Family Reunion

Some days later Rose was released from the hospital and told to rest up to allow her battered body to heal properly. And that she did, Tre and Billie Joe made her stay in bed for a week after getting out of the hospital.

Billie Joe was still not keen on the idea of Tre dating his younger cousin. But she was eighteen now, an adult, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

Rose spent the time resting up in the guest bedroom her mom had occupied. She was still in disbelief of everything she had been told by Green Day's drummer Tre Cool. He was just a famous face to her, and someone she still felt very nervous and intimidated around. It was like she'd never built a personal relationship with him or any of her family either.

It was a warm summer morning when Rose was lying in bed that Billie Joe came to wake her up. "Wake...Up..." Billie Joe said before realizing Rose was already wide awake and staring up at the nine foot ceilings above her.

Rose looked down from the ceiling at her cousin. "Ah, morning," she said in a croaked voice.

Billie Joe could sense her tension and he sighed. He slowly came into the room and sat on the edge of her bed. "So Rose..." Billie Joe began, slowly like he wanted to say something but didn't know quite how to word it.

It felt so awkward for her to hear Billie Joe say her name. And on the subject of being awkward as she looked at him she found herself quite attracted to him. She never would have before her accident, but she was still in denial about the singer being her cousin. In her mind it was just not possible.

"So Rose...what?" she said, questioning him in a low shy voice.

"Ah...when are you going to stop being afraid of me?" Billie Joe inquired with curiosity.

"I'm not afraid of you..." Rose lied.

"I think you are."

"You think wrong," Rose replied.

"This is pointless, you're obviously nervous around me," Billie Joe sighed.

"I am not!" Rose exclaimed, startled by her own outburst.

Billie Joe just started to laugh, "My god..."

"What's so funny?" the young woman snipped accordingly.

"You. Maybe you have a different last name, but you're all Armstrong. We Armstrongs are great at denying things," Billie Joe said and he continued laughing.

Rose shrugged her shoulders.

Billie straightened up and looked at the young woman seriously. "I'm sure you could probably come downstairs and get breakfast today. You're looking a lot better," he said thinking of the whole week Adrienne had given her breakfast in bed.

"Yeah, I think I can move a bit now too. I hope I remember how to walk," Rose said, seeping a laugh. She pulled the comforters off her body and started to sit up. After almost two and a half months of laying down, her body had become quite weak.

"Here let me help you!" Billie Joe said and he ran over to Rose and grabbed her frail scarred arms. "Okay just go nice and slow."

She looked at her cousin's hands, wrapped about her fragile arms. She knew she could trust him and she let herself stand quickly. Billie Joe grabbed her as she stumbled forward. "No..." Rose whined.

"It's okay. Don't worry, you'll be okay," Billie Joe said kindly. He took her by the arms again, "Now can you take a step?"

"I don't know..." Rose said and she felt unconfident about it. Never in her life had she felt so helpless before. She couldn't believe she was scared to walk.

"Okay, remember just go slow," Billie Joe said and he started to step back while holding her arms and pulling her with him. She stepped forward, and oh did her legs feel heavy. The simplest move was like lifting two thousand and one sumo wrestlers.

She took her first step and then another. It was hard to imagine that someone's muscles could deteriorate so quickly. But that's what lying down for months without any exercise can do to you. "This is so hard," Rose cried, and she already felt like giving up on herself.

"Hey, Rose...I'm here for you. Your family is here for you, and umm yeah, Tre is too," Billie Joe said, relishing having to mention the last part. Tre had come to visit Rose everyday at Billie Joe's house, except when on vacation. He would have stayed right by her side the entire time too, but Billie Joe wouldn't let Tre spend the night.

Rose stopped in the middle of the floor and just let Billie Joe hold her for a few moments and she had something very distinct on her mind. "You have no idea how scary it is to wake up and realize you're related to a rock star, dating your celebrity crush and pregnant with his child."

