Catalyst

by tempest-races

A catalyst is not consumed by a reaction, only precipitates it; remaining itself unchanged and yet instigating momentious change in the reagents. Like a catalyst, will they fall out of solution unscathed or will the reaction consume them both?

8. Forever Love Digame

AN: Sorry for the wait. Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own The Fast and the Furious or Anna Nalick's music. I do own anyone and anything that you don't recognize from real life and this storyline. Reviews are appreciated. If there is anything that needs attention be sure to let me know. The chapter feels a little off to me but I've spent days trying to make it work better and this is the best I can get it. Hope you enjoy. Always, Tempest. By the way, this - ♫ is a music note if you browse in Firefox or Mozilla. It's a whole lot of nothing in Internet Explorer. Just don't want anyone to think I'm using a square for a divider.

Catalyst

By TempestRaces

Chapter 8 – Forever Love (Digame)

A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for –William Shedd.

"Night guys! See you later." Gem called from the door of the Cobalt as she waved good-bye to Vince and Mia shortly after nine. Vince was taking Mia home and then staying there. It still came as a shock every night he chose to do something other than sit around the bar and drink. He truly seemed to have turned himself around.

Gem knew no matter what personal motivations were behind Vince's exodus from the Cobalt, he also hadn't wanted to send Mia home alone any more than Gem had. They both knew that someone had to stay with her and since Gem had to work it only left Vince to nominate. There would come a day when Mia didn't have bad times where she couldn't be left alone. Gem was going to see to it herself that out of somewhere her friend found the strength to be there for herself. It was nice to have friends to depend on and to know you could turn to them if you had to. But it was far better for the most part to be able to turn inside for solace. Be it through meditation or gardening or song writing or even volunteer work, everyone needed something they could do to help them cope solo. Not to say that sometimes you didn't need a strong shoulder to cry on because you did. But there had to be some sort of internal coping mechanism too and Mia had lost hers. If she'd ever had one.

Gem got back to work after they left. At some point later in the night she realized how late in August it was. The dates set for both Mia to return to school and for her brother to be shipped off to Nevada were approaching swiftly. Mia was due back in class on Monday where as her brother was due to ship out to Nevada the following weekend.

After the last person left the bar Gem walked up to Barry. "I was wondering," She started.

"What is it sweetheart?" Barry asked as he looked up from counting his till.

"My brother ships out the first week in September. Not to mention all of us could use a break from things at home. Do you think I could have this weekend off? I was thinking I'd go home to 'Frisco for a visit and take Mia and Vince with me. Mia could use the change of scenery and I'd like the chance to say bye to Nick in person before they station him to Nevada."

"Yeah, you go ahead. I'll get my niece in to cover tomorrow and Saturday. She's looking to make some extra money."

"That's perfect! Thanks Barry." Gem called over her shoulder as she headed out the door of the bar and heard Barbara lock up behind her. Five whole days with no work. Gem figured she'd spring the trip on Mia and Vince tomorrow afternoon and they could put up a sign in the café that it wouldn't be open on Saturday morning. Vince could tell Cory and Bill they were flying solo Saturday morning in the shop and they could drive out Friday night.

Her mom and dad could meet Mia and Vince, she could say a proper good-bye to her brother and check up on Cindy in the process. She could show off her new car. She didn't know how well it was going to go over with her dad that Vince had bought it for her but she refused to hide the gift from the world with a story about how she bought it on payments or was paying Vince back. She hadn't and wasn't and she wasn't about to lie about it just to make other people feel more comfortable with her having it. She knew that those lies would also make her life easier because she wouldn't have to deal with the scepticism over what the car was in payment for and wouldn't have to deal with the snide looks and rude comments. But she was going to have to deal with it all honestly and she knew it. She wouldn't take a single thing away from Vince and his wonderful gift by acting ashamed of him or the car he'd so painstakingly designed and built for her.

He had bought her the car before they had begun sleeping together so it precluded any theories about that being why he had bought the Solara for her anyway. Maybe it would hurt and maybe she would care, no matter how she ensured it looked to the outside world, but if people wanted to think the car was some sort of offering from Vince only because they were sleeping together they were free to think that way. She knew the truth, and in this case that was all that mattered. No matter how she would feel about people talking about her behind her back.

She started the Solara and pulled out of the lot, the doors automatically locking as soon as she reached five miles an hour. The drive home seemed so much shorter in the Toyota. She always had to watch to make sure she didn't speed. Well, didn't speed too much, she thought with a grin. I was hard to ignore just what the Solara was ultimately good at and that was going fast. So sometimes, and just sometimes, she went fast. Just to keep the car happy, she told herself playfully. Not for herself at all.

If Vince had really wanted to hide what he'd done to the engine from her he shouldn't have taught her about the noises that superchargers made when they blew off. She couldn't help but notice that her car made those same noises. So much for functional and basic. Her new car could head down to Vince's street races and blend right in, both in looks and performance.

That wasn't to say she drove it like her commute was a race. She didn't. Cars like the Honda had instilled automotive cautiousness into her too deeply for that. But she did take the short way home again, feeling safe in the comfortable interior of her Solara. She knew Vince was too good at what he did for there to be any chance of this car letting her down. She also knew how upset he'd been the last time, when the Honda had quit. He'd never risk putting himself through that sort of thing again. He didn't like to feel that strongly about anything and Gem understood where he was coming from. Sitting alone in the rain hoping he made it to her before the dark man made it in was something she never wanted to live through again.

She pulled up to the house and parked the car in the driveway before getting out and clicking the security system on. After she let herself into the house she went upstairs and got ready for bed. She stood beside her own bed, her lower lip caught between her teeth in indecision. Should she stay put or should she head down to Vince's room? He never seemed upset when she woke him up at two am crawling into his bed. Sometimes he seemed happier about it than others, Gem admitted to herself with a blush.

Decision made she turned out her light and headed down the stairs. She padded through the kitchen and down the next set of stairs with a sigh. She hoped she wasn't being a pain in the butt, hoped he wasn't secretly wishing she'd just stay in her own room and leave him alone to sleep. For some reason she wasn't looking forward to sleeping alone. Sometimes how happy it made her to simply curl up under the same blankets as Vince whether they were touching or not scared her. It wasn't like her to allow herself to depend on another human being so much.

The time when she could manage to convince herself she could take or leave him was gone. In the relatively short time they had known each other she'd come to depend on him; like it or not.

What really scared her about the whole thing was that he was almost becoming part of her music, intertwined in it. She was willing to have her whole life and her whole being depend on him, barring that. Caring how he liked his eggs cooked and what kind of sandwiches he liked was one thing. She'd accept the fact that she cared what he smelled like and missed the scent if it wasn't present when she fell asleep. She could deal with the fact that she found the way the skin at the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled was one of the sexiest things she'd ever seen. She could even deal with the fact she was coming to consider clean tank tops and jeans dressy attire on him.

Her music was something that she was only supposed to need herself for. She didn't want to know what would happen to her and who she fundamentally was if she ever let herself change to the point where she needed another person to have music be part of her life. Not just writing it, because that was something she had never been good at until Vince anyway. If she suddenly couldn't do that anymore she would have to say things were just back to normal. But her desire to play and practise was becoming tied up with Vince and their moods. It was becoming tied up in the tenor of their relationship.

And that, that she didn't like.

When had she stopped writing for the guitar and started writing for Vince? That was the scariest of all. She knew in the back of her mind that Vince wasn't going to be part of her musical life forever. That eventually he would get bored with the whole thing, the whole performer situation and would move on. Oh, she knew he would still support her and her music, would likely still come see her play and would likely even occasionally play on stage with her in small venues like the Cobalt. But he wasn't going to go on the road with her, make albums with her and travel the world over with her. That was what she wanted for herself, for her music. Vince didn't want music for his life. He wanted it for a hobby. He had more or less told her that already, if not with words then simply with his attitude.

The fact remained that of late she had been writing the guitar music for her songs for Vince. To challenge Vince's skills as a guitarist. To write things for him to play she thought he would find interesting. What would happen if she had to go from writing the guitar for Vince to writing the guitar for some strange guitarist she had only just met? Someone who was just a member of her band and wasn't her friend. Elliott and Tamica were friends. Vince was even more. When the time came to introduce a stranger to the mix and to say goodbye to Vince, how would her writing be affected? It was a question only time could answer for her.

As was the question of what she would do, what they would do if she did get a contract with a record label and had to go on tour promoting her album. She had made a promise to Mia to make sure the café did not become the Italian woman's problem when classes were in and she intended to keep her promise. If she couldn't keep filling the shifts Mia couldn't work then she would find someone who could and make sure that person got paid. Mia's education was too important to side track again. Mia needed stability and only a good education to lead to a good job would offer her that in the long run. Gem didn't want Mia to ever be so dependant on the people around her again as she had been when her brother had run off.

It prayed on Gem's mind, when she let it, what would happen if Dominic came back into their lives after so much time. What would happen to Vince, who was just starting to come into his own as the manager of the garage? Would Dom expect to just pick right back up where he left off, pushing Vince to the background again? Would Vince be happy to let him after all that had changed, or would he fight for his right to continue doing what he'd been forced to do for the last year? How much did his new life honestly mean to Vince and how much did he truly want to go back to the life where all he had to do was sit back and do what he was told?

With a yawn she couldn't suppress, Gem decided her thoughts were far too deep for almost two thirty in the morning. She stopped pacing around the small sitting room in the basement and pushed into Vince's room quietly before slipping into the bed softly and curling up on her side, pulling the pillow there more firmly under her head and tucking the blankets securely under her chin. Vince never stopped snoring. She figured with a final yawn he must be getting used to her presence if the dipping of the bed under her weight hadn't managed to wake him. She drifted off into a deep sleep, her worries forgotten for the time.

♫

Gem woke up alone at ten the next morning. She sat up and stretched with a yawn before wandering upstairs and sitting down at the kitchen table with a glass of orange juice and a bowl of cereal. She couldn't decide if it was fair to just land on her mother with two extra guests in tow or if she should call ahead and reveal her plans.

She wanted her visit to be a secret from Nick, and she wasn't willing to have Doug show up and ruin everything either. While Nick still lived at home with their parents, Doug kept his own place closer to school. He attended classes at the University of San Francisco's law school and worked for a law office as well. The odds were good he would hardly be around, if at all. Unless he caught wind of her visit. She didn't want to confront him about her situation yet.

Gem knew he was going to find out about the car sooner or later. She just wanted it to be later. She decided it wouldn't be fair to spring Mia and Vince on her mother at the last minute and got up to pick up the phone. She didn't even bother calling home, knowing both her mother and father had been at the restaurant since nine am. If they had managed to stay home even that long. She died the number for her parent's business and listened to it ring.

The girl they'd hired to fill 'her' position as hostess answered on the second ring. "Acquerello, Claire speaking."

"May I speak to Suzette please?" Gem asked for her mother without identifying herself to the hostess. Claire reminded her a little too closely of Celeste, and she didn't feel like pandering to the elitist woman's games at-what was to her at least-this early hour of the morning.

"May I ask whose calling?" Claire asked in a slightly haute tone of voice.

"Gem." She answered Claire's question succinctly, her tone slightly perturbed.

"I'll see if Ms. Suzette is available." The phone was placed on hold.

Gem sat waiting on the line, listening to La Mia Serenata, Jimmy Fontana crooning in melodious Italian as she waited for her mother to pick up the extension in her kitchen. It was instead her father who finally broke into the Italian ballad filling the silence of the wait. "Hello, Giancarlo speaking." He said in a faintly accented voice. While he'd been living in the States since he was sixteen years old, Gem's father had never totally lost the accent he'd obtained growing up in his native Bologna.

"Hello papa." Gem answered her father's greeting. "What are you doing answering the phone in the kitchen?"

"Your mother has gone out to buy some cheese. She wasn't happy with the stuff we got last time and decided to go and pick out her own this time."

It sounded like her mother, Gem thought with a smile. She echoed this thought to her father before asking, "what are your plans this weekend dad?"

"We haven't got any. Same as every weekend Gem, you know that. Closed on Sunday, same as always. We're having a family dinner at home because Nick's deployment was moved up. He leaves this Tuesday."

"That's sort of what I'm calling about papa. I was wondering if I could come and visit this weekend. I'd like to see Nick before he moves and check on Cindy. Plus it's been so long since I've seen you and mama."

"Of course you can come visit Gemmalynn. You can come home any time you like."

"I was hoping to bring some friends with me this time dad. I'd like to take Mia and Vince with me. They're the people I live with and they could both use the break. Plus I think you should meet them. We've all become such good friends."

"Sure you can bring your friends Gem. With Doug out of the house we'll have lots of room. Mia can share your room and Vince can have Doug's old room."

