I love them all, but this chapter means a lot to me too.  I think they do a great job of standing up to one another, but I really think they both would normally fight a little "mean" and they don't with each other.  Rob especially sees it as a necessary step, and honestly I think she's just shocked.  Being that she's used to being the one who's needed, she's not used to anyone but Suzie really standing up to her.  But instead of lashing out, she listened.

I'm so glad you're loving it!  I look forward to every review, and I'm so glad you're still enjoying!  Thanks for everything!

Oh, Jess, I'm so sorry.  You wouldn't believe how many reviews and PMs have said the same thing.  They say one in four of us has a miscarriage.  I had two also, but one was late enough that I can feel a little of Tina's pain.  Not the third trimester, but... you're right about how bad it is.  What's worse is, unlike losing a person that's been here, nobody ever knows what to say.  Tina is in a bad place, and it's important to understand why she's as messed up as she is.  Don't despair, though, because she's got some awesome people in her life that will help her through it.

I'm so glad you're enjoying it!  Welcome to the LOC bus!  We have refreshments in the back.  Just so you know, they never let me drive, but they do let me ride shotgun so I can get a good look at where we're going!

Thanks for reading and reviewing, bb!  I can't wait to hear what you think of Suzie!

Yep, just me and Lou's mom... we're the only ones.  He's not at his best, that's for sure.  But I'm so glad you were able to feel some of what he went through.  I had to do that through his POV because I honestly don't think Tina could even get through it.  It was still too raw to her, if that makes any sense.  I always say I don't write these characters, I just take dictation.  They totally own me.  So Lou's mom and I will take care of him for a while until he gets his "assholeness" in check.  We're really not seeing him at his best here.  But I'll take fleeting.

Thanks for the compliment... they speak to me, and I can't help but listen.  And share.  I can't wait for you to get caught up!  There's so much yet to happen.  Of course, our dear Brit-boy hasn't even begun to introduce himself.  I hope you like him!

As always, thanks for reading and reviewing!  I'm glad you picked my story to read tonight!

Holy cow, Jess, you're my 200th review!  I should give you something for that!  Would you prefer a lemony teaser or an angsty teaser?  Your choice!

The beer... really, Rob.  Heineken LIGHT?  Really?  For a Brit, he has some unbelievably bad taste in beer.  Not that I'd kick him out of bed for it or anything, but the man has to learn that there's more to American beer than Bud.  Okay, off my soapbox... Steph and I joke about his beer selection all the time!  So I had to have a little fun with my girls and beer.  They are tight, in spite of the difference in their ages.  Suzie is just the perfect solution for Tina right now, and I don't know how she would have survived the weekend without her.

I'm glad you won't hate on Lou.  He's just... Lou.  There's more to him than the giant flaming asshole.  The chapter that just posted is starting to show that... and people are saying it, so I feel better.  You know how you hate it when people don't like your kiddies (well, except for Penny's Brent - nobody should like him, not even his momma!).

There are definitely some changes that need to happen, because Lou and Tina are both on bad paths.  Even Rob, in my humble opinion, is on a dangerous course.  You can't live life alone in your hotel room with nothing but work and work-people around you all the time.  Something's got to give.  So glad you're liking where we're going!

Thanks again for reading and reviewing!

I'm so glad you see what's happening!  It's really supposed to be a slow build, and I want it to feel real.  They can both use a friend, and each of them really needs the others "brand" of friendship.  Most everyone sees how she's helping him, but not necessarily how much she needs him, too.  Even if the flirting makes her uncomfortable sometimes, he's kind of waking up parts of her that have been asleep for a long time.

I shall go to the lemon grove right now and pluck you a nice juicy piece of fruit.  Check your email.  And thank you for being my 200th reviewer!  I'm so excited.  I never ever thought I'd have 200 reviews.  Ever.  It took me forever to get to 50!  Wow.  Just wow.

So thank you for liking the funny - that line still cracks me up.  The whole list thing in crayon and marker on construction paper cracks me up.  Thanks for reading and reviewing, bb!

Did you think it would be Suzie?  I tried to have just a little bit of drama about that... but you know  she'll be perfect!  One of my betas loves Suzie, so for her birthday gift I'm writing a Suzie outtake - Suzie's "orientation" if you will.  And I'm sure you can imagine that it was really more Rob's orientation than Suzie's, but I had to sort a lot of it out in my head just to appreciate what their dynamic would be six months later.  I'm actually looking forward to writing it, and if I know LSD, she's going to let me publish it as soon as she's read it.  It should be quite a hoot.

I'm glad you liked that bit with him... I actually cried when I wrote that.  Transitions is actually one of my favorite chapters, and you're so close to the lemon grove now you should be able to smell it on the breeze!  They need each other, and for very different reasons, but you're spot on - she's terrified.  She's got some serious self-exteem issues, and he can't see why at all.  Ironically, he has them too, and that's part of why she's good for him.  She gets that part of him, because she's so focused on looking for the things that can be wrong or go wrong.

I'm practically bouncing in my seat waiting to see what you think of the next chapter!!!  Thanks so much for coming to my little story, and for reviewing and rec'ing it.  I'm so glad you like it!

