A/N: Hi guys! Sorry for the delay. The stomach bug hit our house and hung out for a while. We are back on the mend though and figured you might want a new chapter. It's not much but I promise more is coming this week. :) Who is excited for the 30th Anniversary special airing tonight? I'm on the fence but I'll be watching it tomorrow. If I'm not too keen on it, you'll see me probably make my own version in a fic lol.

As always, thank you for reading and leave me a review to let me know how you are enjoying it.

Chapter Six
Losing Sleep

Billy and I arrived at his home a short time later. It was a familiar feeling to pull into the driveway of his childhood home, the same blue house where I had spent many days as a kid growing up. On the way, he told me that his father had finally remarried after his mother died when we were just kids. Both him and his new wife were living in Florida now, venturing life somewhere new which surprised me. Billy's father was a creature of habit and routine and hearing that he had just up and moved to Florida was out of character for him. But I was glad to hear that he was happy and had found someone to spend his life with now. Billy helped me unload my bag and the tray of food he had packed up from Tommy's before heading inside.

"You'll have to excuse me for the mess. I have been remodeling several areas of the house in hopes of giving it a more modern appeal to it." Billy said, turning on the lights that led to the dining room from the side door. The lights turned on and I saw that the dining room table and chairs were still here but it was filled with tools, paint cans, brushes and other things. There was a ladder on one side of the room and a bunch of drop clothes stacked on the back of some of the chairs. He walked through, heading to the living room area where I found there was less of a mess. Here, it looked updated as he said. There was a dark blue couch and loveseat set in here, paired with a black coffee table. A television was set up on an entertainment center across from the couch, books lining the shelves. There were also two bookshelves in here, filled to the brim with more books. I could tell this was Billy's house alright.

"I know it's nothing peculiar but I hope this will be satisfactory," Billy said, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know your current home is much more lavish than my house. I apologize that it's not the same." I scoffed.

"Billy, I practically grew up here. If anything, this feels more like home to me than where I live now. Besides, it's looking great in here! You're doing a great job. I really do appreciate you letting me stay here."

"Thanks, Kim. I'm happy to have you here." He gestured for me to follow him up the flight of stairs that led to the bedroom. At the top, he went to the left and opened the door of what used to be his room when we were younger. "I've transitioned this into a guest room. You're in luck because Adam was just here about a month ago so it's still set up."

"Speaking of Adam, I noticed he wasn't here today." I said as Billy opened the door to the room. It was painted a light blue color with white trim, a white dresser set up across from a queen size bed that was unmade. Billy walked over to the closet and opened it, pulling out some bedding.

"Unfortunately, he had a prior engagement for work he was unable to get out of." He explained, making the bed. I set my bag down, helping him with the fitted sheet.

"Aw. That stinks. I was hoping to see everyone while I'm in town."

"I'm sure you will cross paths at some point." He said in a reassuring tone. He pulled some pillows from a dresser drawer and put them into pillow cases. Once the bed was made, he stopped by the door. "IF you need anything, I'll just be in my room up the hall, okay?"

"Thanks, Billy." I said, giving him a smile before he walked out of the room.

I took the time to unpack my bags. Since I hadn't packed too much, it didn't take me very long to sort everything and put it into the dresser drawers. I also took a quick shower, washing the day off of me. I was tired in every sense of the word but I knew if I laid down right now, there was no way I'd be able to go to sleep. My mind, though tired, still felt like it was reeling from the day. I sat on the edge of the bed, thinking about everything I had learned today. Not only about Kat dying but Tommy and her being divorced and them adopting two kids. No matter how I tried to piece it together, things still didn't add up to me. How was I going to just ask him about it tomorrow? Would it be too forward? Too soon? Did I even have any right to ask? All of that made me question if having coffee with him was even a good idea.

I was brought out of my thoughts by my cell phone ringing from my purse. Walking over, I fished it out and saw that it was Tristan calling me. I swore under my breath. I had wanted to call him before but it had slipped my mind. It had to be pretty late back in Nashville now. He was probably wondering what the hell was going on. I hit the answer button and brought it to my ear.

"Hey. I'm so sorry for just vanishing today." I said.

"I'm just glad to hear that you're alive. I was getting a little worried there for a minute." He voice said. In the background, I heard what sounded like an ice machine. I realized it was the one built into my fridge.

