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Author's Chapter Notes:
I know it has been a long time since I updated this story but I have new found inspiration and I was kind of stuck on the next chapter of AHTH. So here you go guys!

 

Caitlyn should have been surprised when two tickets to fly first class to Saratoga Springs arrived by special delivery only two days after her conversation with Nick, but instead she found herself thanking her lucky stars. Any other time she would have deliberated over the decision to tour with a two year old but after the past few days she had just had she had instantly ran up the stairs and began to pack.

If she thought that the intervention about her faith was going to stop at Tim she was sorely mistaken. Her Mother had cornered her the next day after Tim had obviously snitched on her. To say Anne had been mad was a slight understatement, at first she had ranted on about how Tim was only trying to help, about how they were all worried about her and then the guilt trip had started.

“As for you wanting to take your own life - you know how I feel about that Caitlyn. There are so many people out there fighting for their lives, people like your Father and for you to just want to throw yours away because you lost someone…”

“Don’t start Ma,” Caitlyn tried when Anne paused for breath.

“No young lady you are going to listen to what I have to say. Do you not think that I found it difficult to get out of bed after he died? Because there were days when all I wanted to do was stay there and wallow, but did I? No I didn’t because you were my reason to get up, you and your brothers were enough to make me get up out of bed and face the day ahead, just like Coop should be enough for you,” She finished pointing her finger to the playing two year old in the corner of the room.

“He is enough for me!” She hissed back, “Do you think I would honestly be here if he wasn’t? I got as far as holding the god damned pills in my hand but he pulled himself up for the very time. So don’t you dare call me selfish for having a moment of desperation after my husband died!”

“You could have called me, you could have turned to one of your friends, I just don’t understand why you got as far as you did,” Anne replied.

“Called you?!” Caitlyn sarcastically laughed as she shook her head, “What would you have said that would make me feel any better? It was part of some plan? That James was in a better place? That God needed him for something else?” She said snidely.

“Why do you hate him so much?” Anne frowned.

“I can’t hate something that doesn’t exist Ma.”

“He does exist Caitlyn.”

“How can believe in something who is supposed to be this controlling power when there much suffering in this world, when good men like Dad and James are taken and when murders walk the streets? When kids are dying because of famine and disease? When good people like Kev and Kris can’t have a baby? How can you expect me to believe when Cooper didn’t even get a chance to meet his Father?” She asked angrily.

“You used to believe,” Anne pointed out.

“I was a child and I was taught to believe, I didn’t get a say in whether I wanted to go to church, I didn’t get say in whether or not I wanted to be christened. Now I do, you always taught me to follow my heart to speak up for what I believed in but the moment I don’t agree with you or Tim it makes me wrong. I respect that you have your beliefs, I respect that your opinions are different to mine but I don’t go around trying to prove to you that he doesn’t exist, so I wish you would stop trying to prove to me that he does.”

Her Mother had given up after that but she knew it wouldn’t last long. Being in a small town didn’t help either as most of the community went to church on Sundays, making it quite noticeable that one of the Richardson kids was missing. Well technically she wasn’t a Richardson anymore, she was a Sullivan not that it would make much difference because people would still start to talk. That was what was getting to her Mother the most, all the talking about her daughter that would occur the longer she stayed away from church.

She sighed, shaking the thoughts from her head as she picked up the envelope that she had thrown on the bed in her haste to get her case together. She smiled when she realised that Nick had pulled his old trick of sending her a one way flight. She knew that was his way of being able to convince her to stay for longer when she finally decided on a date to leave. It had been the same on the very last tour, in fact she had flown out in it’s third week and hadn’t returned home until the last date. That hadn’t impressed her Mother and as soon as she heard the front door slam shut her heart started to pound in her chest because she knew she would be facing the very same argument again. She continued to pack as she heard her Mother walk up the stairs as she talked to her Grandson.

“Shall we see if she’s in here?” Anne asked Cooper as they both rounded the corner and came into Caitlyn’s eye line. “There she is,” Anne smiled warmly as Cooper let out an excited squeal, holding his arms out to his Mom.

“Hey Weed, you have fun with Will and Olivia?” She asked as she took the squirming toddler from his Grandmother.

“Horsy,” he smiled brightly.

“You ride on the horsy?” She asked laughing as he shook his head excitedly, “Wow get you my big boy.”

