Out of the Abyss by Fan2C - Chapter 22

[montanalindy]

Lynn ---

This was my reaction to finding your latest chapter had been posted on January 1st!!!!

I was absolutely thrilled to find that you are writing again and continuing your wonderful story! Sorry that it has taken me a while to get back to you. I was unable to print it out like I usually do (printer problems) so have been reading it on line over time. (Doesn't help that work and life is just so busy right now either.) This will be briefer than usual, but it doesn't mean I did not thoroughly enjoy your chapter and your characters and action -- as I did. Immensely!

It was like catching up with old friends. Whip, his mother, aunt, and meeting his uncle. I am so glad Brooke is awake and the baby is going to survive. I was happy Whip made the connection of "grip" and knows that it was his Grandpa that led Brooke home -- at least in her mind.

As usual, I am enjoying your Deacon -- I like reading his thoughts and seeing such gut-wrenching emotion when it comes to his life, choices, Brooke and baby. Of course, he continues to have my sympathy in being stuck with the emotional midget that is Bridget. (That has not changed!) Thank you for having Whip give the little princess a reality check and calling her on her assumptions in parroting Taylor's and Stephanie's words about Brooke.


I enjoyed getting to know the back story on Claire and meeting Tom and hearing about Dana. You are actually making Ridge more human (and even more bearable) by giving him a male friend and peer to interact with and talk to. Tom sounds like a flawed character worth knowing more about. Stephanie's reaction to the young Claire -- and Claire's actions in return -- were easy to visualize and quite hilarious. The first woman Ridge gave a nickname --Nightengale sounds like a strong woman who actually might have backed Stephanie off if she had become her DIL. I will be interested in seeing what else this couple can bring to the table.

Wow, Taylor is wound tight, isn't she? She seems like she's ready to go over the edge at any given moment. Being a perfect b*tch is really a b*tch -- ain't it? lol!

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us once again. I will be looking forward to the next chapter. Are you planning on continuing your "Hade's Furnace" too? (I hope so!)

--Lindy

[fan2c]

Lindy it is so good to hear from you! I appreciate your comments so much!!! At the moment I have a houseful of company and can't give them the attention they deserve. Everyone should be gone by Thursday morning, barring gettting snowed in or something. I promise this will be the first thing I get to once I'm free. I'll look forward to it! I don't want to leave you hanging, so I'll update you if things change. Sending good vibes your way, I hope life slows down some so you can enjoy it and it doesn't throw anymore glitches, computer or otherwise, in your way. Fan2C

[fan2c]

MontanaLindy, it is good to hear people are still interested in Abyss. I donft think anyone is surprised Brooke survived this crisis, and I think a child parented by Deacon and Brooke just has to be born. If the baby inherits Deaconfs barely controlled intensity combined with Brookefs big heart and impulsiveness, all I can say is hang on for one heck of a ride. Shefll be a handful for three parents who love her. Plus there is the wonderful relationships between three parents to mine. Whoa, baby! Baby is getting close to making an appearance and will have an impact in some unexpected ways right from the beginning.

Brooke is breaking free of old patterns and forging a new life for herself. Deacon (I'm glad you enjoy the way I write him!) is trying, but it isnft as easy for him. Brooke has Bridget and the baby motivating her to move forward and her growing relationship with Whip behind her. Deacon is stuck and does not have the motivating and supporting factors behind him, except for his feelings for Brooke and the baby. And they have slipped away from him. He almost gave up, but life intervened again with this incident with his stepfather. He still has some hurdles to leap and issues to face, and then wefll see what else life throws in his path. Ifm not a Bridget fan either, so sit back and relax and prepare for some twists and turns with this character coming up Ifm hoping readers will find interesting and make a strange kind of sense. Bridget has some reality checks coming up from a lot of directions, and wefll have to see who she chooses to listen to as well as how she chooses to handle what she learns.

