Guitar Love - Resonance of Hearts Part 3

11 Fugue of Hearts

         Sara moved quietly down the stairs in the early pre-dawn light, tiptoeing past Jay's room in case he was awake.  She and Daff had convinced him to stay last night but she didn't want to deal with anyone until she felt herself again.

         Once downstairs she moved quickly to the bathroom, almost running the last few steps and barely making it to the porcelain stool before she heaved up everything in her stomach, violently ill.  Once she had thrown everything up the dry heaves lasted a bit longer.  Finally she subsided against the tiled wall, shaken but steadier.  She had been ill yesterday morning as well.  Sara had a sinking feeling in her empty stomach that told her she wasn't suffering from any stomach flu or Mrs C's rich cooking but something worse.  She had been rather queasy the past week and certain smells she had enjoyed before now turned her stomach.  She was very afraid that her birth control had failed and she was pregnant.

         She washed her face and made sure the bathroom was clean before she headed to the kitchen.  She was tempted to slip out to the corner market down the street to see if they had pregnancy tests but just then she heard steps upstairs and knew she'd be missed.  With a shaky sigh she set about making coffee for the gang, as everyone had ended up staying the night.

         Mickey drifted down the stairs with his dark glasses firmly in place, followed by Jerry, who had a hand towel draped over his head and an open aqua-colored shirt floating around him like a cape.  Sara got kisses on her cheek for the fresh coffee and both men drifted off downstairs to watch morning tv where the morning wasn't quite so bright.

         Ollie appeared from the spare bedroom next to the bathroom.  He watched Sara for a moment as she poked through the cupboards and fidgeted nervously.  He had heard her in the bathroom and suspected he knew the problem.  Moving quietly he crossed the living room and trapped her in a good-morning brother bear hug that made her squeak in surprise.

         He whispered in her ear "Have you been feeling sick in the mornings for long, Little Sister?  You know we're all one big family here and nobody can keep secrets.  Even if you could hide from us Mama Marcela would pry it out of you in about five minutes over coffee.  I swear the woman has a crystal ball" he shook his head as he let her go to pour himself some coffee.  He leaned back against the counter and watched her fidget for a bit.

         Sara eventually blew out a breath and squared her shoulders to look up at him.  "I don't know yet" she whispered earnestly.  "This isn't exactly the simplest situation - Daff and Jay just got into a big fight yesterday and on top of everything else I find out Daffy wants to marry me..." the dishtowel she was twisting in her hands flew through the air in frustration and ended up hanging from the pot rack over the stove. 

         Ollie fetched it down for her and wrapped a big-brotherly arm around her shoulders.  "I've got to admit the rest of us have had a running bet on when he was going to propose to you."  A thud sounded upstairs as Daffy rolled out of bed onto the floor and cursed.  Ollie looked up at the sound and gave Sara a big-brotherly kiss on the forehead.  "As for the fight" he shrugged dismissively.  "They've had bigger ones in the past and probably will again.  They'll work things out eventually, but it might help if you made it clear what you want from them."  He hugged her again and tipped her chin up to look in her eyes.  "Is there any possibility that Jay is the father?"

         She shook her head vehemently.  "No, we've been nothing but friends - Daff hasn't wanted to share."  She bit her lip pensively.  "I don't know what to do, Ollie.  I love both of them.  Jay is fun and passionate, Daff is strong and romantic.  If I am pregnant, he's going to be even less willing to share me.  I don't want to have to choose between them but I don't want to come between them either.  I'm completely lost."

         "You need to clear up the morning sickness thing before you make any decisions.  Why don't you run down to the store real quick and pick up one of those pregnancy tests.  If you're too nervous to take it here go straight next door to Mrs. C.  She'll be happy to hold your hand while you wait and she's a good one for listening and putting things into perspective.  I'll cover for you here, don't worry.  I'll just tell the clumsy ox up there you're mad at them for fighting and you went next door to have coffee with Mama Marcela to blow off some steam.  If he thinks she's angry with him he'll leave you alone there for a while.  Everything will be alright."  he steered her toward the front door.

         Sara kissed his cheek.  "Thanks, Ollie.  I understand why everybody follows you - you big-brother everyone but you're not obnoxious about it.  I think coffee with Mama Marcela sounds good right now.  See you later."

