Fools In Love

[cellogal]

Here it is, y'all! The sequel to "Every Time Two Fools Collide!" Enjoy...

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/1/

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Okay. You know the drill. "Any chance at coherence, forget about it". In this case, more than ever, 'cause, y'know... EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Incidentally, did I "awwwwww!" at the dedication yet? And, if not, why not? 'Cause, seriously, AWWWWWW!

As to the chapter itself... holy mother of LOVE.

First up, I still think your characterisation is second to none. Love the setting of the scene, the boys being boyish and the girls being girly, and yet even so the whole team still unequivocably being a Team. It is a very very difficult dynamic to really capture, given how complex each of these characters are individually and how cataclysmic those complexities get when bounced off each other, but you make it seem freakin' effortless. This chapter just oozes comfort and contentment, and it just makes one physically relax and smile to read through it, every single time. Which is a very hard sensation to pull off in written fiction when you don't have those contagious grins actually in front of you, and even harder when you're dealing with the mass of emotional confusion that is Philly Homicide. So major major kudos for that, the whole general feel of the chapter.

I love also how easily you've picked up the romantic plot between Lilly and Scotty. Again, I say this as a non-shipper who's nonetheless been caught up in the little world you've created here (though I swear, I'm just here for the donuts... *g*). By this point, it's a relationship that's deep-set and comfortable, as much second nature to them as Lilly's drivenness or Scotty's temper. And I love how everyone else has settled in around them, too. It's just another part of the team dynamic now, where in ETTFC it was something new and chaotic. I love that contrast.

Extra love (and I do mean "EXTRA! LOVE!", in capitals, and with exclamation points!) for your take on Kat in this chapter. If she wasn't already my favourite character, heaven knows, this would've done it. Again, going back to characterisation... you are a veritable expert in taking all the little traits we don't see enough of, from the whole team, running with them, and turning them into something extraordinary... and, when you do it with Kat, as in this chapter, it's just... well... a catagorical whirlpool of awesome. Seriously. We are talking the "swallowing unsuspecting cruise liners whole and making global news" sort of whirlpool. That's how big the awesome is. Plus, y'know... EEEEEEKARAOKE. 'Cause seriously. EEEEEEEEEEE.

Ditto, on the above note, the idea of Will and Stillman pwning the whippersnappers at darts. 'Cause they so would. And, again, just another example of taking those tiny infinitesimal little character traits that the show teases us with and never really explores, and evolving them to supersonic levels of badass.

There would be more... but, I swear, every time I read it to try and make mental notes of the bits that are worth mentioning as exceptionally awesome, I just get totally caught up in the flow and the feel of the chapter, and the catagorical whirlpool of awesome that is Kat and the supersonic levels of badass that is Stillman and Jeffries... and by the end of it, I'm just so busy going "eeeeeeee!", for so many millions of different reasons (though, I'll confess, the awesomeness that is KaraoKat is totally the main one), that I can't really get any more coherent than that.

As desperately as I'm looking forward to the rest of this fic... I don't think anything will top this chapter for me... like, ever.

...of course, I always say that, and somehow you always manage to pull something even better out just when I think it's not possible, so you never know. Irregardless, VERY much looking forward to seeing the rest of this thing come to fruition. ;D

[cellogal]

Chapter 2 is up!!

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/2/

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*hugs this chapter, again*

Much as I am very much looking forward to everything that's yet to come in this fic, I could totally read another billion chapters of karaoke awesomeness. Seriously. You know I love your characterisation of pretty much everyone... but it's stuff like this - the last chapter, and the opening of this one - that really cements how freakin' great you are at it. You have six completely different characters, and for once you have them all in one place, bouncing off each other and everyone else within reach, and they're all so unique and you've just captured every last nuance of them ALL and it's just... joy.

The boys teasing Scotty about Rascall Flatts and the use of the song to both comedic and... other... ends. Your use of song is pretty awesome throughout this section (Milkshake!!!!), but the RF bit was just... brilliant. Great for the comic relief, obviously... but, in true cellogal style, you give it that edge of other things as well... making an otherwise harmless song choice into something richer and more fulfilling, both for the characters and the readers... and it's just utterly awesome.

