"Daddy!" Baylee squealed as Alana swung him around playfully. "'Lana's hyper!"
"I think it's because of all the chocolate she's smelling!" Brian teased, retrieving the ball at his feet and tucking it underneath his arm as he held a small gift in his hands. Hershey, Pennsylvania was renowned for its popular chocolate factory and amusement park in the direct vicinity of the stadium. So that morning had been spent taking Baylee on the rides of the amusement park and loading up on chocolate for the rest of the trip. AJ had been less than pleased with the idea, but that was because of his allergy. Brian couldn't have asked for a better day spent with his friend and son.
"What's that you got, Daddy?" Baylee inquired, shifting around in Alana's arms until he was propped on her hip. Curling one arm around her neck, he snuggled his head against her shoulder, eyeing his father warily.
"Nothing for you," Brian promised with a crooning note to his voice, leaning to press a kiss on his son's face. "It's for your 'Lana."
"For me?" Alana questioned in surprise. "Did Nick send something else to the stadium? 'Cause my dressing room's already filled with flowers…"
"No, it's not from Nick," Brian corrected with a grin. He knew that Alana's bus and hotel room were also filled with flowers, as well as teddy bears and small gifts. He was grateful that Alana and Nick had worked things out. "It's—"
"It's the baby name book!" Baylee squealed suddenly. "Daddy bought it for you this morning, 'Lana! To help pick names for the mon'ters!"
"Wow, I didn't even have to open it!" Alana exclaimed with the same excitement Baylee had exuberated. She offered a small smile toward Brian, cooing at his crestfallen expression. "Thank you for the book, Brian, but you really didn't have to do that."
"I just know how hard it is to make a decision for just one kid… I can't imagine having to choose two," Brian explained. "And it's more than the book—"
"No wonder Boogie has about twenty names," Alana mused, though she smiled innocently as Baylee reached for the basketball under his father's arm. "What do you mean, more than a book?"
"There's a pregnancy organizer in there, too… It's a place for you to write down your weight gain, slots to put ultrasound pictures, a journal for you to write about how you're feeling and everything, a little calendar to keep track of appointments, and it's full of tips on everything from stretch marks to hemorrhoids—"
"I think we'd be better friends if you and I didn't discuss my impending hemorrhoids," Alana interrupted with an embarrassed clearing of her throat, allowing Baylee to slide down her body to play once more. "Do I need to fax the weight gain schedule to Nick as well?"
"Why would you need to do that? Don't you think I've noticed you've started to fill out a little bit in the past week?" Brian inquired, placing the gift in her hands.
"Because Nick isn't satisfied with the cell phone pictures of my belly. Do you know he has I on a feeding schedule for me?" Alana questioned, leaning to kiss his cheek with thanks before tucking the book underneath her arm to lift up her t-shirt. Sure enough, she was starting to round. Her clothing still fit quite comfortably, but the 'baby bump' was apparent. Soon, she'd have to tell the media.
"Well, it's working, isn't it?" Brian pointed out with a chuckle. "What'd the obstetrician say?"
"That I'm going to be very excited at the time of my birth because of the sex of my twins, but ha-ha she can't tell me because my boobie bead of a fiancé called ahead?"
"Boobie bead?" Brian snorted, looking towards Baylee as he threw the ball into the hoop. "Didn't you tell me that neither of you wanted to know the sex of the babies?"
"No, I told you that Nick didn't want to know the sex of the babies because he wanted a unisex theme for the nursery and wanted to be surprised at the delivery. I'm the one that's going to be either pushing for all I'm worth or drugged out of my mind and won't even know what their sexes are when they're born. I'd rather know ahead, but he would have a fit. So, I seceded."
"And he turned around and called the obstetrician and told her not to tell you the sex, because he knew that you'd ask," Brian concluded with a knowing smile.
"Damn straight," Alana sighed, moving to sit with Brian at the table that had been set up for them. Reaching into the cooler for a water, she then leaned back to open the book after discarding her phone to the table. "This is really too much, Brian…"
"It's nothing, really," Brian insisted, propping his feet up on the table as he watched Baylee start to spin himself in circles again. "Scooper, no! You'll get—"
"Round an' round I go!" Baylee squealed, spinning faster and faster until he was assured he couldn't walk straight. Stopping immediately, he retrieved the basketball and insisted that he shoot, only succeeding in throwing the ball directly into AJ's face.