It went without saying that her old fashioned, catholic parents were not going to entertain thoughts of her and Vince sharing a room. "That sounds perfect dad. I'm going to go break the news to them that we're going and we'll head up tonight after Vince shuts down the garage. How's that?"

"When will you get to the city?"

"About eight I hope. Perhaps nine. Why?"

"Just come straight to Acquerello. Your mother and I will feed you supper before we all head home."

"Only if you and mom will stop for half and hour and join us." Gem thought her parents both worked far too hard but telling them to slow down would only earn her a reminder that if she was willing to take over for them then they could start to slow down once she knew what she was about around a wine list and in the kitchen.

"We'll see Gem. I've heard a lot about these two people you've met from your brothers and I can't wait to meet them myself."

"You better be nice Papa. To Mia and Vince both."

"I am always nice to your friends Gem."

"Yeah, right." Gem retorted, thinking of the treatment some of her earlier boyfriends had received from her brothers and father both. "I'll see you tonight dad."

"Drive carefully Gem."

"Yes father." Gem answered and hung up. She ran upstairs, got dressed and headed out to her car. She took the drive down to the café and sat down at the lunch bar without making a sound. Mia was sitting with her back to the room reading a text book. Her hair fell around her shoulders, creating a shield that obliterated her peripheral vision and kept her from seeing Gem walk in and sit down. "What do I have to do to get a sandwich around here?" Gem asked and watched as Mia jumped.

"Oh-my-god!" Mia said in a rush. "You startled me."

"You're not watching the counter." Gem chided playfully.

"I'm too busy trying to catch up on some of this reading." Mia said with a pinched face.

"You didn't start back yet. How could you have reading already?"

"I'm trying to recover what I did the year before last. It's been a whole year since I saw the inside of a classroom or had to study, let alone since I thought about any of those other classes I took."

"You need a break."

"I'll take one while I make you some lunch. What do you want?"

"Ham and Swiss on white." Gem answered and Mia started to make the sandwich. "Mia?"

"Um?" Mia muttered as she continued to make Gem's lunch for her.

"I'm going home to San Francisco for the weekend. You want to come with me?"

"Really?" Mia was visibly excited by the thought. She revealed why after Gem nodded to the affirmative. "I've never been outside of Los Angeles. I'd love to get to see San Francisco."

"Good. I already called my folks and they don't mind if we stay with them for the weekend. Its Nick's last weekend at home. He leaves for Nevada on Tuesday. I thought it would be nice for you to get away for awhile before school starts as well."

"What about Vince?" Mia asked. The thought that Vince might not be invited made her frown.

"I thought we'd ask him to come too. I know he might not want to because of meeting my folks and the fact he doesn't care for Doug very much, but I hope he comes too anyway."

"Go ask him after you eat. I'll give you some lunch for the boys since you'll be going anyway."

"Ok."

Gem finished her lunch, took the bag of food from Mia and repeated her trek to the garage. More and more often Mia would send Gem down to DT with a bag of food for 'the boys'. Gem parked her car behind the garage and walked in, setting her bags down on the bench and walked up behind Vince, who was bent over in the open engine bay of a purple car. She poked him in the back.

He jumped in shock and hit his head on the hood. "Fuck!" he bellowed as he spun around. He saw Gem behind him with a hand over her mouth to disguise her laughter. It didn't do anything to hide it from her laughing eyes.

"Hey." Gem got out once she thought she could keep it together. When she met Vince's eyes and read his intentions there she tried to back up and run away but he was faster. Before she could comprehend what had happened she was being tickled while held in an iron grip she couldn't get away from. "I'm sorry!" She gasped out, out of breath.

"You better be." Vince growled back before setting her down and changing his hold on her, leaning down to kiss her.

Before Gem knew it the cat calls of Cory and Bill were bringing her back to earth.

"You two have the room for that shit at home I assume." Cory said. He was smiling when he said it, which lead Vince to let him live.

Gem blushed. "I brought lunch."

"Ok, you're forgiven then. Suck face all you want if you keep on bringing me Mia's cooking." Cory started pawing though the food. "Is Mia looking for a slave boy? All she'd have to do is feed me and I'd do anything she wanted." Cory paused to let that sink in. "Anything." He reiterated with a wag of his eyebrows up and down.

Gem blushed deeper and even Bill chuckled. Vince took a menacing step Cory's way. "She ain't lookin' for nothin' so eat your damn sandwich."

"Simmer down now C. She can't be alone and lonely with no one to cook for forever. She needs someone to be that person."

Vince took another step Cory's way with a growl.

"Oh sit down and eat." Gem addressed Vince. "He's just pulling your chain and you're playing along, giving him exactly what he's looking for."

Vince sat on the couch with his sandwich and started to eat. Cory went to open his mouth again.

Gem instinctually knew it was to make a smart ass comment about Vince doing what he was told by a girl. She also knew it was the kind of comment that Vince would not easily be convinced to let slide. She shook her head almost imperceiveably Cory's way. The youth took the hint and shovelled food into his mouth instead of opening it to sass.

"Where's yours?" Vince asked Gem as he watched her hover around instead of eat.

"I ate with Mia." She answered before sitting down beside him on the couch. She watched and waited as Cory and Bill finished eating and went back to work. "So," She started, suddenly nervous as to what Vince's reaction to her asking him to go with her to her parents was going to be.

"What is it?" Vince asked, sensing there was something up.

"I was wondering how you'd like to take off early today and come on a little road trip with me?"

Vince narrowed his eyes in suspicious thought. "Road trip?"

"Yeah. I'm going to San Francisco for the weekend to visit home and I thought you and Mia might like to come. Mia's cool with it and wants to go. How 'bout you?"

"You want me to go with you to your parents?" Vince asked. It was fairly clear from his stiff posture and unhappy expression that he wasn't thrilled with the idea.

"Yes I want you to go with me to my parents. My brother leaves on Tuesday for Nevada and I haven't seen my mom and dad since I moved down here like four months ago. Mia starts school on Monday and it will be a nice break for her before she starts. She's already stressing about studying and she hasn't even been to one class yet."

"What about the fact that your brother and I can hardly stand each other?"

"Doug has his own place close to campus. He won't be around much, if at all. I imagine that once he knows you're coming with me he won't even come around the house. He might make an appearance but that's because my mother would find it awfully strange if he didn't come see me at all."

"You sure you want me to go with you? You could just take Mia."

Gem ignored the implication that her parents shouldn't meet him due to her potential embarrassment and saw through it to the real concern below; that they would find him wanting. "You're going to have to meet them sometime V. Might as well be now."

Vince sighed. "I suppose you're right. When you leavin'?"

"I'd like to make 'Frisco by nine so we should leave by five."

"Ok. I'll leave here at three thirty, after I give the boys their instructions for the rest of today and tomorrow."

"Ok, I'll see you at home later then."

Vince nodded and Gem left, heading home to pack and wait on Mia and Vince to come home. Mia came home earlier than Gem had even anticipated.

"I didn't expect to see you for another hour." She said as Mia bounced through the door of her room.

"I got too excited and I had to leave earlier. I need to pack."

"We're only going two days Mi, don't go too crazy with the luggage. We'll eat with the folks at their place tonight, likely again tomorrow night and we'll head for home before supper on Sunday. At the most we might go out with Cindy to some club that she likes. It's not going to be the social event of the century."

"No, maybe not. But it will be a chance for me to see a different city. And just eating food I didn't cook in a restaurant that I don't have to clean at the end of the day will be a treat."

"I bet." Gem answered, grinning at Mia.

"So, what kind of restaurant is your folks place?"

"Just a little Italian place. Like I told you. Small, only seats about fifty people. My mom's the chef and my dad's the sommelier and Matri'd. They have some wait staff, most of them have been around forever, and a hostess. My mom runs the kitchen staff and dad runs the dining room."

"Is it formal or casual?"

"Casual enough that what you and I normally wear is dressy enough and formal enough that V is going to have to find something he can wear other than jeans and undershirts."

"That could be an issue." Mia laughed. "I don't know that he owns anything other than jeans and undershirts."

"He does now." Gem grinned evilly. "He's going to be mad but I took it upon myself to pick him up a pair of kaki pants and a collared shirt."

"Yeah, he's going to be mad." Mia grinned back. "But it's going to be so worth it to see him dressed up. Where are the clothes?"

"Bag on the floor of my closet." Gem gestured toward her open closet as she placed another folded shirt into her suitcase.

First Mia pulled out a pair of light green kaki pants with cargo style pockets on them. "Not bad." She reached into the bag again and pulled out a co-ordinating tank top in light creamy green. "Like he needs another one." She told Gem.

"There's one more thing in there." Gem answered with a sly smile on her face.

Mia reached into the parcel one more time and came out with a button up shirt. Across the front it said 'SINNER' in a very ornate, old fashioned script and on the back in their trademark lettering it said Fender. "He'll love it."

"I hope so." Gem answered. "I wouldn't really care what he wore but I know if I let him go to Acquerello in jeans and a tank top he's going to know he's out of place there. I don't want him to feel uncomfortable like he stands out. I'd rather he was just uncomfortable in clothes he's not use to."

"I understand totally." Mia answered as she placed the items back in the bag. "I'm going to go and pack. It helps to know what I'm getting into."

"Yeah, I understand. The place isn't the Ritz but it's not Fat Burger either." Gem called back, naming the fast food joint the guys ate at when Mia didn't get to feed them. "We'll be going straight to the restaurant for supper if you have something comfy to travel in that you won't want to change out of first." Gem added before she turned back to her bed and finished her packing. She slung the shoulder strap of her back around her body before hoisting up the case of her bass. She wasn't going anywhere without it. She crossed the hall to Mia's door. "How's it going?"

"Fine. I think I'm almost ready to head out. I've got a few options. Since we don't really know what we'll end up doing." Mia picked up a small suitcase.

"You must have half your wardrobe in there."

"I need shoes for every possibility too." Mia said with a grin.

"You should have been a fashion model. You sure would enjoy the free clothes."

"No thank you. I've seen all too often what that type of girl goes through. I've seen how they're treated at races enough to know that life just isn't for me. Only valued for your looks and discarded as soon as someone prettier or more striking comes alone. I'm going to be quite ok with being valued for my skills not my looks thank you."

"I understand. I have a fear of the same thing. Sometimes I think that no matter how good I am I'll only get my few minutes of fame before some prettier girl comes along and steals the spotlight."

"There's no need to worry about that. I'll put you to work in my café because I'll be too busy for it when I have my own thriving practise." Mia smirked playfully.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence in my skills as a musician Mia. Appreciate it greatly."

"Don't mention it."

When Vince rolled into the house at three thirty it was to find the girls sitting in the living room waiting for him.

"Ready to go?" Vince asked rhetorically. Their bags were sitting at their feet and as such would have been hard to miss.

"Yes! Hurry up and go get ready." Mia ordered. "We want to get on the road soon."

"Shit, this is only San Francisco right? Not like we won a trip to Hawaii or somethin'."

"It's only the first time I've ever been invited to leave L.A. so go get ready." Mia retorted.

"I hope the reality of San Francisco doesn't let you down." Gem said as she got up off the couch.

"It won't. It's not the city I'm looking forward to, it's the trip."

"Ok. I better go head off the whole 'don't I dress well enough for you all the time' hurt, angry tirade I'm sure we're going to have to deal with before we can get this show on the road, after Vince finds the parcel I left on his bed." Gem told Mia before heading for the stairs.

"You understand him pretty well for someone so new to the whole Vince mentality, you know?"

Gem looked back over her shoulder in shock. She understood Vince? News to her. "That's how all guys would see it."

"You can keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night." Mia answered.

Gem didn't answer, she just headed down the stairs with a sigh. If she understood Vince so well then why didn't she know what to say now? She knew he was going to be mad she was 'trying to dress him'. She could hear the arguments already. She knew he was going to be angry out of a base emotion of hurt that she thought somehow less of him because of how he did dress.

So knowing all of that, why didn't she know how to explain the situation to him so that he wouldn't be hurt or mad anymore? She paused at the bottom of the stairs, lower lip caught between her teeth in indecision as she stood in place and desperately grabbed for the solution of what to say. Finally, with a shrug she decided she wasn't going to figure it out standing there in the living room. She started toward the door to Vince's room, which stood slightly ajar.

With a show of bravado which was a total act she barely managed she strode boldly into the room and flopped backwards onto the bed in the center. "So, how was the rest of your day?"

"Fine. You?"

His voice did sound a little strained, Gem thought. "Fine," she replied. The bag with her gift in it was no where to be found. Uh oh. She decided to keep trying to brazen it out until he got around to mentioning the bag. "Mia about drove me insane. She's just a little excited about this whole thing. I'm glad I thought to ask you both to come with me."