         He waved as he closed the door behind her, then heaved a relieved sigh and turned back to the kitchen.  "It's safe to come out now" he announced out loud.  Like timid animals creeping out of their burrows after a storm Ari poked his head out of his bedroom by the kitchen and Mickey and Jerry returned from the entertainment room where they had been listening to the conversation by the staircase.  Daff and Jay came down the stairs together and sat on the bottom steps looking shell-shocked.

         Daff looked up at Ollie.  "Thanks for being there for her.  I almost spoiled it when Jay woke me and I fell out of bed."

         "Sorry about that," Jay said.  "You aren't easy to wake up sometimes and I was in a hurry to get back to the rail to hear the rest."

         Daff waved a hand at his apology.  "What are we going to do now, though?  I still want to marry her and I may have gotten her pregnant, but I don't want her to be unhappy.  If she really does love both of us we can't make her choose between us."

         Jay combed his fingers through his rumpled hair.  "Let's hash it out over breakfast.  I don't mind admitting that I'm not ready to be a daddy - don't know if I ever will be - so I'm glad it's you and not me who maybe did the deed.  But I do want the closeness and intimacy back that we had before.  Is there any way we can agree on joint custody or visiting rights?" he tried to lighten the mood a bit.

         They gathered around the table with coffee and emergency rations - stale dry cereal and cookies.  They hadn't seen much point in buying groceries for just a few days when there was food to be had as close as next door and the house had a well-stocked "guys' pantry".

         Daff tilted a look at his best friend and offered him a box of animal crackers.  "Maybe we should take a few days while we're still here to get a feel for how things can be worked out.  I know I don't want to find myself alone in my own bed now that I've got her there."  he watched to see how the other man would take the statement.

         Jay considered his friend while he munched thoughtfully on a frosted giraffe.  "Are you saying that I can't sleep with her or that if I want to I have to do it in your bed?" he asked with narrowed eyes.  The others followed the discussion like an audience at a tennis match and passed around snacks.

         "I'm saying I don't want to sleep without her.  I guess that means we're going shopping for a bigger bed and bed linens today because we're both terrible bed hogs.  She'd never survive in a smaller bed squished between us."  He grinned for the first time.  Are you willing to wear a glove after she has the baby so you don't get her pregnant?  She's been on birth control but if it's failed then it's failed.  She'd probably kill us if we get her pregnant again right away."

         Jay sat back in his chair to ponder the question a moment, stroking his beard thoughtfully.  "Like I said, I don't want to be a daddy yet, but condoms are a bitch.  I guess if I have to I have to, but it's not necessary while she's pregnant, is it?"

         Daff shook his head and smiled easily.  "Nah, there's no point then, but during the times she could get pregnant, yeah."

         Ollie spoke up.  "This is all interesting but you said you want to marry her, Daff.  Is that still true?  And if you're going to share her what's our official line when this gets into the news?  You know eventually it will."  He looked around the table at everyone in turn.  Most shrugged or held up their hands, unwilling to make a comment.

         "If she'll have me I still want to marry her.  Maybe if she turns out not to be pregnant I won't push the issue yet if she wants more time.  As for the gossip rags my official line is that they can blow it out their asses" Daff waved his hands in dismissal of the problem.  "If and when it comes out we're only accountable to ourselves and the fans.  We'll have to see then if it's necessary to give an interview or two to one of the more respectable news sources when it comes up.  Until then I say just let it ride."  Most of the others nodded at this, including Jay.

         Ari spoke up "I don't care what you do so long as it's you playing daddy.  I'm not changing dirty diapers."  He got up to make more coffee while the others laughed.

         The discussion drifted back and forth for a while, full of teasing and laughter.  The older men endeavored to give life advice to their two youngest brethren which was taken for what it was worth.  Daff listened to his friends joke and tease one another while an idea formed in his head.  He glanced across the table at Jay.  The strain from their complicated relationship with Sara had had an affect on their close camaraderie and he had missed his best bud.  He wanted to find a way to get things back to the way they were and he thought he might know how to make a start.  The group went their separate ways after breakfast.  The last to leave were Jay and Daffy, who left a note for Sara should she come home and find them gone.


         Sara sat at the Castillos' kitchen table with a steaming mug of cocoa wrapped in her chilled hands.  Too bad hot cocoa couldn't warm the chill inside, she thought forlornly as she sipped.  The pregnancy test sat on the very edge of the table - not far enough away.  Positive.  She wasn't sure how positive she felt about that choice of expression.

