What It Takes

Epilogue

 About 9 months later, May 30, 1987, 2:15 AM, The Tyler Residence, Vancouver, Canada

Steven

I woke up to the sound of the baby crying in the bassinet next to our bed. I got up, scooped him from his crib, and carried him downstairs. I heated up a bottle and began feeding him, immediately soothing his crying.

I mounted the steps again and entered our bedroom. I slid into our bed and held my son close. I hadn't done this in a very long time, but I remember now how demanding it really is to take care of a newborn. 

Three days ago, our son Mick was born at Vancouver General Hospital.

 Yes, I know what your thinking. 

'Steven! You named your only son after Mick Jagger?!' The answer is yes motherfuckers, I did. Because as you all know, Mick is my idol.

So here I sit, in our bedroom at 2 AM, feeding my newborn son with my beautiful wife fast asleep right next to me. The new album was finished, and was just released about 2 months ago. It's climbing the charts really fast, and by the looks of it, we have a hit on our hands with the song Dude Looks like a Lady. The whole album is getting a lot of playtime on MTV, and people are loving it.

Aerosmith is back with a vengeance, baby.

As for life here at home, things are going amazingly. I ended up confronting Janie about our daughter and about Janie's relationship with Ross. She apologized, and said she didn't know how to tell me. She was afraid I would be mad, but she was also waiting for the paternity test results. She said in the long run, she was almost one hundred percent sure Lorelei was my daughter, because she looks even more like me then Jade does. 

Was I mad about her relationship with Ross? Of course, but there isn't anything I can do to change it now. All I can do is try and forget about it. Luckily, nothing came of it.

The next day, we went and picked Lila up from Janie's mom's house. It was weird to meet my daughter for the first time, but she took to me immediately. I was surprised by how much she looked like me when I was her age. She was all dark brown hair, brown eyes, and big, Tyler lips.

Janie and Jade call her Laura, but I don't like that name. It doesn't do her justice. She's as beautiful as a fragile flower, but more brave then any child should be at her age. I decided I would call her Lila. She's a very smart little girl, but she has a wild side. When I first met her, she was timid and afraid, but as she got used to me, she became very outgoing and daredevilish. After about a month, she started calling me 'Daddy'. I cried when that happened, because I thought it never might.

In a week, we're moving back to our house in Sunapee. The kids are excited to get back on the lake, and I'm excited to get home. With the new baby, Janie is really stressed out about the move. I know her mind is already flashing to October, when Aerosmith goes back on tour again. Mick will be five months old, but we're looking at getting our own tour bus, just for our family. 

I want to be there for my kids. I don't want them to live without a father like they have in the past. I want to be able to sleep in bed with my wife every night and not worry about what I might be missing at home.

I finished feeding Mick, burped him and put him back in the bassinet. He was a tiny baby, weighing in at only 7 pounds, 5 ounces. He was adorable though, and my only son. Janie and I were ecstatic when we found out it was a boy. 

In a few minutes, I watched his little eyes shut, and he was fast asleep.

I crawled back into bed myself, shutting my eyes tight and willing my brain to let me fall asleep. I thought about my beautiful daughters, Jade and Lila, and how well they got along together. I thought about baby Mick and his tiny little hands gripping my finger. I thought about my beautiful wife- My Janie- and how much I really do love her. I thought about Aerosmith and the fact that we're back again, clean, and doing better then we did in the seventies. I thought about how lucky I really am to have my family together, happy and healthy. 

Somewhere between the thoughts, I drifted off to sleep.