Three Months Later

~~~

"I finally got some of the first sketches for UA!" Gerard called out, closing the front door behind him and walking to the kitchen, putting his satchel on the breakfast bar then coming over to the couch where I was sitting down.

Gerard and I had gotten our casts taken off a couple of weeks ago and the stitches taken out a while before that. We were enjoying the ability to move as much as possible and Gerard was going out for a walk every couple of hours, either going to the shops or checking the mailbox.

Losing the ability to walk around all the time wasn't that bad for me, I spend most of my time on the couch with an art book in front of me, painting and finishing all my art projects.

I might not have been able to go to art school for the past months but that didn't mean I was exempt from any assignments or homework which seemed completely ridiculous since I was more or less more grown up than some grown ups but Mum insisted and it was no problem for Dayna to bring any work over to the apartment when she dropped by.

Dayna was still adjusting to losing her sister. Of course it was difficult for her, she was in the car when Tori was killed then was almost murdered immediately after not to mention the fact she was kidnapped with a possibility of being sold on top of it so it didn't come as too much of a shock when she announced she was going to start attending counselling for both grief and some coping issues.

For a while the band, Gerard and my Mum were worried that I'd have to start attending therapy. Since about a week after I woke up I've been suffering from some pretty bad dreams, worse than anything I've had before and that's saying a lot. I've stopped having nightmares about my Dad, they seemed to disappear almost immediately after I talked to Gerard about it but it didn't take long for them to be replaced by something worse.

Everything bad in my head was based around Gerard. I'd be thrown back in the warehouse, in the dark with my hands tied behind my back and being completely unable to do anything to help myself or anyone else. I'd hear Dayna screaming and I could feel Gerard beside me, he'd always tell me that it was okay and we'd be fine then the next second we'd be pulled out of the room by the same men who were supposed to be dead.

It would be an almost exact repeat of what really happened. I'd talk to the main mafia guy, he'd say the same thing, I'd say the same thing then I'd be taken to one room and Gerard would be taken to another, that's when everything changes.

Instead of simply killing the man who hurt me I have to fight for my life, I get this deep feeling of dread and terror, knowing that I have to save myself and being afraid something will happen to Dayna and that Gerard will be killed.

I always manage to fight the man off but not before Dayna stops screaming, then I leave the room and try to find where she is and I run around, looking behind every door and after I start to really panic and break down I find her. She'll be dead, she's always dead and there's not a single thing I can do about it except for cry then try to find Gerard before it's too late and the whole maze starts back up again.

I look and I call his name and by the time I do find him he's on the floor in the main part of the warehouse, he's been shot by the same guy who I tackled from on top of the boxes and there's blood all over the floor. I can see brain and fragments of skull, I want to close my eyes and turn away but I'm to shocked to move and even if I wanted to it feels like I'd be unable to walk or crawl.

That's when I wake up, crying, shaking, sniffling and babbling. Gerard always tries to calm me down, even if he needs his sleep or has had a rough day he'll stay awake to cuddle and talk to me until I've stopped panicking and am able to go back to sleep again.
It's not a fun thing to repeat almost every night, not for him and not for me.

I'm not sure why it keeps happening. I have nothing to be afraid of, I rarely think of what happened most days since I'm occupied by painting, talking to Dayna, being with Gerard or hanging out with the guys. Even if I was interested in dwelling on the past they wouldn't give me the opportunity to, I'm always on my toes, trying to keep up with the band and what's been happening with their lives, everything from girls to how Mikey's almost killed himself via idiocy.

I guess I've always got one worry in the back of my mind.
I've got a reoccurring fear that it's not really over. I've heard in the papers and from different people that all well known gang leaders in the area had been killed in the explosion but there was a part of me that still doubted it.

I'm constantly afraid that one day while Gerard and I are out a van's gonna pull up beside us, drag us in and the whole thing is gonna start again. The strangest thing is that I'm not worried for myself, I don't care if I get killed or sold, I'm afraid that something will happen to Gerard, like he won't come back to the apartment one day or I'll be out then come home and he'll be dead.

Sometimes I wish I never came to America in the first place but I know at the same time that when his parents passed away Gerard had originally intended to kill himself and the only reason he didn't was because I talked to him and I'd never change my mind for anything in the world if it meant him getting hurt.

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Gerard asked, sitting on the couch next to me with a concerned look on his face.

"Of course, I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired, what were you saying about sketches?" I fake rubbed my eyes, looking at him and knowing that if I said I was starting to get worried about my dreams he'd get really worried and want me to talk about it for the next five hours, I didn't want him to when he was so busy.

Gerard's been out almost all day, talking to people, doing interviews but mainly chatting to his friend Gabriel Bá about The Umbrella Academy that he's been putting a lot of time into. I guess that it doesn't matter how famous he is in the music world, Gerard still loves his comics and still wants to be known for his own comic and not just MCR.

"Oh, um, Gabriel's started working on the art for UA and he's shown me his variation on the characters and I wanted to show you." I nodded and put the remote control for the tv on the couch before moving closer to Gerard so he could show me whatever was in the file on his lap.

