Changes

"When are you leaving?"

Tom's question made Blondie jump, then sigh guiltily and reply, "Tre's taking me to the airport tomorrow."

He turned to find his bandmates gathered in a tight huddle around him. Blondie bit his lip, trying to hold back the rush of emotions he felt as he looked at their faces. He didn't

Tony hugged him tightly. For a moment, Blondie let her, then pulled away. He had too much to do before he left, and he still wasn't sure when he'd be coming back.

"Come on. Let's go over to the studio." He glanced around, expecting an arguement.
"Why?" Tom asked quietly.
"We need to finish picked out the songs for the album. I want you guys to be able to keep going...and I'll just lay the drums down when I get back."

Everyone exchanged shifty glances, and then Tony said, "Sure...I bet the producer's still in the studio."

***

"So here's what we've got."

Tony pushed the pad down the table. Billie stopped it with his foot and flipped it over to read what they'd chosed. It was labeled one to nineteen, very neatly as always.

1. We Will Rock You : Queen
2. Photograph : Def Leppard
3. King For A Day : Green Day
4. Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You : Led Zeppelin
5. Going Away to College : Blink 182
6. Mr. Brightside : The Killers
7. Miss You In A Heartbeat : Def Leppard
8. Come As You Are : Nirvana
9. Pour Some Sugar On Me : Def Leppard
10. As Tears Go By : the Rolling Stones*
11. Ain't It Fun? : Guns N Roses
12. Tourniquet : Evanescence
13. Love Song : The Cure
14. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap : AC/DC
15. Adam's Song : Blink 182
16. Every Rose Has Its Thorns : Poison
17. Walk This Way : Aerosmith
18. Beat On The Brat : the Ramones
19. Too Late For Love : Def Leppard[/i ]

The producer shook his head.

"Do you have any idea how hard it will be to get performing rights to all these? The Ramones aren't even alive anymore...Guns N Roses is already in a legal battle over their songs, they aren't gonna want a bunch of kids messing around...and getting the rights to Zeppelin..."

He scratched his head.

"Def Leppard already let you start recording Photograph, so I suppose you've got a shot with them. AC/DC...eh, they're pretty agreeable. And the Killers, you've definately got a shot with them, they're new and they'll want all the publicity they can get....the rest of them...that's touch and go as far as I can tell."

Tony's jaw jutted out stubbornly. Tom placed a hand on her shoulder. Blondie was drumming something out on the table, jiggling his foot anxiously and stealing glances at the clock.

"Have you even decided on a name for your album?" He asked.
"We're not naming it." Robert said firmly.

The producer rolled his eyes and made a note at the top of the legal pad. Then he stood up.

"Just so you guys know, I'm fighting for you. I will get you every last one of these songs. It's a promise."

He vanished from the room. Blondie's tapping became more intense, but he said nothing. Tre smiled at them.

"You know you've got permission to do our song, right?"

Robert sighed and said, "Guys-"
Tony punched him, whispering, "Robert, don't start."
"I need to say this, Tony. Just shut up, for once, can't you?"

Just the fact that Robert was talking to her like that set things on edge. Tony looked furious, but shut her mouth. Robert turned to the band.

"I wanna know. Right here. Right now. Are we, or are we not, just getting this deal, this album, because you're fucking Tony?"

Jay dropped the vase he'd been trying to shove into his backpack. Mike opened his mouth, but Billie was faster.

"If you were getting this because I was fucking Tony, believe me when I tell you that you would have absolutely no control over the album. There would be no question of rights or how good a song was. Because it wouldn't be for distribution. I wouldn't have wasted my money backing a project that would have gone out. You guys would have fucked around in the studio, not recorded a note, and then been told the project was being shelved.

"You have talent. And I consider you friends. That is why we are fighting for you, why you're in this studio. It's not because I am fucking Tony."

A vein pulsed in Robert's temple, but he stood his ground.

"Billie, you know nothing about me. You've spent all your time with Tony. Tre and Mike have spent more time with us, they know us. I trust them. I can't trust you, and for that, I am truly sorry."
"So you're not going to record?"
"Oh, we're going to record. I was just curious as to why we were going to be able to."
"Because you have talent."

Robert stared at the small singer. Billie stared just as calmly back, trying to pretend his heart wasn't racing or that he wasn't sweating. He didn't want to lose Robert, without him, the Dolls lost everything.

Then Robert sighed and snapped, "Thanks." Then he walked stiffly out of the room. Tony cursed and strode out after him. Billie looked over at Mike.

"You're fucking stupid." Mike told him. Billie's jaw dropped.
"What the hell? Why?"
"Well, Billie, if you'd talked to Robert before you started screwing Tony, you would know that she and him were an item. They broke up the night they opened for us."

