Please check the bottom author's note at the end of the chapter. There's a little competition there, because I need help finding a song that goes with this chapter.
I don't own Austin & Ally
It had been two weeks since everything happened on the third anniversary of the second 9/11. Things were pretty much back to normal, although Austin did not try as hard to make Ally want to quit, and Ally didn't reprimand AJ for roaming around the house anymore. That was about it.
There were no more meaningful looks passed between the adults. Austin and Ally didn't share any more stories about their lost loved ones. Trish and Dez went right back to their usual banter.
Pretty much, the only thing that was different was that Camryn now had a beagle sleeping at the foot of her bed.
Some may wonder why this is. But even they don't know. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between everybody to not mention what had happened between them all that day.
But it didn't erase the memories, or the knowledge, of what their roommates had been through, or what they knew about each other. It didn't erase the memories Austin had every time AJ ran in the room with his Nemo stuffed animal, or he saw Cam sleeping in her bedroom, a dog at her feet and Sarah's favorite toy clutched in her arms. Some nights Austin could even make out the faintest of tear tracks streaked down her little face. But she never let that pony go anymore.
And it didn't help anyone when Ally would play with her wedding ring that she never took off. It was a nervous, self-conscious, habit she had whenever something reminded her of Aiden, or made her uncomfortable for any reason. It was like she was looking for assurance that she still had her husband with her.
And Cam….well, Cam asked Ally to braid her hair nearly every day now. That cut like a knife.
"Uncle Austin!" Cam yelled from the kitchen when Austin got back from the recording studio.
Austin sighed, running a hand through his already messy blond hair. It had been a frustrating day. His songwriters, to put it lightly, sucked. They couldn't write any songs that fit him. Looking back, Best Song Ever* was really good compared to what they were coming up with now.
"Yeah monkey?" Austin asked as Cam came running into the room. Her hair was in a loose braid, and she was wearing one of Sarah's old pony shirts she had begged Austin for when he'd gone through the attic last Saturday.
"Ally made spaghetti and it's the best in the world that I ever tasted!"
Austin had to smile at her enthusiasm. "That sounds great Cam. Let me go wash up and I'll be down in a few minutes to eat with you guys. Is Uncle Dez or Trish home yet?"
Dez had stayed at the recording studio while Austin drove down to the grocery store to pick up more dog food and pickles. That was what Ally hadn't got on her trip yesterday. She said he didn't have to get the pickles, but that they were out. But Austin knew she really wanted them. She and AJ were the only ones in the house who ate them.
"Trish is in the kitchen with Ally and AJ, trying to steal the cheese-toast, and Uncle Dez is upstairs getting the ice-cream Trish threw at him out of his hair."
Austin chuckled, though his heart wasn't really in it. Any other day, he would have probably fallen on the floor laughing at what Cam just said. But today, he was pissed. He was pissed at his songwriters; he was pissed at his label for giving him such sucky songwriters; but most of all, he was pissed that he couldn't write a song for himself to save his life.
Singing, dancing, playing any instrument known to man….that all came easily to Austin. But he did not seem to have the creative ability to write songs. It wasn't fair. All these good songwriters you hear about that stay behind the scenes have great creative ability, but little recognition. Austin gets recognition for things he doesn't write, because he has a great voice, charm, and the fame. Not everyone was that lucky.
But now, Austin didn't even think it would be nice to recognize his songwriters. Then the world would know who wrote the sucky songs they're forced to listen to on the radio at least three times a day.
"Uncle Austin, are you okay?" Cam asked, looking up at him with her big puppy dog eyes that were so much like her mother's.
"I'm fine, monkey," Austin said, ruffling her blonde hair that was more like Connor's and his own. "Don't worry about me. Go back in the kitchen with Ally."
With Ally. Ally got to spend all day with Austin's favorite little person in the world, while he was stuck with people who didn't like him, and whom he didn't like. What a life he was living.
Austin watched as Cam went back in the kitchen warily and sighed. You had to be obvious about your feelings if an eight year old could detect them. He was bringing his foul mood into his home, with his family and friends, and that was not okay. He'd told himself three years ago that no matter what happened in his life, he would not let it affect Cam's.
Well look where that got him today. A niece that knew he was in a bad mood, and called him out on it. Now she'd be worried for the rest of the day, and probably longer, because she was too much like her parents; nosy little worry warts with compassionate hearts.
