A/N: Sorry this took so long. I re-wrote it and that became more difficult than I thought it would be. I'm still not sure I'm completely satisfied with the ending, but you've been waiting long enough so I'm just going to throw the dice.

Chapter 4

Danny was alone in the shop. It wasn't the first time, but was definitely for the longest stretch. At first, Henry and Abe stayed with him because of medical concerns. He'd been stabbed. That alone warranted a close watch much less coming back from the dead. After that, Danny assumed they were worried about him running away or robbing them blind because one of them stayed at home with him for a several weeks.

Now, over a month had gone by, almost two months. Danny found himself left to his own devices more and more until today when Abe announced he'd be spending the day bouncing between several estate sales and could Danny mind the store for most of the morning and afternoon?

"Uh, sure," Danny had replied. The casual trust threw him a moment. There was still so much these two didn't know about him. Sure, Henry had seen the autopsy report from Danny's first death, but Abe hadn't. They hadn't asked any other questions about Danny's past, either. Which would be strange except that Henry and Abe definitely had secrets, too.

Danny glanced back toward the basement door. Sometimes, late at night, Henry would go down to his basement lab. Abe even joined him once. Danny would be suspicious if it weren't for the fact that he'd checked in on what the doctor was up to on one occasion. While having a basement lab with medical equipment was reminiscent of home enough not to send Danny running, it was still something he thought merited caution. It turned out the doctor was just paging through an old photo album. Either way, it wasn't Danny's business, especially if the book was secret enough to keep in a safe.

Danny had his secrets, he wasn't going to beleaguer his hosts for having their own so he let the matter drop. It still made him curious, though.

Danny sighed and turned back to the notebook and his doodles. It was tempting. Having a confidant, someone who knew his secret and didn't want anything from him because of it, that would be nice. He hadn't had that since he left home. He had a feeling that's how it would be, too. From what Danny could tell, Abe and Henry didn't need his powers, didn't have ambitions that set them on a hunt for power and wealth. They just wanted to keep their heads down and stay unnoticed, just like Danny. Though, they seemed more successful at it than Danny.

No matter where Danny went, he managed to get into trouble. Usually it was his own fault, too. This most recent stabbing being the perfect example. There was no reason for Danny to get between two homeless guys picking a fight with one another, but one of them had clearly been harmless and the other clearly a predator. Danny, being the idiot he was, had to get involved and what did he get for it? A knife in the shoulder and a table at the local morgue. At least it didn't end like his first and other deaths since, with Danny waking up in a coffin buried six feet deep.

Shaking his head, Danny huffed a tired laugh at himself. With his luck, they would have cremated him and Danny honestly didn't know what would happen then. He'd died in a fire before, but from smoke inhalation, not burned to the point of ashes and while he didn't like the cycle of never aging and waking up after injuries that would have killed anyone else, he hadn't gotten to the point yet where he actually wanted to die.

Danny knew he would have to move on eventually. Even if he managed to stay out of trouble, it was only a matter of time before people noticed he didn't age. He could fake seventeen, maybe pull off a very short eighteen or nineteen, but there was no way anyone would believe he was twenty. Which meant Danny needed to leave. His insides froze at the thought, but there was nothing for it. He'd survived on the street before, he'd do it again, even if he was getting too used to regular meals, a clean bed, and a shower any time he wanted one.

Even ignoring the creature comforts, just the thought striking out on his own made Danny lonely.

The shop bell rang and Danny looked up expecting a customer. "Oh, hi Henry."

"Hello, David," Henry grimaced, out of breath and moving to the phone. "I just need to use the phone. There's been a breakthrough in the case and it was actually quicker to come here to phone it in than try and find a cab."

"You know, you'd save yourself a lot of trouble if you just got yourself a cell phone," Danny grinned.

"Not you, too. I get enough of that from Abe," Henry muttered, but turned his back on Danny as he focused on the phone. "Jo! I found the missing piece of the timeline and our missing gun…No, I don't have it with me, but I know who does have it…I'm at the shop…It was quicker to come here and call you…No, I'm not getting a cell phone…Alright, I'll see you then." He clicked down the receiver and turned back to Danny.

Danny leaned back in his chair, but made no effort to hide his attention. "Crack another case?"

"I believe so," Henry nodded, rubbing his hands together asa smiled tugged at the corners of his mouth. "At least, in theory. We still need to apprehend the culprit, but knowing his identity will help all the more."

