The Dragon's Child Bride

A/N Thank you megan for all your wonderful beta efforts that keep my stupidity at bay.



CHAPTER 20: Two Visistors

Narcissa arrived the morning of the twentieth as planned, with at least a dozen house elves in tow carrying various wedding paraphernalia. She stepped into Laylani’s brightly lit front room, smiling at the girl. She pulled her into a hug, kissing her cheek and leaving a lipstick mark. As she hastily tried to wipe it off, she began to speak.

“It’s so lovely to see you again, darling. Life at the Manor has been so terribly dull without you and Draco about.” Laylani doesn’t necessarily believe that, remembering how much time Narcissa spent planning her socials and galas, but it’s nice to hear anyway. Narcissa had the house elves neatly arrange their various packages, books and swatches as she settled herself on the couch.

“So I assume Draco hasn’t changed his mind about not joining us?” Laylani resisted the impulse to laugh at this woman’s relentlessness. She had been sending him several letters a week dropping not-so-subtle hints about him being an active participant in the planning.

“No,” answered Laylani with a repressed grin. “He didn’t, but he sends his love.” While Laylani had been disappointed that he wouldn’t be directly involved in the planning of their wedding, to his credit he had agreed to meet her part way. His main problem had been planning with his mother, so he had agreed to meet with her the afternoon after their meetings and Laylani would tell him all the decisions they had made and he would voice his opinions then, without having his mother shoving swatches and color guides in his face like she’d done so many times in his childhood.

“So do you have any ideas about what you’d like for your wedding?” Before Laylani could answer, Narcissa continued. “I always promised myself that when you and Draco got married, you could have anything you wanted for your wedding. I never got to; Octavia made all the decisions.” Narcissa scowled at the memory.

“Well, a few girls and I have been looking through some bridal maga-”

“You’ve made some friends? How lovely! Tell me all about them. Slytherin girls I assume?” Laylani pursed her lips. It was quite obvious that despite having been in Ravenclaw, Narcissa, like the rest of the Malfoy family, preferred Slytherin house.

“Uh, no. Gryffindors actually.” Narcissa frowned. “But they’re really very nice, Narcissa. I’m sure you’d love them.” she added quickly.

“I see. Which girls are these?” she asked tersely. Narcissa hoped that despite her future daughter-in-law’s poor taste in houses, she would at least have the sense to choose the right kind of people to associate with.

“Well, there’s Lavender Brown,” Narcissa nodded. The Brown family was pureblood, and in an acceptable social range. “And Ginny Weasley.” Narcissa stiffened. Weasley? While pureblood, really, a Weasley was unacceptable. “And Hermione Granger, she’d Head Girl.” Laylani hoped that bit of information would impress Narcissa. Instead it only clued her in to whom, more precisely what Hermione was.

“Laylani Rissa Stanners, do you mean to tell me you are associating with a-a mudblood?” Narcissa was furious. Didn’t Laylani know what that would do to the Malfoy family reputation?

“A what?” Laylani’s brow furrowed innocently.

Of course. Laylani would have no idea of what it meant to be pureblood or mudblood. She had been told about family lineage but never what the purity of it meant. It was much easier for Narcissa to understand, knowing that it was a fault only for lack of information. Laylani was relieved when Narcissa’s demeanor softened considerably.

“We’ll discuss that later, dear. Right now we have a wedding to plan. Why don‘t you just show me what you‘ve been looking at?” Narcissa decided against making an issue of the girl’s faux pas right now. This situation would certainly have to be dealt with, but there was no need to ruin their day together by embarrassing Laylani; the girl tried so hard to be a proper Malfoy. It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t know.

Laylani pulled out a few magazines. “What should we look at first?” Narcissa smiled conspiratorially.

“How about we throw caution to the wind and look at dresses first?” The two giggled, and Narcissa felt, if only for a fleeting moment, that she had Layla back, remembering when they had planned Layla’s wedding in joint effort since Narcissa had not been allowed to plan her own.

They flipped through several of the magazines for a few moments when Laylani stopped short, staring at a particularly dog-eared page. She stared for a moment; it was beautiful. It looked like something a princess would wear, with yards and yards of satin and lace making up the full skirt and bodice done up with what had to be fifty pearl buttons. Laylani had always loved that one.

