Just Breathe

Chapter 9.

"Thank you! Goodnight" Dannii waved to the crowd, and so did the rest of the band. They made their way off stage, the band hugged each other. They always felt great after finishing a show. But this was a different kind of feeling, this was like sex. Sure, it started of slow and rocky but by the end it felt fucking amazing. The rest of the girls were so eager to see the ring, "It's amazing." Suzi exclaimed, "So beautiful, you've got a keep right there." Sadie said. The rest of the girls went to their dressing room to cool off.

Once more, Dannii flung herself into Eddie's arms. "What made you want to do this?" she asked. "Because you're everything to me. I wanted us to be official."

"Baby, we already were." She replied to Eddie who stood smiling back at her. Dannii made her way to her dressing room and Eddie followed. Jim knocked on the door, he just wanted to say what a good job the band did. He also congratulated both Dannii and Eddie. Once Jim left, Dannii told Eddie what was on her mind since he called her on the phone. "I love it so much." She said, as she continued looking at the ring. "I know you do" Eddie replied smirking. "About what you said on the phone." That's all she needed to say, Eddie knew exactly what Dannii was talking about. "Yeah..." he replied. "I'm ready" she said. A smile slowly formed on her face. Eddie stood up and hugged her. Their true life was just about to begin.

1 MONTH LATER

Dannii and Eddie were officially living with each other in Seattle. Eddie's apartment was nice and cozy for the both of them. He felt so privileged to have someone who was officially by his side. Knowing she was never going to leave. However, it was still playing on Dannii's mind if she should tell Eddie about the baby. But she wanted to wait just a little more.

The rest of the girls were back in London, and they decided to take a break from touring and during that time they would take time to do other things. Touring got so tiresome after a while but they loved it. Just that simple interaction with the fans made them feel so powerful. With Dannii now officially living in Seattle, the girls began to miss having her around. But they made promises that they would still stay in close contact with each other.

In Eddie's apartment, he had a little place next to a round window were he would sit to write songs. He grabbed his notebook, pencil and guitar then began writing. Dannii awoke to find Eddie sitting by the window. "I thought I heard humming." Eddie quickly shoved the notepad aside, as he didn't want her to see. He wanted to wait until the song was finished, so he could surprise her. "Yeah...It's nothing special, just working on a new tune." Dannii sat next to Eddie and wrapped her arms around him. "Nothing special? Everything you do is special to me." She said as she kissed his cheek. "I'm making some coffee, want some?"

"Sure" Eddie replied.

He waited for Dannii to be out of sight, he then brought back his notepad. Looked at it and smiled. He knew there and then he had the song right there. The two sat at the kitchen counter and just spoke about their future. It came to a point where they couldn't actually believe that they were engaged. "I'm gonna give the girls a call." Dannii said, as she put down her cup. "Catch up, great idea. Whilst you're doing that I'm gonna continue with the song." Eddie replied smiling. Dannii returned the smile. She walked into the bedroom and the first person she called was Sadie. Dannii waited patiently, listening to the dial tone waiting for Sadie to answer. "Hello" Sadie answered. "Guess who?" Dannii replied, a joyful sound filled her voice. "Hey babe, how's everything going for you?"

"Great, couldn't ask for anything better. Living with Eddie is just the best thing in the world. Waking up next to him every Moring...." Dannii sighed, showing a sign of relaxation and happiness. ".....It's just great." Sadie was so delighted to hear that Dannii was now settled. But however, there was one more thing she needed to ask. "By the way, have you told Eddie yet?" Dannii for a second wasn't sure what Sadie was talking about. "About?..."

"You know. The upcoming member to your family." Dannii closed the bedroom door. "Not yet, and I'm not quite sure when to either."

"Well you can't keep holding it off for too long. You're going to be showing signs soon." Even though the door was shut, Dannii felt the need to look around the room. "So far so good. I'll tell him soon, I promise."

"For me?" Sadie asked. "For you." Dannii replied. The girls ended their conversation and Dannii continued to call the rest of the band, including Jim. Throughout the day Eddie and Dannii went shopping in Seattle. Later that evening Eddie took Dannii to visit his mother. "I'm really nervous" Dannii proclaimed, "You serious, you can perform in front of thousands of people and yet you're nervous about meeting my mother?"

"You know, first impressions are always....meh" Dannii replied. "You'll be fine babe, she's really sweet." The door opened and a woman with blonde hair and glasses answerd the door. "Eddie, my boy" his mother said as she gave him a heartwarming hug. "Hi mom." Eddie said, giving his mom a hug. "And who's this young lady?"

"Mom, this is Dannii. My fiancée."

"Hi Mrs. Vedder" Dannii said, raising one hand smiling. "Oh please call me Karen. Come on in." The two went inside of Karen's house. It was lovely and cozy. "This is the house I grew up in, hasn't changed much has it mom?"

"Not much, the only difference is that I've got older and smaller." She said with a smile. "Sit down. Please." Karen said to Dannii, "Let me get you something to drink."

"Coffee please." Dannii responded with a smile. "Do you want anything son?"

"Unless you've got any Pinot Noir I'll just have a coffee." Karen chuckled and went into the kitchen. Dannii and Eddie made small talk whilst waiting for Karen to return, moments later Karen returned with a tray of the hot beverages. "Here we go, two coffees"

"Thank you."

"Thanks mom."

"So you're engaged, I've always wished for the day my Eddie found the perfect girl. So when's the wedding?" There was a sudden silence in the room. "We haven't figured that out yet ma,"

"It takes time, I understand. So who proposed to who?" Dannii told Karen the whole thing. Every word she described, she kept looking over at Eddie smiling. Karen shed a little tear, "This is so perfect."

The night went on, Dannii and Karen got on so well. Eddie then showed Dannii the bedroom he had as a child. Karen lived alone ever since her second husband Peter left. When it came time for Eddie and Dannii to leave, Karen wanted to show Eddie something. She took him outside and opened the garage door. Inside was a 1967 Ford Mustang GT. When looking upon it Eddie chuckled. "I remember this beauty."

"It's awesome." Dannii said. "Yup, this car's been with us for years."

"I remember peter would drive us around in it." Eddie said smiling, stroking his hand over the roof. Eddie then stopped. "You okay babe?" Dannii asked. "Yeah it's just...when Peter left why didn't he take the car?" Karen wasn't expecting that question. "I'm not sure why I didn't tell you this before, maybe I thought it wasn't important. But that car was never Peter's."

"Then, whose was it?" Eddie responded. Karen paused, "It belonged to your biological farther." Eddie was speechless, and began to tear up. Dannii held him along with his mother. Eddie felt that the car was the only thing left of his real dad. His mother went over to a shelf that contained paint pots and mechanical tools. She opened one of the paint pots which was empty and she pulled out the keys to the mustang. She gave them to Eddie.

"Take it son." Sobbing, he refused. "No mom, I can't. It's been with you for too long."

"Yes you can. Because I know it means so much to you." Eddie hand a heartwarming hug with his mom. He kissed her goodbye. He and Dannii got into the car. "It's exactly as I remember." He said smiling.