"Your right, I don't know how scary that is. But I can only really guess that it's horrifying," Billie Joe said as he held her close to him not wanting to take the chance that she might fall.

"I don't know what the fuck to do. I can't go out with Tre, he's too important compared to me. I'm a nobody; why the hell should he like me?" Rose questioned her 33-year-old cousin. "I'm surprised he even fucked me."

"You're not a nobody. And if anybody is a nobody it's Tre, it's Mike, and it's me. We're not that spectacular, we're just made to look that way," Billie Joe said.

"Oh my god, I can't believe you feel that way. You guy's are sensational, the lyrics, the guitar riffs, the looks..." Rose said trailing off. "I just think he can do better then me. I don't want to insult myself, but I really think he can find someone better. Someone that's model beautiful...like...ah..." Rose was cut off and Billie Joe finished her sentence.

"Like...ah Claudia?" Billie Joe asked.

"Ah, yeah that was the one."

"The Tre Cool I know isn't shallow. Sure he is horny as fuck; but he doesn't just pick one style of women. He picks the nicest girls from all different groups. I mean...shit I'm putting this the wrong way," Billie Joe laughed.

"Yeah, you're making Tre sound like a pimp," Rose laughed as an old tear came down her cheek.

"I just mean, he's been married twice before; and both times to very different women. And he loved them both unconditionally," Billie Joe said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Why are we talking about marriages though?" Rose questioned.

"Ah, I don't know really," Billie Joe said quickly.

"So are we just going to stand here, or are you going to help me walk?" Rose said jokingly, once realized she was still haunched over the musician.

"Okay, let's go," Billie Joe said and he started to pull her by the arms slowly again.

She was in so much pain as she tried to make it over to the door. Her only motivation for walking at this moment was to not embarrass herself in front of Billie Joe.

This humility contest she had made with herself unfortunately did not have the outcome she had hoped for. After she told Billie Joe to let her walk on her own her knees gave in and she fell on the floor. "Ohh..." Rose groaned in pain.

"Shit! Are you okay?" Billie Joe shrieked and ran over to help her up, feeling mildly responsible.

Adrienne downstairs had been startled by a loud thud. "Billie is everything okay up there?!" she shot out with concern over the well being of everyone in her household.

"I think so babe, Rose just fell on the floor! I think she's okay!" Billie Joe said and he looked at Rose whom he was holding one of her arms while she remained glued to the floor.

"Fuck, I'm so useless..." Rose cried. "I'm pathetic."

"Rose, I know you're a lot like me. And I know you probably won't appreciate me doing this. In fact you'll probably bitch me out, because I'm really stubborn and I know you are too. But here we go..." Billie Joe said.

"Here we go?" Rose questioned and just then Billie Joe picked her up in his arms and started to walk out of the guest bedroom with her. "Ah crap, you're right. This is the last thing I wanted you to do! Put me down! I'll fucking crawl downstairs if I have to!"

Billie Joe ignored her and he continued towards the stairwell while listening to her shouting her mouth off with nasty comments. He brought her downstairs and placed her down on a chair in the kitchen; Adrienne watched the kindness of her husband and it brought a smile to her face.

"Err, what did you have to do that for?" Rose said as she leant against the table with the small amount of strength left in her arms.

"Trust me, you never would of made it down here without my help," Billie Joe said knowingly.

"Well thank you for that..." the frail woman hissed sarcastically.

"Would you like some pancakes Rose?" Adrienne asked the young woman.

"I'm not hungry," Rose said grumpily and she turned to look at Billie Joe and she stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

He stuck his tongue out at her, just as immaturely. "Can I have pancakes Adie?" Billie Joe asked as he sat himself at the table and crossed his arms casually.

"Yes, you can have pancakes..." she said to him like he was a little boy.

"Yah!" Billie Joe shouted.

