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AJ’s words had all but destroyed him. Brian’s hands shook as he poured every last ounce of alcohol down the drain. It suddenly felt wrong to have even the smallest amount of alcohol in the house, even though he knew that he could control himself. He finished pouring the last of the vodka into the sink and added the empty bottle to the already overflowing recycling bin.

“Brian?”

“AJ scared the shit out of me, Nick.” Brian turned to face the younger man. “I don’t have a problem. I was just ...”

“I know.” Nick interrupted. “I know.”

Brian smiled; grateful that Nick wasn’t looking for a long, drawn out explanation. “They’ll be here soon.”

“Yeah.” Nick scowled. “Doesn’t Kevin realize that it’s Saturday morning?”

“How dare he ruin your plans of playing Playstation in your pyjamas!” Brian joked.

“I was actually going to call Kayla to see if she wanted to have lunch with me.” Nick shot back. “I was only planning on staying in my pyjamas all day if she was busy.”

Brian rolled his eyes just as the front door banged open. Scuffling sounds drifted from the foyer and a few seconds later Baylee burst into the kitchen. A blonde boy that Brian didn’t recognize was hot on his heels. Both boys were flushed from being outside in the crisp fall air and their eyes were wide with excitement.

“Dad, this is Mike.” Baylee casually introduced his friend as he bee-lined for the fridge. He pulled out two cans of Coke and tossed one of them at the other boy.

“Mike?” Brian racked his brain. He had been under the impression that Baylee had been playing outside on his own. “You live down the street?”

“Yeah.” Mike affirmed. “You’ve met my dads; Chris and Shane.”

“Dad, is it okay if I go over to Mike’s house for a bit?” Baylee guzzled his Coke as he waited for a response.

“I suppose.” Brian looked at his son’s eager face. “Are Mike’s dads home?”

“Of course they are.” Baylee rolled his eyes and turned to his friend. “See? I told you that he would be all super lame and ask if your dads were going to be there.”

Mike shrugged and took an unnaturally long, and an even more unnaturally loud, drink of Coke. “All parents are totally cray.”

“I am not crazy!” Brian was a bit offended that the two boys were speaking as if he wasn’t even in the room.

Baylee gave his father a look that was clearly meant to question his sanity. “Uncle Nick is wearing God of War pyjama pants. You’re both cray.”

“So, can Bay come over?” Mike finished his can of Coke and set it on the counter. “Please.”

“Fine.” Brian gave in. “I want you home before dinner.”

“Thanks, dad!” Baylee beamed and quickly finished his own can of Coke.

Before Brian could utter another word, both boys had left the kitchen and were tearing down the hallway. He could hear them stop to put their shoes back on before flinging open the front door.

“That guy’s beard is cray!” Mike’s comment echoed through the house.

Brian and Nick exchanged a quick smirk. The others had obviously arrived. The two of them left the kitchen and entered the hallway just in time to see Mike and Baylee plough their way through AJ, Howie, and Kevin who were standing on the porch. The older men stepped back as the boys pushed their way through; completely oblivious to the fact that they almost sent Kevin careening into the decorative railing.

“What did that kid mean when he said that my beard was cray?” AJ stepped into the house first. “Does that mean that he thinks that my beard is fucking awesome? Because it totally is.”

“I think he means that you look like a creeper.” Howie quipped. “Because you totally do.”

“Oh no, we’re not doing this again!” Kevin stepped into the house and shut the door firmly behind him. “We’re not getting off topic. We need to discuss the tour schedule.” He stared at each of his band mates in turn, his eyes finally landing on Nick’s pyjama pants. “What the hell are you wearing?”

“I thought you said that we weren’t going to get off topic.” Nick retorted. He led the way into the living room and flopped down on the couch. “For your information, I’m wearing Kratos sleep pants.”

“Of course you are.” Kevin sighed. He sat down next to Nick and gave his pants one final stare before pulling out several sheets of paper. “There have been a few changes to the schedule.”

“Bri ...” AJ reached out and placed a hand on Brian’s arm, stopping him from entering the living room. “... about what I said last night ...” He ran a hand through his new head of hair and sighed. “... I was outta line.”

Brian dared a quick glance at his cousin, who was watching the two of them out of the corner of his eye, before turning to AJ. “No you weren’t.”

AJ appeared taken aback. “I said some pretty horrible shit to you.”

“You told me what I needed to hear.” Brian admitted. “I’m glad that you said something before the situation got out of control.”

“Out of all of us, you’re the one who’s supposed to be able to hold it together.” AJ sighed and released his grip on Brian’s arm. “Who would be the one to step in if you fell apart?”

“You did a pretty good job last night.” Brian pointed out. “You obviously need me a lot less than you think you do.”

AJ shook his head. “I need you more than you think I do. That’s why I called you out.”

“Is the bro-mance restored?” Kevin interrupted. “Can we move on now?”

AJ and Brian looked at each other and grinned. They both opened their arms wide and fell into each other, making a huge show of wiping away fake tears. After a round of exaggerated back slapping and a few choruses of “I love you, bro” in annoyingly high voices, Brian and AJ pulled apart and turned to Kevin.

“Is that what you were waiting for?” AJ teased.

