The Loud Pixie

Mike,

You are worried that I will become bitter over this. That it will eventually change the way I feel about you.

It will not.

I can still play an instrument, and I can still write music. If not for me, then for some other artist. I may not be able to sing anymore. I accept that. I've thought long and hard about it.

But one thing I will do.

I will say "I love you" again. With my own voice.

I promise.

All my love Paladin,

Your Pixie.

XXXXX

Max handed the letter back to Mike. "You didn't have to show me that."

"I know Max. I wanted to show you how determined she was."

"When El sets her mind to something, she does it." Max smiled, wiping her eyes. "I shouldn't be crying and driving at the same time."

"You don't seem that worried about why we are going to the hospital." Mike said.

"I knew it was coming. El is going to tell us that she is either quitting the band, or that she'll stay, but we'll look for a new power vocalist." Max said.

Mike was silent. He thought of a third option, but it wasn't really his place to say.

Max continued driving and looked over at Mike, she saw the tear running down his cheek. "You ok Mike?"

"I thought I'd lost her Max. There was so much blood I was in shock. I didn't know what to do. If you hadn't put her guitar strap around her neck..."

"I felt guilty..." Max said, "...that I was losing the best friend I've never had… but you… you were losing your soulmate…" Max started crying also.

Mike laughed, "aren't we a pair."

"El is loved." Dustin said, "...not just by us… can you imagine what her dad is going through?"

That was enough to humble everyone in the car.

XXXXX

When they got to the door of El's room at the hospital, two of the largest men Mike had ever seen were standing on either side. He'd made sure that nobody could get in. His call to 'Mack' had yielded results. Nobody was getting in without authorization.

Just has he, Max, and Dustin came up to the door, it opened and Doc Owens came out with two women Mike had never seen before, one had purple hair, and the other was dressed in black leather.

He raised his eyebrows to Owen's who just shrugged. "She wants to see you first. Then the Chief who…", he looked at his watch, "... should be here any minute."

Mike walked into the room, El was wearing a hospital bathrobe and had a towel wrapped around her head.

She looked at him with a big grin on her face. It immediately disappeared when she saw that Mike had started to blubber incoherently. She held her arms out inviting him to a hug.

Mike put his arms around her and cried into her should. "I love you, El."

"I love you too, Mike." El said in a very raspy voice.

Mike pulled back in surprise, "you can talk? Shouldn't you be taking it easy?"

Owens and her dad come into the room, overhearing. "Not with vocal cord injuries. It's a good news bad news thing."

Mike raised his eyebrows. Hopper went over to hug is daughter. He didn't even pretend not to cry.

"I'm ok dad. It's going to take more than some asshole with a knife to keep me from you and Mike."

Hopper nodded, not trusting himself to talk just yet.

"Ok," Mike said to Owens, "good news bad news?"

"With this kind of vocal cord injury, exercising the damaged vocal cord will strengthen the voice. Singing or screaming will be even better."

"That is good news… ok what's the bad."

El was chugging ice water. "The bad news," she said her voice even raspier than when she first spoke, "is that it feels like my throat is being ripped open all over again."

"That will pass," Owens said, "you just need to keep it up."

"That's it?" Hopper asked.

"Yes, El is already trained in vocal exercises. She just needs to continue."

"We'll come visit soon, dad. I have business to take care of first." Hopper nodded kissed her forehead and shook Owens hand.

"Anytime Chief." Owed clapped in on the arm.

Hopper shook Mike's hand. No words were needed. They silently nodded to each other.

Dustin, Max and Lucas came into the room next.

"C'mon you guys!" El rasped, took another drink of water. "You are not going to be expecting this."

Mike turned to the rest of the band, "you guys never heard of Pixie Surprise… I'm used to it." He grinned.

"I have a new direction for the band I want to try."

Dustin and Lucas looked puzzled, Max said, "you're not quitting?"

El put her hands on her hips, "seriously Max? You know me better than that."

"True. What's your plan?"

"First things first. 11 is alive. We aren't going away. Fans are never going to know what hit them with what I have in mind."

Max raised her eyebrows, "before you start El, we need to be realistic. 11 needs to perform the pop songs. We have that fan base regardless of the other stuff that we tried… but..."

"You don't need to say it Max. I can't sing those songs anymore. I may still be able to hit those high notes… to tell you the truth, I've haven't tried." She looked down.

"I was too scared to try."

"Do we start auditions for a new singer?" Max said.

"No," El gave Max a brilliant smile. "I only know of one person who can handle my vocal parts, and she doesn't even know it yet."

Everyone was smiling at Max, her eyes went wide. "What? Me?"

She started shaking her head vigorously, "No no no, I can't sing your parts, are you kidding El? You're up there with people like Anne Wilson, Kate Bush, even Sarah Brightman. No way I'm in that company."

"That's where you're wrong Max," Mike said. "Lucas and I went through some tapes of the recording sessions. Some, where you were harmonizing but higher, others where you were doubling with El. Yes you're voice is a little different. But Lucas is a sound engineer, if he says you are almost identical… I'll defer to his expertise."

"But…" Max said.

"Max... " Lucas said, "you can do this… All of us know you can do this."

Max sighed in defeat. "I'll try not to disappoint you El."

El came over and gave Max a warm hug. "Impossible for you to disappoint me Max…" she turned to the rest of them… "impossible for any of you to disappointment me."

"But you can still sing?" Max said.

El went to the floor beside her bed, and picked up a boombox, she turned the volume down but she pressed play.

"Ok, I changed the lyrics a little bit to be more personal for me… but…"

They listened to El singing Marieanne Faithfull's Falling From Grace. El's voice was smoky and sad. She had played her bass to it. It was a perfect fit. When the song ended, she went into David's Gilmour's Murder, in a slightly higher register, but still smoky.

Everyone's eyes went wide.

"Oooh, that's good. You want that to be the new sound?" Dustin asked.

"Half of the new sound, I want to show you the other half," El's voice was even more raspier now that she'd been talking more than she had in the last six weeks.

She undid her hospital bathrobe and threw it on the bed.

She struck a pose, wearing a leather skirt, and leather halter top, both with plenty of chrome and silver enhancements.

Mke's felt like his eyes bugged out of his head.

"You like?" El said directly to him.

Mike cleared his throat, "um, uh, yeah."

"That's not all." El took the towel off her head and threw it on the bed with the bathrobe.

Long shiny black hair fell about her shoulders.

She looked a everyone but Mike. They quietly left the room.

"Mike. I'm still your Pixie. But I'm going to be your loud Pixie for while. 11 is going to put out a much heavier album. These are hair extensions until my hair grows…. Ok?"

Her eyes needed Mike's approval, her smile faltered a bit when he was hesitant.

"You are still my Pixie, El. Um, sexy as all get out but still my Pixie." He came over and gave her a hug.

"You constantly amaze me. I only have one question."

"Yes?"

"Please tell me you'll let me do you in those leathers."

El burst out laughing.