A/N. Wow, you guys! Over 10K reads. All I can say is I love ya! And thank you for the support. As always, please feel free to comment and vote.
Nikki's Diary
We've been on the road for a little over a month and things have been surprisingly smooth. The band is tight as fuck and the shows have been amazing. I truly love what I do. Standing on stage on a beautiful summer night with fans singing our songs back at us is something I can't really put into words. It's the most unreal feeling. All I know is that I am definitely a lucky fucker. Lucky to have my life, my kids, my career. And lucky to have an incredible girl.
Ashten crashed out on my chest about an hour ago. And she is OUT! She hasn't moved an inch. Didn't even stir when I had to move her off of me so I could get up. I almost checked her breathing a little while ago because she's been so damn quiet. We were supposed to watch a movie and she only made it about halfway through before falling asleep. Of course here I am, still awake. But its fine. I know how tired she is and she isn't completely use to touring yet. Its actually a lot more grueling than people realize. Ashten once compared it to medical school. Fast paced, constantly moving, little sleep, and sensory overload. She said it was like her internship when she'd have to be on call for 48 hours straight. I use to stay up for 48 hours straight, too. But I had the help of white Colombian powder.
Speaking of med school, Tommy made a wise decision having Ashten bring her medical bag with her on the road. Turns out he needed it today. But more on that later.
My sweet girl and I are happy. I mean ridiculously, disgustingly, stupid happy. At least, I am and I'm pretty sure she is too. I hope so, anyway. She seems to be. I just hope that when the time comes to tell Tommy he doesn't have a bitch fit about it.
Shockingly, its been relatively easy keeping our relationship a secret from T-Bone. Its also been easy spending time alone with each other. Especially when Stella brought Pam and the Lee kids out on the road with us. Suddenly Tommy's bus became a little too crowded for comfort. Not to mention Ashten's disdain for Pamela. Naturally, I was generous enough to volunteer a spot for Ashten on my bus. Nice of me, huh? I'm such a good guy.
But they left a couple of days ago and Ashten is back on Tommy's bus. Ashten loves Tommy like he's her own brother and I know he feels the same way about her. That being said, they bicker like siblings even when we are home and everyone has their own space. But being on the road living on top of one another is a whole different story which is why I think Ashten took great pleasure in tonight's events. I know I would have. It was pretty fuckin funny.
It all started this morning when we arrived in Kansas City, Missouri. We'd traveled overnight from Denver and it had been a long drive. Luckily, we had a day off.
Narrator's POV
Nikki knew something was up when the buses pulled up to the hotel and Tommy flew off of his like a bat out of hell. With a cigarette in his hand and a look of terror on his face, he marched straight over to the Starbucks directly adjacent to the hotel. He came back about five minutes later with two coffees in hand. One hot and one iced. Nikki was willing to bet the iced one was a white chocolate mocha with Ashten's name written all over it.
Weird. Since when does Tommy make the coffee run?
He asked as much when Tommy approached.
"It's a peace offering," Tommy grumbled and nodded his head towards the bus.
"Why? What did you do?"
"Nothing! Its the estrogen. ALL the estrogen. And its turned evil." Tommy scowled at the bus, clearly not in an hurry to get back on any time soon.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
Tommy rolled his eyes as if the answer were obvious. "Dude. She's on the rag."
"Ah," Nikki nodded in understanding. He already knew that. In fact, he had those "evil" days marked in red on his calendar. Sure enough, just as soon as the thought ran through his mind he received a reminder alert on his phone. Danger.
Both men looked up in alarm as the bus door opened and Ashten emerged, moving slowly down the stairs to join them on the curb. She was in a baggy green Notre Dame t-shirt and black yoga pants with her hair pulled back in a lazy low ponytail. She was disheveled, pale, and even with sunglasses on the fatigue in her eyes was clear. She sighed at the two of them and threw her satchel over her shoulder before grabbing her coffee from Tommy. She took a sip and managed to mutter a quiet thanks to him, clearly feeling like complete hell.
"Jesus Christ, have you slept at all?" Nikki inquired noticing she looked like she felt lousy.