Austin took the stairs two at a time and went straight to his bathroom in the master suite. He hadn't wanted to take Connor and Sarah's room. He'd even dreaded going near it. But almost every night after the plane crash, Cam would either wake up screaming, or run into their room because of a nightmare. And it would upset her even more that no one was in their room. So eventually, Austin just packed up all his stuff and moved into their room.
He'd had to change a lot of it though. He couldn't stand the constant reminders of them everywhere he looked. It was bad enough that he was living in their house, sleeping in their bed, raising their daughter. So, he'd repainted the room. Now the walls were bright yellow-his favorite color-and there were instruments strewn everywhere. It was a lot less neat than when Sarah had slept in there. Connor wouldn't have cared about the mess, but Sarah would have had a fit. She kept their room clean and got onto Connor every time he messed it up. Which had been often.
Austin didn't really care what the bathroom looked like, though. None of them had. They'd said it was just a place to do your business, not a sanctuary. It was just plain brown. A boring color, but it fit somehow. Nothing much personalized the room, except the picture Austin had stuck to the mirror. It was the first picture he, Dez and Cam had taken after Connor and Sarah's deaths. Not many people knew about that picture. The three of them were smiling, but none of them were happy. Austin could remember the day clearly.
"Uncle Austin, can we go?" Cam asked. She was five years old, and it had only been three days since the funeral of her parents. Austin wouldn't have been able to tell her no if he wanted to.
Austin smiled down at her, but he was struck so often by how much she looked like his brother and Sarah that he had to look away. "Yeah monkey, we can go to the fair. Go tell Uncle Dez."
So they'd gone to the fair. It was the last day, so it was pretty crowded. Austin either had Cam in his arms, or clutched her hand the entire time they were there.
"Your daughter is adorable," one woman said as she passed them. Austin looked at her in surprise, and was about to correct her, when Cam yanked on his arm and pulled him towards the photo booth.
"Let's take a picture," Cam said, pointing excitedly towards the booth where two love-struck looking teenagers emerged. "My unicorn wants us all to get a picture with her."
Austin had simply stared at her for a minute. He had won that stuffed unicorn for her fifteen minutes earlier. He had tried over fifty times, probably, to get the thing, and eventually the girl at the booth had just smiled at him with one finger over her lips, and handed Cam the stuffed animal, saying, "Look what he won you, baby girl."
And Cam had squealed in delight. It was the first sign of happiness he'd seen since before the dreaded phone call. She'd hugged him around the legs and said he was her favorite person in the whole wide world.
And now she wanted a family picture. And that was when Austin realized something. He was her father, in all ways that counted. He had to stop looking at her as Connor and Sarah's kid, as if he were babysitting her and they would come back to take her off his hands, and he would see her every now and then after that.
No, he had to treat her like the daughter she now was to him. She was his to protect; his to love. And this would be their first photo as a new family. It may have been missing some people, but they were in their hearts, and Austin's resolve had changed.
Cam was his. She was his.
Austin hadn't realized he was staring in the mirror, just letting the water in the sink pour, until there was a knock on the bathroom door, and he nearly fell in surprise.
"Who is it?" he asked, grabbing a towel and turning off the sink as quickly as he could.
"It's Ally, sorry," said the voice outside the door. She sounded tentative. "I just wanted to let you know that everyone is downstairs for supper, and Cam refuses to eat until you come down. She said you went up here a while ago…"
Austin opened the door. Ally was so small, standing just outside the doorway. And she looked even more wary than she'd sounded. He cocked his head to the side. "She won't eat?"
"She ate breakfast and lunch," Ally added hastily. "But it's just that you're almost always here for dinner and she thought you were upset today….sorry, I should just leave it alone."
"No, thanks for telling me," Austin said, walking in the room and going to pick up a clean shirt. He started to take off the one he was wearing, when he realized Ally was still in the room, and blushing. He bit his lip. "Sorry, force of habit," he said, and pulled his shirt back down.
"No, no," Ally said, reaching for the door. "It's your room. I shouldn't have come in here like that. Um, sorry."
And with that, she sprinted out of the room. Austin grinned as he watched her go. There was just something about his niece's awkward nanny.
Sure, she'd shared her biggest secrets with him, and he with her, but they'd gone right back to normal afterwards. He didn't want them to, but they had. But that only made him more aware of her presence. To know they had been so close for that one day, and then closed off to each other again….now he was very interested in Ally Dawson.