"Yeah. Everything happened so quickly, I didn't even get a chance to let anyone know. I see you got into the house finally." I didn't know why but it bugged me that he was in my house when I wasn't there. I knew it shouldn't but it felt like an invasion of my space even when I was on the other side of the country.

"Shayna had to convince them that I wasn't going to rob anything. This is why we need to be serious about this whole living together situation. If I move in, we wouldn't have to worry about stuff like this. Is everything okay? How's your friend?"

"He's okay. His wife passed away after having cancer. The funeral was today."

"You didn't know about it before today?" He questioned. I started to pace, anxious nerves getting the best of me.

"No. They didn't want to worry me with everything going on with the tour. I didn't even know she was sick. But I'm glad that I was able to be there today for him and everyone else."

"Just seems odd to me that your friends didn't bother to tell you that one of them was that sick." He stated and I felt irritation growing in the back of my mind. Tristan does this sometimes. He seems to focus on the negative parts of situations or acts as if people are incapable of doing good. I always chalk this up to his upbringing. His parents weren't together when he was a kid, his Mom a single parent that raised him as a latchkey kid. This left him with his own trust issues.

"Like I said, it was because of the tour. Tommy didn't want me to run home right before the tour and ruin anything."

"I guess I get it. Any chance you'll be coming home?"

"I won't be. For now at least. Seems like I'll be here until opening night. Are you okay flying here?" I asked. He scoffed. "What?"

"Flying? They told us that we had to ride the bus to CA. I'm packing up now to start heading out. I was calling to see if there was anything here you needed before I left."

"The label isn't flying you guys out here? I really thought they would."

"They were before you had to leave but they figured the bus had to get there anyway. It's no big deal. The driver will go right straight through and he's bringing a sub with him so he can rest. We'll be there a few hours before soundcheck."

"I'm sure you'll have fun. You guys usually do on the bus." I sighed. "I don't think I need anything from there. How is everything?"

"Still standing." He replied, a smirk in his voice. I smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I miss you."

"I miss you too."

"Have you thought anymore about living together?" He questioned. I internally groaned. This was the last conversation I wanted to have right now. I rubbed my temple with my pointer finger and my middle finger.

"I'll be honest and say that I've been preoccupied. I promise that I will though, okay?"

"Okay. I mean, I get it. But it was kinda shitty for you to just take off without telling me you were flying to California, Kim. That could have been a considerate thing to do."

"Excuse me? My friend died. I didn't realize I needed to check with you before I did things. I'll make sure to schedule with you before anyone else in my life decides to die." I snapped, feeling my blood pressure elevate. He huffed.

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it. All I meant was that you could have just let me know you were leaving. I was worried! I didn't know where you were until Shayna told me. I'm not the enemy here, Kim. Believe it or not, I'm actually here because I want to be with you. I know that freaks you out but I just want to know you're okay." Closing my eyes, I internally groaned as I laid back on the bed. He was right. He was only being concerned about me and I just ripped his head off. It was a wonder I had a boyfriend at all.

"I know. I'm sorry. I think I'm just still feeling jet lagged. I should have called you sooner. I promise, I will keep you in the loop more going forward."

"That's all I ask." There was a strange noise in the background, followed by some beeping.

"What is that?"

"I'm trying to figure out this fancy coffee machine you have. Do you need a degree for this or something?" I giggled.

"No. There's a booklet in the drawer under it. It's easy."

"If you say so. I suppose I should let you go so I can round up my shit for the trip. I'll give you a call in the morning to see how things are going on the road."

"Alright. Have a safe trip."

"I will. I love you." I was surprised by his admission of love out loud. Though he had spoken it to me before, he wasn't one to say it to me a lot. He believed in physical affection in private more than verbally expressing it. I was okay with this because I was always worried about someone else seeing us together and it getting out that we were together. It wasn't a secret that we were in a relationship. It was something we had to tell the label when we decided to get together. But it just wasn't something I was ready for my fans to know. I didn't want people to think I was one of those singers that needed to be with her lead guitarists just because he was the man on the road with her. It felt like a sign of weakness almost though I knew it wasn't. I had built my career on my own and I didn't want anyone to think that anyone had anything to do with helping me get here.

