‹ Prequel: God Please
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Second Chance

We Need To Talk

Two and a half days passed since Brian's heart to heart with James. He hadn't said a solitary word about the contents of that discussion to anyone, let alone his wife. That was about to change, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't lost as to how to begin.

Chocolate brown eyes, lined with a mixture of emotions left the road for a brief moment while his fingers found Emily's, and he pulled their entwined hands over onto his leg. He had been avoiding her questions on pretty much everything for the past forty eight hours, and he knew she needed to be brought up to speed on things. One of the things he admired about her is that she always gave him time and space until he was ready to talk about things. Not that he really was prepared to broach the subject now, but he was going to have to soon. He couldn't stay silent much longer, even though they were about to pull into the parking lot of the cemetery where two of their loved ones were buried.

"Would you mind if I went straight to Grayson's place first, babe?"

"That's fine. I'll meet you there shortly." his lips connected with hers briefly before she got out of the car.

Peaking back in for a second, she added, "Tell Jimmy I said hi and I miss him."

A nod was all he could muster. He had visited the drummer's grave hundreds of times since that horrific day, but it still bothered him each time he came by to this day. A small lump formed in his throat as he neared the headstone he so vividly remembered helping pick out what seemed like so long ago- and like yesterday at the same time. Grief was such a fickle thing. Darkly inked fingers shoved into his pockets as his eyes took in the sight before him. It always broke his heart anew to see such an amazing friend's name boldly engraved in the heavy slab.

"Hey Jimmy, " he began and knelt down to run a hand over the dates as he did quite often. "Seems like its been forever, buddy. Can't believe it's only been a week since I stopped by last. Listen, I have something I really need your advice on. It's a pretty big deal. I know what you would say, but you and I have different lives. Em and I are different now that we've lost Gray. I'm about to go talk to Emily, and I really need your help with it, okay? So, if you could like, tell God to keep this set of clouds at bay so it doesn't rain on us, and help me with what I've got to tell her, I would appreciate it man."

It took him a moment to be able to gain control of his voice again. He didn't like to cry when he talked to him, but it was hard not to. This man left this world and their lives far too soon, and it killed him. "I don't want to cut this short, but Em's waiting for me at Gray's place. Sorry, man. " slowly pushing himself back to stand, the guitarist paused a moment to stretch his back tiredly. "She says hi and she misses you. We all do, Jimmy. Have a good day, dude. Love you."

Though he kept putting one foot in front of the other, he still took his time making his way over to his wife. Not because he was nervous to talk to her, that wasn't the issue. He needed to try to reign in and sort through all of the feelings flowing through his chest. It was a large ball of them, and they were so twisted together that he could physically feel pain in his ribs.

He found the brunette in such a heartbreaking position. She sat next to their baby's headstone weeping quietly. Petite fingers traced over his name a letter at a time, followed by each number of the dates that were emblazoned in her heart. Saddened pools of sapphire glanced up to see her husband coming around the curve. Finding herself pretty well frozen in her spot, she just locked eyes with him until he arrived. He lowered himself beside her and gently pulled her against him.

"Em, baby, we need to talk. " a few drops of rain fell from the sky and he closed his eyes briefly.

Didn't ask for perfect skies, just no rain Jimmy. Please, man.

"Not sure how talkative I can be right now, but I'm here."

"I don't even know where to start. All of this happened so fast."

"Start anywhere, baby. I will try to follow along, " she sniffed quietly.

"Okay. My meeting I had the other day turned out completely different than I expected."

"Yeah? Was wondering what happened. What did he have to say?"

"His little boy is sick. Super sick. They have had him in and out of the hospital several times since he was born."

"That's a shame. What's wrong with him?"

"He was born with a hole in his heart, for one thing. They're still in the process of trying to figure out what all else is wrong."

"His poor parents. Bless his heart." resting her head against his chest now, she tiredly looped her arms around him fully. "How much did we give him?

"He wouldn't take anything. That isn't why he called."

"Why? It doesn't matter if that was the reason or not, the bills have to be piling up."

"I know. I tried to help, but he wouldn't let me. Wouldn't take a dime."

"What did he want then?" curious blue eyes looked up at him, but chocolate spheres flicked away now.

A harsh sigh flew from him now. Alright, Jimmy. This is where I need your help, man.

"There's no gentle way to put this, Em. He asked me if we, Uh... " he cleared his throat and locked eyes with her now. "He asked me if we wanted to adopt him."