Kat and Vera... just, everything, heh. Specifically, her beer moment (which was wonderfully understated and just plain wonderful), and the fact that she passed it to him without even thinking ('cause eeeee), and their Moment at the end of the scene. Because he is SO frellin' adorable when he's all self-conscious and worried, and yet it's so totally HIM to be that way, and so totally her to brush off his insecurities with a shrug, 'cause... just... awww. *squishes them both*

Lilly and Scotty and their constant distractions (*g*). Again, while it's not something we see on the show very often, that's just because it's a scenario we don't see very often - either of them, much less both, in this situation wherein they're HAPPY. And it works so well against the backdrop you've already built in ETTFC and C&G... not so much in a following-on sort of way, but in a way that this situation is established, and their being distracted is a happy (if not for the rest of the team) side-effect of their established... well, happiness.

Jeffries and Stillman being the two old fogeys and leaving early... just so so so so so so much characterisation in their handful of shared lines. I can't even explain why that moment stood out to me, 'cause I don't rightly know... but it totally did.

As to the second section... I may have mentioned how much I loved the opening moments of this scene, and I really really do. It's so... normal. So simple. Just two people, in love, settling down to a quiet night in front of the television, totally at peace with each other and with themselves, and totally comfortable. Sometimes (not always, but sometimes), little moments like this can express the depth of love shared between two people so much better than anything else in the world.

The conversation. LOL. Funny and brilliantly reflective. It pretty much speaks for itself, so I shan't try to do likewise, and shall therein only say that it rocks. Oh, and to say that the whole "it's the same way you look at me line" is utterly fabulous, on so many millions of levels.

*says nothing about the phone-call, naturally*. Another awesome chapter. So funny and so touching, sort of at the same time and at totally different once. It's a very... multi-layered sort of chapter, and I want to say more about certain moments in it - and in the first chapter too - but I'm going to bite my tongue on those subjects for (hopefully) obvious reasons. Suffice it to say, another great offering, and I'm once again waiting with bated breath on the next one.

[cellogal]

Chapter 3...



www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/3/

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I can't figure out whether to go "d'aww" or "HEE!" at this chapter, so I'll have to settle for a little of both.

First up, I love how Lilly doesn't go into instant freak-out mode RE the phone-call. Not so long ago, she most definitely would've assumed the worst, and now she's wiser and reflective enough to know better. Our little ball'o'crazy is all grown up! Well, mostly.

Lots of love for Scotty's introspective moment, and doubly so knowing how much bloody work you had to put into that section. It came out and came across beautifully, not to mention segueing (seguing?) just perfectly into the following moment...

...which, GUH. To put it bluntly. The way you construct conversations between these two - be they the good kind or the bad kind - is just awesome. How terrified Scotty is of freaking Lilly out, because he's that guy and, by this point, he simply knows her that well and knows the sort of things that would freak her out (*refrains from saying "for which, read 'everything'...*), and he's now learning to prepare himself to deal with it. And she's... again, shes all grown up and semi-mature and brave about it... not for herself, but for him, because she can see how much it means to him.

Also loved her little introspective/reflective moment the following morning. 'Cause she's grown, but she's not grown THAT much that she can't still dwell on those things and realise the differences between herself and him. And, yea, MUCH love for Stillman and his perfect timing to keep her from freaking out entirely, and give her someone else's issues to deal with - love that moment, because that is exactly what she does, all the frellin' TIME. So much love for Stillman; the dude doesn't even need to be in a scene to pwn it.

The getting-ready scene was, by turns, "aww"-inducing and mildly frustrating. Scotty's big mouth and his letting slip that his mother knew about his relationship with Lilly, gave me a *facepalm* moment, and I really did expect Lil to freak out over it... but I loved loved loved that she pulled it back and held it under control. For the time being, anyhow, she's letting the situation ride her, and just holding on tight. And, of course, Scotty's being utterly adorable in his cluelessness.

LOVED the high-school conversation. Just... so so so many levels of ROFL and "HEE!". I just... I can't even express how much the image of Pink!Hair!Lilly and Prom!King!Scotty amuses me. Just sheer outright awesome. LOVE.

The moment between Scotty and Emilio? GUH. So many levels of GUH. And you encapsulated it perfectly in Lilly's observation... Scotty with kids really IS a completely different breed of joy to anything we've ever seen from him before, and it's just utterly beautiful. This moment totally makes the whole chapter for me. As awesome as the rest of it is, this right here cements exactly why I love your writing so much - when you take those moments, those precious moments that mean everything to these characters, and you manage SOMEHOW to put into words exactly WHY those moments are precious. (And, sidebar, ROFL@"Aunt Lilly"). Guh.

