Always There

Five days had passed since Maria began helping Billie Joe furnish and decorate his penthouse as best as possible on the time she had to offer. Of course, when he was left alone in the evening, he finished whatever they had started, then ordered take-out and watched a movie he'd rented from the Blockbuster around the corner. He was really surprised with how well the penthouse had come along in such a short amount of time. It looked homey enough for Billie Joe to make him enjoy the space for whenever him and his family stayed in New York, instead of always staying at hotels.

Now it was Friday, November 12th, and it was Veterans Day. When a knock came at Billie Joe's door an hour earlier than he was ready for, he scrunched his nose. He hadn't even showered yet because he was expecting her at ten, not nine.

Wearing only plaid pajama pants and his favorite, black Ramones' shirt, Billie Joe ran a hand through his already disheveled black hair as the sound of his bare feet padding across the hardwood floor seemed to reverberate through his entire body.

The knock came again as he yawned. "Coming, coming." Not bothering to check who it was, he swung the door open and smiled at Maria who was biting her bottom lip somewhat nervously. "A little early, but that's okay," he smirked.

"Omigod, omigod," came a squealy voice.

Billie Joe finally looked somewhere other than at Maria to see that all three of her kids were with her. And one of them wasn't just any kid.

It was Olivia.

Billie Joe's eyes widened and then he looked up at Maria.

"Mom, you didn't say we were coming to Billie Joe's apartment! Omigod!" Olivia grinned. She had sprouted up from the last time Billie Joe had seen her in Central Park. "Oh, wow, this is so cool. Mom! How come you didn't tell me you knew Billie Joe?"

"Can we come in first before I'm bombarded with anymore questions?" Maria wondered.

Billie Joe stepped out of the way as her sons and daughter, Olivia, walked in with her. She told them to go wait in the living room for as moment as she took off her jacket and hung her purse up on the coat hook. Billie Joe shut the door and folded his arms across his chest as Maria rested her hands on her hips.

"Sorry about bringing them all without any notice...and earlier. But I kinda forgot their school gave them off for the holiday. And I didn't want to cancel on you because I'd promised I'd stopped by..." Maria began to explain.

Billie Joe simply shook his head in amazement. "This is more of a small world than I'd thought. I would've never guessed Olivia was your daughter," he remarked. "That time I saw her at Macy's with your husband and then at Central Park two years ago with her little friend...she just didn't remind me of you, so I had no idea she was yours, even when your mom said you lived in Long Island..." Billie Joe rambled.

"Wait," Maria cut him off, holding up her hand. "You've met Olivia before? How come you didn't tell me?"

"Well, for starters, it never crossed my mind that she was your daughter. The first time I saw her was the day before New Years back in '98. I was at Macy's, shopping in the women's department when I saw her with your husband, Mitch. She picked out this pink, floral dress she said it was pretty and talked to me for a few moments before her and Mitch left with some black dress for you." Billie Joe watched as Maria fidgeted in place as he explained himself. "Then it was two years ago when I was here by myself again. I took a walk to Central Park and was sitting on a bench when her and some friend of hers, Chris-something, came scurrying by."

"Crystal. Her best friend, Crystal," Maria corrected. "They've been best friends since kindergarten."

Billie Joe studied Maria's face. It looked as if she had paled considerably. "You okay?"

"I...uh, let me just introduce you first before we talk any further. We can talk about...whatever, while we work on your sons' rooms."

He watched as Maria walked out of the hallway and into the living room; Billie Joe in tow. Olivia had already done the big sister thing in making sure her little brothers had their coats off. She even had Nathan sitting on her lap on the edge of the black, leather chair. Her green eyes instantly lit up as her mom walked in with one of her favorite rock stars. The grin on her face said as much.

"Kids, this is Billie Joe. Him and mommy we're, um...real close friends while I was in college," Maria began the introductions. "Billie, you know my youngest, Nathan Enrique Conner. But this seven year old of mine is Benjamin Mitchell Conner. He's my holy terror."

