"Your Pain is My Pain"
by Teri

A Classic Catherine and Vincent adult romance which takes place between their 2nd and 4th anniversary. SND, rated R.

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6

Authors Note: 'Your Pain Is My Pain' was originally published in six parts in Barb Hill and Teri Milliman's quarterly fanzine, 'Soulmates, A Neverending Dream' (SND) and those six parts are reprinted here with their permission. It is a Classic Catherine and Vincent adult romance which takes place between their 2nd and 4th anniversary. This story will be published in its entirety as an expanded (~25% longer) version in 1997. Because it was written and published in parts, over the course of about a year and a half, you may find a few descrepancies in timing and continuity - sorry for that, they will be remedied in the full zine version.. Redistribution via electronic means as well as a single hard copy is permitted, as long as: 1)The text is not altered in any way. 2) This message is included. 3) No financial gain or commercial use is involved from its redistribution.

Dear Readers,

     Is this really the end, or is this there a part VII, you might be asking about now. Well, yes and no. This is the end of the SND story. I certainly didn't know where it would lead to when I wrote the 25 page short story 'Your Pain Is My Pain' while I recuperated from gall bladder surgery in January of 1994. Then I thought it was complete on its own, but here it is, five sections later, and I find I can't quite let go of it yet. Barb and Teri have given me permission to publish this story as a stand-alone zine, in its entirety and I plan to do that. It will be a slightly expanded version, fleshing out parts that I was always interested in but had to pass up for time and space constraints, and will no doubt be a little more adult in content, though I'll strive hard not to lose the tone of the original. It might be perhaps 20 - 25% longer than as seen in these pages. I hope to have this zine ready for the 1997 Con in Mpls. or soon after, so if you're interested, look for it there or send me an SASE and I'll send you an update as soon as it's ready. (Along that vein, I hope to have 'SCARS' available by sometime in the summer of 1996, for those of you interested.)
     Since I've essentially written a zine in these pages, over the course of the last year and a half, I'd like to include some thanks at this time. First of all, I want to thank Linda Barth for her wonderful editing help. I had read and thoroughly enjoyed her 'Beyond Beginnings I' before we'd really met, and as soon as we'd had our first real conversation at TCIII, I realized that we thought very closely along the same lines in terms of writing in general, and almost identically where the characterizations and plot directions of BATB were concerned. She unfailingly catches my grammatical slip-ups (to my everlasting relief, since even the best story can be brought down by these) and with a simple 'Did you really mean to say that?', identifies weak areas in characterization and dialogue. Thank you so much, Linda, for your continual and excellent help with the editing of my work.
     Next I want to thank Peg McNabb and Teri Milliman who listen to and read through my stuff (often in its not-quite-finished form while Linda's doing the editing) to give me their feedback and advice. This would be a less exciting process without your involvement.
     I also want to thank Teri and Barb for giving me the forum of their wonderful quarterly zine, SND. I received their flyer for this proposed project the very day I finished the first -- at that time 'only' -- section of YPIMP and immediately knew I wanted to be a part of anything so unabashedly Classic. Way to go, guys!
     Last, but not least, thank you all for your kind and supportive comments throughout. It's great to know there are other fans out there who feel the same way I do about these wonderful characters and this beautiful story. I'd like to take this opportunity to encourage any of you who have ever thought about writing fiction to please give it a try. Starting with characters you know and love gives you a real advantage, so please help add to this wonderful story. May the fairytale never end.
     Teri

When I and three BATB friends formed CABB (Classic Alliance of Beauty and the Beast), we chose The Pediatric AIDS Foundation as our organizational charity. If you enjoyed this story, please consider making a donation ($1.00 will do) to this worthy charity. The address is: Pediatric AIDS Foundation 1311 Colorado Ave Santa Monica, CA 90404 Thank you!