"Are you?" Vince asked.

Gem heard the snappish tone in the question. "Yes. I hate the drive between here and there when I'm alone. Plus, I want you to meet my mom and dad. They're great people and they're going to like you and Mia a lot. It'll help them sleep at night to know the people I live with are as nice as I've made them out to be."

"Um." Vince grunted back noncommittally.

Gem sighed. Perhaps the only way to deal with the situation was come right out and admit she knew why he was angry and why she'd done what she'd done. "Vince, don't get all upset with me just on principle."

"I dunno what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. We both do. I'm sorry that you think I'm implying the way you are isn't good enough because I picked you out the clothes. It wasn't my intent and I'm sorry to upset you."

"What makes you think I'm upset?"

"The fact you won't look at me, and the way you're answering all my questions with one syllable when you can get away with it."

"I'm just tired. I think I'll stay home this weekend. You and Mia go and have a good time."

"Why are you really staying home?" Gem asked as she rolled onto her side in the center of the bed and propped her head up on her hand.

"Because I'm tired. Did I stutter?" Vince raised his voice slightly.

"No, you just lied to me so you could take the easy way out and not tell me the real reason," Gem said, staring into the center of Vince's back. "I thought I deserved the truth is all."

"Because I don't want to try and live up to someone else's expectations of me all weekend long when I know I'll never manage it. There, happy?"

"Not at all. No one has expectations Vince."

"Then why the fancy clothes, huh?"

"A peace offering for when you actually see the 'small restaurant' my folks own." Gem finally admitted, not seeing another way around the whole situation she'd created.

"What do you mean?" Vince asked, eyes narrowed as he turned around to face Gem where she lay.

"I'd rather if you just got ready so we can leave. You'll see soon enough when we get to Acquerello."

"Acquerello?"

"My folk's restaurant. They figure on us being ready for supper when we get there so they told me to just head straight there off the freeway."

"That's a pretty fancy sounding name for a restaurant."

"I know. Just get ready and let's go, ok? I really want you to come and it's not fair to ruin the weekend for Mia either. Just do me this one favour ok V? I swear you'll understand when we get there and I'll explain more tonight, ok?" Gem practically begged.

"I guess." Vince agreed reluctantly. He really wasn't sure what he was walking into. The fact he was willing to take it on faith and walk into it anyway was unsettling. What was the big deal about this restaurant of her parents?

"Thank you." Gem stood up and headed for the door.

Her unconscious grace never failed to amaze him. Maybe it was because he'd watched her grow into it as she became more secure with who she was and what she did. She didn't hide from the world behind her hair half as much as she used to. The shining blond mass was used more for adornment than as a shield now. "Gem?" He called after her.

"Yeah?" She paused and turned to look at him in the open door of his room.

"Come 'ere a second, would you?"

Gem walked back across the room to where Vince was standing, a puzzled look on her face. "What is it?" She inquired.

Rather than answer Vince simply leaned over and kissed her. When he stood back up and took a step back a moment later he looked down at her face, loving the dazed look he could put in her eyes when he really worked at kissing her. Of course, he was certain she could say the same thing about him. "I'll be up in a minute."

"Ok," she answered and turned to leave. Instead of letting her he grabbed her arm and kissed her again.

♫

"Guys?" Mia called as she started down the stairs. She was worried they were killing each other. When she didn't get an answer she finished the trek, crossed the basement to Vince's door and peeked in. "Oh for heaven's sake," she said on a sigh. "You two don't get enough time to do that during the week? You had to wait until it was almost time to head out on my very first road trip, no matter how short it's going to be?"

They broke apart with guilty looks. Vince's turned to embarrassment which faded to anger swiftly. "You don't knock?"

"You don't close the door?" Mia quipped back.

Gem broke in before they could start an actual fight, a very real possibility between the two of them, even over something so trivial. "I'll just head up stairs and put my stuff into the car. Give me your guitar and I'll put it in the trunk with my bass," she said to Vince.

"Why am I bringing the guitar?"

"Because you never know when you'll need it." Gem answered and didn't wait for him to reply. She simply picked up the case herself and followed Mia out of the room. They packed the stuff into the trunk of the Solara.

"You know there's no way that Vince is going to be happy about taking your car right? He gets very uptight when someone else does the driving."

"Too bad about him. There's no way I'm missing the chance to show up in this car."

"I'm just saying, it's going to be another fight." Mia said, raising her hands in platitude.

"I'll survive."

Vince walked out of the house, dressed in his new outfit. He looked uncomfortable, a fact that didn't stop Mia from pursing her lips in a wolf whistle.

"Shut up." He growled in reply.

"Who're you and what did you do with our coyote?" Mia pressed.

"Mia," Vince cautioned.

Mia gave up with a shrug and got into the back seat of the car after stowing her bag in the trunk along with the two guitar cases and Gem's bag. Vince turned to Gem.

"Why don't we take the Maxima?"

"No way. We're taking the Solara. You can drive if you want."

"Gem," Vince started before pausing with a sigh.

"What?" She asked as they stood behind the car, her hand on her hip and a look of impatience on her face.

"You know what kind of questions you showing up in this car are going to start right? Do we really want to go there the first time your folks meet me and Mia?"

"It's just another one of those things that's going to have to happen sooner or later Vince. It might as well be this weekend. Anyone who takes it one step over the line is going to catch an earful."

Vince didn't bother answering. He just got into the driver's seat. If they had to take the Toyota and deal with all the issue doing so was going to start, he sure as hell was taking her up on her offer to drive. He wasn't arriving to deal with so many unpleasant topics frustrated from being a passenger. He didn't travel well as a passenger.

They left the house, Mia keeping up a running commentary on what she thought about being away from Los Angeles. They arrived in San Francisco about three and a half hours after they left L.A. They stopped in a parking lot so Gem could take control of the car. She insisted it would be easier to simply let her navigate the streets that to her still called out that she was home but to Vince might as well have been a maze with no path to the end.

After a few deft turns up and down the hilly streets riddled with one way onlys, Gem pulled the car into the parking lot at the rear of her parent's restaurant. She climbed out of the car and slammed the door. She waited beside the car for Vince to get out and allow Mia to climb out of the back seat. Once they were all outside the car they started toward the building, Gem in the lead. As they walked up to the front of the building Mia ground to a halt.

"It's a church." She said, looking up at the façade.

"No, it used to be a church," Gem corrected. "Now, it's a restaurant."

"It's stunning." Mia breathed out in awe.

"You haven't even been inside." Gem replied as she led the procession closer to the door. "Let's go in before you pronounce the place stunning, shall we?" Mia's need to go on about how impressive the place was was making her nervous. She already knew she had vastly underemphasised the style of her parent's establishment. She pushed open the door and stepped in. Mia followed hot on her heels and Vince brought up the rear.

They stopped in the foyer as they were confronted with Claire at her podium. Gem looked back over her shoulder to see Mia trying to take everything in at once. Vince's look was much harder to read. It might well have been panic. Oh boy am I going to have some apologizing to do. Gem turned back to Claire's station.

"I'm sorry but we're fully booked for this evening. Perhaps a reservation for some other time?" The woman asked before even saying hello. With her white blonde hair and pale skin she almost blended into the décor.

"We're expected." Gem replied as she walked past her, into the main room of the restaurant. Mia and Vince moved behind her. She never would have believed that some sun streaks in her hair and a few lost pounds could change her look to the point that the staff at the place she'd worked summers for the past seven years wouldn't recognize her. Of course, Claire hadn't been around for more than two of those summers.

♫

Mia looked around her in awe. This was the 'little Italian place' that Gem wanted nothing to do with? The building was exquisite. A converted chapel, it retained a high, circular stained glass window high on the back wall, as well as the alcove where the communion wafers would have been stored in the days when the building was a holy place. There was an artistic arch over the doorway, flanked by two matching arches over ornate cabinets on the walls. The lighting in the whole place was warm, designed to highlight both the artwork, architecture, and patrons.

The walls were finished in a delicate, creamy yellow and provided the perfect, unobtrusive background for the beautiful, original watercolours they showcased. The ceiling in the dining room was the original exposed beam ceiling of the chapel, and sported wrought iron supports running from side to side.

The tables were all covered in actual white linen table clothes. They were set with real silver, cloth napkins and crystal, which shimmered in the subdued lighting. There were perhaps fifty seats, arranged around the room at tables with enough space between them to lend the atmosphere a private, intimate feel. Every table had an amber lamp in the center, illuminated by a flickering candle. The colour scheme of the entire place was all yellows and soft oranges. It helped to set off the many crystal decanters of wine that filled a large, circular table in the center of the room.

"It's gorgeous." Mia said softly.

"Thank you." An accented voice answered from behind them. They all swung around to find the source of the voice. "I only wish my daughter agreed with you."

"Dad." Gem rushed the tall, slightly portly man who was dressed in a suit jacket and tie and gave him a firm hug. "I've always loved the restaurant, ever since you and mom left Donatello to open it."

"You love it, but not enough to make it your life," he shrugged. "I understand this. But I don't have to like it." He looked beyond Gem, whom he still held to his side with one arm. "And this must be the lovely Mia I've heard so many good things about."

"Yes, this is Mia."

"Hello Mia. I am Giancarlo Davis and welcome to Aquerello."

"Hello." Mia answered.

"And this is Vince." Gem introduced Vince to her father.

"Nice to meet you." Vince answered.

The two men shook hands. "Come, sit down. My wife, Gem's mother will cook dinner for you all before we all head for home." Giancarlo sat them all down at a six seater table in the rear of the dining room and handed out menus.

Mia took a moment to admire hers before she opened it. It was a soft, sunny yellow with a beautiful scene of an open patio door with a leafy tree in the foreground and a view of distant water over a red brick retaining wall. It was very indicative of a villa in Italy.

Gem saw Mia studying the front of the menu. "It's Bologna. My dad is from there." She didn't even open her own menu. She knew what she was having by heart. She also knew that she would allow her father to choose a wine to accompany each course of her meal for her. It was what he was good at, gifted at knowing precisely which wine would compliment each dish.

"I don't know what to have." Vince leaned over from his seat beside Gem at the rear of the table. "Nothing in this menu is something I've heard of before."

"That's not true Vince," Gem answered in a low tone. "There should be steak in there."

"Yeah, but I order steak everywhere."

"Just order the Menu' Degustazione."

"What's that?" Mia and Vince asked at the same time.

"My mom makes up a different four course meal every night and my dad picks a wine to go with each course. It's what I'm having."

"I'm going to be adventurous and have that." Mia decided, closing her menu with a snap. "It'll be a treat to have nice wines that actually go with the food they come with."

"I'm not sure about wine." Vince said, an unsure look on his face.

"Don't have wine then. It's not a requisite, just a suggestion." Gem shrugged, showing what Vince chose to drink with his meal didn't matter to her in the least. "Italians have wine with everything," Gem rolled her eyes to show it could be exasperating at the same time as she grinned to show it was one of the things she loved about her family.

"At least they do when their father is the great Giancarlo Davis." A male voice broke in from the foot of the table. They all looked up to find Doug standing beside the table. Nick was beside him. "We heard you were in town having supper with mom and dad and figured we'd drop in on it."

"Pull up chairs." Gem invited with a quick glance at Vince to see how he was accepting Doug's presence. He seemed ok. But no better. Of course, being dropped in the middle of one of the 'top ten places to eat in San Francisco' could be the reason why. It was doubtful he had ever been in a place that didn't boast a deep fryer before.

Nick took the seat at the foot of the table as Doug pulled out the chair beside Mia for himself. This left him seated across from Gem.

"I meant to ask after your father introduced himself, how did you end up with the last name Davis if your father is from Italy?" Mia asked, echoing Vince's thoughts.

"He took an American name when he moved here. He thought Davis would be easier for Americans to spell, say and remember than his Italian last name, Davincolli."

"And it was almost the end of dad. Granddad hit the roof. Good thing he lives in Italy still."

"I think that's being a bit melodramatic Doug. He wasn't pleased, I'll give you that. I guess I'm biased since I'm glad he did it. Paterlini isn't much of a stage name."

"Yeah, because the people in the bar really care what your last name is." Doug mumbled.

"Watch your step." Vince cautioned in a low voice.

Doug's head snapped up as his gaze moved from his plate to Vince's face.

"Boys!" Mia called. "Play nice. There's no need to fight."

"Sorry." Doug mumbled.

Gem turned to Vince. "You decide what you're having yet?"

"Whatever you are." Vince replied.

"You sure? I could just order for you off the menu. I think I could do ok picking out things you'd like."