"SON OF A—" AJ yelped loudly, immediately cupping his hands over his face.
"Great shot, Scooper!"
"I! SPEED DIAL BRIAN'S PLASTIC SURGEON!" AJ cursed disgustedly.
"Cheer up, Aje. At least now you don't have to worry about your nose being your worst feature," Brian teased good-naturedly as he dropped into the seat next to Alana.
"I'M BLEEDING!" AJ howled, tipping his head back.
"Wait! Don't do that!" Alana blurted. "The blood just goes-Damnit, c'mere, Alex!"
"I didn't do nothing!" Baylee insisted as he weaved his way towards the table, succeeding in bumping his head on the edge as he reached for Alana's phone.
"Boogie!" Alana groaned in shock as the little boy tumbled to her feet while she held bunched up tissues to AJ's nose, forcing him to lean forward. Pushing AJ back to a nearby seat, she hurriedly instructed him to keep leaning. She then reached to pluck the sobbing boy from the asphalt, cuddling him against her. Lifting his curls back, she hissed at the goose egg forming, pressing her icy bottle of water against it. "What were you thinking, Goofball?"
"That I'd answer your phone! It's ringing!" Baylee announced.
"Well, here's the deal, don't reach for phones when you can't walk straight," Alana sighed, keeping the water bottle pressed to Baylee's forehead while she reached for her chirping phone. Throwing it open with a flick of her wrist, she shushed Baylee's soft cries before tucking it against her ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, Beautiful," Nick crooned in her ear, above the excited babbling of Zachary in the background.
"Hey Handsome," Alana returned with the same sweet enthusiasm, shifting to help pinch AJ's nostrils when he snorted in disgust. At his yelp of pain and stilling of movements, Alana glanced down to assess the knot on Baylee's forehead. To Brian's relief, the swelling at stopped and his son was pleased with the ice pop he had retrieved. "What are my two favorite men up to?"
"We just had a bath, 'cause somebody decided he didn't really care for the smashed peas that Natalie fed him for lunch and proceeded to spew them all over the kitchen… And now we're about to have a bottle before we take a nap and decided to call Mommy—"
"Maa!" Zachary squealed in the background.
"Somehow, I think Daddy's going to be the one taking a nap and Zachary's going to be wide awake playing with his toes," Alana mused with a soft laugh, wanting to retrieve an ice pack for Baylee's head as well as have a private conversation. Motioning toward the tour bus, Alana settled Baylee on her hip to take him inside. Laying him on the couch, she retrieved an ice pack from the freezer, wrapping it in a cloth before sitting with the boy to apply it to his forehead.
"As long as he's not playing with my toes…"
"What about me?" AJ questioned from the doorway, his voice nasally as he continued to pinch his nostrils together. Seeing Alana on the couch, he moved in that direction, whining softly, "I'm bleeding to death…"
"Alex… You're not bleeding to death," Alana sighed, though she offered him a compassionate smile as she motioned for him to join. Pushing Nick's conversation to the side for a moment, she gestured for AJ to sit on the couch, retrieving an ice pack wrapped in a cloth for him as well. Sliding in between the two injured boys, Alana allowed AJ to nestle his head into her lap, making her hold the ice back to the bridge of his nose. "I don't think it's broken…"
"You don't think what's broken?" Natalie questioned in her ear, her voice a haze of confusion. "Just what in the world were you two talking about—"
"Alex was a little frisky in the bunk last night and he went to hit bottom and slipped out and what we have is a broken penis," Alana returned easily, wondering where exactly her fiancé had gone.
"I'm sure there's no great loss," Natalie muttered with a soft laugh. "Zach made Nick a nice present, so he's gone to get a diaper—"
"Is that Mommy?" Baylee questioned suddenly, jerking up so fast he elbowed AJ's nose. Ignoring the man's painful shriek, he clamored to reach the phone.
"Baylee!" Alana admonished in surprise as she felt the gush of blood from what she had hoped was a healing capillary in the man's nose. Easily relinquishing the phone to the eager boy, she helped AJ sit up so he wouldn't choke on the blood flow. Reaching for tissues, she helped AJ press them to his nose as she molded the icepack tightly to his nose.
