Gift of Song

The next morning when Andy awoke, he recalled clearly why he wasn’t in his bedroom, cuddled up to his sweetheart like he normally was. If it wasn’t the backache he had from sleeping in a rock-hard chair that reminded him, it was the sight of Ash somewhat curled up on the bed across from him, their two-year-old daughter in his arms with her head on his chest, and the unfamiliar surroundings of the hospital room. He hated that they’d had to bring her here, as he felt they’d spent enough time in the hospital because of when his sweetheart tried to kill himself right after they first met.

Still, he moved so he could pop his neck and back, which were entirely too stiff and sore for his liking, then stood up so he could stretch. He hadn’t had a cigarette since the night before when he’d stomped out his last one from the ride home from the studio and jewelry store, so he decided he was going to step out for one while his family was still sleeping.

He quickly and quietly wrote a note that he left on the table by the bedside so Ash would know where he went if he woke up before his return, then quietly stepped into the hall. A passing nurse told him that she was going on break and would lead him to the designated smoking hut since she was headed there herself, then lead him back up when he was ready. He thanked her quietly, as he knew it couldn’t be much later than seven or seven-thirty, then fell into step behind her.

With the first drag he took off the lit Marlboro Red he now held, Andy could feel his stress start to melt away. He’d had too much on his plate the last few weeks because of touring and recording, raising his daughter, making sure his sweetheart knew he still loved him, no matter what, and thinking about proposing to him. It was a wonder he hadn’t snapped at his love or one of the guys, thus pissing them off to Kingdom Come, because of the stress he was under. He knew they’d all understand the stress from touring and recording, and Ash and Jinxx would understand the stresses of parenting, but no one other than Jinxx would’ve understood the stress of considering a marriage proposal since he was the only other one who’d done just that.

“You seem like you’re stressed beyond belief,” the nurse who’d led him out here said. Her tone wasn’t flirtatious in the least; more like caring and concerned.

“Oh, that’s a massive understatement,” he agreed, startling her with the depth of his voice now that he didn’t feel the need to whisper.

“Your voice…it’s so deep,” she breathed in awe. “Wait a minute…now I know where I’ve seen you, and heard that voice.”

Andy just cocked an eyebrow at her as he took a drag off his cigarette.

“My daughter has Black Veil Brides’ album, We Stitch These Wounds, and posters of you guys all over her bedroom,” she explained. “You’re their frontman, Andy Six, as I recall.”

“That I am,” he chuckled, a smile creeping onto its face.

“Just be glad my daughter’s not here. While I might be able to control my reactions, both because that’s just the kind of person I am and because it’s required for a job like this, she wouldn’t. She’d be squealing and jumping around, barely able to breathe as she begged for a picture and your autograph,” she laughed.

“That’s how a lot of fans are,” he agreed. “And it’s not just me who gets that kind of attention when we’re spotted in public these days; the rest of the guys do, too.”

“So what on Earth are you doing here in the hospital?” She paused to light another cigarette of her own. “And by the way, my name’s Marissa.”

“I’m here because of my own daughter, Marissa.” His expression turned to one that was a combination of worry and sorrow.

“What’s her name? I’ve been assigned to make rounds on all the kids brought in starting last night,” she told him.

“Auroralyn Biersack,” he answered, lighting a second cigarette of his own.

“The two-year-old brought in with an extremely high fever?” she asked with a frown.

“Yep. Her mama’s in the room with her right now,” Andy answered. “She refuses to be held by anyone but Ash if she doesn’t have to be when she’s sick.”

“I heard rumors that you brought her here with another guy by your side.”

“Well, Ash really is a guy. And before you ask, no, he’s not a tranny.”

Marissa gave him a confused look.

“My boyfriend has a…gift, if you will.” He quickly explained to her about his ability to carry children and how he’d gotten pregnant about eight months after they started dating.

“Hmm, I’ve never heard of such a thing,” she said thoughtfully.

“Well, apparently it’s one of those things that less than ten percent of the planet’s population has.” Andy shrugged. “I didn’t even know about it until he freaked out when my mom said she wished she could have grandkids after we came out to her and the guys, one of whom guessed his secret because he has the same…gift.”

