InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Chronicles ❯ Minor Adjustments ( Chapter 87 )

~~Chapter 87~~

~Minor Adjustments~

 

Kagome moaned and let her forehead drop against her arm. Leaning over the toilet, she didn't have the strength to stand. Everything made her sick. Waking up had become a practice on getting herself into the bathroom before she had a chance to throw up. Two days into it, and Kagome was starting to worry that she'd never be able to even think about food again.

 

“Are you going to be okay?”

 

Lifting her head up, Kagome forced a smile at the kitsune. “I'll be fine, Shippou.”

 

The child didn't look like he believed her. With a marked frown, he shook his head slowly. “You've been sick a lot the last couple of days. I'll go get Grandma—”

 

“No!” Kagome called after Shippou.

 

He stopped and shot her a quizzical glance. “Why not? She can help you, can't she?”

 

“It's just a stomach bug,” she lied. “Anyway, there's no use in worrying her. I'm fine, I promise.”

 

Shippou made a face. “You smell different.”

 

“Back off, runt,” InuYasha remarked gruffly but gently as he stepped up behind the kitsune. “Ain't your tutor supposed to be here soon?”

 

“InuYasha . . .” Kagome began.

 

Shippou giggled and ran off.

 

“Is it bad?” he asked, ears drooping as he awkwardly rubbed her back. He winced when she offered him a weak smile.

 

“Not so bad,” she lied.

 

He snorted. “Keh! You're lying. Come on. You're going back to bed, wench.”

 

“I can't,” she argued. “I have exams, and—”

 

“And you're getting sick every time you turn around. Bed.”

 

Pulling herself up on the sink and digging around for her toothbrush, Kagome sighed. “I can't skip the exams, InuYasha. They're very important.”

 

“More important than my pup?” he challenged.

 

That earned him a scathing look. “Of course not,” she assured him. “But they are important.”

 

He waited until she was finished brushing her teeth before he grabbed her hand and dragged her back to the bedroom. Arms crossed over his chest, he pointed at the bed and ignored her protests. “You stay there, or else,” he warned as she rolled her eyes and climbed onto the bed. “I mean it . . . .”

 

“Where are you going?” she asked, taking note of the jeans and shirt he wore. Though he still wore his fire rat clothing around the shrine, he'd taken to wearing modern clothes if he was leaving the grounds.

 

He snorted in answer, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly. “It doesn't matter. It won't take long.”

 

“Promise me you're not going to look for trouble.”

 

“Keh! Like I ever do.”

 

“Promise me.”

 

He sighed. “Promise me you'll stay in bed.”

 

“I promise I'll stay in bed,” she allowed, `until you leave.'

 

“You can leave off the `until I leave' part that I know you added in that beautiful head of yours,” he shot back.

 

She grinned. “Beautiful?”

 

He shook his head and rolled his eyes as he quickly kissed her. “I mean it, wench! If I find out you've been out of bed . . . .”

 

She rolled her eyes as he strode out of the room. Throwing back the blankets, she sat up and leaned forward to peek out the window. With a small shriek, she jerked back as InuYasha hopped through the window. “I knew you'd try that, sneaky wench!” he accused.

 

“Don't do that!” she grumbled, clutching her chest to hold in her wildly beating heart. “You're going to give me a heart attack!”

 

“Keh! If you'd stay in bed, you wouldn't be in danger of having a heart attack.”

 

“Oh . . . !”

 

Standing over her with his arms crossed over his chest, he glowered down at her. She glared back. “Don't make me tweak you,” he warned.

 

She sighed. “Seriously, I'll be no further than my desk, I promise. I do have to do these exams, and—”

 

InuYasha shook his head. “All right,” he agreed grudgingly. “Just promise me you'll lie down if it gets any worse?”

 

She finally grinned. “Okay.”

 

He didn't look happy but he did kiss her forehead and strode out of the room again.

 

Kagome groaned softly as soon as she was sure that InuYasha was out of earshot. She felt horrible. To be completely honest, she felt like she wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep through the next nine months. Unfortunately she did have to take her exams, and with so much more riding on them now, she couldn't allow her body to distract her from the task at hand.

