bitterly.
"What's wrong with the pretty boy?" James asked, seemingly surprised.
"He's not the Doctor I know and love."
Her words seemed to sink in with James and he took a step towards her, only for Freya to step back quickly.
"That's not what I mean," Freya told him quickly, "I just mean we're going through a rough patch. That Doctor in there – his future self – is proof we can get through it. I just need to suffer through the present time," Freya told him firmly.
"So there really is no hope for me," James said miserably.
"There is hope for you. Just not with me. I'm sorry," Freya said softly. She took a step towards him, considering placing a hand on his shoulder, only to stop.
She'd led him on enough as it was.
"I'm going to go get changed as well," Freya told him before retreating back to the bedroom.
The Doctor was there, serious look on his face.
"You'd be happier with James," he told her.
"I wouldn't have met James if you hadn't come along," Freya corrected him. He gave her a sad smile but didn't comment. The two of them finished pulling their clothes on in silence.
"Anything in particular I need to know?" Freya asked.
"Not really. You'll manage," the Doctor told her.
"So not too bad of a day," Freya decided.
"Pretty bad. We just manage. It helps that you're not pregnant for this one," the Doctor told her with a grin.
"Nope," Freya said with a sigh, thinking of her children, "Not pregnant."
The Doctor grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him.
"Children grow up," he warned her.
"I know. But I never get to see mine. So it hurts more," she pointed out.
"Tell ya what. Next time you're in the house, I'll bring the children to visit," the Doctor promised.
"You will? Both of them? When they're younger?" Freya begged.
"When they're younger," the Doctor agreed.
Freya felt her lips twisting into a smile at the thought.
As soon as they were dressed, the Doctor hurried her and James out of the house and towards his TARDIS, only to stop and gesture towards the lavender plant. Freya gave him a quick kiss on the lips and strode over to the plant. She picked it up – it was heavier than it looked, Freya realized with a frown – and threw it as hard as she could.
It shattered right on the main path.
"What was that for?" James asked in disbelief, staring at the ruined plant.
"It was the Doctor's favorite. This Doctor's favorite," Freya explained.
"Plus, when I came here next time I found the broken pot in the walkway. It was an eye-opening experience," the Doctor said sagely.
James snorted.
"I'm sure it was," he said with a surprising laugh before following Freya into the TARDIS.
Only to stop as soon as he got inside.
"Really? The grunge was bad enough, but this? It's so childish," James complained.
"Oi! Don't diss the TARDIS!" the Doctor protested before stroking the console.
"He didn't mean that, no he didn't," the Doctor reassured her.
"I'm sure the children would love running around on here," Freya observed.
"They do. They have almost as much fun as I do!" the Doctor told her with a grin.
"Now that I could believe," Freya murmured.
"But I am considering changing things up. I don't see the children much when they're younger anymore, and I…it's high time I grew up a bit," the Doctor said sadly. Freya moved towards, him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
His shoulder was shaking slightly.
"Okay! Let's go! ATMOS, Sontarans! You have an adventure ahead of you!" the Doctor cried out as he leapt around the console.
"Is he…okay?" James asked, moving to her side.
"He just lost me. I just died for him. He isn't okay," Freya admitted.
Her and James stood in silence, watching the Doctor leap around. The TARDIS started jerking about then stopped quite quickly.
"Here you go! Head on out! See you soon, love," the Doctor told her with a kiss to her cheek.
And then he all but shoved her and James out the door, slamming it shut and dematerializing in the same movement.
Something Freya hadn't realized was even possible.
"Come on," James told her, heading up to a house they were near.
"Where are we?" Freya asked. She tried gathering her bearings, but she wasn't quite sure where they were at that moment.
James knocked on the door, only for Donna to yank it open.
"Oi! There you are! It's been ages! Get on in here!" Donna ordered, pulling the two of them inside.
"Who is it, Donna?" a woman's voice called from the other room.
"Two of my mates," Donna shouted back, pulling the two of them into the kitchen, where Ianto was sitting with Wilf, Donna's grandfather, and a woman.
"Mom, this is Freya, the Doctor's wife, and James. You'd met them before," Donna told her.
"I don't think so," Donna's mother protested.
"We were at the wedding," James interjected. Donna's mother just sighed.
"Oh. There. I see," she said, shaking her head.
"Where did you disappear to?" Donna asked Freya.
"Yeah. When we woke up, the Doctor said you'd left for awhile. But he wouldn't say where to or why," Ianto explained.
