Ehe, poor Merrick indeed....[I really wish he had a first name...anyway] The ending was a bit twisty and more ethically ambiguous than I'd planned, but to be much different it would have to be an AU. And I wanted Nikolai and Merrick to have options, I guess. Thanks so much for your fantastic feedback!

Wow. I used to be on island_sex a long time ago, not sure if I still am. Didn't know about the others, though. Thank you!