         Marcela sat across the table, waiting patiently for the panic to fade a bit before she attempted conversation with the young chica.  Secretly she was thrilled that one of her hijos was finally going to make her a grandmother, but the circumstances were complicated and she was worried how it would turn out.  Her Patito could be stubborn about some things, and she was concerned that he might not be sufficiently gentle and patient with the scared young mother-to-be.  Sara needed reassurance at this juncture, not pressure over marriage.

         "What am I going to do, Mama Marcela?" Sara finally spoke up.  "This is the last thing I need to happen right now.  I'm not even on speaking terms with my own parents and now I'm going to become one.  I don't know the first thing about being a good parent.  Mine were always cold and controlling.  I don't want to be like them."

         "And you won't be, cariña" Marcela assured her.  "You are a warm and loving person and you will be a wonderful mother to your children.  Even if you cannot make peace with your own parents Enrique and I are always here for you.  You have already become la hija de mi corazón.  I'm looking forward to spoiling my grandchildren when you are home.  Hopefully mis hijos will spend more time at home now - they are always gone so long."  As soon as she said that she could see it was the wrong thing to say.

         Sara started to panic all over again.  "Oh no, they'll be on tour when I have the baby!  I'll be all alone..." she covered her face and began to sob inconsolably.  Enrique came into the kitchen and sat next to her so she could cry on his shoulder.  When the boys came in the back door shortly after Marcela gave them a dark look that warned them not to misbehave. 

         Daffy gathered Sara into his arms and sat with her in his lap so he could hold her close.  "Don't cry, hon, we'll work it all out.  We're here with you now."  he glanced at the pregnancy test on the table but it was already clear what the result was.  He snugged her closer to his chest and rested his cheek on her hair.

         Jay knelt beside them and took her hands in his own.  "Come on, sweetheart, you're killing us.  If you don't stop soon we're going to start, and you don't want to see two grown men crying like babies.  It's just too pathetic."

         That earned him a small smile and a snuffle.  "How am I going to raise a baby by myself while you guys are off playing rock stars?" her lip gave a quiver.

         Daff kissed her forehead.  "You won't be alone, sweet.  You'll be with us most of the time and we're gonna try to rearrange our next tour once we find out when the baby's due so we can be with you here and not somewhere across the country.  Mr. and Mrs. C are always right here next door to look out for you when you're home, whether we're with you or not.  You won't ever be alone.  The guys will all help, 'though Ari swears that he won't be changing any diapers."  He leaned back to get a good look at her face and dry her tears.

         "We're going to try to work things out between the three of us" he assured her.  "I do want you to marry me but I don't want you to think you have to because of the baby.  We'll work it out as we go."

         Jay spoke up.  "We carried my stuff back from the apartment and I returned the key, so you don't have to worry about me getting into trouble on my own anymore."

         Daff dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out a slim box the length of his palm.  "The Forge is a great place to find unique jewelry.  They even had something perfect for an unusual situation like this."  He opened the box to reveal five beautifully unique rings.  Each one was different, but they looked like they belonged together.  There were two wide-ish men's rings, one with blue and green stones, one with red and green, made of carved rough-finished silver.  The other three rings were for a woman's hand.  Two matched with the men's rings but the third ring had all three stones that tied the two sets together.

         "The wedding ring is maybe a bit premature, but we just couldn't leave it behind.  You can decide if and when the time comes who gives it to you and who gives you away."  He put on a brave face but she could see the fear in his eyes that he wouldn't be the one she chose.

         Sara wrapped him up in a loving kiss.  "You silly man, don't doubt yourself." 

         She turned to Jay, who kissed her hands as a knight would his queen.  "I won't ask you to marry me - I know where I stand.  All I ask is that you love me too."  She kissed his cheek in answer.

         Daff slipped the ring with red and green stones on her left hand and the other on his own.  Jay placed the ring with blue and green stones on her right hand and the matching one on his own hand.  Enrique circled the table to hug Marcela, who was crying tears of joy.  Love and laughter filled the kitchen long into the evening.

