All In The Name Of...

X-Mas In Hell

-Christmas Day-

"Did you get the bike here?" I muttered to Nikki as he made his way into the living room. As usual, we were hosting the holiday dinner for our family and friends, and we were swamped with things to do. There were a couple extra people compared to Thanksgiving, including Brandi of all people, and my being pregnant made things a little bit tougher. I was still having some mood swings, though not as bad as I'd imagined, but there were also cravings, fatigue, and now the morning sickness had set in. That being said, I was very stressed.

Nikki nodded, not wanting to make anything seem suspicious. "Yeah," he finally whispered, "But you're gonna need to let me borrow your car to go pick up Brandi and Gunner." Now it was my turn to nod. I was crossing my fingers and silently praying that all went well with it; not that money was the biggest concern, but it was one hell of an expensive bike. Axl and I had decided to wait until everyone was gone to show each other what we'd gotten for one another.

At that point, Axl popped his head out of the kitchen. "Hey, Sixx, you wanna help me with all this?" He had taken the initiative to start doing more cooking and cleaning than I think he'd ever done in his lifetime, which I appreciated. The only downside was that I never got to do anything without having to whine about it first, which pissed Axl off and stressed me out. Everything was treading on icy waters.

This time, however, I wasn't as concerned, considering that Vicky was also here early to help. The problem was more that I was used to doing most of the work, and I had more control over making sure things came out alright. This year, however, it was a lot of awkwardly watching from the living room couch.

Just as I was trying to relax, of course, the phone rang. So, I picked it up and asked who it was. "This is Detective Vathers. Stella, do you have any time to come down today? I know it's Christmas, but we may have a lead on your mother, and..." she more or less trailed off after that, and I asked her to give me a moment.

"Axl, I'm going down to the station. Detective Vathers needs me for something."

"Are you sure? Don't you want someone to drive you or something?" I knew he'd be willing to drive me, but he also knew I'd be pissed if he stopped all the prep work that he was doing. 

"Babe, I'm pretty sure I can drive myself..."

"Stella, I really don't think it's a good idea."

"Axl. I can drive myself. I'm going now."

"Nikki, can you drive her?"

"No, man, I'm a little busy with this."

"Vicky, can you drive Stella?"

"Axl." Now I was getting more than a little annoyed, and today was not the day for that. For one, today was Christmas, and holiday cheer was something I fully liked to embrace. Second of all, I didn't want to deal with a pissed off husband. Lastly, stress wasn't good for the baby whatsoever. "I'm driving myself, and that's the end of it." I grabbed my keys and walked out before I could listen to him say anything else. I loved the man to death, but I wasn't made of glass, for crying out loud.

Once I arrived at the station, I asked for Detective Vathers, and was quickly lead right into her office. When she saw me, she smiled widely. "Mrs. Rose! Merry Christmas, and congratulations to you on your baby." I thanked her, and she offered me a seat and a glass of water, both which I took graciously.

"So, Stella, ever since the fire, I've taken it upon myself to gather more intel on your mom, Ms. Rivers... what we've learned, I thought I might want to share with you. And again, I'm sorry to do this to you on Christmas off all times, but the faster we get this through, the faster we can continue our search." I nodded, allowing her to continue as I nursed my glass of water.