Staring out the window, Bridget squirmed in her seat and sighed again, elbowing Zach staring out the window over her head. The photographers weren’t taking his picture on the plane, and he looked as though he was almost relaxed. Almost. Except for that muscle along his jaw that was tightening every now and then, but not when she looked at him. His face was still splotchy from crying, and now she could see his eyes with his sunglasses off.

When she leaned against him, he settled his chin on top of her head and wrapped his arm around her. She wasn’t sure if he was comforting her, or himself, but it felt nice to have someone looking after her that wasn’t acting like she was broken or going to fall apart if they looked at her. She would fall apart only when she was alone, when she couldn’t hold it back. But not in front of anyone, in case they thought she wasn’t old enough for Zach to watch her. She had to be a grown up so he wouldn’t change his mind.

She was recognizable enough for people to look at her, but not approach as she made her way through the airport. She could just about make out their ‘don’t I know you?’ expressions each time she passed a group, but then she noticed Carlos getting her bags and went right over to him, thankful she didn’t have to wait.

“Someone’s outside waiting for you,” Carlos said, slipping her bag over his shoulder. “He’s got company, but you can rescue him.”

“Thanks.” She kissed his cheek and headed through the automatic doors, finding Tred by the garbage cans with a cigarette outside of Baggage Claim nodding politely as a brunette chattered away at him. He ran a hand over his forearm feeling the chill of waiting without his jacket, and his tattoos always seemed to draw more attention to him regardless of being a celebrity. He just had the kind of personality that was noticed – ‘following his own beat,’ his mother had said.

“Tred,” she called happily, waving briefly. She heard him say ‘excuse me, ladies,’ dropping his cigarette and pulled her into his arms tightly before kissing her deeply. When he let her come up for air, she laughed and noticed the fans looking on, giggling.

“I missed you, Baby,” Tred said, running his hands down her arms and kissing her again quickly. “Where’s your stuff? Can we go?”

“You could help Carlos, you know,” she teased as he came through the door.

“No, he can’t,” Carlos answered, heading to the limo. “He’d break a finger or a hand or something in some freak accident and I’d lose my job. He can just stand around looking like a pop star. It’s what he does best.”

“And you still do have a job, Car? How’s that possible again?” Tred said, taking Bridget’s hand and heading towards the limo.

“See those girls over there?” Carlos motioned with his chin, dropping the bags in the trunk. “I protect you from them when they multiply into the thousands and all think they can stand next to you.”

“Oh, yeah, right.” He waved to his smoking buddies. “Have a good one, girls.”

Inside the limo he pulled her on his lap and kissed her again, keeping his arms loosely around her waist. “I said I missed you, right?”

She giggled. “You did, yes. Funny, isn’t it? I missed you too. Ready for tomorrow?”

“Very. Can’t wait. Want to do it now.” His eyes sparkled and she thought he was going to bust into laughter.

“Still no sneak peek…or performance? Just a little one?”

“A little one?” he considered. “Okay, ready?” He paused for a moment, cleared his throat and belted out a single note. “There ya go. What do you think?”

“You’re a dork.” She dropped to the seat and stretched out, letting her legs dangle over his lap. “And, man it feels good to stretch out.”

“It looks good from here.” His eyes scanned the length of her body and he stretched along side her. “How’s the jet lag?”

“I don’t know yet. Hasn’t hit yet. Right now, I just feel like I flew cross country.”

“Funny that.”

“Yeah, funny that. And I’m starving. Even if you pay for it, airplane food is just gross. I packed stuff of my own, but I didn’t want that either.”

“Should we stop, or do you want to order something in?”

“Stop?” she questioned. “We haven’t seen each other in two and a half weeks, and you’re suggesting we stop somewhere along the way? You sick?”

“Trying to be considerate, but I’m all for being selfish and going back to the hotel and getting you out of your clothes.” He slid his hand up the inside of her shirt to her belly as she giggled. “Room service is decent.”

She pushed his hand back down. “And how’s Zach doing?”

“He’s good. Excited. Getting laid every night. What more could he ask for?”

“Who?” she asked, leaning up on her elbow. “He didn’t say he met someone.”

