Sky.

'Zed!' I ran over to my husband, jumping and wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist when I saw him at the terminal.

'If this is how you're going to greet me, you can go away more often.' He laughed, giving me a soft kiss on the lips. 'Hello my beautiful Mrs Benedict.'

'Hey.' I smiled as he put me down. He reached over for my suitcase and picked it up. 'Did you miss me?'

'Of course I did. Especially when you looked so wonderful in that dress. I hope you brought it home.'

'I sure did.'

'Then I might just have to take you out to dinner before your tour starts.'

The weather in Vancouver stayed wet over the next week and I was already looking forward to going on tour and escaping the rain. I had Skyped Ed a few times to run through my setlist and to check he was happy with the songs I had chosen. I only had enough time for four songs and a cover, which was fine by me. In the last week before tour, Zed took a couple of days of so we can spend some time together before I set off.

'So where are we off to today?' I asked Zed as we got into the car. He was driving.

'You'll see.' He smiled, secretively.

We ended up in a beautiful Chinese garden, one that I had no idea existed in Vancouver. It was like stepping onto another continent. On and off, it was still raining, but the garden was still beautiful. I fiddled with the hem of my black sundress and Zed grabbed my hand.

'Do you like it?' He asked as we paid and walked inside.

'It's incredible.'

We were in an oasis of tranquility. The small buildings were shaped like they had been shipped over from China, and the grounds were surrounded by ponds and lakes filled with koi fish and beautiful lily pads. It was so calm and quiet, with very few visitors. We sat down on a bench under a Chinese shelter, overlooking a small waterfall. Zed wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer, planting a kiss on my forehead.

'I wish we could go back to our honeymoon where it was just the two of us.' He sighed.

'Me too.' I smiled. 'It was lovely and so relaxing.'

'You know, I've been thinking.'

'Oh?' I looked up at him.

'I'd really like a baby.'

My eyes widened. 'Really?' I croaked.

He frowned at my lack of enthusiasm. 'Don't you want one? I've seen how you are with Luna. You'd be an incredible mom.'

'I love Luna, sure, but I'm not ready to have a baby of my own. We're still in college and I've just started-'

'Your career, right.' He said. 'I'm worried that with your career we'll never be able to have a family.' He looked at me with sad eyes.

'When we're ready, I'll stop.'

'But it's not that easy is it? Did you see how many people turned heads on our way in here? Our lives will never be how they were before, Sky. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of you and I'm happy you've finally got the confidence to sing in front of people. I'm just worried that I'm hardly going to see you and that we'll never be normal.'

'But we're not normal.' I said, my voice feeling small.

'But I'd like to try to be.' He sighed and looked out across the lake, where there was a man playing with his toddler.

I put my hands on his arm. 'Zed, in a few years we will be great parents. We're still teenagers, let's enjoy married life just for now. Okay?'

'Okay.'

The next day, we headed out again, just the two of us. Zed had been a bit quieter after our conversation the previous day and it worried me. I chose what to do this time. In our almost-year in Vancouver, we'd never been up Grouse Mountain. It was surprising really, as I knew it was somewhere that would interest Zed. Grouse Mountain was only fifteen minutes from downtown Vancouver, and it was supposed to offer panoramic views of the city. I was thankful that the day was set to be a sunny one, although it was also supposed to be stormy. We still took the risk. I paid for our tickets and we headed up on the Skyride for our one mile journey to the top.

'It's funny how we've lived here so long now and it still looks so different.' I sighed, watching the city get smaller beneath us.

'It's a big world out there with so many different perspectives.' Zed agreed with a small smile.

The view stretched out in front of us of the city, the forests and water. We reached the top and I took a deep breath. The view was incredible. I wrapped my baggy jumper around myself as the cold air hit my skin. There was a wildlife sanctuary at the top, so we went in to explore.

'Zed, look!' I gasped, pointing at the two orphaned grizzly bear cubs, their names Coola and Grinder. Despite being a few years old, they were so big.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and watched them carefully. 'They're wonderful.'

We watched as they were play-fighting with each other and Coola let out a loud roar, making me jump.

In the rest of the centre, there were owls, a grey wolf and hummingbirds, all being well-looked after. We grabbed lunch from the cafe and sat on the hillside, enjoying the sunshine and watching the two husky puppies nearby playing with their owner. Zed smiled as he watched them and then I had an idea.

'Why don't we get a puppy?'

His eyes widened in surprise as he looked at me. 'A puppy?'

'Sure, why not?' I asked with a smile. 'It's company for both of us... and I guess it's kind of like having a baby without the ruining my body part.'

