Part 2- This is Your Pilot Speaking

Chapter 20

A/N: This can be the last chapter....or I can squeeze out one more. Please comment letting me know if this is a good spot to end, or if you all want one more chapter. Thank you for reading.

Stay strange!! 

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Griffin sat on the couch in Bruce's office. He had agreed to meet up with him to talk. Bruce had called him the day before to apologize. He had never apologized for anything before. This was out of character for him. Maybe he really was sorry for what he did. He had also cried when he told Griffin how sorry he was...that too was uncommon. Griffin couldn't really recall a time where he saw Bruce cry, so it had caught him off guard. He wanted to see him in person, see if maybe it was an act.

His mind wondered back to Bruce admitting that he had kissed Alice. He loved his Dad, and loved Alice, but couldn't help the feeling that was persistent in his mind. He pictured Bruce and Alice walking in hand in hand into Bruce's office, laughing at Griffin. Kissing in front of him, laughing the whole time. He had spoken to Alice since that night, she said she loved him...and he wanted to believe her. But...what if??

Griffin looked up when he heard the door to the office open. Bruce walked in, giving his Son a shy smile.

"Hey" Bruce looked at Griffin, he wanted nothing more but to hug him, but knew he shouldn't. 

"Thanks for agreeing to see me."

Griffin shrugged his shoulders, he wanted to make it seem that he didn't care, but deep down inside he was dying to reach out to his Dad. Bruce was, after all, his best mate. 

"Yeah, I just wanted to see what the fuck you wanted." 

As usual, Griffin put up his tough exterior. Bruce knew better, he knew that was a coping mechanism.

He sat next to his Son and sighed, he hated himself for what he had done. The spark in Griffin's eye was gone. He seemed to have aged, his shoulders were slumped, his eyes downcast...all because of what he had done.

"Griffin, Son...I just....I'm fucking sorry. I know I shouldn't have...." Bruce could feel tears start to roll down his cheeks, he was so ashamed of what he had done, "I hate myself for hurting you. For hurting your Mum. I'm a selfish cunt. You deserve the best. And you had the best...I fucking ruined it. I understand if you never want to speak to me again, but I swear to you...." he reached out for Griffin's hand, "I swear....I will never interfere in your relationship again. I fucking swear to you Griffin. I'd rather leave everything behind than do that again."

Griffin didn't know what to say. He was still skeptical, but looking at Bruce he could see that he was being honest.

"Dad, I'm still pissed at you. I still think you're an awful cunt...but...." he looked up at Bruce and gave him a weak smile, "...I fucking miss you. You're my best mate. It hurts that you betrayed me, that you betrayed Mum...but I love you Dad. I love Alice too...and I want her to be a part of my life, and you and Mum are a part of that."

Bruce nodded, he put his arm around Griffin's shoulder and pulled him close, "I love you too, Son. Let's start over. Let me be your Dad, your best mate. I don't want to be Bruce Dickinson around you. I don't want to be that cunt anymore. I want to be your Dad."

"What about you and Mum? Does she know you tried to get with Alice again?"

Bruce hadn't told Paddy, he didn't know if he should tell her. They were in a good place right now, and he didn't want to ruin that.

"No, I haven't. And I honestly don't think I will. Please Griff, let's keep this between us."

Griffin didn't know what to think. He didn't want his Mum to be hurt again, but he hated having to lie to her. "I won't tell her, but I promise you, if you ever mess around on her again, I will never speak to you again."

"I promise you Son." he hugged Griffin, happy to have settled things between them, "Let's go have a beer. I want you to tell me about any new songs you've come up with."

——————————————————————————————————————————————————Alice made her way to Griffin's flat. They had planned on going to lunch and going over to his parents house afterward. Griffin had told her that he had fixed things up with his Dad. He was sorry for what he had done and wanted nothing more than for Griffin to be happy. She was glad that he had decided to forgive Bruce. She knew how important family was to him and how close he was to both of his parents.

Griffin had also forgiven Alice. Even though Bruce was the one to make the first move, she reciprocated his kiss. He was upset at her for doing so, but he loved her, and didn't want to end things with her. Alice knew that Griffin would always have that hesitation of her and Bruce being in the same room together, but she wanted to show him that he was the only one she wanted to be with. She loved only him and no-one else.

She took a deep breath and rang the buzzer to his flat.

"Hello?"

Griffin's voice brought a smile to Alice's face.

"Hey, it's me."

Griffin let out a chuckle, "Hey me. I'll be right down."

Alice's stomach was in knots. She was anxious to see Griffin, but she was still worried about seeing Bruce and Paddy. She didn't want things to be awkward between them, but how could they not?

"Alice!" Griffin wrapped his arms around her, startling her out of her thoughts. "I missed you so much." he buried his face into her hair, breathing her in.

She hugged him back, she missed being in his arms. Alice pulled away from him and held his face between her hands, her face broke into a huge smile as she leaned into him, kissing him softly.

"I missed you too my dear Griffin." she kissed him again. She could spend the whole day kissing him. "I love you so much."

Griffin could feel his head spinning. Alice was in his arms, kissing him. She loved him. She missed him. Not his Dad.

"Are you sure you're OK with seeing my Dad?" he didn't want things to be uncomfortable for her.

Alice nodded, "Yes, I'm sure. I want to be a part of your family. No matter what has happened in the past, let's leave it there. I want to focus on the present, and my present is with you."

Griffin wrapped his arms around her waist, "My present and my future is you. I love you Darling. Let's go see what Mum and Dad have planned for the day."