Very interested indeed.
"He's coming Cam, I promise," Ally said. Cam continued to sit there with her arms folded, defiantly staring at the food in front of her. "I just saw him. He's got to finish getting dressed, and then he'll be down here."
Trish shot her a shocked look. "Finish?" She hissed. Ally blushed but didn't say anything, because that's when Austin appeared in the room, now fully dressed. But something seemed off with him today.
"Uncle Austin!" Cam shot up to her feet and threw her arms around her uncle's legs.
Austin chuckled. "Whoa kiddo, what's gotten into you?"
"I missed you," she grinned up at him. Ally's heart cracked. She could be there for Cam the whole day, every day, but she would never be Austin. "Come eat with us."
"What did you say we were having?" Austin asked, sitting down and pulling Cam into his lap.
"Spaghetti," Ally supplied. Cam laid her head on Austin's shoulder.
"Pasgetti," AJ said. Ally grinned at her little boy.
"Don't even try to correct him," Trish laughed.
"Uncle Austin, how was work?" Cam asked, sitting up as Ally slid her plate over from where Cam had been sitting, to beside Austin's now.
Ally notice Austin's expression change slightly before he turned to Cam with a smile. "Work is only as good as when you can't think of it as work anymore, monkey. Work is good when it's fun."
"Well your wok is fun, right?" Cam asked. "You sing a lot."
Austin's lip quirked up slightly. "That's the fun part of my job."
"But you didn't have fun today," Cam guessed. Ally could see Cam had hit it right on point. Austin closed his eyes for a minute.
"No, not much fun until I got home," Austin admitted.
"Why?" AJ asked. Ally tried to get him to be quiet, but Austin didn't seem bothered.
"My songwriters don't have a clue what they're writing about," Austin said.
Cam wrinkled up her nose. "Yeah, I wasn't going to say anything but…."
Everyone laughed.
"So you didn't write the Best Song Ever?" Ally grinned. Austin laughed.
"Um, definitely not. Not in either sense. I really don't care for that song, and I can't write a song to save my life."
"Interesting," Trish muttered, grinning. Ally shot her a venomous look.
"Say one more word, Patricia, and you're out on the street. Got me?" Ally muttered to her best friend, where no one else could hear. Trish's grin widened.
"Yes ma'am."
"My Mama's a songwriter," AJ said. Ally's eyes widened, and Trish about fell out of her seat in laughter.
"Ally, you can't blame me for that!" she roared.
"That is interesting," Austin said in a thoughtful tone. Ally had paled markedly, and was staring at her plate as if it might explode.
"Ally's a songwriter?" Cam asked, her face lighting up. Looking around, she noticed everyone else's expressions and awkwardly settled herself back in her uncle's lap. "I mean….interesting."
Yes, the whole situation was very interesting indeed.
It turns out that after dinner, everyone wanted to talk to Ally. So, she evaded them all by claiming exhaustion, and she'd quickly swooped up AJ and practically ran with him up the stairs and into the bathroom to get him ready for him bath.
"I'm sorry I made you mad Mama," AJ said as Ally was filling up the tub.
"Hey mister, you did not make me mad," Ally said, somewhat in shock. "Why on earth do you think I'm mad at you?"
"I told Austin you writed songs and everyone started acting funny," AJ pouted. "I not apossed to say that?"
Ally almost winced at her son's horrible grammar. She always had. It was a habit she hated about herself. He was three.
"It's okay that you said that, sweetheart. Mama's not mad. You just told our friends the truth. I do write songs."
"You not want them to know though," AJ said. "Because you scared to sing?"
Ally laughed. "Yes baby, that's called stage fright. Mommy doesn't like to sing in front of anyone but you and your Aunt Trish."
"That's why you were gonna write Daddy's song when he was a rock star?" AJ asked.
Ally nearly choked. He remembered that story.
"Yes honey, that's why I was going to write your daddy's songs." Ally coughed, trying to clear her throat from the tears. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."
"Is she good at writing songs?" Austin asked, after he'd sent Cam upstairs to take her bath and get ready for bed. He, Trish and Dez were now downstairs in the basement, which was also Dez's room.
"She's amazing," Trish said confidently. "But she won't do it, I can tell you that right now."
"Why?" Dez asked, brushing the fur of his stuffed llama, which had real llama fur. Austin always said he thought it was creepy, but soft. Very soft.