Gee retrieved a couple of drawings from the file and held them out for me to see. I was amazed by how good they were, completely inked and coloured, they looked like they belonged in a comic book and were simply missing their background.

"Wow, I mean wow. These are really good." The detail was incredible and they were almost the exact same as Gerard's the only difference was that there was a slight improvement, I hated to say it but it was true.

"They are, aren't they? The comic's gonna turn out just as I imagined." Gerard had a huge grin on his face, he was so happy to see what was originally some rough sketches and a story line coming to life, he talked about it all the time and I was more than happy to listen no matter what time of day it was.

"Do you know how long it'll be before the comic will be finished?" I wondered, I know that since I was Gerard's girlfriend and lived with him I'd be able to see the finished product before everyone else but I still wanted to know when it'd be done.

"I'm not sure, the first one should be done by maybe the start of next year. I don't know but my plan is for the whole series to be finished before it's published of course, I hope it'll be out by late next year." That seemed like a long time but when you think about it a lot of work goes into creating a comic, there's creating drawing up the characters, the background, colouring all the parts in, the front cover, I could go on about it for hours but I imagine it to be just as complicated as putting out a novel would be.

We sat quietly for a while looking at the drawings, Gerard with a pen, scribbling down comments on the side of the paper. 'Space needs to be a bit more defined', 'Rumor needs to be taller', they were small notes but they were the kinds of things I wouldn't have even noticed, Gee obviously knows his characters best.

After long enough of Gerard and I trading ideas, seeing if there was anything else to be done with the characters we decided it was time for a coffee break and went into the kitchen to make some while I remained on the couch.

"Do you want something to eat while I'm up?" He called out, getting two mugs out of the top cupboard I had trouble reaching which he thought was hilarious and would always laugh at before helping me.

"Just a cup of coffee would be good, unless that packet of cookies it still lying around?" He nodded and started looking through the cupboards again, it was funny, it was his kitchen yet he didn't know his way around it, granted I didn't either.

I think the only person who can figure out everything is Mum, she spent about two months staying over at the apartment, helping out, going shopping, doing all that mumish kinda stuff even though she didn't have to.

"Got 'em!" He held up a half finished packet of Oreos, showing he'd successfully found them before turning around and going back to making coffee.

It's kinda funny, how far we've come from the first time I met Gerard to now. I remember making coffees for him when he was coming to the cafe, we'd chat and get to know each other better then he'd walk me home. It was weird us being at 'home' with him being the one making the coffee, it was a real change, almost a complete turn around from where we used to be.

All of a sudden there was a knock at the door that made my head snap up. I wasn't expecting anyone and I'm sure Gerard wasn't either, it was finally the weekend and we were supposed to spend it hanging out and taking everything easy, maybe stopping by the movies or something like that.

"Gee, were you expecting anyone?" I asked, standing up and going to the door.

"No and even if I did, I don't know how they got the code to come into the building, it's supposed to be private." He was right there, maybe Dayna had decided to make a sudden appearance, that wasn't a first, she liked to come by whenever she felt like it and it wasn't anything new either, she's been doing it for a long time.

I was hit by another surprise when I opened the door to see a police officer standing on the other side. The first thing that came to my mind was the day my Dad died and for a brief moment a thousand horrible thoughts of something happening to Mum flashed through my mind but I knew that couldn't be it since they didn't seem sad or apologetic.

"Are you Lyric Landes?" The woman asked, putting a hand on her hip and looking me up and down, I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that no police have tried to contact Gerard or me for the past three months.

"Yep, that's my name, you are?"

"Constable Emily Fishburk of NYPD. The police have been looking for you and your boyfriend for a very long time." My eyebrows went up, they'd been looking? I didn't think it would be that heard to find a musicians home address when you're in the police.

"Well, you found us. Wanna come in?" I assumed she was here to talk for a little longer than a simple hi, if anything I knew this was going to last for a long, long time, that's at least what my teenage insight said.

"Yes." Fishburk took a step around me and walked into the apartment where Gerard was now filling three cups instead of two, he must have heard me talking to her.

It was when we were all sitting down on the couch that I remembered something, Gerard's address was kept private. He had originally been sharing a place with Mikey and this place was off the books because it's where he liked to disappear. Other than the band, Dayna, Patrick Millers, my Mum and of course me, no one knew about this place, not even Brian Schechter so if the police tried to get a hold of Gerard through the record label or the bands manager they wouldn't have gotten any info.

"I'm sure the two of you would know why I'm here." The officer who had said she preferred being called Emily stated.

"Getting kidnapped, almost being murdered or sent to a brothel in Puerto Rica then blowing up a warehouse that belonged to the mafia...we have some clue." I was being a little bit of a smart ass but not the mean kind, sassy would be more like it.

"Yes, that would be it. What I have to do is the usual kind of thing. Other than a statement from your friend there isn't much known to police and I've been sent out here to collect your statements. I understand that there was an explosion but I'd like for the two of you to enlighten me a little more which shouldn't be too difficult." She wasn't kidding there, I don't think Dayna would know much more than getting taken to the warehouse then running around doing what I asked her to do which I have to say is very brave when you consider how she didn't go to the hospital like she originally said.

"Alright then, where to start..."

