American Pyramid

Down to the Bottom

"Babe, that looks like a brain," Victoria gagged playfully as she met him on the back patio, shutting the sliding door behind her after Gracie ran into the backyard with her, one of many, favorite toys.

"But it's so good," Zak hummed in satisfaction before taking another bite. "Try it, sweetie."

"Maybe later," she shook her head before sitting down next to him on the patio set, leaning over to press a loving kiss to the underside of his jaw, subtly inhaling his cologne. "not very hungry right now."

"Busy day today?"

"Not as busy as yours," she hummed. "I have to take the horses to the vet to get their teeth floated and their blood work done, then I'm going to bring them back home and meet Sam at the studio so we can work on this album we're wanting to put out soon. What's your schedule for the day?"

He then set down his bowl and pushed it aside before he leant back and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side, "Going to the museum to see how things are going, maybe do a live stream for the fans, then meet you at your studio to get a little sneak peek, then I guess we'll come back home and celebrate our new episode?"

"Yeah, the episode you didn't want me on site for..." she mumbled.

"I didn't want you anywhere near that, sweetie. I don't want you around anything demonic, not after everything you've been through."

"Fair enough," she sighed.

"What time do you have to take the horses?"

"The appointment is at ten."

"Can I come with you?"

"Of course you can, babe. I don't know how long it'll take, though."

"That's fine, the museum doesn't open until ten anyway, and I was planning to go a couple of hours after it opened anyway."

"Alright, well, I'm going to go make me a coffee to take with me."

"Okay, sweetie."

After the horses had gone through their yearly check for a clean bill of health and new bloodwork completed, Zak happily helped her get the horses settled back in at home before they both changed clothes to do the errands they had planned.

Sam happily met her at the studio that was conveniently located in the black house next door to the museum, greeting her with a warm and tight hug as he hadn't seen her in what felt like months, even though in reality, it was only a couple of weeks. He had been gone playing a gig in New Mexico before coming back to Las Vegas, giving Victoria plenty of time to brainstorm and take a break that she seemed to still need from time to time.

"We got the whole crew coming today," he grinned, hopeful. "Feeling up for releasing a new song?"

"Hm, maybe," Tori shrugged. "Want to focus on the rough draft we made a while back? The song you wrote?"

"Sure, but didn't you have a song you wrote that you wanted to put out?"

"You're acting like we have limited time, Sam," Tori rolled her eyes playfully. "We can take the whole afternoon for all I care... but I'd have to be back home at seven. That's when I have to feed the horses."

Sam chuckled, "Believe me, I know your horse's feeding routine like the back of my hand, bitch. I see you brought Gracie with you today."

"Yeah, she'll be fine. When we go live, I'll put her outside the sound booth so that the noises we make won't hurt her ears," Tori explained, setting down the diaper-bag-looking tote that contained more than enough toys and chews to keep Gracie occupied for several hours, including a leash and bowls for food and water.

"You bring a diaper bag for a dog?" Sam teased.

"She's more than a dog, she's my baby."

"Mhm, does Zak know that?"

"Of course, he does," she scoffed. "He may not know how much I spoil her when he's not around, but that's our little secret. Don't let him lie to you, though, he spoils her just as much."

"Oh, I don't doubt it."

"Where's everybody else at?"

"They're on their way. About ten minutes out. You know, if you'd read your group texts every now and then..." Sam trailed off playfully.

"I can't help it. I find myself being happier when I'm not always on my phone," she sighed. "It's been less of a headache. Don't get me wrong, I'll post on Twitter or call someone back, but if it's just a text, you're lucky if I even reply."

"I see how it is. I'm just chopped liver now, huh?"

"Everybody is," she snickered. "Just ask Zak, he says it's like an act of Congress to get a hold of me by a text message."

"I've already asked him. He said the same thing." Sam laughed.

"Okay, then, I don't want to hear y'all complaining! You're lucky I haven't figured out how "do not disturb" works."

"Please, for the love of God, do not try to figure that out!"

"Or maybe I have figured out how to do it, but I don't put it on the setting..." she arched her brows playfully. "Anyway, what song are we wanting to start out with first?"

"It's up to you, girl."

"Damn, I hate when I'm put on the spot," she huffed. "But I do have an idea. That song you wrote, Freedom, I think the bridge should be high vocals, so we should probably do that one first since I haven't sang in a while."

"Fine by me, girl. Let's do a sound check while we're waiting on everybody else to get here."

"Okay. I really liked how the rough draft sounded when we did the first sound check. I think we should keep the tone about the same when the guys get here."

"I think so, too."

What was supposed to be only a couple of hours turned into seven, and two new songs were born.