Rose sat there feeling grumpy. She was still ecstatic to be in the presence of Green Day's frontman, but too weak and upset to let it faze her mind. "Oh..." she groaned and dropped her head down on the table. "This is harsh."

"Rose, are you sure you don't want any pancakes?" Adrienne offered again.

"I guess I'll have one..." Rose grumbled.

"There, that wasn't so hard was it?" Billie Joe said sarcastically.

"Oh zip it!" Rose outbursted.

"Eek, pregnant women are so moody," Billie Joe said. And Rose was very moody because with little to no strength in her she kicked him in the leg under the table. "Ouch!" the little dark-haired man cried.

"You deserved that," Rose proclaimed and she couldn't quite believe she had hurt him. But at the same time she found it overwhelmingly funny.

"Yeah, I think I did too..." Billie Joe admitted. He turned his head towards the kitchen stove where Adrienne was giggling about the incident quietly to herself.

***

Three more months strolled by in a flash. Rose had become comfortable around Billie Joe and Tre again. It was a very agonizing thing for her to try and get over. She just found it all too weird. She hadn't really gotten over it the first time.

Tre and Rose had actually gotten quite comfortable with each other again. But Rose still hadn't called him Frank, or even told him that she loved him again. They never had sex anymore either. They were comfortable, but they hadn't regained that same closeness.

Tre still called Rose his girlfriend. And sometimes she would call him her boyfriend. But she just felt odd about it.

Tre knew it would be a long time until there baby was born; and he insisted to Rose that he throw her a birthday party after the birth. When she had asked him why, he said he 'wanted to get loaded' with her.

Rose would look at herself in the mirror some days and stare at her growing belly. She couldn't even remember losing her virginity in real life, let alone to Tre Cool. Sure she'd lost her virginity to him in her dreams many times; but she just felt trapped now.

***

Tre came to pick Rose up from Billie Joe's house on a cool October afternoon. He wanted to spend the day with her and ask her something very important.

Her muscles had built up slightly over the past three months and she was now able to walk on her own. She was nervous waiting for Tre to come pick her up. She kept looking at her reflection in the mirror trying to decide what she could do to make her self look not so average.

Just then she heard Tre's voice beaming from downstairs as he talked to Billie Joe. She hadn't seen Tre in over two and a half weeks. He had been away with Ramona and Frankito vacationing in Hawaii. Of course he invited Rose, but she opted to stay behind because she was feeling too sick from pregnancy to go anywhere.

Just then she made her way towards the stairs nervously. And she saw him standing down by the front door. She caught a glimpse of something Billie Joe was saying to his drummer, "... are you going to ask her?"

"Yeah," Tre said but just then looked up to the top of the stairs to see a beautiful five month pregnant Rose.

"Hi... " Rose said as she slowly came down the long staircase.

Tre decided to be cheesy and he ran halfway up the stairs to meet her. He took her hand and bowed, "Milady... " he said then turned around to wink at Billie Joe as he lead his girlfriend down the stairs.

As Rose got down to the bottom of the stairs she stopped and looked at Tre. "So where are we going?"

"Just wait," Tre said and he knelt down in front of her stomach. "How's the little one?" Tre asked and he stuck his head up against her.

"Ah...fine I suppose," Rose said feeling slightly anguished.

Billie Joe nodded his head and sarcastically said, "Can you hear anything in there Tre?"

"It sounds like it's saying 'fuck you Billie Joe,'" Tre laughed.

"Hey, no it doesn't!" Rose said defensively.

"Ah you know I was just kidding," Tre said as he stood up and smiled at her.

"Oh I know," Rose said, sheepishly returning the smile.

"Yep..." Billie Joe said tapping his foot with boredom.

"So, what was this about asking me something Tre?"

"Oh, ah never mind. You'll find out later," Tre said and he kissed her unexpectedly.

"Hmm...okay," she said and she began to feel weak in the knees again; but not because she was physically weak; because she was weak for Tre Cool. Again. It was so easy.