"I'm going to die," AJ gasped as he spit blood into the tissues. "And then I'm going to come back and haunt that little spawn of Satan—"
"Shut up, Sissy! I talking to my Mommy!" Baylee growled.
"Baylee!" Natalie breathed in surprise. "Awe, Bay, I miss you. How are you—"
"I threw a ball and hit JJ's big nose!" Baylee squealed, crawling onto the opposite couch with a proud grin, watching Alana help AJ once more. "'Lana was playing basketball with me and her's too tall! Then I spun and spun and spun and-Got JJ's big nose!"
"You did, huh? Well I'll bet it's twice as big now, isn't it?" Natalie laughed. "Are you being a good boy for your 'Lana? Making sure she's taking care of herself?"
"It huge!" Baylee agreed with a hard breath of exclamation. "Oh… 'Course I 'have for 'Lana. Her 'pend nights in Daddy's room with us. We gets food late at night 'cause her's got mon'ters in her tummy! Did'ja know about the mon'ters? Her's said I be able to feel'em move soon! I don't want mon'ters in my tummy!"
"I don't think you ever have to worry about that, Bay-Bee. You be sure and give the monsters some tummy kisses for me, okay? 'Cause I already love those little monsters. …Are you taking care of your Daddy too?"
"I guess I can kiss'em for you…" Baylee sighed. "But, I no know why you love little mon'ters… Nicky hate mon'ters…"
"Trust me, Nicky loves these monsters—"
"'Cause they in 'Lana's belly?"
"That and 'cause they're his monsters too…"
"Him put'em in there?!"
"That's something you need to talk to your Daddy about," Natalie informed him softly.
"Not b'ery nice for Nicky to put mon'ters in 'Lana. Why no he carry'em? …Daddy carry mon'ters for you, Mommy?"
"I don't think he'd carry a piece of gum for me right now—"
"Him mad at you?"
"Bay… You should talk to Daddy about this, okay?"
"Why? I no talk to you in for'eber."
"I know… And I'm so sorry, Baylee. You know I love you—"
"Daddy an' me love you, Mommy."
"I know you do, Baylee—"
"You want'a talk to Daddy?" Baylee inquired, already sliding off the couch.
"No, not—"
"Daddy!" Baylee squealed at the man climbing into the tour bus, jumping into his awaiting arms and holding a phone to his ear. "For you!"
Brian quirked a brow. "Who is—"
"It Mommy! Talk to her!" Baylee insisted.
Brian's heart immediately leapt to his throat in recognition of who exactly Baylee was speaking to when the soft, melodious voice called out with 'Bumpkin.' For the smallest moment, he held hope that she wasn't mad at him anymore for Leighanne. That she understood what had happened and was willing to forgive him. Just as he was about to speak, the looming image of Nick and Natalie together engulfed the hope for rekindling the passion between them. Just the mere suggestion of Nick making love to Natalie sent his intestines into painful knots of torment. His cerulean eyes glazed over with hurt as he took the phone from Baylee with a nod of confidence. Noting Baylee's happy grin as he dashed out of the tour bus, Brian waited before he simply closed the phone.
Gripping the phone tightly in his hand for a moment, Brian tapped it against his chin, glaring at the floor of the bus as he listened to his son's excited squeals outside. Tossing the phone onto the couch so it landed next to Alana, he shrugged off her and AJ's expressions of interest. "Now she knows how it feels," he announced slowly before turning to hop off the bus.
"We could chisel off some ice from his shoulder for my nose," AJ announced.
"I heard that, you self-centered pussy," Brian hissed from the doorway.
"I'm the pussy?! You're the one that just hung up on Natalie because she fucked your—"
"Would you shut up before you get your nose broken?" Alana interrupted as she clamped a hand over AJ's mouth, having no desire to play paramedic today.
"He's just pissed 'cause he knows I speak the truth," AJ murmured against her palm as the bus door slammed shut.
"He's pissed because you're an asshole when you speak the truth," Alana disagreed, sliding away from AJ while she retrieved her cell phone. Wiping off the spots of blood on her hands with a washcloth, she hopped off the bus to find Brian taking a long walk in the opposite direction of their traveling party. Sighing, she jogged to catch up with him, gently reaching to take his hand. "Want someone to walk with?"
