It was about 6:00 the next morning and Karen heard Elijah squirming around. Jimi still had his arms tightly wrapped around her. She lifted her head off of his chest and he was sound asleep. She didn't want to wake him, but she had to crawl over him to get to Elijah. "Babe, I have to get up" Karen whispered while nudging him. Jimi moaned. "Jimi, I have to get Elijah before he wakes the whole bus" Karen said. "Ok, ok" Jimi said and rolled over and climbed out of her bunk. Karen followed him out. "You can go back to bed" Karen said. "No, it's fine. If you're up, I'm up" Jimi said. "Ok" Karen said.
Jimi and Karen walked over to the pack and play. Karen picked him up and Jimi got out a fresh diaper. Karen laid him down on a changing mat and Jimi handed her the diaper. She finished changing him and picked him out an outfit and dressed him. Jimi went to the front of the bus and warmed Elijah up a bottle. Karen walked out with Elijah and bounced him around a little. The bottle was heated up and Jimi handed it to Karen. She gave the bottle to Elijah and he started drinking it. Karen sat down on the couch to finish feeding Elijah. Jimi sat next to her and put his arm around her. "You know we're gonna have to talk about this at some point right?" Jimi said. "Yeah, I know" Karen said not taking her eyes off her son. "Do you want to press charges?" Jimi asked quietly. "I have to let the police know before we leave Montana" Jimi added. "I know" Karen whispered and there was a long pause. "I do want to press charges" Karen said quietly. "Alright" Jimi said and kissed her temple. "I think we should get a restraining order too" Jimi said. "Yeah, I agree" Karen said, still looking down at Elijah. They sat in silence for a few minutes then Jimi started "Do you want to tell Emma?" Karen looked up at him. "I don't want to... but I think we should because she will probably figure out something is going on. I mean she's 13 years old. She's not a little kid anymore" Karen said. "Ok" Jimi said. "Whatever you want to do" he added. "I just want this to be over with. I just want it to go away and forget it ever happened" Karen said, with tears forming in her eyes. "It will go away soon. I promise" Jimi said. Karen looked up at him and he leaned down and gave her a kiss, then he wiped the tears away with his thumb. Karen returned her eyes to Elijah and she rested her head on Jimi's shoulder.
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It was around 8:00 and everyone was starting to wake up. The girls were sitting at the table eating cereal and Elijah was sitting in his bouncer. Karen and Jimi were sitting next to each other on the couch. Everyone was giving Karen sympathetic looks and she was trying to ignore them. Kimberly sat down next to her after she finished pouring the milk in the girl's cereal. "Hey, how are you doing?" Kimberly whispered. "I'm fine" Karen said. "Are you up for performing tonight because we can cancel if you want?" Kimberly asked quietly. "I'm fine. I can perform" Karen said replied, getting a little annoyed. "Are you sure?" Kimberly asked her again. "Yes, I'm sure" Karen snapped. "I wish everyone would stop treating me like I'm some basket case" Karen yelled slightly and got up and walked to the bunks.
After Karen snapped, Emma's head shot up. "What is she talking about?" Emma asked with a worried tone. "It's nothing sweetie, Mama's just upset about something" Jimi said. Emma still had a worried look on her face, but she went back to eating her cereal. "Can you keep an eye on Elijah for a second?" Jimi asked Kimberly. "Yeah, of course" Kimberly said. Jimi got up and walked over to the bunks.
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Karen laid down in her bunk. She heard Emma ask what she was talking about. She was going to tell her, but not like that. She felt bad for worrying her. She saw the curtain open and Jimi climb in next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and she scooted closer to him. "You know everyone is just worried about you" Jimi started. "I know, I just wish they would stop looking at me like I'm broken or something" Karen said and Jimi started rubbing her back. "They're doing that because they love you" Jimi said and Karen nodded her head. Jimi continued to rub her back while they laid there in silence for a few minutes. "Emma is going to ask a lot of questions" Karen said. "Yeah she will. When we stop at the next venue we can take Emma and Elijah on a walk and we can talk to her about what happened" Jimi suggested. "Ok" Karen said. They laid there for a few minutes to give Karen some time to cool off. "Are you ready to go back out by everyone?" Jimi asked. "Yeah, I guess" Karen said and they crawled out of the bed.
