For Every Dark Night, There Is a Brighter Day

Jimmy chuckled when Jace ran off, walking quietly to the bathroom to hide in the tub. He pulled the curtain shut and sat down, biting his lip as he waited for Robyn. He heard her walk down the hall to Jace's room, holding back a chuckle when he heard her. He cherished these moments he spent with Jace and Robyn, because he knew once the band really kicked off, he wouldn't get them that often. Plus, it felt like Jace was growing up so quickly, and soon he would be a teenager, and then an adult himself. The thought made Jimmy's head hurt, and his heart ache. He didn't want his little boy to grow up. He wanted him to stay small forever. But unless he had some magic potion, that wouldn't happen. They'd just have to have another little one. And then another one. And then another one after that.

---

Cassie blushed slightly and bit her lip as she watched him stand up and pull his boxers on. "Thank you," she murmured, standing up. She flipped her sketchbook shut and tucked it away with the rest of her art supplies before she walked over to him and leaned up to kiss his lips softly. "Thank you for letting me draw you. And you're a wonderful model, by the way." She smiled and pulled away so he could finish getting dressed before she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Once she'd finished that, she walked back into the bedroom and smiled at Matt. "I'm going to set up an appointment with my gynecologist for an ultrasound." She was excited because that meant they could actually see their baby on a screen, even if it would be absolutely tiny. She grabbed her phone and looked up the number for the office, sitting on the bed as she called to set up an appointment. She'd also have to go see her mom to tell her and Hannah too. She knew the redhead would be upset that Cassie had told Robyn first, but honestly, it didn't really matter.

"Is he under the bed?" Robyn asked, taking a second to peek under the bed. "Or in his closet?" She went over to check the closet and bit her lip to stop herself from laughing when she noticed him squirming behind the curtain. "Or maybe he's...behind the curtain!" Robyn ripped back the curtain to reveal Jace, reaching down and scooping him up, lightly tickling him.

"Mommy, stop!" Jace shouted, laughing. "No tickle!"

"Alright baby, I'll stop," Robyn said. She kissed him on the cheek before she placed him back on his feet. "Now, let's go find Daddy. Where do you think he is?" Jace took her hand and pulled her off towards their bedroom, checking all the obvious places before giving up. Next they went to the bathroom and as soon as Robyn saw that the shower curtain was closed, she knew that's where Jimmy was hiding. "Why don't you check the bathtub, baby?" Robyn whispered to Jace. He nodded excitedly and pulled back the curtain, laughing when he saw Jimmy.

"Found you, Daddy!" Jace shouted.

---

"It was an honor to model for you, my darling," Matt said, grinning. He pulled on the rest of his clothes as Cassie got on the phone, presumably with her gynecologist. Matt was pretty damn excited for the appointment, because he would get to see the baby on the screen and everything would just feel so real. He couldn't wait to see the little life that he and Cassie had created, and just the thought of it made him want to go put and buy a ring right now. He wanted to make sure he and Cassie were at least engaged before the baby was born. He knew getting married that quickly wasn't feasible, not if they wanted to have an actual wedding. "Okay so I'm going with you to the appointment, I hope you know that," Matt said, sitting down next to Cassie once she'd hung up the phone. He buried his face into her shoulder, slipping his arm around her waist. He laid back against the mattress, taking Cassie with him, and pressed a kiss to her jawline. "I love you so much, Cass," Matt murmured, fingering the hem of her shirt. "I can't believe we're having a baby. We're going to be a little family. It's so great. And our baby is going to be great, too. She's going to be a talented artist, like you. And of course she's going to be able to sing like you. And she'll get to grow up around Bella, I bet they'll be best friends even though Bella is a few years old already. And jeez, I'm just so excited."

Jimmy gasped when the curtain flew back, pouting when Jace shouted at him. "Darn it!" he exclaimed. "I thought I picked a good spot. I didn't think you'd ever find me." He grinned as he stood up, picking Jace up and tickling his sides. "Alright, kiddo." He sat him back down and looked at Robyn. "Time for Mommy to hide. Close your eyes and count to ten. I'll help you." He looked up at Robyn and smiled, reaching up to cover Jace's eyes. He helped him count out loud to ten, then moved his hands away from his eyes. "Go find Mommy."

"Mommy!" Jace called, running out of the bathroom.

"Ah, ah, no running in the house!" Jimmy called after him.

