Mark Arbour

Thank you for the review! With your comments in mind, I'll have to caution Alex to avoid Memphis. That means, when we finally get to 2014, I can't have him go with William and Harry to that big wedding! :-)

Thanks for the review! We missed you around here! Wade's illness is no great cause for concern. It's just a stomach virus, the kind that is agonizing but passes quickly.

I think that when it comes to JJ and sex/sexuality, it's going to be a long road until he gets to a place where he's monogamously happy and satisfied, if he ever does get to that place. I say "I think" because I haven't written or planned that far in advance, and I can see any number of possibilities on how he might act. I like that. Gives me lots of choices. I do think it's pretty certain that, unless JJ decides to jettison his skating career, until he ends it (or until we get to the current era), he's going to have to keep any relationships he has with men firmly in the closet. In that, he is not unlike Zach in that regard.

Damn it! I was out of town so I missed the party! Happy Birthday!

August 5, 2002 Escorial Matt I stared at Tiffany, partly in shock, and partly excited. “You’re pregnant?” I asked, because I was so stunned. “You have a hearing problem?” she demanded icily. “I am certain congratulations are in order,” JP said. He raised his glass. “To Tiffany and the baby she is carrying.” Everyone raised his or her glass to her, while she just sat there, looking like a tiger that had been cornered, but had a

Thanks for the review! I think you're absolutely right about Wade. All things considered, he's probably doing pretty well.

Thanks for the review. There will be another story. One of the things I try to do in reviews and in the forum is to balance things out a bit, since when I do a single narrative, we don't see the other person's views.

Thanks Gene. To me, the key part of your comment was "the way they've treated each other." Neither Wade nor Matt is devoid of guilt in the destruction caused to their relationship.

It worked this time, though!

Thanks for the review! I think that there are differences between Stef/JP and Matt/Wade, but I think those couples are more similar than they are with Brad/Robbie. And I think that you're right, that the Matt we now see transitioning into adulthood would make a good father figure to both Riley and Maddy...and to the new baby as well.

I think this is a very insightful comment, especially when we consider how jealous Matt can be. And I don't care if we're talking new vs. old Matt, he's still going to be jealous. I think it's going to be very tough for him to happily accept that Wade is in another room, intimately involved with Alex (or anyone else). In a way, this relationship, as Wade has it set up, could work really well when everyone gets settled in Boston and Chicago. Once Matt and Wade are separated, then Matt will probably be able to handle it. But when the three of them are together, that's going to be a challenge. If you think about it, the relationships that Matt and Wade have had with other guys, the ones that have been successful, have always involved the two of them having a three-way with the other guy. Wade made that point back in Paternity, that he thought that if there was another guy one of them was into, they should both sleep with him together, to take away the stigma. Wade hasn't really thrown that on the table with Alex. Is the problem that he doesn't want to share? And if not, who is he unwilling to share: Matt or Alex?

I loved your review, because that's exactly the kind of mentality I was trying to show. When I last dealt with the HIV issue in a really intense way, it was in Man in Motion, and that was just depressing as hell. But that 80's mentality still seems to pervade the entire family, even the younger generations. They carry those "institutional memories" forward with them, even though they were too young to remember the actual events.

Thanks so much for the review, Kitt! Great point on Matt being a father. Wade went through the total transformation when he became a Dad, but that largely passed Matt by. He seems to be caring and devoted to Riley, but he really hasn't acted like one of his parents. If he's the father, will that change him? It has to, I think, although how would be debatable. That's a very good point about people with prior health issues being magnets for future ones. I could see that happening to Matt. What was really depressing about this (as I see it) was that Matt was very careful, and seemed to have been a poster boy for safe sex practices. It's quite a relief that he didn't have it, not only because he dodged the bullet, but because of the example to the others in the family.

Thanks for the review Maarten. I really think that Brad did what he had to do with JJ, but it was pretty harsh for him to suddenly make a splash in his son's life by threatening to destroy his skating career. I thought Brad's musings about Tiffany were pretty spot-on. He hasn't really given her enough authority to really rein JJ in. She's his coach, and she encourages him, but she doesn't exert much control over him off the ice. Maybe that will change now.

Miles, Totally agree with you on Brad and JJ, as I pretty much said below. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and that you appreciated all the good news!

Will Wade wake up? Who knows. As far as Alex and cash go, I've had a number of friends like this over the years who came from wealthy families who were cash poor. They manage to support themselves just fine, but they don't have money to blow on unnecessary luxuries. In the situation with the letters, it was probably a win-win. The Duke didn't want, or couldn't, afford to spend the resources to make the letters usable by preserving them. JP had the money, and wanted access to them.

I think the idea of Brad and Scott being together is compelling, but unrealistic. With Scott basically still in hiding, and keeping a low profile, it wouldn't really work for him to have any kind of public relationship with Brad. Quite frankly, I think having him stay in Brad's villa isn't the smartest thing. There are, I'm sure, people still out there who would love to see him dead if they knew he was Lark. So I think that they can be friends, and hook up, but it has to be low-profile, and it can't be serious. The risk to Scott is too great. The conversation with Brad and JJ doesn't, IMHO, isn't a situation where either one of them is right. Brad probably did what he had to do to make Boston tolerable for Wade and Tiffany, but he really is kind of an ass to just jump into JJ's life and start fucking with his career.

Thanks! I think you're right that Matt and Wade are both showing some good self-awareness. Tiffany's news was probably not a surprise to most, but we'll have to see how that turns out.

Thanks Gary. I'm glad you liked the chapter. I think that the Wade/Matt/Alex thing sounds really good right now, but it still has to be tested, so it makes sense that it would put you a little on edge. I also totally agree with you that the mutual forgiveness was a good thing for Matt and Wade. Matt endured a hell of a lot of pain when Wade blew him off for Alex, but it may end up being worth it if it can help them put all the crap of the past behind them.

That sounds like it might be worth a poll!

Thanks for the review! Glad you were happy about Matt. JJ is probably being a diva and not really scheming; I think that requires more planning than he's willing to do when it comes down to it.

Thanks for the review. The troika you refer to really isn't a troika. There are two separate relationships: Matt and Wade, and Alex and Wade.

August 4, 2002 Boston Matt There are times in my life where things are good, really good, and this was one of those times. It made me nervous, as if these good times would have to be paid back later with compound interest, but the last two weeks had been so shitty, I decided that I’d already paid for these good times in advance. Wade and I had spent the entire day of our arrival in our room, fucking and reconnecting, and it had done much to make me

Well said!

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_16_October_1799 It could quite possibly be a spelling error, nut here's where I got the primary info.