Well, don't start selling yourself short, there! I thought this story was excellent, conflict and all. I was actually thinking when I read it that I wished I had gone in your direction, because you managed to deal with the same stuff I've been, with a hell of a lot less strum und drang, you know?

Thank you for saying I'm fabulous. One day I won't need to hear it, but until then, you have warmed my heart, as usual. :-D

I think that the darker side of John being revealed slowly was intentional, just from what I vaguely remember from early interviews with JF. I remember him saying something like there was more to this guy than immediately apparent, and he was looking forward to getting into that. Personally, I always figured that someone who needed to be told by O'Neill that they were being a dumbass for not wanting to go on an adventure of a lifetime probably had something deeper going on, and nothing particularly good. ;->

Thank you again,

Leah