And, yea, the end? PRICELESS. Like, would go perfectly on a Mastercard advert, priceless. So freakin' funny and yet so sort of terrifying all at the same time and just... yea. HEE.

So, yea. Another great chapter, with a perfect blend of humour and seriousness and just that little hint of job-related stuff to remind us these people are still part of a team with a job to do, in spite of all the, uh, "fun"?... they have outside of work. And, yea, another utterly fabulous ending. I do love those humourific cliffhangers you do, and cannot wait to see this whole fiasco unfold. Go Team You!

[cellogal]

Chapter 4 is up!

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/4/

[cellogal]

And we have chapter 5!

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/5/

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I have NO excuse for taking so long to review these latest two chapters.... so I'm just gonna forego the excuses part and just apologise wholeheartedly for taking forever. Sorry!!

On the bright side, reviewing them together lets me actually review them together, and the scenario as a whole, which might be good, so...

First and foremost, as I may have mentioned once or twice or a million times, I adore your characterisation of the Valens family. Your colouring and personality traits of each individual character is pretty terrifying in its completeness. I've read many, many well-written original characters in my time, but never so many all being written at the same time. From the ones you've built from scratch to the ones with inspiration elsewhere, they've all got your brand on them and all somehow manage to be completely unique and self-containted entities in their own right... which is really quite a remarkable feat when these OCs are completely taking control of an entire scene. Several of them - and Ma Valens in particular - are brought to life so completely and so beautifully, they almost throw our well-known Lilly and Scotty into the shade for sheer well-developedness. And that's no small feat either! Bravo, all around.

Also, the plot proper. I love how Lilly fluctuates from freaking out ('cause who wouldn't!), to bemusement when the ridiculousness of certain situations - Scotty tied to a chair, hee - overpower the sheer overwhelming terror that no doubt flows through her at this point. It's a delicate balance, and one you pull across very well. During the overwhelmed moments we readers are caught up in the panic and more than a little overwhelmed ourselves by the sheer size and volume of this family... and then, when you zone in and allow that freak-out-ishness to ease off just a little, that's when we see those beautiful characterisations and those subtle nuances you do so well, so you're very much giving us the best of both worlds through Lilly's eyes, here... and lord knows, getting the best of anything through that woman's eyes is damn near impossible, so...

I love that Scotty would, without thinking, vanish into oblivion - even if it was just to get tied up by the kids, hee. He's so so so so protective and so Superman... but he's also this guy who, more often than not, simply cannot see what is clear in front of his face. Lilly may be freaking out... but it's one of those situations whereby HE is so damn comfortable, he'll just... forget that she's not, as well. 'Cause, for all his desperation to save and protect everyone from everything, sometimes he's just such a GUY. Also love how Lilly reacts to that, the fury coupled with everything else when she finds him in such a... compromising... position. Sort of silly and adorable and just a little "guh" all at the same time.

SO much love for Lilly calling Scotty on his sudden protectiveness over the poker thing. While there's no doubt that Lil's all about being The Girlfriend for most of this encounter with the family, the poker thing is a great opportunity for her to get back into the driving seat - so to speak - and there's no way she'd let a chance like that slip by, even if it does involve the (wonderful!) cousins too. It's a very Lilly thing to do, wanting to be in control of any situation and, as lost and at-sea as she's been hereuntil, seein an opportunity to grab something she knows she can handle and make a splash with it, that's something she would no way pass up. And it is so so so Scotty to want to protect her from his cut-throat cousins. 'Cause, y'know, he's Superman.

And, yea. I just... I love how you're putting this together. I kind of feel like I'm in a priviliged sort of position, seeing the creative process as it's worked through and seeing how certain scenes and moments come into being... but it makes it kinda hard to review sometimes, on account of knowing how hard you've worked on some of these, and knowing your reasoning behind it and knowing how perfectly it all fits and works with what's happened and what's not happened... and it's almost a case of not quite knowing how to articulate that in a review, but nonetheless still being blown away by it anyhow. So I sort of want to just generally applaud you for all that, all the dedication with which you work through all this stuff, and just to say really that it SO shows through. And, yea.

Not... exactly the longest review of mine, I know... which is quite unforgiveable given that I had two chapters to work through, but if I'd dissected them piece by piece like usual, I'd be here for a month. And... I think, by now, the bits I really LOVE, you probably know all about anyway... and, just, yea. General awe over your creative process, I guess, and how it comes to form the finished product, which is so wonderfully clear in these chapters, and no doubt will also be in the next one. Which, I promise, I will NOT wait this long to review. Honest.