12 Chamber Music

         The boys had taken their quest to heart when they set out to buy a larger bed and had managed to find what the salesman had called a Caesar.  It was an intimidating 7'x8' in size and they had immediately fallen in love with it.  It actually managed to make the 50" plasma tv on the opposite wall look tiny in comparison. The nightstands that had matched Daff's old bed weren't visible from the new one because it stood almost waist-high.  Jay had deemed it properly orgy-sized.  They had finished off the decadent tone by choosing a massive dark leather headboard and silk sheets of blood red.  Sara had been speechless when they took her up to show it off.

         They decided to ease their way into the evening and settled down to relax.  There was an old movie playing on the tv.  Jay sat propped against the soft leather of the headboard, an arm around Sara's waist as she half-reclined against his chest.  Daffy lay comfortably across the bed with his head in Sara's lap, enjoying the feel of her gentle fingers playing in his hair.  They were still at the 'getting used to each other being in the same bed' stage and so they hadn't yet undressed for the evening, but so far the mood was relaxed.

         Jay caressed Sara's face, turning her just enough for a tender kiss.  When she tilted her head back to sigh he trailed nibbling kisses along her chin and down her throat, causing her to gasp with pleasure.  She twined one arm back around his neck to pull him closer, the fingers of her other hand still tangled in Daffy's hair.  He tilted his head so he could watch them kiss and caress one another but stayed resting comfortably in her lap, his hands folded over his stomach.

         Jay turned her so she was more or less lying in his arms so he could deepen their kisses.  His hand began the slow and delicate work of opening the tiny pearl buttons on the blouse he had given her to replace the one he had ruined on their first night together.  Slowly the soft material parted to expose more satiny skin for his lips to kiss and tease.  He finally slipped the blouse free and let it fall to the floor next to the bed, to be followed by her lacey peach bra.  Sara arched her back, begging without words for him to suckle her bare breasts.  He buried his face between them for just a moment to breathe in her sweet honey scent before taking one inviting peak between his lips and sucking strongly.  Sara writhed on the bed, nearly dislodging Daffy, and moaned in extacy.

         Daff rolled over onto his stomach and slid her skirt down and off in one practiced move.  Shifting her a bit closer he lifted one toned thigh over his head, giving it a quick nip before indulging himself tasting her sweet nectar.  Sara nearly came off the bed as his rough beard rubbed her tender skin and he plunged his tongue deep.  He had to wrap his guitar-calloused hands around her thighs to hold her still for his assault.  Looking up he could see Jay had his hands full keeping hold of his end.  Daff growled into her sensitive skin as he devoured her, sending her screaming over the edge.

         As Sara slowly quieted in his arms Jay rested his head on her heaving breast and looked down her glistening body at his best friend, eyes sparkling with delight like a child given a new and wonderful toy.

         Daff grinned up at him.  "That was fun - we should have tried this earlier."

         Jay laughed.  "Yeah it was, 'though she nearly pulled my hair out when you did that.  I want that end next" he said as he slid out from under her prone form and promptly slipped off the edge of the silk-draped bed. 

         Daff shrugged good-naturedly and rolled until he finally encountered the end of the bed and carefully stood up to undress himself and pour a glass of wine from the minifridge.

         "This bed is big enough to get lost in" Jay complained as he nearly slid off the edge again.  He crawled naked across the bed until he finally reached his goal.  Knowing from experience that once she got started Sara would be wet and ready for him he slid into her to the hilt as he kissed her lips.  He paused a moment to savor the feel of her heavenly body after months of being without her, then began to move in earnest.  She was already beginning to ripple around his shaft and he knew he wouldn't last once she climaxed.  He tucked one of her knees up against his chest and rose higher, moving with more speed and force.  Sara looked up at him with her heart in her eyes as he sent her flying once again, then leapt with her.  They lay tangled for a few minutes after, just holding and touching one another, enjoying that they could.

         Eventually Jay kissed her tenderly and moved to the edge of the bed, where he slid bonelessly once more to the floor.  "I'm going to take a shower in my room so you two can have a little alone time before I come back"  his disembodied voice drifted up to them.  "If I can get up off the floor" he added before Daff reached down to heave him to his feet.  He made it into the hall under his own steam, pulling the door closed behind him.

         Sara lay as if dead and wondered if she could possibly live with two insatiable men without dying of orgasm.  What a way to go, she thought.  She squeaked when Daff grabbed her ankles and pulled her across the silk sheets and to her feet.

         "Do you think you can stand another round yet or do you want me to carry you to the shower?  I want you wet and slippery in my arms while I take you" he growled into her neck. 