Ifm glad you liked catching up with all the characters and enjoyed my new additions of Claire and Tom. They along with Rafe are going to be coming on strong and interweave quite a bit with those already on board in some ways I hope will surprise and delight. They are from Ridgefs past but Rafe has already established a strong bond with Whip and Brooke.

Saying Ridge and Taylor are mismatched is only part of the problem. They donft even know who the other really is. I see Ridge as a basically pretty easygoing guy, fairly average in the smarts department and no truly burning ambition to push him (some talent though), ready to travel the path of least resistance as long as his needs are met. Taylor has her own personality issues. Shefs very controlling, and has a truly narrow mindset hidden behind the contrived mask she wears. And her narrow quest for perfection is a symptom of a mental disorder. I see both Taylor and James among the ranks of those attracted to psychiatry by their own underlying illnesses. Taylor and Ridge really arenft good for each other, and Stephanie definitely feeds them in an unhealthy way. And you got exactly what Ifve been working so hard to point up, being a saint isnft all itfs cracked up to be! Can you imagine thinking your wife is so magnanimous she would condone the Morgan scenario? And then Taylor being so saintly she understands what happened and let it go like she did? Both Taylor and Ridge are emotionally bankrupt and on the edge. Each will react in their own way, outside forces will play into things too, and then wefll see what happens.

Ifm going ahead with Abyss for now and shelving Hadesf Furnace for the time being. I am just not feeling Nick these days. Ifm just not sure who he is anymore, the promise of the guy on the promontory just never materialized. And I donft want to write him so you would recognize him as the guy on the screen. Jackie has been reduced to nothing more than a waffling nonentity with nothing worth saying. And the budding relationship between her and Eric has turned toxic. I was having trouble seeing Eric wanting her after her relationships with his two worst foes, Mass and Deacon, and then his thing with Brooke, but his falling back into Stephaniefs orbit was the real killer. Why would Jackie want him? I wish Bridget would just disappear. Dante and Felicia (include Hector too), for me, are two more characters who never got out of the starting block, and itfs too late for them now (fizzled out into nothing). The baby DJ thing went south fast, why bother? Whatfs left? Adding on: I didnft even think of the sorry Tridge/Brooke nonsense that is how over that I am! Too late and too poorly done, Pffft!

[jrtllf01]

Fan2C let me also apologize for the amount of time that has elapsed since you posted this chapter. My husband and I absolutely loved it! By way of explanation, I'm posting both of our comments because the situation you described with Claire and Tom is eerily similar to a situation a couple of our closest friends are experiencing right now. It was as if you had gotten inside our friends' heads or was a fly on the wall of their home; we couldn't believe it!

First, my husband was impressed with your writing style and he swore up and down that you just HAD to be a man—LOL! He didn't think there was any way in the world a woman could get inside of a man's head like Ridge's, Whip's or Tom's. This was the source of quite a heated debate. I loved the seamless way in which you wove Claire and Tom into your story. I was so mesmerized by their back story that I wanted it to go on. Like Ridge, it never even occurred to me that when he ran into Clare that she was going through something that would have had many a woman in bed with depression for months. I'm so glad that he innocently reached out to Tom. I think not only does Ridge need a real friend right now, but so does Tom. I think it will probably save both of their lives emotionally. In this chapter, it was clear that Brooke wasn't the only one who found herself tumbling through an abyss. At least she has a strong support system in Whip and her family—or at least some of them. Ridge really doesn't have that kind of support right now. He is clearly drowning. That he hasn't turned to drink, internet porn, gambling or other vices to help him deal with his obvious depression and unhappiness is surprising. We think that by having him focus on someone else, he not only helps Tom, but he is also helping himself. My husband and I are both impressed with the way you humanized Ridge in this chapter; he is obviously going through something that many men go through at certain points in their lives. On the surface, he seems to have it all but he's so miserable. What's even worse, the people around him who claim to love him are oblivious. That may be a blessing or a curse, IMO. Someone reminded me recently about those old men who for years sit silently on the porch or in an easy chair in the house while all the women are bustling around him. Those men are secretly bitter, and when someone takes to time to ask, "How are you feeling?" or "what are you thinking about," they're shocked when he snaps, "you want to know what I'm REALLY thinking?!" Then they unleash a barrage of complaints and verbal abuse that leaves everyone speechless. These are the same old men you might see in nursing homes who curse the staff out and tell them what's really on their minds.