"So, that's a yes, but not really."

Henry huffed a laugh. "Yes, but not really."

The shop bell rang again and Henry turned, immediately stiffening. Danny leaned left to see around Henry. It was a tall, burly man in a cheap suit Danny had never seen before, but knowing his luck and Henry's reaction, he could guess who the stranger was.

"Murder suspect number one, I presume," Danny muttered.

Henry waved a frantic hand at Danny behind his back gesturing to get down even as he slid further between the man and Danny. The gesture was nice, but unnecessary. Between the two of them, Danny would bet he was better in a fight than the doctor. Danny ducked down and out of sight not for the reason the doctor wanted. It would give him an element of surprise and some cover if things went south and he had to go on the offensive.

"Mr. Hastings," Henry said, voice calm and neutral. "Did you remember something you wished to add to your statement?"

Danny hesitated where he knelt behind the counter. Henry was going to bluff his way out of it then. That could work and it would be the best solution to the whole scenario. From the phone call, it sounded like Detective Hernandez was on her way over from the police station. They'd just needed to stall long enough. There was a large silver, serving platter leaning up against the shelf behind the counter. Danny slid it to the side far enough to catch a distorted reflection of the man.

"Yeah, I, uh, remembered something else, you know, that Elliot said about where he was going." Hastings said, voice low and steady, but with an undercurrent to it that set Danny's nerves on edge. "Can we go somewhere more private to talk?" Hastings jerked his head back toward the door.

They didn't have time to wait for Jo and there was no normal way to get out from behind the counter without being seen. Danny grit his teeth, torn. He didn't want to give anything away about his abilities, to Hastings or Henry. Time and experience had made him cautious about overtly using his powers, even the subtle ones, but he also couldn't put his secret over Henry's life.

"It's probably best if you amend your statement at the station," Henry said, turning back to the counter and picking up the phone. "I'll let Detective Martinez know we're coming in." He caught Danny's eye from over the counter and shifted his gaze to the stairs then back to Danny.

Danny scowled and shook his head. Henry gapped down at him for half a beat before mouthing 'get upstairs' at Danny. Really, Henry had to have been a father at some point, he had the silent, threatening look down to a T as he punched the numbers into the phone with more force than strictly necessary. Luckily, Danny'd had over a decade's practice being a sullen teenager. He hunched his shoulders and crossed his arms.

Danny glanced back to the stairs, sneak up back to the staircase, turn invisible, come back and knock the bad guy out, but the back doorway had no more cover than the rest of the shop. Hastings was watching Henry and he would definitely see Danny dart the few feet to the corner. Which meant Henry would be stuck alone with a probable murderer and Danny knew precisely how quickly a person could get themselves killed. He turned back to the doctor and shook his head.

A gun cocking interrupted their silent argument. "Ok, so you called my bluff, that's fine. They're not going to find your body anyway. Alright, let's go."

Henry closed his eyes. "I can't believe this," he muttered and putting his hands up turned around. "Is this really necessary?"

"'Fraid so, see I'm not going to jail for this or anyone else's death," Hastings said. He raised his voice. "You too, kid, get out here." He stepped closer.

Danny shifted, ready to move when Hastings came into view. It'd be tricky, disarming someone with a gun got that way, but he was in much better condition than a month ago and if things got really bad he would suck it up, use his powers, and worry about the fallout after the fact. He could take care of this, no problem.

Danny never got the chance.

As soon as Hastings's head appeared over the top of the counter and he came within arm's length of the doctor, Henry grabbed him. Henry tried pushed the gun down and away but he moved too soon. Hastings had been too far away and had already gotten his pistol back up and pointing at Henry. Danny threw himself up and over the counter sending the phone, cash register, and the vase of pens crashing to the floor. He tackled Hastings an instant after the gunshot went off. They tumbled to the floor and Danny grabbed the man's hair, slamming the back of his head into the ground. Hastings went limp.

"Henry?!" Danny shouted, pushing himself off of Hastings. He spun around, panic pushing his heart into his throat as he saw Henry on the ground, blood already welling up and staining Henry's clothes center chest. "Henry!" He should have moved sooner, secret be damned.

Danny scrambled over to Henry and clamped both hands over the wound. He pressed down putting his body weight into it. Henry groaned at the extra weight. "Shit. Shitfuckshit!"

