The rebel stood in the quiet hallway, an eerie feeling washing over him as he closed the front door, erasing the house of the small amount of light that had managed to creep in. Taking in a small breath, he moved forward into the main room, removing his sunglasses and shoving them into his pocket as he reached for a tableside lamp, switching it on and casting a dim glow around the place. His chocolate colored gaze fell to the mantelpiece, numerous framed pictures decorating it. Shaking his head, he walked over to them, grabbing the closest one and looking at it sadly.
“You left way too soon buddy,” AJ whispered, brushing his thumb over the cool glass; Nick’s grinning face staring back at him. The youngest was squished in between Kevin and himself, Brian and Howie on opposite ends. Baylee sat caught in mid-giggle on Nick’s lap, Kevin’s arm looped around the pair. Sinking down onto the coffee table, he studied the picture, trying to recall when it had been taken. Happy memories seemed like such a long time ago. He recognized the scenery as the backyard at Brian’s house, a slight smile sliding across his face as the event clicked into place.
~~Flashback~~
“What’s taking them so long?” Brian questioned, opening up the BBQ and beginning to set the hamburgers down. “I mean, this was only a routine check up, yeah? They usually only take like half an hour; they’ve been gone for,” He trailed off and tossed the last patty on before looking at his watch. “Almost two hours.”
“I don’t know man.” AJ shrugged getting to his feet and stretching. Letting loose a yawn, he gave Brian a small pat on the back, leaning over and grabbing a can of soda from the cooler beside him. He popped it open, chugging half of it, smacking his lips as he wiped his arm across his mouth. “Mmmmm, root beer. Yummy yummy I got root beer in my tummy!” AJ did a little dance to accompany the song, spinning around in a circle as he rubbed his stomach.
“If only our fans knew what a child you were.” The Kentuckian sighed, closing the lid on the BBQ as he glanced over to where Baylee was sitting, petting Lil’ Tyke and playing with a large puzzle. “I’m sure they’d disown you, you dork.” He chuckled, smacking AJ lightly on the arm. “You’ll never grow up, will you?”
“Says the guy who still does Donald Duck voices on a regular basis.” The younger man muttered, draining the rest of his drink as he arched an eyebrow at his older friend. “With or without his son around.” Looking pointedly at Brian, he grinned as a light crimson spread across the Southerner’s face. “Uh huh. That’s what I thought.”
He sat the empty can down, banging lightly on his chest before letting out a loud, long burp. The sound sent Baylee into immediate hysterics with a gleeful squeal and a proud smile broke out onto AJ’s face as Brian simply rolled his eyes.“You are a horrible role model, Alexander.”
“Oh, puh-lease,” AJ sighed dramatically, walking over to Baylee and scooping him up.
“I kick donkey butt as a role model. Ain’t that right Bay?” He swung the toddler around a few times, before plopping him down, laughing lightly as Baylee let out a piercing shriek of joy as he nodded. “You want some chocolate buddy?” Squatting back down, AJ pulled a mini KitKat out of his pocket. “Yeah?”
“Choco!” Baylee yelled, jumping up and down. “Choco! Choco! Choco!” He held out his hands expectedly.
“Ohhhh no,” Brian was pulling the cover to the grill back open and he paused for a moment, waving a spatula threateningly in AJ’s direction. “No chocolate for him before dinner.”
“Awww loosen up Rok,” The rebel prodded, un-wrapping the candy bar and beginning to break part of it. “One little piece isn’t going to do anything.”
“Nuh-uh, not before dinner, it’ll get him too worked up.”
AJ let out a long sigh, looking at Baylee before glancing over his shoulder at Brian, who had turned around to arrange things on the table. “Here you go little man.” He quickly finished breaking the chocolate and handed it to Baylee, putting a finger on his lips. “Sssssh. Don’t tell Daddy, okay?” AJ put the rest of the candy bar into the little boy’s overall pocket, patting it gently. “Our little secret.”
“Secret.” Baylee repeated, shoving the piece of candy into his mouth with a wide smile.
“Uh-huuuhhh. Don’t tell your Daddy about the choco.” He gave the toddler a little shake, smiling as he began to laugh. “Will you tell? Hmmm?” AJ gently poked him a few times in the chest. “Hmmmmm?”
“No! No tell Daddy!” He laughed, mimicking AJ’s earlier actions and placing a finger over his mouth. “SSSHHH!”
“Right on buddy.” AJ stood back up, tousling the child’s curls before heading back over to the deck. Brian was adding hotdogs onto the grill, cheese now melting on most of the hamburgers.
