Das Letzte Lied - Chapter Three
Tom listened to Tayla's footsteps retreating down the hall as he closed his eyes tightly. He mentally kicked himself in the ass. "Damn it." He mumbled under his breath as balled his fists over his eyes.
"Mr. Kaulitz?" Another female voice asked from the doorway.
"Yeah? Yeah, hi." Tom opened his eyes and dropped his hands to his sides.
"Hi. How are things going up here?" Dr. Gehirn asked as she smiled down at Bradyn.
"Good I guess. He's just sleeping."
"Did Dr. Kinder give him a sedative?"
"Yeah, when we brought him up here. He was pretty freaked out."
"Yeah, I know how that goes." She nodded and looked at the chart by the foot of his bed. "Ah ha! Viral meningitis. In a weird way that's a good thing. Of all the things it could have been that's going to be the best recovery. You got lucky. Is he going home tomorrow?"
"Probably." Tom nodded. "They said he had to stay flat and still for like eight hours after the lumbar puncture. Dr. Kinder wanted his fever to come down a little too."
"Yeah, we wanna make sure this little trooper is well before we send him home." She smiled and glanced around the room. "You got his stuffed dog, huh? Those things come in handy."
"That's Lello." Tom smiled.
She nodded. "Well I'm going to be heading home. I'll be back in the morning to check him out. I'd like to do a neuro exam just to make sure the intra-cranial pressure didn't do any damage. I'm sure it'd be apparent by now if it had and it wasn't that high but better safe than sorry, right?"
"Yeah." Tom nodded. "What, uh- What kind of exam do you have to do?"
"It's pretty basic. Nothing intrusive. No needles or anything like that. What I'll do is watch him walk, check his balance and how well he tracks things with his eyes. I'll also check his reflexes and coordination. The whole thing will only take a few minutes. It'll be really informal."
"Okay." Tom nodded.
"How are you holding up?"
"I'm okay." He forced a smile and ran his hands over his face for the hundredth time that day. "I know he needs to stay here but all I wanna do is wrap him up and take him home, you know?"
"I know." She nodded. "He'll be home and running around soon enough." Dr. Gehirn reached out and affectionately pat Bradyn's foot. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." She nodded and stepped back into the hall.
Tom arched his back. He was relieved to hear the hollow pop as the tension seemed to leave his shoulders. He stood slowly and walked to the window where he pulled the thick green drapes back and stared down at the parking lot below. The window was cool as he rested his forehead against it. The rain had stopped a while ago but the black pavement was still shiny with puddles.
Any other time Tom would have felt alone, painfully alone. He didn't like hospitals at all and having to spend that much time in one would have sent him into a frenzy, if it wasn't for Bradyn. Tom didn't feel the loneliness of standing at a hospital window looking out onto gray skies and a half-empty parking lot. Instead he felt the need to protect what was inside. To make sure that Bradyn was safe and healthy. Nothing else mattered and he felt stronger as he thought of the hospital as his fortress.
Tom let his mind wander for a little bit, but was snapped back to reality with a muffled whine and a shifting of the blankets. "Mommy?" Bradyn turned his head to the side and bent his leg. He sighed and frowned in his sleep.
Strong was no longer a word Tom could relate to. His heart seemed to crumble as his son asked for his mother. "Hey, buddy." Tom whispered as he tore himself from the window. He sat in his chair and slid it closer to the bed as he reached for Bradyn's hand. "Go on back to sleep."
"Mommy?" Bradyn whined again as his eyes fluttered open but immediately shut again.
"I'm here, buddy. Daddy's here." He placed his hand on Bradyn's side and rubbed gently.
"Daddy?" Bradyn kept his eyes closed and Tom wasn't sure that he was really awake.
"Yeah, Bradyn. I'm right here."
"Mommy?"
"No, buddy. She's not here." Tom said softly. Fury rose from the pit of his stomach and into the blush on his cheeks. He had been confused and frustrated with Bradyn's mother but now he was just angry. His little boy was sick and scared and yet all he wanted was his mother. The same woman who left him behind was the one he wanted at that moment.
Tom tightened his jaw and shook his head to force the anger from his mind. "Go back to sleep, Bray. I'll be right here when you wake up." Bradyn's face relaxed as he sighed and turned his head to face Tom. He took another deep breath then fell silently back into his dreamland.
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When Tayla returned to the hotel she let herself into her room and took a long shower to clear her mind. She wrapped herself in her thick pink Victoria's Secret robe and tore open a bag of M&M's. She lay on her stomach across the bed and poured the M&M's in front of her to separate them into piles by color.Once they were in their own little piles she started with the orange ones and picked up her cell phone to call Georg's girlfriend Kala. She needed some girl talk and Kala was one of her best friends.
"Hi! So Tom kissed me." Tayla said as soon as Kala picked up. She picked up a yellow M&M and popped it into her mouth. "What do I do now?"
"Hang on. He kissed you?" Kala asked.
"Yeah."
"When?"
"Today at the hospital."
"Hospital?" Kala sounded confused. "Start at the beginning."
"Tom took Bradyn to the hospital this morning. He has viral meningitis so they're keeping him overnight. But I went over this afternoon to check on him because they forgot Lello and I thought Tom was pretty much incompetent. I ended up staying for a little while and before I left he kissed me."
"Wow."
"Yeah, I know but he has a girlfriend and now I'm confused. Maybe it was just because of all the stress or because I took care of him or whatever."
"You think he kissed you because you take care of Bradyn?"
"No, because I took care of him today. Tom, I mean. I brought him lunch and stuff and just hung out with him."
"So you jumped in and played mom?"
"Kala." Tayla sighed.
"And he doesn't have a girlfriend."
"Yeah, he does. That Carrie girl." Tayla shook her head.
"They broke up."
"What?! When? Why?"
"Basically because of Bradyn. About a week or so ago."
"She broke up with him because of Bradyn? That's crazy. He's a great little boy."
"He was conceived just after they started dating or something." Kala pointed out.
"Oh." Tayla blushed. "Oh, I see."
"Yeah. So she's pissed." Kala nodded. "But he kissed you?"
"Yeah, he kissed me." Tayla sighed. "But then it was weird."
"What'd you do?"
"I left."
"You left?"
"Yeah." Tayla shook her head. "I don't know. It was weird. But what do I do now?"
"Do you like him?"
"I don't know. No?" She bit the red M&M in half and picked the candy shell off the piece in her hand as she sucked on the other.
"Then don't worry about it."
"What if I said yes?"
"Then you'd have to talk with Tom."
"What if it was just some random thing because of all the stress he was under and was more or less seeing me as safety line or whatever for being there?"
"Then that's it and you move on." Kala shrugged. "All I know is that he was dating Carrie for something like three years. That's a lot to get over. That'll take some recuperation time."
"I know." Tayla nodded. "Shit."
"Don't sweat it. Tom's a straightforward guy. If he has an opinion about it he'll let you know."
"You think so?"
"I know so. Don't read too much into it."
"Okay." Tayla sighed and furrowed her brow. "Thanks, Kala."
"You're welcome." Kala smiled at the crunching sound in her ear. "What are you eating?"
"M&M's." Tayla laughed lightly. "I had stuff on my mind."
"It's okay." Kala laughed. "Chocolate fixes a lot of things."
"Yeah." Tayla nodded and ate two orange ones.
"Well I'll let you get back to your candy fix. Give me a call later, okay?"
"I will. Thanks again."
"Anytime." Kala smiled and hung up her end, leaving Tayla holding the silent phone to her ear. She sighed and clicked the end button then tossed it toward her pile of clothes and clicked the TV on.
You've Got Mail was just beginning so she made herself comfortable and settled in to watch the chick flick, to try to take her mind off of Bradyn and Tom.
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Dr. Kinder came in to check on Bradyn that night before he switched duty with another doctor. "Would he be more comfortable in a crib?" He asked. "Or would you be more comfortable with him in one? We usually put toddlers in a crib. We just didn't have one this afternoon.""No, he'll be fine."
"Okay." Dr. Kinder nodded and reached for the guardrail. "We'll just put this up to keep him where he is."
"Thanks." Tom nodded and yawned. It had been a long day.
"You're welcome. I'll see you in the morning."
"Alright."
"If you need anything, ring a nurse."
"I will."
"He should be able to go home in the morning. His fever has come down well."
"Great." Tom forced a tired smile and waved as the doctor left the room. The cot had been brought in several hours earlier but Tom remained in the cushioned seat and lay his head on Bradyn's bed. He kept the little boys hand in his own as he let his eyes drift closed and he let his exhausted body fall asleep.
Twice during the night nurses came in to check Bradyn's temperature and IV fluids. They unintentionally woke Tom each time. "I'm sorry, love." The older woman whispered as Tom jerked his head up.
"It's okay." He mumbled. "What time is it?"
"Only a little after twelve dear. Would you like a pillow for the cot?" She placed the ear thermometer in Bradyn's ear and clicked it quickly. Bradyn flinched away from the intrusion and frowned but never woke up.
"No, I'm okay." Tom stretched his back then lay his head back on the bed.
"You're going to have a horrible kink in your neck if you sleep that way." She scolded. She sounded more like a concerned grandmother than anything else.
"It's okay." Tom smiled slowly. "I've slept in worse places."
"You kids." She shook her head and made a note on Bradyn's chart.
"What's it temp?"
"102º." She checked again. "That's not too bad."
"It's coming down." Tom agreed as he covered his mouth to yawn.
"That's a good sign." She whispered as she pulled the curtain open and swooshed out of the room without a sound. Tom reached out to hold Bradyn's hand before he lay his head back in his arms to go back to sleep.
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"Daddy?" Bradyn croaked the next morning, waking Tom out of a deep sleep. "Daddy seep?""Hey, buddy." Tom pried his eyes open and sat up straight. He flinched at the spark of pain between his shoulder blades. "Yeah, I was sleeping. Are you okay?"
"Owie, Daddy." Bradyn picked his hand up off the bed a few inches then let it drop.
"Yeah, that IV must suck, huh? That gives you medicine to make you all better." Tom yawned and stretched his arms out in front of him. "What time is it?" He mumbled to himself. He was able to focus on the small clock after he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned again. "6:10? That's early even for you." Tom shook his head.
"Is dock?"
"Nope, the doctor's not here. He'll be in to see you in a little bit though. Maybe after some breakfast. Are you hungry?"
"No, dock." Bradyn looked toward the window.
"Oh! You mean dark. You're right, it's still a little dark out." Tom pulled the little curtain back to show Bradyn the still pale sky. "It'll be light soon."
"I see?" Bradyn tried to push himself up.
"Whoa, hang on." Tom took one long step back to the bed. "Just a second, Bradyn. You have to stay in the bed. The thing in your hand will get pulled out if you move too much."
"Take off." Bradyn frowned and fell back onto the bed.
"I can't take it off. The doctor has to do that."
"Go ou-side?" Bradyn looked at the window again.
"Later." Tom nodded.
"Well, good morning! Look who's up." A petite nurse walked in carrying two trays with metal covers. "I thought I heard you in here." She smiled and set the first tray on the little rolling table beside Bradyn's bed.
"He just woke up." Tom nodded.
"That's a good sign." She laughed. "I thought you might be hungry too. It's hospital food but it's better than the vending machines downstairs."
"Thanks." Tom nodded as she set the other tray of food at the foot of Bradyn's bed. "Is Dr. Kinder here?"
"No, he doesn't come on until seven."
"Oh, okay."
"He'll be in to make his rounds right around then. Is there something you need now?" She asked.
"I was just going to see if we could get his IV taken out." Tom said softly.
The nurse looked at Bradyn's chart. "I think so." She smiled and reached into one of her many pockets. "Let's just check your temperature." She quickly clicked the thermometer in Bradyn's ear before he could protest and tracked the change. "Yeah, it's down to 101º. Let's get that icky IV out. What do you say, sweetheart?" She smiled down at Bradyn who just watched her with wide eyes.
"Does that hurt?" Tom asked as she made her way around the bed.
"No. Just a little stick when the needle comes out but that's all." She smiled and reached for Bradyn's taped hands.
"No ow." He frowned.
"Oh no, sweetie. This won't hurt." She smiled and patted his leg before reaching for the latex gloves above his bed. "When we're done here then you can eat your breakfast and maybe watch a movie." She kept talking as she checked the fluid level in the IV bag. "Do you like Scooby Doo?"
"Dog?"
"Yep, he's a dog. Kind of like your little dog there." She nodded at Lello who was flung over his pillow before she reached for his hand. "What's his name?"
"Lello."
"Lello, huh? That's a great name for a dog." She smiled and carefully removed the IV and placed a cotton ball over the puncture. "What kind of band aid do you want? You were so brave. How about a Superman band aid?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded slowly. He hadn't even flinched as she removed the needle.
"Here you go." She opened the bright blue band-aid with the big red S logo on it. She taped the cotton ball in place. "You can take that off after a few minutes if you want. Or you can leave it on all week." She said to Tom as she patted Bradyn's shoulder. "There may be a little bit of bruising but that's normal."
"Okay." Tom nodded and yawned. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." She smiled and scooted out of the room leaving the thin curtain billowing behind her.
"Are you hungry?"
"No." Bradyn scowled and turned away from Tom. "I go."
"We can't leave yet. The doctor needs to see you first."
"No docka." Bradyn pursed his lips and frowned like only toddlers can, with his lip sticking out and his good arm crossed across his chest. He left his bandaged hand laying flat on the bed.
"Don't pout. Let's eat some breakfast." Tom couldn't help but smile.
"No egg."
"Fine. You don't have to eat any eggs." Tom lifted the cover off of Bradyn's tray and removed the small plate of eggs. "Yum. Look, you have some bacon. There's a little bit of fruit too. You want some watermelon?"
"Gape."
"Sure thing. Here's a grape." Tom held out a green grape to Bradyn who took it and took a small bite out of it.
"No eat."
"Yeah, you have to eat so we can go home." Tom yawned.
"Go bye?"
"Yeah, you can't go home unless you eat some breakfast." Tom heard the little fib slide from his lips. It scared him with how much like a parent he sounded. Bradyn sighed softly and reached for a piece of bacon from the plate.
Tom leaned his elbow on the edge of the bed and took the top off of his tray to find the exact same meal. He picked at his eggs for a minute before his cell phone began to play a melody from the bedside table. Tom clicked the talk button and held it to his ear as he placed his bacon on Bradyn's plate. "Hello?"
"Did I wake you up?" Georg asked quickly before he cleared his throat.
"No, I'm up. How come you're up this early?"
"Press thing at seven."
"Press thing? What press thing?" Tom frowned.
Georg yawned loudly into the phone. "Benjamin put together this thing so we could explain to Cleveland why we weren't there and to announce the new date for the show."
"I should be there for that. Can you do it later?"
"I don't know. It's cool though. At least this way it'll look true. I mean, since you're there with Bradyn." Georg rubbed his jaw.
"It is true." Tom sounded more defensive than he should have.
"I know that. I'm just saying it'll look it. You know, for the fans and everything." Georg explained. "How's Bradyn?"
"He's okay. He's eating breakfast which is good."
"Cool." Georg nodded. "What's he got there?"
"Bacon and grapes."
"That's what they're feeding him?"
"No, that's all he's eating." Tom shook his head.
"Interesting." Georg cleared his throat again. "So when will you guys get to leave? Is he okay enough to go home?"
"Yeah, the doctor said he'd probably be able to leave this morning but he wants to come see him first." Tom nodded.
"When's that?"
"I don't know. Some time after seven." Tom broke his piece of toast in half and spread jam on a bite.
"I'm glad he's doing okay."
"Yeah." Tom nodded. "Hey, Bradyn? You wanna say hi to Georg?" Tom held out the cell phone to Bradyn as he took a bite of another grape.
"Hi, Gay-og." He said with a pathetic whine.
"Awww." Georg laughed. "He sounds like shit."
"Yeah, he looks like a zombie right now." Tom nodded. "The doctor said he'd be feeling kinda puny for another few days to a week."
"Oh man."
"Yeah." Tom sighed and broke off another bite of toast as his phone beeped in his ear. "Hang on." He looked at the caller ID and shook his head. "I have to go, Georg. That's David."
"Alright, I'll see you later."
"Okay." Tom smiled as he clicked over to speak to David. He asked about Bradyn and showed the proper concern before he jumped to discussing travel arrangements. David was willing to postpone the second Cleveland show if Bradyn wasn't going to be able to travel but Tom assured him that driving by bus would be fine. All Bradyn would be doing was sleeping.
