Andrew Q Gordon

Thanks - as I've said a few times, this is how I 'felt' the story should end. It felt right. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment along the way - Andy

You're always welcome in my forum - just obey Rule 3 and we will get along fine.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end and for the comments, I appreciate them. I think these two are good together so why end it badly right?

Thanks for the review and for reading, glad you liked the chapter. I was pleased how it came out and even more so now, hearing that most everyone thought it was the right ending. Andy

I think it depends on the age of the two when they meet. 18 & 38 ? Please 30 & 50 - that is a bit different About 17 years ago I met a kid - I was thirty and he was twenty - nice guy - cute, funny, smart, mature. He wanted us to date in a bad way. Told me he was mature for his age and he didn't relate to people his own age. In the end I told him no. I told him no because he was 20, he hadn't finished college, hadn't had his first career job, hadn't moved into his own place, hadn't turned 21 and had his time going out bar hopping and staying out at the clubs until it got old, hadn't settled into where he was going to live and who he was going to be. I told him that he had so much yet to experience that I had already done. No matter what he thought, he still had to experience these things for himself. I told him I didn't want to relieve those years, didn't want to go back to who I was at that age and that if he adjusted his life to mine, he would miss out on things he might come to regret. We parted friends, stayed in touch for a few years then he left the area. I won't say I ever regretted what I told him, I truly believe(d) he needed to experience all those things for himself and to enjoy them as only someone his age could. I did regret not dating him on some level, but I met Mike within about 6 months and never regretted that so it all worked out well for me. About 10 years after Ed and I met, I ran into him at a gay softball tournament in San Diego. We had dinner to catch up. [neither his partner nor mine were at the tournament] He thanked me for what I told him. Said he changed his thinking and found that friends his age weren't so different after all. He and his partner were together for 4 years and he was really happy. After that I never regretted anything about that discussion. And that was only a 10 year difference. I think once you pass a certain threshold age - say 30ish - age takes on less meaning. Both sides have moved on from college and are past the first job, first apartment, first taste of responsibility. By then people tend to be more or less who they are going to be the rest of their lives. So at my age, I could see dating someone 20 years older or younger if that person were the right person, though, 20 years younger might still be a bit young. But as Tidpin said, at some point age does become an issue when the age difference is vast. One partner is likely to spend a significant amount of time without the other at the end of their life. But that can happen even if the age difference isn't so great. My grandparents were 3 years apart in age and my grandmother lived 15 years after my Pop passed away. So in the end it really didn't matter so much. Andy

Dag gone it, - oh well can't blame a guy for trying

Okay so I know you meant Jordan not Jason when you said you were looking forward to seeing him fry, but that story will take a bit of doing so don't expect it tomorrow or nothing Thanks so much for reading, you have been one to the earliest and most stead fast readers and reviewers so I want to say again thanks Andy

Honestly, I've always wanted to write a story with a sad ending, but honestly I don't think people read to be sad. I am not sure I could've pulled the trigger on this being sad but in the end, I liked this ending so much better. Thanks for reading - and thanks for all the comments along the way.

Yeah I am something of a romantic too, ask Nephy how much I bugged to make sure Astrin and Rowan stayed together. I've said it a couple times but this was the ending I think I always wanted, so I am glad most everyone likes it. Thanks for reading and for all the comments and reviews along the way. Andy

Thanks Shane, glad you like the story and the ending - I think this was the way this story needed to end - just felt right.

Antya and I talked about a sequel, or a companion story - a sequel we both agreed wouldn't work, not for this story at least. A companion, say involving Ethan or Blake or possibly Dean could be doable, but at this point I don't have the notion to do it. Not to say I wouldn't, but I have a few other things I want to work on first. Though I might find my way back to the people and places of SS one day.Andy

Let me say I know this is going to sound SO bizarre when said about your writing but - this was too short. Sorry it was. I touched on it in the review but there was too much going on for the time you spent. Either cut down the number of characters - not my first choice, or add another 10K words. I say add because despite the confusion I think it has in it, the core, the make the reader care about the character is there. The world leaps off at us, but then we move away confused. This is not a dig at the story - I guess I just wanted to know more. You tossed out so much but explained so little. Anyway, that is what you do, isn't it? This way people will come to your forum, even if it is just to bitch [not that you venture onto other peoples forums so this is where you lavish your wit and humor I see. ]

Bug Stuart? I mean he lives closer to you than me.

