Best Man

Footsteps on the hardwood floor of the dining room echoed off the walls as Mike stepped into the living room.

With a pair of jeans donning his long legs and a gray, thermal shirt with its sleeves rolled up three quarters of the way, he looked quite comfortable as he took his long, black coat which he had draped over his arm and set it on the floor as he crouched down before the couch where Caroline was sleeping; curled up in a tight cocoon of a ball.

Kneeling and sitting on the heels of his feet, the blue-eyed bassist leaned forward to push the blanket off of her face to take a look at her.

And he smiled.

"Hey, sleepy. Wake up," he spoke softly.

Caroline stirred instantly and blinked a few times when she lifted her head. "Wha--?"

"What're you doin' on the floor? Did you lose a battle with the couch?" he laughed.

Slowly sitting up, Caroline pushed her hair out of her eyes and smacked her lips from morning cotton mouth. "I was watching Craig Ferguson. And, uh..." she trailed, remembering only bits and pieces of what went on with Tre for the moment. "I sat down on the floor and I dunno. I guess this is just where I fell asleep."

"Well, it can't be too comfortable down here," he remarked, holding out his hands to help her up to her feet. "When I woke up this morning, I was confused as to why you weren't there. I called out to you and got nothing. So I thought, well, maybe you came to bed and woke up before me and were downstairs."

"Nope," she shook her head once she was on her feet. "Been down here the entire time."

"So I was alone in that big bed all night without the mother of my unborn child?" he pouted playfully; dipping his chin to his chest so that he was at some sort of level to brush his nose against hers.

"It won't happen again, I promise," she swore with a smirk on her lips. "But if you think about it, the more often I don't sleep in the same bed, the more it makes you want me."

"Don't get me started," he grumbled, pulling her against him so that he could kiss the top of her head. When he moved apart, Mike studied her sleepy face for a moment and then placed a hand on her shoulder and then to the back of her neck to massage it subconsciously. "Do you know when that doctor's calling about the DNA results?"

Caroline shrugged. "All he said was that they'd be ready by this morning and he'd call me personally. That's all."

"Well, I really want to be here for you when the call comes in."

Giving her fiance a knowing look, Caroline shook her head. "No. You have a studio to get to so you can make rock history with yet another awesome album to add to your repertoire."

"Repertoire? Ooh, you make me sound so fancy," he muttered in a lispy voice, that bordered on the gay side.

Laughing, the hazel-eyed woman rolled her eyes and reached her hands out to spin Mike around and give him a gentle shove out of the living room as she followed behind him; the blanket falling from her body and landing soundlessly to the floor.

The two of them sauntered together through the dining room and then into the kitchen when Mike muttered something about forgetting he left his jacket on the living room floor. So, in a matter of seconds, Caroline scurried to retrieve it and hand it over to her lover, but only after getting a few soft kisses on her lips.

Pulling away with a lazy smile on her face as Mike put his coat on, Caroline grabbed both of the lapels and pulled him up against him with a hungry force while biting her lip playfully. And that gesture alone was starting to get Mike quite hot and bothered.

Standing on tiptoe and nestling her nose against the skin of his neck, she made a very audible intake of breath as she turned her head only a bit to kiss his Adam's apple.

"You smell awesome."

Flashing Caroline a bashful smile once they'd separated, Mike fisted a handful of her hair and kissed her smack on the lips and nipped at the bottom one that always drove him mad.

"Now I really wanna stay here."

A series of giggles escaped Caroline's mouth as she stepped away from him and moved to the fridge and took out a carton of whole milk and drank straight from it instead of pouring herself a glass.

"And there's the graceful woman I fell in love with," he teased; gesturing to her milk drinking habit.

When she was finished with a few chugs, she wiped her mouth and set the carton back in the fridge. "I'll tell ya what," she began; resting her hands on her hips. "You go to the studio and play nice with your friends for a few hours and if I get wind that you were a good boy, maybe I'll be a bad girl for you later."

Mike's blue eyes twinkled at the thought of Caroline being a 'bad girl.' "Sounds like a plan."

"What sounds like a plan?" came Billie Joe's voice as he appeared in the kitchen; dressed in a pair of black dickies and his blue and black striped T-shirt he'd had for the last ten years and couldn't bring himself to part with.

"Caroline's gonna be a bad girl for me if I promise to be a good boy."

Billie Joe snickered. "Gotta love the irony in that."

The guitarist's green eyes floated over to Caroline as she gave him a shy smile; and it put a bit of a sad weight on his heart to know he'd overheard everything that had gone on the night before between her and Tre, and she'd been unaware of it. And it also made him admire how strong she could be; to put on a brave face and smile like nothing was wrong when there was no doubt in his mind that hers had to be reeling with fears, doubts and other emotions that were running high.

"How you doin' this morning?" he asked her.

"Super," she replied blandly to her and Mike's friend.

Billie Joe didn't reply after that, but simply gave her soft smile. And as he did so, Tre plodded down the stairs and turned the quick corner to appear in the kitchen behind the older band member.