"I'm sure. I'll have the same thing you said you were having."

"Ok." Gem gave up with a shrug and looked up as her father was reaching the table at her side. "Hey dad. You and mom are joining us, right?"

"After I tell Suzette what you're all having." Giancarlo answered. "So, what are you all having?"

"I'll have my usual and V wants the same thing," Gem informed her father. "What about you, Mia?"

"I'll have the same." Mia answered with a smile for Gem's father.

"Us too." Doug answered for himself and Nick.

"I guess that's what we're all having." Giancarlo said as he walked away toward the door of the kitchen.

A short time later the first course was brought out. Gem's father and mother came out of the kitchen and joined their offspring and guests at the table. Gem introduced her mother to Vince and Mia. Her father poured wine and everyone started to eat.

As the meal went on Gem started to feel Vince relaxing more, as her family-with the exception of Doug-included him in conversation. Mia fit in with her family as though she'd been born to them. Both Suzette and Giancarlo took to dark Italian woman instantly.

While the rest of the group were enjoying coffee, Gem's parents excused themselves to close the restaurant down, it having gone to ten thirty as they had ate and talked. Within half an hour Giancarlo was pushing them all out the door so he could lock up and arm the security system.

They all started toward the parking lot in a gaggle, still laughing and talking as they all made for their cars. Giancarlo and Suzette made their way toward the black Pontiac G6 coupe as Doug and Nick both headed toward Doug's black Corolla. Both pairs paused and turned to look as the Caribbean blue Toyota's lights flashed twice as Gem unlocked it and disarmed it with her remote.

"Whose car is that?" Doug asked as he watched Gem make her way toward the driver's door and move to open it.

"Mine." She turned around to face her family and answered. "The Honda had to go."

"How'd you get the money for this?" Nick asked in awe as he moved toward the Solara and walked around its sleek exterior. "I was going to send you some cash after I got to Nevada, but not enough to upgrade quite this far from the Civic."

"I didn't buy it, actually. The last time Vince worked on the Honda he decided it was going to die before I ever broke down and replaced it so he bought this one broken and started fixing it up for me." Gem answered Nick's spoken question-and several of Doug's unspoken one's-all with one short answer.

"Kind of an expensive gift for a friend isn't it?" Doug asked.

Gem shrugged, "I don't often ask how much gifts I'm given cost. It seems rude." She watched Doug's face colour red as her barb found its mark. She was happy he was embarrassed. He should well be, to her way of thinking.

"I just don't see a lot of people gifting their friends with cars, Gemmalynn."

"I don't imagine a lot of people do give cars as gifts. But Vince and Mia grew up with cars as a big focus in their lives and Vince didn't want to see me driving the Honda around with the broken air conditioner and in need of so many repairs. It wasn't going to pass smog this year anyway. He picked this one out for me and I'm grateful he did because as you've pointed out it isn't like I ever could have bought it on my own. I never could have bought a car with a blown engine and fixed it up on my own." Gem's chin came up in her defence of Vince and her right to have the gift he had bought for her.

"Why didn't you come to us if you needed money for a new car?" Gem's mother asked her.

"Because I didn't want to hear a lecture about how I should just come home because then I wouldn't even need a car because I could travel to the restaurant with you two every day."

"Working with your mother and I is where you belong." Giancarlo answered, simply stating the situation how it appeared to him.

"No, it's where you want me to be, not where I belong. I belong where I am. I should be following my own dreams instead of trying to want the dreams you have for me."

Her matter of fact tone made Vince marvel at her ability to keep herself together. He didn't think he could do such a good job of keeping himself stable if someone cast doubts on his major decisions the way her family cast doubts on Gem's.

"Your father and brother only want you to be safe." Gem's mother tried to smooth things over.

"Yes, I'm sure they do. It's just that their way of keeping me safe is to never let me do anything I want to, never let me make any of my own choices."

"You make choices like accepting gifts like cars from men! How are we supposed to trust your judgement? Gem, there's a word for girls who take gifts for-" Doug trailed off, unwilling or unable to finish the sentence.

"Doug." Suzette said softly, trying to warn her son away from the topic he'd lit on.

"What word is that Doug? Why stop there? If you're such a smart guy, such a big man, tell me what the word is for girls who do things like that. For girls like me." She reminded her brother furiously. Doug didn't answer, he just glared back at his sister with his eyes narrowed and his lips pressed together.

Gem was so mad she wasn't even tuned in to how mad Vince was swiftly growing. She ploughed on. "Cat got your tongue? I think this whole thing is more over how obvious it is Vince wants me to make it on my own, wants me to succeed where as you all want me to fail so I'll come running home with my tail between my legs and fall into the role that you all think I should have.

"Well, it's time you woke up to the harsh reality of my life. I am doing ok on my own. I am happy where I am. I will make it as a performer. And if I don't then I will keep on working for Barry at the Cobalt and with Mia at the café. I do have a boyfriend who's a very nice person that the lot of you are too narrow minded to really see for who he is. That's not my problem and it's not his.

"And for the record, the car was bought before we were dating. It was bought because Vince couldn't stand the thought of the Honda breaking down in the middle of the night and leaving me stranded along some road in the middle of no where. Which happened. And when it did it was Vince who had made sure I had a cell phone in the car and it was Vince who came to get me, driving like a crazy person just so that I wouldn't be left alone any longer than I had to be. He did it just because he thinks like that, not for what he thought he could get from me for it!"

"I never meant to imply anything untoward was going on." Doug said, stumbling over some of the words.

"Yes, you did." Gem corrected. "But that's fine. I understand your ignorance of things you don't understand. You have to put conditions on your love. People and things have to fall in with your idea of how they should be and act for you to love them. Unconditional has no meaning in your world. But that's your problem, not mine, and I'd thank you to leave it out of life."

"Gem, your brother wasn't trying to hurt your feelings."

"No, he was trying to make me see things his way, the right way, and it's time he learned there is often more than one right way for things to be. I'm sick and tired of trying to live my own life and still make it fit into his mould of what's ok for me at the same time mom, and I won't do it anymore."

Gem's parents had never seen her so wound up over anything before. She'd gone from calm to almost livid.

"What kind of person are you to imply that your sister is a-a-?" Mia couldn't even finish her own question, she was so mad. "For all the asshole things he's done even Dominic wouldn't stoop so low. You're her brother! You shouldn't talk to her like that."

"Let's go." Vince growled. He wanted to flee the scene before he lost the fragile thread of control he had over his anger and showed Gem's family they were totally correct with their assumptions about him. He wanted to remind Doug how much it had hurt the last time he'd shot his mouth off at his sister. But instead he slid onto the cool leather seat on the passenger side of Gem's car and slammed his door. Gem followed him in, after allowing Mia to slide in the back. "I always thought you were exaggerating the amount of force your family used over you not making it in L.A. I see now you weren't." He said, barely managing to say it without roaring or cursing.

"They're not so bad. They really do want what's best for me."

"Stop standing up for them!" Mia exclaimed. "They want you to do just what you said, never do anything that could potentially hurt you or upset you. They want you to do just what they think is best for you all the time. And I think they want that because it makes their lives easier when they don't have to deal with you getting hurt or upset."

"I'm sure it never crossed their minds quite like that." Gem said. In her mind she knew that Mia was right. She also knew her family didn't mean it like that. They all had their own things to do and they just wanted her to do something close to them and mundane so she wouldn't be a burden to them in their busy lives. Of course, when she put it like that, even to herself, it sounded pretty awful.

"Maybe not but it sure did cross Doug's mind to run his mouth again."

"Doug just grew up as the oldest and since mom and dad were almost never home a lot of the responsibility at home fell to him. I'm not saying that makes the way he is ok, but I do understand a bit where he's coming from. I keep hoping that someday the right girl will come along to lighten him up a bit." Gem tried to laugh off the situation.

"Yeah, if you can find one who can overlook the fact that he's a control freak." Mia said, giggling while she said it.

"And too blunt for his own good." Vince added on a chuckle. "It's gonna get him his face rearranged for free some day."

"I thought it already had." Gem replied, still laughing.

"Oh yeah." Vince laughed harder. "I'll never forget him down in the dirt bleeding outta his nose wishing I wouldn't hit him again, and then Mia kicking him."

"I wish I'd seen it." Gem said as she laughed even harder, envisioning the scene in her mind.

It was then that she realized in the span of a few moments her two friends had pulled her out of her funk. And she knew that while they were staying at her parent's house she wasn't visiting home. She was visiting family. Home was the white house in Echo Park. And it felt good to finally really belong somewhere. Somewhere where she was accepted for who she was. For what she wanted to be.

It sure felt good to finally feel that way. "Thanks guys."

"For what?" Vince asked.

Gem answered after a moment's thought, "for being here," she shrugged. "I don't know how I would have gotten through that if it wasn't for you guys."

"If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have been in the situation. I shoulda known better than to think I could give you a car and not piss off your family."

"They shouldn't read their own values into my life, into our relationship. It has nothing to do with them."

"Gem's right. It's not like no one ever got a car as a gift before."

"Listen, for the rest of the time we're here we're going to have a good time. For the purposes of this visit I'm a tourist to San Francisco just like you guys. So, that just makes me wonder what we're going to do with the rest of the night. It's too late to see a movie and too early to go to bed."

"We'll go ditch our gear and see what we want to do from there." Vince said.

"Ok." Gem said and switched gears to climb a hill. "Well, look on the bright side."

"There's a bright side?" Mia questioned.

"Yeah, all the hard revelations got out of the way in one go. They know how I got the car, they know I never intend to come home even if I never get a record deal and they know that Vince and I are dating. We don't have to have two more difficult conversations later."

"You're an eternal optimist, that's for sure." Vince answered.

"What can I say, I'm a 'the glass is half full' kinda girl."

Gem pulled the car up to her family home and parked it in the drive. She killed the motor and yanked the parking brake on before getting out and letting Mia out. They all gathered their gear and walked up to the house.

Gem couldn't help but notice all the lights were on and everyone's car was there. Even Doug's. "Looks like he hasn't put his foot in his mouth enough for one night." Gem said on a sigh, pointing at Doug's car.

"I don't know how much longer I can go on letting him say bone head things without kicking his ass."

"All you can do is try your best." Gem quipped back.

"Well, the thing is, I've always been kind of an underachiever."

"I'll bet. Add to that with a chronic habit of putting yourself down."

"I have a lot of years of doing it to grow out of."

"I'd really rather you didn't beat up my brother in front of my mom and dad. But, if he really deserves it I guess I could live with being disowned."

"I don't think it will go that far." Mia broke in.

"You don't know Doug." Gem answered. Before either of them could comment farther she opened the door. The door let off into a foyer. The living room was off to the left and that was where the rest of her family had gathered. When they entered the house all conversation ground to a stop. Gem looked in the room and found three guilty looks and Nick. That didn't bode well for the rest of her evening. "Don't stop talking about me on my account." Gem said sarcastically.

Vince silently cheered her for standing up for herself. He then felt like a hypocrite because nine times out of ten he wouldn't stand up for himself against his friends and family. Well, unless they goaded him into a fist fight. Those he knew how to defend himself in.

"We weren't talking about you." Her mother assured. "We just didn't know who was here, that's all."

"Sure mom, ok. Whatever makes you feel better," Gem turned her back on the room and turned to face her friends. "Come on guys, I'll show you where we're bunking tonight." She led the way up the stairs.

"Gem!"

At her father's call Gem paused and looked over her shoulder, "Yeah?"

"Cindy called. She heard you were in town. She wants you to call her back."

"Ok, thanks," Gem finished the stairs and threw open the first door on the left. "Vince, this is the spare room and you can chuck your stuff in there." She walked to the next door over and opened it before walking in, "and Mia, this is our suite."

Mia took in the room with its posters of various bands all over the walls. The band posters fought with posters for Zon, Gibson, Fender, and several small companies that Mia had never heard of before, but apparently also made bass guitars. The walls were a pale blue, what was visible of them at any rate, and the carpet was a darker blue. Over the desk there was a cork board covered in candid snapshots of Gem and other people. There was a double canopy bed in the center of the room, the one claim to feminism Mia could see. "So this is your room huh?"

"Yeah, pretty sad, no? I mean, who grows up with posters of guitars and bands like Tori Amos and Fiona Applegate instead of actors and pop stars, right?"

"I think it's cool. Even back then you knew who you were and where your interests lay. Did you outgrow the bass or these bands?"

"Not really, no."

"Then you knew who you were a lot younger than a lot of people. Hell, a lot of people never figure it out. Don't knock knowing who you are."

"I suppose not. I should call Cin back." Gem picked up the phone and dialled her friend's number. She answered on the second ring.

"I thought you were never going to call back."

