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While There's Breath... by Lindelea	54 Review(s)
TopazTook	Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 1/20/2005
If the wooden bridge was already damaged, it would make sense that that would be the particular spot at which it broke. But I don't think that's necessary. The force of raging water is certainly enough in and of itself to destroy wooden pilings. (Kind of reminds me of tornado destruction in a way -- some things can be left standing perfectly fine, while the house that used to stand next door is demolished and completely swept away.) Author Reply: Ah, good, that's what I had in mind. The bridge was not yet damaged, but the force of the flood that came down after the debris dam was breached was enough to sweep most of the bridge away. Thanks!

Ariel	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/20/2005
I never know what to say to you in reviews, which is why I rarely write them, but I did want to let you know I am reading and enjoying this story. Yeah, angst. Sigh I'm so predictable. Author Reply: Pity, because I always enjoy hearing from you. You know how it goes, that mixed feeling, looking at the hit counter. Is that number representing one really dedicated reader hitting the same chapter X times? Or is it X people hitting the chapter and thinking it's not worth commenting on...? Pardon me, my Closet of Insecurities is ajar. :::firmly closing door, shoving wedge into place as latch seems to be defective::: You could just say, "Ariel was here. :::waving:::" Nice to know you stopped by. Am honoured, actually. :::bows to Angst Maven:::

FantasyFan	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/20/2005
The Red Cross instructions for CPR say that once you begin, you should continue CPR until either 1) the patient revives, 2) someone else arrives to take over from you, or 3) you are too exhausted to continue. Even the Red Cross knows that there are some rescues that can't be accomplished, and some people who can't be saved. And Pippin is chilled, ill, breathless himself, and certainly exhausted. He never considers giving up. Yes, he swore an oath, but nobody expected it to be like movie-Aragorn's oath that "If by my life or death, I can protect you, I will." Nobody could blame him for failing if he had quit - Ferdi's underwater, for goodness' sake, and one member of the escort, however beloved, isn't worth the Thain dying for. None of that even goes through his mind, because he did truly mean his promise. He would rather die than break it. Ferdi however, has lots of things go through his mind. How tragic that in the darkness he sees all the people that he has lost and the weight of all that sadness. I think though he does realize that he still has a lot to live for, and that's what keeps him from letting that last breath go. He may not know exactly the state Pippin was in at the end, but the other hobbits saw it, and he's already working through the Pippin-paradox in his own mind. If Pip can avoid dying of pneumonia now, this certainly will lead to a strengthening of Ferdi's and the others' faith and trust in him. Not only are there all those good things in it, it was also very tense and dramatic chapter. It really had me on the edge of my seat. Author Reply: Lots of food for thought. No time for more than cursory reply. More later, I hope. Thanks! Author Reply: Actually, the other hobbits didn't pull Pippin out of there because he was exhausted and in danger of collapse and drowning (even if it was true) but because they were ready to pull Ferdi out, having made cuts in the boards all around him and just needing to do a big heave, sort of, and Pippin was in the way of that. Still, it might have felt briefly like abandonment to Ferdi, enough to figure in some nightmares that will lead to discussion and resolution. (Another echo of "Runaway" perhaps.) And as fallout/a side benefit, I'll resolve the little plot hole that has bothered me for a long time in "Rope" (see reply to Dreamflower's review). And I am out of time again! But I wanted to answer your review before I got sideswiped by the weekend. Thanks for another thoughtful review.

