The Rose, Part 19 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Story: The Rose
Author: coalitiongirl
Chapter: 19
Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Completed? Updated most Tuesdays and Thursdays, and sometimes other times, too.
Pairings: Go here for the pairings list beyond Spike/Buffy. Consider them all spoilers, though.
Disclaimer: Characters and concepts belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. The plot is my own.
Summary: The Watchers Academy- where young potential slayers and watchers go to train in demonology, magic, and combat so that they can someday fight vampires, demons, and the forces of evil. There are evil magic professors, a principal with a secret, and an unbreachable wall between the slayers and the watchers. And in the basement, imprisoned vampires scheme and dream of destroying them all...
Reference Charts
Previous Chapters
Notes: Early update! But I've been forced to split the next chapter in half, again (I'm technically still writing bits of the chapter I marked as 16 on my original outline), so it looks like it's going to be a much longer wait until the next Spuffy scene... :( But they do tend to come more and more often as the fic progresses, if that's any consolation. Oh, and I still hope to write chapters on Tuesday and Thursday this week, too. :)
*********************
“Way I see it, the vamp got lucky,” Rona said, leaning back in her seat on the couch. “I was seconds away from staking it when it managed to smash my head and daze me for long enough to bite. I won’t let it happen again.”
Kennedy smirked. “The trick is to let the vamp think he’ll win, then stake him when his guard is down. Know what I mean, Buffy?” The newest senior slayer was perched on the arm of the couch in their lounge, telling her rapt audience about her victorious final exam even as Rona and Eve groused about their losses. Buffy couldn’t help but compare Kennedy’s victory party with the one that she and Faith had been forced to have behind closed doors with a touch of envy. But then, she’d never been as well-liked by the other slayers as Kennedy was, and she doubted her newfound friendship with Willow was boosting her popularity.
At least now it was summer break, when dorm politics didn’t matter for as long as Cordy and her posse were off traveling with Cordy’s parents and the watchers had left for their respective homes, and even Buffy and Faith were sitting with the other slayers in an attempt to be social and fit in. Actually, that in itself was nothing short of a miracle, since Buffy had never known Faith to be willing to sit and prattle on with the other girls, even during the summer.
“Buffy beat hers out of skill, not luck,” the latter said scornfully, and Buffy suddenly remembered why she was content to keep Faith far from the other girls. “She didn’t need to trick the vampire into losing.” The implicit like you did was clear to Kennedy, who gave Faith a cold look and turned back to her friends to continue imparting the wisdom of the newly initiated. Faith shrugged carelessly and slouched back down in her armchair, flipping on the Gameboy she’d gotten as a birthday gift last year and focusing on it with fierce intensity.
Buffy turned back to the others with a sigh. Molly was watching her expectantly. “So what was it like, fighting William the Bloody?” she asked curiously.
“Is it true that your spine was shattered?” Rona put in. “I heard that Miss Calendar had to rebuild it from scratch!”
“I heard that your kidney was collapsed,” Molly cocked her head, considering. “Or was it both?”
Buffy laughed. “I just broke a few ribs, guys. Nothing very interesting. Faith’s done worse to me during sparring.” Okay, so maybe the worst Faith had ever done was some bruising, but the other girls didn’t have to know that. It wasn’t like they’d cared to visit or ask her about it before now, and she was positive that she could have told them a story about Spike sucking half the blood from her body and they would have taken it all in with shocked faith.
And sure enough, her classmates were awestruck. “Wow,” Annabelle breathed, her eyes wide. “You two are hardcore.”
Faith snorted. Buffy kicked her absently.
“Hey, Buffy.” Eve eyed her speculatively. “A bunch of us are going with Olivia to the beach today. You want to come?”
Olivia was one of the watchers on retainer, the ones who came to the school to act as chaperones while the teachers were all gone on summer break. She seemed to spend more time at the beach than in the school, which suited them all just fine most of the time. But today she had other plans. “Nah, Faith and I are going to go into town today. Unless if you want to go to the beach?” She turned to her roommate questioningly.
Faith didn’t look up. “You go, B. I’ll stay here.”
“I’m not going if you aren’t,” Buffy insisted, setting her teeth. Really, what was with Faith lately? She’d understood her friend’s aloofness after the Kakistos debacle, but that was ages ago now and Buffy was getting sick of Faith’s standoffishness. “What do you want to do?”