"We ready to go?" Tre inquired; his eyes cautious as the very discreetly looked over at Caroline who began to busy herself with mindless things in the kitchen.

Mike nodded. "Yep. Care's ready to kick me out. And now I have inspiration to bang out the best fucking bass lines ever," he added, leaning over to Caroline and giving her a quick squeeze on her ass as he placed his lips to her ear. "Call me when you find out the results from the doctor, okay?"

Caroline nodded. "Okay," she answered with a small voice; turning her head to meet his lips with hers. "Don't rush or anything, but come home soon."

As she dipped her chin, Mike dipped his as well and bent at the knees so his face was level with hers as he took a hold of her chin with his thumb and index finger; making her kiss him.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she whispered back.

Giving Caroline a wink, Mike let his hand linger on hers for a few seconds before stepping away and moving over to his friends. "Alright, let's go," he announced, grabbing the car keys from beside the microwave.

As the three men walked out of the house, Caroline let out an exasperated sigh and frowned at the couple of dirty dishes that were laying in the sink, just screaming to be put in the dishwasher to be cleaned when the side door swung open and a pair of footsteps resounded behind her.

For a split second she thought maybe it was Mike, returning for one more goodbye kiss, but then she also feared it might be Tre to make another pass at her. And she swallowed back a lump in her throat as she slowly turned around.

But before she could do so, a pair of arms went around her as a man's chest pressed against her back. When she felt the stubble of an unshaven face press against her cheek, her heart melted and she wanted to cry.

It was Billie Joe.

"Hang in there, hon. You'll be okay," he murmured, resting his chin on her shoulder.

A few tears began to sting Caroline's eyes as she dipped her head down and a dry sob escaped her lips.

"What am I supposed to do?"

And there it was. Caroline wasn't so oblivious after all. It was clear to the 37-year-old that she was aware he'd caught on to what was going on between her and Tre, and perhaps she knew he knew what had happened the night before as well.

"Just hang in there," he repeated, patting her stomach. "For your sake and your baby's."

"Adrienne's a lucky woman," she smiled, lifting a hand to wipe her tears away. "And so am I to have you as a friend."

"Yes, she is. And yes, you are," he laughed gently. "But don't go all mushy on me. You're a strong mama and a rockstar. You kick ass and take names later." Pressing his lips to her ear, he added, "Take care of yourself, and I'll take care of Tre."

He felt her tense at the mention of the drummer's name and it angered him.

Just when everyone thought the ex-lovers were on the mend, here Caroline was, at her wit's end about him.

Turning her body around, Caroline threw her arms around Billie Joe's neck and hugged him closely. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I can't bring myself to talk to Mike about this because I'm scared what it might do to him. To know Tre can't just let go completely, like I have."

Suddenly the car horn blared, and both friends turned their faces toward the kitchen door.

Giving her back a quick, soothing rub, Billie Joe pulled away after giving her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"You're like a little sister to me, Caroline. And I can't bring myself to letting you get hurt."

Without another word, but with a kiss to her cheek, the frontman sauntered away and exited the house; the door shutting quietly behind him.



About an hour or so after the three members of Green Day left for Chameleonwest, Caroline's cell phone rang and she just about ran all over the house to remember where she'd left it; finding it tucked away in her purse on the dining room table.

"Hello?" she said, a little out of breath as soon as she answered it.

"Miss Woods?"

"Speaking."

"Oh, hello, it's Dr. Reynolds and I have the blood test results."

"Great," Caroline muttered lamely.

"The results were positive match between you and Constance DiChristina. She was your mother, and given the circumstances, I feel I should also give my condolences."

"It's okay," she assured. "The private investigator I hired emailed me a copy of the picture he had of her, and it was like looking in the mirror, so in a way, I already knew she was my mother."

"Well, now you have the facts as well as the instinct," he added with a smile in his voice.

"I appreciate the call, Dr. Reynolds."

"You're welcome. And, again, congratulations on the baby."

"Thanks," she replied, hanging up after a quick goodbye. And not a few minutes later, after she sat at the dining room table to and letting the 'facts' sink in, her cell phone rang again. "Hi, Hank."

It was Hank Williams, the private investigator.

And, I know. Ironic that he had the same name as the famous country singer, right?

"Hey, Caroline. How'd the blood work test go?"

"Good. The DNA match was positive. Constance was my mom."

"That's what I thought, and..." he trailed. Caroline could hear the ruffling of some paper in the background. "I did more searching on Constance DiChristina and I found out who your father is, and I say 'is' because this guy's still alive."

Caroline's breath hitched.

"He is?"

"Yep," Hank replied. "His name's Alexander Rogers. He's a country and bluegrass musician from the Adirondacks. A small town called Peru, right outside the small city of Plattsburgh, on Lake Champlain. Rogers is his stage name though. His real last name is Leveille. It's French in origin."

"How old's he?"

"Fifty-seven," was Hank's reply. "I have a picture of him, too. If you want it I can email it to you right now as we speak."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." This was all so much to take in for Caroline that she was getting a bit flustered. "Do you have his phone number?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Give it to me," she replied with a certain amount of brass balls. "I wanna call him."