The Aria Within the Rhapsody **ON HIATUS**

Chapter 18: Is This the Real Life?

*August 1985*

Author's POV: (That's another first)

Can you believe it? It's all over the news! Freddie Mercury has finally revealed the faces behind the names. You guessed it! Freddie Mercury brought his two young children on stage with him and Brian May for a special performance at the Live Aid concert. But the question is why now? Why did Freddie wait until now to show us his babies? Well, that's his business. . . I guess we will never know the method behind his madness, but that's the great thing about Freddie. He is one in a million. Poor kids. . . Their lives will never be the same.

Freddie's POV:

One month. . . One whole month and the headlines are everywhere! My babies are everywhere. I thought they would forget about them and we could get on with our lives. Well, I knew deep down that that wouldn't happen. At least I don't have keep wearing that dreaded trench coat in the summertime anymore. . . Ash doesn't quite understand the gravity of our new predicament, but Aria. . . Everyone wants a piece of Aria. . . She is older. She can talk. She is gorgeous. Yea well, she's not a piece of meat for the taking! She is a child! She is my child! They both are. . . I lie in bed next to my boyfriend and let out a sigh. He turns to me. I turn to him, "What do we do now?" Jim strokes my cheek with his warm finger and says, "You do what you have always done. You keep them safe." I sit up quickly and say, "Jim Hutton, you are in this just as much as I am! They adore you. They trust you. I can't do this without you." I lay back down and put my lips on his soft ones. "Do you mean that?" the Irishman asks breaking our kiss. "Yes. Yes, I do." I say with a smile, "Very much." We attempt to make sweet love in our bed when, "PAPAAAAA!!!!!" an energetic four year old came barreling onto the bed. "Well, there goes the mood." Jim chuckles, "Ashton Michael, what is the meaning of this intrusion?" I ask my son. He just looks at me with those doe eyes of his. "What do you want?" I clarify. "I want to play!" he says. "Where is your sister?" Jim asks. "Itching." the little boy says nonchalantly. "Itching?" I ask curiously. "And crying." he says nonchalantly. "Why is she crying, Ash?" I ask the child full of concern. I knew it I shouldn't have revealed them to the world. It's just too much for her. God I feel like a terrible Papa. My son's response floors both me and Jim, "Because she's itchy." That boy. My boy. He always has a way of putting a smile on my face. Jim and I can't help but double over in laughter. I pull my son between Jim and myself and we smothered him with kisses. I pull him in my arms and ask him with a chuckle, "Now. Why is your sister so itchy?" he simply says, "'squito bites."

Poor girl. She just cannot catch a break with those damn mosquitos. When she got her first bite, I literally thought the worst and thought it was cancer because the bite swelled up huge! Doctor Teddy said that she was highly allergic to the saliva fused into the mosquito bite. I know shocking considering who we are talking about. . . I keep telling the girl to not walk in the grass in bare feet, but does she listen? Of course not because she is just as bullheaded as I am. I give my son another kiss to his head before I toss him to my boyfriend so I can check on my girl and get her the anti-itch cream. I walk over to the pale pink door just down the hall and give a little knock. "Come in." my girl says. I walk in and there she is. On top of her bed itching, well, more like clawing at her legs in absolute agony. "Papaaaaaa!! Make it stop!" she cries. My eyes soften. "I know, baby. Papa has the cream to make your bites feel better." I pull the tube of cream out of my robe pocket and begin to apply it to her bug bites. "Better?" I ask her when I cover all over her bites. "Much better." she smiles at me. "Now. . . Could you pleeeeease get your brother out of my room so I can have some Papa - Jim time?" I groan to my eleven year old. "PAPA! EW! Just for that I'm going to leave him there." she quips as she hides under her covers quickly. "Why you little. . ." I begin as I find her sides and begin tickling them. Before I know it. . . "WAIT FOR ME!!" That little shit of a four year old comes barreling onto his sister's bed. . . I swear my children are attention hogs. . . "Yes, Ashton. What do you need?" I say comically toward the child. "I NEED TO PLAY!!" he shouts. "Hush, child! You will wake the neighbors!" I shush the child. The boy quickly dives under the covers and cowers into my side. I can't help but smile at him. "So. . ." I begin, "Jim and I have been talking and. . ." "You sure about that?" Aria cuts in with a cheeky smile. "You little turd! Yes, that's all we've been doing thanks to this monkey." I say, "Any who. . . Jim and I have been talking and what do the two of you say to a little getaway?" The two of them stare at me. "Just the four of us and maybe Liv." "Where?" Aria asks. "How about. . . Montreaux?" I question. There is a long pause so long they can think about my offer. "What's the catch?" Aria asks giving me a glare. "Catch? There is no catch. Is it so wrong for a Papa to want to take his children on a little getaway to escape life for a bit." I say exasperated. Ughh! These children exhaust me. "It isn't if that means an Irishman can come along." Jim says in the door way waiting to join us. "If Jim comes, I'm in." Ash says smiling. "I guess I am too." Aria also says with a smirk. "You guess eyy? I'll give you something to guess about." Jim says as he captures my daughter's sides and tickles her to no end. Well, until she starts coughing. "Right. I guess that settles it." I say rubbing her back, "I suppose we are going to Montreux. I'll call Rog and Liv to see if she wants to come along." Aria lets out this inhuman screech. She loves her Livvy and Livvy loves her. They had this bond since the day they met. I can't explain it, but I don't want to. It's something special between the two of them.