         Sara wrapped her arms weakly around his neck.  "You're going to have to carry me.  I couldn't possibly walk even if the house was burning."  She tried to snuggle into his chest but he playfully tossed her over his shoulder and headed for the shower.  She tried biting him on his muscular back in revenge but every time she tried he smacked her ass a stinging blow.

         They made love twice while they soaped and pleasured one another.  Daff tried to be gentle and tender with her, wanting to show how much he loved and cherished her, but his natural dominance had him taking her roughly against the wall.  She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and sank her teeth into his shoulder, urging him on.  After, he stood for a moment leaning her against the wall and just let her soothe and stroke him as the desperate need to posess her slowly faded.

         "You'll never lose me, you know" she whispered in his ear.  "I'll always be yours - heart, body and soul.  But if you want to use this body again anytime soon it really needs some food and drink to keep going."  She kissed his cheek and he set her back on her shaky feet to fetch their towels.

         Back in the adjoining bedroom they found Jay had had the same idea.  He had hunted down the basket Mama Marcela had sent home with them and had cheese, crackers and summer sausage bites on a tray along with some stuffed mushrooms and empanadas he had found in the refrigerator downstairs.  After pouring out the wine for each of them he sat carefully on his side of the bed.  His black boxers were silk like the sheets and he didn't want to skate off the edge again.  They attacked the snack tray like starving wolves, munching happily as they watched the rest of the movie together.  Eventually the late hour and the wine caught up with them and they fell asleep together, Sara in the middle with her head pillowed on Daffy's chest, Jay spooning her from behind with an arm around her waist.

         The trio spent the rest of their free time together.  The guys showed Sara their favorite hang-outs around town, took her shopping and wandered Muir Woods so she could see her first redwoods.  At their favorite music store they bought her a new violin and her very own guitar.  Of course, while there they found three others that they just couldn't leave behind. 

         The new living arrangements worked out surprisingly well for the trio.  There were a few bumps in the road to bliss - most often caused by a misplaced hand in the heat of passion - but for the most part the guys shared well.  They spent a bit of time re-organizing Daffy's enormous walk-in-closet to make room for Sara's and Jay's things so that Jay's old room could be used as a nursery after the baby was born.  By the end of the week they were well rested and ready to get back on tour.

13 A Dissonant Chord

         The million lights of the Magnificent Mile sparkled like a million diamonds in the velvet Chicago night.  The first fat snowflakes of the season drifted down from the sky to glimmer in the starlight.  Chicago always went all out for the winter season and the Lights Festival had just passed, heralding the beginning of the season.  The tour bus rolled up N. Michigan Ave. toward the Drake Hotel where they would be staying for a few days, passing the light-bedecked trees lining the street.  The group had three sold-out concerts, several interviews and a brief television appearance scheduled, so this would be their headquarters for almost a week.  Everyone was looking forward to real beds and shopping after a month spent mostly on the tour bus and onstage.

         Sara looked out the bus window without really seeing the beautiful city.  The guys had talked her into contacting her parents, who lived in Chicago, to attempt some sort of reconciliation while they were in town.  She had reluctantly agreed, but she was concerned it was all going to end in disaster.  Her parents were rich snobs who had never shown her love, prefering to delegate her early upbringing while they persued careers and their own sense of importance in their community.  Her mother was a renowned plastic surgeon who catered to the rich and famous and her father was a divorce lawyer who shared many of his wife's clientele.  Sara had always found them cold and dispassionate - when they could be bothered to take notice of her at all.  As she grew older their attention had most often been expressions of disapproval as she refused to conform to their wishes.  The final confrontation had been when Sara had been expelled from Berkley after a scandalous affair with one of her professors.  Sara had refused to allow them to rule her life any longer and had announced she was going to find her own path in life.  Her mother's response had been to sieze her funds and cut her off from the money she was to have inherited when she came of age.  They hadn't spoken in the decade since then.

         Sara laid her head on Daff's shoulder, gathering strength for the days ahead.  If having an affair with a Berkley professor had been a terrible embarassment to her parents, being pregnant and engaged to two rock guitarists at the same time would be beyond the pale.  She couldn't imagine her victorian parents accepting her life and the guys in it, but at least she was reaching out to them.  If they scorned her again she decided it was their loss.  She had a family now - the guys had claimed her as a younger sister and the Castillos as their daughter.  Daff and Jay loved her.  She was no longer alone.