"She called me Bumpkin. Like there was no problem whatsoever," Brian grumbled, continue to scowl. "She's been lying to me for years, and still manages to call me Bumpkin—"
"She was probably hoping that you would want to put things behind you and start again," Alana attempted to explain, feeling oddly torn within the situation. Natalie was by far her best friend. She felt obligated to defend her at all costs. But Brian was quickly becoming a very close friend, even an older brother. She owed it to him to keep her partialities away from the conversation.
"I know you're her best friend, Alana… You don't have to talk to me about it if you don't want to," Brian offered softly. She didn't deserve to be forced to take a side in the situation. He cared too much for her to put her through that.
"The best thing about being a nurse is that you learn not to take sides. That you view what everyone has to say in an objective manner," Alana dissuaded, not really sure where they were walking to, but knowing that fans lurked in the background like predators. "So, I can listen to you vent."
"Then let's go inside so I can vent without fear of being overheard," Brian suggested softly, turning slightly to lead her into the venue.
Seating herself at the piano in Nick's studio, Natalie slowly ran her fingers over the keys, wincing slightly at the discordant sound. It seemed ages since she had last played; the last time she could remember playing at all was the benefit concert for the hospital in Kentucky. Flexing her fingers, she began to play the tune that had been haunting her all night. Ever since Brian had hung up on her. Closing her eyes, she took a deep, steadying breath, fighting back the tears that threatened when she realized she had lost him. Forever. She had lost him because she had so naïvely thought that by not telling him she was protecting him. When in reality she had been protecting herself.
Slamming her hands against the keys, she slid off the bench, knowing that nothing would work right. Angrily brushing her tears away, she glanced towards the door, the muffled sounds of the TV in the living room causing her to head in that direction. Nick was up. He would help, even if he simply snarled at her to get over it and move on. Lingering in the archway leading from the living room to the den, she saw he was fast asleep on the couch, baby monitor laying next to his head. Tiptoeing across the room, she switched off the TV, making sure to step across the toys that littered the floor as she moved to get a blanket over Nick. She would talk to him when he woke up. Leaning over the couch to retrieve the blanket that draped across the back, she squealed loudly when Nick's hand landed on her bare thigh. Scrambling to get away, she landed hard atop him, the blanket tangling over her arms as she attempted to wriggle onto the floor.
"Jesus Christ!" Nick wheezed in shock as the air was crushed from his lungs, the weight of Natalie seeming to pin him tightly to the couch. Half dazed from sleep, his first thought was to buck the offending target, climbing over the back of the couch to get away. Catching his heel in the blanket, he ended up flipping over the back of the couch, landing on the hardwood floor with a sharp slam. "THE GREMLINS GOT BIGGER!"
"Are you okay?" Natalie squeaked, struggling to sit up as the blanket was ripped from her hands. Peering over the back of the couch at Nick, she chewed on her bottom lip. "I was just trying to put a blanket over you--"
"Jesus Christ!" Nick repeated as he turned onto his side, immediately reaching to feel the length of his back, praying that his spinal column was still intact. "Next time just let me freeze to death!"
"Are you okay?" Natalie questioned again, crawling over the back of the couch so she could see for herself. "Do you need an ice pack or anything?"
"Call Beautiful, I'm injured, she'll come home now," Nick groaned, keeping still on the hardwood floor, not sure he wanted to know what could have possibly been injured. And out of everything, he was having the most fantastically erotic dream of Alana since she left for tour.
"'Lana's at an interview right now, and then she has a radio show to do," Natalie informed him, having memorized Alana's schedule for the week. "So she can't come home now, you're stuck with me--"
"Then call the funeral parlor."
"You're not dead, Nicky. You can feel everything, can't you?"
"Not my most important part!"
Natalie rolled her eyes, walking around the couch to retrieve the baby monitor. "Well if it's any consolation, you've never used your brain anyway--"
"And the reason you scared the shit out of me and insulted me would be?" Nick growled as he climbed back over the couch to flop.
"I was going to ask you to help me with this song…"
"And a little pat on the shoulder couldn't get that accomplished?"
"I saw you were asleep and decided not to disturb you, and then thought you'd appreciate a blanket! And then you groped my thigh and scared the shit out of me--"
"I didn't do shit to your thigh!"