Her eyes darted timidly to Narcissa. Laylani hadn’t dared allow herself to hope for even a second that she might get this dress, because if she didn’t, she was sure the disappointment would devastate her. But Narcissa had said she could have anything she wanted, so maybe, just maybe…

“Um, Narcissa?” she said timidly. Narcissa turned to face her and before she had the chance for her courage to falter she quickly blurted out “Ireallylikethisdresswoulditbeokayfortheweddingplease?” Narcissa looked over the picture. It was a nice dress. It made Narcissa think of the princesses in the fairytales she used to read to the children. She remembered her own wedding dress, robe technically. Octavia had insisted that she was to wear those heavy traditional robes for her wedding; Narcissa had always hated her for that.

“Absolutely.” Laylani looked up to her disbelievingly.

“Really?”

“Of course. Like I said, you can have anything you want.” Laylani looked at the photo of what was to be her wedding dress, trying to contain her happiness while Narcissa looked on, pleased that she was so happy and at how much this would bother Octavia Malfoy. That woman was a stickler for traditions, and the further they strayed the more annoyed she would become. Narcissa grinned wickedly.

“So, how would you feel about having the Weird Sisters for entertainment?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lucius sat, working furiously in his study. He finally had an afternoon with the house to himself since Narcissa had left to spend the afternoon at Hogwarts with Laylani.

Narcissa. He stopped his work momentarily for a loving thought of his wife. She had changed considerably for the better since that October. She was beginning to revert into the strong and opinionated woman he’d loved before so much tragedy had forced her into the façade of perpetual happiness. In fact, just yesterday she’d told him she hated that he spent all of his time and energy on his work. She hated it. Narcissa hadn’t come out and said she’d hated anything for a long time. She’d shown no real strong negative feelings in the past eleven years; she might find things ‘unpleasant’ or ‘displeasing’ but never hated. It had been a joyous moment for him to see a spark of his wife’s fire. They’d made love last night for the first time in…well, a long time.

Lucius quickly returned to his work. He’d devoted most of the last two months time to searching for the meaning or origin of Laylani’s dream with no success whatsoever, in that time neglecting much of his work for the Ministry and for other various work for Malfoy Enterprises. He’d finally come to admit to himself that despite his sense of deja vu, it had been just a dream and nothing more. Lucius had been spending most of the week hastily trying to make up for the work he had let lag.

Suddenly a violent ‘crack’ disturbed the silent peace of Malfoy Manor. Lucius looked up from his work to see the tall, lean figure standing before him and immediately dropped onto his knees.

“My Lord,” he said, not daring to look up. “It’s an honor and a privilege to have you in my home.”

“Risssssse, Lucssssiussss. I have not come to disssspensssse pleassssantriessss with you. I am here for the girl.” Lucius looked up.

“The girl, my Lord?”

“Yessss.” he hissed. “The one you have told me sssso much about. I have given you ample time to prepare her, and now I have come to collect her.” Lucius swallowed hard.

“She is not here, my Lord.”

“Not here?”

“She’s been sent to school. My Lord, she is no use to us untrained.” The Dark Lord’s eyes burned red like fiery coals, hot with rage.

“Fool! She hassss more training and knowledge than you will ever know posssssible! Our greatessssst weapon and you have handed her to the enemy? Crucio!\"

Lucius was struck hard by the fury of Voldemort’s Cruciatus curse, immediately collapsing on his back, writhing and screaming in agony.

“I shall fetch her My Lord!” cried Lucius. “I shall bring her to you directly!” Voldemort ended the curse.

“Be sure that you do.” he hissed, his words laced with venom. “You have until midnight to bring her to me by whatever meansssssss necsssesssssary. If you fail, death will sssseem a mersssssscy when your punishment issss through!” Without another word, Lord Voldemort disappeared.

Lucius lay still for a moment as the pain faded, contemplating what exactly he had done.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The note came shortly after Narcissa left, just about 5:30. The black eagle-owl perched on her window as she was changing to wear something more comfortable and less formal to dinner. She took the note from the bird and it flew off into the fading daylight. Unfurling the parchment, her eyes quickly ran over the elegant handwritten words.

***

Laylani,

In celebration of finally getting the preparations for the wedding underway, I have planned a little surprise for you. You are to meet me by the castle’s gates by 7:00 tonight, no later. I will arrive to collect you with a business associate of mine.