Before they walked out to the front, Jimi's phone rang. "It's the police station" Jimi said and he answered it. "Hello" Jimi answered. "Hello, this is Officer Wells" Jimi heard. "I'm calling to update you on your wife's case" he said. "Ok" Jimi replied. "But first things first, does Karen want to press charges?" He asked. "Yes, she does" Jimi replied. "Alright, the guy pleaded guilty and the D.A. worked out a plea bargain and he is going to do three years in jail for attempted rape and two years of parole so there will be no trial. I would also recommend filing an emergency restraining order for your family for when he gets released as well" the officer said. "That's what we were planning on doing. How soon can we file the restraining order?" He asked. "As soon as you want to" the officer said. "Ok, great. Thank you Officer" Jimi said and hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. "He's going to jail, babe" Jimi said with a smile. "Really?" Karen said. "Really" Jimi replied and wrapped his arms around her. "When we stop at the venue we can get stop by the police station and file the restraining order" Jimi said. "Ok" Karen said and let out a deep breath. "This is all going to be over soon" Jimi said and gave her another hug. "Let's go and play with our kids" Jimi said. Karen smiled at him and grabbed his hand and walked to the front of the bus together.
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About an hour later they arrived at their destination, still in Montana. They all got off the bus and there was a park right across the street. Elijah just fell asleep for his afternoon nap. Rebecca took the three girls to the park. Before Kimberly, Phillip and Schlap joined the girls at the park, Jimi and Karen stopped them. "So this morning the officer working Karen's case called and said that the guy pleaded guilty and will be doing time in jail for attempted rape. He also recommended that we get an emergency restraining order. So Karen and I are going to go down to the police station and file for one" Jimi said. "I'm glad that bastard is going to jail. He deserves it" Phillip said. "Me too" Kimberly said. "I'm sorry for snapping at you guys this morning" Karen said. "Karen, it's fine. You had a rough night and I shouldn't have kept bugging you about it" Kimberly said and gave her a hug. "Can one of you keep an eye on Elijah and Emma while we're gone?" Karen asked. "Of course" Kimberly said. "We'll be back in a little while" Jimi said. Jimi had called a cab to take them to the police station. It had arrived and Jimi and Karen got in and the driver drove them away.
Phillip and Schlap walked across the street to the park. Emma hopped off the swings and jogged over to them. "Where did my mom and dad go?" She asked them. "They had to go run an errand they will be back in a little bit" Phillip replied. "Oh" Emma said and went back over the playground. Phillip and Schlap sat down on the bench next to Rebecca. "So where did they go?" Rebecca asked quietly. "They are going to the police station to file an emergency restraining order" Phillip said. "Good, do they know what is going on with her case at all?" She asked. "Yeah, the officer handling it said that the guy confessed to everything and is getting jail time for attempted rape" Phillip said. "Good, he deserves to go to jail" Rebecca said.
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Jimi and Karen were gone for about two hours. Their cab pulled up to the venue and they got out. "I'm going to go check on Elijah" Karen said. "I'll come with you" Jimi said. Jimi was really hesitant to leave Karen alone, even if she was just going on the bus. The two of them walked on the bus and Kimberly was sitting on the couch feeding Elijah. Kimberly turned around when she heard the door open. "How did it go?" she asked. "It went great. The judge signed the papers right away" Jimi said. "I'm glad you don't have to worry about him anymore" Kimberly said. "Me too" Karen responded.
Kimberly finished feeding Elijah and Karen reached down for him. Kimberly handed him over and Karen scooped him up. "Jimi and I are going to take Elijah and Emma on a walk to go get some ice cream and talk to her about everything" Karen said. "That's probably a good idea. She was asking a lot of questions this morning. She knows somethings up" Kimberly said and Karen nodded. Jimi went to get the stroller and set it up outside. Karen walked out of the bus and strapped Elijah in and they walked over to the park.