“I don’t know why I continue to put up with any of this. I really don’t.” Kevin muttered, a hint of a smile pulling at his lips. He waited for AJ and Brian to take a seat before he adopted a more serious tone. “Like I was saying, there have been some changes to the schedule.”

“What kind of changes?” Brian asked warily. He accepted the list of tour dates that Kevin handed him and frowned. “Please don’t tell me that we’ve added more shows.”

“Actually, we’ve been asked to do one more show.” Kevin tread cautiously. “But, we’ve also lost a few shows.”

“We’ve lost Georgia, Florida, and Texas?” Howie’s eyes widened as he stared at his copy of the tour schedule. “When did this happen?”

“I just found out about all of this on Friday morning.” Kevin sighed. “Apparently, there’s some kind of issue with the promoters. I’m not sure of the details, but the radio stations that were supposed to be hosting all of those shows have now backed out.”

“At the risk of sounding like a dick, I kinda see this as a good thing.” Brian admitted. “This means that I only have to leave Baylee with my parents for nine days.”

“Well ...” Kevin drawled. “That’s only partially true.”

Brian narrowed at his eyes. “What have you committed us to?”

“We’ve been asked to play a holiday show on December 19th.” Kevin stated.

“Where?” Nick flipped the tour schedule over in his hands. “I don’t see anything listed for the 19th.”

“It’s actually not in the U.S.” Kevin admitted. “We’ve been asked to play in Montreal.”

“Montreal?” Brian repeated. “Really, Kev? You know that one of the C.P.S. stipulations is that I’m not allowed to leave Baylee with my parents if I’m leaving the country. This means that I’m going to have to pull him out of school, and I still haven’t arranged an on-the-road tutor.”

“I’m perfectly aware of your situation.” Kevin silenced his cousin’s whining. “We won’t have to leave until the 18th, so that means that Baylee will only miss three days of school. It’s also right before Christmas break, so they won’t be doing that much curriculum anyway. You can ask his teacher in advance for the homework, and Baylee will be completely caught up by the time that he returns to class in January. Legally, you won’t be required to provide him with a tutor because the trip will be less than five days.”

“Are we headlining the show?” Howie asked. “It will only be worth it if we’re headlining.”

Kevin nodded. “It’s only us and two other acts; Avril Lavigne and Hedley. They’ve promised us an hour and forty-five minute set.”

“That’s like a full set.” Nick looked excited. “That’s way more time than we’ve been allotted for any of the other holiday shows.”

“It’s being hosted by one of the major radio stations in Montreal; 94.7 Hits FM. As of right now, they aren’t playing our music very often, but we will likely get some more air time leading up to the event.” Kevin continued. “We need to let the promoters know before the end of the day.”

Brian looked around at the eager faces of his band mates and sighed. He had been hoping to keep Baylee in school full-time until the start of the European leg of the tour in February. At the same time, he didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to play a critical show in one of their bigger markets. “Let’s book it.”

“You’re sure that you’re okay with it?” Howie looked concerned. “We’ll understand if you’re not.”

“I want to do it.” Brian reassured him. “Like Kevin said, Baylee will only have to miss three days of school.”

“So, it’s settled?” Kevin already had his phone in his hand. “I can call it in?”

Brian nodded. “You better put Wayne out of his misery. You know he’s sitting by the phone waiting for you to call.”

Wayne, their tour manager, had a rather obsessive-compulsive personality. He liked to have everything done well in advance, and Brian knew that the prospect of booking such a major show at the last minute was probably sending the poor man into cardiac arrest.

“Hey, Wayne.” Kevin quickly slipped his hand over the mouthpiece. “He didn’t even let it ring once.” He whispered, before returning his attention to the phone. “We’re in for the Montreal show.”

“How frazzled is he?” Howie laughed as soon as Kevin disconnected the call.

Kevin simply chuckled and shook his head. “He’s probably already on the phone to Eddie in order to confirm the fan club presale.”

“Do you guys want to bring the wives along?” AJ asked. “I know they’re not coming for the other shows, but it might be nice to have them around for this one. It will be our last show of 2013.”

“And the kids?” Howie suggested. “That way Baylee won’t feel like he’s the only kid who’s being forced to be there.”

“Bri, you might want to consider having C.P.S. conduct their on-the-road visit during this trip.” Nick pointed out. “It will be short and sweet and, like Kevin said, Baylee won’t even need a tutor. Think of how easy it will be to pass.”

Brian looked at Nick and smirked. “Your suggestion has nothing to do with the fact that you’re hoping to sneak in some quality holiday time with a certain social worker does it?”

“I’m merely thinking of you, Brian.” Nick feigned hurt. “I’m saddened that you would think otherwise.”

“You’re full of shit, Carter.” AJ shot back. “I know how your mind works. You’ve got it all planned out; foreign city, Christmas time, five-star dining, fancy hotel.”

“You don’t even know for sure that Kayla will go.” Howie snickered. “Maybe Peggy will conduct the investigation on her own.”

“I’m sure that Peggy also likes good food and fancy hotels.” AJ quipped. “It wouldn’t be a total loss for our little Casanova.”

Nick scowled. “I hate all of you.”

“You don’t hate us.” Howie grinned. “You’re just worried that your little plan may not work out.”

“It’ll work out perfectly.” Nick mumbled. “Just you wait.”