 

Turning on her computer just before she dashed for the bathroom again, Kagome wretched pitifully as she dropped to her knees in front of the toilet. Shaking her head as she closed her eyes and willed back the waves of nausea, she sighed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. `It's going to be a long pregnancy,' she thought with a rueful moan as she dug out her toothbrush again. `A very long pregnancy . . . .'

 

 

::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::8:::

 

 

Staring over the manicured lawn, the well-kept gardens with a cup of coffee in his bandaged hand, Sesshoumaru didn't wince at the painful reminder of his moments of uncharacteristic rage.

 

Tetsusaiga pulsed in his hand, the burn of the curse returning to the blade. A hiss of pain as he tightened his grip, he wasn't sure if he was willing Tetsusaiga to return to where it belonged or if he was simply hoping against hope that his actions had not been in vain. With a flash of light, the sword disappeared, and he had stared at his blistered hand in amazement.

 

“Tetsusaiga,” Leikizu whispered, her hands covering her mouth.

 

Closing his eyes against the very real sting, the odd burn behind his gaze, Sesshoumaru nodded once. `It is as it should be . . . Tetsusaiga . . . in the hands of the one who should have it.'

 

A slight smile as he brushed aside the close-call. In the controlled world that he knew best, Sesshoumaru's smile diminished as he shook his head. “Too close, InuYasha . . . .” he murmured. Eyes cool, demeanor composed, lifting the mug to his lips, he sighed, as a resurgence of long-suppressed memories came.

 

It had started with the Shikon no Tama. Foolish as they were, the baka and his miko had fought over something trivial and in the heated rush of anger, InuYasha had made the wish that had led to their destruction.

 

“Will you just shut the fuck up, bitch? I'm not chasing after Kikyou! She's dead, or weren't you there? Damn, don't you ever stop talking?”

 

“You want me to stop talking? Fine, baka!”

 

“Keh! As if you'll do it! Hell, Kagome, I don't think you know how! I wish you'd learn to keep your fucking mouth closed!”

 

It was just the beginning of the end. Staring at the jewel as it reacted to his `wish', in stunned silence as the swirling colors faded, as the white light flashed brighter and brighter, as the jewel exploded into a cloud of glittering dust. If the miko spoke again after that, Sesshoumaru didn't know, but he was sure that she never said another word to his baka half-brother.

 

The kitsune's demise had been a painful thing for them. Watching from the shadows of the forest, Sesshoumaru had frowned, wondering how it could be that a youkai child could inspire tears from the human emotion of grief. Norimitsu had come to kill the miko. The kitsune had foolishly tried to fight the greater youkai, and he paid for it with his life.

 

The blast of holy energy had sent Norimitsu fleeing to save himself, but she had been too late. By the time she reached the mangled body of the young one, he was dead.

 

The salt in the miko's tears had floated to him in the breeze. Her silent cries were racked with sorrow, with grief over the life of the child she'd considered her own. When the others found her hours later, she had no tears left. Her body shook with the force of her sobs, yet no sound was uttered. Her unvoiced wails had horrified him, tormented him. They were the precursor of the tears to come, of a legacy of blood and death that had spun out of control.

 

“Father? Uncle's here.”

 

Sesshoumaru shook himself out of his reverie and nodded once to acknowledge Nibori's announcement. “Show him to the study.”

 

“The study?” Nibori echoed. “But—”

 

“Yes, the study. It's time I told that baka what he nearly destroyed.”

 

Taking his time drinking the remaining coffee, Sesshoumaru set the mug on the small table before he turned away from the windows and headed for the door. InuYasha stood in the middle of the wreckage blinking in mild disbelief at the complete annihilation of the once opulent room.

 

“Someone piss you off?” InuYasha asked, sensing Sesshoumaru's presence without turning to look.

 

“You could say that.”

 

“Keh. Didn't think you had it in you.”

 

“On the contrary. Every man can reach his limits.”

 

Slowly turning to face him, InuYasha's eyes narrowed as he stared at him. “What'd you do to your hand?”

 

With a careless shrug, Sesshoumaru crossed the floor to sit in the overstuffed chair—one of the few pieces he hadn't ravaged in his tirade. “Tetsusaiga rejected me.”