TopazTook	Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 1/20/2005
(These are comments on a few chapters, as I’m sure you can tell.) Hmm. I thought perhaps the temporary blinding in this story was a contributing factor to Ferdi’s later experiences -- kind of a buildup of things going wrong, like wiith Pippin’s health. The rescue-breathing doesn’t jolt me out of Middle Earth, but unfortunately the “Good Night, Irene” discussion does. I find it interesting what you’re doing with the song titles, and I’m enjoying the story iitself, but when I read the discussions of the song in the notes and reviews (which I like to read to gain greater understanding of a story), I can’t help thinking about the elderly, blinded neighbor for whom I did light housekeeping as an 11/12-year-old. Obviously, her name was Irene, which is where I first learned of this song. I’m absolutely sure, though, that this problem is just me.:) Walking onto a flooded bridge is incredibly stupid. I count it as among the two stupidest things I’ve done in my life. At least Pippin had the excuse of being tired and suffering the pony version of highway hypnosis so he wasn’t even thinking about it! If you ever revise this story, you might want to add in some foreshadowing as Ferdi stands on the bridge and tests it: as a Took unaware of rivers, he probably wouldn’t realize the significance, but you can feel the bridge moving under you -- kind of vibrating, withthe currents of the water -- if you’re standing on one that the water is rushing over. Even if the water isn’t there yet, you can feel a kind of thrumming and rocking if you’re in a car on a not-quite-flooded-yet-but awfully-close bridge. (The flooding of the Mississippi River in Iowa in 1993 was referred to as a “500-year flood.”) I thought the description of Pippin as forgetting how to see and being unaware of his surroundings except for his concentration on Ferdi was very gripping. Tend to agree with Connie, though, that they’re both going to feel betrayed/guilty with Pippin’s hand pulling away. Author Reply: I was very interested to read your description of flooded bridges. I've never walked onto one and could only imagine. Will look at adding the foreshadowing you mentioned. Do you suppose that last wooden bridge was already damaged, or would the flash flood coming down, full of trees and tree branches and other debris, be enough to do it in if it were still in good shape? The funny thing is that the flooded bridges were safely crossed, and it was the bridge that wasn't flooded (at least, when they rode onto it, for the flash flood came down when they'd just about reached the centre point) that nearly did them in. Guess we're going to have to deal with guilt/betrayal in the next chapter. Thanks! Author Reply: p.s. It is quite possible that the temporary blindness here contributed to the later long-lasting blindness. I had thought at the time of writing that the blindness in "Merlin" was of the hysterical sort (did a lot of research into shellshocked soldiers from the Great War), but there might well have been a biological component, with very slow healing. As a matter of fact, I'm sure there was a physical component, considering the blinding headaches he suffered over the years as a result of the earlier head injuries. Goodness, listen to me discuss a character as if he's my next-door neighbor or relative or someone like that! But then I've spent so much time amongst Tooks that I practically feel like a Took myself. What fun!

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/20/2005
That's a very sad run through poor Ferdi's life. Abandoned, one way or another, by everyone whom he trusted and loved. Thank goodness he's now got Nell to stand by him - even if he can still hardly believe it. And Pippin - there for him regardless of the dangers to himself. I'm glad to see he is thinking better of Pippin as he looks beyond the irresponsible tween - and also looks to Pippin in the wider world. (I still find Pippin in Runaway to have taken about fourteen large leaps backwards. And Merry, come to that.) Pippin is excellent in a crisis - just as well he had to live through so many. I think it's everyday boredom that gets to be a bit much for him. Although, thinking about it, with his Lungs, I don't suppose there are many days to discard at the moment. I hope he doesn't go down with anything too serious at this point. No elven flask of magic juice. No handy Strider. He'd better stick with a slight chill. Thank goodness the cavalry arrived when they did. Author Reply: Well, yes, and that's one of the reasons I couldn't stand to look at "Runaway" for months after writing it. Someone said Pippin was OOC and because I felt tenative about the story in the first place, I internalised that and winced every time I thought of the story. Yet Jo had done such an excellent job, rescuing it, that I couldn't bear to delete it. Ah, well. I'll just chalk it up to "delayed stress". Knew of a Vietnam Vet who'd put his life together pretty well, only to have it fall apart when his life got very stressful. He had a hard time rebuilding afterwards, too. Guess that'll be my excuse for Pippin's and Merry's backwards leaps. Shellshock? Slight chill, yes, I think that's the ticket, amazingly enough. Wonder what's in those vile draughts? Echinacea and garlic, zinc and vitamin C for starters? Airborne?