"So what's with the press thing?"
"It's nothing. We're just letting them know what's up."
"Why?"
"Protocol."
"No way, David. You don't pull press just because we skip a show." Tom shook his head. He didn't buy that for a second. There was more to that and David didn't want him to know.
David paused for a second wondering how to tell Tom without making him freak out. "There were some rumors flying around that, because of Bradyn, the group was breaking up so that you could go be a father. Guess when the rumor hit? The day before yesterday. So when we missed Cleveland, the press and fans went ape shit." He sighed. "All we're doing is calming the waters and letting them know exactly why the show was postponed and that the group is secure."
"Shit, David. You know Bradyn isn't gonna make us break up." Tom sighed and rested his forehead in his hand as he watched Bradyn take a tentative bite of the cooled eggs and spit it back out onto the plate.
"I know that. That's why we have to let them know." David took a deep breath. "Listen, you know we'd change dates for as many shows as you need to get Bradyn okay. Just say the word. We have a person to handle press. In fact, that's all he does. You don't need to worry about that. You just make sure that Bradyn's okay."
"I know." Tom sighed. "He's gonna be okay."
"Glad to hear it. I'll see you back here at the hotel whenever you get here, okay?"
"Yeah." Tom popped a grape into his mouth and chewed. "Thanks, David."
"No problem, Tom." David smiled then hung up his end.
They finished up their breakfast and Tom changed Bradyn's diaper. He clicked the TV on to kill time before Dr. Kinder came around to let them go home. After only a few minutes there was a soft knock on the door. "Yeah?" Tom asked.
"Hi, guys." Dr. Gehirn poked her head around the curtain. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah." Tom smiled as she walked into the room.
"Glad to see it." She tapped Bradyn's foot. "Hey, tough guy. How are you?" Bradyn didn't answer he just nodded and leaned his head back against the pillow. "Did you get to eat your breakfast already?"
"Gapes."
"Yum! Do you like grapes?" Dr. Gehirn smiled as Bradyn nodded. She looked at Tom and asked. "Would you mind giving me a hand here? I'd like to do the neuro exam so that when Dr. Kinder gets here you guys can just go home."
"Okay." Tom stood up. "What do I have to do?"
"Not much. Just hold him in your lap so I can check his eyes and neck." She sat at the foot of Bradyn's bed. "If you hold him I think he'll be more calm."
"Yeah." Tom rounded the bed and sat beside Bradyn. "Hey, buddy. We need to let Mrs. Gehirn look in your eyes, okay?" He pulled Bradyn onto his lap and smiled at the doctor. "He has decided he doesn't like D-O-C-T-O-R-S very much."
"Understood." She laughed lightly and took her ophthalmoscope out of her coat pocket. She looked in his eyes and had him follow the light up and down and side to side. She shined it on the wall to have him follow it there. "Okay, Bradyn. You're doing great." She smiled and lifted Bradyn off of Tom's lap and stood him on the floor. "Can you walk to me?"
"No." Bradyn pouted.
"Aww, I bet you can. You're a big two year old." Dr. Gehirn stood by the door. "Can you just walk toward me? I have a surprise in my pocket if you can." She knelt to his level and watched as he took a few tentative steps toward her.
"It's okay, Bradyn. Walk on over and see what she has." Tom coaxed him from the bed.
Bradyn walked over to the doctor without missing a step and tried to peek in her pocket. "You have?"
"I have this. Look." She took a little plastic frog out of her pocket and dropped it on the floor. "Uh oh! Can you pick that up for me?" Bradyn bent and handed her the frog. "You can keep that if you want." She smiled.
Bradyn managed a tired grin and looked back at Tom. "I have."
"I see you have that little frog. That's cool."
"Hey, Bradyn. Can you make a face at me. Can you go like this?" The doctor squished her face up and made a silly noise. Bradyn did his best to imitate her and passed the little frog from hand to hand. "How about this?" She made a surprised expression and put her hands on either side of her mouth.
Bradyn laughed lightly and did the same expression. "Scary." Bradyn made the scary face Georg taught him and growled.
"Oh my goodness! That sure is scary." Dr. Gehirn stood up and put him back on the bed. "Okay, one more real fast. Can you push my hands away?" She held her hands in front of him and pushed against his palms.
"Have toy?"
Dr. Gehirn laughed and shook her head. "No, I don't have any more toys." She looked up at Tom and smiled. "He's looking a lot better." She took the chart from the foot of his bed and scribbled her notes.
"You're done?"
"Yes."
"That's it?" Tom frowned and looked down at Bradyn who had curled back up with Lello in the crook of his arm and the plastic frog in his hand.
"That's it." Dr. Gehirn nodded. "As soon as Dr. Kinder gives the okay you guys can go home."
"Cool." Tom scratched at his arm and tried not to yawn. It had been a long night and all he wanted to do was get on that bus and go to sleep. "Thanks for coming by to check on him."
"Not a problem. I just wanted to be sure he was 100%." The doctor smiled again then waved as she left the room.
Tom and Bradyn watched a little more TV while they waited for Dr. Kinder to come by. After an hour of Sesame Street, he did.
"So it looks like he's all set." Dr. Kinder smiled as he set Bradyn's chart on the bed. "I see the IV was removed before breakfast so I'd say he's ready to go home."
"Yeah?" Tom gave Bradyn a worried look.
"Yeah, he's doing really well."
"What about his fever?"
"It's low enough that you can medicate it from home." Dr. Kinder smiled. "Dr. Gehirn signed him off for his neuro exam this morning. Keep him on Baby Tylenol for the next five to seven days as needed. If anything comes up feel free to call here and I'll take care of it or you can go to any local hospital. But really, I don't think you'll have any problems."
"Okay." Tom nodded and shoved his hands into his deep pockets. "I'll, uh- I'll have to call for a ride. What time do we have to leave?"
"Take your time." Dr. Kinder shook his head. "He's officially discharged. Just check out at the nurse's desk before you go."
"Okay."
"We go now?" Bradyn asked as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.
"Yeah, buddy. We'll get going here in a few minutes."
"Now?" Bradyn asked again as he tried to climb off the bed.
"No, hold tight. I need to call Gustav." Tom placed his hand on Bradyn's shoulder.
"No, go now." Bradyn set his frown and tried again to climb off the bed.
"We can't go right now, Bradyn. We don't have a car. I need to call someone to get us and then we'll leave. I promise."
"Ina minnit?"
"Yeah, in just a minute, okay?"
"Minnit we go?"
"We'll go in a minute." Tom nodded.
"Kay."
Bradyn settled back in the bed as Tom looked up apologetically. "He just wants to go home."
"Hey, I can understand that." Dr. Kinder smiled. "I want to go home too, pal." He ran his large hand over Bradyn's head.
"Thank a lot for all your help and everything." Tom said softly.
"No problem. He'll be good as new in a week or so."
"Okay." Tom nodded as the doctor patted Bradyn's leg then left them alone in the room.
"Lello sick too?" Bradyn picked is dog up and bounced him across the blanket.
"No, Lello's doing good. He came here to make sure you were okay. How cool is that? Your little doggie was worried about you."
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.
"Everyone is worried about you, buddy." Tom rested his arm on the bed behind Bradyn as he sat up. "Remember who called this morning?"
"Lello?"
"Georg called this morning." Tom gave Bradyn a surprised look and smiled. "He called to see if you were coming home soon so you can play video games with him. Doesn't that sound fun? You said hi to him, remember?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded slowly as he rubbed his eyes.
Tom sighed. He just wanted Bradyn back to his usual energetic self. "Let me call the hotel and have someone come and get us, okay?"
"Kay." Bradyn nodded and hugged Lello to his chest as he lay back down on his side. Tom used the phone by the bed to call David's cell phone and arrange to have a van meet them at the hospital in a half hour along with a security team and car seat.
Tom changed Bradyn's diaper and put his pajamas back on. He grabbed the soft fleece blanket they'd brought with them. Saki called the room when they got to the patient pick-up area in front of the hospital. "Okay, Bradyn, let's get out of here." He picked Bradyn up and rested the tired boy against his shoulder. They checked out at the nurse's station and signed the three remaining forms. They stopped at the pharmacy to pick up the Baby Tylenol. Saki met them at the entrance of the hospital and escorted them down to the curb where the black van was waiting.
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"How's he doing?""He's gonna be okay." Tom nodded. "He'll just be kinda blah for a couple days."
"Yeah, I know how that goes." Saki laughed and ruffled Bradyn's hair. "Ready to get outta here?"
"Go bye." Bradyn said softly as he tried not to yawn.
"You bet." Saki smiled and held the door open for Tom to lean in and strap Bradyn in his seat. He shut the door behind them then climbed in the passenger seat himself. "Tayla filled us all in last night with what the doctor said and everything. I'm glad the little guy's gonna be okay."
"Yeah." Tom nodded and busied himself with Bradyn's blanket to hide the sudden blush that had rushed into his cheeks. He'd thought about Tayla a lot since she left and he knew he'd have to talk to her.
They drove the rest of the way to the hotel with only the radio to distract them as Bradyn dozed off and snored softly.
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"Hey! Bradyn, what's up?" Georg asked as Tom stepped off the elevator with Bradyn in his arms. His blanket dangled from his hand almost sweeping the floor while Lello was locked firmly in his grasp."Hi." Bradyn didn't even raise his head off of Tom's shoulder.
"He's still kinda tired." Tom explained.
"Are you pooped, big guy?" Georg ran his hand over Bradyn's short hair. "You're looking good though. You'll be ready for some video games pretty soon, right?"
"Yeah." Bradyn sighed.
"How's he doing?" Georg asked softly.
"He's alright. Just a little tired. He's gonna have to take it easy for a few days."
"Does he still have a fever?"
"Yeah, a little. It was 101º when we left."
"Okay." Georg nodded.
"How'd the press thing go today?"
Georg shrugged and averted his eyes. "It went okay. You know how the press can be." He sighed. "But it's cool. That PR guy fielded most of the questions. What's his name again?"
"Cooper." Tom nodded. "What time does the caravan leave this afternoon?"
"I don't think we're going."
"Yeah, we are. I talked to David this morning. We have the second show in Cleveland tonight." Tom explained.
"Yeah but I thought we'd be postponing it."
"No, we can't do that. Not after the press from yesterday." Tom shook his head and adjusted Bradyn on his shoulder.
"Tom, we don't have to." Georg shook his head.
"It's okay." Tom adjusted Bradyn on his shoulder. "Bradyn will be asleep the entire time. He'll be fine."
"Yeah but what about you?"
"Me? I'm fine." Tom gave him a weak smile and pulled the card key from his pocket. "Don't worry about it, Georg. We're cool."
"We just don't want you to push yourself too far."
"That can't happen." Tom gave Georg his standard confident smile and pushed the door open. "Okay, Bray. We're back in the hotel now. All your stuff is here." Tom reached for the Elmo doll on the bed. "See? Elmo's here."
"Emo?"
"Yeah, see? He's just waiting here for you."
"Kay."
"Okay?"
"Yeah."
"Are you tired?"
"No." Bradyn shook his head but didn't wiggle to get down like he usually did.
Tom crossed the room and set Bradyn on the floor beside his big red backpack and his new suitcase filled with more clothes and toys. Bradyn set Lello by his knee and reached for the Elmo doll with a yawn. "Do you like Tigger?" Tom flipped open the little movie book. "We can watch The Tigger Movie, how does that sound?"
"Kay." Bradyn nodded and pulled on Elmo's nose.
"Okay." Tom sighed and flipped the channel. He had to give Bradyn his medicine and he wasn't sure how to go about that. He'd never given a kid a pill before but he didn't imagine it'd be an easy task. "You, uh- You have to take some medicine. Let's do that before the movie starts."
"No." Bradyn shook his head. He didn't say it forcibly or with any kind of emotion. It was just a flat out statement. No.
"Yeah, it's gonna make you better." Tom opened the small bottle and shook out a tiny pink pill. He read the directions on the side of the prescription. He grabbed his water bottle and crossed the room to where Bradyn as sitting.
"No my hand." Bradyn shook his head and placed his tiny bruised hand under his leg to hide it from Tom as his bottom lip began to tremble.
"Oh, no. Not in your hand." Tom's chest tightened as he saw how scared Bradyn was. "No, Bradyn. I'm not going to put it in your hand." He sat on the floor beside Bradyn and pulled him into his lap. "Did that hurt?"
"My hand."
"It hurt your hand?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and sniffed quietly.
"We won't do that any more, okay?" Tom kissed the top of his still warm head and wrapped his arms around him. "All you have to do is chew this up."
"No." Bradyn shook his head.
"Yeah, it'll make you all better." Tom nodded and put the closed bottle on the floor by his foot. "It's yummy."
"No eat."
"It's really important that you chew this up and swallow it. It'll make you feel better."
"I betta fies."
Tom smiled and shook his head. "No, fries won't make you better. But, hey, if you eat this for me I'll order up some fries for you. How about it?"
"No eat."
"Please?"
"Daddy, no."
"Pretty please?" Tom smiled and patted Bradyn's tummy. "It needs to go in here."
"In batten?"
"No, not in your belly button." Tom laughed lightly. "In your mouth and down to your tummy."
"No, you tummy." Bradyn sighed and leaned back against Tom.
"If I eat one then will you eat one?"
"No, you."
"This is your medicine. See? Right there, it says 'Medicine for Bradyn Kaulitz.'" He showed Bradyn the orange prescription bottle. "So here, chew this up and swallow it." Tom placed the little pill in Bradyn's hand.
"Eat?"
"Yeah, eat it up then I'll get you some fries." Tom nodded and watched as Bradyn put the pill in his mouth and chewed it with an odd expression on his face. "Is it good?"
"No." Bradyn shook his head.
"Does it taste nasty?" Tom smiled.
"No, apo."
"Apple?"
"Yeah."
"It tastes like an apple?"
"Yeah." Bradyn chewed a little more then reached for Tom's sports bottle of water. "Go bye."
"The pill is gone?"
"Yeah." Bradyn's eyes drooped slightly as he pushed himself up to a standing position and leaned onto the bed. "Up?"
"You want to go to bed?"
"No seep."
"You don't have to sleep." Tom shook his head and stood up to lift Bradyn onto the bed. "We can just hang out here and watch the movie, okay?"
"Kay." Bradyn shimmied up to the pillows and lay sideways to see the TV in the corner. He lasted only a half hour into the movie before he was sleeping again.
"It wasn't kidding when it said it would cause drowsiness." Tom whispered as he moved Elmo closer to Bradyn.
The Tigger Movie played softly as Tom carefully stood up from the bed. He moved Bradyn closer to the center of the bed without waking him. He stretched his sore back. Sleeping in such an odd position the night before had given him knots and kinks in places he didn't know he had.
Tom quietly shuffled to the door and stepped out in the hall. He hoped to find someone wandering around. "Gustav?" Tom called softly as he spotted the older man walking toward his room.
"Yeah?"
"Hey, can I borrow you for a second?"
"Sure. What's up?"
"Bradyn's asleep but can you just sit in here with him for a minute? I need to go talk to Tayla." Tom held the door open with his foot as he leaned into the hall.
"Yeah, sure." Gustav changed direction and pushed Tom's door open. "He's sleeping?"
"Yeah, he'll be down for a little while."
"Okay." Gustav nodded. "You're not gonna disappear for an hour are you?"
"No, this should only take a few minutes."
"I'm gonna hold you to that." Gustav gave him a warning glance warmed with a smile.
"Don't worry." Tom smiled quickly. "Thanks Gustav."
"Sure thing." Gustav waved as Tom stepped out into the hall. He checked with the security team in the common room to find Tayla's room. He headed down the hall to her door. He knocked softly and shoved his hands in his pockets as he waited.
When he heard her footsteps approaching the door he looked anxiously down the hall. He wondered how obvious it would look if he ran away right then. Before he could get his feet to move she opened the door and blushed. "H- Hi, Tom. I didn't know you guys were back."
"We just got back about an hour ago." Tom nodded. "I, uh- I just wanted to thank you for coming by yesterday. It really meant a lot."
"It was my pleasure." She said with a slight nod.
"Can I come in?"
"Oh, sure." She held the door open for him and stepped to the side to let him by. She was pretty sure she knew why he'd really come by and her stomach did cartwheels at the thought.
"Tayla, you- You really mean a lot to Bradyn and to me. You've practically raised him for the last few weeks and you opened my eyes to what kind of asshole I'd been and all that. But I- I shouldn't have-" He stopped and frowned. His forehead creased and he pressed his lips into a perfectly straight line. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to."