"He decided he was getting tired of me and dropped me off at the Torchwood Mansion I own in Scotland," Freya said, not even bothering to mask the bitterness in her voice.
"He just dropped you off?" Donna asked, eyes flashing.
"He did. I didn't even have keys to get into my own house on me. I had to wait for someone else to arrive to let me in," Freya agreed. It felt good to get the words off of her chest. Donna opened her mouth, only to snap it shut.
"Wait – you have a mansion? In Scotland?" Donna asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. Family heirloom," Freya said, waving it off.
There was another knock on the door.
"Are we expecting anyone else?" Freya asked curiously.
"Yeah. Your husband, I'd say," Donna said.
"Great," Freya muttered. Donna stopped on her way towards the door.
"If he makes you so unhappy, why don't you just divorce him? You don't have to stay with him," Donna told her.
"I know. But it will get better. We're just…going through a tough time. It'll take time," Freya tried explaining. Donna didn't really understand the concept of regeneration, so she couldn't even use that as a way of explaining what had happened and what would later happen.
Donna sighed but didn't say anything else. She headed for the door, opening it roughly.
"You would not believe the day I'm having," the Doctor's voice drifted into the room.
"Come on," James said with a sigh, "If we don't follow them outside, they're sure to run off and leave us behind."
Ianto let out a nearly identical sigh and stood as well. Freya followed the two out of the room, Donna's grandfather following them. Her mother stayed right where she was, clipping out coupons at the kitchen table.
By the time they made it outside, the Doctor and Donna were already standing by the blue car Donna had parked by the TARDIS before. Another man in a military uniform was standing next to the Doctor.
"I'll requisition us a vehicle," the man said.
"Anything without ATMOS. And don't point your gun at people," the Doctor snapped.
"That's not the way to talk to people," Freya found herself saying, her anger flaring up inside of her at the Doctor's flippant attitude.
"Oh, and you're the expert, are you?" the Doctor asked.
"Better than you are, obviously," Freya waved her hand at the man who had very quickly left when Freya started talking.
"Is this him? Is this the Doctor?" Wilf asked as hurried behind them. He stopped in his tracks, staring at the Doctor.
"It's you!" he accused.
"Who? Oh, it's you," the Doctor realized with a nod.
"What, have you met before?" Donna asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, Christmas Eve. He disappeared right in front of me," Wilf accused.
"And you never said?" Donna's voice was filled with hurt paired with her disbelief.
"Well, you never said!" Wilf protested, "Wilf, sir. Wilfred Mott. You must be one of them aliens."
Freya bit back a laugh at his eagerness.
"Yeah, but don't shout it out. Nice to meet you properly, Wilf," the Doctor said, giving him a smile.
He hadn't even really given Freya a hello.
"I'm gonna call Martha," Donna announced, giving Freya a meaningful look.
"Martha?" Freya asked, startled.
"She called us back here," Ianto supplied, and James could only frown alongside Freya.
"She's engaged now, though," James murmured to Freya. Freya nodded but didn't say a word. She didn't trust herself to say a word.
"Who are we up against?" Freya asked Donna.
"Sontorans?" Donna guessed.
"Sontarans. But there's got to be more to it. They can't just be remote controlling cars. That's not enough. Is anyone answering?" the Doctor asked impatiently.
"Hold on," Donna said, uncovering the mouthpiece of her mobile.
"Martha! Hold on, he's here!" Donna said, handing the phone over to the Doctor.
"Martha, tell Colonel Mace it's the Sontarans. They're in the file. Code Red, Sontarans. But if they're inside the factory tell them not to start shooting. UNIT will get massacred. I'll get back as soon as I can," the Doctor spoke quickly. He hung up and tossed the phone back to Donna before turning to the car.
In no time, he had the bonnet up on the car, his whole upper body all but disappearing as he leaned into the car.
"I should probably head back to UNIT Headquarters, keep an eye on things and see what I can help with," James supplied.
"Be careful," Freya warned him.
"I will. Think the Doctor can give me a ride?" James asked her.
"Oi! I'm a bit busy here," the Doctor complained.
"Not you. I mean the other one," James said. The Doctor jerked his head up, hitting it on the car.
"What other one?" he demanded, turning abruptly.
"Your next self. Nice bloke. He dropped us off here," James taunted.