Faith’s eyes were glued to her game. “Really, I don’t care. I’ll stay here.”
The other slayers were watching their argument with fascination, and Buffy sighed. There was no need to get the entire grade present involved in this argument. Faith was keeping something from her, and she was going to find out what.
She declined Eve’s invitation and waited until the six other slayers had left for the beach before she rounded on Faith. “Want to tell me what all this is about?”
“All what?” Faith moved to the now-unoccupied couch, flopping down on it and stretching out without letting her eyes leave the Gameboy screen.
“You know ‘all what!’” Buffy aimed a cushion at Faith’s hands with practiced precision, knocking the game from her hands.
“Hey!”
Buffy ignored her. “You’ve been avoiding me, making excuses to back out of our plans…I get it. You don’t like Willow. But if you’d just say something, then I would drop Will in a second!” She reconsidered. “Well, not drop drop her, cause we’re getting along really well and she’s pretty cool for a watcher, but I would have liked to spend at least some time studying with you, or going out to town, or hell, even sparring!” She thought back to their training with Gunn in recent weeks and the way Faith had avoided her during the one-on-one slayer matches. “Why are you mad at me?”
“I’m not mad,” Faith muttered, retrieving the Gameboy and mumbling something incomprehensible under her breath.
“What?” Buffy leaned forward.
Faith sighed. “I’m just giving you space,” she repeated, turning on the Gameboy again.
Buffy crossed the space between them in two steps, grabbing the Gameboy from Faith and perching at the foot of the couch. “Giving me space?” she repeated disbelievingly. “Did I ever tell you that I needed or wanted space? Did I ask you to stay away from me?”
Faith shrugged. “You don’t need me being possessive and…”
“And?” Buffy demanded. Faith didn’t respond. “Faith, you’re my best friend!” she said furiously. “Did you think that I didn’t notice that you’re possessive? Have I ever, ever cared about it?” Her voice softened as she saw the hopeless look on Faith’s face. She actually believes this, she realized with a pang. Yes, Faith was possessive. But it hadn’t mattered to Buffy before now, and she’d kind of liked it in an annoying sort of way. At least before now, Faith made sure that I wouldn’t have wasted afternoons with guys like Owen Thurman. And she’s always known not to push me when I push back. Buffy had never really seen it as a fault before now. “Why would you think I didn’t want to hang out with you?”
Faith looked away. “It doesn’t matter, okay? Just look at you! A month or two away from me and you’ve got a whole bunch of devoted friends. Willow and Tara and Xander and Oz, and now Eve’s inviting you to the beach. Everyone likes you. And I’ve been holding you back all this time.”
“You haven’t been holding me back,” Buffy said reproachfully. “Maybe you’re right and people like me. Who cares? I don’t want to spend time with Eve and her friends. I want to spend time with you! But if you’re going to do the whole poor-me self-pity thing, then maybe I’m better off on my own.” She stood abruptly, fed up with Faith’s whole attitude. They’d been best friends for five years, and if Faith honestly thought that she couldn’t talk to Buffy about these things…well, Buffy could find better things to do with her time than fuss over Faith’s insecurities. “I’m going downstairs to the training rooms,” she announced. “I’m not going to beat Spike by hanging out on the beach. If you decide that you’re through choosing what’s best for me and you’re ready to help me with something I actually want from you, you can come join me.”
She stalked back to their shared room to grab her uniform jumpsuit and headed for the stairs, breathing a sigh of relief when she heard Faith’s footsteps padding after her.
Yep, everything was going to be fine.
--
“I can’t believe you’ve never been there.” Laura McNally rolled her eyes. “I get it, you’re all super-nerds. But what else do you do all summer if you’ve never been to the Bronze?”
“This is the Hellmouth,” Willow pointed out. “There are so many mystical phenomena that a good watcher could spend years observing. Two of our teachers are even staying in the area while they recruit.” Miss Chalmers and Mr. Wyndham-Pryce had flown in with them on the Academy jet, which always made a trip to Sunnydale to ship the numerous watchers-in-training. The teachers would hunt down the potentials who were of age, and Mr. Giles and Mr. Rayne would retrieve them during the last bit of the summer. Xander didn’t know exactly how they convinced something like ten parents each year to part with their children. He was pretty sure he didn’t want to know.
