Elizabeth Diamond paced nervously in the backstage area, waiting for the concert above to end. Def Leppard had come off stage once and just started their encore to a wave of screams from the audience. Liz walked over to the caterer’s table and grabbed a bottle of water, then plopped down in the chair next to her manager.

“What if they hate what I’ve done to ‘Photograph’, huh, Guy?” She opened the water and took a very long drink, as if trying to drown her worries.

“Listen, hon, they’ve already heard your version and they think it’s great. Joe even commented that he couldn’t believe someone your age has a voice like that!” Guy patted her arm and smiled. “The only thing they haven’t heard is your idea for the video, which I think they’ll love.”

“You crumb, you didn’t tell me they’d already heard my version!” She swatted his leg and jumped up from her seat. “When did you send it to them?”

“Sit back down, you’re starting to make me nervous, girl!” He laughed. “ I gave it to Malvin, along with rest of the tracks for the album and my office number, about two weeks ago. I’ve known him since he first got started as Steve’s guitar tech. I found out they were going to be in Champaign and got my butt out there as fast as I could to catch them.” He laughed. “I told him I had a girl who could out sing Joe and he laughed at me for a minute. Then Mal took one look at the picture on the cover and went straight to the stereo! He promised he could get at least Steve to listen to it.”

She turned and looked at him. “But that doesn’t mean anybody actually heard it, Guy.”

“No, but the phone call from Joe AND the call from Steve both sounded like they knew what they were talking about!” Guy walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Joe was the one that told me to get you to the Portland show so they could meet you. Now, will you please sit down?”

She sat down and took a deep breath. Joe wanted to meet her. She felt kind of giddy, knowing that any of the Leps wanted to meet her. When she first started singing hard rock two years before, at the ripe old age of sixteen, her one ambition had been to make it big enough to actually meet Def Leppard. Now that was about to happen in a few minutes. She adjusted the waist of her halter-top and ran her fingers through her long, dark curls. All she could do now was hope that she didn’t make a total fool of herself by acting like an idiot little schoolgirl!

The band above finally finished it’s set and started to come off stage. Liz saw a very short, bald man come into the room where she waited.

“Guy, how’s it going?” the man said to Guy.

“Great, Malvin! Got time for some introductions?”

“Sure, I’ve got just a minute before they need me back up stairs. Hi, I’m Malvin Mortimer.” Malvin extended his hand towards Liz.

“Malvin, this is Liz Diamond, my latest and best discovery ever.”

Liz took the offered hand and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Malvin.”

“I have to say the pleasure is definitely all mine! You’re even more beautiful in person! Wow!” Liz blushed at the praise. Here was a man used to looking at the beauties that followed big rock stars, and he was complimenting her! Give the reputation Def Leppard had racked up on this tour, that was no small praise. “I hate to say this, but I got to get Steve’s gear stowed for the night. Shouldn’t take too long, cuz we’re here again tomorrow night. Hopefully, I’ll see you later!”

“Hope so, Malvin!” Liz returned to her seat and smiled at Malvin. “It’s been a short but sweet meeting.”

“Oh, the guys will be right in. See ya!”

The butterflies in Liz’s stomach suddenly went into overdrive. Any minute now, the members of Def Leppard would be coming into this room and she would finally get to meet them. Liz opened the water bottle and downed another long swallow. “Who is he, anyway, Guy?”

“He’s Steve Clark’s guitar tech still. But he’s been with the guys forever and they treat him just like another member of the band. That’s why I knew I could count on him to get your tapes to them. I meet him a few years back when one of my bands booked as openers for Def Leppard. He’s a pretty good guy.”

She shot a nasty look at her manager and said, “Ya know, you could have filled me in on some of this BEFORE I got here!”

“Sorry, sweetie, it really just slipped my mind.”

She gave him another dirty look and sat quietly, waiting. Guy walked over to the caterer’s table and grabbed a beer. Fifteen minutes passed in slow silence while Liz counted ceiling tiles and smoked a cigarette to calm her nerves.

Suddenly, the door opened and in walked Phil Collen. Liz sat in nervous silence while Phil just stared at her. “You must be Liz.”

“Um, ah, yeah, that’s me. You’re Phil Collen, aren’t you?” She stammered. Then she thought to herself, “My, don’t you sound intelligent. OF COURSE he’s Phil Collen.”

“That would be me.” Phil laughed. He walked over to her and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Liz. I have to say, your tapes sounded incredible. With a voice like that, you’re gonna make it pretty far in this business. The pretty face can’t hurt either!”

“Thank you, Phil.” She shook his hand and took a deep breath. He smiled at her and she finally started to relax. He seemed like a down to earth guy and he had one heck of a smile! “Phil, I have to ask this. What did you think of my recording of ‘Photograph’?”

“I was really impressed. Just don’t let Joe hear me say that!”

“Don’t let me hear what, Phil?” Joe Elliott walked into the room, his hair still damp from his after-concert shower. “My, Phil, who’s the lovely lady with you?”

“Joe, this is Liz. Remember, Malvin gave us her tapes?”

“Of course I remember! I just wanted to get the formal intro.” He crossed the room and reached for Liz’s hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed it. Liz almost melted on the spot. He was so sweet!

“Um, Joe, you might want to watch that stuff. I just saw Karla in the hallway.” Phil coughed and cast a significant glance at the door. “I don’t think she’d take too kindly to you flirting again after the last time she caught you.”

Joe quickly let go of Liz’s hand. He gave her a sheepish grin and said, “Guess you’re right Phil. She still won’t let me live that one down yet.”

Guy stood up and extended his hand to Joe. “Hi, I’m Guy Domani, Liz’s manager.”

“Hey, have we met before? You look really familiar.” Joe shook his hand and stared at his face, trying to place Guy.

“You might remember me from the Pyromania tour. I represented one of the opening acts you guys used towards the end of that tour.”

“That must be it. Nice to see you again. I see you’ve moved up to a classier clientele.” Joe grabbed a beer and sat on the couch. “She’s got a good voice. But then, I told you that on the phone. Liz, is it true you’re only eighteen? “

“Yeah, that’s right.” She took a drink of water and walked over to a chair closer to the couch. She sat down and crossed her denim-clad legs. Joe’s eyes followed her movements until the door opened again.

“Joseph, there you are!” Karla walked in and sat next to Joe. She made a point of ignoring Liz until Joe introduced them. He looked at Karla and said, ”Karla, this is Liz Diamond. I told you about the tapes that Mal gave us? Well, this is that singer.”

“Oh, nice to meet you, Liz. Joe really thought a great deal of your stuff. Especially, the second song on the tape. What was it called again?” She smiled, but it didn’t really reach her eyes.

“That was ‘Frame of Mind’. Its Guy’s favorite.” She smiled at Karla, trying to ignore the look in Karla’s eyes. Liz was used to women acting like she was after their guy, but it still made her nervous around other women. That was the last thing she needed tonight!

“How nice.” Karla turned towards Joe and started to whisper something to him. He looked none too pleased at what she said.

The door opened again and in walked Malvin, followed by Steve Clark. Steve grabbed a beer and sat down across the room from Liz. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a cigarette. Taking a drag from his cigarette, he finally noticed the two strangers in the room.

“Hey Liz, this is Steve,” Malvin said cheerily.

She stood and crossed the room to shake Steve’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Steve. Between you and Phil, I’ve never heard a band with better guitarists.”

“Thank you.” Steve sat his beer on the table beside him and stood to take Liz’s hand. “To be honest, I haven’t heard many voices better than yours.”

“Thanks.”

Steve sat back down and picked up his bottle. He stared off into the distance and didn’t say anything else. Liz decided that things couldn’t get much worse and walked across the room to her original seat. She reached into denim jacket and pulled out a cigarette of her own. Sitting down, she lit the cigarette and felt the bite of Marlboro Menthol hit the back of her throat. Phil sat down beside her and whispered,” Don’t worry, Steve’s been this way a lot lately. Too many problems to discuss.”

“Well, I’m glad to know I didn’t piss him off then.” She gave him a grin and whispered,” The other side of the room got a lot, um, colder, since Joe’s girlfriend got here.”

“Yeah, Karla’s been holding Joe’s chain kinda tight since she caught him kissing a cute little blonde about two towns ago. She’ll relax once she gets to know you. Just do Joe a favor and don’t let her see you too close to him for now.” He laughed. “Jacki gets that way once in a while, too. Thank god she hasn’t been here much this tour!”

“Better look out, Phil. I’ve already heard rumors about what bad boys you’ve been on this tour. Once Jacki finds out, Joe’s gonna look pretty free compared to you!”

“Nah, what do you mean, bad boys? We’ve all been on our best behavior this time.” He leaned back and crossed his fingers jokingly; “Regular choir boys.”

Malvin crossed the room, followed by Guy. “Yeah right, Phil. And I’m the bloody Queen of England!”

Phil jumped from his seat and knelt in front of Malvin. “Your majesty, you look so much taller in photographs!” Phil dodged a quick kick from Malvin and returned to his seat.

Rick Allen entered the room quietly and stood watching the two of them goofing off. “Call him the Queen again, Phil?” He walked over to them and stopped in front of Liz. “You’ve got good taste in the ladies Phil, but I don’t think Jacki’s gonna like this if you take her home! Better let her come home with me instead.”

“I think she’ll be going home with me, actually.” Guy stepped over to Rick. “Hi, I’m Guy Domani, her manager. This is Liz Diamond. You guys heard her tapes a couple of weeks ago.”

“Oops, sorry. No offense, huh?”

“None taken, Rick. It’s a compliment actually.” She gave him a brilliant smile. “Don’t worry, I don’t take offense easily.”

“That’s good to know.”

Malvin coughed and motioned to Liz. She walked next to him while he started to speak. “I know you guys have all listened to Liz’s cassette, but now you’ve got to hear the idea Guy and Liz have for the video of ‘Photograph’. “ He paused, “Hey wait, where’s Sav?”

Four voices chimed in, “Hair!”

“Ya know, that stuff you don’t have?” Phil moved out of the way of another swift kick. “That shaggy mop of his takes forever to do.”

“Oh, maybe we should wait for him.” Malvin looked a bit taken back.

“Na, he can catch up to the class later,” Rick said.

“Okay, then Liz, why don’t you tell them about your idea?” Malvin pushed her gently forward. “The floor is yours.”

Liz stepped forward, facing the four present band members with her back to the partially opened door.

“Well, you know how you guys used all the shots of Marilyn in the original video for ‘Photograph’?” She licked her lips nervously. “What I thought about doing for my version was using Def Leppard instead of Marilyn.”

“If you just wanted to use our photos, you didn’t need to come all this way to ask.”

Liz jumped. That deep British voice had come from behind her, a spot that a moment ago had been vacant. She spun toward the door only to find Rick Savage less than two foot behind her. Trying to stop her momentum, she tripped and fell into his arms. He helped her back onto her own feet and brushed her hair back from her face. His right hand remained on her arm. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No problem, I just didn’t realize anyone was there.” Liz looked up and caught her breath. She was looking into the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. (“This is a hell of a time to figure out what speechless feels like,” she thought to herself.) Everything she thought to say flew right out the window. Plus, she had forgotten everyone else in the room. As it seemed he had. They both jumped when Malvin spoke again.

“I’ve been trying to figure out how to get that close all night. Leave it to Sav to do it without even trying.” Malvin harrumphed back to his seat while everybody in the room chuckled except Liz and Sav. She still couldn’t tear her eyes from him.

Guy coughed. “Um, Earth to Liz?”

Sav smiled at her and said, “You were discussing the ‘Photograph’ video you want to do?” His hand ran down her arm and squeezed her hand before breaking contact. He moved to the nearest chair and sat down.

She stared at him for a moment longer then turned back to the others. “Sorry, my train of thought just jumped on the wrong track for a moment.”

“I’ll bet.” Rick smirked.

“I wonder if I made a mistake bring Liz here?” Guy thought to himself. He’d never seen a man shake her up like Sav had. She’d handled the rest of the band so well that Guy had let his guard down. “Well old man, better start watching her a little closer before she gets into trouble.”

“Where was I?” Liz asked.

“About two seconds from…. OUCH!” Rick rubbed his leg to get rid of the sting of Phil’s slap. Phil said, “Let the lady talk.”

“Your video,” came that beautiful voice from over her shoulder. “We were discussing how you needed our participation.”

“Thanks.” She turned and smiled at Sav briefly before returning to the group. “What I’d thought about doing was having you guys in the second half of the video, if you’d be willing. The first part would be me, in a bedroom plastered with Def Leppard stuff and watching your ‘Photograph’ video. I start sing to the posters on the wall and the door opens. Joe motions for me to follow him down a hallway. At the end of the hall, it opens onto a concert stage and there you guys sit with your instruments. Well, except Rick wouldn’t be behind the drum kit. Basically, it’d be like you were taking a break during rehearsals. So I sing the rest of the song to you and when it ends, I wake up. That’s it.” She looked around for an empty seat, but the only one not next to Sav was next Steve, who was already looking for another beer. She sighed and resolved to keep her wits about her as she sat next to Sav.

Guy looked around the room. “What do you think, guys? Would you be willing to do it?”

Liz stared at the floor. What the hell was wrong with her? She was used to guys going goofy when she talked to them. She just tried to act like it hadn’t happened and moved on. She was not used to being the one stunned by someone else. He had to think she was one of the worst star-struck freaks on the planet. And that wasn’t even her problem. After her bumbling with Phil, she had been fine. There had just been something special when she looked at Sav. ‘How cliché,’ she murmured. Then she heard Guy’s voice.

“Well, how bout you, Sav? Everybody else seems cool with the idea.”

Liz turned to look at Sav, only to realize he had been staring at her the entire time. He held her stare for a moment, then turned to Guy. “I’m in.”

“Great! Well, I’ve got some calls to make to get things set up. We’ll shoot for two weeks from now, okay?” Guy stood and walked towards Liz. “I think it’s time to go and let them get back to relaxing from their gig.”

Liz looked at Sav and stood up reluctantly. A second later, Sav was standing at her side. “Do you have to leave so soon?”

“Yes, she does,” came Guy’s quick reply. If he didn’t get Liz out of here soon, they were going to have a big problem. Since Sav had entered the room, she hadn’t acted like herself. He laid a hand on her arm to get her moving, only she brushed him off instead. When he reached for her again, she backed away. ‘Ah, shit,” he thought, “too late.”

“Sorry, Guy, you’re my manager, not my father.” She turned back to Sav. “What did you have in mind?”

“Liz, can I talk to you privately for just a moment?” This time the grasp on her arm could not be denied. They walked out the door and as Guy closed it behind him, she saw Sav slump back down into his chair.

“Liz, just what do you think you’re doing?” He leaned against the wall and looked down at her. “You’re eighteen, he’s twenty seven. You’re new to this whole business and he’s been around the rock block a couple dozen times. He’s had more groupies throw themselves at him than you’ve got hairs on your head and you’re….”’

“Enough. Yes, Guy, I’m well aware of all this. I just want the chance to get to know him, all right? Don’t worry, I won’t let things get out of hand.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed Guy’s cheek. “I’ll be alright, I promise.”

“Well, I’ll be at the Imperial tonight okay? Call me for a ride when you’re ready to go to sleep.” He gave her a quick hug. “Be careful.”

“Yes, daddy, I promise.” She turned and pushed the door open. Guy stared at the door and wondered why he felt like he had just sent his daughter on a date to the prom with the school’s star quarterback. He turned and headed for his car. He had a long night ahead.

Liz walked back into the room and went straight to her jacket for a cigarette. Phil walked up and held out his lighter. She took a long drag and looked around. “Where’d Sav go?” she asked. Then a crash came from beyond the rear exit of the room. “Phil, where is he?”

“He went that way. You better get over there fast, cuz he figured Domani would talk you into leaving and he went off. I’ve never seen him this way before.” There was another crash. “Just watch out for the flying trash can! Joe about got nailed by it.”

She walked cautiously over to the door and opened it. Just before he booted the can in the general direction of the door, he noticed her head pop in. With a sigh, he leaned against the wall and looked at her. “I thought you’d left.”

“So you decided to play a little trash can soccer to relax?” A few steps into the room, she paused. “Is this a common problem for you or was this a particularly mouthy trash can? I think you taught it a lesson.”

“Come here.” There was a rough edge to his voice. As she came within reach, he put his hand on the back of her neck, but didn’t pull her any closer. “Who are you? I just met you a few minutes ago and yet the thought of you leaving me drove me crazy.” He looked into her eyes and she was mesmerized. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“Neither do I. I came in here just hoping not to make a fool out of myself around the rock stars and instead, I, well…. I found you. You’re not what I expected. I figured you guys would be like all the rest, full of yourselves, cocky, arrogant bastards that I’d probably hate once I got to know you. But none of you are any of that. I mean, at least at first glance. It’s not like I had any in-depth conversations with anyone.”

“That’s got to change. Listen, why don’t we go back to my hotel?” She started to protest, but he put a finger on her lips. “We’ll sit in the bar and talk. In all likelihood, we’ll end up with a gang of chaperones anyway. I’m just not ready to say goodbye yet.”

“I don’t want to either,” she said softly. She tangled her fingers in his long curls and looked up at him. He pulled her to him and kissed her gently, as if he were afraid he might scare her. Her arm curled through his blond mane and around his neck. His arms held her firmly as she lay her head on his chest and stayed there, listening to the sound of his heartbeat roaring in her ear.

Phil found them there five minutes later. “Ah, so the woman was able to soothe the savage beast, eh?”

Sav lifted his head and looked at Phil, “Did I ever tell you just how funny you are?” Phil shrugged. Sav continued, “That’s because you’re not!” Phil laughed while Liz giggled into Sav’s chest.

“Seriously Sav, now that you’re done abusing an innocent trash can, we’re thinking about trying to get out of here early tonight and hitting the town. How about it?”

Sav looked down at Liz. “What do you think, Liz?”

“Sure, if you want to. Guess we can talk anywhere, right?” She smiled and pulled away from him. Before she got a foot away, he grabbed for her hand and held on to it as they walked back into the lounge area.

Rick looked at Liz and winked. “Manage to soothe the savage…. OUCH!” he squeaked as Sav threw an empty can at him. “What’d I say?”

“If I hear one more savage beast crack tonight…” Sav mumbled as they crossed back to their chairs.

Liz shivered and grabbed her jacket. She threw it on and sat next to Sav, who had finally gotten a good look at the jacket. His fingers brushed over the breast pocket of it. “What’s this?”

Liz looked down and blushed. She’d forgot about the patch on her coat. It was a Japanese import patch with Sav’s image and name on it. The other pocket had a standard Def Leppard logo patch on it and the back had a custom-designed wolf embroidered on it. “Well, its just some guy in a rock band that I found kinda attractive.”

“Oh, really? Hope I can compete.” He looked at her and smiled. He winked and said, “Think I’ve got a chance?”

Before she could answer, Malvin hung up the phone and said, “The limo’s outside if you guys are ready? Sorry, but you’ll have to wade through some people to get to it.”

Karla sighed, “Again?”

“Come on, babe, it’ll be fun.” Joe laughed and pulled Karla up from her seat. She shook his hand off and snarled, “fun for who? I’m getting a bit sick of you enjoying the fawning females, Joe.”

“Let’s not start this now, Karla. The tour’s almost over. Can’t we just enjoy ourselves?”

“Oh, alright. At least I won’t be by myself through this tonight.” She walked over to Liz and held out her hand. “I’m sorry I was so bitchy earlier. Friends?”

“Sure, no hard feelings. I imagine being with these guys is kinda tough on the ego for a woman.” She shook Karla’s hand. Karla laughed. “I couldn’t have said it better myself. Just get ready to run for it. They may get stuck signing a few autographs, but there’s no reason to stand around and get mauled in the press of people.”

“Don’t worry, Karla. I’ll take care of her.” Sav put his arm around Liz and pulled her towards the door. “This can get a bit confusing. Just don’t take any of it seriously. You might as well get used to it now, cuz I think one day they’ll be after your autograph.”

“You think so?” She asked quietly. He stopped in the hallway and looked at her. “No,” he said, “I know so.” He kissed her quickly and then things went crazy.

Malvin had opened the door leading to the limo and the area was packed! People stood behind barricades that police could barely keep up. When the door opened and fans actually caught sight of the band, the barricade closest to the door went down in a press of people. The band, and anyone with them, got mobbed.

“Ah shit!” Joe wailed, “here they come.” Karla took off for the limo as fast as her high heels would let her run, just escaping the melee. Joe and the others were blocked from the car as the crowd closed in on them.

A second barricade came down and things were getting desperate around the band. Liz’s hand was ripped from Sav’s as a mob of women descended on him. Police officers were trying to maintain order, but with only six of them and about a hundred hormonal women, there was little they could do. Phil’s shirt had already been ripped off him and Sav and Steve’s clothes were looking like rags. Joe and Rick had zipped their coats against the October chill, which was the only thing saving them from the same treatment. Malvin was trying to keep as many people back as possible. Liz made it to the car, but instead of getting in as Karla motioned for her to do, she climbed up on the hood of the vehicle. Determined to save anybody, especially Sav and his bandmates, from injury, she did the only thing that crossed her mind. She whistled, one long, piercing blow that carried over the noise of the crowd. The mob slowly quieted.

“Calm down everyone, please! You all want to see Def Leppard, right?” The crowd roared back at her, a resounding yes. “But please, think, do you want to hurt them?” There was a murmured no from some of the women around the limo. “They’ll be happy to sign your autographs, but you have to give them a little space. Let them get to their limo and they’ll sign as many as they can for you. But please, be reasonable and let others have a chance.”

A small pathway started to clear towards the limo. Liz climbed to the limo’s roof and sat down. “Gentlemen, if you please. And don’t make a liar out of me or these ladies are going to get nasty,” she said as Steve reached for the door handle. She counted four band members. Steve, Joe, Rick and a half-naked Phil. She nudged Joe with the toe of her boot. “Where the hell is Sav?”

Joe looked around. “He hasn’t made it to the car yet.”

Liz looked up. The path to the car had closed back before Sav had made it out! She stood back up on the roof of the car to look around. Sav was being molested by three women who had not let him make it back to the others. She motioned for everyone to clear a space for her to jump down from the car. She pushed her way to Sav, only to be blocked by the largest of the three women. She looked down at Liz from what had to be an Amazonian height. The woman was taller than Sav. “Where do you think you’re going?” She rumbled at Liz.

“Well first I’m going over to Sav and then I’m getting him over to the other band members,” Liz stated more boldly than she felt.

“I don’t think so, bitch.” Liz watched as the Amazon’s friend pulled Sav into a lip-lock from Hell. She looked like an octopus attached to his face! Her other friend was removing Sav’s jacket, though with quite a struggle from him. Liz had just a moment to see any of this as she pushed her way toward him before she felt the Amazon grab her. She pushed Liz off her feet and right into a police officer. The officer stepped over Liz and grabbed the Amazon’s wrist. Before she realized what happened, he had a cuff on her and her arm twisted behind her back.

Her friends were oblivious to her situation. The octopus was trying to get her hand into Sav’s jeans while her buddy was hanging off his back rubbing his posterior. Liz gained her feet with the help of another fan and headed straight for the octopus. Liz grabbed the woman’s wandering hand and pulled her away from Sav. Liz yelled to Sav “Get the hell out of here!”

The octopus swung an open-handed slap at Liz who dodged under it and followed Sav through the crowd. He turned and grabbed Liz’s hand, pulling her to the limo. He shivered, shirtless and without his coat, yet he stopped when he saw a group of twelve and thirteen year olds waiting to get autographs.

“Oh my God! It’s Sav!” One of the girls squealed. “Can I have your autograph?”

“Sure,” he said through chattering teeth. He signed one for each of the girls and posed with them for a picture taken by one of their mothers. “I’ve really got to go now, thanks for coming to the show,” he said quickly. He turned to Liz, “let’s get in the limo before I start losing body parts!”

They pushed their way to the limo through the flashes of cameras and waiting females. When they reached the car, Sav paused and laughed. While Phil had managed to keep his coat on, his shirt was gone and he only had half of one pant leg left. Steve had closed his coat over his torn shirt and Joe’s pants were shredded. Only Rick had managed to stay intact through it all. He moved past them and crawled into the car. “They’ll have to handle the rest of that crowd.”

Liz followed him into the car and looked him over. Aside from goose bumps on his goose bumps, the only visible sign of the struggle was a three-inch scratch running down the left side of his chest. Blood still flowed from the scratch. Liz leaned forward and tapped on the glass partition. As it came down, she asked the driver, “Is there a first-aid kit in the car?”

“Yes, ma’am, there’s one right here in the glove box.” He opened it and retrieved the kit. “Does anybody need to go to the hospital?”

“No, Sav just got a nasty mark from an adoring fan. Thanks!” She took the kit and opened it. “Well, all we have here is big Band-Aids and some alcohol. Sorry, guess we’ll have to make do with that.” Liz sat next to Sav and Karla moved across from them. “Okay, this is probably going to sting.” She poured alcohol over the wound and Sav gritted his teeth. Through his teeth he said, “Probably? Damn, that hurts.”

He grabbed Liz and pulled her quickly to his lips. There was nothing gentle in this kiss. As the pain subsided, he released her. He gave her a grin and said, “Sorry, needed something to take my mind off that.”

Liz caught her breath and started to apply a bandage to his chest. She looked up at him and said, “No problem. Anything I can do to help.”

Sav shivered again and Liz moved in closer to him. “Come here, I’ll try to warm you up a little.”

“Get any closer and being warm won’t be my problem,” came the throaty reply.

Liz snuggled in close to Sav, trying to cover them both with her jacket. Problem was, it wasn’t really even enough to keep her warm. However, Sav seemed quite happy about the whole arrangement.

The car door opened with a blast of chill air and the Terror Twins plunked themselves down on the seats facing each other. Phil sat next to Liz, while Steve sat next to Karla. Steve leaned his head back on the seat for a moment. Phil just shivered. He leaned forward and talked to the driver about increasing the heat in the car. Karla frowned into her fur coat.

“Sorry Karla, but none of us can afford to get sick this close to the end of the bloody tour.” Karla huffed and said nothing. Finally, Joe and Rick made it into the car. Rick squeezed in beside Phil and Joe sat between Karla and Steve. Joe kissed Karla and turned to Liz. “Thanks for your help out there. It was getting pretty nasty.”

Rick leaned around Phil and chimed in, “Yeah, they were out for blood.”

“Or other bodily fluids,” Sav mumbled. “What the bloody hell are you so shook by, Rick? At least you got to keep all your clothes on!”

“That’s only cause this pair of really tall, really big women wouldn’t let anyone get close enough to me to do anything else. I was starting to feel like a kept man! Worse yet, I was starting to enjoy it!” Everybody laughed as Rick ground his toe into the carpet like a schoolboy. “Hey, they both were kinda pretty!”

“Well, I guess our night on the town has to be postponed while we go back to the hotel to change clothes,” Joe said. “Unless you want to go like this and start a new fashion trend.”

“NO!” they all exclaimed in unison. Joe turned to give the driver instructions. Liz laid her head on Sav’s shoulder and closed her eyes as the others chatted and the car drove into the night.

“Wake up, luv,” the voice rumbled in her ear, “We’re at the hotel.”

Liz opened her eyes and found herself staring at a man’s throat. Forgetting where she was for a moment, she jumped back a bit until she looked into his face. Sav’s face. Memories flooded back and she realized where she was. As if to emphasize the point, Phil jabbed his elbow into her back. “Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to do that.”

“That’s okay Phil.” She tried to move and realized her legs were asleep. “Shit, my legs don’t want to do their job.”

“Here, I’ll help. Move over to the edge of the seat.” Sav moved around her and out of the car. “Just put your arms around my neck and we’ll be on our way.”

She did as he asked and felt him whisk her out of the limo, but as she cleared the door she felt her head hit the doorframe. “OUCH!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, babe. Didn’t pay attention to what I was doing.” He shifted her weight to a more comfortable position. “I’ll be more careful next time.”

Joe held the door open as Sav carried her to the front desk. “Think your feet will hold you up now?”

“Yeah, they’ll be fine.” She leaned on the counter and waited for Sav to retrieve his key. Sav leaned across and said, “I need the key my room.”’

The girl behind the counter stammered a bit. She was new to her job, but she obviously knew who Def Leppard was. “Um, I don’t have any rooms listed for Rick Savage.”

“Sorry, hon, it’s under Beaverbrook, Baron Beaverbrook.” She found the key quickly and passed it to him. “Sir, I know we’re not suppose to disturb our guest, but could I have your autograph?” She pulled a cassette out from her purse under the counter. Hysteria.

“Pass it here.” He signed quickly. “If you keep your eyes open, you might see another Leppard or two in a minute.” He turned to Liz. “Shall we, my lady?”

“Certainly, Sir Richard.” She giggled and took the proffered arm. He shifted position and put his arm around her as the headed for the elevator. He pushed the button and pulled her closer to him. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned in close. She didn’t care if the elevator ever got there, but it did shortly after it was called. They boarded and Sav punched the button for his floor. Just as the door was closing, Joe and Rick scooted hurriedly into the car. “Never a dull moment, here they come again!” Desperately, Joe punched the close door button on the elevator. A group of teenage girls came screaming around the corner just as the door closed. Joe leaned back, “Whew!”

“What about Phil and Steve? Won’t those girls catch them?” Liz asked with a worried frown.

“Steve was the last one out of the limo and they caught him before he hit the door. Phil wasn’t far ahead, so they caught him at the desk just after we got our keys.” Joe laughed. “This lot seemed a bit more decent than those after the show. I think they’ll survive without too much trouble. Phil had his lot giggling about what happened at the show. Oh, and Karla said she wait for me in the bar so she could avoid the commotion.”

“Oh.” Sav put his arm around Liz as she talked to Joe. “But aren’t they going to figure out what floor you’re on when the elevator stops?”

Right on cue, the elevator landed on their floor. “Bloody hell, I’d forgotten about that read-out on the elevator!”

Sav slipped away from Liz and walked over to the elevator control panel. The others exited the car and looked back at Sav. Liz held the door open as Sav punched every button on the panel. “That ought to keep them guessing a while!”

Laughing, he took Liz’s hand and headed for his room. He pulled the key from his pocket and said to Joe and Rick, “Call me when you’re ready to go.”

Sav put the key in the lock and opened the door. He crossed the threshold and turned to Liz. “Coming?”

Suddenly shy, Liz walked forward into the room. She took off her coat and threw it in a chair close by. Sav smiled and said, “Turning bashful on me, luv? Don’t worry, I promise I don’t bite. Maybe nibble occasionally, but never bite.”

Liz smiled. He looked so good standing there, her breath caught in her throat. Blond curls framed his face as he gazed at her. He turned toward the mirror and said, “What, is there something on my face?”

Moving next to him, she raised a hand to his face. Tracing his features as she spoke, she said, “Well, let’s see. There’s eyebrows, and eyes, and a nose, and lips…”

Her voice trailed away as his lips closed on hers. He was gentle again, nothing like the hard kiss in the limo. His lips moved softly against hers, his arms closing around her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair, resting her hand at the nape of his neck. His hand ran down her bare spine and she shivered at the touch. The pressure of his lips increased and her lips parted for him. His hand moved up her back and paused at her neck as her hand came in-between them and ran lightly down his naked chest. It stopped at the top of his jeans and her fingers curled through his belt loop. From her neck, his hand caressed her throat gently while they kissed. Slowly, it moved lower over the thin fabric of her halter-top and froze as the phone rang.

“Damn it!” he growled as he reached for the phone. “Hello? Yeah, we’ll be down in just a moment. Meet you in the lobby.” He hung up the phone and looked at her. “You still want to go out tonight, right?”

“You know, sometimes what you want isn’t necessarily the best thing for you. I think we best not be alone for awhile. We don’t even really know each other yet.” She laughed roughly, “But I think you’d best get changed. Unless you want to keep the ladies on their toes.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess clothes would be a good idea.” He turned and grabbed his suitcase. Laying it on the bed, he popped it open and rummaged through its contents. Liz sat down in a chair nearby. Sav pulled out a shirt and pants and turned towards Liz. “Should I change in the bathroom or do you mind if I change in here.”

“Go right ahead.” She gave him a playful slap on the backside. “I won’t mind the show at all.”

She leaned back in her chair and watched as he pulled off his tattered jeans. Standing in front of her in only his underwear, he moved towards her and leaned over to kiss her again. He knelt in front of her and pulled her close again. She could feel him, all of him, against her body. She pushed him away slightly and said, “Sav, we have to go or they’ll leave without us.”

“Okay.” He moved back over to his bed and grabbed his jeans. He slipped them on and reached for his shirt without buttoning the jeans. He put on a light blue denim shirt and stood there for a moment. Liz stood up in front of him and kissed him again. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and began to button it. When she reached the last button, she wrapped her arms around him and started to tuck it in. He stood quietly while she finished dressing him. She pushed the material into the waistband in the back of his pants and let her hands linger on his buttocks before moving to the sides. She paused for a minute and moved to the front of his jeans. As she put the fabric down the front, her hand paused and she felt him stiffen in response. She smiled up at him and moved her hand away. She buttoned his jeans and stepped back to survey her work. He looked perfect to her, right down to the bulge in his jeans. She brushed a stray curl back into place and he grabbed her wrist. Pulling it to his lips, he kissed the soft flesh on the inside of her wrist firmly. She took a deep ragged breath and said, “We better not make them wait.”

She took Sav’s hand and led him toward the door, stopping only to grab her jacket and let him get his coat. When they were in the hallway, he stopped and said, “Damnit, I just realized, when those women got my coat, they got my cigarettes too.”

“You can bum one off me.” She reached for one, but he stopped her.

“Sorry, I smoke menthols. Guess I’ll have to wait til I can buy a pack.” She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a pack of Marlboro Menthols. “Will these do?”

“Ah, a woman of taste I see.” He pulled a cigarette from the pack and reached into her pocket for the lighter. “That’s my brand exactly!”

“Getting a bit familiar, I see.” They both jumped when they heard Phil’s voice behind them.

“Hey, I thought you were waiting downstairs with the other guys?” Sav pushed the elevator button and turned to face Phil.

“No, Jacki called just as I was getting ready to walk out the door. She’s feeling a bit lonely.” The door of the elevator opened and they boarded it. Phil punched the lobby button and waited for the door to close. His head lay against the wall as he said, “its times like this I wish I’d never quit drinking!”

“Don’t worry, man, you’ll be home in a few days.” Sav put an arm around Liz. “She’ll just be happy to see you, that’s all.”

“I guess you’re right.” The door to the lobby opened. “Shit, looks like those girls haven’t left yet. You might want to run for it. I already talked to them, so they’ll be looking for fresh blood.”

“Where are the rest of the guys?” Sav looked around.

“Let’s try the bar. Most of these girls don’t look old enough to hang around in there.” Phil scooted around the corner before he got spotted.

“Hey, its SAV!” One of the girls screamed. “Over there!”

“Ah, hell, too late for me, I think.” Sav tried to look nonchalant as he quickly headed for the bar. Then he noticed a woman heading for him wearing HIS coat. It was the octopus who’d attacked him outside the arena. She was headed straight for him. Rather than signing a few autographs, Sav took off at a dead run for the safety of the bar, dragging Liz behind him. The octopus was hot on his trail.

They got into the bar and found the rest of the band huddled in the corner, surrounded by a few polite well wishers who had enjoyed the show earlier. Still running, they got to the booth the band occupied. Sav practically yelled, “Move over!!”

Phil moved around to let Liz and Sav slid in beside him. Liz slid in by Phil, which left Sav in the vulnerable end position as the octopus reached their seats. Sav practically lifted Liz part way onto his lap. Phil scooted closer to give Liz a better seat on two knees rather than one. Liz turned and thanked him and got a conspiratorial wink in return.

The octopus pushed her way in front of Sav and stood there baffled for a moment. Then, apparently, she decided it didn’t matter if Sav did have a girl on one knee. She merely slid in on his other knee tried to wrap her lips around his face before he could protest. Sav tried to push her off, but she wasn’t moving. Liz glanced down and wrapped a leg around the leg the octopus was sitting on. One swift kick brought his foot out from under her, taking away the support she’d been sitting on. She tumbled inelegantly to the floor and landed in a heap to the hoots of the onlookers.

“OUCH, did you have to kick me that hard?” Sav bent to rub his leg, then realized that brought him closer to the octopus and moved back.

“Well, I had to get your leg to move,” Liz said innocently. She bent and kissed Sav, only to feel a sharp tug on her hair. “Get off him, you little slut!”

“No, you did NOT just grab my hair.” Liz tried to get across Sav at the other woman, but Phil was hanging on to her waist for dear life.

The woman lunged for Liz, but three of the fans standing by the table grabbed her while a fourth went to the bartender to get help. A few minutes later, hotel security showed up and escorted the woman out of the hotel.

“Damn Sav, you attract the strangest fans!” Joe laughed. “She was a determined lass, wasn’t she?”

“You don’t know the half of it! She was outside the gig with a couple of friends tonight and they seemed to think I was theirs for the evening. One of her buddies is the one that pushed Liz into that cop.” Everyone got quiet. Sav said indignantly, “That, thing, had her hands down my pants!”

Rick snickered and then the rest of the band busted up. Sav sat fuming while the laughter past off. Liz snuggle in and whispered, “Don’t worry bout it babe.”

Joe looked around the table and said, “Let’s finish this round and head out. It’s already 11:30 and we don’t want to piss the whole night away!”

Rick, Steve and Phil all downed the rest of their drinks and started to get up. Sav looked at Liz and whispered, “Do you want to go or just stay here?”

“I think I’d like to just stay here. It’s nice and quiet.” She kissed his cheek and nudged him to move so that Phil could get out of the booth. They all stood up and Sav looked around. He said, “I think we’re going to stay here.”

“Can’t say I blame you. She’s … OUCH!” Rick rubbed his shoulder from Phil’s slap. “Damnit, would you quit hitting me, Phil?”

“Then quit sticking your foot in your mouth!” Phil put an arm around Rick’s shoulders. “Let’s leave them alone. See you in the morning Sav.” “Be a good boy,” Joe smirked.

Everybody said goodnight to Sav and Liz and headed for the waiting limo. Sav asked “Do you want to stay here?”

“Yeah, let’s stay for a while.” She slid back into the booth. Sav looked at her for a minute then moved in beside her. The waitress came to take their orders. Sav ordered a glass of white wine while Liz opted for a Pepsi.

“You don’t drink?” Sav looked at her curiously. “Why not?”

“Well, there’s a lot of reasons. First off, legally I can’t yet. I don’t want to get the bartender or you in trouble. Second, I have been drunk before and I just don’t like that out of control feeling, especially not tonight. And last of all, I haven’t found a drink I like yet.” Liz looked at him. He watched her fidget for a minute, wondering if she had managed to turn him off already. “Sorry, that’s just the way I am.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s nice to see someone who doesn’t give in the pressure to drink alcohol. Me, personally, I enjoy it, so I hope you don’t mind if I drink.”

“Not at all. I just hope I don’t have to carry you back to your room.” She winked at him. “That’s a good way to get taken advantage of.”

“Waiter, make it a double!” he joked to a make believe waitress.

“Seriously, I must be a bit strange. I didn’t get into this business for the whole ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’ thing. I just wanted the rock and roll.” He reached for her hand and held it while he smiled at her. She continued, “Plus, I had to get out of small town Ohio!”

“Well, honestly, me and the boys did it just to get the hell out of Sheffield!” He laughed, then turned a bit serious. “We sat there watching factories closing down and decided we didn’t want to deal with that. I mean, we were desperate enough that Joe suggested robbing a bank once!”

She chuckled and said, “The area I grew up in just didn’t have much life left in it. I was a hundred miles from anything! Literally, a hundred miles from Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh. I moved forty miles away to Canton just to breathe again! There were no jobs there anymore and everybody walked around in a constant state of BOREDOM.”

“So what did you do for fun?” She pulled out her cigarette pack, took out two cigarettes and offered him one. “Thanks.”

“We spent a lot of time at the lake goofing off. And there was a little club for teenagers that we went to once in a while. Plus, it wasn’t that far to get to Richfield Coliseum and Blossom. ‘Bout an hour drive.” She lit her cigarette, then his. “We didn’t make it there very often, but that was definitely the highlight of the year!”

“So what was the first concert you ever saw.” His thumb caressed her palm absently as he listened to her speak.

She laughed and said, “Well, it’s kind of embarrassing now, but Power Station was my first concert back in 1985. I had a major John Taylor thing going for a while, but I was too young for their 1984 tour. At least according to my dad.”

“So you listen to Duran Duran?” He tossed his hair and laughed, a rich chuckle that she had already begun to adore.

“Yeah, sometimes. What’s so funny about it?” She shot him a curious look.

“I’ve got Seven and the Ragged Tiger up in my bag upstairs. Joe thinks I’m nuts, but I really enjoy listening to music that’s different than what I write. Another little guilty pleasure for me is Journey.”

“Oh my God, they’re awesome! I love the song ‘Separate Ways’. I just got the greatest hits album.” She took a drag off her cigarette. “I listen to some of the hard stuff too. Guns n Roses, stuff like that. And of course, there’s this little band called Def Leppard.”

“My thanks for that. I’ve got a thing for Queen myself. Freddie is just amazing and I have a lot of respect for Brian May and the others.”

“They did one hell of a soundtrack for Highlander. ‘Who wants to live forever’ is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. And everybody loves ‘We will rock you’ and ‘ We are the champions’.”

“Yeah, they’ve done some great stuff.” He leaned back and inhaled from his cigarette. His hand still moved softly over hers. The waitress arrived with their drinks and conversation lulled for a moment while they both took a drink.

“So, what did you do for fun when you were growing up, Sav?”

“Well, aside from playing guitar, I played soccer. Hell of a game, that is. I played with a club at home in Sheffield called Sheffield United for a couple of years as a teenager.” He looked off for a minute, then return his attention to her.

“I don’t really know much about soccer. It’s not real big in the states. Looks like a fun game though. A lot more action than baseball, which is what I played as a kid.”

“Yeah, baseball is too stationary. I like a game with a bit of action to it. I’ll have to teach you something about my game.” He smiled and her heart jumped again. She was amazed at how truly beautiful he was. She was half expecting him to disappear at any second, not knowing he was afraid of the same thing. He was afraid to let go of her.

“You guys play some charity games against radio stations, don’t you?”

“Yeah, those are a lot of fun.” Sav paused for a drink and to hit on his cigarette. Crushing out his cigarette, he tugged at her hand. “Come here.”

“What’ll ya give me if I do?”

“I might just give you a spanking if you don’t!” Laughing deep in his throat, he pulled her hand again, but this time she resisted.

“Hold on a minute, Sav.” She pulled away from him. Looking down at the table, she said, “Listen, I’ve got to know where this is going. I’m not going to let myself get pulled to you like a pair of magnets only to have you flip on me in the morning. I need to know now. Am I just another one night stand for you?”

“Baby, I was afraid you were going to think that. Listen, I don’t do this that often. I’m not a saint and I’ve had probably more than my fair share of one nighters. Way too many, actually. But something like that doesn’t mean a thing when you wake up in the morning. You say goodbye and never think about her again. But I tired of that. It’s a lonely way of life.”

“But aren’t you ever afraid you’ll catch some awful disease? I mean, I’m terrified of that. That’s why I’ve never, well, nevermind.” Her hands at her sides, her stare drilled holes in the table.

“Never what?” He leaned in closer to her. “Oh my God, you’re a virgin? You sure didn’t act like that upstairs.”

Blushing, she stammered, “Yes, Sav, I’m a virgin. I’ve fooled around a bit, but I’ve never actually had sex.”

He moved around to her side of the table and put his arm around her. “Sweetheart, I’d never push you into that. That’s something you have to decide you’re ready for.”

“That’s part of my problem right now. Upstairs, I was ready for it.” She blushed. “I hardly know you, but it feels like I’ve known you forever. I’m so confused.” She laid her head on his shoulder.

He turned to face her and lifted her chin for a kiss. Her breath came quickly as his lips met hers. He laid his hand on her cheek and looked into her eyes. “I don’t want you to push yourself into anything you’re not ready for, just to make me happy. I care about you too much for that.”

“Really?” She looked into his eyes and drowned there.

“Yes, I really do. You’re a special person. And I want to get to know you better.” He reached into her pocket for another cigarette and the lighter. “I didn’t mean to make a big deal out of this, it just surprised me that anyone in this business could possibly stay a virgin.”

“Well, most of the guys I’ve met have been pretty repulsive, so it was easy to avoid it. Until now.” Her blush deepened. “Plus, I just turned eighteen in January, so most guys looked at me and instantly thought ‘jailbait’.” She laughed. “That came in handy, I can tell you.”

“Well, listen, I’m tired. This is totally your decision. You can come upstairs with me and spend the night or call Guy and go back to your hotel.” He kissed her again. “No pressure if you stay with me, I promise. We’ll just go to sleep. I enjoy your company and I don’t want you to leave.”

“Let’s go upstairs.” She slid out of the booth and took his hand. “I’m not quite ready to leave yet.”

Sav stood and took her hand. “I mean it, no pressure. Nothing is going to happen tonight.”

“Okay.” He bent down and kissed her quickly.

“Let’s go.”

They left the bar and went through the lobby. Two women sat on the sofa sleeping. They both had Def Leppard albums lying beside them. Sav put his finger to his lips and said, “Shhh.”

He walked over to the girls and quietly lifted their albums from the couch. Pulling a pen from his coat, he signed each one “You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to wake you. With love, Rick Savage.” He walked back to Liz and they moved to the elevator.

“That was sweet,” Liz said with a smile.

“Well, they looked like they had a rough night.” He looked back and saw one of the girls wake up. She looked down where her album lay and squeaked, waking her friend.

“Oh my god! Sav signed my album while we were sleeping!” Sav and Liz heard the excited girls as the boarded the elevator.

“I think you just made their night,” Liz smiled as they walked into the car.

“Good.”

They rode in silence as the elevator took them to their floor. He unlocked the door and they went inside. As the door closed behind them, Liz turned to Sav and said, “Now what?”

“Well, I guess we go to sleep.”

“God this is horrible,” she thought. “He’s acting so strange now, like he doesn’t know what to do.” She walked over and sat on the bed beside his suitcase. Sav clicked it open and pulled out one of his shirts. “You can’t sleep in that,” he said, handing her the shirt. “Try this.”

“Okay. Want me to change in the other room?”

“That’s up to you, honey. Don’t tempt me too much though, or I won’t be responsible for my actions.” Finally, he smiled again, relaxing. He laughed and sat down, “Just be careful or the hands might get a mind of their own.”

She laughed with him as she pulled off her boots and sat them under the bed. Next went her jeans, so that she stood in front of him in only her halter top and panties. Sav sat watching her intently, not saying a word. She reached behind her to undo the bottom strings of her halter, then realized that the knot had slipped and was now double-knotted. She struggled with it until Sav spoke up, “need some help with that?”

“Yeah,” she said sheepishly, “it’s stuck.” He came to her side and turned her back to him. Deftly undoing the knot, he felt the fabric slip free of her waist. Before she could move to finish the job, he had the top strings untied and let the top slip to the ground. He spun her around to face him again, surveying her near-naked form.

“Did anyone ever tell you how beautiful you are?” he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Nobody I ever really believed.”

“Well, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” His hands came to rest on her hips as he moved closer to her. Lowering his head to her, he kissed her slowly, almost shyly. His hands roamed her body as she put her arms around his neck. As the kiss ended, he whispered, “I feel like a schoolboy after his first kiss. So much for Mr. Rock Star, eh?”

Liz giggled and lay her head on his shoulder. She kissed his throat and heard him moan softly.

Moving away slightly, she started to unbutton his shirt. “What do you usually wear to bed, anyway?”

“Um, usually I go without night clothes.” He paused. “I don’t know what I’m going to do tonight.”

“Guess we’ll wait and see.” She finished unbuttoning his shirt and slid it from his shoulders. He took off his shoes and moved over to the bed to remove the suitcase. It hit the floor with a thud. She tugged at his jeans and said, “you might as well get as comfortable as I am. It’s only fair.”

He put his hand over hers to stop her. “Are you sure? That could get dangerous.”

“I trust you.”

She slid under the covers while he took off his jeans. She held the covers up, inviting him to join her. He moved in next to her and took her back into his arms. Cushioning her head on his arm, she ran her hand down his back. Her fingertips traced the muscles they found there. She could feel his body hardening against her. His hand found her breast and he pinched a nipple gently. She moaned against his throat and bit his skin tenderly. His hand moved lower, down her back and over her buttocks until he reached her leg. He pulled it over his hip and around his back, then returned to caressing her breast. They lay side by side for a long while, simply enjoying the feel of each other, kissing and cuddling like long time lovers. Then she pulled him on top of her. Through the thin fabric of his underwear, she could feel him straining for a release he would not allow himself. His hand slid slowly down her side and cautiously over the lace of her panties. He paused and looked down at into her eyes. They were golden with her passion for him. His head moved down to her breast and he took her into his mouth. She arched against him, her hands running over his back. His hair trailed over her chest as his tongue flicked against her hard nipple. She felt a tug and a rip as her panties gave way to his probing hand. Raking her nails down his chest, she carefully avoided the bandage from earlier that night. His fingers explored the warmth of her and cautiously entered her. Then he paused as he met the resistance of her hymen.

Liz trembled, for the first time afraid of what was happening. Sav froze and said, “Are you okay with this?”

“I’m sorry, I just got a little scared.”

With a jagged breath he sighed, “We’d better stop now, because soon I don’t think I’ll be able to.”

He moved away from her, leaving her suddenly cold away from the heat of his body. Tears of frustration bloomed in her eyes as she tried frantically to save the situation. She moved closer to him, but he said roughly, “Please, don’t, I can’t.”

Liz put a fingertip to his lips and said, “Don’t worry, I know something I can do to help you. Just lie still.”

Sav laid flat on his back, waiting for her to move. She moved close to his neck and nibbled gently at his ear. She moved slowly down his neck, breathing in the smell of his skin as she bit at his throat. She sucked hard at his neck and was rewarded with a deep groan. Her fingers pinched his nipple as she slowly worked towards his chest. She ran her tongue over his other nipple and blew softly on it, bringing it to instant hardness. She moved first to one side of his chest, then the other. Her hands caressed lower and soon she followed with her lips. She moved down his stomach and stopped to look up into his eyes. Their gorgeous blue depths were now smoldering with flecks of violet.

She changed her position and started at his feet, massaging each one firmly as she kissed first the ankles and then his calves. She moved slowly up each thigh, licking the insides of each thoroughly. As she poised above his groin, she looked up and smiled. “Did I forget anything?”

He lifted up on his elbow and reached for her with one hand. “God, yes.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She grabbed the extended hand and took a finger in her mouth. She licked each finger in turn and then grabbed his other hand, forcing him to lie back down again. As she finished with the second hand, she licked the palm with a flourish and said, “Okay, all done.”

“Oh God,” he groaned, “you wouldn’t leave me like this, would you?”

“Is there a problem, hon?” She said it with a wicked grin. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Yes, I have a big problem right now. And no, you didn’t do anything wrong, you just forgot to do something,” he growled.

“Now, now, let’s not exaggerate the size of the problem. I aim to please, so if you’ll kindly show me what I missed, I’ll be happy to help.”

“Are you always such a bitch?” he said as his hand guided her to his groin.

“Yes sir!” She looked down and said, “Oh, my, that is a fairly good sized problem!”

She wrapped her hand around his penis and moved slowly up and down. Then, at first, she took only the tip into her mouth, working slowly to the base. Sav grabbed the sheet and moaned loudly. Within minutes she had worked him to his climax, holding him in her mouth until he was spent. She moved up into his arms and lay there beside him.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“Anytime,” she answered.

Sav lay quietly holding her for a moment until she excused herself to go to the bathroom.

When she returned, he was fast asleep, exhausted by that nights show and their post show activities.

She stood for a while, staring at him, not believing she had actually found a man like him. Then she slipped into bed. Her movements disturbed him just enough that he turned over and put his arms around her. Snuggling into his warm embrace, she fell quickly asleep.

Liz woke the next morning alone in the bed. Even Sav’s suitcases were gone. After all his fine words, he had left her without even a goodbye. Tears ran down her face as she collected her clothing. Beside her clothes was one of Sav’s shirts and she decided to wear it to keep the memory of the past night alive a little while longer. The pieces of her torn underwear she threw in the trash. As she finished buttoning his shirt, the phone rang.

She picked it up, hoping for some explanation from Sav, and said, “Hello?”

“Liz, what’s going on?” Guy’s voice came over the line.

“Guy, how’d you find me?” She collapsed on the bed.

“Oh, Savage called me about half an hour ago. That’s why I need to know what’s going on.”

“Sav called you?” she said hopefully. “Really?”

