*~*December 2017*~*

"Mmmm fuck, Daddy...harder," Leesha moaned, grasping at the soft sofa cushions. After David had recovered from his vasectomy, neither held back...not that they did before. This morning had found David in his studio working. All it took was Leesha sneaking in after her shower and dropping her towel.

He'd tossed her onto the sofa with a low growl and they lost track of time, ending up in the kitchen and lounge. David grabbed his wife's hair and forced her to arch back to him. "Purr for me, Kitten."

The doorbell rings, followed by incessant raps of a fist and their heads snap towards the front door. "Open up, fucker! I know you're in there! I need to speak to you," Jon's voice filtered through the wood. "Put that woman down and answer the fucking door!"

"Just ignore him, babygirl, he'll go away," David groaned and returned to sliding his cock rhythmically into her sweet, hot body.

"Has he ever gone away before?" she replied with a whimper.

"Don't make me come in the back door and bust your naked ass!" Jon yelled again, pounding on the front door.

"Pretend that you're blocking out the kids screaming," David grinned and pulled her up, her back to his chest and his talented fingers rolled her clit, eliciting a cry of pleasure from Leesha's lips.

The incessant knocking at the door had finally abated, leaving a peaceful silence once again. The couple were completely lost in their own world, so close to oblivion. David hit her sensitive spot and Leesha cried out. They nearly leapt to the ceiling when they heard a voice coming from the doorway.

"Told you I'd bust your naked ass," Jon said, leaning calmly against the frame with his arms crossed. "Now that you're done, can I talk to you now?"

Leesha screamed and scrambled to cover up. David, however, simply sighed and sat back on his knees with his cock dripping with cum and his wife's juices.

"Forever the classy one, Lema," Jon smirked. "Leesha," he greeted her.

"It's my house, asshole," David retorted. "You know I don't just walk in on you and Julie..."

"You probably wish you did though," his friend replied. "Can you please put something other than your wife on that thing? I got some news I think you're gonna like."

"Can you blame me? The swelling in my balls is gone and I'm shooting blanks. Life is goddamn good right now!" David smirked and rolled his eyes, making sure to bend his ass over in front of Jon as he pulled on his shorts.

"Is that an invitation?" Jon chuckled and smacked his best friend's ass. "I'll see you in the kitchen. I need coffee!"

"You know it's not too late for me to break off and go solo!" David gave his wife a deep passionate kiss before she took off upstairs to get dressed.

"Decide that after you hear me out," Jon called back as he kept walking away.

David followed him, grabbed a beer from the fridge and dropped into one of the dining chairs. "You gotta stop barging in like that, man. I think Leesha's getting sick of it."

"You were ignoring my calls and I almost pounded my fist into a pulp on your front door," Jon shrugged. "What else was I supposed to do? You can't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing."

"Touche, my friend, touche. But you know...happy wife happy life," David laughed. "What was so important? Shouldn't you be home with Julie and the baby?"

Jon pulled out his phone and brought up the voicemail screen and hit the speaker button before replaying the message.

Hello Jon, this is Jann Wenner. I'm calling you to tell you that the fan vote for this year has been finalised. I'd like to welcome Bon Jovi officially into The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, Class of 2018. We will be in touch in regards to the next stage of your induction at the ceremony in April. Welcome again, Jon. We'll let bygones be bygones, shall we? Goodbye.

David stared at Jon's phone for a full minute, his mouth falling open. "Well goddamn, it's about fucking time!!!"

"Now you see why I needed to see you?!" Jon smiled smugly.

"Holy shit! You mean...we're in the club?!"

"Motherfucker finally listened to the fans! We did it, brother!"

David launched himself into Jon's arms, planting a big kiss on him. "We fucking did it!"

"Did what?" Leesha asked, walking in fully clothed. "Babe, why are you sitting on Jon's lap?" she asked, looking askance at her husband and friend.

"This will never get old," Jon said. "Just wait, darlin'." He hit the play button again and watched Leesha's face as she listened to the message.

"Wait...Does Julie know??" She asked as the fangirl rose up inside her and she ran into the lounge for her phone. The guys jumped as a high pitched excited squeal echoed to the kitchen. "OH MY GOD, THEY GOT IN!!!!! GIRL, I KNOW!!!"

Jon finally pushed David from his lap and sat back with a sigh, happy to be able to share it personally with at least one of his brothers. He braced his arms behind his head and smiled up to the ceiling.

"You talked to the others yet?" David asked, smiling at his wife talking a million miles an hour in the next room.

