KISS: In The Band

Ch 38: One More Night? (Gene)

After a weekend out of town with Shannon, I had picked up Nick from Paul's and realized I desperately wanted just one more night out with her. "Hey Shannon. You want to go out to dinner tonight?" I asked, giving her a kiss. She laughed, kissing me back. "We just had a whole weekend together!"

"Well yeah I know, I just want one more dinner with you! I'm sure Eric or someone would be happy to babysit. And if not, we'll just hire someone." Shannon grinned, leaning against me. "Call Eric and ask, because I'd love just one more night with you. Besides, we need to have as many dates as possible before we're hit with a newborn again," she said, putting a hand on her stomach. "Amen to that," I said with a smile, pulling out my phone and calling Eric.

He was absolutely thrilled to watch Nick, and Nick was equally excited. He ran over to Eric, jumping into his arms. "Unca Eric!" he squealed. "Unca Eric!" Laughing, Eric scooped him up into a hug, beaming like the big goofy idiot he was. "Nick! Aw man I've missed you! Look at you though, you're so big now! How's your dad been? Still all mean and grumpy?" Nick nodding, sticking his tongue out at me.

I just rolled my eyes. "Yeah okay just remember who's still your father, alright? I can trust you with him though, right?" Eric nodded eagerly, giving me a huge grin. "Of course! If I can take care of Baxter and Iggy I can take care of Nick! Besides, Carrie is here, she's responsible. But I am too, don't worry!"

"See, everything you said just made me incredibly worried. Nick better be just as healthy when I pick him up later as he is now." Eric gave me a look of mock offense. "I'm hurt! He's gonna be fine, we're going to have a great time! Right Nick?" Nick nodded, giggling. "Yeah!" Shaking my head, I pulled my son free of Eric's arms, giving him a kiss. "Well, you have fun with Eric, alright? I'll come get you later tonight, but you better be asleep when I pick you up. Eric, I swear, if anything happens to him--"

"Gene lighten up! I'm not even that irresponsible." "Eric you literally got yourself stabbed senior year, don't even start with me." "That was almost ten years ago! And that wasn't even my fault! Now go on and get out of here before Shannon gets mad at you for being late!" he said, basically shoving me out the door while taking Nick from me. "Alright, alright, fine! Bye Nick, have fun and I love you!" "Bye Dada!"

Eric closed the door behind me and I walked back to the car, giving Shannon a kiss. "Well, he's off our hands for the night. You ready?" She smiled, kissing me back. "Mhm! I've been looking forward to more date nights with you for a long time."

We made it to the restaurant and to our table, looking over the menus. I kept checking my phone, terrified of seeing a text from Eric or Carrie telling me something was wrong. "Gene! Come on love, put the phone away and pay attention to your beautiful wife," Shannon teased. "Sorry! I'm just worried that Eric won't be able to handle Nick."

She just rolled her eyes, pulling my phone out of my hands. "Gene Simmons you listen to me. Eric loves Nick, he won't do anything that comes even remotely close to hurting him. He's more responsible than you give him credit for, you know that! And for fuck's sake, Carrie is there. You don't need to worry, it'll all be fine!"

I smiled, giving her a kiss. "You're right, you're right. Damn Shannon I love you so much," I murmured. She smiled, squeezing my hand. "Bet I love you more. Now come on, let's hurry up and eat! I'm eating for two now and I'm absolutely starving.

I walked up to Eric's house after dinner, ringing the doorbell and waiting. He opened the door after a minute, giving me a smile. "Hey, how was dinner?" "It was perfect. How was Nick?" Eric grinned, waving me inside. "Your son is intact and completely fine. He's an adorable kid and we had a great time! He told me he was going to tell you to get him a pet dinosaur like I have," he said, scooping up Iggy and setting him on his shoulders. "Oh, great. Thanks so much," I said in a flat voice.

"Of course! Anything for you!" he teased, before kneeling next to the couch where Nick was fast asleep under a blanket. "Hey, Nicky! Your dad's here, it's time for you to go home!" he murmured, shaking him gently. Nick blinked, giving Eric a bleary smile. "Bye Unca Eric an' bye Dino," he mumbled. Smiling, I scooped him up in my arms, heart melting as he promptly fell asleep on my shoulder.

"Thanks for watching him, I'm glad you had fun." "Yeah! I'm glad I was able to help. I can't wait until my kid's born." I nearly dropped Nick, staring at him in shock. "Sorry, what was that?" I asked slowly. He gave me a huge smile. "I said I can't wait until my kid's born! I didn't realize how much of a pain it was to wait nine months. Well, eight now. Still though. It's a long time," he said with a sigh.

"Wait wait wait but you're having a kid?!" I whispered. He grinned, eyes shining. "Shit you got me, I'm pregnant!" he teased. "But yeah! Carrie's actually pregnant! So we're gonna have a baby! Not sure if it's a boy or a girl yet, but I kinda hope it's a boy."

Shaking my head, I gave him a huge smile. "Hey, congrats! Damn man that's amazing! Damn, that's really amazing." He nodded, bouncing up and down on his toes. "Yeah! I'm kinda glad you asked me to be a part of the band too because that'll give me a much-needed income boost." With a laugh, I gave him a side hug. "Always happy to help. But seriously, that's amazing! If you need any help with anything don't hesitate to ask. Not to brag but I mean I am kind of an expert with kids," I teased, shifting Nick to my other shoulder.

"I'll keep that in mind! But anyway, glad I was able to help with Nick! I'm happy to take him off your hands up until my kid's born." I laughed, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Trust me, once your kid's born, you're going to be needing all the free time you have."