Holiday In Cambodia

"Mmm... I like Sundays."

Adrienne giggled, looking up at her husband as he pulled the bedclothes further around them and rested on his elbows, his face inches from her own.

"You haven't done a scrap of work all week. How are Sundays any different?"

He offered her a lop-sided smile, the wintry sunshine that shone through the blinds catching his dark hair, which had been cut shorter since his return, ridding it of its matted tangles. She traced her fingers lightly across the skin of his forearm and paused as she reached his wrist, where the tattoo she was so used to remained tainted by the fresh scars of his hardship.

"Day of rest," he pointed out, "Meaning... we get to stay in bed. All day."
Adrienne grinned as he kissed her, resting her hands on the bare skin of his waist.
"I think there are two people down the hall that might have something to say about that," she told him, but she didn't resist as he kissed her again.
"You're probably right," he smiled, "But you know... I think you've looked after me enough this week. How does breakfast in bed sound for you?"
"Awesome," she replied, pulling him into another kiss. Her fingers slid up into his hair as his teeth tugged a little at her bottom lip and she let out a sigh, before the patter off nearing footsteps caused them to look up in time to see the bedroom door swing open.

"Why are you still in bed?" Jakob demanded to know, "It's been morning for ages!"
"Ringo's hungry and we've run out of rat food," Joey added, placing the animal on the bedclothes as if by way of demonstration.

Adrienne sighed, rolling her eyes a little at her son as Billie Joe sat up and sleepily slid out of bed, rubbing his hand through his messy hair.
"Okay, okay," he said, "Joey, get the rat off the bed before it pees and your Mom freaks out. We'll pick up some more food later."
"You're getting up!" Jakob observed, excitedly, and Billie Joe laughed a little as he lifted his smallest son up with a groan that was partly for effect and partly due to still feeling a little weakened from his stay in Cambodia.

"Yeah, I'm up. Who wants to make Mommy breakfast in bed?"
"I'll help!" Jakob offered, enthusiastically, as Adrienne rolled onto her side and smiled at them.
"Billie... you're supposed to be making me breakfast, not enslaving our children."
Billie Joe grinned at her over his shoulder, as he carried Jakob out of the room, Joey and the rat close behind.

Adrienne smiled contentedly as they left, listening to their chatter float back along the hall.
"How many days left before Christmas?"
"Oh gee... six?"
"I'm not sure I'm going to be able to wait that long."
"I have a feeling you're gonna have to... "

She pulled the covers tighter around herself, before resting her hand against the warm skin of her stomach. She didn't know if she was going to be able to hold out much longer either, without telling him, but she figured it would be a nice Christmas present when she did. Smiling, she closed her eyes again, and let herself drift back to sleep.

Tre let out a small sigh of relief as the car pulled into his driveway and the engine shut off.
"Home at last, right?" Claudia smiled, and he nodded.
"Feels like I've been away for years."
"It's only been a few weeks. That's nothing by your standards."
"Yeah... yeah... " he smiled, opening the car door and stepping out, as Frankito hurried to unfasten his seatbelt in the back.
"Can we play basketball?"

Claudia raised an eyebrow, placing a hand on her son's head as he leapt out of the back of the SUV, closely followed by Ramona, who slammed the door shut behind her.
"I think you had better be gentle with your Dad for a while, Frankie."
"Nah, I'm fine," Tre insisted, "And it's not like he can really kick my ass, he's only three feet tall."
"I'm three feet and four inches! I got measured!"
Tre grinned.
"Three, four, huh?"
"Yep. I'm gonna be tall."
"Hah... good luck with that," he muttered, exchanging a smile with Claudia as she pulled his bag out from the back of the car.
"I'm carrying his bag!" Frankito yelled, at an ear-splitting volume, grabbing it by the handle and attempting to lift it, before discovering it weighed roughly as much as he did, and taking to simply dragging it across the driveway towards the house.