“Did he just not wanna tell you or something?”

“I think he was a bit embarrassed. I mean, it’s not every day that you hear about a man being born with the reproductive system he’s supposed to have, along with that of the opposite gender.”

“That’s true enough. I’d be kind of embarrassed if I were in that situation, too.”

Since her break was almost over and they’d smoked three cigarettes together, Marissa told him to follow her and she’d lead him back up to the childrens’ ward. He nodded and fell into step behind her once again, wondering if his sweetheart and daughter were awake yet. It wouldn’t surprise him if Ash was already awake, as he usually woke up with the sun, just as he had since he got pregnant, unless he was drop-dead exhausted. Rori was a different story because, although she generally woke up pretty early for a toddler, she didn’t usually rise with the sun like her mama did.

When they got back to Rori’s room, they walked in to see his sweetheart sitting up a little straighter, his head bowed as he watched their daughter’s sleeping form. The little girl was sitting in his lap, her arms wrapped around her teddy bear as she snuggled into his chest, and he had a tight enough grip on her that she knew she was loved and no one could take her from him unless he allowed it, but he wasn’t hurting her by any means.

Andy spoke to him softly in Italian, which he’d improved in over the years, just as he had with signing, while Marissa checked their daughter’s vitals. He told him he’d found his note and just decided to stay where he was, even though his bladder was screaming at him, until he got back. Rori grunted when he moved her back to the mattress, moving slowly as he got up so they could trade places, but otherwise wasn’t disturbed. As he ran into the adjoining bathroom, the nurse told him that she still had a bit of a fever, but was doing much better.

He heaved a soft sigh of relief as he cuddled the toddler to him as his sweetheart had just a few short minutes ago, chuckling softly at the loud sigh they heard from the bathroom. Moments later, they heard the sound of running water, then the door opening, before Ash rejoined them and listened intently to the nurse’s report. He sighed once again and collapsed into the chair by the bedside when she told him their daughter was doing much better, his chocolate-brown eyes fluttering shut as if he was going to fall back to sleep. Marissa gave him a concerned look as she watched his actions, but Andy just told her that he’d been exhausted and it wouldn’t surprise him if he fell back to sleep.

“Well, I’m gonna get out of here and let you guys get some rest. You both look like you need it,” she told them.

“Thanks, Marissa,” Andy said softly, giving her a small smile.

“Yeah, thanks,” his sweetheart agreed, also giving her a small, tired smile.

“You guys hit the ‘Call’ button if you need anything. Otherwise, I’m gonna be down at the nurse’s station, likely checking in on my own daughter.”

“Speaking of which, tell her we said ‘Hi’,” he chuckled, kissing Rori’s head.

“Will do, Andy. She’ll never believe I got to meet you guys, and will likely be jealous as hell,” Marissa laughed.

“What was that all about?” Ash asked curiously after the door was closed.

“She led me down to the designated smoking hut while you two were asleep,” he began. “While we were down there, she recognized me from posters her daughter has of us as a band on her wall after she recognized my voice.”

“Ah. So she’s not the fan, but her daughter is?” he asked, grinning.

“Yeah. Apparently her daughter’s such a die-hard BVB fan that she’d be fangirling to the nth degree and barely breathing as she begged for a picture and autograph,” Andy chuckled.

“Oh, that poor, besotted teenage girl,” his sweetheart laughed. “She’s gonna be so jealous when her mom goes home and says, ‘Hey, guess what? I got to meet Andy Six and Ashley Purdy from that band you like, Black Veil Brides, today while I was at work’.”

“I could see her doing that just to tease her, too. Sadly,” he agreed.

They sat there talking quietly for a while longer until Rori finally woke up, begging for juice. Andy pressed the “Call” button on the railing of her bed, and a few moments later, Marissa walked in again to see what they needed. Ash told her that their baby wanted her juice, but wasn’t sure if they should give it to her since she was already on IV fluids and hadn’t been able to hold anything down for a while. From both a mother’s and nurse’s standpoint, she saw no reason why they couldn’t try it if that’s what she’d requested.