---

Cassie giggled, falling back onto the bed with him. She looked at him, shaking her head. "God, you're perfect, you know that?" she murmured, brushing her thumb across his bottom lip. He was absolutely amazing in every way possible, and she loved him so much that it hurt sometimes. "How are you so sure it's going to be a girl, though? What if it's a little boy? And he's an amazing singer just like his daddy, and he loves to play video games and jam out to Metallica when he thinks nobody is listening?" She honestly didn't know what she wanted. She hadn't really had time to think about it. But now that she was laying here, and hearing Matt talk about having a little girl, she could totally picture them having a little girl. She smiled at the thought, resting her hand on her stomach.

"Say I'm a lot smarter than you think I am, Daddy," Robyn laughed, smiling as she watched Jimmy with Jace. Seeing them side by side made her realize how much Jace looked like Jimmy, like a miniature version of him. Robyn nodded when Jimmy said that it was her turn to hide hurrying out of the room as they started counting. She went into her and Jimmy's bedroom, laying down on her stomach and sliding underneath the bed. Their bed skirt hung low enough so that it was pretty hard to see underneath the bed without actually kneeling down at lucky. But even then, Robyn knew this was a pretty obvious hiding spot. Down the hall, she heard the boys finish counting, and Jace's little giggle as he scurried out of the bathroom to start looking made her heart so happy it almost hurt. Right now was one of those times that made her suddenly remember how much she loved Jimmy and Jace and their little family. This was all she'd wanted when she was growing up, and now she had it. And it was so perfect.

---

"I don't know about perfect, Cass," Matt murmured, smiling softly as she brushed her thumb across his bottom lip. "I'm so sure it's going to be a girl because that's what I want," he said, pressing his face into her shoulder. "I mean, I would be happy with a little boy, you know, a little mini-me, but for some reason I just really want a little girl. She'd be a daddy's girl, I just know it. And I'd always be able to protect her. And hell, I bet my nails would always be painted and you know how much I love having my nails done." Matt laughed at himself, moving up and pressing a kiss to Cassie's cheek. "We should start thinking of names and shit," he said next. "For both, since we don't know what we're having." Matt was just so excited to get this started, his little family with Cassie. He was still a little scared, but if he just thought about their baby and holding it in his arms, he felt so much better.

Jimmy was nervous. More nervous than he'd been in a while. It was the first show that Jace was ever coming to, and he was terrified. He didn't want anything to happen to his little boy. He knew deep down that Robyn wouldn't let anything happen to him, but there was always that voice in the back of his head that told him anything could go wrong. And he guessed that was just the fatherly instinct he had in him. He drummed on the wall, on the table, on Johnny's shoulders, on anything. He knew Jace would be okay. He just knew it.

"Dude, calm down," Zacky said. "You're making everyone else nervous."

"Yeah, and quit fucking hitting me with your drumsticks."

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Fuck you guys," he said. "Just wait until you have children." He glanced over when the door opened, Robyn walking in with Jace in her arms, two little orange earplugs in his ears. Cassie walked in behind her, shutting the door and immediately going to Matt's side. Jimmy walked over to Robyn, grinning. "Hey." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, as well as Jace's. "I'm glad you two are here. It means a lot to me."

---

Cassie followed Robyn into the venue, and backstage, grinning when she saw Matt. She instantly rushed over to him, leaning up and kissing his lips. "Hey handsome," she murmured. "You look amazing." She was now eight weeks pregnant, and the cravings and hormones were starting to get intense. One minute she'd be happy, then the next she'd be in tears. Some days were better than others, but overall, she was generally a happy person while pregnant. She was super excited to be at the show tonight, because it had felt like forever since she'd seen the guys perform and now she would finally get to again. She'd listened to all their songs and had loved every single one of them. Except maybe the one with Val in it. Well, it would have been better without Val, but she guessed she couldn't really complain.

"Why I gotta wear these, Mommy?" Jace asked, trying to pull one of his ear buds out.

Robyn reached down to stop him. "Because it's going to be loud at the concert, buddy," she said. She scooped him into her arms and walked with Cassie to the backstage area for the stage the guys were performing on. It wasn't the main stage, but it still looked like there was going to be a pretty decent sized crowd for the guys. This was so much different than their earlier shows, when Robyn was sometimes the only person in the audience besides someone who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was excited for the guys, because they'd worked so hard and they deserved this more than anyone Robyn could think of. "Well we know how important this is to you guys," Robyn said, smiling at Jimmy. "And Jace is very excited for his first concert. Aren't you, baby?"