“What makes you think it’s the same girl?”

“Oh.”

“Oh.” He teased, mocking her serious expression. “Not every guy is as amazing as me, Babe. Your brother just happens to be a dawg when he wants to be. New York tends to bring that out in him. And we’ve been so on lately – this has to be the most excited we’ve ever been about an album.”

“Until the next one,” she added.

“No. I don’t think so. I think this is our album, Bridge, I really do. I don’t think either of us have written this well in our lives.”

“I wouldn’t know since you won’t let me hear anything on it.”

“You’ve heard all but three, which you’ll hear tomorrow morning. It will be worth the wait, I promise.”

“I trust you. I just don’t like waiting.” She tugged at the curls forming around his face. “You need a haircut, and a shave. Have you done anything but work these last two weeks? Bathe, at least?”

“I certainly do not offend. I showered right before I came and yeah, the hair’s a little long. It’s starting to drive me nuts, too. I’ll ask the chick tomorrow to trim it before we go on.”

“Randy will kill you,” she teased. “I could shave it off if you’d like. That way you can just start over.”

“You said I wasn’t allowed to do that again.”

“You’re not. I was joking, but I will trim it for you. Randy doesn’t yell at me when I do it.”

“Yeah, that’s because Randy has a crush on you.”

“Yeah. Your point?”

He put his hand on her belly and nuzzled into her neck. “Mine. Mine, mine and mine.”

“Trust me baby, you don’t have anything to worry about.” She giggled, squirming as he tickled her lightly. “How much longer to the hotel?”

“I don’t know. It’s about an hour from the airport into the city, I think. Why? Can’t wait that long?”

“Can you?” she teased, reaching down to his crotch at his partial erection. “I just feel sticky and icky and gross and sweaty.”

“You’re fucking gorgeous,” he interrupted. “Seriously.” He looked into her eyes, daring her to contradict him. “And you don’t even see it, do you?”

“Do you see it when I tell you how amazing you are? Your eyes, Trevor.” She touched his cheek tenderly and smiled. “I fell in love with your eyes the day I met you. When you look at me, somehow I know I’m safe.”

“As long as I can help it, you will be.”

“ It’s the crack of dawn,” she moaned as the phone rang in her ear. “It’s not even dawn.” She lifted her head from Trevor’s shoulder and squinted at the curtains. “You’re less than five minutes away – what are they thinking?”

“Payback,” he answered. “It’s the price we have to pay for the lifestyle. Or something. I don’t know – but it’ll be worth it. I promise.” He kissed her quickly. “Close your eyes, I’m turning on the light.”

“You’re an evil, evil man,” she mumbled, dropping her face into her pillow.

“We need to be downstairs in half an hour. I’m going to guess that you’ll come later? You don’t need to watch us warm up, do you?”

He slid out of the bed and brushed his hands over his arms and stomach before running his fingers through his thinning brown curls.

“Do I get to hear the new songs?” she asked, lifting her head up. “And should we shower together to save water?”

“No time, Baby,” he said, coming around to her side of the bed. “But trust me, I’m all over a rain check on that offer.”

“Go.” She waved him off and pulled the blanket up. “Besides, I get the bed all to myself now – with these sheets, I may not need you to make me come.” She stretched under the blanket and moaned provocatively.

“That’s just mean.” He groaned, yawning and stretching his arms up over his head standing in the bathroom doorway. “But I get the shower – and trust me, it’s been plenty friendly to me these last few days.” Turning on the water, she could hear him playfully talking to the stream. “Oh, yeah, Baby, you know how I like it…hot and wet, yeah, baby…yeah.”

“Freak!” she called.

When she opened her eyes again, he was dressed and standing over her, smelling of aftershave with wet hair and his beard neatly manicured. “I’m on my way out. The car will come back for you in about an hour, okay?” He kissed her gently, pushing up from the mattress. “I’ve called room service to bring up some coffee and a bagel or something for you, too. Please answer the door when they knock? Don’t fall back to sleep. I really want you there later on.”

“I’ll be there.” She stretched and pushed herself up against the headboard slightly. “I didn’t fly all this way to sleep in this bed by myself in spite of the amazing sheets.” She kissed him. “Play good. I’ll see you soon.”