“Are you going somewhere?” Anne asked as she eyes the luggage open on the bed.

“Yeah,” She nodded her head in affirmation as she continued to place Coop’s clothes into the smaller of the two cases. “I’m meeting up with the tour in New York.”

“Taking Coop with you?” Anne asked. Caitlyn answered by holding up the t-shirts of his before she placed them in the case. “Do you think that’s wise?” Anne asked.

“He’ll be fine,” She answered, avoiding all eye contact, knowing that was going to be only way to stem this argument before it started.

“He’s only just two, he’s had to deal with a lot of change lately. Kids need stability Caitlyn, especially after the year he’s had,” Anne tried.

“I think getting away for a while would do us both some good, Baylee’s out on the road so they’ll each have a playmate. My minds made up Ma, so you can either drop me to airport or I can catch a cab,” Caitlyn replied.

Anne stared her down for a moment before her shoulders softened, “What time do we need to leave?”

***

When she got off the flight and Cooper was still crying she regretted her decision. He had been fussy ever since they had parted ways with her Mother five hours ago, Caitlyn had hoped that he would sleep on the flight but she had been sorely disappointed, the air pressure had played havoc on his poor little ears and he had spent most of flight in her lap whimpering. She just hoped that most of the travelling on the tour would be on the ground in buses because she didn’t know how she would handle Coop and flying again.

She lifted the heavy two year old up so he was resting higher on her hip as she made her way towards baggage claim and as usual her luggage was last off, making Coop even angrier at having to wait around and by the time she was heading towards the arrivals area of the airport he was near on screaming in temper. She didn’t care about the people turning to see what the cause of all the noise was though, all she was interested in was manoeuvring the luggage trolley whilst keeping a firm grip on her son, if passers by still had their ankles in tact by the end of her journey they would be lucky.

She sighed in both tiredness and elation when the area seemed to open up a bit and she had more room around her, her face curving up into a large smile when she spotted the unmistakable ball cap and sunglasses of a pop star in cog-nito. The ball cap of invisibility was what she called it in the past, not that it really worked, the long shorts and even longer white socks pulled up to his knees a dead give away of who he was.

“I never told you I was definitely coming,” She told him breathlessly when she finally reached him. She hadn’t expected him to meet her, she hadn’t even called him to thank him for his gesture, her plan being to just turn up unexpectedly. Well not unexpectedly, after all he had sent the tickets. So him being here? It was a huge gesture on his part, even bigger then sending the tickets and that’s when she really believed what he had told her back in Kentucky, he was there for her, he was her escape and for that she was so thankful.

“You were never one to give up free tickets. What’s his deal?” He asked nodding his head to a still agitated Cooper.

“He’s hungry,” She sighed as she lifted him again, letting her grip go when Nick took him out of her arms.

“Oh Little Dude, we can’t have that can we? There’s got to be a MacDonald’s around here somewhere,” he said craning his neck and walking off without even a second glance back to her when Cooper began shrieking more hysterically from being separated from his Mom.

She shook her head in disbelief at him before she looked to Q and smiled, “I bet you are thanking your lucky stars that they put you with him again aren’t you?”

“At least he can’t get any worse,” he laughed as he wrapped her in a hug, “It’s good to see you.”

“You too,” she replied back as she pulled away from the embrace, letting Q take the trolley, they both followed in the direction that nick had taken off in and within two minutes they had caught up him as he waited patiently for the order at MacDonald’s. She expected Coop to still be shrieking but was pleasantly surprised to find him giggling as Nick was making Elasta-girl dance along the counter, whilst he happily chomped on fries that Nick had obviously asked for while they waited, the only evidence of Coops grumpy mood were the vanishing red eyes and tears stains down his face.

“You want anything?” Nick asked when he saw them approach.

“Will there be dinner before the show tonight?” She asked and he nodded his head yes, “I can wait till then.”

“That’s one chicken nugget happy meal, and a cinnamon roll up,” The cashier said as she handed the tray to Nick.

“Thanks,” he winked with a smile making the girl behind the counter blush when she realised who he was.

“I thought you were on a diet?” Caitlyn asked eyeing the roll up as she picked up Coop from the counter and followed Nick to a corner booth with Q hot on their heels.

“Don’t you start, I get enough of it from your brother,” He whined as he sat down and passed the box to her.

“I was only kidding, but are we keeping this secret?” She asked, laughing when he nodded in earnest.