"And hello to you too Cindy. How are you?"

"Hey Gem. I'm fine, thanks. About time you called me back. What are you doing tonight?"

"We were just trying to answer that very question."

"Good, you're coming out with me and some friends. We're going to the Vineyard."

"I'm not dragging my guests to my uncle's lounge for karaoke Cin."

"Come on! It'll be fun." Cindy wheedled.

It was when Mia joined her caterwauling from the other end that Gem finally caved. At least her uncle was cool. "Ok, fine. We'll meet you there in half an hour."

"See you there."

Gem hung up and turned to Mia. "How on earth are we going to convince V to go to a lounge on the night when it's a karaoke bar?"

"Tell him his two choices are come with us or stay here with Doug, of course."

Gem cocked her head to the side. "Devious. Devious but effective. Let's get ready and then go break the great news."

"Deal."

Both girls finished at about the same time. Mia took in the changed way Gem had slowly grown into dressing when she was going to perform. She no longer tried to hide on stage in her baggy athletic clothes and a curtain of her thick, straight hair. She was currently wearing a pair of chunky boots, hipster jeans in indigo, fitted until the bottom where they flared out slightly in a 'boot' cut. She was wearing another one of Letty's old tops, a red tank top sheer enough to reveal the general shape of the red bra she had on under it.

Mia had stuck to her old standard style. She had on a pair of black jeans with a frilly faux waistband, a pair of camel coloured, stiletto heeled boots and a watercolour tank top with shades of lavender, pink, pale blue, soft green and yellow all swirled together.

"You look good." Mia told Gem as she ran a comb through her hair one last time.

"You too." Gem answered and moved toward the door of her room. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Mia followed Gem out of the room and across to the next door up the hall.

Gem knocked. "You decent?"

"Yeah." Vince's muffled voice called back.

Gem pushed the door open before she and Mia piled into the room.

"What's up?" Vince asked after taking in the wardrobe changes on the girls.

"We're going to my uncle's lounge to meet Cindy. You coming?" Gem asked. She noticed that Vince had already changed out of his 'good behaviour' clothes in favour of his own undershirt and a pair of his well worn dark denims.

"What are my options?"

"Stay here and entertain Gem's brothers." Mia answered with a grin.

"So you're saying I don't have any." Vince said with a frown.

"If you want to look at it that way." Mia affirmed. "I look at it more like you have two. Come with us and kick back with a cold beer or two while you enjoy the company or stay here and be uptight, need half a dozen beer to not kill someone and don't enjoy the company."

"So I really don't have any options."

"Not really," Gem shrugged, "no."

"Ok, let's see the lounge."

"Ok, let's go." Gem started down the stairs, Mia and Vince on her heels. She stopped at the door to the living room and looked in. "We're going out." She said to her parents and brothers, who were all still sitting in the living room.

"Where you heading?" Nick asked from the couch.

"Vineyard." Gem answered as she started to move toward the front door.

"Cool. I'm coming too." Nick got up and followed the group into the foyer of the house, where he bent to put on his sneakers.

"You riding with us?" Gem asked her brother as she walked toward her car.

"Naw, I'm gonna ride the bike. Won't get much of a chance after I head to Nevada."

"Ok, we'll just see you there when we get there I suppose." Gem answered, grinning. She knew her brother would beat them ten times over. He might not if she let Vince drive, but there was no way she was willing to allow Vince to race her car in the narrow, hilly streets of San Francisco.

"See you there." Nick answered before pulling his helmet on over his head and climbing onto his Ninja.

Gem, Mia and Vince got into her car and were about to back down the driveway when Doug came out of the house and waved at Gem as though to make her pause. She did so out of a long standing habit of doing what Doug wanted. He walked up to her window, which she lowered.

"I was wondering if I could come too." He said as he looked down at Gem.

"You? You want to go to the Vineyard?" Gem didn't wait for his answer. She carried on as though he'd answered affirmatively. "Why?"

"It's the last time we're all going to be together for a long time. You have your life in L.A., Nick's going to Nevada, I'll have a full time internship with my firm soon and then we'll never see each other."

Put like that, Gem couldn't find it in her to say no, even though she figured that no was a better answer. She didn't see how it could possibly be a good thing to put Vince and Doug together in the same car. "Get in." She said as she swung the door open and leaned forward to allow her brother to slip into the back seat. He climbed in. She started back down the drive.

As though to illustrate how dissatisfied he was with having Doug in the car Vince ejected Gem's CD from the player and inserted one of his own. Within seconds Metallica's metal sounds started to blast around the cabin of the car. It was such a spiteful move on Vince's part, with him just assuming that Doug wouldn't like the band or the loud music and doing it just to make him uncomfortable that Gem found herself laughing at Vince.

"What?" Vince asked, smiling slightly. He knew what she found funny.

"Nothing." She answered.

Mia and Doug looked at the two front seat occupants in confusion. They had no idea what was so funny.

They finally reached Gem's uncle's lounge and got out of the car. They crossed to the door, Gem and Vince together out front, leaving Mia to bring up the rear with Doug. They walked past Nick's bike on the way across the lot. True to Gem's thinking he'd beaten them there by a good few minutes.

They walked through the door and into the main room of the establishment. The room had a large screen at one end, currently showing the screen saver of the karaoke machine. The host was standing off to one side of her machine, talking to an older man. The place was half decently crowded, about three quarters full. There was an L shaped oak bar in one corner of the room. Two TV's were suspended over the bar, obviously used for showing sporting events when it wasn't karaoke night. There were tables all around the bar and up until about five feet in front of the screen. Under the screen was a slightly raised dais. It was where the karaoke performers went to sing, but could also be used for a stage for live events.

Gem didn't spot Cindy right away. It was therefore quite a shock when the other girl almost took her down after a flight across the room ending in a short time of being airborne before she had Gem in a tight hug.

"Gem!"

"Cindy!" Gem exclaimed back as she returned her friend's hug before holding her out at arm's length. Her friend's hair was shiny again, glistening with hues of blue under the subdued lighting of the lounge. Her skin was pale but glowing with health. She'd never been dark in her life, but at least the black circles were gone from under her eyes. She had put some weight on and she just looked good. "You look so good!"

Cindy laughed happily. "I feel good."

"Even better." The two hugged again. Gem turned to look over her shoulder. "You might remember Vince, and this is Mia." Gem pulled Mia forward. "Mia, this is my friend Cindy. We grew up together."

"Nice to meet you." Mia and Cindy shook hands.

"Same to you."

"So, what have you been up to?" Gem asked Cindy as the lot of them grabbed two tables and shoved them together.

"Your uncle gave me a job here a few nights a week." Cindy paused and looked around to see who else was in earshot. Apparently happy with who was she continued. "I've been seeing someone."

"Really?" Gem asked, head cocked to the side. "Who?" Cindy looked around a bit. She appeared nervous to Gem. She really hoped it wasn't the looser ex.

"Promise me you won't get mad."

"I'll only promise you that if you promise me the guy isn't Bobby Webb."

"Oh gosh no! I'll never make that mistake twice." Cindy took a deep breath to brace herself. "It's Nick." She rushed out.

"Nick my brother Nick?" Gem asked incredulously.

"Yes, are you mad?"

"You're dating my motorcycle riding, leather wearing, flyboy brother?"

"Yeah. You are mad aren't you?"

"Hell no I'm not mad. That's fantastic. You've always had a crush on him."

Cindy grabbed Gem in another tight hug. "I'm so glad you're not mad. I just don't know what I'm going to do when he goes away. Six whole weeks."

"It'll feel like no time."

The house music shut off then and the host took to the dais. "Ok people, we're going to get started again. Come on up and sign the sheet with your name and what you want to sing and lets get up off our butts and do some singing."

"I need a drink." Vince and Nick said at the same time. Both chuckled.

The older man who had been talking to the host walked up to their table. "How did both my nephews get in here without me noticing?"

"Uncle Dave!" Gem exclaimed happily as she jumped up.

"Gem? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me." Gem's uncle Dave grabbed her in hug.

"I wouldn't have recognized you. How are you? Famous yet?"

"Not yet, no." Gem grinned. "But well on my way."

"What brings you home?"

"Sending Nick off. Plus I wanted my friends to meet mom and dad. Dave, this is Mia, and this is Vince."

"Hi there." Dave turned back to his niece. "So, what are you going to sing?"

"Oh no, I'm not going up there tonight."

A chorus of yes you are's went up around the table.

"Guys! I'm not here to perform. I just want to take a break."

"It's just karaoke Gem. It's not like you have to be really on. You have to sing!" Cindy whined. "I'll be just like old times. Come on!"

"Ok, ok. I surrender. I'll sing one song with you."

"That's my girl." Dave grinned. "First round's on the house. What's everyone want?"

Everyone ordered, beers all around for the guys and cocktails for the girls. They were about half way through their drinks when Cindy excused herself for a moment. After she came back the next thing Gem knew the host was calling her name.

"Cindy!" Gem exclaimed. "That was devious."

"Oh come on! We'll go together."

"Ok." Gem answered, and with a wicked glint in her eye she grabbed Mia by the hand. "You too."

"No way!" Mia pulled backwards. "I don't sing."

"It's not singing. It's karaoke." Gem said, dragging Mia behind her toward the stage. They could hear the guys laughing at them as they followed the progress of the three girls.

"It's on a stage and you expect me to sing along. That's singing."

"You sing in church."

"This isn't church!"

"Play make-believe." Gem said on a laugh as they reached the 'stage'. "Cin, what did you sign us up to sing.

"What else? Girls just wanna have fuuuunnnn." Cindy sang playfully.

The host turned on the mic. "Up next we have Cindy, Gem and," she leaned toward them, covering the mic with her hand, "who's your friend?"

"Mia," Gem whispered back.

"And Mia, singing 'Girls just wanna have fun. Give it up for them!"

The audience clapped and hooted enthusiastically and the music for the song started. All three girls had microphones in hand. Gem looked fully at home, feeling like she'd grown up on the stage at the Vineyard. On queue she started singing confidently, her two friends singing quietly along with her.

♫

Doug watched his sister strut around the small stage confidently, singing along to the canned music as though it was her band and it meant something. She was clearly over playing the situation, acting like a total ham but she was also clearly having fun.

"Some boys take a beautiful girl and hide her away from the worst of the world. I wanna be the one to walk in the sun!"

She was happy up there, and Doug could tell. Even singing the cheesy eighties hit she had a big grin on her face and it wasn't hard to see she was enjoying herself. Her attitude had even rubbed off on Cindy and Mia. Both of Gem's back up singers were giving it their all now. They didn't sound half bad together.

It was then that Doug finally admitted to himself that make it as a pro or not, performing was where Gem belonged.

And, judging by the way Vince couldn't take his eyes off her, maybe they even belonged together. There was certainly nothing causal about the way he was captivated by her. Now that didn't mean that he had to like it, or like the other, tattooed, tool wielding man. But it did perhaps mean he would have to try and control his opinions on the matter and let Gem make up her own mind about how she wanted to handle her relationship and her life.

When the song ended the three went to leave the stage. The crowd started chanting Gem, Gem, Gem. Doug surprised himself by being one of the loudest among them. The host took the stage and looked at Gem.

"Seems like they want you to go again. How about it?"

"I guess so." Gem sighed like she was perturbed, but she was smiling while she did it and Doug knew she was actually happy to be appreciated for doing something she was enjoying. She and the host went to the book of songs and after a moment the woman walked over to her machine and Gem climbed back up on stage.

"Ok, you're going to have to forgive me if this is horrible. I'm use to singing with my bass in my hands and my actual band behind me now. I'll do my best though so here we go."

The music started. Doug couldn't place it. He didn't listen to popular music very often. He was too busy to catch more than the odd song as he commuted from school to work and home again. It was an upbeat song, opening with the sound of a woman laughing and some synthesized accompaniment. He recognized it when she reached the chorus.

"If God is a DJ, life is a dance floor, love is a rhythm, you are the music. If God is a DJ, life is a dance floor; you get what you're given. It's all how you use it."

His sister had it good, Doug was starting to see. No matter what she was feeling or thinking she always had a song to sum it up. Be it one of her own or one of someone else's all she had to do was put on a CD and sing her heart out. She was clearly enjoying herself right now, but he would bet that she could simply belt out songs in the shower and make herself feel better too.

Just as the law was his outlet for injustice in his world, music was that outlet to Gem. As that became clear to him so did two other things. He had some hope for a good relationship with his sister in the future and he seriously needed to learn to unbend and relax when he wasn't at work. He really was a stick in the mud a lot of the time and Gem and the rest of his family and her friends had a legitimate beef with him.