It was always chaos whenever they arrived anywhere, but in New York, it was always extra charged. The energy itself radiated through the air and Bridget stood to the side, watching the faces of the fans. She loved watching Zach around them and seeing the transformation of her brother become Zach Angel.

Right now, he was going around the perimeter of the crowd, scribbling his name and leaning in with a smile, not really paying attention to where he was looking, or what he was actually signing. He was being as friendly as he could without really offering any part of his personality. All he did was answer ‘yeah,’ ‘yeah,’ ‘oh, really? Cool. Yeah.’ to just about anything that was said to him and soon, he had made his way around the crowd

In all actuality, Zach was shy and was petrified of being around that many people, especially when so many of them wanted a part of him. They wanted to touch him, talk to him, be part of him and he had no way of knowing how to do any of it, much less understand why anyone saw him as something special.

That didn’t stop him, though. He could turn it on for someone, or use it to get someone in bed. He was trained in charm, though, knowing what to say, when to say it and how to deliver a line that made them see someone he didn’t even recognize.

She waited just inside the doorway and stood to block his way inside, just to catch him off guard, making him scowl or see if he’d be polite to the poor intern blocking his way. Today, he scowled before looking up and hugged her tightly. “Bitch,” he chuckled easily. “Get outta my way!”

“Such a rock star,” she teased in response. “How’re you holding up?”

“I’m ready to get it over with now.” He smiled and looked around. “It’s a little intense out there. I had three people pull at my shirt and like six people touched my hair. Dude!” He cringed and shook his head. He put his arm around her shoulder easily and led her down the hallway towards the green room. “How was your flight last night? Sorry I wasn’t there to say hi.”

“The hell you are. Tred told me all about what you’ve been up to. You think I won’t find out about your pig-dog slutty ways?”

“I’ll have you note it wasn’t me talking about it. It was your boyfriend. I was polite – in public.”

“Ew!” She pushed his hand off her shoulder and cringed. “TMI, thanks.”

“But it’s okay if I get to…”

“Let’s not have this conversation here, okay?” she interrupted, looking around at people holding clipboards and papers, hustling past them in the hallways, talking into headsets.

“Mr. Angel, you’re needed in the green room.”

“Is Trevor still out there?” he asked as they kept walking past him.

“Going to get him now,” he responded over his shoulder.

“ Okay…” Trevor started, settling down on the stool with the acoustic guitar. Zach sat next to him, and winked at the front row, making some lucky girl think he was winking directly at her – another trick he’d been taught in the early years. He had his acoustic guitar poised on his lap, the mike stand ready, although he did reach out to adjust it slightly.

Trevor shifted again on the stool and looked sideways at Zach briefly, grinning. “Okay, so thank you for that great welcome. You guys rock!” He punched the air briefly as the crowd cheered. “We’ve been away for a spell. Have you missed us?” Again, the crowd cheered.

“Sounds like a yes to me, Tred,” Zach said into the mike, smiling into the camera.

“I does, doesn’t it?” Trevor answered. “So, you’ll indulge us if we play something new, then? Think they’d mind, Zach?” The crowd cheered again and they looked at each other, smiling brightly. They nodded and started strumming easily. “It’s a bit easy-going, really,” Trevor said, “and I’d like to say that this was inspired by someone extremely, extremely special to us. We haven’t let her hear any of it, so it’s a surprise for her, too.”

“B? Pay attention to this one, okay? He’s been driving me batty with it,” Zach giggled.

“This one’s for you, Baby,” Trevor said, nodding again to Zach, beginning a mid-tempo song. Trevor closed his eyes briefly, humming into the mike easily before breaking into the lyrics, letting the verse build up to the chorus. As Trevor sang, his eyes focused in on Bridget, standing just outside the side door. She covered her mouth, her eyes wide as he kept singing, his voice growing stronger with each verse.

When they finished, the crowd erupted into applause and Zach looked around, smiling brightly. Trevor kept looking at Bridget, watching her wipe her eyes silently as he smiled. He lifted an eyebrow, quietly asking for her approval, and she nodded broadly in response.