"Thought we'd tell T and Hugh together," Jon said, shifting back to a sitting position, wrapping his hands around the coffee mug. "Al needs to be found before he can be told. And Rich...Rich, I wanna do it personally, ya know?! Tell me you understand, right?!"

"Shouldn't walking out on the band disqualify you from being inducted?"

"Why should it? He's as much a part of the journey as you or I," Jon frowned.

David muttered about "rewarding quitters and addicts" and raised an eyebrow. "Al I can help you with. We'll get Hugh and Tico on a call but ...whatever...you handle Richie."

"Please don't let this turn into a shit-fight, D," Jon sighed, his frown deepening the creases between his eyes. "You were as thick as thieves, no pun intended, for a long while back in the early days. He's still a brother...however lost he might be."

"Why do you think it hurt so much when he left without warning? You of all people should know that," David sighed and smiled up at Leesha when she came back in, sliding onto his lap. "Are you and Julie delirious with happiness at your favourite band being inducted?"

"Happy and extremely proud of our Rockstars," she replied.

Jon let out a mirthless laugh. "I do understand that. Probably more than you know. But there comes a time that you gotta put that behind you and...and let go," he said, hoping that the slight tremor in his voice wasn't noticeable. "Jules is worried about finding a dress. When are you two heading out shopping so I can let the accountant know about the spike in spending?"

"I just need a fancy new jacket," David answered. "I know this one," he nodded to Leesha, "will want something nice."

"Only so I can look good next to you," she whispered. "The kids will need outfits though. I'll take them out closer to April."

"I wasn't meaning you, I was talking about the girls, asshole," Jon mumbled to Dave. "So I know when I'm on babysitting duties." His youngest was crawling all over the place and was always sneaking off into a room she wasn't supposed to be in, more often than not sending the household on a hunt through every room in the house.

Leesha smiled at Jon. "I'll work a day out with Julie. Don't you two still employ Mrs H as your nanny?"

"Yeah, but she's due some time off soon," he said. "She's going to visit her son and his family so just trying to coordinate things in my head."

"Can all the kids even go? If not--"

"I want you and our kids there," David cut in.

"Why wouldn't they be there? Well, for the most part anyway," Jon shrugged. "Samara won't be able to stay for the afterparty. Jules is already organising caterers and such, did she tell you?"

"A little. I'll contact Bergman about coming for photographs and set up the venue," she replied.

"We're also wanting to reunite with the other guys. I figured we can do it here at the house," Dave suggested. "I mean...granted it's already decorated for--"

"I think we should do it," Jon said. "I mean...it all started with me." He stopped and waited for any fallout from that statement. He didn't mean for it to come out arrogantly but it is what it is.

David rolled his eyes as Leesha left to tend to the kids. "And it ends with us. I can tell you now...Alec won't do it at your place..."

"And you won't want Rich here...so...we're at a stalemate," Jon snapped back. "Neutral territory then?"

"Tico!" they both said.

"We gotta ring him and Hugh anyway, so let's see what he says before the girls get too carried away," Jon suggested.

Janelle started screaming so David and Jon sequestered themselves in the studio. They sacked out on the leather couch and got Tico and Hugh on a conference call. Jon started it out and told them about the induction and voicemail. David then chimed in and told them about the reunion idea.

"Yeah we can have it here," Tico said in his low growl. "Ali would love to help Julie and Leesh set it up. Bout time you get your asses down here for a change."

"Hugh, does that suit you?" Jon asked.

"Yeah, of course," he replied. "I'll let Kellie know. I'm sure she'll be glad to help too if the girls need it."

"Right...looks like we're set," Jon said, clapping his hands together. "T, give us a list of dates that suit you and I'll pass it on."

After consulting Ali in the background and the holidays coming up, they settled on the last weekend of December and making it a long New Years celebration. Of course, Kellie got excited on Hugh's end and exclaimed she "needed to get a sexy new bikini for Miami."

After hanging up, Jon sat back and sighed. "Guess we'll have to let X know too. That'll be an interesting phone call."

"Yeah, that awkward convo is all yours, bud," David chuckled. "I'll message Alec."

"I'll ring X and Richie from home," Jon replied and checked his watch. "I gotta go anyway. Told Jules I wouldn't be long...fat chance when I'm over here though."

"Oh before you go," David grabbed a USB drive from his laptop and handed it to Jon. "Just a couple of things I've been working on. Take a listen when you can. Two very rough demos are on there. One is called Knockout and the other is Rollercoaster."

"You been workin'?" Jon asked, surprised. "Good for you...I'll take a listen when I get home."

"No being an asshole over my guitar playing either."

Jon chuckled and said, "Why? You always complain about my piano playing, asshole." They started walking towards the front door.