Tre laughed, opening the front door for him as he went.
"Thanks, bud," he said, affectionately rubbing his hair, before aiming himself towards the kitchen.
"Man, is it good to be home," he sighed, "What's for lunch?"
"You just had breakfast," Claudia pointed out, as she tossed her jacket over the back of a chair.
"That was at least an hour ago, and besides, I have a lot of eating time to make up for. That saline drip wasn't the tastiest morsel I ever was offered."
Claudia giggled, as Ramona tugged on his shirtsleeve.

"Well, look what me and Claudia made," she told him eagerly, gesturing to the tray of fairy cakes that were cooling on the table.
"Wow... Honey, those look awesome."
"They're Christmas cakes," she told him, proudly, "See, some have holly on... and some have Christmas trees... and I tried to make reindeers but they turned out looking like mice."
"With antlers," Tre smiled, hugging her against him, "You know, you should probably leave some of those bad boys out for Santa, by the way, cause I heard he likes cake. And whisky. Don't forget the whisky."
Ramona pulled back and gave him a look.
"Dad, I know that's why you always smell of Jack Daniels on Christmas morning. I am nine years old, you know."
Tre laughed, as she skipped out of the room, and he turned back to Claudia.
"Thanks for having her stay here while I was in hospital."
"You know I love her being here."
"Yeah, I know," he smiled, gratefully.

Claudia looked at him for a moment, before surprising him by stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his waist. He raised his eyebrows a little as he hugged her back.

"What'd I do to deserve this?"
"... I did miss you, you know."
Tre smiled.
"You said it yourself, I wasn't gone too long by my standards."
"Yeah... " she said, raising her head to meet his eyes, as she straightened his collar, "But it felt like a lot longer when I wasn't sure if you'd be coming back again."

Tre nodded, swallowing, before placing a kiss on her forehead, just as Frankito ran back into the room, waving the phone above his head.
"What's up?" Claudia asked, stepping away from Tre and turning to look down at him.
"It's Uncle Billie!" he exclaimed, happily, "He's having a party, and he says I'm invited!"

Maggie looked down, her brow furrowing in concentration as she sang along to the radio, over the buzzing of her needle. She stopped and bit her lip, as she lifted the point from the skin, cocking her head to one side as she looked over her work, before switching off the machine and setting the needle on the table.

"Finished?"
"That was just the black. Hold tight, it shouldn't take me long now."
"Take your time, doll... so on this island, right... didn't you ever, like, stop and go 'Holy fuck, I'm stranded with Green Day'?"
Maggie laughed as she removed a second needle from its sterile pouch and swapped it with the old one.
"To be honest, I was mainly just thinking 'Holy fuck, I'm stranded'."
"So, it was pretty scary, huh?"
"Yeah. It definitely got to the point where I didn't think I'd be seeing the inside of this place again. But it's very good to be back."
"... Youch! Motherfucker!"
"Don't hold your breath like that... this part won't take long."
"... Okay... so you through with travelling, now?"
"For now, yeah. You know I'm a New Yorker at heart."
"Well, that's cool. I wouldn't wanna have to find somewhere else to get ink done."
Maggie laughed.
"I'll just be impressed if you can find me some more skin space. Don't go having any more kids or I'm gonna have to start on your toes."
He laughed a little, before she switched off the machine and reached for the antiseptic wipes.
"I'm done. It looks good. Can I have a picture for my portfolio?"
"Sure," he smiled, as she pressed a hot towel against it, "Knock yourself out."

Afterwards, she left her customer at the front desk to pay as she pulled on her coat, following it with hat and gloves. In the week since she had returned from the Far East, she still hadn't got used to the change in climate.

She turned back to wave as she went through the door, before stepping outside into the snow. It was coming down hard again, the kind of fast-paced blizzard that makes you feel dizzy unless you keep your eyes on the ground. She shivered, folding her arms over her chest, until she reached the coffee house at the end of the street and went inside, relieved to be out of the bitter winter air, even if only briefly.