“So, that’s the sappy, romantic portion of this mornings broadcast,” Zach teased, winking over to his sister with a nod. “But we’ve got a few more songs to go if you want. Is that okay? Should we keep playing?”

Again the audience screamed and Trevor chuckled deeply into his mike. “This one Zach came up with.” They watched each other, nodding to the beat inside their head before they started playing. Tuned in, the fans said, as if they were part of one brain when they played. Their voices blending, Tred belting out in a deep raspy voice, and Zach’s lead filled with emotion and tension.

“As you can see, we have a bit of a theme going,” Trevor said. “We’re looking forward to the future this time, moving on, moving forward. We got one more new one. Think you can handle it?”

As the crowd roared, Zach spoke into the mike. “It’s another one Trevor wrote…for my sister,” he teased. “You know, I thought for sure this would have ended by now.”

“Not a chance,” Trevor said.

“Yeah, I’m kinda getting that.” Zach giggled into the mike, and the crowd screamed.

“This one was written during one of those nights we couldn’t quite be together.”

“There are something’s a brother doesn’t want to know, but don’t you hate it when your best friend makes it poetic and too good that you really have no choice but to use it?”

“Yeah, doncha just hate it?” Trevor laughed. “I promise this will be the last of the sap.”

“Yeah,” Zach teased, “can we get it on with it?”

“Sure…another one just for you, baby. We need to talk about something after this, okay?” He looked over to the side and she nodded back to him.

“Okay, so are you ready to get this moving a little bit?” Zach asked, standing up from the stool and slipping the guitar over his shoulder. He handed it to a roadie and was handed an electric guitar, as Trevor did the same thing. The audience screamed louder with applause and they immediately jumped into one of their earlier hits.

Bridget loved watching the audience with their older songs. They gelled together, jumping and swaying in unison, all singing along and even knowing the changes they made when they did the song live.

Eventually they made it off the stage and they did one more run through the crowd. A few minutes later, Matt Lauer was on the second stage with them, and they were back on stools with their mike stands.

“So, it’s been awhile, hasn’t it?” Matt asked, slapping Zach’s leg easily. “Do you miss it, really? Is it a little insane sometimes?”

“Oh, yeah,” Trevor said. Of course, when he opened his mouth to answer, the crowd screamed.

“Not today, obviously,” Zach laughed.

Trevor motioned for them to be quiet by putting his finger to his lips. “No, really, for the last two years or so, it’s been pretty quiet. We’ve been able to catch up on our lives, spend some time doing the things that were important to us.”

“Get a chance to really miss doing this,” Zach added. “It was a little ridiculous there for a bit.”

“Yeah, what was it? I think I read something like 16 months…” Matt started.

“16 months on the road touring the last album, yeah,” Zach continued. “And really, it was just way too much. We needed to get our head together. No one could keep that up.”

“It wasn’t healthy,” Trevor said.

“And speaking of healthy…you’re sober now?”

“I am. Yes.” The audience screamed and Trevor nodded in appreciation. “Three years, two months now.”

“Does being on the road, touring, affect you at all? Do you find you want to drink, or feel like it’s easy to slip back?”

“Not anymore, no, in the beginning it was. Then again, everything felt like it would be easy to slip back, but I have some amazing support with my brother Zach here, and all the fans have been great in giving me space and time when I feel like I need it.”

“And, he’s dating your sister?” Matt asked. “Does he have a sister for you to date?”

“I’m doing okay without him having a sister,” Zach chuckled, looking out into the crowd as the girls squealed and howled briefly. “Not ready to settle down, yet.”

“How about you? Are you ready?”

“Looks like I already am,” Trevor said. He stood up and reached into his pocket. “Just need to ask her one question, though.” He turned around to the side entrance, catching her eyes before he knelt down onto one knee. The audience exploded in excitement before he spoke another word. “Bridget…Baby? Would you do me the honor of being my bride?” He could barely be heard over the noise of the audience, and the camera focused in on Bridget, standing with her hands covering her mouth, tears streaming down her face while she nodded emphatically.

