Thump, thump. Nikki's nose shot up from his book. Thump, thump.

"Nikki, open the door fucker." Tommy's voice from the hall sang out. He sounded strained, like he was struggling.

Nikki slid off the bed and wandered to the door, acutely aware someone else with him, and moderately incapacitated. He pulled the door open, and found a sheepish looking Tommy, barely holding up one very inebriated and near unconscious D.j. Nikki raised and eyebrow and folded his arms. Tommy cast him a pleading look.

"Dude, seriously, he's heavy for a little guy." Tommy explained referring to the slightly shorter guitarist.

Nikki bent forward and Tommy rolled D.j over onto Nikki's shoulder, who stood up and carried him into the room as if he weighed nothing. He flopped the younger man onto the nearest bed. Nikki wrinkled his nose.

"What did you do, bathe him in Jager?"

"Not exactly. But hey it wasnt just my fault. Frank helped."

"Great, I'm sure that's loads better."

Tommy rolled his eyes at Nikki. At least the kid would sleep dreamless just for tonight. Nikki proceeded to pull off D.j's shoes, his hat and bandana, and any conflicting jewelry. Tommy smirked. It was like deja vu. Memories of being on tour with Motley Crue. The countless amount of times they'd carried each other home, back onto the bus, etc. Tommy shook his head. Mad times.

"He's hurting pretty bad Nikki."

"Yeah I know." Nikki couldn't begrudge him one night to forget.

"Lahja?"

"Keeping clear of him unless necessary. Which is obviously impacting both of them."

"I told you, with you lot, it's a monsoon." Tommy quipped, referring to his earlier comments of the night.

"Maybe this is my fault in a way."

"Dont be an idiot Nikki." Tommy could see where this conversation was headed. Nikki, like an over protective patriarch, was feeling partly responsible.

"If I hadn't let D.j and James so close, like you, and be like my brothers, they may have never been exposed like this. You all wouldn't be in danger like this. He'd still be happy and oblivious and not in this pain. Even unconscious I can still feel it all resonating off him."

"Put the empath back in its box, and shut the fuck up." Tommy pulled his motley brother to face him. "His feelings are overcoming you so you need to just step back. And by what you and Dorian have told me, there are obviously other things at work here. Things you can't control. So it's likely most of us would've been involved anyway and we stand a better chance with you guys, then clueless."

Nikki patted Tommy on the shoulder. Tommy shrugged and took a last look at the comatose guitarist. He snorted laughing and left the room. Nikki pulled some covers up over D.j who snored and snorted as he rolled over into an almost face down position. Nikki collected his book, a pillow and a blanket for the nearby lounge.

"Kid is going to have one hell of a headache later" he murmured.

D.j opened one eye slowly then the other. As he did even the light from the Tv at the other end of the room was causing him searing pain through his skull. It felt like Tommy was using bass drums inside his ears and his general developing migraine felt something like elephants marching around smashing crash cymbals together in there. It was a Jager hangover from hell. D.j slowly untangled his limbs and gingerly sat up, leaning back against the bed's headboard.

"Fuck me, this hurts". He confirmed aloud to himself.

D.j looked around, he didn't recognize the room. Where the hell was he? The last thing he sort of, kind of, loosely remembered, was sitting at the bar with Tommy and Frank. Oh, he got it now. He swore never again. At least not with those two. He sniffed the air. A stale stench. He gave himself a sniff nd realized it was coming from him. He muttered something that sounded like disgusting. D.j picked up his bandana from his small pile of things on the floor nearby. He could hear quietened voices out in the main lounge. One sounded like Nikki. D.j staggered forward and pulled the door open, not expecting the scene before him.

Leaning against the doorway was Dorian and Lahja, and Nikki, was bent over a hotel maid. Nikki raised his head in alarm and had whipped around to see D.j there. D.j's mouth fell open a little, at the sight of Nikki's white eyes and the red stain on his mouth. D.j frowned as he watched him pass his hand over the maid's pale face and murmur in her ear. Dorian stepped forward and led the woman out who looked like an emotionless robot. Nikki stood up and walked around the room, his back turned and clearly wiping his mouth.

"Unfortunately D.j, Nikki is still quite new and requires fresh blood and a little genetically improved sunblock to escape the harm of the sun. he should do fine as long as he doesnt spend too long in direct light."

"Will that woman.."

"Be ok? Why yes. A little light headed maybe but she wont remember a thing."

Dj just nodded mutely. Until the pain in his skull demanded it to be the center of attention. D.j stumbled to the couch and flopped down. He sat with his head right back and forearm over his eyes.

"How's the head fucker?" D.j heard Nikki smirk.

To Nikki's amusement, D.j's only response was to flip him off. Dorian even snickered a little. He heard Dorian say her name and heard her walk out the door. D.j felt himself flinch at her name. But presently, his head was causing more pain then his heart at the moment.

He remembered suddenly they were in Rio. He had two sets to play today. What the hell was the time? With bleary eyes he searched the room for some visible show of the time. A digital clock on the far wall read that it was noon exactly. He had just over five hours if he was lucky to shift the pain in his head before getting ready for his set with Nikki and James. They were due onstage at six thirty. His three hour set with Guns n' Roses was scheduled to start at eleven later on that night.

