Chapter 119
As the plane made the circle for the final approach, the pilot pointed out the O2 arena and told the passengers that Bon Jovi would be performing on the roof in a few short hours. He recommended anyone who was a fan should check it out, especially if they didn't have tickets for one of the twelve shows.
Ava looked out the window. "Are they really going to perform on TOP of the arena?"
Yes. Jon has lost his mind."
"Will we make it though customs in time to see them?"
"I hope so."
The plane touched down and the two made their way off. Customs was crowded but out of no where a British official appeared.
"Miss James?"
"Yes."
"Would you and Miss Sambora come with me?"
"Where are we going?" asked Jesse as they followed the man around through an employee gate.
"I've been asked to expedite you through the process."
In a matter of minutes, Jesse and Ava were through customs. As they passed through the gate into the heart of the terminal, they were greeted by Tony who grabbed Jesse in a bear hug.
"It's about TIME you got here, 'Outlaw'!"
"Who knows I'm here early?"
"Not Richie."
"How did we get through customs so fast then?"
"Management - Jon pulled some strings. Get use to it. You're rock royalty now....the Queen of Swing!" smirked the big man.
Jesse laughed and with Tony's arm around her, they made their way through the busy airport. Jesse was anxious to see Richie. She'd missed him terribly and needed to tell him everything about what had happened with Kevin. Plus, Richie had been 'strange' ever since the day Ava had joined her in Virginia....like he wanted to say something but was holding back. Maybe it was just that he missed her too.
At the arena, Tony took them straight to the area where the video from the roof would be streamed. Everyone greeted them happily and made room for them. It took almost fifteen minutes before the guys finally appeared on the monitor. Jon greeted the fans first and then it switched to Richie.
"This is my mountain top! I want London and all our fans streaming this on line all over the world to know just how much I love Jessica! In twenty days, she's going to make me the luckiest man in the universe by becoming my wife....my much better half....and in December, she is going to make me a daddy again!"
Jesse's heart had soared as Richie proclaimed his love for her but the minute he mentioned December, her heart crashed and her plans to surprise him went up in flames. He DID know! THAT was what he was holding back! But HOW did he know? She'd left explicit instructions with Dr. Parrish NOT to send the report until later that week.
Thankfully everyone in the room was too focused to see Jesse's tears, everyone except Ava and Tony. Ava kept silent but she glanced at Jesse.
Tony, on the other hand, nudged her and whispered, "Are you okay?"
Jesse shook her head 'no'. She couldn't breath and it felt like her heart had been ripped out.
Tony put his arm around her. "Come on. Let's get out of here," and he led her out of the room. In the hall, he asked, "Did you lose the baby?"
"No! He's NOT supposed to know yet!"
"You hadn't told him?"
"No! He knew there was the possibility and he knew I was going to the doctor to find out but he promised me I could surprise him with the results and I had plans all laid out to tell him!"
"Go ahead with your plans! It can be a celebration for the two of you."
Jesse shook her head, anger starting to build. "He went behind my back, Tony! I need to know how he found out!"
"Just ask him! I'm sure he'll tell you and he probably just stumbled across it."
"GET REAL! How was he going to stumble across it? He was here in Europe and I was in the States!"
"Just talk to him. I'm sure he didn't do anything to intentionally hurt you."
"Where's his dressing room?" Tony pointed it out and she said, "Take care of Ava."
In the dressing room, Jesse looked around. How did he already know? She began searching his bags and found the report from Dr. Cross. It was worn. Clearly he'd read it a number of times but there wasn't anything in it revealing her pregnancy. His phone began to vibrate and she picked it up. It was his mother calling but she hit ignore and began to search recent calls. JUNE 3 - 804 - 555 - 6959. He'd called! Damn him!