I have already made arrangements with Headmaster Dumbledore, so you needn’t worry about troubling him for permission. Finally, for now I ask that you keep our little rendezvous a secret.

All will soon be revealed.

Yours,

Lucius Malfoy

***

She smiled to herself. A surprise? How wonderful. Did she need to dress nicely? The note said nothing about what to wear to this ‘surprise.’ She looked over her attire in the mirror. She had on a pair of gray trousers and a pinstripe blouse. Yes, that would probably do. Not too dressy if it wasn’t called for but not too casual if it was. Perfect.

She sat herself down on the couch with a book, now having almost twenty minutes in which to do nothing but wait for Draco to arrive from Quidditch practice. She reread the passages that would be the subject of Monday’s test. It was a great bit of history about wizarding efforts in World War I and II. Laylani found it fascinating.

Draco arrived with five minutes to spare before dinner. He came in without knocking, pleased to find her already waiting. Granted she wasn’t often late but occasionally she was, and he was practically starving. She saw him and stood up, stretching out her back with a smile.

As she brought her arms back down to her sides, his smile turned from warm to predatory. Wetting his lips, he stalked over to her. Reaching her, he lifted his hand and slipped it inside her blouse, which had come undone by a button or two while she’d stretched, leaving her much more exposed then what was proper for school. Laylani hissed out a soft breath as his thumb began to rub back and forth across her nipple through the thin material of her bra. Her head drooped slightly, forehead resting lightly on his shoulder.

“You know, the polite thing to do would’ve been to tell me my shirt had come open.” She could practically feel Draco smirking though she couldn’t see it, and his hand began to knead her breast firmly.

“I like my way better.” She made a small purr in the back of her throat.

“So do I.” His other hand snaked up and started to undo more buttons. He may be hungry, but not that hungry. He would never be that hungry. But still, her hand moved to stop his.

“Dinner.” She said, raising her head off his shoulder. As if to respond to the word, Draco’s stomach growled its emptiness. They both laughed. Draco wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close enough to himself that she could feel his growing erection.

“After dinner?” he asked, his voice thick with want and his eyes full of lust. She bit her bottom lip. She was supposed to meet Lucius after dinner, but Draco’s hand slipped itself under the back of her shirt, tracing patterns and designs on her skin that made her mind cloud. Maybe if they finished dinner early… No, she really shouldn’t, not tonight.

“I can’t.” she answered, her voice showing the uncertainty of her decision. Draco arched a brow. Usually she was as eager as him.

“Can’t?” he asked. She blushed a little.

“I have to study tonight. History of Magic test.” Said Laylani, hoping she sounded convincing. She gestured offhandedly to the book she’d left laying on the couch for emphasis. Draco frowned.

“Couldn’t that wait for just a little while?” His hands began to glide softly up and down the curve of her back, and a part of her would like nothing else than to take Draco back into her bedroom so they could screw like rabbits until the sun came up but the rational superego kicked in, demanding that she refuse. If Lucius, who was normally a bit standoffish and reserved when it came to showing affection, had gone to all the trouble to prepare a surprise for her, she simply could not blow him off, no matter how tempting the offer.

“No, it can’t.” she said firmly, taking a step back from him, effectively removing his hands from her skin. Softening a little, she added “I’m sorry, Dragon, but this is something that has to get done.” He sighed, disappointed but didn’t say as much.

“Alright,” he said with a hint of a pout in his voice, “Let’s go to dinner, then.” She smiled warmly to him, taking his hand and squeezing it in her own. His face perked up a bit and he returned a small grin. Laylani headed towards the door when his hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned around about to tell him that no meant no, maybe even jinx him to run the point home when his hands reached up and he buttoned her top up, something she’d completely forgotten. When he was done, he pressed his hand over the buttons he’d done up, just barely exposing her collarbone.

“I wouldn’t want anyone else to see what a sexy witch I’ve got.” He said with a wink. They both laughed and made their way downstairs to the Great Hall for dinner.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She waited at the gates for Lucius to come like she was told. She hadn’t mentioned it to a soul that she was leaving, and had managed to sneak out just after dinner undetected. So she stood in silent wait wearing her black cloak, almost invisible in the dark night. She heard soft footsteps to her left and turned to face the approaching figure of her future father-in-law, his white-blond hair gleaming in the faint moonlight followed by whom she assumed was his associate.

