Heh--Now you know why I was thinking about 4.12 the other day! Your points about the ep.--about Sam really just wanting to find a way to survive--helped me figure parts of this out. So thank you!

I'm glad you liked the first line you quote--it was kind of the kernel of the story--

And I'm glad you liked my attempt at metaphor! I kind of self-squick myself by writing fic--but it is fun to try and work out the language for things...

Thanks for reading and commenting!