Disclaimer: I don't own Pern. I do, however own most of the characters in this story.

Note: The Anne McCaffery in this book is completely my own invention, and except for her name and the fact she writes Dragonriders of Pern novels, shares no other resemblance that I know of to the true Anne McCaffery.

Thank You

Anne sat at her desk, staring at the blank screen of her computer. Nothing could put into a story what had happened twenty minutes before. She leaned over and stroked the small clay pot sitting next to her fire place with a smile as she remembered what had happened.

000

The author sat at her desk, thinking up a plot line for her next Dragonriders of Pern tale. The white dragon would feature strongly in it, she decided, but that was about it. She'd always loved the figures she had created in Ruth and his rider Jaxom, and wanted to follow them down their paths some more.

A bird or something flapped heavily outside her window and she glanced over. Nothing.

She returned to staring at her computer. A slight thump on the roof.

Anne glanced up. Likely just a… a what, exactly? Whatever it was was large and had four talons or claws of some sort.

She frowned and left the room, passing through her living room to get to the back door. Outside, she backed up considerably to see the gently sloping roof. Something was up there, but on the overcast night she could not tell, except that it was on the other side and white.

At the sound of the front bell the young woman raced back inside and pulled open the front door. No one. Puzzled, she looked around, then went outside and looked further. She turned to come back inside and the white thing leapt off her roof.

Pure white wings beat the air. A long, slender tail whisked through the sky. Four talons hung from under it.

And a rider sat on its shoulders.

She stared in awe at the white dragon as it circled. Having created them, she knew full well just what Ruth and Jaxom looked like.

Finally the white dragon let loos a stunning roar, beat his wings once more and disappeared.

For a long moment Anne dared not move. Then she turned back to her front door. Sitting on the doorstep was a pot made of clay. She carried it inside and sat back at her desk.

Slowly she lifted the cover, wondering just what she would find within. A note settled there on the top, and she set it to the side. Beneath the piece of paper was sand, which she brushed away with trembling fingers. Covered by the warm sand was a mottled shell of something to fit in her palm.

Swiftly but gently she put it back over and set the whole piece beside her, near the fire place.

She just happened to put it near the warmth.

The note had only a single line on it and the name of the sender. Before she could read it, a cheep startled her and she looked up. Hovering in the doorway to her office was a little golden dragon.

As soon as she knew she was spotted, the queen fire lizard disappeared. Between.

Anne lowered her gaze after a minute to read the note. This day just gets crazier by the second, she thought when she was done.

The note read simply,

Thank you, from all of us.

It was signed,

The People of Pern.

000

Anne picked up the note again, musing on the white dragon, the golden fire lizard and the egg now warming beside her hearth.

No. This wasn't something to share with her readers.

This was something she had to savor on her own.

Anne closed down her computer, smiling slightly.

Almost in response to the dying clicks of the computer, the egg pot gave a small chirp and creel of hunger.