Best Man

It was the last day to spend in the Adirondack home of Caroline's birth father before making the seven-hour car ride back to Buffalo where life would go back to its routine and this short vacation, in which time seemed to stand still, would come to an end.

The hazel-eyed, soon-to-be 29-year-old woman finally had answers to questions that had been burning in her heart for almost as many years as she'd been old enough to form proper thought in her mind.

The whos, whats, wheres, whys, and hows had been learnt and began to fill the void.

Especially, Caroline's inquiry as to her eye color.

She'd always wondered if she had her birth mother or her birth father's eye color. And, as it turns out, she had neither.

She had both.

Alex had blue, Constance had brown. Together they made a blend.

Hazel.

And it was just another reminder to her that she had a mix of her birth parents always in her. Whenever she looked in the mirror, at her eyes' reflection, she'd be seeing them always.

Now, as she sat in the basement studio off the finished family room, on which whose sleeper sofa Billie Joe had been occupying for the last couple of nights, Caroline sat on an amp, her right arm linked with Timmy's, while Alex held onto one of his acoustic guitars.

Billie Joe had an electric guitar of Alex's in his possession, along with Mike who had a bass and Tre sat behind a smaller drumset than he was typically used to. But it was a Pearl drumset, so he couldn't actually complain.

And there all six of them sat, jamming like a big ol' family.

Performing a cover of Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain.' But, more slow and a little jazzy; with Caroline singing lead and Timmy adding some ad libbed vocals here and there while Alex and Billie Joe joined in for the chorus.

Listen to the wind blow
Watch the sun rise

Runnin' in the shadows
Damn your love
Damn your lies

And if you don't love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you sayin'
You would never break the chain
And if you don't love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you sayin'
You would never break the chain

Listen to the wind blow
Down comes the night

Runnin' in the shadows
Damn your love
Damn your lies

Break the silence
Damn the dark
Damn the light

And if you don't love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you sayin'
You would never break the chain
And if you don't love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you sayin'
You would never break the chain
And if you don't love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you sayin'...

And if you don't love me now...
And if you don't love me now...
And if you don't love me now...
(And if you don't love me now)
And if you don't love me now...
(And if you don't love me now)
And if you don't love me now...
(And if you don't love me now)
And if you don't love me now...
(And if you don't love me now)

And I can still hear you sayin'
You would never break the chain...

Tre had been keeping the general beat rather lightly and softly while Mike plucked the bass like he was seducing a beautiful woman and Billie Joe added more of the electric twang as Alex added the acoustic soul the song so rightly deserved. And Timmy's more soprano voice echoed the more breathy alto sound that escaped past Caroline's lips.

And it was a musical fusion if there ever was one.

When the song was over they all looked at each other and then began to laugh a little at how fun the moment had been in all its simplicity.

But it was Caroline who finally spoke up and bit her bottom lip as not to cry from all the emotions she was suddenly feeling.

"I wish we didn't have to leave so soon," she commented, hugging onto Timmy's waist. "Now I got two dads and two sisters. A girl couldn't ask for more."

Timmy turned her head and pouted a little. "Couldn't you stay a little longer?"

"We need to get back to Buffalo so Billie can get home to Oakland in time for his son's birthday. And Mike's feeling better to fly. We'll all be going home there until the wedding at least."

Mike, who was sitting on a stool across from Caroline, looked at her; catching her eye. "You got a date in mind?" he asked in surprise.

Caroline nodded. "A little over a week after your birthday. May 16th."

Mike's eyes widened. "That's barely over two months away."

"I know," she grinned, returning to bite her lip.

Letting out a very enthused sigh of relief, Mike leaned forward to set the bass down as he stood up and walked over to Caroline and pulled her into a tight embrace; kissing the corner of her mouth.

She simply smiled as they eventually pulled away to see everyone but Tre smiling like Cheshire cats. The drummer simply feigned his enthusiasm.

"Well, looks like you're gonna be spending every second of the next two months in planning," Billie Joe remarked.

"Your wedding to Adie took, what, two weeks of planning?" Caroline questioned. "I think we can handle two months." Looking up at Mike, she smirked. "You've always wanted a big wedding, well, I'm gonna give you just that."

