Lay Down Your Arms; Give Up The Fight

The sunlight began to creep through the half-shut blinds, and Shay's eyelids burned when it penetrated her skin. She sat upright against the headboard and rubbed her eyes. John was lying face down, and she could hear his steady breath against the beaten pillow. Being careful not to wake him, she crept out of bed to go shower. Ouch, she thought as she felt a shooting pain in her back. Morning after pains, loads of fun.

John heard Shay's slight moan of pain and looked up from his sunken spot in the pillow.
"You okay, babe?" he asked with a pained expression.

Shay squeezed a smile and nodded. "Yeah, just a little sore."

John's eyes widened as he realized why. "I'm sorry, Shay, was I too rough? Come here, let me get you some Tylenol and water."

Shay gratefully took up his offer and sulked her way to the bed. She laid face down and tucked her arms under her face. "Thanks, John."

John returned to the room with a glass full of water and the bottle of Tylenol. He opened up the bottle and poured out 2 little blue and red pills into his hand. "Here, swallow these, hon, they'll start to kick in soon, hopefully."

Shay scrunched her nose as she forced the pills down her throat. She reached for the water in John's hand and took a few baby sips. "Thank you," she squeezed out.

"Anything for you," John said as he took a seat at the edge of the bed and began to rub her back.

"Oooh, that feels nice." Shay smiled and shut her eyes. John treated her so well, and she couldn't be luckier.

"John?" Shay asked, looking up.

"Hmm?" he hummed as he raised his eyebrows, beckoning the question.

"I want a girl," she stated simply.

He chuckled and let out a sigh. "I want a boy and a girl. What do you say to that?"

"Easy there, cowboy. One at a time. Hm. If we have a boy, do you want another little John?"
Shay smiled as she thought about what a cute little family they would have.

"John Cornelius O'Callaghan VI. I like it. And when he grows up, he can get his roman numeral tattooed and match with daddy," John laughed. He could picture his old 60 year old self with a spitting image of himself 25 years younger, poolside with a few beers and matching tattoos.

"What about if we have a girl? What do you want to name her then?"

"Hm. That's a good question. I'm not really all that great with girl names. But I like Daisy, and I love daisies," he stated as he continued to rub Shay's back.

"Daisy O'Callaghan. I like it. What would her middle name be? Please don't say Shay," she smiled.

John grinned. Invertedly named after her mother. Corny, but cute. "What's your favorite type of flower?"

Shay laughed. " She can't be named after two types of flowers, John!"

"She can if we want her to be," he winked.

"I like Pansies. Are we still going to name her after my favorite kind of flower?" Shay smirked.

"Okay, maybe not. What about.... I don't know," he laughed.

"Can we name her after Saving Grace? Daisy Grace O'Callaghan."

"I think you're onto something." John burst out into song. "You are, baby, you are my saving grace!"

Shay giggled at his voice. "We're going to be some awesome parents, Johno."

John bent down and kissed Shay's cheek. "I love you."

"And you know I love you, right?"

John smirked. "Do I really know you love me, or do I think that you do?"

Shay scrunched up her nose. "I know you do, because you bought me this ring!" She held up her hand and the light hit the beautiful diamonds.

John kissed her full on the lips. "Touche, my beautiful Shay, touche."

Shay giggled and rested her head back down on the pillow.

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Shay got out of the shower and walked downstairs to see John on his MacBook.

"Whatcha up to?" she asked as she began to brew a pot of coffee.

Without taking his eyes off of the screen, John replied, "Um, Max just e-mailed me. We're going on a short tour in a week. Something for our new album. It's only 10 days long. I'm trying to see if he'll let you stay on the bus."

Shay's shoulders fell when she heard the word 'tour.' The perks of being married to a well-known musician. She hated when he left, and it seemed as if the band was taking him further and further away from home.

"Oh, that's good, I guess." She tried her best to fake excitement, but she couldn't. How could she? John was going to leave her for a little bit over a week. At least it wasn't a big tour.

John sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. It was starting to get long again.

"He just emailed me back. He said.... Yes! You can come!"

Shay's eyes brightened up a bit. As much as she hated being on the road, she was glad she would get to go with him.

"That's great, John!" she said as she kissed his cheek.

1 week, and the two were on the road, again.