It felt like no time had passed between the time Bobbi's head hit her pillow and Alex pulled back her curtains to let in the early morning sun.

"Come on. Get up. Breakfast is on its way."

Alex was gone before Bobbi had even opened her eyes and let the light do its job.

She was blinking, trying to adjust her eyes to the sun, when she heard voices coming from the common room, through the open door in her room.

It was enough to make her try to get up out of bed. She was mildly successful and was only aware that she had actually gotten up and walked out into the common room; when she yawned and opened her eyes more than half way.

Theo was rubbing his eyes as he walked out of his room. He was shirtless, as Bobbi would have expected him to be. His shoulder of tattoos were on full display and his sent her a small nod when he noticed she was up as well. He stumbled over to the couch, set against the wall, and laid down, patting the small empty space beside him.

Bobbi stumbled across the room and joined him on the couch, laying down next to him and letting his arms draw her closer to his chest. Alfie and Sam made their way out into the room and huffed at the sight of the two of them, both of them barely awake enough to utter any real comments.

Alex closed the door with a curt thank you and pushed in the room service cart. At the sight of Bobbi and Theo cuddled up on the couch, she abandoned it to Alfie and Sam and walked over.

She grabbed Bobbi first, trying to pull her up.

Theo's grasp tightened and he groaned in protest at the movement.

"Nope. Not this morning. Come on you two. We have so much to do today. We don't have time for this."

Alex finally wrenched Bobbi off Theo after he finally relinquished his grasp.

Bobbi wasn't awake enough to fight against her pull and stood up, following Alex as she led her over to the table and set her down at one of the chairs.

Theo sat down next to her and started serving them food as Bobbi continued her yawning streak.

He passed her a warm cup of coffee, prepped just how she liked it. She hummed thank you into her mug then sipped the lukewarm liquid.

The caffeine started its work immediately and her yawning stopped. When she felt she had finally woken up all the way, she looked down and found a plate full of food set before her.

Theo was already digging in when she glanced over at him.

"How did you sleep?" she asked, taking a bite of her own pile of eggs and bacon.

"Not long enough," he said, his voice gravelly through a mouth full of food.

Bobbi's eye brows creased when he paused, in his attempts to inhale the massive pile of food on his plate, to turn to the side and cough.

She brought her hand to his cheek to feel his temperature.

"Are you feeling okay? How's your throat?"

He shrugged.

"Not great. I think I over did it last night with the yelling."

"I've got cough drops in my purse. I'll grab you some before we head out this morning. Don't want you getting sick again."

He nodded in reply and kept eating.

His finished his plate and started in on his own cup of coffee while Bobbi switched between the two, relying mainly on her coffee to bring her sustenance.

He nodded at the half eaten pile of food on her plate.

"Eat your food," he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I will. I'm working on it."

He leaned back on in his seat and rested his head against the back of the chair. He held his cup of coffee in one hand and let his other hand rest on Bobbi's knee, her leg tucked underneath her as she sat perched on the chair.

Alex came back from the kitchen where she had spent the last few minutes making various calls. She stood at the head of the table and made eye contact with each of them to make sure they were awake enough to hear the plan for the day.

"Alright. We've got paps and fans down stairs so we're gonna have to leave earlier than expected. Make sure you pack up your overnight bags when you get changed. Your luggage is already packed up in the vans. We head out in 15."

"How did they find us?" Alfie asked.

"Staff member tweeted something. Gained enough attention. Please make sure you are all dress appropriately. We do have a label meeting first thing and then we'll be finishing up our house hunting."

A collective groan emanated from the table. Even Sam's even temper and flat expression portrayed his annoyance.

"Why?" Theo groaned.

"Alex, can't you just find us a place that has plenty of space, a place to record and is severely secluded? We are really not that picky," Bobbi said.

"Do you guys trust me?" she asked, glancing around the table.

Everyone nodded.

"As long as there's privacy and no way for people take long range photos, I'm fine." Theo said.

"Seriously, Alex. Don't drag us to another hundred houses. We're too tired and we just need a place to call home for right now." Alfie said.

Alex nodded and glanced down at her phone, starting to walk away as she spoke.

"Okay. I think I know just the place. I'll make a few calls."