"David," Henry pushed through gritted teeth. "It's alright."

"Yeah," Danny said, casting his gaze around for the phone. Where the hell had the phone gone? "It's gonna be ok. You're going to be fine. I'm going to get an ambulance here and you're going to be fine."

"No, David," Henry said, trying to push Danny's hands away. "You don't understand."

"Don't move!" Danny pushed harder. There, the phone was on the other side of Henry. He just needed to get to it. "I need to keep the pressure on, but I also need to get the phone so just hold still."

"Daniel." Henry grabbed his arm.

Danny froze and finally looked at Henry.

"It's alright," Henry insisted. He wasn't frightened as he looked at Danny. He was chagrinned and in pain and embarrassed, but not frightened. "This has happened before. Listen, you need to call Abe. NO ambulance and get the blood cleaned up off your hands before Jo gets here." He coughed, blood came up. The next breath was strained and rattling. "Do you… understand?" Henry drew in another half breath, choked, and tried for a third. "Call Abe. I'll explain… if he doesn't." Then, he died. The breath went out of him and he went limp.

"Nonono," Danny gasped. He moved to try chest compressions but only got two in before his hands dropped to the floor. "What?"

Henry was gone, just…gone.

Danny blinked at the empty space on the floor. Thankfully he'd been through weird things before this. Even things turning invisible or vanishing wasn't entirely unusual, if it had to do with ghosts, but this wasn't a ghost this was Henry's corpse. "Call Abe," he muttered and reached for the phone. He paused long enough to wipe the blood off on his shirt then snatched up the phone.

The phone rang for an eternity. Then Abe picked up and Danny realized it hadn't rang long enough for him to figure how to explain this.

"David, is something wrong?" Abe asked when Danny hesitated.

"Henry's gone!" Danny spat out. "He was here and he was shot and now he's just gone!"

"Wait, wait," Abe said, voice concerned but entirely too calm. "Start from the beginning. Henry was at the shop."

Danny nodded, pacing back and forth across the floor. The phone cradle dragged along behind him. "He had to use the phone about a case he just broke. But the suspect showed up and was going to force us to go with him at gun point. Then we jumped him and Henry got shot and he…he died and then-"

"Vanished?" Abe said, the definition of unimpressed. "Dammit Henry. Alright, are you ok? What happened to the shooter?"

Danny blinked. "He's…he's unconscious. I'm not hurt. Does…does this happen often?"

"You have no idea." Abe sighed. "Tie the guy up and call the police. I don't want him coming to and going after you."

"Jo's already on her way," Danny said, checking out the window. "What am I going to tell her?"

"Stall," Abe came back. The back ground noise on the call sound like he was pushing through a group of people. "I'm going to buy this credenza and then I'll go pick up Henry."

"Pick him up from where?" Danny gaped.

"We'll explain when we get back. Don't tell anyone anything. We'll be back in less than an hour." Abe hung up.

Danny looked down at the phone in his hand. "I wouldn't know where to start."

Looking around the room, Danny took in a deep breath. So Henry wasn't dead. Ok. That was good, confusing as hell, but good. Now to deal with the cleanup. He retrieved the packing tape from the checkout desk and wrapped a dozen turns around Hastings's hands, binding them behind his back. It wasn't the most secure thing, but it would do for the moment. Then, he cleaned up the blood. He had more than enough practice at it and most of it was on him. He came back down stairs minutes before Jo showed up.

"Sorry it took me so long, Henry," Jo said as she opened the door. Her eyes snapped to Hastings's unconscious form then up to Danny sitting guard on the desk. Danny, unsure what to do, waved.

"What's this?" Jo asked, stepping over to Hastings.

"He attacked me first," Danny said. It was better to get these things said as soon as possible in these situations.

"Where's Henry?" Jo asked through gritted teeth.

It took a moment for Danny to realize she was annoyed with Henry and not him. "Uh…he said something about needing to take care of something." Vague was a good way to go when starting someone else's alibi.

"Was he here when Hastings showed up?" Jo scowled. "He should know better than to leave you alone with someone as dangerous as this." She pulled out a pair of handcuffs and snapped them on Hasting's wrists above the tape.