~~~

"This actually happened?" Emily asked, not believing the tale, I gave her the full story of what happened in the subway and what happened at the warehouse and by the end of it the officer had almost stopped writing and was basically sitting on the couch with her mouth wide open, in a state of absolute disbelief.

"Why would I lie about that?" I told her, thinking of the scars I now had on my arms, body, legs and one running along my temple, I didn't really object to them, if anything they were just like tattoos but I would much rather have actual tattoos.

"I-I know but your story, his story, it's incredible. It's like one of those survivor stories you hear about on tv." It would be one of those survivor stories you hear about on tv if Gerard and I had any interest in sharing it with the media but we didn't and simply wanted to keep to ourselves, things were much easier that way.

"So is that everything?" Gerard seemed to have gotten more and more impatient over time which was unusual, I've always seen him as being very level headed and patient, hell, he's managed to listen to me ramble on about things for hours on end without complaint to the point of it being a talent.

We were planning on going out to the movies tonight and it was getting a bit closer to the movies we were going to see starting but we had at least two hours before the opening advertisements would even begin to show. Then again it was a double screening of The Crow and The Crow 2: City of Angels which I know he's really anxious to see.

"I think so, it was very nice of you to cooperate and answer all my questions, thank you." Emily stood up, Gerard and me mimicking her and following the policewoman to the front door so we could see her out.

"No problem, feel free to drop by if you have any more questions." I smiled politely and opened the door for her while Gerard lent against the wall, listening with a definite bored expression on his face, or maybe he was just tired, he's had a pretty long day now that I think about it.

"Oh, one more thing," she added and I heard a sigh in the background, "the people you and Gerard were taken by, the crew was run by Charlie Galligi. He's the-was the head honcho of the New York and New Jersey crime circuit, he and his goons were having some kinda meeting with some other crime and drug lords so the explosion took them all out at once. I can safely say that you won't be needing to worry about any friends of his trying to take you guys out." She waved and started to walk away while I had trouble processing what she was saying, they were actually dead, all of them?

"Wait," Emily stopped walking away and turned to hear my question, "they're really gone? We won't be chased anymore?" It was too good to be true, luck couldn't have shined down on the apartment, she's gotta be playing some kind of trick.

"They're gone, scraping little chunks of them up off the floor kinda gone. You're safe. Have a good day." She waved again and I slowly closed the door, the second I heard the quiet click I slid down the door, tears falling from my eyes because of the sheer belief that it was actually over.