But Sunnydale was generally potential-free, and their summers at home were fairly normal, save for the unofficial curfew and buddy systems that came with the Hellmouth territory. Xander liked to spend his time during the break wandering around Sunnydale, imagining how different things would be if he’d never been brought to the Academy, if he lived at home with his parents and went to Sunnydale High. As of yet, he’d never left Sunnydale at the end of the summer without a sigh of relief.
Jesse, of course, still seemed completely at home in Sunnydale. He had three older sisters of varying ages, all of whom babied him and cooed over their brother at the “freak school,” and his parents humored his work while remaining firmly convinced that there was no such thing as demons. Sunnydale denial was still securely in place. At least they’d decided that Willow and Xander were still normal enough to stay with them over the summer. Xander had nowhere else to go. Sheila Rosenberg had announced that once Xander hit puberty he couldn’t live with Willow for extended periods of time, and his other option was…well, not an option at all.
“Do you want to go to this Bronze place after…?” Willow asked carefully.
And if he had his way, he’d never stop in that other place. But his parents expected him to come visit when he came to town and before he left, so he tried to get it over with as quickly as possible.
He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. Jesse?”
The phone rang, and Jesse snatched it up. “Yeah, okay. Hello?” He made a face. “It’s for you, Laura.”
“Jeez, you’re practically a girl these days,” Laura muttered, taking the receiver and vanishing into the kitchen, her high-pitched giggle offsetting the awkward silence that followed.
“Let’s just go,” Xander muttered, and his friends followed him out in silence.
It had been so long since he’d last walked the path from Jesse’s house to his own that he was surprised at how easily his feet led him there. Memories assailed him as he treaded the streets with Willow and Jesse in tow, some remembrances bringing smiles, some shudders. Willow bringing over a doll when he broke his arm…smile. Breaking his arm when he’d been rebuked a little too harshly near the top of the stairs…shudder. Jesse waiting on his doorstep on their first day of school…smile. Jesse having to wait for him down the block from then on because Xander’s father didn’t like being awakened by the doorbell during a bad hangover…shudder. His childhood had been a kaleidoscope of happy events made bitter by the people who’d given him life, and even now he hadn’t fully broken free.
He took a deep breath when they turned onto his block and he caught sight of his father mowing the front lawn. The months since last summer had taken their toll on Tony Harris; he’d put on a few points and was now sporting a clearly receding forehead. The scowl, though…that was familiar. At least he seemed mostly sober this time.
“Hey, Dad.” Willow and Jesse waited by the curb, watching warily as Xander crossed the lawn to stand opposite his father. “I’m back for the summer.”
The lawnmower snapped off, and Tony Harris squinted at him. “Xander?”
“Yeah.” He straightened his back. In a few years, if all went well and he had another growth spurt, he might be able to look his father squarely in the eye. “Hi.”
Tony grunted a greeting. “Thought you weren’t coming back when you didn’t show up at Christmas.”
“We went on the optional trip to Tibet,” Xander reminded him. “I wrote you about it, remember?”
Tony laughed caustically. “I never read anything from that school of crazies you ran off to. Waste of time, s’far as I’m concerned.”
“Oh.” He chewed on his lower lip, uncomfortable. “Uh…is Mom home?”
Tony gave him a dirty look. “Don’t bother her. She gets all whiny every time you show up here, and I don’t need that right now. The boys are coming over to night for poker, and they don’t need to hear about our useless retard of a son off in a cult because no one else would take him. It’s bad enough that you come by at all.”
Xander swallowed back the bile that rose to his throat. As visits went, this wasn’t that bad. Really. “Right,” he said finally. “I guess I’ll call first next time.”
He’d made it off their property and had turned away with Willow and Jesse when his father called after him, “Xander?” Xander stopped, waiting. “Don’t bother.” The lawnmower went back on, any response Xander might have made (he hadn’t) drowned out by its buzzing.
Willow put a supportive hand on his shoulder. “You’ll come back when he’s at work,” she said gently.
He shook his head. “Dad was right,” he muttered. “I’m not coming back.” He was done, done, done with this.
***************
(To be notified when I update this fic, hit "Track Comments" below and select "rose" from the keywords, then pick how you want to be contacted.)
