Fallen Embers

Later that night something woke Tre out of a sound sleep. He groaned as he glanced at the clock beside the bed; 3:56am. He ran a hand through his unruly hair and pulled the covers from off his body. As he placed his feet on the floor he mentally smacked himself for agreeing to Sabrina's silly idea. Since Beth joined the gang, there weren't enough bedrooms, so Sabrina convinced Tre to take her room and she was going to take the couch. When he started to argue, she squished his attempt and he just agreed to get her off his back. As he scratched his ass through his boxers, he decided to grab something to drink. He stood up and rummaged through his suitcase and snagged a t-shirt and pulled it over his broad chest.

He padded out to the kitchen and found Sabrina sitting at the kitchen table drinking what appeared to be coffee. "Hey," he said bringing her out of her comatose state. She flicked her eyes over him and quickly turned her gaze back to the mug in her hands. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked her.

She sighed, "I haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks. I have been lucky if I get 3 or 4 hours worth anymore."

A concerned look fell over the drummer's face, "Sabrina, why don't you take your room back. I can sleep on the couch." He insisted.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't sleep in my bedroom when I'm alone... the bed is too big." She admitted quietly.

"You don't have to sleep alone... "

She just stared at the man and shook her head, "You're something else... " she muttered.

It now his turn to sigh, "That's not what I mean Sab. I can handle sleeping in the same bed as you without sex happening. We used to have nights where we just cuddled and fell asleep in each other's arms. That what I meant..." He explained trailing off.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, "I'm a bit on edge right now Tre... I shouldn't be snarky with you."

"It's okay... So," the man said while he moved his hand under his shirt to itch his belly. "Are you gonna take some time off?"

"No... I have to work... If I don't keep busy... I'm gonna go insane." She said as she sipped her now cold coffee. "In fact, I'm going back to LA tomorrow for some shows that are booked around there and Oakland. Small venue/bar type places. I have to keep busy... "

"Yea you said that." He replied. "Then what after that?"

"Beth and I have dress idea/fittings with Adie before coming back to the East Coast for a few gigs in New York, with the VMAS at the end of the month," she ticked off the items on her fingers, "then some more dates through September..."

"... With October starting our tour." Tre finished for the women.

"Yea, something like that." She said.

"Why don't you come to bed Sab. You need to get some sort of decent sleep... You'll get sick and I don't think Henry would approve." Tre said. The woman thought about his words and finally nodded her head. She got up from her chair and went to the sink to dump out the coffee. She turned and didn't look at him as she went back down the hallway to her bedroom and disappeared into the room.

He went to the Sub Zero and pulled out a beer. He lowered himself to the chair Sabrina had just vacated and rubbed his eyes. His mind wandered to earlier at the end of the memorial service. The see what Sabrina did was amazing and loving; a fitting tribute to Henry. When everyone was done speaking, his ex-wife moved back up front. "I am now going to fulfill Henry's last wish." Upon saying that she brought her fingers to her lips and let loose with a piercing whistle. The crowd heard a trumpet like noise and a large black horse with a small diamond mark on its forehead came galloping out from a barn and towards the woman. The horse stopped in front of Sabrina and she grasped the mane and pulled herself onto Satan's back. Chris stood up and walked to the urn in the table. With reverence he picked it up and took off the lid before handing to the mounted women. With an unseen motion she turned the horse toward an open pasture and soon was galloping away from the crowd.

She raised the urn to the air and scattered the remains through the field behind her and the horse. She brought the urn back to her side and the horse turned again to head back toward the pond. She went around to the other side of the water and stopped the horse to dismount next to a small newly planted oak tree. She bent down and dug a hole with her hands next to the trunk and poured the remaining ashes into it. She covered it back up and walked towards the people in their seats.

It was the most poignant thing he had ever seen. Tre knew about the trees around the pond, which person each one represented and the meaning behind the tree selection. Sabrina had taken him around the pond one of the last times they were in New York as man and wife. He finished his beer and as he recycled the empty he wondered how she was staying so strong and just how long she could keep it up before cracking.