"Yeah!" Jace exclaimed, bouncing in Robyn's arms. "I can play on stage too, Daddy?"

---

Matt stood off to the side of the little area they'd been given backstage, watching the guys' antics, particularly Jimmy, who thought Johnny made an adequate drum pad. He was extremely nervous about today, not only because this was probably the biggest crowd they'd ever performed in front of, but also because he had something very special in mind for Cassie. He'd been thinking very hard about this since they'd found out that she was pregnant, and ultimately he decided that it was the best thing to do. They needed to be a family. Matt smiled as Cassie approached him, slipping his arm around her waist as she kissed him. "Well you look absolutely stunning," Matt said, glad to see that Cassie was in a good mood. "I'm really glad you're here. Are you excited for your first ever Avenged Sevenfold concert? If you weren't pregnant I'd say you could jump in the mosh pit, but I guess you, Robyn, and Jace could start your own on the side stage. Just try not to get overheated, it's pretty damn hot out here and we can't have little mini-me getting hurt. You either, of course."

Jimmy laughed softly at Jace's enthusiasm, glad he was excited to be here. It warmed his heart so much to know that Jace was so supportive of him and his music, as well as Robyn. As much as he knew David probably secretly wished he'd get a "real" job to support Robyn and Jace, it made him incredibly happy that his wife and son didn't feel that way. "I wish you could," he said. "But it'll be too loud for you, and way too much excitement." He glanced over at the stage and thought for a brief moment. "Maybe at the end, you could come out and see everyone, but not until then, okay? And Mommy has to approve too. So maybe while we're playing, you should try to convince her." He smiled at Robyn and gave her a knowing look before pressing kisses to both of their foreheads.

"You're on!"

Jimmy took a deep breath and reached up to ruffle Jace's hair. "I hope you like it," he said, knowing it shouldn't really matter what Jace thought of their show, but it did. It meant the world to him what Jace thought.

---

Cassie grinned, nodding her head. "I'm really excited," she said. "And don't even worry about me. I'll be fine, I promise." She pecked his lips before taking his hand and placing it over her stomach. She was still finding it hard to believe that she was pregnant, but it had sunken in quite a bit after she'd told her mom. Susan had been so excited and happy to hear she was having a grandchild, especially after losing Clarissa. But not only that, she'd agreed to help Matt and Cassie out with finding an apartment. Cassie had been beyond excited about that, because the longer she stayed with Matt's parents, the worse she felt about it. They would be moving out soon though, hopefully. She felt it was way past due for them to be living together. She glanced over at Robyn and Jimmy with Jace, biting her lip gently as she pictured herself with Matt and their little baby years from now, in the same position. She looked up at Matt as she slid her arms around his neck, running her fingers through the short strands of hair at the back of his neck. "Have fun out there, baby." She leaned up and kissed his lips again before pulling away, butterflies swirling around in her stomach.

"Not too loud Daddy, got these orange things!" Jace shouted, pointing to the ear buds in his ears. He pouted when Jimmy continued to say no, but his face brightened when Jimmy mentioned that Jace might be able to go out at the end of the show. "Good luck, Daddy!" Jace shouted, waving at Jimmy as the guys took the stage.

Robyn placed Jace on his feet, holding onto his hand so he wouldn't run off. He was absolutely bouncing on his feet, he was so excited, and Robyn thought that he might try to run out to Jimmy. Jace wanted to show off his drum skills, too. "Here Jace, do your hand like this," Robyn said, showing Jace the rock symbol with her free hand. "Now raise your arm into the air and wave your hand back and forth. And that's how you do the rock and roll symbol! See, all the people in the crowd are doing it, too." She laughed as Jace finally spotted the crowd, his eyes going wide as he saw how many people there were. "All of those people wanted to come and hear your daddy's band. Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah!" Jace exclaimed, shaking his little rock symbol in the air. "Go Daddy!"