"Then I dreamed it," Natalie muttered, shaking her head. "Just go back to sleep--"
"What song are you working on?" Nick interrupted, reaching to grab her t-shirt before she could stomp off. They had just forgiven each other for their last tiff, so he'd rather keep that repartee cooled than start another nuclear attack.
"It's one that I've had in my head for a few days… I've got most of the lyrics done, but the tune's being a bitch," Natalie murmured softly. "And you're really good at music--"
"I'm what?"
"You're really good at music. Making the melody match the lyrics for a fabulous creation--"
"I know, I just wanted to hear you say it again," Nick confessed with a wicked grin, gesturing for her to walk into the music room. Stretching carefully, he released a frustrated groan of pain before pulling himself off the couch. Stumbling toward his recording area, he noticed Natalie perched at the desk where he usually wrote his lyrics, surrounded with pictures of Alana, Zachary, and himself. "Let's see the lyrics…"
Natalie tapped a pencil against the paper in front of her, reading over the lyrics carefully before pushing it towards him. "Be honest, okay?" she requested, tugging the paper from his reach before he could grab them. "I poured my heart into this, you know, so don't be brutally honest…"
"Throw your face into dog-shit, got it," Nick chuckled, yelping when Natalie's elbow connected against his pubic bone, fatally close to the slowly burning out erection from his dream. "Love Song for a Vampire? Little morbid, Nattie?"
"Well, the person I love more than anything sucked all the love out of me…"
"I think you did some of the sucking, too--"
"Thanks to your excellent tutelage," Natalie cooed.
"How about you get that out of your system before September, alright?"
"Only if you get that out of your system," Natalie returned, motioning towards his crotch as she got to her feet.
"Well, you'll be happy to know that it ain't for you," Nick spat, sliding into his seat when Natalie moved. Smoothing the crumpled piece of paper over the desk, he squinted to read her scrawl of handwriting. The loops and hearts were just so professional…
"What do you think?" Natalie inquired, looking over his shoulder.
"That you look at my crotch way too much--"
"About the lyrics, you egotistical jerk!"
"It's quite soulful, Nat."
"Is that good?" she whispered.
"It's absolutely beautiful," he promised with a nod, reflecting over the lyrics that she had created. Come into these arms again / And lay your body down / The rhythm of this trembling heart / Is beating like a drum / It beats for you - It bleeds for you / It knows not how it sounds / For it is the drum of drums / It is the song of songs...
"Think you can help me with some music for it?" Natalie questioned, moving to sit on the desk as he continued to read. She had hoped to have a rough demo of the song ready when Alana returned to work on her album. When she had started writing the lyrics, Alana's voice was the one she had heard singing them in her mind.
"What was the prominent instrument you want to use in the background?" Nick murmured, reaching for a pencil as melodies began to flow. Tapping the eraser of the pencil furiously over the desk, he then scratched down some notes. "Fast? Slow? Hard rock? Soul?"
"Slow," Natalie answered. "And piano to start with, but I was thinking it might be synthesizers on the final track, with some strings?"
"Sweet idea!" Nick agreed, his cobalt eyes electrifying with excitement. "This could definitely keep me busy till the month runs out."
"So you'll help?" Natalie questioned with a hopeful smile.
"It'll be perfection when we're done."
"Awe, Nicky, thank you so much," Natalie squealed, impulsively leaning close to give him a hug.
"Anything for you, Nat," Nick promised, leaning back to affectionately kiss her cheek.
"While you work, you want me to fix you some breakfast?" she offered, giving him a gentle squeeze.
"If that means putting some cereal in a bowl, I'd be alright with it."
"I'll have you know I make a mean pancake…"
"A flour explosion when you cut into it. I saw Baylee's face after that mess."
"Aunt Jemima makes a mean frozen pancakes, and I know how to operate a microwave?" Natalie corrected herself with a soft chuckle, tousling his hair before she started to pull away.
"You mean break a microwave and send the pancake into flames."
"Fine, I'll just fix you some cereal," Natalie relented.
"Thanks, Sweetheart!" Nick cooed.
"Anything for my favorite composer," Natalie cooed in return, smacking a noisy kiss on his cheek before sliding to the floor.
"Just call me Mozart."