“Yeah sweetie and he said that he hadn’t talked to you yet, but that he didn’t think you’d be leaving with me.” Guy paused. “He said he’d make sure you got back to Ohio. Are you going to stay?”

“Well, if he asks me to, I will. I woke up and he was gone. I thought he’d left me.”

“Liz, honey, you know this probably won’t work out, right?” Guy’s concern for her was genuine. “I’m not trying to hurt you, but he’s probably done this a hundred times. Malvin’s told me about the women these guys go through.”

“I know, Guy. I just gotta try. If it doesn’t work out, well, I’ll survive.” She heard the key in the lock and door opened quietly. Sav slipped in, obviously thinking she would still be asleep. He looked up and gave her a smile that made her heart melt. “At least, I think I will. Can you hang on a minute, Guy?”

She put her hand over the phone and said, “What’s going on?”

He walked over in front of her and knelt down. “I want you to stay with me for a couple of days. Please?”

“Just a minute.” She gave him a quick kiss and removed her hand from the phone. “Guy, I’m staying, so can you bring my bag to me before you leave?”

“Are you sure, honey?”

“Yes, Guy.” She smiled at Sav as she said, “I’m sure. Sav, where should I have him bring my bag?”

“The arena. We’re going to head there right after lunch.”

“Did you hear that, Guy? He said the arena. I’ll see you there, okay?”

“Okay, take care of yourself.”

“I will.” She hung up the phone and turned back to Sav. She pushed him away from her. “Where were you?”

“I had to take my stuff down to the car and you were still sleeping, so I left you here and took it down. I was coming right back, but I ran into Phil and Joe in the lobby and got to talking.” Sav gave her a worried look. “Are you okay?”

She started crying and he put his hand on her leg. “Baby, what’s wrong.”

“I thought you’d ditched me,” she sobbed. “I was trying to get up the courage to face Guy again with him knowing I spent the night with you.”

“Listen to me,” he pulled her chin up to face him. “I care a lot about you. You’re a very unique person and I want to spend time with you.”

“Sorry. It’s just that when you weren’t here, I thought maybe you were just feeling lonely last night. I figured you just picked the wrong person to take back to the hotel.”

“Wait a minute now. I didn’t pick the wrong person. If I had, you wouldn’t have been here this morning.” Sav stood and pulled her into his arms. “I tried to tell you last night, I’m sick of that kind of life. I want more.”

Liz looked up at him hopefully. What if Guy was wrong? Sav bent down and kissed her, then said, “We’re going out for lunch, then heading to the gig. You ready to go?”

“Yeah, let’s.”

They left the room and went down the elevator to the lobby. Joe, Rick and Phil stood by the door, waiting for Sav and Liz to arrive. Steve was nowhere to be found. Sav looked around and sighed. “He’s already hitting it, isn’t he?”

Liz looked puzzled as Joe replied, “Yep. And last night with him was a nightmare.” Joe looked at Liz and said, “Good morning, little one. I hear we get to enjoy your company a while longer.”

“Yeah, but what were you guys talking about?” She looked back and forth between Joe and Sav. In unison they said sadly, “The bar.”

“He’s in there already? Shouldn’t he be getting ready for tonight?”

Sav put his arm around her and said quietly, “That is the way Steve gets ready for a show. He won’t get thoroughly pissed until after the gig.”

“Oh,” she whispered. “What happened last night?”

Phil took over the conversation. “Well, he was going on about what a saint his girlfriend was in the middle of the bar. He got quite obnoxious about it. Then some guy said she sounded like a fucking whore to him. Luckily Steve was so drunk he couldn’t get at the guy, but he started a rather incoherent shouting match with several of the men in the bar. Joe had to pick him up and carry him out.”

“And he’s drinking again this morning. Sounds like he has a real problem.”

“He’s drank heavily for years. It’s just gotten worse lately.” Joe sighed. “He thinks he’s fine, so nothing we try helps him. He’s been in and out of rehab since Pyromania.”

“Oh my God, I didn’t know.”

“Phil, you wanna go drag him out of there so we can eat?” Rick asked. “I’m starved.”

“Yeah, I’ll go.”

They gathered up Steve and went for lunch. Afterwards, they rode to the arena and got ready for their sound check. Sav strapped on his bass and tore through a few riffs while he waited on the others to get ready. Liz sat on the stage and watched him move from place to place, plucking the strings randomly to insure they performed as needed. Rick sat at his drum kit and began to knock on each pad to check them. Phil and Steve strummed their guitars as the strolled around all four sides of the stage. Sav looked up, “Where’s Joe?”

“In the loo. Says his stomach bothered him a bit and he’d be out in a few.” Phil went back to his guitar after answering.

Steve looked up. “Nah, ain’t his stomach. Got into a fight with the Credit Card Queen and she upset him so bad he went to throw up.”

Phil looked at Steve and shook his head. Joe didn’t like for anybody to know how things got with Karla occasionally. Steve had forgotten that fact. Phil said, “Well, what are we going to do now?”

Sav smiled and said, “Let Liz check out his mike for a bit!”

Liz gave a start and replied, “No, I couldn’t!”

“Yes you can. There’s nobody here but us boys. It’ll be fun.”

Liz raised an eyebrow. “You guys sure?”

“Yeah!” all four said enthusiastically.

Liz walked over and picked up Joe’s mike. She turned it on and tested it for a few seconds before she said, “Well, what do you want to do.”

Rick suggested, “How bout ‘Photograph’? We know you know all the words and you sound awesome on tape. Let’s see how you do it live.”

Before she could say another word, they started playing the song. Imitating them, she walked around the stage as she sang. Line after line poured out as she imagined the arena filled to capacity to hear her sing. As the song ended, she noticed all three guitarists staring at her in amazement. Phil spoke up, “Damn, you sound even better live! Shame we can’t get you onstage with us tonight!”

“Why can’t we?” Liz jumped as she saw Joe sitting at the top of the stairs. He said, “We’ll make it a duet. Then the fans can’t get pissed that I didn’t sing it!”

“Oh God, I couldn’t!” Liz exclaimed.

Sav walked over and put his arm around her. “Yes, my dear, you can. It’s our show and we can do what we damn well please. But we’d better rehearse you on it a bit more.”

So they did the song four more times, dividing the lyrics between them. Joe sang first and pointed to Liz when it was her turn. After the fourth time through, they had it perfect without the pointing. Phil said, “Well, blokes, I think she’s ready.”

“Good thing, cause it’s time to get under the stage before we get bombarded by people!” Rick chimed in.

Sav paused. “Give me a minute to check out the keyboard and we’ll be set.” He walked over and ran his fingers over the board. “Looks like it works to me! We’re out of here.”

The whole band retreated under the stage with Liz trailing behind them. Her head was spinning. She was going to go onstage with Def Leppard that night! She could barely contain her excitement. Sav put his arm around her and laughed. “You ready for this?”

“I don’t know,” Liz practically squeaked from excitement. “I’m scared, but ready to jump out of my socks with joy. I can’t believe you guys are letting me do this.”

“See, I told you you weren’t just a chick I picked up in a bar last night. Though I guess, actually, I picked you up in the lobby.” He dodged a fake punch. “Hey, what are you going to wear on stage?”

“Probably my halter top under my coat. The wolf is kinda my good luck charm. Hey, when do you guys do Photograph in the show, anyway?”

“During the encore,” Joe said.

“Great! But my nerves are going to be driving me crazy through the whole show!” Phil smiled and said, “You’ll be fine.”

The next few hours passed in a blur. She went into the guy’s dressing room and changed out of Sav’s shirt and back into her halter-top, diverting her eyes when anybody other than Sav ran by naked. She had to use some of Sav’s things to do her hair, and Malvin was sent to the drug store post haste to get her some make-up. As she finished, she surveyed herself in the mirror. Sav came up behind her and said, “You know, I think that lady in the mirror is drop-dead gorgeous!”

She smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss. Just then Malvin came in with Guy following behind. Guy smiled and then looked at her. “What’s up? You look like you’re going to float away. Last night must have been one hell of a time!”

Astonished, she said, “You mean nobody told you?”

He eyed her suspiciously. “Told me what?”

Joe came up and threw an arm around Liz. “We’re all gonna pop her cherry tonight.”

“WHAT! Um, Liz, you’re going home with me right now.” Guy said, enraged. “I didn’t leave you here last night to screw the entire fucking band.” Sav stepped over and said, “Don’t worry, Guy, that’s still intact.” Joe looked at Sav incredulously, but Sav continued. “Relax, she’s just going out on stage with us tonight to do ‘Photograph’.”

“Oh my God, that’s fantastic, you gotta mention her new album, Joe!” He turned to Liz. “Damn, babe, I couldn’t have dreamed up a better publicity gig! If you pull this off tonight, you gotta do it again tomorrow so I can get it in the papers! This could be just the thing to get the ball rolling for you. Oh, man, I need to change my flight. I can’t miss this!” He drug Malvin off to help him find a phone.

Sav looked at Liz. “Think he got a bit excited, luv?”

Joe, Phil and Rick surrounded Sav before she could answer. Joe laid a hand on Sav’s shoulder and said, “We just need a bit of clarification here Sav. You just told Guy her cherry’s still there? Sorry, Liz, I gotta ask this. Sav, what did you mean by that?”

Rick stepped over, “And how the hell did you leave it there?”

Jumping into the conversation, Phil said, “How do you know it’s really there then?”

Sav turned to Joe. “I meant just what I said.” To Rick he said, “I behaved myself, unlike some people in this room.” And finally, to Phil, he said, “None of your fucking business, mate.”

“Oh come on. Liz, you’re just pulling his leg, right? Trying to play hard to get?” Phil looked totally frustrated at this lack of information.

Liz moved over and put her arms around Sav. “No, Phil, he KNOWS its there. And you, Sav, are pulling someone’s leg. You may not have done THAT, but you certainly weren’t a good boy last night.”

“But, but, HOW does he know it’s there?” Phil stammered, still stuck on that point.

Sav and Liz turned to walk away, and Sav looked over his shoulder. “Cuz I felt it, you moron!”

To a chorus of oh man’s and atta boys, Sav and Liz walked out into the under stage area. Holding her hand, he laughed. “You handled those guys pretty well, young lady. Does that stuff bother you? I can get them to cool it.”

“No, I’m fine. Actually, it was kinda fun teasing Phil a bit. I think he was positively drooling over the thought.” She smiled and said, “I think we’re here.”

She could hear the noise of the crowd as they reached the staging area. Her blood started to race and her heart beat so loudly she could hear it over the crowd.

“Shit, I gotta talk to the roadies. I don’t want them bringing any girls under here for tonight.”

“Why not?” She gave him an innocent look. “You wouldn’t misbehave, would you?”

“Lady, I could write a book on misbehavior that would straighten your hair. I just don’t want you around that shit. Phil and Steve can get their jollies somewhere else tonight.”

“Sav, I’ve been doing this for two years now. Just because I’ve never had sex, doesn’t mean I haven’t seen it. You don’t have to protect my virtue or anything. Let them have their fun.”

“As long as you let me have my fun too,” he said with an evil grin. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap, straddling him. Hiding his actions behind her jacket, his hand found its way to the side of her top and under the edge. His thumb stroked her nipple, while his other hand cupped her ass. She ground her crouch against him and felt him stiffen. Her hands grasped his neck and pulled his mouth to her. Sav continued to fondle her until he realized they had a growing audience. Rick, Phil and Steve stood in the doorway. Rick had to adjust himself to a more comfortable position. And Joe had apparently been watching for some time, seated across the room in the shadows. Sav removed his hand from her backside, but still kept his hidden hand on her breast. “Enjoying the show, gentlemen?”

“Oh, don’t let us stop you. People pay good money for this kind of a show.” Joe gave a rough laugh. “I’d be doing it myself if I had someone like that for on my lap.”

A roadie hollered down a two-minute warning. The band rushed up the steps as Liz slid off Sav’s lap. “I’ll see you during Rock of Ages.”

“I’ll be here.” Their short make-out session had done one thing for her. Her nerves were now remarkably calm. Sav was the last man up the steps. Liz went over and sat at the bottom so she could watch them when they came into view. Just before the curtain fell, Sav walked over and gave her a wink. Then the curtain came down and the place went wild. She watched the first few numbers undisturbed, then heard a pair of female giggles as two girls entered the room.

“Hey, I thought he said we were the first ones picked,” one said with a plaintive wail.

“Don’t worry, I’ve heard there’s plenty of action to go around,” said her friend. “I plan on getting my hands on Rick Savage and not letting go.”

“Fat chance,” Liz muttered under her breath. In a short time, nine more girls came into the small room.

“Okay, ladies, the boys will be here in a little while, so let’s see what you’ve got waiting for them.” Several roadies crowded into the room. As the women stripped off their tops, Liz heard one of them say, “I’ll bet I can get a blow job out of that chick on the stairs if I tell her where the band is staying.”

“Nah, I wouldn’t try that. Sav brought her in here himself.” Eleven pairs of female eyes snapped to stare at Liz, mostly filled with angry or jealous expressions. She sat quietly, waiting for Sav to come back to her and trying not to think about going on stage herself. Then she heard the opening notes of Rock of Ages and decided to move so that the boys could make it offstage without tripping over her. She went to a dark corner and waited. Joe started to talk instead of sing and the guitarists came off the stage. Steve was first and he went straight for a beer before allowing several of the half-naked women to climb all over him. Phil came down next and went straight for the women. One handed him a towel and he dried his sweat off before handing it back to her. Finally Sav came off, looking around like he was a little lost. Three of the girls, one completely naked, threw themselves at him. He gave each a quick kiss and then scanned the room for Liz. He spotted her, but before he could make it to her the naked girl stopped him and said, “Give me five minutes and I can give you a blow job that will rock your world.”

“No thanks, I had that last night.” He moved around the girl and came to Liz’s side. He pulled her onto his lap and sat there for a moment just holding her. Liz looked over and saw two women hovering over Phil’s now-exposed crouch, taking turns giving him head. Two more stood by his sides, breasts in his face as he switched from one to another. A few feet away, Steve sat drinking a beer while a woman tried to give him the same treatment Phil was receiving. Unfortunately, Steve had enough alcohol in his system that he couldn’t get an erection, no matter what the girl did. He mumbled, “Damn thing’s broke!”

Liz leaned her face into Sav’s throat and giggled. Sav laughed out loud. Steve looked up and said, “What’s so bloody funny? I need a doctor cause my dick’s broke!” Liz giggled harder and tried to hide it. Liz and Sav sat in their dark corner until he had to go back topside. “I’ll see you in a few minutes!” he said as he got his guitar back on and ran up the stairs.

She sat in the corner, waiting for the show to end, picking at her clothes nervously. As the band came off stage, Sav walked over to Liz. He put his arm around her and said, “Are you ready to go up there?”

“I’m nervous. What if I screw up?” She looked up at him

“Listen, if you get tense, just focus on one of us and forget the crowd is there. You were fantastic in rehearsal this afternoon. Don’t worry about it!” He gave her a long deep kiss, calming her nerves with his lips.

Joe came over and looked at Sav. He said, “Can I borrow her for a moment?” Sav shrugged and said, “Sure.” Joe took Liz’s arm and said, “You’re going to do fantastic. We sound great together and the crowd is going to love it. Now, break a leg.” With that, he put his arms around her and kissed her. At first it was just a playful little thing, but slowly she felt his tongue invade her mouth. They heard a cough as Sav interrupted them. “That’s bloody well enough, Joe.”

“Oops,” Joe gave them a sheepish grin. “By the way, bloke, she’s a hell of a kisser!”

Rick came over. “Hey, my turn!” He grabbed Liz and planted a big wet kiss on her mouth.

Looking around, Steve walked over and gave her a quick kiss before strapping on his guitar. “You’ll be fuckin fantastic!”

Last of all came Phil. He walked over and grabbed Liz without a word. Pulling her into his arms in a mocking sweep, he bent her backwards and gave her a playful peck. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna get frisky with your girl like ol’ King Kreosote here.” He stood Liz back on her feet, her head whirling from their attentions. Then all five of them ran up the stairs to the waiting crowd. She heard the screams of the crowd as the opening riff of Photograph rang through the air. Going most the way up the stairs, barely out of the view of the audience, she waited. Sav stood about ten foot from the top of the steps. All Liz could do was focus on him and wait.

Joe sang, “Huh! I'm outta luck- outta love- Gotta photograph- picture of- Passion killer- you're too much,” Liz took off running up the stairs onto the bright stage as Joe sang, “You're the only one- I wanna touch.”

Liz threw her arm over Sav’s shoulder and looked out at the sea of people. Her voice rang out, “I see your face every time I dream- On every page- every magazine- So wild so free so far from me,” she looked at Sav and found him looking right back, “You're all I want- my fantasy!”

Joe took over again as Liz left Sav’s side and ran to the second side of the stage clapping her hand to the music with wide arm movements. “Oh, look what you've done to this rock 'n' roll clown, Oh Oh, look what you've done.”

Phil made it to Liz’s side as she sang the chorus. “Photograph - I don't want your -Photograph – I don't need your Photograph - All I've got is a photograph But it's not enough.”

She moved again and found herself back to back with Joe on a third side of the stage. She continued to sing “I'd be your lover- if you were there,” Curling her fingers in a ‘come on’ motion to the audience, she invited, “Put your hurt on me- if you dare.” She leaned her head against Joe’s broad back.

Joe sang, “Such a woman- you got style- you make every man- feel like a child.” Liz shrugged as if to say ‘what can I do about that’. They swapped vocals again and turned to face each other as she sang to him, “You got some kinda hold on me -You're all wrapped up in mystery -So wild so free so far from me,” She focus on a young man in front of the stage with his girlfriend. “You're all I want, my fantasy”. Then she turned and headed for the final side of the stage as Joe sang, “Oh, Look what you've done to this rock'n'roll clown -Oh Oh, Look what you've done”. They repeated the chorus again together ending as Liz fell to her knees and ripped out, “you’ve gone straight to my head!” She raised a clenched fist in the air and arched her back as she held the line’s final note. She pounded her fist on her thighs to the harsher drumbeat, then jumped up as the sound of the guitars spilled over the crowd. They sang the chorus again and then Liz walked across the elevated walkway to the drum riser. Phil’s guitar sang out as he played his solo. Together she and Joe finished the song.

As the crowd roared its approval, Joe walked up the steps to where Liz stood. “Ladies and gentlemen, we’d like you to meet a friend of ours. She’s got an album coming out next month that has an excellent cover of the song you just heard. Her name is,” he paused for effect, “Liz Diamond!” She bowed to Joe, then turned to wave to the crowd. She’d done it! Actually got up and sang in front of thousands of people for the first time. It was a moment she’d never forget.

Everyone walked about the stage, thanking the crowd for being so tremendous. Liz walked about in silence, smiling and waving to Def Leppard’s fans. They weren’t her people yet, but some day they would be.

The band filed down the stairs into their waiting room. Hoots and cheers greeted Liz as everyone came up to congratulate her. Joe was the first to reach her. “Girl, you blew them away!” He picked her up and whirled her around.

Rick, Phil and Steve swarmed around her. Steve clapped her on the shoulder and said, “see I told you you’d be fantastic! Bloody fuckin fantastic!” Phil and Rick told her she had done a wonderful job, then all three of the headed for the showers.

She saw Sav staring at her, still wearing his guitar, but before she could get to him Guy charged in. “My God woman, you were amazing! You’re going to blow this world away. That was tremendous!”

“You think so?” Liz asked.

“Girl, I haven’t seen a performance like that in years! You’re gonna break huge!” Guy exclaimed. Malvin walked in and told her how great he thought she had done, then dragged Guy away towards the dressing room.

She stood in the middle of the room, alone but for Sav. He stared at her in amazement. Finally, he removed his guitar and walked over to Liz. He still stared at her. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are to me?”

“Not nearly enough!” She kissed him and said, “Being onstage tonight almost felt as good as that!”

“Well, give me a chance and sometime I’ll show you something that feels even better. But not right now.” He gave a throaty laugh. “Let’s go. We’re taking a limo to the last gig in Washington.”

They walked into the dressing room, Liz still floating on air. Everybody showered and changed their clothes. About an hour later, they got into the limos to head to Tacoma. Joe and Karla rode in the limo with Sav and Liz. Karla hadn’t said a word since they had come off stage. She simmered in silence for a while, then blurted out, “hey Sav, how does it feel to get used for once rather than doing the using?”

Sav looked at her, baffled. Liz sat in his arms and stiffened at the venom in her voice. Joe went rigid as Sav said, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, she fucks you and gets her big break. Nice to know someone managed to get something back from one of you guys.”

“Karla, shut the fuck up. You’re not one to talk about getting things. You’ve been taking me to the cleaners forever,” Joe said angrily. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes I do. A pretty little singer shows up and all of you start thinking with the wrong heads,” she shot back at Joe. “You’d have done her last night if Sav hadn’t. Probably in my bed!”

Liz sat stunned. Did people really think she’d slept with Sav last night just to get onstage? Her triumph ruined, she sat glumly listening as Sav said, “Well, Karla, if I did get used, I’m fine with that. I just hope she sticks around to use me some more!” He leaned down and whispered to Liz, “Don’t worry about her, luv. She’s just a dried up bitch who’s only accomplishment is letting Joe bang her on occasion. Don’t let her get to you.” He pulled Liz tightly against him and kissed her forehead. She lay against his shoulder quietly, listening as Joe and Karla hissed at each other. Eventually, they ended the argument, and sat glaring at each other from opposite ends of the seat. Liz closed her eyes and let exhaustion take her. She knew no more until the car reached its destination.

She woke as the limo pulled up to the hotel door. Sav was snoring softly as she lay against his chest. Karla was awake and looked ready to spit nails. Joe was stretched across the limo, sleeping, trying to make room for his long legs. The door opened with a blast of cool air that woke Sav and Joe. All four of them went into the hotel and to their rooms.

As they went into their room, Sav commented, “Glad I’m not Joe tonight. I doubt she’ll let him get much sleep.”

Liz yawned and said, “I got that impression. Is she like this much?”

“No, not really. Guess having someone younger and pretty than her around is getting to her.” Sav laughed and pulled Liz into his arms as she stifled another yawn. “Guess I better tuck you in.”

“Yes please.”

They undressed and curled into bed together, enjoying each other’s warmth as they fell asleep.

The next day, things went by quickly. The show went perfectly and Liz gave another great performance. Guy was ecstatic about it and told everyone how Liz was on her way to the top. After the show, Sav caught Liz before she showered.

“There’s a party tonight, since it’s the last night of the tour. I guess some of the guys from Metallica and Whitesnake are going to be there. I bought you something to wear, so I hope you like it.” He gave her a quick kiss and smacked her on the backside. “Now go get ready.”

Liz showered quickly and fixed her hair and make-up. Then she opened a large white box that sat on a table by the shower. Inside, she found a backless white mini dress and a pair of white high heels. She slipped into the dress and shoes and walked into the men’s dressing area. Whistles and catcalls followed her as she looked for Sav.

“I think I’m in love!” shouted Phil.

Sav came around the corner and punched Phil in the arm. “Find your own, mate, that’s mine!”

Joe walked in, took a look at Liz and said, “Thanks, you’ve officially made my life a living hell. Karla’s gonna be in high gear tonight.” He gave Liz a quick hug. “You look wonderful tonight, little one.”

“Thank you, Joseph.” Liz stood still and let Sav check out her outfit. He gave a growl low in his throat and pulled her to him. “You look magnificent. Good enough to eat!” he said as his mouth found her neck.

“Sorry, Sav, don’t have time for that! We’ve got to get moving,” Phil said as he pulled on Sav’s arm.

“Okay, guess I’ll wait til later.” Sav grabbed Liz’s hand as Phil laughed. Joe simply stared at Liz with a strange look on his face before walking to the limo.

They got into the limo, where Karla was waiting with a tipsy Steve. She took one look at Liz and her face froze. She wrapped her fur coat around her tightly and stared out the window. Sav and Liz simply snuggled in together quietly, while Joe tried to make up with Karla. Phil and Rick got into the car and it took off. The party was only a short distance away, so they arrived quickly.

The party was already in full swing when they walked in. Steve headed straight for the bar, while Phil and Rick were immediately engage in a conversation with a pair of beautiful blondes. Liz stood between Sav and Joe, looking around the scene. Joe stood on tiptoe, using his height to look around for a seat. “There’s some place to sit over there.” He pointed to the seats and they made their way over. Sitting down, Sav slipped a possessive arm around Liz, but Joe seemed to be trying to stay as far from Karla as possible. As Joe sat down, Karla decided she wanted to go across the room to talk to an old friend. Sav looked at his friend and asked, “Think she’ll go into her old tricks again?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it. She’s got a real problem with Liz being so pretty, so she thinks she needs to prove that she’s still attractive. I give her ten minutes before she looks for me to bale her out of some mess.” Joe gave a sad laugh. “Maybe I’ll let her suffer a bit tonight.”

Liz looked around and said, “Hey, looks like Steve’s found himself a buddy.” Steve had his arm around a man with long, dark curly hair. “Who’s that?”

Sav moved over to take a look. “Oh, that’s Vivian Campbell. He’s been with Whitesnake recently, but I know he was in Dio for quite a while. Hope Steve manages not to piss him off. He’s actually a rather decent bloke. We’ve played soccer together before.”

“I’ve got to go to the lady’s room, if you’ll excuse me?” Sav nodded, but Joe merely sat looking miserable. She got up, gave Joe a pat on the shoulder and went to the restroom. On her way back to Sav and Joe, a rather short man with long brown hair stopped Liz. He was really only about an inch taller than Liz, so that he looked at her basically eye to eye. He had a friend with him who was slightly taller than him. The shorter man got right in Liz’s face and said, “Hi, my name is Lars and I’m a drummer. I’m sure you’ve heard of my band. Metallica?”

His friend rolled his eyes and said, “Listen I’m going over and talk to the guys from Def Leppard. They just came in. I’ll catch you later, Lars.”

“Sure Jason. I’m a little busy right now anyway.” Lars turned his attention back to Liz as she backed away from him a bit.

“Actually, I think I’ll follow Jason. I came with…” Lars silenced her with his lips as her back hit the wall. She tried to move away, but he pinned her to the wall and said, “Come on, girl. Just a bit of fun here.” His left hand trailed up her leg and under her mini skirt to her ass. He kissed her again and she just stood there, not responding and wishing he were Sav.

Meanwhile, Jason Newsted was talking to Joe and Sav. Sav looked around, worried. “I wonder what’s taking Liz so long. You just came from that direction, Jason. Did you see a gorgeous brunette, ‘bout this tall, in a white dress?”

“Ah shit, I wonder if that’s the same girl Lars was hitting on? He can get a bit enthusiastic when he’s trying to pick up a girl. Especially if he’s been drinking.”

Sav stood and looked around, straining to see Liz in the crowd. Phil, followed by Rick and Steve, walked up to Sav and said, “You’d better look to your bird, Sav. She’s over getting mauled in the corner.” Joe jumped to his feet as Sav took off in the direction Phil had indicated. All five band members headed for the corner where Phil had seen Liz. Behind them, Jason stopped to talk to James Hetfield and they, in turn, followed the others.

Liz couldn’t see anything at that moment. Lars still had her against the wall kissing her. One hand grabbed her ass while the other was now fondling her breast. Then, suddenly, she felt him being pulled away from her. Lars was spun most of the way around by Sav, who had a murderous look in his eye. Sav took one look at how scared Liz was, and lost control. Before he knew what he’d done, his fist slammed into Lars’ jaw. Lars fell to the ground with a hard thud. Sav stood over him, challenging him to get back up. Joe loomed behind Sav, his size and demeanor intimidating, to say the least, and the same look in his eye. Behind them stood the other three Leppards looking none to happy. Jason and James were looking rather amused.

Sav got in Lars’ face. “I wouldn’t touch her again unless you’d like to try being a one handed drummer.” Joe nodded. Lars looked at Sav, then up at Joe. Then his eyes found James and Jason and he looked to them for back up.

“Sorry, man, you got yourself into it this time,” James said. “You’ll have to get yourself out. Might be a good idea to check whether the girl’s taken next time.”

While Lars was on the floor, Liz scooted around him to Sav and he put his arm over her shoulders protectively. There was no question as to which she wanted to be with. Defeated, Lars stood up and looked at Sav. He said, “Sorry, man. No hard feelings, okay?”

“Just watch it next time.” Everyone turned and walked away, with Phil and Rick going back to the blondes that were waiting for them. Steve grabbed a drink and the first seat he could find. Joe looked up to see Karla staring at him over the shoulder of a rather rough looking man. He shrugged at her, as if to say ‘who cares’ and returned to his seat. Sav turned to Liz and said, “You know, I’ve had enough excitement for one night. Let’s go back to the hotel.” Liz nodded and said, “Good night, Joseph.”

“Good night,” Joe said. For a second, he sat there looking forlorn, and then he made a decision. He didn’t feel much like a party tonight. He followed them out the door and said, “Mind if I share the limo back to the hotel?”

Sav stared at him, surprised. “Sure, mate, hop in.”

Before he got into the limo, Joe looked at the window where Karla had been standing. She was staring at him, daggers in her eyes. He flipped her a jaunty salute and climbed into the car. Liz and Sav sat to one side while Joe stretched out miserably on the other. He laid his head back and sighed. “Wonder if she’ll forgive me for this one.”

“Joe, I’m sorry, and you can tell me this is none of my business if you want to.” Liz leaned against Sav and continued. “Why do you put up with Karla’s shit? Granted, I’ve only known her a couple of days, but she’s been a real bitch.”

Joe looked at Liz and said, “Would you believe because I love her? She’s really not that bad except when we’re on tour. Then she gets all worried that I’m going to run off with some groupie. And having you around makes her even more nervous. There’s really not much I can do about it.”

“Well, the tour’s over now and you’ll all be leaving tomorrow,” she paused as she realized what she was saying. Then she went on. “You won’t see me til the video shoot, so maybe by then Karla will have calmed down again.”

“I don’t like getting into your business, mate,” Sav added, “but maybe you need to give her a good scare.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t be there when she comes back.” Sav said as Liz gasped.

“Sav, that’ll scare the shit out of her!” Liz exclaimed.

“My point exactly.”

Joe sat thoughtfully for a minute. “Think I should get my own room for the night?”

“Nah, she’d find you too easily that way.” Sav paused and Liz chimed in, “Stay in our room.”

Sav didn’t care for that idea, but it made sense. His friend needed his help. Joe thought about it for a moment, then said, “Are you two sure? I figured you would want to be alone.”

Sav looked at Liz and said, “I guess we have forever to be alone.” He kissed her forehead and looked at Joe. “You need to get this solved.”

“You’re right.”

The limo stopped in front of the hotel and they headed for their room. Joe went to his room to get a few things, then joined them in their room. Sav got the hotel staff to give him some extra pillows and blankets, then set Joe up a bed on the floor. They heard a knock on the door and Liz let Joe in. He had changed into sweats and a T-shirt. He said, “Are you sure about this?”

“We’re sure.”

Joe sat down in the chair and looked up at Liz. “What if this pushes her too far? She’ll leave me.” He started to cry, tears that streaming down a face unused to them.

Liz walked over to him and put her arms around him. “Joe, if she leaves, she’s a fool. But I don’t think she’ll leave.” Liz cradled Joe against her, letting him cry. Karla meant a great deal to Joe and her behavior hurt him a lot. She looked at Sav and found him watching her comfort Joe. He smiled at her, then said, “Come on, Joe, let’s sleep on it for now.”

Joe moved out of Liz’s embrace and, drying his tears, he nodded. “You’re right. We’ll see what she does in the morning.”

Joe settled into his blankets and turned to face the wall. Liz went into the bathroom and changed into Sav’s shirt. Sav had already climbed into bed and he motioned silently for Liz to join him. She got into the bed and relaxed against Sav’s body. She could already hear Joe snoring softly. Sav whispered, “Thanks for helping Joe. I think he needed it.”

“He’s a good man. He doesn’t deserve this shit,” she whispered in reply. He put his arms around her and said, “You’re right. Well, good night, luv.” He kissed her cheek and they lie together as they fell asleep.

“SAV!” There was a pounding on the door that jerked Liz straight out of bed. “SAV, I need to talk to you!” It was nine in the morning.

Liz jumped up to answer the door as Joe and Sav started to rouse from their sleep. Liz opened the door and found Karla there. She was crying. “Liz, where did Joe go?” He was hidden from her view by the door. “He left me! Do you know where he is?”

Joe hadn’t moved. Sav got up slowly and walked over behind Liz. Karla kept going. “He left with you two last night, but he wasn’t in our room when I got there. Please, can I come in?”

Liz looked back at Joe. He nodded and sat up. Karla walked in and saw him. She practically flew over to him. “God, Joe, why’d you leave me?”

“Because you acted like you didn’t need anyone around you. You were being so cold that I practically got frostbite just being in the same room.” He leaned back against the wall as Karla knelt in front of him. “I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Tears continued to flow as Karla put a hand out towards Joe. “I’m sorry, baby. This tour has been so hard. I watch you, every night, with all these beautiful, younger women throwing themselves at you. I keep waiting for you to find one of them that you’d rather be with.”

Joe pulled Karla to him and laughed. “I wouldn’t have you here if I didn’t want you here, luv. It’s you I want to be with, not some dime a dozen groupie. You just make it so damn hard some times!” He put his arms around her and kissed her. “I love you, Karla.”

“I love you, too, Joe.” They got up and he put his arm around her. He asked, “Truce?”

“Yeah, baby, truce.”

“Well,” he said to Sav and Liz, “We’ve got to get ready to go. Our flight leaves at one o’clock. See you later.” The door closed behind them as Liz sat on the bed with a thump. She looked up and Sav and said, “I forgot.”

“Forgot what, baby?” He came over and sat beside her.

“You’re going back to Ireland today and I’ve got to go to Ohio.” She moved away from him to the window, barely holding back tears. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Why?” He sat on the bed, baffled. “You don’t have to.”

“Sorry, but I’m not that cold.” She stared out the window intently. “I can’t just turn off my feelings like that.”

“You’re not understanding me. You don’t have to miss me. We can still be together.” He stood and walked to her side. “You could come to Ireland with me.” His hand rested on her back. “Or, if you’re busy, I could go with you.”

“I don’t even have a passport yet! There’s no way I could go with you.” She laughed without humor. “And I don’t think you’d like Ohio.”

“Why not? It’s just a place and if it’s where you are, it’s the best place in the world for me.” He turned her to face him. His hand went to her cheek. “I don’t want to lose you. I lo…” He turned and walked away from her. “Please, let me go with you.” He kept his back to her, afraid suddenly that she would say no. What if she’d changed her mind?

“Sav, I’d love for you to go with me. If you really want to?” She said hopefully. She knew that she’d fallen in love with him, maybe the first moment they met. But she refused to tell him. It might send him running for the hills and she wasn’t ready to lose him yet. But the feeling was there, completely filling her heart and soul. The thought of leaving him was almost traumatic. She stood there, staring at his back and waiting for his answer.

Sav turned to face her. He was fighting a losing battle with his heart. He’d only known this woman for three days, yet he didn’t want to ever live without her. He’d know that the first time he’d seen her. Now, after three days, that initial spark they had shared had blown into a raging wildfire in his soul. She had become as vital to him as oxygen. He couldn’t deny it any longer. He was in love with her. He walked the few steps to stand in front of her and pulled her wordlessly into his arms. Her lips were an addictive drug and he needed a fix. Then he whispered, “yes, I want to go.” After another kiss, he moved away from her to the phone. He had arrangements to make.

An hour later, they went to meet the rest of the band for lunch before everyone left. Joe and Karla were flying back to Ireland, Steve to England and the other two were headed for their homes in California. Sav let them know where they could find him and saw Joe smile. Karla was in a better mood than she had been for days. She sat in the crook of Joe’s arm, content. Only Steve was worrisome. He’d already obviously been at the bottle and it was barely noon. After lunch, the car arrived to take them to the airport, where they said their good byes. Joe gave Liz a hug and a whispered thank you for the shoulder to cry on. Karla came up to Liz and apologized, which was met by a raised eyebrow of astonishment from Sav. The others gave Liz a quick hug, though Phil sneaked in a quick kiss. Then Sav and Liz boarded their plane. Final destination: Akron/Canton airport in Canton, Ohio.

Their flight was right on time and Sav rented a car as Liz’s car was at her apartment. The car was a little sports car, but, according to Sav, the steering wheel was on the wrong side.

“Would you like me to drive?” Liz laughed.

“Yes, please. Let’s make a deal. You drive in the States and I’ll drive everywhere where you drive on the correct side of the road!” Sav shuddered. “I’ve never much gotten used to that idea.”

They got into the car and Liz laughed. “Better hold on tight. I’m not used to this much power!” She slammed the car into gear and spun out of the parking lot.

“Good Lord, woman, I’d like to actually make it to your place!” He said it half-laughing and half-afraid that they might not make it there.

“Don’t worry. I’m just playing!”

“There’s something very wrong about being able to play this fast!” he said as the needle hit ninety-five miles an hour.

“Hey, you want to grab a bite in the drive thru before we hit home? There’s a McDonald’s right off the freeway here.” She motioned to the off ramp that was coming up fast. “Just tell me quick!”

“Sure! Anything to slow you down!”

They skidded into the parking lot and ordered their food. When they got to the window, the girl immediately recognized Liz. “Hi Liz, how’s it going? How’d you’re trip to Oregon go?”

“Better than you could ever imagine! How’s everybody doing? Mick still having problems with Terri?” She laughed as Sav stared at her.

“Yeah, of course. He…Oh my god, Liz, that’s…that’s Rick Savage!” She gave a scream. “Hi, I love your group. You guys are the best! Oh my god, I’ve got to get your autograph!” She started to run away, but Liz stopped her.

“Beth, calm down! I’ll bring him back some other time. I just flew in and I’m exhausted and so is he.”

Sav looked up at the girl and smiled. “Thanks for the compliment. We’ll make sure to stop back later.”

Beth looked as if she was going to melt. She stood and stared at Sav until Liz reminded her that they needed their order. Sav looked at Liz questioningly. She laughed and said, “Until two months ago, I was a manager here.”

“Oh, that explains a bit.” He laughed. “And I thought British Rail was a bitch of a day job.”

Beth gave them their food and nearly forgot to take their money until Liz threw it through the window. Sav told her to wait a minute, grabbed their bag and took out a napkin. He pulled a pen from his coat and wrote a brief note on the paper, signing it with a flourish. He leaned across Liz and handed it to Beth, who gave out another squeal. “Thanks for taking such go care of us, Beth,” he said and winked at her. Liz shouted a good bye as she put the car into gear and screeched off.

Ten minutes and two large fries later, they pulled into the parking lot of Liz’s place. “I warn you, this place isn’t exactly the kind of digs you’re used to.”

“That’s fine. Nice to see how the other half lives.” He laughed and she gave him a slap on the leg. “Hey, I was just kidding!”

They got out of the car and walked up to the door. “Just remember, you were warned!”

She opened the door and Sav looked around the room. The walls were covered with movie posters from floor to ceiling. The furniture was worn, but looked comfortable enough. A small TV and VCR sat in the corner. Sav came in and walked around. There were two doorways from the living room. He passed into the kitchen still looking things over. The only furniture in the kitchen was a table and chairs. He went into a room off to the side and found himself in her bedroom. He started to laugh as he looked at the walls. They were covered with six large framed Def Leppard posters and one poster of Sav himself. Sav chuckled when he saw that. He found her CD player and looked through her CD’s. Aside from four Def Leppard CDs, there was a Journey greatest hits CD and Duran Duran, among others. He picked up the Journey CD and put it in her stereo. Hitting play, he turned to find her watching him. He didn’t say anything, just walked into the final room of her apartment through a set of open double doors. There he found her keyboard and piano. A table in the room was littered with half written lyrics. He looked through the doorway and found himself back in the living room. He turned back to Liz and said, “Not bad. Better than some of the places the guys have lived.”

“Yeah, well, it’s home for now. It’s cheap, I have it to myself now and there’s a pizza shop in the same building. Who could ask for more?” She laughed. Sav walked back into the bedroom where she stood. Liz gave him a quick kiss, then said, “I have to make a phone call, then we have the rest of the night to ourselves.”

She went to the phone by her bed after turning down the stereo and dialed the number. She waited til someone answered, then said “Hello?”

“Hi Mom, I just wanted to let you know I’m home. Oh, my trip was fantastic! I actually got to go on stage with Def Leppard twice! Guy said it was great. No, I haven’t seen any of the reviews yet. I don’t even know if they mentioned me. But, Mom, I was ONSTAGE, isn’t that great? Well, Mom, I’ve got to go. No, I’ve got company. Well, uh, someone followed me home. Yeah, well, I’ll be careful. Don’t worry. Oh, come on Mom, I’m not stupid enough to bring home a roadie. Well, it’s Def Leppard’s bass player. Yes, Mom, Rick Savage. Yes, mother, I’ll be good, don’t worry. I’ll see you later, okay? I love you, too. Bye!”

“Ugh, mothers!” Liz flopped onto her bed. Sav came to sit beside her and he laughed, “Did mummy warn you off us nasty rock stars? Maybe we should go see her and put her mind to rest.”

“Yeah, well don’t laugh, cuz if you’re around too long, you just might have to do that!”

“Won’t bother me a bit. And I have every intention of being around long enough that your mother will want to meet me.”

“Mom’s not the problem, Dad is. He’s just a mite protective of his eldest daughter.”

At that, Sav gave a throaty chuckle, “Well, he’s not the only one. I wanted to kill Lars last night, not just punch him. We haven’t really had much of a chance to talk since then. How are you doing about that?” He lay down beside Liz and put a hand on her stomach. “You looked pretty scared when I got there.”

“Yeah, well more than anything I was afraid you would think I wanted him to do that. Honestly, the man turns my stomach. There’s just something about him that’s totally repulsive. Hey, what time is it?” Sav leaned up and looked at the bedroom clock. He said, “It’s about 9:30.”

“Okay.” She lay still as his hand wandered over her stomach. “What do you want to do?”

“I’m quite comfortable right where I am.” He looked into her eyes and asked in a quiet voice, “Unless there’s something else you’d rather do.”

“No,” she whispered. His hand slipped under her shirt to caress the smooth flesh it found there. Her hand ran up Sav’s arm and stopped as it reached his neck. She pulled him down to her, bringing his lips to hers. His hair framing her face, his tongue parted her lips and began to search the warmth of her mouth. She ran her tongue over his and he shuddered in response. His hand slowly made it’s way to her breast and came to rest around briefly as it cupped the right one through her bra. His thumb slowly moved across the nub of her nipple. They lay there, barely moving, as they continued to explore the recesses of each other’s mouths. Sav’s leg came across hers, pinning her gently to the bed. Liz worked her other arm under him, feeling the muscles of his back through his shirt.

He removed his hand from her breast and unbuttoned her blouse slowly. He opened the clasp in the front of her bra and unexposed her bosom to his view. His lips moved slowly away from hers to nozzle her neck. Almost reluctantly, his mouth worked lower across her chest to her breast. He kissed gently down the curve of her, to the flesh of the underside of her breast. His hair caressed her nipple as his lips moved over her skin. Her hands found his neck and tangled in his hair, holding him to her. His mouth closed over her nipple, his tongue flicking it as he suckled her. His hand went lower, to her buttocks and grasped it firmly. She switched position slightly, her legs parting to allow his leg to rest between them. She ground her pelvis against his thigh and moaned softly. He pulled her up with an arm around her waist, using the other to help her remove her shirt and bra.

He lay there, looking at her, his eyes full of wonder. He’d never wanted a woman as much as he wanted her. She glanced up and caught him staring at her. Their eyes met and he felt a rush of love coming back at him from hers. She felt as if she were falling and never wanted to hit ground. Her hands went to his shirt and undid the buttons, her eyes never leaving his. She tugged his shirt off and his body came down to cover hers. The skin of his chest was almost fevered against her. He felt her eyes beckoning to him and as his hand found her neck, his lips found hers again. His body against hers felt like the one truly right thing in her life at that moment.

Liz felt a tug as he tried to undo the button of her jeans. He moved slightly to gain better access and unfastened her jeans. His hand wandered inside the denim and under her panties, finding the warmth they contained. Liz groaned as Sav’s hand moved slowly, opening her to his fingers. She gasped as he stroked his fingers across her clit. His lips had never left hers, only grown more demanding as his hands moved. She could feel him, hard against her hip as his body ground into hers. His fingers felt electric as they moved from her clit and explored the recesses of her womanhood. They stopped only when they hit the final barrier of her innocence. He pushed it slightly and Liz shuddered, knowing that she wanted him to break through it. Then he removed his hand. He pulled back from her for a moment and stared at the lovely creature he’d found in his arms. He still didn’t believe the events of the last three days. He’d found the one woman who could capture his heart so completely that it didn’t want to escape.

She looked up at him with passion soaked eyes, golden in their intensity. He moved to the edge of the bed and pulled off the remainder of her clothing. He knelt between her legs and his mouth moved over the soft flesh of her inner thigh. As he moved closer to the center of her desire, her breathing grew ragged. His hands gently opened her to his view, his fingers brushing across the sensitive flesh. His tongue flicked out, moving cautiously across her clit. The sensation nearly drove Liz out of her mind. Sav felt her body tremble as he pulled the nub into his mouth, sucking gently, carefully. His fingers worked lower, entering her body gently, but not too far. Her maidenhead was safe from his probing. Her legs were over his shoulder, digging her heals into his back as she neared her climax. Her body felt electrified as the pent up orgasm released itself through her. Sav pulled away, still stroking her thigh, watching her as she came down from the waves of passion. He moved up to lay beside her.

“Are you okay?” he asked gently.

“Yes, I’ve never felt better,” she sighed. But even through the orgasm, something had not been complete. She needed the final release of feeling him inside her. She rubbed her naked body against him, her lips taking his, tasting herself on them. Her hand went to his jeans and practically ripped them open. “Sav, I want you to…” Her voice trailed off as she heard what she was saying. Then, with a new resolve, she said, “I want you to make love to me. Completely.”

Liz knew there would never be another moment that this felt so right. She loved him more than she’d ever loved a man before. She wanted to give him this. He looked at her. “I can’t. It’s not right.”

“It’s never been more right for me. I…” She stopped, refusing to say the words forming on her lips. She didn’t want to scare him away. Sav looked at her with violet eyes, his own feelings fighting below the surface. He whispered, “Are you sure? That’s a big step.”

“It’s one I’m willing to take with you.” She looked into his eyes and found a desire there to match her own. “Please.”

He slid off the bed to remove his jeans and underwear. She moved further onto the bed as he came to lie beside her. His mouth found hers again as he moved on top of her. He kissed her, gently at first, then more and more intensely. Her hands found his back and dug into the skin there. His hair brushed her cheek as his body came to rest on hers. Her thighs parted for him, yet he was reluctant to accept the invitation yet. Her eyes pleaded with him for release and finally he relented. He positioned himself at her opening and push in. She gasped as he began to enter her, because he was not a small man. He stopped himself before crashing through that final barrier. He whispered hoarsely, “Are you sure, Liz? There’s no going back from this.”

“I’ve never been more sure in my life.” She pulled his lips to hers, kissing him, trying to erase his doubts. He pulled out a bit, then began to move back into her. As the tip hit her hymen, he pulled his lips from hers. He wanted to watch her eyes, to see her when they were completely together. As he pushed through, his emotions overcame him. “I love you, Liz” he said with a sigh.

She was too stunned to notice the pain of his entry. Lying there, she finally felt him push his way into her, until he was completely buried in her. He looked down at her, not moving. He’d not wanted to say that. Then he realized there was more than one thing that couldn’t be taken back. He meant what he’d said, and told her, “I do love you. More than you’ll ever know.”

She pulled his lips to hers without a word. They lie there for a moment, only their lips moving, until Sav’s body cried out for release. He moved slowly, pulling out and then burying himself completely into her again. She moaned against his lips as he continued to rock in and out of her. As their kisses grew more fevered, their bodies moved together more and more passionately. Slowly, they built until Liz cried out with another orgasm. This one was different. Rather than the electricity of the first, it came in waves building one on the other. As he felt her contract, Sav finally gave in to his own building orgasm. He lie there until his body was spent.

He moved slowly to lay beside her, pulling her to him. On the stereo, the Journey CD was still playing. The only sound in the house came from the stereo as ‘Faithfully’ pour out of it.

She lay there, listening to the music and began to sing along with it. As she reached the line, “Loving a music man ain’t always what it’s suppose to be,” Sav pulled her chin up so that she faced him. “Baby, that’s true. This whole song is true. My life is rough on relationships. Hear that?” he said as Steve Perry sang “being apart ain’t easy on this love affair.” “It doesn’t mean I don’t love you,” Sav went on. “It’s just hard to have a normal life when you spend so much time on the road. But I am yours, if you’ll have me.”

“Only if you’ll always be mine faithfully,” she smiled. “I love you too, Richard Savage. I loved you the minute I saw you. There’s no denying that. If that’s what our life will be, I can accept it as long as I’m with you.”

The phone rang, interrupting their conversation. Liz answered it, only to hear an excited Guy practically screaming into the phone. “Liz, you’ve got to watch MTV! Their news team was at last night’s show! They’ve been showing shots of you with the band all day!”

“What!! Oh, my God, you’re kidding!” Sav looked at her, concerned.

“They just showed it a about thirty-five minutes ago!” Guy said. “It’ll be on again in a few minutes. By the way, I got the reviews and both of them say you are the one to watch. ‘An extra exciting moment during an already exciting show!’ It’s unbelievable!”

“Okay, Guy, I’m going to watch it now. God, I don’t believe it!” She hung up the phone and turned to Sav. “MTV covered last night’s gig! They’ve been showing it on their news segment all day. Oh my god, we’ve got to watch it!” She ran into the living room with Sav following behind. She turned on the TV and they sat on the couch, snuggling naked under a blanket. She reached out for the phone and called her mother.

“Mom, Guy says that I’m on MTV with Def Leppard from last night’s show. You’ve got to watch it! Get Dad to, too. Okay, gotta go, Ma. I love you, too.” She lay back against Sav. He looked down at her with an amused smile. She slapped his leg and said, “Oh, I know, being on MTV is nothing new for you, but it's my first time, okay?”

Sav chuckled, “You seem to be having a lot of first times today.” He was rewarded with another slap. She laughed and said, “Yeah, and some of them have been better than others. Unfortunately, what we just did, while one of my favorites, doesn’t do much for my career.” He made a pouty face at her and she kissed him. Liz laughed at him and said, “Baby, I’ll be honest. What just happened means more to me than selling a million records. Unfortunately, it doesn’t pay my bills!”

“Okay, alright, I agree. I’d really hate to have to support a starving artist girlfriend. I could end up like Joe.” He shuddered. “It’s probably better if you have something on your own.”

“You’re right there. I’ll drive you nuts otherwise. Oh, shh, it’s coming on.” She leaned forward to watch the screen as the MTV news opening segment came on.

“Last night was the final concert of the Def Leppard Hysteria tour. After another high-energy show, the Leps brought out a mystery guest for their encore. Eighteen year old phenom Liz Diamond came out to turn the Leppard’s smash hit ‘Photograph’ into a duet with lead singer Joe Elliott.” The screen then cut to footage shot by the news crew of Liz on stage, singing back to back with Joe. After the clip ended, it cut to Joe and Sav standing in front of the camera. Joe was saying, “Liz has a fantastic voice. She made singing with her a real pleasure.” Then Sav said, “Yeah, we expect to see a lot of great things coming from Liz in the next few months. Having her on stage was our pleasure.” The anchor came on the screen again. “According to Liz Diamond’s manager, Guy Domani, Liz has an album due to be released next month.” He then went on to the next story as Sav got up to turn off the TV.

Liz looked at him in astonishment. “Why didn’t you tell me they interviewed you?”

“I wanted to surprise you. Plus, I wasn’t sure they’d show it, so I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“Did you guys really meant what you said?” she asked uncertainly.

“Every word. Now, it’s getting late and I’m tired. Are you ready to go back to bed? I have to say though that having you in my bed is a much greater pleasure.”

“Yes, sir,” she laughed.

Sav took Liz’s hand and led her back to the bedroom. She could see the hunger coming back into his eyes as he looked at her. He wanted to devour her, body and soul. He bit savagely at her neck like a wolf playing with it’s mate. She growled at the mixture of pleasure and pain. Pushing him down onto her bed, she crawled slowly over his body, licking from his navel to his neck. Then she bit at his ear, causing him to growl in return. His hands rested on her hips as she brought her mouth to his. He gasped in surprise as she shifted slightly and took him completely inside her with one thrust. Stiffening, she realized how sore her tender body parts were. Sav gave her a worried look, but she said, “I’m okay.”

