Ever After

“Come in here, guys, right now. I need to tell you all something.” Josh was herding every person on the bus into the main area. He pulled Brett from his bunk bed and ushered Matt, Chelsea, Mike, Sam, Ian and Patty from the back room all the way to the front.

When everyone was finally sitting down, Matt spoke up. “What’s going on, Ramsay? We were just starting up a game of Halo.”

“Without me? Dicks.” Josh gasped. He pulled Kali into his side and smiled a reassuring smile at her. She grinned back and rested her head on his upper arm. She thought she would’ve been a little more apprehensive about telling everyone, but she was surprisingly ready. She wanted everyone to know.

Several eyes turned to Kali, searching for hints. She gave none away though; she simply smiled at them and nuzzled into her husband. She still couldn’t believe how excited he’d gotten. She couldn’t believe how excited he still was. He couldn’t seem to stand still, constantly bouncing from one foot to the other, still with that boyish grin on his face. That was just like Josh though; he was always doing something you weren’t expecting.

“Okay, we’re all here, lay it on us.” Mike opened his arms expectantly.

“Well, we found out some interesting news today,” He waved his hand between himself and Kali, “and we figured it needed to be shared with all of you right away. You’re all the first people to be told.”

Everyone was silent, and now eyes were lingering on Kali. She could see them travelling down to her stomach. It was obvious from Josh’s words what he was going to say already. All they had to do was put two and two together.

“It seems as though, and this will come as a surprise, our little family of two will become a family of three in nine months.” Josh smiled down at his wife and it was breathtaking. She hadn’t seen him look that overjoyed in a very long time.

Immediately everyone was yelling and standing up in a flurry of movement.

“I knew it!” everyone said.

The couple was quickly encased by their friends in a swarm of hugs and congratulations. They were astonished to hear that Josh and Kali had only found out today that she was pregnant. The boys made several humorous jabs at Josh and his ‘little swimmers’ finally winning a race, and how if their child was anything like its father it’d be a lot to handle.

“I’ve put up with Josh all my life, I can handle a mini him as well.” Kali had said confidently.

After everything had settled down a little, Josh held Kali tightly. He hadn’t stepped away from her since she told him. He kissed the tip of her nose and brushed his own against it softly.

“Are you ready to tell the parents?” he asked.

Kali swallowed. “They’re the ones I’m nervous about.”

“How come? They’re going to be just as excited as we are.”

“One can only hope.”

Josh smiled and pulled Kali back off the bus to make the phone calls.



Kali pulled on her short peach silk nightgown and finished towel drying her hair as she walked out of her bathroom. Her parents had just gone to bed and she was the only one awake in her house. Or at least that’s what she thought.

She pulled the towel from her face and opened her eyes to her dimly lit bedroom. There, sitting on the edge of her bed and looking completely calm and casual, was Josh Ramsay. She gasped and jumped a little at the surprise, drawing all his attention to her. His ice blue eyes looked her up and down very slowly and then a grin cracked his face.

“God, I love it when you wear that thing.” He commented.

“Josh, what are you doing here? My parents are—”

“—Right down the hall, I know. And do you want to know something else about your parents? They’re sleeping.” Josh smirked and jumped off the bed to walk over to Kali. He gently wrapped his arms around her small waist and raised an eyebrow.

Kali sighed but leaned into his body. “Just because they’re sleeping doesn’t mean you have free reign to break into my house.”

“Don’t think of it as ‘breaking in’, that’s such a harsh term,” Josh said thoughtfully. “Think of it as a romantic entrance by the greatest boyfriend on planet earth. It’s almost like Peter Pan and Wendy.”

Kali chuckled lightly and kissed his full lips. “Alright, greatest boyfriend on planet earth, what do you want?” She danced her way out of his hold and moved to her dresser to brush her long hair. She watched him in the mirror and he put his hands in his jean pockets, admiring her from a distance.

“I couldn’t sleep again,” he mumbled, kicking at her floor with his Chucks.

“Again? I thought you were finally getting better.” Kali chewed on her lip and looked at the boy with sympathetic eyes.

“Me too, but, I guess that’s not the case. I just don’t get it, Kal. I’ve been clean for six months now, why isn’t this getting any easier?”

Kali set down her brush and sighed, returning to Josh. “I can’t imagine coming down from a heroin addiction would be easy for anyone. At least you’re more stable physically now, right? And it’s alright that you can’t sleep, you know you can always come and visit me, Peter Pan.” She smiled and kissed his chest.

Josh’s lips perked up in a smile of his own. “I hate to keep you from sleeping, though.”

“Falling asleep in your arms is better than doing it alone, trust me.” Kali pulled him onto her bed and slid underneath the covers. Josh kicked off his shoes and did the same, pulling her into his arms again.

“We’re making more progress, finally,” Josh murmured.