"Good god, man. Don't anger it." Tommy muttered, taking a sip of his coffee and keeping his stare on Ashten as if she were a tiger ready to pounce.
"No. I have not slept," Ashten replied slowly, her throat slightly hoarse and voice at almost a whisper. "It's kind of hard to sleep when SOMEone won't shut up."
Tommy rolled his eyes and took a drag from his cigarette. Ashten sipped her coffee and turned her head to look at him. "Ya know, no one needs to hear your drunken rendition of "SexyBack" at 5AM.
"What?" Nikki snorted out a laugh and wondered what exactly happened on that bus.
Ashten turned to him and nodded. "Believe me, it was a real treat. Especially when its already impossible to get comfortable because your body is achy and swollen.
Nikki nodded, still chuckling. Must be day two. The worst one for her. Ashten is pretty even keel and not much of a whiner or crier so he knew she was miserable if she was bitching the way she was. He also knew it was better to just not engage unless spoken to first.
However, Tommy just couldn't seem to help himself.
"Please. How bad could it possibly be?" Tommy scoffed and Nikki simply winced at the stupidity of the question.
Ashten took a long sip of her coffee and pursed her lips. She opened her mouth to say something but quickly stopped herself, instead opting to ignore him as she tried to stomp her way to the hotel entrance only to collide with Tommy's large frame.
"Get out of my way you big fucking tree!"
"What the hell did I do?" He huffed after he stepped aside and let her pass.
Nikki shook his head and continued to laugh. "I don't know man, but don't do it again."
"Where are you going?" Tommy called after her.
"Where do you think I'm going, Tommy?" Ashten snapped and turned around, her arms whirling around her for emphasis. "I'm going to check you in. Isn't that kind of what I do at every single hotel we go to?"
Tommy snorted as the two men followed her into the lobby. "You know maybe you should wear one of Sixx's rosaries for a while. Might help exorcise the demons."
Ashten simply replied with her middle finger and made her way to the front desk.
Ashten's POV
We checked in and I closed my hotel room door, turning the TV on to a Friends marathon before flopping down on the bed to bask in the absolute silence. Well, maybe not COMPLETE silence. The TV was on and Nikki was in the room next to mine. I could hear him moving around. I don't think the word quiet is even in his vocabulary. When I heard him close his door all I could think was how he would make a terrible cat burglar and a horrible ninja. Tommy would be even worse. Luckily, his room was on an entirely different floor, something I tried to make sure of at every hotel. That way he would be less likely to see Nikki and I playing musical beds. At that moment, I didn't even care if he did. The only thing I wanted out of life was a nap, a hot bath and a bacon cheeseburger with steak fries and a sweet tea. And maybe some cheesecake but definitely the sweet tea. I think it is every southern girl's go to comfort drink. The sugar and caffeine would certainly help my headache but a good glass of sweet tea wouldn't be easy to find above the Mason Dixon line so I didn't get my hopes up.
Either way, food would have to wait because I was too tired and too crampy to move. Thank God it was a day off. No show. No press. Nothing. I yawned and could feel sleep starting to take me when my phone buzzed next to my head. I picked it up to read the new text.
Nikki- DJ's flying in to meet us today. We'll take custody of Tommy. I'll bring you dinner later. Get some sleep, Sweet Girl. I love you.
I smiled a sleepy smile at my phone before replying.
Me- Can you be any cuter?
Nikki- Doubt it. ;)
I chuckled and put my phone down before curling up on my side and shutting my eyes. That! That right there was why I loved him.
I woke up a few hours later to only the glow of the TV illuminating the room. The nap helped somewhat but I cant say I was invigorated. The sleep also did nothing for my cramps or to the dull pain in my back. In fact, it was all worse as the aches had made their way down to my knees. I tried to roll over onto my stomach in an attempt to get comfortable but was quickly shut down when the mattress met with the intense swelling and tenderness in my breasts. Groaning, I got up and made my way to the bathroom.
I'm not the biggest fan of soaking in a tub that isn't mine but it couldn't be avoided. The only way I would get any sense of relief would be to soak in a hot bath for awhile.