 

“When did you have my Tetsusaiga?”

 

Stares locking, challenging, Sesshoumaru didn't look away. “When you died.”

 

InuYasha stepped back, eyes widening in surprise. “When I what?”

 

“What happened to you the other night?”

 

Shaking his head, InuYasha's frown deepened. “The well collapsed . . . .” Surveying the debris again, InuYasha slowly turned his head to assess his brother once more. “Keh! You did all this because you thought I was dead? Who are you fucking kidding, you bastard?”

 

Shooting to his feet and stalking toward InuYasha with a menacing glint in his cold gaze, he stopped inches away to say, “This bastard is the one who has been seeking to correct your arrogant mistakes for the last five hundred years!”

 

“What?”

 

Reining in his emotions, Sesshoumaru turned his back on InuYasha. “It started with the foolish wish you made on the Shikon no Tama, then the death of your kitsune. Like a feather thrown into the face of the wind, it was futile, unstoppable. There wasn't a thing anyone could do to stop it, and in the end, everyone you cared about suffered. Mark my words, InuYasha. If you're not careful, you'll lose everything.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about?”

 

Sesshoumaru deliberately ignored InuYasha's question as he rounded on his brother again, wrinkling his nose in distain. “Ugh . . . you didn't . . . .” Making a show of sniffing again, Sesshoumaru grimaced in open abhorrence. “Kami, you did.”

 

“Did what?” InuYasha asked, glowering at him, the warning in his tone obvious.

 

“You impregnated the miko . . . .”

 

InuYasha's back stiffened, fangs showing in a flash of a snarl. “Don't you fucking say one word against her, you bastard . . . or about my pup.”

 

“I could care less if you sire an army, baka. Let's just pray they all take after the miko.”

 

“Since when have you taken a liking to Kagome?”

 

Sesshoumaru waved his hand dismissively. “One doesn't have to like someone to know that they're too good for the likes of you, baka. She must be a saint, to deal with your intolerable tirades.”

 

“I'll show you `intolerable', Sesshoumaru,” InuYasha snarled as he drew Tetsusaiga. “Bend over, will you?”

 

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. “Put that away, baka. Why did you seek me out?”

 

“I didn't,” InuYasha growled as he dropped Tetsusaiga into the scabbard again. “I came to talk to your mate.”

 

As if on cue, Leikizu breezed into the room with a piece of paper that she extended to InuYasha. “Here you are. The best youkai doctors in Tokyo. In any case, let me know, and I'll be more than happy to call and get Kagome in to see one as soon as possible. Don't worry about the cost. Sesshoumaru will be more than happy to cover it.”

 

“I will?” Sesshoumaru drawled.

 

Leikizu shifted her gaze to the side. “Yes, you will.”

 

His answer was a long-suffering sigh.

 

InuYasha frowned as he stared at the paper. “Which one is best?” he finally asked.

 

Leikizu shrugged. “Dr. Uneomou is the best, however—”

 

“Then that one,” InuYasha decided. He missed the worried glance that Leikizu shot her mate.

 

Sesshoumaru almost smiled. “Are you certain about that, baka?”

 

InuYasha snorted. “Keh! You said this doctor is the best, right? Then yes, I'm sure.”

 

“InuYasha—”

 

“You heard him, Lei. He wants his miko to have the best . . . and I, for one, can't say I blame him for that.”

 

InuYasha's gaze turned suspicious as he raised his eyes to stare at his brother. “What?”

 

Sesshoumaru shook his head. “Surely you have better things to do than add your stench to my home?”

 

“You really are a bastard, did you know?”

 

Sesshoumaru managed to keep his amusement to himself until he heard the front door slam behind his volatile brother. With a soft chuckle, he shook his head—until he caught Leikizu's menacing expression.

 

“I don't think this is a good idea,” she remarked casually enough, despite the glowing behind her magenta gaze.

 

“They'll see each other sooner or later. It's inevitable.”

 

“True as that may be, it may not be in Kagome's best interest to be caught between InuYasha and Katosan while she's pregnant.”

 

Sesshoumaru shrugged. “She's strong. Who knows? Maybe she'll purify that baka of a brother of mine . . . .”

