Holy moley, how can this be your first fic? Powerful story, totally believable! I love how it jumps back and forth between their thoughts. Somehow you tap my hearts desire for them. :)

Author's Response: We must have the same taste in fic, I mostly just write what I wish I could read :-) thanks for your review!

Such an incredibly sweet, emotive, tenderly detailed story. It has literally taken my breath away. It has filled the hole in their story in my mind as The Truth. Sigh.

God, this is just exquisitely beautiful. Reading this, I am just plunged into their emotions and fear and longing and sensitivity to each other. This piece just exudes aching love.

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I can't believe there's only one review! This is amazing! I, too, believe there is more than one kiss --- if you compare the two scenes, they are different! So this is fabulous!

He doesn’t mean to tell her that he’s wanted to do that for so long, but he can’t keep it in. His heart is soaring.

I love his heart soaring -- that's exactly what's on his face in this scene.  That's exactly what grabbed my heart.  

 Great job on capturing the power of this scene watchthesky!  Thank you!

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I think this is the third time I read this one. Each time I read it, I am so carried away with thinking about what happens next that I forget about leaving a review! So let me get out of the parking lot long enough to tell you I love this. Such a small twist could have made such a difference. Ahhhh.

Author's Response: Thanks for leaving the parking lot to leave this :-)

Beautiful! Wonderful! Amazing! Breathtaking! Really simmering, sizzling, amazing interactions between them, with a gorgeous ending. Thank you!

Oh, such a sweet, sweet story! I do hope you get back to this one too!

It has been several months since I wrote that last review. I have since read lots more stories and this is STILL #1! It is so full of truth and love and unvarnished vulnerability for both of them. Any misunderstandings, any unspoken feelings or thoughts are laid bare and acknowledged and embraced. The fear that paralyzed them both is stripped away, allowing them both to speak, heart-to-heart. Love it! :)

I have to add that this was extremely powerful --- a totally unexpected development that hit hard. I'm trying to read other authors' installments and I can only picture Pam crumpled on the road. Obviously, you've drawn a very vivid picture that is refusing to leave my brain. So I'm saying WOW and wailing at the same time.

Author's Response: Thank you! Coming back for more--I really do appreciate it! I wanted this to be powerful, even hard to read. Thanks again for stopping by to give me some feedback! 

Wow, so nice to have you back! Powerful. Sweet. Delicious! Long, sweet sigh. :) Love Africa, especially a Capella. And I always get the lyrics wrong. For years I thought it was "there's a bathroom on the right" instead of "there's a bad moon on the rise". Hopelessly dorky. Anyway, great chapter!

Author's Response: Thanks so much for the warm welcome back and your lovely comment! Lyrics can be tough! And that CCR lyric is a classic misheard one. ;) Thanks again for reading and commenting! Means a lot to me!

Wow Shutterbug. While I was reading this, I was thinking how it sounded so real, with details that only someone who had been through it would know. And yes, it is disturbing -- it must have been so difficult to write. I hope it is somewhat cathartic as well. Gentle hugs, friend.

Author's Response:

Thanks, love. There are some major differences between my experience and what I wrote, but I included some of my own experiences to (1) weave in details that could help me describe how the world looked, felt, sounded (etc) during a crash like this, and directly after a crash like this; and (2) experience some catharsis. (All the details about the world being colorless, about how you can't feel physical pain--only pure panic...that is all based on my own experience.) Before now, I never wrote out anything that came close to my own experience. And I didn't want to write my exact experience (I was alone, and had much more extensive and serious injuries than Jim here--I actually did lose two teeth, but I also broke my jaw in two places, broke my collar bone, and suffered extensive, deep road rash that put literal holes in my face and arm--ew, I know) but I wanted to write something that could give me an outlet while still fitting in with these characters and their worlds. I hope I did an okay job, and I hope that it's still compelling to read. 

And, honestly, this isn't really about me. I wanted an outlet, yes. But I wanted to tell a story about loss and recovery, because I believe that humans have incredible capacity to mend and recover--physically, emotionally, psychologically. And a part of me always wondered how Jim would cope with the loss of Pam--an early loss, after fighting for so long to just be with her and create a life, then work through problems and re-create a life with each other in a new place. So much goes into a relationship like that, and I liked the idea of showing not just the journey of creating that relationship, but losing it, and then finding a way to accept and make peace with all of that. 

So, more to come, obviously. Thank you for reading and for leaving such nice words. :) I really do appreciate it. d84; 

Jim straightens, backs away the slightest bit, and rests his forehead against the wall behind her, his chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath. His body is still trapping hers aainst the wall, and she's not sure what to do. She's never seen him like this. Her hands drop to his chest again and she can feel his heart racing.

Wow! Yes, more please. It's kind of warm in this elevator.

Author's Response: "It's kind of warm in this elevator" made me laugh out loud! Thanks for the review and enjoy chapter 2!