He looked thoughtful for a moment. 'A puppy?'

I nodded again. 'Absolutely. We've got a garden. I know it's only small, but we're not going to be in the apartment forever, are we? We're going to need somewhere bigger at some point.'

'Okay.' He smiled. 'Let's get a dog.'

Zed went back to work the next day and together we agreed that when I returned from tour, we would go and choose a dog from the rescue centre. Jenni came over to supposedly help me pack for tour and to keep me company.

'So how's married life?'

'Pretty good.' I smiled; it was. Zed was keeping me fit, that was sure.

She walked past me into the bedroom and gawped at the site. 'Um, Sky, did a bomb hit before I got here?'

'I don't know what to take on tour.' I groaned. 'Ed said not to overdo it, but I don't know what I need.'

'Where's your intinery?' She asked, looking at my wad of paperwork.

'In my hand luggage.' I replied, pulling out my red polkadot bag from the mess. 'Here.'

'Wow, you are going to be pretty busy. LA, Texas and Florida all within a week!'

'I know.' I sighed. 'Apparently we'll have time to go to the dry cleaners, but it'll still be hectic. Nina has picked up some new outfits for me, but she said she doesn't want to be controlling everything I wear.'

Jenni looked into my closet, thoughtfully. 'So you've got fourteen concert dates in need of outfits, and you're away for about twenty-one days. I am wondering how you're supposed to pack lightly? That's a lot of underwear. And bikinis. Right, you pack the underwear as I don't need to see that and we'll go from there.'

Two hours later and my two suitcases were packed. I'd even tried to leave some space in them for anything I bought along the way, so it had been a mission. I'd packed different outfit choices for different weather, three pairs of shoes, my make-up, my straighteners, songbook, camera and laptop. I hung the last piece of stray clothing back in my wardrobe and sank down on the floor, exhausted. 'Remind me to not go on another tour for two years or so.'

'I'm going to miss you.' I said to Zed at the airport two days later. 'A lot.'

'You'll be fine, you'll be too busy having fun.' He laughed, reaching down to kiss my forehead. 'And when you come back, we're getting a baby.' He looked at my horrified expression. 'A baby dog, remember?'

'Of course.' I smiled, feeling relieved.

Zed bent down and kissed me softly on the lips. 'I'll come and see you soon, when I've got my work schedule through, okay?'

'Okay. I love you.'

'I love you more.' He kissed me again and I headed off through security.

Walking out of Los Angeles airport was like walking into a fire. It was ridiculous and I immediately regretted not getting changed on the plane like I had originally considered.

'Sorry I'm late!' Ed called, hurrying over to me. 'It's grid-lock on the highway. We'll go back a different way.' He tried to take my two suitcases. 'I said pack lightly, this is insane.'

'I'll take one.' I laughed. 'You don't have to be a gentleman all the time.' I dragged my case as Ed led the way to the car. 'Who turned up the thermostat?'

'It's crazy, right?' He sighed. It had to be. He was wearing shorts and I'd never seen him wearing shorts. 'Everyone is flocking to the beach. We've got three days before tour starts so we might have to join them.'

I was so grateful to arrive at the house and after hanging up the clothes I knew would crease easily, I had a swim to cool off and then I changed into shorts and a vest top for rehearsal in the studio. Ed was already in there, sat tuning his guitar, when I walked in.

'Feel a bit more refreshed?'

'Yeah.' I smiled. 'I am so glad there's aircon in here.'

'Me too.' He replied. 'Or I think I'd be dead already.

'So are they okay for me to have a piano at the venue?'

'Of course. We're bringing this one with us.' Ed replied. 'How's the guitar coming along?'

'Okay. Not well enough to play on this tour though.'

'That's okay, you've got your guitarist. He's going to meet us at the venue tomorrow for some rehearsal time.'

'Great.'

'Okay, bluebird, let's hear a song.'

I sat down at the baby grand piano and ran my hands over the keys.

'I was a liar

I gave into the fire

I know I should've fought it

At least I'm being honest

Feel like a failure

'Cause I know that I failed you

I should've done you better

'Cause you don't want a liar

And I know, and I know, and I know

She gives you everything

But, boy, I couldn't give it to you

And I know, and I know, and I know

That you got everything

But I got nothing here without you

So one last time

I need to be, the one, who takes you home

One more time

I promise, after that, I'll let you go

Baby I don't care if you got her in your heart

All I really care is you wake up in my arms

One last time

I need to be the one who takes you home.'