[cellogal]

Chapter 6 is up!

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/6/

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Relatively on-time for this one (but just relatively)!

LOVED the poker scene. Great observation about Lilly's ice queen look - how it's so effective at getting confessions and being so infuriating in a fight, and how it would naturally be equally effective in a game o'poker. Also much much love for the turnovers; Scotty's reaction was hysterical and another one of those moments you describe so well that I could just picture it SO clearly as if it were on the show proper. This whole scene is just filled to overflowing with familial love and gentle humour (or not so gentle humour when it comes from the cousins... *g*), and it's just so... filled with warmth, that it's heartwarming to actually read, if that makes any kind of sense.

Rafael and his British chick... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Guavas as an aphrodisiac, LOL. Love how you played that card, understated yet most definitely there. Scotty, of course, being all too familiar with its effects, and Lilly being thrown for six by it. Also, the flashback scene - again, wonderfully... wonderful, and yet neatly understated so we get the important (and the yummy) parts without it crossing into the realms of gratuitousness. Ditto with a lot of nice little touches in this chapter, actually.

LOVED the metaphorical bluffing scene. The way that Lil uses her detective's instincts to force Scotty's hand, and how he misjudges her because he believes he knows her. Moreover the whole issue whereby he never gets bluffed. Interesting parallel wit how Scotty is always the one making things personal - in seeing something personal in his relationship with Lilly, he lets his judgement be clouded from doing his job or, in this case, playing the game.

Also much love for Lilly's moment with Anita; I love your characterisation of Ma Valens anyway, and this is another situation wherein she's allowed to shine like crazy and I love those little pearls of wisdom she's allowed to come out with, re cooking. Also love Lilly's little throwaway "she could flip out later" moment. Very telling, and at the same time very reflective of her Detective Rush mindset wherein she puts her own stuff aside until the case or the event she's in the middle of is done.

Strip Poker... well, what can I say?! Without dwelling too much on the obvious awesome of it... it's very well executed. Tasteful again, and yet unquestionably indulgent - both for the readers, and for the characters. After two or three chapters of having to behave themselves and Make A Good Impression on the family, suddenly they're allowed to cut loose - both figuratively and literally - and that's reflected nicely here. I also love how, towards the end, it makes the transition from agonisingly slow to rushed and flushed, so to speak. Very effective writing on your part and just... a very... ahem, nice... scene.

Overall then, another great one. Lots of fun to read, with some real poignant or significant moments thrown in... and, while I do very very very much miss the rest of the team, I love the Valens clan as a substitute. Which isn't to say I'm not sorely looking forward to seeing the others again... but still. Again, this chapter is an example of how your characterisation - even of characters that didn't exist before this fic - is just utterly second-to-none. Brava!

[cellogal]

Chapter 7...things may get a little bumpy.

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/7/

[cellogal]

Chapter 8 is up!

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/8/

[cellogal]

Chapter 9 is up...

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/9/

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RIGHT. Finally, I am going to sit my lame ass down and review these last few chapters. 'Cause I am unequivocably bad in taking this long, and this fic needs as many props as can be provided. So, anyhow...

Where to begin... so much drama between these two, and yet it's so subtle it's hard to pin down a good point to start. They both have so many innumerable issues, and they're all so completely incongruous with each other, and yet at the base of all that is the love that you've built up through ETTFC and the onset of this. It's a lot to take in, especially when there's three chapters' worth to review, so you'll forgive me if I précis a little.

Your outlining of Lilly's issues as they spawn from her meeting Clan Valens is nothing short of heartbreaking. I love how you capture those moments from the first season, her recounting her experience to Scotty, and dwells on that as well as the memories of her childhood. It really sets out clearly exactly what Lilly's issue is, making it so obvious to us as readers that I kinda want to slap Scotty for being so dense about it all. But, of course, being dense about the things that actually matter is what Man Candy does best....

....which, again, you capture beautifully. Scotty, wrapped up in his own issues, his own fears that Lilly will turn out to be like Elisa, and through all that it suddenly becomes difficult to hate him so much. 'Cause he has his own issues too, and they're huge as well, and in the same way as he doesn't quite see where Lilly's troubles lie, she too doesn't see why it bothers him so much... and it's staggering how much these two love each other and yet neither of them can see what's right in front of their faces. But, of course, in doing so, they're so frustratingly true to character that I sort of simulanteously want to kick them BOTH (but I'll let the co-workers do that for me), and applaud you for characterising them both so infuriatingly well.