"It's okay." She blushed quickly and fought the urge to open the door and push him back out to save them both from the uncomfotableness that was sure to follow.
"No, it's not." He shook his head. "I was just really- Fuck, I don't know what I was. I was so worried all day I was making myself sick and then you showed up and things got better. I mean, we found out Bradyn was going to be okay and all that. I was just so relieved and you were just there." He shrugged and ran his palms over his jeans. "That came out wrong and I don't mean it like that. It wasn't just because you were there."
"No, I know." Tayla's cheeks turned bright red.
"It's just- I just broke up with Carrie and I'm still trying to get used to having Bradyn around and then there's the tour."
"Tom, it's okay. You don't need to explain anything." She shook her head and put her hands in her pockets to literally keep herself from making him leave. She didn't want him to go, she just wanted the whole scene to be over.
"I just don't want things to be weird between us."
"They're not." She shook her head and gave him a half smile. "It's okay, really."
"Because if things were di-"
Tayla held up her hand and cut him off. "I understand that you were emotionally exhausted and your stress was peaked. I felt the same way so, believe me, I understand why you, uh- Why it happened." She quickly looked away and hoped that the pale light in the room hid her cheeks that were still burning. "It's not a big deal."
"Okay. I just wanted to make sure, you know?"
"I know." She insisted. She quickly cleared her throat and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "How's Bradyn?"
"He's okay. He's asleep right now. I think the medicine knocks him out."
"Yeah, probably." Tayla nodded. "He's just on Tylenol right?"
"Uh huh, the baby kind. He just chews it up."
"And he took it okay?"
"Yeah, he ate it like candy."
"Make sure to keep that put away though so he can't get it. If he thinks it tastes like candy he may want to eat them all."
"No, I know. It's in my bathroom bag on the counter. He can't reach it."
"Just be careful."
"I know." He nodded. "We have a show tonight."
"Yeah."
"Can you keep an eye on him? I mean, David would usually watch him while he's sleeping but I think I'd feel better if you could watch him. Since he's sick, I mean."
"Oh yeah, that's no problem at all." Tayla shook her head. "In fact, I'm leaving on the crew bus in about a half hour so, by the time you guys get there, I'll be done setting up and I can just take him. We can go back to my bus and hang out there."
"We're leaving right after the show for St. Louis."
"We can work something out." She nodded.
"Okay." He nodded and looked down at his feet. "Thanks." Tom looked up quickly and smiled with tired eyes. "I'll see you later then."
"Yeah, just give me a call on my cell when you get to the venue and I'll meet you in the dressing room."
"I will." Tom said as he reached for the door.
"Hey, uh- Have you heard anything more about his mom?" Tayla asked cautiously. It was none of her business really but she was curious.
"No. Not yet." Tom shook his head. He remembered that he needed to talk to David about that. "I'll see you later." He left quickly then walked down the hall to David's room.
"What's up, Tom? How's Bradyn?" David asked as he pulled the door open.
"He's okay. He's sleeping." Tom slid his hands into his pockets and tried not to yawn. "He's gonna be okay. It'll just be a couple days."
"That's really good to hear." David nodded.
"Yeah." Tom fidgeted as he stood in the hall. "Hey, have you, uh- Have we heard anything more about his mom? I mean, I know you and Benjamin were working with that investigator guy but has anything come up?"
"No." David shook his head. "I was gonna pull you aside tonight to talk about it. He's only been on it for a few days now but he's done a shit ton of work."
"What'd he get?"
"Nothing." David shook his head. "Astrid Winter is a stage name. The theater doesn't keep records of stage and real names because almost all of the actors there have stage names. The theater didn't pay the actors for Sheer Madness. They just hosted the performance for a local acting school. The acting school has since closed and there are no records to speak of other than financial records. He got a hold of the old owner who has no idea who Astrid is or was. There were more than a thousand students there and he can't remember them all." David sighed. "The search in New Jersey turned up nothing because without a last name or city to go on there's not much they can do. They searched for caucasian baby boys born on Bradyn's birthday in Jersey and checked them out. None had the name Bradyn for a first or middle name or mothers named Astrid."
"It's a complete dead end?"
"He's still working on it though." David said hopefully. "The lawyer I spoke to said it might be a good idea to get a second investigator out there looking."
Tom made a sour face. "You think it would help? I mean, we seriously have nothing to go on. No name, no current description, no city, no nothing."
"It's your call." He shrugged.
"Okay." Tom sighed. "I'll think about it. Thanks for letting me know."
"No problem."
"So what time is the caravan leaving?"
"Um, we pull outta here at noon to hit the venue by three and do the arena pre-show. If you wanna wait and come over later that's cool. We can have you do an abbreviated sound check as late as five or six."
"No, I can go over with everyone." Tom shook his head.
"No one would think you were slacking off if you waited." David said a second later.
"I know." Tom nodded though that was more or less what he'd been thinking. "I just want to give Cleveland a great show, you know? Since it was my fault they missed out."
"Don't worry about it, Tom."
"I'm not." Tom shook his head and forced a smile. "I'll see you downstairs at noon."
"Take it easy." David nodded and watched as Tom sulked back down the hall to his own room to relieve Gustav of his babysitting duties.
Bradyn was still sleeping and Gustav was kicked back in the chair reading the hotel menu when Tom walked in. "Thanks, Gustav." He said softly.
"No problem. What's Tayla up to today?" Gustav asked.
"She's leaving with the crew to head over so she can get her stuff done before the show. She's gonna watch Bradyn for me tonight."
"That's cool." Gustav dropped the menu onto the table and swung his feet around so that they were resting on the floor.
"I talked to David about the investigation thing." Tom dropped himself into the chair beside Gustav. "This is so fucked up."
"Why? What's up? How's it going?" Gustav asked.
"Shitty." Tom sighed. He filled Gustav in on what David had told him about the investigator that Benjamin had hired.
"Damn." Gustav shook his head. "So there's no way to find her?"
"No. And we were just assuming that Bradyn was born in New Jersey but the letter said she moved all over the place. There's nothing else we can think of to search for."
"Isn't there a way to search all of the birth records for a mom named Astrid and a kid named Bradyn?"
"I don't know." Tom shook his head. "I'm sure if there was this investigator would have done that."
"Damn."
"Tell me about it." Tom shook his head and sighed.
"What happens if you don't find her?" Gustav asked after a minute of silence.
"I don't know." Tom answered softly. "I don't know." He shook his head and hoped he'd be able to find Astrid. But even if she was found, he didn't know exactly what he'd say.
----------------
Tom, Bradyn and the others pulled up at the arena just after three that afternoon. They were rested up and ready to go. Tom dialed Tayla's cell phone as they pulled into the parking lot and let her know that they had arrived and that he'd meet her in the dressing room in a few minutes."So what's Bradyn gonna do for tonight?" Bill asked as he ran his hand over Bradyn's soft spiky hair.
"Tayla's gonna watch him for the show. He'll ride on the bus with us tonight." Tom sighed and bent to pick Bradyn up before they stepped off the bus.
"How're you feeling, Bray?" Bill asked. "Do you feel better?"
"My hand, Unka Bill." Bradyn held his little hand out to show Bill who acted appropriately impressed.
"Oh wow. Did they put your IV in there for medicine?"
"Yeah, owie." Bradyn nodded.
"Wow, Bradyn. You must have been really brave. I know I would have been really scared." Bill shook his head as Gustav and Georg stepped off the bus. The awaiting fans scream from behind the barricade.
Bradyn made an attempt at his scary face then offered a half smile as Bill hopped down the stairs. "I scare Unka Bill."
"You sure did." Tom laughed. "Okay, buddy, it's gonna be loud here for a minute. I need you to keep the blanket over your head, okay?"
"No hot."
"I know it's warm but you need to hide. It's like a game."
"I pay?"
"Yeah, you can play. You just need to keep your head under the blanket, okay?" Tom asked. With Bradyn still sick and just barely out of the hospital, he didn't want to expose him to any more germs than he had to. Also, the media hadn't gotten a clear shot of Bradyn and Tom wasn't going to make it that easy for them.
"Kay." Bradyn sighed and lay his head on Tom's shoulder as Tom pulled the blanket up over his head so that only his bottom half was exposed. He stepped off the bus and was immediately flanked by two security guards and ushered quickly into the side door.
"Good job, Bradyn." Tom pulled the blanket down and kissed Bradyn's temple. "You won."
"Win?"
"Yep, I'll have to find you a prize." Tom smiled and looked to the guard at his left. "Where's the dressing room?"
"You're expected in David's office." He replied.
"I know but I need to drop Bradyn off with Tayla."
"I can take him." Tobi smiled as he walked up.
"That's okay. I'd rather do it." Tom nodded and ducked away from the guards. "Tell David I'm on my way." He didn't wait for a response as he followed the green taped up signs pointing him toward the dressing rooms. He let himself into the large room and set Bradyn's red bag by the door. "Tayla?"
"Yeah." She stepped out from behind a rack with a marker in her mouth. "Oh hey." She smiled around the pen and reached up to remove it. "I'm just about done here." She knelt down for a minute. She stood up and re-tied her ponytail as she walked to where Tom stood. "Don't you have a meeting with David?"
"Yeah." Tom nodded as he reluctantly handed Bradyn over to her.
"Hey there, sweetheart. How are you feeling?" Tayla asked as she rubbed Bradyn's back. "It feels like your fever is going down. Did you bring Lello with you?"
"I Lello." Bradyn nodded.
"Okay, good." She kissed his forehead softly and examined his face as if she hadn't seen him in weeks. "I'm glad you're okay, sweetie."
"I kay." Bradyn nodded again and gave her a tired half smile.
Tayla smiled and looked up as she remember Tom was standing there. "I'm finished here so I was just going to take him out to my bus but we've had an ant infestation." She sighed and crinkled her nose. "Is there any way we could go to your bus?"
"Yeah, I think so." Tom nodded.
"That way he can have his own bunk and things. Just until the show's over. After that I can hop on over to my own bus." She added quickly.
"Okay." Tom nodded. "Yeah, I just don't want him back here. Who knows who's been here and touched all this stuff. Maybe I'm just being a little germaphobic or something." He shrugged.
"No, that's okay. He needs to be somewhere a little quieter than backstage also.
"Yeah." Tom nodded and put his hands in his pockets as he looked toward the door. "Oh, and if you could keep him covered when you go to the buses? The media is crawling around out there like hounds and that just makes me really uncomfortable."
"That's fine." Tayla nodded.
"And take security."
"I will."
"Okay." He nodded. "I'll come out when the openers take the stage just to check on him and stuff."
"Okay." Tayla smiled and rubbed Bradyn's back again as he lay his head on her shoulder. "When did you give him his medicine?"
"I gave him some at one so he'll need it again at 5. He takes it well. It's in the backpack in that zippered pocket inside."
"Alright." Tayla adjusted Bradyn on her hip.
"Alright." Tom sighed and leaned in quickly to kiss Bradyn's cheek. "I'll come see you in a little bit, okay?"
"I win?"
"Yeah, I'll bring you a prize." Tom laughed and caught Tayla's eye,. "He won."
"Ahhh." She laughed as Tom headed toward the door and let it slam behind him. "Okay, precious, let's go out to your bus and kick back. What do you think?"
"Gan?"
"Yep, again." Tayla nodded. "You're still kind of sick so we want you to get all better."
"Kay." Bradyn nodded and lay his head on Tayla's shoulder. "And Lello."
"Yep, and Lello." Tayla bent to pick up his red bag then backtracked to triple check the clothes for the night. Everything looked in order so she ducked out the back door and quickly ran by the cafeteria that was set up to let the rest of the crew get a quick peek at Bradyn to know that he was okay. He'd become the "tour kid" in a way and everyone had been really worried about him.
She had two security guys usher her out to the bus while she covered Bradyn's head. She set him on the couch and took a deep breath. She hadn't been on their bus for a while but it always looked the same. A few mismatched sneakers in a pile, a few sweatshirt or jackets, video games and movies left out on the couch, at least one cereal box in view and a pile of stuffed animals.
"Are those yours?" Tayla pointed toward the animals on the couch.
"No Unka Bill."
"Those are Bill's?"
"Yeah. No touch." Bradyn shook his tiny finger at Tayla. "Unka Bill say NO!"
"You can't touch the stuffed animals?" Tayla frowned.
"Dis." Bradyn let go of her hand and walked over to the stereo system that was right behind the animals.
"Oooh, yeah. You can't touch the stereo."
"Is Unka Bill."
"Yep." Tayla nodded. "Okay, this is gonna suck. I have to entertain you for six hours on the bus you've already spent a few hours on." She said more or less to herself. "Do you want to read a book with me?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and climbed up on the couch. He dropped one of the extra sweatshirts on the floor and leaned his head back.
"Are you tired?"
"No." Bradyn shook his head but his eyelids drooped.
"Okay." She smiled and looked in his backpack for his books. "Where'd your books go?"
"Ina bed."
Tayla looked toward the back where the bunks were. "In the bed?"
"Yeah."
"Whose bed?"
"Daddy."
"Oh." Tayla sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Which one is that?"
"Dere." Bradyn pointed in the general direction of the back.
"Can you show me?" Tayla held out her hand for Bradyn who sighed and scooted off the couch to show her.
"Dere." He said when they got to the bunks.
Tayla put her hand on the bottom bunk. "This one?"
"No."
"This one?" She put her hand on the top.
"No."
"This one?"
"No."
"This one?"
"No."
"Bradyn, which one is it?" Tayla sighed. She didn't want to go poking around in their bunks but Bradyn wasn't helping at all.
"I un-no." Bradyn half shrugged and walked back to the couch where he took a few seconds to crawl back into his seat.
"Okay." Tayla peeked in the first one and didn't see any kids toys so she checked the one immediately below it and smiled. It had to be Tom's or Bradyn's. There was a pile of stuffed animals at the foot of the bed as well as his Elmo doll, a small pile of books and a flashlight.
She grabbed a few books and headed back out to the couch where Bradyn was waiting patiently. She sat beside him and they read through a few books twice each before he dozed off against her arm. Tayla tilted her head back and took a little catnap of her own.
The sound of the crowd arriving more than an hour later woke Tayla which in turn woke Bradyn. "I seep?" Bradyn asked groggily as he sat up slowly.
"Yeah." Tayla gave a soft chuckle and stood up to stretch. "Are you hungry, sweetie?"
"Kay." He yawned and climbed off the couch to sit on the floor by Lello. He pulled one of the books off the couch and sat turning the pages with the little dog in his lap. Tayla watched him for a few minutes and frowned slightly. He must spend a lot of time entertaining himself with how busy Tom was and she was sure that when he was with his mom he probably did the same thing. Bradyn was too much of a loner to have been given much attention and right then she wanted to smother him with hugs and kisses. He was surrounded by so many people who cared about him yet he was still sitting around amusing himself with a book and a stuffed dog.
Tayla quickly wiped her eyes and smiled at her foolishness. Bradyn was happy. She could see that much. There really wasn't much more a child could ask for. She cleared her throat and pulled the little refrigerator open. "Okay, I'm going to make a little something for dinner and afterward we can turn on a movie and take your medicine. How does that sound?"
"Kay." Bradyn said without turning around.
"Okay." Tayla said under her breath. She pulled out the makings for grilled cheese sandwiches and started the stove as she looked for a skillet. She made two sandwiches and cut up a pear. She set them on the table for herself and Bradyn.
"Bradyn, sweetie? It's time to eat." Tayla looked over and saw him lying on the floor using Lello as a pillow as he slowly flipped through one of the books. "Come up here." Tayla walked over and picked him up to set him at the table.
"Mook?"
"You want some milk?" Tayla stood up and got two glasses of milk and sat across from him again. "Oh, your medicine. I almost forgot." She stood up again and dug through his backpack on the floor by the couch to get the Tylenol from the bottle. Tayla read the directions on the side and took the single small pill to the table for Bradyn. "You know how to do this, right?" She set the pill beside his sandwich but he just stared at it.
"I have?"
"Yeah, you have to take that."
"No, you." Bradyn shook his head.
"No, you." Tayla smiled. "Take that and eat your dinner. Then we can watch a special movie." She gave him a surprised look and smiled as he grinned back at her. She could tell he still wasn't feeling too great and he moved like his body was stiff but he was being a trooper.