Heading back out into the cold, she bowed her head in an attempt to stop the harsh wind whipping at her face, gripping the two Styrofoam coffee cups she held in her hands tightly, letting the warmth soak through the material of her gloves.

She stopped in her tracks as she reached her apartment block, and turned to the old guy who sat in the snow outside, breathing onto his hands, his raw fingertips poking out from the tips of his gloves. He looked up as she approached, smiling a toothless grin as she passed him one of the cups, and holding up his fingers in an 'O' shaped perfection sign. She smiled back.

Stamping the snow from her feet before she went through the front door, she found it almost impossible to believe she had been in such discomfort from the heat only a couple of weeks earlier. She had missed the snow, no matter now much it made her toes numb and her fingers hurt. Taking off her gloves and setting down her coffee, she leaned up against the radiator in her kitchen and began thumbing through the stack of mail she had collected on her way in. She sighed as she recognised bill after bill, before raising her eyebrows at the hand-written envelope that followed it, addressed only to 'Maggie'.

She smiled as she tore the envelope open, and her smile broadened as she pulled the card from the paper, which showed a sunny beach that had fake snowflakes photo-shopped on top, and the words 'Seasons greetings from California' underneath. She only knew four people in California.

Sorry I couldn't remember your last name. I'm actually not sure I ever knew it, I guess that just wasn't important.

I bet you have real snow up there, and I hope it's real nice to be home. I know it is for me. It's kind of weird how it already seems like a whole lifetime ago, but sometimes I wake up and think that I'm back there, and it isn't always a bad feeling.

Tre got out of hospital the other day. He says he feels fine. They kept him in for a whole week, but after just a couple days he seemed like normal again to me. I think he just flirted with the nurses so much that they didn't want to discharge him. Anyway, he sends his love, and so do Jason and Mike.

I think of the island often, and I think of you more. These days, It isn't often I make genuine friends like you. I don't think it's often that anyone makes genuine friends like you. I hope you're doing ok.

I know it's only been a couple weeks, but I miss everyone already, and I know the others do too. I think Adrienne's getting a little sick of me talking about all you guys, but she's still humoring me for now. We're having a New Years party at our place in Oakland, and I want you to come. Don't worry about the flights, we'll arrange it all and one of us'll pick you up at the airport.

It'll be fun to get together again, right?

Merry Christmas,
Love,
Billie.

Maggie leaned her head back against the wall as she closed the card again, and smiled.

Up in Toronto, Lara was staring blankly through the rain-spattered glass of the office window. Her mind had started off on work, but had soon travelled the ten thousand miles back to the island, and back to the others. It was where she spent most days, visiting her memories, but it was always the good times. Back then, she knew she wouldn't have considered that there were many positives, but she knew now that there had been plenty. Sometimes, she even felt as though she might like to go back, just for a while, to a place where the pressures in her life didn't exist and where there were only ten people in the whole world.

Of course, she remembered the bad times too. But they usually stayed away during the day, coming back to haunt her in the night time when she lay awake, wishing someone else would understand, and wishing that Jason was lying next to her, his arms around her, protecting her from her demons.

A stack of papers landed on her desk with a smack and she jumped, brought heavily back to the real world, where her computer had decided it was shutting itself down.
"Oh... for fuck's sake!"

Her grumblings were, thankfully, interrupted by her telephone, the sound of which made all of her nearby work mates stop in their tracks and she smirked as each of them tried to find an excuse to remain in the vicinity of her desk. Apparently, this was the usual procedure when one of your colleagues returned from abroad with a famous guitarist for a boyfriend. She rolled her eyes at them as she picked up the phone.