Rather than give up the advantage of being on top, Liz simply changed tactics. She moved slowly up and down on him. Then, she decided to tease him a bit. Pulling almost completely off him, she didn’t go back down and instead started to play with his nipples. Finally, Sav was pushed beyond endurance. He grabbed Liz’s hips and thrust himself completely home inside her. Riding on top him for several more minutes, Liz’s body finally gave in to the exhaustion of her full day and she collapsed onto him. He rolled them over and took back control. He was gentle now, knowing that the woman beneath him had pushed herself past her limit. With a few strokes, he came, spilling his seed inside her. Helping Liz to get fully into bed, he lay down with his arms around her. She was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

The ringing of the phone woke them the next morning. Sav turned over and mumbled “’Ello” into the reciever. He listened for a second before saying, “She’s still asleep.” Then Liz heard him say, “I’ll give her the message, Guy. Bye now!” He turned back over to Liz and saw she was awake.

“That was Guy. The record company wants to move the video shoot up to the day after tomorrow. Apparently, MTV has been bombarded with requests and they’ve resorted to using the clip of you singing with us until they get a proper video. Guy also said we will be flying out tomorrow, so no rest for the wicked.”

Her groggy mind took a while to digest what Sav had told her. Then, suddenly, she was elated. Sav practically had to scrape her off the ceiling to get her to think about scrounging up some breakfast.

“Oh, we’ll just go to the diner next door. I go there all the time.” Twenty minutes later, they were dressed and walked out the door.

As they walked into the diner, an older man came up and put his arm around Liz. “I’m guessing you had a good trip?”

“Yeah, but how’d you know that, Bill?”

Bill paused and let out a puff of breath. “Well, you know my boy, Tony? He works in the kitchen? He saw you on MTV with Def Leppard and about killed me trying to get me in front of the TV. Hey Mary, get Tony out here. He wanted to see Liz the next time she came in.” Bill looked at Sav and said, “Have I seen you before?”

Nineteen year old Tony came running out from the kitchen. “Oh my God, Lizzie! You were so awesome on stage! You…” His mouth dropped open as soon as he recognized Sav. “Jesus, Lizzie, what’d you do? Kidnap him? You’re Rick Savage aren’t you?” he directed at Sav.

Sav reached out a hand to the younger man. “That would be me, mate.” He shook Tony’s hand and laughed as the boy stuttered, “My God! You guys are my favorite band! Lizzie got me started listening to you!”

“My thanks, Tony. And Lizzie. Ouch!” That last was due to a swift kick to the shin from Liz.

“Well, Liz,” Bill spoke up. “Breakfast is on the house on one condition. I want an autographed photo of you for my wall.”

“I’ll be right back! I’ve got some publicity shots, so I’ll get you one of those.” She went out the front door as Tony headed for his car. He dug out his camera and a metal magazine with a Def Leppard poster in it. When he came back in, he got Sav to autograph both the magazine cover and the poster, which his father promptly took. When Liz returned, she gave Bill the picture and then sat patiently with Sav as Tony took a whole roll of pictures of them together.

“I get the doubles on that, Tony!” She yelled as Tony took the camera into the kitchen.

Bill brought out their breakfast and they ate quickly, suddenly remembering their earlier hunger.

“So what are you up to today, Liz?” Bill asked.

“I was thinking about taking him over to Monument Park. It’s really pretty this year.” Liz smiled. “That is, if tender little rock star tootsies are up to it?”

Glancing at Liz, he said, “I think I can, Lizzie.”

“Then tomorrow we’re flying out to New York to shoot my videos. Then, after that, I’m not sure.”

“Okay.” Bill wiped off the counters as he spoke. “Want me to keep an eye on your place again?”

“Yeah Bill, I’d appreciate it.” Liz looked at Sav and said, “You ready to go?”

“Yep, let’s hit it.”

After saying goodbye to Bill and his family, they got in their rented car and drove the few blocks to the park. Pulling his hair through the back of a baseball cap Tony had given him, Sav put on his shades and got out of the car.

“Ya sure you’re up to those?” Liz said as she pointed to the three long sets of steps up to the monument itself.

“Race ya!” Sav yelled as he took off running. She chased him up the stairs, reaching the top just after he did. Liz was bent over winded after the run, but Sav just looked at her and laughed. “You’re forgetting, these little rock star tootsies just came off eighteen months of running around a stage for two hours a night!”

“Yeah, guess I did forget that,” Liz huffed. Her breathing returned to normal and she took his hand. “Okay, let’s go inside.”

Walking into the monument, Sav stopped and looked around at the small dome. “It’s quite lovely, actually.”

“Yeah, it’s for President McKinley. He was assassinated while he was in office. Came from around here, so they decided to build the monument for him.” They held hands as they walked around, playing with the echoes. But, since the building was small, so they had seen it all. They walked out of the domw and started down one of the paths through the woods. The leaves were falling from the trees, creating quite a lovely scene. They walked for an hour, holding hands and stealing the occasional kiss. Finding a secluded spot, Sav leaned down and whispered, “I’d love to make love to you right here.”

Liz blushed as they sat on the grass. They started kissing, but before anything happened, a group of giggling teenagers invaded their spot looking for their own privacy. One of them recognized Liz from MTV and the group decided to linger around the singer. Sav sat there, safe in his disguise, watching the kids fawn over Liz for a while. One of the girls pulled a note card from her purse and asked for Liz’s autograph. She signed the card quickly, then made a decision. She was getting out from under this scrutiny. She leaned over and kissed Sav, slipping his hat off over his hair. As she pulled away from him, she took his shades with her. For a few moments it appeared that no one would recognize the unexpected rock star. They sat chatting about how great it must have been to be onstage with a group like Def Leppard. One of them said, “So, you got to, like, hang out with the band and stuff?”

“You could say that,” was Liz’s reply. Sav just chuckled. He hadn’t spoken yet, trying to conceal his identity as long as possible. He stared off into the trees, trying to keep from facing the youngsters. Then one of the girls in the group squeaked. She leaned over to her boyfriend and whispered into his ear. He looked at Sav suspiciously and said, “Hey man, what’d you think of how she did on stage?”

“I think she was bloody fantastic,” Sav said without thinking. He slumped in defeat as he realized what he’d done. The girl who’d recognized him looked ready to pee herself with excitement. That beautiful British accent had been a dead giveaway to the assembled teenagers. Two of the girls looked at each other and screamed, “Oh my God! He’s Rick Savage!”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Sav mumbled. He shot Liz a look that said “how could you do this to me?” One of the girls started to lunge at Sav, but Liz grabbed him for a kiss that stopped her in her tracks. She sat back down quickly. The girl looked at Liz and said, “So, are you two, like, an item?”

Sav spoke up. “YES,” he said emphatically. They sat and talked to the teenagers for a few minutes longer, then Sav stood up. “Come on, Lizzie. I’m starving.”

She stood up and said, “Well, you can pick the restaurant, cuz there’s nothing to cook at my place.”

“Don’t think so. Let’s head to a grocery, so I can get what I need to make dinner.” Sav smacked her backside as he bent over to pick up his hat. Slipping it over his hair, he looked at the kids and said, “Well, folks, it’s been a real pleasure.”

“Yeah, they were definitely better than the crowd in Oregon!” Liz laughed. Sav put on his shades and took Liz’s hand. “Goodnight guys! Stay out of trouble.” They left to a chorus of good byes.

“So, you’re going to cook tonight, huh? What’s on the menu?” Liz said as they walked through the woods back to their car.

“Hopefully. Do you like prawns?” Sav asked.

“Um, not to sound stupid, but what are they?” She asked quietly.

“I guess they call them shrimp in the States. And no, you don’t sound stupid.” He pulled her to the side of the path and kissed her. “It’s a shame we got interrupted earlier.”

“I know.” She blushed as she thought what they had almost done. And what she still wanted to do. For some reason, all it took was one look from Sav to make her want to completely lose control. Instead, she reigned it in and said, “By the way, yes, I love shrimp.”

“Good, because that’s one of the few things I know how to cook.” They reached the car and got in. She took off, slowly until they got out of the park, then flew down the main road. At the grocery store, they went through quickly, since Sav knew exactly what he wanted. They got fresh shrimp and a ton of fresh vegetables. They made it out of the store after being stopped by three different people who had recognized Liz. When they finally made it home, Sav shooed Liz out of the kitchen and started making dinner. She sat down and watched MTV while he cooked.

“Okay, dinner’s ready!” He called about forty-five minutes later.

Liz walked into the kitchen and took a sniff. “It smells wonderful. What is it?”

“Prawns a la Savage. Like I said, it’s the best thing I can make.”

They sat down and ate quietly. After the first mouthful, Liz said, “Well, it tastes as good as it smells!”

“Thank you. I aim to please!” he said with a wink. After dinner, Sav looked at her and said, “Okay, I cooked, you wash up!”

“Ugh, my favorite part,” Liz said sarcastically. She cleared the table while he sat watching her. She filled the sinks and started washing the dishes when she felt hands moving on her hips. She leaned her head back and touched his chest. Taking a step forward, Sav’s body touched all along her back and legs. She laid her head back on his shoulder then went back to her dishes. His hands wandered over her stomach and between her breast, unfastening the clip on her bra. His hands cupped her breast as she finished the last pan. She put it on the towel and leaned back into his arms, her hands coming to rest over his. He turned her around and took her hand, leading her into the bedroom. Turning on the CD player, he laid her on the bed gently. He made love to her gently, as they listened to the sounds of Journey playing on the stereo. Afterwards, as she lay sleeping, he watched her and realized that loving her was now the most important thing in his life. She’d come into it just a few days before, but for him, there was no going back. Holding her close in his arms, he fell asleep.

The following day, they flew out to New York for Liz’s video shoot. The shoot was scheduled to start the next morning at nine am. Liz and Sav were the first to get to the hotel and they spent the day out shopping. Sav bought her a leather jacket and she found a silver cross necklace that she bought for Sav. Then they headed back to the hotel where they met up with Joe and the others. Luckily for Joe, Karla had decided to stay home this trip. After they went out for dinner, they hung out at the hotel bar for a while before Liz decided to call it a night. Sav stayed behind to talk with his friends. Joe looked at him curiously and asked, “So, what’s going on with you two, anyway?”

“I love her,” Sav said simply. “No one has ever made me feel this way before. It was hard to let her go upstairs without me just now.” He looked at Joe and Phil and laughed. “Sorry I ever laughed at you guys when you fell in love, cuz now I’m just as crazy about her.”

Phil looked at him and said, “How does she feel?”

Sav turned serious as he said, “I don’t know. She says she loves me and yet, silly as this may sound, I’m afraid. I mean, what if it’s just who I am that she wants to be with? I guess if that’s it, I just don’t want to hear it.”

Joe stared at the floor as he said, “You know, mate, you’ll be better off finding out now rather than later if that’s it.”

“I know. Guess I’m just not ready to lose these feelings yet.” Sav took a drink of his beer and let the others change the topic of conversation. He went upstairs a couple of hours later. Entering their room quietly, he sat watching Liz sleep for hours, wondering just how she did feel about him. Finally, he crawled into their bed and, pulling her to him, fell asleep.

Liz woke before her wake up call came. She got out of bed, showered and dressed, then sat looking at Sav. He said he loved her, but she had been afraid that had just been something said in the heat of passion. She couldn’t let herself make that mistake. She had to wait and find out if he’d meant it. The phone rang for her wake up call and Sav turned over to answer it. When he saw Liz sitting there watching him, he answered the phone, hung up and then looked at her. She smiled at him and he could relax again. The look on her face when he’d turned over had been that of someone in deep thought. He was terrified what that could mean. Then she’d smiled and said, “Good morning! Have a late night with the boys last night?”

He rubbed his eyes and said, “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Well,” she laughed, “Get that sexy little lazy butt out of bed! I don’t want to be late!”

“Yes ma’am!” He laughed and swung his feet onto the floor. He dressed quickly and they went to meet the others for breakfast.

They got to the video shoot just before nine. They didn’t do much makeup or hair work on Liz for the first shots, just quick basic stuff for the camera. She sat down with Joe, who hadn’t been called in for makeup yet. She said, “Hello, Joseph! Sleep well?”

“Yeah, fine. After Sav went to bed, the rest of us went to my room for a couple of hours before we knocked off.” Joe laughed. “Sav’s getting soft these days.”

“But Joe, he looked like he was up really late last night. I’m confused.” She looked at Joe with eyes full of questions.

“He went to your room a couple of hours after you. I saw him go in myself. Maybe he’s just tired.” Joe sighed. “I hate to stick my nose in this, but what’s going on with the two of you?”

Liz sighed and stared at Joe for a moment before answering. “I don’t know, Joe. I don’t know how he feels about me. He’s the most wonderful man I’ve ever met. When I’m with him, I wish time could stand still. I…”

“You what? Come on, little one, you can tell me. What’s up?” Joe leaned in and smiled.

“Well, I’ll be honest, Joe. I think, scratch that, I know I’m in love with him. I’m scared, cuz I don’t know what he’d do if he really knew that. For all I know, he could have said the same things to a thousand women.” She brushed away a tear quickly so that it didn’t ruin her makeup.

“Little one, I’ve never seen him like this about any woman. And if he was sure how you felt, he’d probably be jumping for joy.” Joe leaned back and saw a now made up Sav heading their way. “Don’t tell him I said this, but he’s crazy about you, girl!” He got up and walked to the makeup area as Sav sat down next to her. “So, what’d Joe have to say?”

“Oh, not a lot,” she lied. “Just chatting while he was waiting for his turn.”’

Over the PA, the director called Liz in for the first shot of the day. Sav wished her luck and followed her over to the mock bedroom set. The director told Liz that while the others were in makeup, he was going to give the solo shots of Liz in her bedroom a try, since later she had to change and get redone in makeup. After the first take, which the director said to print, the director and crew proclaimed her a natural. The bedroom scenes were wrapped by lunch, since there wasn’t really that much too them.

At lunch, Malvin had to over ride Steve’s try for his third beer. Steve, good-natured as he was, just let the subject drop. In the afternoon, they had to shoot the scenes involving the band and Steve needed to be somewhat sober for that.

After she ate a quick bite, Liz went to the makeup table and got redone for the afternoon shots with the band. She changed clothes from her well-loved Pyromania T-shirt and sneakers to her Hysteria halter, denim jacket and boots.

All Liz knew was that Sav had seemed kind of distant all day. Not really in a bad mood, just standing back watching Liz constantly. He was thinking about something, but she didn’t know what. Then, she saw Joe wave Sav over to talk for a moment. Sav’s face clouded over for a second, then broke into one of the most beautiful smiles she had ever seen. Then he looked right at her. She realized suddenly that Joe had been telling Sav what she had said earlier. Horrified, she turned and ran, though she wasn’t sure were she was going to go. She ended up in a small hallway just as she heard the director give a ten-minute warning about returning to work. She heard footsteps and looked down the hall to see Sav just as he stopped walking and watched her. Her heart was trembling in her chest like a frightened bird as she tried to figure some way out of the damning information she had foolishly given Joe. She was staring at the floor when she heard Sav’s boots on the hallway floor coming closer. Tears streamed down her face as she looked away from him. He pulled her chin around to face him and asked, “Why’d you run away like that?”

“What were you and Joe talking about?” she countered.

“You. Now why’d you run away?” She was taken back by his honesty. Looking back at the floor, she said, “Cuz I’m a fool.”

“What do you mean? You’re one of the least foolish women I’ve ever met.” He stood directly in front of her.

“Only a fool would fall in love with a rock star and think he could possibly feel the same way,” she said as she looked up into his eyes. Then she was silenced as his lips came down on hers. He whispered, “Then I guess we’re both fools, cuz I’m in love with a rock star on the rise, and I’m hoping she feels the same way about me.”

“Really?” She searched his eyes hopefully and realized he was telling her the simple truth.

“Really.” He kissed her again and said, “But for the moment, we need to get you back into makeup. You’ve run a bit in more ways than one.”

When Liz returned from makeup, the guys took up position around the drum riser. Rick sat behind his drum kit while the other four took seats around the front of the kit. Liz stood facing them as she began to lip sync to the song playing over the speakers. They did take after take as Liz moved closer to the band. She ran up behind the drum kit and pretended to reach out and touch Rick from a kneeling position while Rick sat and looked down at her. Then she came back to the front and went down on one knee while Phil and Steve stood on either side of her. She reached out and very nearly touched their guitar strings, then pulled back like they were too hot to touch. When she moved over to Sav, she changed game plans a bit. Rather than reaching for his guitar as she had done with the others, she brought her face close enough to his that they could feel each other’s breath on their lips. She started to kiss him, then pulled away, throwing her head back in mock agony. The director screamed that he loved that shot, he wanted a close up, would she do it again? She walked back to Sav, who gave a mocking sigh. Her jacket slipped to her elbows, showing her bare shoulders as she moved closer to Sav. Her lips came within an inch of his before she pulled away again. As she backed away, Sav grabbed her and laughed. “Okay, you’ve teased me enough now,” he said as he kissed her. The director sat for a moment thinking and made a change. He had Liz go back up to Rick and as she pulled away this time, he had Rick reach out and touch Liz. They did the same thing with Phil and Steve. Then he called for a dinner break at about eight thirty.

During dinner, Liz ate with all five of the guys and Malvin. About half way through the meal, the director came over, looking rather upset.

“Liz, we have a problem with tomorrow’s shoot. The models that were hired to play your backing band and love interest can't make it. I don’t know what we’re going to do.” He paced back and forth around the band.

Joe spoke up. “What about us, mate? How about real musicians?”

“Yeah, man, it’d be a hoot,” Phil chimed in.

“We’re not doing anything right now,” Steve said thoughtfully.

“Liz, we wanna help!” Rick said.

“What do you think, David?” she asked the director. “Will these bums do?”

“Okay, that takes care of the band. But what about the guy you’re supposed to be in love with?” He asked.

Steve slapped a hand on Malvin’s shoulder and said, “Here you go. Malvin’ll do it!” Everybody laughed, but then Joe said, “How about the man she’s really in love with?”

Liz looked at Sav as David sat down and said thoughtfully, “Well, I guess that would depend on what he looks like.”

“Well, mate, you’ve been filming him all afternoon,” Joe explained. He pointed at Sav and said, “He’s sitting right there.”

“Oh man, you’re kidding!” He looked at Liz who just nodded her head at him. “Honey, I couldn’t have written a more perfect thing for you!” He started to walk away and they heard him say, “Fucking fantastic!”

“Are you sure you want to play that second part, Sav?” Liz asked, turning to face him.

“Are you kidding?” He laughed. “I probably would have put my fist through the face of the model if he tried to kiss you. Well, maybe not that extreme, but I would have been jealous as all hell.” He leaned over and kissed Liz. “It wouldn’t have been fun for me, that’s for sure.”

“Okay.” She looked up and saw the director motion them back to work. “Back to the grindstone, gentlemen!”

During the evening shoot, they had to do a shot of Joe and Liz together. David decided to have Liz fall to her knees in front of Joe, try to touch him, then pull back again. Then Joe had to reach down and take Liz’s hand to help her up. After that, he led her over to sit between him and Sav. He planned to cut to the kiss next, keeping Sav as the last band member Liz gets close to. They spent a few minutes shooting Liz and the band sitting on the drum riser for the end of the video. She sat back to back with Sav as the rest of the band rested around them. Then the director called a wrap on that set. It was about eleven o’clock. The crews came in to change the stage set for the next days taping while Liz and the guys went back to their hotel and slept.

The next morning, they arrived at the set at nine o’clock again. Most of that day’s shoot was a straight performance piece since the song was hard rock. The guys were in full Hysteria tour gear while Liz had changed into a halter that was half Union Jack and half Stars and Stripes. She also wore skintight jeans tucked into black boots. At first, the band listened to tapes of the song to get familiar enough to fake the song for the cameras. Then they spent the rest of the day romping around the set with Liz while Joe took up a corner of the drum riser and looked on. Because it was so simple, the shoot wrapped before dinner. David was terribly pleased with the results.

Sav and Liz stayed at the hotel for dinner that night. After they ate, Sav reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box that he handed to Liz.

“What’s this?” Liz asked, taking the box and holding it for a moment.

“Just something I picked up for you when you weren’t looking.” He smiled and told her, “Open it.”

She opened the box and found a necklace lying inside. On the chain was a large wolf’s head charm. “My God, Sav, it’s beautiful.” Then he reached over and flipped it over. On the back, in small print, was engraved “Someone to watch over you faithfully”. Tears sprang to Liz’s eyes.

“I figure, with the life the two of us lead, I won’t always be able to be right there in the room with you. Hell, sometimes I may not be able to be on the same continent with you. But you can keep this with you so that you know I’m always thinking of you.” He paused and took her hand. “I love you, Lizzie.”

“I love you, too, Sav.”

“Oh, and one more thing. The reason I added faithfully on to that is so that whenever you hear that song, you’ll remember me, no matter where you are.”

“I will.”

“Lizzie, we need to talk about something. The guys are ready going to be ready to get back to work soon.” He sighed and looked down at the table. “They’re wondering when I’m coming back.”

“So soon?” she asked, astonished. “Don’t they want to take any kind of a break?”

“Well, Phil said he’d probably be ready in about six weeks. So I’ve got some time left.” He looked at her and said quietly, “I’m hoping to spend every minute of that with you before I have to go. But I just wanted you to be ready when I have to leave.”

“Okay,” she said sadly. “I’m really gonna miss you when you go.”

“I’m going to miss you, too.”

They got up and went to their room. Something was wrong the second they walked in. Liz looked around, not able to quite figure out what it was. Sav looked around and felt a stiff breeze. The window was open. He walked over to close it just as Liz realized her suitcase was sitting open and empty. “Um, Sav, where are my clothes?”

“Oh, shit! The window’s open too. What the hell did they do this time?” He went to the window and looked down. Then, laughing, he said, “Baby, I found your clothes.”

“What! Who did what to my clothes?” She walked over beside him and looked down herself. There, hanging tied to a rope, was the entire content of her suitcase. At the top were her jeans and shirts. Then lower, waving past three different windows, were her bras and panties. “Who the hell did this?”

“My guess is Phil or Joe or Steve. Or all three at once.” He gave a deep chuckle that made her blood sing again. “You’ve been initiated.”

“Oh, great, just what I need! A batch of practical jokers!” She giggled as she pulled the rope holding her clothes up into the room. “Now I guess I need to get him, or them, back for this.” As she got the rope pulled in all the way to the end, she saw a note. It read, “Welcome to the club! The Laughing Leppards.” She read it to Sav.

“Damn, girl, that means it was all four of them. They must really like you though. We were a bit meaner when we got Karla. She walked around for three days with blue teeth.” He giggled at the memory. “She was most unhappy with us.”

“Did she get you back?”

“No, she was just a total bitch to be around for about a week.”

Liz sat untying her clothes from the rope as she asked, “Is it against your ‘rules’ to get assistance in paying back a practical joke?”

“Oh, no. It’s just that, well, nobody’s ever tried to pay us back.” He shot her a look that asked what she was up to.

“There’s a first time for everything. Now it’s time to plot.”

All five members of Def Leppard went to the hotel where they had set up for the final day of the video shoot. That day’s song was a ballad, so they had a lot of different shots planned. Sav went in for makeup, but it didn’t take very long because the director was shooting for a more casual look for the third video. Liz headed for makeup and sat talking to Sav as a young woman walked around the set carrying a baby and looking confused. The girl stopped and asked directions, then headed straight for Phil. She stopped in front of him and said, “Phil Collen?”

He looked up, saw the girl with her child and gulped a quiet “That’s me” as the rest of the group pointed fingers at him. The girl was a bare sixteen years old at best. Phil looked worried all the sudden. He didn’t recognize the girl, but she obviously recognized him and he didn’t like the look of that blond-headed baby she was carrying.

“Phil, my name is Victoria and I’d like to introduce you to your son, Kenny.” Phil’s jaw hit the floor as the others gasped. They all knew better than to mess with a girl that young, but Phil was suddenly afraid he might have really messed up. “Um, Victoria, I don’t think…”

“You really don’t want to try to deny this. My father would be rather upset.” Victoria turned and hollered, “Daddy!” At that, a dark, broad man walked across the set and came up to the girl. He put an arm around her and said, “What’s wrong, honey?”

“I don’t think he believes that Kenny is his, Daddy!” And the girl started to cry, hiding her face behind the child.

“Oh, really.” He walked over to Phil and stood in front of him. Phil stood up and realized the man had a good five inches of height over him. He was also twice as wide. The man looked down at Phil and asked, “Are you calling my daughter a liar?”

“N, n, no sir!” Phil squeaked out. The rest of the band sat there, watching the situation and thanking God that they weren’t the one in this hot seat.

“Are you going to take care of this situation then?” Phil was sweating bullets and trying to find some way out of this. Jacki was going to kill him!

“Fine, then you can start mailing some support checks to her. Make them payable to Victoria Diamond.” Joe’s head popped up and he looked over at the makeup table. Liz and Sav were cracking up, but trying to keep quiet about it. Phil was still looking rather glum. Leaning over to Rick, Joe pointed out Liz and Sav and Rick giggled. Rick, in turn, let Steve in on the joke. Phil looked at his friends and saw the suppressed mirth on all their faces. Jerking a thumb at Sav and Liz, Joe finally busted. It finally dawned on Phil what the girl’s last name was. “LIZ! SAV! Oh, man, am I going to get you for this.” The large man standing in front of Phil laughed and said, “I’d be careful, fella. My little girl is a hard one to tangle with. Lizzie’s never be one to back away from a challenge.”

“Oh, shit, you’re Liz’s father?” Joe laughed.

“Yes, name’s Thomas Diamond and this young actress is my younger daughter, Victoria. I’m not sure what the baby’s name is. I think Liz hired a child model for that.” Joe started laughing again. Phil looked at him curiously. Finally Joe spoke up. “Phil, I think you’re off the hot seat and somebody else is about to step up.”

“Sav.” Phil choked back a chuckle. Phil stood up and took Tom by the elbow. “Have you met Rick Savage yet, sir? He’s been very close to your daughter Liz lately.”

“Sorry, Phil, Lizzie already told me all about him.” Tom slapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll have to do better than that to get to Liz.”

Liz and Sav finally walked over to the group. Phil gave her a dirty look and said, “So, you want war, huh? You got it!” Then he shot her a wink and went back to his seat. The rest of the group gave Liz a standing ovation. Rick said, “I can’t believe someone finally paid us back.”

“Um, Rick, I’d look out, cuz that looked like only Phil got paid back,” Liz pointed out. “Hi Daddy, hi Vicki. Thanks for coming out to help.”

“No problem, baby. But I think your sister wants a formal introduction to the band and I’d like a chance to meet Mr. Wonderful here.” He smiled at Sav, trying to be a little less intimidating.

For the rest of the day, Sav and Tom talked between takes. They got along quite well, despite the difference in their ages. After the shoot was done, the whole group went out to dinner. Liz took one bite of her food and choked. She grabbed her water and gulped it down as she tried to stop choking. The look she gave Phil should have put him six foot under. The rest of the group sat looking confused as Phil started to laugh. “A bit spicy, luv?”

“Anybody ever told you that you’re a complete bastard, Phil?” Then she laughed. “Okay, you got me back.” Everybody started laughing. Sav turned to Liz and said, “I warned you!” Then he took a drink of his wine. A second later, he spewed it all over Joe. “Ugh, pickles! How the hell did you manage to get pickle juice in there,” he asked as he lunged for Liz’s water.

“Eh, a waitress’ll do anything if you give them a big enough tip!” Everyone started laughing again, except Joe who was now covered with pickle juice. He looked at Phil and said, “Thanks a lot, Phil.”

The rest of dinner went pretty much without incident. Everybody retired early that night, since they had to catch flights late the next morning. Liz and Sav took Tom and Vicki to the airport that night. When they returned to their room, Liz looked at Sav and said, “You don’t think Rick’s gonna get pissed, do you?”

“Nah, he’s got a good sense of humor. I’d be more worried about Joe and Steve. They may be after your head in the morning.” Then they curled up in the bed together and slept.

The next morning as Liz and Sav stepped out of the shower, they heard a blood curdling scream coming from the next room. “LIZ!” They just had enough time to get wrapped up in towels before there was a pounding at the door. “LIZ! I’m gonna get you for this!” She opened the door and there stood Joe, only something was definitely different. His hair was burgundy! Liz choked back a laugh and said, “Why, Joe, your hair looks lovely. I never would have guessed that shade would have been a good match for you!”

Steve came rushing out of his room, fully dressed but a towel still wrapped around his hair. He started to laugh as he saw the furious Joe standing in their doorway with nothing but a towel on and bright burgundy hair. Joe turned on Steve, and then started to laugh. Joe managed to get out a few words between laughs. “Looks like she got you, too, mate.”

One strand of Steve’s formerly white blond hair stuck out from under the towel. It was now as dark as Liz’s chocolate colored hair. Steve ran back to his room to see what bizarre color his hair was and laughed. “Hey, at least mine’s a normal color!” Joe’s face darkened a bit. Phil came out of his room and started laughing at everybody. Then Rick came out. He laughed at Joe and Steve for a minute, until they realized his shirt was on backwards. Phil choked out, “What the hell happened to you, mate?”

“Well, the strangest thing happened to my clothes. The wrong arm was sewn closed on all my shirts!” Phil was nearly on the ground laughing. “I didn’t have much choice but to put them on backwards.” He shot a dark glance at Liz and Sav as the rest of the group finally lost it.

Liz calmly walked into their room and retrieved a small stack of shirts. “Would you like one of these instead?”

“Yes!” He grabbed his shirts and started to head for his room. “I told you we should’ve left her alone,” he said over his shoulder. Liz leaned against the doorframe and said, “Okay, truce, gentleman?”

“Oh, yes, we bow to the superior jokester,” Joe said as Steve nodded. Phil merely looked at her and said, “We’ll see about that! I’d say she definitely earned her wings as an honorary Laughing Leppard though.” He gave her another wink and went into his room to finish packing. Then Joe and Steve looked at her. Joe voiced both their thoughts. “How long are we going to be stuck like this?”

“Don’t worry. It’s a temporary wash. It’s supposed to come out in six to eight washes.” Joe headed back to his room, but not before Sav could snag his towel, leaving him naked in the hallway as a group of teenage girls came into view. He gave Sav a stunned look, then turned and ran for his room. Sav and Steve ducked back into their rooms just in time to avoid notice.

When Sav got into the room, he noticed Liz was on the phone. She covered the mouthpiece and whispered, “It’s Guy.” Sav sat and listened to the conversation. It appeared they were doing a rush job on the ‘Photograph’ video and planned to have it ready the following week. MTV planned to premiere it one week from that day. Guy asked Liz to simply stay in New York so that she could go on MTV when they aired the clip and she agreed. Then the conversation was over.

“You think you’d mind staying here in New York with me rather than going back home?” she asked. “Guy wants me here in case they can get me any interviews.”

“Hey, New York, Ohio, who can tell the difference.” They both laughed at that thought.

That week passed quickly. They spent most of their time in the hotel and quite a bit of it in bed. When they made it out, they went to places like the Metropolitan Museum and walking through Central Park in the frigid air.

Finally, the afternoon of the premiere arrived. Liz paced nervously in the green room of the MTV studios, while Sav tried to calm her down. “Lizzie, please, it’s only an interview.”

“Yeah, well tell me you weren’t nervous about your first interview?” She turned to look at him.

“You’re right, I was nervous.” He smiled, “Of course, I had four guys with me and Joe took most of the heat of that one.”

“Okay, so I don’t want to hear how easy it was for you!” The stage manager came back to tell her there was only three minutes til interview time. She started jumping up and down to burn off the tension. Finally, Sav remembered the one thing he could do for her. He stood up, grabbed her and laid a kiss on her that nearly put her on the floor. She was practically panting by the time he let her move. But, she wasn’t nervous anymore. “Thanks, baby.”

“For that, anytime!” he laughed.

The stage manager came back to lead Liz up to the interview room on the set. On the monitor, she could see the clip of her onstage in Tacoma. They had her sit down and mic up. Then she heard Martha Quinn say, “Two weeks ago, Def Leppard welcomed a newcomer onstage with them for their final show in Tacoma, Washington. She came out and totally blew the crowd away and now she’s here with us today to premiere her first video. This is Liz Diamond. Welcome to MTV, Liz.”

“Thanks, it’s great to be here,” Liz said with a smile.

“So, how’d it feel to be onstage with Def Leppard that night in Washington?”

“It was amazing! Actually, that was the second time, though. I got to go onstage with them for the last show they did in Portland, too.”

“Really?” Martha paused. “How’d that happen?”

“Well, I was at their sound check that afternoon and Joe was running a few minutes late. So they let me check out his mic. When Joe showed up, they decided it would be a hoot to get me out there with them.” God, Liz thought, I’m starting to sound like Phil!

“How long have you known them, then?”

“I’d actually just met them the night before to talk about the ideas for the video you’re about to see.”

“Now, Liz, is it true you’re only eighteen?”

“Sure is!”

“How long have you been performing?”

“About two years.” She looked at Martha and said, “I started doing clubs at home in Ohio when I was sixteen.”

“Wow! Now one last question. Rumors have it you’ve been spending a lot of time with one of the members of Def Leppard. Rick Savage? Is that true?”

Liz paused, not expecting this question. How the hell was she supposed to answer it? In the green room, Sav tensed, hoping Liz could handle this one. He headed to the side of the stage just as Liz answered, “Well, yeah, we’ve been spending some time together. He’s a great guy.”

“Any romance there?”

Liz gave a throaty laugh and said, “I certainly hope so!”

“Okay, well Liz, it’s been great talking to you! Now it’s time we show everyone what all the fuss is about. Here’s Liz Diamond’s video for the Def Leppard classic ‘Photograph’.” The monitors cut to the video as Liz came off stage and into Sav’s arms. “Hi baby, how’d I do?”

Sav kissed her and said, “Perfect, Lizzie.”

They left the studio and headed back to their hotel. At the desk, there were messages for Sav to call Joe, Phil and Peter Mensch, the band’s manager. Sav headed straight for their room to make his calls, while Liz talked to one of the other hotel guests for just a minute. Then she followed him.

“Yeah, Joe, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Don’t worry, I’m sure Liz will understand. See you then.” Sav hung up the phone as Liz stood stunned. He was leaving?

“You’re leaving?” she asked sadly.

“I’m sorry, baby. They’ve just had to check Steve into a rehab clinic again. Joe asked if I could fly home for a few days.” He put his arm around her as she started to cry. “Damn, so much for our six weeks. Listen, we can still call each other every day.” He was at a loss for words as she kept quietly crying. Then he just held her tight and said, “I’m going to miss you more than you’ll ever know.”

“I’m going to miss you too, Sav. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Lizzie.”

His manager had made flight arrangements for that evening, so Sav had to hurry and get packed. Liz rode to the airport with him, then cried the whole ride back to the hotel. She was scheduled for another week in New York, since Guy had managed to get her on three different talk shows. After that, it was off to the West Coast for another round of talk show there. Liz smiled through the whole thing, but the only thing that really made her day was the phone calls she got from Sav.

Guy started getting Liz’s first tour off the ground. In two months, she was due to start playing the smaller clubs around the country for three weeks. Guy refused to book any more, because he figured that after the video and single had been out for a few weeks, they would attract a much larger audience. Liz got to go home for a couple of weeks to rest before the tour started.

The time away from Sav had gone from a few days to now a few weeks. He wasn’t sure when he’d be able to make it back to see her. He still called every day, but Liz was starting to get scared. Then came a day when he didn’t call. She sat at home that night, lonely and depressed, wondering if their two weeks together was all she was going to have. A half-eaten bowl of ice cream sat forgotten in front of her as she sat watching television. Someone knocked at the door and she went to answer it. A young man stood there holding a huge basket of red roses. She took the flowers and tipped the delivery boy before running into the kitchen to see who they were from. Attached to the flowers was a note. It read, “Every day I’m away from you, I miss you more. I love you, Sav.” As she started to cry, there was another knock on the door. When she opened it, there was no one there. She started to close it when she looked down and saw a statue of a wolf about two foot tall sitting on the porch. Around it’s neck was another note. This one said, “I don’t know how much longer I can bare to be away from you. Faithfully, Sav.” She carefully moved it into the living room, then looked around outside. She didn’t see any one, so she closed the door and turned to look over the wolf he’d sent her. A minute later, there was another knock. With a laugh, she opened the door again. This time there was an absolutely enormous basket of flowers waiting. She could see the delivery boy’s feet and legs, but nothing else. He handed her the flowers and she took them into the house. As she closed the door, she heard a very distinctive laugh. Sav’s laugh! She nearly ripped the hinges off the door opening it back up. There stood Sav, still laughing. He said, “Hey, what, no tip?”

She launched herself into his arms and they nearly took a tumble down the steps before Sav caught her. “Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re here!” was all Liz could say.

“I just couldn’t stay away any longer,” he said as he bent to kiss her. He picked her up and carried her into the house, kicking the door shut behind him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life as Sav spun slowly around. Then he sat her on her feet, but didn’t let go of her. His hand stroked her hair as he studied her face. “I’ve missed you so much, Lizzie.”

She put her arms around his waist and buried her face in his throat. He could feel her tears of joy running down his neck. Taking his hand from her hair, he lifted her chin and kissed her. Then she pulled away, remembering why he’d had to leave her. She asked, “How’s Steve doing?”

“Well, he got out of rehab two days ago and immediately went straight to the pub and got fall down drunk.” He sat down on the couch and pulled Liz onto his lap. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. We asked Malvin to move in with him for a while, to try to settle him down. There’s not really much we can do at this point, frustrating as that is.”

“Do you think he’s going to pull out of it?” she asked as he bent to nuzzle at her neck.

“I really don’t know. As soon as we came off tour, they said he got really bad. Like he doesn’t know how to handle real life.” He sighed as he laid his head on her shoulder. “I’m hoping he doesn’t end up like Pete did. Or worse.” He reached up and kissed her. “Let’s talk about something a bit less depressing, please?”

“What would you like to talk about then, sir?” she said as he started to unbutton her shirt. Since she’d been bumming around the house, she didn’t have a bra on. He put a finger to one breast and said, “Well, we could talk about this.” Then he moved his hand to her other breast, “Or we could talk about this. Or, there’s a southern subject that’s one of my favorites,” he said as his hand wandered between her thighs.

She grabbed his hand and laughed as she said, “Now wait a minute, what makes you think you can walk in here and sweet talk me into bed within ten minutes?”

“My charm and sweet personality?” he said as his hand rubbed her through her jeans.

“Oh, really?” she giggled. “You really think that’ll work?”

“Let you know in a minute.” He kissed her and whispered, “Is it working?”

“Like a charm.” She shifted positions, allowing him full access to her body. His lips trailed from hers and down to her throat. As he gently sucked at the skin he found there, Liz threw her head back and took a deep breath to relax her racing heart. A part of her thought she had to be dreaming. She couldn’t believe he was really here holding her. His hands roamed over her body as his lips made their way back to hers. Liz pulled away and got up, pushing him back down on the couch. She stood a few feet away and started to undress, when Sav said, “Hey, not so fast. I’d like to enjoy the show!”

She cocked an eyebrow at him and laughed. “So, you want it that way, huh?” She slid her shirt down off her shoulders and held it in front of her breasts for a moment. Then, she flashed him, first with one side and then the other. Her shirt came off her arms and she whirled it above her head for a moment before throwing it to land in Sav’s lap. Walking back over to Sav, she put one knee on the arm of the couch and bent over to kiss him. Her heavy breast hung just out of the reach of his mouth. He reached a hand up to touch one, only to feel the sting of a slap as she moved away. She stepped away again and brought her hands to the waistband of her pants. After undoing the button, she slowly undid the zipper and turned away from him. With tantalizing slowness, she slid the denim over her buttocks and down her firm thighs. One of her hands came to rest on an overstuffed chair in front of her as she kicked her jeans off. She was still bent over in front of the chair when Sav decided he’d seen enough. He got up quickly and stood behind Liz’s bent form, holding her in place. She could feel his hardness through the material of his jeans. He reached under her and grabbed the crouch of her panties, ripping them off with one tug. Then he picked her up and put her up on chair, her knees resting on the arms. Liz’s hands gripped the back of the chair as she heard Sav undo his own jeans. Then, without undressing, he was inside her from behind. She closed her eyes and moaned as he plunged into her depths. There was almost impatience to him as he took her. His hands had a firm grip on her hips, pulling her back to meet each of his strokes. Each time he thrust himself into her, she felt as if they were becoming one being for a brief second. She could feel the soft denim of jeans brush against her legs and the fabric of his shirt against her lower back. Their orgasms came within seconds of each other and she felt Sav’s warm body collapse onto her back. Then, as it subsided, he picked her up and sat down in the chair with Liz on his lap. As she snuggled into his lap, Sav whispered in her ear, “I love you.” Then he picked her up again, carrying her into her bedroom. He undressed and got into bed with her. She crawled back into his arms and said, “You know what? I love you, too.”

Suddenly, a thought struck Sav and he sat up. “Liz, we could have a huge problem here.”

Scared, she looked up and said, “What’s that, baby?”

“We’ve been together God only knows how many times, but we’ve never used anything to keep you from getting pregnant. What are we going to do?”

“Go to sleep, silly boy. That’s already been covered.” She laughed as the tension left her body. “I’ve been on the pill since I was fifteen to regulate my periods. Problem solved!”

He took her back into her arms and lay beside her. “Did I ever tell you how wonderful you are?”

“Yes, now, go to sleep!” She gave him a quick swat and curled up in the safety of his arms to sleep.

For the next three weeks, Liz and Sav bummed around her apartment and hung around in Canton. They caught a concert at Richfield Coliseum and played in the snow at the park. At night, they snuggled under blankets in front of the TV or made love all night.

The first night of Liz’s tour came quickly. Sav decided to tag along for a few shows. The first night, Liz played to a thousand people in a packed house. The crowd was on it’s feet for the entire show and Sav stood in the wings cheering her on. A sweaty Liz bounced off the stage an hour and a half later, practically screaming with joy.

“My God, they loved it!” she screamed. She jumped into Sav’s arms and said, “They were even singing along! I don’t believe it!”

He kissed her and said, “Of course they did. You were fantastic!”

“Damn straight she was!” Guy said, coming up from the backstage area. “Liz, I just got the charts for this week. Your album’s at number fifteen with a bullet.”

“Oh my God!” she yelled as Sav whirled her around.

“Damn, that isn’t even the best news,” Guy said, holding his hands over his ears. “’Photograph’ just broke the top ten. You’re at number six on the pop chart.”

Sav almost had to pick her up off the floor. She said, “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, sweetie. Number six.”

“Sounds like we need to go celebrate!” Sav said.

“Just let me get changed!” Liz said as she bounced to the dressing room.

They went out to a bar that night. They sat around, enjoying the atmosphere and listening. But Sav was stunned when Liz turned to the bartender and ordered a shot instead of her usual Pepsi.

“When you start drinking?” he asked with a worried frown.

“Oh, it’s not much. Just a drink here and there. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it under control,” she smiled and he relaxed a bit.

“Listen, honey, I hate to say this, but I’ve got to go back to the band again. Steve’s out of rehab and the rest of them are chomping at the bit to get back at it. I’m going to have to be gone for a long while this time.”

Tears popped up in Liz’s eyes. It seemed like every time she got used to Sav being around, he had to go away. She’d known from the beginning that it wouldn’t be the usual relationship, so she took a deep breath and dried her eyes. “When are you going?”

“Tomorrow. I promised Joe I’d get back.” He pulled her close to him and said, “I’m sorry to ruin your celebration, Lizzie, but I tried to hold off telling you so we could enjoy our time together.”

Liz waved the waitress over and ordered a double shot, ignoring Sav’s raised eyebrow. He said, “Hey, this is going to be our last night together for a while. Don’t you want to enjoy it?”

“Yeah, baby. Don’t worry, I just got the sudden urge for another drink.” She pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “I’m not going to get fall down drunk or anything like that.”

“Well, after you finish that, let’s go back to the hotel. I’m beat!” She gulped down her drink like a seasoned pro and stood up, slightly wobbly on her feet. Sav put an arm around her without saying a word and took her back to their room at the hotel. They went straight to bed, where Sav made love to Liz gently. Then they fell asleep tangled in each other’s arms.

The next day, Liz went with Sav for a tearful good bye at the airport. Then she went on to the next town and next show, holding up as best she could.

Over the next few months, Liz’s life fell into a routine. First thing in the morning, she did radio shows to promote that night’s show. She usually talked to Sav by phone during her break. Then she was off to sound checks. A couple of hours after sound check, it was show time. Then, after the show, there was always a party somewhere. At first, Liz would only stay a short while, then head back to the hotel or tour bus. But, at the parties, she was distracted enough that missing Sav wasn’t such a constant pain to her heart. She started to drink more to forget the loneliness of missing Sav. Guy started to worry that Liz was getting into trouble. He decided to call the one person he knew could get through to her.

Sav was at home, getting ready to go to the studio, when the phone rang. Hoping for it to be Liz, he ran to the phone and picked it up. “Hello?”

“Savage, this is Guy Domani,” came a voice over the line.

“Liz’s manager?” Sav’s heart started to race. Worried, he said, “What’s going on? Is Liz okay?”

“Well, sort of. She hasn’t been hurt, if that’s what you mean.” Guy paused and Sav got impatient. Sav said, “What do you mean by that?”

Guy finally continued, “She’s physically fine, but emotionally she’s really gone. She misses you.”

“I miss her too, Guy. But if she’s okay, why are you calling me?”

“I didn’t say she was completely okay. I don’t usually mess around in my clients’ after hour habits, but Liz is special. So when I see her making a mistake, I’ve got to try to stop her. She’s a sweet kid and I don’t want to see her mess up.” Guy stopped again.

Sav prodded him on. “What do you mean, mess up?”

“She’s been drinking, Savage. Real heavy, for about three months now. I mean, she started out getting buzzed a bit a couple nights a week. I let that slide even though she’s underage cuz everybody does it in this business. But then it was every night. She’d sit there doing shooters and by the fourth or fifth one, she’s going on about you and how she misses you. Even that I let go a little, though I did start trying to get her to stop. But yesterday, she had a day off and I found her in her hotel room, passed out with a bottle of Southern Comfort lying beside her. When I got her sober, she said that she didn’t realize how lonely this was going to be. She even said she’d thought about giving the whole gig up and taking off for Ireland to find you.”

Sav slumped into a chair. His Lizzie, drinking? And worse yet, thinking about giving up? He made a snap decision and said, “Where’s she at tonight?”

“We’re in Detroit tonight.”

“I’ll be there if I can get a flight.”

Guy sighed and said, “Good.”

“Listen Guy, don’t tell her I’m coming. Let her do whatever she’s going to, okay?”

“Okay,” Guy said, confused. Sav rang off the line and called the airport.

Liz came offstage to the cheers of her crew. Five thousand people were in the audience that night, but she would have traded every one of them for a night with Sav. She felt empty and before she even got to the shower, she had a bottle in her hand. She hated the taste of it, but when she drank, she didn’t feel so lonely. Bolting back three quick shots, she got into the shower then got ready for another after show party. On the outside, she still portrayed the happy fledgling rock star. Inside, she just wanted to give up. She got to the party after signing a few autographs. She sat off to the side and had a couple more shots. Then a couple more. Slowly, she stopped feeling much.

Liz looked up and realized she had finally had too much. She was delusional. She saw a guy walking towards her, following Guy, whom she would have sworn was Sav. He looked worried and pissed. But Sav was a couple thousand miles across an ocean, so all Liz could do was put down her drink and hope that the illusion would pass. She leaned her head back and waited.

Sav took one look at Liz and nearly cried. She was thoroughly trashed and she’d barely been offstage for an hour. He’d seen the show, but waited until she’d been offstage a while before he went to see her. She was still fantastic onstage. He followed Guy over to where she was sitting. It looked like she’d already passed out. Without a word, he bent down and picked her up. If someone had asked him at that moment how he felt, he couldn’t have told them. He was pissed. He was worried. But most of all, he was scared. He carried her out to the car and sat in the back seat holding her while Guy drove them to the hotel.

Inside, Sav carried her to her room and tucked her into bed. Sitting there watching her, he didn’t know what to do. He cried a little and paced the room. Finally, he decided to just go to bed and talk to her when she woke up. Climbing into bed, he took her into his arms. And got the first good night’s sleep he’d had since he’d been away from her.

A couple of hours later, Liz came to. For a moment, she just lay there, not noticing much. Then, she realized there was a man in her bed with his arms around her. She panicked. What the hell had she done now? Sav would never forgive her. She tried to pull away, but his arms held her tight. Finally, she heard his voice say, “Lizzie, go back to sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”

She stopped cold. That was Sav’s voice. “Sav?”

“Yeah, baby, it’s me.” He reached over and turned on the light. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw him sitting on the edge of her bed. He was really there. She threw her arms around him from behind and rested her head against his back. Extracting himself from her arms, he knelt in front of her and looked into her eyes. “Lizzie, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” She sat back, wondering what he was talking about.

“The booze, Lizzie. You passed out last night cuz you’d drank so much. Guy says you’re doing it all the time now. What the hell is going on?”

“Nothing.” She turned away from him.

He spun her back around to face him. “Do you know what that shit can do to you?”

“Make me stop missing you for a little while?”

“That doesn’t work for long. Ask Phil. And in the long run it can kill you.”

“Sure, baby, whatever you say,” she said dismissively.

He grabbed her upper arms and forced her to look into his eyes. “Do you know how hard it is to watch someone kill themselves with that shit?” he yelled. “Do you? Well, I do! I watch Steve do it everyday, sitting there saying there’s nothing wrong! He doesn’t even notice what he’s doing. I can’t let you fall into the same bottle! I WON’T LET YOU! I can’t lose you too!” There was raw pain in his voice and he started to cry. “I can’t lose you. I love you!”

His words finally broke through Liz’s muddled brain. She started to cry as he pulled her into his arms.

“I can’t lose you, Lizzie,” he repeated. “I don’t want to live without you.”

“That’s my problem,” she said. “I don’t want to live without you either. When you weren’t here, I was so damned lonely. And touring, they make it real easy to just give in and fall. People give you anything you want when you’re touring.”

“You think I don’t know that?” He laughed through his tears. “And I’m no angel. I fell for it too. Just wait. First it’s alcohol. Then they hit you with the hard shit. That’s where Steve got stuck. The guys are trying to talk Steve into going back to rehab.” He shuddered. “I don’t want to visit you in a place like that!”

“You won’t,” she promised. “It’s over. No more booze for me.”

“Good! Now listen, Guy said you’ve got a few weeks off coming up. Starting next week. You’ll be just in time to go to Phil’s wedding in a couple of weeks. Come with me.”

“Really? I can?”

“Yeah, I think you could use a break.” He laughed. “Plus, if you’re there maybe I can get some work done instead of thinking about you! Now, let’s get some sleep. Guy’ll be here with the birds at dawn.”

They spent the next week finishing up that leg of Liz’s tour. Photograph had gone all the way to number two and the second single was on the charts at that point in time. Her album was still riding high, sitting at number three after all these months. She was a star in her own right now. But she was burnt out and Sav could see it. It wasn’t the touring that was doing it. She really couldn’t stand being away from him for so long. Sav vowed that he would never leave alone so long again. They sat down with Guy and worked out her touring schedule for the next leg of the tour. Every two months, Liz would take a week off from the road so she could go visit Sav. On the opposite months, Sav came to visit her for a week.

The next leg would last four months, with bigger venues and larger crowds. Guy worried about the pressures of carrying such a large tour on her own, but Sav was confident she could do it. With Sav standing so firmly behind her, Liz was ready for it.

The last few days of the current leg were played with Sav waiting in the wings for her to come offstage. The last night, Liz turned to the crowd just before playing Photograph and said, “Ya know what folks? There’s someone here who should really be onstage for this next song. Def Leppard’s Rick Savage. Sav, come on out here!”

He’d been half expecting Liz to pull him out there at sometime, so he wasn’t surprised. He’d even been talking to her bass player, Michael, about some of her songs. He’d learned a few of them without Liz knowing about it. He walked out onstage and took the guitar from Michael. “Hello!” was all he said to the screaming fans. Then the band tore into Photograph. The crowd was roaring so loudly and singing so much it was hard to hear Liz. After the song, Liz started to thank Sav for coming out, but he came over and whispered into her ear, “I’ve got a surprise for you now. Just keep going, I already know the rest of the songs in your set.” Then he gave her a quick kiss and walked away. Liz stood there, stunned for a moment, then signaled the band to move on to the next song. They finished the show and stepped off before doing the encore. Liz grabbed Sav and said, “When did you learn those?”

Michael walked up and said, “Oh, I taught him different things here and there.”