♫

Gem returned to their table and sat down amid the cheering patrons. They had a few more drinks and cheered on all the other people who went up to sing, with varying amounts of success. Gem winced as one drunk man, who clearly thought he was one of the last wild west cowboys left in California got up and attempted 'Guitars, Cadillacs' by Dwight Yolkam. Attempted was the operative word.

By the time he was done everybody at the table cheered, not for him but for the fact he was done. Gem was feeling pretty lenient though. It made her wonder just how many times the guys had refilled her drink when she wasn't looking. Normally people who butchered songs drove her crazy. Her opinion that someone was trying to get her drunk was reinforced when she heard herself agree to get up and sing with Mia and Cindy again without much protest.

They took to the stage and belted out the Britney Spears version of 'I love rock and roll.'

They did better for applause than the cowboy who'd gone before. When they made their way back to the table Gem scorned her own chair and chose instead to sit on Vince. "How's it going?"

"Good. You?" Vince asked with one eyebrow raised skyward.

"Good. I'm thinking of giving up on the whole idea of an independent band and just starting an answer to the Backstreet boys with Mia and Cindy. What do you think?"

"I think you should give Indigo Sound another shot before you make any decisions." Vince chuckled. "Mia doesn't sing as well as you think she does."

"Do I sing as well as I think I do?"

"Yes, you sing as well as you think. You are also mildly intoxicated and starting to slur your words though." Vince admitted with a smile.

"Am not. Do not." Gem protested, unable to decide which statement she took greater exception to.

"My mistake."

"You're the only girl in the place who could sound so good while slightly drunk." Doug broke in.

"I'm not drunk."

"Sure you're not." Doug agreed.

"Has Gem ever been drunk before?" Nick asked the table at large. "Would she even know she was drunk, were she drunk, which she clearly isn't right now, by her own admission?"

"There was this one time," Cindy started.

"Oh no you don't!" Gem said, leaning toward Cindy from her place in Vince's lap. "We're not going there."

"Oh yes we are. There was this one time," Cindy started again, a wicked grin on her mouth.

"Fine, whatever. Tell the story, see if I care."

Cindy continued as if she hadn't been interrupted, "that she and I got into the wine at Aquerello. We drank a whole bottle of something red and followed it up with a whole bottle of something white. We were loaded off our asses. We thought that wine wasn't real alcohol because we'd seen so many people drink so much of it at the restaurant. Of course they were all older people who had a few glasses. Not fifteen year olds who had the equivalent of a whole bottle each."

Gem hid her face in her hands out of her embarrassment.

"Then we had to hide the evidence. The next day we were both so hung over we had to fake sick to hide it from our folks."

Everyone cracked up. Doug stopped laughing first. "You know, Dad blamed me for those two missing bottles of wine. The red you two sucked down was a two hundred dollar bottle of Solaia."

"Hey, he blamed me for that too!" Nick broke in. "That was you two?"

Gem nodded without looking up. "What I did at fifteen can't be held against me now." She said through her hands.

"Maybe not, but what about what you did last month?" Mia asked.

"Mia!" Gem exclaimed, looking up with her eyes wide open. "No!"

"Yes." Mia said. "Gem went and decided to see why people got drunk one night after a particularly hard day at work and ended up in a biker bar. The Hell's Angels got her drunk in their bar and then drove her home, on the back of the leader's bike. They loved her so much she has a standing invitation to their club and on all their bike runs."

"Damn! My little sister moves fast!" Nick said, in awe. "The Hell's Angels?"

"I didn't know that when I went in. I just knew it was open after the Cobalt was closed."

"You've lead an adventurous life since you moved to L.A." Doug said.

Gem looked at him. For the first time she didn't sense censure in his voice. She was surprised, but not in a bad way. The next performer took the stage at that point and interrupted their conversation as he attempted to sing 'Ass like that'.

"Eminem he isn't." Mia said cattily as they watched the poor man try to rap.

"No kidding." Cindy answered. "We should get outta here. We could hit Ruby Skye."

"Is that your club de jour?" Gem asked her friend. Cindy was always picking a new club she just couldn't live without. Cindy was more of a going out kind of girl than her.

"Yes! It's great. You'll like it."

"Sounds fun." Mia said. "Can we Gem. Please?" Mia pouted. With her big, sad brown eyes and slightly protruding lower lip Gem couldn't say no. It would be like kicking a puppy. But what finally made up her mind was when the Dwight Yolkam fan took the stage. This time to sing 'Fast as you.'

"Ok, anything that gets us the heck outta here."

"Hurray!" Cindy said as she got up. They all made for the exit after Gem and her brothers had said good night to their uncle.

"How are we going to get there?" Gem asked as they stood in a gaggle outside the lounge.

"I'm fine to drive the Solara." Vince offered. Gem shot him a look. "I only had two beer the whole time we were here."

"I'm taking the bike. I hardly had anything myself."

Cindy looked at Gem. "I'll just ride with you guys then."

"I got my extra helmet right here." Nick offered Cindy, pulling up the seat on the bike and taking out an extra helmet. "You wanna come with me or ride in the car?"

"I'll go with you."

"Ok, we'll have to follow you guys there because I have no idea where this place is and Vince doesn't know the city."

"I think I know where it is." Doug broke in. "But it might be best if we tried to follow them."

On that note Nick and Cindy climbed on the bike and the rest got into Gem's car, Vince at the wheel, Mia and Doug in the back and Gem riding shotgun.

"No racing my car." Gem teased Vince as they followed Nick's tail light out of the parking lot.

"What's that? Race your car? But Gem, I don't know the roads."

"I said no racing my car!"

"Well, if you insist I guess I could try to race it but the roads are pretty narrow."

"Ok, do what you want. Just remember I know where the extra keys for the Maxima are."

"Hey now!" Vince turned serious. "That's not funny."

"What's that? Take the Maxima and paint it pink? If you sure you're that confident of your sexuality I guess I don't mind."

"Are they always like this?" Doug asked Mia, leaning over so he wouldn't be overheard.

"Most of the time, yeah." Mia grinned. "It's great. It's like they don't even need anyone else to keep each other entertained."

"So they're not really arguing?"

"Hell no. If they were really fighting your folks would be hearing it right now all the way back at their house."

"My sister doesn't get that upset about anything. She'd never have a fight that loud."

"She would with Vince. Of course then they get to go-" Mia looked up at Doug with a guilty look. He looked confused. "Make up." She finished and blushed.

"Oh." Doug continued to look confused for a moment before he too started to look embarrassed at the implication. "Oh." He said as he finally got it. "I guess they say it's not good to go to bed angry."

"True." Mia looked impressed with how Doug dealt with the information he had been given.

"What are you guys talking about back there?" Gem turned around in her seat and asked.

"World peace." Mia answered.

"I see." Gem said. "As long as you aren't flirting. One of my brothers hooked up with my best friend is all I can handle."

"So, Cindy and Nick huh?" Doug said, leaning back in the seat.

"Yeah. I never would have seen that coming."

"After that asshole she was dating I guess Nick had to look good. Nice guy, has a future and a job. He's casual and fun, not uptight like Bobby."

"I see the attraction I just never thought it would happen. I just hope Nick isn't a little too flip for Cindy. I know she doesn't want to do commitment right now but someday she's going to want to again. I mean, clearly commitment is important to her or she wouldn't have stuck it out with Bobby for so long. Unless Nick grows up a lot in the next few months, much as I love my brother, I just don't see him giving her what she needs."

"Why not?" Mia asked.

"He's nice, but he embodies the stereotype of a motorcycle riding, fighter jet piloting guy who knows he's above average looking."

"Who says that he won't change his ways for Cindy?" Mia asked. "They looked pretty into each other. Everybody settles down sometime. Or at least, almost everyone."

"I suppose," Gem answered. "I wonder if we're almost there."

"I hope so," Vince growled softly. "I'm not having the most fun time following that damn bike through traffic."

"We're going to take the next left and then it'll be right ahead on the right," Doug said.

"I still don't know how I got talked into this," Gem sighed. "I don't like dance clubs."

"Nick and Cindy wanted to go and you wanted to hang out with Nick," Doug reminded.

"But why are you here again?" Gem asked her brother, eyes narrowed in thought.

"Same reason as you."

Vince parked the car and they all piled out to catch up with Nick and Cindy before paying their cover and heading into the club.

The foyer was large. It had geometric cut outs in the walls, lit from behind by red neon. The floor echoed the patterns in white, red and blue tiles. It was all vaguely reminiscent of the sixties. They made their way through to the main area of the club.

It was very big. There was a two level stage in the front of the room. The DJ was ensconced on the stage, raised above the writhing crowd filling the club. There was a dance floor in the center of the room. The center section was done in black and white tiles, the pattern echoed that of the entrance. Off to either side of the dance floor was a seating area. The one of the right was done all in reds with crushed velvet draperies, couches and even red velvet ropes marking it off from the dance area.

The other side was done in rich purples and blues and the feeling was very much eastern, with peaked padded seat backs built into the walls over benches with geometric tables in front of them, surrounded by multicoloured stools on the other side.

There was an upstairs with another seating area and two bars. Over the dance floor there was a huge chandler, shaped like a huge, multi-arm star. In front of it was a disco ball. The light effects were second to none, top of the line and state of the art.

Gem looked around herself in awe. Ruby Skye made the Cobalt Café look like a dive. And she thought Barry had one hell of a nice bar. "Wow," she finally got out. Only Vince over heard her.

"Yeah, it's pretty overwhelming."

"I think I need another drink and a place to sit where I can still take this all in."

"Ok, let's go exploring then." Vince answered and took Gem's hand. She turned to Mia and Doug.

"We're going after a drink and a sit. What about you?"

"I'll go with you for now," Mia said after a second's thought.

"Me too, I suppose," Doug said.

The four of them moved off toward one of the downstairs bars and got drinks. They were lucky enough to snag a table that a party was just vacating as they walked by. Nick and Cindy found them shortly after.

"Ok, you have to come dance. There's no point coming to a place like this to sit at a table."

"I don't dance," Gem hollered back at her friend to be heard over the techno beats in the air.

"You're going to tonight," Cindy said as she grabbed her friend's hand and pulled. The slightly intoxicated Gem came out of her seat almost against her will.

Mia squealed. "I so didn't want to sit around. I've never been in a club like this."

"Mi, we practically live in Hollywood. I think we could find a club at least this nice."

"Sure, but we got in here tonight," Mia said before she took Gem's free hand and helped Cindy pull her out onto the dance floor.

"I can't dance," Gem whined.

"Hey, the sign under the name of the place said 'explore your rhythm'. If anyone I know has rhythm it's the bass guitar player."

They took Gem out onto the dance floor almost against her will just as a new song started. They found a space among all the other bodies on the floor as the heavy bass beat started to pound. It almost seemed like sacrilege to Gem to take Dido and mix her voice with so much bass and rhythm.

Gem looked around at the other people around her including Mia and Cindy and started to try and ape their movements with their hips and arms. After a moment it didn't matter if she thought she could dance or not. There wasn't a lot to what she was expected to do to fit in. If she just almost slunk in place with her eyes half closed she looked like at least half the other girls in the place.

Before she knew it last call had been announced and they started to make their way to the door, hoping to avoid some of the last minute, closing crowd crush. They got out of the club mostly without a fuss and headed home.

"That wasn't so bad." Gem admitted as she lounged, half asleep in the passenger seat of her car.

"No, it was pretty cool." Doug agreed.

Gem turned around in her seat to share a look with Mia. That meant that Vince and Doug had sat at the same table for at least two hours and neither had killed the other. And they had gotten along well enough that the evening had still been 'cool'. Gem shrugged and flopped back in her seat again. She was tired out.

When they got back to the house Gem lead the way up to the front door. Nick's bike wasn't home. Doug didn't follow them up to the house.

"I'm just going to head home. See you guys tomorrow."

"Ok, night." Gem called softly back, not wanting to wake up her parents.

Doug waved once more before he got into his Corolla and backed down the driveway. The rest of the group headed into the house. Vince went into his borrowed room as Gem and Mia pushed quietly into Gem's room.

"That was actually fun." Gem admitted as she flopped tiredly onto her bed and pulled off her boots.

"Yeah it was. I had a good time. Your friend Cindy is cool."

"She always was cooler than me. The more daring one too."

"I don't know about more cool. You're pretty cool yourself Gem Davis."

"Thanks Mia. It means a lot that you think so."

The girls went to bed, both falling asleep quickly.

♫

Gem slept deeply and well. That was why it came as a huge surprise when she woke up at six am and was unable to go back to sleep. She got out of bed with a sigh, pulling on a pair of velour yoga pants and a tank top before heading out into the hall. She made for the window at the end of the hall and climbed out it before pulling herself up onto the roof. It was a place she had spent many mornings watching the sun come up as she dreamed about where she was going when she grew up.

