Oh, my gods! You're killing meeeeeeeeeeeeee!
This... this is just... Oh gods! Julian, julian, julian! I can't even begin to put my thoughts in any sort of cohesive order. The intensity builds and builds, and I'm left feeling just as raw and vulnerable as our poor doctor. and Garak, though we don't really get a firsthand view of what he's thinking or how he feels, his note left me breathless and aching with genuine warmth and happiness. The true tenderness in that note actually brought tears to my eyes. And then, of course, we have the very end of the chapter. The last four or five paragraphs nearly made me stop breathing altogether! Julian's lie adroit, Jadzia's simple, but very real joy, and the complex feelings he experiences and realizes are perfectly portrayed. His self-honesty is a little disconcerting to read, because it makes me wonder if I would ever have the courage to examine myself as closely as he does. And then, I find myself asking how you, the writer, can write such detailed self-aware narration from Julian's point of view and do it so well!