"Mom," Ben complained.

She bit her lip as she pointed to Olivia. "And apparently you know my daughter, Olivia Josephine Cevallos."

"Cevallos?" Billie Joe repeated.

"Yeah," Maria nodded. "My maiden name."

"Oh, I would've thought your husband would've adopted her and given her his last name."

Maria shook her head. And so did Olivia who opened her mouth. "When I turned seven my mom and Mitch asked me if I wanted him to adopt me, but I said no. If I was gonna change my last name I'd want it to be when I get married someday or my real dad's name."

"Oh," Billie Joe nodded in understanding.

"Why don't you three watch some TV while Billie Joe and me go look at his sons' rooms and figure out how we're gonna fix it up, okay?"

"Okay," Olivia replied, then looked at Billie Joe. "Do you have any cereal? We only had Pop-Tarts on the way here."

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead and help yourselves. If you see anything else you wanna eat, feel free to eat it."

"Cool," Olivia grinned.

As Billie Joe smiled as he noticed Maria walking away down the hallway toward what was supposed to be Jakob's room. He followed her in there and grinned. "Your kids seem great," he commented. "I still can't get over the fact that the little girl I saw those two times was your daughter all along."

"Yeah," Maria nodded solemnly. "Small world."

* * *

Two hours passed while Billie Joe and Maria made great progress putting together the bed in Jakob's room. She kept scrunching her nose at the fresh paint smell in the room due to the fact that he had painted the room red the night before.

When the Billie Joe's cell phone went off, it just about scared the shit out of him. He pulled it out of pockets of the jeans he'd thrown on earlier. Flipping it open, he answered with a cocky, "It's your dime."

A small smile crept onto his face. "Hey buddy. You and Joey home from school today? You're not giving your mom hell are you?" He winked at Maria when she looked at him, sitting down on the boy's bed. "Yeah, guess what I'm doing? Fixing up your bedroom for when we're all in New York City together. I have a friend helping me. Maria. She has her kids here, too. Uh-huh. She has a son the same age as you two. Maybe someday you can meet and play together. Okay, yeah. I'll talk to Joey."

Billie Joe stood there, waiting for his oldest son to answer the phone when Olivia poked her head into the room.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, hon?"

"Ben drank the rest of Nathan's grape juice and I yelled at him, and now he kicked me. Can I kick him back?"

Billie Joe smirked as Maria shook her head. "No. Just yell at him if he keeps it up, I'll give him a crack on the ass, but not those exact words, and then pour Nathan another cup."

"Okay," Olivia replied. She gave Billie Joe another smile before leaving the room.

The Green Day frontman was still patiently waiting for Joey to pick up the phone when he looked over to Maria and grinned. "Yeah, she really doesn't look much like you. No offense, of course."

"I know. She looks like her father."

"Yeah, who is her father? She's--what? Eleven, twelve? Didn't waste any time getting over me, did ya?" he teased.

"Actually, yes, I did."

At that moment, someone must've picked up the phone because Billie Joe turned most of his attention back to it. "Hey Joey. What took so long? Okay...I'll wait." He looked back at Maria and gave her a questioning look in regards to her response. "I don't get it," he told her.

"Have you honestly looked at Olivia, Billie? Tell me you can't make the connection..."

Billie Joe's eyes narrowed as he tried to do just that. Make the connection she was talking about. Olivia. Olivia Josephine. Sparkling, green eyes. Dark hair. The unexplainable feeling he'd always had that there was a part of him out there in the world.

As Joey came back on the line, Billie Joe swallowed back a lump in his throat as his gaze toward Maria grew serious. His chin quivered and his lips parted. "Joey. Let me call you back in a little bit, okay? Okay. Love you too." Flipping his cell phone closed, he glared daggers at Maria and pointed the phone at her. "How dare you keep this information from me. How dare you!"