---

Matt grinned as Cassie took his hand and placed it over her belly. She was about eight weeks along right now, and things were finally starting to really sink in. Cassie was having a baby, he was going to be a dad. He was glad she'd finally told her mother, especially because her mother was going to help them look for their own apartment. Matt was so excited to be moving out of his parents' house and into an apartment with Cassie like he should have years ago, if he hadn't fucked things up. "Thanks Cass," Matt said, grinning as he kissed her again before he headed out onstage. "How the fuck are we doing Long Beach?" Matt shouted into the microphone. He was met was a chorus of cheers, and a wide grin split his face. This was his dream right here, coming true. Avenged Sevenfold was something, they were almost a month into their Warped Tour run, and all of these people here, they were here to see them. Matt gave Jimmy the signal and they careened off into the first song, Matt so full of energy he thought he might bounce off the stage.

Jimmy chuckled at Jace's reaction, shaking his head. He smiled as he walked out on stage, getting behind his drum kit and glancing over at Robyn and Jace. It was hard to see them from where he was sitting, but he could still see them. And he could just make out the cheesy grin on Jace's face. As they started their first song, Jimmy focused on the crowd, playing his heart out. He happened to glance over and see Jace holding out the rock symbol. He smirked slightly, turning his attention back onto the drums. He wondered if one day, Jace would be in the same position, rocking out with a band of his own, slaying on the drums. He already enjoyed playing the drums so much, and honestly Jimmy wouldn't be surprised if Jace wanted to follow in his footsteps. But at the same time, he'd be happy and support Jace no matter what he wanted to do.

---

Cassie grinned as she watched Matt go on stage with the rest of the guys, standing by Robyn. She giggled softly at Jace, getting butterflies in her stomach at the thought of her little baby cheering on Matt. She was more excited now than she'd been four weeks ago, and she knew that excitement was only going to grow. "Jace, your daddy is the best drummer in the world," she said, laughing softly at the cheesy grin he had on his face. The love he had for his father made Cassie's heart just want to explode from happiness. She sang along softly with Matt, having remembered the words from this one song that they were playing. It would probably take a few more listens on the other songs to remember all the lyrics but she definitely would with time. It was hard to learn over twenty songs all at once. She grinned when the song ended and cheered from the sidelines with the rest of the crowd, feeling like a proud mama. Her boys were all grown up, and she was so proud of them.

Jace only got more excited as the first song started, bouncing so much Robyn actually thought he might fall over. She knew he was eager to get out on stage, but he was just going to have to wait until the show was over. She smiled when Cassie spoke to Jace, laughing at the way he nodded. "Yeah, best ever!" Jace shouted. He tugged on Robyn's hand. "Me go play too now, Mommy!"

Robyn pulled it back. "No, no, you've got to wait," she said. Jace pouted, stomping his feet. "You won't get to go at all if you don't stop pouting. You want to go play the drums with your Daddy, don't you?" Jace nodded. "Then you stay right here until I tell you that you can go." Jace huffed but stopped tugging at Robyn's hand. She showed him the rock symbol again, hoping to distract him, and it seemed to work. She looked over at Jimmy, grinning when she saw the look of concentration on his face. He always looked so intense when he was playing onstage; he had such passion for his drumming and his music, and it showed. She was so proud of Jimmy and the other guys for not giving up on their dreams. They'd worked so hard and they were so talented and they deserved every bit of what they had with Avenged Sevenfold.

---

Matt finished up with the first song and wasted no time in starting in on the second, continuing to just bounce around the stage. Occasionally he would spot Cassie out of the corner of his eyes and he would remember what he planned to do and he would get a little nervous. He knew Cassie loved him and there was no doubt in his mind that she would say yes, but it still made him nervous. This was such an important moment for them as couple and as a budding family, and Matt wanted it to be perfect. When it was finally time for the band to play Warmness on the Soul, Matt decided this was the perfect time, since he'd written this song for Cassie. He went over to the side stage and took Cassie's hand, pulling her out onto the stage with him. "So before we start the next song, I've got something important I need to do," Matt announced to the crowd. He turned to Cassie. "Cassie. You know how much I love you. You've put up with so much of my bullshit and you're still standing by my side and you have no idea how much that means to me. And you're having my fucking baby. Jesus. Anyway, I decided that before our baby is born, we should be a real family. So..." Matt trailed off as he reached into his pocket to pull out the ring box, getting down on one knee. He opened the box. "Cassandra Hendrix, will you marry me?"