Next
Author: coalitiongirl
Chapter: 19
Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Completed? Updated most Tuesdays and Thursdays, and sometimes other times, too.
Pairings: Go here for the pairings list beyond Spike/Buffy. Consider them all spoilers, though.
Disclaimer: Characters and concepts belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. The plot is my own.
Summary: The Watchers Academy- where young potential slayers and watchers go to train in demonology, magic, and combat so that they can someday fight vampires, demons, and the forces of evil. There are evil magic professors, a principal with a secret, and an unbreachable wall between the slayers and the watchers. And in the basement, imprisoned vampires scheme and dream of destroying them all...
Reference Charts
Previous Chapters
Notes: Early update! But I've been forced to split the next chapter in half, again (I'm technically still writing bits of the chapter I marked as 16 on my original outline), so it looks like it's going to be a much longer wait until the next Spuffy scene... :( But they do tend to come more and more often as the fic progresses, if that's any consolation. Oh, and I still hope to write chapters on Tuesday and Thursday this week, too. :)
*********************
“Way I see it, the vamp got lucky,” Rona said, leaning back in her seat on the couch. “I was seconds away from staking it when it managed to smash my head and daze me for long enough to bite. I won’t let it happen again.”
Kennedy smirked. “The trick is to let the vamp think he’ll win, then stake him when his guard is down. Know what I mean, Buffy?” The newest senior slayer was perched on the arm of the couch in their lounge, telling her rapt audience about her victorious final exam even as Rona and Eve groused about their losses. Buffy couldn’t help but compare Kennedy’s victory party with the one that she and Faith had been forced to have behind closed doors with a touch of envy. But then, she’d never been as well-liked by the other slayers as Kennedy was, and she doubted her newfound friendship with Willow was boosting her popularity.
At least now it was summer break, when dorm politics didn’t matter for as long as Cordy and her posse were off traveling with Cordy’s parents and the watchers had left for their respective homes, and even Buffy and Faith were sitting with the other slayers in an attempt to be social and fit in. Actually, that in itself was nothing short of a miracle, since Buffy had never known Faith to be willing to sit and prattle on with the other girls, even during the summer.
“Buffy beat hers out of skill, not luck,” the latter said scornfully, and Buffy suddenly remembered why she was content to keep Faith far from the other girls. “She didn’t need to trick the vampire into losing.” The implicit like you did was clear to Kennedy, who gave Faith a cold look and turned back to her friends to continue imparting the wisdom of the newly initiated. Faith shrugged carelessly and slouched back down in her armchair, flipping on the Gameboy she’d gotten as a birthday gift last year and focusing on it with fierce intensity.
Buffy turned back to the others with a sigh. Molly was watching her expectantly. “So what was it like, fighting William the Bloody?” she asked curiously.
“Is it true that your spine was shattered?” Rona put in. “I heard that Miss Calendar had to rebuild it from scratch!”
“I heard that your kidney was collapsed,” Molly cocked her head, considering. “Or was it both?”
Buffy laughed. “I just broke a few ribs, guys. Nothing very interesting. Faith’s done worse to me during sparring.” Okay, so maybe the worst Faith had ever done was some bruising, but the other girls didn’t have to know that. It wasn’t like they’d cared to visit or ask her about it before now, and she was positive that she could have told them a story about Spike sucking half the blood from her body and they would have taken it all in with shocked faith.
And sure enough, her classmates were awestruck. “Wow,” Annabelle breathed, her eyes wide. “You two are hardcore.”
Faith snorted. Buffy kicked her absently.
“Hey, Buffy.” Eve eyed her speculatively. “A bunch of us are going with Olivia to the beach today. You want to come?”
Olivia was one of the watchers on retainer, the ones who came to the school to act as chaperones while the teachers were all gone on summer break. She seemed to spend more time at the beach than in the school, which suited them all just fine most of the time. But today she had other plans. “Nah, Faith and I are going to go into town today. Unless if you want to go to the beach?” She turned to her roommate questioningly.
Faith didn’t look up. “You go, B. I’ll stay here.”
“I’m not going if you aren’t,” Buffy insisted, setting her teeth. Really, what was with Faith lately? She’d understood her friend’s aloofness after the Kakistos debacle, but that was ages ago now and Buffy was getting sick of Faith’s standoffishness. “What do you want to do?”