The rebel had just taken his seat, another soda in hand, when Baylee came barreling over, halting as he hit his father’s legs. “DADDY!” He gave his dad a big hug at the knees, looking up at him expectedly.
“Yes?” Brian grinned, looking down at his son as he closed the lid and moved them both away from the BBQ. Bending down, he tickled Baylee lightly, a small frown darting across his features. “Whatcha have all over your face little B?”
A guilty expression crept up onto AJ’s features as Brian glanced at him and he swore softly.
“Choco!” Baylee screeched, pulling the KitKat from his pocket and waving it at Brian with a large grin. “Look Daddy! Uncle AJ give me choco!” He grabbed Brian’s face, covering his mouth, “Ssssshhh! No tell! No tell! Uncle AJ said no tell!” The older man nodded at Baylee before looking up and sending his friend an admonishing glare.
“Ahhhh, Bay,” The rebel chuckled, reaching forward and grabbing at the little boy. “I need to teach you what ‘secret’ means, you little traitor.”
Baylee let out a loud laugh, turning to cover AJ’s mouth. “Mmmffh. Yesh…secret meafs ssshhhh.” He pretended to bite the toddler’s fingers and Baylee fell back into Brian giggling happily. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Brian let an exasperated grin surface, settling for picking Baylee up instead. Tossing him in the air for a moment, he then sat the two of them down, grabbing a few napkins and proceeding to wipe the chocolate off Baylee’s face, his hands and his own face.
“Alright buddy, no more choco for you.” He took the rest of the candy bar out of Baylee’s pocket, throwing it onto the table. A pout immediately surfaced onto the child’s face and he shook his head at his father. “But daddy!” He protested, hitting Brian lightly on the chest. “My choco! Mine! I want!”
“You already had some chocolate Baylee, you can have more after dinner.” Brian set him back down and handed a few napkins to AJ.
“Buuuuuuttttt daaaaaadddddyyyyyyyyyyy…”
“I said no, Baylee.” The Southerner’s voice took on a firm tone as he looked sternly at the little boy and Baylee recognized it at once, crossing his arms over his chest and sending Brian his own little glare. “I want CHOCO!” He demanded, stamping his feet. “I WANT!” He gave Brian a small smack on the leg, “I WANT!”
“Baylee Thomas Wylee Littrell,” Brian began, “What have Mommy and I said about hitting people?” He wagged a finger at his son, “What do you say?”
“Sorry.”
“You can have more choco after you have dinner, alright? You just need to wait a little bit.” A thoughtful expression crossed over Baylee’s face at Brian’s softer tone and he frowned before he nodding slowly,
“Okay.”
“Why don’t you go see what Mommy is doing?” Brian gently gave him a pat on the butt, pushing him off towards the house. “Mommy’s in the kitchen.”
“Mommy will give me choco!” Baylee shrieked, running off the deck. “Mommy!!”
Brian sighed heavily, gritting his teeth as he shook his head.
“Ummm...oops?” AJ swiped the gooey mess off his face, tossing the napkin behind him as he clapped a hand on Brian’s shoulder, watching Baylee disappear into the kitchen. “But so harsh Rok! I mean, the poor kid just wanted some choco.” He stressed the last word, grinning as Brian glared at him again.
“Oh shut up.” Getting to his feet, the older man reached over, smacking AJ on the head with a ‘tsk’, his voice growing light and AJ immediately knew he was forgiven. “You’re like the freakin’ devil on my son’s shoulder. I told you not to give it to him.”
“Hey man, I don’t wanna be the mean uncle…I’ll save that job for Kevvy.” AJ rubbed his head innocently, a small smirk still on his face. “Besides, I recall a million times you gave Nick candy when Kevin or Jane said no.”
“That was totally different.”
“Giving candy to a baby is the same all the way around Rok.” A wicked cackle slipped from AJ and Brian couldn’t help but laugh at the statement, throwing his hands up as he half-nodded. “Anyhow, Nick is way worse with him than me.”
“Who is Nick way worse with?” Nick demanded as he caught the tail end of the comment, stepping out onto the deck with Kevin and Howie in tow.
He quirked an eyebrow at AJ, “Hmmm?”
“Being the devil on Bay’s shoulder. Brian said I was bad but you’re the king of mischief with that boy.”
