Union

Late that evening, Rose stood in the doorway to room 115 at Oakland Hospital, and was feeling with much gratitude. She thanked God for rescuing Mike and herself from the heinous grasp of a coward.

Mike lay in a bed, in a drug-administered sleep, that he might have woken from at any given moment. Injured he was, but doing remarkably well considering the severeness of the gunshot wound to his abdomen. Michelle was in the children's unit of the hospital, but really had no injuries whatsoever, which eased mom's mind tremendously.

Standing beside the twenty-two year old raven haired woman, was a green-eyed man with a cherubic face. He too had dark raven strands, to match that of his kin.
Even if the shared colour was artificial, on two naturally vivid brunettes.

"How do you feel?" Billie questioned his cousin, whom was obviously shooken up after having just been assualted and near met with the same fate she had almost two years prior.

"I'm okay," Rose said assuringly. "It was--it was just a bit odd for me."

"Tell me..." Billie replied.

"You don't want to know..." Rose quarked as she looked down at the hospitals ceramic tiled floor.

"I do actually. Things that happen to you matter to me," Billie replied, as he placed his hand under her chin to raise her head so she would look at him again. He smiled at her.

Tears began to fall from Rose's eyes again, as she stood with a hospital blanket wrapped about her body, providing herself little comfort. She looked her cousin in the eyes. "It was terrible..." she started. "Mike asked to come over, because he wanted to talk and I agreed to let him over. As you probably know, I haven't really been talking to him for the last few months."

"Yeah," Billie replied.

"So anyways, before he came over I was going to go for a quick walk. I've been feeling kind of depressed lately. I just wanted to half clear my thoughts, before he came over, to talk about you know what. I went outside with Michelle--I turned around to lock the front door. And then--and then..."

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me now," Billie Joe sighed understandingly.

"Thank you," Rose choked out. She wiped her tears, that were turning the hospital room into a river. "How do you feel right now Billie?" Rose asked her thirty-seven year old cousin, glancing over to address the humbled expression upon his pale face.

"Strange to say, especially at a moment and time like this. I feel free though," Billie Joe answered her quietly, as he allowed his glistening emerald eyes to make contact with her own.

"I don't quite understand. I mean, how did you know?" Rose asked, as she fought to pull herself together, she looked down and grazed her own chin, in a thinking type gesture.

"Well... Adrienne and I had just had a conversation about my father," Billie revealed, as he glanced over at his wife, whom was sitting in a chair on the far side of the room.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, as Billie Joe adverted his eyes back to looking at her.

"She made me realize that I've been holding onto losing my father for far too long. It's my father that means everything to me, not that fucking guitar. So I thought if I got rid of it, that atrocity might never bother me again," Billie Joe explained, as he looked down nervously.

"So what are you saying?" Rose asked in a whispered tone.

"I had plans to give the guitar back to you. So when I arrived at your house, and I saw Mike's car in the driveway, I initially thought I was going to go in there and kick his ass. I went up to the front door, it was locked and there was blood all over the walkway. By this point, I was scared fucking shitless. So, I have no idea how I remembered this, especially with the way I was feeling by this point. I remembered Tre telling me when we were drunk before that he always left the bathroom window unlocked. Just so he could easily spray you with the fawcette if you were out in the yard," Billie Joe laughed slightly as he said it.

Rose gave a small smile, "Yes, he did that to me once. I was pretty pissed off. But what I'd give now, to have that moment back again."

"I know," Billie whispered. "I let myself in, and that's when I heard you and Mike were having a distressful time. I heard Michelle faintly crying, as I came into the foyer, and I followed your cries upstairs. I was extremely freaked out, but knew something had to be done, and I was the only one to do it. Creeping up into the upstair's hall, through your half-open bedroom door, I saw Mike staggering across the room. He looked terrible, much like he does now," Billie Joe sighed, as he glanced over at his best friend, laying in the hospital bed. "Then I heard you crying even more, I knew then it was now or never..." Billie said, as he was cut off by Rose's immediate reaction.

"Wow..." breathed Rose dramatically.

Billie Joe continued after a short pause, "I had Blue in my hands. And just like you sacrificed yourself for Blue once, Rose. I sacrificed Blue for you..."

