Mark Arbour

I've got to disagree with you on part of this, but I think it comes down to the two different things you're talking about here. One is having a family unit with a partner, etc.; and the other is having a home base, and a support system. You may be right about the former. I'm not sure that I see JJ settling down with one guy or girl, but then again, that may be just what he needs. On the other hand, I think JJ needs his family a lot more than he's willing to admit. I'm not saying that it's a near-obsession (like it is for JP and Will), or that tradition dominates his attitudes (like it does with Darius), but it's still pretty important. Look at how he reacted when the house in Boston wasn't on schedule to be completed. He acknowledges that as his anchor. I think he looks at his family with a jaded and cynical eye, but if you dig deeper, he needs them. A lot. A very good point. It makes sense that failed relationships would warp his thinking about that. On the other hand, it's hard to say what the future will bring. If Darius or Will (and maybe even John or Marie) end up with largely happy, monogamous relationships, that will surely have an impact on his attitudes. As he gets older, and matures, that will also guide him more in that direction. That's not to say that he'll go there, just that he'll feel some internal pressure to do so.

Thanks! Glad you like the story! I'm thinking along the same lines as you are, even as I mentally debate over who should be the father of this baby, and whether it should be a boy or a girl. If the baby is Matt's, you're right, in that it would bond Matt, Wade, and Tiffany together even if Matt and Wade aren't a couple. If it isn't, I'm wondering if they still wouldn't have that bond, since regardless of the parentage, they conceived the baby together (just like they did for Riley).

I appreciate your optimism (and your review). I'm looking at this, and the only thing I see Alex doing wrong is treating Matt and Wade differently when he has sex with them. Beyond that, he seems to be a pretty honorable guy. Matt and Wade weren't a couple when Alex and Wade first got together, and they're still not a couple now. Alex suggested that they leave Matt as a sexual option (although whether that was only for Wade or for both of them is unclear), so it doesn't seem unreasonable for him to hook up with Matt. So, from that standpoint, I'm trying to think about what Alex has done to cause many readers to think he's incredibly evil.

You raise a really interesting question here: what is behind Wade's obviously uncomfortable reaction at Matt and Alex hooking up? It could be any number of things, but it's interesting to go back to "Paternity" and remember how Wade and Matt rectified the nightmare with Carl. Wade told Matt that if they wanted to have a relationship with another guy, they should sleep with him together, that way they would know the dynamic, and it would be less threatening. While this situation is very different (Matt and Wade aren't a couple), it may be that Wade is frustrated that sex is, in fact, so different between Alex and Matt vs. Alex and himself.

Wade's illness certainly comes at a convenient time, and one could certainly accuse the author of using it as a plot device. :-) I think that when we get closer to the birth, I'll post a poll on Tiffany's baby. I usually wait until I have that all written, so I'm not inadvertently swayed by the results.

Well not all chapter can be full of rainbows and sunshine (SMILE). The good news is that with only four more chapters left, you won't have to wait too long to find out what the deal is.

Good to see you here, HS! Tiffany conceived when they were in Boston, doing the home shopping spree. There was no explicit sex scene, just some reminiscing by Matt the next day. I think Matt's nature may seem more lowbrow because of his flirtatious nature and his persona as a very sexual being, so that may have some bearing. On the other hand, in polite society, Matt usually does just fine.

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.