 

Leikizu shook her head and stalked out of the study, leaving Sesshoumaru behind with his smile widening just a little. All right, perhaps it was an underhanded tactic. At least the prenatal visit would prove entertaining . . . .

 

 

::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::8::8:::

 

 

“Kagome? Are you all right?”

 

Slowly glancing up from the dish of oden before her, Kagome swallowed hard as an intense wave of nausea hit her hard. “Fine,” she managed with a wan smile as she tried to convince Mrs. Higurashi that there was nothing wrong with her.

 

Her mother wasn't buying. “I made your favorite, you look like you're going to be ill, and you tell me you're fine?”

 

“Keh! Did you finish your exams, wench?” InuYasha interrupted, ignoring Sango and Miroku's puzzled expressions.

 

“Well, no, I have a couple tomorrow,” Kagome remarked, relief obvious in her tone as she shot InuYasha a grateful glance.

 

“Shippou tells me you've been sick for the last couple of days,” Mrs. Higurashi went on as she stared at her plate. “Should I make you an appointment to see the doctor? If you have a stomach virus . . . .”

 

“Did he?” Kagome asked, careful to keep her tone light as InuYasha shot the kitsune a warning look. Shippou immediately dropped his chopsticks and covered his nose.

 

Miroku shook his head, knowing the signs of a reluctant hanyou and miko when he saw them. “There's something you're not saying, isn't there?”

 

“How was your doctor visit, Sango? Any news?” Kagome raised her voice to ask as she repeated in her head, `I will not throw up, I will not throw up, I will not throw up . . . .' The sight of the food before her made that mantra harder to abide by.

 

“Dr. Yukina's scheduled the surgery, and hopefully we'll be able to try for a baby soon,” Sango replied with a hesitant smile. Miroku leaned over and squeezed her shoulders.

 

“That's great!” Kagome said, mustering as much enthusiasm as she could.

 

“InuYasha, would you like more?” Mrs. Higurashi asked. He shook his head.

 

“I would,” Souta piped up.

 

Mrs. Higurashi waited as Souta's dish was passed over. She refilled it and handed it to Kagome. The smell of the food hit her hard, and with a gasp, she shoved the plate at InuYasha, who barely managed to keep it from tumbling into his lap as she shot to her feet and sprinted out of the kitchen.

 

Mrs. Higurashi watched her daughter's unceremonious exit before her gaze slowly shifted to InuYasha. He handed the dish over to Souta and swallowed hard at the overwhelming suspicion in Kagome's mother's stare. “InuYasha . . . could I speak to you a moment? Outside?”

 

Trying to look like he wasn't concerned as his stomach felt like it was being tied in knots, InuYasha got up to follow Mrs. Higurashi out of the kitchen and toward the back doors. Hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt in case he had to make a quick escape and in case he had to cut down some walls to get to Kagome, he waited while Mrs. Higurashi closed the door behind them and turned to stare at him.

 

“Is there something you need to tell me?” she asked quietly, her tone neutral.

 

“ . . . No,” he hedged, hoping she didn't see the tell-tale reddening in his face.

 

“You're sure?”

 

Ears twitching nervously, InuYasha nodded. “I'm sure.”

 

Mrs. Higurashi nodded slowly as she turned away and wandered toward Goshinboku. InuYasha reluctantly followed. “You know, I told Kagome's father right here, under this tree, that I was pregnant with her. I remember both times . . . it was terrible. If someone even mentioned food to me, I'd be running for the bathroom . . . .” Trailing off, she turned to stare at InuYasha again. “Are you sure you don't have something to tell me?”

 

Ears drooping, he shifted nervously under her scrutiny. “So you . . . know.”

 

She sighed. “How pregnant is my daughter?”

 

He didn't like the possessive way Mrs. Higurashi had called Kagome `her daughter'. He let it pass though he did frown. “Two days.”

 

Mrs. Higurashi did look surprised at that. “Two days? Kagome's throwing up that badly after just two days?”

 

He blushed. “It's a hanyou pup. They're always stronger than human ones.”