“Oh.” The blonde shrugged lightly, a grin breaking out on his face. “Well duh.” He took a seat next to AJ, taking a deep breath. “But I learned from the best,” he shot Brian a look, “So Bri has no one to blame but himself if I corrupt his kid.”
Brian let out a snort at the reasoning, shaking his head as he yanked the BBQ open.
“That some screwed up logic Nicky.” Howie chuckled, plopping down next to AJ. “Food smells good Bri. Everything ready to go?”
“Not yet no.” He dumped some barbeque sauce on the burgers, turning the hot dogs around before glancing behind his shoulder and his friends. “What took so long anyhow?”
“Traffic mainly.” Kevin supplied, tossing a can of Pepsi to Howie and a Coke to Nick before grabbing a root beer for himself and taking a seat. “Some big pile up on the freeway, we were stuck there for almost an hour.”
“Yeah, the actual appointment was done within like 20 minutes.” The Latino added, grabbing a handful of chips and munching on them.
“Everything peachy-keen?”
“Well…Nick? Isn’t there something you want to tell them?” The eldest gave Nick a gentle shove, gesturing lightly. Both Brian and AJ fell silent at the statement, glancing from Nick, to Kevin, to Howie and back to Nick, their moods immediately growing somber.
“Something good…right?” Brian hesitantly asked, setting down his tongs and spatula as he turned to look at his youngest band-mate. “Frack?”
“Ahhhh,” Nick let out a long breath, “Okay, so the doctor said that I-” He stopped short as Baylee came running back out onto the deck, heading immediately over to him. “Hey mini B!” He grabbed Baylee with a laugh, “How’s my favorite godson?” Brian sent a questioning look to Kevin at Nick’s lapse in attention, frowning when he got a shrug in return. “Huh? How’s it goin?”
“Good, good.” Baylee sing-songed, gurgling happily as Nick sat him down on his lap.
“Uncle AJ give me choco but Daddy took away.”
“Aww, Daddy was a meanie head, huh? Meanie head Daddy.” Brian let out a loud groan as Baylee’s entire face lit up at the phrase, beginning to nod enthusiastically and Kevin slapped Nick on the shoulder, shaking his head in exasperation. Howie simply laughed as AJ rolled his eyes at the entire scene, smiling lightly.
“Meeeeaaaannniiiie head! Yeah! Daddy was a meanie head!” He turned to stare at his father, smiling brightly. “You meanie head Daddy! ‘Ncle Nicky say so.”
“That’s gonna stick Bri.” Kevin whispered amusingly, “Sucks for you and Leigh.” Rubbing his forehead, Brian nodded painfully slow, “I know, I know.” He moaned, “Thanks a lot Carter.” Nick laughed, grinning evilly, slowly rocking Baylee back and forth as he chanted ‘daddy is a meanie head’ in-sync with the toddler.
“Yo…doofus! Weren’t you about to tell us something important?” AJ gave him a quick kick in the leg, and the younger man nodded, continuing on with his chanting for another few seconds. “Well? You gonna spill it?”
“Yessssss I am!” Nick clapped Baylee’s hands together a few times, his mantra coming to a sudden halt. “Sooooo, the doctor said that as of right now, I am…” He trailed off and drummed the little boy’s hands against his knees for effect, “completely….” More drumming followed, “and totally….” Holding Baylee’s arms up triumphantly, he waved them wildly and glanced at each of his friend’s before continuing. “cancer FREE!”
AJ let out a loud whoop at the news, jumping up and whipping his sunglasses off his face. “That’s AWESOME!” The rebel yelled, swinging Baylee up and onto Kevin’s lap before pulling Nick to his feet and into a huge hug. “Fucking awesome Kaos.” He grinned, thumping the younger man on the back. Pulling away for a moment, he grinned at Nick, shaking him, “I KNEW you would beat this. Damn, I fucking knew it! YES!! Ahhhh!” AJ yanked him into another hug, the blonde chuckling.
“For real? It’s totally gone?” Brian’s blue eyes were as wide as they could go as he looked over at Kevin who was bouncing Baylee up and down, nodding as he smiled. “He still has to go for check ups and one or two more treatments but yeah,” Kevin’s emerald gaze sparkled with sheer joy and relief as he glanced at his cousin, “It’s gone Bri.”
The younger Kentuckian let a huge grin appear on his face, walking over and practically yanking Nick out of AJ’s hug and into one of his own.
“I’m SO proud of you Frack!” Brian mumbled into Nick’s ear, hugging him tightly.
“Be proud of the cancer treatments,” Nick laughed, “I didn’t do anything.”