Also, I love how you used Scotty's interview to fuel his angst, and give rise to that beautiful beautiful introspective moment towards the end of ch8, and the realisation that in his mind Lilly is just like Elisa was. A very powerful section, and one that really hammers home just why Scotty's so self-involved throughout Lilly's issues. Just like in the show proper, nothing happens in your fics without there being a significant reason for it, and this section showed that off wonderfully. Lilly has issues, yea, and Scotty has issues with her issues... and, in an odd sort of way, both their issues are completely intertwined with each other, and yet they're both so wrapped up in them that they can't see it.

Which, of course, brings us to the co-workers, who are fast becoming the guardian angels of the piece. Vera's chat with Scotty, Kat's chat with Lilly, both such wonderful parallels to each other - the guys being guys about it all, with their carefully-shrouded wisecracks that even so hold very important points, and the girls just being straight with each other and honest. So characteristic of all four of them, Vera taking the whole thing as a joke even though it's so obvious he cares about both of them... and Scotty being so damn angry about everything even though Vera's just trying to help; Lilly hiding behind her own delusions (GREAT line, incidentally) and Kat pointedly refusing to take any of Lil's BS. Fabulous stuff, both scenes.

Also, to end on an upbeat note - 'cause, wow angst! - HEE, cheese-steaks and dentist's drills. It's little touches like that that really help balance these dark angsty moments in fics, and - while some of us still haven't quite perfected that balance yet (*g*) - you once again make it look easy... seguing from angst to cheez!humor to angst to dentist!humour and right back to angst. As much as I love the angsty side of things, it's a wonderful and much-welcomed reprieve after so much intense and well-written stuff, to be able to sit back if just for a moment and laugh. And I am, of course, not at all biased in any way by my inherent co-worker!love...

So, yea. As per usual, a plethora of amazing and beautifully-written stuff, both angsty and comedic, and all of which gels together so phenomenally well it wouldn't be out of place on the show proper. Y'know, if Show!Lilly actually took likeability lessons from Kat and Show!Scotty got shirtless more often. I'm sure I've missed out a fair few awesome things, but I think I got the crux of it there, and I promise with hand-on-heart that I will NOT leave my reviewing for more than one chapter ever again. Honest.

[cellogal]

Chapter 10 is up...

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/10/

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Another awesome chapter! Very intense!

Also very transitional; one can almost see the flow of thoughts and emotions throughout this chapter as if it was physically there. From the beginning, with Lilly going through so many thoughts in her head, and her understanding of who Scotty is, so very clear, to him storming through the door and just reasserting that side of himself - the side that does obssess and get furious and take action... it's awesome. Ditto, the way she herself gets angry in response to him; there's no situation more likely to make someone furious than by seeing their partner unjustly angry at them, and this is true of Lilly here, just as it's true of Scotty to be furious at Lilly for running away again.

I love that neither of them truly understand what the other is thinking, even though they absolutely understand what they're doing. Scotty knows Lilly's tendency to run away and Lilly knows Scotty's tendency to get angry, but neither of them is able to grasp why the other is reacting in that way... it's this sort of breakdown in communication - knowing what, but not knowing why - that seems to cause a lot of their breakdowns, both within your fic and within canon (though, in canon, it's of a different nature, obviously), and it's something that you portray very very well.

Again, the fight itself - beautifully constructed. They almost seem to have both lapsed into detective mode - taking the evidence and conjecturing from it, but throwing those conjectures out as outright accusation because it's a fight. Interrogating each other almost, because this is how they both deal with conflict in the workplace, and it's bound to spill over into their lives too when they both share the same job. Also a great deal of love for how it segues into Angry!Sex, and how you cut away from it to keep the rating. Oddly, this works very well too, as sometimes these things are best left to the reader's imagination - the depth and intensity, especially in this case, varies with the reader's comfort level, and yet never loses the significance because that is the part you do describe in detail.

LOVED how Scotty couldn't tell the difference between 'taking space' and 'running away'. That is such a guy's reaction, and all the more it's a Scotty's reaction, and it encompasses perfectly the differences between what he sees and what she sees, and a lot of how this conflict between them came about in the first place. He can be so damn stupid sometimes, but at others so damn wonderful, and it's sort of frustrating and fulfilling at the same time, though rather more of the latter given the way you write him.

