Endurance ( Remastered)

Chapter 39 - Song To Slit Your Wrist By

**Song to Slit Your Wrist By was a track on Nikki's 58 Project that he wrote several yeas before the albums release.

**There's not a whole of substance in this chapter, in particular the second scene. Not much that vital to the progression of the story. But there are certain events in the Crue timeline that I just feel inspired to expand upon. I'll explain more about my inspiration for this chapter in the end notes.

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January 7, 1990 - Dallas, Texas

"Mmm, babe... this is so nice," Tommy said seductively, his legs entangled with Nikki's.

"Missed you. I couldn't wait for tonight," Nikki drooled.

The band was just getting started on the third leg of their Dr. Feelgood Tour. It was a tour that was different from any of the previous ones. If there was ever a tour that the band could use the excuse of exhaustion for canceling, it would have been that one. It was rare to have a day off in between the concerts. Day in, day out... play a show, board the jet, sleep, spend the day in the city or go to the venue early, sound check, take the stage. Spend the next 24 hours doing the same thing, and so on.

Most nights, they didn't even get a bed to sleep in. It was grueling, and tensions between band members and staff were already on the rise. Although Doc McGhee was no longer the band's manager, the tour schedule was set before his departure. This type of non-stop park, play, then pull-out schedule was not healthy. But this was Doc's way of things. He couldn't seem to understand that the two hours that the band was on stage was not the only effort that they had to put forth during the twenty-four hours. There was press, fan interaction, pre-show, and post-show tasks. Eating on the go, sleeping on the plane, or on some crusty couch in the dressing room was hardly considered the type of restorative rest that active people needed to remain in tip-top shape. Not to mention the emotional toll that's put on each person from being on the road, away from home.

What was happening to Bon Jovi, towards the end of their current tour, was a prime example of how a McGhee touring schedule could break a band down. Compelling rumors were circulating about how the band could barely spend another minute with each other, and might even break up. They were closing in on seventeen months of being out on the road. As if that wasn't bad enough, the New Jersey Syndicate Tour piggy-backed on their prior seventeen-month Slippery When Wet Tour. Bon Jovi barely had a chance to piss before starting on the New Jersey album and being back out on the road with another grueling McGhee tour in no time.

Nikki joked that maybe if someone in Bon Jovi had a near-death overdose during the middle of the tour, they would have been granted more time off between albums. He wasn't wrong. Motley Crue essentially spent the entire year of 1988 recovering, before resuming in 1989 with songwriting and production for their newest album. But even though the band had close to two years between the Dr. Feelgood Tour and the prior Girls Tour, exhaustion and tensions were already creeping in. They were only afforded about two nights a week in a hotel bed, all the other nights were spent aboard a jet. Sometimes the next venue was close enough that the band could wait to pull out in the morning, as long as there were no press events scheduled, allowing them a bed in a hotel for the night. Even better was an entire day off. But there were some weeks where they only had one day off.

When Tommy and Nikki dreamed of getting to spend more time together on the tour, after being spoiled in Vancouver, they were quickly let down when it was realized that nights in would be few and far between. But that night, while they lay in bed together, they tried to just focus on the moment, rather than their frustrations.

"I've been dreaming about what I've been wanting to do with you over the past several days," Tommy whispered in Nikki's ear, as he tried to position himself between Nikki's legs.