'Tis confusion!

Welcome home

Moments later, Q came back in the room, carrying a tye-dyed rose, much like the one he'd given me the night of our first picnic. "I told you it was nothing big," Q said, as he passed it off to me. "Hope you're not disappointed."

"Why would I be? You know how much I love these." I grinned and twirled the stem lightly between my fingers, turning the rose into a multi-colored swirl.  Q smiled. "Well, there was something else, but you really seem to be enjoying the flower, so maybe I don't need to give you the second part?" I smirked. "Nice try. You know I can't resist a surprise. " He chuckled. "That's what I thought." He pulled an envelope from his jeans pocket. "I was hoping you'd be willing to take one of these Evans Blue VIP passes off my hands. God knows I'd hate to go alone..or have to take James with me." He let the pass dangle in front of my face. My jaw had dropped to my lap at this point. "How...how did you possibly get your hands on these? We were lucky enough to get general admission tickets, where the hell did you cop these?" Q smiled. "I know a guy who knows a guy... who knows a guy. "

"Funny man."

"That's why you like me, right?" He his tongue out at me. "Seriously, though,  you owe Sal a thank you for this. His cousin used to work with one of the bands' roadies...a guy who's been with them since basically the beginning. He was able to pull a few strings and get us these. I hope you're not upset that we'll have to ditch the general admission in favor of backstage access and free booze." I grinned. "Damn, you know I hate backstage passes and free booze. But I guess I'll do it just this once."

"Thatta girl." Q winked at me, then stood up and stretched. "You planning on hanging around for a bit?"

"If you want me to, of course."

He nodded. Sal appeared with half a dozen bags slung over his shoulder. "Quinn, man, how about giving me a hand with some of this stuff?" I looked at Q. "You had Sal bring in ALL the bags?"

Q shook his head. "I wouldn't be that cruel...not to Sal, anyway. Believe it or not, all the bags prima donna just hauled in here.. are his own." My eyes widened. "I know you guys were gone for a while, but damn...did you schlep the spoiled fruit back home with you too?"

Sal shrugged. "I like to be very comfortable when I travel. And it looks like more than it really is."

Q leaned his head closer to mine and whispered, "No, it doesn't. He packed way too much shit..per usual." I giggled. "So why's he bringing it all in here?"

Sal dropped his bags in a pile, then flumped on the couch. "I'm crashing here tonight. I'm beat from this tour, and I plan on appropriating Quinn's washer and dryer while I'm here. And now that you don't have the furry little houseguest, I shouldn't have to worry about waking up with wet socks."

I chuckled wryly.  "So, how's Barbara?" She and I had met up for coffee a couple of times while the boys were gone. and I knew she missed Sal dearly. I'd tried meeting up with Emily too, but she hadn't been as easy to track down.

"She's good. I called her on the way home, and we'll be meeting for dinner later tonight." Sal stretched his arms above his head and yawned. "That said, I think it's time for a nap." He yawned  again and curled up on Q's couch. "Brian, I swear to god, if you mess with me in ANY way during my siesta, the consequences will be dire." Q rolled his eyes. "Because you're sooo scary, Salvatore."

Sal glowered at him. "I mean it. I feel like I haven't had a decent night sleep since that night we locked James out of the tour bus...and that was day two of the tour."

I snickered. "Don't worry. I'll keep him occupied." I grabbed Q by the shirt sleeve and dragged him out of the room. "Enjoy your nap."

"Kicked out of my own living room," Q grumbled good naturedly.  I beamed. "There's probably more fun to be had in your bedroom, if you catch my drift." I raised my eyebrows suggestively at him. He laughed. "But of course." I steered him towards the bedroom. "So let's not wait any longer. Follow me, and I'll give you a welcome back celebration the likes of which you've never experienced." Q saluted me. "Yes, ma'am." We went to his bedroom and locked the door behind us.