"I miss you."
Lara grinned.
"Ditto," she muttered, twirling the phone cord around her fingers as she swivelled away from the prying eyes and leaned back in her seat.
"What are you doing?"
"Swearing at my computer. You?"
"We have a press conference in ten minutes. I'm nervous."
"You'll be lovely. How's Tre?"
"Hungover."
Lara laughed.
"I think that's good news. Hug him for me."
"Sure thing. Listen, you got plans for New Years?"
"Not really... "
"Good job. Cause, we've booked you a flight to Oakland."
"Are you serious?" Lara responded, leaning forward in her seat.
"Uh huh. Billie Joe and Adrienne are having everyone over. It'll be like... an island reunion."
"Awesome," Lara smiled, happily, her stomach fluttering madly at the prospect of seeing him in only a couple of weeks, and the excitement of meeting up with her friends again.
"I know, it's gonna- Oh crap, I have to get going. Billie's looking at me and he has his business face on and... I'll talk to you soon."
"Hah, okay. I'll call you soon."
"You'd better," he replied, and she loved that she could hear him smiling.

"Where the fucking hell are my shoes?"

Amber stretched, languidly, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself as she craned her neck to get a better look at the TV, which Jack was continually walking in front of.

"No idea," she sighed, resting her head back against the arm of the couch as she attempted to tune herself back into the Channel 4 news. "Jack will you stop standing in front of Krishnan Guru Murthy? He does a good job, you know."

Jack grumbled, attempting to knot his tie whilst continuing his search.
"Aha! I found them," he announced, with relief, stepping into them and walking back towards her to drop a collection of envelopes into her lap, "Post's here."

Amber started absently tearing into the first envelope as he stumbled sleepily towards the kitchen and slumped down at the table in front of his toast.
"I think I'm still jetlagged."
"Jack... it's been two weeks. You're just lazy."
"Hey, at least I'm going to work! I think that's more energetic than lying on the sofa and cultivating an infant."
He smiled, hearing Amber's giggle filter back through from the living room.

"Hey, this one's from Billie Joe!"
"Really? What's he say?"

Amber walked into the kitchen, still reading the card, before passing it to Jack across the table.
"They want us to come out and see them for New Year... on them."
Jack smiled, picking up the card.
"Wow," he said, reading it over, before turning back to Amber and laying his hand against her tummy. She smiled as his thumb stroked her skin.
"You sure you haven't had enough of world-wide travel now?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.
"Never," she grinned, "Besides, it's California. It's not like it's outside of civilisation."
"They have guns there, you know."
"And policemen... and sunshine... and shops."

Jack rolled his eyes, releasing his hand and picking up his coffee.
"You know I'm just looking after my girls," he reminded her.
"We don't know it's a girl."
"Ah, I can tell," he said, smugly, "I'm good with girls."

"The rings! Get all the rings, you - Dad! You didn't get all the rings! "
"I have enough rings!"

Mike's eyes flicked furiously across the TV screen, his thumbs frantically mashing the Game Cube's control pad.
"No! You don't... cause, the boss is coming up now and... you aren't gonna have enough!"
"With all due respect, Estelle, I was playing Sonic before you were a glint in anyone's eye."
"Well, you must have been really bad back then," she observed, folding her arms over her chest, "You have to jump over that one, it won't die."
"I know, I know... "
"And you should've picked Tails, not Sonic."
"What the... Sonic had the whole game named after him, Stella!"
"But you need to be able to fly for this boss. Plus, Tails is cuter."
Mike laughed.
"Right, that makes every difference... ah, damn it."
"I told you so," Estelle grinned, "Even Frankito can do that level."

Mike tossed the control pad at his daughter and she giggled, before leaning over and hugging him tightly.
"I'm glad you're back."
Mike smiled.
"Me too, honey."

Eight thousand miles away, Rick was standing in the sunshine. It was still early, and he was still tired, his eyes bleary enough that he had difficulty reading the words on the card in front of him. In his concentration, he didn't hear his mother calling him the first time and he looked up as her yelling got louder.

"Rick, are you bringing the mail in, or what?"