“He’ll get really mad, he caught me with a bag of chips the other day, I swear the rant lasted at least three hours, every time he saw me, he’d go on and on about it. Telling me how my body is a temple and that I should treat it like one,” he whined rolling his eyes as he continued to munch on the “contraband” item. “It’s not like I was chugging back on a gallon of ice cream after.”

“It was a family size pack though Nick,” Q reminded and Caitlyn couldn’t help but laugh out loud when Nick’s eyes darkened and he looked at Q with such distain.

“There was only a quarter of the pack left because A.J had eaten the rest but does he get chewed out for eating crap? Of course he doesn’t because he can do no wrong,” he sarcastically added making the conversation dry up quickly. Caitlyn realised it was no longer a joking a matter, that this was a subject that was really bothering him, but it was something that she would have to store away until later because she could sense with Q’s uneasiness that there were fans around and it was only going to be a matter of time before they were surrounded.

“We should go,” He said suddenly as he stood and surveyed the surrounding area.

“Cooper’s not finished,” Nick pointed out.

“He can eat in the car,” Q replied as Caitlyn packed up the box making the toddler begin to cry yet again.

“You can have it in a second Coop,” she told him, smiling once again when Nick pulled him up and placed him on his shoulders making the child squeal with delight.

“C’mon Coop, lets go and surprise Uncle Kevy.”

***

She should have been frustrated, angry even, at his lack of preparation but his face was enough to send her into a fit of giggles. His eyes had narrowed in realisation, his face turning slightly white, the only colour in his face that harsh blush in his cheeks as he let out a quiet “shit” under his breath.

“So plane tickets were as far as you got?” She asked when they reached the reception desk of the hotel.

“Kinda, I mean…you always roomed with me before, I didn’t even think…” he stuttered, the blush travelling down his neck as he squirmed.

“It’s okay,” she giggled as she turned to the receptionist. “Can I have a double room please?” She asked.

“We’re fully booked M’am,” she replied apologetically.

“Not even a single room? A suite?” She asked looking at Nick in way which told him if a suite was the only room available he was going to be paying, after all this was his mistake.

“Completely full until tomorrow,” she smiled apologetically again.

“So when these guys leave, the fans that have booked rooms will leave to?” She questioned knowingly.

“Pretty much. I can have a camp bed or child’s cot added to a room that your party has already booked if that’s any help,” she kindly offered.

“Take my room,” Nick said quickly.

“I’m not taking your room Nick.”

“It’s my fault you don’t have one C. Please just take it, I’ll sleep on the bus or I’ll room with Jay. It’s not a problem,” he told her.

“Are you sure?” She asked.

“Yeah, C’mon I’ll show you where it is,” he said as he began to wheel her cases in the direction of the elevators and she had no choice but to follow.

When they reached the seventh floor and the doors to the elevators pinged open it was like being thrown back five years. Two security flanked the elevator, to ward off any fans who might try their luck at getting on to the floor to meet their idols, she didn’t know these guys though and if she thought Nick was going to make introductions she was wrong, he just walked on past them, hollering quick “Yo’s” and “Wassups” to people as he made his way past their open doors. Caitlyn recognised a lot of people, mainly members of the band but it had been so long and she had changed so much that at first not a lot of them realised it was her, she knew she would always be able to count on one person though.

“I would know that fine southern ass anywhere!” She heard the raspy voice call from behind her.

She turned as quickly as she could with Coop attached to her hip and smiled widely when she saw A.J approach, wrapping her free arm around him when he made his way closer.

“Hey Stranger,” she said as she pecked him on the cheek.

“Who’s this little guy?” He asked smiling at Coop.

“This is Cooper, Cooper are you going to say hi to A.J?” She asked but he clamed up, hiding his face into her neck. “He gets a bit shy.”

“So Nick finally convinced you to come out huh?” He asked.

“He sure did,” she smiled turning back to find Nick had obviously entered his room as he was nowhere to be seen in the hallway.

“Staying in his room too, my, my isn’t this like old times,” Alex joked, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

“No. It’s not like that,” she quickly defended the smile forming into a frown.

“Relax Cait I was kidding but why are you staying in his room?” He asked confused.

“He kind of forgot to book me one,” She laughed.

“So where is he staying?” A.J asked, “Oh shit,” he complained when she smiled hopefully at him. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty!”

Chapter End Notes:
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