Jimmy drummed on his thighs as he watched Matt walk off to the side of the stage to get Cassie. He already knew this was going to happen because Matt had approved it with all of them first before he finalized it. Jimmy didn't think Matt needed their approval, but it was kind of cool to know their approval meant so much. He glanced over at Robyn and saw she was struggling a bit to keep Jace in line. He was tempted to go grab him and bring him out just to get it over with, but he didn't want to ruin Matt and Cassie's moment. He knew Matt probably wouldn't care, but Cassie was pregnant and if he'd learned anything from when Robyn was pregnant, it was not to mess with a pregnant woman. They were vicious little fuckers and if you so as looked at them wrong, they would bite your head off. He bit his lip and hopped off stage real quick, going over to Jace. "Hey," he said. "If you don't start acting good for Mommy, you're not going on stage at all. Understand me?"

---

Cassie was enjoying the music, but became totally caught off guard when she saw Matt approaching her. Her brows furrowed in confusion when he took her hand. When he began to drag her towards the stage, she shook her head quickly. "Matt, no," she muttered, frowning when he dragged her out anyways. Her eyes widened when she saw all the people, her heart dropping to the pit of her stomach. Oh god, there were so many people. She turned her attention to Matt, totally confused by what was going on. Did he want her to sing with him or something? But then when she heard everything he had to say, her heart jumped back up into her throat. She watched as he got down on one knee, her heart pounding in her chest. Was this really happening? She felt like she could faint. She looked at the sea of people who began shouting "say yes!" She looked back at Matt, looking him over. She wanted nothing more than to marry him, to be with him forever with their little baby, when it came. She swallowed the lump in her thrust and quickly nodded her head, her body shaking slightly from anxiety. "Y-yes," she squeaked.

Robyn grinned when Matt came over to take Cassie onto the stage. She knew what was happening because Jimmy couldn't keep a secret to save his life, and honestly, she'd had a hard time keeping the secret herself. She'd been rooting for Matt and Cassie for so long and now they were going to get engaged. Of course, as soon as he saw that Cassie was going out onto the stage, Jace started fighting to go out as well, whining when Robyn held him back. She was ready to swat him on the bottom but then she noticed Jimmy slip away from his drumset and head towards them. Jace noticed as well and he shrunk back against Robyn. Jimmy was usually the 'good cop' when it came to their parenting, but he could be disciplinary when he needed to be, and Jace knew that. Jace hung his head when Jimmy started to scold him. "Understand," he huffed, keeping his gaze on Jimmy's feet.

"So you're going to be good now?" Robyn asked. Jace just nodded. "Okay, then you stay right here beside me and watch the stage. Something really special is happening for Aunt Cassie and Uncle Matt!"

---

Matt was a little worried when Cassie didn't say yes right away. Maybe doing this was a bad idea. What if she said no and rejected him in front of all of these people? He'd only done it like this so he could show everyone and Cassie how much he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. At least, that had been his logic. When Cassie finally nodded her head and said yes, Matt felt relieved. At least he hadn't been turned down in front of all of these people. Matt slipped the ring onto her finger, tossing the box over to Johnny before he got to his feet. The audience cheered as he kissed Cassie and he brushed his thumb over her cheek as he pulled away. "I don't think you have any idea how happy you just made me," Matt whispered to her. He pulled her over to the piano and had her sit down next to him as he started to play Warmness on the Soul, singing the words to her.

"I'm glad we're on the same page," Jimmy said, reaching down and ruffling Jace's hair. He smiled at Robyn before he went back on stage, taking his place back at his drum set. He sat and watched Matt and Cassie, observing the little scene before him. It made him wonder if he'd been grand enough when proposing to Robyn. Obviously not as grand as this, but he'd put his heart into it and had even gotten permission from David and Connie. He just wondered if maybe he should have done something even bigger. Maybe he could re-propose to her? He wasn't sure how she would feel about that, and he didn't want her to feel like he was only doing it just because Matt had proposed. He shook his head. No, Robyn wasn't like that. He was sure she was content with the way he had proposed. Besides, it wasn't about how grand the gesture was, it was the thought that mattered when it came down to it.

---

Cassie followed Matt, sitting beside him. She felt her heart swell when he began singing to her, the thought of everyone else in the crowd disappearing. All she could focus on right now was Matt and how absolutely perfect he was. How did she get so lucky? Especially after everything she'd ever put him through. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment, just enjoying his voice and the music. She absentmindedly placed her hand on her stomach, thinking about their baby. She could picture him holding their baby, singing to her. Well, since he insisted it was a girl. She could see him being the overprotective dad too. She opened her eyes and tilted her head up, kissing his cheek. "I love you," she murmured, although he probably wouldn't be able to hear her over the music and the crowd. Well, one thing was for sure, he'd definitely given the crowd a show.

