Best Thing In Town

Mike sat on the plane that was bound for the San Francisco International Airport with his head tilted back and closing his eyes as a million and two thoughts ran into one another. A lot was going to change in his life and he was going to have to make the appropriate accomodations to make sure everything worked out.

A gentle tapping on his arm stirred him from his subconscious as he opened his eyes and turned his head to his right and saw little Katarina looking up at him and holding up her coloring book to the page she'd colored. He smirked. She had colored out of the lines quite a bit but the picture of Barbie sitting in a convertible and waving was still distinguishable.

"It's very pretty," he commented.

Happy with his response, Katarina smiled and leaned forward on the tray before her to color in more spaces on the picture; to perfect her creation, perhaps. Mike looked over the toddler's head and met Audrey's glance. They had Katarina sitting between them and a mutual smile was shared.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Audrey said in a hushed voice.

"Moving to California?"

"Well, that and quitting my job, leaving my grandmother behind, leaving my friends, uprooting my daughter..." Audrey rambled, adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose. "It's going to be a lot to take in."

Mike reached his arm behind Katarina's back and grabbed hold of Audrey's arm and gave a reassuring squeeze. "It's gonna work out. I just spent the last four days with you and talking over what we could do. This was the best decision we came up with," he spoke gently. His eyes seemed to twinkle as he leaned over to place a kiss on her cheek. As he did so, Katarina leaned back sharply and almost crushed him. "Whoa..."

Katarina jumped a little and gave him a look, then her mom. "I sowwy."

"It's okay, honey," Audrey said. She ran her fingers through her daughter's hair as the little girl leaned forward again to color some more. Audrey looked back at Mike and smirked.

"What am I going to do for work?"

"Didn't you just say to me last night that you've always wanted to work on a book?" he grinned knowingly. "The guys and I will be heading into the studio this coming year to work on some new material and I'll be home. It's not like I'm gonna be gone for months on end, touring. I'm going to be here for you and the baby...and for Katarina. And I want this to work. And it's going to, because I said so."

Audrey laughed. "And your word is law?"

"Well, when you put it that way..." he trailed with a chuckle. "No, but seriously, when the time comes and you're absolutely positive, we can have all your belongings sent to California. Hell, I'll fly your grandmother to California too and she can live with us."

"My grandmother traveling on a plane? Ha. I'd like to see that."

"She don't like flying?"

"It's not that she doesn't like it, just that she can't stand traveling for a long period of time. It bothers her back and she gets antsy. Plus she might be a little nervous. She hasn't been on a plane in over thirty years."

Mike and Audrey fell silent for a moment, just holding each other's gaze as the captain came over the PA to announce they'd be arriving to the airport in less than a half hour.

"Ready to touch down?" Mike asked.

* * *

As the first class passengers began to walk off the plane, Mike exited the gate first, holding Katarina up in his arms, resting on his narrow hip and clinging to his tote bag in his free hand. Audrey came up behind him, carrying both her and Katarina's carry on bags; sighing as she looked around at everyone filing out around them.

They gradually made their way downstairs to the baggage claim, standing patiently for their bags to appear. The airport had given them a cart to place their belongings on to make it easier for moving around. Mike had to set Katarina down on the ground beside her mother in order to reach for their suitcases and put them on the cart. Audrey had to laugh when he missed her suitcase and ran around to the other side to drag it back over to them.

Once they were settled with their baggage, Audrey picked Katarina up in her arms as Mike pushed the cart and they exited through the automatic door, out into the dreary San Francisco winter weather. It looked like rain was coming. How strange, to come from one extreme to the next. Freezing cold and snow to a cool wind and rain.

A car horn blaring a few spots down on the edge of the sidewalk caught all three of their attention. Mike gestured with his head for them to follow as they made their way down to the car in question. Billie Joe hopped out of the white Ford Fairlane and nodded to Mike.

"This trip better have been worth it, because I just got a ticket waiting here for you," he snapped, but then his expression turned into a smile, showing he was only joking. He looked over at Audrey, who had set Katarina down, and smiled. "Hey, nice to see you again, infamous disappearing girl."

Audrey laughed. "Heh, yeah," she smirked goofily. "Nice to see you again, too." She watched as Billie Joe helped Mike place the luggage in the trunk of his car.

When they finished, Billie Joe came around and ruffled Katarina's hair. "Hey there." Katarina clung to her mother's leg and looked up at Billie Joe with wary eyes. He simply laughed and bent down to her level. "I'm Billie Joe. I'm Mike's friend." He looked up at Mike and then back at Katarina with a smile.

"I'm Kat," she finally replied. "Do you have any kids?"

"Yeah, I do. I have two boys. They're a bit older than you, though. Mike has a daughter, Estelle, I'm sure you're going to meet real soon."

Katarina brightened up and smiled. "I'm four."

"I'm 33," he replied with a laugh.

"You're old," was what came out of the girl's mouth.

"Kat," Audrey scolded.

"She's a punk," Billie Joe commented. "She'll fit in well."

Mike offered Audrey the front seat, next to Billie Joe while he took the back with Katarina, trying to point out some landmarks in the distance as they dorve away from the airport at a decent speed. They way they sat, Mike was behind Billie Joe, therefore he was at an angle where, if Audrey turned around, she could see him without a problem.

And turn around she did.

She smiled.