"Because you're a key plunker," Dave laughed and slapped Jon's back. "You ain't got the magic fingers."

"Julie would fight you about that one, my friend," he replied and drew his friend into a bear hug. "Seeya, Famer." He trotted down the stairs and into his car, taking off down the drive toward home.

Jon pulled the car into the garage a short time later. All the way home he'd been figuring things out in his head and how he pictured them all standing together as they used to, receiving the much-coveted but often hated award.

"I'm home!" he called out, listening for replies as he walked in from the garage to the kitchen. He reached for a mug and poured himself a coffee.

"Oh! Jon," Mrs H exclaimed coming out from the pantry, "you scared me. Julie is upstairs in the nursery with Samara and Arielle."

"Thanks. I'll head up there shortly," he said. "I gotta make some phone calls first if anyone is looking for me."

"Right you are," the housekeeper nodded. "I'll let Julie know if she does."

Jon smiled and wandered off to his office on the ground floor, closing the door behind him and flicking the lock. The phone call to Phil would be the easiest of the two he still needed to do, so he decided to leave the harder one to last as he dialled Phil's number, listening to the ring tone.

"What's up, boss!"

"Phil...how you doin'?" Jon smiled into the receiver of the house phone as his new guitarist never failed to raise a smile with his upbeat attitude. "Feel like some good news today?"

"Always! What you got for me?"

"I need you to block out two dates. New Year's weekend and one in April next year, fourteenth to be exact. Think you can do that?"

"No problem. Can I ask what's going on?"

Jon held his phone to the receiver and hit the play button letting Jann's words do the work for him. When it had finished, he said, "So about those dates...." He sat back and listened to the whoops that came down the line. He imagined he could almost hear them from Las Vegas. "You wanna come to celebrate? My guess is they'll ask us to perform and I want you on that stage with us."

"Shit I'm in! So damn happy for you guys!"

"Thanks, man," Jon smiled. "Couldn't have done the last few years without you, X, so it's only fitting you're there with us."

"I'm fuckin' honoured," Phil replied, his voice nearly choking up.

"I wish I could say you'd be getting an award with us," Jon said.

"You gave a small-time guitarist from YouTube a chance. That's enough reward. Send me the details for New Year, yeah?"

"Absolutely," Jon replied. "Listen, X, I gotta make another call...to Richie. I'll text you the details. Lyndy and the kids are welcome too, by the way. Catch ya later?"

"Talk later, boss."

Jon hung up the phone. One down, one to go, he thought to himself as he tapped his finger on the plastic handset. With a huff of nervous breath, Jon grabbed the receiver back up and dialled the well-used numbers. He listened for the pick-up, his leg bouncing nervously.

Nobody is home right now, please leave a message at the tone.

Damn it. Jon couldn't understand why he was so nervous. He and Richie had exchanged the odd text messages but the last time he'd been face to face with him was at their wedding. Too long ago. The messages had slowly petered out to radio silence for too long now.

He swallowed his now cold coffee in a few large gulps before trying the number again, pausing before hitting the last digit.

"Hello?" A sunny voice answered the phone. Ava.

"Ava? It's Jon. How are you, sweetheart?" he asked.

"Uncle Jon? Wow! I'm great! Home with Dad for school break."

"How's your Mom?" Why are you delaying this, asshole?

Ava sighed and paused before answering. "She has her good and bad days. Still in the hospital. They don't plan on releasing her for Christmas."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Hey...um...is your dad at home? Or Becca?"

"Yeah, they're both putting up the last decorations on the tree. Hold on..." There was a shuffling and he heard Ava call out, "Dad! Dad...it's Uncle Jon..."

Jon wished he'd grabbed a wine now, instead of the coffee. His leg hadn't stopped bouncing since he sat down. Hurry up, fucker.

"Jonny?"

"Hey, Mookie," Jon said softly, his eyes closed at the sound of Richie's voice. "Long time, huh?"

Several minutes of silence. On and on it went. Richie muttered that he needed to take the call in private. "Sorry. Becca has her Christmas music going. Trying to make it the best possible for Ava. What brings on this call? It's been nearly five years and not a peep from you or David."

Jon cast his eyes heavenward, looking for some divine intervention but when none was forthcoming, he sighed and said, "I know. I'm sorry." His voice had suddenly become thick and he swallowed heavily to continue. "Have you been...okay? Ava mentioned something about Heather."

"Docs think she might be bi-polar so they have her hospitalized. Just trying to be strong for my daughter. I'm sure you understand. Family first and all," Richie explained, his voice cracking when talking about his ex-wife and daughter.