The Doctor's glare only intensified. With a huff, he turned back around to the car. The Doctor started sonicking around in the car. Donna moved closer to him, shooting a curious look.
"But you tried sonicking it before. You didn't find anything," Donna pointed out.
"Yeah, but now I know it's Sontaran. I know what I'm looking for," the Doctor claimed.
James rolled his eyes and gave Freya a small wave before walking in the opposite direction, away from them.
"The thing is, Doctor, that Donna is my only grandchild," Wilf began staring at the half-distracted Doctor, "You got to promise me you're going to take care of her."
The Doctor looked up from his work.
"She takes care of me," he said.
"Oh yeah, that's my Donna. Yeah, she was always bossing us round when she was tiny. The Little General, we used to call her," Wilf said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, don't start," Donna ordered him.
"Just wait til you bring home a fiancé. Well, a real one," Freya told her with a grin.
"Uh huh. Did you have that problem?" Donna asked.
"No. My mother wants nothing to do with me My dad only started talking to me again, only to die in the Cyberman invasion," Freya explained.
There was click behind them. The device Freya hadn't even seen the Doctor pull out of the car had spikes coming out of it.
"Whoa. It's a temporal pocket. I knew there was something else in there. It's hidden just a second out of sync with real time," the Doctor breathed.
"But what's it hiding?" Donna wanted to know.
They were interrupted by Donna's mother coming out, giving each of them a glare.
"I don't know, men and their cars. Sometimes I think if I was a car…oh, it's you. Doctor what was it?" Donna's mother asked.
"Yeah, it's me," the Doctor said with a shrug.
"What, have you met him as well?" Wilf asked, surprised.
"Dad, it's the man from the wedding. When you were laid up with Spanish flu. I'm warning you, last time that man turned up it was a disaster," Donna's mother said.
"Usually is. You get used to it," Freya told them just as the spikes started spitting out some sort of gas.
"Get back!" the Doctor asked, pushing everyone back.
He pulled his sonic out and pointed it at the device, adjusting the settings.
"That'll stop it," the Doctor said as the device blew up.
"I told you!" Donna's mother complained, "He's blown up the car! Who is he, anyway? What sort of doctor blows up cars?" Sylvia complained.
"Oh, not now, Mum," Donna brushed her off.
"Oh, should I make an appointment?" she asked snidely before storming into the house.
"That wasn't just exhaust fumes. Some sort of gas. Artificial gas," the Doctor murmured.
"And it's aliens, is it? Aliens?" Wilf asked eagerly.
"But if it's poisonous, they they've got poisonous gas in every car on Earth," the Doctor said in horror.
Him and Donna turned from the car, staring down the streets.
"Would you like me to move the car back into your driveway?" Freya asked Wilf gently.
"Yeah. Sure. It's not safe," Wilf murmured, handing her the keys. Freya got into the car and started to put the keys in the ignition when the doors locked.
And the car started on its own.
Freya stared down at the empty ignition and tried pulling the door open. And then tried unlocking the door. But it wasn't really locked.
And some sort of thick gas was starting to come from the car, outside.
She could smell it inside as well.
"Hold on! Turn it off! Freya! What are you doing? Get out of there!" Donna shouted at her through the glass, eyes wide.
"I can't. It's not locked. And the car's not started! It has nothing to do with me!" Freya protested. She forced her breaths to come out evenly. It wouldn't do, getting panicked. Not with air that was becoming contaminated. She needed steady, even breaths to prolong her oxygen intake.
Freya could see Donna's mother coming back out of the house, talking to them.
"They've activated it!" the Doctor shouted. He ran a hand through his hair, spinning around to stare at the street. Freya stared as well. Each and every car had gas pouring out of it.
"Doctor, the gas is inside the car too. She's going to choke to death," Ianto said to the Doctor as he hit the glass. Nothing happened.
"It won't open," the Doctor said, "It's the whole world."
Freya shifted slightly in the seat, trying to find something that could break the glass and get her out. But the air was hazy. She was hazy.
And her vision began to fade.
Okay guys, sorry for the long wait here. I just moved to France for a job, so I'm still in the process of figuring everything out. It's going to be a few months probably before everything settles out. I'm still working on things, but this is the first time I've had a chance to write anything in about two weeks. So I'm working on it, just quite a bit slower.
Let me know what you guys think! I AM still working on this, just at a much slower rate than before. Sorry for the long silence there. I appreciate you guys, and wish I had the time to just hurry up and write it all for you guys!