I remember the old Ridge from back in the day, who was vital, virile and who had a rakish charm. I cared about that Ridge. I can't stand what I see on my screen these days and haven't cared too much for Ridge ever since Venice. I hope Ridge's old friends will help to pull him from the edge of his own abyss before he becomes totally lost.

Now, about Tom. My husband is very sympathetic toward him, feeling that he made a mistake and shouldn't be punished for it. I was furious with Tom, but have to admit that I do respect him for being honest with Claire. I also believe that Claire is a saint to have put up with what she did, and for so long. I respect her for wanting to be there for the baby, who has a nut job for the mother. Unfortunately, women like Dana do exist IRL. Most of us with good sense would ask, "What did this heffa expect after an encounter in a bar?" but, Dana doesn't see it that way. I'm always shocked at people who expect a "relationship" under such circumstances, no matter how unavailable the other party is. I can't imagine enduring the vicious gossip that Claire did, along with this crazed nut who evidently knows how to play the system to get just what she wants. I am sorry for Tom that Claire left, but I totally understand why she did; so does hubby. When it comes to a person's sanity, that's it. We also realize that you perfectly explained the issues that were already there before Tom had this encounter with Dana. We also hope that Tom and Claire can find their way back to one another once all the dust settles with the crazy one.

Thank you so much for waking Brooke up and not letting her linger for too long! We think that Whip is a great husband for Brooke. It's amazing how he has grown as a man, husband, stepfather and "expectant father" since his relationship with Brooke. I'm so glad that she didn't want to stay "on the other side" and came back to her loved ones. Our girl is still in a precarious place but she is so strong. I'm glad that Whip can be strong for her because she's had to be strong by herself for so long. Now, he has others to lean on. I loved Whip's family and totally got it. We can't always choose them! It was so great to have them see him with new eyes and to go out of their way to ensure that he had what he needed. I had to laugh at all the cooking—LOL! It sounds so much like some of my older aunts. Whenever there was a crisis, these daughters of the South would get in the kitchen and burn. Then they would all pack it up and bring it to your house. It was nothing for us to go from house to house after church to visit and to pop in someone's kitchen and grab a plate because we "just want a taste" of whatever was cooking on the stove for Sunday dinner. I even remember my grandmother (a minister's wife) being scandalized years ago because we didn't invite our pastor to Sunday dinner. Someone finally had to explain to her that she was in D.C. now and that "we don't do that stuff up here." I so look forward to Brooke getting better and being embraced by this family of Whip's, particularly after her horrible experience with the Forresters and Marones.

I'm also glad that Whip put the sanctimonious Bridget in her place. My comments about her are tempered with the knowledge that she is not that far off the mark about her husband's feelings for Brooke. From what I gathered, it's deeper than a "crush." No wonder Deacon was so offended and couldn't wait to escape her! Even if everything Bridget thought and said was true, it was the wrong time and place to express that. It's like her mouth was a tape recorder and when she pressed, "PLAY," all of Stephanie and Taylor's bile came spewing forth. I am always anxious whenever Deacon and Whip are together because I never know who will overhear them. I am fastening my seatbelts though because I know this ride and balancing act for the sake of Brooke and her unborn baby isn't going to get any less bumpy.

I loved your back story for Claire and how she became associated with Ridge and his family. You had me howling with your description of the dinner party, and the imagery of Stephanie shimmying her upper body as she mimicked Claire shrugging out of that dress was a showstopper! LOL! I think that if Ridge had married someone like Claire early on, he wouldn't be such a mess now. How like Stephanie to be threatened by a strong-minded female, who is so not impressed with the lady of the manor. I also liked how you explained Caroline and Thorne's relationship in the beginning.