"He wasn't a threat. I taped his hands. I can take him, especially with his hands taped." Danny crossed his arms and glanced toward the street only to see Henry and Abe run in from around the corner. "Oh look, Henry's back." Danny himself the strained tone in his voice, just a little higher pitched than normal.

"Jo! I can explain," Henry started before he got the door completely open.

"You left David, a minor, alone with a known murder suspect!" Jo hitched her hands on her hips.

Henry floundered, glancing down at Hastings and back at Jo. "Well… his hands were taped! And he was unconscious! The man was hardly a threat in that condition."

"And what was so important that you had to run off?" Jo asked, her exasperation would be funny but Danny was too busy studying Henry.

Henry was definitely alive, not a speck of blood on him or sign of injury. He was wearing different clothes than before, though. He glanced at Danny winced and waved a hand through the air. "I thought…I saw an accomplice and gave chase, but I was wrong."

Jo huffed, "Well you can put it all down in your statement back at the station." She glanced down at Hastings. "We'll need to call an ambulance if he doesn't wake up."

Hastings groaned and shifted position. He froze when he couldn't pull his hands forward. It took a moment after he blinked his eyes open to start cursing.

"C'mon, Mr. Hastings," Jo said, pulling the man to his feet. "We have a few questions for you down at the station."

"I'm injured," Hastings growled, "I need a doctor."

Jo rolled her eyes. "Dr. Morgan can look after any medical concerns you have and we'll address them after we get to the station." She led Hastings to the door but paused when Henry didn't immediately follow. "Henry, c'mon. David, you should probably come too. We'll need another car..."

"Couldn't David's statement wait till later?" Henry asked. "This has been very traumatizing for him."

"No," Danny said. "It's fine. I can…I can do it now."

"You sure?" Jo asked, looking at him. "We can do it later if you want."

Danny shook his head. "No, it's fine." How else was he supposed to listen in on Henry's statement if he wasn't at the police station?

"I'll give you a ride," Abe said.

"Good," Jo sighed. "Let's everybody get to the station and get this sorted out."

XXXX

Henry had money for the taxi already out by the time they pulled up to the antique shop. "Keep the change," Henry threw over his shoulder as he slid out to the sidewalk.

Abe and David should already be up in the apartment. Jo made sure they did Henry's and David's statements first, which was always tricky, coordinating a story between two people. Henry did what he normally did. He told the truth right up until the part with Henry getting shot and dying. Luckily, Hastings had already been on the ground and subdued by that point. David's statement matched Henry's surprisingly well and he was sent home with Abe. Jo managed to coerce Henry into helping with the interrogation and no amount of pity bargaining helped to get him out of it.

Getting Hastings to confess took much too long considering all the evidence they had on him and the fact that he blatantly threatened Henry earlier in the day. It was later than normal when Henry final managed to leave the precinct and hurry back.

The shop was closed and the door locked. Henry fumbled with the keys to get inside. He locked the door behind him and paused in the darkened store. The blinds were down blocking even the street lights and the only light came from the faint glow filtering down the stairs. He could hear Abe's Jazz music playing upstairs and sound of something sizzling away on the stove.

Abe might have explained things to David already. Part of Henry wished he had if only to avoid the conversation. There were few times he had told anyone about his secret and even fewer times it ended well. In the past, Henry had run from situations exactly like this, but Abe was too old to just pick up and start a new life and David was too young to be left alone in this sort of existence.

Instead, Henry went to the safe and pulled out the family photo album.

"Henry!" Abe greeted when Henry reached the second floor, chipper as he'd ever been. "We were wondering when you'd get back." He stood at the stove over a sizzling wok, spoon in hand, apron around his waist, and dish towel over his shoulder. David stood at the counter cutting up mushrooms. He looked up at Henry, biting his lip against his questions.

Abe glanced between them. "I… uh…didn't say much about what happened today. Thought it best if it came from you."

Henry nodded, and took a breath to steady his nerves. "We should talk," Henry said, gesturing toward the table.

Abe turned the burner off and the music down to a faint background noise. He turned toward them but stayed by the stove. David sat down and Henry followed him, taking the same seats they had when Henry gave David his autopsy file.

"What I'm going to tell you is a secret," Henry started. "I know you'll understand that considering your own situation."

David nodded. "You died today and then came back…and it's not the first time."

"No, it's not," Henry agreed. He opened his mouth to try and explain but didn't know where to start. Instead, he carefully put the album down on the table and pushed it toward David.