"I do...now," Jon replied. "Rich...I'm sorry, man. I need you to know that." Damn it! He should have just got straight to business and left the sappy stuff till last. "We...we had another baby. Jules and I."

"I know. Too bad I had to hear it from someone else but congrats. I'm glad you and Julie are still going."

"You're gonna make me squirm with whichever subject I touch on, aren't you?" Jon acknowledged. "I deserve it. I deserved everything you want to throw at me. Let's get it outta the way so I can get down to business."

"What business, Jon? You and I aren't in business together anymore. Especially not after you sat by and let David say the shit he did about me. At what point, as his boss, were you gonna step in and tell him to knock it off? Do you even remember that night?"

"When has he ever taken any notice of me telling him what not to say?!" he bit back.

Richie let out a mirthless laugh. "That hypocritical little twit goes to rehab, I'm forced to go as well. Then he's allowed to go on tour and you let HIM lecture ME about my drinking and MY habits?? Oh, that's right because he's a perfect little Jewish boy who...what...made a mistake by fucking a 15-year-old and overdosing? Sweep it under the rug? Yet you let him scream and yell and throw his temper tantrum and you expected me to sit and take it??"

Jon pinched the bridge of his nose and let Richie vomit out his feelings before it all got too much. "At least he was showing some fucking feelings! He didn't shut down on me. You. Shut. Me Out. I couldn't get through to you anymore. After all, we'd been through together...." He was finally getting to purge his own feelings. "It...it was like you'd died."

"I did. Every day another part of me dies. You know his wife and Tico were the only ones who came to see how I was doing after David's tirade?" Richie asked and sighed.

"I...I thought it would have...I dunno...made you realise how much you were hurting the rest of us," Jon replied. "But...I was wrong. It didn't change anything. I needed you and you weren't there. Physically, mentally...or emotionally. Wait! Did you say Leesha went to see you?!"

"Yeah...after she dragged David to their room and I left. She came by later on after Tico and let me talk," Richie said, "That little woman has been the only reason I know anything going on in Jersey. Even sent me pictures of the kids, your kids too."

Jon fell back in his seat in surprise with a quiet Huh, wondering if Julie knew any of this considering how close the girls were.

"Rich...," Jon didn't really know what he was trying to say. When I was choking on the words to say, you shoved your finger down my throat...the old lyrics floated through his brain like a ghost of a time past. He decided to go with what his gut was saying. "I love you, man. I miss you," then, "We got in, babe."

"Got in where?" Richie's voice sounded worn out.

"The fuckin' Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame," Jon said, hoarsely.

"You better not be fuckin with me, Jonny."

"Ha! Would I fuck around with that piece of information?" Jon smiled, noting the hint of veiled excitement in Richie's voice. "We fuckin' did it!"

"Whoa whoa whoa...hold the fuck up..." There was the sliding of a door then Richie yelling, "Holy fucking shit! We're in the Hall of Fame, babes!!"

Jon had to yank the phone from his ear when high-pitched screeches erupted from Becca and Ava. "I take it, you're all excited?" he asked over the excitement.

"A little," Richie replied, "So...what now?"

"Are you guys free the weekend of New Year's?" Jon asked. "Come down to Miami for a celebration at Tico's. I should know more by then."

"Is that holier than thou asshole gonna be there?"

"He will be but I think you'll find he's a much different person now," Jon reassured. "Please. Becca and Ava are invited too."

"Let me sleep on it," Richie said.

"It's all I can ask, Mookie," Jon replied, "Julie would love to see you all. She misses you, too. Ari's as tall as a weed now. She's seven going on seventeen. She's gonna be trouble, I can see it now."

The two said their goodbyes with the promise of Richie calling back. Jon huffed out a breath after carefully placing the receiver back in its cradle and allowed himself a moment of releasing some pent up emotion. It both cut to the quick and soothed him to hear Richie's voice again. He hadn't lied when he said he missed him and loved him.

He swiped away the tears that had managed to escape before reaching for the phone yet again. He could hear Ari running down the stairs to Mrs H's call for cookies and milk so he knew he didn't have long. He dialled Leesha's mobile number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hon, could you check on Ellie? Make sure she hasn't wet herself?!" Leesha called out before saying, "Hello?"

"Hey...it's me," Jon said, assuming Leesha would recognise his number by now. "Can you talk?"

"Oh...hey Jon...um sure, what's up?"

"Is Lema there? I want to talk to you both," he said.

"He's wrangling a toddler at the moment," she laughed and shouted for David.

"Oooweee I love hearing you scream my name!" David called back.