“Lucius!” she called, running over and wrapping him in a hug. “I’ve missed you.” she said into his shoulder. Lucius smiled, his face not revealing the twinge of guilt that passed through him.

“And I you, dear.” He pulled out of the hug. “Laylani, I’d like you to meet my business associate, Mr. MacNair.” Walden MacNair had been sent by the Dark Lord to make sure that Lucius would follow through and, should he fail, to bring him to Voldemort for punishment. The hulking man stuck out his beefy hand and she shook it. She tried not to show it but something about this man made her nervous. Maybe it was his squinting eyes or his sneering smile, but he made her uncomfortable. She tried to reason with herself; she was uncomfortable with most men. She was just being silly. Still… She quickly turned her attention back to Lucius.

“So where are we going?” she asked excitedly. Lucius gave her a smirk, almost identical to his son’s but somehow not as warm.

“A Malfoy shows patience, my dear. Besides, it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, now would it?” She dropped her head, embarrassed and ashamed.

“I’m sorry.” she said quietly.

“Think nothing of it.” he said briskly. “Now, come with me.” He offered her his arm, and the sleeve of his coat pulled up, inadvertently dragging up his shirt sleeve as well and baring part of his forearm, the pure whiteness of his skin marred only by a black tattoo of a skull with a snake running through it.

She looked down at his arm about to take it when she saw the mark. She’d seen that somewhere before. Laylani faced him questioningly, and he hurriedly pulled his sleeve down. He smiled at her, but a brief flash of nervousness passed through his eyes. What was that about?

“Lucius, where did you get that tattoo?” He fumbled for an answer, though he didn’t know why.

“A folly of youth, Lani. Come along or we’ll be late.” He couldn’t understand why he had lied to her. What would it matter if he told her the truth? It’s not like he had anything to hide. No, he was proud of what the Dark Mark stood for.

“I’ve seen it before. Does it mean something?”

“No, absolutely nothing.” Why couldn’t he tell her the truth? Why, now of all times, did he feel the need to hide his convictions from a mere child? If she were going to be in Voldemort\'s ranks, why shouldn’t she know? What did he mean ‘if’? Lucius tried to push this all out of his mind and focus on the task at hand.

“Come along Laylani,” he said in a voice now showing the smallest hint of forced calm. “You don’t want to miss your surprise do you?” Laylani stared intently into his eyes and Lucius felt like she was trying to see within his soul. Surely, she would be repulsed by the blackness it contained.

What was he thinking? Why should she be disgusted with Lucius Malfoy, social elite, aristocrat, and pureblood? Why, she should be honored just to be in his presence.

He began to get angry. How dare she condemn his beliefs with her innocent stare? How dare she shame him with her questions he couldn’t answer truthfully? How dare this girl make him question himself when he had always been so sure? He grabbed her arm forcefully, using a painful grip.

“Come Laylani, we’ll be late.”

“Ow! Lucius! Lucius, that hurts.” she said, pulling her arm out of his with a yank. Why had he done that? She rubbed it tenderly.

He stared at her, anger draining to be replaced by shame. What had he just done? He had hurt her purposely, punishing her because she’d asked innocent questions.

“I’m sorry, Laylani.” he said sincerely. “Now, come along, dearest. We have to go.”

Laylani stepped back from his extended hand. Something about this wasn\'t right, something about Lucius wasn\'t right. “I-I can’t tonight. M-m-maybe tomorrow. I have to go inside now.” Lucius frowned.

\"Please, Laylani, you\'re being ridiculous. Now let\'s be on our way.\" He stepped towards her and she backed away.

\"I-I-I can\'t, Lucius. I\'m s-sorry.\" She turned to leave when her cloak pulled back, nearly choking her at the neckline. She twisted around trying to see what she was caught on, only to find the thick hand of Mr. MacNair firmly holding a twisted fold of her cloak.

\"What - Lucius, what....?\" She could find no way to finish her question. Lucius face looked upset, but determined.

\"Laylani, you\'ll need to come with us. It will be much easier if you do so willingly.\"

What was he saying? What in the hell was going on? They wouldn\'t really take her by force, would they? MacNair\'s hand began to pull her back towards him. It seemed they would.