Mike just stood there with his arms still encircled about her. "Here comes the bride..."



Almost three months pregnant and a little weirded out from bidding her Buffalo home adieu, Caroline found that sitting beside Mike on the plane ride home to Oakland was a serene one.

A week earlier they had returned from the Adirondack region and Billie Joe had already flown back with Tre the following day, while Mike and Caroline had waited a few days more to make sure their home was closed up, so to speak, for the time they wouldn't be there.

Mike spent a whole day with Lucy and Shawn, telling him he wanted them to come out to California for the wedding in May and that they should keep an eye out for plane reservations he'd be making for them.

Caroline did the same for Alex and Timmy, also informing Timmy that she would have to fly out during her spring break to get fitted for a bride's maid dress because Caroline wanted her newfound sister to be in the wedding party.

Being that she was deemed Maid of Honor, Giselle was the one to basically help organize the bulk of the wedding plans with Caroline, in-between her shifts at the hospital and lovelife with Tre.

Everyone was a group of busy bees with the sound of wedding bells ringing in the air.

Though still avoiding Tre like the plague, despite what Billie Joe had done to intervene, Caroline was trying to be discreet about the conflicted feelings she felt about her ex-boyfriend; with how she was nervous about if he'd let go of his underlying motives like Billie Joe had demanded of him, while wishing the two of them could for once just make a complete amends and be done with it.

Sure, he still affected her like he'd said that one night, but that was because of their history and the amount of intimacy they shared. They'd seen each other naked probably more times than they could count and it had been a wonderful experience while it lasted.

But that moment in time had come and passed for Caroline and wished so much that it could be the same for him.

And to hope Giselle would be oblivious to such feelings from both parties involved was like asking the sun to stop shining.

Giselle was, after all, very attuned to other people and so intuitive she could put Dr. Phil to shame. And finally she couldn't take it anymore.

She just had to speak her mind.

The blue-eyed, curly haired woman was getting nowhere with Caroline's insistence that she was fine and just stressed about the wedding plans and trying to fit some recording time in.

Giselle knew there was more to it, especially since Tre was giving her the same line of bullshit, although the words were different here and there.

"Frank, we need to have a talk," she began one evening while Tre sat at the kitchen table, going through some bills that needed to be taken care of.

"Hmm?" he uttered, without looking up. "'Bout what?"

"About us."

Stopping what he was doing, his own blue eyes lifted from the table to Giselle. He always hated hearing those words; 'Talk about us.' And not because he had a fear of commitment, but whenever they were uttered it meant he was either in the doghouse for something he was unaware he'd done or he was being dumped.

"What about us?"

"Where do you see us going? Honestly. Because if you're just going to string me along for the sake of ogling my pregnant sister who's engaged to your best friend, then there's no point anymore for me to be here."

Tre's lips parted but no words escaped. However, his heartbeat did quicken. "Uh...I don't know what you're talking about," he lied.

"This is Giselle you're talking to. You remember, the woman who picked you apart at Starbucks in under ten minutes and has been able to see through you since day one?"

Frowning, Tre pushed several of the bills on the table out of his way as he folded his hands on the wooden surface.

"It's just awkward for me right now, okay? I'm watching an ex-girlfriend prepare to marry the father of her unborn child who just so happens to be my best friend; the same guy who took my ex-girlfriend from me, and before you interject with your analytic, psychiatrist's mumbo jumbo I want you to know I'm aware Caroline never was and never will be 'a possession,'" he explained, speaking while making air quotes with his fingers.

"I wasn't going to analyze you."

"Yes, you were. It's what you do, Zell. You analyze and pick apart every goddamn situation because you can never be content with letting something be."

"That's not fair," Giselle muttered, placing a hand on the back of one of the other kitchen chairs.

"It's the truth. And, you know, I think you pick apart everybody else because you're too scared to face your own problems," he stated, getting up to stand. "Fixing everyone else is easier than fixing yourself." Then as an afterthought, he cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes in contemplation. "You know, Caroline made amends with her past finally. Maybe you should do the same with yourself and leave me alone for a while until you do."

Without another word, Tre scooped up all the bills on the table and took them with him as he exited the kitchen to an unknown location in the house.