Bouncing... bouncing... bouncing...

You're absolutely right.  She's afraid to fail.  Afraid to take a chance.  And convinced that she doesn't deserve happiness, while also terrified that she'll bring him down when she ultimately craters any relationship they have.  Serious issues.  Deep down, she blames herself for everything, which is usually the flip side of the control freak coin.  You have to admit, it takes an amazing level of quasi-confidence to believe you can control everything, but once you do, you MUST be responsible for things when they fail.  So think about what she blames herself for:  her marriage, her baby, her career success or failure, her stupid garden.  It can't be that the soil is not fertile, or the clients aren't interested, or just dumb mother nature and the challenges of getting and staying pregnant despite all of the advantages of modern medicine.  It can't be that she and Lou grew apart.  It must be her fault.  So what's the safest way of avoiding that again?  Don't take the chance.  Amass every reason you can for why the risk is too great, why the relationship is doomed to fail.  Lucky for her (and for us), he's not buying it.

Is he wise beyond his years?  Incredibly intuitive?  Just head over heels for this woman, so that he'll put up with anything?  There must be some reason why he has this insight.  Hmmm.  Maybe the kind author will someday reveal the secret.  But, until then, I hope you enjoy the ride.  And I know what you're reading now... hope you're having fun.

Mwah!  Thanks for everything!

I am just delighted you're at the stage where they are together!  And it will definitely not be easy.  They are very good for one another and all the usual defenses they bring to bear don't work nearly as well against each other as they do with other people.  Teaching, yes - but are they learning?  Only time will tell.  He's trying to teach her that she can let go of some things without letting go of everything, but she's kind of an all-or-nothing girl.  She's kind of letting it all go now, but how will that work for her?

Suzie's done a good job of getting all his shit together, but he's still not really focused.  He's got things he can learn from her, but right now all he sees is what he can teach her.  He thinks that she showed him he needed an assistant, and that he's good now.  How many relationships really thrive when they are that out of balance in the "needs" department.  It's kind of ironic, really.  She's always let herself be in relationships with people who need her, not necessarily with those that she needed.  Now who's in that role?  Coincidence?  Maybe.  Or maybe not.  Hmmmm.

They do balance each other out.  Damn shame they don't know it yet.  But it's gonna be fun to watch!  Thanks for reading and reviewing.  Go read NTE - I'll be waiting (and posting and posting and posting)... just kidding!  Catch up on Steph!  Really!

Suzie is just the best.  No ifs, ands, or buts.  If she didn't curse like a sailor and feel so real, she might be a Mary Sue.  But she's just Suzie.  Perfectly cast... and I adore her too.

Suzie kept Rob together all that time.  She was almost a matchmaker, but I can only imagine how hard it would have been for her - knowing how each of them felt and not being able to do anything but listen to them.  Talk about opposite her nature!  She's a fixer - and she couldn't do a damn thing!  It had to be almost physically painful for her, especially since both of them would be asking her about the other... it's a wonder she didn't kill them both.

Tina is a big giant chicken.  She's petrified.  I hope that comes through under all the feistiness and the joking.  She's really just afraid.  And you are absolutely right.  It's because she's used to being the "needee" instead of the "needer" and she doesn't know what to do.  That's where I think Suzie really helps, because she's not dazzled by it all any more, but she's not naive either.  She's practical about it.

I'm so glad these characters are speaking to you the way they're meant to!   It means a lot to me!  Thanks for everything, bb!

I actually feel bad, knowing that you wrote this and thought "phew!  finally caught up" and then I had another chapter go up like 3 hours later.  But that one is great fun - Chocolate and Proper Kisses - so hopefully you won't be too upset that it nipped right on your heels.  Warning:  next one is Monday.  Sorry, Monday/Friday posting starts this week.

We were in need of some significant schmexing, imho.  I'm glad you liked this one... I wasn't sure about switching POVs, but it seemed to work.  I originally planned on only Tina POV for this story.  Then I needed Lou for something, and then I needed to hear Rob's conversation with Stephanie... and then Brit-boy started talking in my head; now he just won't shut up (I know, I live in hell, right?).  But the separation is not a big deal for him.  He's used to being alone, so even though he'll miss her terribly, he's not afraid of it the way she is.  Of course "she's skittish enough for the both of [them]."  He's got until he leaves to get her where he thinks she needs to be.  Don't let him fool you.  That man's a planner!

There's a next button now, Jess!  See you soon!  And thanks for everything... your words, your support, your laughter, and your tears!

You know, Jess, sometimes you just gotta call 'em as you see 'em!  And she SO had her head up her ass!  Good of her to realize it, wasn't it?

I'm glad you liked the celebrating!  I'm trying hard to make sure that they get to know each other as people, friends, lovers... sometimes I just gotta say the schmexin' is happening without the play-by-play.  Maybe because I know that colleagues (and my mother!) are reading this, too!  Ack!  I'm glad she gave him the opener, and finally explained WHY she was so obsessed with the garage in the first place.  The walls are slowly coming down.

Thanks for everything, bb!