\"No!\" she cried out, pulling against the force. The tie holding her cloak came undone and she ran, ran as fast as she could for all she was worth, leaving her only source of warmth behind. They were following her; she could hear the thick frost crunching underfoot from behind her. Oh, God, God, God, what was she going to do? The sound became louder as the two men were quickly closing the gap between them.

Lucius ran after her, each footstep seeming to take him farther and farther away from the certainty he had felt before. Now the pounding of his heart and his feet seemed to be drumming a message into his brain. What was he doing? This girl he loved as dear as his own child was running from him, completely terrified. If this was supposed to be the right thing to do, why did it feel so bloody wrong?

Her breath began to come in painful pants. Oh, Christ they were going to catch her. God Almighty and all that was holy they were almost at her heels. She wasn\'t going to get away. Suddenly a small flooding of light filled the area around her accompanied by loud barking, and the sound of running behind her stopped. She didn\'t. Laylani ran as fast as she could, out of the beam of light and into the protective darkness.

Lucius and MacNair had come to a dead stop when the light flickered on, quickly diving into nearby brush. Lucius\' mind was spinning now, swimming with sea of questions he\'d never thought of before, none of which he could find answers to.

There was the creak of an opening door and the voice of the groundskeeper filled the night air.

\"\'Ello? Anyone out there?\" Despite the urge to cry out to him, to scream at the top of her lungs, she remained silent. She would not risk giving away her position to her attackers, nor endanger Hagrid.

Laylani knew she wouldn\'t be able to reach the castle before Hagrid\'s safe light turned off. Her only option was to hide with the precious few seconds she had before that happened. She hastily examined her surroundings. There were only two possible hiding spots; she could either try to hide within the few sturdy trees near the lakes edge, or between the rocks that jutted out just on the waterline.

The trees would be the more obvious place and were too easy to be seen within them. Hiding inside the rocky shoreline was her best option, maybe her only chance to escape this.

She slid silently into the water, only recently thawed and still had a few ice flows about, finding it became deeper as she neared the rocks. With one uncertain step the water quickly rose over her head, her inhalation taking in water that choked her as she refused to cough. Unable to swim, she grabbed onto the sharp sides of the rocks to move through the waters depths, fingers scraping roughly against the stone as she pulled her body along. The light went out and she quickly nestled herself painfully between two asymmetrical jutting rocks, neck-deep in the freezing waters. She didn\'t even allow herself a breath lest the humidity in her exhalation reveal her. Pulling her lips over her teeth to keep them from chattering, she listened.

Footsteps that seemed loud as thunder filled her ears. Lucius spoke in a whisper from somewhere not far away.

“She must have gotten back inside the castle.” There was an almost undetectable trace of relief in his voice. Lucius was relieved. Quite, in fact.

“She can’t have.” Replied the gruff voice of MacNair. “Not enough time. She’ll be out here still, you’d better hope for your sake. I’ll check the trees, you check ‘long the shore.”

She heard a heavy set of footsteps fade further away, and she nearly breathed a sigh of relief, when she heard the snap of some twigs that indicated the other set was coming closer. She listened as hard as she could, putting all her focus into picking up any sound that might come next. She heard the slow steps of what had to be Lucius.

‘All gods in heaven,’ she prayed silently ‘Please, please don’t let him find me.’ The slow footsteps came nearer and nearer, and she shut her eyes tightly out of childish habit, the thought having once been if she couldn’t see them they couldn’t see her. The footsteps stopped.

Unable to help her morbid curiosity she looked up. There stood Lucius, looking down directly into her eyes, making her blood run cold. He had found her.

Lucius stared down at the shivering girl with a heavy heart. Her eyes, Gods, her eyes spoke to him like nothing else ever had. She’d always looked at him with an abundance of love, almost a hero-worship. His own child had long ago stopped looking at him that way, and to see her look at him with the belief that he could conquer anything made him feel as though he could. Now she looked frightened, terrified of him. She looked at him as if he was a monster. And underneath his polished finish, his unbridled cruelty and hatred, his love of power and his very pure blood, a little voice whispered that maybe she was right.

Merlin, what was wrong with him? He’d hunted and handed many of his closest friends and colleagues to the Dark Lord before without a second’s hesitation. Why now, when so much was at stake for him, was he questioning everything he had so firmly believed a mere hour before? Why had everything become unclear? His anger boiled up and over inside of him and he gave a primitive cry of frustration. What the hell was going on?

