Ugh. *Swoons* I'm so ridiculously sucked into this story that I keep getting distracted and thinking of her just turning around and kissing him. lol. More soon DoctorG!

Author's Response: Ha, it's funny responding to reviews in reverse order...by now you've probably gotten your fill of the kissing. Nah, who am I kidding...we could never get our fill of Rogan smooches! Thanks for reviewing!

Awww, these two are so heartbreakingly wounded. Both wanting to be accepted by the other so so badly. I really love this story. And the pace is perfect.

And I really like Frost. Wonderful poem choice. Every time I see woods with freshly fallen snow I think: the woods are lovely, dark and deep. And I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep. (or something like that)

Author's Response: Yes, you have perfectly described the delicious angst that is Rogan. I'm so glad you like the pace, I was worried that people would get impatient. Yes, the Robert Frost thing was a total coincidence. I thought of the "mortal stakes" stanza when she was wood-chopping...I just wanted some kind of stream-of-consciousness for Marie's thoughts. And then, when she was taking a book to read, it made sense since she thought about looking for it. Then I wanted to show Logan mooning over something of hers, and decided I'd look online to figure out what other poems were in the first edition of that collection. It was really hard to find the info, but I found a brief description, and that one sounded just perfect. It really fit the whole "winter is coming" creepy theme I was trying to set in motion, for reasons that are already probably obvious if you're caught up.

Yowsers! I LOVE IT!!! This has to be the best chappie yet :D They're each SO sure that the other couldn't POSSIBLY care two bits for them, they don't deserve it, blah blah, and the way you just snuck it up them was delicious! And Marie is finally starting to achieve her goal of forgetting her skin, which is after all why she dumped her ass out there in the middle of nowhere in the first place! And throwing 'Desert Places' in just made it all the more awesome. If ever a poem sums up Logan AND Marie it's that one. And it's so easy to think of a desert in conventional sense, sand sun and no water, but really a desert is merely a 'place' where life cannot flourish. In their most fundamental incarnations, both Marie and Logan fit that bill to a T, they live in the physical sense, their bodies breathe and they eat etc, but their souls are a desert, they are bereft of life, they merely exist. I really think that is one of the most primitive appeals for me with this pairing, that it is a joining of two emptiness-es, to create a wonderful and vibrant fulfillment. Kiyaa, look at me waxing all philosophical LOL!

I can't wait for more. You're spoiling me, my dear, utterly spoiling me with the yumminess that is this story!

Author's Response: I'm so glad you liked it. Yes, I knew right from the start that their actual interactions with each other would be kind of limited, so a lot of the character development (regarding how they feel about each other) has to take place through their inner monologues. A very different style for me. I was also really excited about "Desert Places" -- see my response to the other review, it was total serendipity that I ran across that (just looking for whatever poem was in the same first edition volume as "Two Tramps...") and I was so excited! Thanks again for your lovely review...you are definitely spoiling me as well!