Bradyn took his medicine. They ate dinner and crawled back onto the couch to watch The Lion King DVD Tayla had stashed in her bag. He fell asleep before the end so Tayla watched the last hour by herself. She picked up one of the dozen Maxim magazines piled up beside the stack of DVD's the boys had collected.
She read for a while before the door flew open. "Hey." Tom panted as he hopped onto the bus. "How's it going?"
"He's asleep." Tayla looked up from the magazine in her hand. "I didn't know which bunk he usually slept in and since he crashed right there I just thought I'd leave him until you got back.
"No, that's fine." Tom smiled and sat on the edge of the couch by Bradyn. He lightly stroked his sleeping forehead and sighed. "Did he take his medicine?"
"Yeah, it was a little after five."
"Okay." Tom nodded and instinctively checked his watch. "So he'll need it again in about an hour?"
"Well yeah, but he's asleep." Tayla nodded.
"But he needs his medicine."
"Tom, you don't have to wake him up to give it to him."
"It says every four hours."
"But if he's asleep you don't have to wake him up." Tayla shook her head. "His fever is already going down a lot. He barely feels warm any more."
"The doctor said to take it for 24 hours after the fever is gone."
"You might want to have the tour physician come take his temperature. Just to see if it's back to normal." Tayla smiled. "He's been acting great though, not puny or cranky or anything. Just real tired."
"Yeah, he's been napping a lot." Tom sighed. "But that's normal right? I mean, if he's sick and on Tylenol?"
"Yeah, it can make him drowsy."
"Okay." Tom kissed Bradyn's forehead then stood up. "I've gotta get back in there. The show's usually over about ten thirty or so you'll be okay until then?"
"We'll be fine."
"There's security right outside the door." Tom pointed to the closed door.
"Okay."
"And if anything happens just page David and he'll come get me."
"Tom, everything will be fine."
"I know."
"Really. He's asleep. He has his Tylenol and Lello. He'll be just fine."
"I know." Tom exhaled sharply and forced a smile. "I just don't even wanna go out there tonight."
"You're gonna do great." She gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile as he hopped down the stairs and shut the door quietly behind him.
----------------
They drove through the night to St. Louis and checked into their hotel just before nine in the morning with a crowd of screaming fans outside. They got settled in then were shuttled back out to awaiting vans that would drive then between their half dozen appointments that dayBradyn bounced around with the guys to the three photo shoots and two media events. He hung out off to the side or in a separate room with a member of the security team for the most part but ended up going into the last photo shoot with Tom so he could kind of show Bradyn what he did, as if Bradyn could tell the difference.
"Okay, here's the deal. I have to go work over there for a little bit with the guys so I need you to sit right here and play with Lello, okay?"
"No have."
"No have?" Tom asked softly. He was stumbling through his Bradyn-speak.
"Lello."
"You don't have Lello?"
"No." Bradyn shook his head.
"Where is he?" Tom frowned. He couldn't afford to lose that floppy yellow dog.
"He seep."
"Where's he sleeping?"
"Ina bed." Bradyn sighed and looked around the photo shoot set. "I dere?" He pointed to a big backdrop of the night sky.
"No, you can't go over there right now." Tom shook his head. "Did we pack Elmo?" He knelt beside Bradyn and unzipped the backpack to look for something to entertain Bradyn while they worked. "Okay, no Elmo." He sighed and stood up.
"Emo pay."
"He what?"
"Pay Goose-gog."
"Gustav is playing with him?" Tom laughed.
"Pay game."
"He's playing a game with Gustav?"
"No." Bradyn shook his head and reached into his backpack. "I pay." He pulled out a few diapers and an extra pair of shoes then emerged triumphant with a clear green Nintendo DS. "Emo."
"Oh, I see." Tom zipped the bag and looked around for a place to deposit Bradyn where he'd be able to watch the toddler during the shoot.
"Bradyn!" Gustav walked in and immediately trotted over to where Bradyn was standing by Tom's feet. "You're gonna hang out here with us, huh?"
"Yeah, he has to be getting bored just sitting around with the guys." Tom nodded. "Plus his fever is gone and he seems to be feeling a lot better."
"Cool, that's good to hear." Gustav nodded. "You gonna get your picture taken with us?" Gustav smiled and looked around the studio.
"No." Tom shook his head. "I don't want his face all over everything."
"This is Gerda's shoot." Gustav said softly. "She's cool. She'd give you the prints and negatives. She could do some awesome shots."
"I don't know." Tom looked concerned as he looked over at the photographer. Gerda was a fantastic artist and a great friend but Tom wasn't sure he wanted to take the chance.
"You can't hide him forever. If he's gonna leak to the press, it may as well be with some great shots. Not grainy black and whites printed in the tabloids, don't you think?"
"Yeah." Tom sighed and looked up at Gustav. "You gave him a Nintendo DS?"
"I let him use mine. It has an Elmo game in it so he's set."
"Okay." Tom nodded.
"Okay, guys, head over here so I can get some before pictures." Gerda shouted with a smile. "They've given me a set schedule today and I want to undershoot it so we can have a little fun. So let's move."
"You're too hard on us, Gerda." Bill whined as he draped his arms around her in a loose hug.
"You haven't seen hard. Go stand over there and get the others together." She kissed his cheek like a mother and pat his shoulder.
"What are the before pictures? Before what?" Gustav asked.
"Before hair and make-up."
"What? Really?." Bill whined again as he took his place just left of center on the backdrop.
"Is he gonna be whiny like that all day?" Gerda asked as Georg walked up.
"Uh huh." Georg nodded and dodged Bill's quick hand.
"You can shut it, Bill, or I'll put you in the back." Gerda laughed and looked over to where Tom was standing. "Come on."
"Hey, Gerda." Tom raised his hand in a wave then patted Bradyn's head. "See ya later, buddy."
"Is that your little boy, Tom?" Gerda asked softly.
"Yeah, that's Bradyn."
"He's adorable." She smiled and immediately pictured him through the lens of the camera. "Would you want him in the shot?"
"No, I don't think so." Tom shook his head. "I don't want Bradyn's face all over the press, you know?"
"Yeah, I know how that goes. If you change your mind though I'd love to get my lenses on him." Gerda smiled and he knew she wouldn't press the issue. "Hey, Tom, are you going to introduce me?"
Tom smiled over his shoulder and reached for Bradyn's hand as he picked up the backpack. "Bradyn, let's go see Gerda." He tugged gently on his hand and they walked across the wide concrete flooring. "This is my son Bradyn. Can you say hi, Bradyn?"
"Hi." He said shyly.
"Hi, Bradyn. What do you have there?"
"I pay."
"Yes, I see you're playing. Are you winning?"
"Yeah." Bradyn smiled and buried his face in Tom's thigh.
"How old are you?"
"Dis." Bradyn moved the game boy to one hand then held up two small fingers.
"Wow! You're two? What a big boy." She laughed and looked up at Tom. "He's gonna be a heart breaker, just like you."
"Thanks." Tom blushed with pride and looked around. "Is there somewhere he can sit while we do this?"
"The only chairs I have are pretty high and, with the concrete floor, I wouldn't feel safe with him up like that." Gerda shook her head then spotted a padded cloth used as a buffer between her cases of equipment. "Here we go." She walked over and fanned it out just out of the camera's view, almost in the corner. "Here you go, sweetie. You can sit right here and watch these guys get their pictures taken." She smiled as Bradyn followed her over and sat cross-legged on the cloth. He turned his game on and became more interested in the figures moving on the screen than in the people in front of him.
"He's easily amused." Georg laughed and dropped himself on the floor in front of Bill and Gustav. "Can I just sit here all day, Gerda?"
"You bet." She laughed and picked up the camera. "Okay, just a few without the hair and make up, then you can go get prettied up." She snapped off a few pictures while directing them where to stand and how to pose. "Stop frowning, Gustav. You never know when someone might be falling in love with your smile." She rolled her eyes as the guys cracked up laughing, Gustav included.
"The cheese factors getting a bit high in here, Gerda." Gustav laughed and stepped off the backdrop. "Can we go get girled up now?"
"Yeah, go put your faces on." She waved them off as Tom looked toward Bradyn who was still entranced with his game. Gerda caught his eye and smiled. She waved him off as she walked over to where the little boy was sitting. She sat beside him with her camera and they compared toys for a few minutes. She showed him how to take a picture and let him push the button to hear the click. She made sure he was behind the camera.
"Are you having fun, Bradyn?" Gerda asked softly as Bradyn pressed the button on her camera, taking a picture of the ceiling and lights.
"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and looked around for Tom. "Daddy?"
"He's getting dressed. He'll be back in a second."
"Minnit?"
"Yeah, he'll be back in a minute."
Bradyn cast a worried look toward the door Tom had disappeared through. He looked back at Gerda, "And Gay-og?"
"Yes, Georg too. All of your buddies will be right back." Gerda smiled.
Bradyn sighed deeply again and kept his eyes on the shut door. "Kay." He didn't smile again until Bill stepped out of the room rubbing his lips together. "Hi, Unka Bill!" Bradyn perked up a little as Bill walked over.
"Hey, Bradyn." He smiled then slid his lips over each other again. "They overdid the gloss." He said to Gerda as he made a face.
"So wipe it off. It doesn't make a difference to me." She laughed and stood up with the camera in her hand. Bill looked at the sleeve of his long sleeved T-shirt and raised his eyebrow at Gerda. "Don't even think about it." She shook her head and he used the back of his hand to dab at his lips.
"If anyone tries to put gunk on your lips, just say no." Bill rubbed Bradyn's head and smiled.
"Kay."
"Can you say no?"
"No." Bradyn laughed and pulled on his shoelace. "My daddy?"
"He's coming."
"Go bye?"
"He didn't leave. See this stuff on my face? He's getting some put on his face. Although, not as much."
"Yeah." Bradyn sighed.
"So you're gonna hang out here?"
"Yeah."
"Cool."
"And daddy?"
"Yeah, your daddy will be out in a minute."
"I see?"
"You wanna go see him?" Bill held out his hand to Bradyn. "Come on. Let's go get him."
"Kay." Bradyn put his game on the thick cloth and took a hold of two of Bill's fingers. The older man lead the way across to the room where the guys were getting their hair done and pushed the door open.
"Hey, I got someone here looking for you." Bill laughed and looked down.
"Hey, Bray." Tom stood up from his hair chair leaving the make up artist with her hands midair. "What's up? Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "I fied."
"You what?"
"Fied Daddy."
"Oh, you found me?"
"Yeah."
"Were you looking for me?" He asked as he picked Bradyn up then sat back in the chair.
"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and rested his head on Tom's shoulder.
"Well, I'm right here." Tom said. "We have to take some pictures then we're going back to the hotel."
"And Tayla?"
"No, we won't get to see Tayla until tomorrow."
"Now?"
"Tomorrow." Tom shook his head.
Bradyn sighed and swung his feet to gently kick Tom in the knees. "Go now?"
"Are you tired?"
"Yeah."
"Do you want to go sleep in the van with Saki?"
"No."
"Well, Bradyn, I have to take some pictures. Do you want to take a little nap on your blanket?"
"Kay." Bradyn nodded and snuggled into Tom's chest.
"Is he okay?" Gustav asked as he walked over.
"Yeah, I think all of this was just too much for him today. He's still kinda blah, you know?" Tom frowned and wished there was a way for him to take Bradyn back to the hotel and completely skip the shoot.
"Yeah, I can imagine." Gustav nodded. "You'll be back to 100% Bradyn in a few days, buddy." He smiled at Bradyn then playfully thwapped Tom's head. "You gonna get those things redone? They look like Scheiß"
"No." Tom smiled as Gustav and Georg left the little room together. His stylist finished Tom's face with Bradyn in his lap before he walked out to join the rest of the group. "Okay, go ahead and lay down here. I'm going to be right there on that little stage taking pictures, okay?"
"Kay." Bradyn nodded and sat on the folded cloth again. He picked up his game boy and yawned as his eyes began to droop.
"Go ahead and take a nap. I'll wake you up when it's time to go."
"No nap." Bradyn shook his head but Tom could tell he'd be asleep before the first roll of film was used.
Tom was right and by the time the shoot was over Bradyn had slept for more than two hours. Tom woke him up and carried him out to the van where they rode back to the hotel after a long day and had a quiet dinner with Georg in his room.
When they got back to their room it was getting late so Tom gave Bradyn a quick bath and changed his diaper on the bed before he put his pajamas on. "Oh, your medicine. Almost forgot that." Tom sighed and reached into the backpack to get the bottle. He shook a pill out then closed it and put it away. "Here's you go." He placed the small pink pill in Bradyn's hand.
"No wan."
"I know you don't want it but it'll make you feel better." Tom said gently as he pulled Bradyn's pajama bottoms up over his diaper.
"No mo?" Bradyn asked as he chewed the Tylenol.
"No more what?" Tom scooted him closer to the head of the bed and tucked Lello under his arm.
"Mo owie?"
"No more owies." He shook his head and tried to smile.
"My hand?"
"No, no more in your hand."
"And docka?"
"Well, I don't know if we'll have to see a doctor again. I hope not though." Tom smiled and ran his hand over Bradyn's hair. "We're gonna keep giving you your medicine. That should make you all better so you don't have to see a doctor again. Okay?"
"Kay." Bradyn nodded and flopped his head on the pillow.
"Okay." Tom whispered as he watched Bradyn get comfortable. "Do you feel okay now?" Bradyn nodded. "Does your tummy hurt?"
"No."
"How about your head?" Tom tapped Bradyn's temple gently.
"No."
"How about your back?"
"No."
"How about your chin?" Tom playfully tickled Bradyn under his chin as they laughed.
"No." Bradyn scooted away from Tom's hand and smiled up at him.
"Okay. See you in the morning." He leaned down and kissed Bradyn's forehead. "Love you."
"Love too." Tears rose in Tom's eyes as he stood up. "You nigh-nigh?"
"Yeah, I'll go night-night later."
"Me now?"
"Yeah, you're going now. You're tired and you had a long day." Tom switched the bedside light off and let his eyes adjust.
"No daddy."
"No?"
"No go." Bradyn whined.
"You don't want me to go?"
"No here."
"You want me to stay here?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." Tom yawned and scooted Bradyn closer to the wall so that he could lay on the edge so that when Bradyn fell asleep he wouldn't have to crawl over him to get out.
"Daddy seep?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna go to sleep too." Tom yawned again and checked the clock. It was barely ten and way past Bradyn's bedtime.
"Nigh-nigh."
"Night-night, Bray." He pulled Bradyn close and kissed the top of his head then let his eyes drift closed. He was a lot more tired than he originally thought.
Within a few minutes Bradyn was snoring lightly into his chest and Tom was comfortable under the light covers. He settled himself for the night with his large hand resting on Bradyn's. He fell asleep knowing that Bradyn was right there with him.
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Over the next week, Tom slept in the same bed with Bradyn more for himself than for Bradyn. Being that close to Bradyn, Tom was sure he'd feel it if another fever came on suddenly and he didn't want to be taken off guard again. He was so worried about Bradyn getting sick or being cold or having a nightmare. Being within inches of him while he slept seemed logical. Or so he tried to convince himself. After six nights, Tom tried to sleep in his own bed but found that, without that little warm body beside him, it was hard to fall asleep."You just need to get laid, Kaulitz." Georg laughed when Tom happened to mention that he and Bradyn had slept in the same bed. "That's all it is. You're used to having someone there and, if Bradyn's all you have, well then there ya go." Georg shrugged out of his jacket and cursed early morning TV shows.
"That's sick, Georg." Tom made a face and tossed his sweaty shirt at Georg as he laughed.
"I don't mean it like that, you perv." Georg tossed the shirt back and reached to untie his shoes. "I just mean you've gotta have someone there. It doesn't matter who."
"Yeah." Tom nodded. "You still might be right though." Tom smiled and ran a towel over his chest.
"Ha. I'm right." Georg scoffed. Of course he was right.
Tom nodded and pulled a clean shirt over his head then yawned it on. It was barely nine in the morning and he'd already been up for three hours. Bradyn was still tucked in bed back at the hotel under Tobi's careful eye. He was sound asleep and oblivious to the fact that the world was going on around him.
Tom dozed in the van on the way back to the hotel and only half listened to the other guys' conversations about what they would do if they were given 24 hours to be 'unfamous' as Georg put it. He laughed to himself at some of their responses but kept his eyes closed. If he could be 'unfamous' for a day, he'd sleep it away and not worry that he was missing any kind of appointments. That's what he'd do.
"Tom?"
"Hmm?" Tom responded with his eyes closed tight.