He watched as his sweetheart dug through her diaper bag to grab the sippie cup he’d put in it the night before, which he then handed to him. The nurse stood by them to watch as the little girl took the sippie cup and started drinking from it, soon telling her to slow down before she made herself sick. With a frown, the little girl handed it back to her daddy, who put it on the table next to him.

While Marissa got her vitals once again, there was a knock at the door to announce someone’s presence. She looked at the two of them for permission, then called out that the visitor could enter the room. It was another nurse who said that Marissa’s daughter, Shelby, was at the nurse’s station looking for her. She told her colleague that she’d be there in just a minute once she got done taking their patient’s vitals, and the other woman nodded and walked away. She sighed as she finished her task, telling the guys she may not be able to check on them again for a while since her daughter tended to stick around for a while when she visited.

“Hey, if you want, bring her back here so she can meet us,” Ash told her. “As long as she doesn’t scare Rori by fangirling, we don’t mind.”

“Yeah, we love to meet our fans,” Andy agreed. “It doesn’t matter the time or place.”

“Are you guys sure? Shelby can get a little wild sometimes,” Marissa said uncertainly.

“You haven’t seen wild until you’ve lived on a bus with four other guys, the majority of whom are drunk every night, for three or four months straight,” the frontman chuckled.

“Seriously. CC’s an animal, Jake eats all the food, and Jinxx always winds up under the kitchen sink before it’s all said and done,” his sweetheart agreed with a laugh.

“All right, if you’re sure,” she said. She still had an uncertain tone to her voice.

They both confirmed that they were sure and she left the room to go see what her daughter wanted. It wasn’t long before she returned with a girl who looked like she was sixteen, with long black hair that had lavender streaks in it, and equally lavender eyes that were framed by black eyeshadow and long, black lashes. Her face lit up as her mother took a seat under the window, holding what was apparently her lunch, when she saw two of the five members of one of her favorite bands.

“I thought you were just jerking my chain, Mama!” she cried softly, obviously trying not to fangirl.

“Now why would I do such a thing?” Marissa asked, a smirk on her face.

“Because that’s just the kinda stunt you’d pull just to see my reaction,” Shelby shot back, grinning at her. “Hi, I’m Shelby.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Shelby,” Andy responded, holding out his hand. He was still sitting on the bed with his daughter in his lap.

“Oh, my Godsmack!” She tried to fan her face. “I feel like I’m gonna die!”

“We get that reaction from fans a lot,” Ash chuckled, one ankle crossed over the opposite knee.

“So what on Earth are you doing here, Ashley? I mean, I know you’re best friends and all, but I didn’t really think you’d accompany Andy to the hospital because of his daughter,” the teen said, calming down.

“Actually, it’s a bit personal,” he answered, gulping. They hadn’t come out to any of their fans yet.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t wanna. I was just curious,” Shelby said. “Besides, that was probably a bit too personal of a question, and a bit presumptuous on my part.”

He looked over at his lover, silently asking if they should tell her.

“To be honest, there’s something we’ve been hiding from the fans,” Andy started, breaking their gaze and looking at the teen.

She just sat on the floor where she’d been quietly, waiting for them to continue.

“You see, Ash is here because he’s Rori’s other parent,” he told her, hugging the toddler close.

“What? How can two guys have a baby together without a surrogate and egg donor?” she asked, confused. Sure, she had a nurse for a mother, but this was all new to her.

“I was born with a…gift, of sorts. You see, I have the ability to conceive and carry children like a woman,” Ash told her. “Andy and I have been dating since September of ’07, not long after he first moved to Cincinnati and started school at the same high school the rest of the guys and I were going to.”

“I knew it! Andley’s real!” she cried, a grin spreading across her face.

“Andley?” they asked in unison, confused.

“Well, a lot of fans write crazy fanfictions that are all over the net,” Shelby began. “They usually write about their favorite stars, typically rock stars. One kind that I’ve been seeing quite a bit ever since the debut of We Stitch These Wounds is called Andley. They’re basically stories about what your lives would be like, strictly on a fictitious level, if you two were gay and in a relationship together.”

