Thanks for hanging in there, readers! That last chapter was definitely the hardest. I almost didn't go with the misunderstanding idea. I thought maybe they were arguing too much, and it was supposed to be a happy ending, so I typed up a totally different version that was nothing but fluff- and hated it. Still working on the epilogue. Of course the war situation needs to be wrapped up, and I've already got that part done.

LornaWinters: Haven't decided how much to include yet, but those topics will at least be mentioned. : ) Thanks for your continual support!

Tribal Graces: Yes, there really wouldn't have been any point in doing an alternate ending unless they did get married. : ) Now that you mention it, there really is a severe lack of female friendships in Trek. I can only recall a handful of instances, but maybe it's because most of the writers/producers are men?

BewilderedFemale: Yep, that's usually a good way to seal the deal. ; ) And considering that she's getting into her 30's he'd be justified for not wanting to delay that little project.

Senator Koval: I have no doubt that you will make it to the Praetor's chair someday. You just might be my second favorite Romulan. : ) I hope you don't mind my pairing you off with Lady Tertia. Glory to the Empire!

A most satisfactory development. Success edges ever closer. Glory to the Empire! Glory to the coming Praetor!

Oh, it was wonderful! That sneaky imp! I could sooo picture him doing that, though! Poor Vreenak, he just wants to be "persuaded," LOL! He's definitely all Romulan!

Yes, I agree with Tribal Graces in that if you wanted to end the story here, it is a good point. I do want know about how her family will react, and about them going to her friend's wedding, so maybe you could put that in the epilogue?

Not sure entirely what you had in mind. But as you said, I'm one of your loyal and devoted readers, so whatever you decide, you know I'll support and love it!

This was an excellent, creative, well-written, and well thought out story! I'm so glad that you wrote it! Thanks!

*giggle snort* they're totally gonna have babies now, it'll be Velociraptors ways of roping her in for good.

Wow! Loved this chapter! I'm blown away. It couldn't have ended any better than this.

I really wanted Vreenak and Aura to end up married, but I didn't want to say so earlier, since this was your story to tell. I loved the twist that you gave it, with one last cultural misunderstanding to overcome. (And Vreenak remains a cultural chauvinist to the end, with his opinions on humans doing it backwards.)

As for the ending, for me, it works as it stands. Ending with a long-anticipated wedding & epilogue is a classic, in the tradition of Jane Eyre or the works of Jane Austen. You'd be in good company if you took that route.

But what does your storyteller's heart tell you? For you, does the story end there, or is there something else that still needs telling? You're really the only one who can answer that. My suggestion is: go with your gut. It's your story, and you know best whether it's finished or not.

One other comment I'd like to make, while I'm thinking of it, though it relates to earlier chapters. It's about the relationship between Aura and Tertia. One thing that canon Star Trek has a dearth of is friendships between female characters in general, and females of different species in particular. I appreciate the fact that your story helps fill in that gap, and it makes the story all the more believable as well.

Speaking strictly off the record, I'm doing everything in my power to encourage the marriage between Vreenak and Ms. Miller. Why, you ask? Am I such a romantic? Don't be a fool. Their marriage will assist me in my role as a covert Federation operative. If anyone starts to look at me with suspicion, it will be easy to divert their attention to my colleague and rival, Merken Vreenak. After all, if he'd marry a Fed, who's to say he wouldn't spy for the Feds, too? Play into my hands, Merken. You're safe from an alliance with my sister-and my sister is safe from you. As for Cretak, her day is coming. She won't be difficult to discredit, once the time is ripe. Once I'm named to the Continuing Committee, my way to becoming Praetor is assured.

Thank you, readers! You might be interested to know that several songs provided the inspiration for the last few chapters. One of them, as you probably guessed by the chapter title, was "Careless Whisper" by George Michael. Others include "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele, and just the refrain from "Trouble" by Taylor Swift. And finally, for some reason, whenever I think of Tertia the song "Diamonds" by Rihanna comes to mind (I'm really not a fan of Rihanna, but this song grew on me).

TribalGraces: Yes, I figured you were the "guest" reviewer, and I appreciate that you took the time to review despite being in a stressful situation.
I imagine a character like Vreenak could be both manipulative and sincere, depending on the mood he's in. ; )

Another chapter will be posted soon (As soon as I make up my mind, that is. I keep trying to revise it and end up putting it back like it was!)

Thanks for updating again so soon. Up till the last chapter or two, I couldn't tell whether Vreenak had sincere feelings for Aura, or if he simply enjoyed manipulating her. In a way, I'm glad you've finally cleared that up, but at the same time I'm glad you let the mystery go on as long as you did. It gave the story a great sense of tension. (By the way, that was me that posted earlier about needing my Vreenak and Aura fix; I didn't realize I wasn't logged in. Here's hoping there'll be another fix soon.)

*sing together as they sway to weird Al-Yankovics "Jurrasic Park"*

"Jurrasic park is frightening in the dark,
All the dinosaurs and Vreenaks are running wild!

Someone shut the fence off in the rain,
I admit it's kind of eerie , but this proves my chaos theory,
And I don't think I'll be feeding Vreenak again.

Ohhhh nooooooooooooo

Vreenak ate our lawyer,
Well I guess that proves he's really not that bad

Jurrasic park is frightening in the dark,
All the dinosaurs and Vreenaks are running wild!

Ohhhhh noooooooooooo "

O-O.. OK girl.. make up. Talk to him

You have no idea how happy I was to see how quickly you updated! I don't know though... Will Vreenak just forgive her so easily? I get the feeling that he's gonna put up a front like he don't care if she leaves.

Thanks so much for updating! Things have been stressful here in my neck of the woods, so I was really needing a Vreenak & Aura fix right about now.

Poor Aura-you're being very unkind to her right now-but it's working well for the story. Just when it was looking like a done deal that Aura would end up accepting Vreenak, here comes the curveball. I also like the way it's not just a misunderstanding between them as individuals, but that deep down, neither one really trusts the other one's cultural values.

But now I have to know: Will Vreenak really give up that easily?

Woo. An intense argument. I can see how it would play out in a movie. Great one, now that they are on the downswing, only need way to go now.

WOW! Just.. WOW This was an AMAZING chapter and so worth the wait!

I don't know though, everything seems so final doesn't it? It almost seems as if they really are better off going their separate ways. He seems so extremely set in his Romulan ways, will he really do what is necessary for her? And he's definitely fooling himself if he thinks he'll just forget her; hasn't it been years since he's held those feelings for her? His desire for her going so far that he actually kidnapped her? Does he really think he can just turn it off?

Poor Aura on the other hand, it seems like she's completely out of place on Romulus I am eagerly waiting to see how this turns out.

Oh my, what will happen next? This story has had me in a headlock simce I started it today. :-) I await another chapter. Romulan is very tun to say. I read in a cool trilogy of how it was the language of Vulcan at the time, these guys it a couple of millenia and a little linguistic drift happens as wiith living languages. How freakimg cool is that? Once Rhihana made planetfall, they made new words. Argh. I'm such a geek, I find cultures fascinating. This story is indeed a window into the Rhihansu lifestyle.

Jolan Tru . :-)