         The gang filed out of the bus and checked into the hotel.  The evening was too late to do more than enjoy a fine meal together and relax, so Daff, Jay and Sara soon retired to their room as she was still feeling a bit queasy from the pregnancy and the stress of their upcoming meeting with her parents.  The boys spent the rest of the evening cuddling and reassuring her.  They were very careful to keep their opinions on the upcoming meeting to themselves.  It was important that they support Sara and help her to find some sort of resolution to this old hurt, but they were less interested in making friends with the in-laws than in protecting her from being hurt all over again.

         The next day the trio took the short taxi ride to W. Concord Plaza, where Brian and Cecile O'Shea owned a stately brick victorian home.  A quiet young maid let them in to wait in the parlour while she went to make coffee.  Shortly the door opened and Sara's parents came in to make their introductions.  Brian O'Shea was a fairly handsome middle-aged man with sandy hair and a tall, well-formed body.  Dr. O'Shea was a petite blond with the perfect face and body only found under the knife.  Her stiletto heels clipped briskly into the room where she stopped abruptly, startled by the appearance of her guests.

         Daff and Jay had decided the night before that there was no point in pretending to be something they were not, so they were dressed as usual - Daffy in worn bluejeans and a black half-buttoned shirt, Jay in his favorite studded leather pants, sleeveless t-shirt and leather vest.  Their hair was long and their faces unshaven.  They looked like honest-to-goodness rockers.

         Sara had taken courage from her men and dressed in a gauzy skirt and halter top of gold and flame colors with a gypsy belt slung low on her waist and a necklace of pierced coins.  Her skirt was slit high on the thighs to reveal peeks of her knee-high leather-and-lace fuck me boots in sin red.  She looked more confident than she felt, but she refused to let herself be intimidated by anyone.

         Brian looked at the motley trio and his wife's shocked expression in quiet amusement.  He had expected this meeting to go poorly knowing Cecile's short temper when things didn't go her way, and he was secretly pleased to see his daughter had the courage to take an agressive stand.  The two young men with her were rough and ready looking, but clearly protective of Sara, which raised their stock in Brian's eyes.  He had been sorely remiss in his parenting when it should have mattered.  Now that he was older and perhaps a bit wiser he missed the young woman his daughter had grown into and hoped to make some ammends.  Knowing it would infuriate the wife he had long since ceased to care for only made him happier.

         The young maid came in with refreshments at this point, pouring coffee, tea for Sara as she had asked, and passing out small cakes before returning to the kitchen with the cart.  The pretty young thing brushed lightly against Brian's shoulder in passing, calling his attention to her briefly before he turned back to his guests.  Sara's expression didn't change as she watched the byplay.  Her father had always had the restless Irish rover blood of his ancestors.  It seemed the old leopard had yet to change his spots.

         He offered them a charming smile.  "Sara dear, it's so good to see you again.  When you called I was surprised but thrilled to hear your voice.  I hope you can forgive us for being poor parents to you when you needed us.  I'm looking forward to getting to know you and your young men and hope we can be friends."

         His wife scoffed.  "Really, darling.  There was absolutely nothing wrong with Sara's upbringing except that she continually chose to misbehave and embarass us.  This current nonsense is completely unacceptable, young lady.  Which of these... men do you claim is your fiancé?"

         Jay leaned forward, offering a disarming smile.  "That would be both of us, Ma'am.  Sara has a warm and loving heart and we couldn't make her unhappy by asking her to choose between us."

         "Daff and I are going to have a baby" Sara laid a hand on her stomach protectively.  "But he and Jay both love me and they're happy to share.  I don't care what you think about me - I stopped caring years ago when you made it clear I'd never be good enough for you - but now that I'm going to be a mother myself I wanted to at least try to make peace with the two of you.  If that's not what you want it's entirely your loss.  Their family is my family now and they accept me as I am."  Sara looked her mother dead in the eye and dared her to speak against them.

         Brian watched his shrew of a wife open and close her mouth like a goldfish in shock and grinned.  Standing up he offered a hand up to his daughter so he could wrap her in a warm hug, then shook hands with both men.  "Why don't we continue this in the library where the air isn't quite so stiff and chilly, hmm?"  He kissed Sara's forehead.  "Congratulations, pumpkin.  I'm proud of you."  He led them through the house to the library, leaving the speechless doctor to stew in her own juices.