He went back to her bedroom and heard the shower running. A look of confusion came over him until her remembered her telling him that she sometimes took a shower at night to help her sleep. He removed the shirt from his body and crawled back into bed. He closed his eyes and must have drifted off.

Sabrina came out of the shower and walked into her bedroom with her hair worked into a single fat braid and a large t-shirt on that went mid thigh. She saw that Tre was already in bed and seemed to be asleep. She watched the steady rise and falls of his chest and found herself rooted to the spot. The bed looked so inviting, but she couldn't bring herself to climb in. Instead she went over to the couch that was in the room and sunk down to its' soft surface. She stretched out and closed her eyes almost willing sleep to come claim her.

Tre woke up a little bit later and reached out to find an empty bed around him. He frowned and sat up rubbing the sleep from his eyes. When his sight adjusted to the darken room he spied Sabrina asleep on the couch. He pushed the covers off of him and walked over to where she was. He bent over and worked his arms under her knees and arms and lifted her up and cradled her to his chest. He felt her heart beating but made a face at her weight; she was losing pounds again from not taking care of herself.

He walked back over to the bed and placed her gently on its surface and pulled the covers up over her. He ran a hand through his hair and went back over to the couch. He flipped on the TV and settled in to watch whatever late night program he could find until he fell asleep again.

The room was bright with the morning light filtering through the windows as Sabrina began to wake up. She yawned and stretched in the bed and she stopped cold. She was in the bed when she fell asleep on the couch. She quickly glanced over and saw Tre sleeping there in her place. A small smile ghosted over her lips as she thought about the kind thing Tre did. She was surprised by his actions and then again she wasn't. What he did was just what Tre would have done for anybody. She was glad that he seemed to be getting back to normal around her. What happened in the city scared her; it was so out of character for the man.

She got out of bed and went into the bathroom to begin her last day before going to back to work. She stepped into the shower and allowed the cool water to crash over her. She tried to wash away the feelings of loneliness in a vain effort to feel better. She sighed and leaned against the wall of the shower and heard the door open. She knew he entered the room and was watching her.

"You okay?" he asked in a kind voice.

She just shook her head. Tears had begun to escape for eyes mingling with the spray from the shower. She hung her head and imagined that she could see the mixture of water and tears swirling around the drain before being lost forever. She felt herself slip down the side and end up sitting on the floor of the shower. She hugged her knees and started to sob.

Tre watched her lose the fight to cry and saw her end up at the bottom of the shower. He quickly opened the door and moved next to her. He ignored the coolness of the shower soaking his boxers, making them stick to his body. He gathered her up on his arms and held her. He rocked gently back and forth as she sobbed. His mind flitted to a memory of something Mike said. Tre realized in that moment that Sabrina loved hard and fell hard. The protecting feeling washed over him and all he wanted to do was hold her and made it all better. The problem was that what had to be done in order to make it better was something Tre didn't want to do. He decided at that moment that he would back away from the woman and maintain a friendship that was without benefits. He closed his eyes as his own heart felt lighter.

Within days Sabrina and Beth went back one more time to Oakland. The band began to slowly play some surprise club dates in LA. Sabrina got a charge at finally being able to play The Whiskey a Go-Go. Like The Gilman was for punk in the Bay area, The Whiskey was to hard rock in LA. This was Sabrina's element; she enjoyed playing the small venues that allowed for a much more relaxed gig; more interaction between her and the audience. She once again started to thrive in what she did, slowly healing her wounds from the loss of Tre and Henry.

The Video Music Awards were looming in the distance and this year she was slated not only to perform but up for 9 awards for her video, 'Only Women Bleed'. Sam Bayer was also up for some of those awards for his work on the video. One day Sabrina, Toby and Beth went to Adie's house in order to go over dress designs for the VMAs. The women and manager sat at a dining room table with sketch pads while the Green Day men sat around a TV set nearby.

