Quick! Beta help?

This morning I had a last-minute crisis of faith about my undermistletoe story; I didn't like--didn't quite believe--the version I had written, so I, uh, re-wrote it. I have to post it in a couple of hours; would anybody be willing to quickly look over both versions of the story and tell me whether or not I'm being crazy? I'd really appreciate it.

Also, can somebody tell me: according to Sheppard's "official" bio, was his father supposed to be a general or a colonel?

Fic: Horses Over the Hill

Finished! *sweet relief*

Title: Horses Over the Hill
Rating: R
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Length: ~4100 words
Summary: I’m in you, more so when they put me in the ground.
A/N: Written for undermistletoe’s “Worst. Christmas. Ever.: The parents/relatives come to visit unexpectedly” prompt. Special thanks to svmadelyn for putting the whole thing together, and for coming up with such cool challenges!
A/N2: Huge thanks also to _inbetween_ and kageygirl for the lightning-quick betas, and for the mental and moral support. *hugs*

( Horses Over the Hill )

How's that working out for you?

Just now, in the kitchen:

Aidan: How's your gay thing going? [He likes to refer to the slash paper, which I bravely told him about, as "your gay thing." Boys. *g*]
Me: I finished it and turned it in!
Aidan's tarty, too-much-eyeshadow friend: Oh, you're American. How's that working out for you?
Aidan: *laughs* You mean, as opposed to all the other nationalities she's tried?
My brain: Yes, dump her slutty ass! You and I can get a heterosexual thing going!
Me: Fine.

I'm actually not sure if she's really his girlfriend, but I've decided I don't care. I'm going to keep flirting with him whenever our paths cross, even if some of those times are like last night, when I went to make tea after I got back from Boyne Valley and treated him to the very special experience of wind-swept hair and boots that smelled like sheep poo. (Dude, for all the times I was told that Tara is a Highly Sacred Place, they sure let a lot of livestock crap on it.) He's still talking to me, though, so that's a plus.

Another plus: some wonderful, generous, anonymous soul bought me a year of paid time and extra userpics! Thank you so much, mystery person! (You got me through my undermistletoe panic today. Really.)

Also, slodwick made me another gorgeous cover, this time for We Have Lingered. [Reminder: spoilers for 'Grace Under Pressure.'] Looky!

( Prettypretty thing! )

I still can't look at that without getting chills. Wow.

(She also drew, like, a billion adorable sketches. Including this one, for me.)

Y'know, I was gonna say some other stuff--and it was all really deep, too--but actually, I'm sleeeeeeepy now, so yeah, that'll have to be your full dose of me for today. I'm sure you'll live. ;-)

Let the mocking commence!

Okay, I have finally started responding to comments on fic, even though I have something like a six-story backlog. ETA: Okay, closer to ten. *cries* (I know, I know. I am so sorry.) So if you receive a response from me and you're like, "Um, I don't even remember reading this!" well, uh. We can all pretend that LJ was just really slow in getting the comment to you (I like this plan!) or you can remind yourself that when I'm not writing fic, I spend my free time rescuing BLIND, IMPOVERISHED PUPPIES and that's why I'm so slow. No--really!

Okay, I just suck. So officially, this is the post where you can mock me. (Er, mock, not flame. I'm very sensitive. It's prolonged exposure to the puppies.) Or suggest fic comment-response techniques! (Tip #1--actually do it.) No, seriously, like ways to respond without sounding like Jennifer Garner's iTunes playlist. ("Thank you very much! I'm really glad you liked it!"*) Or just, y'know, pose questions about the nature of my parentage and the like. Whatever. ;-)

So, mock away! And yeah, I totally feel like I should link to this post in every comment I leave from now on...

*My sincerest apologies to anyone who has or will receive this exact response. I've mentioned that I suck, right?