Girls, I know you hear me on this. The cramps, the backaches, the mood swings, water retention, boobs that feel like cantaloupes and bras that don't fit. It all blows and there's a reason its called "the curse". We just suck it up and do whatever we can to just get through it.
I stripped and slowly stepped into the almost scalding water, carefully submerging myself up to my chin. I quickly washed my hair and scrubbed my body, getting all maintenance out of the way so I could just sit back and relax. After I was squeaky clean I added some additional hot water and flipped on the jets, sitting with my back up against one to allow the pulsating water to soothe my muscles.
I was well on my way to total relaxation when I heard the room door open and close, Nikki's voice immediately following. "Babe, you here?"
"Yeah," I called back. I looked up when the bathroom door creaked open and expected Nikki to appear. Instead, his tattooed arm slowly wrapped around the door, a crucifix in his hand. He held it up at me as if attempting to fight evil.
"Can I come in or do I need an old priest and a young priest?" He inquired, his head poking into the room and his body still protected behind the door.
"Funny," I smirked at him, leaning my head against the back of the tub.
He chuckled and made his way into the room having a seat on the edge of the tub. He put his fingertips in the white bath water. "Is this milk?"
"Milk and honey bath bomb. Its supposed to be soothing."
Nikki hummed and leaned into me, his lips gently touching mine. "How ya feeling?"
I shrugged. "Still tired. Still in pain. Still bleeding. But I guess the good news is I'm not pregnant."
He shot me an amused look and grunted. "Between a vasectomy and birth control pills I'd say we are rock solid on that front." He got up and briefly left the bathroom, returning a few moments later with a few bags and a Styrofoam drink cup. He placed a straw in the drink before handing it to me. "Maybe this'll help you feel better."
"What is it?" I eyeballed the drink skeptically as he sat back down on the tub.
"Just drink it."
"Alright." I took a sip and the sweet nectar hit my mouth making my jaws tingle as I got a taste of what I'd been yearning for. "Oh my god, its sweet tea!" I took another huge gulp and let out a satisfied sigh of pleasure. "How did you find sweet tea?"
"I have my ways," he shrugged and smirked. "But the tea is only the beginning."
"Yeah? What else ya got?" I squirmed excitedly, still clutching my tea like it was liquid gold.
Nikki held up a white paper take-out bag. "Bacon swiss burger and steak fries."
"No you did NOT." My eyes widened in excitement as my stomach rumbled.
"I did. And...." he put down the bag, "there's a piece of chocolate mousse cheesecake in the mini fridge."
"Oh yeah. That's it. Talk dirty to me, baby." My jaws watered at the thought of chocolate.
"Anytime." Nikki leaned in to place a kiss on my forehead before reaching into the tub to stroke my knee. "And when you are done in here you will find a heating pad and a bottle of Midol on your bed."
My jaw dropped again and I swear to God my heart was either going to burst from my chest or jump out of my throat. I could have melted at that very moment. "Aww, Nikki Sixx." I grinned from ear to ear and felt a heat run across my cheeks. "I have such a crush on you."
He chuckled gave me a closed mouth smile, his eyes sparkling. "Yeah, well. I have one on you too." He grabbed the bag of food and stood up. "I'm gonna take a shower. Eat and watch a movie when you're done?"
"Perfect," I nodded up at him. No sooner had Nikki set foot outside the bathroom when my phone rang. I looked over at the screen and grumbled. "You've got to be freakin kidding me."
"Tommy?" Nikki asked from the other room.
"Who else?"
Nikki came back into the bathroom sans shirt and with his shaving kit. I pressed the accept button and put Tommy on speaker so as not to accidentally drop my phone in the bath water.
"Hey Tommy."
"Dude. I have a situation."
"Of course you do." I replied, snarkily. Nikki, who was standing at the counter, met my eyes in the mirror and smirked. We both knew where this was going. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Tommy, get rid of you her yourself. Your last situation puked all over my favorite shirt."
"No, no, not that!" I heard him take a puff from a cigarette. "A medical situation."
"Then call a fucking doctor."
"You ARE a fucking doctor, Monty!" Tommy exclaimed, a slight panic in his voice. "Please just come up here."
