Better Man

There was a certain...je ne sais quoi in hearing the words, 'Welcome to the Reprise family' spoken to you.

Caroline and the guys sat at a long, mahogany conference table, opposite from Rob Cavallo and several other record execs with Warner Bros. & Reprise. Before them was four separate, stacks of papers, the last page all donning their respective signatures, sealing the deal they were embarking on.

This had been what The Sinners wanted, but in that fleeting moment after signing the dotted line, the four of them looked at each other, all thinking the same thing.

Did we rush this? Should we have taken this deal?

But then they had to consider if and when they'd ever be offered such a sweet deal like this again.

They were obligated to putting out three albums over the course of the next five years, which they were sure wouldn't be a problem. They had free reign over who they wanted to help them produce their first album, and who their management firm would be.

It was certainly going to be a chaotic time. But there was no doubt in their minds that it would be equally awesome and fun.

* * *

Walking out of the office, Caroline let the guys walk ahead of her while trailing behind to wait for Rob to walk out. Smiling, she stepped up to him with her hands shoved in her pockets and rocking back and forth on the heels of her feet.

"I don't think I can thank you enough for taking a chance on us," she said, biting her bottom lip.

"Well, I know talent and longevity when I see it."

"That's true," she nodded. "You've produced for Green Day for a long time, haven't you?"

"Yeap," Rob nodded. "Been working with them since 1993 when they were signed to Reprise as well."

"They're on Reprise?"

Rob nodded again. "Very much so. They're the ones that helped my career as much as I helped propel them. It was like a mutual thing."

Caroline smiled. "That's sounds like it worked well for all of you."

"It did. Now, we gave all four of you sheets with names on it of producers, along with a separate sheet with management teams on it. I think you should all sit down and talk over who you want to do what--"

"Oh, we already did that," Caroline cut him off.

"You did?"

"Yeah. We talked about it, and if you can do half of what you did for Green Day for us, we'd feel just as honored."

Rob tilted his head to one side a little, smiling slightly at the compliment. "Well...I'll have to see if my schedule will allow it," he replied a little hesitantly, but not breaking his smile. "I'll let you know."

* * *

Caroline slammed down the apartment phone and jumped up and down with a big grin plastered on her face, proceeding in jumping on Nick's back.

"Whoa, doggie!" he exclaimed. "Are you going to dry hump me or something?"

"No," she answered nonchalantly.

"Then what's with the hubbub, Bub?"

Caroline slid down off his back and had Nick join her in the main room in the apartment where Dave was reclining on the pullout sofa with his guitar while Nef was crouched on the floor, nursing a bottle of Heineken.

"What's up, Care?" Dave asked.

"Rob Cavallo just called..."

"Yeah?"

"And he's gonna produce our album with us!" she squealed.

Nick grimaced, pretending to cover his ears in annoyance. "Tell me again why we're not a threesome?"

Caroline scowled and smacked him across the chest. "Because we need a bassist," she threw back at him with a 'take that' grin.

"Rob Cavallo is gonna help produce us? Fuck, yeah. This is awesome," Nef beamed. Looking at his friends, the bronze-skinned drummer nodded. "This...this, my friends, is where we begin..."

* * *

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
Three weeks later...

"Alright, guys," Rob began, but then looked apologetically at Caroline. "And girl," he amended. "This is where we begin. This is where the magic happens. Reprise has given you a good chunk of money to work on this album, but don't go squandering it. I want you four to really work on this. This..." he tapped the mixing board to make his point. "This is where you will prove you have what it takes to not be just another band. But to be THE next big thing."

Caroline couldn't contain her giddiness as Rob looked at her and smiled as well. "Don't worry," she assured. "We promise we'll knock down those doors and show the world what we have to offer."

"That's what I wanted to hear. I'm not trying to sound like a drill sergeant, 'cause that's not how I run a recording session at all. I want you all to feel comfortable with your surroundings, so if there's ever anything you might need to make it a little more like a home away from home, don't be afraid to pipe up and ask for the finer things in life," he smirked.

"Oh, don't worry about that either," Dave nodded. "We won't shy away from asking for the good stuff."

"Yeah," Nef agreed, sitting on the couch behind the mixing board. "None of us ever had any fine things, aside from maybe a deluxe meal at the Olive Garden on our birthdays."

They all shared a small laugh.

As they each got settled in and began to try out the equipment, and jam a little on their original songs, Caroline found herself sitting on top of an amp with one leg tucked underneath her in the San Francisco recording studio, Lombard Studios, for its location being not that far from the curviest road in the world; the famed Lombard Street. Caroline drummed her hands on her knee caps, in time with Nef as he banged out the beat on his drums, while Dave and Nick stood side by side to each other with their guitar and bass, respectively.

Caroline bit her lip and dipped her head, bobbing it to the beat, as they all remained oblivious to the visitor entering the control room.

Mike Dirnt strolled in nonchalantly, smiling at his longtime producer friend, Rob, shaking the other man's hand in that 'hey, how you doin' buddy?' sort of way, pulling a chair up beside the older man.

"So, this is the new band you've been telling me about?" Mike wondered, looking at the jamming foursome, through the window that looked into the studio.

"Yeah. The Sinners. D'you like their independent album I leant you?"

Mike nodded. "Yeah, it was great." He gestured with his head to woman with her back to him. "That the lead singer sitting on the amp?"

"Yeap. Caroline Woods."

"Which one's the bassist?"

"The one with the glasses and the baseball hat. He's Nick Konsta."

The bassist for Green Day took the information in, his eyes smirking. It was always good fun watching new bands in their 'natural habitat,' so to speak. It reminded him of the days back when him and his two best friends were just starting out.

Rob flicked a button and leaned forward. "Hey girls," he teased. "Why don't you take a break and come in here. I wanna introduce you to someone."

The Sinners stopped what they were doing and set down their instruments and began to walk out of the studio, stopping in their tracks when they saw Mike. He looked up at them and smiled, offering his hand to Dave, who was closest.

"Uh, hey, man. Nice to meet you. I'm Dave Jozwiak."

"Hello!" Caroline's voice rang out from behind the wall of three men in front of her. "Not-As-Tall-As-You-Guys woman back here. Kindly let me through." As they stepped out of the way enough for her to slip by, she stumbled a little and then finally took in the sight of none other than Mike Dirnt starting to stand up in front of her. "Oh...uh...hi," she replied, wide-eyed.

Mike couldn't explain why he suddenly felt himself start to smile like a fool and then blush a little. "Hi," he repeated. "I'm...um...Mike Dirnt," he spoke, offering her his hand.

Nervously, she took it, not believing she was shaking hands with a famous rock star. "Hi, uh, yeah. I know who you are," she smiled. "I'm Caroline Woods."

The two of them shared a looked for a moment before Nick cut in and offered Mike his hand. "My fellow bass man, you are a so gonna hafta show me a few things sometime."

Mike finally tore his gaze from Caroline, a little embarrassedly, and nodded at Nick. "Yeah, no problem. I'll show you my tricks, you show me yours," he joked.

After the introductions were made, they all sat down to chat with each other. Caroline kept laughing heartily at all the guys' comments about this or that. And since she was living with three of them, it was very easy for her to get their humor and join in with the jokes.

And Mike still couldn't explain while he felt himself smiling like a retard when he looked at her.