Best Forgotten, Part 23

[chazper]

Well, this is closer to the end of the story, but not by nearly as much as I expected. Most of this update I wrote the first week of January when I was still on break. Since then . . . well, life has gotten demanding on several fronts. (I won't bore you with all that here.) But this weekend I realized that it's the end of the month already, so I

Comments

[beachtree]

You get top grade for timeliness and more cruel and unusual punishment among other things.

The flashback is a wonderful addition, a very vivid recount of the first "parent-approved" Cohens+1 breakfast. Classic. Ryan's head would already be spinning, but the concept of having a choice and someone who wanted to something for him... where to begin with such foreign concepts? The details, right down to Sandy's gregarious, warm voice and inclusive gestures, bring it to life along with Ryan's tentative observations and attempts to find the way to respond the way he's expected. (Btw, I have to say I noticed he said "Kirsten" to stop her from going to any trouble on his account before she made the juice, then called her "Mrs. Cohen" when he thanked her, and that was followed by her requesting that he use her first name. Was that planned?) Would Seth drink from the pitcher? Of course he would!

I'm glad to see Ryan hasn't joined the cast as a human extra of a "Planet of the Apes" remake yet, and you've decided to go with the very plausible suggestion about some kind of power/electrical issue, something sooooooo common there (and one more reason never, ever to get sick or injured enough to need to be hospitalized there, besides the Dr. Killers of the world!). It also sounds like Ryan and Lucy caught their first break, or created it, although I can't help but worry and wonder that even if the Charlie and Cohen cavalry makes it before the point of no return, how much physical and emotional damage will Ryan be contending with even without the worst case scenario of the surgery? If he's already this compromised, and Dr. Killer & Co. only care enough to have their guinea pig alive in the technical sense to accomplish their surgical goals and make their mark (and earn a substantial fee), they have no concern for what's being sacrificed. Lucy's already had to take risks to prevent the worst. Pessimistic or realistic? Hmmm...

At least they aren't in avalanche territory. A tsunami should be out of the question without a major quake. They can't possibly get lost again. No more detours!

Many thanks!

[chazper]

You read more carefully than I write, beach! The first "Kirsten" wasn't planned, just a mistake due to my bad habit of writing in pieces and not proofreading. Thank you for noting it. I have to go and correct that! But I am happy that you liked the flashback. It was a last-minute addition to give Ryan more presence in the story and, frankly, because I always wished the show had addressed how/when "Mrs. Cohen" became Kirsten.

Now . . . on to Santa Clara (assuming none of those nasty natural disasters you mentioned!)