“The band? Oh, that’s great, Josh. You guys deserve it. With all your hard work it’ll pay off in no time, I guarantee it.”

“Well I sure hope so. It’s easy to lose hope in this business.”

“I won’t lose hope if you won’t, and even if you do, I still won’t.” Kali stretched up and kissed his cheek.

“I didn’t lose hope when all I wanted was you, and I got you in the end. It took awhile, but I finally got you. I believe I can get this, too.” Josh smiled and gave her a warm look.

“You’ll always have me, promise.”

“Always? Is that a promise you’re willing to make, Kali? Because you know I want you forever.” Josh’s voice was quiet and he looked at her with a soft, serious gaze.

“I know.” Kali peered up at him through her eyelashes.

“Do you? I can’t ever be with someone else, Kali. I don’t know about you, but that’s the way it is for me. If I don’t have you, I just don’t have anyone. I want to marry you someday and maybe have a little crazy family of our own,” Josh whispered. “I know it sounds completely nuts, but, I can’t see myself with anyone that isn’t you.”

Kali bit her lip and fiddled with the hem of his shirt sleeve. He’d said things like this to her before, but never quite that seriously. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She knew she wanted him just as long as he wanted her, but she was more afraid of how serious he really was. She didn’t want to get her heart broken in the long run. She didn’t want to get destroyed for wanting what she wanted.

She looked up at him to find him still staring at her with those calm ocean eyes. Slowly, she inhaled a deep breath and let it out in words. “Do you promise to always want me like that?” she asked. “Because if you don’t…well, I can’t promise anything, Josh.”

Josh tilted her face up to his and peered deep into her emerald green eyes. His gaze was unwavering as he spoke. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

Kali smiled softly and pulled his lips down to hers. “Good,” she whispered, “but please don’t ever hope for that.”

“Kali? Are you even present?” Josh asked, lightly shaking his wife’s shoulder. She was staring off into space again. He’d followed her gaze out the window but there was nothing very attention-grabbing out there except the blank night sky and streetlights.

Kali blinked and shook her head, her vision finally coming into focus. Josh was staring at her with an amused smirk on his face. He’d caught her spacing out yet again. A light blush illuminated her cheeks.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, “I was just thinking.”

“I gathered that,” he chuckled. “What were you thinking about?” He sat down beside her on the leather couch in the main area of the tour bus.

Kali snuggled into him. “Remember when you used to sneak into my room when you couldn’t sleep?” she asked softly. Josh nodded. “I was thinking about that.”

“Mm, I remember when sometimes I’d come in and you’d be wearing that nightgown…or just a towel…” Josh’s voice died away as his train of thought took him over.

Kali lightly smacked his chest. “Pervert. I wasn’t thinking about those times.” She chuckled.

Josh laughed and kissed her hair. “What were you thinking about, baby?”

“Well, I was just so surprised at your reaction to the news. I thought you would’ve gotten upset or something…so I was just thinking about things you’ve said to me before, way back when…”

Josh laughed a little and pulled back to look at Kali’s face. “Kali, you couldn’t have thought I would’ve gotten mad.”

Kali bit her lip.

Josh sighed. “Think about it, Kal. Our relationship is a product of a heroin addiction. You swallowed up all the darkness I had been living in for so long with a kiss. You’ve got to be crazy to believe I’d throw myself back into all that blackness just because you’re pregnant.”

“Maybe I’m a little crazy.” Kali mumbled.

“Oh, Kali…”

“I was panicking!”

Josh laughed. “As long as you know now, that’s what matters. To prove my point, I made an appointment with a doctor for you tomorrow here in Calgary.”

Kali groaned. “Ugh, doctors…”

“Its part of the deal,” Josh said in his girly impression. “If you can’t take the heat maybe you should’ve stayed out of the bedroom, sweetheart.”

“Excuse me?” Kali looked at her husband with humoured disbelief. “This is all your fault, Ramsay!” She lightly shoved him and laughed.

“Don’t blame me! I can’t control it! You and your seductive behaviour sucked me in and I couldn’t escape.”

Kali rolled her eyes and giggled. “Yeah, I bet.”

Josh smiled and kissed Kali slowly, holding her close. “I love you,” he murmured. He looked down at her stomach and put his hand on it. “Even though you’re probably no bigger than my pinkie finger right now, I love you, too, little Rams-meister.”

Kali felt warmth spread throughout her body and she smiled at the look Josh was giving her stomach. She’d gotten so worked up over nothing. They were together, expecting, and happier than ever. She was actually excited to become a parent. She wanted to speed up time so she could just have her child already. This baby was going to be loved and appreciated by everyone, not to mention the immediate rock star status it’d have.

“Well, I love both of you.” Kali smiled wider and put her hand on her belly overtop of Josh’s, who leaned in for another kiss.