Is This What You Call a Family?

A phone ringing was what woke a man in the wee hours of the morning. He rolled off of his back and onto his stomach, groaning and pulling a pillow over his head. Who the fuck would be calling who at this time of night? Most normal people were sleeping. If someone didn't answer their phone soon there would be hell to pay.

Suddenly something small and solid hit his left side. He groaned again, slipping the pillow off his head. His friend across the way in his own bunk glared at the man, his jade green eyes giving the man shivers. "Answer your goddamn phone already."

That was when the man realized it was his phone ringing. The familiar sound of the song "Walk" by Pantera was playing, the man’s own special ringtone. He sighed, holding up the rectangular, box shaped device and squinted to see who was calling him so early. A number not programmed in his contacts with the area code belonging near Los Angeles flashed on the large screen. He frowned, hitting the 'accept' button and holding it to his ear.

"Hello?" He answered groggily. He had noticed the time before he answered and couldn't help but feel very annoyed; 5:43 in the morning. He didn't even know this time of day existed with how rarely he was awake to witness it.

"Sorry to wake you sir, I know it must be very earlier in the morning in Sydney - "

"Okay, who are you and how do you know I’m in Sydney?" He could hear someone hiss at him to 'shut the fuck up' so he quickly climbed out of bed and headed to the front of their transportation. It had come to a stop, letting him know they were at their next venue, the driver asleep in the back area he had just left. He settled on one of the couches as the man on the other end of the line began to speak.

"My name is Eric Mathers. I am a social worker for the California division of Child Protective Services. I would have waited to call you, but it is urgent, sir."

The information swarmed in his head, making the man dizzy and confused. CPS? "Are you sure you have the right number?"

"This is Mr. Brian Haner Jr., correct?"

Brian nodded his head before realizing that the other man couldn't see the movement from the other end of the phone call. "Yes, I am."

"Well this is a call in regards to your daughter, Juliet."

Brian's breath caught as realization finally dawned on him. He sat straighter in his seat, his mind suddenly focusing with intense precision. What had happened to Juliet? "Is she okay?"

"For the most part she is, sir. I’m sorry to inform you, however, her mother Allison passed yesterday morning."

"Oh, my God, Ally," Brian whispered out, covering his eyes with his hand. Brian and Ally had dated in high school when Ally had gotten pregnant. They stopped getting along when Juliet was only two. She kicked him out of their apartment and soon moved with Juliet to Los Angeles. As much as Brian tried, Ally refused to let Juliet see him. When Juliet would have been five, Brian gave up all hope and stopped trying to contact her. He hadn't thought about either much until now. "Where’s Juliet?"

"She’s currently a patient at Los Angeles Memorial Hospital. I would suggest calling her doctor to hear more intensively on what’s going on, but the only injuries she's retained are two broken ribs and a sprained ankle."

He let out a soft sigh as he ran a shaky hand through his hair. At least Juliet was safe. Brian couldn't imagine how terrible he'd feel if Juliet had passed away too from whatever situation had occurred. In fact... "What happened to the two of them?"

Eric cleared his throat softly, leaning back in his chair uncomfortably as he shifted his papers around his desk. "Ms. Evans had been in a romantic relationship with a man named Marcus Clearwater. Mr. Clearwater was a known drug abuser and according to the paramedics, they found him beating both Ms. Evans and Juliet with a baseball bat. If the police and ambulance hadn't arrive when they did, it could have turned out much worse for Juliet."

Brian was speechless on his end of the call as he burned holes into the wall before him. That was...that was terrible. Who could do such a horrible thing to a fourteen year old? Rage slowly began to build and Brian wanted nothing more than to punch the asshole who did this in the face. Much worse, in fact. "What happened to him?"

"He was taken to jail right after. After Ms. Evans's passing, he was given a lifetime sentence. No parole," Eric spoke happily. Brian nodded to himself. He'd rather take lethal injection but that might have just been his bias talking. "Anyways, the reason I was calling you, Mr. Haner, was because I was needing to know if you would be able to take in Juliet."