His eyes returned to hers, watching the tears that welled up roll down one at a time over her cheeks red from the cold. He’d always loved tears from his victims; they reaffirmed his sense of power. But this, this just made him sick. Suddenly the heavy pounding of feet broke his reverie. He lifted his eyes and turned to his ‘associate.’

“Dij’you find her?” With a frown and a deep sigh, Lucius spoke.

“No.” He couldn’t do it. For reasons unclear to him, Lucius Malfoy could not hand this girl over to Lord Voldemort, despite what his punishment might bring.

Laylani’s eyes widened but she didn’t make a sound. He had seen her, she knew he had. His eyes met hers one last time and despite the faint lighting, she saw the sorrow and penance in them.

“Me neither.” said MacNair. “She’ll have reached the castle by now, on her way to tell that fool of a headmaster. We’d best go before the Aurors arrive. Though you might be safer with them with what you’re facing.” He said the last part with a laugh. The two men turned away silently and she listened to the footsteps that quickly faded away into the night.

She waited nearly twenty minutes in the freezing water to be sure they were gone and that gave her time to think. She thought back to everything that had happened in the last hour. Lucius had obviously come with intent to abduct her that much was clear. Why? Where did he want to take her? What did Mr. MacNair have to do with it? What was that tattoo? It had to have meant something. Why had Lucius chosen to let her go when it meant some punishment to him? What had made him change his mind?

When she finally was sure the men were gone, she began to slowly remove herself from between the rocks. The rocks’ edges hooked and tore at her clothes, leaving her with angry red scrapes but none that drew blood. She barely noticed them, the pain of moving her frigid stiff muscles hurting much, much more. She did her best to ignore the pain and the cold that was only doubled by a stiff breeze as she hobbled across the school’s lawn and climbed the painful steps to the front doors. Using all the strength she could find she wrenched the door open, crying out softly at the pain that tore through her arms and chest. She practically fell through the doors, relieved that the hall was empty.

The door shut behind her noiselessly as she leaned her weight against the wall. She began to shiver uncontrollably, teeth chattering echoing through the empty entranceway. The numbness of her body was beginning to wear off within Hogwarts heat and her body ached, felt as if it were throbbing with waves of pain. She slid her back down the length of the wall until she was seated on the stone floor. She winced turning too far against the wall. Hesitantly, she pulled at the rip on the sleeve of her already ruined blouse so that it tore along the seem revealing her bicep. On it, she had the beginnings of what was surely to be a painful hand-shaped bruise.

It took her a full two minutes to get up enough focus to cast a proper warming charm. She sighed contentedly when it finally succeeded, warming her from the inside out. She sat there for a few moments, just enjoying the heat that relieved some of the pain from her body. Soon enough she felt able to walk. But first she would have to cast a disillusionment charm. She was still a sodden mess, clothes torn and ripped exposing fierce scratches and scrapes and no one could see her like that. She was only now escaping the stigma of being the mysterious new girl engaged to the Slytherin prince. Laylani would not put herself in that situation ever again, the stares and the whispers. Never again.

She muttered the spell softly, shuddering at the slimy feeling that passed over her body. She rose and walked as quickly as her aching body allowed across the main floor towards the stairwell. Laylani stood between the two staircases, one leading down to take her to Draco’s quarters, one leading up to take her to her own. For a moment she was at an impasse. On one hand, she was desperate to have him hold her and comfort her and tell her everything would be all right. On the other, she just wanted to take a hot bath and fall asleep in her warm bed and pretend this whole night never happened. The latter won out and she started climbing the stairs.

She would tell Draco tomorrow, she decided. After she had a chance to figure out what had happened and how she felt. For now, she was in a comfortable state of emotional numbness and disbelief, and that would do for now.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Needless to say, Lucius never made it back to the Manor that night.



A/N: Finally. Sorry that took for frigging ever, I promise the next chapter will be along soon. As always, drop your opinion on the way out! I think I night have lied when I said we\'re closer to the end then to the beginning earlier. As it stands right now, we\'re but a little further than half way if things keep panning out like this. Which is a bitch because I want to have it finished before I leave for China to visist my father. Things would just be so much easier if he could be normal and... i don\'t know LIVE WITH THE REST OF MY FAMILY not that I\'m bitter or anything....