Might as Well Face it, You're Addicted to Love (Joe Perry/Nikki Sixx)

Chapter 143: Retrospective III (I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing-Part 3) (Both POVs)

-Joe-

"We thought 2001 was a memorable year, which it was.... all the years we've been together are.... but 2002, DAMN." I muse.

"Oh, I know! Fucking epic for sure...." Nikki murmurs before his tone shifts to more emotional & too, I can hear the pride in his voice, "We had no idea.... what our oldest girls planned, what they would do to pay tribute not only to Aerosmith, but you & I Joe. All they'd tell us I remember, is they wanted to surprise us with something special....and boy was it EVER! They made their own ICONIC debut as it turns out."

"So true honeybee, neither of us saw it coming at the Icon Awards for Aerosmith. I KNEW they were talented...but that night? I mean, I CRIED...we all did. I was blown away.... I taught them, but then they taught me.... taught us. Amara & Josephine switching leads on songs......the way they vibed off one another, they did it for US Nikki. and then Josephine? I'd heard her sing around the house, but HOLY SHIT.... She sounded AMAZING, I'd never heard her sing like that. we were and still are very proud of them, and not just for that.... for being THEM, they are OUR true legacy."

2002 was indeed as Nikki said 'Fucking Epic' & not just for the Icon Awards which took place towards the end of July.... It was also the year that Nikki & I were married for 14 years at that point. It amazed us then & now really at just how much we'd grown then as a couple & that we kept doing so. Sure, we had our moments, but always we were honest & open with one another because we knew well what life was like before without that.... without each other.

Our children continued to grow, taking more & more after Nikki & I by the day. And speaking of children.... Really quick, by this year, aka 2002 saw more children added to our family at large. Johnny Cooper-Depp had his second child with Alice by Summer 2002, their second daughter who turned 1 that year having been born August 20, 2001. Him & Alice named her Lila Rain, very beautiful. And I can't forget the Adler-Lee Clan, whom would have twins.... yes, you heard me right, twin BOYS born 2 weeks after Lila Rain Cooper. The irony as Nikki has often said of a terror twin having twins. In any case, Tommy & Stevie named their sons: Gunner & Decker respectively.

And back to Nikki & I.... our family, and for that I will let Nikki take the reins....

-Nikki-

So yeah, as Joe left you with basically everyone having babies left & right, but they are all so loved & cherished. 2002, for Joe & I.... well, we'd have a devastating surprise come a month after the Icon Awards.... I'd sadly have a miscarriage, it KILLED me. It killed Joe, who like I felt so helpless & we clung to our children even more so. It also meant.... that I remember the Doctor telling us, that I couldn't have more children. Joe reminded me, "Nikki.... It's never your fault, nor mine thought it felt like it. It doesn't make me love you any less, you did everything you could. I know how much you loved them & they are always watching over us, in our hearts always."

So as much as that miscarriage killed us.... We got through it & were always surrounded by so much love & support. We believed 5 children were it......and of course we treasured Josephine, Amara, Tony, Frankie & James.... we THOUGHT. and I don't mean the miscarriage. Spoiler alert: I would get pregnant October 2002 & my whole pregnancy, honest to God.... NONE of us knew I was pregnant. I didn't look like it, I gained some weight yes.... I had constant back pain, no one could tell Joe or I what the hell was wrong. And yes, I would be tested again.... but SHE.... yes, SHE.... our surprise but NO LESS loved & THE last child.... our last child would be born admist a tour.... a tour for Aerosmith, which would be cancelled Summer of 2003...or I should say July 6, 2003. We would name her Storm, Storm Bianca Perry. Her birth.... well, I won't give too much away, but you will see in time......

So, a taste of things to come.... but back to 2002 before the Icon Awards took place....

Joe & I brought in our New Years 'privately' once the kids went to bed after of course doing what became their annual tradition (the triplets especially) of sneaking downstairs at Midnight. I treasured those moments, still do. I remember we'd had A New Year's feast.... Italian naturally & Josephine demanded to help. She loved food, all our children do.... but Josephine loved cooking. I can tell you she inherited Joe's flair for it.

Then came mere days later, the triplet's birthday. Frankie, James & Tony turned 7. 7! Our then so we thought for a while youngest child...till the following year when our 6th child, Storm Bianca Perry made her.... Highly dramatic, traumatic surprise debut. But the triplet's 7th birthday, struck Joe & I hard...not just in how quickly they'd already grown...but it was especially memorable for the following reasons:

« The three of them collectively decided they wanted it to just be Joe & I, the family sent gifts of course...

« Frankie, James & Tony who loved & worshipped their older sisters wanted Josephine to make their birthday cake & she did...she was a stellar cook at such a young age.... As for Amara, she helped Josephine make Josephine's chocolate/Raspberry cake. What can I say? Our children are foodies.

« Amara kept her younger siblings calm & from bouncing off the walls by keeping them away from the oven. She was & Is Joe's twin after all...one of them.

« I was ALIVE, alive for each & every moment....and it all goes back to Joe. I nor ANY of our children would have been there without him. He saved my life so many times AND theirs.

February would see a romantic getaway for Joe & I, for Valentine's. and you guessed it, we went WILD. The following months would be spent, as always with our children.... doing some work band wise for both mine & my husband's bands. So, in other words, we lived...we rocked, you name it. At the core of it all, was love & family.... love & family....

"Should we tell them Honeybee, just WHO will take the REINS for next time?" Joe smirks.

"Don't tease Jo-Jo Bear." I smirk back, feeling amused......

All I will tell you is it will be one of our children who has not yet made HER debut here, did you happen to catch the hint my husband gave you? Just wait, it will be epic, and you probably already know...we didn't then, but the world would know.... Then we would, the world would come to know what Joe & I had already known: just how special, how AMAZING OUR oldest daughters are. Too it would become known, just how amazing all SIXX of our children are in time.

We are so proud of each other, of our children...more than we can EVER say. Joe was right when he'd said in his rock hall speech, they were the true legacy & OUR legacy, what we're truly proud of.... the most. Not that we're not proud of each other's accomplishments with the bands & all, not that we don't love our fans nor what we to this day still do, but we'd always.... Or rather, I should say, our children & then our grandchildren come FIRST. It took Joe & I a long time to learn that & as he always says.... We are still learning, ever evolving.

A/N: The last of the retrospective chapters, one full of surprises & just wait till we get to the next chapters, the first of at least 2 parts...the debut of the Perry Sisters: Amara & Josephine.