Sav just smiled at her. She looked between them and said, “Fine, Michael, do you remember the acoustic part to Foolin’?”

“Sure, it’s one of my favorite songs,” Michael answered.

“Okay, tell the others we’re doing it for the encore.” She laughed and said, “Guess you stuck coming back out again.” She stuck her tongue out at Sav, but he grabbed her and showed her a much better use for a tongue as he kissed her. She was breathless by the time she walked back out onstage.

Onstage, there was a row of speakers towards the front that the band had been jumping up on for the whole show. When they reached the line in Foolin’ “Is anybody out there?” everyone jumped up on the speakers while Liz searched the audience with a high-powered flashlight. The crowd went nuts. As the song ended, Liz decided to give them one more since they’d been such a great audience. She’d covered a lot of Leppard songs during this tour and the rest of the band knew the signals for each one. She picked one that the bass came in late on and signaled to Dan, her drummer, to start it. Sav stood confused, not quite knowing what she was up to, until he heard the familiar drumbeats of Rocket. Then he just put his head down, smiled and waited for his turn to start. Liz moved around the stage, swinging her hips in time to Sav’s bass guitar. During the drum solo, Liz knelt on one knee at the front of the stage and kept time to the throb of the drums on her thighs. She popped back up to her mic just in time to do the song’s countdown, then gave center stage over to her guitarists, Scottie and Dave. At the end, she grabbed her mic from it’s stand and danced over to Sav, sharing the mic with him til the song ended. Then she thanked the crowd, running around the edge of the stage slapping as many hands as she could reach. Sav was right behind her. A mother in the second row tried to get her nine-year-old up where Liz could reach him, but she was just slightly out of reach. Liz whispered to Sav, who took her hand and let her lean out a bit further. Two guys in the front row put up hands to help support her as she reached the child’s hand and gave him a high five. Then Sav reeled her in and they left the stage.

“Sneaky little vixen,” Sav whispered as he kissed her. “Trying to play name that tune with one of my own songs. You’ve got your nerve.”

“Would you love me if I didn’t?” came her saucy reply.

“Let’s see, hmm, I don’t know, I guess, well…” Liz gave him a swat on the backside and he grabbed her again as he finished, “Of course I would!” and nearly bent her backwards with another kiss. He stood her back up and said, “Joe better look out though, cuz you nailed those songs as well as he would’ve. And your backside swings a bit better than his does. At least from a male perspective.”

“Why thank you! Glad to know you’d rather look at me than Joe,” she said. He smacked her on the butt and said, “Why don’t we skip the party and head straight for the hotel?”

“Sounds like a plan!” Liz said. She showered quickly and changed into a mini-dress. Then they headed out to her car. She slid behind the wheel and revved the engine. She pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the road. As she drove, her hand slid into Sav’s lap, caressing his crouch. He leaned the seat back and laid down beside her. Keeping her eyes on the road, her fingers traced along his zipper. She undid the zipper and ran her hand down into his pants and underwear, grasping him firmly. Hearing his breath catch in his throat, she moved her hand slowly along the length of him. His hand rubbed along her thigh and worked it’s way between her legs. She parted them slightly to let him reach her easier. They drove along like this for a bit, until Sav saw them passing a park. He gave a laugh and said, “Pull in here.”

Without a word, Liz pulled into one of the parking spaces furthest from the road and partially hidden by a tree. Sav lifted her out of the driver’s seat and helped her turn around to face him. He reached under her and tore her panties off with a quick jerk. Liz gave a throaty laugh and said, “You know, my lingerie bill has gone sky high since I met you.”

He gave her a quizzical look and asked, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how many pairs you’ve torn off me,” she said, still laughing.

“Damned inconvenient things, if you ask me,” he muttered. He lifted off the seat slightly, pulling down his jeans enough to free him of them. Then, without a word, he picked Liz up slightly and she quickly felt him inside her. With a gasp for the suddenness of it, she sank fully down onto him. She rocked back and forth, faster and faster til they both exploded. Then she leaned down and gave him a kiss. He fixed his jeans while she straddled him. Suddenly, they heard a knock on the window. A policeman stood there, watching them. Liz rolled down the window and he said, “Could you folks step out of the car?”

Liz stepped out, blushing a furious red. All she could think was, “Thank God Sav had his pants fastened.” Sav stepped out of the car and the police officer shined his flashlight in Sav’s face. All the officer could think was, “here’s an obviously older man with a girl who may or may not even be eighteen.” He asked Sav for ID and read it carefully, recognizing Sav finally. Another thought crossed his mind. “Aw, shit, he’s banging an underage groupie.” He said aloud, “Mr. Savage, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you in to the station.”

Baffled, Sav asked as the officer put the cuffs on him, “Why?”

“Having sex with a minor,” he said as he clicked on the second cuff.

“But, but, she’s nineteen!” Sav said as suddenly the officer realized he’d forgotten to check Liz’s ID. He looked at Liz and said, “Miss, do you have any ID on you?”

“Yeah, in my purse,” Liz said, diving into the car to find her purse. It wasn’t there! “Sav, it’s not here!”

“Then, I’m sorry, sir, but I’ll have to take you in until we can prove this young lady’s age.” He pushed Sav towards his car as Sav said, “Did you leave it at the gig?”

“I must have. Officer, can you just take him there and not book him? I’ll be right there with my ID, I swear!”

The officer took a deep breath and said, “Listen, I’ll hold off for one hour. After that, I’ll have to book him.”

Sav looked at Liz desperately and said, “Hurry!”

“I’ll be right there!” she yelled as she jumped into her car. She took off before the cop had even finished putting Sav in the car. She made it to the venue just as Guy was walking out. “Guy, have you seen my purse? I’ve got to find it!”

“What’s the rush, Liz? I’m sure they’ll send it to you,” he said, laughing at her hurried expression. Then he asked, “Where’s Savage at?”

“That’s why I need my purse. We were at the park and, well, a cop found us and, well, um, he took Sav to jail cuz I couldn’t prove how old I am!”

“Oh, shit! Let’s get looking then.” They went inside and looked everywhere. It wasn’t there. Then, just as they were leaving, Liz stumbled across a guy rummaging through it by the trashcan. “Hey, you, that’s my purse!” she yelled.

“Sorry, I just found it here. It’s been pretty cleaned out.”

“Damnit!” Liz screamed as Guy dived into the trashcan to see if anything was there. He came up triumphant. “One driver’s license, coming right up!” He handed it to Liz and she ran out the door yelling, “Thanks!”

She jumped into the car and screeched her way all the way to the police department. She ran into the door with five minutes to spare. She walked up to the desk and saw Sav sitting in the cell just behind the glass partition. He looked pitiful. Liz talked to the receptionist, who called the arresting officer. The officer came out and said, “He’s lucky. Two more minutes and I was going to start processing him through the system.”

Liz pulled out her ID and showed it to the officer. He said, “Okay, young lady. Just try to wait til you get him home next time, okay?”

“No problem, sir.” The officer walked through the partition and up to Sav, who eyed him warily. Then, apparently, the officer told Sav he was out of hot water. He released Sav, who practically sprinted out to Liz. He kissed her quickly as thanks and said, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

They drove back to the hotel quietly, though Sav had finally started to see a bit of humor in the situation. By the time they arrived, they were both laughing about it. Once they got inside, both of them were exhausted. They crawled into each other’s arms and fell straight to sleep.

They flew out the next day to meet the rest of the band for Phil’s wedding. Everybody else had already arrived by the time they got there. The wedding was due to take place the next day. Stacey came up to Liz and said, “Hey, the girls are getting together tonight for a bachelorette party for Jacki. Wanna come?”

“Sure, what time?” Liz asked.

“It’s going to start in about three hours at the hotel,” Stacey answered.

“Good, I haven’t gotten her anything yet. I’ll see you there,” Liz said and turned to Sav. “I need to go shopping.”

“Sure, baby, what do you need?” he asked.

“A gift for Jacki. I know just where I’m going. Stay here and I’ll be back in a bit!” She laughed and left.

She went to a lingerie shop and picked out something for Jacki. Then she decided to pick up a couple of things for herself that she knew Sav would appreciate. She made it back to the hotel and caught up to Sav as he headed for their room.

“Hi baby!” she said with a quick kiss.

“Find everything you needed?” he asked.

“That and more. I’ll show you later.”

“Um, I won’t be here. They’re having a bachelor party for Phil tonight over at another hotel.” He looked at Liz and laughed, “You know, the usual stuff. Lots of alcohol and Joe hired some strippers, too.”

“Oh really? What time is this supposed to take place?” she asked.

“Joe said they’ll be there around nine. They’re only staying for an hour,” he said defensively.

“Don’t worry about it. Boys will be boys,” Liz replied. She gave him a hurried kiss and said, “I’ve got to go now. I’ll see you when you get back! Love you!”

She walked out of the room and down to where Jacki’s party was being held. All the other Leppard girlfriends were there, as well as some of Jacki’s friends. They sat around and ate, then Jacki opened her presents. Most of it was lingerie, though Liz’s was one of the raciest. Then they sat around talking.

“So, what do you think the boys are up to?” Stacey asked.

“Um, let’s see, it’s eight o’clock. In about an hour, there’s supposed to be some strippers coming in,” Liz answered.

“Oh, really?” Karla asked. “Joe didn’t mention any strippers.”

“Sav told me about it. He said they’d probably do some drinking and there were supposed to be strippers for about an hour,” Liz replied.

Lorelei, Steve’s girlfriend, spoke up. “I think we should pay them a visit.”

“Oh my Gawd, I’ve got an idea,” Liz said. “But before we do this, everybody has to agree that nobody gets pissed, not matter what happens.”

All four girlfriends leaned in and promised to not get angry. Then Liz laid out her plan.

Later, at the other hotel, the strippers had just left and some of the guys invited to the party were settling down to a game of cards in one of the bedrooms. All the members of Def Leppard sat in the living room of the suite talking. There was a knock at the door and a very wobbly Phil went to answer it. Standing at the door where five women he didn’t recognize. Figuring Joe or someone else had more treats in store for the night, he invited the women in. First into the room was a young woman the others called LeeLee. She wore thigh high boots, a micro mini skirt and a button down half shirt that showed a great deal of her cleavage. Her blonde hair streamed almost to her waist and she was wearing large dark glasses. Behind her, the four others were similarly attired and all five of them appeared drunk. They were all drop dead gorgeous. Lee-Lee walked in and past Phil without a word, just a quick flip of a finger under his chin. Three others walked right past him. The last one, a girl he came to call Tracey, closed the door behind her. Then she backed Phil right up to the couch and pushed him over the arm. She landed right on top of him and started with a major come-on attack. The other band members stood as these questionable ladies walked into the room. Each one of the women headed straight for a band member, totally ignoring the rest of the men in the room. LeeLee walked in front of Joe and pushed him into the chair behind him, then straddled him. Another girl, KayKay, sidled up to a very drunk Steve and sat on the arm of his chair. Jaycie went over to Rick and slid onto the couch next to him. Linda pushed Sav into a chair and plopped right down into his lap. Since all five men were rather drunk, they didn’t know what to do other than let the women go. LeeLee pulled Joe in for a kiss that knocked his drunken socks off. She could feel him getting hard as a rock as her crouch ground against his. His hands rested on her hips as he kissed her back.

Linda was having no luck with Sav. He simply wasn’t interested in her. Hard as she tried, he just kept looking off into the distance and not responding to her. His eyes fell on LeeLee and he eyed her suspiciously. When Linda realized where he was looking, she grabbed both sides of his face and planted a firm kiss on his mouth.

KayKay didn’t get much of a response from Steve. Not because he wasn’t interested, he was simply too far drunk.

Jaycie had Rick eating out of the palm of her hand. She had to fend off a couple of out of bounds hand movements, telling him she wasn’t quite that kind of a girl.

Phil had a minor interest in the girl on top of him, but somewhere in his alcohol hazed mind he remembered he was getting married. He let the girl kiss him, but made no move to push it any further.

The girl on his lap had Joe in serious trouble. He had a raging hard-on and could do nothing about it. Then he heard LeeLee giggle. Through the alcohol, somehow, that giggle sounded familiar. He pushed the girl back a little and tipped her glasses down off her nose. Greeted by a cheeky wink and a fingertip across his lips, he realized the woman on his lap was none other than Liz. Stunned, he sat there, trying to figure out what to do. In all likelihood now, one of the drunken women who’d followed Liz in was Karla. He looked at each one and found her trying to get Steve going. “Aw, shit, might as well enjoy myself then,” he thought. He pulled Liz back to him and whispered, “Don’t know what you’re up to, but might as well keep it up.”

Liz laughed again as Joe’s hand moved to the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his. Liz was a bit surprised to realize that Joe’s hard-on showed no signs of disappearing. She moved her hips a bit and heard him groan. He whispered, “Don’t push your luck, little one. You might get a surprise that’ll get me killed in the morning by Sav and Karla.” She wiggled one more time and Joe thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head when he grabbed her ass. “I’m warning you!” he growled. “I’ve no desire to blow a load in my shorts with Karla sitting right there!”

Sav pulled back out of the lip lock Linda had him in and pushed her away from him. He looked at her face groggily and decided to see what she really looked like behind the dark glasses she wore. He removed the drunken girl’s glass and looked at her face. Then it hit him. “Oh, shit! Lorelei!” He stood up so fast that Lorelei ended up on her backside on the floor.

Joe slid his hands off Liz’s ass, back to the more innocent spot on her hips and prayed Karla hadn’t seen them. Then he sat there, waiting for Sav’s reaction.

Through his drunken haze, Steve looked up and said, “Where’s Lorelei? Shit, I’m in trouble now, man.”

Phil pulled the glasses off the girl lying on top of him and practically threw her across the room. “Holy shit! Stacey!”

Sliding off Joe’s lap before Sav could see where she was, Liz moved quickly to the arm of Joe’s chair and draped herself over it. She sat playing with Joe’s long blond locks and watching as each man discovered who was on top of him. Slowly, Joe recovered the ability to stand if he wanted to without embarrassing himself. He tipped his head back and pulled Liz in for another kiss while Sav was standing over Lorelei looking at the other women. Then Sav noticed Liz in her blonde wig. In all actuality, he recognized her body, because Joe’s head blocked her face. She looked innocent enough, merely lying over the chair kissing Joe.

Meanwhile, Rick had looked up and said, “Stacey’s here? Oh, fuck, I’m dead.” When he realized Stacey was the woman Phil had pushed off himself, Rick turned and removed the glasses from the woman sitting beside him. Jacki.

Phil spotted Jacki and looked at Rick. “What’re you doing kissing my wife, mate?”

Rick stuttered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was her.”

“Eh, that’s okay mate, cuz your girl just went flying off me!” Phil laughed and moved over to Jacki. He said to her, “My, we’ve been a naughty girl, haven’t we?”

Joe’s encounter with Liz had left him nearly sober, yet he couldn’t stop kissing her. He merely pretended not to hear what the rest of them had said. Finally, Sav came over and tapped him on the shoulder. “Sorry, mate, I think you’ve got my bird. Yours is over there next to Steve.” Liz gave a throaty laugh as Sav pulled her off the chair. Sav said to her, “My love, I get the feeling you’re the one behind this.”

“Whatever would give you that idea?” she said with feigned innocence. Somewhere in the back of Sav’s mind, he vaguely remembered seeing her in a not so innocent position with Joe, but he couldn’t quite get that clear in his head. He let it slide and looked her over. “Nice outfit. You ought to dress like that more often. At home.” He bent and kissed her, then lost his balance and ended up pulling her down to the floor with him. She landed on top of him and kissed him again.

Karla moved slowly over to Joe and sat on his lap. She whispered, “Miss me, luv?”

“Of course,” he lied. His eyes fastened on Liz and Sav as he said, “Why? Did you think I wouldn’t?” As he spoke, he felt jealousy hit him like a sledgehammer. He was jealous of Sav, because Sav had Liz and he was stuck with Karla. He pulled his eyes from the couple on the floor and looked at Karla. “Remember, you’re my girl.”

“You’re sweet, Joe,” Karla whispered as she bent to kiss him.

The other couples slowly sorted themselves out. Lorelei walked over to Steve and sat on his lap. Stacey moved from the floor to the couch beside Rick and Jacki and Phil snuggled together on the other couch. Sav and Liz were still kissing on the floor. The other guys who’d attended the party found out some of the girlfriends had shown up and disappeared quickly, just in case their women were on their way.

Rick grabbed Stacey and said, “Sorry guys, there’s three bedrooms here and I’m going to put one of them to use.” And he dragged a smiling Stacey into the closest room.

Lorelei took hold of Steve and led him wordlessly into another of the bedrooms.

Phil looked at Joe and said, “Flip ya for the last room?”

“Nah, mate, you take it. You’re the one getting married tomorrow. Just throw us some blankets, okay?”

Phil brought them in blankets and Joe and Karla got comfortable on one couch while Sav and Liz lay on the other. Karla almost immediately fell asleep lying on Joe’s chest. The light from the window fell across Sav and Liz as they lay kissing on the other couch. Joe could hear Karla’s breathing as he watched them. A few minutes later, he heard Sav whisper something to Liz, to which she replied softly, “But Joe and Karla are right there!”

“They’re both asleep. Come on, baby. I need you, right now!” he whispered urgently.

“Joe,” Liz whispered, “are you awake?” But he stayed silent, letting Liz think he was asleep.

“See, I told you, Lizzie. Please!” Sav begged.

“Okay. Help me out of these.” Joe could see them move around til Sav was on top of Liz. He watched, fascinated, as Sav entered her quietly, then kissed her to keep her silent. Her soft moans reverberated through Joe’s mind. He could hear her breathing get more rapid as she neared her climax. As she came, she let out another louder moan. Sav took only a moment longer. Seeing them lying there, tangled in each other’s bodies, Joe felt another stab of jealousy. He stifled it and decided to have a bit of fun at their expense. He whispered, “Having fun?”

Sav popped up off Liz and shot a glare at Joe. “I thought you were sleeping, mate!” he said as Liz hurried to pull her skirt down. She’d blushed a nasty shade of red and was glad the lights were out so no one could see it.

“Yeah, well, somebody wasn’t quiet enough. Woke me right up!” Joe said as Sav pulled his clothes back together.

Liz tried to melt into the couch as Sav apologized, “Sorry, I’ll try to keep things a bit more quiet next time.”

“Yeah, well, try actually going to sleep. Works wonders for the noise level,” Joe said as Sav and Liz traded places. Liz snuggled down on top of Sav and said, “Good night, Joseph.” Then she whispered, “Good night, baby,” into Sav’s ear. Within minutes, Sav and Liz were both asleep, leaving Joe alone to think thoughts he didn’t want.

The next day, at the wedding, there were five grumpy Leppards slouching around the church. The ladies had recovered much better than the men. They’d returned to their hotel and gotten showered and dressed in a hurry because everyone but Jacki had overslept. She’d slipped out early that morning before anyone else had woken up.

All Sav could do was whistle as Liz walked out to check her look in the mirror. She wore a red halter mini-dress, though the veil of her hair covered most of her back. Wobbling a bit in unfamiliar high-heeled footwear, Liz stood and looked in the mirror as Sav walked up behind her. He ran his hands lightly over her back and bent to kiss her neck. He whispered, “I’ve got to take you out more often. You look good enough to eat!”

“Careful, I might take you up on that later!” she laughed as she bent to get her purse. She started to stand up and Sav said, “Hold it! Do that again!”

She looked over her shoulder and said, “What, bend over?”

“Yes, ma’am!” he said as she repeated the motion. “Oh, God, do we have to go to this wedding? I’d much rather stay here and play honeymoon.”

“Sorry, baby, but the honeymoon doesn’t come til after the wedding,” she laughed.

Sav plopped down on the bed. “Well, I’d get married, but my girl is this big career woman and getting married would just blow her career out of the water. I can’t ask her to do that just as she’s making it big. So I don’t think she’d have me. Plus, friends have warned me that she’s a bit young to be thinking about that kind of thing. Otherwise, I’d marry her today,” he said, watching to gauge her reaction.

She turned slowly and looked at him. “Oh, so it’s all her fault you’re stuck without a wife?”

“Nah, just her fault I can’t have a honeymoon,” he laughed as she thumped him with a pillow. “Hey, watch the hair!” She walked slowly over to him, pushed him back into a sitting position on the bed and straddled him. Running her fingers through the underside of his hair, she mussed it up a bit, tangling her fingers there, and said, “What, this hair? Nobody would notice if there were a hair out of place in this mane!”

His hand started to probe between her thighs, but she pushed him away. “Listen buddy, in the past two days, we’ve gotten caught twice doing that shit. I’m not going to try for number three, OK?”

Dejected, Sav sat back up and said, “Aw, last night wasn’t too bad. It was kind of exciting. It’s not like I’ve never caught Joe going at it with someone. Course, Karla doesn’t know that!”

For a brief second, Liz thought about the night before and realized that as drunk as she and Joe had been, there had almost been a serious problem. Sav had almost caught Joe with his girl. Liz knew she had to steer clear of Joe for a bit, til that incident faded into memory. There had been something in his eyes as she played around with him that told her Joe had been very serious at that moment. She only hoped she was wrong.

The wedding was a very small affair. Only the rest of the Leppards, their girlfriends and some family members where there. Afterwards, they held a small reception at the hotel were most of them were staying. They had a DJ there to keep things from getting boring. Sitting in the crook of Sav’s arm, Liz sat and talked to Stacey and Karla for a while. Karla kept hinting to Joe that she thought it was about time to get married herself and Joe kept trying to ignore her hints. The DJ called for all the single women to come out to the dance floor for the bouquet toss and Karla was the first one there. Liz stayed in her seat until Sav pushed her out there. Lorelei pushed Liz to the front, whispering, “If anybody should be getting married, it’s you and Sav.”

Liz just laughed as Jacki turned her back and threw the bouquet. It sailed straight at Liz, but at the last second Karla reached over and grabbed it. Smiling, she walked back to Joe and said, “See, I told you I should be getting married!”

“Question is, who are you going to marry?” Joe asked. They were ready for Phil to throw the garter, so Joe walked away with Karla’s dirty look following him.

Sav looked at Liz and said, “You should have caught that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she laughed. “Just get your butt out there and see if you do any better.”

Phil turned his back on the assembled men and let it fly. Sav reached up to grab it, but it bounced off his fingers and landed squarely in Joe’s hand. Joe stared at the frothy bit of lace in dismay. Resigned, he walked back to the table and threw the garter down next to his drink. He sat beside a smiling Karla and said, “You win. When do you want to get married?”

Sav and Liz stared at Joe in disbelief as Sav slipped his arm around her. Joe had been very adamant about not wanting to get married. What could have possibly changed his mind? Joe looked at Liz and shrugged his shoulders. He avoided Sav’s stare all together.

Karla spent the next half an hour talking about getting married while Joe sat looking rather bored with the subject. Liz just let her talk and leaned back into Sav’s shoulder.

The DJ called Phil and Jacki out for their first dance as husband and wife. Slowly, the other couples got up to join them. Liz didn’t even bother to ask Sav. He’d told her before he didn’t dance at all. She sat and watched the others a bit enviously. After the first song, Joe saw the look on her face and decided there was no sense in her sitting out every dance. They walked back to the table, Karla still glowing from Joe’s off-hand proposal, and Joe asked Liz to dance. She stood without a word and followed him to the floor. Sav watched her intently as she put her arms around Joe’s neck. As they swayed slowly to the music, Liz looked up at Joe and asked, “Are you sure you want to get married, Joseph?”

“No,” he laughed. “But she’s stuck around long enough, I guess it’s time I gave in.”

“You didn’t act so ready to get married last night,” she said and immediately regretted it.

“Well, I guess we can’t all get as lucky as Sav. If you were mine, I’d have married you in a heartbeat.” He looked down at her with smoldering eyes. “But, Sav got to you first, so I might as well give in to Karla.”

“That’s not a very good reason, Joseph,” she said, looking away from him. He waited til she turned around and said, “Sorry, it’s the only one I’ve got. We can’t all fall in love with a girl who can be our friend too.”

“Are we still friends, Joe?” she asked quietly.

“Always, little one,” he said with a smile and pulled her in close for a hug before they continued dancing. Back at the table, Sav was dealing with an unfamiliar emotion. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered how close Liz had been to Joe the night before and jealousy flared in his eyes. He got up and went over to the DJ, then walked away with a smile on his face. As the song ended, Joe and Liz pulled apart and started back to their seats. Sav was standing at the edge of the dance floor when the DJ announced, “Now, I’ve got a special request here. This one’s for Liz. It’s ‘Faithfully’ by Journey.”

Liz stopped halfway across the floor and looked at Sav. He walked up to her and held his arms out to her. She gave him a cockeyed look and said, “I thought you didn’t dance?”

“Well, I couldn’t let Joe have all the fun with my girl, now could I,” he smiled and took her into his arms. She put her arms around his neck and lay her head on his shoulder. They barely moved, just swayed to the music as the other couples danced around them.

On the way back to their room, Sav was unusually quiet. Liz could tell something was on his mind, but wasn’t sure what it was. When the door closed behind them, Sav took off his jacket and sat down in the chair. Liz sat on the bed and looked at him. “What’s wrong, baby?” she asked.

“Just thinking about something,” he said cryptically.

“Oh,” Liz murmured. She got up and went into the bathroom. When she came out, Sav gave a low whistle. Instead of the outfit she’s worn to the wedding, she was wearing one of her purchases from the day before. It was a white negligee, it’s skirt slit to the waist and a top that was barely there. She spun around in front of Sav and asked, “What do you think?”

“Come here,” he said roughly. She stood in front of his chair and he ran his hands up her legs and over the naked flesh of her buttocks. “Naughty girl, aren’t you?” he whispered.

“You wouldn’t have me any other way,” she laughed. He took hold of her wrist and her laughter stopped. He whispered, “Alcohol is an amazing thing. Sometimes you don’t remember things til much later. Like the way you were all over Joe last night. Enjoy yourself?”

“It was a joke, Sav, that’s all. I distinctly remember Lorelei being all over you. It was all just fun. At least I didn’t tackle Joe the way Stacey got Phil!” She looked up at him, hoping he didn’t realize how serious things had gotten for poor Joe.

“I guess I can’t say I appreciated the joke. When I remembered it, I wanted to knock Joe across the room.”

“It wasn’t his fault,” she said earnestly. “I’m the one who grabbed him. Blame me for it if you want to. Not Joe.”

“I have my own ways of getting back at you, my dear,” he said with an evil laugh. He stood up and pinned her arm gently behind her back as he kissed her. “Just try not to make out with my friends too often, if you please.”

“Yes, dear,” she said meekly, though there was fire in her eyes.

“Yes, dear, indeed. Some how I just don’t believe the little subservient routine. It’s just not you.” She tried to pull away, but he held her tight. Something inside Liz clicked as she felt slight twinge of almost erotic pain in her arm. “No, I don’t think I’ll be letting you go. Naughty little girls tend to get punished, don’t they?”

She laughed and said, “Well, I suppose so. What’s it going to be, spanking or something else?”

“We’ll see what happens. I’ll let it slide for the moment though.” He let her arm go and she stepped back from him for a moment, uncertain what was going on. A trace of that smoldering anger still shone in his blue eyes, though it warred with other emotions. In the end, it faded as Liz slowly began to unbutton his shirt. She paused for a kiss after each button, then when she was finished, she pulled the shirt off his shoulders. Before she removed it completely, she stopped at his elbows and used the shirt to hold his arms pinned back. She whispered, “Now I’ve got you right where I want you.”

“Careful what you wish for, Lizzie. You just might get it.” She ignored his warning and held his arms in place with one hand as her other hand wandered down to his crouch. She kept her lips tantalizing out of reach of his as her hand massaged his stiff member through his pants. She moved around so that she could get to her suitcase while not letting go of Sav’s shirt. Grabbing a pair of pantyhose, she used them to tie his wrists together behind him. Spinning him back around, she gave a throaty laugh and said, “No, now I have you where I want you.”

“You’ve been warned, Liz. Paybacks are a bitch!” he growled. She laughed and pushed him to a sitting position on the bed. Pushing him onto his back, she rolled him over and made sure his bonds were tight. Then she rolled him onto his back. He struggled and sat up, watching as Liz picked up the phone. She dialed the number for room service and placed an order. Then she walked across the room and grabbed her robe. She threw it on and Sav asked, “What are you up to?”

“You’ll see,” she said and retrieved her cigarettes from the dresser. She lit one and inhaled deeply. Then she turned back to Sav and held the cigarette to his lips. He took a drag and exhaled, still watching Liz. She sat down in the chair, trying to decide what she was going to do next. There was a knock at the door and Liz answered it. A boy wheeled in a cart containing Liz’s order and she tipped him before he left. On the tray there were two bottles and a covered bowl. Liz fixed herself a drink, mixing a Tom Collins from the bottle she’d just gotten. She opened the second bottle and poured a glass of wine for Sav. She took it over to him and offered him a drink, which he took. Then she gave him another drag from her cigarette. She sat the wine down on the bedside table and looked at Sav. He asked, “Can I have another drink?”

“Sure,” she said, taking the wine back to him. She bent down and kissed him deeply, then gave him another drink. She walked away and got her own drink. Sitting her drink down beside Sav’s, she leaned down and kissed him again, holding her body away from him. She knelt in front of him and pushed his undershirt up. Taking another drink, she turned back to him quickly and took one of his nipples in her mouth. Instead of the usual soft warmth of her lips, he gasped as an ice cube flicked against his skin. As his body adjusted to the sensation, he threw his head back and moaned. She moved to the other side of his chest and he gasped again. She pulled away from him as the ice cube finally melted. She slowly pulled her robe off her shoulders and let it fall to the ground. Sav’s eyes roved hungrily over her body, following the curves under her nightgown. She straddled Sav’s lap and put her hands on either side of his face, holding his eyes to hers. Grinding her pelvis into his, she could feel him, hard beneath her. She slid off his lap and knelt between his knees. She pushed him back and reached for the button on his pants. Unfastening it quickly, she exposed his straining manhood to her hungry eyes. She took it into her mouth quickly, for just a brief moment. Then she removed his shoes and clothing from the waist down. She reached up and gave a tug at his undershirt. It tore easily and she ripped it all the way open. She took another drink and turned back to Sav. He tensed, suspecting what she might be up to. And he was right. As her mouth closed on his hard member, he felt the shock of the ice cube she’d concealed in her mouth. He could feel himself soften for a moment, then harden again as his body got used to the feeling. As the ice melted, Liz took him all the way into the back of her throat, then pulled off him. She got up and walked away from him again. He strained to sit up and watch her. Walking back to the cart, she opened the covered bowl. She sat in the chair, holding the bowl of ice cream she’d taken from the cart. She ate a few bites, then walked back over to Sav. By this time, he was wary of what she just might do.

Pushing him onto his back again, she straddled him and leaned over. He just watched her, feeling the warmth of her bare crouch against his manhood. She took another bite of ice cream, then dribbled some of it down his chest. She set the ice cream on the nightstand and bent over him, licking away the ice cream away slowly. He groaned as she moved upwards towards his nipples. She took each one in her mouth and gave it a bit of attention. Then, without a word, she maneuvered herself over and onto his rock hard member. He moaned, “Oh my God.”

She rocked slowly on him, taking her time and pleasing herself. As she rode on top of him, what she didn’t realize was that he’d finally managed to free his hands. He let her continue to play for a moment, even when she stopped to take another drink. Then, when she bent to kiss him again, he grabbed her. She let out a surprised yelp as his hands closed on her. He rolled them over and whispered into her ear, “My turn.”

She threw her head back with a laugh that she quickly stifled. He looked serious. He shrugged off the remainder of his clothes while holding her on the bed. Pinning her to the bed, he reached over and downed the rest of his wine. Then he lifted her so that her arms could reach the headboard. He took one wrist and tied it to the headboard with her pantyhose. The other arm was tied to the bed with his torn shirt. She lay there, helpless, as Sav poured himself another drink. He stood over her, naked, as he finished he drink and poured another. On top of the drinks he’d had at the wedding, he was now feeling a bit drunk. He crawled onto the bed between Liz’s legs. He leaned down and gently kissed her. His hands ran down from her shoulders, to the lace of her nightgown. He gave her a wicked grin, then grabbed the dress in both hands. With a quick rip, he tore the lace from top to bottom, leaving her bare beneath him. A moment later, he was inside her again. He strained on top of her as she felt herself building towards an orgasm. She gasped as it came over her. Somewhere in Sav’s muddled brain, he got an idea to pay her back. Wetting his finger with her natural lubricant, he pressed it again her tight anus. She gasped as it entered that unused orifice. He moved slowly in and out, in time with the movements of his hard member into her body. Then, after a moment, he slipped a second finger into her ass. She winced. He took it slowly, not wanting to scare her even in his drunken state. As he felt her relax, he decided to try what he’d planned on. He placed the head of his member at her anal opening and pushed gently. She stiffened immediately and he whispered, “Just relax, baby. It might hurt for just a minute. It’ll be okay.”

She tried to relax as she felt him push his way into her. Suddenly, her muscles gave way and the tip popped into her body. For a moment there was a white-hot pain, then she felt the muscles relax and her entire body felt an electrical shock go through her. Slowly, he sank fully into her. “Oh, God, baby, this feels so good,” he murmured. She moaned as she began to enjoy the sensation. When he heard that moan, he moved a bit faster, building quickly to an orgasm. With one last thrust, he buried himself inside her and came. He lay down on top of her and kissed her. Then, realizing what he’d just done, he looked up at her and said, “Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“It hurt at first, but I’m okay. Just don’t count on me sitting down to well tomorrow,” she gave a weak laugh. He started to snuggle in close to her, but she lifted her head and said, “Um, honey, could you do me a favor?”

He looked at her and said, “Anything, baby.”

“Could you please untie me?”

Guy called Liz the next morning, asking about the MTV awards show coming up in a couple of months. They wanted her to present an award, which totally threw Liz. She really didn’t think she was quite that big yet. She told Guy to go ahead and book the show. Then she turned to Sav and said, “I guess I’m going to be giving away one of the awards at the MTV awards.”

“That’s cool. They just booked us to perform,” Sav said.

She turned and picked up the phone. Sav gave her an odd look, but she put her fingers over her lips and waited for the other party to pick up. “Guy? Yeah, it’s Liz. Listen, about this MTV show. Def Leppard is going to be performing that night. Rather than give out an award, I want to do their intro. Yeah, they’ll still get me on the show, just a little different. See if you can work that out. See ya later!”

Sav pulled her close to him and said, “Do you really want to give up your chance to give away a moon man?”

“I’d much rather be responsible for bring you out on stage than to hand away a little statue,” she said with a kiss.

With a laugh, he said, “I can’t think of anyone I’d want to have do it more!”

Liz returned to the road three weeks later. Daily calls from Sav kept her connected to the real world while she lived the crazy rock star life. She tried out new songs that had been already recorded during the sessions for the first album but hadn’t made it on that one. Several met with a good response and she realized she was actually only a couple of songs shy of having the second album completed already. She also added a few more Def Leppard songs to her rotating repertoire, including another of her favorites ‘Gods of War’. Time seemed to fly and suddenly it was time for the MTV Video Music Awards show. She met up with Sav and the other members of Def Leppard the day before the show at a hotel in LA. She’d arrived the night before, while Sav and company weren’t due in until eleven the following day, and she was waiting for her breakfast from room service when there was a knock on her door. She opened the door and a hotel employee wheeled her food into the room. She gave the young man a tip and started to turn away from the cart when she felt a hand grab her leg. She screamed and backed away from the cart. The skirt around the cart lifted and there sat Phil, grinning like an idiot. He looked up at her and said, “Surprise!”

“Phillip! UGH, God, you’re a dead man!” she yelled.

“But why? I bring more surprises!” he laughed.

“What? Have you got Sav hidden on one of my plates?” Exasperated, she started to turn away as he crawled out from under the cart. Then she heard a deep familiar voice coming from the doorway. She heard a much loved laugh followed by, “Well, not quite!”

Spinning back towards the door, she saw Sav and Joe standing in the doorway. Rick and Steve were in the hallway behind them, but the only one she noticed was Sav. Running for the door, she jumped and landed in his embrace. “Oh my God, I’ve missed you!” she said and kissed him.

“Yeah, and the rest of us are just chopped liver,” Joe muttered. Pulling back from Sav for a moment, she said, “Hardly, Joseph. Just, um, I think Sav and all your girlfriends would get a bit upset if I was taking turns with all you guys.”

Falling to the floor from the underside of the cart, Phil landed on his backside and said, “Hey, when’s it my turn? I don’t think Jacki’d mind. And we blokes in the band share everything, huh Sav?”

“Sorry Phil, I don’t share her with anyone!” Sav said with a laugh. They all walked into Liz’s room and sat around talking for a bit.

“So, they approved you doing our intro, huh?” Rick asked. “How’d Guy manage that one?”

“Oh, he just told them it was the only way they’d get me onstage. They were actually quite cooperative. Said it was no problem at all.” She looked at the clock and said, “Speaking of the show, we need to head out. They want to start rehearsals at eleven. Certain little prima donnas were just going to be late. By the way, how’d you get here early?”

With a rich chuckle, Sav said, “Ask Phil.”

Liz turned to Phil and he said, “Well, I knew I’d never be able to get you if you knew we were in town, so I kinda talked Sav into telling you a bit of a fib about what time we were supposed to get in.”

“Talked me into? Blackmail’s more like it!” Sav said. “You wouldn’t believe the stories he had ready to tell you if I didn’t cooperate!”

“And half of them were true!” Phil said in his own defense.

“Yeah, right!” Sav said, balling a fist and shaking it at Phil.

“Okay, so maybe only a quarter of them were.”

They sat and laughed while Liz hurried through her breakfast. Then they headed for the amphitheater for rehearsal. They went through the whole segment twice before Liz decided it was terribly boring to simply walk up to a mic, say her piece and walk off stage. The third time through, she grabbed a mic from the backstage area and perched on a piece of the set, talking from there. She didn’t head off stage when the band started either. She sat there, watching them perform. Halfway through the song, Joe motioned her over and she started singing with them. The director, a bit miffed at Liz’s refusal to come back offstage, was now delighted. As the band stopped playing, he said, “Do it just like that tomorrow and it’ll be perfect!”

“Including Liz, right?” Joe asked.

“Exactly like you just did it,” he said. Turning to Liz, he asked, “Do you need another run through?”

“Nah, I got it. I do the intro, then sit down til Joe pulls me off my duff, right?” she answered.

“Perfect!”

The night of the show, Liz sat in the audience beside Sav watching the show. About ten minutes before they were due to go on, all of them got up and went backstage. Liz took off the dress she’d worn for the ceremony and slipped on black jeans, boots, her Hysteria halter-top and the black leather jacket Sav had bought for her. She gave each band member a quick peck on the cheek, except Sav. Him, she about knocked out of his socks with a kiss before heading to her position just offstage. The house lights went down and Liz moved into her spot onstage. As the lights came back up, the audience heard over the PA system, “Ladies and gentleman, Liz Diamond!”

Liz waited for the crowd to quiet back down before beginning to speak. “I owe everything to this next act. They inspired me to make a start in this business and gave me my big break a few months ago. And they’re all absolutely gorgeous! Ladies and gentlemen, with a track from their upcoming album, here’s Def Leppard playing ‘Tear It Down’.”

The band stood onstage as the lights came up. They ripped into the song as if they’d already done it live a thousand times. Just before they got to the last chorus, Joe waved Liz onstage with them. She ran up to Joe and sang the chorus with the rest of the band while Joe sang his own part. When the song ended, they all headed offstage. Sav caught up to Liz before she got offstage and threw an arm around her. “Gorgeous, eh?” he laughed.

“Oh, yeah. And cuddly as teddy bears!” she replied.

Backstage, Phil threw his arm around Liz and said, “See Sav, she thinks we’re gorgeous! A woman like that, you gotta share!” Then he winked at Liz.

Sav shot Phil a look around Liz and said, “Hey, I told you, she’s mine!”

Phil threw his hands up in mock surrender and said, “Okay, okay!”

Steve walked up and said, “Gorgeous as we are, just thought ya might want to know you ain’t so bad yourself!”

Smiling at the compliment, Liz said, “Why, thank you Steve!”

Turning to Sav, Steve said, “Word of advice, mate. Marry her before she gets much older! The older they get, the harder they are to please!”

“Amen,” Joe muttered. Liz looked over at Joe, who stood away from the rest of the group. He looked a little sad, so Liz walked over and said, “Now, Joseph, we aren’t all that bad, are we?”

“Nah,” he said with a smile, “Just when you try to be!”

After the show, Liz talked them into going to one of the many parties held around town. They walked in and found seats quickly. Several people came over to comment on the set the Leps had done at the show, telling them that it totally rocked. Liz walked over to the bar to order drinks for Sav and herself. While she was waiting, a man walked up to her and started talking to her. She looked up, only to find herself face to face with Lars Ulrich again. He kept talking, telling her how well she handled being onstage at the show. She nodded and scanned the crowd for Sav, who’d already seen what was happening.

“You really were phenomenal out there tonight,” Lars was going on.

“Thank you, Lars,” she said cautiously.

Steve looked up from the bar and recognized Lars. He headed for Liz, getting to her before Sav did. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, “You okay, kiddo?”

“Yeah, Lars here was just telling me how well he thought I did onstage tonight,” she said, giving Steve a grateful smile. Then Sav arrived and stared at Lars. Suddenly, it dawned on Lars who exactly she was and he remembered that nasty incident at the party a year ago. He looked up and saw Joe now heading his way as well. He said, “Hey, I was just talking to her, okay? No harm, no foul.” He looked at Liz and laughed, “Boy, you’ve got some awesome guard Leppards, huh?”

“Yeah, they work wonders!” she said with a laugh. Steve gave a chuckle, but Sav still just stared at Lars in warning. As a pissed looking Joe made it to the group, Lars said hastily, “Well, have a good night, Liz, guys. I’ll just be heading over there.”

“Good night, Lars!” Liz said in a saccharine sweet voice. As Lars made it out of earshot, Liz busted up laughing.

“He was actually pretty harmless, guys,” she said, looking up at Sav and Joe.

“Well,” Joe said, “I’d rather keep he that way.”

Steve gave a giggle and said, “Looked a bit ready to piss himself when he saw Sav!”

“You would to,” Joe said, “if you remembered that right hook!”

“Honestly, guys, I don’t think he was going to try anything. He was being a perfect gentleman.”

“I’d rather not give him a chance,” Sav snarled.

“Whoa, down boy,” she laughed. “Good kitty!” she said, running her hand over his hair like she was petting a rather large cat.

He looked at her and did the last thing she would have expected. He hissed at her, bringing a laugh from Joe and Steve. Then he put an arm around her and said, “Let’s go back and sit down.”

When they made it back, Liz started talking to the guys about their girlfriends and wife. “So, what’d you guys do, ditch the wives?”

Rick spoke up first, “Stacey’s home visiting her folks.”

Joe was next, “Well, to be honest, as long as I bring her something expensive home, Karla has no interest in being here.”

“Are you two still getting married?” Liz asked.

“Yeah, next month, on the fourth. Think you can make it?” Joe asked.

“I’ll check with Guy, but I should be able to,” she replied. “Phil, where’s your new wife?”

“She didn’t feel up to coming with us. Of course, in her condition, I can’t say I blame her,” Phil answered.

“What condition? Is she okay?” Liz asked.

“What, Sav didn’t tell you?” he said.

“Sav apparently doesn’t tell me much,” she said as Sav muttered, “Oops.”

“Jacki’s pregnant,” Phil said.

“Ohmigawd, congratulations Phil! When’s the baby due?”

“January.”

Liz sat for a moment and said, “When’d you find out?”

“It was a honeymoon surprise. She wasn’t feeling well on our honeymoon, so when we got back, she headed for the doctor the day we got back,” he said.

“So, Sav’s known for what? A month, and didn’t tell me?” She gave Sav an exasperated look and he shrugged his shoulders, whispering, “Sorry.”

“Uh, huh! Well, I’ll forgive you this time!” she said, shooting him a mocking scowl.

They bummed around the party for a couple of hours before deciding to call it a night. Everyone rode back in the limos and Steve and Rick headed straight for the bar when they got there. Joe and Phil headed to their rooms, as did Liz and Sav. When they got there, Sav took one look at Liz and said roughly, “Come here, woman.”

She took her time walking over to him til she was just out of reach, then looked up and said, “Yes, sir?”

He made a quick lunge for her and wrapped her in his arms. “You know, you are the worst tease!”

“Oh really?” she asked, putting her arms around his neck. “Do tell?”

Instead of talking, he kissed her roughly then took her over to the bed. “Woman, you drive me crazy sometimes!” He said as he started to undress her. Then he shrugged off his clothes and said, “Baby, I’ve missed you!” as he joined her on the bed.

“Likewise, Sav. I hate this separation shit!” she said as he pushed her down into the bed. “I love you, baby.”

“I love you too Lizzie,” he whispered, then made love to her as though they had been apart for a thousand years.

Sav went on tour with Liz for the next two weeks, before returning home to help Joe get ready for his wedding. Liz managed to get enough time off to make it to Ireland two days before the ceremony. When she arrived, she headed straight for Joe’s house figuring Sav would be there. Instead, she found Joe there alone. Karla was staying at a friend’s house til after the wedding so they didn’t break tradition. As soon as she got a look at Joe, she realized he’d been drinking for a while. She sat quietly in the library with Joe, watching him try to drink himself into oblivion.

“Joe, please, slow down. You’re going to make yourself sick if you don’t,” Liz pleaded. She wished Sav or one of the others would show up to help her deal with him. Even Karla might have been a help. Joe really had no desire to go through with this wedding, but now it was too late. Karla would be heartbroken if he backed out now. So he did the only thing he could think of to forget the situation.

He drank.

“Little one, don’t worry. I know when to stop,” he slurred.

“If you’re so miserable about getting married, then don’t do it,” Liz said.

“Karla’d never forgive me if I backed out now,” he said forlornly. “I have to do this.”

“But if all you do is fight, why stay together?”

“I don’t know,” he said and he started to cry. She took him in her arms and let him cry. When he pulled away from her, his hand slid to the back of her neck and he brought his lips down to hers. Stunned, she let him kiss her for just a moment before reacting.

Neither of them saw Sav walk in the door. A look of hurt and disbelief marred his handsome face.

Liz put her hands on Joe’s shoulders and gently pushed him away. “Joe, I won’t do that to Sav. I love him so much that no other man could ever take his place, even for just one night.” She put a hand up to his cheek and said softly, “Even as much as I care about you, you couldn’t take his place. Besides that, you don’t really want to do that to Karla, now do you?”

He shook his head miserably and said, “I just get so jealous when I see you and Sav together. You guys are so happy that it makes my life seem even worse than it is.” He paused, then said, “I’m sorry about what just happened. Guess I didn’t know when to stop after all.”

“Guess not, mate,” Sav spoke up from the doorway. Liz and Joe both jumped and turned towards the door. A look of stark terror crossed Liz’s face as she tried to think of something to tell Sav. Then she realized Sav was staring at Joe. Sav raised a curious eyebrow at him and asked quietly, “Have you been drinking, Joe?”

Ashamed of what he’d nearly done to his friend, Joe looked at the floor and said, “Yeah, some.”

Liz picked up the near empty bottle sitting on the floor and showed it to Sav without a word. He nodded and said, “Listen, bloke, I think it’s time you give that stuff up for the night.”

“Yeah, guess you’re right. I’ll just head up to bed, I think. Maybe things will make sense in the morning,” he said as he rose from the couch. “You can let yourself out, right?”

“Sure thing,” Sav said.

Sav and Liz got into his car in front of the house and drove back to his house. He was quiet on the way home and Liz wasn’t sure what to say. They got home and went inside, then Sav pulled her into his arms. He whispered, “Did you really mean what you said to Joe?”

“Yeah, baby,” Liz said quietly, “every word. There’s nobody else but you for me.”

Sav bent his head to hers and kissed her. Then he said, “you know Joe almost got himself decked tonight, don’t you? Til I realized how drunk he was and heard what you said.”

“I wish he wouldn’t go through with this wedding,” Liz said in answer. “He’s not happy with Karla.”

“Nobody’s going to be able to make him see that, though,” Sav said. Taking her hand, he said, “Listen, we’ve got an early day tomorrow, so let’s head for bed.”

He led her to the bedroom silently. Turning to face her, he said, “You know, I’ve really missed you.” Then he kissed her again. Slowly, they began to undress each other as they kissed. Impatiently, Sav pushed her onto the bed and lay down with her. He ran his hands over her body before they came together. He moved slowly, savoring every second of their union. It seemed like an hour in heaven to them both. As they climaxed, they let themselves float back down to earth and slept in each other’s arms.

For Karla’s bachelorette party, the girls decided to do something a little wild. The only one of the guys who knew where they were going was Sav, because he’d dragged it out of Liz. The women went to a local male strip club, making sure to let the DJ know that Karla was getting married the next day.

As the women sat down, a waiter came over to take their drink order. Liz couldn’t really see what he looked like because of his New Wave hair style. While there was no hair visible under back and sides of his ball cap, the front of his hair hung all the way below his eyes. A second waiter started at the other end of the table. That one was a very thin young man with a dark beard and mustache. He wore shaded eye glasses. He gave them their drinks and Lorilei got a quick pat on the shoulder as he walked away.

After a couple of rounds of drinks, Liz was feeling pretty good. As one of the dancers came up to Jacki, Liz started to get up to tip him, but felt a hand pushing her back into her seat. She turned around and saw the shaggy haired waiter walking away. She stared at his back in confusion for a moment before turning back to the dancers.

A while later, one of the dancers climbed up on the table in front of Karla and started dancing for her. Liz figured she wasn’t quite drunk enough to fall off the table, so she climbed up on it to tip him. As she tucked the pound note into his g-string, she felt a smack on her backside. Her head swung around, trying to see who’d slapped her. Unfortunately, she’d had too many drinks for that fast a motion and she fell over on her side. As she went down, she noticed the New Wave waiter high tailing it away from her table. Stacey helped her back into her seat and Liz leaned over to Jacki, asking, “Did you see what that guy did?”

“What?” Jacki asked.

“He just smacked my ass!” Liz said indignantly.

“Maybe he’s sweet on you!” Jacki laughed.

“Yeah, right,” Liz muttered. She sat back and watched the rest of the group with a dancer as the waiter brought her another drink. By this time, she was blitzed along with most of the group. Only Jacki, who was very, very pregnant, was completely sober.

Liz glanced at the DJ’s booth and for a moment she could have sworn she saw Rick sitting there. She turned to Jacki and said, “Hey, Jac, is that Rick over there?”

Jacki looked where Liz pointed and saw nothing. She turned to Liz and said, “Maybe you better lay off the booze, hon. You’re seeing things!”

Just then, the DJ called Karla out to the center of the floor. She went out reluctantly, not wanting to get embarrassed even in her current state of intoxication. The DJ led her to a chair in the center of the stage and directed her to sit down. Then he left her there with her back to the dancer’s entrance. Two of the dancers came out. Both of them were wearing costumes with hats and masks. The shorter one danced over in front of Karla and pulled out a silk scarf which he used to blindfold her, while the tall one took out a scarf of his own to bind her hands behind her. Then the short one moved over to the table where Karla had been sitting with the others. He stood behind Jacki and put his hands on her shoulders. Then he rubbed his hands down Jacki’s arms and they came to rest on her swollen belly. Just then, the man who was still on the stage with Karla pulled off his hat, revealing his long blond hair. He straddled Karla’s lap and undid her blindfold, leaving her hands bound behind her. Then he bent down and gently kissed her, leaving her staring at him baffled. Dancers weren’t suppose to kiss the customers.

Jacki started to laugh as she figured out what was going on. She lifted her head and pulled the man behind her down for a kiss. Stacey, Liz and Lorelei watched her in drunken amazement.

Onstage, the man on Karla’s lap lifted his mask slowly. Liz looked at him in astonishment, saying, “My God, that guy looks exactly like Joe!”

Stacey and Lorelei echoed her stunned statement as the shaggy haired waiter walked up behind Liz and whispered, “It is Joe!”

Liz’s head whipped around and she looked up at him. Then she snatched the cap from his head. Long blond curls came tumbling down to completely cover his face. He flipped his hair back and it fell down around his shoulders, leaving Liz staring into Sav’s laughing blue eyes. He bent down and kissed her, then whispered, “Surprise!”

Stacey looked up and saw Sav. She turned to Lorelei and said, “Oh, shit, Sav’s here!”

Just then, the other waiter came up behind Lorelei and said, “Hi honey!” She turned and looked at him in confusion. She peered a bit closer and reached up, giving a gentle tug on his beard. It fell off in her hand. Then she ripped the mustache from where it had been firmly stuck to his upper lip. As it came off, Steve screeched a loud, “OUCH!”

