Chapter 28

The very loud banging on the hotel room door had Richie stumbling from his bedroom muttering curses. “I’m coming; I’m coming, hold the fucking horses.” Reaching the door he opened it and blurrily stared at the tall man on the other side. “Man, this had better be good.”

Adam, without a word, walked to Amelia’s bedroom door preparing to burst in. He was loaded for bear and ready to let his student catch it full barrel. Richie grinned slightly as he watched Adam open the door and look stupidly into an empty room. “Problem Dude?” was his chuckled retort. As Adam turned to stare him down Richie could tell he was fighting a combination of worry and anger. The only thing he could figure is that Adam had found out about the fight last night. “Listen man, if you’re worried about the little lady, well she’s just fine.”

Adam snorted softly, “She’s just fine, she goes out at night with an untrained immortal AND you and she’s just fine? She goes up against an immortal three times her age and she’s ok?”

Before Adam could wind up even further, Richie held up his hand. “We aren’t children man, if we want to go walking we will. WE knew what might happen and we didn’t care. Jon, he gets a bit antsy if he’s closed in too much. So we ran into an immortal, it turned out ok.” Richie wasn’t a dumb man by any means; so he didn’t go into the particulars. Adam didn’t need to know that Red had nearly died and that he had interfered.

“You are sure she’s ok? The immortal was older than her; sometimes a quickening can be really rough if the immortal’s quickening is strong.”

Richie’s eyes shadowed over with worry but he swiftly pushed it back. “Nah man, she’s ok.”

Adam saw the expression on the guitarist’s face and knew something was off in the reporting Joe had given him early this morning. “Ok Sambora, what the bloody hell really happened?”

Richie and Adam turned suddenly hearing a soft voice on the left side of the room. “What really happened is that I nearly died and they saved me.” As her soft green eyes misted over she continued, “I told them to leave, to run, but they went into Dynamic Duo mode. They saw McKinney pull a second weapon, and they, well they went into action. I didn’t take his head Adam, Jon did.”

“Rock Star took a head? Amelia you should have stopped him, he wasn’t ready for that!” Had it been anyone else they would have been shouting, but Adam’s deadly calm voice was much scarier to the woman before him. “Adam, I didn’t have much choice, I was dead. He took the head, but he seems ok, better than ever actually as he got his memory back.”

“Bloody hell,” Adam started but then stopped, his mind going into overdrive as he considered his plans and reworked them mentally. “Then its time we take him home, and get him set up. Amelia you call the airport, book us a flight out and get the papers ready for the swords.”

Richie coughed, and then cleared his throat getting their attention. “Why go through all of that when we can just take our plane? No fuss no muss and no check in.”

Adam, for all his years, gave the rocker a startled look. “You have a jet? Of course you have a jet, what rock star worth his salt doesn’t have one?”

Amelia started laughing as Adam came to the realization that no matter the difficulties, life in Jovi-world would be a bit easier, at least on some fronts, for all immortals involved.

As Adam left to pack Amelia went to call room service and order them breakfast. Finishing her call she went to the bedroom and leaned over giving Jon a kiss. A lazy smile appeared on his lips as his eyes opened. “Well, that’s one of my favorite ways to start a day, but I can think of even better to greet the day with.” He pulled her down to him, his hands running slowly over her back. “Let’s wake up the way I like to wake up babe,” he said.

She laughed as she gave him another kiss. “No time stud. You need to get up and dressed before breakfast arrives. Today you go home to the family.”

The look on Jon’s face was priceless. He didn’t like being thwarted, nor did he want to ‘go home’, but being the man he was he knew he had too. With a groan he sat up and slid his legs over the side of the bed. “You escape me this time Fire, but trust me; you’ll pay for it dearly soon.”

“She turned as she walked from the room and winked. “I’m counting on it stud.” She grinned as she wandered to her room to shower and dress. The coming days were going to be difficult but they’d get through it somehow.