"Jon needs to talk to us," she told him then said to Jon, "You're on speaker."

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, going behind my back and speaking with Richie," Jon barked down the line. "I had to find out from him?! Does Julie know?"

Silence.

"Did you know, Lema?" he continued when there was no answer.

"No," David answered, "Hunny?"

"Hold on," Leesha snipped, "One...yes the fuck I did. Two...why the fuck would I need your permission to talk to someone? And no...no one knew. He felt ostracized by you all and I was trying to be the friend he needed."

"Why didn't you say something?" Jon asked. "Why didn't he say something? To any of us? Why you, considering who you're married to?"

"Believe it or not, I don't have to tell you everything, Jon. Obviously, I have a lot to explain to my husband now, thanks to you," she fired off at him. "You didn't think to ask me privately first? Oh of course...because my privacy doesn't matter to you."

"Excuse me for thinking that...oh I don't know...you follow your husband's line when it comes to Richie?" Jon barked back. "It took me by surprise. Granted I leapt before I looked." He sighed heavily before continuing, "Why the fuck keep it a secret though? Richie said you went to his room after he and David got into it last tour."

"Wait what?!" David exclaimed. "By yourself?"

"Like I said...I was trying to be a friend. That's all. He was cracking into a bottle of wine and I was the one who kept him sober that night," Leesha confessed, her voice quivering.

Jon sighed again, pinching his bridge, trying to stop the headache that threatened. "Leesh...I'm sorry. I seem to be saying that a lot today," he muttered the last part to himself. "I just...I just wished you would have said something though. If not to me, then to Julie at least."

"I don't owe you any explanation about who I talk to and why. Maybe you feel the guys do but I don't," she said matter of factly then put on her best customer service voice. "Now...is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Fuck...," he swore to himself. "I guess not. I'll be in touch," he said, hanging up the call. He sat back in his office chair staring at the ceiling for a long while as he ran through everything in his head to get it all straight before he faced the rest of the family.

A knock at the door broke him out of his reveries, and Julie poked her head in. "Everything okay, Rockstar?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

Jon watched his wife walk over to him and he shifted to encourage her to sit on his lap. "Yes and no," he sighed as her fingers threaded through his hair.

Julie wrapped her arms around Jon's neck and kissed his forehead. "Tell me about it?"

He huffed out a breath and wondered where to start. "Well...firstly...remind me never to walk in the Bryans' back door without an invitation. That is gonna cause me nightmares for a few days," he started.

Julie bursts into laughter. "You haven't realized that by now? If the kids are sleeping, chances are good one or both of them are naked."

"Poor Annie, in that case," Jon grinned. "Apart from that...the hall of fame news went over well with them. David and I rang T and Hugh while I was there. David's going to track Alec down. Oh, party at T's on the New Years' weekend."

"You called Richie, didn't you?"

Jon cast a glance at Julie and tangled their fingers together, playing with the rings he'd placed on them. "You always know, don't you? How do you do that?" He kissed the back of her fingers tenderly.

"You're my husband...and I've stalked you for decades before, so I think I know you pretty damn well," she answered with a smile. "How'd that go?"

"Just peachy!" he said sarcastically. Then after a moment, "It went probably as well as can be expected. Accusations flew for a while before the apologies...from my end. He was in the middle of decorating with Ava and Becca. I spoke to Ava, too. Man, she sounds so grown up now."

"Heather's in and out of rehab apparently, so Ava's spending the holidays with Mookie. He...he sounds good," Jon said with a slight shrug. "Happy."

"...I feel like there's a but in there."

"Hmm," Jon nodded, wondering how to broach the next part. He decided that the direct approach was always the best with his wife. "Did...did you know that Leesha had been in contact with him? After that last fight between Richie and David?"

Julie's eyes widened. "Still in contact?! The fight on the last tour...what...five years ago?"

"Yeah...Richie told me. He knew about Samara, too, so it's been recent," Jon replied, worrying his bottom lip with his fingers.

"I know she went to his room after she calmed Dave down. She was a little tipsy when she texted me..."

"You knew?" Jon frowned up at Julie. "You...didn't think to mention it, babe?"

"She'd kill me if I said anything...besides...you didn't mention David and him fucking around." She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes, knowing she'd said too much.

Jon sighed heavily. "So many hidden stories," he mumbled. "I'm not gonna ask how you know about those...."

Julie hugged her husband and hated having secrets from him. "I'll tell you but you need to swear to me you won't run to Dave about it."

"Jesus...is it that bad?" he asked. "Yeah...okay, baby. I promise." Lord, he needed something stronger than coffee right now.