         In the library Brian was still chuckling as he poured out three scotches and found some orange juice for Sara.  Raising his glass he toasted her.  "You've grown into a strong young woman and I'm very proud of you.  I hope one day you can forgive me for being such a lausy father and we can be friends.  You've found fine young men whom I expect will take good care of you" he sent them both steely stares and recieved solemn nods in return.

         Sara tilted her head and pondered a moment.  Her father had been mostly absent while she was growing up, but she was beginning to see a bit of the mischievous irish rogue in his twinkling green eyes and decided she could maybe like him after all.

         Brian watched her eyes thaw.  "I was at home when you called me.  I have a condo not far from the office just off the 'Mile, but I knew your mother would refuse to set foot there so I suggested we meet here.  If you don't want to put up with her nonsense we can meet at the condo or I'll find you at the Drake, which is almost next door.  Thanksgiving is just a couple days away if you all would like to take in a meal.  I'd invite you to eat with us, but Tiffany is a terrible cook."  he grinned.

         "Tiffany?" Daff asked innocently.

         Brian's grin widened.  "My girlfriend.  Not too bright, but then I'm not sleeping with her for her intellectual skills."  He turned back to his daughter.  "I haven't divorced simply because your mother is an easier person to deal with when you don't get on her bad side.  A divorce would be a major embarassment to her, but so long as I don't flaunt other women under her nose she can continue to pretend everything is okay.  She's a deeply unhappy woman - always has been - and I'm afraid none of us is going to make her happy.  I hope you lot don't take it personally if she continues to pretend she doesn't have a daughter.  It does mean we don't have to put up with her annoying, closed-minded self, after all."

         "I don't mind" Sara said.  "She's never been a mother to me before and I don't need her now.  You'll have to come out to San Mateo sometime when we're home and meet Mama Marcela and Papa Enrique.  They live next door and have adopted the guys as their own sons."

         "The Castillos are a retired couple from the Castile and León region of northern Spain" Daff told him.  "They've taken Sara as their hija del corazón - daughter of the heart.  They'll take the best of care of her when she's at home and we'll take care of her always.  You're welcome to visit whenever we're home so long as you don't hurt her.  You do that and we'll have to have words."  He looked the older man straight in the eye.

         Brian nodded.  "I completely understand, and no, I have no intention of hurting my daughter in any way.

         "By the way," he turned to Sara.  "Your mother may have disowned you and emptied your bank account when you left, but your inherritance came from my family - not hers - and she has no legal say over what happens to that money.  I've had control as your lawyer in your stead these past ten years, and I've made sure that the money is carefully invested.  Let me know when you're going to be at home and I'll fly out to turn over control of your funds to you.  It should come in handy now that you're starting a family."

         He turned back to Daffy.  "What is this situation that has both of you engaged to my daughter?  Are you going to get married now that she's carrying your child?"

         Daff shook his head.  "Jay met her first and they were a couple for some weeks, but he tends to get lost when he's writing music and I kind of moved into his place.  I did plan on asking her to marry me, but she loves us both as much as we love her, so we're willing to share.  I don't think getting married will change the situation any, but if she wants to someday then we'll work it out when the time comes.  The most important thing to both of us is that she's happy."

         Jay nodded in support.  "When they finally get married I'll be the best man.  I was going to give the bride away, but if you're going to be around I guess that's your job" he shook hands with the other man.

         "Seeing as you're a lawyer and everything, what advice can you give us for when this relationship gets into the news?" Jay continued.  "We don't have much hope of keeping it quiet forever - we're too publicized to have real private lives, but we don't want to cause problems for the band, either.  The guys are behind us, but the situation could get ugly depending on the spin the press puts on it."

         Brian pursed his lips in thought.  "I usually handle divorce cases, but I'll give the situation some thought.  A close colleague of mine has done a lot of high-profile cases - maybe I'll ask some discrete questions and see what he has to say on the subject.  My advice right now would be to enjoy the calm before the storm and save the stress and worries for when it happens.  Try to keep the relationship as low profile as you can, but the news sharks will scent blood if you try to sneak around." he shrugged.  "I don't know, fly casual."

         The others laughed.  "I wouldn't figure you for a Star Wars fan," Jay chuckled, "but if you can quote Han Solo you must be a stand-up guy.  Welcome to the family."