"What would you do?"
"Hang out with Bradyn." His lips said before his original answer could find it's way out.
"Really?" Bill asked with a surprised tone.
"Yeah." Tom opened his eyes and yawned. "He spends so much time with Tayla or the guards. I'd just like to take one whole day and just hang out. Go to a park or Disney or something and not have to stress about anything."
"You mean whenever he's not with us, he's with Tayla?" Georg asked.
"Most of the time." Tom nodded. "Sometimes he's with David or one of the security guys."
"Why don't we hire a nanny?" Georg shook his head.
"Because that would be stupid." Tom shook his head.
"How would that be stupid? Nannies take care of kids. You have a kid. It seems logical to me." Georg defended himself.
"I don't want just anyone to watch Bradyn. I trust the security guys and Tayla and David."
"And us." Gustav pointed out. "Me and Bill watch him sometimes too."
"Yeah." Tom nodded.
"You let Gustav baby-sit?" Georg pretended to look hurt.
"I let whoever happens to be walking by baby-sit when it comes to you guys. Gustav just spends a lot of time in the halls." Tom laughed as they stopped behind the hotel. "Seriously though, anytime you guys wanna baby-sit just let me know." Saki jumped out of the front seat and opened the van door for them as they jumped out and scurried into the hotel.
On the ride up the elevator Tom thought about the people that took care of Bradyn for him and he realized he had never really thanked Tayla for all her help. He swore under his breath as he stepped off the elevator and walked quickly down the hall to his room. He had to shower and change quickly so that he'd have time to get Bradyn ready so they could leave in two hours but first he had a phone call to make.
He thanked Tobi and relieved him of his duties as he picked up the phone and sat across from Bradyn at the little table. "Whatcha got?" Tom whispered.
"Egg." Bradyn whispered back as he took a bite.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah."
"Wicked."
"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and took a drink of his juice. Tom talked on the phone for a few minutes then stole a few bites of Bradyn's pancakes and headed for the bathroom.
"I have to shower real quick. Stay at the table, okay?"
"Kay." Bradyn nodded.
Tom thought quickly and took everything off the table except for Bradyn's breakfast, just in case he spilled. "Okay, I'll be right back." He ran to the shower and cleaned himself up quickly. While he still had his towel around his waist he grabbed Bradyn and dunked him in the tub to clean the breakfast off his face.
Bradyn stood on the bed so Tom could dress him and sat on the floor so Tom could dress himself. They were doing good as far as time went so Tom turned on Sesame Street and let Bradyn rock out to Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch as he looked for his cell phone. "Hey, Bray, have you seen my phone?"
"On tay-bo." Bradyn looked toward the beds.
"No, my cell. The little phone?"
"No." Bradyn shook his head and turned his attention back to the TV.
"Damn." He sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the hotel phone to call Tayla's room. He had a surprise for her and he wanted to be sure she was there to receive it.
"Hello?" Tayla answered the phone as she stepped out of the shower. She was ten minutes behind schedule and didn't have a second to spare.
"Tayla?" Tom asked as he sat on the bed by the window.
"Yeah?"
"Hey, I just wanted to make sure you were there."
"I'm leaving though. What's up?"
"I just- I wanted to bring something by kind of." Tom said.
"Can we do it later? I'm seriously leaving in like two minutes."
"It'll only take a minute." He insisted.
"Fine. One minute." Tayla said then she hung up the phone and pulled her clean clothes from her case. She pulled them on over her still slightly damp body. She sat on the bed and buttoned her blouse before she grabbed her hairbrush as someone knocked on her door.
"Just a second!" Tayla shouted as she tore her brush through her damp hair. She ran barefoot across her room and pulled the door open. "I'm running late, Tom. What do-" She stopped suddenly and blushed.
"Tayla Wardrobe?" The young man asked from behind a large bouquet of pink and yellow roses.
"What?"
"I have a delivery for Tayla Wardrobe. Is that you?" He asked.
"Oh, uh- Yeah, I guess so." He couldn't see her confused expression through the roses. That wasn't her name, of course, but it fit.
"Then here you go. Have a nice day." The kid smiled as he handed the vase to Tayla and turned to leave.
"Wait! Who are these from?"
"I'm sorry. I don't know ma'am." The young man shrugged then turned around.
"Hmmm." Tayla took the flowers into her room and set them on the little table. She removed the tiny card from the plastic holder.
"Tayla, thanks for everything. Tom and Bradyn." She turned the card over to see that Bradyn had signed his own name with a few scribbled lines. Tayla smiled and closed her eyes to she inhale the sweet scent of the flowers. As cheesy as it was, she felt herself turning into a girly-girl at the thought of getting flowers, even if they were just to say thank you.
She ran her finger over the petals of the nearest yellow one before she reached for her cell phone to call Tom back. She dialed his room and waited as it rang and rang in her ear. She hung up and dialed his cell phone from memory. It rang through to his voice mail so she left him a short message. "Hi, Tom. This is Tayla. Thank you so much for the flowers. They really made my day. I'm really late though so I'll stop by later to say thanks in person. Have fun today. I'll see you later. Bye." She hung up and sniffed the flowers once more before she grabbed her bag and bolted out the door. She was officially late.
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When Tayla was finished with her meeting she checked the guys schedule. She ran down the hall to Tom's room to thank him in person for the flowers. Tayla stood in the hall outside Tom's room and nervously tapped three times. She waited for a few seconds and was about ready to knock again when Bill pulled the door open. "Hey, Tayla." He smiled."H- Hi, Bill." Tayla smiled with a confused look and checked the room number again. "I was, uh- Looking for Tom?"
"Who dat?" Bradyn shouted as he jumped off the bed and ran to the door.
"It's Tayla." Bill laughed and stuck his foot up to keep Bradyn from running into the hall. "Tom ran down to David's room to make a few calls without the rug monster yapping in the background." Bill laughed and playfully pushed Bradyn back with his foot. "What's up?"
"Nothing really. I just wanted to tell him thank you for- Just, uh- Let him know I came by to say thank you and I'll call him later."
"Okay." Bill laughed as Bradyn tried to climb up his leg. "Do you want to come in? He shouldn't be gone much longer."
"No, it's okay." Tayla smiled. "Bradyn sure looks like he's feeling better."
"Yeah, he has been a little energizer bunny the last few days. I don't know how Tom keeps up."
"Me neither." Tayla laughed. "Maybe if he had Gustav baby-sit him for a few hours they'd tire each other out."
"Hey, that's a good idea." Bill laughed again and leaned down to pick Bradyn up. "You need a hair cut, Bray."
"No cut." Bradyn placed his hands on top of his head. "Daddy hair."
"You like your Daddy's hair? Are you crazy?" Bill shook his head.
"How do you want your hair?"
"Unka Bill." Bradyn laughed. "Unka Bill cut?"
"You are crazy if you like Bill's hair." Tayla laughed.
"I guess it is a little crazy, huh?" Bill asked as he glanced at Tayla who was still standing in the hall.
"Whose? Yours or Bradyn?"
"I was talking about me but, yeah, I guess Bradyn needs a cut." Bill ran his hand over Bradyn's head again.
"I'll have to take him to get it cut again one of these days." She tilted her head to the side and sighed as she watched Bradyn reach for Bill's perfectly placed locks. "Hey, have you talked to Nadiehn? I haven't heard from her in a while."
"She's on vacation with her brother. They went to New York."
"With her brother?" Tayla laughed and gave him a look.
"Don't ask me. He annoys the hell out of me too." Bill laughed and bounced Bradyn on his hip.
"I've left her a message so I'm sure she'll call when she gets back." Tayla shrugged and looked down the hall.
"Yeah, she will." Bill set Bradyn on the floor and watched as he ran to the bed and scrambled up on it to jump up and down on the bouncy mattress. "Ugh, I have to go jump on the bed now."
"I can see you're dreading it." Tayla rolled her eyes and shook her head as Bill laughed.
"Well, Tom won't let him do it." He shrugged and said, "That's what us cool uncles are for."
"You're supposed to be the sensible one."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Bill jumped up on the bed beside Bradyn and waved. "I'll tell Tom you stopped by." He shouted as he began to bounce.
"Thanks." Tayla laughed. "Be careful."
"We will."
"Jump!" Bradyn reached for Bill's hands and laughed as they jumped in unison.
Tayla shut the door as she left and giggled to herself as she walked back to her room. She only had an hour before she had to be in the van en route to the venue where she had yet another meeting with a new designer. She wouldn't get a chance to see Tom again until they all got to the venue so she relaxed a little and got ready for her second meeting with David and the other tour leads.
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Tayla arrived at the venue shortly before the guys who were running late as usual. She kept an eye on Bradyn while they did their sound check and followed them to their dressing room when they were done."Daddy wok?"
"Yeah, he's working." Tayla nodded.
"Kay." Bradyn nodded and pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. It was a move she'd seen Tom do on several occasions. She smiled to herself and waited for a few minutes outside the dressing room until Bill and Georg appeared. "Is Tom still in there?" She asked though there was no place else he could be.
"Uh huh." Georg nodded.
"We have the meet and greet." Bill said as he folded a piece of gum in half and stuck it in his mouth.
Tayla sighed and looked at Bradyn. "We'll catch him afterward then. Let's go see what we can dig up in the play room, okay?"
"Kay." Bradyn laughed then wiggled to get down. She held his hand as they walked through the back stage maze to the little playroom where David and a couple of the riggers were playing a serious game of air hockey.
"I pay?" Bradyn asked as he ran over.
"Next game kid." Trey said without taking his eyes off the game.
"I win?"
"Ha. We'll see about that." Trey smiled down at Bradyn before he whizzed the plastic puck toward the opposite goal.
"Hey, David? Can you keep an eye on Bradyn for three minutes? I need to relay a message to Tom." Tayla said quickly.
"You bet. This game will be over in just a second." He smacked the puck and sent it soaring into Trey's goal.
"Damn it!" Trey growled with a smile and tossed a twenty at David. "Next time."
"Yeah, next time." David pocketed the dollar and looked at Bradyn. "Wanna race a car?"
"Yeah." Bradyn reached for David's hand as they headed over to where the racing video games were set up.
"Five minutes." Tayla held up five fingers and nodded at David.
"You got it." David waved as she left the room.
Tayla left the playroom and trotted back toward the dressing room. She hoped to catch Tom alone before he got to the meet and greet.
She spotted him a minute later walking away from her down the hall. She quickened her pace to catch up to him. "Tayla Wardrobe, huh?" Tayla laughed as she walked up behind Tom.
He turned around quickly and smiled. "I spaced on your last name. I figured they'd get to you faster if I just said that anyway." He licked his lips nervously and looked over his shoulder. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay." Tayla laughed. "Thank you for the flowers though. They were really sweet."
"Well thank you for all your help with Bradyn. Really I don't think I'd have been able to do it without you. I know I couldn't have. I think I might have made the biggest mistake ever if you hadn't been here to help. I mean, the urge to give up as so strong at the beginning." He paused and took a deep breath. "He's the best thing that's ever happened to me and the most important thing in my life right now. If it wasn't for you, he wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be who I am."
"I'm glad to help."
"Yeah but you go above and beyond the call of duty. Nowhere in your job description does it say take care of this incompetent asshole's kid." Tom gave a short laugh. "You do more than just help, Tayla."
She nodded slowly and patted his shoulder. "You're doing a great job, Tom. You had me worried there at the beginning but you've done amazingly the last few weeks. You should be proud of yourself. I know the rest of us are." Tayla smiled and slowly let her hand drop.
"Thanks." Tom blushed quickly. "I, uh- I'm sorry but I really have to get in there." He looked toward the door to the room where the meet and greet was already starting.
"Oh of course. I'm sorry to keep you." Tayla shook her head and took a step back. "I just wanted to say thanks."
"Anytime." Tom began to turn toward the door then stopped and took two quick steps toward her. He pulled Tayla in for a quick hug. "I'm glad you liked the flowers." Then kissed her cheek as he stepped away.
"Hey, Tom?" Tayla finally managed when he had his hand on the door handle.
"Yeah?"
"Speight."
"What?"
"My last name." She laughed and shoved her hands in her pockets.
"I'll remember that." Tom laughed and shoved the door open. He waved again as the door swung shut and Tayla heard the girls inside giggle and screech at the sight of him.
She shook her head and sighed as she walked back down the hall to the dressing room. She still had a lot of work to do.
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Tayla sat on her bus after the show and tried to get into her new book. She wasn't tired but she knew that if she didn't go to sleep then she'd regret it in the morning. The ringing of her cell phone by her pillow startled her causing her to drop her book and lose her place. "Hello?" She answered as she picked up her book to flip through the pages in search of the chapter she left off on."Tayla?" Nadiehn asked softly. "Did I wake you up?"
"No, I'm up." Tayla smiled and tossed her book to the side. "Are you home now? Bill said you were on vacation?"
"Yeah, Caleb and I went to New York for five days. It was pretty fun."
"Cool." Tayla nodded.
"Caleb was pretty psyched just to be there in Times Square, you know?"
"Yeah." Tayla laughed. "I remember the first time I went to New York. I was like a talking monkey. It was so awesome."
Nadiehn laughed with her and sighed. "So what's up? I got your message and it sounded important."
"Yeah." Tayla sighed. "I'm not too sure what to think about this. Tom sent me flowers."
There was silence for a second on the other end. "Flowers?"
"Roses." Tayla nodded.
"Hang on. He bought you roses?"
"Yeah, but it's not what you think." Tayla said quickly.
"What is it then?"
"They were thank you flowers."
"Thank you?"
"For taking care of Bradyn and stuff." Tayla shrugged. "They were pretty though. Pink and yellow."
"Was there a card or anything? When did he give them to you?" Nadiehn asked as she pulled her hair out of her clip.
"Yeah, there was a little card that just said Thanks for taking care of Bradyn type thing. He had them delivered to my room. He didn't give them to me actually." Tayla sighed. "But what does that mean?"
"I don't know." Nadiehn shook her head. "I mean, I really don't know. Tom's the flower kind of guy though so maybe they really were just thank you flowers."
"But?"
"But coupled with the kiss, I don't know."
Tayla paused. "Have you been talking to Kala?"
"Yeah." Nadiehn laughed. "Who else would I have heard it from? Definitely not Bill."
"The kiss could be written off to stress though." Tayla pointed out.
"Yeah, it could." Nadiehn smiled. "What do you think though?"
"Gah! I don't know what to think."
"Do you like him?"
"Yeah, I guess. But he's still getting used to Bradyn and breaking up with Carrie and things."
"Confusing, huh?" Nadiehn asked.
"Yeah."
"You could always ask him."
"Yeah right." Tayla laughed. "I'm not in the fourth grade any more. I can't just walk up to a boy and ask if he likes me."
"Write him a letter. I like you. Do you like me. Check yes or no." Nadiehn giggled at her joke. "I could always ask my source."
"Your source?"
"Bill." Nadiehn laughed. "He's good for something you know."
"For a few things, I'm sure." Tayla smiled. "Well, if you find out anything great, don't make a big deal out of it."
"I won't." Nadiehn laughed.
"I mean it."
"I won't! I promise."
"So I heard you're coming to see the last show?" Tayla asked.
"A few days before, yeah." Nadiehn sighed. "I come in on Thursday night and the last show is Saturday, right?"
"Something like that." Tayla yawned softly.
"Cool."
"Oh hey, by the way. While you're here I get to steal you for a day. We're going to a spa."
"Yay!" Nadiehn squealed like a teenager and bounced in her seat. "Girl stuff."
"I know! I can't wait either." Tayla tried not to yawn again but it managed to escape.
"I'm gonna let you go. You sound tired so I'll just call you later." Nadiehn said softly. "I'll see you in a few weeks."
"Okay. Sorry I'm yawning in your ear."
"No problem. I'm used to it." Nadiehn laughed then they said good-bye and hung up.
Tayla clicked her phone off and set it aside as she picked up her book to try to find her place again. She read until her eyes drifted closed. She fell asleep on the pages as the rocking of the bus sent her into dreamland.
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For two weeks things went along smoothly. Everyone got back into their regular schedule. Bradyn got back to being the normal two year old that everyone adored and Tayla put the flowers and the kiss out of her mind. The guys were busier than ever putting together a mini-performance for an MTV show they had coming up so their mornings were spent at the venue."So Benjamin called this morning." David said as he walked up to Tom just before he got to the van.
"Yeah?" Tom wiped the sweat from his brow and let the afternoon breeze cool his face. "What'd he say?"
