Author's Note 4/20/12 (UPDATES)

Okay, so I got really nostalgic and traipsed upon my old account while I was looking for a favorite fanfic of mine. 'Lo and behold I have more reviews for this fic than I've ever had for a story. For some reason, my review alert was turned off (really need to get that turned back on!) Any who, reading the latest review from last December really tugged at me...literally begging me to update. So, I've decided I will do just that. What's kept me away was my impending marriage and getting through graduate school (which took every last effort to keep myself sane)! Now that I'm graduating in May, I'll have more free time during the summer to write (before I start a big girl job).

I've edited chapter content to fix any minor facts I might have missed, having read The Host over again. I also added in more some dialogue and expanded details. I feel as thought they have helped to develop the story even further. So it'll be just like brand new!

I am super excited to continue exploring Ian's character and the development of his relationship with Wanda (hopefully with longer chapters). I hope that the readers who subscribed to this story haven't given up on me and see that there is an update. :D

And now I'd like to clear up a few things from some questions asked in the reviews.

From Needed:

Q: "Wanda wasn't planning to be sent away. She was planning to die. So Mel should have told them that they can't kill Wanda."

That's true, but the writing is from Ian's perspective and he didn't know that. He rationalized that Wanda went to Doc in order to save Melanie, but he didn't understand her ulterior motives; that she was planning to die, essentially.

Mel understood Wanda's plans and how she didn't want anyone to know before it happened. So when she woke up, she was relieved Wanda was in a cryotank and "censored" her words when making her plea to Jared that they "couldn't let anything happen to her."

From Informed:

Q: Where was the part with Jared and the knife?

During the last part when Wanda wakes up after reinsertion into Pet's body and she demands to know why Doc didn't keep his word. He says he caved to Jared's duress:

"Duress," another terribly familiar voice scoffed.

"I'd say a knife to the throat counts as duress, Jared."

So there you have it. Happy reading, and as always, review please!