Somehow Saving You

- Eight Years Later -

“Brian! Put me down!” I squealed.

“Never!” Brian laughed, hugging me tighter. I had been peacefully sitting in my chair reading a book and the next thing I know I’m being held hostage in his lap. I giggled, smacking him on the arm.

“You made me drop my book!” I whined, pointing at the paperback that now laid abused on the ground. He looked at it before grinning at me.

“I thought we went over this a million times. You’re a Haner now, you can’t like reading books,” my husband teased. Our proposal was equivalent to amazing.

It was two years after we had last seen Jimmy. Tour had ended mostly along with our musical careers. Brian and Matt had still featured in work from other artists but that was mostly it. Zacky still had his clothing company, along with Brian, and Johnny had gone back to school to become a music teacher. I had went forward with my photography and ended up pretty big, if I do say so myself.

It was our weekly night out and Brian had taken me the carnival on the pier. Brian had forced me to dress quite fancy for it too. I was confused since we’d be at a carnival, but decided to just go along with it. He had seemed pretty nervous as we waited to go onto the Ferris wheel. That should have been a dead giveaway.

“Would you calm down? You act like you’re about to get assassinated,” I joked, holding his hand just a bit tighter. He smiled weakly.

“I feel like I might,” he admitted. I rolled my eyes, kissing his cheek. Soon we were at the front, the operator ushering us in. If I had been paying attention I would have seen him nod to Brian, which Brian didn’t mention until a year later that he had paid the man in advance to help him. And it helped since the kid was a fan.

“Oh wow. This is amazing luck we have,” I gasped as we stopped at the top. We had a beautiful view of the whole pier. The sun was just setting so it lit up the whole sky with blues and pinks and purples and oranges.

“Cat. Uhm-” He cleared his throat into his hand. I turned to look at the man sitting on the seat across from me. He took his hands in mine, holding them tightly. “You love me, right?”

“Of course,” I chuckled, thinking of the matching tattoos we had. I had got the one that Brian had gotten done not long after we started touring that long time ago. I screamed bloody murder but it was worth it.

“I-” He knelt down on one knee in the car, making me gasp. There was no way… “I want you to be my wife, Catherine.”

“Brian,” I cried as he reached into his pocket. He withdrew his hand clenching a purple, velvet box. He opened it to reveal a beautiful silver ring with a big diamond and three smaller diamonds going along the band on either side. “Yes! Yes!”

With that he slipped it onto my finger before we shared a long kiss just as the ride moved back into it’s cycle.

“I don’t care what you say, I like my books and you can’t change that,” I remarked, flicking his nose. Brian playfully growled, beginning to tickle my stomach. I laughed, trying to escape his hold. I finally managed to get him to stop and curled up in his lap, trying to get my breathing back to normal.

“Mommy!” I heard someone shriek. I looked up just in time to see a light brown haired boy run into the living room. He jumped into my lap, hiding in my arms. I looked up to see Matt Sanders run in, panting.

“What happened?”

“Uncle Matt tried to eat me!” The boy exclaimed as he pointed at the tired man. His blue eyes were wide of terror. “I barely got away before he would have done it, too!”

“Matt, what have I told you about trying to eat our son?” Brian demanded jokingly. Mhm, this was our little man. Not too long after Brian proposed I ended up getting pregnant. I was that pregnant bride you see once in a while. He was now a whopping six years old.

“Plus, you’re getting too old for it Matt,” I teased.

“Hey! I’m the same age as Brian!” Matt whined.

“Old,” I repeated which caused Brian to gasp in fake shock.

“So cruel to me!” He exclaimed dramatically. Our son looked up at me with confusion.

“Mommy, why are you guys all so weird?” I laughed with the other two.

“Oh crap! I mean, Owen, don’t repeat that,” I automatically demanded. Owen nodded. “C’mon squirt. It’s time to visit your uncle.”

“I have to go get something!” Owen shouted, hopping off my lap and running up our stairs. I chuckled, standing to my feet with Brian right behind me.

“You coming with Matt?” Brian asked as I went to slip on some flats.