She put the phone up to her ear but then turned back before entering the kitchen again.

"Go get dressed. We leave in 10 minutes."

She disappeared and Alfie was the first one to stand up from the table, getting the rest of them moving.

"You heard her. Let's go."

Bobbi stood up and started for her own door. She felt Theo follow her and almost walked into her room right behind her. But Alfie grabbed his upper arm and pulled him in the other direction.

Bobbi turned back and chuckled at the sight.

"Wrong way, lover boy."

**************

Bobbi was dressed for the day, her black jeans, converse and leather jacket seeming rock band enough. She had her hair pulled up in a bun again and got her sunglasses ready as the thought of trying to apply the right amount of eyeliner seemed too tiring for that morning.

She was the last one ready as she stepped out of her room with her duffle bag swung over her shoulder.

"Okay. Hotel security's out in the hall. The vans are waiting down stairs, out front. There's a hoard of photographers and fans waiting outside. So usual formation. Alfie and Bobbi in the first car, Sam and Theo in the second." Alex said.

Bobbi walked up to Theo and gave him a quick peck. He wrapped hand around her waist and gave her a quick squeeze before she could make her way to the front of the crowd.

"See you later," she said, smiling up at him.

"Bye, birdy."

She put on her sunglasses and followed Alex out into the hotel hallway. Her smile turned to a scowl as she nodded at the two security guards who took position on either side of her.

Alfie entered the elevator last and pushed the button for the lobby. Bobbi saw Theo and Sam head for the other set of elevator doors as the doors closed. He shot her one more look and the quickest of winks before he disappeared from view.

Alfie grabbed Bobbi's hand tight as they waded through the crowd waiting for them outside the lobby. One of the massive bodyguards flanked Alfie and the other had Bobbi. He hovered over her, creating a physical barrier between her and the excited crowd surrounding them.

The car door was already open and Alex had entered the SUV from the other side by the time Alfie climbed in and made way for Bobbi to enter.

She sent a small smile and a wave at the crowd before the security guard shut the door on her and they started to drive away.

Bobbi got a text once they were a few minutes away. Theo was checking to make sure she had made it to the car unscathed and she replied with her own query of the same nature.

She spent the rest of the drive as Alfie and Alex did, staring at her phone. But she was smiling as texts flew back and forth between her and Theo. Alex merely concentrated on her phone and Alfie seemed vaguely interested in what ever he was doing on his.

***************

They had a meeting with the label that morning. After such a big win the night before and the end of their tour, seemed the powers that be wanted to lay out the next steps for the band.

Detail after detail were thrown at them, all for Alex to absorb and then relate to the rest when they had time to understand what was going on.

From what Bobbi had picked up in her tired state of mind, the label wanted them to stay in LA to work on their new album and to start writing as soon as possible. It seemed that there were also interviews and magazines spreads coming up soon that they would be featured in. The label was excited to utilize the time they had the band in LA and get them as much exposure as possible. Then they would be promoting their next album and a tour following it.

It seems the label had the whole next year of their lives planned out for the band.

Bobbi and Theo were, of course, situated across the table from each other and set out of eyesight from one another. Alex did this on purpose even though all the people they met with knew of their relationship. It was in the vain attempt to get them to focus and keep up their charade.

As they are started to leave, Alex hung back for a moment. Bobbi overheard her making appointments for her and Theo to meet with the label again soon. Over what she was not sure exactly, but shrugged it off, knowing Alex had all the details.

Bobbi had to stuff her hand in her pocket as they walked out of the office and headed towards the elevator across the lobby. She followed closely behind Theo and her natural instinct was to reach out for him. His stance was just as rigid as hers and he had his hands set in the pockets of his tight jeans. They dared to stand next to each other once inside the elevator but were separated once they reached the ground floor lobby, Alex pulling Bobbi away towards her awaiting car.

They were finally able to interact in person once their cars drove through a large set of black gates and up a long driveway. They stopped and parked outside a wide, long tan house.

Everyone climbed out and congregated in front of the large brown door of the one-story ranch style building.

"What is this place?" Alfie asked.

Bobbi wondered that too and glanced around at the desert hill landscape surrounding the property.