Jace pouted a bit as he stood by Robyn, clutching onto her leg. He still seemed a little upset that it wasn't his turn to go out on stage, but he didn't fight with Robyn. Robyn grinned as she watched what was happening onstage. She was so happy for Matt and Cassie, because they were absolutely perfect for each other. And they were having a baby, so they would be a little family. She did have to admit though, she was a little jealous that Cassie got to be serenaded onstage. She supposed that was one of the benefits of being engaged to a singer. But Jimmy was romantic in his own ways, when he tried to be. Maybe Robyn could talk him into taking her on a date, just a simple dinner and a movie, because God knows it had been a long time since they'd been on one of those. They hadn't really had any alone time since their honeymoon. As the show went on, Jace started to get antsy again, and when Matt announced the last song, he looked up at Robyn with a pout.

"I wanna play drums, Mommy!" he whined. He looked over at Jimmy. "Daddy! Daddy, I want to play now!" Somehow he managed to wiggle his hand out of Robyn's grasp and went running out onto the stage before she could grab him and pull him back.

"Jace Evander Sullivan, you get your butt back here!"

---

Matt smiled when he felt Cassie kiss his cheek, although he couldn't quite make out what she was whispering in his ear. When the song was over, Matt stood up from the piano, walking Cassie back over to the side of the stage near Robyn. He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles, mouthing to her that he loved her before he went back out onto the stage. Now Matt had even more energy than before, and he channeled it all into his singing. There was no better than the feeling he had right now: performing with his best friends in front of an amazing crowd, and now he had the knowledge that in a the foreseeable future, he would get to marry Cassie. And they were having a baby and they were going to have their own little family and everything was just perfect. Matt had just announced the last song when he heard shouting from the side of the stage. He looked over and saw Jace running onto the stage, going straight to Jimmy at the drumset. "Uh..." Matt moved the microphone away from his mouth and looked over at Jimmy. "So...what's going on?"

Jimmy heard Robyn shouting, and he looked over just in time for Jace to reach him. His eyes widened slightly and he looked over at Matt, staring blankly at him. Okay, so truthfully, he totally wasn't ready for fans to know about Jace yet. He didn't want Jace to be in the public eye, it just wasn't fair for him. But now he had no choice. He lifted Jace up into his lap and looked at Matt. "Just give him a minute," he said, pleading with his eyes. He handed Jace the drumsticks, allowing him to play for a moment on the drums. He would have to punish him later, of course, but for right now, he was going to let Jace have his little moment. Jimmy had promised it to him, and it was only fair that he got it. After playing on the drums for a moment, Jimmy gently took the drumsticks from Jace. "Go back to Mommy," he said, setting him down off of his lap. "I'll see you after the show's over, okay?"

"I wan' play more!" Jace whined.

Jimmy frowned. "Jace, go now," he snapped. The look on his son's face absolutely broke his heart, and he instantly regretted talking to him that way. Before he got the chance to apologize, Jace took off to the side of the stage to Robyn.

---

Cassie smiled brightly at Matt, watching him walk back on stage and start the next song. Her heart swelled and she looked down at her ring, tears forming in her eyes. It was finally processing in her brain that he had proposed to her. She was going to marry him, and they were going to have a baby together. She was torn from her thoughts when she heard Robyn shouting at Jace, looking down to see him rushing towards the stage. She tried to catch him, but she wasn't quick enough. "Dammit," she cursed. She watched Jimmy, smiling slightly when he let the little boy play a bit on the drums. After he was finished, she watched Jimmy's facial expression turn a bit sour, and then Jace came running back over, tears pouring from his eyes. She frowned deeply, watching as Jace clutched onto Robyn's legs and sobbed into her jeans.

Robyn didn't know what to do as Jace ran out onto the stage. She knew that Jimmy had promised him that he could come out and play when the show was over, but she knew their son wanted to play for the audience. He wasn't shy by any means, and he didn't care who saw him. But Robyn didn't want the fans to see Jace when he was still so young, and she knew Jimmy felt the same way. After a few minutes, an unhappy looking Jimmy sent Jace back to Robyn, and she frowned when he latched onto her legs, crying into her jeans. "Jace, what's the matter?" she asked, moving him away from her legs. He looked up at her, tears brimming his blue little eyes, and her heart broke.