“You fought Nick! You went through all that bullshit and didn’t give up.” Taking a step back, he met Nick’s gaze, rubbing his shoulders lightly. “We made it man; we made it to our happy ending.” A smirk tugged at the corners of Nick’s mouth and he shook his head, giving Brian a playful push. “You’re such a cornball Bri.” The older man rolled his eyes, grabbing Nick into another quick hug. “Punk.”
“Alright, alright allllriiiiiight!” AJ called, standing up on the picnic table and grabbing everyone’s attention. Root beer in hand, he looked at each one of his band-mates as he cleared his throat. “I think we all agree, this calls for a toast and one hell of a celebration.” Gesturing for everyone to grab a drink, he cupped a hand to his mouth, “LADIES! LAAAAADIIIIES, COULD YOU JOIN US PLEASE?” He hollered, watching as Kristin and Leighanne made their way outside a moment later.
“You bellowed?”
“Why are you standing on my table AJ?” Leighanne frowned, placing her hands on her hip as she shot the younger man a small glare.
“Becaaaaauuuuuuuseeee, we have some FANTASTIC news.” The two wives simply stared at him and he cackled. “Nickers? Steal the show my man!”
“What bonehead here is trying to get across,” Nick sighed, rolling his eyes at his older friend’s actions. “Is that I just found out today that all my tumors are gone.” He threw his hands out and smiled, “No more cancer!”
“Oh Nick that’s wonderful!” Kristin gushed, immediately rushing forward to hug him, followed quickly by Leighanne. “Congratulations sweetheart!”
“That’s fantastic hun.” Brian’s wife looked over at AJ again after stepping away from Nick. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re on my table though.”
“I called for a toast.” The rebel said simply. “So c’mon, c’mon!. Grab a soda, grab a beer, grab some juice for Bay and hold it up, hold it UP!”
“You’re insane.” Kristin giggled, nodding a thank you at Brian as he passed the two women drinks.
“Always baby.” AJ winked at her and Kevin smacked him in the knee, rising to his feet and placing Baylee on his shoulders. “Stop hitting on my wife McLean.”
“Not hitting on required. I already got her hooked,” He wiggled his eyebrows at Kristin and she cracked up, ”Right sweetie?”
Kevin discreetly flipped him off and his grin widened. “Seriously though, Nick,” His gaze fell on the younger man and he tipped his soda can towards him, “It’s been one HELL of a year and um, we’ve definitely had our ups and downs. But for real, I couldn’t be more proud of you.” Raising the drink, he nodded as everyone followed his motions, “To Nick. For kicking cancer in the butt and making it through like we all knew he would.”
AJ let out another yell, “You did it kid!”
“Amen to that!” Brian nodded, taking a sip of his drink along with everyone else.
“Speech!” The rebel urged, jumping down from the table, “Speech!” The youngest grinned as everyone cheered and he gave AJ a shove before turning and facing everyone, clearing his throat softly. “Ummm,” He let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t know what to say…uhh,” Nick’s eyes fell to the ground and he shifted his weight nervously. “Thank you.” He finally got out, looking back up and sending smiles to everyone watching him. “I know I never would have made it through without you guys. Any of you. It feels so damn good to say that I’m healthy again,” Shaking his head, he shrugged, “I’m back!” He concluded.
“Alright!” Laughter broke out in the group at Brian’s trademark phrase, Kristin running into the house and re-emerging with her digital camera. “Okay boys, we need a picture to commemorate this happy event.” She motioned for Kevin to sit down next to Nick and the older man did so, grabbing Baylee and placing him back onto Nick’s lap. “Crowd in!” She handed the camera to Leighanne, “Come on guys! Act like you know each other!” The eldest let out a loud laugh, throwing an arm around Nick and leaning in. AJ fell into his original seat, Howie moving to sit beside him and Brian next to Kevin.
“Smile guys…on three, say che-”
“Happy ending.” Nick interrupted, glancing at Brian who grinned back at him,
“Alright. On three then,” Leighanne readied the camera, “One…two…” Howie looped and arm around AJ as Brian leaned into Kevin’s shoulder. Nick tickled Baylee, causing him to burst into giggles, “Big smiles annnnnnd…..THREE!” She snapped the picture, “Perfect!”
~~End flashback~~
Author's Chapter Notes:
Nijntje: Sooo.. I asked A-rok Obsession if she wanted an author's note posted with the next chapter (since she wrote it).. And here it is >> A-rok Obsession: 'it's STILL not done...'