“Nah. Val, Ellie, and I are going to go tomorrow since Val’s off,” Matt replied. Ellie was Matt and Val’s eight year old daughter. Zacky and Gena had also had a boy named Zacky Jr. who is now five. Johnny and Lacey were the lucky duo with twins, Tiffany and Lois, currently four. Leana had marked us out of her life and moved to L.A..

“Well we’ll see you later then.” Brian and Matt gave each other that ‘man hug’ thing before Matt hugged me, pecking me on the cheek. Val and Ellie would have been over, but Val was working and Ellie was at summer school. She was skipping up to the fifth grade for fall.

“Come on Owen!” I called as Brian and I hesitated in the doorway. Owen ran down the stairs in his black jeans, Pinkly Smooth shirt, black vest, and converse. Brian had personally ordered the shirt and Owen saw the vest at some store and loved it. I had a feeling it was just a Sullivan thing.

“I’m here!” He declared. He grabbed a hand of Brian and I’s each as we headed out. I took Owen to the car as Brian locked the front door. I had finally gotten my own car a year before Brian proposed. A lime green, 2010 Ford Focus. It was simple and I liked it. Once Owen was put into his Batman booster seat I got into the front. “Hey Mommy?”

“Yeah sport?” I asked as we headed down the PCH.

“Can we listen to Waking The Fallen?” he asked meekly. Owen, for some reason, always thought that it was wrong to ask to listen to something. No matter how many times he asks and we reassure him it's fine, he’s always nervous.

“Of course baby.” Brian took his cue to put in the CD, flipping it to ‘Unholy Confessions’. Ever since he was four he loved that song. He actually learned all the words, with a little help from Matt.

“Ooh! Thank-you Daddy!” Owen exclaimed, a smile brightly on his face.

“No problem buddy,” Brian replied with a grin. For the next five minutes the car was filled with the three of us, plus Matt, singing. We finally reached the cemetery and it got quiet in the car. I pulled the car to a stop before I placed it in park and then shut it off. We climbed out, me releasing Owen, and walked hand in hand again. We stopped about a very familiar tombstone in the ground.

“James Owen Sullivan. Beloved son, brother, best friend. Jimmy jumped into life and never touched bottom,” Owen recited. “He’s where I got my name, right?”

“Yes sir,” Brian replied. Owen’s full name was Owen James Haner. We found it fitting for our little ‘demon‘.

“What does that mean again?” Owen asked innocently, pointing to the very familiar quote.

“It means your uncle lived life to the fullest. He was a great man,” I whispered, kneeling to my son’s height. It’s been over eight years and it still made me cry to know my brother was gone. As it fell silent I said, “Owen, I know the answer to your question now.”

“Huh?” Owen droned, obviously forgetting his question. “What was that again?”

“Why you uncles, aunts, and I are all weird.”

“Oh yeah!” He exclaimed in remembrance. “Why?”

“It’s because we grew up with your uncle. Even those who didn’t are weird in their own way,” I replied with a smile.

“Really?” Owen asked, amazement in his voice. I ‘mhm’ed. “Like who?”

“Anyone who’s a fan of Avenged Sevenfold,” Brian replied, a hand on my shoulder. “They can always believe in Jimmy. ‘Cause with a spoon full of Jimmy helps the world go down.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense.” Owen fell silent for a moment. I had to silently laugh to myself at Owen's 'understanding' of how that quote explains it. “Am I going to become weird too, Mommy?”

“Only if you want.” Owen looked at me, Brian, and then back at the tombstone.

“I do. ‘Cause I want to be just like Uncle Jimmy was.” My heart swelled at that. I hugged my son tightly, pulling him to my chest.

“It’s time to go guys. We’re meeting everyone for dinner soon.” I nodded, standing to my feet. “C’mon Owen.”

“Hold on.” Owen pulled something out of his pocket before lifting out the pot full of flowers and placing it in the hole, replacing the flowers again. I saw something small and yellow fall into the dark hole. “Okay.”

“What did you give him honey?” I asked as Owen and I walked side by side down the rows of graves, Brian right behind us.

“I gave Uncle Jimmy my yellow ducky Stallion. I thought he’d like it,” Owen replied softly. I smiled, remembering Owen had watched their old DVD for the first time a few days ago.

“I think he’d love it Owen.”