"She has stage fright. We never knew why." Trish shrugged. "But she's an amazing songwriter, and an even better singer. I'm telling you, her songs sound better than half these loser professionals."
"Interesting," Cam muttered to herself. She had made it look like she was going to her room to get ready for bed, when in reality, she'd just followed the three adults downstairs and his in the doorway. Grownups were so gullible and stupid sometimes. They don't even think they could be tricked by an eight year old.
Grinning to herself, Cam raced back up the stairs as quietly as she could, and then up the next flight of stairs to find Ally.
She found her quick enough, putting AJ to bed in his room. The door was cracked, so Cam just stood there, watching.
"Sing the Butterfly Song!" AJ exclaimed. Ally was smiling. Cam suddenly became very interested. Ally might be about to sing.
"Again? AJ, I sing that all the time. Don't you want me to sing you something else?" Ally laughed.
"No." AJ crossed his arms. Cam smiled at the stubborn kid. He was hilarious.
"Okay," Ally giggled.
"I'm a little butterfly
Spread my colorful wings
Even though I'm small and frail
I can do almost anything
Caterpillar in my cocoon
I'm gonna be a butterfly soon
I'm a little butterfly
I can soar through the sky
So glad I ended up like this
Thanks to metamorphosis
I'm a butterfly
I'm a butterfly
Yeah
I'm a butterfly"
Cam stared at the woman she'd come to know in the past few weeks. She had an amazing voice, and Cam had never heard that song before. She wondered if Ally had written it.
When Ally leaned down to kiss AJ's forehead, Cam realized she was about to leave the room. Quickly, Cam raced to her own bedroom and threw herself under the covers. She'd get a bath in the morning.
When Cam saw a shadow pass her door, she said, "Ally?"
A second later, Ally opened the door carefully. "Yeah Cam?" she asked.
"Will you sing to me?" Cam asked. Ally blinked in surprise.
"What?"
"Will you sing me a song?" Cam asked again. Slowly, Ally's mouth curved into a small smile.
"I thought I heard someone in the hallway when I was singing to AJ," she laughed. "I have to say, I'm glad it was you."
"So will you sing to me too?" Cam asked for the third time.
Ally laughed. "Of course I will, Cammy."
Cam still loved that nickname her mother gave her so long ago. "Did you write The Butterfly Song?"
"Yes." Ally looked down shyly. "I wrote that when I was about your age, or a little older."
"It was really good," Cam said, impressed. "Do you know the song Katniss sang in Mockingjay part one?"
"The Hanging Tree?" Ally asked doubtfully. Cam nodded. "Cam, I don't know if…."
"If I already know it, it's too late for anyone to hide me from that song, Ally," Cam laughed.
Ally sighed. "Okay, I actually know that song pretty well."
"Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
They strung up a man
They say who murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where dead man called out
For his love to flee.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.
Cam smiled. It might be a slightly morbid song, but it was very catchy, and Ally had an awesome voice.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where I told you to run,
So we'd both be free.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Wear a necklace of hope,
Side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.
Cam wondered if Ally was trying to censor the song by using the soundtrack line instead of the movie line. Maybe she didn't want Cam getting any bright ideas and make a rope necklace. Like she'd do that. Cam flinched whenever the aunts on Practical Magic* put the ropes on the little girls' necks to protect them.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where I told you to run,
So we'd both be free.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
They strung up a man
They say who murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where dead man called
Out for his love to flee.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree."
"That was so good Ally," Cam grinned. "Why don't you sing for other people?"
Ally smiled at her patiently. "I have stage fright."
"I know," Cam said, much to Ally's surprise. "I heard Trish telling Uncle Austin and Uncle Dez that."
"Of course she told them that," Ally muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Will you write a song for Uncle Austin?" Cam asked. Ally turned to her with wide eyes.
"Why would I do that?"
Cam shrugged. "You're a good songwriter. Uncle Austin's songwriters suck."
"Cam!" Ally exclaimed. Cam smiled sheepishly.
"Oops. Too soon to say grownup words?" Cam asked teasingly. "Besides, you are here almost all the time. If you wrote his songs, my uncle would be home a lot more and I would get to see him more. Right now he has to go to work almost every day, all day long, and I don't get to see him much."
Cam could tell she was getting at Ally now. She just needed a little more of a push."And you know," Cam continued, "I could start doing my school work a lot faster if I don't have to call Uncle Austin first, or make him wake me up early to tell me he's leaving."