Faith’s eyes were glued to her game. “Really, I don’t care. I’ll stay here.”
The other slayers were watching their argument with fascination, and Buffy sighed. There was no need to get the entire grade present involved in this argument. Faith was keeping something from her, and she was going to find out what.
She declined Eve’s invitation and waited until the six other slayers had left for the beach before she rounded on Faith. “Want to tell me what all this is about?”
“All what?” Faith moved to the now-unoccupied couch, flopping down on it and stretching out without letting her eyes leave the Gameboy screen.
“You know ‘all what!’” Buffy aimed a cushion at Faith’s hands with practiced precision, knocking the game from her hands.
“Hey!”
Buffy ignored her. “You’ve been avoiding me, making excuses to back out of our plans…I get it. You don’t like Willow. But if you’d just say something, then I would drop Will in a second!” She reconsidered. “Well, not drop drop her, cause we’re getting along really well and she’s pretty cool for a watcher, but I would have liked to spend at least some time studying with you, or going out to town, or hell, even sparring!” She thought back to their training with Gunn in recent weeks and the way Faith had avoided her during the one-on-one slayer matches. “Why are you mad at me?”
“I’m not mad,” Faith muttered, retrieving the Gameboy and mumbling something incomprehensible under her breath.
“What?” Buffy leaned forward.
Faith sighed. “I’m just giving you space,” she repeated, turning on the Gameboy again.
Buffy crossed the space between them in two steps, grabbing the Gameboy from Faith and perching at the foot of the couch. “Giving me space?” she repeated disbelievingly. “Did I ever tell you that I needed or wanted space? Did I ask you to stay away from me?”
Faith shrugged. “You don’t need me being possessive and…”
“And?” Buffy demanded. Faith didn’t respond. “Faith, you’re my best friend!” she said furiously. “Did you think that I didn’t notice that you’re possessive? Have I ever, ever cared about it?” Her voice softened as she saw the hopeless look on Faith’s face. She actually believes this, she realized with a pang. Yes, Faith was possessive. But it hadn’t mattered to Buffy before now, and she’d kind of liked it in an annoying sort of way. At least before now, Faith made sure that I wouldn’t have wasted afternoons with guys like Owen Thurman. And she’s always known not to push me when I push back. Buffy had never really seen it as a fault before now. “Why would you think I didn’t want to hang out with you?”
Faith looked away. “It doesn’t matter, okay? Just look at you! A month or two away from me and you’ve got a whole bunch of devoted friends. Willow and Tara and Xander and Oz, and now Eve’s inviting you to the beach. Everyone likes you. And I’ve been holding you back all this time.”
“You haven’t been holding me back,” Buffy said reproachfully. “Maybe you’re right and people like me. Who cares? I don’t want to spend time with Eve and her friends. I want to spend time with you! But if you’re going to do the whole poor-me self-pity thing, then maybe I’m better off on my own.” She stood abruptly, fed up with Faith’s whole attitude. They’d been best friends for five years, and if Faith honestly thought that she couldn’t talk to Buffy about these things…well, Buffy could find better things to do with her time than fuss over Faith’s insecurities. “I’m going downstairs to the training rooms,” she announced. “I’m not going to beat Spike by hanging out on the beach. If you decide that you’re through choosing what’s best for me and you’re ready to help me with something I actually want from you, you can come join me.”
She stalked back to their shared room to grab her uniform jumpsuit and headed for the stairs, breathing a sigh of relief when she heard Faith’s footsteps padding after her.
Yep, everything was going to be fine.
--
“I can’t believe you’ve never been there.” Laura McNally rolled her eyes. “I get it, you’re all super-nerds. But what else do you do all summer if you’ve never been to the Bronze?”
“This is the Hellmouth,” Willow pointed out. “There are so many mystical phenomena that a good watcher could spend years observing. Two of our teachers are even staying in the area while they recruit.” Miss Chalmers and Mr. Wyndham-Pryce had flown in with them on the Academy jet, which always made a trip to Sunnydale to ship the numerous watchers-in-training. The teachers would hunt down the potentials who were of age, and Mr. Giles and Mr. Rayne would retrieve them during the last bit of the summer. Xander didn’t know exactly how they convinced something like ten parents each year to part with their children. He was pretty sure he didn’t want to know.