I furrowed my brow at the tone of his voice. He seemed genuinely upset. Or in pain. "Ok. Give me a few minutes."
"Thanks, Ash."
I hung up the phone and Nikki walked over to me, his hand grasping mine to help me stand up and step out of the tub.
"Monty?" He inquired, wrapping one towel around my body and handing me another for my hair.
"Short for Montgomery," I wrapped my hair up and looked back at him shrugging. "It's a new thing and I have no idea why he's started calling me that."
"Who knows? But you better go check it out, Dr. Monty." Nikki gave me a small tap on the butt and turned to start his shower.
"He probably has a splinter." I muttered and walked back to the bedroom, hearing Nikki chuckle while he finished stripping. I pulled on some pajama bottoms and my Notre Dame T-shirt.
"Or the clap." He quipped from under the water.
"Fantastic." I towel dried my hair and grabbed my medical bag making my way out the door and up to Tommy's room.
Narrator's POV
Ashten had been gone long enough for Nikki to finish showering, shave, and blow-dry his hair. He was changing into sweat pants and a black t-shirt when she sent him a text telling him to come to Tommy's room. He rode the elevator up to the eighth floor and made his way down the hall towards room 825. As he approached, he saw DJ standing outside the door, looking at his phone.
"Ashten in there?" Nikki motioned to the slightly ajar door behind DJ.
He looked up and chuckled. "Yeah, she's in there tending to Tommy's balls."
"She's what?!" Nikki's choked out, his eyebrows touching the ceiling.
"Is that Sixx?" Ashten's voice came from the room.
"Yeah," DJ replied through the door, still snickering.
"Tell him to come in."
"Oh great! Yeah, let's include more people in this." Tommy whined.
Nikki and DJ entered the room to find Tommy on his back, grimacing in pain. Ashten leaned over and pressed her hands around his throat and jaw. She reached into her bag and grabbed a pen light. "Open your mouth."
"Why are you looking at my throat?! Its my balls that are swollen!"
"Just do it," she demanded, Tommy eventually complying. She took a brief look at his throat and nodded to herself before tossing him an ice pack, which he promptly shoved down his pants. A wave of relief washed across his face.
"Does it burn when you pee?" Ashten met eyes with DJ and Nikki and smiled, trying to hold in laughter.
Nikki looked on in amusement. He wasn't exactly thrilled that his girlfriend was inspecting someone's package and he had to keep telling himself she was a doctor and this had absolutely no sexual nature to it. Plus, it was T-Bone and just funny as fuck.
"Twenty bucks says its syphilis." DJ murmured to Nikki.
Nikki hummed in thought and then tapped DJ's fist with his. "You're on. But I'm goin with chlamydia for the win.
"Like a fucking wild fire." Tommy answered Ashten and jumped when he heard her snap on a pair of latex gloves. She stood over him and silently motioned for him to move the ice pack. Tommy shook his head in protest. "No. Can't one of them do it?"
"Nope," Nikki and DJ said in unison.
"Since when are you shy?" She cocked her eyebrow at him.
"I don't know, dude. But I've pictured this doctor patient scene with you many times and let me tell ya its WAY hotter in my head.
"Tommy, I need to look. Let's just get it over with," Ashten leaned over as he moved the ice pack slightly. She stopped herself and stood straight back up to fire off a warning at him. "If you get a boner I WILL kill you."
"I couldn't if I tried right now," he assured her and moved the ice pack to let her get access.
She took a quick look at his junk and placed the ice pack back over it before going over to her bag to grab her stethoscope. "Tommy, do you know what syphilis looks like?"
"No."
"You do now. Sit up." He complied and Ashten sat behind him, pressing the scope to his back.
"I knew it!" DJ exclaimed, holding his hand out to Nikki who scowled and slipped him a twenty.
"How the fuck did that even happen?" Tommy groaned after he took the deep breath Ashten ordered.
"Do we really need to explain that to you?" Nikki snorted, his and DJ's laughter not fading in the slightest.
"That's what happens when you don't wrap it before you tap it, T-Bone," DJ reminded him.