"The investigator we hired hasn't been able to find any new leads. He wants to know if you want to bring in a second guy to help look."
"I don't know, David. It's been almost two months now. We've had that guy looking for that entire time and nothing's turned up. Should we even bother?"
"That's up to you, Tom." David shrugged. "The tour will be over here in another eight weeks or so. My guess is that if we haven't found her by then and, if she doesn't show up, you probably won't see her again."
"Which, at this point, is fine with me." Tom exhaled loudly and looked over David's shoulder. As much as he didn't want to think about Bradyn's mom, she still came to mind more often than he liked. "Who's going to the game tonight?" He changed the subject and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Uh, you and Bill. I think Gustav said something about going but I haven't heard for sure. Georg is going out with some locals. They won't be done until later."
"Okay, what about the crew?" Tom asked.
"The crew is here putting up the stage and everything to have it all set to go for the double header on Monday." David nodded.
"Okay." Tom sighed and climbed in the van.
Tom rolled down the window as David asked. "You heading back to the hotel?"
"Yeah. Tayla has some things to do so I'm gonna take Bradyn off her hands for a bit." Tom smiled and slid his seat back. "We're gonna hang out."
"You and Tayla?"
"Me and Bradyn." Tom raised his eyebrow at David. "I'll see you tonight right?"
"This afternoon. You have that online chat at two."
"That's right. In the conference room on the third floor?"
"Yeah."
"I'll see you at two." Tom waved as the driver started the car and took off out of the parking lot.
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When he got back to the hotel, Tom went by Tayla's room to pick up Bradyn and laughed when he saw that she had cut his hair again. "Did you do this?" He asked as he ran his hand over Bradyn's short hair."I had Jude do it." Tayla nodded. "I didn't think we'd have time to find another salon."
"You look like Bill when he was little." Tom smiled and shook his head.
"I have Unka Bill?"
"You look like him."
"I see?" Bradyn asked.
"Bill's busy right now. You can see him later." Tom said as he took Bradyn's red bag. "Thanks, Tayla."
"You're welcome." She smiled and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I know you have to run so we'll get out of your way." Tom pulled the door open and stepped into the empty hall.
"I'll be done by two thirty though if you want me to watch him for your thing downstairs." She said hopefully. She was becoming more and more attached to Bradyn. It was to the point that she didn't want to let him go half the time.
"No, that's cool. Take some time for you. He can hang out with me down there. It's an online thing so it's not like he'll be in the way. Besides, Georg will be there." Tom swung Bradyn up onto his hip and made a face. "Did ya hear that?! Georg will be there!"
"Swee." Bradyn nodded.
"Sweet? I don't say sweet. Bill says sweet. Bill has affected your vocabulary." Tom shook his head and tossed a smile at Tayla. "I'll see you later."
Tayla watched them leave then sunk down onto her bed surrounded by a pile of clothes that needed to be ironed before she sorted them out and stuck them on racks to show the guys. She definitely had some work to do and she'd put it off long enough.
After two hours of sorting the clothes into piles by size then piles by designer, Tayla was ready for a break. She grabbed her coin purse and headed to the gift shops off the lobby to grab some snacks and maybe some post cards to send home to her friends that she'd managed to lose touch with.
She chose a bag of M&M's and a bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper then stood by the door to pick out postcards that would accurately portray what she'd seen of Atlanta. She looked and looked but saw none with just a picture of a messy hotel room or the lobby.
"Hey, Tayla." Tom reached for Bradyn's hand as they walked into the little gift shop. He startled her with the sound of her name.
"Hey, guys." She smiled and bent to scoop Bradyn up in her arms. "Hey there, handsome! Do you want to help me pick out some post cards?"
"Yeah." Bradyn smiled as she placed a kiss on his cheek.
"So what are you guys up to tonight?" She glanced at Tom quickly before she looked through the cards in front of her.
"Well, I'm going to the game tonight with Bill."
"The game?"
"The Marlins are playing the Braves." Tom explained. "I was gonna take Bradyn but the game doesn't start till 8:05 and I think that might be a little late."
"Yeah, probably." Tayla nodded. "I'm not doing anything tonight. I can watch him."
"Yeah?" Tom asked hopefully. He was hoping she'd volunteer. He hadn't had a real night out with his friends in a long time. Even though he knew that was part of becoming a parent, he knew that most parents had a partner to help out.
"Sure, I'll have to come by your room though. I have a shipment of samples that came in this afternoon so they're all over my room and I'd hate to get them messed up."
"That's fine." Tom nodded hurriedly. "What kind of samples?"
"Outfits that designers have sent for you guys. The spring is the busy season so I have handfuls of them. I have to break them down into size, sort out whose is whose and send back the stuff we don't need."
"So we get new clothes?"
"Maybe." She nodded. "This is just the first shipment. There will be more."
"Well do we get to see them?"
"Some of them, yeah."
"What do you do with the ones we can't see?" Tom asked.
"Send them back for the proper adjustments." Tayla shrugged and pulled three cards from the rack in front of her. "Eventually you'll see everything that's sent."
"Cool." Tom nodded. "So you can watch him?"
"Sure."
"Thanks." Tom smiled and reached for Bradyn. "We're on our way to get some dinner before I have to leave. Right, Bradyn?"
"Yeah." Bradyn laughed.
"What are you going to get?" Tayla asked Bradyn as she straightened his shirt.
"Noodo."
"Noodles, huh?" She laughed and looked at Tom for clarification.
"He's on a spaghetti kick." Tom shrugged. "He just can't get enough of it."
"All those carbs, huh? Well he's active enough to burn them all off. Lucky kid." Tayla sighed and shuffled the cards in her hand. "So what time should I come by?"
"In about an hour?" Tom checked his watch. "Maybe an hour and a half? We're gonna hop in there to eat then go right back up. The crowd looks pretty tame but you never know." Tom looked toward the main lobby.
"Yeah." Tayla nodded. "I'll just plan on being there in about an hour. If you're there, great. If not I'll hang out."
"Okay." Tom smiled as Bradyn fidgeted in his arms. "See you then."
"Bye." She said softly as he ducked out of the little shop and met up with his security guard.
Tom and Bradyn sat in a booth at the back with their security team and ate a quick dinner before heading back upstairs for Tom to get ready for the game. Bradyn played with his Elmo by the huge sliding glass window as the sun set over the edge of the balcony.
Tayla arrived right on time. She knocked on Tom's door as he was buttoning his jeans. "Hey." He said softly as he cast his eyes downward. "Come in." He held the door open for her.
"Hi, guys." Tayla smiled as Bradyn jumped up off the floor and ran over to wrap his arms around her legs.
"Hi!" He giggled and tried to climb up her legs.
Tayla picked him up and made a face at him. "Are we gonna have fun tonight?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "Daddy an Unka Bill baw."
"They're gonna go watch a ball game, that's right."
"No me." Bradyn shook his head.
"Not this time. Maybe next time." Tayla nodded.
"Yeah nes-ime."
"Hey, Tayla? Thanks a lot for taking care of him tonight. I haven't had a night out with the guys for a while." Tom smiled and tilted his head slightly.
"It's no problem." Tayla smiled. It wasn't a problem at all. "You deserve it."
"I don't think it'll go too late." Tom leaned in to give Bradyn a quick kiss across his cheek. "He had a good nap today so he should crash around eight or nine."
"Okay." Tayla nodded. She knew the drill.
"Okay." Bradyn took off across the room as Tayla put him down and laughed. "He's a live wire tonight."
"That's okay." Tayla laughed and put her hands in her pockets. "Have a great time at the game and don't worry about getting back early."
"Thanks." He smiled and waved lamely as he headed for the door. "Bradyn, I'll see you later, buddy."
"Bye, Daddy." Bradyn shouted from the floor as he dug in his backpack for his matchbox cars. He pulled three of them out and lined them up between his feet then made car noises as he drove one around in circles.
"Bye." Tom reluctantly shut the door behind him. It felt weird to be leaving Bradyn with a baby-sitter when he didn't have to. If it was for work or a meeting or something beyond his control he didn't have a problem but this was something purely recreational. This was him going out to have fun and it felt strange having Tayla watch Bradyn for him.
He tried to put those feelings beside him as he met up with Bill in the hall. Tonight was his night to have fun with his brother like he used to. He smiled broadly as Bill did a victory dance in front of the elevators.
"Go tell those guard guys we're ready to go." Bill leaned over and repeatedly hit the down button. Tom walked across the hall and tapped on the security's door to let them know they were ready to go. An outing like this required no less than three guards but that night they had four. It was an outing for everyone and no one wanted to miss the chance.
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Tom yawned as he slid his key in the lock. He secretly hoped that Bradyn would be up just so he could say good night. The lock beeped at him but didn't change colors. He tried it another two times before it went from red to green and he was able to push it open. "Hey, guys." Tom whispered loudly as he walked into the half dark room and kicked his shoes off. "Marlins lost."The TV was on in the corner but the volume was turned down as low as possible as an old episode of Green Acres played. "What are you watching?" He laughed softly as he dropped his bag by the table. "Tayla?" He turned around when she didn't respond and smiled slowly. She was sound asleep on top of the covers curled around Bradyn who was also sleeping.
Tom smiled and reached to pull off his shirt. He could imagine the fuss Bradyn had made to make her sleep in his bed. She had scoffed and rolled her eyes when Tom mentioned that Bradyn was sleeping in the bed with him now so it must have taken some serious convincing for her to go for it.
The chair behind him made a perfect hanger for his shirt as Tom removed his belt. He tip toed to the bathroom and traded his jeans for his sweatpants. He brushed his teeth and stepped back out into the room. Tom scratched his stomach as he yawned and clicked the TV off, silencing Oliver in the middle of a monologue.
Tom pulled the covers back on the empty bed and clicked the light off before fluffing his pillow and making himself comfortable. He yawned and listened to the rhythmic breathing of the two sleepers in the bed across from him.
For the first few minutes he just tried to find a comfortable position. He finally pulled the second pillow from the bed and rested it against his chest just to feel like something was there. Over the last few weeks he'd gotten used to having Bradyn in the bed with him and he found it hard to sleep without him there.
He forced his eyes closed for a half hour before he finally stood up with his pillow in his hand. He stared down at the bed by the window and chewed his bottom lip in thought. There was plenty of room with Tayla all the way over by the wall and Bradyn sprawled out in the middle. If he could just move Bradyn over a tiny bit he could fit right on the edge.
Tom bent over the bed and carefully moved Bradyn's leg over and rolled him onto his side. He slowly lowered himself onto the bed beside Bradyn while trying to keep the bed from shifting too much as he pulled his legs up and folded his pillow in half under his head. Bradyn sighed and flopped over onto his back again, smacking Tom in the head in the process. Tom moved his tiny hand and smiled as he closed his eyes and fell asleep with his son's hand in his.
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Tayla stretched her arms slowly and gently pushed Bradyn's small body away from hers. It was much warmer in the bed than she expected and she wished she'd have thought to open the window before she went to bed. Bradyn made a grumbling type sound as he rolled over in his sleep. "It's okay, buddy. Go back to sleep." Tayla whispered as she rubbed her eyes and went to throw her leg over Bradyn to climb out of the bed.Instead of meeting with the soft comforter, her leg struck something solid and warm. Her eyes flew open and a small squeak escaped from her throat before she realized that it was Tom. "Shit, you scared me." She held her hand over her racing heart and fell back onto the bed.
"What?" Tom mumbled as he pushed himself up onto his elbow still mostly asleep.
"What are you doing here?"
"It's my room." He argued.
"I mean in the bed." She frowned and tried to catch her breath as her adrenaline level returned to normal.
"Shhhh." Tom held his finger to his lips and looked at Bradyn who hadn't moved an inch. He stood up carefully then stood beside the bed as Tayla carefully climbed over Bradyn to the spot Tom had vacated. Tom offered his hand to help her stand then smiled. "I couldn't sleep. I was used to having Bradyn in bed with me."
Tayla would have argued but it was too early and nothing came to mind. "Well- Then you- Ugh, never mind." She anxiously ran her hands through her hair and looked around on the floor for her shoes. "You could have woken me up when you got in."
"You were asleep. I didn't think I'd be able to wake you." Tom rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Next time I'll do that though."
"Yeah, next time." Tayla rolled her eyes as if there would be a next time. "What time does the caravan leave today?"
"I'm not sure for you guys. Our bus leaves at three." Tom yawned and stretched. His muscles flexed and Tayla quickly looked away. "You can ride with us if you want."
"I have to set up and stuff." She grumbled as she shoved her feet into her sneakers. "But thanks."
"Sure." Tom nodded and sat on the edge of the bed by Bradyn.
"Did you have fun?"
"At the game?" Tom asked. Tayla blushed quickly as she wondered if he thought she meant did he have fun in bed. She nodded and leaned down to tie her shoes. "Yeah, it was fun. The Marlins lost but it didn't matter. Bill and I got to hang out, drink a few beers, eat footlong hot dogs and pretzels. It was awesome."
"I'm glad you had fun." Tayla smiled quickly then stood up and reached for her purse. "I'll see you guys later."
"You're leaving?"
"Yeah."
"Bradyn's gonna be up in a few minutes and we're gonna order up breakfast if you want to wait." Tom scratched his shoulder and tried not to yawn again.
"No, that's okay. I'm not a big breakfast eater." She said as she dropped her purse on her shoulder. She took a step toward the door. She suddenly stopped and turned sharply. She crossed the room to the bed again. She stood beside Tom and tossed her hair over her shoulder as she leaned down and placed a kiss on Bradyn's warm forehead.
Tom caught a whiff of the perfume she wore and smiled. It smelled like rose water. "What are you up to today?"
"I have a team meeting." She said automatically. She wasn't sure if she did but it sounded legitimate.
"What time do you guys leave?" Tayla asked again running a frazzled hand through her hair.
"Three." Tom smiled. For some reason the image of her looking flustered amused him.
"I'll see you at the venue then." She stepped into the hall and let the door drift closed behind her.
Tayla rushed to her room and looked around. She had piles of clothes that still had to be sorted and put onto racks before they left and she'd procrastinated long enough. She took a quick shower then dressed in denim shorts and a tank top before pulling empty racks up to her room to begin her sorting.
The racks were covered and on a truck when she climbed onto her crew bus and headed out of the city at noon while Tom and the guys lingered over a casual lunch. They boarded their bus at three, right on schedule, and dispersed throughout the sitting areas to settle in for the long haul.
Bradyn went to the back with Bill and Georg to play video games while Tom and Gustav sat in the front room reading or listening to music. Tom had his notebook out and was scribbling away. He'd always kept a journal to write down his thoughts and random lyrics. He had to catch up on all of the writing time that he'd lost since Bradyn arrived in his life. He got more than an hour or writing in before there was a commotion at the back of the bus.
"Ow! Shit!" Georg screeched from the back only seconds before Bradyn started to howl.
"Tom!" Bill shouted from the back of the bus.
"What?" Tom shouted back. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the loud sound.
"Get back here now!" Georg grumbled as Bradyn cried.
Tom bolted from his seat as he recognized the sound of Bradyn's cry and got to the back of the bus in three long strides. "What? What happened?" He threw the curtain to the side to see Georg rubbing his brow and Bradyn crying in a heap on the floor.
"He flipped out." Bill shook his head.
"What are you talking about?" Tom knelt in front of Bradyn and scooped him up in his arms to try to calm him down. "It's okay, buddy."
"Georg told him that I got to play next and he had a full on tantrum." Bill shook his head and sighed.
"What?" Tom looked at Bill like he had sprouted another head in the four seconds he'd been there.
"Your damn kid punched me in the eye with a controller and fucking bit me." Georg grumbled as he threw Bradyn a dirty look.
"Watch your mouth, Georg." Tom said as he continued to cuddle Bradyn as his cries subsided.
"I'm serious, Tom. I don't know what's gotten into him." Bill flopped down on the couch.
"You couldn't just let him play?" Tom asked with a scowl.
"He's been playing all morning. He needs to learn how to share and take turns. He's turning into a spoiled brat." Georg took his hand away from his forehead and frowned.
"He's two. Cut him some slack." Tom stood up with Bradyn in his arms.
"Two doesn't make a difference. He shouldn't be throwing stuff at Georg and trying to take a bite out of him. Georg's not a sandwich." Bill yawned. "What he needs is another spanking."
"Another? Did you hit him?" Tom glanced from Georg to Bill.
"I smacked his ass when he bit me. That's when he started to cry."
