Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner

“Right, so, Lawrence.” Pete nodded. They had found a bench nearby to sit down so they could actually talk. “Apparently, that’s why Luci took off after the first show. Rose called, saying Lawrence fell off a ladder and broke his hip. Luci was ready to leave the tour to go help out, but that’s when Rose told her not to worry. It doesn’t seem to be that serious, but it’s really got Lu worried. That’s why she’s calling her grandma every night, making sure all is well. It’s causing stress, because she’s so scared she’ll lose him. He and Rose have taken care of her these past couple years.”

“She’s not going to lose him, though, right?” Patrick asked. “I mean, he is healthy, isn’t he?” Pete nodded, scuffing his shoe on the sidewalk. “Why is she so worried then? She needs to relax and start taking care of her daughter! Katy’s going to be a wreck if Luci doesn’t fuckin’ relax and start acting like a parent!”

Pete slapped himself on the forehead. “Jesus, ‘Trick… you need to stop attacking her like that. She’s sacrificed a lot for that little girl. You have no right to talkin’ shit! Mistakes happen, okay? That other night, when we left Katy… she was fast asleep, and so Joe and I were gonna run to the bus real quick to get something…”

“That’s a piss poor excuse! One of you could have stayed with her!” Patrick snapped. Why he was so protective of this little girl, he didn’t know. He just felt like he needed to protect her, so she wouldn’t ever get hurt like he was.

“God, we both screwed up! We were headed back but that’s when we ran into Luci! She was a mess, okay? Sobbing and saying she was going to leave the tour. So while the three of us were with her, that’s probably when Katy woke up. The boys from the other bands got a little rowdy, so that’s why she woke up. It wasn’t Luci who fucked up, it was me and Joe, okay?”

Patrick still looked a little unsure, but he couldn’t think of any more reason to fight it. He got to his feet, surveying the vans and bus next to the venue. “Think she’s back yet?”

“Doubt it. We would have seen her.” Pete replied, standing up and stretching out his arms.

“Think we should go looking for her?”

“Look for who?” The boys jumped, whirling around. Luci swayed a bit as she walked up to them. She looked exhausted. Patrick reached out to steady her, but she just slumped against him, sniffing. “He’s okay, really. They’re gonna let him go home and they got my brother there to help out.” Patrick nodded, wrapping his arms around her.

“Are you feeling better about it now?” Pete asked, reaching up to stroke her cheek. Patrick gave him a look and he backed off. Pete just gave Patrick a smirk as he turned to walk back to the bus. Luci nodded, leaning into Patrick as the trio made their way back to their bus.

“Yea… grandma threatened to find me and break my phone if I called one more time.” Luci sniffed.

“Sounds like Rose.” Pete mumbled, still smirking.

They made it onto the bus. As soon as they did, Katy launched herself off the couch and to Luci, throwing her arms around her mamma’s legs.

“Mamma’s back!” She cried, not daring to let go. Andy jolted awake, startled by the noises. He was relieved that it was just Luci and stretched out on the couch.

“Good news still?” He asked, adjusting his glasses a bit. Luci nodded, pulling herself away from Patrick to sit on the couch with Andy. Katy followed after her, crawling into her lap the second she sat down.

“So, baby girl, why are you still awake? It’s past one am.” Luci asked, brushing Katy’s bangs out of her eyes. Katy just shrugged and stayed on her mamma’s lap, clutching her panda in one arm while she sucked on the thumb of her other hand.

“She refused to sleep unless ‘Trick sang to her.” Pete explained, trying to stifle a yawn. Patrick shrugged and took a seat next to Luci. The second he did that, though, Katy was in his lap, curling herself up while he wrapped his arms around her.

“I did promise too…” Patrick murmured. He was tired, though, but he did make a promise. Andy let out a sigh and gave Luci a sideways hug before he got up, mumbling something about getting some sleep. Pete followed a minute later, stumbling off to the bunks, leaving the three alone.

Luci sighed and looked at her daughter, who was nestled in Patrick’s arms. “C’mon, Katy Rose, let’s get you to bed.” She reached out to take her, but Katy just squealed and tried to cling to Patrick. He just smiled, rubbing Katy’s back.

“It’s okay, really… I don’t mind.” He said, leaning back into the couch some more, cradling Katy. She was barely awake, still sucking her thumb as she gazed up at him expectantly. He took her fist, pulling it away from her mouth. “Hey, now, don’t wanna have a bad habit, do you?” She pouted but didn’t fight him, looking ready to fall asleep.

“You owe her a lullaby.” Luci whispered, looking like she was ready to fall asleep. Patrick nodded, looking down at Katy as he sang the lullaby to her.

//

When Joe walked onto the bus that night, he was shocked, yet glad, to see Patrick and Luci asleep on the couch with each other, with Katy still sitting on Patrick’s lap. He knew he should have just kept walking, but he couldn’t resist pulling out a camera, snapping a few photos of the happy ‘family’.