Before I knew it, it was the morning of the first show and the tourbus was being packed up ready for us to leave the in a day's time. I sat with my feet in the pool, enjoying use of a private pool before we headed off on tour.

'Sky?'

My eyes widened and I turned to face Jenni and Zed. 'Am I hallucinating from the heat?'

'Eeek, check you out in the Hollywood hills!' Jenni walked over and pulled me into a hug, squealing.

Zed gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. 'Hey princess.'

'What are you two doing here?' I asked in disbelief. Ed appeared in the doorway and gave me a sheepish grin.

'Ed invited us to see you kick off your stadium tour in style.' Zed replied with a smile.

I looked over his shoulder at my friend and manager. 'Thank you.' He nodded and then disappeared back inside.

'So this is the Hollywood lifestyle, huh?' Jen sighed, looking at the view from the terrace. 'I'm going to get my bikini, I don't need asking twice.'

Zed wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his forehead against mine. 'See, you weren't going to be missing me for long.'

'How long has this little plan be organised?'

'Since you last came to LA.' My husband grinned. 'Gave me enough time to book a couple days of work.'

'But I leave LA tomorrow night.'

'So we'd better make the most of the time we have.'

We had a barbecue for lunch around the poolside, whilst Jenni topped up her tan. Sprawled out across the sunbed in her yellow bikini, she fit right into the LA lifestyle. At three, we headed off to get changed and go to the venue for soundcheck.

'Look, you're own dressing room!' Jenni squealed as we walked inside my room for the evening; it was marked with a star on the door, with my name on it, and it looked like something out of a film with its comfy sofas, clothing rack, mini fridge and mirror with lightbulbs surrounding it. I even had my own ensuite bathroom. I hung up my outfit for the evening and headed out onto the stage.

'Woah.' Zed said from behind me as we looked out at the thousands of currently-empty seats. He was right. It was the biggest venue I'd ever performed at. And it made me feel nauseous.

'Alright, Sky?' Owen, my guitarist, asked as he tested out the strings on his guitar with the soundsystem. 'You look a little concerned.'

I took a deep breath and nodded. 'Yeah. I didn't realise it was so big.'

'You'll be incredible!' Jen smiled, reassuringly. 'And we'll be right in the wings for you.'

I nodded again and bit my lip. Sure.

'Right, let's go through this run through!' Leon called, clapping his hands together. 'Everyone off the stage!'

Zed hugged me goodbye and climbed off the stage with Jenni to sit in the front row. I'd be okay performing now. Because now there were only a few people in the venue. I turned on my earpiece and Owen counted me in before going into 'Love me like you do.'

Two hours later and I was in my dressing room in my outfit for the first night with Nina making the finishing touches to my make-up. He finished my subtle lipstick and stood back to admire his work with Nina. 'Perfect.'

I stood up and looked in the mirror; my hair hung in its loose blonde curls and my smokey eyes added a bit of edge to my girly outfit. I was wearing a light pink playsuit with a brown belt to accentuate my waist and a loose, cream lilac and pink kimono over the top. My outfit was finished off with my favourite Jimmy Choos from my previous LA visit.

Jenni looked at me with a big grin. 'You look perfect! Nina, would you mind doing me?'

She laughed. 'Sure, we've all got to look like superstars next to this one.'

There was a knock on the door ten minutes later. 'Sky, you're on in five, we need you to get to the wings of the stage.'

I shot Zed a panicked look and he rubbed my shoulders gently. 'You are going to be incredible. They're going to love you.'

'I hope you're right.' I let Zed give me a quick kiss on the lips and then followed Leon to the wings of the stage. The audience were cheering and screaming already, and I was overcome with nerves and excitement.

'Sky?'

I turned to see Ed stood in the wings wearing a lop-sided smile. 'Hey.'

'You're going to be amazing. They've already been cheering for you.' He said, his eyes softening.

'Thank you.'

The stage manager appeared next to me and quickly tested my ear piece. 'All good?' I nodded as the lights on the stage dimmed and the audience began to cheer louder. 'Showtime.'

Owen slid past me to his guitar and started playing my first song and I walked on the stage to loud screams as the lights went up.

'You're the light, you're the night

You're the color of my blood

You're the cure, you're the pain

You're the only thing I wanna touch

Never knew that it could mean so much, so much

You're the fear, I don't care

Cause I've never been so high

Follow me to the dark

Let me take you past our satellites

You can see the world you brought to life, to life

So love me like you do, love me like you do

Love me like you do, love me like you do

Touch me like you do, touch me like you do

What are you waiting for?'

When I finished my first song, the crowd was chanting my name and cheering. I felt more confident. Maybe I could do it after all.