Stephanie and Taylor do share one sick, twisted relationship. Your description of how they feed off of and manipulate one another is so true to form and exactly what I have seen for years. It's almost like they don't even hear what the other is saying once they determined that they've gotten what they want. On the one hand, Taylor needs Stephanie to feed her over-inflated opinion about herself; on the other hand, Stephanie unwittingly has a way of feeding Taylor's insecurities. Seeing Taylor onscreen in the last couple of weeks merely reinforces everything I've ever thought about the woman, and your chapter is no exception. Conceited, yet insecure. Controlling, yet too weak to walk away from a relationship that never really fulfilled her. Looking for any advantage over rivals, whether dead or alive, past or present, because she really doesn't feel good about herself. How like her to put Caroline down! Yet, she knows good and well that Stephanie made her aware years ago that Caroline wanted Ridge and Brooke to be together. She says she loves Ridge, but does everything she can to try to change him. I'm sure that the world-renowned psychiatrist wouldn't hesitate to advise her female patients that they can't change a man who doesn't want to change. Yet, she doesn't take her own advice.

I'm begging you—please get Ridge away from these two! He can't do much about his mother since she gave birth to him; but Taylor's another matter altogether. Now, my husband was huffing and puffing and took great offense to Taylor "invading Ridge's domain!" To him, that's worse than what Tom did to Claire! [HUH? Don't ask!] He's one of those men who believe that a man's home office or inner sanctum is inviolate. My question—what secrets does that room hold? And, will Taylor be able to handle those secrets?

Thank you so much for a wonderful chapter! I am so glad that you are back with us again and look forward to reading so much more from you.

[fan2c]

So your hubby thinks I'm a man? That is one of those comments you don't know whether to see as a compliment or an insult, LOL. Assure your hubby, JR, that I am indeed a woman with a husband along with the usual complement of male relatives, to include brothers and a son. Plus I have been lucky to have some close male friends, both gay and straight. Men like to sit back and shake their heads over the mystifying workings of the female mind, especially when we don't see things their way, but we have to navigate and function in a world and culture that evolved around the male nature. It gives us a big leg up on understanding them, too bad understanding doesn't equate with an easier meeting of the minds when we don't see eye to eye. Men shake their heads because they don't understand the opposite sex, we shake our heads (and roll our eyes) because we do, LOL. Personally I find a good sense of humor and a healthy tolerance for a little B.S. goes a long way in dealing with and enjoying men.