By now, Jacki had pulled the mask and hat off her husband. She gave him a thump on the chest before she kissed him again.

Liz slapped Sav on the arm and said, “What the hell are you doing here?”

Sav rubbed his arm and replied, “We just thought we’d return the favor from Phil’s party.”

She gave him a drunken pout and turned away as he hugged her from behind.

Onstage, Joe was finally freeing Karla from her bonds as all the dancers came out for the finale. Stacey looked around, knowing Rick had to be there with his mates, and found him at the DJ’s booth. He gave her a cheeky wave before heading over to where she was sitting. He laughed and said, “I had to miss all the fun. Kinda hard for me to hide.”

Steve was still rubbing his sore upper lip as Joe and Karla made their way back to the table. Joe laughed and said, “Are you birds ready to call it a night?”

“We hadn’t planned on it,” Liz said crossly with a fake glare Sav’s way, “but I guess we’re done now!”

Jacki, Stacey and Lorelei were already putting on their coats. Karla smiled drunkenly at Joe and said, “See you at the church tomorrow.”

Joe grimaced, but then he hid it with a forced smile and said, “I’ll be there.”

Sav pulled Liz to her feet and gave her a smack on the bottom before helping her into her coat. Then he said, “I always knew you were a totally naughty girl.”

“Absolutely,” she said with a wicked wink. “Just as naughty as you, hard as that act is to follow.”

Everyone headed home for the night, including Sav and Liz. She walked into the house on unsteady feet with Sav helping her up the stairs to bed. She collapsed on the bed, but didn’t pass out. Instead, she looked up at Sav and said, “Hey you, come here!”

He laid on his side beside her, propping his head up on his elbow and staring down at her. He stared down at her long enough that she began to feel a bit uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Finally, she put a hand to the side of his face and said, “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Well, I was thinking about something. I just didn’t want to do this while you were, well, a little too sauced up. I’m afraid you won’t remember it in the morning,” he said quietly.

She shook her head, trying to clear her brain and only succeeded in making herself dizzy. Her eyes crossed for a moment, bring a laugh from Sav’s throat. Finally, he said, “You know, there’s only one way to tame a wild child like you!”

“Whas that? Please don’t tell me it involves, like, chains and dog collars. I’m not in the shape for that right now,” she said, putting her hand to her head.

“Well, it involves a bit of a collar, but not for your neck.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. “It’s one for your finger.” With that, he snapped the lid of the box open, revealing a beautiful diamond solitaire. He pulled her up to a sitting position and got on one knee in front of her. “Lizzie, please, will you marry me?”

“Um, let’s see,” she said, looking all around the room. “What’s the answer I’m suppose to give here? Um, I don’t know.” Sav looked anxious, waiting for her to get serious. “Of course, you dolt. Did you really think I might say no?”

He slipped the ring on her finger as he said, “I wasn’t really sure. You’ve always said you were to young to even think about it before.”

“You’re just taking advantage of the fact I’m drunk to get me to tell you the truth, aren’t you?” she giggled. “Of course I want to marry you. I just can’t do it yet, that’s all. But I promise you, one of these days, we’ll get married. Is that good enough for you?”

“It’ll have to be, won’t it? But I’ll remind you of that promise someday!” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, then laughed. “Somehow, I get the feeling that if I try anything tonight, I’m going end up with a major mess on my hands.” In truth, she was looking a bit green about the gills. “Let’s go to sleep and we can talk in the morning.”

“Prolly a good idea,” she said quietly. “I don’t think I’ll be able to do much more than that.” They got undressed and climbed into bed. Sav slipped his arms around her just as she fell asleep.

Liz woke up with a thundering headache courtesy of the last night’s alcohol. She slipped out of bed quietly and headed for the bathroom to try to clear her head a bit. Splashing cold water on her face, she felt a bit more awake, but it didn’t diminish her headache. She took some Tylenol and washed it down with water from the sink. She picked up her toothbrush with her left hand and loaded it with toothpaste. Then she really looked at her hand. Something wasn’t the same as it had been yesterday. Finally, she actually noticed the ring and she brought her hand to her bleary eyes to look at it. It was an engagement ring, but Liz didn’t remember it. Mentally, she cursed herself for drinking so much the night before. She could vaguely remember the stunt the guys had pulled at the club, but the details were still a bit blurry. Finishing up with her teeth, she went back into the room where Sav lay and sat in a chair, watching him. The pain in her head was too bad right now to really try to think, so she just keep looking at him and wondering what happened.

Eventually, whether it was the weight of her stare or simply his own inner clock, Sav woke up. When he realized she wasn’t in bed with him, he looked around his room and found her sitting in the chair. He turned towards her and saw the bewildered look on her face. He smiled at her and said, “You don’t remember a thing about last night, do you?”

“I remember you guys showing up at the club,” she said, “But after that, not much. Maybe it’ll start coming back to me after my head finishes splitting open.”

“Okay, give me the ring back,” he said as he swung his legs out of bed.

“What?” she asked, startled.

“Give me the ring,” he demanded patiently.

“You’re taking it back,” she said in dismay.

“Just give me the ring,” he said in an exasperated growl. Reluctantly, she pulled the ring off her finger and handed it to Sav. He picked the box up from the nightstand and put the ring back inside. Liz had tears in her eyes, thinking he’d decided that he didn’t want to marry her after all. Then he knelt in front of her and took her hand, holding out the open ring box. He said, “I should of just waited and done this right the first time. Lizzie, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “But you know as well as I do, we’re going to have to wait quite a while before we actually do this, don’t you?”

“I know. I just couldn’t wait any longer before I at least got this ring on your finger. We can wait as long as we need to,” he said with a smile, sliding the ring back onto her finger. “You made me a promise last night that I’m holding you to.”

“Wait, I promised that we’d get married someday, didn’t I?” she asked.

“That would be it,” he said with a laugh. “Your memory starting to come back now?”

“A little,” she said with a slow smile.

“Good,” he said and pulled her into his arms. “You know, we’ve got a little while before this wedding. Think we could...” Before he could finish the thought, she pulled his lips to hers. Then she pushed him down on the bed and landed on top of him. Their naked bodies rolled together on the bed as Sav pushed her over onto her back. He came up on top of her and was inside her in seconds. His long blond hair fell across her forehead as he bent to kiss her. She tangled her fingers through his blond mane and held his lips to hers as they moved together. As she came to her climax, she whispered his name softly, urging him on to his own orgasm. Afterwards, they clung together on the bed for a while before heading for the shower.

They got ready for the wedding as quickly as their long hair would allow. Sav swiped the hair dryer first, leaving Liz’s hair to air dry.

“Ya know, you really are a piggy when it comes to the styling equipment, dear,” Liz said with a laugh.

“Hey, I don’t have the option of putting my hair up instead!” He tossed his towel at her before going back to his hair.

“Hmm, good idea!” She dove into her case and pulled out several bobby pins, using them to secure her hair in place. She had her hair up in a lovely Gibson Girl hair style, even though it was damp, long before Sav finished blow drying his. She was working on her makeup by the time he finished. She slipped into her dress, a black jersey, while he waited.

“Black?” Sav gave her a curious look. “Thought that was for funerals?”

“Just seemed appropriate. I’ve never been to a wedding that should be happening less.” Sav came up behind her and looked into the mirror over her shoulder. He said, “I’m worried about Joe, too. I hope he doesn’t regret this.”

Liz turned into his arms and said, “Me, too.” He took her hand and they headed out the door for the wedding.

When they made it to the church, Sav and Liz took seats next to Steve and Lorelei. Liz looked across Steve and found Stacey and Jacki sitting together. Stacey was wearing a black dress and Jacki wore a black smock top over a barely visible white skirt. Liz waved to them and sat back, elbowing Sav as she did. “Apparently, I’m not the only one with a low opinion of this wedding,” she said, motioning towards Jacki and Stacey. Sav looked over at them and waved, then said, “Well, shame Joe can’t see it.”

The ceremony went quickly and everyone headed for the reception. Joe smiled as he saw his bandmates heading towards him on the receiving line. Karla smiled at first, then glared as she saw the clothes most of the women wore. “What is this, a fucking funeral?” she snapped.

“Sorry, Karla, just a coincidence,” Stacey said as Joe started to giggle. Karla slapped him on the arm and shot him a dirty look. She hissed, “What’s so fucking funny, Joe?”

“You. Why do you care what they’re wearing?” he laughed. Liz brought up a hand to smother a laugh and Joe spotted her new ring. “Whoa, what’s that?” he asked.

“Mine,” Sav said smugly, putting an arm around Liz. She smiled up at him as Phil and Joe both laughed at them.

“Guess you’ll be next one of us to bite the dust, eh, mate?” Joe said with a laugh.

“Not for quite a while, I think. We’re going to wait til Liz gets a good bit older before we tie the knot,” Sav said quietly. “Don’t feel like being branded a cradle robber or anything like that. Besides that, she’s got too full a plate right now.”

“Yeah, I’ve got to go back on tour tomorrow,” Liz added.

“Too bad, mate,” Phil chimed in. “Being married ain’t that bad.” Jacki gave Phil a smile as Karla glared at Joe. Joe leaned over to Phil and whispered, though Sav and Liz heard him, “Speak for yourself, mate!”

Joe’s mates and their women headed for their seats. They sat around and laughed as they talked about the previous night’s prank. After a couple of hours, Liz looked at her watch and exclaimed, “Oh my God, my flight leaves in two hours!”

“Let’s go say goodnight to Joe and Karla and then we’ll get you to the airport,” Sav said quietly. This was the part of her visits that were always the hardest for both of them. Sav put his arm around Liz as they headed over to Joe’s table. She leaned across and gave Joe a hug, earning a glare from Karla. She whispered into his ear, “Good luck, Joseph.”

“Thanks, I’m gonna need it,” he whispered back with a laugh.

“Good luck, Karla,” Liz said quickly.

“Thank you,” Karla said with a frosty voice.

“I’ll see you when you get back from your honeymoon, Joe,” Sav said. Then he lead Liz out the door to his car. They drove quietly to the airport while Liz snuggled against Sav’s shoulder. At the airport, Sav grabbed her bags from his trunk and checked them for her. They walked slowly to her departure gate. Sav pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, passionate kiss. Then he said, “I wish you didn’t have to go, Lizzie.”

“I know, baby, but the road’s calling again. I’ll call you often. I love you!” She kissed him again, then he said, “I love you too, baby. I’ll see you in a couple of months.”

She turned and headed for the boarding area. Then, just before boarding, she twisted her neck around to catch a last glimpse of Sav. He stood there, looking forlorn, as she waved and got on the plane.

Sav went home and crawled straight into bed, holding Liz’s pillow to breath in her scent. He fell asleep and dreamt of her all night as she flew across the ocean.

Liz’s tour was now supporting her third single, a ballad. The video was one shot early that included Sav as Liz’s lover. The song shot up the charts and the video was constantly playing on MTV. At the beginning of December, three weeks before Sav was due for a visit, the song hit number one. She called Sav as soon as she got the news, but as happy as he was for her, she could tell something was wrong.

“Baby, what’s going on over there?” she asked.

“It’s Steve. He’s getting pretty bad,” Sav said sadly.

“Oh God!” she whispered. “What triggered it?” she said, worried about their friend.

“Nobody knows. He’s taking off for a week in the states to visit a friend, so we all hope that’ll help him out some,” he said in a resigned voice.

“Where’s he headed?” she questioned.

“Minneapolis,” Sav answered.

“I’ll be there in a week and a half. Maybe I can talk him into a visit,” she replied.

“That might be good,” Sav said quietly. He rang off a few minutes later and Liz sat, thinking about Steve and praying he would be alright.

Two nights before she made it to Minneapolis, Liz came off stage to find Sav sitting there waiting on her. She gave him a broad smile before noticing the glum expression on his face. She knelt down in front of him and said, “Is something wrong, baby?”

“It’s Steve again. They found him in a gutter in Minneapolis last night. He was in a coma” he said sadly. “Joe’s up there now. I just had to get away from everything.”

“I’m sorry, baby. Did they check him back into another rehab clinic?” she asked quietly.

“No. He’s in an asylum this time and Joe’s really worried. He keeps saying Steve doesn’t belong in a place like that,” Sav continued. “But I’m starting to think maybe it’s what he needs. They told Joe his blood alcohol level was 4.0. I mean, Jesus, that’s about twice what killed John Bonham of Zeppelin. It’s a wonder he’s not bloody well dead!”

“Listen, we’ll be there in day after tomorrow. We’ll stop in to see him, so you’ll be able to see for yourself how he’s doing. At least he’s still alive!” she said, trying to sound positive.

“But for how long?” Sav whispered as a tear formed in his eye. Rather than try to speak, Liz simply pulled Sav into her arms and held him. Her own tears refused to form as she thought, “Maybe this time’ll get through to him!”

When they reached Minneapolis, Liz and Sav met Joe at the hotel. After solid three days of worry, Joe looked haggard. He hadn’t even bothered to shave. He threw his arms around Liz and pulled her in for a hug, then gave Sav a quick hug as well. He quietly told Sav, “It’s bad this time. He just stares off in the distance, barely even acknowledging I’m there.”

Sav sat silently, not knowing what to say. Liz asked, “What time will they let us see him?”

“Visiting hours are at noon,” Joe answered. “I don’t know if you’ll want to see him like this, little one. He’s in bad shape. He may not even recognize you.”

“I’m worried about Steve, Joe, not my feelings,” she said with a small smile. “I’ll be okay.”

“Well, let’s head out then. If we get there too early, there’s a little garden we can sit in,” Joe said.

They grabbed a cab for the clinic, but when they got there they still had half an hour before they could visit Steve. Joe showed them into the garden, which it turned out was used by patients as well as the visitors. A young woman sat next to a nurse, talking to thin air on her opposite side. About ten foot from where they sat, an older man was trying to engage a large oak tree in a conversation. From the look on his face, he thought he was getting a response.

Liz hid her face in Sav’s shoulder and whispered, “God, Joe was right. He doesn’t belong in a place like this!”

“Let’s wait and see,” Sav said cryptically.

Liz turned to Joe and said, “Isn’t anybody else here with you? Why didn’t Karla come?”

“Karla couldn’t give a shit about Steve,” Joe said in a voice full of bitterness and pain. “As far as she’s concerned, we should just give Steve the Spanish archer and find a new guitarist so I can get back to making money for her to spend.”

“I’m sorry, Joe. I shouldn’t have asked,” Liz whispered.

“No, don’t worry about it. You’re fucking on tour and you still managed to find time enough to come here with Sav,” Joe said sullenly. “Why should I expect my wife to get off her shopping spree long enough to come with me?” Liz reached out silently and took Joe’s hand, trying to will away some of his hurt. He gave her a unsteady smile before checking his watch. “It’s time.”

They walked into the visiting room together. Sav had his arm around Liz, but she still held Joe’s hand, trying to give him some moral support as well. Steve sat staring out the window. When the three of them walked up, he didn’t even turn his head til Joe said, “Hey, mate, I’ve brought you some more visitors.”

Steve turned his head and looked up at their small group. “Hi, kiddo. How’s it going?” he said quickly. To Sav, he said, “Thanks for coming, mate.” Then he turned to look back out the window. Liz sat down next to the window and looked into Steve’s face. His eyes looked haunted as he stared out over the grass, but his expression never changed in the whole time they were there. After an hour, the nurse informed them that Mr. Clark’s visiting time was up for the day. Everyone said goodbye to Steve and they heard him murmur again, “Thanks for coming.”

They walked out wordlessly and got into another cab. Liz sat between them on the ride home and tried to bring up a little more cheerful subject, “What are you doing tonight, Joseph?”

“I’ll probably just bum around the hotel,” he said sadly. “This shit has really drained all the energy out of me.”

“Listen, why don’t you come to my gig tonight? It’ll do you some good to get out of the hotel for a while,” she said with forced cheer.

“I don’t know...” Joe started, but Sav cut him off.

“Come on, bloke, you don’t need to mope around the hotel all night. Besides, it’s kind of interesting to see this business from your girl’s point of view,” Sav laughed.

“Yeah, well, I’m not likely to pull Karla up onstage with me!” Liz answered.

“True,” Sav said thoughtfully. “Come on, mate! You’ve got plenty of time to bum around when we’re not in town!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll go!” he said with a smile at Liz.

Liz ran through a quick soundcheck while Joe and Sav sat at the side of the stage talking. Afterwards they went below the stage for a quick dinner before showtime. As the show began, Liz ran out on stage to the screams of her fans. The band ripped through her entire set before Liz came off stage. For the encore, she walked out onstage and grabbed her mic. She said, “Ladies and gentlemen, a couple of very good friends of mine are hiding back stage. If you make enough noise, you might be able to get them out here. Let’s see if we can. Joe Elliott and Rick Savage of Def Leppard, get your asses out here!”

The crowd roared as Liz edged them on. “Come on, people! They won’t come out unless you really give me some noise!” The volume of the audience increased to an almost unbearable level. At the side of the stage, Joe and Sav popped their heads around the corner peering out over the audience. A few at a time, fans spotted them and screamed even louder. Finally, Sav kicked Joe in the rear end, forcing him out on stage. Sav followed behind at a leisurely pace, taking Michael’s guitar and putting it on his shoulder. Joe had brought a mic out with him and he screamed, “How are you, Minneapolis?”

The crowd roared in approval as the band tore into ‘Photograph’. Joe and Liz swapped lyrics back and forth as Sav and the rest of the band romped around the stage. As the song came to it’s end, Liz stood for a minute trying to think which song she wanted to do next. She pulled an old one out of her bag of tricks and signaled the rest of the band. Sav and Joe looked about for a moment til they recognized the beginning of ‘Too Late for Love’. They smiled at each other before going into the song. Liz sang the first verse, then let Joe take over for the rest of the song with her singing backing vocals.

As they came offstage, Joe threw his arm around Liz and gave her a quick kiss. Then he said, “You know, that was really just what I needed! Thanks!”

“You’re welcome,” she said with a smile.

Sav came over and grabbed Liz away from Joe with a laugh. He told her, “You know, you are really great out there.”

“Why thank you, sir!” she laughed.

They showered quickly and headed for the hotel after signing a few autographs outside the show. Liz was tired, so she headed for their room while Sav and Joe went into the bar so they could talk. Hours later, Sav made it to the room, waking Liz long enough for a quick hug and kiss before they both drifted back to sleep.

The next morning, they met Joe for breakfast before Liz and Sav headed back out on the road. Time flew by as they toured and Christmas came quickly. It was one of Liz’s few days off. After a show Christmas eve, they went back to their hotel and spent the rest of a quiet evening together. When she woke the next morning, Sav wasn’t in bed. She got a quick shower and got dressed before he returned.

“Merry Christmas, baby,” he whispered into her ear. “I’d hoped you would still be in bed when I got back.”

“Nah, can’t sleep the day away,” she laughed.

“Well, I really wasn’t planning on getting much sleep,” he said with a wicked grin. “But first, presents!” He let go of her and started digging through his suitcase. He pulled out a small package and handed to her, just as she retrieved her gift for him from the bottom of her case. Both of them opened their gifts like children. Liz finished first and Sav paused to watch her reaction. She parted the tissue and found a silver picture frame worked with engraved wolves around the border. Inside it was a photo that Liz recognized as being one Tony had taken a year ago. She pulled the frame out and turned it over. On the back, it had been engraved to read, “Now and always, Faithfully yours.” She laughed and then smiled at him. “It’s beautiful. Now finish opening yours.”

He tore the rest of the paper off and opened the box. Laying in the box was a pewter frame embossed with music notes and a picture from the same day as the one he’d given her. Their eyes met and they both busted out laughing. She said, “Well, turn it over!”

On the back, it read, “Faithfully yours forever.” He laughed again and said, “I guess great minds think alike!”

“So it would seem,” she smiled. He pulled her down to the bed, kissing her until she felt like their souls met. His hands wandered over her slim body, setting her on fire. They undressed each other quickly, and came together on the bed with a burning intensity. He entered her roughly, not even able to slow himself for a moment. Soon, they were both on the edge of an orgasm. He whispered passionately, “Cum for me, baby!”

That pushed Liz over the edge and she moan in ecstasy as she climaxed. As she came back to herself, she said softly, “Your turn, baby. Do it for me now.” He thrust into her body again and shuddered with his own orgasm. As he pulled her into his arms, he whispered, “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?”

“Yeah,” she answered, “but I love to here it every time!” They laid in bed together all day, interrupted only by quick phone calls to each of their families to wish them a merry Christmas.

Liz did several more dates between Christmas and New Year’s. New Year’s Eve they spent quietly in a hotel, making love as the new year rang in.

On the fourth of January, he got a call from an ecstatic Phil, telling him Jacki had just given birth to a baby boy they’d named Rory James. Sav decided to fly out to see him and give Jacki his congratulations in person.

In February, Liz finished her tour and got ready to head back to the studio. Sav met her in Canton, where she had to stop by her apartment before they flew out later that day for New York. As she drove, Sav laughed as he recognized the neighborhood. He asked, “You still live in that same apartment?”

“Yeah, what’s so funny about that?” she said defensively.

“Your royalty rate must suck if you can’t get anything better!” he said, still laughing.

“For your information, sir, I could afford a hell of a lot better place now!” she said in a snooty tone. “I just figured since I’m never there, why waste the money? I haven’t been here in five months!”

“Bet your plants aren’t doing so well, huh?” he laughed.

“Actually, I gave them to one of my neighbors.” She thought for a moment before saying anything else. “I probably should try to get a place in New York, but this is home.”

“Then don’t give it up til you find someplace else that feels like home,” he said seriously. “In this business, home is hard to find.”

“I’ve noticed,” she said as she pulled into the driveway.

When they got into the apartment, Sav grabbed Liz by the waist and kissed her. She pushed him away and said, “Come on, baby, we’re in a hurry!”

“What did we come here for anyway?” he asked curiously.

“The songs I had written before I left. I didn’t bring these on tour with me cuz I was afraid I’d lose them or they’d get stolen.”

“Probably a good idea. Sometimes people on tour get a little sticky fingered when it comes to a celebrity’s possessions.” Sav helped her gather her tapes and papers, putting them quickly into a small suitcase. She stuffed her keyboard into it’s case and said, “Okay, all done. Ready to go?”

“What time’s the flight out?” he asked, putting his arms around her again.

“4:00, why?”

“It’s only 2:00 now. Think you might have a couple of minutes to help a guy out of a bit of a problem?” he said with a wicked smile.

“I might have a minute. What’s your problem?” she laughed.

“I haven’t got to see my girl in nearly two months and my hormones are in a bit out of control,” he whispered hotly into her ear. His hands ran down her back and he grabbed her butt gently. “I need some help!”

“Hmm, let’s see. How about a cold shower?” she laughed.

“No way!” he said, kissing down her neck. “Sounds rather unpleasant.”

“Okay, guess maybe there’s something else I can do,” she said as her hands ran down his chest. She took hold of the waist of his jeans and started to undo them. She gave a giggle as his hard member popped out of his jeans. “Looks like somebody’s missed me!”

“Mmm, oh yes,” he murmured as she took him into her mouth. He fell against the door frame and put both hands above his head to clutch it as she worked up and down the length of him. He groaned as her hand slipped around him and grabbed his ass, controlling the motion of his hips. She pulled him deep into her throat and heard him moan as he reached his climax. She waited until he was completely spent before pulling away from him. She heard him whisper in a throaty voice, “Thank you, baby.”

“My pleasure,” she said, throwing her arms around him for a quick hug. She excused herself to go to the bathroom while Sav rearranged his clothing. When she walked back into the room, she gave him a quick kiss and said, “Now we really have to be going!”

“Okay, okay, let’s go,” he said as she walked out the door. Grabbing her hand, he stopped her and asked, “When do I get to repay your, um, kindness of a few minutes ago?”

“We’ll talk about that when we get settled in in New York,” she laughed. “Come on! I don’t want to miss our flight!”

As it turned out, the record company had rented Liz an apartment in New York for the duration of her recording sessions. It was only two blocks from the studio, so Liz and Sav bundled themselves against the chill of the February snows and walked to there. Sav carried her keyboard while Liz carried the case holding her songs and tapes.

Once they got settled in the studio, Liz set to work. Sav helped wherever she needed him, working through songs and filling in for musicians that just didn’t work out. They’d been in recording for nearly two months when Joe called. He was bringing Steve back from the hospital and had decided to stop in New York on his way back, bringing Steve with him. Sav gave them the name of the studio and told them Liz would be happy to see them both.

Joe and Steve flew in the next day. Steve looked better physically than he had since Liz had met him, but there was something missing in his smile. He gave Liz a quick hug and headed for a stool behind the mixing table. Joe gave her a hug and asked, “How’s it going?”

“Well, okay, I guess,” she sighed. “But something just isn’t right with this song. It’s one of my favorites, so I’d really like to get it just perfect.”

“What’s it called?” Joe asked.

“’Dreams’,” she answered. “Here, listen to it.” She hit a switch on the control panel and music poured out the speakers. Joe listened intently, trying to hear what was missing. Sav and Liz sat shaking their heads in frustration as the song concluded. Suddenly, from the stool where he’d sat silently since entering the room, Steve spoke up, “The guitar player sucks. The way it’s written has real possibilities, but the guy has no clue how to play it.”

Considering it was the most he’d heard Steve speak in three months, Joe was stunned. Liz crossed the room and put a hand on Steve’s shoulder. She asked, “You think so? Know anyone here who could do it better?”

“I could do better than that in my sleep!” Steve stood up and smiled down at her. “Want a little help, kiddo?”

“I’d be honored,” she said with a smile.

Steve walked into the recording booth and said, “Let me hear it again.” Joe and Sav stared at each other in astonishment, hoping this would mean Steve was ready to get back to work when they got home. Steve picked up a guitar and ran his fingers over the strings, warming up. Liz gave him a moment to limber up his fingers before hitting the switch. She turned off the original guitar part on the second run through, letting Steve get a feel for what the song could be. A ballad, her original guitar player had totally underplayed the lead guitar part because he figured ballads didn’t need much in the way of guitar. Steve was ready after two listens and told her to record it the next time through. The guitar screamed into the amplifier and through the speakers as the song reached the guitar solo. The pain was almost palpable as it tore from Steve’s soul and into the guitar.

As Steve finished the song, tears flowed from Liz’s eyes. She looked at Joe and Sav and saw them each nodding to themselves. All three of them could tell that it would never get any better than that first take. Liz hit the button to talk into the recording booth, “Steve, that was wonderful.”

“Thanks, kiddo,” he whispered. He put the guitar back in its stand and walked back into the room where Liz and the others sat. She looked up at him and asked, “Steve, are you planning on touring with me? Nobody else is ever going to be able to play that solo like you just did!”

Joe smiled at her and said, “Sorry, little one. He’s coming back to work with us.” He gave his friend a smile and a pat on the shoulder. Steve looked down at the floor, then gave Joe a weak smile. Joe looked over at Sav and asked, “Are you coming with us?”

“Yeah, I guess I’d better,” Sav answered reluctantly. He turned to Liz and said, “Think you can handle this on your own?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Scottie’s flying in tonight to help out, since we were having so many problems with guitar players.” She gave a laugh and said, “Think you could stick around til tomorrow? Scottie idolizes you, Steve.”

“Poor bloke,” Steve mumbled.

“We aren’t flying out til tomorrow anyway,” Joe answered.

“Good. That’ll make Scottie’s day!” Her stomach growled and Sav laughed, “I think that means it’s time for dinner.”

Liz took the three men out for dinner before heading back to the studio. Scottie was sitting behind the mixing table, listening to ‘Dreams’ as they walked in. Liz was first in the door and Scottie looked up at her, saying, “Who the hell did the solo on this? It’s fucking fantastic!” Then he saw Steve walk in behind Joe and Sav. “Jesus, I thought that sounded like your playing!”

“Thanks, mate,” Steve mumbled.

“Well, Scottie, I’m sure you know who this is. Steve, this is my lead guitarist in my touring band, Scottie.” She stood back so that Scottie could shake Steve’s hand.

“God damn, man, you’re the best I’ve ever heard,” Scottie gushed.

“Nah, Jimmy Page blows me away,” Steve said with genuine humility.

“I used to believe that, but this solo,” he said, tapping the mixing table, “is the best thing I’ve ever heard come out of a guitar! It‘s gonna be hard as hell to make it sound that good on tour.”

Joe piped up, “Guess you better get to practicing it, mate!”

Scottie sat next to Steve and they started talking in low voices. Liz walked over to the mixing table and sat down glumly, messing with controls absently. Sav came over and put his arms around her, knowing what was going through her mind. She looked up and said, “Thanks for all your help on this album. It’s ten times better than it would have been if I’d had to do it alone.”

“How much more do you have left to do?” he asked quietly.

“Well, we’ve got eight tracks finished. Oh, wait, I’d say ’Dreams’ is finished, too, now,” she said with a smile. “We’ve kinda flown through this material. We probably have about two or three songs left to finish up.”

“Listen, when you send these off to get finished up, why don’t you fly over to my place? Maybe we could spend a little time together before you have to go back out on the road.” he gave her a quick kiss as he waited for her answer.

“Sure! I’d love to,” she said, kissing him back. Joe walked over and said, “Hey, if you run into any more problems, be sure to let us know!”

“Thanks, Joe. I’ll remember that,” she said with a smile.

Scottie and Steve walked into the recording booth and picked up guitars, strapping them on as they talked. Scottie tapped on the glass and Liz turned on the studio mic. Scottie asked, “Hey, can you play back ‘Dreams’ for us?”

“Sure thing,” she answered and flipped the switch. ‘Dreams’ poured out of the speakers as Steve talked Scottie through the solo. Liz, Sav and Joe sat in silence and watched the two of them playing. Liz turned to the two of them and said, “Looks like that stay in the hospital did Steve some good.”

“Yeah, well, I guess we’ll see when we get him home,” Sav said quietly.

The two guitarist worked late into the night, going over the ‘Dreams’ solo as well as other songs Liz had partially recorded. By the time they had finished, it was late that night.

The next morning, Liz and Scottie took Sav, Joe and Steve to the airport. She gave Joe and Steve a quick hug each before turning to Sav. “I’m gonna miss you baby!” she whispered.

“I’ll miss you too, Lizzie,” he said as he pulled her into his arms. He whispered into her hair, “I love you!”

“I love you, too, Sav,” she said. “But I think it’s time for you to go now. Steve and Joe are waiting. I’ll see you soon.”

Sav turned and walked over to Joe and Steve. The three of them turned and waved to her before boarding the plane. Scottie put a friendly arm around Liz, letting her tears flow. She looked up at him and said, “You know, there are times when I really think about just quitting. Then I wouldn’t have to let him walk away.”

“Then you come to your senses, right?” He smiled down at her. “Come on, Liz, you know this is what you were meant to be doing. You’re too good at it to do anything else.”

“Thanks, Scottie. Let’s head home,” she said, wiping her tears away. “The sooner I get this album done, the sooner I’ll get to see him again.”

Getting the album done was easier said than done. As soon as Sav left, Liz’s producer turned into a tyrant. He assumed that, because Liz was so young, she had no clue what she should be doing in a studio. After a month and a half of complaining to the record company, he was fired. The next producer they brought in was himself totally clueless at how to handle Liz. She finally called Sav in tears one night. Sav could hear the distress in her voice as she spoke. She said, “He hasn’t got the faintest idea of what to do in a studio. At least not for a hard rock album. He keeps watering everything down to the point that it’s sickening. Luckily, I keep the original tapes at home, cuz when he got a hold of ‘Dreams’ he ruined Steve’s solo.”

“How long has he been there?” Sav asked.

“Oh, close to two months,” she answered.

“You should have been finished with that album a long time ago!” Sav said in frustration. “I can’t believe they can’t find one producer who has a handle on what to do with you!”

“If I don’t get out of here, I’m gonna go bonkers!” Liz said angrily. “Hope you don’t mind, but I hopping the next flight out.”

“Where to?” he asked, alarmed.

“Wherever my fiance is!” she said emphatically.

“Hmm, think he’ll want to see you?” he asked, his voice suddenly quiet.

“I hope so,” she said doubtfully. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know. That guy’s a wild one. Are you sure he’s not hiding somebody on the side?” he asked, trying to stifle a laugh.

“Well, if he wants to keep all his body parts, he better be pining away for me right now!” she growled. Sav gave a nervous laugh and said, “Call me with your flight information and I’ll pick you up.”

“I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to interrupt you and your new girl. I’ll get a rental car and maybe I should call Joe to see if I can stay at his place.” She gave an evil laugh and said, “You know what they say about three being a crowd in a relationship. Goodbye, Sav,” she said and hung up the phone. Twenty seconds later, it rang back. Knowing it was Sav, she let it ring without answering it. After about twenty rings, he gave up. She picked up the phone and made her travel arrangements, then called Guy and told him to get a new producer lined up for two weeks from that day. Then she called a cab and headed to the airport.

When she got to the Dublin Airport, it was late at night. She got a rental car and headed to a nearby hotel for the night. She planned to call Sav in the morning and crawled into bed. The next morning, she called his house, only to get the answering machine. Puzzled, she showered and changed, then packed her bags to head for Sav’s house. As she headed for the exit, she looked around the lobby and saw Sav sleeping on one of the couches. She walked over to where he slept and gave him a feather-light kiss, waking him with a jerk.

“Oh, thank God it’s you!” he exclaimed.

“How the hell did you find me?” she asked, dying of curiosity.

“Well, when you wouldn’t answer the phone, I called the airport to find out what flight you booked. I knew you well enough to know you wouldn’t want to wait around once you made a decision, so I checked for all the flights leaving within four hours of when you got off the phone. The girl on the phone was most cooperative, helping me to find out which flight you were on. Unfortunately, I was running late and your flight came in early, so I missed you. I called Joe to see if you’d called him, but he said no. So I figured you’d head to the nearest hotel and what did I find? Ms. Beth Renee checked in here. So I waited for you to come down.” He laughed and said, “Maybe I should have been a detective instead of a guitarist?”

“The money ain’t as good. You know, I can’t believe you remembered that alias!” she laughed in surprise.

“How could I forget? You told me you liked to use it because it was really part of your name, Miss Elizabeth Renee Diamond.” Still chuckling, he sat up and grabbed her.

“You think you’re so smart, don’t cha?”

“Yes ma’am,” he said with a smug grin.

“Fine,” she said, picking back up a case that had fallen beside her. She pushed it roughly at Sav and said, “If you’re so smart, tell me what to do with these!”

“Ugh, are these the tapes that you’ve been working on? Feels like there’s a ton of them,” he grimaced.

“Well, part of them are the crap I’ve been working on, the rest are the tapes as they were when you came back here.” She gave a laugh. “First time being sentimental has ever paid off. I couldn’t bare to let someone erase what you’d helped me with, so I kept a copy for myself. Saved my ass when Mr. Lightrock 107 showed up as my producer!”

"Well, if we show up before the rest of the band gets there, maybe we can finish this up at Joe's place. We're producing a good bit of this album ourselves, with Mike Shipley coming in to help." Sav set the case down and pulled her up with him as he stood up. "Don't suppose I could interest you in a quick stop by my place?"

“I’m sorry, but not yet, much as I’d love to. I’ve got to find out if there’s anything here left to work with before I can relax enough to even think about that!”

“Well, then let’s find out, because I’m dying to get you alone again,” he said with a wicked grin.

Once they got in the car, Liz asked, “So, how are things going on your album?”

“Ugh, don’t ask! Seems like every step forward we take puts us two steps further back. Everybody is so bloody worried about Steve, we don’t seem to get anything else done but trying to help him. He started drinking again the night after we got him back here!” He shook his head in frustration. “The man’s like a bloody brother to me, but every time I see him pick up a bottle, I just want to choke him!”

“That’s natural. You care about him and don’t want to see him hurt himself.” She paused, then asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Well, we’ve talked about it and if things don’t start getting any better in the next couple of months, we’re going to ask him to go on a leave of absence for a few months. Maybe that’ll help him get better.” He stared at the road and said, “If not, only God knows what’ll happen next.”

They drove on in silence until they reached Joe’s place. Sav opened the door for Liz as she was gathering up her case. She looked up in surprise and said, “What brought on this sudden gentlemanly act?”

“Well,” he said sheepishly, “I’m still trying to make up for teasing you about other women last night.”

“Oh, well, you’ve got a ways to go on that one!” she said with a laugh.

“Oh,” he said with a weak smile. “Think you’ll ever forgive me?”

“I’m sure,” she said. Sav took her case from her and helped her out of the car. She gave him a quick kiss before walking up to the door and knocking. Karla answered it and looked at Liz in dismay. In a saccharine sweet voice, she said, “Why hello, I wasn’t expecting you!”

“Hi Karla,” Liz said in a voice just as falsely sweet. “Sav brought me over to check out how they’re sessions were going and to look over some problems I’m having with my album.”

“Oh, well, come in,” Karla said, finally stepping aside to allow Liz and Sav in the door. Sav looked at Karla and asked, “Where’s Joe?”

“He’s in the studio with Phil and Rick. They’re waiting on you and Steve,” Karla answered.

Liz and Sav walked into the studio and she said, more cheerfully than she felt after Karla’s icy greeting, “Hi guys! How’s it going?”

Joe jumped up and gave Liz a quick hug, saying, “Great, now that you’re here. You always manage to make a day a bit brighter!”

Phil and Rick both spoke up at the same time, “Hi Lizard!”

She laughed and said, “You guys always do that!”

Joe looked at Sav curiously and said, “So what’d you bring us this time?”

“Oh, this is Liz’s. She’s got some major studio problems and wondered if we could help her out,” Sav said as he set the case down and pulled out one of her tapes. The tape was marked ’Dreams’ and Sav put it straight on the tape player. They sat and listened to it, everybody shaking their heads. Joe looked up at Liz, stunned. “What the hell did you do to it?”

“Sorry, luckily I can’t take the blame for that piece of shit. That’s the latest recording with the total idiot of a producer the record company hired.” She turned to Sav and said, “Get out the other tape marked ’Dreams’, please?”

He retrieved the second ’Dreams’ tape and put it on the player. As the song played, Joe looked up at her and said, “This is the song I remember!”

Phil and Rick both sat astonished as the song finished. “My God,” said Phil, “That sounded like Steve! Only better than he’s sounded in years!”

Liz looked at Sav and Joe and laughed. “Who wants to tell him?”

Sav went over and put an arm around Phil, saying, “It is Steve. The day Joe brought him out of the hospital, they stopped in New York where Liz and I were in the studio. He recorded that damn thing in one take.”

“Why the hell did the new producer butcher it so bad?” Rick asked.

“He didn’t like the idea that a woman could do stuff like that. He kept telling me, ’We need to tone that down some. Nobody’s gonna buy a chick singing like that.’”

“I’ll be honest,” Joe said. “There’s nothing we can do for ‘Dreams’.”

“Really?” Liz asked disappointed.

“Yeah, because it’s perfect the way it is,” Joe said with a laugh.

Sav looked at the others and said, “Think we might have time to take on a little production work?”

Phil shook his head and looked at Liz sadly. “We really need to get our own shit done.”

“Well,” Joe said quickly, “we might be able to something in our spare time. It’s not like we’re getting a lot accomplished right now anyway.”

“I’ve got the original tapes from eight songs and four of the others could probably be salvaged if we gave them a harder edge,” Liz said hopefully.

“Shit! You’ve only been off the road how long?” Rick asked in amazement.

“Six months. I got lucky, cuz I had a bunch of stuff written before I even started touring,” she said, before Rick could say anything else about her speed in the studio. “Plus, the first two months in the studio, I had someone there who knew what to do with me.” This last she said with a broad smile at Sav.

“In and out of the studio, I assume,” Phil chuckled.

“You could say that,” Sav said, a wicked grin spreading across his beautiful features. Liz looked at him, still amazed that any man could look that good. Somehow, it just didn’t seem fair. Especially not to her senses, which were totally overwhelmed just by looking at him. He turned to her and asked, “How do you have the original tapes marked?”

“The title is in red on the originals,” she said after a moment. “The rest are in black.”

He pulled out another of the first tapes she’d done and the guys listened to it intently. Phil looked up and said, “That one doesn’t need much. Play it back again for me once I get my guitar.”

And that was how they passed most of the afternoon. Three songs from her original eight had just needed a bit a polishing before everyone in the room agreed they were as good as they could get. Steve still hadn’t shown up when they decided to break for dinner, so they packed into the car and headed out to the local pub to grab a bite. As soon as they walked in, Liz spotted him. Steve sat at a corner table, staring off at nothing and obviously quite drunk. Tears welled in Liz’s eyes as she saw the pained expression on his band mates faces. She could tell they were torn between confronting him and just letting him be alone. Liz walked over to his table and sat next to him. At first, he didn’t recognize her and said, “Sorry, lady, I’m not looking for any company right now. Maybe later...” Then it dawned on him who she was. “I’m sorry, kiddo. I didn’t, well, my mistake.”

Looking at him, she could see that alcohol wasn’t his only problem. There was a smear of white powder on his upper lip, which Liz knew had to be cocaine. She lifted a gentle hand to his face and wiped the powder away before his band mates could get settled down at the table. It was a disturbing discovery for her and she wondered if Sav and the others knew about it.

Sav slipped into the chair next to Liz and put an arm around her. “So, you been here all day, mate?” he asked Steve.

“Yeah, just killing some time before I’m supposed to get to Joe’s,” Steve replied.

Liz could see the anger building on Rick’s face, but before he could yell at Steve, Liz said gently, “Steve, you were supposed to be there five hours ago.”

“Bloody hell,” he said quickly, “I must’ve lost track of the time.”

“Fucking bottle’ll do that to you,” Phil muttered.

Steve finished his drink and started looking for the waiter for another, completely ignoring what Phil had said. The waiter arrived and Liz told Sav to order for her, then she moved over to Steve. She could only think of one thing that would keep him from ordering another drink, not being able to talk. So she wrapped her fingers in the hair at the back of his neck just as he was about to order. He looked at her, puzzled for a moment and started to turn away. She pulled his face towards hers and planted a kiss right on his lips. Sav ordered for her, then turned to stare at her. Everyone else took turns pulling their eyes away from her and Steve and put in their own orders. His mouth tasted of the alcohol he’d consumed all day as she looked out of the corner of her eye, watching for the waiter to leave. Joe laughed as he saw what she was doing. Finally, as the waiter walked away, Liz let go of Steve only to get yanked back against Sav. Into her ear, Sav hissed, “What the hell was that for?”

“It was the only way I could stop him from ordering another drink,” she whispered. She looked over at Steve and said, “Now, am I going to have to do that for the rest of the time we’re here to keep you from drinking anymore tonight? Cuz for this one night, you‘ve had enough.”

He still sat, stunned at what she’d done, then realized what she’d asked him. “No ma’am,” he said in a small, almost childlike voice.

“Geez, if I start drinking again, can I get one of those to stop me?” Phil joked.

“You’re too eager, Phillip!” Liz laughed.

Sav pulled her close and whispered into her ear, “Nice try, but he’ll be right back at it in a bit.”

She slumped against her lover’s body and whispered in return, “I know, but at that second I just couldn’t stand to watch him take another drink.” She turned and kissed Sav just as the waiter returned with their food. She saw Steve begin to motion to the waiter, but pounced on him before he got the order out. She turned to the waiter and said, “Cancel that!” then grabbed Steve, kissing him again. The only thing Liz noticed was a bitter taste of alcohol as she kissed him. As soon as the waiter was gone, Sav grabbed Liz and pulled her back into her seat. She looked at Steve and said, “I meant it!”

“Damn, I shoulda waited to quit drinking,” Phil said, shaking his head.

“Yeah, it’d almost be worth being an alcoholic to get a kiss like that,” Joe commiserated. Sav shot them a nasty look that shut Rick up before he could speak.

They finished their meal quietly. When the waiter returned to check on them, Steve leaned over to Joe and asked, “Could you order me a water? I think Sav might get ticked if she kisses me again.”

Everybody laughed as Joe ordered the water for Steve. Liz kissed Sav as the waiter returned with Steve’s water. Steve downed the water in thirsty gulps as everyone else finished their food. Then Phil grabbed the waiter and handed him a credit card to pay for the bill before Liz could get hers out of her purse. He gave a laugh and said, “My treat! We’re celebrating the return of the Lizard!”

They got Steve on his feet and everybody headed for the cars. Phil took Steve’s keys and he and Rick rode with Steve, while Joe rode with Sav and Liz. Joe leaned forward from the back seat and said, “Thanks for giving it a try to get him to stop tonight. Maybe he at least won’t pass out before we’re done for the night.”

“I just couldn’t take it tonight. Not after listening to ‘Dreams’ and seeing the talent he’s throwing away,” Liz said sadly.

The silence in the car was deafening as they returned to Joe’s place. As they walked in, Liz looked at Sav and said, “Maybe you guys should work on your own stuff for the rest of the night now that Steve’s here.”

“We’ll see,” he said noncommittally.

When they made it into the studio, Steve was sitting at the mixing board. He’d already loaded another of Liz’s tape into the machine and was listening to it intently. He looked up at Liz and said, “You can do better than this, kiddo.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m here. The idiot they hired as a producer totally sucks for a female hard rock performer. He thinks chicks just can’t do it.”

“Didn’t he listen to your last album?” Rick asked.

“No, he said that would be counter-productive and that I need to move forward, not repeat the same album again,” Liz said bitterly.

“This song isn’t too bad, for someone else,” Steve said absently. “It just isn’t you.”

“But what do you think is missing?” she asked.

“Well,” Phil started, “You may need to completely re-record the vocals. Plus, personally, I think the rhythm stuff is just all wrong. Sounds like a fucking dance song, luv.”

“The guitar stuff is just a little weak,” Steve added. “A riff or two here and there and it would be okay.”

Before Liz could protest that they should be getting to their own songs, Steve and Sav were in the recording booth playing with the song. Phil sat next to Steve, making suggestions. Joe and Rick sat at the mixing table, adjusting volume knobs. Using her original vocal as a guide track, first Joe shut down the bass and let Sav go at it, playing around until he found a rhythm he liked. Steve handed Phil the guitar, letting him try a few ideas. Within two hours, the track was already sounding better. Liz realized that this was a distraction for them that they needed because of the frustration of their own album. When Sav finished reworking the bass part, he came out and sat next to Liz, putting an arm around her. She leaned in close and whispered, “Are you sure you guys are having problems here, or did you just get lazy, cuz you seem to be working pretty well right now.”

“Trust me, if this song was going to have the name Def Leppard on it, we’d still be in the barest writing stages of it.”

“Hey, isn’t Mutt Lange supposed to be here?” she asked. Robert John “Mutt” Lange was legendary in the world of the studio as one of the best producers around.

“He’s due back in tomorrow. He’s the executive producer on this one, so he won’t be here long, though. Careful, cuz he’ll work your ass into the ground if he hears these tapes,” Sav laughed. Phil finished up with the guitar and Liz glanced up to see Rick heading for his drum kit. He beefed up the original drum beats and added a few here and there. By that time, it was nearly midnight and the boys were ready to call it a night. They decided to have Liz rerecord the vocals in the morning. Liz looked around at them all and said, “Should I just call Guy and tell him I’m finishing the record here?”

Joe looked at his friends, who were all nodding their agreement, and said, “Phone’s in the library, if you need the privacy.”

She made a quick call to Guy’s office, letting him know that Def Leppard’s members were going to do her producing from here on out and that they had four finished tracks already, with another pretty close to being done. Before Sav and Liz took off, Sav made arrangement for Joe to leave a back door open so they wouldn’t have to disturb him in the morning.

The next morning, they made it to the studio by nine. Sav stuck her straight into the recording booth to redo the vocals on the song they’d worked on the night before. After about two hours, Joe wandered in, giving Liz tips on how to make her voice sound a bit better in a couple of spots. Then, Mutt walked in.

“Aren’t we working on a Def Leppard album?” he asked.

“Well, can’t let a damsel in distress go unaided,” Joe said with a chuckle. “The people in New York totally butchered her stuff.”

“Let’s hear it,” Mutt said with a sigh.

Over the next five weeks, they fell into a routine in the studio. They worked on Liz’s stuff during the day before all the band arrived. About three, they switched over to Def Leppard music. But while they continued to work through Liz’s album, they seemed to get nowhere on their own. Steve was getting worse, sometime incapable of even playing a simple solo. As Phil took over more and more of the guitar parts, Steve started to feel useless and so he drank even more. A lot of times, he could barely hold the guitar. The band knew they were being rushed into making a decision they were all reluctant to make.

At the end of August, Guy called Liz when the MTV video award nominees were announced. The video she had done with Sav was up for best female video and video of the year. She couldn’t believe it. She asked Sav, “So, can I bribe you into going with me?”

“Hmm, let’s see, what kind of bribe are you offering?” he asked with a laugh.

“What’ll it take?”

“I’ll do it on credit, but I’ll collect later,” he said with a wicked laugh. “When is it?”

“The beginning of next month,” she answered.

He sighed and said, “Maybe it’ll do me some good to get out of here. How many tracks do you have left to do?”

“I’m on my last one,” she said, staring at the floor.

“Oh.”

“Guess I’ll have to head back and get this album on the go,” she said reluctantly.

“Yeah, things are going to get quiet around here when you go,” he said. “Since Mutt left and Shipley came to take his place, things are already pretty quiet.”

They walked into the studio hand in hand, knowing her album was probably going to be finished that day. And they were proven right four hours later, when all five Lepps, Mike Shipley their producer and Liz herself were satisfied with the last track.

With the album done, Liz couldn’t come up with any more excuses to stay in Ireland. Or at least none that mattered to Guy and the record company. Three days later, she was on a plane bound for the States. She dropped a set of copies of the tapes at her place for safe keeping, then flew to New York. The record executives loved every track, but decided to only put eleven of the thirteen tracks on the new record. The album was going to be ready for release in a few months, because of the much need production time. They wanted to shoot for February, but said it might need to be pushed back by a month.

Sav showed up the day before the awards ceremony, looking very tired. Liz put a soft hand up to his face and asked, “Is something going on I should know about? You look worn out.”

“Well, we had to give Steve that leave of absence I mentioned. He just couldn’t work,” Sav answered, his blue eyes tearing up. “That was one of the hardest things we’ve had to do, next to firing Pete.”

“Well, you have to do what you have to do,” Liz said quietly.

“But we all feel so damned guilty about it, because it’s almost a relief not to have to worry whether Steve’s gonna show up or not. Or what kind of shape he’ll be in when he does get there.”

“Baby, it’s what’s best for you all. Including Steve,” she whispered.

“Well, let’s head out to the hotel.”

At the awards ceremony, Liz and Sav sat towards the front of the auditorium. When they got to her first award category, she held her breath as the nominees were read.

“The nominees are: Sinead O’Connor for ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, Paula Abdul for ‘Opposites Attract’, Madonna for ‘Vogue’, Liz Diamond for ‘Don’t Take It Away’ and Alannah Myles for ‘Black Velvet’.” The presenter paused for effect, then announced, “And the winner is...Liz Diamond for ‘Don’t Take It Away’.”

Shocked, because she’d figured she’d probably lose to the bald headed Irish singer, Liz stood up and made her way slowly to the podium. “Thank you! Boy, I wasn’t expecting this! Well, everyone who was involved in this video’s production gets a great big THANK YOU! Also, the members of Def Leppard, thanks for all your help during that shoot. Careful Phil or I’ll sick Victoria on you again. And most of all, thanks Sav, for being there for me and for being in the video with me. I love you! Thanks again!”

She made her way back stage and handed the unmarked moon man to a girl standing by the stairs. During the commercial break, she made her way back to Sav’s side. He looked up at her and said, “I love you, too, baby.” He took her hand just as the lights came back up.

Later in the show, at it’s end, the presentation of Video of the Year came up. They announced the nominees, which included Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, Areosmith’s ‘Janie’s Got a Gun’, Don Henley’s ‘End of the Innocence’, Madonna’s ‘Vogue’ and Liz’s video ‘Don’t Take It Away’. The presenter waited for the applause to end before announcing, “And the winner is...Liz Diamond for ‘Don’t Take It Away’.”

She got up to the mic again and said, “Wow, this was another surprise! I pretty much said it all last time, cuz I didn’t expect to make it back up here. Thanks again!” And she walked off stage. As the crowd out front began to disperse, Liz sat through an interview with the MTV news crew before wandering off to find Sav. She smiled up at him and asked, “So, what do you want to do now?”

“Hmm, I’ve got to fly back tomorrow, so why don’t we skip the parties and head for the hotel?” he asked with an ornery smile.

“Okay, sounds good to me!”

They hurried to the hotel and sneaked in past a few fans waiting in the lobby. As soon as they hit the room, Sav grabbed her and said, “I’ve missed you!”