 

The door scraped as it opened. Seeing the two of them under Goshinboku, Kagome closed the door and ran over to them. “Mama, let me explain,” she hurriedly said as she stepped between InuYasha and her mother. “It was the night the well closed, and . . . we weren't really thinking, when he found me, and . . . um . . . .”

 

Mrs. Higurashi held up a hand to stop her daughter's ramblings. “That's all right, dear. I don't think I want to hear how your baby was conceived.” She sighed and shook her head. “I just want to know what the two of you plan on doing now.”

 

A low growl escaped InuYasha as he grabbed Kagome gently but firmly and leapt into the branches of the God Tree. “Stay here, wench,” he said as he deposited her and dropped back to the ground.

“Stay here?” Kagome called down. “Where am I supposed to go? InuYasha!”

 

He ignored her. “I don't think I like your tone,” he remarked to Mrs. Higurashi, arms crossing over his chest, hand hovering above Tetsusaiga's hilt.

 

Mrs. Higurashi was staring up at Kagome with her hand to her lips. “That's not safe,” she stated as though she hadn't heard a thing InuYasha had said.

 

“I think I'm going to be sick again,” Kagome whimpered.

 

InuYasha's ears twitched and he moved aside in case she did decide to be sick again though he made no move to retrieve his mate, either. “You're not keeping me away from my mate or my pup,” he growled louder, and finally managed to get Mrs. Higurashi's attention.

 

She blinked in surprise. “Why would I try to do such a thing? Will you get her down? She does look quite peaked.”

 

“I'm serious,” Kagome whined. “I really think—”

 

“Aim away from the clothes, wench,” InuYasha called up to her. “You promise?” he asked Mrs. Higurashi.

 

“Heavens, yes I promise! Now will you get her down?”

 

That was all he was waiting for. Within moments, Kagome was safely back on the ground as her color returned to normal.

 

“Kagome, you'd better go lie down,” Mrs. Higurashi commented as she reached to feel Kagome's head. InuYasha growled. Kagome made a face at his overprotective behavior.

 

“I'm fine, Mama. I'm sorry we didn't tell you. InuYasha was just worried.”

 

Mrs. Higurashi shook her head again, tossing her hands up at her sides. “There's one little thing, though . . . .”

 

InuYasha's growl was cut off by a quick jab to his ribs from his mate. He reached over her shoulder and tweaked her nose. Kagome wrinkled it and rolled her eyes. “Keh!”

 

“And on this, there will be absolutely no arguments,” Mrs. Higurashi went on with firm resolve furrowing her brow. “You two will be married as quickly as it can be arranged, do you understand?”

 

Kagome shot InuYasha a questioning glance. He nodded once. “Keh.”

 

Mrs. Higurashi sighed once more. “A hanyou, you say?”

 

Kagome grinned and nodded. “Yep.”

 

“Will it have your cute ears?”

 

InuYasha flushed. “Keh!” he snorted, bounding into the branches of Goshinboku again.

 

Mrs. Higurashi hugged Kagome tight. “My little girl really is grown up,” she remarked with a sad sigh.

 

“Thanks, Mama. I'm sorry that we didn't tell you.”

 

She nodded. “I understand. I wish you had waited but . . . there's no sense worrying over what can't be changed. I have every faith in the both of you, you know. Have you thought about making an appointment with a doctor?”

 

“I thought I should wait until I'm a little more pregnant,” Kagome remarked.

 

“Keh! Leikizu is making one for you,” InuYasha called down from Goshinboku.

 

Kagome blinked in surprise. “Was that where you went earlier?”

 

He didn't answer. She grinned.

 

“Let me make you some broth and crackers. That was what I lived on for the first three months with both you and Souta. It was all I could keep down,” Mrs. Higurashi commented. “Have you given any thought to baby names?”

 

“Not yet,” Kagome giggled.

 

“Let me see if I still have any of the baby name books I got when I was pregnant with Souta.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“And we need to make plans for your wedding. It'll be rushed, but I'm sure we can still have a lovely little ceremony, maybe here at the shrine . . . .”

 

Kagome nodded and stopped to look back at Goshinboku. “InuYasha? Are you coming?”

 

“In awhile, wench,” he assured her. Settling back in the tree, he stared at the sky. `So it wasn't that bad,' he had to admit. At least all of his parts were still where they were supposed to be . . . .