David pulled the album toward himself, eyes never leaving Henry. He flipped it open and flicked his gaze at the pictures.

At first, there was no reaction. Henry didn't expect one. The first few pages were the most recent, showing Henry and Abe as they sat now, Abe an aging man and Henry his never-changing self. It was a poor attempt to diffuse suspicion if anyone outside their family did lay hands on the album or chance to glimpse the first few pages. Henry was betting on the idea that few people would start looking at a photo album from the middle or the end.

Move past the first few pages, though, as David did now, and the photos showed a changing Abraham and an unchanging Henry Morgan. David's gaze narrowed in confusion as he leaned forward over the album. He flipped several more pages to the center of the book. That would place him in the late fifties, if Henry was correct. A few more pages and David worked his way back to the forties when Abe was just a toddler, Abigale was still the young beauty Henry remembered, and Henry was still…Henry.

David's gaze cut up to Henry when he hit upon one of the few photos in the album from the early 20th century. "What is this?" he asked.

"It's a family photo album," Henry said. He kept his gaze on David, but was grateful for Abe's silent support a few feet away.

"Yeah, but…" David shook his head, looking back down to the pictures, "You…How?"

"I'm not sure," Henry frowned, leaning back. "It's a long story, but the crux of it is I don't know what happened to me or why. All I know is I cannot age and I cannot die."

"…Me neither," David murmured, just barely audible. He slumped back in his chair, eyes fixed on the photographs and face fixed in a frown.

"So, we are in much the same boat," Henry said, after a long pause.

"Not quite," David shook his head. He opened his mouth, but closed it again, running both hands over his face and scrubbing at his eyes.

"There are certainly differences," Henry nodded, "but in this way we have something in common."

David frowned down at the oldest pages in the album. "How long?"

"My first death was in 1814, up until that point I had lived a relatively normal life," Henry said. At least, his life was considered normal at the time. Now, it might be considered something more similar to a cross between a novel by Austen or Bronte and Forrester's Horatio Hornblower.

David gaped at him. "Two hundred years," he murmured, shaking his head. He looked back down at the album for a long moment. Billie Holiday filled the space before he spoke again. "So what? You die and just vanish?"

Henry nodded. "I come up in the nearest body of water, usually the river."

David frowned. "Why?"

"Haven't the faintest," Henry said. He hesitated, unsure how the question would be received. "Do you know why…"

"Why I come back?" David finished. He took a deep breath, gave a half nod. "It was a lab accident. My parents are inventors and I was stupid and careless and messed with the wrong stuff." He took another shuddering breath, eyes fixed on the table.

Henry reached out and put his hand on the table between them. "It's alright," he said.

"Nothing about this is alright!" David cut in, head snapping up and glaring at Henry. He took in a sharp breath and pushed out of his seat, pacing across the floor in a tight circle. "I'm supposed to be thirty! I should have graduated college, high school by now! I can't drive without a permit, I can't vote, I can't even buy a fucking beer, and as far as I can tell that's never going to change! How is any of this alright?"

"No," Henry sighed, "I guess it's not." It was one thing to be a convenient thirty-four, quite another to be trapped at fourteen. In the 19th century, a boy of fourteen could get away with quite a bit. Back then, fourteen was almost adult for some people, for all practical purposes. Now? Not so much. "But…it doesn't mean you have to be alone."

David shook his head. "It's not that simple."

Henry bobbed his head back and forth conceding the point. "I'll grant you, staying in one place is difficult with your lack of aging, but it can be worked around for a short while. I've been doing it for centuries."

David shook his head. His steps grew faster as he paced. "You don't get it because the not-aging, the coming back, that's only part of it."

"What do you mean?" Henry frowned.

"I mean-" David cut off. He opened his mouth, closed it, and shook his head. "I've…never told anyone, not willingly."

"Then you don't have to," Henry said holding up both hands. "Heaven knows I do not find confiding in others easy. I would be a hypocrite to demand it from someone else."

"It wouldn't be right. If people came after me you should at least know why." David ran a hand through his ragged hair. "Look…the accident did more than…mess with my aging. I can…do other stuff, too."

"Like what?" Abe asked, frowning.

Henry sent him a warning glare. "Abraham."

"What?" Abe asked holding up his hands, "I'm curious!"