By the time all three of them were showered and dressed the attendant was knocking on the door with their food. All three sat and in companiable silence made short work of the breakfast ordered. Thirty minutes later they were checked out of the hotel and in the limo on the way to Adam’s to pick him up and within the hour they had arrived at the airport and were ushered to their plane. Adam had to admit he liked the private jet idea, no check in no one quizzing him over his antique dealership papers. As Amelia took her seat she studied the interior of the plane, noting how plush and comfortably outfitted it was. “Damn long way from the old steel horse,” she uttered as Jon seated himself beside her.

“Times they do change,” he grinned. “But you got to admit, it is for the better.” He then leaned in, his lips grazing her cheek as he whispered, “maybe not today, but soon you’ll get your membership in the mile high club.” Richie glanced over just as she blushed from a very heated shade of red and wondered what his bro had said then decided just as quickly that knowing them he didn’t want to know.

After a short wait the pilot came on over the intercom and announced for them to buckle their belts. Within moments they were taxing down the runway and Richie gave Jon a grin. “Well at least this take off is better than last years landing eh bro? No slippery when wet, no near slide off the runway.” Amelia gave Richie a curious look so he went on to explain, “What you missed that piece of news? Our plane last year nearly went off the runway during the tour right here in Vancouver. We were lucky though, no one got hurt, not even the jet.”

Shaking her head she again thanked the heavens for Jon’s luck. Had that turned out worse his life as immortal would have been drastically altered as she doubted she would have found out and gotten him to a teacher in time. Turning to Jon she saw him rubbing his eyes distractedly as he tried to get comfortable. “Rich, got an extra pair of shades on ya?”

Richie turned and saw Jon trying to get comfortable and realized he had forgotten the one thing Jon would need. His eyes were sensitive to bright lights, and really bothered him at times. Reaching into his pocket he tossed her his shades a sheepish look on his face. “Sorry about that Kidd. I was in such a rush to get to you I forgot your eyes.”

Taking the shades from Amelia he tossed a thankful grin Richie’s way. “No harm no foul asshole. Just don’t you forget next the time.”

Richie arched a brow and began to laugh. “Next time bro? How often you planning on plane wrecks and amnesia?”

“Fuck you man.”

“No thanks Kidd, you just don’t have the right plumbing,” quipped Richie as all the plane’s occupants settled in for the flight to New Jersey.


Three hours later the plane touched down and they all prepared to disembark. Each person was lost in their thoughts as they gathered their belongings and walked to the limo. The last few days had been, although exciting, relaxing as well. The next few hours promised to be contradictory to that. All three of his companions wondered how the man who had believed for eighteen years in a wife and his children would react now that his beliefs had been unraveled. As to Jon, he couldn’t wait to get home and give a certain woman a piece of his mind and a lot of his anger.

As the limo pulled up to his home, Amelia felt like she could cut the seeming tension with a knife. Giving Jon a reassuring look she whispered, “It will be ok Jon, you’ll see.”

As the limo stopped at the front door, before they could even exit the car, a swarm of family and band had made it outside to crowd the around the limo. Taking a deep breath Jon opened the door and before making eye contact with anyone helped Amelia from the limo. He turned then his eyes swept over each person there, glad for once of his sensitive eyes that required shades. With a grin he clasped Tico and David’s hands, “Good to see you guys. Thanks for being here.”

“DADDY!!!!!” Jon turned as he heard four young voices clamoring for attention. As he knelt down, four sets of arms were around him as he heard a chorus of “I missed you so much, pick me up daddy, play with me daddy, welcome home Dad.” In that instant as he hugged each child in turn and held them in his arms he knew that no matter what he was daddy, and that he still loved those kids no matter who the true father was. He hugged each one in turn promising to himself that no matter what his children would not suffer the consequences of the mother’s actions.

Straightening he looked around until his eyes settled on his wife. As he stared at her she walked over to him giving him a gentle hug. Pulling back she looked into the eyes of the man she called husband and shivered, for what she saw there was not love or relief at seeing her but pure unadulterated anger.

As his children chattered up to him and his friends grabbed the bags, he grabbed Amelia’s hand and began to walk to his front door. Dot watched as his friends, including the two strangers, were granted his smiles and laughter as they entered his home. He barely looked at her and his gaze was so cold. Without a backward glance he walked inside, ushering friends and children alike in with him shutting the door behind them all and leaving Dot outside and alone.