Billie looked over to group sitting at the table while making clucking noises and moving his hands to make like a chicken beak. Tre snorted at Billie's impression of the clucking women getting spastic over dresses, while Mike shook his head at the laughing men. The women looked over at the sound of the two men laughing and the third doing his best to not crack a smile. Beth shot a glance at Mike, the only smart one out of the three; who was trying his best not to laugh because he knew that he would get his ass beat in by the offended women. When she saw that Billie and Tre were lost, Beth grabbed her shoe off her foot and winged it over across the room; smiling when a yelp signaled that the object had found it mark in Billie's head.

It was now the women's turn to laugh and Mike felt it was safe to laugh along. He KNEW where his bread was buttered so to speak; being it was safer to stay on the women's good sides

"That hurt Beth." whined Billie plaintively.

"Serves you right asshole... Don't cluck at us." Beth retorted to the man who was still rubbing his head.

The women soon went back to their dress designing and the men returned to their movie. The talk turned to a discussion about the red carpet. "My guys hate the red carpet and they never walk it," Sabrina said looking at Beth, "you can walk it or not. It's totally up to you."

"Walk the red carpet?" Beth asked nervously.

"If you walk it, you can walk it with me and Toby." The older women explained. "He just loves the red carpet."

"I don't know Sab... That seems overwhelming... " Beth said brokenly with apprehension in her voice.

"The carpet isn't that bad. Toby just stands off to the side and pulls me from interviewer to interviewer. He tells me where to stand for pictures... it's not that bad." She admitted.

"But how will we all get there?" Beth asked thinking about her answer.

"Well since the band doesn't do the red carpet they take a separate ride. Whoever walks the carpet, rides with me." Sabrina paused for a moment, "Though I was toying with the idea of doing something different since this was MTV."

"What's that?" Tre piped up.

"I don't know... I thought maybe riding up on my new Harley or something else wild like that." Sabrina mused out loud.

"OHHHHH, your Harley? Hey, how about I ride with you Sab... ON the BACK!!!! That would be priceless..." Tre said excitedly. "I could be your motorcycle momma."

Sabrina chuckled at the thought, "I don't know..."

"Well then what about me and Toby?" Beth asked.

"Well you can ride with us." Adie said.

"You can be Toby's date." Billie suggested with a smile. Mike gave Billie a dirty look at that suggestion. He was toying with the idea of asking Beth himself, and now that idea was now blown with the front man's comment.

"Yea... that would work." Beth agreed as she resigned herself to walking the red carpet.

"Well I guess that leaves you and me Tre. You sure you want to be a motorcycle momma?" Sabrina quipped.

"Oh god... yes... how funny would that be to see you in charge." Tre got out in between the laughter he was having at the thoughts in his mind.

She raised an eyebrow, "I'm in charge? Does that mean you are my bitch Tre?"

Tre stopped laughing for a moment, "Anytime."

Beth stood up and went over to the outside porch to grab some fresh air. Mike got up and followed her outside. He saw Beth leaning against the porch railing as the night air rustled her hair and refresh her face. Mike himself leaned with his back to the railing and looked at the woman next to him. "Hey."

"Hey back." she answered while giving the man a strange look.

"I was wondering..." he began.

"What?"

"Well.... I was thinking.... ummm..."

Beth let out an exasperated noise, "Good god man. Spit it out."

"Would you be my date for the VMAs?"

She turned to him when he finally was able to say what he wanted to. He looked like a 7th grader asking out his first date to the dance as she let the thought of him and her going together roll through her mind. On one hand, she wanted to kill him for asking her; who did he think he was. BUT the flip side to that was the thought that she might actually ENJOY herself. She wasn't sure which way to go. "Let me think about it..." she finally said.

"Well is that a yes or no?"

"It's an official I don't know." Beth explained. "It's a 'let me think about it'."

He nodded his head and they stood there without talking enjoying the cool night breeze. After a few minutes of the two of them standing quietly, Beth turned to Mike, "You're still standing here?" she said stating the obvious. "Are you waiting for a blow job or something?"

"Ummm n-n-n-no, I was just... ummm... well..." he stuttered before finally sighing, "Never mind." as he turned and walked back into Billie's house. Beth watched him leave and thought how cute he was when he stuttered. She smiled and turned back to look at the city lights twinkling in the distance.