No more rumours that they're dead, whisperings or 'I heard that'. They were permanently erased from the face of the earth and they'd never come back into my life, Gerard's life or Dayna's life, they're not a danger to anyone.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Gerard jumped to action when he realised that I was crying, not the slight, few drops falling kind of crying, the real, bawl your eyes out until they hurt and you look like a tomato type.

"W-w-we a-are f-f-free." I stuttered, hiccuping and gasping in breaths, still struggling to comprehend what I'd heard, I've always thought it was going to be the eternally unobtainable, not some small piece of information that's thrown into conversation.

"I know, I've known since the warehouse." Gerard said, sitting on the floor and holding his arms out for me to cuddle up to him and try to calm down and get some breaths in before I accidentally passed out.

The second I moved next to him I felt arms close around me and a million times safer, he was my safe place. When I was a little girl I'd run to Mum or Dad when I was hurt or sad, when Dad was no longer there it'd be Mum and once I'd moved to America Auntie Matilda had kinda taken the job and now, I no longer needed Mum, Dad or Matilda.

It was Gerard I wanted, I want to run to him when I'm hurt or sad. When I woke up in the middle of the night crying after having the dream of losing my Father or losing my best friend and him, he was the first thing I'd think of. I'd always be able to reach out in the big bed, knowing I'd find him and when I did I'd curl up by his side and he'd sleepily sing to me until I was asleep once more.

"Y-you always comfort me." I hiccuped, not even bothering to attempt to stop the tears that would inevitably soak Gerard's shirt by the end of this, I knew from a lot of experience that he didn't mind.

"Do I?" He asked, sounding like he actually didn't realise how often he'd be the one I ran to when I was sad, I hadn't gone to Mum or anyone else for a long time, he's always been my main support whether he realises it or not.

"Mmm-hmm, like now, when I cry about my dreams and I might not have told you this but the day I found out Dad died. When I was back in Australia, before I ever thought I'd meet you, whenever I got these terrible thoughts in my mind and considered doing things I could never come back from I'd put on my headphones and listen to Headfirst For Halos. You were comforting me before you even met me, doesn't that sound stupid?" I laughed and wiped my wet (and probably bright red) cheeks with the back of my hand, feeling too awkward from the admission to look at Gerard.

"It doesn't sound stupid and I'm glad the music could comfort you. I would have come by but we both had to experience a few things before that could happen," his hand stroked my hair until the hiccuping ceased and once I was finished he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and I finally convinced myself to look up at him, "I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner." He whispered, looking straight into my eyes then slowly moving forward and pressing his lips against mine, my lids automatically closing.

The second the kiss was initiated I was reminded of the three and a half months long dry spell Gerard and I shared then was hit by the extra fact that we were currently us uninjured as we'd ever be and it didn't take long for Gerard to pick up on it.

In seconds we'd gone from slow, in the moment kissing to a mad scrabble to stand up while not letting go of each other. His hands were on the wall, mine were around his neck and we were stumbling across the apartment towards the bedroom, almost tripping over each other at some points.

I stumbled into the bedroom as Gerard threw his shirt onto the floor, I've missed this and it wasn't that long ago when I thought I wouldn't be able to have him like this again.
It was a terrifying time and I hope, I know I won't have to experience it ever again.

My hands went to the hem of my shirt and started tugging while Gerard tried to pull my pants down and kick his shoes off simultaneously, it was all over the place, neither of us could make sense of where our hands were and we didn't care.

We didn't care that we'd almost lost all idea of how to do what we were doing.
We didn't care that neither of us had, had a shower in the past few days.
We didn't care that each other's mouths tasted like coffee.
We didn't care that we had a million things to get done.

We only cared that we had managed to keep each other alive through everything.
We only cared that we finally had nothing more to worry about.
We only cared that we were happy and alive.
We only cared that we were together.
~~~

I remember that night well.
Gerard and I were the happiest we'd been for a while, smiling, laughing and mucking around like we didn't have a care in the world. After a long enough wait we were normal again, a silly couple who were enjoying themselves and in love.

We stayed up late, talking and bathing in the joy that came from being around each other, that's why even when it grew late and most were asleep we stayed up, kissing and making love until we were too tired to move...knowing we never had anything to worry about for as long as we lived, not even my bad dreams.

Finally, we were safe.
Finally, the last laborious chapter in that dark book, the one that seemed to last forever...

It closed.

The End.

Notes