I Left My Heart in San Diego

CURRENT STORY DATE: 04/16/11

Shit. I sat up. "Billie?"

He didn't move or respond.

"Billie."

Yet again, no movement or response.

"Billie!" I winced, biting my lip in an attempt to curb a squeal.

For the third time, no response.

"Billie Joe!"

He shifted onto his back, his head turned toward me. Seeing that I was sitting up with my hand on my very pregnant belly, he bolted awake. "Shit, um, okay." He swung his legs over his bed and stood up, briefly stretching. "I'll get the guys. And my mom."

I smiled at him as he walked out the door. A few minutes later, Tre popped his head in the door, a smile visible on his face even in the darkness. "Let's get you to the car," he said, walking in and taking my hand in his.

I saw his muscles ripple slightly in pulling me off Billie's bed, even in the dark. "Wow," I murmured.

"What?" Tre asked as we left Billie's bedroom.

"You can pull a pregnant girl off of a bed," I answered.

Tre chuckled as we neared the stairs. "I lift drums, Arizona. You're practically nothing compared to some of the drums I've had to pick up before."

The giggle I was about to let out was abruptly cut off by a grimace an another attempt to curb a squeal. I squeezed Tre's hand, hard, and I saw him wince in pain when I looked up at me after it was over. "Sorry," I whispered.

Tre smiled weakly as we continued down the stairs. At the bottom, Mike, Ollie, and of course, Billie Joe were waiting for Tre and I. "Hey, babe," Billie greeted, smiling briefly. He then took my hand from Tre and started to lead me out the door behind Ollie, Mike, and Tre. "Let's go. I'm sure our time is starting to run short already."

When we got to the car, Ollie was already sat in the middle of Mike and Tre, waiting for Billie to get me seated in the passenger seat next to him. "Mom."

Ollie looked up at Billie Joe in his rear-view mirror. "Yes, Billie Joe?"

"How long do we have?"

Ollie looked over at me, watching me for a few moments. "Her contractions are about two and a half minutes apart, maybe two minutes. We have some time, but that doesn't mean you can dawdle."

Billie nodded and shifted his car into drive. "Then let's get this show on the road," he said, pulling out of his driveway.



I saw four figures outside my door. Two were sitting down, a third was leaning against the door, and the fourth was pacing, most obviously Billie Joe. I smiled and bounced our new daughter in my arms again. I saw a fifth figure by the door, stop Billie Joe from pacing, and then the door handle turned. Finally, they were letting people in. I was dying for my new husband to see his newborn daughter.

Billie Joe was the first to poke his head in the door. "Hey, babe," he whispered, bringing the rest of his body inside my room.

I grinned. "Hi, sweetheart. Come on in out of the doorway and let everyone else come in. I'm sure Ollie wants to meet her granddaughter," I said.

Billie smiled and stepped out of the way of the door, letting Ollie, Mike, Tre, and Zie inside. I guess that Tre had called her while Billie and I were in the delivery room. Billie walked up to me, grinning, and looked down at our daughter. "Here she is," he whispered. "What did you pick for a middle name?" he asked, looking up at me.

I smiled. "Aleah. Cadence Aleah Armstrong."

Billie grinned even wider (if that was at all possible for him) and moved a piece of hair out of my face to kiss me lightly. "I love you, Arizona."

I looked back at Billie and smiled, giggling a little staring into his bright yellow-green eyes. "I love you, too, Billie Joe."

Billie smiled back at me and then looked out at the people standing with us in the room. "Come see our new daughter, everyone. Cadence Aleah Armstrong."

I giggled as people started filing up to my bed. Billie fetched his mother from the back of the room and dragged her to the front of the line at my bedside. He gave her a small push and she smiled, leaning over the bed. "She's beautiful, Arizona," Ollie whispered.

"Thank you," I said quietly, smiling. This process pretty much repeated itself about three more times as Zie, Mike, and Tre all came up to ogle my daughter.

A few hours later, amidst lively conversation and stolen kisses between couples, another head poked through the door, closely followed by another. Billie nudged my arm and pointed to the door; it was my mother and stepfather with my sister. "Mom!" I exclaimed, grinning.

She grinned back at me and hastily handed Alaska to Aran, striding up to me and giving me a modified bear hug. I laughed and she looked down at Cadence. "Oh, she's beautiful, Arizona! What did you and Billie Joe decide on for a name?"

I smiled. "Cadence."

My mom gasped. "Sweetheart, that's gorgeous!"

"Just like her mother," Billie remarked, leaning over to kiss me. I smiled, happily accepting the kiss.

He kissed me again and Aran cleared his throat. We broke apart and I looked at him. "What?"

"Really?"

I rolled my eyes and pulled Billie to me again. He was surprised, but he kissed me all the same. After about five minutes, I pulled away from Billie, making him fall over. Luckily, he caught the railing and righted himself, pretending like nothing just happened. I watched him and giggled before looking back over at Aran. "I'm not shy about kissing my husband in front of people, Aran."

"Well, please try and keep the public displays of affection to a minimum," Aran said. I playfully stuck my tongue out at him and he smiled, bouncing Alaska.

"Oh, Aran, sweetheart, let 'em have a little fun. They just had their first child. Everett and I were like that when Arizona was born," my mom said, walking over to Aran and kissing his cheek. Aran beamed and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Can I call you a hypocrite now, Aran?" I teased.

Aran looked over at me and I giggled, Billie kissing me on the cheek and sitting down in the chair next to my bed. He took my hand when he was seated, and I looked over at him. He smiled, squeezing my hand. I giggled and squeezed his hand back. "That's what I meant by a minimum," Aran said, smirking.

I laughed, looking down at Cadence. "We're a real family now, Billie," I said, looking over at him and smiling.

Billie smiled and looked back at me. "I thought we were from the moment you agreed to marry me," he said.

I just smiled and kissed him again.