Always There

Once again, another month came to and end; drawing closer to the year's halfway point. yet not quite there. It was early May and Mike was the next one to hit 35, but he was the only one who looked his age, not to mention act more like it. He stepped into his new age rather gracefully, enjoying the party thrown for him in his honor, joining the cheers made with the abundance of alcoholic drinks in everyone's hands.

It was a good time for the bassist.

And also for Olivia, it seemed.

It didn't take her long at all to find her niche in her new middle school. She joined the chorus and auditioned for the spring musical they were performing, grabbing up the role as the oldest daughter, Liesel, in The Sound Of Music. And she'd even made a friend she was really close with and had the possibility of being a best friend. But Olivia seemed to know she might not be living in the area too long. She knew the commute for her dad to visit her other brothers was a pain in the ass and he wanted to live in the Bay area. She was aware that her dad wouldn't be married to Adrienne much longer, so he would be able to finally make a life with her mom.

It was just so strange how things worked out. It always brought a smile to the teenager's lips.

* * *

Billie Joe sat in his lawyer's office, alone. Just him and his lawyer; going over some paperwork. While the 'suit' was taking a phone call, the punk rocker found himself staring off at the wall of diplomas and other certificates and whatnot. There were pictures on the wall and on the desk of the lawyer's wife and kids, which made Billie Joe wonder if this is what Mitch's office had looked like, pre-incarceration.

And, that thought, alone, was weird. He wasn't sure why he thought of that asshole all of the sudden. Perhaps going over the paperwork he was going through jogged his memory. Maybe it was the thought version of six degress of separation.

He was thinking of Maria, his fiancee, who divorced Mitch.

Okay, so maybe that was pretty much two degrees of separation, but the same idea applied.

Shifting his eyes, he glanced out the window at sunny day before him. The view from his lawyer's office was specatcular. The law offices where his lawyer was based out of was located on one of the top floors of one of the tallest buildings in San Francisco and if he were to stand up from his seated position, Billie Joe could see the Bay, and Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, Treasure Island, Angel Island, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and, hell, even Oakland.

Again, awesome view.

The sound of the phone clicking as it was hung up caught Billie Joe's attention as he turned to face his lawyer once more.

"Alright, I talked to the bank holding the deed, and they agreed they could put it off for one more month for a fee," the lawyer informed Billie Joe one whatever it was they had been discussing prior to the phone call. "I'm glad I was able to talk you out of buying that piece of shit."

"It's not a piece of shit," Billie Joe responded defiantly.

"Well, sentimental feelings aside, Billie, you'd be losing money instead by purchasing it, and you're not in the business of losing anymore money right now with this divorce. There's the subject of alimony and child support you have to remember, and not to mention my lovely fee," he added with a smirk.

"Eh, you lawyers are all the same." Billie Joe wasn't actually bitter. Him and his lawyer had always had a good relationship between each other.

"But you love me," his lawyer teased, rustling through some papers in a manilla folder and then placing a sheet of paper before the guitarist as well as handing over a fountain pen. "Here."

Billie Joe looked at it with hesitation as he took the pen in his hand and sighed. He needed a moment to let everything sink in as he stared at the dotted line at the bottom.

"All you need is to sign right there and it's all finalized."

"Yeah...I know." Taking a deep breath, Billie Joe gripped the pen and began to sign his name; a million and one thoughts doing little Irish jigs in his head. And, then, his name was signed. He set the pen down and sat back in his chair, let out the breath he'd been holding.

The lawyer nodded and took the paper, gave it a once-over and then smiled at Billie Joe. "Well, it's official. Mr. Billie Joe Armstrong, you are now legally divorced."

Those words hit him like a ton of bricks.

Official. Legally divorced.

For a fleeting moment he panicked, wondering if he'd done the right thing, after all. He thought about what he was losing. His thirteen-year marriage to Adrienne, full custody of his boys, the house they'd lived in for so long, his BMW.

But then he thought of all he was still had and was gaining. Maria, Olivia, Hazel, Ben and Nate. He still had his Ford Fairlane, owned half of Adeline Records, had joint custody of Joey and Jakob, had his friends, 880 Studios, his health...most of his wealth.

The pros outweighed the cons, and he wanted to bask in that outcome.

Nodding his response to his lawyer, Billie Joe stood up and offered his hand for a handshake. And when that was said and done, the punk rocker left the office.

He left the office an unmarried man.

* * *

Standing over the washer and dryer, Maria threw the dry clothes into the laundry basket while changing loads. She was sweating, feeling a little gross and not in the least beautiful at this moment in her life while almost six-month-old Hazel lay in the second, bigger laundry basket on top of a towel so that Maria could watch her while she did the clothes.

Distracted by throwing some more dirty clothes in the washer, Maria was completely caught off guard when she heard Hazel mumble something clear as day.

"Dada."

She whipped her head around and dropped her jaw, looking down at her baby girl. "Oh, my little pumpkin did you just finally talk?" Maria lifted Hazel up onto her hip and smiled. "Say it again for mommy."

Hazel rolled her head around while trying to chew on her own hand, but then she muttered, "Dada, dada..."

Maria's heart just about melted. But then she realized why Hazel got a tad more excited when she muttered 'Dada' two times in a row. Throwing her head over her shoulder, Maria turned to see Billie Joe standing in the laundry room's doorway with his mouth agape.

"Did she just say was I think she said?"

"Yeap," Maria grinned. "Almost six months old and she finally decided to say her first word."

Sensing Billie Joe's excitment over him being Hazel's first word, Maria passed their daughter over to him and he held her against his chest and kissed her puffy cheeks, just about muching them. His little kisses made small smacking sounds as he grinned and she giggled.

"Dada..." she mumbled leaning her little head forward rest on his shoulder.

Smiling, Billie Joe cupped the back of Hazel's head with his hand, he walked up closer to Maria, closing the gap between them and kissed her.

"How did things go?" Maria wondered as she turned on the washer once they parted.

"Good," he replied blandly, rubbing his hand on Hazel's back, stepping out of the laundry room with his fiancee in tow.

"Just good? Or 'eh'?"

"No. It's was good," he assured as they made their way into the kitchen.

Maria smilled and touched his arm while fixing Hazel's shirt at the same time. "Good," she smiled.

"Where's your mom?" he wondered.

"At Catcher's, watching Christopher while Catcher and his wife are at work. The kids are in school and my dad's at his office...so, it's just me and Hazel. And, well, now you it seems," she smirked.

Billie Joe just nodded and smirked back as he gave his baby girl another kiss, watching as Maria leaned against the counter by the sink. He couldn't help but smile more at her; so much so that it perked Maria's interest.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering..."

"About what?"

"What are you doing in two weeks?"

She furrowed her brow, trying to retrieve any future plans she'd have. "Well, aside from Olivia's musical this week, nothing much. Why?"

Billie Joe grinned coyly. "'Cause that's when we're getting married."