But Sunnydale was generally potential-free, and their summers at home were fairly normal, save for the unofficial curfew and buddy systems that came with the Hellmouth territory. Xander liked to spend his time during the break wandering around Sunnydale, imagining how different things would be if he’d never been brought to the Academy, if he lived at home with his parents and went to Sunnydale High. As of yet, he’d never left Sunnydale at the end of the summer without a sigh of relief.
Jesse, of course, still seemed completely at home in Sunnydale. He had three older sisters of varying ages, all of whom babied him and cooed over their brother at the “freak school,” and his parents humored his work while remaining firmly convinced that there was no such thing as demons. Sunnydale denial was still securely in place. At least they’d decided that Willow and Xander were still normal enough to stay with them over the summer. Xander had nowhere else to go. Sheila Rosenberg had announced that once Xander hit puberty he couldn’t live with Willow for extended periods of time, and his other option was…well, not an option at all.
“Do you want to go to this Bronze place after…?” Willow asked carefully.
And if he had his way, he’d never stop in that other place. But his parents expected him to come visit when he came to town and before he left, so he tried to get it over with as quickly as possible.
He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. Jesse?”
The phone rang, and Jesse snatched it up. “Yeah, okay. Hello?” He made a face. “It’s for you, Laura.”
“Jeez, you’re practically a girl these days,” Laura muttered, taking the receiver and vanishing into the kitchen, her high-pitched giggle offsetting the awkward silence that followed.
“Let’s just go,” Xander muttered, and his friends followed him out in silence.
It had been so long since he’d last walked the path from Jesse’s house to his own that he was surprised at how easily his feet led him there. Memories assailed him as he treaded the streets with Willow and Jesse in tow, some remembrances bringing smiles, some shudders. Willow bringing over a doll when he broke his arm…smile. Breaking his arm when he’d been rebuked a little too harshly near the top of the stairs…shudder. Jesse waiting on his doorstep on their first day of school…smile. Jesse having to wait for him down the block from then on because Xander’s father didn’t like being awakened by the doorbell during a bad hangover…shudder. His childhood had been a kaleidoscope of happy events made bitter by the people who’d given him life, and even now he hadn’t fully broken free.
He took a deep breath when they turned onto his block and he caught sight of his father mowing the front lawn. The months since last summer had taken their toll on Tony Harris; he’d put on a few points and was now sporting a clearly receding forehead. The scowl, though…that was familiar. At least he seemed mostly sober this time.
“Hey, Dad.” Willow and Jesse waited by the curb, watching warily as Xander crossed the lawn to stand opposite his father. “I’m back for the summer.”
The lawnmower snapped off, and Tony Harris squinted at him. “Xander?”
“Yeah.” He straightened his back. In a few years, if all went well and he had another growth spurt, he might be able to look his father squarely in the eye. “Hi.”
Tony grunted a greeting. “Thought you weren’t coming back when you didn’t show up at Christmas.”
“We went on the optional trip to Tibet,” Xander reminded him. “I wrote you about it, remember?”
Tony laughed caustically. “I never read anything from that school of crazies you ran off to. Waste of time, s’far as I’m concerned.”
“Oh.” He chewed on his lower lip, uncomfortable. “Uh…is Mom home?”
Tony gave him a dirty look. “Don’t bother her. She gets all whiny every time you show up here, and I don’t need that right now. The boys are coming over to night for poker, and they don’t need to hear about our useless retard of a son off in a cult because no one else would take him. It’s bad enough that you come by at all.”
Xander swallowed back the bile that rose to his throat. As visits went, this wasn’t that bad. Really. “Right,” he said finally. “I guess I’ll call first next time.”
He’d made it off their property and had turned away with Willow and Jesse when his father called after him, “Xander?” Xander stopped, waiting. “Don’t bother.” The lawnmower went back on, any response Xander might have made (he hadn’t) drowned out by its buzzing.
Willow put a supportive hand on his shoulder. “You’ll come back when he’s at work,” she said gently.
He shook his head. “Dad was right,” he muttered. “I’m not coming back.” He was done, done, done with this.
***************
(To be notified when I update this fic, hit "Track Comments" below and select "rose" from the keywords, then pick how you want to be contacted.)
Next