***

Two and a half years later, it was an unusually cool March morning in the bay area. Oddly enough, it was even snowing a bucket load. It was March 1st, three years the anniversary of Tre's arrest, and the third Birthday of his daughter, Michelle Cool.

Michelle could now speak and walk relatively well, and was growing into an infant child. Throughout her short life, she had seen her father a total of maybe ten times. And being so young as she was, she only really had a couple of memories of meeting "that stranger". Strange to say, but Mike had become more her father figure.

Rose hadn't seen her husband in over a month. Yet she had talked to Tre on the phone, that previous night. He sounded like he thought he wouldn't ever get out of that hell hole of a prison.

Today the family were arriving in swarms to celebrate the birthday of the youngest member of the Cool/Armstrong family. Youngest, because Mike's "adopted son" was not a ligitment member of the family.

Ryan Dirnt was born by caesarean section on April 30th, 2010, in Oakland Hospital. Mike was there by Rose's side for the total of her 26 hour labour. Two years had passed, yet still to this day, Mike and Rose were the only ones who knew this shadowy secret.

Rose kept her family in the dark the entire time she was pregnant, by claiming after being near attacked again by her rapist, she just wanted to shut herself off from the world. Much like she had the first time she was attacked, and when she was a teenager back east and would shut herself up in her room all day.

Billie Joe had accepted her wishes, and left her be. He would call her to check up every now and then, and for five months of 2009 and 2010 this is the only contact the two had. In fact Rose's seclusion of herself had inspired Billie to record a cover song of Bambix's song, Seclusion with Mike and their new temp. drummer. He had plans to put it on their next album, which for three years he had planned to be a tribute to the Germany victims. I guess you could say, he was just waiting for Tre to 'rejoin' the group.

***

"Mr. Cool, please explain to the court, why you feel you should be granted parol," said a smug looking woman, as she sat behind a polished desk with a number of other officials, at a courthouse in Oakland, California.

"Because for the last three years I've done nothing but kissing the ass of the judicinal system," Tre replied.

"You think you're done?" the woman asked him mockingly.

"Yes," Tre replied, as he met her eyes with a cold look upon his face.

"Mr. Cool, when you first arrived at North Kern State Prison, you exempted repeated violent behavior towards another inmate. One inmate in particular. As a matter of fact, that same inmate was released two years ago, but has since been convicted again for attempted rape and murder. Before I condemn your violent behavior though, please explain to the court what your dealings with this man were," a man in black garb asked.

"I--he got charged with attempted rape and murder?" Tre questioned. Suddenly he had a sore realization come over himself. Rose had been met with that criminal once again, yet had told him nothing.

"Please don't question me, this is a time to question you," the man in black garb stopped him.

"I'm sorry--umm--I did it because he raped my wife four years ago," Tre admitted in a quiet nervous voice. No longer did he fear Snake. Snake was obviously back in prison, and thankfully not the same one as he.

"You wouldn't be lieing to the court?" a woman dressed in a black pant suit questioned.

"No," Tre replied, shaking his head and looking down at the handcuffs binding his hands together.

"Well, we have other cases and such to move onto now. I've come to my conclusion," the man in the black garb said, whom was obviously the judge who would be making the final decision. He looked down at a file folder that was displayed in front of him on the table. He grabbed a stamp up quickly, and stamped something on it in a careless manner.

Tre assumed this stamp either said, "approved" or "denied". He stood there and swallowed back a lump in his throat, as sweat dripped down his forehead.

"Officer, take Mr. Cool back to North Kern. Give him his belongings, and have his parol officer take him home," the man in black garb addressed a waiting officer on the side of the room.

A 39-year-old Tre Cool felt his heart sink and sighed with relief. He was finally going to go home and be with his wife and daughter. Finally going to be put back into the life he had missed out on for the past three years.

"Oh my God, thank you so much! I've been dieing to see my wife and kids!" Tre shrieked, and he began to cry with joy. There would be only one thing Tre would have a major concern with. Would his parol prohibit him from being able to go on tours?

Tre didn't care about that right this moment though. He was on his way home to celebrate his daughter's birthday with her for the first time in three years. For the first time ever.

He was on his way home to be met with some very peculiar changes.