“Wow. I think I might have to find a few of these and read ’em,” Andy said, chuckling. “This sounds interesting.”

“So how have you guys been able to hide your relationship all this time if you’ve been together for over three years, like you say?”

“We got pretty good at hiding it back in high school so the jocks and other popular kids wouldn’t find out,” Ash answered. “Sure, we told the guys, Jinxx’s fiancé Sammi, and Andy’s mom, but other than that, we kept out mouths shut and didn’t engage in any PDA.”

“What about when you got pregnant? And when you guys go out in public, like on dates, or to run errands together?” She was genuinely curious.

“I usually dress up in drag and talk in falsetto since I already look so much like a woman,” the bassist answered, snickering. “It’s really not that hard to pull off, even if people ask why I’m so tall, for a woman.”

“Even though your voice isn’t anywhere near as deep as Andy’s, I don’t think I could see you pulling off a believable falsetto,” Shelby chuckled.

“You better believe it, girlie,” he said, pitching his voice higher like he did while dressed in drag. “It’s how I fooled the trooper back home into thinking I was a woman when I went into labor with Rori and had to drive myself to the hospital.”

“Whoa… That was just…freaky.” She had a startled look on her face.

“Told ya.” Ash smirked at her.

“Wait, you never said anything about a trooper the day Rori was born,” Andy said, confused.

“I guess I was too tired,” he said with a shrug. “Anyway, about four miles from the trauma center Dr. Morgan told me to go to, someone knocked on the window. When I looked up and saw it was a trooper, I just pretended to be a woman, especially since he already thought I was one, and he gave me a police escort. Once we got there, he helped me up to the maternity ward and stood there with me until the nurse got a wheelchair.”

“You remember the trooper’s name, if you got it at all? I’d like to thank him,” his lover said.

“Trooper A. Kovac was what his badge read,” Ash told him.

“A. Kovac?” All heads turned to Marissa, whose face was pale. “Where are you guys from again?”

“We moved from Ohio to start Black Veil Brides, but we’re all originally from different states,” Andy said. “I’m from Michigan, Ash is from Missouri, Jinxx is from Iowa, Jake is from Idaho, and CC is from right here in California.”

“Oh, my Godsmack. I never thought I’d hear that name again.” The nurse set her lunch aside and put her head between her knees.

“Mama, what’s wrong?” Shelby asked, moving to her side. Even Ash walked over to make sure she didn’t pass out and hurt herself since Andy was still in the bed with Rori.

“You remember how I don’t talk about your father?” she asked, peeking up at her daughter.

“How can I not when you always snap when I ask about him?” the teen countered sarcastically.

“It’s because he told me that I had to choose between my relationship with him, and having you,” she told her. “As a mother, I told him there was no way in hell I was aborting my pregnancy just so I could stay with him. We broke up, and he moved to Ohio so we’d never have to see or speak to each other again.”

“So what’s this trooper’s name got to do with you guys, if you don’t mind my asking?” Ash asked curiously.

“My ex’s name is Allen Kovac. He sent me a letter shortly after he moved, saying that he’d be willing to pay child support for Shelby once he got settled in his job as an Ohio State Trooper,” Marissa explained. “If that trooper is the same man, I can only imagine what actually made him wanna help you.”

“Now that I think about it, he did seem kinda sad when he found me that day,” the bassist said thoughtfully. “It was almost like he was thinking about an event from his own past, but trying to keep a firm grip on reality for my sake. And his parting words to me when he left were, ‘You take care now, ya hear?’ It was almost like he didn’t wanna see anything bad happen to me or my baby because he’d lost his own child or something.”

He quickly launched into a description of the man who’d helped him when he had to pull over on the side of the road for a contraction, shocked when she pulled out a picture of the very same man. Sure, the man in the picture looked a lot younger than the man he remembered, but it was the same man, nonetheless. Andy still insisted on thanking him properly, and Shelby looked torn between wanting to meet him as well or just brushing off the fact that he existed. She seemed happier getting to meet two of her idols than she did at the prospect of getting to meet her father, which wasn’t surprising under the circumstances.