I thought about them meeting and walking away from each other at the end, but I just thought this was the better ending. 1,2, 4 years from now will they be together? IDK, but I couldn't see Peter walking away without trying to salvage it, and we all know Jason never wanted it to end in the first place. Like I said - five years from now will they be a couple - IDK - really I don't, I never really had that much vision for them so I can't say - use your own imagination I guess :)Thanks for reading adn the review. Andy

Thanks Trevor, glad you liked it. I thought the card and waiting for Jason was just so Peter. It was how he did things. I also think it shows, he wasn't sure if he screwed up so bad that Jason wouldn't take him back and this was something of a defensive mechanism - so if Jason said no, he could leave without incident. The trial should be fun for me to write, I did the epilogue/preview in no time, I can just see things as they would happen - work certainly didn't hurt in that area. As always I never give stuff away, but in this - there is a bit of evidence against him to be sure.

Thanks John, this felt the best way to end it so this is how it ends As for the short story - well that isn't written yet so I am not in a rush to post the epilogue because it will be some time before that is ready - and I don't need too many people asking about it too soon LOL Bah, nothing to be sorry for, I read, Anyta read it, you read it, I read it again twice, and it was still there. BUT it's gone now so most folks won't notice it when they read it Thanks for the help along the way Frosty Nope, sorry Anya, this was written well before you started threatening me - so this is how it was meant to end. As for 'Moving On' I was stumped for a good chapter title - I didn't want - "The End' or 'Peter's Choice' I toyed with Second Shot, but that was a give away. Moving on was perfect because they are moving on with their lives - just that it is together, not apart. Shesh, there is no pleasing some people is there?

In our haste to get out the happy ending, we all just missed it. No biggie - sure isn't the first one we all missed :PGlad you enjoyed it, and yeah it is a tad sad to end it, but that's how it goes. Not sure when the next is coming, I might need a bit of time to get stuff ready before I start posting, but you'll be among the first to know, now won't you?

Originally I thought to extend this throught the trial but that isn't really part of their conflict/resolution. Once they were back together, the other became a side story - hence the short story. I will post an epilogue soon, which is more a preview than anything else. It will be about six montha after the end of Second Shot. I have some issues to work through, like from whose POV? Just one? Several? But it I already know what happens, it's just a matter of getting it out.Thanks for reading and for the comments, I appreciate them. Andy

Sorry to have kept you from dinner and yes I know I did my best to make it seem like they wouldn't get together, but it was part of the story - if it was just they had a fight about something silly, it would have been a silly story. There had to be a reason for them to split up that wasn't just - you made me mad. Peter could easily have not gotten help, still asked Jason back and the cycle would have continued. Give Peter credit, he didn't want to make it worse by taking Jason back only to have the problems resurface. Hard as that was for Jason, I think it was better in the end because now he knew what lengths Peter went to in order to fix things. Thanks for reading and for all your comments along the way. Andy

Anyta, please -all the mistakes you DID catch and you want to take responsibility for that one??? No, I won't let you . You have been an amazing friend and help along the way. I feel that what I got from this was your friendship and that of others. Even if no one read, I still would be able to know writing this helped me be friends with you and that alone would have made it an awesome experience. And for those reading this - thank Anyta for the ending, she and I debated this a few times and this is how we BOTH thought it best to end it. - - Andy

Just in case they make it into a movie - that is how I want it to end with that visual. Okay so that's a tad egotistical, but I needed to end it some how. Thanks for reading and commenting along the way. --- Andy

Thanks - I am glad there are no lynch mobs - sad would have been realistic too but this felt like how Peter would have handled it - he would find a way to get what he wanted - and never stopped wanting Jason. Thanks for reading along the way and for taking the time to comment.

Ever since the two got together, Peter's apartment was their 'home.' It was where they first went to talk about things, it was where they first had a night together, it was where they had their first Christmas tree - it was home. That was how I always wanted to end it if I chose keeping them together - which I did. Kevin, thanks for commenting and thanks for your help along the way - I still can see Mike's smile when you sent us the classic car writing 'aid' and he got to thumb through it. That is something I get to take from this experience. Andy

Glad you liked it, I did, as I've mentioned, have a different ending where they do NOT stay together but this felt more right to me. Peter never stopped loving Jason, showing it just got lost somewhere. Thanks CK for all your support and comments, knowing people were reading and interested was a big help when I got stuck along the way. Andy

Thanks for the catch, I will go fix that, and no that is not being a bitch, that would be a sucky way to end things. Thanks for reading - glad you enjoyed it.