Emma came running over to them. "Do you want to go on a walk with us? We're gonna stop and get ice cream" Karen said. "Yeah, sure" Emma said with a smile and they started walking down the street. They reached an ice cream shop and they ordered. Once they all received their ice cream, they sat down at a table outside. "So... Umm... Did something happen that I don't know about? I mean everyone is acting really weird and ignoring all my questions" Emma asked quietly. Jimi and Karen looked at each other then back at her. "Umm... Something did happen last night" Karen said hesitantly. Emma's facial expression turned into worry. "Wh...What happened?" Emma asked in a shaky voice. "Well... Umm..." Karen started. "Mom had a stalker on Facebook and Twitter. The guy took it really far and showed up at the show last night" Jimi added and Karen brushed the hair out of Emma's face. "He found me after the show when I was going to the bathroom and he stopped me before I could leave and backed me into a wall then your Dad found me" Karen said. "Did he umm... you know..." "No, no he didn't" Karen said before Emma could finish. "Good" Emma said quietly. "The police came and arrested him and he is going to jail for a while and we have a restraining order against him for when he gets out" Jimi said. "Good" Emma repeated. "I'm really glad you're ok" Emma said and gave her mom a hug. "After everything that has happened, mom and I don't want you to go anywhere by yourself when we are on tour" Jimi said. "Ok" Emma agreed and they finished their ice cream before heading back to the venue.
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It was getting close to sound check and everyone made their way back to the bus. Everyone grabbed their things and walked inside to find the dressing room. Rebecca and Schlap sat with all the kids while the band did their sound check. After sound check, Jimi and Karen were walking back to the dressing room hand in hand. Karen wanted to stop at the bathroom. "I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'll meet you back at the dressing room" Karen said and let go of Jimi's hand. "I'll just wait" Jimi said. "I'll be fine Jimi" Karen said sincerely. "I know...I just don't want anything bad to happen to you again, that's all." Jimi said with sadness in his eyes. Karen nodded and walked into the bathroom. Jimi leaned up against the wall and waited for Karen to come back out. Karen walked back out and Jimi reached for her hand and they walked back to the dressing room.
They got there and Elijah was getting fussy and Rebecca was gently rocking him. "He's probably hungry. I'll take him back to the bus to feed him" Karen said. "I'll go with you" Jimi said and followed Karen down the hall. "You know, you don't have to follow me everywhere I go" Karen said. "I know, but it gives me piece of mind when I know you're safe" Jimi said and put his arm around her shoulder as they were walking. Karen looked up at him and smiled. Jimi leaned down and kissed her. "I have two beautiful children and an amazing husband. How did I get to be so lucky?" Karen said as they walked on the bus and Jimi smiled at her. Jimi grabbed a bottle and warmed it up. When it was ready, Karen sat down on the couch and started feeding Elijah. Jimi said down next to her and put his arm around her. They both watched him drink his bottle. When he was done Karen burped him and then Elijah started to doze off. Jimi grabbed the stroller and Karen carefully strapped him in. They walked back inside the venue and Elijah was out cold.
It was almost time for them to start their show. Everyone was ready to go. Emma wanted to hang out in the dressing room with Elijah and Rebecca. Schlap took Daisy and Penelopi to the side of the stage to watch them. They put on their show and people were singing along with them and they were having a blast. It was almost as if last night never happened.
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The show was over and they walked back to their dressing room and grabbed all their things. Rebecca took all of the kids back to the bus to get ready for bed before the show was over. Everyone arrived back on the bus and got ready for bed. Everyone was pretty tired and they decided to go to bed early.
Karen was absolutely exhausted. She wanted to go bed, but every time she was alone, and it was quiet, she couldn't help but think about the previous night's events. She didn't want her thoughts to consume her. She sat down on the couch in the front and started reading a magazine to distract her thoughts. Jimi sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Not tired?" Jimi asked her. "I am, but I'm not ready to go to bed" Karen said quietly. "Why not?" Jimi asked. "Because as soon as I lay down by myself, I will start to think about what happened and I will freak out and work myself up again. I just don't want to think about it anymore." Karen said, in a slightly tearful voice. "I will lay with you if you want" Jimi said and rubbed the side of her arm. "You need to sleep at some point" Jimi said. "The beds aren't very big, and I can't keep asking you to cram in next to me every night" Karen said. "I will do whatever it takes for you to feel safe, even if it means cramming in a really tiny bed with you" Jimi said and kissed her cheek.
Karen set her magazine down and looked at Jimi and smiled. "Let's go to bed" Jimi said and stood up. He reached down for her hand and she grabbed it. They walked to Karen's bunk and crawled in. Karen crawled in first and scooted closest to the wall. Jimi climbed in and scooted close to Karen. She rested her head on his chest and he gently rubbed her back. "Thank you" Karen said. "Anything for you" Jimi said and kissed her forehead. They laid there in a comfortable silence until they both drifted off into a deep sleep.