"Daddy yell at me!" Jace shouted.

Robyn knew already that that was a lie; Jimmy never yelled at Jace and she'd been watching the entire time. Jimmy never raised his voice. He probably just snapped at Jace, and the toddler just wasn't used to Jimmy being firm with him and not giving him what he wanted. "Your daddy didn't yell at you, baby. You weren't supposed to go out on stage yet and he was telling you to leave. You're lucky he didn't make you come back as soon as you went out there."

---

Matt just shrugged his shoulders when Jimmy lifted Jace into his lap. If Jimmy was going to let Jace play, then Matt was going to have to go along with it. "Well, looks like we've got a little guest drummer," Matt said, laughing into the microphone as he addressed the audience. He didn't want to let the crowd know who Jace was, figuring that part of it was up to Jimmy and Robyn, since Jace was their son. When Jimmy sent Jace away, Matt had the audience cheer for the little boy, seeing that he didn't look very happy and figuring this might help him feel a little better. Looking around to make sure everything was okay, Matt started on the last song, bidding the crowd goodbye before hurrying off the stage. "That was fu--freaking incredible," Matt said, quickly diverting his word when he noticed Jace. He looked over at Cassie with a grin. "So how did you enjoy your first ever Avenged Sevenfold concert?"

Jimmy walked off stage after the final song ended, immediately making his way over to Robyn and Jace. He could hear and see how upset Jace was, and while he wanted to just completely forget the situation had ever happened, he couldn't. Jace needed to be disciplined, and Jimmy wasn't going to be known as the pushover parent. He knelt down in front of Jace and lightly swatted his butt. "I brought you to this show because I thought you were mature enough to handle it, but I guess I was wrong," he said sternly. "If you keep acting up, there won't be a next time, do you understand me? Now you listen to your mother, and you do as you're told, or you'll go straight to bed when we get home." He stood up and walked over to get some water, parched. He wasn't usually one to scold or discipline Jace, in fact he usually was the one who egged him on. But when it came down to him running on stage like that, it was so dangerous. It was different. This wasn't him at home getting into something he shouldn't get into. There were hundreds of people here who could have jumped on stage to try and take him, or he could have slipped and fallen or hurt himself. It just wasn't a place to be running around at.

---

Cassie frowned as she watched Robyn and Jace, knowing the little boy was heartbroken. She wanted to tell him that it was okay, but she also didn't want to interfere with Robyn and Jimmy's parenting either. When the show finally ended, she narrowed her eyes at Matt as he walked up to her. She stepped towards him and reached up, playfully and gently slapping his cheek. "Matthew Charles Sanders, how could you do that to me, in front of hundreds of people?" she exclaimed, reaching up and grabbing his jaw. She pulled his face down to hers and grinned, kissing him softly. "But it was so romantic, I can't even stay mad at you." She slid her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, still trying to process the fact that he'd proposed. It was just a big thing for her to take in, because it had been completely unexpected.

Robyn knew as soon as she saw Jimmy approaching that he was still a little upset with Jace. She was a little surprised when he swatted Jace on the bottom, and Jace was obviously surprised as well. She could see the look in his eyes change from heartbreak to fury as Jimmy scolded him, and when Jimmy walked away to get a drink of water, Jace balled up his little fists and called out after him. "I hate you, Daddy!" he screamed. "I hate you!"

"Jace Evander Sullivan, you do not talk to your Daddy that way," Robyn hissed, swatting him on the bottom. "I want you to apologize to Daddy. Now."

Jace turned his frown on her. "No!" he shouted. "Daddy's mean! I hate him!"

Robyn opened her mouth to say something else, but realized there was no use. She couldn't argue with an angry four year old. She picked Jace up and carried him into the bathroom, making sure it was otherwise empty before she gave his bottom a hard smack. Jace obviously wasn't expecting that, and the shock showed on his face. She couldn't remember him ever getting an actual spanking before. Robyn crouched down in front of Jace, making sure she had his full attention before she spoke. "Now you listen to me," she started. "There was absolutely no need for you to talk to your Daddy that way. And you probably hurt his feelings when you said that."

