Beautiful. The story was engaging and the backstory was perfect. Also, huge gallons of kudos for making a Riley/Maggie romance, and making it completely believable. You kept everyone in character, while adding a whole lot of depth, expecially to Maggie Walsh. Add really amazing dialogue, complete continuity, and an exceptionally creepy look at the begginings of Adam and ta-da! All-around greatness.

Excellent story. That you make a Walsh/Riley romance work is accomplishment enough. But you're able to fit it in with the continuity of the show and provide a complicated, engaging backstory to the origins of the Initiative, something few fic writers have ever bothered to do. And the writing itself is top-notch. A new favorite.

Mariner--another wonderful job. I love the time and care you take fleshing out the Maggie/Riley relationship and make a romance between them totally believable. Another facet of your stories I always look forward to is the relationship between Riley and his best friends. So few authors take that time, even when writing Riley. This story makes me care for Maggie Walsh and who she was. Oh, and the backstory on her son--extremely wig-worthy. Gave me the shivers.

I wish that you could have contributed to Riley on the program. You write so well that I _really_ like him. And now with this story, I like Maggie Walsh. I have enjoyed your work very much. Please continue to post.