"You too." I managed to say. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." Quickly, I hung up and tossed the phone back onto the bed next to me. I watched the blades of the ceiling fan above my head spin around, my mind thinking about my conversation with Tristian. It wandered from him to Tommy though and a pang of guilt hit me for a reason I couldn't explain. Did I feel guilty for thinking about Tommy after talking to my boyfriend? Should I have told Tristian about my plans for the morning with Tommy? Who Tommy actually was? Though we had spoken about our pasts before, I hadn't gone into the specifics of Tommy or anything where he'd be able to recognize who he was in that manner. I shook my head even though there was no one else there to see it. Tommy and I were friends and we were allowed to spend time together. Besides, he needed someone to be there for him right now after Kat. And I needed to know more about what happened before she died.

Standing up, I headed into the hallway. It was quiet, the only noise coming from the hum of the central air unit in the house. I went downstairs and found Billy sitting at the dining room table. He was building something it seemed, tools in hand and magnifying lenses over his glasses. He looked up when I walked in, sitting back from his hunched over position.

"Hey. Don't mind me. Just trying to get this carburetor in working capacity again." He said.

"I can see. Need any help?" I asked, sitting in the chair opposite of him. He shook his head, setting his screwdriver down.

"No thank you. I believe it's a lost cause at this point in time." Sighing, he set his glasses down. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just trying to get settled in with the jet lag, ya know? Have you heard from anyone? Did the rest of the clean up go okay?" Billy smiled, nodding.

"Trini called and said that Tommy asked them to leave shortly after we left. She said that he seemed to be in better spirits."

"I'm glad." I said, leaning into the chair. "I mean I know you guys said they were divorced or something but still, he cared for her, right? That means something."

"To some people it does, I suppose. Tommy is a compassionate guy. It's understandable why he took the course of action that he did."

"Alright. You gotta tell me something here, Billy. I feel like I'm going in there blind tomorrow." Billy sighed again, nodding.

"Tommy and Katherine had been having marital issues for a number of years. Things were always civil but it just never seemed to be something that they could get to a level that they both could agree on. Either one of them had something going on career wise or they just were unable to agree which direction to go in life. Kat had dreams of going back to Australia someday and Tommy wanted to stay right here. They went to counseling and did everything that was advised of them during that. It helped a little bit but still, there just was something that wasn't allowing them to be on that same page. They talked about divorce but then the boys came along. Single guys taking in kids that aren't biologically related to them really aren't as supported here so he and Kat agreed to stay married and work on things longer to help them get adjusted. Things got into a routine and they got into a habit of ignoring their problems instead of facing them until they realized they weren't being fair to each other. They began their divorce proceedings and that's when they initially found out that Kat had cancer."

"Wow." I whispered, shaking my head. "That had to have been devastating."

"It was. Tommy told Kat that he'd do anything she needed. Since she was working as a dance instructor, they wouldn't cover any of the cost of her treatment with her being out of work. They halted their divorce so that Tommy could keep her on his insurance. That's when they were approached with adopting the boys outright as well. Tommy didn't want to at first, afraid it was too much for Kat to handle but she insisted, knowing that it's what the three of them needed. Few months later, Kat went into remission so she was able to get a different job with different insurance. Her and Tommy finalized their divorce but kept it quiet. Her job required a great deal of travel so Tommy allowed her to stay at his house still when she was in town. She had her first relapse six months later and Tommy took care of her. She went into remission again for longer but when they discovered it again, it had progressed so far, they were limited on their options."

"Why not tell people they were divorced though?" I questioned. Billy shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I had always presumed it was because of the adoption. Tommy is always fearful that something will result in it becoming null and void. They both feared if they divorced, someone would claim that they adopted under false pretenses in their paperwork." Billy sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry, I don't know much more than that, Tommy keeps a great deal of this private."

"It's okay. I appreciate this." Glancing at the clock, I saw it was after midnight now. "Oh. I should get some sleep."

"Likewise." Billy stood up, pushing his chair in. I turned, heading to walk towards the stairs. I stopped, turning to look over at him as he cleaned up his work space.

"Hey, Billy?" I asked. Billy looked up with a questioning expression on his face.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"When did Kat and Tommy start growing apart? Do you have a year or something like that you can remember?" Billy thought for a moment.

"The first time he indicated there was a problem was shortly after Trini and Jason's wedding if I am recalling correctly." He replied. I stared at Billy for a moment, biting my bottom lip. "Why? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I was just wondering. Night, Billy."

"Night, Kim." Turning, I jogged up the stairs and into my room. Shutting the door, I leaned against it and shut my eyes. Damn it.