I also really really love how this chapter doesn't end with some simple set-in-stone resolution. It'd be so easy to have the second round of sex result in all things going back to good in a sort of whitewashing metaphor... but that wouldn't really explain away those underlying issues that are still there and still need to be explored, and it's a credit to you that you keep those things there and don't succumb to simplicity in letting them slide below the radar for the sake of a nice ending. Relationships aren't that simple, and sometimes it takes more than one conversation - or more than one chapter - for a couple to really get through a particular issue, and this again makes that point beautifully. Through all their issues and their inability to understand each other's innermost driving forces, there's an odd sort of healthiness in the way you write these two. This is how a relationship should be. When things are resolved, they're resolved and it's beautiful. But when they're not, you don't force them to be, and you take as long as necessary to get them there. It's amazing stuff.

And I've exhausted myself reading that and then typing this, so I shall leave it here. But again, suffice it to say, another breathtaking chapter. Looking forward to more, as ever.

[cellogal]

Chapter 11 is up!
www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/11/

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Whoo. These two are terrifyingly complicated, aren't they?

Another great transition, and a fabulous build-up from the post-coital bliss of the opening few chapters, to the chaos that is still hidden in both their heads and can't be ignored for all the 'making up' in the world. I love that Scotty tries, bless him, to give Lilly the space she needs, and to be patient and considerate and all those things that come so difficult to him, and I love that - when it comes down to it - he's still the same Scotty with the same issues and, hard as he tries to be that guy, he's not. It's frustrating, and I can definitely see why you wanted to smack him for most of this chapter... but it's so HIM to be reacting in the way he is, even though he tells himself he won't. It's frustrating, but believable.

In much the same way, I love how Lilly also convinces herself of one thing and actually is something completely different. It's as though they both want to be what they feel the others want of them, and yet they can only ever be themselves, and in trying so hard to be those other people, they just make those bad parts of themselves all the more prominent than they ever would have if they'd just accepted them in the first place. Again, SO seeing where the urge to smack 'em came from.

Vera and Tetris? IS LOVE. That is all that can be said about that, but it cannot be said enough times.

The conversation between Lilly and Jeffries, brief and understated as it was, was a thing of beauty. I mean, truly. Jeffries is the most gentle member of the whole team (notwithstanding that frightening moment in "Wunderkind") and the knowledge that he, of all people, was afraid of perpetuating that cycle with his own children, if he'd had them, is a truly sobering thought - both for Lilly and for the readers. You have a habit of using the experiences of other team members to emphasise and reflect those being dealt with by your two main players, in much the same way as the show proper occasionally uses events or moments from the cases to emphasise and reflect issues going on with the main cast at that time, and it's just a fabulous shout-out to the show's way of doing things, executed so wonderfully. Plus, y'know, Will is made of win and awesome anyway, so I'm a sucker for his scenes at the best of times.

The interview with Regina? *dies laughing* Funny as HELL, and yet you still manage to make Significant Points in it. It's terrifying, how good you are at coupling humour with important things. And, well, the same with the sexy stuff in the previous chapter and in ETTFC. A lot of small things that could've been included for the sake of being included get these added dimensions of significance, and that both enriches the humour (or sexiness, hehe), and adds colour to the evolution of the character's situations.

I also love their little rationalisation bits. Lilly, comparing her inner conflict to Will's, and realising just how much of a spanner this throws into the 'couple of days' works... and Scotty, wrapped up with his own anxieties, just panicking that - if it's not clear-cut and sorted out by today, it's the end. Such a stark contrast between the two, but given what we know about their respective issues, one that just works so so so well, and all the more so with them following on from each other so neatly... and, again, it's something that adds depth and poignancy to the conversation that follows and the inevitable breakdown in communication between the two of them. Because they do both have these separate issues, and they are both so wrapped up in their own drama that they can't yet conceive of the fact that the other might be fighting those giants too. It all comes together so well, culminating in something that is both inevitable and painful, and yet also utterly necessary.

And, just. Yeah. Guh. You write these two like no other, honestly, taking what the show gives us and inferring so much stuff that makes so much sense and fits in so perfectly, it really is a joy to read. And, yea, you know how much I am desperately looking forward to ch12, right? *g*

[cellogal]

Chapter 12 is up!

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/12/