Pete's POV
Jaime and Meagan arrived around three in the afternoon. Jaime was already looking a little green around the gills.
"Sorry, Dad," he said, pushing past me in the dressing room and heading straight to the toilets. I could hear him retching and vomiting. I felt badly.
"How was chemo? Besides the obvious?" I asked Meagan.
"He made a new friend," Meagan said, a twinkle in her eye.
"Ethan? He told me about him. He texted about Ethan's sister," I said.
"Is that what he was doing?"
"Yep. And we're going to give them the royal treatment. I mean, everyone forgets about the siblings when one of the kids is sick. At least that's what Jaime said," I said. I pulled out my phone and showed Meagan Jaime's text.
'Hey, Dad. I met this kid Ethan at chemo today. He's cute. Annoying and won't leave me alone but whatever. Anyway, his sister is coming to the show tonight. Her name is Ashley Torrence and she's coming with her friend Caryn. Their seats are Section 301, row 20, seats 1&2. Marvel has this book Joe got her about the siblings of kids going through cancer and I bet Ashley feels left out a lot because Ethan's sick. Can you maybe send some swag to her seat or upgrade her or something? I'll pay for it if you need me to."
"That's so sweet," Meagan said. "That kid has a heart of gold underneath his bravado."
"Well, I didn't think his request was appropriate," I said.
"What do you mean?" Meagan asked. "It's absolutely appropriate. I'm sure you can find better seats than 301."
"I didn't mean it was inappropriate for him to ask. I meant it isn't enough. So, when they get to their seats, we're going to go get them, bring them backstage while the openers are on, do a private meet and greet, bury them in swag and let them watch from side stage if they want. Otherwise we'll put them in front of the security barrier."
"Who's 'we'?" Meagan asked.
"Jaime and I if he's feeling up to it. Otherwise, I don't know. Me and Patrick or Andy, maybe?"
Meagan smiled at me.
"I love that. You're going to make her night so special," she said.
"I hope so," I said. "Because if she's anything like Saint or Bronx, I know she's struggling, too. She knows her brother needs more attention right now, but that doesn't mean she has to like it, or that she doesn't deserve fun and good stuff, too."
"Sorry about that," Jaime said, coming back into the dressing room and flopping down on the sofa. He leaned his head back, covered his eyes and groaned. "The cancer I can handle. The side effects of the chemo are not fun."
I looked over at him. He looked okay. Pale, but then he'd been looking pale since starting all this. And he'd just had chemo and thrown up.
"Jaime, take a nap," I said. "If you're feeling up to it, I want you to help me with something later."
"Does it involve heavy lifting, a lot of walking or anything like that?"
"Mmmm. Some walking, no heavy lifting. If you're not up to it, you can stay here and I'll handle it."
"I'll see how I feel later, k?" He said. Then shot up and ran to the bathroom again. He came out groaning and face-planted onto the sofa again. I grabbed a garbage pail and placed it near his head.
"Thanks, Dad," he mumbled.
"Just rest up, okay? I've got soundcheck and then I'll come back and check on you."
"Uh huh," he muttered.
Meagan had made arrangements for Ashlee to take the three younger kids and maybe come by before the show.
Jaime fell asleep almost immediately and I went to soundcheck with the guys.
"Jaime back yet?" Joe asked. I nodded. "Under the weather?"
"Yeah. An umbrella would not be inappropriate," I smirked. Joe smirked back. Dark humour is how I handle stress.
After soundcheck, I went into the dressing room again and almost literally ran into Ashlee and the kids.
"Hi, Daddy!" Marvel said, running up and jumping on me.
"Careful, Mar," I smiled. "You're getting so big, you almost knocked me over!"
"You silly, Daddy," Marvel said. I smiled and kissed her head.
"Bronx, how was school?" I asked.
"Meh. It was school. It was fine. Dustin got suspended for cheating on his math test," he said, rolling his eyes. Dustin was Bronx's friend, but not the sharpest tool in the shed. Not stupid, the kid is smart, but he didn't always make the best decisions.
"Well, that was dumb."
"Yeah. And he was trying to cheat off of me, which, I mean, yeah, I do okay in math, but dude, I sit behind you!"
"Well, I guess he couldn't have made it more obvious," I said. Bronx shook his head.
"Saint? How about you?"
"We had a substitute. We didn't really do anything all day. But he was nice."
"You didn't learn anything?" I asked.
"Not really. But he did tell us you can kill a polar bear with a pencil if you put it through their right eye," he said, smiling.
"I... don't think that's true," I said.
Saint broke out in a grin and started laughing.
"No, of course not. The polar bear would kill you before you got close enough with a pencil!"
Ashlee stood behind him and smiled.
"I learned that on my way here," she said.
"Lucky you. Look, Ash, I'm not telling you what to do, but I am warning you, Jaime's in the dressing room and he had chemo today. He's not likely going to be in a great mood, if he's even awake. I'm only giving you fair warning."
She sighed.
"I really want to apologize to him, if he'll let me,"
She said. "And it never seems to be the right time."
"I know. It's been really rough the past few months. He's doing okay, good, really. But I'm just warning you, he may not be in a great mood. I'm not going to apologize for anything he might say because that's up to him. But you should know chemo days aren't usually pleasant."
"I understand. But maybe he'll at least let me talk to him."
"I'd appreciate it if you apologized. I think he might, too. Honestly, I don't know how he feels about you anymore."
"I deserve that," she said. I nodded and we went into the dressing room. Jaime was on his back, his arm over his eyes.
"Jaime? You awake?" I whispered.
"Yeah," he said. Marvel wiggled out of my arms and tan over to Jaime and jumped up on the couch. She knew he wasn't feeling great, and knew not to jump on Jaime, but she wanted to always be as close to him as she could.
"Hi, Jaime!" Marvel bounced on the couch.
"Hi, Mar!" Jaime smiled and sat up. He looked a bit better. Less... green.
"Hi, Jaime," Ashlee said, quietly.
Jaime looked at her. And frowned.