So Tom and Claire hit a note with you. It is good to hear it rang true, although I'm sorry to hear about your friends. I have lived long enough to know sometimes people do things out of character that defies all reason. I also know life can be unfair, bad things happen to good people, and life can turn on a dime. Shit happens that just leaves you scratching your head, and the hardest lesson I have ever had to stomach is that there are times there is just not a damn thing you can do about it. And that is what happened here, Tom and Claire were a very strong couple who had their life turned upside down by one of life's major passages- the death of a parent. While men often have trouble expressing emotions like love (affection) and sorrow, they're better than women at releasing things like anger and frustration. And we saw those dynamics at work here. Missing Claire and overwhelmed by sorrow and all the changes in his life, Tom resorted to a little avoidance and self medicating. He never went looking for what happened, but by going out drinking he put himself in a position where his defenses were down and he did something he wouldnft have done if he hadn't been under the influence. It was his misfortune (random fate really) to meet up with someone who took advantage of his impaired judgment. But the ultimate responsibility was his, Dana didnft pour the alcohol down his throat. At least he didnft compound the problem by trying to hide (lie) or defensively explain away what happened. He took responsibility squarely on his shoulders and threw himself into doing whatever it took to repair his relationship with Claire. I don't think Claire is a saint, just a heartsick realist who understands we donft live in a perfect world (shit happens that defies explanation) and believed her marriage was worth saving. While her trust was shaken, Tom did a good job of damage control to preserve what was left. He made it 100% clear on where he stood with both Claire and Dana, he loved and was totally committed to his wife. Only one catch, too many things about the situation were outside of his ability to control. Number one being Dana, he tangled with a woman with at the very least a manipulative agenda and at worst a loose screw or two. And classic other woman delusion, Dana focused in on Claire as the stumbling block in her way and went after her. There are so many outside forces working against Tom and Claire at a time when inner resources are strained. Typical male Tom fixed what he could; rattled a few cages, beat his chest, and roared out his frustration and anger over what he couldn't; often relying on Claire to soothe the wild beast within and restrain him from rashly acting out. He'd get it out, feel better, and assume Claire felt better because he did. That is so male! Typical female, Claire put aside her pain, anger and frustration to pour her energy into preserving hearth and kin. She was in a new city ripped away from an established support system of friends, and the family she would normally have counted on were in the midst of their own varied crisis's, leaning heavily on her. She got left holding the bag with no place to turn. A very strong woman, Claire bottled it up and held it all together until it took her down hard. The stronger they are the harder they fall. Will she and Tom be able to put it back together? If it was only up to Tom and her, definitely, but they are not an island unto themselves.

Brooke's new support system is definitely getting behind her and establishing a strong foundation for her to draw on. While Ridge's is actively working against him. Only in Stephanie and Taylor's delusions is Ridge something special, I see Ridge as a fairly average, easygoing guy. Handsome and a personable charmer with some talent, true, but a follower not a leader. Born with a silver spoon, he never felt the burning call of ambition. A bit shallow, the illusion Stephanie (and later Taylor) sold him was enough to feed his ego. His claim to fame is all piggybacked on the advantages he was born into. And look at his track record, he's easily led and never accomplished much on his own. And like most laidback followers, who you hang out with makes a big difference in who you are. Just look at who he has been under his mother and Taylor's influence, ugh. Most of his biggest transgressions were committed under their influence. It DOESN'T EXCUSE his behavior, I'm just pointing out you hang out with dogs you get fleas. Put him with Tom, even for a short moment, and look what happens. So maybe there is hope for him. I am glad I was able to humanize him for you. Ridge is definitely falling into a moldering, soul-sucking pit hidden beneath the surface of his high-gloss, picture-perfect life that others envy. Not only are Taylor and his mother trying to shove him like a square peg into a hole that doesn't fit, but Mass as well. Will he finally have enough? I can't wait to explore what happens if Ridge starts to slip his leash. He is surrounded by demons in the guise of altruistic guardian angels. In a way he's worse off than Brooke, her enemies are more visible. And like you said, Ridge will actually have a harder time getting rid of his tormenters than Brooke. He will always be tied to his mother and Taylor as well through his children.

Brooke has a lot drawing her back from the other side, her budding relationship with Whip at the top of the list. As so often happens, you stop looking for something and it falls in your lap. I believe it is all about potential, but you have to drop the illusions and the expectations to see and appreciate what is really out there. Then you make it happen. Brooke is facing her issues and determinedly moving past her mistakes as she puts her life back together. Whip is facing his own issues; and in a less dramatic way, was in a place like Brooke ready to break out of the rut he was in. They fit, and have the building blocks to create something special. We will have to keep our fingers crossed something monumental doesn't get in their way they can't overcome. Like you say, family is a blessing and a curse. No one pushes your buttons like family, but let a crisis appear and they are out in force. If they're like mine, help often comes with a price in the form of some pithy observations and unsolicited advice (it would sure help if they could at least agree on their sage wisdom), and they never let you forget anything, LOL.