***

Blondie vanished before they'd even woken up. Robert had half-expected it, but hadn't tried to stop it. The note he'd left explained that he'd caught an earlier flight and he would call them as soon as he arrived.

That in itself ruined the morning. The musicians moped around, dragging themselves through their morning routines. And then Barry, their producer, called. Tom answered the phone, and instead of enduring whatever the older man had to say, Tom just invited him to the hotel.

Barry arrived minutes later, giving some truth to the suspicion that he had called from his car. He looked as handsome as usual, although somewhat ruffled, his usually sleek hair disheveled. As soon as he walked in the door, he pulled out the notebook Tony had written their song choices on and immediatly got down to business. Robert felt his heart sink as he saw the amount of red pen slashed across the page.

"Alright. I've been up all night making a shitload of phone calls, talked to every single one of the executives and kissed a fucking lot of ass."

Either Barry hadn't noticed or had decided to ignore how groggy his clients were. Billie's hair was standing on end, he stared fixedly at Jay out of bleary eyes. Tony had huge circles under her eyes and was sitting on Billie's lap with her head on his shoulder.

Jay had yet to empty his daily can of hairspray, and his blond locks fell gently around his face. Mike sat next to him, quietly sipping black coffee and enjoying Jay's covert placement of a hand on his thigh. Tre had laid his head on the table and closed his eyes; Tom was pretty sure that the drummer was paying some kind of attention, but he wasn't sure how much.

Tom noticed Barry's expression fade somewhat, but, to his credit, the producer plowed on.

"Blink 182 flat-out refuses to let you do any sort of cover. I'm attributing that to their breaking up. The Ramones aren't letting you do anything with their songs. It's a definite NO, with them, no wiggle room at all. Which is sad. Because it would be nice to do some sort of tribute..."

Barry's voice did an odd little twist. Tony looked at his face quickly, but whatever emotion that had been there, the older man had hidden before she could see it.

"However, Zeppelin, Queen and Def Leppard have given an enthusiastic thumbs up. In fact, the guys from Def Leppard implied that they'd be dropping by occasionally to check up on you guys."

He smiled at their stunned expressions.

"They were very interested in you guys. I wouldn't be surprised if they wound up asking you to tour with them."

He returned his attention to the paper, and missed Tony reaching across the table to punch Robert, who returned her gesture with an equal amount of excitement. Billie, understandably, gave the boy a dirty look behind Tony's back.

"Well, King For A Day is a lock... Nirvana, that's still pending. They'll be calling me tomorrow with their decision. I'd rather you guys pick a song as backup and I'll get on that ASAP. Now, the Killers said they'd rather you guys do 'Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine', which obviously mean that they don't want you to do 'Mr. Brightside'. My advice, take what you can get."
"But-" Tom began, but Barry cut him off.
"Don't be an idiot. If you want a Killers song on your album, you'll take what you can get."

Tom shut up. Barry sighed, rubbed a tired hand over his eyes, then continued.

"Evanescence is fine with you guys performing their songs. And as for the Rolling Stones..."

Barry broke off, and frowned slightly at the paper. Tom's breath caught in his throat. The room was dead quiet. The producer glanced up and smiled at their expressions.

"Relax. Mick Jagger just has some doubts about Tony's vocal ability. He wants her to sing it for him before he gives you an okay. And they want to be present in the studio while you're recording it. I told them there wouldn't be a problem. I wasn't wrong, was I?"

Tony's jaw dropped and her eyes were huge. Barry grinned.

"Mick Jagger... I'm going to sing for Mick Jagger?"
"Did I stutter?"

She screamed and kissed Billie on the mouth. Robert suddenly became very interested in the tabletop. Barry laughed.

"Moving on. Guns N Roses, for some reason, are very enthusiastic about you guys doing a cover. I'm guessing that they'll be dropping in and out occasionally as well. Poison and AC/DC, they've given green lights. They just want to hear the finished product before it hits the market. As for Aerosmith, they've opted for the same deal as the Stones. So you'll be performing for both of them at the same meeting..."

Robert's reaction was identical to Tony's, only he didn't kiss Billie.

"I'm... I'm singing for Steven Tyler? Are you serious?"
"I swear, the lot of you think I'm making all this up." Barry's eyes sparkled.

Robert jumped up, ran to the window, opened it and screamed out. It was a pure, perfect note that oozed power and metal and sexuality. Barry saluted him.

"Voice like that, you've got no worries. Now. What are you guys going to do for backup songs? We need three."

He glanced around at their faces and then chuckled. Tony heard something bitter in it and her eyes narrowed.

"You know what? I'll let you guys chat. Call me and let me know. I'll get on it."

He stood up, leaving the pad with his number scrawled carelessly across the bottom. Then he strode out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him. Leaving the others to debate the various pros and cons of their choices, she slipped out the door after Barry.