Star Gazers

CHRISTMAS STARS CHAPTER 2

CHRISTMAS STARS CHAPTER 2

“Mad?” The inflection in her voice was genuine, and now he opened his eyes, wondering why he could say such stupid stuff at the wrong times. Hell, there was a never a right time for this stupid slip up. “This morning, I told you,” She reminded, “I didn't feel good.”

“Yeah. Speaking of, you should eat. Now.”

“I will. You want something?” The change of subject was almost that easy, and then she cut her eyes from the phone, to him. “You mean mad because of the other night? Her? No!” An actual scoff was the dot on the exclamation. “Anyway, Tracy Teague is aging fast. The other night I was really taking her in while we talked, and it was hard to believe...”

When she trailed off, the implication sank in, and he quickly defended, “Hey, she was a fox when I --” The mere raise of her brows, and the perturbed spark in the eyes he loved, had him backpedaling fast. “Actually, I barely remember it, and I sure don't remember what she looked like...”

“Matt?”

“Hmm?”

“Shut up.” With that, she rolled onto him, and those blue eyes were an inch from his, soft, hot and hypnotizing.

Anytime she gained the least bit of weight, it always started in one place, actually two, and his hands moved appreciatively to what she dangled before him... 

 ...“I guess we should rescue Dan.” The mumble was against his chest when her breathing evened.

“Must we?” Voicing the argument, he splayed her long hair across him. 

“We have bummed him enough with married life. Another hour with the kids, and he may stay single for the rest of his days.”

A husky laugh left his lips, and inquired hopefully, “When is Helen back?”

“Two days.” Jules answered of the part time aupair.

“Two days...” He mused, speculatively, his fingers still playing in her hair.

“You can last two days.” Jules raised up, after touching her lips to his in a last kiss.

“You make it sound so easy...” Matt grumbled, his eyes honing in on her bare figure as she plucked clothing from the luggage.

“It is...” But the last part was a screech as he bounded out of the bed. “Okay...it isn't...” Curving a pleased smile against her neck, he allowed himself one last caress of the ass that drew his gaze a dozen times a day, and left her to shower solo.

She was right. Dan was great with the kids, but by now he would be craving a stiff drink along with peace and quiet. After calling down for the food she had still not bothered with, he pulled on some clothing and went to collect the kids.

The show the next night was one of the last few in this years tours. The Summer season had turned to Fall and the Holidays would be upon them soon

Cloaked within the shadowy wings of the stage, Jules stood, as she had so many shows, enjoying her vantage point. There was a time that she had been in the pit, with the mass of bodies bouncing and headbanging. In fact, she had been to most of those shows with Matt. Sometimes she wondered what he was thinking, now that he was an icon, staring down into those captivated faces.

Once she had asked him, interested, because she herself had once stared into a sea of fans, but like her, he had no words for it. It was a feeling that could not be expressed. A good feeling. Surreal, and at the same time scary. For her, she had felt like the luckiest person alive, and yet just as powerful was a crushing trapped feeling.

The current song wound down, with a few last notes, and the crowd went wild, but without even a pause, Matt fingered the chords to the next song. 'Silver Lining' was a favorite of her's as well as her two companions. A smile twitched as Meg's voice rose in perfect tune, shouting out each verse of the chorus. In addition to singing along, Jacks also hummed every solo chord. A,A, E,E, “Um, um, um, ummmm,” his three year old voice rang with perfect pitch, before shouting the lyrics, along with his sister.

From the spotlight, Matt eased into the long, mid song guitar solo, turning some as he did, to grin at his youngest and biggest fans, then those dark eyes rose, locking onto her gaze. In these moments, she felt like their little family unit were the only beings existing on the planet. Hopping back to the microphone, he belted out the next verse, and in perfect timing, Meg and Jack's voice rang in. Sometimes she wondered, if someone on the front row were listening very closely, could they hear the miniature backup singers.

“Thank you and goodnight!” With that, the second encore came to an end, and the guys waved to the crowd, throwing sticks, and picks as they exited the stage.

Jules pulled the toddlers back, holding tight to their hands, and with a swoop, Matt scooped Jacks up, as he came into range. Continuing to hold Meg's hand, Jules fell into step along side of him, but their daughter was having none of it.

“Noooo! Daddy, it's my turn! Noooo!” The negative word was becoming an ear piercing screech. “You carried Jacks last time! It's MY TURN!” Digging her heels into the temporary floor, the four year old refused to take another step, and continued this tantrum at an unnerving level. For sure any fans still lingering around the stage could hear her. The roadies were already beginning to load, and several of them cast surreptitious glances to their side of the stage.