He looked up to see her standing in the doorway, before closing the front of the mailbox and trudging up the path, enjoying the feeling of the warm sun on the back of his neck.

"Just Christmas cards," he reported, handing her all but one of the envelopes as he walked through the door.
"Thanks, darling," she smiled, ruffling his dark hair a little as he passed, yawning and aiming himself at the refrigerator.
"Gonna be a scorcher today," she informed him, "Got any plans?"
"Not really," Rick shrugged, taking the milk from the fridge and pouring it onto his cereal, "Thought I might go boarding, catch up with some mates."
"Good idea."
"Mum... is it okay if I go away for New Year?"
"Sure, where?"
"Um... America?"
She looked up. He sighed.
"I just got an invite from Billie Joe," he told her, waving it in the air, "One of the guys from the island... you know? Anyway, he's paying, and it'll be ace to see all those guys again, and... "
His mother smiled, stepping towards him and taking his face in her hands.
"Rick, if you want to go, go... Just promise me that you'll come back, right? Cause, I don't want to be missing you for months again."
Rick smiled, widely as he hugged her.
"Just a week," he said, as his chin rested on her shoulder. "I promise."
"Well, you'd better be right this time," she smiled back, as she squeezed him, "I just wish I could keep you in one place for five minutes."

Back in Oakland, Billie Joe was sitting in front of a computer screen, scowling.

An error of type 204.1 has occurred

What the hell was an error of type 204.1? He swore at the computer again, before clicking the mouse button a few more times with increasing frustration, which only resulted in the screen freezing completely.
"Oh, you bitch!"

"What's wrong?"

He looked over his shoulder as his youngest son entered the room with a look of mild concern on his face, a plastic crossbow in one hand and a glass of milk in the other.
"An error of type 204.1 occurred," Billie Joe replied, as if he knew what he was talking about.
"Oh. Did you control, alt and delete?"
"... Did I what and what?"

Jakob calmly set his belongings down on the desk and reached over his father to get to the keyboard.
"See, you messed up Internet Explorer, you have to close it this way when it stops responding. Control... alt... delete... Even I know that, and I'm only seven."

Billie Joe picked up the crossbow and aimed it at his son's head, just as Adrienne walked in and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
"What are you guys doing?"
"I was trying to check the web site to see if the transcript from the press conference went up, but the Internet broke."
Adrienne smirked.
"The whole Internet?"
"He just can't work his own web site," Jakob added, with a smirk exactly like his mother's.

Adrienne grinned, kissing the top of Billie Joe's head as Joey appeared next to them, dumping a box unceremoniously on the desk.
"More mail," he announced.

Billie Joe reached for it, and began to tear off the outside paper.
"What color d'you think I got this time?"

Adrienne rolled her eyes.
"I cannot believe you didn't predict the consequences of telling people you lost your shoes on your damn island, Billie. I'm thinking of starting up a Converse business on eBay."
Billie Joe grinned as he opened the box.
"Black... with pink laces. You know, I'm not sure I'm really that girly."

"Dad, let's go and play outside," Joey sighed, tugging his arm.
"Sure," he replied, standing up. He was sick of computers anyway.
"I'm coming too!" Jakob yelled, hurrying after them.

Adrienne smiled as Billie Joe turned around and winked at her before heading through the door, then sat down in his place and turned back to the computer.
"So you want me to check this out for you?" she called after him.
"If you can get it to work, that'd be awesome. Thanks, babe."
"No problem. I like to know what kind of stuff you guys have been saying anyway... "

... ..

MTV: "Where have you actually been this whole time?"

Tre: "F**k knows. I don't remember."
Mike: "On an island off the border between Cambodia and Vietnam. We had no way of getting off of it again, so we had to just stay there and bide our time 'til a boat came by. Unfortunately for us, the first boat that came by was the locals that owned the plantation we'd been livin' off the whole damn time... they weren't real happy. Turned out they'd rather... hold us at gunpoint than talk it out."

