Chapter 109

Monday morning found Brianna in the studio checking supplies and making sure everything was ready. Rew was in the larger room checking Tico's kit and the various guitars lined up around the room. Obie was settling in at the sound board.

The quiet buzz of the gate went largely unnoticed and completely ignored. Brianna assumed it was Jon returning from taking the kids to school, so she didn't bother to look out the window.

A few minutes later, voices could be heard along with footsteps on the stairs.

"Where is she?" David demanded as he stepped through the doorway, Tico right behind him.

Rew didn't bother to ask who 'she' was, or even look up from the Takamine he was checking the strings on. He just pointed.

"BEAUTIFUL!" David stalked into the kitchen area where Brianna was verifying the stock of bottled water. "I've got a bone to pick with you, missy."

"Hey Lemma! What's the problem?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"About what?"

"About that!" He pointed at her left hand.

She looked down at her ring. "That we're engaged? I thought Jon told you."

David waved a hand to dismiss her comment. "That's beside the point. If you'd told me that you wanted to get married I could have found you someone better."

"Oh yeah? Like who?"

"Me!"

Tico snorted. "And make her deal with April? I thought you liked her."

It was no secret that David's divorce had been less than pleasant and Brianna had heard many comments about how unpleasant his ex-wife was. "Throwing me to the wolves now Lemma?"

"Naw, you could handle April." His expression turned wistful as he gazed at her hair. "Would you be willing to dye your hair blonde?"

"Over my dead body!" Jon objected as he joined them. Moving to Brianna's side, he smoothed a hand over her smoldering locks, noting she'd left her hair down the way he preferred. "Don't you dare. It's perfect just the way it is."

"Yes dear." Brianna chuckled and tilted her face up to kiss him.

He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Awwww. Isn't that sweet." Obie cooed and made kissing noises.

Brianna cuddled into Jon's chest and gave Obie the finger - at the same time Jon did.

Tico waited for the laughter to die down before he spoke. "Seriously though guys, congratulations. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks man." Jon answered. "So are we ready to get to work?"

"Yeah."

David glanced around. "Um...we seem to be missing a lead guitarist."

"When I left the house he was helping Romeo rebuild Tokyo after Copper played Godzilla. If you don't need me right now I'll go relieve him and send him out. Let me know if you need anything."

"Bina?"

"Mmm?"

"I hungy."

Brianna looked away from the puzzle they were putting together to glance at her watch, surprised to find it after noon. "Wow, it's lunch time already!" Rising to her feet, she held out her hand. "Let's go see what we can find in the kitchen. Do you want a sandwich or maybe some soup?"

Romeo shook his head as he took her hand. "Hot dog!"

"Okay, I think we can do that." While she prepared and cut up his hot dog, she thought about the guys in the studio. They hadn't called to ask for food, but they needed to eat. Not knowing their schedule, she figured sandwiches would be the easiest, and they could eat whenever they were ready.

"Who dat for?" Romeo asked as she packed sandwiches into a container.

"Daddy and the guys."

"Oh. I hep?"

"Yes. Can you carry these cookies?" She held out another container.

"Yep! I'n big boy now!"

"You sure are!" She picked up the sandwiches and another container with cut up raw vegetables and followed him to the door. As they climbed the stairs to the studio, she reminded him that they had to be quiet when they got inside in case they were recording.

They weren't. In fact, they were arguing about chord progressions - at least that's what she thought their jargon meant. She wasn't a musician and had no idea how to write a song, plus they had their own terminology. As she set the food out on the table, the volume rose to the point she decided to brave stepping in before it blew up into a real fight. "Hey guys, why don't you take a break and eat some lunch?"

They ignored her - except for Rew who grabbed a drink out of the fridge, sat down and dug in. Jon was sitting beside Obie at the sound board, raking his hands through his hair. She recognized the signs of frustration. Picking up a sandwich, she walked over to his side, pulled one of hands from his hair and put the sandwich in it. "Eat."

He held the sandwich out to her. "I don't want to..."

"Eat!" She insisted.

Sighing heavily, he obeyed.

It was like a signal, and the others left their stations to surround the table. Brianna smiled in satisfaction as the piles of food rapidly diminished. "Do you guys often forget to eat?"

Richie shrugged. "Depends on how well things are going. We get around to it eventually."

"But now we have you to look after us." Tico commented from his seat at the table, Romeo on his lap, both of them eating cookies.

"Having dessert first Teek?" Brianna asked, amused.

He shrugged. "You know what Jon's like with cookies. If we want any we have to get to them before he does. Right little man?"

Romeo nodded, grinning around a mouthful of chocolate chips.

Jon plucked a cookie out of the container, leaned close to Romeo and defiantly took a big bite, making Romeo giggle.

"Why did you never have an assistant around during our studio sessions before?" David wondered as he reached for another sandwich. "Beautiful, you're an angel."

"Because the others never knew when to help and when to stay out of the way." He sighed. "I think I'm going to have to ban this one too."

"Oh?" Brianna spoke from directly behind him, one delicate brow arching. "Why? Because I'm not helpful? Or because I'm in the way?"

His lips twitched, but he didn't look at her. "Because you're too distracting."

She slid her arms around his neck and bent down to brush her lips over his ear. "Good answer."

"I may be stubborn, but I'm not stupid!" His hands came up to hold hers and he turned his head to kiss her.

When the food was gone, Brianna stacked up the containers and held her hand out to Romeo. "Come on little man. Let's let daddy and the guys get back to work."

"Okay." He yawned and rubbed his eye with a fist. "You read me story?"

"Sure. Which one?"

"Eoh n Sitch!"

Brianna stared at him, running the sounds over in her head to try and figure out what he was saying. Coming up empty, she looked at Jon and raised a brow.

"Lilo and Stitch." He explained. "His latest favourite."

"Ah. Got it.  Okay, let's go."

The guys joined them in the house for dinner, and Brianna couldn't decide if she was a babysitter or a circus ringmaster. By the time everyone who wasn't staying in the house left, the kids were ready to go to bed - or at least to their rooms.

Brianna sat with Jon and Richie for awhile, but wasn't too long in finding her own bed. "Sorry guys, I'm beat." She yawned. "Night Rich."

"Night Sunshine."

"I'll be up soon." Jon assured her.

After she'd left the room and was out of earshot, Richie eyed his friend. "You don't have to sit up with me." His system was still on west coast time, and they'd been friends too long to be bound by host/guest etiquette. "You can join your lovely lady."

Jon waved his hand. "It's fine. She's tired."

Uh oh. Richie frowned. "Trouble in paradise?"

"No. She's just.....having a hard time adjusting to sleeping with me with the kids in the house. I've had to get creative."

"Quickies in obscure places?" Richie guessed with a smirk.

Jon nodded and reached for his glass.

Later, after Jon had gone to bed, Richie roamed the house thinking about the songs they'd been working on. Wandering down the hallway by Jon office, he continued past the doorway to the next room, stopped and backed up. "What the fuck is this?" The room had once been a sitting room, then where Dorothea had spent her last days. Now it looked like a storage room filled with furniture and boxes. "Looks like she's having a hard time adjusting to more than just sleeping with you bro."