She started for the edge of the driveway, towards the edge of the property that dropped down a hill to a rocky valley below. The view stretched out onto the ocean a ways away, the blue hazy in the afternoon sun.

Theo made to follow her but Bobbi heard Alex clear her throat loudly as the front door of the house opened.

Bobbi turned from the view and returned to the rest of the group, taking a stand near Alfie as a very tan man in his early 50's stepped out to greet.

"Good afternoon! Welcome to San Merino!"

His smile stayed bright and wide as he stepped forward to shake everyone's hand. He enthusiasm was unwavering as he asked each of their names.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Roger. You guys want to come on in and take a look around?"

Alex nodded to answer for all of them. Roger started to make his way back into the house, Alex following behind.

Alfie glanced at Bobbi and sent his eyebrows up, letting out a low whistle. She laughed a bit and smiled over at Theo who widened his eyes a bit.

Roger's energy seemed a bit excessive to all of them, but they followed him into the house nonetheless.

Theo waited until he followed behind Bobbi, the last to enter into the house. He let his hand fall on the small of her back for the briefest of moments as they stepped into house. But his hand fell away almost immediately when Roger started to talk again.

He rambled on for the next fifteen minutes and it seemed only Alex was actually listening. Sam nodded in response a few times and even spoke up to ask a few questions about the amenities. But Alfie, Bobbi and Theo wandered off to explore the property themselves.

Bobbi was already sold on the place as it took them almost an hour to get there from the label offices. And she saw Theo nodding as they glanced around.

The main house stretched out wide, offering up a huge family room and kitchen. Bobbi could spot a long hallway that ran down to where she imagined the bedrooms were.

The main source of light once they entered the house was the wall of glass doors that stood opposite the front door. They lead outside onto a terrace covered patio. A large glass table and chairs were set out and Bobbie stepped outside to explore more. Theo waited a few seconds before following.

Roger and Alex stayed inside and discussed all the necessary details.

Past the long patio, a large green lawn was laid out, flanked by houses on every side. Bobbi let out a low whistle as the compound seemed to keep growing.

Theo nodded over to pool set into the ground on the right and they both causally made their way over. Alfie saw their movements and followed.

Roger and Alex had made their way outside and Bobbi could hear him explaining the different buildings.

The one set to the right of the house, nearest the pool, served as the pool house and a possible spare room if needed.

Across the lawn on the other side was the guest cottage, complete with shower and small kitchen. And on the furthest end of the lawn stood the recording studio, the main reason Alex had brought them to this property.

"So what do you think?" Roger asked, calling out to the four of them as they stood at the edge of the pool and looked around.

All of them turned back towards where Alex and Roger stood.

Bobbi and Alfie both exchanged glances with Theo and Sam, then with each other. Everyone nodded and Alfie and Bobbi called out together.

"We'll take it."

*******************

Once Roger finally left and all the necessary papers were signed, Bobbi and the boys unloaded the cars and claimed their rooms. The boys graciously let Bobbi take the guest cottage, thinking it would be best if she got a bit of privacy. And they couldn't sway her from moving her stuff when she had successfully gotten there first.

Alex disappeared for a bit as everyone got settled, and when she returned, she honked her horn to get everyone to meet her out in the driveway.

She lifted up the tailgate of the SUV and displayed a trunk full of food, enough to keep them all fed for at least a week. She had also picked up a few pizzas on her way back. Both acts of thoughtfulness were met with cheers of gratitude and requests for Alex to join them for dinner.

She declined and left them once the car was unloaded to make the property their own. With promises to return the next day, she drove away.

Sam whipped them up a salad to go with their pizza, always the one to make sure everyone didn't catch scurvy. Bobbi joined Theo in his efforts to set the table. By the time they were finished and Alfie joined everyone out on the patio for dinner, Bobbi had successfully made the table presentable, following behind Theo to correct his mistakes.

With jet lag still hanging over each of their heads, the conversation around the table was light and slow. Once finished eating everyone made for their own rooms.

Bobbi waved goodnight to Sam and gave Alfie a quick hug before they both started for their separate rooms down the long hallway.

Theo attached his hand to hers as they walked across the lawn in the cool night air towards her cottage.

With a quick kiss under the bright desert stars, Theo left Bobbi to settle in for the night in her cottage.