Hai Took	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/20/2005
Gracious! How difficult for both of them. I have always enjoyed your Ferdi's character, I can't remember if I have told you that or just planned too. He is just a bit sarcastic, in his speach and such, like right before he was completely under water. That would be such a strange way to try and stay alive. It's a good thing neither paniced, I think I probably would have under such a tense circumstance. Ferdi's view of his life and the metephore abou the ceiling coming down and loosing all of his supports through the years, well done. It was also very interesting to see if it in Ferdi's POV, if a rather short one. Then him deciding that he was going to give up so that Pippin could get out, very noble, but I'm sure it must have been a blow to think that Pippin had given him up. Looking forward to more! Author Reply: Yes, I love Ferdi when he feels as if there's nothing to lose and lets his tongue go. I don't know if I can bring myself to read "Sometimes a Great Notion" or to see the movie based on it (don't remember the name of the movie, if it's the same or not), knowing that that scenario had a tragic end. Considering Ferdi's last memory during the crisis was Pippin abandoning him, and Pippin's last part of being in the river was of being forced away from Ferdi, breaking his promise in a sense, the angst is not yet completely resolved. But we're close. Thanks!

Connie B.	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/20/2005
Shwuph, at least they're out of the stream. Thank goodness. That was very interesting seeing Ferdi's view of events in his life. Kind of ironic that the one person he had come to view as hard to trust was the one person he had to have faith in to survive. He must have thought his lack of trust had been correct when he felt Pippin's hand leave him. I wonder what his reaction will be when he finds out that they had to pull Pippin away from him. And then there's poor Pippin. He was so determined to fulfill his promise to Ferdi that he was willing to sacrofise his own life to do it. Even though he knows Ferdi's safe, he's probably going to feel like he didn't keep his part of the bargane because he was pulled away from Ferdi before they'd got him out of the water. Pippin is always so hard on himself. Needless to say, I got a lot out of this chapter. Looking forward to what comes next. I also have to hand it to you. It can't be easy making each title match a line in the song. Thanks. Connie B. Author Reply: So encouraging, to see your review! Definitely ironic, as you say, that the one person Ferdi had to depend on was the one he saw as undependable. Let's hope he's past all that now. You're right about the chapter titles! This can't be one of those mega-stories -- there just aren't enough lines to support too many chapters! Thanks!

Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/19/2005
Talk about suspense! This is almost too much! Thank goodness for Gimli or they wouldn't have an option on this. Now, if only Fredi doesn't panick or Pippin doesn't run out of the strength do keep breathing for both of them. Help can't come soon enough. BTW, I love how Pip and Ferdi revert to just cousins when they are up against it and both of them speak plainly. As in the you're mad, I'm desperate, portion of their discussion. I find myself wishing that it could always be like that for them. Author Reply: Y'know, they do revert to "just cousins" later on the timeline. When I look at their relationship in "Truth", "Merlin", "Gentle Rain" or "Solid Ground" I see the give-and-take that you only see in rare moments, in the earlier stories. Which is kind of nice, the way it worked out, 'cause I didn't really plan it; it just happened. Thanks!

Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/19/2005
These Tooks have simply got to build some bridges! I hope Pippin keeps his wits and is able to find his escorts. Shame on you for leaving us in water up to out necks! LOL I will be waiting for more of this one. Author Reply: Well, they do have bridges, but the problem is the rivers are higher than the bridges! Sensible people would just stay home. Thanks!

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 1/19/2005
Whoosh (exhales own breath) This is amazing! Looks like you have that stubborn contest going on right now! I guess the winner will be the one who stays conscious longest... Oh, mercy... Mean ol' Mistress of Cliffies! Author Reply: So who won the stubborn contest, do you think?

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