"Keep your hands off him, Georg." Tom pressed his lips into a tight line trying to keep his temper in check. He hadn't heard half of what Georg had said and none of it had sunken in as Bradyn squirmed in his arms.
"He had his teeth in my arm, Tom! It's not like I beat him senseless. I swatted his diaper padded ass enough to let him know I meant business. You should try it. Maybe then he'd quit walking all over you." Georg was shocked to hear the words come from his mouth but they needed to be said.
"Georg- I-" Tom stammered. He turned to carry Bradyn to the front of the bus where Gustav was sitting.
"What happened?" Gustav asked.
"Georg hit him." Tom said with a huff as he sat in the chair across from Gustav.
"Seriously?! What for?"
"He said Bradyn hit him." Tom sighed. "Did you hit, Georg?" He asked Bradyn as the little boy rested his head on his Daddy's shoulder. Bradyn nodded slightly and took a deep and shaky breath. "Why'd you hit, Georg?"
"Hit me."
"Did you hit him first?"
"No pay." Bradyn said as tears rose in his eyes.
"He said you couldn't play?"
"Unka Bill pay." Bradyn sat up and crossed his chubby arms over his chest, imitating a stance Tom often took.
"It was Bill's turn to play." Tom nodded.
"No my." He insisted.
"You need to take turns, Bradyn. Those are games for everyone to play, not just you."
"No." Bradyn shook his head. "Mine."
"No, you have to share. If you can't share you don't get to play anymore."
"I pay!"
"You can play if you can take turns. Sometimes you'll have to watch the other guys playing."
"No I by."
"You what?"
"I by." Bradyn frowned deeper.
"You bite?"
"I by Georg."
"He bit Georg?" Gustav asked with a surprised look.
"You bit Georg?"
"Unka Bill no pay." Bradyn's tears over flowed.
"Whoa, hang on." Tom shook his head. "You don't bite anyone."
"I by Georg." Bradyn nodded.
"No, you don't bite Georg."
"Yeah I by."
"I know you did but that's a bad thing. I don't want you to ever bite anyone again." Tom's voice took on a stern tone that scared even himself. "And, for that matter, no more hitting period."
"Georg hit."
"Georg spanked you, I know."
"He bad?"
"No, he hit you because you bit him." Tom sighed. "No more video games today."
"Yes! I pay!"
"No. No more video games today." Tom shook his head and leaned back against the couch.
"He bit Georg?" Gustav asked with a hint of a smile.
"Yeah. Shit." Tom grumbled under his breath. He placed Bradyn on the floor in front of him. "You need to go tell Georg you're sorry for hitting him in the head with the controller and for biting him."
"No."
"Yes." Tom tugged at his arm but the little boy stood still. "Bradyn, now."
"No go." Bradyn pouted as Gustav watched with an amused smile. The little boy was just like his father.
"Yes, right now. You need to go say you're sorry."
"Georg sorry."
"No, Georg doesn't have to apologize. He was punishing you."
"No." Bradyn insisted.
Tom closed his eyes and exhaled sharply. "Yes." He picked Bradyn up as he began to squirm and walked to the back of the bus. "Hey, Georg." Tom pulled the drape to the side to see the two guys kicking back on opposite couches. "Bradyn has something he wants to say."
"No." Bradyn pouted.
"Yes." Tom raised his eyebrow at Bradyn then waited for a second. "We're going to stand here until you say it, Bradyn."
"Sorry." Bradyn grumbled as he hid his face in Tom's shoulder.
"So he can hear you."
"He hear."
"Say it so he can understand you."
"Sorry." Bradyn said softly.
"For?"
"For by." Bradyn covered his eyes with his hands.
"And?"
"For I hit." Bradyn continued to cover his eyes.
"Thanks, Bray." Georg paused the game and stood up. "I'm sorry I had to spank you but biting hurts." He rubbed Bradyn's back and Tom saw the tiny red teeth marks on Georg's arm.
"Georg, I'm sorry I got upset too." Tom added softly.
"It's alright." Georg nodded.
"Did he bite you hard?"
"Eh, I've had worse." He smiled with that sly Georg look that made Tom laugh.
"Yeah, I bet you have." Tom smirked.
"Don't worry. I doubt he'll do it again." Georg shook his head and reached up rubbed Bradyn's head. "No more biting, right?"
"No by." Bradyn mumbled into Tom's chest.
"He won't." Tom shook his head and adjusted Bradyn on his shoulder.
"Hey, Tom?" Gustav shouted from the front of the bus.
"Yeah?"
"What time does our flight leave tomorrow?"
"Um, eight." Tom smiled at Georg once more before he carried Bradyn up to the front so he and Gustav wouldn't have to shout.
"We have a phone interview at seven." Gustav looked at the tattered paper in front of him. "How's that gonna work?"
"We're the last to board the plane so we'll take the call from the lounge. We'll cut it off when we board." Tom shrugged.
"It's supposed to be an hour call." Gustav pointed out.
"Well, it can't be." Tom sat at the little table and set Bradyn down beside him.
"Did you really bite Georg?" Gustav asked Bradyn.
"Leave it alone, Gustav." Tom sighed and opened a box of crackers. He placed a few in front of Bradyn then pressed his hands over his eyes.
"He's been asking for it." Gustav laughed.
"It's not a joke, Gustav." Tom removed his hands to glare at Gustav. "He shouldn't be biting anyone and you making it into a cool thing isn't helping."
"I was messing with him. He doesn't know."
"He knows you think it's cool when he bites, Georg." Tom frowned and took a cracker for himself.
"You need a nap." Gustav shook his head and stood up.
"Yeah, I do." Tom whispered as he bit the cracker in half. He glanced down at Bradyn's tear stained face and realized they both needed naps. Tom waited until they finished up their snack before they retreated to their bunk to snooze for the duration of their ride to the hotel.
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Tokio Hotel played their show that night while Tayla watched Bradyn in the backstage area. He seemed quieter and almost sad as they played together. "I see Daddy?""You'll see him when he's done." Tayla shook her head and pulled him away from the door.
"A minnit?"
"No, it'll be longer than a minute." Tayla frowned slightly and tugged at his hand.
"I see a minnit." Bradyn said forcefully as he pulled her toward the door. "Peese one."
"Bradyn, honey, we can't go out there."
"Yes, one."
"It'll hurt your ears."
"No, one." Bradyn insisted. Tayla frowned. She'd never seen Bradyn this insistent about seeing Tom.
"Okay, sweetie. Hang on." Tayla picked him up and looked around for a security guard that she recognized. She spotted Saki just outside the door so she walked up and tapped his shoulder. "Hey, do you have ear plugs?"
"Yeah, you need 'em?"
"For Bradyn." Tayla nodded.
"I dunno if they'll fit." Saki frowned and pulled the little box out of his pocket.
"Can I tear them in half? I'll get you some new ones."
"Yeah, go for it. I have a dozen." Saki laughed. "Here." He took Bradyn from her as she took the foam earplugs and tore them in half.
"Bray, if we're going out there you need to put this in your ear, okay? But don't touch it, okay?"
"Kay. See Daddy?"
"Yeah, we're going to see your Daddy." Tayla nodded and worked the bright orange strips into Bradyn's tiny ears. A good portion of them stuck out on each side. He looked funny but he'd save his hearing. "Thanks, Saki." Tayla smiled and took Bradyn back.
They walked around the back stage area till they came to the stairs on the side of the stage just out of view from the huge audience.
"Georg?" Bradyn asked as the boys jammed on stage.
Tayla leaned close to his ear. "Daddy is right there. See him with the red shirt?"
"Daddy?" Bradyn asked though Tayla couldn't hear him very well.
"In just a second he'll be over here. Hang on." Tayla bounced him on her hip and watched as the song ended and the four guys stood and gratefully accepted the applause and screams of approval from the fans.
Tom glanced over and saw Tayla standing by the stairs. He wasn't sure what he saw at first but when he realized that Bradyn was in her arms he leaned over and pat Bill's back quickly and said something off the mic.
"Hey." Tom panted as he raised his voice. "What's up?"
"Bradyn just wanted to see you." Tayla shook her head and waved him back on stage.
"Is he okay?" Tom asked loudly.
"Yeah." Tayla nodded to reassure him.
"Hi, Daddy." Bradyn said softly as he reached for Tom.
"Hi, buddy." Tom hugged him tight for a second then kissed his head. "I have to go. I'll see you tonight, okay?" Tom looked over his shoulder at the others on the stage. Georg raised his arms in a questioning gesture. Tom shook his head and held up his finger to indicate for Georg to wait a minute. "He's okay?"
"He's fine. Sorry to break up your show." Tayla blushed.
"No problem. See you after." Tom turned and sprinted back to the stage.
Tayla and Bradyn watched for another few minutes before they went back to the playroom where she took out his earplugs. "I see."
"Are you okay, Bradyn?"
"Yeah, I see Daddy."
"Do you feel better now that you saw him?"
"Yeah." Bradyn yawned and grabbed Lello off of his backpack and curled up on the little couch. Tayla sat on the far end and flipped through her magazine as Bradyn fell asleep using his dog as a pillow.
When the show was over Tom went straight to the playroom before bothering to change his clothes, "Is he okay?" He asked Tayla as he looked at Bradyn sleeping on the couch.
"Yeah, I don't know what that was about. He just wanted to see you." Tayla shrugged.
"I've been real busy the last few days." Tom said softly with a sigh.
"He probably misses you." Tayla nodded.
"Yeah." Tom's brow furrowed. He missed the little guy too.
"You'll have a few days in New York though." Tayla tried to smile.
"Yeah, we'll be able to hang out a little there."
"All you have is the MTV taping right?" Tayla asked.
"Yep." Tom nodded and ran his hand over his sleeping son's back. "Can you carry him out to the van? I want to be able to leave as soon as I change. We've got an early flight out tomorrow."
"Sure." Tayla nodded and sat beside Bradyn on the couch. "Go ahead and change. I'll get him settled."
"Thanks." Tom mumbled under his breath as he turned to leave. Tayla packed up Bradyn's little bag and picked him up to carry him out to the awaiting vans. She strapped him into his seat without waking him up. She waited for Tom and the others to come running out of the venue.
Tayla left the van and went back inside to clean up the clothes. She was flying out the next day as well but she would be able to sleep in.
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"It's nice to have you on our flight this morning." The flight attendant smiled as the guys boarded the plane and took their seats in first class. Gustav and Tom flipped their phones off as they stepped onto the plane and tucked them away as they were instructed."Thanks." Tom nodded and slid Bradyn's car seat into the window seat before securing it safely and sitting in his own aisle seat.
"Where are we going?" Bill asked with a smirk as he sat on his knees and looked over the back of his seat at Tom.
"New York." Tom gave him a tired smile and swirled his finger around in front of him. "Turn around and sit right." He said out of habit.
"Okay, Dad." Bill shook his head and flopped down in his seat.
"Tom? Can I show Bradyn the cockpit?" Georg asked as he stepped into the aisle with Bradyn in his arms.
"You said cock." Gustav laughed.
"Shut up." Georg laughed and shook his head at Gustav as he balanced the toddler on his hip.
"Uh, yeah. If it's okay with them." Tom nodded and watched as Georg backtracked up the aisle to where the flight attendant was standing.
"Hi, do you think I could take Bradyn up to see the cockpit? You know, just take a look?" Georg asked with a shy smile.
"Oh sure." The young lady smiled back and blushed quickly as she knocked on the pilots little door. "Excuse me, Captain Führer? We have some guests here that would like to see the inside of the cockpit." She said cheerfully.
"Hello there." The captain stood up and straightened his jacket. "Hi. I'm Captain Führer."
"Hi. I'm Georg Listing."
"And who is this little guy?"
"This is Bradyn. He's two."
"Hi, Bradyn. Do you want to see how I fly the airplane?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded shyly and grabbed a handful of Georg's t-shirt.
"Okay, it's very very important that you don't touch anything though, okay?" Captain Führer asked.
"Kay." Bradyn nodded as his eyes widened. "You fly?" He asked softly.
"Yeah. I sit right here in this seat next to Mr. Schlitz and we fly the plane together. Pretty cool, huh?"
"Yeah, cool." Bradyn looked all around the tiny cabin.
"We wear these little head sets so we can talk to each other." Captain Führer put the earpiece in his ear with the mic by his mouth.
"Like you?" Bradyn asked Georg.
"Yeah, kind of like me." Georg laughed.
"No I can push?"
"No, you can't push these buttons." Georg shook his head.
"Do you want to sit in my seat?" Captain Führer asked.
Bradyn's eyes opened even wider as he nodded and wiggled down from Georg's arms. Captain Führer lifted Bradyn under his arms and set him down in the huge seat. "Can you see the sky? It's kind of like driving a car, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Does your Daddy let you drive a car?" Captain Führer smiled and glanced at Georg.
"No ten." Bradyn shook his head.
"He pretends." Georg laughed.
"Have key?" Bradyn asked as he looked up.
The captain laughed and shook his head. "No, no keys. I just push a few buttons and the plane starts."
"Swee."
"Speaking of which, I need to get things started in here." Captain Führer reached into a little bag under his seat and pulled out a pair of silver plastic wings. "Here you go, Bradyn. You're an honorary pilot now." He handed them to Bradyn and smiled up at Georg. "Thanks for bringing him by."
"Thanks for letting us check it out." Georg laughed and reached for Bradyn who was reluctant to leave the seat.
"Would you mind if I got an autograph. It's for my niece." Captain Führer said softly as he reached for a pen.
"Oh sure, that's no problem. In fact, if you have a few minutes I can go get the rest of the guys too." Georg nodded and took the pen the captain offered.
"That would be very nice. Thank you." He smiled.
"Anytime." Georg lead Bradyn out to the seats and lifted him onto Tom's lap. "Hey, the pilot wants to get our autographs for his niece." Georg handed Tom the pen then realized he'd forgotten to grab something to sign. "Here." Georg reached into the seat pocket in front of him and pulled out a white vomit bag.
"Nasty." Tom made a face but signed the bag anyway.
"See ya, Bradyn." Georg smiled and leaned over to Bill's seat.
"I fly." Bradyn opened his small hand to show Tom the silver wings.
"Oh wow! Did Georg take you to see the pilot?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "I fly."
"He let you fly? That's cool." Tom nodded.
"No can touch." Bradyn shook his head and put his hands in his lap. "Only he."
"Only he can?"
"Yeah."
"That's good because he knows how to fly the plane."
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and shifted himself on Tom's lap.
Bradyn sat in his seat and stared out the window for the duration of the short flight. He would comment on how high they were and how he wanted to fly. "I fly later." Bradyn sighed as the plane began its decent into New York.
"Okay, buddy, you can fly later." Tom nodded and covered his mouth as he yawned. He had some things planned for him and Bradyn in New York. Tom had the MTV show to tape that afternoon but they had some free time. He worked with Saki and their security and managed to get some kids things to do while they were in town.
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The taping of the MTV show went smoothly, all of the rehearsing they'd done over the last few weeks paid off and their performance appeared seamless. They performed two classic Beatles songs. The producers would decide which one they would air when all of the performances were taped.Tom, Saki and Tobi took Bradyn to Central Park that afternoon to ride on the carousel and check out the ducks in the lake. Both Bradyn and Tom were worn out by the end of the day so they went to bed early to rest up for their big day at the Straight Talk the next day.
Tayla slept in a little and wandered down to the little cafeteria room on their floor to grab some juice and a bagel before she started her day. She was surprised to see Bill and Tom standing in the middle of the room with Bradyn between them, looking shocked.
She grabbed a bottle of orange juice from the tub of ice and walked over as Bradyn's high pitched scream filled the room. "What's going on?" Tayla asked as she walked up behind them.
"He's having a fit." Tom shrugged and tried to reach for Bradyn before he could kick Bill in the legs.
"Why? What happened?" She set her bottle of juice down on the table beside her and stared on with a confused look.
"I told him he couldn't have ice cream for breakfast." Tom rolled his eyes and picked Bradyn up. The tiny hiking boots came only an inch from Tom's groin. "Hey!" He practically shouted as he held Bradyn away from his body. "Knock it off, Bradyn! I'm serious! If you kick me, if you kick anyone, you're going to be sorry."
"He doesn't know what that means." Tayla said softly from just behind Tom. "Tell him what will happen if he kicks you."
"You're going to get a spanking." Tom said forcefully as Bradyn continued to flail his feet around. "I mean it, Bradyn. You wanna find out how serious I am? Keep kicking." Tom's arms began to shake with the weight of the squirming little boy.