 

A sudden savage jolt shot through him. He hadn't realized how used he'd gotten to having Kagome up here with him. Staring at the house with a low whine, he sighed. He knew there was a reason he'd wanted to keep the secret to themselves.

 

Moments later, the back door opened again. InuYasha watched the kitsune dart to stand below Goshinboku. Staring up through the branches, his eyes dark in the dusky light, he tilted his head to the side and cleared his throat. “InuYasha? I wasn't trying to tell Grandma,” Shippou said, his voice high with pent-up anxiety.

 

With a sigh, InuYasha dropped out of the tree and sank down on the ground by the youngster. “It's all right, Shippou. She was bound to find out sooner or later.”

 

“Is . . . is Kagome really sick?”

 

Sensing the kitsune's anxiety, InuYasha sighed and patted him on the back, awkward and clumsy but comforting just the same. “She'll be fine.”

 

Shippou shook his head, sitting down as his tail twitched nervously. InuYasha grinned just a little. The concealment fangs only worked with those who hadn't seen a youkai in full form before. While everyone who had seen InuYasha or Shippou before they'd gotten the charms would still see them as they normally looked, the rest of the world could not. InuYasha wondered just how Shippou looked as a human. Suddenly he sat up a little straighter. Soon there'd be another pup who'd require a concealment talisman, too.

 

“Shippou . . . . Remember when you said before that you'd like a brother or sister?”

 

The kitsune nodded. “Yeah.”

 

“Be careful around Kagome, okay? She's going to have that pup.”

 

Shippou's eyes widened, his expression full of cautious hope. “Really?”

 

InuYasha's grin widened. “Really, runt.”

 

“So . . . will it be a boy?”

 

InuYasha shrugged. “Can't say for sure. We'll know when it's born.”

 

Shippou sighed. “I guess I can wait,” he allowed. “Is that why she's been sick?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“She won't be sick forever, will she?”

 

“Keh, let's hope not.”

 

“I know you said we have to be careful with her . . . does that mean I can't hug her anymore?”

 

InuYasha shook his head. “Hugs would be all right,” he allowed. “Just to go throwing yourself at her, all right?”

 

“All right,” Shippou agreed easily enough. He hopped up to run back inside.

 

InuYasha watched him go and sighed. He wanted to go inside, gather Kagome up, and take her back into the solitude of the forest. Pushing off the ground, he lit back in the tree, settling against the trunk, staring over the countless electric lights casting the city in a false daylight. In this time and in this place, he couldn't help but long for the time he better knew, the open wild, the freedom to live without the constant need for a disguise.

 

Then again, what if Kagome or Shippou or the pup had trouble, like Sango? What if something happened that he couldn't fix? Something that Kagome's first aid kit couldn't mend? `Maybe,' he allowed even if a bit grudgingly, `maybe it's all right . . . .'

 

Kagome stepped outside and wandered over to the tree. “InuYasha? Are you all right?”

 

He hopped down and pulled the book out of her hands. '10,000 Baby Names', it said. He snorted. “Fine, wench,” he answered. “But you need to lie down. No arguing,” he stated when she opened her mouth to protest.

 

“In a little while,” she agreed, reaching out to take his hand. “You miss it, don't you?”

 

“Miss what?”

 

She smiled wanly. “The past.”

 

He shrugged. “Some. I'd rather be here with you then there alone.”

 

She sighed and leaned up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “We'll see if you still think that when you're chasing Shippou and the baby around . . . he says he's going to teach the baby how to use foxfire.”

 

“I'll tweak him,” InuYasha threatened but smiled.

 

Kagome started to answer but yawned instead. He picked her up gently and headed toward their small home. She sighed and let her head rest on his shoulder. “You won't be able to do this long,” she predicted.

 

“Keh. I'm hanyou, remember? I'm much stronger than you pathetic humans.”

 

She yawned again. She was asleep by the time he laid her on the bed.

 

 

 

 

~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~ *~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~

 

A/N:

 

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Final Thought from Kagome :

See, InuYasha? That wasn't so bad . . . .

==========

 

Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Chronicles): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~