Val is still in the same universe. During the prologue Jane actually says Val is coming out for a visit an even sends some things to Valerie by the post. Also if you are familiar with Tucker, Jester is his call sign in the Rat Boyz when they are doing social work. Jester is ALSO the name of the person that Nathan was talking to online.

This is the strongest reason I would like to see more work one on these stories. The series as it stands leaves alot of unanswered questions and plot holes.

1. During the Prologue Val was said to be coming out to visit Valerie and Aunt Jane and Marie in England. If she came to visit then wouldn't some of the people Valerie knows have ended up meeting Val as well? Surely they could play it off as being twins, but the similarity in names (Val/Valerie) would lead to some curiosities. Also it would have been nice to see them together again and find out how Val is coping with coming out the way she did in Tuck Squared.

2. As I pointed out Jester is the original Tuck's callsign. He has used it consistantly in social work with the Rat Boyz in the main story line of The Saga of Tuck. Add that to the fact that Racheals version of Tuck/Val was still dating Travis. This means that from clues given from the brief "IRC Chat" given in the first part of Nathans Story that the Jester mentioned there IS infact Val. Jester is both a female and rushing out on an expectent date saying "he's here".

3. Then we have the unresolved issues with Nathan at the core. In much of the story from Nathans point of view there is mention of a mysterious Eleneor (sic?) that seems to drift in and out taking the place of Nathan himself. Infact it is only from very careful reading and comparing both Nathans Story and After a Fall that you actually realize that Eleanor is infact an apparition. She doesn't Exist! Also there are points that some of the other characters mentioned as sort of dream sequences of Nathans mention being dressed up by Mrs. Thompson. This would indicate a strong mental illness in the boy. Despite the more mundane spin that Jane has put on the whole thing, Nathans own view of the story seems to almost indicate MPDS, or at the very least some form of Personality disorder. Seeing this plot hole closed entirely would be most desirable since the ending of things in After a Fall seem to put it all on an "up" spin as if Jane and Marie can handle everything from here with ease, when in fact they don't even realize what is truly going on yet.

4. At the end of Nathans Story you hear more arguing after he is secured away in his room and has the wedge to seal the door shut against outside intrusions that Valerie gave him. That argument was not addressed at the end of After a Fall, infact it was competely ignored in favor of some more bonding being shown between Valerie an Nathan. What happened in this argument. How did it effect Nathan and his trust of the two older women?

5. Going back to the Jester = Val matter, what is Jane going to do when she finds thi information out? She already decided to send Gina's Geeks after her to find out who she is. Valeries reaction to the name reinforces the thought that Jester = Val because with out ever being told by Jane what she knew about Jester being a female, Valerie already knew and demonstrated that knowledge in Nathans Story when she asked Nathan about it. So what is this all going to mean for Val back in the states?

Plenty of room still to work with this story and I hope it is eventually completed.