Wow, this fic was amazing. I was totally IN the story...does that make any sense? I can't even describe how clear it all was in my mind's eye, how my real world went away and everything was just Sheppard and the Marine and Steve.

The little details, like the memory of the party, really made the character come alive. I loved the way Sheppard's behavior gave him some strength, took away some of his fear, even though that might not have been Sheppard's intent, necessarily.

Very cool fic!