And on the topic of apologies and forgiveness ...

[rfmcdonald]

... it looks like I owe Derek an apology. I'm rather relieved to learn that what had seemed to be a spectacularly cruel way of telling your soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend that you hate his guts was "merely" an ill-conceived and stupid prank gone horribly--and almost catastrophically--wrong. Contingent upon Tom's decision, of course.

So, my apologies, Derek.