"Tayla, he snapped." Bill said with a soft laugh.
"He's two. Now you see why it's called the terrible twos."
"He pulled this the other day on the bus too." Bill added.
"What happened on the bus?" Tayla asked.
"He threw a video game controller at Georg's head and bit him." Tom slowly lowered Bradyn to the floor.
"He bit him?" Tayla asked as she looked at the adorable two year old.
"Yeah." Tom sighed.
"Damn." She shook her head and kept her you're spoiling him speech to herself. Bradyn gave one last attempt at kicking Tom before he turned on the waterworks. When Tom didn't make a move to spank him Tayla sighed and reached for him before she could stop herself. "May I?" She looked at Tom as she pulled Bradyn from his arms.
"What?"
"Bradyn? Calm down." She set him on the floor and held his shoulders as he stomped his feet. "Calm down. Why are you upset?"
"I have!" He shouted.
"No, you can't have ice cream." Tayla said softly. He swung his foot out to kick her shin and she squeezed his arms tighter, "Your Daddy told you if you kicked again you'd get a spanking." She let go of one of his shoulders and swatted his behind. "Are you done?"
"No."
"Are you going to keep kicking?"
"Yeah." He said through sobs.
"Then you're going to keep getting spanked." Tayla maintained her cool as she pulled him over to a quiet corner and sat him on his bottom. "You can sit right there on a time out until you're ready to behave like a person."
"No say."
"Yes, you're going to stay there." Tayla put her hands on her hips and stared him down as his sobs subsided to gulps and hiccups.
Tom and Bill stared on in awe. "What'd you do?"
"I followed through." Tayla said with a little more snap than necessary. After only two minutes Bradyn was done crying and just looked sad. "Are you ready to be a good boy now?"
"Yeah." He sniffled as he stood up and balanced himself against the wall.
"Okay, do you know why you were in time out?"
"For eye keem."
"No, you were there because you were kicking your Daddy and Bill and me and that's not okay. Kicking isn't a very nice thing to do to people who love you very much." Tayla explained as she got down on his level. "Can you say you're sorry?"
"I sorry." He mumbled.
"Okay." She pulled him in for a hug then looked over her shoulder at Tom. "I'll bet your Daddy has something cool to show you in your room if you look out the window." Tayla smiled.
"Is cool?" Bradyn looked up at Tom who in turn looked at Tayla.
"Hot air balloons." She whispered with a smile.
"Heck yeah, I have something cool to show you." Tom smiled and picked him up as he dangled Lello from his hand.
"That was awesome." Bill laughed.
"That was a time out." Tayla sighed and shook her head. "I think the honeymoon is over. Tom's going to get a real taste of what it's like to have a two year old."
"How do you know so much about kids?" Bill laughed.
"I baby-sat a lot." Tayla smiled.
"So putting up with us should be a piece of cake, huh?"
"You'd think so, huh?" She laughed and reached for her bottle of water. "I'd better get going. I'll see you later though at two thirty."
"I'll be there." Bill smiled.
"You're only doing Straight Talk today, right?"
"Straight Talk?" Bill asked. "Remind me what that is."
"It's that talk show kind of like The View but the hosts are 20-some year olds. Fox, Gioia and Danielle."
"Right." Bill nodded.
"Then we leave tomorrow?"
"Yeah." Bill nodded again and stretched his arms over his head. "We fly out to meet the stage crew in Raleigh."
"Cool."
"Yeah." Bill smiled and yawned. "I need to wake up before this taping thing, don't I?" He laughed and ran his hand through his hair.
"Yeah, that helps." Tayla gave him a small smile as she sighed and reached for her juice. "I'll see you later." She tilted her bottle at him and took a drink as she headed for the door. She had a few hours of sorting and labeling the new clothes before she was expected at Straight Talk studios to dress the guys.
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Once everyone was present and accounted for Tayla made herself busy straightening pant legs and fixing shirts. "You're 23. How come you still can't fix your shirt right?" Tayla asked as she shoved her hands down Georg's pants."Hey, Tayla?" Georg said softly as she smoothed his shirt around his boxer covered butt.
"What?" She sighed.
"I have a confession to make." He snickered.
"What?"
"I tuck my shirt in crooked just to get your hands in my pants." Georg laughed.
Tayla removed her hands and tugged at his shirt. "Georg? You're pathetic."
"I know. I'm terrible. I've been bad. I think you should pull me over your knee and give me a spanking." He smiled up at her with that twinkle in his eye.
"Georg." Tayla shook her head and laughed. "Tuck it in right from now on or I'll have Tobi do the tucking."
"Keep that man with the meat hands outta my pants."
"Then tuck it right." Tayla laughed and moved on down the line. When she was satisfied with everyone's attire she gave them a wave of approval then made herself scarce as the make up crew came in to shade them for the TV lighting.
David tracked Tayla down a half hour later in the green room and took her to the little play room just off the stage. "Bradyn's here today. Can you keep an eye on him in here?"
"He's here? I thought he was staying at the hotel?"
"Tom changed his mind." David shrugged.
"Why? What's up?"
"I'm not sure but can you watch him here? They have daycare staffers but you know how he gets."
"Yeah, no problem." Tayla nodded and followed David down the hall. Tom wasn't the type to change his mind all of a sudden and, for a minute, Tayla felt a wave of panic sweep over her. There was a reason Tom wanted Bradyn there and for him to change plans at the last minute it had to be something important.
Tayla stayed with Bradyn in the little playroom just off the main studio floor to watch Bradyn as the guys went out on stage. The show was going well but Tom looked undeniably nervous. It was a new look for him.
She watched them on the little monitor with no sound as they performed a ballad on stage. They went to sit around the couches. They chatted for a little bit and Tayla watched Bill demonstrated with his hands how with the new show the egg came up from the stage and the walkways came together. Gustav said something smart and everyone laughed as Bill sat down. "Can we turn the volume up?" Tayla asked one of the other helpers in the room.
"Sure." She smiled and reached up to the TV set. The volume rose a little so that Tayla could hear it over the noise of the children in the play room.
"So you guys? Can I mention what you left in the green room back there?" Fox asked cautiously.
"What? What did we leave?" Bill looked down the row at his band mates.
"Oh!" Bill looked at Tom. "Are you mentioning that?"
"Um, yeah." Tom said quickly before he could change his mind. He'd decided before they came out that he'd be bring Bradyn out if the opportunity presented itself which is the only reason he brought Bradyn to the studio at all.
"So I can mention it?" Gioia asked.
"Yes, you can mention my son Bradyn." Tom smiled as the crowd kind of half cheered and half gasped.
Tayla looked up quickly and blushed as she heard Tom tell the world about his son from his own mouth. The door cracked open behind her and an assistant with a headset poked her head into the room. "Tayla?"
"Yeah?" Tayla stood up quickly and straightened her skirt.
"Can you please bring Bradyn up front?"
"Sure." She blushed as she leaned down to pick Bradyn up off the floor.
"Go bye?"
"We're gonna go see your Daddy, I think." Tayla said softly as Bradyn rested his head on her shoulder.
"Follow me. When I give the cue walk out, okay?" The assistant gave Tayla a warm smile.
"Is it okay with Tom?"
"Yes." She nodded. Fox's voice echoed through the hall as they got closer to the stage and Tayla heard Tom's soft voice ask Fox to bring Bradyn out.
"You want him out here?" Danielle asked.
"Yeah, if that's okay with you." Tom nodded. "Just get him out here before I change my mind." Tom thought to himself.
"He is the cutest thing in the whole wide world. I mean, I have say my kids are cuter because they're mine and that's a rule and everything but my God he's gorgeous." Danielle gushed.
"Thank you." Tom smiled and blushed as the other guys pat his shoulders.
"He has good genes." Bill hit Tom's arm.
"How old is he?" Fox asked as the curtain behind her parted and Tayla walked out with Bradyn on her hip.
"He's two." Tom nodded and stood up as Tayla walked up. "Thanks." He smiled at her and reached for Bradyn. He took him back to his seat and set Bradyn on his lap. "This is Bradyn. Can you say hi to these pretty girls?" He leaned down and spoke softly into Bradyn's ear.
"Hi." Bradyn said shyly as he looked out toward the bright lights and the studio audience.
"Hi, Bradyn! You're so cute." Gioia laughed and leaned forward to get closer to him.
"Yeah." Bradyn smiled and tried to hide his face in Tom's jacket.
"He knows he's cute." Georg said.
"He's just like Tom." Gustav laughed and reached over Tom's shoulder to mess Bradyn's hair.
"Is he on tour with you guys? Or just visiting?" Fox asked.
Again, everyone looked at Tom. "Yeah, he's on tour with us now." He nodded. "We only have a few weeks left so he's just hanging out."
"Has he been with you the whole time?"
Bill looked from Gioia to Tom, who just nodded, and then back to Gioia. "No, he's only been with us a few weeks."
"Months." Bill said.
"What?"
"A few months." Bill repeated.
"Really?"
"Yeah, last time we were in LA. Remember?"
"That was a few months ago?" Gustav asked.
"Something like six or seven weeks ago." Bill nodded.
"It's been that long?" Gustav asked as he looked at Tom.
"So he's been with you for a few months? Where was he before that?" Danielle asked.
"He was with his mom." Tom nodded and planned his words carefully.
"Was that her?" Fox looked back toward the curtain.
"No." Tom said quickly. "No that was Tayla. She does our wardrobe and stuff. She's helped out with Bradyn a lot. She's great."
"Go dow?" Bradyn squirmed out of Tom's lap and stood by his chair.
"No, hang out right here, buddy. Where's Lello?"
"He seep." Bradyn sighed and turned his back on the camera. "Go bye?"
"I've gotta finish working out here. Do you want Tayla to take you back there for a minute? You can go play with the other kids?"
"Goose-gog." Bradyn shook his head.
"Gustav has to stay here too." Tom said softly as he pulled Bradyn a little closer.
"Hey Bradyn, you wanna go look for some alligators out there?" Gustav asked from his seat. "I'll bet there are a lot out there under the seats."
"Yeah." Bradyn smiled and looked up at Tom. "I go bigator."
"Yeah, you can go catch alligators with Gustav." Tom laughed.
"Bigator."
"Big alligators. You bet." Tom nodded and watched as Gustav took Bradyn's small hand in his.
"We'll be right back, ladies." Gustav waved over his shoulder as he and Bradyn jumped off the little step of the stage.
"So his mom isn't around?" Danielle asked softly.
"Uh, no. We're kinda looking for her actually." Tom shook his head and looked out at the audience where Gustav and Bradyn were looking around under seats for alligators. "That's actually a- Do you mind if I kinda clear some of that up here?"
"Of course not, go right ahead." Gioia smiled.
"I know we're here to talk about the tour and stuff but this is something that needs to be said and, you know, you guys are a reliable source."
"Of course." She laughed. "So what's the deal here?"
"Bradyn's mother was having some problems taking care of him by herself and rather than give him up to the state she left him with Gustav when we were in LA a few months ago. Gustav called me back in Germany and it has all gone from there. You know, we get things like this all the time."
"Girls leaving kids with you?" Fox asked trying to keep it light.
"No, I mean girls saying we're the fathers of their kids or whatever. So at first I was skeptical. Really skeptical. I totally thought she was whacked." Tom took a deep breath as Georg bumped his knee against Tom's to let him know he was there.
"So you didn't know about Bradyn at all?"
"Not until he was left with Gustav." Tom shook his head. "So I took the paternity test and everything and it proved that I was Bradyn's father." He shrugged and looked out to find Bradyn and Gustav lying flat on their stomachs trying to reach under some seats. He cracked a small smile and turned back to Fox. "I didn't know what to do. I mean, in the business this isn't the best situation, you know that."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
"And as a guy, I knew the media would be all over it so that's why we made the public statement right off the bat. But-" He sighed. "It's a lot more work than I thought. I have to give praise to all the single parents out there. Mothers and fathers. This is hard work."
"But you have three built-in baby-sitters here." Gioia laughed.
"Yeah, well they help out a lot. I'm lucky I have lots of help. Tayla? She's been like, the best supporter throughout everything."
"And Bradyn was sick a while ago, wasn't he? You guys missed a few shows?" Danielle asked.
"Yeah, in Ohio." Bill nodded and looked over at Tom.
"Yeah, yeah that was scary." Tom's smile fell a little.
"What'd he have?"
"He had meningitis. Viral meningitis." Tom picked at his fingernails then looked up at her slowly.
"Oh wow and how's he doing now?"
"He's doing great now." Tom waved to indicate the toddler clambering down the stairs holding onto Gustav's hand. "He's back to being two." Tom laughed.
"So did you fall into this whole Daddy thing pretty quick?" Fox asked.
Tom looked around at the three other guys and they all kind of snickered, "No, not really. I didn't know what end was up practically. I'd give him a bath and get soap all in his eyes, put his clothes on backwards, forget to change his diaper. I was a mess."
"All parents do that." Danielle cast a guilty look toward the camera.
"And you lost him once too." Georg so thoughtfully pointed out.
"Yeah, I lost him in a hotel in Seattle. Oh my God, I seriously thought I was gonna vomit." Tom shook his head. "Have you ever done that?"
"Lost a kid? Yes, I did that once when Charley was three. At the shopping mall, I was looking at shoes and then bam she was gone."
"I know! It's like, one minute they're there then the next they're just gone." Tom took a deep breath. "That'll put a stain in your pants."
The other guys laughed and Georg leaned forward. "He's gotten better though."
"Have you guys seen the difference?" Fox asked.
"Yeah." Bill and Gustav said in unison.
"Not so much in Tom but all of us. Bradyn's kinda brought us back to ground level, you know? Got our heads out of the clouds. Jumping on a hotel bed and looking for airplanes in the sky is a good time. It doesn't get much more basic than that." Bill smiled.
"And everything we do is so cool to him." Georg laughed. "Like if I trip over my shoelaces, he thinks it's the funniest thing ever. And if I cross my eyes? He laughs until he farts. It's great."
"So he just boosts your egos and makes you think you're cool?" Gioia laughed.
"Yeah, watch this." Georg turned toward the audience, "Hey Bradyn? Bradyn!"
"Hi, Gay-og." Bradyn waved from the edge of the stage.
"Who's cooler than Tokio Hotel?" Georg asked.
"No body." Bradyn laughed.
"And who has the coolest hair ever?" Bill asked.
"Me an Bill."
"And who has the best video games?"
"I do." Bradyn laughed and looked at Gustav. "No mo?"
"No more alligators." He shook his head. "Wanna go talk to the pretty girls?"
"I have baw?"
"Yeah, I'm sure they has something." Gustav nodded as he picked Bradyn up and hopped back onto the stage where Bradyn wiggled out of Gustav's arms and scampered into Tom's lap.
"Did you find a bunch of alligators out there, Bradyn?" Fox asked.
"Yeah." Bradyn panted and wiped his brow. "I put osin."
"You put them where?"
"Ina osin."
"In the ocean?" Gioia asked.
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "No owie."
"Oh good. I don't want you to hurt them." Danielle said as she handed him a bounce ball. "Well guys, do you have anything else to add about the tour or anything?"
"No." Bill shook his head.
"Yeah, come see us." Gustav shouted from his seat.
"And don't forget to watch the MTV special next week." Bill added.
"I'm gonna have to tape it. Those shows come on too late for me." Danielle made a face.
"Really?" Bill asked.
"Yeah, I'm in bed by nine every night. I put the kids to bed then have a bowl of cereal. Then I'm out like a light." Danielle laughed. "Just wait, Tom. One of these days you'll be doing the same thing."
"I know I will." Tom laughed and shook his head as Bradyn smiled in his lap.
"Well, Bradyn, thanks for coming by and for getting rid of all the alligators in the audience."
"Wecome." Bradyn mumbled.
"Will you come back and see me again? Maybe we can chat?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.
"You can give me some gossip about these guys." Fox leaned over like she was telling him a secret. "Do they smell weird sometimes?"
"Yeah." Bradyn whispered as he nodded and made a face.
"Who smells?"
"Gay-og." Bradyn whispered then covered his mouth as he laughed.
"Oh!" Georg protested from two seats away. "Oh c'mon, I bathe!" Bill and Georg went back and forth about their bathing habits for a minute as Tom sat back and watched with a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Tom took a deep breath. Everything was out in the open now and he felt a hundred times better. Maybe someone would recognize Bradyn and call in with some advice on how to find Astrid. Maybe Astrid herself was watching.
Chapter Four