Anna, words fail me at the moment. I am utterly and completely drained, still trying to process the magnitude of what I just read. At the end, my eyes were burning, although no tears fell, my throat tight and closed, my only coherent thought being 'Yes!! This is exactly how the three were at the beginning of TMP. You have somehow managed to make sense of that which bothered me for years!!' How could all that was right have gone so horribly wrong, for the three of them to be where they were physically, spiritually and emotionally at the beginning of that movie? You have done it, Anna - made me understand finally that which has been incomprehensible all these years. I told you, I saw TMP when it came out in 1979, at the tender age of 17, and did not watch that movie again until about a year ago. It always made me profoundly sad for reasons I did not fully comprehend, and you have remarkably managed to make sense of the incomprehensible. Once again, I find myself speechless and reeling at the end of one of your masterpieces. I bow to you...and know not what else to say...except my heartfelt thanks!

Author's Response: Wow, Cuppy. I am honored that you feel this way about my work. Just remember what I said about canon. Its creator I am not. ;-) This is just *one* possible explanation. Thank you very much for your support and kind words. I'm glad you liked it in the end. ;-)