Now here she was, grown up. Or at least on her way there, and doing one of the things she had dreamed of up on that same roof. But things weren't quite the smooth process she'd dreamed of on the roof in the early mornings before high school days. There had never been a day job in a bar or café in that dream. She had simply been plucked from the suburbs straight into musical stardom. As she shimmied up onto the roof she did a double take.

Nick was sitting on the peak of the roof with a cup of coffee in his hands.

"What are you doing up?" She asked him.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I just woke up and couldn't sleep anymore. I use to come up here all the time to think and watch the sunrise."

"I just couldn't sleep. I think it just now hit me that I'm moving away. There's so much here I don't want to leave, but there's so much waiting for me if I do this thing."

"I know what you mean."

"How'd you do it sis? I mean, mom and dad and Doug aren't even trying to convince me not to do it like they were you and I'm still having second thoughts about moving away. I mean, I'm old enough to be out in my own place at the very least but here I am nervous about a six week course a state away and being out of my parent's house for the first time."

"I wasn't easy to leave but it was just something I had to do." Gem plunked down beside her brother and took his cup, taking a few sips before giving it back. They had always been the same when it came to coffee: both hardly drank it and both liked it with lots of cream and sugar. "At least you get to come home with a future you want. Had I stayed the only future I had waiting was working with mom and dad every day for the rest of my life."

"You could still go back to school."

"I don't want to go to school. School can't teach me to play my bass better than I do or to sing better than I do. If I could hook up with a good music producer I'm sure I could learn to write my songs better and write my music better but I don't need to learn how to do any of it more technically and that's all a college music education could teach me."

"You could do something else so you'd have something to fall back on."

"I could but I don't want to. Why bother doing it when it's not what I want? I'd rather work in the Cobalt as a waitress for the rest of my life and at least be close to music than get an education and make good money as a paralegal or medical office assistant. I mean, does it sound like a good idea to you for you to go and become a mechanic so that if you ever can't fly planes anymore you'll have something to fall back on?"

"Flying is all I ever wanted to do."

"Singing is all I ever wanted to do. I guess it's a family trait. Do you think Doug always wanted to practise law? Was it always his first and only choice?"

"I think so. Doug tries to control the world via the law. It's how he keeps himself feeling like he has control over what happens to him and those around him. When he really gets into the law and the justice system I think a lot of his beliefs are going to take a beating."

Gem nodded her understanding. There was no controlling the law. The law controlled a lot of the people who tried to practise it instead. It wasn't always fair and didn't always follow the rules. Money could equal justice and she wasn't always blind. Doug had proved that himself with his snap judgments. Gem decided to let it go. It wasn't right to talk about Doug when he wasn't there to defend himself, even if his position wasn't defendable. "So, you and Cindy. How did that come about?"

"I dunno really. I ran into her one day after she got home from visiting you and she looked like hell. We started talking, about you as a matter of fact, and once we started we talked for hours."

"Talking is something Cindy does rather well. And at a significant speed as a matter of fact."

Nick chuckled. "That's true. I don't know how we ended up dating or where I think its going." He turned to Gem. "I fought against it. I just want you to know that. I didn't want to get involved with your friend when I didn't know where it was going. I don't want what happens or doesn't happen between me and Cindy to mess up your friendship with her."

"As long as you treat her with respect and honesty I'm sure that will never happen Nick."

"I sure hope not." It was Nick's turn to change the subject. "So, you and Vince, that seems serious huh?"

"I hope so. And I don't want it to mess up my friendship with Mia. It's complicated. He's." She paused to collect her thoughts. "Well, he's Vince. I never met a guy like him. There was some stuff that went down, the stuff that Doug started to dig up and it made him something he never would have been otherwise. He doesn't trust easily. He looks for the hidden motivation behind everything everyone ever does. I guess he was always like that, but it's worse now. Then there's another side to him that he's too embarrassed to even acknowledge. He hired this kid named Cory to work in his shop because no one else would because Cory got in trouble with the cops when he was younger."

"Sounds like a real prince."

Had Nick's tone been sarcastic or facetious Gem would have taken it personal on Vince's behalf. Since her brother was being serious she smiled instead. "He is."

"Well, since we're both up at this god awful hour what do you say to some breakfast while we wait for your friends to wake up?"

"Sounds great. What are you making me?"

Nick stood up and slid to the edge of the roof before climbing down onto the porch roof and turning back to help Gem down with him. "How 'bout pancakes?" He went through the window first and helped Gem through.

"Sounds great." The headed down to the kitchen together and started breakfast.

Gem looked up from mixing pancake batter at her brother's laugh. "You got flour all over you. I mean all over." Nick said before he totally lost it laughing.

"You think that's funny do you?"

"Yeah, it's even on the end of your nose."

"That is funny." Gem said. Nick missed her hand moving toward the bag of flour. He never saw it coming until there was a handful of flour in his face. His sputtering blew it off all over the place. "But not as funny as that."

"That was uncalled for!" Nick looked around for something to retaliate with. Gem was lucky her mother walked into the kitchen just then.

"What is this, a war zone?"

"Nick was supposed to cook but he put me to work at it instead."

"Hey, I'm making the eggs and the bacon. The least you can do is make the pancakes."

"You two remind me of when you were kids. If I hadn't been the one to birth you both I'd swear you were twins. There were so many Gem and Nick tried to make breakfast cooking fiascos."

"It's so hard to imagine with the parents we have." Gem said to her mother.

"Sucking up, in this case will get you everything you want. I'll finish breakfast so that my kitchen doesn't get any more destroyed than it is already."

"Thanks mom, you're a peach."

Suzette looked around the room. "Did you throw flour at your brother?" She asked incredulously.

"Maybe just a little." Gem answered, looking contrite with her thumb and finger held a small distance apart. "He started it with a comment on my nose."

"The two of you are supposed to be adults now, moved or moving out of my house and doing your own thing. You're too old to have fights with flour in the kitchen." She took another look at the damage. "Especially this early in the morning."

"What are you going to do with all your chicks out of the nest?" Gem asked.

"I haven't figured that out yet. Maybe I'll take up a hobby."

"Like cooking?" Nick asked, cocking one eyebrow questioningly.

"Or like butt kicking." Suzette brandished her rubber spatula threatening. "Gem, will your friends be up for breakfast?"

"Maybe. They both get up pretty early at home most days for work."

"We'll cook enough for everyone then."

"Where's pop?"

"Getting a shower. He'll be down shortly."

"I'm right here." Giancarlo said as he entered the sunny kitchen. He kissed his wife and each of his children on the cheek in turn. "So, I gather we're having a family breakfast together for perhaps the last time?"

"Don't be so melodramatic dad. There will be Christmases and Easters. We'll all be home to visit at the same time." Gem said.

"Perhaps, but after this weekend all of our children will have new places to call home."

"Doug just lives ten minutes away. It's not like Nick is never coming back to San Francisco either."

"I know, but it will never be the same as having you all live here with us."

Gem gave up, throwing her hands into the air and turning to where her mother was flipping the first six pancakes. "I'm going to go get Mia."

"Ok dear."

Gem walked up the stairs and into her room. Mia was still sleeping. Gem felt a little revenge for all the Sundays she had been woken up to attend church with her. She flopped on the bed with a loud sigh and looked pointedly at the clock. Mia woke up with a groan.

"What time is it?"

"Eight."

"Oh my god, why are you up this early?" Mia whined.

"Because my mom is cooking breakfast and we're going to eat it. Then we're going sight seeing. We've got the Golden Gate to see, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Park, I want to ride the cable cars with you guys, see Chinatown, shop Union Square, there's so much I want to do."

"This is only one day Gem. How are we going to do all that stuff?"

"Well, we're never going to do any of it if you sleep all day."

"Point made. Go wake up Vince. He's not getting out of this if I have to get up."

"Ok, just get ready because breakfast will be any time now."

"Ok." Mia got out of bed and headed for the bathroom as Gem moved across the hall and knocked softly on Vince's door. He didn't answer so she pushed into the room.

After waking up a very cranky Vince, who was never much of a morning person to begin with, Gem got in the shower and got dressed. Once Mia and Vince were both ready they moved down the stairs en mass. After they ate they left and started out on a very full day of sight seeing and shopping that had Vince loaded down like a pack mule by the end of the day.

♫

The rest of their time in San Francisco when by swiftly. They got to see all the sights Gem wanted to but it took most of Sunday as well. Nick went with them on Sunday, as did Cindy and Doug.

Doug seemed to have unbent considerably and even he and Vince mostly got along. The path wasn't without a few bumps but it was far better than it had been. They ate an early supper at Gem's house on Sunday and then Mia decided it was time to head for home.

"The store won't open itself, and Gem, you're going to have to learn how to open it soon. Mornings are when most of my classes are."

Gem groaned, "You're telling me to get up with you tomorrow aren't you."

"Yeah," Mia confirmed. "You've got to learn it sometime."

"Ok, I guess we should go then."

They gathered their packed bags and moved for the door. Giancarlo and Suzette followed them to the door, as did Nick and Doug, who had also come for supper and to participate in one of the last times the family would ever be all together.

As Gem hugged her parents and brothers on her way out the door it finally dawned on her that, much as she said she could always come home again she couldn't really. Not home to the house she knew in the way she had known it.

Things were never going to be the same again. Her brothers were both grown men, and finally both had moved out of the house they grew up in. If she went home now it would be just her and her folks. There would be no more Nick to lighten the mood and Doug to fight her battles for her, to try and act like another father to her.

Things were already different. Doug living elsewhere. The family dog getting old and slowing down. Nick moving on. The home life she had known was already no more. Someday soon Doug would find a woman who could put up with him and because he was Doug he would settle down, buy a house of his own, have kids. Nick already had a girlfriend and was well on his way to a career that would consume his life. Her mother and father seemed to be taking it all in stride. Soon they would grow accustomed to the empty house and doing what they felt like whenever they felt like doing it.

Her life as she knew it was no more. There was going forward. If she went back it wouldn't be to the life she'd left. It would be more like going forward in a different way. The childhood she had grown up in was over, irrevocably. It had all become so clear to her so swiftly. With that on her mind she turned back to Nick and threw herself at him again, trying not to cry. He caught her against his chest with a soft, startled noise.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she answered in a mumble. "I'll miss you."

"I'm not going that far from you Gem. We'll see each other again."

"I'll never be the same. You can't go back again Nick."

When the truth of her words sank in and all her revelations became his as well his grip on her tightened. "I'll keep in touch."

"You better."

"I'll call you next week," Doug said as he took his sister into his own hug for the second time. "I have some business in Los Angeles and maybe we'll get some lunch while I'm there."

"Sure," Gem answered. She shared a second hug with both her mother and father before she finally walked out the door behind Vince and Mia. She paused on the walkway down to the car and looked back over her shoulder. A single tear slid down her cheek. Things would never be the same again. As much as she knew the life she was going forward toward was going to be all she could make of it, a part of her still longed to be a child in her mother's arms for the rest of her life. Longed to be a little girl in pigtails chasing her dog around the house, chasing her brothers around the neighbourhood as they did 'boy' things. It felt like her world had tilted to the side and she was in danger of sliding right off of it into a great abyss of unknown.

"Gem, you ok?" Mia called back to her once she realized Gem wasn't following right behind them.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered and looked away from the brightly lit, welcoming house of her upbringing. Stopped looking backward and turned toward the future again before climbing into the passenger seat of the car. Or at least I hope I will be.

♫

Vince sensed Gem's melancholy mood on the way home. He didn't know what had made her sad so he felt helpless to make her feel better. So instead he allowed the mood in the car to become quiet and introspective. He felt consumed with his own thoughts.

Gem's parents hadn't looked at him as unworthy. He had put himself through a lot of headache for no good reason. With their acceptance came a flood of memories of situations where someone else had convinced him that he was going to be found wanting before anything was ever said.

It had happened so many times he'd simply come to believe it was true. And over time he'd stopped needing the other person to do the convincing. He did that job very well on his own, thank you very much.

But other than Doug, who he really had expected worse things out of, no one had a bad thing to say. Gem's family had mostly seemed upset she hadn't thought to turn to them for help with her car situation instead of a 'stranger'. Over the course of the few days they'd had with him they had seemed to realize that he wasn't a stranger to Gem any longer. And with that realization had come acceptance of his role in her life.

Even Doug had seemed to unwind a bit more toward him. Not that he cared, mind, but it was still nice to know for Gem's sake they wouldn't always be fighting. Or that was what he was going to keep telling himself at any rate. He told himself that he'd look at how good it felt to be accepted into a group he hadn't been a part of since childhood on his own merits later. He knew that thinking about caring what other people thought of him would make him uncomfortable.