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Little Big Town played one more show that weekend and then had the week off. It was late Monday night when the band arrived back at the recording studio. They unloaded their tour bus and headed home. Jimi had put the last of the bags in the car and Karen was buckling Elijah in his car seat. They were all ready to go home. Jimi turned the car on and drove home. They got there and unloaded the car. Everyone unpacked their things. Karen changed Elijah and put him to bed and Emma wasn't far behind him. "I'm going to bed Mama" Emma said as Karen was laying Elijah in his crib. "Ok. Goodnight sweetie" Karen said and kissed her forehead. Emma left Elijah's room and walked down the hall to her room. Jimi was on his way into his room. "Goodnight princess" Jimi said. "Goodnight Daddy" Emma said and went in her room and closed the door.
Karen left Elijah's room and closed the door slightly. She walked down the hall to her room and closed the door behind her. Jimi was already in bed, but still had the light on. He watched Karen walk over to the bathroom and brush her teeth and put on her pajamas. She looked distracted. Then she turned off the light in the bathroom and the bedroom light and crawled into bed. Jimi rolled over to face her. Karen didn't really acknowledge him. Jimi propped himself up on his elbow "Babe, what's the matter?" he asked her. "I know that I have nothing to worry about anymore, but every time I close my eyes, I see him" Karen said. "Come here" Jimi said and Karen scooted closer to him. Jimi wrapped his arms around her and she rested her head on his chest and he ran his fingers through her hair. "Let's talk about something happy" Jimi said. "Like what?" Karen replied. Jimi paused for a second to think. "How about the first night that we slept in the same bed" Jimi suggested. "You came running into my room because you heard a really scary noise" Jimi said and laughed. "It sounded like someone walking around" Karen said. "It was the coffee pot" Jimi said and laughed again. "Shut up, don't make fun of me" Karen said and giggled.
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Flashback
It was 1:30 in the morning. Jimi and Karen have been dating for about three months and they were taking things slow. Karen and Jimi were asleep in their own rooms. Karen heard something coming from the kitchen. She ignored it and went back to sleep. She heard it again a few minutes later and started to freak out a bit. She walked across her room and cracked her door open. She looked across the hall and Jimi's door was still closed.
She heard the noise again and she tip toed over to Jimi's room and opened his door quietly. She ran on her tip toes over to his bed. "Jimi, wake up" she said as she nudged him. "Huh, what?" Jimi asked. "What's wrong?" he asked and sat up. "I heard a noise" Karen said worriedly. "What did it sound like?" Jimi asked. "It sounded like footsteps" Karen said. Jimi and Karen sat there in silence listening for the noise. "There it was" Karen said when she heard it. "Karen, it's the coffee pot" Jimi said. "Are you sure?" She asked. "Yes, I'm sure" Jimi said and let out a small chuckle. "Well now I feel stupid" Karen said. Jimi moved over on the bed to make room for her to sit down. "You're not stupid" Jimi said and Karen sat down next to him. Jimi put his arm around her and kissed the side of her head. "Now I freaked myself out and I'm not going to be able to fall asleep again" Karen said and giggled. "You can sleep in here if you want" Jimi suggested. Karen looked at him "Are you sure?" she asked. "Yeah. I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't" Jimi replied and Karen smiled at him. "Come on, lay down" Jimi said and the two of them laid down next to each other. Karen laid on her left side and Jimi laid on his right so they were facing each other. Jimi pulled the covers up to cover both of them. He leaned in and kissed her, then Karen scooted closer to him. She put her head on his chest and he wrapped his arm around her and softly rubbed the side of her arm. As soon as he wrapped his arm around her, she felt safe. She has never felt this safe with anyone. This is where she is supposed to be. In his arms every night.
Eventually she fell asleep. Jimi looked down at her and smiled. This is how he wanted it to be. He wanted to have her wrapped in his arms every night. He wants to tell her how beautiful she is and how much he loves her. He wants to spend the rest of his life with her.
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"That was one scary coffee pot" Karen said and Jimi laughed. "Well, I'm glad it scared you because it got you to sleep next to me" Jimi said and smiled at her. Karen looked up at her and he leaned down and kissed her. "Thank you" she said. "For what?" Jimi asked confused. "For making me feel safe" She replied. "There is nothing I would rather be doing" Jimi said and kissed her forehead. Eventually they both fell asleep.