“Really? Sure you didn’t have someone else there to take my place while I was gone?” she asked, suddenly serious.

“Hey, I distinctly remember threats to my manhood if I even thought about someone else. I take that rather seriously.”

“This thing here?” she asked, grabbing him by his crotch. “Were you worried about little ole me?”

“Hell, yes!” he said as he bent to kiss her. She could feel his body already responding to her touch and she massaged him through his jeans. Sliding her jacket off her shoulders, he untied the strings of her now trademark halter and let it fall to the ground, leaving her bare to the waist. Cupping a breast in one hand, his mouth trailed from her ear and down to her neck. Her hand wandered over his shoulders and down his back, fingers digging into the flesh beneath his shirt. His lips still nibbled at her throat as his hands moved lower to the button of her jeans. In a moment, he had her standing naked in front of him while he was still fully dressed. Sav lifted her gently as they kissed and lay her down on the bed. They lay there kissing as his hands familiarized themselves with her body once more. Anxious to feel his skin against hers, she fumbled with the buttons of his shirt before opening it completely. He stood up and shrugged out of his shirt slowly, his hungry eyes never leaving hers. He finished undressing and then rejoined her on the bed. She pushed him over onto his back and nuzzled at his neck, bringing a growl from low in his throat. Moving lower, she gave each nipple loving attention before going down to his straining manhood. She took him gently into her mouth and worked carefully along the length of him, bringing him to the edge of orgasm. Then she pulled away and moved back up his body.

“You truly are a cruel little bitch, aren’t you?” he growled.

“What? I’m not about to give up on my chance to have all of you!” she said playfully, her lips nibbling at the flesh of his shoulder. He pushed her over onto her back and said, “Let’s see how you like it!”

She tangled her fingers through his long blond curls as he lowered his head to her breast. His teeth teased at her nipple as one hand slid lower. Her thighs parted as his fingers searched for and found her clit. He massaged it gently felling her body building quickly to it’s climax. His fingers moved lower and inside her as his mouth moved down to capture her clit. Because she was already so aroused, it took only half a minute of his attentions to bring her to a screaming orgasm. She bit down to keep from waking the neighbors as Sav peered up at her curiously. “That’s hardly fair,” he said, “you left me hanging!”

Catching her breath, she chuckled and grabbed him by the hair at the nape of his neck. Then pulling him up to lay flat on his back, she whispered, “Let’s see what we can do about that, shall we?”

With a few quick movements, she sat astride him. He could feel her moving onto him with a tantalizingly slow motion, but he was having none of that. He grabbed her hips and buried himself in her with one rough thrust. She felt her world spin for a second as he rolled them over and took control of the situation. He brought his lips to hers as he thrust forcefully into her body again and again. She could taste herself on his lips as his tongue explored the recesses of her mouth. Her hands wound their way into the glorious mane of his hair and she held his lips to hers as they both reached their climax. Pulling her into his arms, he murmured, “Still not fair. You got two, I only got one.”

“Consider it a payback for what happened at my place last time,” she said as she snuggled against his warm body.

“Huh?” he asked, looking at her in confusion.

“Oh, baby, I need your help,” she giggled, mimicking his accent. “It’s been so long.”

“Oh, yeah, guess that would work, huh?” he chuckled.

Liz lay warm and content against him as she drifted off to sleep.

Sav flew out the next afternoon, leaving Liz with a barrage of production and then promotional meetings. Over the next couple of months, Liz barely had time to catch her breath, taking breaks only when she was on the phone to Sav. At Christmas, they agreed it might be a good idea to spend some time with their individual families, since they’d had the last Christmas to themselves.

On New Year’s Eve, Sav called Liz as the New Year came in in Ireland. She returned the favor by calling and waking him at five in the morning Irish time when the New Year hit her time zone.

“Happy New Year!” she yelled into the phone.

“Huh?” came Sav’s groggy reply. “Do you know what time it is here?”

“Um, bout five am, if I’m not mistaken,” she laughed.

Glancing at the clock, he said, “Five oh three, to be exact. Happy New Year to you, too. Now I’m going back to sleep!”

“I love you, grouch!” she said with a giggle.

“I love you, too, ya nut case! Now, good night!”

“Sweet dreams!” she said quickly.

“Only if they’re of you in a more sane moment!” he said and hung up. And that’s exactly what he dreamt of all the rest of that night.

On January eighth, ninth and tenth of 1991, Liz was booked to do three concerts for a nationwide children’s charity. The first night was in her home base of Cleveland, Ohio, followed by Los Angeles and then New York.

The crowd was roaring as Liz came off stage and headed over to change clothes for the encore. One of the stagehands came rushing over and said, “Ms. Diamond, there’s a call for you. The gentleman said it was urgent.”

“Who is it?” she asked as she changed jackets.

“I don’t know ma’am. He gave the proper codes to get through. He sounds British though and, to be honest, he sounded quite upset.”

Liz’s heart started to race. Terrified that something had happened to Sav, she picked up the phone with a trembling hand. “Hello?”

“Lizzie?” She could hear the strain in Sav’s voice.

“Sav! Thank god it’s you. I was afraid you’d been hurt.” A scattering of tears dotted her eyes in relief.

“No, baby, I’m okay. But I’ve got some bad news.” He paused and Liz could hear the catch in his voice. “I’ve been trying to reach you all day. It’s Steve. He’s dead.”

“What?” Liz asked as the tears returned to her eyes. “What happened?”

“They found him this morning at his flat. They’re not sure what happened yet, but it looks like it may have been an overdose.”

“Oh, God,” she murmured. They had all known Steve was heading for this, but it was still a shock to know it had finally happened. “How’s everybody handling this?”

“Nobody’s taking it well, but Joe and Phil are taking it pretty hard. They both feel like they let Steve down.”

“How are you?” she asked quietly.

“It’s rough.” He stopped and she could hear him lighting a cigarette. He exhaled and said, “I don’t know what’s worse. Watching him destroy himself or knowing that he finally succeeded.”

“Baby, I’m so sorry.”

Tim, the tour manager, walked over and told Liz, “We’ve got to get you back out on stage, Liz.”

“Okay, I’m coming,” she told him. To Sav she said, “When’s the funeral?”

“Three days from now. The inquest won’t be finished til day after tomorrow.” He sighed. “Can you be here?”

“I’ve got shows the next two nights, then this charity gig is over. I’ll be on the red-eye after the last gig. I’ll call you with the details. Right now, I’ve got to go do my encore. I love you!” she said.

“Get here soon, baby. I need you. I love you, too, Lizzie,” Sav said as he hung up the phone.

Liz hung up the phone and grabbed Scottie as he walked by. “We’re doing ‘Dreams’ for the encore.,” she said firmly.

“What? You already did ‘Dreams’ tonight.” Scottie looked at her in amazement. Had she lost her mind?

“It’s ‘Dreams’, Scottie. Tell the others,” she said as she headed for the stage,

A very subdued Liz walked out to the center of the stage and sat down. The crowd sensed the change in her and quieted down almost immediately.

“Ladies and gentleman, I know we all come to places like this to forget reality for a while. But sometimes it intrudes where we want it least. I just got off the phone with Sav. I mean, Rick Savage of Def Leppard. He informed me that a good friend of ours, and someone most of you know of, just passed away this morning. Def Leppard’s guitarist, Steve Clark, was found dead at home in London.” A murmur swept through the crowd and Liz could hear one or two women start to cry.

Scottie looked up at Liz in shock. Steve had been Scottie’s hero, second only to Jimmy Page. He stood onstage, numb, as he remembered the day that Liz had introduced him to Steve. It was one of the happiest days of his life.

Liz continued, “Steve was a very dear friend. He was a troubled soul, but one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet. He wrote the guitar solo for this next song, so I think it‘s fitting we play it again, just for him.” She put her head down a moment, then said, “I’m gonna miss you, Steve.” With tears in her eyes, she signaled for the band to start the music. She sat center stage for the entire song, remembering Steve as she sang the ballad. A song about the pain of waking from a dream back to real life, Liz had written it on the last tour. She’d woke one morning after a night dreaming of Sav, only to find herself alone in bed. In a way, though, the lyrics fit the life Steve had led at the end. As the song finished, she greeted a few fans and said a tearful goodnight.

She came off stage and sat down to cry over the loss of her friend.

For the next two nights, Liz dedicated the encore to Steve. After the final show, she went straight to the airport to catch a plane for London. Since her tour clothes didn’t include anything vaguely suitable for a funeral, she’d bought a simple black suit that she wore on the plane. Sav was waiting for her at the airport.

“Lizzie,” he whispered as he took her in his arms. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Liz let the tears flow as Sav held her. He pulled back and said, “We’ve got to go now. The service starts in an hour.” They picked up Liz’s baggage, which included a large box that Sav planned to ask her about later. For the moment, he was just enjoying the peaceful feeling of being with her again. They sat in the car, silently holding hands as Sav drove them to the church.

The remainder of the band waited outside the building, not ready to say goodbye to their brother and friend. As she walked up, Phil and Rick said in unison, “Hi Lizard!” She gave them each a quick hug of hello and then looked at Joe. She could see the pain he was struggling to hide shining out of his eyes. Without a word, she put her arms around him and felt him pull her in close. Joe could only think that, unlike Karla, here was a woman willing to understand the loss of one of his best friends. Liz pulled back and took his face in her hands. “Joseph, there wasn’t anything any of us could have done to save him. He choose his path a long time ago. But he knew we all cared about him. Maybe that’s what kept him going as long as he did.”

Joe looked into her eyes and saw the truth of what she’d said. He couldn’t have stopped Steve. A weight lifted off his shoulders and he smiled at Liz. “Ya know, if you were with anybody else, I’d steal you away for myself.”

“Joe, if I was with anybody else, you probably could.” She laughed with him as Sav looked on patiently. He’d heard this and more about Liz from Joe before. He came over and put an arm around Liz, saying, “Let’s go in.”

The service was a quiet thing and over quickly. Steve’s family figured he’d want as little fuss as possible. In the funeral procession, the members of the band drove right behind Steve’s family. When they reached the graveyard, Liz popped the truck of the car open. Sav watched her curiously as she opened the large box she’d brought with her. Opening the box, she pulled out a guitar from Gibson. “What’s that for?” Sav asked.

“Steve.” Sav was still puzzled as they walked over to the gravesite. Liz walked straight up to the casket and laid the guitar on top of it. She strummed it once and walked away, back to Sav’s side. He walked over to the guitar and played one chord on it. “She knew you pretty well, Steve. Here’s the one thing I know you’d want to keep with you.” He walked back to Liz and put his arm around her. One by one, the other band members walked up and played a couple of notes on the guitar. They stood there as a few words were said over his grave and the casket was lowered into the ground. Then Sav led Liz back to the car.

Everyone in the band headed back to the same hotel and met in Phil’s room. For a while, nobody said anything. Then Phil spoke up saying, “You know, I don’t know if I can do this anymore. It just isn’t going to be the same without Steve. How am I suppose to look over at some other bloke playing Steve’s part?”

“Wasn’t being a rock star supposed to be fun?” Rick asked as Stacey held his hand. Karla ran her hand through Joe’s hair, trying to keep him calmed down at the end of the couch. On the other end sat Liz and Sav, watching the others wordlessly. Liz still had tears in her eyes, wishing she could have seen Steve one last time before the end. Keeping his arm around her, Sav bent down and kissed her tear-stained cheeks quietly.

Looking miserably down at the floor, Joe said to Liz, “That guitar was a nice idea, Liz. If there’s anything Steve would have wanted to take with him, that was it. He loved playing. Matter of fact, he was the one that made us get out of the bloody spoon factory and start playing for people.”

“Yeah,” Rick chimed in, “That was one of the few things that he really enjoyed. His music.”

“I think he liked being with you four, too, Rick,” Stacey said quietly.

“I hope so,” Rick said as he gave Stacey’s arm a pat.

“Yeah, I don’t think anything could have made Steve give up the guitar,” Phil said.

“Even losing one of us,” Sav said softly. “He wouldn’t have wanted us to give up either. He’d have said carry on!”

“You’re right, Sav,” Liz spoke up. “He’d have kept going, with or without you. Though I think he’d rather stay with you. Could any of you imagine being with another group of guys on stage?”

“No,” they all murmured.

“Then don’t. Just keep Steve’s memory alive with your music,” Stacey said.

“You’re right, Stacey,” Phil said. “There’s no other group I’d want to be with than this one. You guys are like my family.”

“I’ll second that,” Sav said.

“Yeah,” Rick and Joe both said at the same time.

“Think we can handle heading back into the studio?” Joe asked.

“I don’t think there’s anything else for us to do,” Phil whispered. “Maybe we’ll be able to make sense of some of this in there.”

“Guess we can fly back tomorrow, then,” Joe said in a strained voice. “I’m beat, so I’m headed for bed. You coming Karla?”

“I don’t think so. I’m not tired yet,” she said with a smile that was totally out of place with everyone’s mood. “Guess I’ll just go down to the bar and see what happens.”

“Whatever,” Joe said, the emotional exhaustion apparent in his voice. Karla hopped up and said goodnight to everyone before nearly bolting out the door. Joe looked after her with tears in his eyes. How could anyone be that heartless, he wondered. Liz leaned over to Joe and took his hand without a word. He squeezed her hand and gave her a faint smile. Then he stood and left the room without another word.

“Why does she have to be such a bitch all the time?” Liz asked.

“I don’t think she knows anything else. Joe’s really gotten her used to getting away with murder, but now he’s paying for it,” Sav said softly. He bent and kissed her, then said, “Please, don’t ever do that to me!”

“I couldn’t,” Liz replied.

Soon, everyone decided it was time for bed. Once they reached their room, Sav took Liz into his arms and said, “I love you baby.”

“I love you, too, Sav.” They quietly undressed and climbed into bed, where they both lay in the darkness staring at the ceiling. They stayed there for hours, not speaking.

Over the next few weeks, the band kept trying to get it together in the studio. Everyone was getting completely frustrated and one day Joe just exploded. He screamed, “This is worse than before Steve…” Then he realized what he was saying. They had tried not to talk about Steve, figuring it would only hurt their work. Joe slouched into a chair and stared off into the distance.

Liz looked at each of their weary expressions. She broached a subject none of them had talked about yet. “Are you guys going to hire someone to take his place?”

Phil looked up, his eyes angry for a moment until he realized she was asking a rational question. He shook his head and said, “Wouldn’t be right if we did. At least not yet.”

“Yeah, we’re going to do this alone,” Joe added. “If nothing else, just out of simple respect for Steve.”

Sav, who had remained silent during most of that day’s struggles, said, “The four of us can do it.”

“I’m going to pull double duty and play Steve’s parts,” Phil volunteered.

“That’s part of the problem. Every time Phil picks up a guitar to do Steve’s stuff, it’s like a fucking ghost walks into the studio,” Rick said, then shuddered. “It’s like Steve’s ghost walks right in between us.”

“Maybe it’s too soon...” Liz started to say, then shut up.

Sav put an arm around her and said, “I think you’re right. Everybody’s too raw right now. Maybe we should take some time off.”

Phil and Rick looked at Sav in sad agreement. Joe stood up and started to pace, not sure what to do. He walked into the recording booth without saying a word and picked up a guitar. He sat down and held it, not playing and just staring off into space. At first, only his white knuckled grip on the guitar’s neck showed the strain of his emotions. Then tears began to run down his face and slowly he began sobbing. Sav stood up and walked over to the glass partition, looking at Joe sadly. He started to walk towards Joe, but Liz stopped him and walked in herself.

She knelt in front of Joe and put her hands on his knees. He looked up at her and asked in a small voice, “Why’d he have to die?”

“I don’t know, Joe,” she answered honestly. “I wish I did.”

Suddenly angry, Joe motioned towards the door and said, “I keep waiting for him to walk through that fucking door and strap on his damn guitar! It’s not fucking right!” Realizing he was on the verge of throwing the guitar across the room, Liz took it gently out of his hands. It was one of Steve’s that he’d left there when he’d gone on his leave of absence and she knew Joe would regret damaging it. Even as she sat that guitar down, Joe picked up one of his own and started thrashing it against the wall, screaming at the top of his lungs for Steve to come back. Phil and Sav rushed into the room, only to have to dodge the parts of the guitar Joe threw in that direction. Liz stood up and grabbed Joe, making him look at her. As tears ran down his face, he looked into her eyes and whispered, “Why couldn’t I stop him?” Then he crumpled to his knees and began sobbing again.

Karla had heard the noise in the studio and walked in to see what was happening. Since the door to the recording booth was open, he heard her ask, “Is he still upset over that damn drunk?”

Rick’s hand gripped the mixing table as he turned to her and hissed, “Get out of here!”

Only Joe hadn’t heard her. The rest of them turned to her with daggers in their eyes. Seeing the venom in all their stares, Karla backed quickly out of the studio and ran away. Liz took Joe in her arms and held him, letting him cry and rocking him like a child. Sav, Phil and Rick watched them helplessly, knowing that at that moment Joe was crying tears they had all shed. Liz’s own tears wet Joe’s hair as she held on to him.

Liz whispered, “Joe, nobody could have stopped him. He wouldn’t even admit he had a problem.”

“Why couldn’t we make him see it?” he said quietly.

Sav walked over and said, “Because he didn’t want to see it.” He knelt beside Liz and put a hand on Joe’s shoulder. “He couldn’t deal with real life anymore.” He and Liz had just discussed that a couple of days before when he’d had his own breakdown about Steve.

Rick walked over and knelt down behind Joe. He’d cried the same tears only a week before and knew what Joe was feeling at that moment. “He didn’t want to go on anymore.”

“But why?” Joe asked, baffled at the thought. “We all had everything we could have ever wanted. Money, women, the music, everything you get into this business for. What was he missing?”

“Lorelei tried to explain it to me once before they broke up,” Phil said, kneeling beside Joe. “She said he just hurt too much. He had too many demons in his mind. God, she said he even heard voices, but she never told me what they said. He was too far gone to be able to ask for the kind of help he needed. He could never find what he was looking for in this life.”

“Maybe he found it now,” Liz added. “Peace.”

“I hope so,” Sav put in quietly.

“Me too,” said Rick in the same quiet tone.

“Listen,” Phil said, “We need to take some time away from the studio. Nobody’s ready to handle this. That means you, too, Joe. Get out of here, away from the studio. It’ll do you a world of good.”

“Yeah, we’ll all go do something for a while and come back in a couple of months,” Rick said.

“I’ve got to leave soon anyway. Why don’t you come out on tour for a while with me?” Liz asked. Joe looked up at her hopefully. Sav watched him, seeing the expression on his face. Maybe touring with Liz for a while would do the trick to get his mind off Steve. Sav looked at Liz and asked, “Am I allowed to come, too?”

“No. I’m taking Joe with me and you can stay here with Karla,” she said, stifling a smile.

“No way in HELL! You’re not leaving me with that barracuda!” Then suddenly he realized his mistake. He’d always tried before to not badmouth Karla around Joe, who already felt enough shit from her. Joe looked up at him with hurt in his eyes. Then he whispered to Liz, “I don’t think so, little one. I’m just going to take off for a while.” He looked towards the door where Karla had stood and said, “Alone.”

“I’m sorry, Joe,” Sav said.

“Don’t worry about it, mate. You’re right about her. I just don’t like having it in my face. I’ve just got a lot of thinking to do,” he said. “About everything.”

In the end, Phil and Rick decided to head home for a couple of months, Sav was going to the States to tour with Liz and Joe, well Joe hadn’t quite decided where he would go yet. Everybody left within the next three days. Liz went straight into rehearsals for her tour, since her band had already been working together for three weeks to get the new stuff straight. Sav would sit and watch her work everyday, but he rarely picked up a guitar himself. He seemed to be avoiding it and finally Liz called him on it one night.

“Why don’t you play much?” she asked on the last night of her rehearsals, a week after she’d arrived.

“Taking a break, that’s all,” he answered.

“Are you sure that’s all?” she asked, worried he might be hiding his grief by not playing the music that reminded him of Steve.

“Yeah,” he said. “Just haven’t felt like it. I will when I’m ready to.”

“Okay. I’ll let it drop for now. But you’d better get ready, cuz I’m hauling you out there at least once before you have to go back to the band,” she laughed.

“Alright,” he said and pulled her to him for a quick kiss.

Opening night of the tour everything went pretty much as planned. There were a couple of snafus with Scottie’s guitar, but other than that it went well. After the gig, they headed back to the hotel. As they walked into the lobby, Liz looked around and saw Joe sitting by the elevator. She grabbed Sav by the arm and pointed him out. They made their way over only to find that he was asleep. They sat down on either side of him and Sav leaned around Joe to say to Liz, “Damn, this lazy bum looks an awful lot like Joe Elliott, doesn’t he, babe?”

“I’d say! But I know JOE ELLIOTT wouldn’t be rude enough to show up here without even a phone call!” she said with a loud giggle.

“Don’t count on it,” Joe murmured.

“Oh my God! He even sounds like Joe!” she laughed.

“You’re right!” Sav said seriously. “There’s one way to test that. Kiss him. If he loses it, then it’s Joe”

“Nah,” Liz said, “You do it!”

“Oh, alright,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. He reached over and turned Joe’s head towards him, moving his mouth close to Joe’s. Joe’s eyes popped open and he said with a growl, “Come one inch closer and Liz won’t have any more use for that body of yours, cuz it’ll be missing all it’s fun bits!”

“Yep,” Sav said quickly, “That’s Joe!”

“Damn, I was hoping to see that!” Liz said with a wicked laugh.

Sav sat back quickly and said, “I don’t think so!”

“No way in bloody hell!” Joe said at the same moment.

“Damn,” she said in exaggerated disappointment.

“You’ll have to rent one of those gay videos to see that,” Joe said in disgust.

“And not while I’m here!” Sav said emphatically.

She laughed at the look on both of their faces, realizing they thought she was serious. They wouldn’t even look at each other. Still laughing at them, she said, “Let’s go have a drink in the bar before you homophobes faint with disgust.”

They both stiffened at her words. Joe started off self-righteously, “I am not a homophobe! I’ve gotten along with plenty of gays before. I just ain’t one myself.”

“Me either!” said Sav quickly.

“I’m joking, guys. Come on, let’s go have a drink!” Liz said as she stood up and walked towards the bar. They shot each other a look out of the corner of their eyes before following Liz to the bar. They took seats in the bar and Liz looked at Joe. She asked, “So, where’ve you been?”

“I went to my mum’s house in Sheffield. I just needed to clear my head a bit,” Joe said, looking at the floor.

“Did it work?” she asked.

“I think so. I’ve still got a bit more thinking to do, though,” he said honestly.

“What about?” she asked.

“Karla. I don’t know how much longer I can live with her,” he said, tears dotting his eyelashes. “She’s so fucking cold hearted, I don’t know how to deal with her.” He looked at Sav and motioned to Liz, saying, “Don’t let her go, man. You have no idea how lucky you are.”

Sav took Liz’s hand and said, “Once in a while, I think I can guess how lucky I am.” Then he bent and kissed Liz quickly before turning back to his friend.

Liz looked at Joe and said, “Do what’s best for you, okay? Don’t let anything else influence your decision.”

“I won’t. I just really need to think about it. I didn’t think when I married her, even though everybody tried to warn me.” Joe shook his head and continued, “Sometimes I’m just a little hard headed.”

“A little?” Sav said in astonishment. “That’s like saying Jimmy Page is a decent guitarist!”

“Okay, so majorly hardheaded,” Joe said with a laugh, the mood surrounding him finally lightning up.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here. You can keep him out of trouble while I’m onstage.”

“Oh, has he been a bit naughty?” Joe laughed.

“Nah, not yet, but he keeps talking bout all these other women,” she started, but Sav cut her off.

“Now wait a minute! I joked about that one time! Are you ever going to let me live that down?” he asked.

“Um, in a word, NO!” she giggled. Joe smothered a laugh as Sav gave her a frustrated look. He looked at Sav and said, “Better be careful what you say to her, mate.”

“I’m figuring this out,” Sav replied sourly.

After a couple of drinks, they headed to their rooms. Over the next two months, the three of them romped backstage and onstage. They were like the three musketeers, wandering across the United States. They tore up the towns they passed through, though they didn’t leave any of them in flames. Every couple of shows, Liz pulled Joe and Sav out on stage during the encore. Eventually, though, it came time for them to head back to their own studio and their own album.

Liz and Sav swapped visited back and forth over the next few months as she toured and he helped finish the next Def Leppard album. She had to miss Rick’s wedding in September because she had a concert the same night, though she’d called him to wish him well. In December, they were forced to spend Christmas on separate continents because of their professional commitments. Liz was doing shows the day before and after Christmas, while Sav and Joe were committed to doing a Christmas charity concert as part of a nostalgia band called Glam Slam with several other musicians.

In a later phone call, Sav finally told her that after much heated debate, the new album was going to be called Adrenalize. And he asked her how many more dates Guy was planning on booking for her.

“None! I finally told him I’ve had enough! I’ve been out here for a year and to tell you the truth, I don’t care if I ever see another hotel room!” she laughed.

“Cool, then you’ll be able to meet our new guitarist,” Sav said enthusiastically.

“Oh, really? Who’d you guys finally get?” she asked curiously.

“Vivian Campbell. He’s played with Whitesnake and Dio.”

“Wait, why does that name sound so familiar?” Liz paused in thought, then remembered. “Remember that night Lars hit on me?”

“How could I forget?” Sav asked in a low voice. “I wanted to kill him.”

“Forget about him. I asked you who the guy that Steve was talking to was, remember?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“You said it was Vivian Campbell!”

“You’re right! Kinda strange, thinking about it now. The two of them sitting there talking like that.” She heard him sigh, “Guess it’s good to know Steve liked him.”

“Yeah, it is.” They both sat quietly for a moment before Liz asked, “How are the guys doing without Steve now days?”

“Every day, you look up waiting to see him come into the studio, then you remember he’s not coming. It’s hard, but we’re learning to deal with it,” he said after a pause.

“How’s the new guy fitting in?” she asked quietly.

“Vivian? He’s doing fine. He’s got a lot of shit to learn, but I think he’ll do okay,” Sav answered. “How many more dates do you have left?”

“Ten,” she said. “Then I’m off the fucking road for a good long while.”

“Are they planning on releasing any more songs off the album?”

“Yeah, one more. That’ll make four off this one, too. They didn’t want to release anything after ‘Dreams’ for a while, cuz it did so well,” she said.

“Well, I hope you get to stay with me for a while this time,” he said with a quiet laugh. “I miss you terribly!”

“I miss you, too, baby. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks!” she said. “I love you!”

“I love you, too, baby. I’ll see you soon,” he said as they rang off.

Two weeks later, Liz met up with Sav and the band in New York while they were doing some promotional groundwork for the release of Adrenalize later that month. Sav grabbed her and whirled her around as soon as she entered the office in the MTV building. He asked, “How’d you find us?”

“Peter. He said you guys were here to premiere ‘Let’s Get Rocked’? I think that was the song title. It’s been a while since I heard it,” she laughed.

“Yeah, it probably sounds a bit different than you remember, too. Listen, we’ve got to get in the studio right this second, so stay here and wait for me, okay?” he said with a rushed kiss. Then he ran off to walk up with the others. There’d been no time to even say hi to the rest of the band or be introduced to Vivian yet. Liz headed for the nearest monitor so she could watch with the rest of the world as the band’s latest song debuted. She stood with her hand on the monitor watching their interview and then the video. She danced a bit, really just swinging her hips, when she realized there was a camera pointed at her. As the video ended, the monitors around the band flashed to the shots just recorded in the hallway. The VJ laughed and said, “Well, Sav, I guess Liz likes this one.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said with a laugh.

“Why’d you shot this with only the four of you?” she asked.

“Well,” Joe answered, “Vivian hadn’t joined us yet and plus, it just seemed the right thing to do. For Steve.”

“Well, we’re out of time, so good luck on this upcoming tour and Vivian, you’re in with a great bunch of guys!”

The boys said their thanks to the VJ and headed out of the studio. Joe was the first offstage and when he spotted Liz, he did the same thing Sav had done, picking her up and whirling her around. “What’d you think of the video?”

“It’s great! The animation is something really new!” she said enthusiastically. Not to be out done, Liz felt her world spin again as Phil ran up and spun her around with a playful, “Hi Lizard.”

He passed her off to Rick, who picked her up in his arm and did the same thing. Vivian came offstage next and saw what they’d all done. Keeping with the spirit of things, he grabbed her and followed suit, leaving her laughing almost hysterically and totally dizzy. She doubled over laughing as Joe introduced her to Vivian, “Liz, this is Vivian Campbell. Viv, this is Liz Diamond.” Vivian turned on the full smile for her before Joe said, “She’s Sav’s lady.”

Vivian shook his head and said with a laugh, “Figures. The good ones are always taken by someone you can’t steal them from!”

“Something tells me he fits in with this crew just fine,” Liz said as she caught her breath.

“He’s doing right well!” Phil said. “But, Viv, fair warning. Lizard here is a bit of a practical joker.”

“I didn’t start that, Phil,” she said in her own defense.

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you!” he laughed. She walked over and put an arm around Phil, then said, “Now who’s clothes were left swinging out that hotel room window? Where they yours, sir?”

“Um, that wasn’t my idea, just so you know!” Phil said, starting to get defensive.

“Oh, who’s was it then?” she said as Joe tried to sneak away from them. “Joseph! You let him take the heat for that!”

“You never asked WHO’s idea it was!” Joe said quickly.

“Yeah, sure,” Liz said in a huff. “Look out for these guys, Vivian. They’ll get you when you least expect it!”

“And she’ll get you, too!” Phil said. “Damn near ruined my bachelor party!”

“Hey, we waited til the strippers were gone!”

“Whatever!” Phil laughed. “And Vivian, don’t ever get near her little sister. She’s just as mean as this one is!”

“Nah, she only did that cuz I put her up to it,” Liz said with a laugh. Then she suddenly got serious. “Vicki won’t be helping me out with any pranks for a while anyway.”

Sav sensed a change in Liz’s mood and said, “Why, what happened?”

“She’s pregnant. Mom just called me last night to let me know,” Liz said quietly.

“Oh, God,” Joe said, “she’s only, what, nineteen?”

“Yeah, she‘ll be twenty in a couple of months.”

“Who’s the father?” Sav asked.

“Her boyfriend, Eric. He’s a big Lep fan, maybe you could say something to him next time we’re home,” Liz suggested.

“Sure, no problem,” Sav said. “I’m sure we’ll catch up to them on tour some time.”

“We’ll all have a word with the lad,” Phil volunteered.

After a bit, they decided it was time to head out for something to eat before calling it a night. They were flying out to England the next day to do some promo work there, because the album had already been released in the UK.

When they landed, Peter was waiting at the gate with great news for them. Adrenalize had entered the UK charts at number one, leaving everything else in the dust. The band was really keyed up a few days later when they took the stage at McGonagles Club in Dublin for Vivian’s first live gig with the band. He tore up the stage, long black hair flying as he romped with his new bandmates. Three days later, the band was given even more good news. In the US, Adrenalize had enter the charts at number one as well.

The band was riding high as the took the stage on the twentieth for the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in Wembley Stadium. Liz decided to simply sit offstage for that one, since the band was only playing a short set. She could see that Joe was totally floored as Brian May of Queen joined them onstage to do ‘Now I’m Here’. They came off stage roaring to go again as Joe sat down and talked to Brian. Later, Liz heard Brian laughing that Joe ‘had all the answers in rock and roll’. Sav came over to Liz and asked, “So, how was it?”

“You guys are going to rip the States apart if you play like that!” she said excitedly.

“I certainly hope so,” Rick said as he walked by.

Right after the concert, the band headed into more rehearsals, getting ready for the Adrenalize tour. They spent several weeks working all the glitches out of their performance and were raring to go when the opening night hit. The ’Seven Day Weekend’ tour started in Glasgow, Scotland and the band was in the finest form they’d been in for years. Liz sat behind the speaker stacks every night, watching them whip the audience into a total frenzy by show’s end. She’d told Joe she wasn’t setting foot onstage at all this tour, preferring to come down completely from her own tour for the moment.

After two months worth of shows, Liz was starting to feel the itch to perform again. Joe watched her as they came offstage each night and could see in her eyes she was ready again. Finally, when they hit Sydney, Australia, Joe decided to bring the subject up again. “So, Liz, when am I going to have the pleasure of singing with you again?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. Think everybody’d want me out there?” she asked.

“Stupid question, woman,” Phil said as he walked up and put an arm around her. “You know we love dragging you out there with us!”

“So, which songs do you want me to do, sir?” she said as she looked at him. Rick bounced into the room and heard her question. “All of them!” he laughed. “We need to haul you out on stage for a whole concert this time.”

“Oh, shit, your kidding, right?” she laughed.

“No, it’d be a great idea!” Joe said quickly. “Consider it payment for the room and board on this tour. Plus your little side benefits from Sav!”

Liz looked at Sav, wondering how he’d feel about this idea. He was smiling broadly at her, so she knew he was into it. “Okay, let’s get this soundcheck going.”

When the band opened the show, they did the first several numbers on their own. They were about half way through the show when they started ’Photograph’ and Liz tore out on stage as she’d done every time she’d gone on stage with them. The crowd roared in approval as they realized who’d come onstage. Joe introduced her after the song, though most of the crowd had already recognized her. The next song they did was a ballad off the new album called ‘Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad’ which Liz sang backing vocals on. She shared a mic with Phil for a while, then went over to Joe towards the end of the song. As he got to the lines ‘every dream I dream is like - some kinda rash n reckless scene - to give out such crazy love - you must be some kind of drug’ he was face to face with Liz. He looked her right in the eyes as he sang “And if my time don’t ever come - For me you’re still the one - Damned if I don't, damned if I do - I gotta get a fix on you!” She shared the mic with him as they sang the chorus one final time, but the look in Joe’s eyes had Liz shook. She wandered away and took the mic next to Sav as they went into ‘Foolin’.

After ‘Foolin’, they did an acoustic set, starting with another new song, ‘Tonight’. Liz sat by Sav stunned, singing backing vocals absently through the whole acoustic set. She’d never seen Joe look at her like that before, but as they switched back to their regular instruments Liz shook it off. Sav walked up and asked, “What’s wrong, baby?”

“Nothing,” she said brightly. “I’m fine.” He shot her a peculiar look, but said nothing else as they started into ‘Let’s Get Rocked’. The energy onstage could only be matched by the energy being put off by the crowd as they sang a new favorite song. Liz took the mic out of the stand and headed to center stage, harassing Joe with the parent’s lines as he answered back as the teenager. Later in the song, when Joe was ’driving with his baby’, Liz took on the part of his girl as he slung an arm around her shoulders. She nodded her head, agreeing with him when he asked ’Suppose a rock’s outta the question?’. Phil leaned his back against hers as he played the song’s guitar solo. Then she jumped up on the speakers as they all repeated ’Let’s get, let’s get, let’s get rocked!’ and finished the song.

The next song they were doing was ‘Love Bites’, which Liz and Joe had divided up the lyrics for during the soundcheck. They took center stage as the lights dimmed a bit. Joe started the song, singing to Liz, ‘When you make love, do you look in the mirror? Who do you think of, does he look like me? Do you tell lies and sy that it’s forever? Do you think twice, or just touch n see?”

Then Liz took over with, ‘When you’re alone, do you let go? Are you wild and willing, or is it just for show?”

Then together, they sang, “I don’t wanna touch you too much baby. Cos making love to you might drive me crazy. I know you think that love is the way you make it. So I don’t wanna be there when you decide to break it! No!”

Liz sang back up on the chorus while Joe sang lead. Then Liz sang, “When I’m with you, are you somewhere else? Am I getting thru or do you please yourself?” Then together they sang “When you wake up, will you walk out? It can’t be love if you throw it about! Ooh, babe! I don’t wanna touch you too much baby. Cos making love to you might make me crazy!” During the guitar break, Liz and Joe stood and stared at each other, her reading enough from his eyes to realize he meant what he was singing to her. To everyone else, it appeared a part of their duet and nothing more. For the rest of the song, Liz sang backup to Joe’s lead. As the harsh bass beats took over at the end of the song, Liz walked away into the shadows at the back of the stage, leaving Joe alone to say, “If you’ve got love in your sights, Watch out, Love bites!”

For the next song, Liz saw Sav change over to his Union Jack bass and knew exactly what song they were doing. Rick hit the button, sounding out the false German that began ‘Rock of Ages’. Liz walked over to Sav and stood back to back with him as he played the dominating bass of the verses. She clapped her hands with wide arm motions, getting the crowd moving. She and Sav moved apart and came to stand about fifteen foot apart, each with a foot on the front speakers. As she made her way to the opposite side of the stage during the guitar solo, Joe picked her up and spun her in a quick circle before letting her go on her way. As they finished the song, Liz was still on Phil’s side of the stage with Phil and Vivian. They tore into ‘Make Love Like a Man’ next. During the chorus, Liz threw an arm around Vivian until they sang “Your kinda man!” Then she shook her head and moved on to Phil. When they reached that line, she once again shook her head regretfully and moved out of the way as Phil went up to Joe to do the rap. Then, as they reached that fateful line again, she did the same thing to Joe with a sad shake of her head. As the song ended, they sang it one more time as Liz threw an arm over Sav’s shoulder, nodding her head at him at just the right moment.

The next song was ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’, undoubtedly the band’s best know song. During the drum beats, Liz and all three guitarist clapped their hands above their heads, getting the crowd to do the same. If anyone in the audience had still been in their seats, they weren’t any longer. Liz sang along with Joe for the whole song, encouraging the crowd to do the same. The crowd was almost as loud as the band for the whole song.

They closed out the regular part of the show with ‘Women’. Joe had been worried about the opening sounds of the song, as his throat had been a bit tight during the soundcheck. Liz stepped up for him and stood at the top of the drum riser as she belted out the “Ooh we ooh, ooh we ooh”. Joe watched her in relief, knowing that first set of notes probably would not have sounded terribly good coming from him at that moment. She sang back up until she was needed to do those sounds again. When the guitar solo came about at the end of the song, she simply kneeled at the edge of the stage watching Phil in amazement, unaware of the guys in the crowd reaching up to touch her. This solo was her favorite of all the Def Leppard solos and it always left her spellbound.

When it was time to leave the stage, Liz greet the crowd with the band before heading backstage with them. Phil gave her an enthusiastic hug and said, “You were great! You’ve got to do that again!”

Looking over at Joe, she said, “It was fun, but I’d better not do that again. If I do it too often, people will start thinking I’ve joined the band and I don’t want to steal Joe’s thunder.” In truth, she couldn’t stand onstage and listen to Joe sing those lyrics to her again. Realizing why she’d said that, Joe’s head went down and he refused to look up at her again.

Still fired up, the band went onstage to do their encore without Liz, who claimed she was kind of tired after trying to keep up with them all night. As they came offstage for the final time and headed for the dressing room, Sav took Liz’s hand quietly as they walked. When they reached the dressing room, Sav got down on one knee in front of Liz and said in front of all his band mates, “Lizzie, I know I’ve asked you this before, but will you marry me?”

“Um, I think I already told you yes? Didn’t I?” she laughed. Looking over Sav briefly, she saw Joe turn away with a stunned look on his face.

“No, I mean now! Tonight. I can’t wait any longer,” he said breathlessly.

“Oh God, I can’t do that to my mom! She’d kill me!” Liz pulled Sav to his feet and said, “Let’s wait til this tour is over.” Then she pulled Sav into her arms. “I’m sorry, baby. I want to, but my family would have my head if I did that!”

“Oh, okay, guess I’ll wait a bit longer,” he said with a sigh. “But as soon as I get off this damn tour, you’re mine forever.”

“I already am!” she laughed as he bent to kiss her.

Liz spent another two months on tour with them before Guy called her. The record company had given her all the time it was willing to before expecting her to get back to work. She tried everything short of offering sexual favors to the executives, but it was all in vain. So at the end of September, just as the band was heading out to Washington, Liz went back to New York to begin trying to write for her next album. Unfortunately, she’d not written anything new since the last album, so she was starting from scratch. Writing this one would be a long process because her mind simply wasn’t on it. When Sav and the guys reached Cleveland in October, Sav gave Vicki and her boyfriend backstage passes and made good on his word to speak to Eric. The young man had sat stunned as members of his favorite rock band told him that Vicki was a close personal friend of theirs and they expected him to take care of his responsibilities towards her and the baby when it arrived. Liz thanked them all after Vicki called her to say that Eric was now looking for a better job and doing everything he could to make sure she and the baby would want for nothing.

Sav flew in to spend Christmas with Liz in New York before having to leave that night for a gig the next day in Tucson, Arizona.

At the end of January, Liz made arrangements to meet up with the band for a break two weeks later. But after another frustrating week in the studio, she decided to fly out a week early and surprise Sav. The first person she met up with in the lobby of their hotel was Phil.

“Lizard!” Phil hollered. He came across the lobby and gave Liz a hug. “How are you, luv?”

“I’m great! Hey is Sav up yet?”

“No, I don’t think he’ll come out of his cave for a couple of hours, yet. He tied a good one on last night.”

“Really? That’s not like him!” she said, astonished at Phil’s comments.

“Well, I think he misses you. You were all he talked about last night.” He grinned. “Old chap’s got it bad for you.”

“That’s good to know,” she laughed. “What room’s he in?”

“610, I believe.” Phil gave her a wicked grin. “Here to surprise him?”

“Yep. Couldn’t wait another week to see him,” she chuckled. “Guess he’s not the only one who’s still got it bad for someone. See ya later!” she said as she headed for the elevator.

When the elevator hit the sixth floor, Liz practically sprinted to room 610. She knocked on the door and leaned against the wall next to it to wait.

When the door opened, Liz was surprised to see a young blonde girl standing there in only a T-shirt. Liz backed away a bit and said, “Sorry, I must have the wrong room.” Mentally, she berated Phil for giving her the wrong information as she turned to find the right room. The she heard Sav’s voice. “Lizzie, is that you?”

She turned slowly and looked into the room. There was Sav, sitting on the bed. He smiled at her until he saw her expression. “What’s wrong, baby?”

Then Sav noticed the blonde standing by the door. “Who the hell are you?” he asked.

“Don’t you remember last night, honey?” the blonde asked.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” he asked angrily.

“Ya know, Sav, I was wondering the same thing!” Liz spat out. She turned and ran away from the door. Sav jumped out of bed in his underwear and ran out the door. The blonde followed him, trying to get close. He pushed her away and screamed “Lizzie!”

Tears running down her face, Liz refused to turn around. She boarded the elevator without looking at Sav. As the doors slid shut, she collapsed into sobs. Sav had another woman with him. She didn’t want to believe it. After nearly five years together, he’d cheated on her. And then lied about it. That hurt worse than the actually cheating. When the elevator stopped, she walked into the lobby still crying. Phil spotted her and came running.

“Lizard, what’s wrong?”

“He had another woman in the room with him, Phil,” she sobbed.

“What? That’s not possible!” Phil exclaimed. “He couldn’t even walk right when Joe took him upstairs last night.”

“Well, apparently he could later on.” She pulled her engagement ring off her finger. “Give this to him when you see him, Phil. Please?” She put the ring in Phil’s hand and walked away.

“Liz, wait! Please, wait til things cool off before you do this!” he yelled at her back. But she kept right on walking.

Upstairs, Joe came out to see what all the commotion was about. Sav stood in his shorts in the hallway yelling at a young blonde girl.

“Just what are you trying to pull?” He yelled.

“Don’t you remember picking me up in the bar last night, Sav?” she simpered.

“I don’t remember a fucking thing about last night,” he screamed.

“Well, I do,” Joe interrupted. “I brought you upstairs and got you into bed, alone, just as you passed out.” Looking at the blonde, he asked, “What kind of game are you playing?”

“Okay, alright, I snuck in while you were sleeping,” she admitted tearfully. “I figured if you thought you’d slept with me, you might do it again this morning.”

“Damn it! I’ve got to find Liz.” Sav turned to go back to his room when Joe stopped him.

“Liz was here?” he asked.

“Liz was the one who woke my ass up!” Sav said furiously. “She spotted this bitch and took off on me. I just hope she’s still downstairs so I can talk to her.”

Phil walked up saying, “Sorry, mate, she left. But she left this behind.” He held out a hand. In his palm was Liz’s engagement ring. Sav took the ring and slumped against the wall. “She’s gone?”

“I’m sorry, mate. She wouldn’t listen to me,” Phil said as tears flowed down Sav’s face.

“I’ve got to find her,” he said, heading for his room again. The blonde followed him, hoping this would be her chance. But Sav turned on her, screaming, “You know, I’ve never thought about hitting a woman before. But you’ve made yourself a good target for the first time. Get the fuck out of here!”

She grabbed her jeans and shoes and fled the room.

Joe walked in and tried to calm Sav down. “She’s probably headed back to New York. She’s recording there, right?”

“Yeah, so?” Sav asked as he pulled his clothes on.

“Call her there in a little while. You can’t take off from a tour to chase her.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll wait and call her. And if I don’t get her back, I’m going to kill that little bitch!”

Liz drove for a few hours, then checked into a small motel. She called Guy and told him where she was. Then she told him that no one connected to Sav or Def Leppard was allowed to find out where she was. Later she called her family and gave them the same instructions. Then she lay down on the bed and cried herself to sleep.

She ended up hiding out at that motel for six weeks. Guy reported frantic daily phone calls from Sav, desperate to know where Liz was. As time went by, he fielded calls from every band member and their managers. Even Malvin called a couple of times. He told Liz of each call, including ones where Sav was so drunk he bawled incoherently into the receiver. He begged Guy to just give him a number to call, anything so he could get through to her. Still, she refused.

Slowly, Sav stopped calling. Guy still got occasional calls from Joe, just to make sure she was okay, but eventually those stopped as well. After a few months, Liz went back to work, venting her pain out through her music.

Liz sat at home watching a television when the doorbell rang. Since she wasn’t expecting company, she wondered who it could be. Hopefully not another autograph seeking fan. Not many know where she lived, but once in a while some of the found her. She opened the door and stood stunned for a moment.

“What are you doing here,” she asked.

Joe looked down at her and said, “Well, hello to you too.”

“I’m sorry. You just surprised me. Hello. Come on in.” She stepped aside to let him into the house.

He walked in and looked around. “Nice place you’ve got here. I almost didn’t find it. Kinda in the woods, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I liked the idea of buying a farm where nobody could find me.” She smiled at him as they crossed the hall.

“When’d you get it?” He stopped and turned towards her.

“A couple of months ago. I decided I could use some peace and quiet nowadays so I moved home.” She laughed. “It’s funny. Once I told Sav how boring this place was. Then I found out how crazy the outside world was!”

A pained expression crossed Joe’s face for a second, followed by a strained smile. “Joe, what are you doing here?”

“Would you believe I was in the neighborhood and decided to drop by?” She faced him and shook her head.

“Not for a minute. What’s going on?” He started fidgeting, switching from one foot to the other.

“Well little one, I’m just not sure how to tell you this. I didn’t want you to hear it around the studio or read it in the paper.” Glancing up, he said, “Could we sit down before I get the third degree?”

“Sure, but I don’t like the sound of this.” She led him into the living room and sat on the couch. He sat beside her but didn’t face her. His elbows rested on his knees and his head rested on his hands. His long blond hair cascaded over his face, hiding it from her view.

“Joe, what’s wrong?” She said, concerned that horrible news to come next.

“Liz, I wanted you to here this from a friend. Sav is getting married in the next month or so. I’m not quite sure how they met, but he says he loves her.” Liz slumped back into the couch and Joe finally turned to face her. He pushed his hair behind one ear and put his hand on her leg. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, but I didn’t want you to be alone when you found out.”

Liz stared out the window, silent tears streaming down her face. She sat like a statue, not moving, barely breathing. Joe reached over and brushed away a tear from her face. Waiting for a reaction from her, he suddenly realized she wasn’t going to do or say anything. She just sat crying. He pulled her unresisting body into his arms and held her tightly. At that, sobs wracked her body. He ran his hand over her hair like a father comforting a child. At first, all she could do was cry while he held her close. Slowly, she tried to speak.

“That hurts.” She paused. “I’m surprised how much.”

“I know, babe. That’s why I knew you’d need someone here.”

“I don’t believe it.” She shook her head.

“Well, I’ll be honest. He spent two months trying to find you. You disappeared on him. He couldn’t believe that you’d left him when he hadn’t done anything to deserve it.”

“Hold it right there, Joe. I found him in bed with another woman.” She pulled away from him and looked at him in astonishment. “If that’s nothing, I’m the Virgin Mary.”

“Well Hail Mary then, cuz he hadn’t done anything. We’d been out partying and he drank more than usual because he missed you. He passed out when he got to his room. I know cuz I was the one who got him into bed! The bitch you found him with snuck in while he was sleeping. He didn’t know she was there until you knocked and woke him up.”

“You’re lying.” But doubt had crept into her voice. “You’re covering for him still.”

“Liz,” he said calmly, “think about it. Why should I lie for him now? He’s marrying somebody else. He stopped trying to get you back. There’s no reason to lie.”

“Oh my God, what did I do?” She covered her face with her hands. “I didn’t know.”

“No, you didn’t, but maybe you should have given him a chance to explain,” Joe said calmly. She started to cry again, as much for the hurt she had caused Sav as for her own pain. Joe pulled her back to him and let her cry.

Her tears slowed after a few minutes. Joe rocked her like a baby and kissed her on top of the head. She put her arms around him and looked up at him. Tears glittering in her eyes, she said, “Thanks for coming here, Joe.”

He ran a hand over her hair and said, “You’re welcome, little one.”

He put a finger under her chin and lifted her mouth to his for a gentle, brotherly kiss. But suddenly, it deepened. She kissed him with all her raging emotions, trying to drown out the hurt and guilt. He knew what was happening, but was helpless to stop it. He didn’t want to stop it. His own pain and frustration of his relationship with Karla came to the surface, as well as his own secret feelings for Liz, and he returned her kiss with passion. His hand moved to her neck and held her to his lips, savoring her kiss like a fine wine.

Her hands borrowed under his coat and shirt to find the warmth of his bare chest. One of his hands slipped from her neck and down her back, seeking the flesh beneath her shirt. They parted for only a second while Joe shed his coat and threw it to the floor. He came back to her and they laid back together on the couch. His tongue explored her mouth as his hands began to explore her body. She pulled his shirt over his head and ran her hands down the muscles of his back. Her nails dug into his back as his mouth found her throat. His hand moved between them, up her flat stomach and to her full breasts. He pulled away from her a bit and lifted her shirt above her breasts. Slowly, he traced the pattern of the lace on her bra. His fingers tickled her skin as they moved softly over her tender flesh. She giggled and moved her hands down his back to his buttocks. She gabbed him and pulled him closer, grinding him into her body. She could feel how hard he was through his jeans and she moaned softly. Joe’s hand slipped under her and unfastened her bra. He helped her to sit up briefly while he removed her shirt and bra, then they collapsed back onto the couch. He thrust his pelvis against her and she moaned again. His hand went to her chest and teased her nipple as he kissed first her ear and then down to her neck. One of her hands dug nails into his back while the fingers of the other wound into the hair at the nape of his neck. His mouth trailed lower to her left breast while his hand continued to hold the other breast. Arching her back in pleasure, she murmured his name softly.

He lifted his head and looked at her questioningly. “Should I stop?”

“No,” she whispered urgently, “please don’t.”

His chest pressed hard to her body, he kissed her again. Her hands found the waistband of his jeans and he lifted slightly to give her access, his lips never leaving hers. She fumbled with the button a second and then unfastened his pants. Groaning against her lips, he couldn’t move as she took him in her hand and moved slowly up and down the length of him. Hair brushed her cheek as he tossed his head back. Ragged breaths escaped him, as he lay motionless on top of her, enjoying the sensations of her hand moving on him. She propped up on her elbow and kissed him, her tongue darting into his mouth. Joe moved a bit and she heard a thud as his shoes hit the floor. Pushing him up off her, she finished removing the remainder of his clothing. Liz looked over his naked body and whistled. “Looking good,” she smiled.

Roughly, Joe took his turn undressing her and then stood away from her. He grinned and said, “looking better. Mmmm.”

As she lay on the couch, she waited for him to come back to her. His hands ran down her thighs as he lay down with her. They held each other and kissed, enjoying the warm feel of each others skin. Slowly, gently, he positioned himself between her legs and entered her. Gasping at the unexpected size of him, she threw back her head and arched her back. She moaned uncontrollably as he grabbed her hips and thrust into her again. Gripping the back of the couch, her breath came in short, rapid pants. Moving his hips slowly, he laid his body on hers and kissed her for what seemed an eternity. Never breaking contact with her lips, he began to move faster. She wrapped her legs around him and held him tightly to her. She could feel her body moving towards a climax and she let Joe know what was about to happen. He just smiled down at her, never breaking his rhythm, and began to kiss her again. She came in gasping waves of sensation, while Joe built to his own climax. With a throaty whisper, he told her he was cumming too.