Bending, Jules clamped two hands around their daughter, and with much aggravation heaved her up into her arms. Matt's dark eyes chided her action, and he paused his steps to protest, “Jules...”

Meg continued to buck and kick, insisting on her daddy, and at this point, it was Jules' mission to get her into the hospitality room, and pop her bottom.

“Meggy! My favorite niece.” Dan circled back, attempting to diffuse things by pulling his only niece from Jules, and Meg responded by intensifying her bratty tare. “Noooooooo! It's my turn with Daddy!”

“Meg, stop it! You are so close to getting a spanking!” Jules finally lost it, and glared at the spawn of her and Matt.

Although a spanking was only a few pops on her legs, this threat, at least half of the time, worked, and tonight, fortunately was one of those times.

“But it IS my turn...” The whisper was pathetic, and her tiny lip poked out in a trembling pout.

They had all begun walking again, and a few feet before the steps, Matt paused again, with a relenting sigh, “Hand her over.”

The transfer was made between the two men, and with one of his kids on each hip, Matt carefully started down the steps, from the stage to the ground floor.

Dan laughed as he pulled the towel from his shoulders and swiped his face. “Married with kids. Fun.” Clearly, he was not convinced.

“Yeah...” When he motioned her before him, she began her descent several stairs behind Matt.

Blindingly, the flash went off several times, and she squinted, unconsciously repelling it. Disoriented, she threw her hands out, fighting the loss of balance. Pitching forward, she let out a terrified yelp, and felt Dan's desperate grasp at her arm. Still she kept falling, the fabric of her shirt breaking free of Dan's fleeting hold, her only hope of a rescue.

It had been a long time since she had experienced a real sense of falling, besides goofing around, jumping on the bed with Matt, or playing in the pool. Possibly, her last real fall had been in one of her poor attempts to surf.

The twist of Matt's head, and the horror on his face, was the her last clear perception as she went down. From then on, it was the black anti slip rubber, and shiny metal of the stair her arm crashed on, before her body continued it's momentum downward. A cup littered the area just offside one of the stairs, and farther down, one of the steps was wet with spillage. Her elbow scraped, her head bumped more than once, and her torso seemed to twist, scrape and hit, step after step, until at last, she slid to a stop in a heap at the bottom of the metal mountain.

Having packed, put away, and tripped over Matt's shoes enough, she easily recognized the black Nike's inches in front of her face, and for a stunned moment, she did not even raise her head from the floor.

“Holy Fuck!”....”Omygod!”....

“JULES!”..... “SIS”..... “MOMMY!”..... “MRS. LOREN”.... “MAM!”

“Get an ambulance now!” Matt's barked order was frantic, and Dan echoed it. Footsteps clamored around her, and other feet froze in place around her, including the tiny ones of her children. “Did someone call?! Cari, honey, are you hurting?”

“No.” The shock was wearing off, and she pushed up onto her elbow, wincing when a pain went through her arm. Matt's face was directly over her, and having seen the pained look, he quickly sought to convince her to remain where she was. “It's just my arm,” she protested, but arguing with Matt got her nowhere, and so she relaxed into the tiny fingers patting at her head, and Matt's larger, calloused fingers skimming down her face.

“Is mommy okay?”

“She's fine,” Dan assured from somewhere out of her vision. “The doctor is going to take a look though. Why don't you guys come hang out with me?”

“I want to stay with Mommy.” Meg declared in her stubborn voice, and Jacks who stood behind his older sister in every decision, backed her up in this as well.

“Look guys,” Matt swayed back from her, and turned his attention presumably to the kids, “I need you guys to go with Uncle Dan. Watch some tv, and go to sleep. When you wake up, we will have some chocolate pancakes, kay?”

“With Mommy?”

“Of course with Mommy.”

“Mr. Loren, they just arrived.”

Dan took off with the kids, and Matt smoothed her hair back. From down the hall, a commotion ensued, which was sure to be the just announced paramedics.

“I'm okay.” Jules tried to reassure again, and as she had a few times, gave her arm a twisting test. “Except my arm, maybe...” Pushing the deeper fear away, she nonetheless saw it mirrored in Matt's worried gaze.

Medical help descended upon her. Matt moved some, but stayed close, right around the top of her head. After answering a few pertinent questions about the accident as she was tended to, a worried sigh was warm against her face as he quietly informed the professionals, “She's pregnant. Around four months pregnant.”