"What? Of course!" Brian was almost baffled by the man's words. Why would he not be able to take in his daughter? Just because he hadn't been involved in her life since she was young did not suddenly mean he didn't give a damn. Then again, there’s no telling what kind of circumstances Eric Mathers had seen in his time working for Child Protective Services. There was probably a few cans of worms Brian would never want to open from there.

Eric let out a sigh of relief which just seemed to prove Brian’s thoughts about what the man had seen. "That’s great! Juliet's doctor thinks she can be released tomorrow but her nurse is guessing it won’t be until Friday. Will you be able to get her from there?"

"Uh, not exactly," Brian said slowly as he thought over the schedule for the next few days. "Our tour doesn't end until Sunday so I won't be back in town until Monday." Brian felt myself feel sick about the aspect. He wanted to leave right now, but his band rarely got to see the fans in Australia. He couldn't just disappoint them. Dad! Of course! "Can my father pick her up and watch her until I get back?"

"I don’t see why not." Eric practically chirped. "Would you like me to contact him or...?"

"No, no. I'll call him. Does he need to fill out paperwork or anything?"

"No, we’ll sort all that out once you get back from your trip. I will go back to the hospital around ten AM on Friday morning to explain to Juliet what happens from there, but we will go over all the official things Tuesday morning."

"What is all that's going to happen from there?" Brian asked, his hint of nerves making themselves apparent. Eric let out chuckle causing the guitarist to scowl, whether the other man could see it or not.

"It's nothing to worry about, Mr. Haner. It's customary on cases to have weekly checkups before simply becoming monthly checkups. Once it’s clear that the situation is fine, we are no longer involved in your lives. We just check to make sure Juliet is happy and healthy and living in a safe environment."

"Of course, of course!" Brian could feel himself getting jittery at the whole aspect of seeing his daughter again after all these years. "Quick question before we hang up, what time is it over there? I don’t want to wake him up too early."

"It’s nearly one PM over here," Eric informed. "Well, I’ll be in touch with you when you get back, Mr. Haner."

"Alright. Thank you, Mr. Mathers." With that the two hung up before Brian was instantly dialing his father’s number. He waited impatiently for the older man to answer the phone and when he did, Brian wouldn't even let him finish his greeting. "Dad, I’m getting Juliet back!"

"Wait, what?" The older man muted the television he had been watching and furrowed his eyebrows at his son’s words. They had been rushed but he definitely heard a name he had been longing to hear about for years. "What do you mean?"

Brian took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking a much more intelligible speed. "The bad news is Ally passed away. It sounded terrible, Dad. She died in a domestic dispute and Juliet would have too if the police didn't show up. I’m so sorry."

The elder Brian swallowed hard as he felt tears burning the back of his eyes. Allison had been like a child to him, not unlike the rest of the band and their significant others. It had broken his heart when Ally disappeared from all of them all those years ago. "Is there going to be a funeral?"

"I don’t know, actually," his son admitted. "I’ll call him back to find out after this. But Juliet’s caseworker, Eric, said I’m able to take in Juliet! The only problem is that I won’t be back until Monday. But he said that you could take her until I get back, if you’re willing."

"Of course I'm willing!" Papa Gates snapped. Brian chuckled at him and his father’s soft laugh followed. "So when is she supposed to get out?"

"The estimated guess is Friday, but I would ask for you to check in with her today so you can get her acquainted with you again. Wait, what day is it over there?"

"Wednesday."

"Wait, no, go tomorrow then. She might still be trying to recover from her injuries today. I don’t want to overcrowd her or anything."

"Alright, alright. Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to be gentle when I visit," the father vowed making the younger Brian chuckle. "God, what time is it over there?"

"About six in the morning tomorrow," Brian spoke, the end of his sentence cracking into a yawn.

"Jesus. Get some sleep, kid. I’ll let you know how Juliet is after I visit her. Try to not blow up the hospital phone, alright?"

"Fine, fine." Brian let out another yawn and rubbed at his eyes which were having issues staying open at this point. "Talk to ya then."

"Alright. Have a good rest." Brian hung his phone back up before laying across the couch below him. He grabbed one of the pillows after placing the cell phone next to his head. He turned onto his stomach and turned his head towards the back of the couch. As he let his eyes slide shut, a smile settled on his lips.

Just a little under four days and father and daughter would be reunited again.