Afterwards, they lay curled on the couch together, half-sleeping, half-playing. He tickled her and she swatted at his hand. Then she realized what had just happened and why it had happened. Stunned, she lay staring at the ceiling. Joe noticed the change and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I guess reality just set in.” She looked away, tears forming again. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” he said, “I’m the one who should be saying that. I shouldn’t have let this happen.” He pulled away from her and reached for his clothes. She stopped him.

“No, Joe, please don’t leave me. I don’t want to be alone tonight.” He sat on the couch, pants in hand, ready to go. “Just stay for tonight and we’ll see what happens tomorrow, okay. And no matter what, no regrets. I wasn’t apologizing for what we did, just for getting upset after. Nobody was hurt here and I think you just helped me more than you know.”

“Yeah, just an old friend helping you out in your hour of need, right?” Joe chuckled. “I need to go help more people.” She gave him a playful slap and sat up, turning off the television they’d ignored for the last hour.

“It’s getting late. Want to go to bed?”

“Sure, anything I can do to help, ma’am.” She swung at him again, but he grabbed her wrist and kissed her instead. “I like that better than getting hit!”

“We’ll see what I can do about that.” She stood up and pulled him to his feet. Her arms found their way around him and she said, “thanks again for being there for me.”

“You know, there’s one more thing you should know before you thank me too much.” He stepped away from her. “It wasn’t just my idea to come here.”

With a confused look, she said, “Really, who else thought this would be a good idea?”

“Sav.”

She turned away and found herself looking at a picture on the fireplace mantle. Taken years before, it was Liz and Sav sitting in a diner smiling at each other like nothing else could ever possibly matter. She walked over to the picture and traced her fingertip along his familiar lips. “Did he say why?”

“He wasn’t sure if you would care or be upset or not give a damn. But he told me that just in case you were upset, he didn’t want you to go through that alone. Your agent may have been able to block him from finding you, but Sav still kept track of anything he could find out about you. I can remember hiding newspapers from him when you were going out with that other bass guitarist. Damn I can’t remember his name now. All I really knew was that I thought at the time it was ironic that you were dating another British bass player.”

“That was a disaster I’d just as soon forget!” She laughed. “If I was trying to replace Sav, I did a piss poor job of it.”

“Listen, he still cares about you.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Joe. I blew it. It’s over. Time to move on with my life.” She forced a cheerful smile. “Come on, let’s get to bed. After a full day of doing nothing but relaxing, somehow I’m suddenly exhausted.”

“I couldn’t possibly imagine what would have caused your impaired state. Maybe you’re just getting old.” He jumped out of the way as a pillow came flying at him. “Hey, remember what I told you about that.”

“Oh, yeah.” She walked over to him and planted her lips firmly against his. “Better?”

Taking a deep breath, he sighed, “Yes.”

She took him by the hand and led him to her upstairs bedroom. “I warn you, this room gets a little cold at night.”

“I don’t think I’ll have a problem with that. Unless, of course, I end up on the floor.”

“Nah, I’m not that cruel. But you better keep that thing under control,” she laughed as she tweaked his groin. He gave a groan as he felt himself stiffen. He grabbed her and said, “Now you’ve done it!”

He pushed her roughly onto the bed where she landed face down, giggling. “Oh, so now you think I’m funny, huh?”

“Hilarious,” she said over her shoulder.

“We’ll just see who the funny one is here.” He put his hands on her hips and lifted her up until she was on her knees.

“Oh no, not that again,” she cried in mock terror.

“Yep, fifty lashes with a not-so-limp noodle.” He moved in behind her and placed himself at her opening. “Maybe next time you’ll learn to be nice to me.”

With a rough thrust, he buried himself inside her. She gasped as he penetrated her more deeply than before. His hips stayed in place while his hands moved her body back and forth, pleasing himself for the moment. Then he switched motions, impaling her with long, deep strokes. He leaned forward and got a grip on one of her shoulders to stabilize him while reaching under her to massage her breast. His fingers found her nipple and gave it a hard pinch. She moaned at that. “Oh, you like that, eh.”

With another rough thrust, he pulled her onto him again. They collapsed onto the bed with him still inside her. Then suddenly, he stopped. “Your turn.”

She was baffled for a moment until she saw him turn over and lay on his back. “Oh, great, you’re getting lazy on me now.”

She lifted herself over and onto him and felt him groaning with pleasure. She rocked her hips and ground her body onto his. She leaned forward just a little and reached for his nipples. She gave them a tug and heard another groan, this one a little louder. He took both her hands in his and held them for a moment. Then he let go and reached up to grab her nipples. At that, she felt another, more violent climax take over her body. “Greedy witch, now I’ll have to take care of myself,” he laughed.

He sat up and turned her over without ever leaving her body. Just seconds later, he came with a body-wracking shudder. He collapsed on top of her and made a little snoring noise. She laughed again and pushed him off her. Climbing over him, she turned out the bedside lamp and was rewarded with quick smack on the bottom. “Ouch!”

Joe lay on his back, studying the darkness. Her body snuggled in close to him and she laid her head on his shoulder. Her breathing slowed as she drifted off quickly towards to sleep. As she was going to sleep, she mumbled, “I love you, Sav.”

Joe stiffened. A warning bell sounded in his head. Don’t fall for her, it said. But despite it’s warning, Joe said to her, “I love you, too, little one. And I do mean you.”

The next morning, Joe woke with Liz still in his arms. He looked down at her and smiled, shaking his head at his own folly. He’d known her for five years now, though four of them she had been Sav’s girl. She had talked him through some horrible times, when Karla was at her most vicious. He’d missed that over the past months since her break-up with Sav, and he knew he had missed her too. She and Sav had been truly happy together until that night out on tour. Joe knew their history and had watched them together, all the time envious that Sav had that kind of a relationship with a woman, while Joe had stuck himself with Karla. Karla was beautiful, of that there was no doubt, but she had a heart of stone and a mean streak a mile wide. Joe had been relieved when he managed to get Karla to move out, even if it was going to cost him a fortune. He ran a hand through Liz’s hair and kissed her forehead. Comparing Liz to Karla was like comparing a peacock to a crow. Liz had made millions on her own in their business, yet managed to keep both feet on the ground. She was warm and genuine. And she was in pain. Joe knew she was hurting over the news he’d delivered. She was still in love with Sav after all this time. He closed his eyes and sighed.

Liz snuggled closer to Joe, waking to his warm skin against hers. As she woke up, she lay confused for a moment, trying to think why Joe was in her bed. Then she remembered. Sav was getting married. It hit her hard all over again. She lay, a quiet tear running down her face, not realizing Joe was awake. He felt her tears hit his chest and opened his eyes again. Looking down to her face, their eyes met. “I’m sorry,” was all Joe could think to say.

“Don’t apologize. Just stay with me for a while, please?”

“I can’t stay past today, little one. We’re releasing a b-sides album and recording our next one too and management was already all over my ass about taking two days off. I’m sorry.”

Liz pulled away from him and sat up. She moved quietly to her dresser and grabbed jeans and a shirt out to put on. “I guess I know how it goes.”

“Listen, I know you’re not doing anything right now. Why don’t you come with me?” Joe sat up. “No strings, just come with me and have a bit of fun.”

“And watch Sav with his fiancee? I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Liz shook her head. “I don’t think I could do it.”

“Please, it would mean the world to me.” Joe implored, his blue eyes shining as a tear formed. “This past couple of years have been pretty rough and I just need someone to be with that I don’t have to worry about. Scratch that. I just need you, okay?”

Liz turned around, searching Joe’s face as she asked, “Doesn’t it bother you that I’m still in love with him, however hopeless that may be?”

“Liz, I’ll deal with any jealousy I may have. I just want you to come with me.” Joe stood, wrapping his naked body in a blanket. “Besides, it may do you some good to be around the group again. Phil was just saying how he missed your practical jokes.”

Joe looked down at the floor. “Please. It’s been really lonely lately.” He looked up at her, imploring, “I really need you right now.”

“Okay Joe, I’ll go with you. If nothing else, this ought to prove interesting.”

She went, naked, to the phone to make flight arrangements. She got lucky enough to be on the same flight with Joe, in first class. She went about the room, packing her suitcase quickly and laying out her clothes for the flight. Joe still lay in bed watching her. He was completely amazed by her and hadn’t wanted to leave her behind when he flew back to Ireland. He knew these feelings were only going to lead to heartbreak, but for the moment he just wanted to enjoy them. There would be time later to deal with consequences. Like Sav.

Liz looked at Joe and said, “I’ve got to get a shower. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting.” He got up and went in search of his clothing. He found it all and retreated back to the bedroom. The shower had just come on and Joe simply couldn’t resist the thought of being with her again. He slipped into the bathroom silently and walked to the shower. He could see her behind the frosted glass of the stall. He opened the door quietly and stepped in to join her. Liz turned around to find him there. She said, “You know, I almost asked you to come in with me.”

“Well, I decided to invite myself in.” His hands began to roam her body. “Figured I’d make sure the water was warm enough.” She reached between them and grabbed his manhood, using it to pull him closer.

She reached up and grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling his lips to hers. “Um, that’s nice.” She said in a husky voice. Her nails raked against his chest, raising slight welts on his skin. He put his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground, her back against the wall of the shower. His hand slipped under her, getting himself into position. With one thrust of his hips, he was buried inside her. He moved hard and fast, while she kept her hands locked around his neck. She threw her head back, moaning in ecstasy as she reached her peak. Joe kept moving, eyes closed, as he said, “You like it like that, don’t you?”

“Oh, god, yes. You feel so good, Joe.” He slammed himself inside her, almost painfully, as he came. He set her down gently and reached for the soap. “Guess I better help you get cleaned up, since I did so much to mess you up.”

Two hours later, they caught their plane to Dublin. She slept against his shoulder for most of the flight while Joe kept a loving eye on her. They went to Joe’s place, where the band was supposed to be waiting. Liz was tense at the thought of seeing Sav, but knew it was better to get it over with now instead of waiting. They arrived at Joe’s only to find that Vivian was the only one in the studio. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Joe and Liz walked in.

Joe looked around the studio. There was a message flashing on his machine, so he went to listen to it. When he returned he said to Vivian, “Rick’s running late. I don’t know what’s keeping Phil and Sav.”

“What is Sav going to do when he sees us together?” Liz asked him.

“Don’t worry, we’ll work it out.” Joe pulled Liz up to him and brought her lips to his for a long kiss. Then they heard a cough. Liz’s back was to the door as Joe looked up. He still had his arms around her as he realized Phil, Darla and Sav were standing in the door. At first, Sav simply smiled at Joe. Then Liz turned around and Sav’s face fell. He stood stunned for a moment. There was his Liz, the woman he had searched half the world for, standing in Joe’s arms. His first instinct was to take a swing at Joe right then and there. Then he realized that Darla was standing there, wondering what was wrong with her fiancé. Liz could see the anger on Sav’s face as it dawned on him what had happened. At that moment, she regretted letting Joe talk her into coming with him. She ran out of the room and out the back door of the house, crying. Joe knew what had happened. He’d known when he’d brought Liz here that there was going to be a problem when Sav found out, but he hadn’t cared. Joe followed Liz out the back as fast as he could.

Sav stood there for a moment, his fists clenched, trying to decide what to do. He turned towards the door he had just entered and slammed his fist right through the wall. Darla was there, waiting for an explanation that Sav couldn’t give. He wanted some explanations of his own. He charged out the door, following Liz and Joe. He found them in the back yard.

“Joe, he hates me now. Why the hell did I do this? I should have known better! Oh god, what have I done?"

“That’s just what the fuck I want to know!” Sav yelled as he came out the door. “What the bloody hell are you doing here? With him!” Sav motioned to Joe. “You left me without a backward glance and now that I’m getting on with my life, you show up again. Fucking my best friend! What kind of a fucking game are you playing?”

Liz couldn’t move. She couldn’t speak. She sat crying as Joe stood up to face Sav. Joe was calm as he said, “Wait a minute. She didn’t want to come here, but I asked her to. I went…”

Sav got in Joe’s face. “You’re my fucking best friend, Joe. You know how hard I tried to find her. You know how I feel about her. How could you do this to me?”

Joe looked at Sav. “You said you were over her. You’re going to marry Darla now. Maybe you should sod off and not worry about her anymore.”

Sav stared at Joe for a moment, his rage building. Then suddenly, it exploded right in Joe’s face. Sav swung his fist at the larger man and knocked him to the ground. He stood over Joe and screamed, “If you want the bloody bitch, she’s yours!” Sav stormed off, leaving Joe on the ground.

Liz crawled over to Joe and looked at his eye. “We’ve got to get something on that eye or it’ll swell shut.”

“Don’t worry about it, Liz. Are you okay? You know that deep down Sav didn’t mean that.” Joe looked at the ground. “I should have known he was still in love with you. I just thought…”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Joe. He’d never forgive me now.”

Inside, Phil stopped a stormy Sav as he was leaving. Darla sat in the corner, more confused than ever. She didn’t know what was wrong with Sav. One minute he’d been fine, the perfect fiancé, then the next there was this wild man she didn’t recognize.

Phil was trying to calm Sav down. “Come on, mate. What’d you expect? You knew that you getting married would completely throw Liz. Don’t deny it. And with the life Joe’s been living lately, of course something was going to happen. See reason, man!”

“I don’t want to see bloody fucking reason, Phil. Joe’s sleeping with the woman I love, don’t you understand that?” Darla started to cry softly. “He knows how I feel about Liz. About everything she and I are to each other. And he went and hopped into bed with her the first chance he got! I asked him to go because I was worried about her. Not to damn well take her for himself.”

“Well, all I can say is there were two grown adults, both alone, both with nobody who cared about them. They must have needed each other.” Phil tried to explain the way he saw things, but Sav was having none of it. Sav yelled at Phil, “I bloody well care about her. I still love her.” Then Sav saw Darla crying in the corner. “Ah, shit, I’m sorry, honey. Let’s go home, you didn’t need to see any of this.”

Darla walked out of the studio, tears still running down her face. Sav was still visibly upset, so Darla said nothing on the drive home. She knew the only way to keep him was to let him vent this out, then maybe add a little guilt so he wouldn’t leave her. She’d invested too much time in him to lose him like this.

When they reached home, Sav sat stone-faced, not moving. Inside though, his heart was ripping into a thousand pieces. Liz was with Joe now. That hurt more than when she’d left him. Yet, thinking about it now, it made sense. He’d sent Joe to her and she’d reached out to the only man who could have comforted her. Liz and Joe had been friends from the beginning of their relationship. Joe knew their whole history. And Joe had his own demons to battle. They’d pulled together because they were lonely. Sav could see it, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Things in his own life had gone too far. He was trapped.

Over the next weeks, Liz avoided the studio when she knew Sav would be there. Sav had called Joe and apologized, but Liz still stayed out of his view as much as possible. During the afternoon, when they were recording, Liz wandered the town, going into shops and restaurants to pass the time. At night, when she thought they would be done for the day, she slipped back into Joe’s house and his bed. Joe had calmed her down after Sav’s blow up, when she had tried to leave. Regardless of her own feelings, she had to consider his now. He needed her.

As time went on, Sav didn’t come to Joe’s as often, because he was getting ready for a wedding he never truly wanted. Liz became more comfortable in her role as Joe’s lover. Sav still smoldered every time he saw them together, but he said nothing. There was nothing to say. Joe and Sav had finally come to terms with the situation and were working together again. Neither of them mentioned Liz when she wasn’t there. For Sav it was too painful. For Joe, he was trying to protect his happiness. The years with Karla had been miserable. For the first time in a long time, he was happy.

The day of Sav’s wedding, Liz barely spoke to Joe. Not that she was angry or upset with him, she was just depressed. “Why am I doing this? I don’t want to go to this damn wedding.”

“I know, Liz. You’re the one who said you needed to do it.” Joe ran his hand along her cheek. “You’ll get through it.”

“Sure. Let’s get this over with.” She sighed.

“Liz,” Joe said. Then he paused. “You know I love you, don’t you?”

“I know Joe.”

When they arrived at the church, Joe left Liz with Rick and Phil and went to find Sav. Liz looked around and said, “Gee, it looks really nice in here.”

Jackie spoke across Phil. “Yeah, Darla did a lot of work…”

But Liz wasn’t listening. Sav and Joe had just walked out to the altar. They stood talking a moment while Liz just stared at Sav. Joe turned and looked at Liz. He mouthed the words, “Are you okay?” Liz just shook her head.

Sav turned to see what Joe was looking at. In his heart, he already knew. He looked at Liz and their eyes locked. With all her heart, she wanted to scream, “Don’t do this.” Instead, she sat mute, looking into his eyes and trying to find the answers there. Sav stared back, his heart breaking as he saw tears forming on her eyelashes. He couldn’t stop this now and he wanted to beg Liz’s forgiveness for it. Suddenly he understood why she had turned to Joe for comfort. This kind of pain was too much to take alone.

Joe watched the two of them in his own pain.

When the wedding march started, he looked at Sav only to find him still staring at Liz. He nudged Sav, then turned to watch Darla come down the aisle.

Before Sav turned away from Liz, he mouthed two silent words to her. “I’m sorry.”

Liz refused to watch Darla. Her eyes stayed on Sav the whole time. She sat down with the rest of the guests, her eyes finally drying. During the ceremony, Joe turned to check on Liz constantly, though she didn’t look at him. She stared straightforward. Then she heard the words, “Do you, Richard Savage, take this woman…” She whispered “no” and felt Rick put his arm around her. As Sav said “I do”, hot tears trailed down her cheeks. She sat stunned until the minister asked, “Is there anyone here who knows any reason why these two should not be married? Speak now or forever hold your peace.” Sav turned to Liz and shook his head sadly. Liz lost the last of her self-control and ran out of the church. She was leaning against a tree, crying, when she heard the ceremony end. The other guests started to file out of the church and Joe went to look for Liz. He found her still standing by the tree. Without a word, he took her into his arms. She stood there and watched as Sav and his new wife left the church and headed for the reception.

Liz and Joe got into his car and went to the reception. Since Joe was in the wedding, he had to stand on the receiving line with Sav and Darla. Liz walked through the line and mumbled a quick congratulations before taking off for her seat. She sat with Phil, Jacki, Rick and Rick’s wife Stacey. As soon as she reached her seat, she ordered a double shot of Southern Comfort. She drank it quickly, while the others watched in astonishment. She ordered another and downed it as quickly. Stacy put a hand on Liz’s arm and said, “Are you sure you should be drinking like that?”

“Yep,” Liz said. “By the time tonight is over, I don’t want to feel anything.”

“That only works in the short term, Liz,” Phil said. “Trust me, I know.”

“Frankly, Phil, I don’t give a damn,” she said as she stopped the waiter again. The waiter returned with her third drink as Joe walked up. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the drink in Liz’s hand.

“Little one, do you think you should be doing that?”

“Why the hell does everybody think they need to ask me that? I’ll be back, I need to go to the restroom.” Liz belted back the drink, stood up and wobbled a bit before gaining her feet completely. Stacey stood up and said, “Maybe I should go with you?”

Liz looked at her and said, “Thans a million, Stac, but I can make it on me own.” She walked away unsteadily.

“Joe, is she okay?” Jacki asked. “I’ve never seen her drink like that before.”

“That’s because she doesn’t drink. At least not usually.” Joe sat down and sighed. “She’s just having a really bad time right now. This wedding has gotten to her.”

“Maybe she should have stayed home today, mate,” Phil said and immediately regretted it.

“She said she needed to see it for herself,” Joe said sadly. “I don’t think she really believed he was going to do it.”

“I’m sorry she was wrong, Joe,” came Sav’s voice over his shoulder. Joe turned and found a somber bridegroom behind him. “I wish she hadn’t been there today. But, where is she now?”

“She went into the restroom a few minutes ago. She should be back any time now.” Jacki volunteered. “She’s been hitting the drinks pretty hard though.”

“Shit, Darla’s in there too.” Sav said.

Sav, Joe, Stacy and Jacki took off running for the restroom almost as soon as the words had left Sav’s mouth. They could hear the screaming before they reached the door. Stacy and Jacki pushed the two men out of the way and ran into the room. Sav and Joe stood outside, fuming.

Once inside the room, Jacki grabbed Liz and Stacey got a hold on Darla.

“You fucking bitch! Stay the hell away from my husband!” Darla screamed. “All you know how to do is confuse him. He’s mine now!”

“He was mine a long time ago, cunt. You have no idea what we mean to each other!” Liz yelled back.

“Meant, you mean. He doesn’t give a damn about you anymore. Not with you fucking his best friend.” Jacki had to restrain Liz as Liz dived at Darla,

“Sav loves me, you bitch. If you ever hurt him, I’ll be right here for him and he knows it!”

Jacki and Stacey couldn’t hold them back any longer and Stacey screamed, “SAV, JOE, get in here! We can’t stop them!”

Joe and Sav burst into the room. Joe went straight to Liz, while Sav stood for a moment, not knowing what to do.

“Sav, tell her the truth! Tell her you still love me!” Liz said as Joe held onto her. She crumpled to the ground, sobbing. “Tell her, Sav!”

Sav went to Darla and said, “Please, honey, just get out of here. She doesn’t know what she’s saying.”

Darla turned and flounced out. Sav turned to the sobbing Liz and the anger drained from his eyes. He knelt beside her and whispered, “I do love you” then turned to Joe and said, “Please, take care of her for me.” Then he followed Darla out of the room.

Joe helped Liz to her feet and told Stacey and Jacki, “She needs to go to bed. I’m going to take her home.”

He gathered Liz up and took her out to his car. On the drive home, Liz passed out. Joe drove silently until they reached his house. He tried to wake Liz up, but she wouldn’t budge. He pulled her out of the car and carried her into the house. He tucked her into his bed then crawled in himself, taking her into his arms. There would be time later to figure out what he was going to do. He fell asleep and dreamt of Liz all night long.

The next morning Liz woke with a thundering headache. She leaned up and realized she was in the bed alone. Throwing on her robe, she went in search of Joe. Following the sounds coming from the studio, Liz walked in and stood listening to Joe work on a song she had never heard before. The new lyrics seemed directed right at Liz.

“I don’t know how to leave you- and I don’t know how to stay,” Joe sang, “I got things that I must tell you- that I don’t know how to say. The man behind these empty words- is crying out in shame- holding on to this sinking ship- where nothing else remains- all I want is everything- am I asking too much?- all I want is everything- like the feel of your touch- but all I have are yesterdays- tomorrow never comes.”

“Good morning, Joseph,” Liz interrupted. Those lyrics seemed entirely too on point, so Liz veered away from them. “I don’t remember much about last night. Care to fill me in?”

“I don’t think you really want to know what happened.” Joe said, concealing his anger and frustration. “You weren’t very nice.”

Liz sat down beside Joe. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. What happened?”

“Not much other than a screaming match with the new bride in the loo.” Joe looked at her and she could see the hurt in his eyes. “Sav and I had to break you two up. You were yelling at her that Sav was still in love with you and promising to take him away if she hurt him.”

Liz’s head fell to her chest as she said, “Oh shit, I’m sorry Joe.”

“Well, I guess I shouldn’t be too upset. It’s not like you came out and said I was nothing but a poor substitute or something.”

“God, Joe, I never meant anything like that!” She knelt in front of him and took his hands in hers. “I guess I just don’t know what I want anymore. Yes, I still love him more than my own life. I can’t help that. But I’ve got to get past it. Being with him isn’t an option anymore. You’re not a substitute. You’re a unique person who I care a great deal for.” She looked up at him, wanting him to see the truth in her words. “I may not ever get over him, I’ll be honest with you. If not, I could be a miserable person to live with. But we can give it a try. Just be ready if I tell you I can’t handle it, okay?”

Joe looked at her with hope. “Do you want to stay?”

“Yes, silly, that’s what I was trying to tell you. I want to try, but I can’t make any guarantees. Just don’t push me, okay?”

“Deal.” He reached down and pulled her up to him. His mouth reached hers before her body settled against him. He untied her robe and his hands wandered over the naked flesh beneath it. Liz broke away and stood up without closing her robe. She wandered to the mixing table and said, “ya know, I’ve been avoiding you guys when you’re recording. Why don’t you play me some of the new stuff?”

“Okay,” he said huskily, coming up behind her. “How bout this one.” He flipped a switch and music poured from the machine. Bass guitar dominated the song for her, lying under all the other instruments with a sensual sound that made Liz want to move with it. For a brief moment, she got lost in that sound. Then she began to grind her hips in time to the pulses of that bass. She stood there, dancing around the room nearly naked until Joe couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed her, kissing her roughly. He stripped her robe off her shoulders and threw it to the ground. She leaned against the table and grabbed his button down shirt with both hands. With a quick pull, the buttons flew in every direction. She had his pants undone almost as quickly. As the song came to an end, she reached over and flipped the switch again. “It’s definitely a song to get the body moving,” she laughed. She heard the bass coming on again as Joe lifted her onto the table. He mounted her with one motion as her senses went into overload. Joe’s deep strokes matched to the throbbing of the music as Liz threw her head back in ecstasy. She came just as the bass solo was playing over the speakers. Joe continued to move, pleasing himself now. He thrust harder and harder, almost to the point of pain. Liz felt her body building again, faster than it ever had before. Just as she was overcome by her second orgasm, Joe gave one final thrust as he came himself. He leaned over her and kissed her, saying, “My god, you’re phenomenal.”

“Why thank you! You’re not too shabby yourself, ya know?” They pulled away from each other a bit and Joe got himself dressed again, though his shirt was a lost cause. Liz closed her robe and looked at him. “What song is that?”

“It’s titled ‘Work It Out.’ Did you like it?” Joe gave her a grin, knowing the answer.

“God, yes, the work on the bass is terrific! Who wrote it?”

“Viv.”

“He did a wonderful job on that one,” she smiled. “It’s a great song. So what are you guys going to work on now?”

“Well, everybody went home for a couple of weeks off while Sav is on his honeymoon.” He paused to gage her reaction. She glanced away and then looked at him with a forced smile. He continued, “I figure we’ll just bum around and see what happens.”

“Sounds good.” She walked over to the keyboard and ran her fingers over the keys. “Let me get dressed. I’ve got an idea I want to work on.”

She left and got her clothes on quickly, meeting him back in the studio a few minutes later. As she walked in, she said, “Listen, I’ve got this part of a song that’s been stuck in my head for a few days now.” They hunched over the keyboard as she played what she had. He smiled and said, “I think we can work with this.”

Over the next two weeks, Joe and Liz spent most of their time writing and recording demos, including the original piece Liz had worked on. That particular song was changed into a duet that they recorded vocals for before any of the band came back from vacation. Phil was the first to return and he immediately started on guitar parts for their music, saying, “We ought to leave the two of you alone more often.”

Vivian and Rick arrived the next day, and both agreed to help flesh out the songs Joe and Liz had written. None of them were for the Leps, but everybody agreed they were fantastic. All told, they ended up with four songs including the duet. They sat in the studio, listening to the duet in the afternoon of the third day since Phil’s return. Joe sat with his arm around Liz. The lyrics for the duet, titled “Shadow of a Memory” were a raw reaction to the situation between Sav and Liz. Some of them had come to Liz the day of the wedding, as she sat watching him get married. They were painful, intense lyrics that she still teared up listening to and that anybody who knew them would recognize. As the song ended, Vivian looked up and said, “Well, it’s almost done.”

From the doorway, Liz heard Sav’s voice. “Sounds like you need a bass player now.” She turned and faced him. She said, “Yeah, do ya know one?”

He smiled down at her through the tears in his eyes. The words of the song had hit home with him and she knew it. He laughed and said, “Yeah, I might know one who’d love to help you out.” He tried to ignore how close Liz was to Joe as he came over to the console. “Let’s hear what you’ve got.”

He sat down and listened to their work so far, nodding his head to show his opinion of it. Then he picked up his bass and set to work on his own. A few hours later, he had finished working on “Shadow” and sat with Liz as they listened to the finished song.

“It sounds good. Thanks a lot, Sav.” Liz said, staring at the console.

“It was my pleasure, Lizzie,” he said. She looked up at him with a trembling smile, then said, “I’ll be right back.”

Before he could answer, she took off for the other room. She returned with a small package that she handed to him. “Happy late birthday.”

“You didn’t have to do this,” he said as he took the package.

“I wanted to.” She smiled and said, “Open it.”

“Okay.” Carefully, he tore open the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside was a pewter wolf about four inches tall. “But, you’re the one who collects wolves, Liz.”

“Read the bottom.” She looked away from him, gripping the necklace at her throat.

On the bottom of the figurine, there was an inscription that read, “Someone to watch over you faithfully.”

“It’s beautiful, Lizzie.” He sat the statue down and pulled Liz into his arms. They sat there for a while, just holding each other. She pulled away and looked at him with a tear stained face. He put his hand to her cheek as they looked into each other’s eyes.

“I mean it, Sav. It’ll be there when I can’t. Just like this is,” she said as she motioned to the necklace. At that moment, they understood each other perfectly. In his eyes, she could see a thousand apologies. And he knew deep inside that she’d always be there for him.

Neither of them saw as Joe turned silently away from the door.

Over the next few days, Sav was at the studio constantly working on the music written for Liz. Joe stayed close to Liz, not wanting to leave her alone with Sav again. He could feel them pulling together again, though Liz treated Joe no differently. She was sweet to him, loving, but he could tell something had changed. But she was happier, so he said nothing.

As for Liz, she felt a bit more settled than she had. Sav was in her life again, though nothing more than the hug when she gave him the gift had passed between them. She was accepting what there was for him to give her. He was married and they could no longer be the lovers of the past. But he was still her best friend. She tried to give Joe all the love she could, but he was distant now. Some silent pain had taken him over. He seemed to have something on his mind that he didn’t want to share with Liz and all she could do was wait for him to tell her what it was.

Christmas came quickly that year. The others all returned home for the holidays and Liz saw very little of Sav. When Sav was gone, Joe became a different person, laughing with her and loving her. They walked through town together, holding hands like teenagers. At night, they came together like nothing in the world could pull them apart. Yet they both knew what lay under everything.

On Christmas morning, they sat on the couch and exchanged gifts alone at Joe’s house. Joe handed Liz her present and sat back to watch her open it. She ripped it open and found a silver wolf’s head bracelet. She looked at it for a moment before reaching a hand to the charm at her throat. The bracelet was an exact match to the wolf necklace Sav had given her years ago. Slipping it on her wrist, she looked at it, then Joe. “It’s lovely, Joe.”

“I made sure it matched the necklace, so you’d wear it all the time. That way, maybe you’ll think about me occasionally.” He looked at her and smiled.

“It’s beautiful, Joe.” She smiled back at him and said, “Here’s your present.” She handed him a box wrapped in gold paper. He tore through the paper like a child. As he opened the box, he saw a golden hourglass lying in the tissue. He looked at Liz, confusion showing on his face.

“It’s a way to always remember that every second you spend with a person is precious, cause you never know when it will be the last.” She leaned over and kissed him gently. “Every second two people are together, they create a memory that can last a lifetime, if they are willing to hold on to it.”

He leaned over to her and whispered, “I’ll hold on to every second I’m with you, little one.” Joe stood and bent over to pick Liz up. She curled her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to her. He carried her to his bedroom and laid her gently on the bed. Lying beside her, he slowly undressed her. He stayed beside her, fully dressed, as his hands moved over her body. His mouth closed on Liz’s nipple as his hand went gently down her stomach and between her thighs. His fingers massaged her clit as his tongue teased her nipple. Liz’s fingers were wrapped in the hair at the back of his neck, holding his mouth to her breast. She arched her back, moaning, as Joe’s fingers penetrated her warmth. He brought her right to the edge of orgasm, then stopped. She looked up, confused, as he moved away from her. He undressed slowly, with Liz watching every movement hungrily. Then he came back to her, lying on top of her lightly. Kissing her again, his tongue darting into her mouth, she felt his hands on the back of her knees. He lifted her legs up and his manhood began to slowly enter her body. He raised up onto his knees and thrust into her slowly. He kept her legs held up in his hands as he began to build momentum. His movement took on intensity as they each neared their individual climaxes. They came together, Joe laying on top her as they floated back to earth. Then he lay beside her, holding her as they drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, they slept late. They woke up to the ringing of the phone. Joe picked it up and said, “Hello?”

“No, we don’t have any plans yet… Well, I don’t know… If you’re sure about it…Okay, we’ll see you then.” He hung up the phone, looking puzzled.

“Who was that?” Liz asked.

“Darla. She wants us to go out with them on New Year’s Eve.” He looked down at Liz. “I told her we would.”

“Joe, is that a good idea? It could get awkward. The last time Darla saw me, I was raving drunk.” She sat up and looked at him. “I don’t think anything good can come of this.”

“Well, we’ll see what happens. Now, how about breakfast?”

New Year’s Eve, just before they left their house, Darla finally decide to tell Sav that she had invited Joe and Liz to go out with them. They were suppose to meet at the club that Darla had picked.

“What do you mean, you invited them? Why didn’t you ask me first?” Sav fumed. This was not a night that he wanted to deal with seeing Liz with Joe. He’d wanted to go out and have some fun, trying to forget what had happened in his life the past few months.

“Well, Joe is your friend, so I thought you’d enjoy spending some time with him. And I need to try to make up with Liz after what happened at the wedding.” This last she said with her back turned to him. Good thing or he’d have seen the expression on her face. She had no intention of doing anything but aggravating the situation.

When they arrived at the club close to ten o’clock, they found Joe and Liz waiting for them at a table. Darla took the seat next to Joe, leaving Sav no choice but to sit by Liz. They sat there making small talk and listening to the music coming from the dance floor. As the music slowed, Joe looked at Liz and said, “Want to dance?”

“Sure.” She got up and walked hand in hand to the dance floor. They put their arms around each other and began to sway slowly to the music.

“Are you okay?” Joe asked, obviously concerned about her.

“Yeah, but I’m glad it’s getting close to midnight.” She sighed. “I’m not terribly comfortable around Darla.”

“Well, it’s only a few minutes, okay little one?” Joe pulled her to him tighter. “I love you.” She leaned her head against his chest as they continued to dance til the end of the song.

When they returned to the table, Joe announced he was hitting the bar. As soon as he walked away, Darla decided to visit the restroom, leaving Sav and Liz alone. They sat for a moment, just looking at each other. Then Sav broke the silence. “I don’t know if I thanked you for my birthday present. It’s come in handy.”

“Are you two having problems already?” Liz asked, astonished.

“No, Darla is fine. She hasn’t got a clue what’s going on. I’m the one having a problem.” Liz looked at him, worried that something serious was wrong. “I’m not in love with her, Liz.” Liz’s eyes went to the floor, afraid of what he would say next. His hand went under her chin to bring her eyes up to his. “I still love you, Lizzie.”

“Rick, what the hell do you think you’re saying?” Darla screeched. He hadn’t seen her return to the table. “You’re my husband, but you’re telling her you love her?” She slapped him and took off out to the balcony. Sav looked at Liz and said, “Time to put out a fire.” Then he got up and followed Darla out the door. She could see them screaming at each other through the glass.

Joe returned as the DJ announced it was only one minute to midnight. He sat down next to a glum looking Liz and asked what was wrong. She answered, “Oh, Sav and Darla are fighting.”

“Well, listen I wanted to talk to you.” Suddenly they heard the count down to midnight. They looked to the video screens and watched the display there. Liz glanced out the window and saw Darla still screaming at Sav. The countdown made it to one and Joe leaned over and gave Liz a deep, passionate kiss. She felt a bit uneasy, but hid it from Joe. He took her hand and said, “I need to talk to you. I love you, you know that. I know you don’t feel the same way yet, but maybe someday you will. Well, Liz, I can accept that. But I’ve got to know before we go any further with this. Will you marry me?”

Liz sat there, stunned. Joe had been so understanding about her need for time until now. What the hell could she do now? Joe sat there and looked at her, realizing that he had made a mistake by pushing her so fast. He should have waited. Not knowing what had just happened with Sav, he thought that this was his fault alone. Liz looked up at him, tears in her eyes as she said, “Joe, I wish I could. You’re so sweet and you’ve been so patient with me. I care about you a great deal, and I don’t want to lose you from my life. But I can’t marry you.”

Joe hung his head, his hair hiding his face as he cried. He knew, before she’d answered, what her answer would be. She put her hand over his said, “I’m sorry, Joe. It’s just too fast.”

He looked at her with glistening eyes. “I know. I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

“Do you understand what I mean though? It just wouldn’t be fair to you. I love you, Joe, just not in that way. There’s only one man I love that way, but he’s already married. I’m not sure what I should be doing right now, but getting married would only hurt both of us in the long run.”

Darla and Sav made their way back to the table, Sav’s eye’s still blazing from the fight with his wife. He took one look at Joe and knew something was very wrong. He also knew that Joe would never tell him what it was, because it concerned the woman sitting between them. Joe simply looked up and said, “I think we’ll be going home now.”

“What’ll you be doing tomorrow?” Sav asked. He wanted to get as far from Darla as he could for a while, til they both cooled down.

Liz looked at Joe and knew one thing that she had to do right then. “I’ll be going home to the States.”

Sav’s head snapped up. Joe merely looked at the floor miserably. Darla smiled. Sav asked, “Why?”

“I just think it’s time for me to go.” She stood up with Joe to leave. Sav looked at her, desperate to know what had happened but unable to ask. Sav stood and gave Joe a quick hug. He looked at Liz and decided to throw caution to the wind for a moment, Darla be damned. He gave Liz a hug and whispered, “I’m sorry you’ve got to go.” Then he gave her a quick kiss that reduced Darla to a thundercloud. “I guess I’ll see you around sometime then.”

Liz squeezed his hand and said, “That’s a promise.” Then she took Joe’s hand and led him out of the club. They didn’t speak on the way home. As they walked in the door, Joe looked at her and said, “Can I hold you for just one more night before you leave me?”

She pulled him into her arms and let him cry again, her own tears falling into Joe’s hair. She wanted to stop his pain, but knew that it would only hurt him more later on. If she didn’t leave now, eventually even their friendship would be gone. She led Joe up to the bed they had shared and they made love one last time before they fell asleep.

The next day, Joe took Liz to the airport. They both cried, but they understood what was happening. They could stay close, but Liz couldn’t do what he wanted of her. She boarded the plane and cried the whole way across the Atlantic.

Three weeks after leaving Joe, Liz sat at home trying to decide what to do next. Adrenalize blared from the speaker as she contemplated her future. She walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water, then returned to the living room to stare at her keyboard again. The song she was writing just wasn’t co-operating with her. Suddenly the phone rang.

“Hello?” she answered, glad for the break.

“’Ello, luv! How have you been?” came the voice on the phone.

“Phil, is that you?”

“Yes ma’am. How are things in things in the states?”

“Oh, I’m fine. How are you?” She sat down and looked out the window.

“Well, I’m fine.”

“What’d you need? I doubt you’d call me out of the blue.”

“Well,” there was a long pause on his end of the line. “I’ve been talking to the guys and you’re the only one we could think of to help us out.” His voice was unusually serious. “We’ve got a major problem on our hands.”

“What’s wrong, Phil?” She asked, suddenly concerned.

“It’s Sav. He’s got some medical troubles that are making his life hell.” He was quiet for a minute before continuing. “And that snippy little bitch he married isn’t making things any easier on him.”

“Phil, what kind of medical problems? You’re starting to scare me.”

“Have you ever heard of Bell’s Palsy?”

“No, what is it?”

“Basically, luv, it fucks up your face. At first they thought he might have had a stroke or something like that. Once they ruled that out, they figured out it was Bell’s.”

“What do you mean, his face?” She sat forward in her chair, tensed, waiting for an answer.

“Well, half of his face doesn’t move. He’s wearing an eye patch cause his right eye won’t close. Half of his mouth just stays open and slack.” Phil stopped for a second, then said, “he’s not in good shape.”

“God, that’s awful. But Phil,” she asked, “what do you need me for? He’s got you guys and his new little wife, so he should be okay.”

“His wife is the biggest problem he’s got. She’s been a real bitch, telling him he’s damaged goods and that the fans won’t want to come see a freak show. Nasty shit, that is.” He shuddered. “Sav needs a friendly face and to him, yours will always be the friendliest of all.”

“If you’re sure he’d want to see me…”

“Yes, we’re all sure. Joe suggested calling you and everyone else agreed. We’re counting on you.”

“Okay, are you still in Dublin at Joe’s place? I’ll get the next flight out.”

“Yep, we’re still there. Call me or Joe and we’ll get you from the airport.”

“I’ll call you right back.” She called the airport and got the next flight out, then called Joe’s house to give them her information. Joe answered the phone and wrote down what she told him. Before he hung up, he said, “Liz, he really needs you.”

“Then I’ll do the best I can.”

“Thanks, little one.”

She packed quickly and just made her flight three hours later. It was morning when she landed at Dublin Airport. Joe and Phil were waiting for her and Phil ran straight up to give her a hug. “’Ello, luv. Thanks for coming so fast.”

Joe hung back for a moment, not sure how to greet her. She solved the problem for him by putting her arms around him for a friendly hug and quick kiss. “Hello, Joseph.”

“Hello,” he replied and stepped back towards the luggage rack. “Which ones are yours?”

“Just that brown one over there,” she said, pointing to her case. “I packed light this trip.”

Joe grabbed her bag and they walk in silence through the noisy airport. When they got to the door, Phil opened it and said, “There’s Jacki with the car now.”

Phil took over driving while Joe and Liz crammed into the back seat with Rory, who was sitting in his safety seat.

“LeeZee.” Rory cried.

“Hi Rory. Gosh, you’re getting big!”

“Isn’t he?” Jacki said. “He’s growing like a weed. How was your trip?”

“It was okay. Rather uneventful.” Joe put his arm around her in an effort to get more comfortable in their confined space. Liz looked at all three of them and said, “Okay, guys, what’s going on with Sav?”

“He’s horribly depressed,” Phil started. “As pretty as his face was, looking into the mirror and seeing what he sees now is a terrifying thing. It’s torn him apart emotionally. He won’t go out of the house, much less even try to get to the studio. And the worst part is, the doctors don’t know if his face will ever return to normal.”

“Well, I can tell you this much,” Jacki spoke up. “He needs to get away from that bitch.”

“Why? Darla seemed okay when I was here last time.” She leaned forward to hear what Jackie had to say, but it was Joe that spoke next.

“Until the Bell’s Palsy hit,” he said quietly. “Then she saw her free ride with a rock star hit the brakes.”

“What do you mean? God, it hasn’t affected his playing, has it?” Liz gasped.

“No, no, he can play fine, but he’s not pin-up perfect anymore. This shit has wrecked his face.” Joe sighed. “That would be hard enough without Darla.”

“If she’s hurt him…”

Joe stopped her. “She hasn’t hurt him. She’s destroyed him. That’s why we called you.”

Liz slumped back against Joe and muttered, “I’ll kill her.”

Phil looked at her in the rear view mirror. “Hold it luv. We didn’t call you here to kill anyone. We called you to save someone.”

“I’ll do what I can,” she said. “Just get me there.”

“We’ll be there soon.”

Liz laid her head back and tried to think of what to say to Sav. Words wouldn’t form. All she wanted to do was take him in her arms and hold him. There really weren’t words for what she felt. She looked out the window past Joe and sighed. Soon, she would see Sav again.

A short while later, the car pulled in at Sav’s house. Joe kissed her cheek and squeezed her shoulders. “Are you ready for this?”

Determined, she said, “Let’s go.”

Joe got out of the car and helped Liz to her feet. He gave her hand a quick squeeze and headed for the door. Phil and Jacki followed, carrying little Rory. Liz fell in behind. As soon as the door opened, she heard the stereo playing and tears sprang to her eyes. Journey’s ‘Faithfully’ rang in her ears as she followed the rest of the group. Then she heard Darla screaming at Sav.

“They’re not going to show up, Rick. They’re probably off looking for a new bass player to replace your ugly ass. You know, one that the fans won’t run away from screaming.” Her voice dripped with disgust. “Those guys like to get laid and you couldn’t get laid right now if you gave the girl every cent you had!” Liz started to head in the direction of Darla’s voice, but Joe motioned her to a different room. She heard Sav’s tired voice reply quietly, “Just leave me alone.” He sounded so lonely that Liz’s heart wept for him.

“Sorry we’re late, man. Ran into some trouble picking something up.” Joe’s voice rang with false cheer. Joe was the first into the room where Sav sat. Liz stood in the doorway and looked at Sav for a moment. He sat with his head in one hand, turned so that she could not see the right side of his face. Tears streamed down his unshaven face. His elbows on his knees, he stared at the picture held in his right hand. Liz couldn’t see the face in the picture. He didn’t look up until Joe spoke.

“We brought you a visitor!” Sav looked up at them and saw Liz. His face lit up despite all it’s problems when he realized she was really there. Then a terrified look came over him and he covered his face with his hands, the picture falling to the floor.

“Please, go away. I don’t want you here, Liz.” He rose from his seat and ran out the back door of the room. Liz ran after him without saying a word.

“That went well,” Phil said to no one in particular.

Sav stood at the window, sobs tearing from his body. Liz walked up behind him and did what she’d thought about on the way over there. She put her arms around him and held him, her head resting on his back. All she could do was hold on to him as he wept. Liz could hear the CD playing ‘Faithfully’ again and realized that it was set to repeat continuously. Then she heard Darla scream again. “Would you turn off that damn song? It’s played all fucking day!”

Sav turned part of the way toward the sound of her voice. Before he could stop her, Liz stepped in front of him. He tried to cover his face but she grabbed his hands and held them at his sides. He stared into her face, waiting for her disgust to surface. Her eyes searched his face, not quite sure what she was looking for. She didn’t speak as her fingertips traced his features. Finally, softly, she said, “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are to me?”

He tried to pull away. “Like this?” He said sadly. “At least don’t lie to me, Lizzie. You’ve never been good at that.”

“Well, I’ll admit the pirate look is a bit out of style,” she tapped his eye patch. “And I must say I miss seeing two beautiful blue eyes instead of just one. Other than that, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Look at my mouth! I look like a slack wit!”

“You still look like the most beautiful man in the world to me. Though I’m not sure I like the new short hairdo.” She ran a hand through his shorn, unkempt locks. “I miss your mane.”

He pulled her close to his body and wrapped her in his arms. Burying his face in her neck, he softly said, “I’ve missed you so much that I thought some days I might die of it.”

“I’ve missed you too baby.” She kissed his cheek. After a moment, she said, “Let’s get out of here.”

Holding his hand, she led him back to the others. When they entered the room, there was obviously tension there. Darla stood to one side, glaring at Jacki.

“What’s she doing here?” Darla hissed.

“I just came to help an old friend,” Liz said, letting Sav’s hand drop back to his side.

“Well get the hell out of my house!” Darla said, still hissing.

Liz walked in front of the chair Sav had been sitting in. The picture he had held when she walked in lay face down on the carpet. She picked it up and slid it into her pocket without looking at it. “Don’t worry, we’ll leave. All of us.” She looked at Sav and smiled. He nodded his head and smiled back. She turned to Sav and said, “Did you need anything before we leave?”

“Give me just a minute, I’ll be right back.” Sav left the room and Darla tried to follow. Liz and Jacki blocked the door.

“I don’t think he wants to talk to you,” Jacki said venomously.

Darla stared daggers at the two women and stood with her hands on her hips.

“Rick,” she screamed after a few minutes, “What do you think you’re doing? You’d better not even think about leaving me! I’ll make your life a living hell!”

Sav stepped back into the room and said, “You already have.”

“Ready?” Liz asked, looking to Sav for an answer.

“I’ve never been more ready in my life.” He reached out and took Liz’s hand. “Let’s go.”

They walked out the door hand in hand. Joe and Jackie were right behind them and Phil bringing up the rear with Rory. Darla came into the entryway and watched Sav move towards his car. Joe came over to talk to him. “You want to come back to my place? You guys can talk there.”

Sav looked at the ground. The months he had watched Joe with Liz were still an open wound for him and he couldn’t bare to share her with Joe at that moment. He wanted time alone with her. Time to heal the wounds that their break-up had caused and that later Darla had inflicted. There would be another time to deal with Joe. They had never talked about Liz, so Sav had never known what had happened between them. He’d only known that Joe was upset when she left, but had rebounded quickly. He scuffed at the ground with his foot as he said, “You know, I think I’d rather be alone right now.”

Liz’s head shot up and she watched Sav for a minute, waiting to see if he wanted her to leave. She knew he’d been through some rough times, so he might just have decided to be by himself for a while. When he caught her look, he said, “No, baby, you I’m not letting out of my sight just yet.”

Joe simply nodded as he turned to join the others. He knew he’d never really had Liz for his own. Perhaps that was why, when she’d left, he’d been ready for it. Getting carried away by his feelings for her, he had made mistakes. But letting go was not one of them. He loved her, more than anyone in his life. But even with that, he knew she’d always belong to Sav. Liz had never led him on with false hopes and promises. She’d always been straightforward with him and he appreciated it now. At the time, it had been painful, knowing that the woman he loved would never love him as much. But, coming through that pain was the fact that she’d cared too much about him to continue hurting him. They stayed friends, despite his feelings for her. Joe sighed and climbed into the car where Jacki and Phil waited. “They’re not coming. I think they need to be alone.”

Phil looked at Joe’s weary expression and said, “I’m sorry, Joe. I know that was hard.”

Joe looked at his friend and growled, “Bugger off, Phil. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.”

Sav and Liz got into his car while Darla watched them from the porch. She turned and entered the building. She could hear Sav rev the car’s engine, and as it drove off she calmly walked to the stereo. She punched the open button on the CD player and removed the CD from it. Throwing it to the ground, she stepped on it and broke it into a dozen pieces. Exactly what she wanted to do with Rick Savage.

As Sav drove the car, he asked Liz, “Where are we going? Do you have a room?”

“No, I didn’t get a chance to get one. Guess we’ll see what happens, huh?”

“I know someplace we can go.” They drove in silence to a nearby hotel. Liz could tell Sav was still depressed, but said nothing as they drove. She put her hand over his and waited for him to decide he was ready to talk. Sav pulled out a cigarette and lit it as they pulled into the parking lot. He looked at her and said, “Is this okay with you?”

“It’s fine.” They got out of the car and went inside. Liz got a room and they went upstairs without speaking. Sav’s silence was troubling. She could see that the pain was there, but Sav refused to acknowledge it with words. Opening the door, they entered the room and looked at each other. He stood there, still half waiting for Liz to turn on him now that they were alone. The past two weeks had burned away his strength and his will to fight. Darla had taken that away from him.

Liz could stand it no longer. She moved closer to Sav and put her hand to his face. Sav flinched away as she touched the right side of his mouth. She knew that the hurt and sadness in his eyes was the result of what Darla had done to him and she hated Darla for it. Pushing those feelings aside, she tried again to reach for him, to let him know she was there for him. Tears began to run down Sav’s face and she pulled him to her. Holding him, sheltering him from the pain, was all she could do. His tears tore her heart apart. She pulled him unresisting to the bed and lay down, his head pillowed against her breast. Violent sobs began to rip from his chest as she wrapped him in her arms tightly. She ran her hand over his hair, soothing and comforting him. As the sobs subsided, she rocked him gently in her arms. As she lay there, she realized he had cried himself to sleep. She reached into her pocket and found the picture Sav had been looking at. She turned it over and saw her own face staring back at her. A silent tear ran down her cheek as she sat the picture on the nightstand. She wiped it away and settled herself into a more comfortable position, letting herself drift off as well.

Hours later, Sav woke screaming from a nightmare. Women, all kinds of women had surrounded him, and they had been taunting him, screaming at him and beating him. Darla had stood to the side, egging them on. Then Liz had shown up. She protected him until Darla came and dragged him away. Liz sat crying, but Sav couldn’t reach her. Darla came between them. He had awakened screaming Liz’s name. Liz woke with a jerk, hearing him scream. She pulled him back to her and said, “Shhhh, you’re all right now.”

“She wouldn’t let me stay with you. You were crying, but I couldn’t get back to you, cuz she said I’d hurt you even more.” He lay his head on her shoulder and put an arm around her. “I couldn’t let her hurt you, so I had to go with her.”

“Shhh, baby, it was just a dream. Darla’s not here anymore. It may take a while to fix the situation, but we’ll get it worked out,” she stated confidently.

“But it won’t matter anyway. I’m finished. I’m a fucking monster now. The guys can sell sideshow tickets to the freak show now. Nobody is going to want to go to see me in concert. A pretty face is all they care about."