David choked on a laugh, though it held a good amount of hysteria. "You two really are father and son, aren't you?" He ran shaking hands through his hair.

"Somethings don't change," Henry agreed. "And you don't have to tell us, not if you don't want to," he repeated. "Abe will learn how to sit on his curiosity."

"You're the one that goes around solving mysteries," Abe muttered. He turned back to the stove and turned on the burner. "But it's your secret. It took dad years before he told me his and that was only because I figured out something was up and he had no choice." Glancing at David, Abe grinned. "Don't worry about it. You don't have to talk about anything you don't want to."

David sucked in a breath. "I just….My friends were there when it happened and they always knew, and anyone that found out after that saw when I thought no one was around." David wrung his hands, pacing again with short, quick steps, breath quick as well.

"It's fine," Henry said with a firm nod. He frowned. "In fact, I don't want you to tell us if it's going to cause you this much anxiety."

"Ok," David said, letting out a shaky breath. He kept pacing, though, hands twisting around each other, gaze point unseeing toward the floor.

Henry exchanged a worried look with Abe over David's head.

"Since you're up, David, could you set the table?" Abe asked, focused on turning burners back on, "Dinner will be done in just a few minutes."

Henry flashed Abe a smile as he stepped up and pulled the plates down from the cupboard handing them to David. A change of subject was exactly what the doctor ordered. "I hear you got a credenza today at the estate sale," he said, pulling down glasses for the table.

"Oh yeah," Abe said as he pushed the stir fry around. "You're going to love it. It's right up your alley, late nineteenth century, fancy inlays in the side. I'm going to have to put it in storage till there's room in the shop, but we can put pictures of it on the website."

"Very good," Henry nodded, "Was there anything else interesting?" He fished out the silverware. David was just finishing placing the plates, gaze fixed on the table.

Abe waggled his head, gesturing with one hand as he spoke. "The first sale was a bust, but the second-"

"Icanturninvisible," David spat out in a rush.

"What?" Henry and Abe asked together, turning to stare at David.

David's wide-eyed shock moved from the table to Henry, then Abe, and back to Henry. "I...I mean..." He took in a deep, shuddering breath and dropped his gaze to the floor before screwing up his face and vanishing from sight.

Abe dropped his spatula. Henry just managed to keep hold of the silverware.

David faded back into view, lingering a moment in a translucent state before becoming solid again. He looked from Henry to Abe, hands twisting, shoulders hunched. "That's...uh...one of the other things that...uh...that I can do."

Henry blinked. He opened his mouth, closed it, then tried again. "That's...ah..."

"Unexpected," Abe finished for him.

It seemed an understatement to Henry, but he couldn't think of anything better. "It's definitely something I've never seen before," he finally said.

"Yeah..." David choked out, gaze fixed on the floor again.

"Well…well, that's just because you've never seen yourself die," Abe said. He bent down and retrieved his spatula. He moved around Henry and washed it off in the sink. "If you ask me, it's an improvement. He still has all of his clothes on and I don't have to drop what I'm doing to drive across town to pick him up."

"Yes, that's true," Henry agreed with a sigh. He set the silverware in place on the table.

David straightened with the caution of disbelief. "So...you're fine with it?"

"Vanishing is not without precedent in this household," Abe said with a knowledgeable tilt of his chin. He set a serving dish with rice out for Henry to place on the table.

"There's more," David said, testing the waters, but his shoulders were already relaxing. "There's so much more. You're not going to believe half of it."

"You can tell us while we eat or after dinner," Henry said. He retrieved the second serving platter of stir fry. "Now sit down, you're supper's going to get cold."

"I'm not actually a kid, you know," David grumbled, but he slid back into his chair.

Abe huffed a laugh. "Get used to it," he said, "I'm more than twice your age and he still tries to pull that stuff on me. What were your parents messing with that managed this?"

"It's a long story," David said, leg bouncing under the table.

"Henry's always saying that," Abe shook his head. "You really are two of a kind."

::The End::

I hope you enjoyed it! Like I said at the start, this was supposed to be a 5k one shot and it just kept going. Secrets are more difficult to spill the longer you hold onto them. I don't have any current plans on continuing this but I have an unfortunate habit of coming up with ideas for things I've already finished. If anyone else wants to write a followup you're more than welcome, too!
Thanks for reading!