For her sake, Bridget needs someone to sit her down and set her straight on some things. I see Brooke with a lot of unresolved guilt and pain over Bridgetfs paternity issues that made her too indulgent in dealing with Bridget's pain and issues with two father figures so cavalierly waltzing in and out of her life as they did. I see Brooke sucking up the blame and shouldering the responsibility as she tried to make it up to Bridget. And Bridget definitely knows what buttons to push when she wants to get to her mother for whatever reason. And those two sorry examples of fatherhood not only left Brooke to pretty much go it alone; worse, they allowed Stephanie and Taylor to spout their lies in front of Bridget and get away with their harassment of Brooke. Brooke felt awful about what happened and itfs affect on Bridget, but she didn't do Bridget any favors letting her daughter vent and take out her feelings over what happened at her expense and let Bridget use it as an excuse whenever she wanted to shift the weight of her decisions from her own shoulders. It undermined their relationship. Earlier, Bridget was too young for the conversation they need to have, but at eighteen she has a rudimentary understanding of not only the physical facts of life but emotional ones too. Part of me doesn't think she's ready for it yet, but at the rate she is going I am not sure she will ever be. I am looking for inspiration on who is going to do it, what will precipitate it, how it will go down, and how Bridget will react.

As levelheaded as he is, Whip does forget himself with Deacon. He is human and can be pushed. He doesn't have all the answers where Bridget is concerned, but he will not tolerate certain things. Specifically the Stephanie/Taylor parroting. If that makes him a bad guy, so be it. He's marked his line in the sand and is willing to take the heat. Brooke and the baby's well being come first, and he'll do whatever it takes to see them safely through the current crisis. And now definitely isn't the time to rock the boat with Deacon and Bridget. He's feeling his way through a minefield.

I'm glad you got a chuckle from Stephanie's shimmy. SF has a physicality to her acting and often shifts or throws her weight around to good effect. Stephanie and Taylor not only play each other, they play themselves more than anyone. Ultimately they are deluding themselves. They are two very narrow-minded hypocrites when it comes to their families. Both of them talk a good game in public, but neither practice what they preach at home. We see it all the time in some politicians, some so called evangelists, some priests, right through the ranks of regular Joes; people who are great in public and bastards in private. It never ceases to amaze me how they seem to have no problem living with all the double standards.

So your husband has a problem with Taylor barging into Ridge's home office, LOL. While I am sympathetic, I do not like people invading mine either, I do not see how he can compare it to cheating on a wife. Bottom line, unintentional or not, that is what Tom did. There is absolutely nothing in my office that anyone cannot see, but it is the only space that is just mine. Decorated and set up just for me. And I take offense when my husband comes in, moves my stuff around, helps himself to my supplies and equipment, especially my candy stash in my three antique candy jars. I stock his favorites in the kitchen. He says my office is more convenient and comfortable. Yeah, it is neat, you can find things, and I keep it well stocked. And he can go buy himself a new computer chair just like mine. But as irritating as it is to find him in my office gborrowingh my stuff and snarfing down my candy, I would have a much bigger beef with him if he pulled something like Tom. But hey, that is just me, everyone is different, LOL. Does your hubby still think Ifm a guy?

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I have been fighting migraines the past few days and my first two responses disappeared into cyberspace. I have no idea what I did, but I was heavily medicated. I figured it was a sign they shouldnft be posted. Thanks for responding, thank your husband too, I always appreciate your insightful comments. Now letfs see if I can get this up, I kept getting an error page earlier when I tried to just open the fan fiction site and if this disappears again, I'll tear my hair out. Here goes!

[luantoolazytologin]

I didn't dare to hope any longer that this fanfic would be continued. So I stopped finally to look for new chapters. What a wonderful surprise it was when I found this chapter at last. I enjoyed reading SO much!! Thank you. I look forward to the next chapter and will check regularly from now on - again :-)

[mysticbridge]

I just started reading last night and read until i literally fell asleep. i was so tired but couldn't wait to see what would happen next. I realize it's been a long time but is the story going to be finished or is it posted anywhere else?
Great story.