"Who's room am I in?" he questioned, realizing he still hadn't a clue.

"My room fucker. Tommy poured you in here a little after four this morning." Nikki replied, looking a little more like himself. D.j nodded.

"Christ I smell."

"Did Tommy and Frank just bathe you in the sauce last night?"

"Honestly, I don't remember." D.j slumped forward resting his folded arms on his knees, and his head a top of those.

The door to Nikki's suite opened and James strolled in with Tommy. James greeted everyone, slightly raising an eyebrow at Lahja smothering a shirtless Nikki in what looked like sunblock. He blinked and plonked down next to D.j. The strong aroma of sweat, cigarettes and alcohol wafted under his nostrils. James wrinkled his nose and glanced with blue eyes over the rim of his aviators at his guitarist, who's head was still presently buried in his own forearms. Tommy's sniggering in the background was a dead giveaway.

"Wow, D.j, what an interesting odour you've created there."

D.j's right arm appeared offering James a middle fingered response. James chuckled. Tommy raised his hands submissively.

"I had help."

"Yeah by the smell of it, Tommy and Frank just dipped you in the bar."

"Im never going drinking with Tommy and Frank again. Ever."

"Now you know why the rest of us just don't." James fired.

D.j sat back against the lounge looking at James with a deadpan expression. Tommy by now was in hysterics and sitting on the floor clutching his abdomen. Nikki could only shake his head. He even noticed the curve of a smile to the corners of Lahja's mouth. The ice queen melteth. Maybe. If hell froze over first. He knew Lahja's resolve could be firm and unshakeable like steel at times. He also would lay money on that resolve melting with D.j. Somehow he just knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up with up him. Not for too much longer. Nikki had shared Dorian's blood and seen the same things he'd shown D.j and understood their connection and seemingly eternal love now. They were bound by soul and they would come together. Nikki could sense it, even if he couldn't see around D.j yet.

"Ok screw you hippies, i'm going for a shower." D.j shook his head.

D.j collected his things from near the bed and left. He needed to escape the noise and just collect himself. He meandered down the hall. His room only was a few doors down from Nikki. He took out the door key card and went to swipe it through. He felt her before he even turned around. D.j turned his head slowly and Lahja was there leaning with a shoulder on the wall next to him.

"Dorian sent me to guard you. None of you are to be alone." Her tone seemed emotionless. Like she was just delivering her orders. Her gaze dropped to the floor.

D.j nodded mutely. He opened the door and held it as she passed by him. She was latex clad. At least as he could tell. Skin tight latex leggings with buckles down the sides of her thighs. Her trademark black chrome heeled boots. Her motorcycle jacket was zipped up and buckled. D.j averted his eyes and busied himself arranging fresh stage clothes for Sixx: A.M's performance later on. He came out of the bedroom and she had positioned herself in the window seat, the blinds only just opened enough for her to see out of. He had a million things he wanted to say to her, that he had imagined repeatedly of saying, and right now he couldn't pick just one.

"I'll just go clean up." He announced and disappeared into the bathroom.

Letting the warm water run over him, he stood in the shower for who knows how long. It felt like every nerve in his body was acutely aware she was merely beyond the door in the next room.

"Oh get it together Ashba," he reprimanded himself.

He dried his hair and began sticking most it up in his spikey usual fashion and decided against the bandana today, leaving just the lengthy locks at the front to frame his face. He circled his eyes in a kohl black eyeliner, making his blue eyes that much more obvious. At least he looked like his usual self. On the inside, not so much. He pulled on a fresh pair of Ashbaswag jeans, black with leather patches and skull motifs that were also black. He slipped on a black tshirt and threw his leather jacket over it that aptly had 'demented fucker' emblazoned on the back. Yes, he at least looked himself.

When D.j ejected himself finally from the bathroom, he found her still in the window seat. He wandered over and stood by her shoulder as she peered through the slits in the blinds blocking most of the direct light. He resisted the urge to reach out to her, his hand almost twitching forward so he balled it into a fist. She glanced up at him and rose to her feet. In her formidable heels she was a little taller then him, even if he was wearing solid chunky heeled boots himself this time. She studied his face, he nearly jumped out of his skin when her cool fingers touched his chin to turn his face left to right.

"We can see your face a little more, like I remember." She said quietly.

It was the kindest words she had said to him so far. A weak but sad smile crept to one corner of her mouth and departed as she made towards the door. D.j collected his senses from her touch and exhaled heavily turning to follow her. She waited by the door handle as he collected his personal things for the rest of the evening into a messenger bag which he slung over a shoulder. He fell in behind her as she went to open the door to the corridor.

As her hand left the door as she stepped through D.j instinctively reached out and grabbed it, feeling the coolness of her fingers against his. She dead stopped and turned her head quickly, her eyes wide with surprise. He held her dark gaze and she frowned slightly. D.j raised her hand to his lips and gently kissed the back of her hand, all the while holding her stare. She almost spoke, but closed her surprised mouth. When he released her hand she merely watched his face for a moment. It was exactly as he had done lifetimes ago when they met.

D.j was not going to give up. He had decided in that moment and replicated his first introduction to her. He had never quit anything he wanted in this life so far, and now he was going for something he wanted more than life.