Fox News: "That must have been terrifying for you. What got you through?"

Billie: "I don't know... when you're in a situation like that then... something has to. I spent a lot of time in my thoughts. Thinking of my family and my wife, y'know... working stuff out in my head."

Alternative Press: "At what point did you start to think, 'this is serious'?"

Billie: "I would say, when we ran out of water. For me... that's when I started thinking that there might not be a way out. "
Tre: "Either that, or when we ran out of weed."
Mike: (laughs) "That was a bad day too."

San Francisco Chronicle: "Can you tell us exactly how you ended up on the island in the first place?"

Tre: "No."
Mike: "He isn't kidding. "
Billie: (Laughs) "We were only meant to be in Phnom Penh for 24 hours. Our plane made an emergency stop, and we just hung out in the city for a while. I mean, okay, we did get a little... under the influence... My memory between being in Phnom Penh and being on the island is less than perfect, but apparently we must have gotten a ride over on a fishing boat or something. "
Jason: "I imagine it seemed like a great idea at the time. "
Billie: "I have a feeling that if we hadn't half starved to death, or been held hostage, I would have been in a lot of trouble when I got home... "

US Weekly: "Who were the other people on the island?"

Mike: "Bunch of the coolest people I ever met."
Jason: "They were just backpackers mainly... met up in Phnom Penh, as Billie mentioned... really, they got us wasted."
Mike: "In case you're looking for someone to blame. "

Kerrang!: "Were they Green Day fans?"

Billie: "Um, not really. Most of them didn't actually recognise us, right? But I think they'd been travelling so long they hadn't had any real exposure to Western media in a while... so it didn't really occur to them who we were."
Jason: "That's the only explanation."
Mike: (laughs) "Yeah, but once they found out they didn't care cause... we had bigger fish to fry..."

People: "Billie Joe, was Adrienne happy to have you back?"

Billie: "Um, I'd hope so. Or I think it'd be time to find me a new wife."

People: "That'd be easy."

Billie: "You think so?"
Mike: "No... he's high maintenance."
Billie: "But worth it. "

Modern Drummer: "Tre, how are you feeling after your stint in hospital?"

Tre: "I'm fine. I'm good. You know... normal."

Modern Drummer: "What's been wrong?"

Tre: "Oh... I got bit by this caterpillar."
Billie: "He tried to pet it."
Tre: "Yeah... so, that was a bitch... Anyway, turned out it was poisonous and I got this hardcore fever that made me, like, delirious and feel like I was sorta tripping out and stuff. It's probably for the best since now I don't remember the last few days we were there at all. Or getting rescued... I think I missed the most traumatic part of the whole deal."
Billie: "Made it pretty scary for the rest of us, though."
Tre: "These guys looked after me real well. They were... fucking awesome. Seriously."

Spin: "What was-"

Tre: "Apparently it was a doratifera, by the way. The caterpillar, I mean... like, in case you were wondering."

Spin: "What was it like having a gun held to your head?"

Billie: "I don't know, it's definitely something you can't really describe. I always hated guns anyway and um... I can't really put that kind of fear into words."
Mike: "I think I got to the point where... I couldn't find the energy to be afraid anymore. You know, you can only keep up that level of anxiety for so long. You end up just... accepting what's coming."
Billie: "Yeah... I think that... the fact that we were giving up, that's the most frightening thing. Definitely."

Big Cheese: "What about this rumour about Jason joining the band for real?"

Billie: "That's no rumour."
Jason: "I am officially a member of Green Day."
Mike: "We figured it was about f**king time."

Q: "What brought that decision on?"