He realized that Mia had fallen asleep but that Gem was still awake, looking out the side window. He could see her face reflected on the glass and she didn't look happy. "You sure you're ok?"

"Yes," She seemed to think for a moment. "But it's, well," another pause followed and she looked like she was still trying to put her thoughts into words. "It's bittersweet."

He knew only too well what she meant. The past was over, the future looked like it could be bright. But the past was familiar and the familiar was sweet. What was to come could be better, but it could be worse too. You had to take it on faith that what was to come wouldn't make you wish you had a time machine. And if it did the only thing you could do was find the strength to persevere. He reached out through the dimly lit cabin of the car and took her hand into his own before resting their clasped hands on his thigh. Did he ever know what she meant.

The fact that making sure her future was a bright as her past seemed to fall at least partially to him didn't go over his head. Realizing that anyone's happiness and wellbeing depended on him was never an easy revelation to swallow. He never felt ready for the responsibility. But for Gem, it was a role he was going to have to take. The alternative, not having her at all, just didn't bear thinking about.

♫

The next thing Gem realized occurred because Vince was picking her up out of the car. "I guess I fell asleep, huh?" She murmured.

"You and Mia both," he replied. "It was a busy weekend."

"I had a nice time."

"Me too," he answered and was surprised to see he meant it.

"Where is Mia?"

"I already got her up. She's in bed by now. I've been moving our stuff into the house so I could let you sleep."

"The stuff could have waited in the car until tomorrow."

"Maybe, but then it woulda had to stay in the car all day. You gotta get up with Mia in the morning to go to work with her, remember?"

"Don't remind me," she moaned. Why had she ever said she'd do this thing for Mia? She had gotten use to being a late sleeper.

"Ok I won't. Until I'm waking you up with me tomorrow instead of letting you sleep in," he chuckled.

"That counts as reminding me," she admonished as she allowed herself to be carried into the house and down the stairs. "Now I have to get up and go upstairs," she whined, "all my clothes are up there."

"I brought your suitcase down here so you should be ok," he answered.

After going to the bathroom to get ready for bed Gem crawled between the sheets, the cool, silky feeling of them making her start to drift off again almost instantly. She stayed in that state of half consciousness longer than she would have liked, dwelling on the realizations of the day before sleep finally claimed her.

She woke up the next day when Vince shook her to consciousness. "Time to get up."

"Is it a co-incidence the first time I've ever seen you happy in the mornings is the first morning I have to get up at this ungodly hour?"

"Nope, it's no co-incidence. It's great that it's finally someone else's turn to get up early and not want to."

"Shut up," Gem mumbled as she walked out of the room and dragged herself up the stairs to shower and dress for the day. She found Mia walking out of the bathroom as she was about to walk in.

"Good morning!" Mia chirped happily.

"Shut up," Gem growled.

Mia, sensing there was no meanness to the comment, even if Gem wasn't happy about being awake so early, kept smiling. "You'll be happier after a nice hot shower."

"You better hope I am," Gem said as she shut the bathroom door in Mia's smiling face and tumbled the lock over with a distinct click. By the time she was showered and dressed for the day she did feel better. She had also more or less decided not to let on to that fact. She moved back down the stairs to the kitchen and for the first time she could remember in recent history helped herself to a cup of the coffee that started to drip for Vince and Mia on a timer every morning. She added cream and sugar before sitting at the table and pouring herself a bowl of cereal.

"All ready for a full day of making sandwiches?" Mia asked playfully.

Gem just gave her a look with one side of her nose raised in a sneer of sarcasm.

"Guess so," Vince answered Mia's question, chuckling at the look on Gem's face. "Have fun girls. See you tonight for supper?"

"If I don't kill her cheerfulness over the course of today."

"I'm sure it won't come to that," Vince said before leaning over and giving Gem a casual kiss on the mouth before walking out the door for work.

"You ready to head down to the café? Mia asked after a moment.

"As I'll ever be," Gem answered after draining the last mouthful of coffee from her cup. She was starting to feel more human and decided to stop snapping at Mia.

"Ok, let's go. Your car or mine?"

"Either way," Gem answered. She didn't really mind.

"Yours it is. Then if you want to take some lunch to the boys you'll have it."

"I won't be able to take off and bring them lunch later this week when you're in school and I'm there alone."

"I'm mostly done by eleven. There are a few days you'll be here alone all day but mostly I'll come relieve you by twelve. And if it gets to be too much we'll just have to hire someone part time. That might be an idea anyway because we use to stay open until eight at night to cater to the convenience store crowd but that got to be too much on my own."

"I can see how it would."

"I could do it again now that I won't be here all day long by myself but that would leave Vince at home alone a lot. I don't know how well he'd do fending on his own for every meal."

"Me neither," Gem answered. He'd eat a lot of take out and a lot of microwave food, she knew.

The day went by swiftly. Since Mia was still going to do the books and inventory on her own, Gem's job wasn't so hard. Take orders, make sandwiches, take money, make change. It was all stuff she had no trouble doing. On days when Mia wasn't coming in at all she had to lock up but that wasn't a very hard procedure at Toretto's café. Mia taught her pretty much all she had to know in the one day. It wasn't even as hard as a job at McDonald's because it wasn't all that busy. They caught a few rushes but it was never steady for more than an hour at a time.

It was clear that during the downtime she would have lots of time to read or work on her songs. There was only so much cleaning the little store could take before it was all done. She resolved to remind Barry about her decreasing hours in case he had forgotten. It had been a while since they'd talked about it.

It was easy to see that she wasn't going to have any troubles adapting to her new routine. For the most part she would simply be working on her music in the hot little store instead of in the house. Her song for the week had started to form in her mind already. All that was left was to put it to paper and compose the music to accompany it.

She got up on Tuesday again with Mia and went to work with her again. Her brother called her to tell her he had made it to Nevada safely and was settling in to his barracks. Gem then called Cindy to make sure her friend was ok and to make a standing offer to her to come visit in L.A. any time she got lonely or felt like taking a drive.

She met Doug for lunch on Tuesday as well and they had a nice time. Gem was surprised that the conversation never got heated once, despite the fact they talked about some topics that would have set Doug off in the past. She begged off the afternoon with Mia and went home to work on the song. She had a desire to get it down and out.

She was struggling with some of the score on Wednesday so she called Tamica and met her friend at her house to see if they could iron it out.

"See, I want it to start out with a little piano intro but I figure out which notes to use."

Tamica looked at what was already written. "That's ok, but what if we make this c a g instead?" She played the line her way.

"That's ok," Gem said, still contemplating whether that was right or not yet. "What if we changed this note here, held it longer and made the whole thing an octave higher?"

Tamica moved her hands and played the line yet again, holding the one note a quarter longer.

"That's it," Gem said happily once she had heard it. "That's how I have it in my head."

"Good, I hope there's more than the one perfect line done though."

"The song is written. It was just that intro giving me trouble. It's a pretty simple song but I hope it will go over well."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. What are you doing now?"

"Killing time until I have to work at seven."

"Want to go get a latte? I have a break from classes today anyway."

"Sure."

It was late when Gem got home for supper. She ate with a hurried apology for Mia and Vince for mostly missing supper before she dashed out the door on her way to work. She was run off her feet all night. The college kids felt the end of their summer vacation coming swiftly and were trying to cram all the partying they thought they had missed all summer into one week of freedom. Not that classes would curtail the habits of many of them. Gem knew they would definitely change Mia's habits. It was good to know that they could afford to live if Gem had to quit the Cobalt.

If Mia and Vince had been surviving on what they made before than they could survive on it again if Gem couldn't swing doing both jobs. What she would do for spending money she didn't know, but at least they'd still have a roof and food to eat. In the end, Gem figured she'd rather hire someone part time than quit her job. She liked her independence a bit too much. Letting Vince give her a car was one thing, in Vince's world there was no better gift than a car. Letting him support her by giving her money to buy clothes and gas was another thing altogether.

She got home from work so tired she passed out in her own bed. She didn't even have it in her to walk down two flights of stairs. She would be glad when the kids went back to school.

The bar was packed on Thursday too. The lead up to the last weekend of the summer was building. Gem knew that Friday and Saturday were going to be crazy. But then it would all fall off as though someone had thrown a switch. The crowd was thicker than anything she'd ever seen as she waited tables, waiting for the minute she could take off to go back stage and get ready.

Mia and Vince had luckily arrived early and gotten their usual table. Gem caught the movement out of the corner of her eye as Vince headed to the green room. She dropped off her last tray of drinks and started off behind him, untying her apron as she went. She didn't see the man move around the bar and sit down with Mia due to her focus on not walking on the toes of any of the people crowded into the bar and in her way.

She pushed into the green room and closed the door, leaning against it with a grateful sigh. "That is one crazy crowd!" she said as she moved toward Vince.

"It's pretty packed," he answered. "I don't like the look of some of them. I think I'll come back tonight and walk you to your car."

"I don't think it's that bad," Gem answered, looking up into his face.

"Doesn't matter. I'm following you home tonight."

"That's sweet and all, but maybe we should focus on getting ready to go on right now. Then you two can fight over your plans after the fact."

"Shesh that's cold Tamica," Gem said with a grin. "It's all about you and you getting your stage time. My safety means nothing."

"The boy said he'd come back for you. That sounds pretty safe. Let's get this show on the road."

"Ok, Elliott, you're a little in the dark because you didn't get to see the music yet."

"And everyone else did? I'm crushed!"

"Well she needed Tamica's help with the piano lines," Vince offered.

"And she sleeps in the same bed as him," Tamica said with a smirk. "So you know he's getting a preview."

Elliott laughed as Gem blushed. "That's not why he gets a preview," Gem realized how her comment sounded after it left her mouth. She blushed deeper.

"Umkay."

Their names came over the greenroom speaker. They moved to answer the call as Celeste walked in. She took in the way Vince had his hand in the small of Gem's back and looked away with her nose in the air. She didn't have anything to say, for once.

"That's what I thought," Elliott muttered to Tamica on the way out the door.

They climbed on stage and hooked up their instruments. Gem and Vince both noticed there was someone sitting with Mia but at this late stage of the game really couldn't go check it out.

Tamica played her opening piano line. On the last note of it Gem broke in with her bass a few notes before she began to sing. "On the ground with my world upside down I got a vision of your face. And I must get me out for all the memories we've yet to make."

The song was slow with rich accompaniment. The previously rowdy crowd seemed to calm as they listened to the melodious sound of Gem's voice.

"God don't send to me your angels, I just wanna hear you say again."

The drum line and guitar started with the chorus.

"Forever love say your love. Digame. Digame. Tell me so I can hold you in my soul. If I go I'll know.

"When you smile with those eyes, baby it's like you place a finger on my heart. And your lips next to mine make me think that maybe heavens where you are."

♫

His baby sister was all grown up. He'd realized it at his parent's house over the weekend but watching her sing about something so adult with emotions that showed she had experienced what she was singing, and wasn't just parroting back things she had heard really drove it home.

Whether she had admitted it out loud or not she was in love. And whether the object of that love had admitted it to himself or knew of her love, he was also in love with Gem.

Doug happened to glance over at Mia as a tear ran down her cheek.

"God don't send to me your angels. I just wanna hear you say again. Forever love. Say it love. Digame. Digame."

"Are you ok?" he asked in a whisper as he leaned over.

"Fine. I just wish that I had someone to feel like that about."

"You will someday. Someone as pretty and smart as you."

Mia smiled. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better," she wiped off her cheek and sniffled. "I just wish it didn't sound like she was trying to convince herself that she'll have enough memories of us for when she goes away to follow her career."

"On thing my sister will never do is abandon a friend. Count on it."

"Tell me so I can hold you in my soul. And if I go, I'll know. Forever love. Say it love.

Digame. Digame. Tell me so I can hold you in my soul and If I go I'll know."

♫

The chorus repeated a few more times. When the last note of the song died off it was like the audience woke up from a trance. They clapped enthusiastically before going back to the way they had been before Indigo Sound took the stage. They again became loud and rambunctious.

Doug couldn't get over the way his sister had held them in thrall. There was a performer in her. For the first time ever he became confident that she would make it. When she came back to the table she seemed happy to see him. Things felt good, better than they had in a long time.

Mia was glad to see Gem and her brother getting along. She was glad to see Vince could be around Doug and not start a fight.

Mia was just glad. Everything was going so well. She was back in school. Vince was alive and he seemed really happy. Gem was good for both of them and her success was good for her. Her relationship with her brother was going well. Everything was looking so bright when such a short time ago it had looked so grim.

Things couldn't help but be smooth from here on out.

♫