It wasn’t long before Marissa collected her bearings and had to go back to work, but her daughter decided to stay with the trio. Rori liked having her around, and it was obvious that she was really good with kids when she started playing with her and even got her to laugh. Both guys grinned as they saw someone outside their normal little social circle with the ability to make their daughter laugh, the wheels in their heads turning.

When Marissa got off work a couple hours later and came back to not only collect her daughter, but bring them their own daughter’s discharge paperwork, now that her fever’d broken, they decided to make both of them an offer. Shelby was forced to drop out of high school due to bullying and daily beatings, and not only did she need something to keep her occupied, she needed a job. They’d already decided that they needed a touring babysitter and possibly another merch girl, but hadn’t found anyone they deemed suitable as of yet.

The proposal they made to them was that, so long as Marissa agreed since she was, after all, the teen’s legal guardian, she’d have a job and something besides her schoolwork to keep her occupied if she was their touring babysitter after their sophomore album’s release in June. The nurse looked at them, clearly wondering if they’d lost every screw in their heads, but smiled when the toddler reached out to her new friend in a begging gesture. Shelby smiled and picked her up, chuckling softly as she wrapped her little arms and legs around her neck and waist. She put a gentle hand under her rear to support her, a move they often made themselves when holding her like that, and they knew she’d be perfect.

“Are you sure you guys wanna take her on the road with you?” Marissa asked skeptically.

“Well, you said she’s homeschooled, and we can make sure her assignments get mailed to you to be turned in,” Ash said sensibly.

“And there’s not many people outside our typical social circle who can make Rori smile, much less laugh,” Andy agreed.

“Exactly. And we’ve needed a touring babysitter since last summer because our manager and the roadies just can’t take care of her and do their jobs at the same time,” his sweetheart continued. “Course, she’ll probably end up babysitting Jinxx’s son, too, unless he finds his own babysitter.”

“Wait, Jinxx has a son?” Shelby asked, her eyes widening.

“Yeah. He and Sammi had a son they named Logan back in late June of ’08,” he answered. “Like us, they don’t really let their baby into the spotlight much to protect him.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” she agreed, nodding her understanding.

“Anyway, not only is she homeschooled, good with Rori, unlike so many outside our little ‘family’, and us in need of a babysitter, but you also said she needs a job,” Andy continued. “Paying her to babysit while touring the country would be nothing, so long as you, as her legal guardian, agree and she’s up for the challenge.”

“Wow… You guys are my idols, and I never thought I’d get to meet you… But to be offered a job as your touring babysitter…?” Shelby paused for a minute. “Mama, pinch me. I swear I’m dreaming!”

“Girl, if you’re dreaming, then so am I,” Marissa told her, but still pinched her anyway.

They all chuckled, Andy and Ash offering to let them come over so she could try her hand at babysitting the toddler in a setting that was familiar to her as they walked out to the nurse’s station. The nurse said goodbye to her colleagues and followed the two men and their daughter out the door, her arm wrapped around the shoulders of her own daughter as they walked. She’d never thought to meet anyone famous, much less a couple young guys who wanted to take her daughter on tour with them so she could be their, and possibly their bandmate’s, babysitter while they were on stage and whatnot.

She thought long and hard about their offer to employee her teenage daughter as she followed their car back to their house, surprised to see two other cars in the driveway. She and Shelby glanced up at the front porch to see three other men, a woman, and a little boy standing there, all of whom shouted concerned greetings to Andy and Ash.

If her daughter could handle being around these two guys and their friends, as well as babysitting the little girl and possibly her little playmate, she didn’t see any reason why she shouldn’t be allowed to go. She was a sixteen-year-old girl who needed a job and to see a bit of the world before she settled in one place and died. As her mother and only legal guardian, there was no one who could tell her she couldn’t allow it. Only this little rendezvous at their home would give her the answers she needed, and she was going to pay close attention.

Notes