Tre: "He's awesome."
Jason: (laughs) "I don't know, I think going through what we went through made us re-evaluate some stuff and... see what was important, I guess."
Billie: "After going through something like that together, its really, for me anyway, it's impossible to see him as anything other than an equal, y'know, as far as the band are concerned... I mean, in the end, my band are like my family, y'know, and Jase's as much my family as Tre and Mike are. "
Mike: "Plus, musically, he makes a contribution to the band that it couldn't work without. I mean, really, the real question should be why shouldn't he be in the band."
Jason: "So, what's the answer to that one?"
Tre: "Billie gets jealous of our 'special relationship'."
Billie: "I told you not to bring that up here. "

NME: "Did you do any writing on the island?"

Mike: "No... Billie?"
Billie: "No... well, we didn't have our instruments and... I didn't even have a pen and paper, actually. But I definitely thought about music. I wrote a few lines in my head, y'know, but um... nothing special."
Mike: "It's a shame cause it would have been the perfect environment for it, you know... all that peace and quiet, no distractions."
Billie: "Yeah, if we ever get a block we'll ask someone to fly us back out. "

Star: "Billie, you cut your hair."

Billie: "... That's really more of a statement than a question."
Tre: "I cut mine a little too, but nobody noticed."
Jason: "I think that's cause Billie's more hair-oriented. He goes two weeks without shampoo, he has to cut it all off and start over. "
Billie: "Jealousy's an unattractive trait, newbie."

Rolling Stone: "Has the experience had any effect on your musical direction?"

Billie: "Um... it had a big effect on me. I guess in that sense it's bound to affect me creatively... I don't know, with American Idiot, I think a lot of anger and unrest came out in my lyrics and I'm certainly feeling very calm at the moment. "
Jason: "Just kind of numbed with relief... appreciating everything we have. We're lucky."
Mike: "Not just cause of our careers, just because... we have everything we need to survive. We have family and friends around us. "

Entertainment Weekly: "Any plans to see the backpackers from the island again?"

Billie: "Sure, we'd love to see them again. Actually, I invited them all over to my place for New Years."

Entertainment Weekly: "They must be stoked!"

Billie: "Well, I hope so. It'd be awesome to get together again. Y'know, when you go through something like that, it brings you very close to people. All we had was each other, so... we went from being strangers to being... the best of friends."
Tre: "I miss those guys."
Mike: "Me too. "
Jason: "Me too."

The National Enquirer: "Any island romances?"

Mike, Tre, Billie: (Turn to look at Jason).
Jason: "Subtle... Um... Let's just say that nothing could make me regret meeting the people we met, even if the worst had happened. There was one person in particular that made it all worth it. I'm a very, very, very lucky guy."

BBC News: "It was the British Embassy that actually made the arrest of your captors and got you back to mainland Vietnam. Has this altered your opinion of the UK in any way?"

Mike: "Not really, because we always loved the UK. Wouldn't you say?"
Billie: "Yeah, I mean, the British Embassy were awesome, they got everyone home. I think they went beyond the call of duty. There's no way we could ever thank those guys enough, for sure."
Tre: "England fucking rocks, man."
Billie: "I think we'll have to like... do a huge ass UK tour to say thanks... or something."
Jason: "Yeah, we'll play like every city in the UK. Twice."
Tre: (laughs) "For free."

Channel 4: "Have you ever seen Survivor?"

Mike: (laughs) "Yeah... this put Survivor to shame."
Tre: "It was, like... Extreme Survivor. Which means... no cameras, no food... no hair stylists."
Billie: "I actually think I hate that show even more now."

CNN: "Did anything good come out of being on the island?"

Tre: "Jason's joined the band. Dude, weren't you listening?"
Mike: "And Jason got a girlfriend... Y'know, actually, I'm starting to think that maybe Jason engineered the whole thing on purpose 'cause for the rest of us it just fuckin' blowed."
Billie: "Yeah... oh, I... actually I didn't smoke in, like, a week. "
Jason: Yeah, me either. But I don't think we can count that like it's an achievement seeing as we didn't have anything to smoke... "

Kerrang!: "Did it help you quit, Billie Joe?"