Ally sighed. "You're very persistent, aren't you?"
"It's one of my best qualities!" Cam grinned.
"Here," Ally said late that night after the kids, Trish, and Dez had all gone to bed. She shoved a sheet of paper in Austin's face. "You can thank your niece for this."
Currently, Austin was sitting in the dark in the living room, listening to music on his phone through his earbuds. Ally had noticed him there, and thought there'd never be a better time to get this over with. And she would do it. She had to. For Cam. She could not-would not, let that little girl down.
"Hmm?" Austin asked, taking his earbuds out. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you."
"I said you could thank your niece for that," Ally said, sitting on the couch opposite of Austin and gesturing with a nod toward the paper she'd laid in his lap.
Austin blinked in the darkness at the paper, before turning on the lamp beside him and looking it over. He looked back over at her with wide eyes. "Ally, did you write this?"
Ally looked away. "Its just a little rough draft of something I thought might be your style. Cam convinced me to write you a song, and I don't know…."
"A little rough draft?" Austin asked, incredulous. "Ally, this is incredible! Why didn't you tell me you could write songs like this?"
Ally looked surprised. "You think that's good? Austin, I just wrote that in a couple of hours. I didn't know how you liked your songs, considering you said you weren't too fond of the first one I heard you sing, so this is what I came up with…."
"It's perfect," Austin shook his head. "Bright and early in the morning I'm calling my label and begging them to fire all the songwriters. I will show them this song, and Ally, I just know they'll let you be my full time songwriter."
Austin was standing up now, literally jumping in excitement. Ally was not expecting this reaction. She thought he might dismiss it, saying something like, "That's not bad," and never mentioning it again. But this? This was a lot to take in.
"That is, if you want to…." Austin trailed off, obviously unsure by her lack of response. "I mean, you don't even have to give me this song if you don't want to-"
"No, it's fine," Ally assured him, astonished at herself for what she was about to do. "Take it. I wrote it for you."
"Why are you doing this for me?" Austin asked with a crooked grin.
Ally didn't know. She just knew she couldn't let Cam down.
"Okay, don't take this badly but….your songwriters suck," Ally said plainly. Austin burst out laughing. Ally was rarely so blunt.
"I know," Austin laughed harder. "I've tried everything to drive them away, but they just can't take a hint."
"Well, if you want blatant honesty, get Trish to go up there." Ally grinned.
"Oh, yeah," Austin said sarcastically. "I can see her now. 'You all suck, now get out so the real talent can start writing real music'. That should go over well."
Now Ally was the one laughing. "You sound just like her!"
Austin smiled. "So….is that a yes?"
Ally stopped laughing. She thought of AJ, saying she could write Austin's songs like she'd wanted to do with Aiden so many years before. She thought of Trish's meaningful glances whenever Austin mentioned how sick he was of his songwriters. She thought of Dez…..she didn't know why, she just did.
Then she thought of Cam; her wide, brown eyes pleading with her to make her uncle happy by being his songwriter. To make her happy by allowing her more time at home with Austin. To make everyone happy and give the poor guy some good songs to sing.
And lastly, she thought of Austin. He was staring down at her hopefully, but also nervously, like he couldn't believe any of this was real and thought she might change her mind. She could still see him, in the back of her mind, talking about how much he missed Cam's parents; how much they meant to him. She could see his crumpled expression when Dez showed him how his parents actually died. She saw the smile on his face as he handed AJ his favorite toy, and Cam the one that her mother had owned.
And she saw him now. He looked so much like Aiden, yet so different. Aiden had hazel eyes. Austin's were brown, like hers. And they were staring at her with draining hope, awaiting an answer. And she wasn't talking.
Ally snapped back to attention. "I'm so sorry!" Ally gasped. "Yes, it's definitely a yes."
And the grin on Austin's face was all she needed to realize she'd made the right decision.
Hey guys. Sorry it's been awhile since I updated. But now school's out and my dance recital is done, so I have more time to write!
So...I didn't know what song to use that Ally wrote for Austin. If any of you have any ideas, please let me know! I will give you a shout out, and there may be another little surprise in your future if I pick your song... ;P So, all I need is a song that sounds like one Ally would write, and that Austin would love. Preferably one with meaningful lyrics and not just a party song.
I don't own any of the songs used in this story.
God bless you all!
-Daddysgirl11