"I have been wrapping it! The only one I didn't use a rubber with was Pam."
"Oh, the walking health hazard herself! How shocking!" Ashten quipped and took her stethoscope from her ears, wrapping it around her neck. She reached into her bag and produced two vials along with three new syringes. "I'm going to give you a couple of shots."
"Shots? Where?" Tommy eyes widened in fright as he looked over his shoulder at her.
"In your sack." She replied, smirking at DJ and Nikki from behind Tommy's back.
"What?! Oh, Fuck that! I'm done!" He yelled in terror and tried to stand up. The other two boys roared with laughter.
Ashten gripped him by the shoulder to keep him seated, unable to keep her laughter at bay. "I'm kidding, Tommy."
"Real funny. That's one hell of a bedside manner you've got there, Doc. Didn't you take some sort of oath to do no harm. The hypocrite oath or something?" Tommy grumbled.
"Hippocratic oath," Ashten corrected, drawing liquid from the vial into a syringe. "And I'm not doing any harm. I'm saving you from a life of festering sores and insanity. Now, whats your height and weight?"
"6'2". 175-ish." Tommy eyeballed the three syringes. "What are you giving me?"
"These two are shots of penicillin," she filled a second syringe with the same liquid before switching to a third needle and a different vial. "And this one is a muscle relaxer mixed with an anti-inflammatory which will take down the swelling and numb the pain. And hopefully, if there is a god, knock you out."
"Oooh, give me that one first." Tommy ears perked up at the mention of a painkiller.
Ashten nodded and tied a tourniquet around his arm. "Make a fist," she requested and poked at his arm to find a vein.
"Flashback to the eighties, huh Sixx?" Tommy joked as Ashten found a good spot and slid the needle in his arm.
Nikki nodded, "Yeah, except I don't see this ending with you getting handcuffed to the bed."
"Ok," Ashten finished the injection and removed the tourniquet as Tommy's eyes were already starting to glaze over. "Bend over the side of the bed. Face down and ass up. Pants down. And you need to tell Pam so she can get treated if necessary."
Tommy did as he was told and sighed while Ashten rubbed an alcohol swab over his left cheek. "I don't want to tell Pam. She's been through a lot lately."
"Yeah, a lot of dick," Ashten snickered, positioning herself next to him, another thunderous round of laughs coming out of Nikki and DJ.
"Hey, fuck you! And stop making fun of....OW! FUCK!" Tommy cried when Ashten plunged the rig into his ass.
"Oh I'm sorry," Ashten feigned regret and concern. "Did I poke too deep?"
"I think you hit the fucking bone," he grumbled. "Do you even know what the fuck you're OW! GOD DAMMIT!!"
Ashten smiled triumphantly as she shoved the second needle into his other ass cheek. "And we're done here. All better. "
Tommy stood up and pulled his pants back on, glaring at her. "You enjoyed that way too much."
"Oh I think we all did," DJ chimed in, catching his breath as the laughter started subsiding.
By the time Ashten finished explaining to Tommy that he would need to take oral antibiotics for the next week he was all but passed out. Thank god for drugs. She packed up and headed back downstairs with Nikki to resume their dinner plans.
"You really brought penicillin with you?" Nikki flopped down on the bed and leaned against the headboard after they finished eating.
"Well, yeah. Its Tommy." She grabbed the remote to turn the TV on in search for a movie
"Fair enough." He pulled her on the bed to sit between his legs and rest her head on his chest. "The good doctor is tired, huh?"
"Yep," she replied through a yawn. "But I still want to watch a movie with you." Before she sat she couldn't help but notice he placed the recently purchased heating pad across his torso so that it would rest against her lower back. And when she reclined against him he wrapped his arms tightly across her chest and abdomen, applying just enough pressure to help soothe her aches.
About an hour into American Gangster he noticed she was starting to doze off but trying her damnedest to stay awake. He kissed the side of her head and whispered in her ear. "Stop fighting it. Go to sleep."
"Don't want to," she mumbled, her eyes closed.
"It's ok, Sweet Girl. I'll be here when you wake up."
"Always?"
"Always."