Billie: "Uh... well, kinda. I haven't smoked so much since I got home but only 'cause my wife isn't letting me. Apparently, if I could go a week without I can do it again... "
Mike: "What a bitch."
Billie: "I know."

Rolling Stone: "What's next for Green Day?"

Mike: "We still have a tour to finish."
Tre: "Sorry Hong Kong."
Billie: "We need to take a break for a while though. We still have some recuperating to do. Spend some time with family. "
Jason: "Exactly, it's Christmas you know. You gotta take some time out. We'll be back in the New Year."
Mike: "Yeah, we'll finish our tour, then get back in the studio and do it all over again."
Tre: "Except for the island part."
Billie: "No, we won't do that again. Green Day don't do drugs anymore anyway."

Rolling Stone: "You told us that last year."

Billie: (grins) "You wanna print this thing or not?

...

Adrienne grinned, jumping a little as a pair of hands landed, suddenly, on her shoulders.
"Hey... you got it to work."
"Of course I did," she smiled, as he leaned down, wrapping his arms around her from behind and pressing his cheek against hers.
"Smart ass."
Adrienne smiled, as she leaned her head against his.
"Where are the kids?"
"Playing out back. Y'know... I think I'm getting too old for all that running about."
"I think you need to take some time to recover. Like you said at your press conference."
"You think we did okay?"
"Yeah. It was great. Except the part where you called me a bitch."

Billie Joe giggled into her ear and she grinned.
"That was Mike," he pointed out, "I just agreed with him... It was peer pressure."
"Hah... okay. Well, in that case, I think I'll need to have some firm words with both of you."
"Sounds interesting... " Billie Joe smiled, as his lips pressed against her temple.

"I'm happy for Jason," she sighed, suddenly, "I think you guys made the right decision. It feels right."
"Yeah, it does. It does feel right."
"He must be really happy right now. And it's so romantic, the way he met Lara."
"I know."
"I want to meet her."
"You will. You'll meet all of them."
"I hope so. It'll be fun to have them here for New Years. It'll be great just to have you here for New Years. I like it when you get time off, even though I know that you'll be getting all twitchy in no time."

Billie Joe smiled, swivelling the chair around so that she was facing him and sliding his arms around her waist.
"Nah... not right now. I missed you too much. I think we need some time to recover, too."
"Definitely. I mean, you've tested my nerves over the years, Bill, but I'm not sure anything holds a candle to this little misadventure."

Billie Joe smiled, sheepishly, looking up at her.
"This is gonna take some making up for, huh... "
"Yeah, I think so."

He looked down, entwining his fingers with hers.
"We could start with not fighting anymore."
Adrienne nodded, squeezing his hand.
"That sounds like a good place to start," she agreed, quietly, "Although, I've already forgotten that we ever did."
"That's bullshit. I've acted like a jerk and I'm sorry."
"So have I," she sighed, lifting one hand to a curl of hair at his temple, "And I'm sorry too."
"So... fresh start, right?"
"Right."

He smiled, lifting her fingers to his lips and kissing them, lightly.
"I'm sorry I put pressure on you about having more kids," he added, cocking his head to one side, "I mean... I know I don't always think things through and... you were probably right about the whole thing."
Adrienne bit her lip, in an attempt to halt the smile that was tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"... I mean, the boys can be a handful for you when I'm not around and... y'know, I guess babies... they're a lot of work and, really, they just cry all the damn night through and then we feel like shit... and they try and make up for it by being cute the next day but by that point we already wanna kill ourselves and... "
Adrienne giggled, taking his face in her hands.
"I love you," she smiled, affectionately.
He smiled back as she kissed him and she knew she couldn't hold out on him any longer.
"I love you too... " he mumbled against her lips, before pulling back slightly, an eyebrow raised, "... and why are you looking at me that way?"
She giggled again, as she pulled him closer and kissed a pathway from his lips to his ear, before taking his hand and laying it against her stomach.

"...Can you keep a secret?" she whispered.

...

The End.