---

Matt gasped when Cassie slapped his cheek, grinning as she playfully scolded him. "As long as you thought it was romantic," Matt said, kissing her again. He was glad she wasn't too upset with him, because he'd been worried that she might be. Some women liked big public shows of affection and some didn't, and Matt had really been taking a gamble with his proposal. But she'd said yes and that was all that mattered. "I'm so glad you said yes," Matt whispered into Cassie's ear. "Not that I thought you would say no or anything, but I'm just so happy. Everything is just falling into place, you know? We're getting married, we're getting an apartment, and we're having a fucking baby. I can't believe it." He pulled back and leaned down to kiss Cassie again, smiling against her lips. He couldn't wait until a little more time had passed and they were married and their baby was here and his band was doing better than ever and he could laugh in the faces of the people who told him he'd never get anywhere in life. "We should do something to celebrate, before we move on to the next show," Matt said, smiling at Cassie. "There's tons of stuff we can do in Long Beach. Movies, dinner, maybe even dancing. But it's whatever you want, Cass baby. What do you want to do?"

Jimmy stopped dead in his tracks, his heart cracking and shattering into a million pieces when he heard Jace's words. Before he had time to fully process the situation, Robyn was carrying him out of the room and Jimmy stood there, speechless.

"You okay, man?" Johnny asked.

Jimmy blinked and looked down at Johnny, slowly nodding. "Y-yeah," he stammered. "Fine." He took a sip of his water and walked outside of the venue, out to the parking lot. He needed some fresh air, and some time to think. He was so confused and conflicted right now, and he was feeling a wave of emotions he'd never felt before. He was totally heartbroken, to think his own son hated him. Someone he loved so dearly. He let out a shaky breath, not even realizing it as tears began to pool in his eyes until his vision became blurry. When he felt something wet hit his cheek, he reached up and quickly wiped the tear away, sniffling and shaking his head. He rubbed at his eyes with the backs of his hands, sighing heavily. He felt extremely guilty now for talking to Jace the way he did, and he wished he could take it back.

---

Cassie bit her lip as she thought, grinning. "Maybe we could get a hotel room for the night," she suggested quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear. "It could just be you and me, and we could have all night together." She did like the idea of going dancing, though. That wasn't something she'd done in a long time. "I do like the idea of dancing, though." She reached up, gently touching his cheek and looking into his eyes. In this moment, she couldn't be any more in love with him. She wanted to just go to Vegas and get married right now. But at the same time, she'd been one of those girls who always wanted a big wedding, so at the same time, she didn't want to do that either.

"You guys make me sick," Brian teased as he walked by, making a gagging noise.

Cassie rolled her eyes, taking Matt's hand and pulling him out of the room. She led him down the hall and into a separate room where they could just talk, the two of them without anyone else around.

Jace just sort of stared at Robyn. He still looked furious - well, as furious as a four year old could - and she doubted his opinion of Jimmy had changed in the past few minutes. He was just so used to Jimmy giving him whatever he wanted. "Don't care," he finally said. "Daddy's mean. He yell at me! I hate him!"

"Stop saying that," Robyn scolded, swatting Jace's bottom again. His blue eyes welled up with tears. "You do not hate your Daddy. And he only yelled at you because you did something bad. We told you to wait until we said it was okay before you went out on the stage, but you ran out anyway. Now we're going to go back outside there and you're going to apologize to your Daddy. And give him a big hug and kiss. Because he loves you very much and I know you hurt him by saying you hated him." Robyn hadn't missed the absolutely heartbroken look on Jimmy's face when Jace had shouted at him. Even though they both knew Jace didn't mean it, it had definitely stung Jimmy to hear those words coming from his son's mouth, Robyn just knew it. She grabbed Jace's hand and took him back out to Jimmy. "Now, apologize to your Daddy," she instructed.

---

"Well, if we got a room, we'd have to leave pretty early in the morning," Matt said. "We're supposed to leave at seven to get on the road for the next show. But I don't mind if you don't. And we'll definitely go dancing too, if that's what you want." Matt raised his middle finger into the air at Brian as he walked by. He didn't particularly care to have Brian's input on any part of his relationship with Cassie, since deep down he still hadn't forgiven the guitarist for sleeping with Cassie the last time. Matt followed Cassie down the hall when she pulled him away, wondering why she was taking him away from everyone else. If they were going to go dancing and then get a hotel room with enough time to enjoy each other before they went to bed. "We should probably get going soon, baby," Matt said, kissing her lips softly. "I know you want to spend a little alone time together, and so do I. And I'll need to go to bed a little early since I have to get up so early. So come on, I'll call us a cab."