“Well, go kiss your fiancé,” Matt said, and looked into the camera. “And we’ll be right back with more Today after this.” The camera focused on them, Trevor was on the side and Bridget embraced him with her arms flung around his neck, her head buried into her arms, and the ring sparkling on her hand.

When they came off stage officially, Bridget hugged Zach tightly, laughing with excitement. “You knew about this and didn’t say anything?” she squealed.

“Yeah,” he laughed, half-heartedly, looking at the assistant beaming at them, “kind of.”

She stepped back and looked at the ring again as the assistant came over to congratulate her. Trevor came in the room, finally breaking free from the fans and well-wishers. Zach tried to smile, doing his best to keep up a front for everyone around them.

“Dude,” Trevor said, coming up to him and hugging him. “I wanted to tell you.”

“Then why didn’t you?” he asked quietly, still in the disguise of a hug. “I’ve been with you for the last three months pretty much every day.”

“Trevor…”

He was pulled away for more congratulations, and just as the show was signing off, they were brought back for an encore, and special congratulations on-air. Again, Zach smiled, holding his sister’s hand and forced himself to show some excitement for the benefit of their privacy, but once they were shuffled off to the limo, and the car pulled away from the curb, he turned to the both of them.

“Look, you know I’ve been okay with this whole dating thing. I didn’t say much when you told me what was going on between you two and all that, but I just have to say, I don’t think I can get behind this.”

Bridget sat up slightly, slipping her hair over her shoulder and passed a quick glance to Trevor, holding her hand and sitting next to her. “What?”

“I don’t know what I thought, but Bridge, you’re not ready for something like this. This is marriage. This is a big deal.”

“No, shit, Zach. You don’t think I haven’t thought about it before?”

“What I think is that just a few months ago you were swallowing pills and, Trevor, you didn’t think you wanted to live with her until she got her act together. I don’t think she’s ready. I don’t think you’re ready. I think it would have been nice if you maybe talked it over with me before you went on national fucking television and did that.”

“Is that what you’re pissed about?” Bridget asked, sliding closer to Trevor and placing their hands on her lap. “You weren’t the first to know?”

“No! I’m pissed because you’re simply too young to be married and I don’t think you’re ready for that kind of responsibility, Bridget! You freaked out just a few months ago because I wanted you to get a job!” He pointed to the window in frustration, leaning forward in the seat. “What the hell are you going to do when you’re married? You think it gets easier?”

“How the hell would you know what it gets? You can’t even stay in a relationship for more than twelve fucking hours, Zach!” she argued, leaning forward in her seat, across from him. “And for the record, ever think that maybe, just maybe, it was you that made me want to swallow those pills? Maybe it was you that was putting on the pressure so hard that I couldn’t think or breathe?”

“Bridget, hey…stop,” Trevor said, putting his hand on her shoulder and lifting his hand to Zach’s. “We’re all a little emotional at the moment. Zach, I’m sorry I didn’t discuss it with you, man. I didn’t think you’d have a problem with it since we’re moving in together anyway, and it just seems like a natural progression after everything.”

“She’s twenty, Trevor. You’re older than she is. You’re more experienced in the world than she is—“

“The hell he is,” Bridget snapped.

“He’s older, Bridget. Just by age, he’s been able to do more. You don’t know what it’s like to be on your own. You don’t know what it’s like to be home while he’s working months at a time.”

“Since when? You make it sound like I don’t have a clue what the majority of my fucking life has been like, Zach. I can’t believe you can’t happy about this. For your best fucking friend. For me.”

“We can’t discuss this here,” Zach said, dropping back in the seat and lifting his palm up to her. “I’m not going to argue this here.”

“I didn’t start it!”

“Hey, Baby,” Trevor said calmly, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, but looking at Zach intently. Zach could see the hurt behind Trevor’s expression, and how hard he was trying to maintain his calm not only for Zach, but for Bridget, and himself. “He’s right, we can’t get into it here. We’ll go back, calm down, and have lunch later on. Talk about it…rationally, okay?” Zach nodded and turned his attention to the passing buildings as Bridget sank against him. He kissed the top of her head, keeping his eyes on Zach, suddenly feeling guilty and self-conscious.