Having heard enough Darla’s venom poured out at her, she pushed Sav onto his back and lay on top of him. “That’s bullshit. You can’t even see what she’s done to you, can you?” She jabbed at his chest to emphasized her next point, “You..are..not..a..freak! You’re a man who has a problem, that’s all. The only monster here is Darla. She took every bit of self-doubt and magnified it back at you. At first, you might have only thought, well, a few fans might turn their backs on you, but the guys would support you. By the time she got done with you, she was trying to convince you that nobody could possibly want to be around you. That’s not true at all. You’ve got good friends and good fans too. Just because your face changed, doesn’t mean everyone will run away.”

He turned his face away from her, but she gently brought him back to look at her. She said, “Sav, I love you. I always have and always will, no matter what. Its time you found out what’s important to you. The superficial fantasy rock star life or real life. You’re the one who always kept my feet on the ground when people tried to put my head in the clouds. Now, you’ve got to do it for yourself. Nobody else can. The person on the inside is still the same man he was three weeks ago. Don’t let Darla win!” From the glint in his eye, she could tell that hit the mark. She leaned down to kiss him for the first time since they’d met again, but he pulled away, not wanting her to touch his mouth. She begged him, “Please.”

Sav took a deep breath and turned his head back to her. Liz bent over him and brought her lips tenderly to his. The kiss felt different than before, but his lips were still as sweet to her. She brought her cheek down and laid it against his face, whispering, “I’ll always love you, Sav” into his ear.

He pushed her away from him. “Then why’d you leave me? I tried to find you, to tell you what happened, but you shut me out!” There was anger in his voice now and he pushed her off him. Standing, he turned to face her, all the pain of her desertion surfacing. “I love you. I’d never hurt you and I never betrayed you! How could you leave me!” he demanded.

Liz sat up, knowing that she deserved this rage. She’d closed him out of her life because of a wrong assumption. Her own guilt rushed out and she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. When I found that girl in your room, I thought you’d finally gotten tired of me and decided you wanted your old life back. How was I suppose to know what happened? That girl looked pretty cozy to me. I was wrong and I’ll never be able to make that up to you. Can you ever forgive my stupidity? I loved you too much.”

“Then what happened with Joe? He wouldn’t tell me anything, even after you left. How could you have slept with him? He’s my best friend.”

“He’s my friend too, Sav. He didn’t want me to find out from a newspaper that you were getting married, so he came to tell me himself. I lost it. I couldn’t believe you were doing that. A little part of me died when he told me. And he helped to keep the rest alive. He was there for me when I needed someone. What happened between Joe and me was a direct reaction to what you were doing. With you getting married, I knew I’d lost you forever. Joe and I were two lonely people who needed each other. Karla had hurt him badly and indirectly you’d hurt me. He always knew that I loved you, that those feelings wouldn’t change. I knew things had gotten out of hand when he asked me to marry him New Year’s Eve. He was willing to deal with the fact I would never love him as much as I do you. I told him I couldn’t hurt him anymore and left. I care about Joe a great deal. He’s a wonderful person, but he’s just not you.” She waited, wondering if she’d made him even angrier, but he sighed and sat down beside her.

“I guess I can’t say much about Joe, can I? It’s my own fault that happened. But after two months of trying to reach you, I couldn’t take anymore. I rebounded right into Darla. And she was good to me at first. Even after we got married. Then the Bell’s hit and she changed into what you saw this morning.” He sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“We both have a lot to forgive, it seems. Think you can?”

He turned and looked at her. “I already have. You saved my life today. I was ready to die. In fact, the only reason I hadn’t already was a picture I’d hidden from Darla of you. Guess she’s probably shredded that by now.” Liz reached to the nightstand and handed him the picture. He kissed the picture before setting it back on the nightstand. “You kept me alive, even without being there. But, can you forgive me?”

“Of course. I love you to much to lose you over something silly like a marriage.” They laughed and then Sav pulled her into his arms again. He kissed her as he lay her back on the bed. She wound her arms around his neck and held him close to her, not wanting to let go. His hands ran over her body, learning it again slowly. He tenderly undressed her and let her remove his clothing. They lay together, exploring each other, remembering nothing but how it felt to be together. Then, lying on top of her, he gently entered her. Their lovemaking was a careful, loving thing building slowly to its climax. Afterwards, they clung to each other, fighting off sleep to spend time holding each other. But, eventually, sleep claimed them.

Over the next week or so, Sav’s spirit recovered and he began to feel as if the time with Darla was nothing but a nightmare. His face began to improve and he was able to remove the eye patch protecting his right eye. The doctor was pleased with his progress.

Liz herself felt run down. She had to admit she hadn’t quite felt right for two weeks. Finally, Sav became concerned and made her go to a doctor. She dropped Sav off at Joe’s place and went to her appointment. Afterwards, she drove to Joe’s and went into the studio. As she walked in, Joe asked, “So how’d things go?”

“Well, I’m healthy. Where’s Sav? I really need to talk to him.” She looked around. “It’s important.”

“He’s in the other room. Liz, are you okay? You look scared.” Joe said, concerned.

“I’m okay. I just really need to see Sav.” She walked into the room Joe had indicated. As soon as he saw her, Sav smiled and said, “Hi, baby.” Then he saw her expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m two months pregnant,” she said without preamble.

Sav sat back, stunned. “Are you sure? I mean, how? Who’s the father?” Anger bloomed on his face. He’d had enough problems when she had been with Joe. What if she had cheated on him? It didn’t seem her style, but who knew?

“Joe.”

“That can’t be. You know Joe can’t have kids.” Sav began to pace the room, trying to burn off his anger.

“The doctor told me mumps lowers your sperm count, making it almost impossible to have kids for some men. Apparently, that almost is what counts.”

“Jesus, what are we going to do?”

“Me? I’m going to have a baby. What you’ll do I don’t know. Are you going to leave me?” She held back tears. “I wouldn’t blame you for it.”

“Never,” he said vehemently. He calmed himself and knelt in front of her. “We’ll figure this out. I don’t know how Joe’s going to take this though. He says he doesn’t want kids.”

“Do you think that might be sour grapes because he can’t have them.” She paused. “Or thought he couldn’t?”

“Damn.” Sav rose and slammed his hand on the table, knocking over a lamp with a loud crash. “Can life get any more complicated? I guess we need to tell Joe.”

“Tell Joe what?” Joe asked as he walked into the room. He’d come to investigate the crashing sound. “What the bloody hell was that noise?”

“Sorry, mate. I knocked over a lamp and broke it.”

Joe surveyed the mess and laughed. “Don’t worry about it. It was one of Karla’s favorites. I always hated the thing. Now, what do we need to tell Joe?”

Sav sat by Liz and put an arm around her protectively. She was trembling and didn’t speak. Finally, Sav said, “She’s pregnant.”

A strained look crossed Joe’s face as he forced a smile. “Congratulations.”

Liz stared at the floor. “It’s not his.”

Joe sat in shock for a moment. “Then whose is it? When’d it happen?”

“Around the time Sir Richard was marrying the unlovely lady Darla,” she said, looking up at Joe at last.

“But that’s when, I mean, you and I were…that’s not possible.” Joe went to the window, hurt by the thought that he had unknowingly shared her with a stranger.

“Think about it, Joseph. We were together constantly and we didn’t use any protection because we thought you were completely sterile. Well, according to the doctor, you’re not. There’s about a one in a million chance of pregnancy, but that was enough.”

Joe slumped in a chair, as stunned as Sav had been. “I don’t believe it. You’re sure you’re pregnant?”

“I made the doctor run the test three times. He said he thinks the baby was conceived at the end of November, which puts it right at the time of the wedding.” She looked down sadly. “I’m so sorry, Joe.”

“Are you going to have it?” Now the thought of her getting rid of his child tore him apart.

“Yes. I can’t kill my own baby.”

“Then don’t apologize, little one. It’s not your fault. I just wish it would have happened…” His voice cracked and a tear ran down his cheek. “I just never thought it would happen. Karla was so worried about her figure that she never wanted a child. That is, until we thought I couldn’t have one. Then it became another tool to get what she wanted.” He smiled. “Having a baby can’t be so bad. Millions of people do it all the time.”

Sav relaxed with Joe’s acceptance of the situation. Sav had feared Joe wouldn’t believe her and that would have been too much for her right then. But Liz still looked miserable. Joe wondered what had happened before he entered the room. “What about the two of you, Liz?” He looked at Sav. “Can you handle this?”

“I lived through Darla, mate. I can handle anything. And listen, bloke. One thing needs to be straight from the start. The baby may be yours, but the mother is mine.” His eyes glared in a challenge that Joe was unwilling to take up. Joe had known all along that Liz was the one woman to make his friend truly happy. And with everything he’d been through lately, Sav deserved a little happiness. He said, though his treacherous heart wasn’t in it, “Sav, I won’t come between you. You belong together.”

Inside, Joe’s heart wondered when it would be his turn to find that kind of happiness. Then he realized what had been said. He might not be with Liz, but she was giving him the greatest gift a woman could give a man. A child. His heart felt ready to burst, all his frustrated love for Liz finding an outlet in the child.

Joe’s thoughts were cut short when Phil burst into the studio. He heard Phil holler, “Joe, where are you?”

The urgency in Phil’s voice caught Joe’s attention right away. He jumped up and headed out the door to Phil, yelling back, “On my way, mate!”

Liz and Sav sat there for a minute longer, until they heard Phil say, “Where’s Sav?” They got up and walked into the room.

“Right here! What’s wrong?” Sav’s voice sounded concerned.

“This is!” Phil exclaimed as he lay down a tabloid on the table. “Darla’s decided to play rough.”

“Bloody bitch,” Joe mumbled as Sav grabbed the paper. Sav started to read aloud. “Def Lep guitarist leaves new wife for old flame. Flaming bitch Darla. Def Leppard guitarist Rick Savage is believed to have abandoned his wife of three months for former lover, American singer, Liz Diamond. Sources close to the couple claim that Diamond forced her way into the Savage household one week ago. After a confrontation with Darla Savage, Diamond is believed to have talked the guitarist into leaving with her. “I don’t know why Rick would do this to me,” Mrs. Savage told a friend. “We were so happy together.” Sav slammed the paper down. “Like hell she doesn’t know what happened!”

Liz picked up the paper. There was a picture of her and Sav going into their hotel accompanying the article. That would make it hard to deny.

“I’m sorry, Lizzie, but we need to get you out of the country as soon as possible,” Sav said angrily. “At least until this blows over.”

“Wait a minute, Sav,” Joe spoke up. “Why should she do that? Shouldn’t she stay here where we can help her?”

“Where, Joe? The hotel is probably under siege as we speak. There’s no place we can go.” Sav slammed his hand down in frustration. “Bloody fucking bitch!”

“You two can stay here,” Joe offered. “I’m living here alone now anyway, so it’s not like two more people will crowd me out.”

Sav started, “No Joe, we couldn’t…”

Liz stopped him. “Are you sure, Joe?”

“I’m positive, little one.”

“Then we’ll do it. We just need to go to the hotel to get our stuff.” Liz grabbed her coat. “Coming Sav?”

“Hold it. If the two of you go together, you’ll just create a circus. Let me take you over. Maybe that’ll throw them.” Joe laughed and said, “Besides that, I have a vested interest in your health now.”

Phil sat looking confused, as Sav protested, “No, I should go.”

“Joe’s right, mate. It’ll be a zoo if you go.”

“Alright, alright, just don’t let her get hurt, Joe.” Sav glared at no one in particular.

“Come on, Liz. Let’s not keep the camera’s waiting.”

When they arrived at the hotel, it was obvious the press was staking it out. They saw people with large cameras walking around everywhere. Liz looked around Joe’s car, but couldn’t find anything to cover up who she was. All she had were her sunglasses. She put them on and got out of the car, causing an immediate stampede as reporters fought to talk to her. Joe came around the car and put a protective arm around her. The camera’s went into overdrive when they saw Joe and reporters screamed questions at them as they made their way towards the building.

“Liz, is it true you forced your way into the house?”

“Where’s Rick Savage at?”

“Why are you with her, Joe?”

“Is it true you hit Darla Savage?”

Liz ignored them and ran into the hotel, Joe hot on her heels. They made it to her rooms without too much fuss and Liz threw everything into a suitcase. They managed to sneak out a back door and make it to the car before the reporters could catch them.

Soon after Joe and Liz left, the phone rang and Phil picked it up. Sav was pacing, waiting for Joe to bring Liz back. Phil put his hand over the phone’s mouthpiece and said quietly, “Sav, it’s for you. It’s Darla.”

Taking the phone from Phil, he said into it, “You fucking bitch! What right do you have to say that shit that’s in the paper?”

“Hello, my love. I need to see you…”

“When God comes down from heaven and drags me near you again!” he yelled into the phone.

“Now, now my love, that would be very bad for you and your friends. Especially for your little girlfriend.”

“What the hell are you babbling about?” he said, moderating his voice a bit.

“Let’s just say, she’s had a tail since the day you decked Joe. It produced some interesting results. Come back to the house or she’s going to regret it.” Then Darla rang off.

Sav slammed the phone down. “Fucking bloody cunt!”

Phil looked up, concerned for his friend. Sav said, “I’ve got to go take care of a problem. I’ll be back soon.”

“Alright.”

Sav flew out the door and down the road. He got to his house and slammed the door open, nearly breaking the window. “Where are you, you fucking bitch?”

Her voice came form the living room. “Now, Rick, it’s not nice to yell at your loving wife. I’m in here enjoying a movie. Come on in. You might just enjoy it!”

Sav stormed into the room and pulled up short as he saw the image on the screen. Shot through a window, it was Liz, in a bathrobe, walking into the studio where Joe was playing the guitar. They talked for a while after Joe put the guitar down. Then Joe flipped a switch on the console. Liz began to dance around with her robe open. Sav couldn’t stand this. He sat stunned as he watched Joe make love to Liz on the studio table.

Sav sat with his head in his hands. He’d seen the time stamp on the tape. It was the day after he’d married Darla. He suddenly felt sick.

“Oh, you didn’t enjoy that one?” She got up and changed the tapes. Hitting play, she sat down and said, “I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one. You’re the star!”

His head snapped up as the screen changed. He saw Liz, standing in the back yard at Joe’s house. Then he saw himself come out and put his arms around her. Joe hadn’t been home that day and they’d thought they were alone. He watched as onscreen he proceeded to make love to Liz there on the grass.

Darla shut off the tape and looked at Sav. He sat in shock, not believing what he’d seen. Resigned, he said, “What do you want, Darla?”

“Why, you, of course. Don’t be silly.” She leaned back in her chair, still staring at him.

His jaw dropped open. “Are you insane?”

“No. I simply like the idea of being Mrs. Rick Savage, dear.”

His laugh held no humor. “You’ve lost your fucking mind. What kind of a game are you playing?”

“These are the rules to my ‘game’. You’re moving home tomorrow. I’ll release a press statement that it was all a huge misunderstanding. You will not see Liz after tonight. I’ll give you one night to say goodbye. And if you don’t make it back by four o’clock tomorrow afternoon, I release my whole video collection to the media. And sorry, you haven’t seen the whole collection.”

He got up and removed the tape from the VCR. Darla didn’t move, she merely said, “By the way, that’s simply one of many copies. There’s a complete set in the possession of an American lawyer with instructions to release it if he hears of us getting a divorce. And he’s been paid in cash, so don’t bother trying to find him in your bank statements. Now, get going dearest. Time is ticking!”

Without a word, Sav got up and walked out with the tapes in his hand. He drove back to Joe’s place in shock. He couldn’t tell Liz. She couldn’t handle this kind of shit while she was pregnant. But he had to tell Joe. Someone had to help him.

He walked in and saw Liz sitting in the living room. He went over and gave her a long kiss. “Where’s Joe? I need to talk to him.” As Liz started to rise, he said, “Alone, Lizzie.” She sat back, looking puzzled. “Joe’s in the studio.”

As Sav walked into the studio, Joe could tell there was a problem. Sav’s face looked like a thundercloud. Sav said, “We’ve got to talk. In private.”

Joe looked at him, confused. “Let’s go in the study.”

They walked into the study and Sav went straight over to the VCR. Joe waited for him to speak. Sav set the tapes down and turned around. Then he said, “I’ve got to go back to Darla, mate.”

Stunned, Joe flopped into the chair behind him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Sav looked at Joe and said, “She’s got some tapes of Liz that could ruin her. And we don’t come out too well either.”

Joe eyed his friend suspiciously. “What kind of tapes, Sav?”

Sav reached over and picked the tapes up. “Tapes of her having sex with both of us! These were the ones she showed me. She says there’s more.”

“I don’t believe it mate. I mean, Liz and I only, well, did anything inside at her place and inside the house here.” Joe shook his head. “Did she show them to you?”

Sav grabbed one of the tapes and put it into the machine. Suddenly, Sav was onscreen making love to Liz in the back yard. They sat and watched the tape for a moment. Then Sav said, “Here’s your starring role.” He switched tapes and suddenly Joe and Liz were onscreen having sex in the studio.

“Jesus! They shot right into my house! Does Liz know about this?” He stared at the TV, still in shock.

“No! And we can’t tell her right now. Not while she’s pregnant. I don’t want to hurt her baby.” Sav sat down and looked at Joe. “What the hell am I going to tell her?”

“A version of the truth. Just tell her that Darla has some shit on you and you have to go back til you can figure out what to do.” Joe leaned over and put a hand on his friend’s knee. “We’ll figure it out. When is she expecting you back?”

“If I’m not there by four o’clock tomorrow, she goes public with all the tapes. She’s hired some hack in America that’s holding copies to release when she gives the word. And she paid the bastard in cash so that I couldn’t find him.” Sav sighed. “Joe, I need you to take care of Liz for me.”

Joe looked up at Sav, shocked that his friend was asking this. Sav knew how Joe felt about Liz. How could he ask him to do this?

“You’re the only one I know will be able to take care of her. I don’t know how long Darla is going to keep this up.” He shot Joe a look and said, “I know you care about her enough to make sure nothing happens to her. Now, I’ve got to talk to Liz.” He got up and walked out of the room. Joe stood up and realized Sav had left the tapes on the TV. He picked them up and put them into a locked desk drawer before following Sav.

By the time Joe reached the living room, Sav was already sitting on the couch beside Liz. Joe looked at Phil and the others and said, “Guys, how bout giving them a little privacy?” They looked at each other and left the room.

“Sav, baby, what’s going on? You’re acting really strange.” She took his hand in hers and looked him in the eye. “Please, tell me what’s happened.”

“God, I don’t know how to say this. I guess I just need to say it and get it over with. You know I just came from seeing Darla, right?”

“Yeah, what’d she want?” Liz tensed up as she realized that Sav had bad news for her.

“She’s got, well, some shit on me that could probably destroy my career and take Def Leppard down with it. I can’t let her do that to my friends. She says she’ll use it if I don’t come back by four o’clock tomorrow.” He pulled Liz into his arms and said, “I don’t want to do this, but I can’t let her hurt the people I care about.”

“I know you can’t let her do that, but why does she want you to come back? She knows you don’t care about her.” Liz said.

“According to her, she likes being Mrs. Rick Savage,” he said, his voice filled with disgust. “She seems to enjoy holding on to a title that rightfully belongs to someone else.”

Liz smiled, but continued with their conversation. “How long do you think it will take to get this over with?”

“I don’t know. Depends how long she tries to keep her game going.”

Liz stood up and took Sav by the hand. “Then I guess we’d better make the best of tonight. It could be a while before I see you again.” She led him upstairs, to the room they shared. She sat next to him on the bed and turned to face him. Taking his face in her hands, she looked deep into his eyes. She studied their blue depths, trying to memorize every detail. She traced over his features with her fingertip, relearning the lines of his face. He no longer flinched when she ran her finger over the sagging side of his mouth. Inside, he stared back at her, enjoying the feel of her tender touch. She gently kissed each eye, each ear, his nose and then his mouth. Her tongue traced over his lips then probed deeper, running over his teeth and finally rubbing against his tongue. His tongue teased back at hers as his hands started to wander over her back. He lay back on the bed, pulling Liz down on top of him. They lay there kissing for a very long time.

Downstairs, Joe showed the others out of the house. They weren’t going to get anything else recorded tonight. After they left, Joe went into the study and pulled the tapes out of their locked drawer. He put the tape marked ‘Joe’ into the machine and rewound it. He went over and locked the study door, then sat in a chair across from the TV. He pressed play and watched as the tape started. There was Liz, coming into the studio. Joe could feel himself start to harden already. It had been hard to hide that from Sav earlier. As shocked as he’d been when Sav had shown him the tape, he wanted to watch that tape again now. Onscreen, Liz was dancing around, her robe opened exposing her beautiful body. Joe couldn’t stand it any longer. He opened his pants and pulled his penis out. He rubbed his hand up and down its length as he watched himself start to make love to Liz. He could remember every second of that morning. His hand moved faster as his TV double lifted Liz onto the table. When he saw himself entering Liz, he nearly climaxed. Watching himself on top of Liz, he could hear her moaning like it was happening again. As the pair on the screen came, Joe’s own orgasm came over him. Only one thought crossed his mind at that second. Liz.

Liz pulled her shirt off over her head and removed her bra. Sav lay there, watching her and remembering the tapes he’d just seen. When he’d first watched it with Darla, they had made him sick. Just the thought that Darla had taped something so precious to him and tried to twist it into something wicked had made him ill in the extreme. But later, when he’d seen it again with Joe, he realized how much he wanted to see it. He ran his hand up Liz’s stomach and cupped it around her breast. He repositioned himself to allow his mouth access to her breast. He took first one nipple into his mouth and then the other. Liz rolled over on her back, taking Sav with her. He pinched one nipple between his fingers, bringing a moan from deep in her throat. Then his hand wandered over her belly and he paused, thinking of the child growing there. Even though it was Joe’s child, Sav wanted to be a part of it’s life. He only hoped Darla didn’t take that away from him. He moved his mouth down to her stomach and said, “Hello in there. I hope you don’t mind if I make love to your mother. She’s just too wonderful to leave alone. But I’m sure you’ll figure that out one day.”

Liz laughed. He’d been so wonderful all day about the baby. She only hoped he stayed that way. For the moment, all she could do was enjoy his attention, which had wandered to the top of her jeans. He deftly opened the button and unzipped her pants. His hand moved into her jeans and between her thighs. He pulled another moan from her as his fingers moved over her clit. After massaging it for a moment, his fingers went lower and penetrated into her moist body. Liz’s hands impatiently pulled his shirt over his head, pulling his hand away from her hidden excitement. Pushing him over onto his back, she stood up and pulled her jeans and panties off with one motion. Then she straddled him to undo his jeans. Standing again, she tugged them off him. She ran her hands along his thighs, she brought her mouth gently down on his stiff member. She moved slowly, teasing him at first, then with more intensity. Sav leaned up and watched her for a second, then said, “Lizzie, bring yourself around here and give me a chance to return the favor.”

She gave a throaty laugh and maneuvered herself into the position he desired. One leg was on each side of Sav’s head, presenting him with the view he most wanted at that second. His tongue probed between her thighs, bringing another moan from her. The vibrations against his tender flesh almost sent him over the edge. He hung on, wanting to please her more than take his own pleasure. But a minute later, he had to reach down and stop Liz. “Baby, I’m not ready to cum yet. Why don’t you turn back around here and show me what else you can do.”

She turned around, straddling his hips. She placed herself just above his straining manhood. Then, slowly, she sank down onto him. She rocked gently, keeping Sav just on the verge of cumming. Her hips ground into his, the sensations building in her body. When Sav could wait no more, he wrapped his arms around her and turned them over, never leaving her tight sheath. He buried himself inside her, then with short sure strokes brought them both to orgasm. Afterwards, they lay together, wound in each other’s arms. Liz fought off sleep as long as she could, knowing that her time with him was limited. As she finally succumbed to sleep, her last words were “I love you.”

In the morning, they held each other for hours before finally giving in to their stomachs’ rumbling. After they ate, they went back upstairs and made love one last desperate time. At three o’clock, Sav took his bags down to the car and came back into the house. Liz stood there, waiting for him.

“I’m sorry, Lizzie, I have to go now.” He pulled her into his arms and their tears mingled as they kissed. He held her as long as he could. When he looked up, he saw Joe standing by the door. Sav put an arm around Liz and walked to the door. “Joe, remember what I asked you to do?”

Joe nodded wordlessly. Liz clung to Sav until he pulled away. “Lizzie, I have to go now. I love you. I always have, always will. Don’t ever forget it.”

“I won’t. I love you, too, Sav.” Sav turned away from her and walked out the door. As the door closed, Liz collapsed into Joe’s arms, sobbing. Joe did the best he could to comfort her, but in the end he could only carry her to her room and hold her as she cried herself to sleep.

After a week, Liz was frantic, worrying about Sav. She knew he didn’t want to go back to Darla. She couldn’t understand what Darla could possibly have on Sav to make him come back to her. Finally, while Joe was at the store one day, Liz called Sav.

He picked up the phone quickly and said, “Hello?”

“Sav, what’s going on?” she said, her voice tense.

“Lizzie, oh God, it’s so good to hear your voice. Listen, I can’t stay on here long. Darla might be listening. I just want you to know that no matter what you hear, no matter what happens, I still love you, okay?”

“But Sav, what does she have on you to make you go back?”

“Don’t worry about that, Liz,” he said firmly. “Just know that she could hurt a lot of people I care about.”

“Sav, she’ll tear you apart again!” Liz cried into the phone.

“Never again, baby. You made sure of that. I know that no matter what, the most important person to me still loves me regardless of what I look like. Darla can’t touch that. I love you, Lizzie.”

“I love you, too,” she sobbed. Then Darla interrupted them. “This is all very touching. Now get the hell off my phone. You’ll be receiving papers soon that will keep you from ever contacting my husband again. Unless, of course, you want to go to jail. So say your good-byes now. “ With that, Darla slammed the phone down.

“What’s she mean, Sav?” Liz asked.

“Baby, she forced me to get a restraining order against you. I’m so sorry Lizzie. I’ve got to go now. I love you. Please believe that.” He was crying now too.

“I do. And I love you, too.”

“I’ll figure some way out of this,” he said. “Goodbye for now.” Then Liz heard nothing but dead air.

When Joe returned, he found Liz holding the phone still, sobbing on the floor. He dashed across the room and picked her up. Then he asked, “What’s wrong, little one?”

“I want to go home, Joe,” she cried. “Before they get here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Darla made Sav get a restraining order on me. I don’t want to be here for it to be served. Please, help me get home,” she begged.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll get us on the next plane for the States.” Joe gave Liz one quick hug before getting up to make the arrangements.

Over the next few months, Joe split his time between Liz’s farm in Ohio and the studio where the band was recording. He finally resorted to getting Liz’s sister Vicki to come stay with her when he couldn’t. Otherwise, Liz didn’t take care of herself at all. He left for a week once and found Liz still wearing the same clothes she’d had on when he’d left. She was horribly depressed and had lost a good bit of weight. Her doctor was worried about the baby, but Liz was too far gone to notice anything. Joe was wearying himself trying to keep her going. The only things that cheered her up were the rare postcards and gifts that Sav got to send her. He would sneak out to the post office and buy a postcard, then scribble her a quick note. Sometimes when Joe headed back to the States, Sav sent along a small present.

Unknowingly, Sav got careless one day and Darla found the note Sav had attached to a gift. The note read: “Joe’s worried about you and the baby. You’ve got to take better care of yourself for all of us. I wish I could be there with you. I love you! Sav.”

So she’s pregnant, huh? Darla thought. Maybe I should let a few friends know about that. Then she said aloud, “But I wonder who the father is? Sav or Joe?”

Liz finally started to come around a bit when she was almost seven months along. She got ambitious enough to decide it was time to find someone to help with the baby after it was born. She interviewed twenty women before deciding on a young woman named Dani Randa. Dani was Liz’s own age. A slightly chubby blonde, Liz had loved her on the spot. They got along famously and Dani persuaded Liz to get off her butt and get moving again. They decorated the baby’s room together and went to the movies a few times.

When Joe showed up for his next visit, Dani about freaked out. Liz had never told Dani who the baby’s father was and Dani had never mentioned her huge crush on Def Leppard’s lead singer. She’d heard about Liz’s troubles with Sav, so she’d hidden her love for the band. The first time Dani met Joe was a very awkward moment for her at the airport when they’d gone to pick him up. They were waiting at the terminal when Dani spotted Joe coming off the airplane. She whispered to Liz, “Oh my God, Liz, that’s Joe Elliott! He was on that plane!”

“Um, Dani, did I forget to tell you who we’re here to pick up?” Liz asked sheepishly.

“The baby’s father, that’s what you said.” Dani stood and looked at Liz in confusion. “Have you spotted him yet?”

“Yeah,” Liz told her. Then she waved to Joe and said, “Joe, over here!”

Dani froze. This was, after all, her dream man walking to meet them. Then she realized what that meant. “He’s the father?” Dani whispered.

“Yep!” Liz answered.

Dani stepped back and sat down. She just couldn’t believe Joe was the baby’s father. Of all the luck! Another thought hit Dani. She was supposed to stay with the baby no matter which parent it was with. Liz had told her she’d probably be spending a good bit of time in Ireland. That meant Joe’s place in Ireland. She was in shock as she watched Joe walk over to Liz.

“How’s my little one? And our little one?” he asked, patting Liz on her swollen stomach before giving her a huge hug.

“We’re both doing a lot better since I hired someone to stay with me.” She started to turn towards Dani, but Joe said, “So, did you find some little sixty five year old grandmother with no teeth to baby sit you?”

Liz laughed and said, “no, not quite. I think you’ll like her though.”

“Oh, were you nice to me, then? Did you get me an eighteen year old knock out with big boobs?” Joe laughed. Then they heard Dani mutter, “Well, he got the blonde with big boobs part right.”

Liz was laughing almost hysterically as she turned to introduce Dani. “Joe Elliott, this is our nanny, Dani Randa. Dani, I think you know who Joe is.”

“Hi,” Dani stammered, her original shock returning full force.

Joe had the decency to blush when he realized Dani had heard his comments. “Hi Dani,” he said. “Sorry bout what I just said.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Dani finally managed to get out. She stood and extended a hand to Joe. “Nice to meet you.”

Joe took her hand and said,” Nice to meet you too. Looks like you’ve been taking pretty good care of Liz.”

“Thanks,” Dani said as she stuck her hand back into her pocket. In a star struck part of her mind, she never wanted to wash that hand again. She put that thought aside as she realized she was going to have to get used to being around Joe.

“Well, Joe let’s get you bags and get home,” Liz said as she put her hands to her back. “My back is killing me.”

On the drive home, Liz asked Joe, “Could you do me a huge favor?”

“Anything you want, little one,” he said as she yawned.

“Dani and I were going to take you to the movies tonight, but I’m exhausted. How bout the two of you go instead.”

Before Dani could protest, Joe said, “Sure. Guess we need to get to know each other anyway, huh, Dani?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Dani stammered.

They dropped Liz off, after making sure she was comfy on the couch, and took off. Liz lay on the couch and watched TV for a couple of hours. Just as she started to fall asleep, the phone rang. Dazed, she answered it. “Hello?”

“Hello, is this Liz Diamond?” came a man’s brisk voice.

“Yes, can I help you?”

“Ms. Diamond, I’m trying to verify a story that ran in an Irish newspaper today. It claims you’re pregnant.” She could hear him shuffling some papers in the background. Liz had known that this would happen at some point in time. Resigned, she said, “yes, I am.”

The reporter paused. Then he went straight for her throat. “Ms. Diamond, it’s been reported that the father is either Joe Elliott or Rick Savage of Def Leppard. It’s also been reported that even you’re not sure who the father is. The reports say you shared your bed with both men, sometimes at the same time. Can you comment on this?”

Liz’s head started to spin as she murmured no comment and hung up the phone. She didn’t want to believe someone could be so vicious as to lie like that. She started to fall, then felt a sharp pain in her head. A pain in her stomach answered it and then everything went black.

An hour and a half later, Joe and Dani returned from the movie. They’d gotten along very well and Dani had finally realized that Joe was simply a man like any other one. They were laughing and joking when they reached the living room and found Liz. She was still unconscious on the floor, lying in a growing pool of blood and fluid. The gash in her head had stopped bleeding. Joe rushed to her side while Dani went for the phone. She called for an ambulance, then called Liz’s doctor. The doctor beat them to the hospital. He examined Liz and gave Joe the grim report. In the fall, Liz had sustained a concussion and that had triggered early labor. They would have to take the baby while hoping the operation didn’t kill Liz. Otherwise they ran the risk of losing both of them. As the child’s father, Joe had to authorize the operation. Then the doctor allowed Joe to go in to observe Liz’s surgery.

An hour later, Joe returned to where Dani was waiting. She looked up at him anxiously. He told her, “They both pulled through so far. The baby is fine, but Liz still hasn’t come to yet. They think she might be in a coma.” He sat down beside Dani and she took his hand. Dani tried to reassure Joe. “She’s gonna pull through, Joe.”

“God, I don’t know what I’ll do if she doesn’t. She means the world to me.” Joe put his face in his hands and started to cry. It dawned on Dani that Joe must still love Liz, even though she didn’t return the feelings. Liz had told her briefly about Sav and she’d seen how Liz reacted to the cards he’d sent. Then Dani thought of one thing that might just bring Liz out of this. She just needed to figure out how to tell Joe. She decided that, even though it might hurt him, she needed to think of Liz first in this situation. “Joe, you need to call Sav.”

“But he can’t do anything to help her. His wife won’t let him out of her sight, much less let him get on a plane to help Liz.” Tears still flowed from his beautiful eyes and Dani thought she could just drown there. Instead, she insisted. “Does he still care about her?”

“Of course he does. He’d be here now if Darla didn’t have those tapes.” As upset as he was, Joe realized he’d just made a mistake.

“What tapes?” Dani asked.

“She’s got some nasty tapes of Sav that she’s using to hang on to him.”

“Doing what?” Dani persisted.

“Nevermind. I’ll call him.” Joe got up and walked to a nearby pay phone. He pulled out his calling card and dialed Sav’s number. Sav picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Sav, it’s Joe.” Joe took a deep breath.

“Hello, mate. How’s Liz?” Sav asked. Joe cringed. He should have known Liz would be the first thing on Sav’s mind.

“She’s not doing to good. She fell and hit her head and they think she’s going into a coma.”

“What! Where is she?” Joe could hear the panic in Sav’s voice.

“Timken Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohio.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Sav said hurriedly.

“Hurry, she needs you now more than ever.” Joe said sadly as he hung up the phone.

Twelve hours later, Sav arrived at the Akron-Canton Airport. He got directions to the hospital and headed straight there. He couldn’t find Joe, so he asked for Liz’s room number at the desk and headed straight there. When he walked into the room, he was in for a shock. Liz wasn’t pregnant anymore. A nurse walked into the room and Sav asked her about the baby.

“Oh, the baby’s fine as can be, sir. When Ms. Diamond had her accident, she went into labor early. They delivered it by c-section. He’s in the nursery. Actually, I think I just saw his father and a friend go down there.” She smiled and turned to go.

“Wait, ma’am, what’s her condition?” Sav asked, lines of concern marking his still handsome face.

“Well, she’s in a coma. The injury to her head was a nasty one.” She paused. “In truth, it’s all up to her now. She’s got to pull out of this on her own.” The nurse excused herself and walked out of the room.

Sav sat down by Liz and took her hand. “Lizzie, come back to me, baby. You can’t leave me alone. I love you!” He laid his head down on the rail and looked at her face. It was a face grown thin over the past few months. She looked almost gaunt. He sat there and stared at her for a long time, tears streaming down his face.

Joe found him there when he brought the baby in to visit Liz. A girl Sav didn’t recognize followed behind Joe. At that moment, Sav envied Joe. He looked so happy holding his son. Then his eyes met Sav’s and all the pain of Liz’s condition collapsed back on Joe. The girl standing next to him said, “Hey, Joe, why don’t you give someone else a chance to hold him.” She extended her arms out to take the baby. Joe gave him to the girl, then walked over to Sav. “Any change, mate?”

“None,” Sav said flatly.

“How long have you been here?”

“A long while. The nurse said you’d just left to see the baby.”

“Oh, we went to the cafeteria to grab a bite before we came back up to sit with her a while longer. The nurse suggested we bring the baby in to sit with her for a while.” Joe looked at Dani, holding the baby, and smiled. Then he realized that Sav didn’t know who she was. “Sav, this is Dani. Liz hired her about a month or so ago to help with the baby. Dani, this is Rick Savage.”

“Call me Sav, please. It’s nice to meet you, Dani.” Sav looked at her, but refused to leave Liz’s side.

“It’s good to meet you, too, Sav. Liz has told me a lot about you.” She’d been smiling down at the baby, but looked at Liz worriedly as she said that.

“Really?” Sav stared down at Liz, wondering what she’d said about him.

“Yeah, she’s crazy about you.”

Tears sprang to Sav’s eyes. Hearing that left him thinking about what Darla had done to them. He put his head down and let the tears come. Joe came over and put a hand on Sav’s shoulder, trying in vain to comfort his friend. As his tears subsided, Joe asked, “How’d you manage to get away from Darla?”

“I just told her you had an emergency and I had to come right away. She asked a bunch of questions and I know she’s probably had me followed, but Liz’s life means more to me than what Darla does with those tapes.” From the lack of questions from Dani, he assumed Joe must have told her something. He looked at Joe and said, “Did you tell Liz about the tapes?”

“No. I slipped in front of Dani here though. She knows Darla has tapes of you that you don’t want seen,” Joe said significantly. Sav picked up the hint and nodded to Joe. Dani knew Sav was in pain and had to try to help. She walked over to him and said, “Do you want to hold the baby?”

Sav looked up at her in a daze. Then he nodded, saying “First let me put this rail down.” He put the bed’s side rail down, then took the baby in his arms. Liz’s baby. Tears came again as he looked at the child. His eyes were a light milky blue. The fuzz covering his perfectly round little head was dark and his face was like an angel’s. He laid the baby down next to Liz’s head and said, “Lizzie, you’ve got to wake up. This baby needs you. Please, Lizzie, wake up! We all need you.”

Joe and Dani both started to cry at the desperation in Sav’s voice. Sav begged Liz to just wake up, move, anything. The baby fell asleep next to his mother. Gently, Sav handed him back to Joe. “Did you come up with a name for him yet?”

“Yeah, Liz had one she insisted on if it was a boy.” Joe scuffed a foot on the on the floor.

“So what is it?” Sav asked curiously.

“Um, Joseph Thomas Elliott III. She was adamant about it.” He smiled at Sav sheepishly. “She said we could call him JT to avoid any confusion.”

Sav gave him a smile. He told him, “That’s a big name for the little guy to live up to.”

Looking down at his son, Joe said, “I think he can do it.”

The nurse came in and said, “Mr. Elliott, it’s time for the baby to go back to the nursery for a little while. Just standard check ups.”

Reluctantly, Joe gave JT back to the nurse and watched her walk away with him.

“He’s a beauty, Joe,” Sav said quietly.

“Isn’t he? I still can’t believe he’s really mine.” Joe smiled and sat down on the opposite side of the bed from Sav. Dani was sitting on a couch in the corner quietly. Sav laid his head down next to Liz and whispered in her ear, “Lizzie, please, open your eyes.” Silent tears were still evident on his face. Joe looked at Dani and said, “Let’s leave them alone for a while. Wanna go for a walk? I could use a smoke.”

“Sure. Sav, we’ll be back in a bit,” Dani said, but Sav didn’t respond. Joe put an arm around Dani and said, “Don’t worry, he’ll be okay as long as she is.”

They walked out and took the elevator down to the ground floor. There was a small smoking area out by the parking garage and Joe lit a cigarette as soon as he got outside. Dani pulled one from her own pack and Joe lit it for her.

“He’s taking this really hard, isn’t he?” Dani asked.

“Yeah, Liz means everything to him. Did she tell you what happened?” Joe looked at her curiously.

“No, all she said was they couldn’t stay together because of his wife.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve noticed that Sav’s face just isn’t quite the same.” Joe took a drag off the cigarette and looked around the area.

“I didn’t want to say anything, but I did notice. What happened?”

“He has Bell’s Palsy. It causes part of your face to stop moving. It happened about six months ago. When it happened, his darling little wife turned into a total bitch. She was tearing him apart and he couldn’t take it much longer. So we called Liz to help him. She got him away from Darla and really helped him get back on his feet. After about a week and a half, Darla produced the tapes I told you about. He went back to protect Liz from Darla, but neither of them wanted him to go.”

“Joe, what’s on those tapes that’s so bad? Did she catch Sav with another woman or doing drugs or something like that?”

Joe paused. He didn’t really want to tell Dani the truth, but he didn’t know what else to do. He stared at the floor and said, “The tapes weren’t really targeted at Sav. Darla was having Liz followed and she caught Liz and I having sex a couple of times on tape. After she left me, she went home until we called her back. Then when she and Sav were together, Darla caught them too.”

“Oh my God! Does Liz know about it?”

“No, Sav doesn’t want to tell her. He’s afraid of what might happen if she finds out.” Joe sighed. “I can’t blame him, I couldn’t tell her.”

“He’s not giving her enough credit. I think she could handle it.” Dani inhaled from her cigarette as Joe said, “You can’t tell her! You’ve got to promise me that!”

“Okay, Joe, I’ll promise. But I think you’re both wrong.” Dani snuffed out her cigarette and stood up. “Ready to go back?”

They walked back up to Liz’s room and found Sav sleeping. He was leaning over the bed and had his arms around her. Dani sat back down on the couch. Joe thought of sitting in the chair he’d left, then decided to give Sav some space instead. He sat down on the small couch next to Dani so they could talk without disturbing Sav. They talked for a little while, then Dani started to yawn. She put her head back to relax and fell asleep before she knew what hit her. Joe sat there, almost asleep himself, when Dani’s head fell over onto his shoulder. He decided to change positions a bit and moved a groggy Dani’s body around until her head was resting comfortably on his thigh. He stroked her hair, then got himself moved enough to go to sleep. He was snoring softly in minutes.

They stayed at the hospital constantly for three days. Sav refused to leave Liz, so Joe and Dani would bring him food. Otherwise, Sav just refused to eat. He wanted to be there when Liz woke up. Joe and Dani would go down to the nursery and bring JT up to spend time with his mother. Sav slept beside her, his arms around her and his head on her shoulder. Late in the afternoon, Joe brought JT in again, but the baby was very fussy. Joe couldn’t get him to calm down. Neither could Dani. Sav tried, but the baby still cried. Finally, Sav held the baby next to Liz and started talking to her.

“Lizzie, this baby needs his mummy. Please, honey, you’ve got to wake up. Baby, please, open your eyes. I miss you, Lizzie. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Liz murmured. She slowly turned her head towards Sav and opened her eyes. He was the first thing she saw. A smile crossed her face. “Sav,” she whispered.

“Lizzie,” he whispered, “you’re back.” He turned to Joe and Dani who had been talking quietly in the corner. “Joe, Dani, get the doctor. She’s awake!”

Joe jumped up and ran out into the hall to get the nurse. Dani walked quickly to the bed and said, “Welcome back, Liz.” But Liz’s eyes stayed on Sav. Then she noticed the baby and her hand went to her stomach. Realizing she was no longer pregnant, she whispered hoarsely, “My baby?”

“Yes, honey. This is your baby. He’s a boy and he’s almost as beautiful as his mother. He’s been wanting you,” Sav told her as tears ran down his face. Liz lifted an exhausted hand to the cranky child Sav held.

“Hello. Should’ve waited for me.” She ran her hand over her child’s cheek before letting it fall again. Joe came back into the room and walked over to Liz’s bed. “I’m glad you came back to us, little one.”

“Good to be back.” Joe took the baby from Sav and showed him to Liz again. The child had calmed down when he had heard his mother’s voice. “He’s gorgeous, Liz. Thank you for bringing him along.” Joe smiled with tears in his eyes. Liz merely smiled at him, too tired to say much more. Sav slipped his arms around her and pulled her close to him, never wanting to let go. He whispered, “Baby, do you remember what happened that night?”

Liz looked around a moment, still dazed. Then she remembered the phone call. “Someone called. A reporter. Verifying I was pregnant like a story in Ireland had said. Then he accused me of sleeping with both of you at the same time. Said that was in the story too. Then I felt sick and I don’t remember anything else.”

“Lizzie, there wasn’t any story about you or the baby. If nothing else, Peter would have called one of us to check something like that out. And as popular as you are here, it would have been everywhere we’ve turned the last few days.”

“I don’t know. He said it had already run in Ireland.”’

The doctor arrived then and needed to exam Liz. Sav and the others stepped into the hallway and decided to walk the baby back to the nursery. Joe and Dani stayed down there while Sav took off back to Liz’s room. Joe handed JT back to the nurse and turned towards Dani. “She’s awake! God, that’s such a relief.” He pulled Dani into a big hug and they stood there holding each other for a moment. As Dani pulled away, Joe stopped her and brought his lips down on hers. Then they pulled apart, both stunned at what he’d done. Joe stammered, “I’m sorry, Dani. I don’t know what came over me.”

Blushing, Dani said, “Don’t worry about it. It didn’t bother me, really.” She tried to turn away, but Joe stopped her.

“Dani, I’m still sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. It was terribly inappropriate,” Joe apologized.

Dani brushed him off and said, “I said don’t worry about it. Just let it drop, okay Joe?” She turned away and headed back to Liz’s room. Her anger at Joe’s apology made it hard to keep up with her and eventually Joe stopped trying to. When Joe made it to Liz’s room, Dani wasn’t there. Joe asked Sav, “Where’s Dani?”

“I left her with you, mate. I should probably be asking you that question. What happened?” Sav wondered aloud. Liz was awake still, though she looked extremely tired.

“We, I mean I, um, ah shit, I kissed her and I think it pissed her off.” Joe looked at the floor like a naughty child.

“Doubt it,” Liz said softly. “She was excited to see you come off the plane. I got the feeling she likes you. Don’t worry, she’ll come around.”

Dani had decided that she really needed a cigarette. Not because Joe had kissed her. Never that. But the way he insisted on apologizing for it hurt. Dani had seen photos of the type of woman Joe liked. She’d also been around Liz for a while now. Joe liked them slim and beautiful. Dani was not unattractive and she’d never really had a problem getting a guy when she wanted to. But she didn’t have the same stunning looks of someone like Liz. There was no way Joe would have been attracted to her. But the apology was an insult. She smoked two more cigarettes before deciding to go back to Liz’s room. And deciding to avoid Joe whenever possible.

Sav sat holding Liz’s hand when he heard a voice say coldly from the doorway, “Well, isn’t this nice. My husband is holding his girlfriend’s hand in her time of need.

Sav’s head snapped around. Standing in the door was Darla, staring daggers at Sav. Joe stiffened immediately, wondering what would happen now. Sav had known Darla would have him followed, he just hadn’t expected her to show up. Her voice could have frozen Lake Erie as she said, “Am I going to have to release one of those tapes to show you that I’m serious?”

Slumping into his chair, Sav whispered, “No, Darla, please. I just came because she was hurt so badly. I’ll come back.”

“Okay, I’ll let it slide this time. But I warn you, next time you won’t get off so easy.”

“Thank you,” Sav mumbled.

Finally taking a good look at Liz, Darla said, “So, she had her baby, huh? Which one of you is the lucky daddy?”

Dani walked in behind Darla, looked at Joe and mouthed, “Who’s she?”

Casting a significant glance at Sav, Joe said, “It’s my baby, Darla.”

Sav eyed Darla suspiciously. He asked, “How’d you know she was pregnant, Darla?”

Ignoring Sav, Darla maliciously said to Joe, “How can you be so sure, Joe? I mean, the little whore was doing you and Rick at the same time.”

At that, Sav slowly stood and looked at Darla. “You were the one behind that phone call. The whole fucking reason she’s in the hospital.”

“Yeah, well she can consider it a warning. I play for keeps.”

Sav lost control of his temper and launched himself at his wife. Luckily for Darla, Joe knew his friend well enough to tell what was about to happen. He caught Sav just as his fingertips grazed Darla’s throat. Holding Sav back, Joe told him, “She’s not worth it.”

Slumping against Joe, Sav murmured, “But she hurt Liz. I want to kill her.”

Knowing Joe would keep his friend out of trouble, Darla could afford to look a bit smug. What she hadn’t counted on was Dani, who Darla didn’t know was standing right behind her.

“You mean she’s the one who had that guy call Liz?” Dani asked. Sav and Joe both nodded. Before Darla knew what hit her, Dani grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. Dani’s fist connected with Darla’s jaw and sent her to the floor. Dani stood over her and said, “Don’t mess with my friends, bitch!”

Joe’s mouth dropped open. Quiet little Dani had just flattened Darla. All Sav could do was look at Dani and say, “Thank you.”

Darla glared up at Dani as the blood flowed from her mouth. “You just got yourself into a mess of trouble, little girl.”

“I don’t see how you can say that, Darla,” Joe said, smiling. “Considering I saw you take a swing at her first.”

“So did I,” Sav chimed in.

“Me, too,” came a soft voice from the bed. They all turned to see Liz looking back at them calmly, “Darla, Sav will come back soon. There’s no need to do anything stupid.” Sav took her hand wordlessly. Liz continued, “Just give him a day or two and you can just pretend nothing ever even happened. Nobody even needs to know why he was here.”

“You can’t have him,” Darla hissed.

“Darla, I just said he’ll come back to you in a day or two. Just let him stay until he’s sure I’m okay. Please? All I’m asking for is a little human kindness.”

Darla looked at Sav. “Fine, you’ve got two days, Rick. Otherwise, she gets it with both barrels.” At that, Darla turned and tried to leave with what dignity she could muster.

“Joe, Dani, could I talk to Sav alone for a while?” Liz asked quietly.

“Sure,” Dani said. She pushed Joe out of the room before he could even speak.

“You’ve got to go back to her,” Liz said, looking away from him.

“I know, honey, but I’ll do everything I can to get to see you again,” Sav said.

“No, baby, it’s time for you to forget me.” Tears bloomed on Liz cheeks. She still refused to look at him for fear she would lose her resolve.

Stunned, Sav stared at Liz, wondering what was going through her mind. “What am I supposed to do? Forget everything she’s done to us? I know her for what she is now. I can’t forgive her.”

“Sav, as long as she can use me to hold over you, she’s going to make you miserable. You’ve got to get over me. It’s what’s best for you.”

“Lizzie, come on. I’ll never be able to forget you!” She turned to face him with tears streaming down her face. “If you don’t, we’re going to keep tearing each other apart like we have for the last year. Whatever Darla has over you obviously involves me and I won’t let her use me against you. So when you leave here, try to forget me.”

“I won’t leave then,” he said stubbornly.

“Yes, you will. And you’ll take every bit of my heart and soul home in your suitcase, because they’ll always belong to you. But you can’t keep looking back to find me. She’ll destroy you if you do.”

Crying, he looked down at her and said, “I’ll try to do what you want. I just don’t know if I can.”

“That’s settled then. Now, we have one more night together. Let’s try to enjoy each other for a while. Please?”

Sav bent over her and took her face in his hands as he said words so familiar to Liz. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are to me?”

“Yes,” she whispered, “but can you do it one more time for the road?”

“You are the most beautiful woman, inside and out, that God has ever created. There’s nothing in this world or the next that could make me want to leave you willingly. I’ll probably kick and scream the whole way across the Atlantic. And I’ll be leaving my heart in your care.”

Liz sat looking at him as he spoke, then she said, “I love you, Richard Savage. It seems like I’ve loved you my whole life and I’ll die loving you. If you ever get free of Darla, come find me. If it’s at all possible, I’ll be there. If it’s not possible, just wait a while and I’ll work things out.” They laughed together as Sav leaned down to kiss her. She said, “Help me move over. I know there’s enough room for both of us in this bed.” He lifted her gently to the far side of the bed, kicked off his shoes and climbed in with her. She snuggled into the safety of his loving arms and kissed him again. Then she rested her head on his shoulder. His head lay on the pillow just above her.

Joe and Dani returned later with JT to find them still lying there, both sound asleep. Dani sat down in a chair by the bed while Joe sat on the couch playing with the baby. He looked at Dani occasionally, trying to figure out where he’d messed up. She was obviously pissed at him, but he wasn’t sure why. Finally, Joe had to take the baby back to the nursery. He asked Dani, “Want to walk down with me?”

“No, thank you. I think I’m going to the waiting room to get some sleep. You can have the couch in here to yourself tonight.”

“Oh,” said Joe, “Okay.” He walked out to take his son back to the nursery and Dani got up and went to the waiting room. Just as they left, Liz woke up. She shifted a bit so she could look at Sav’s face. It was no longer the almost feminine face she’d loved so when they’d first met. He looked older. The ravages of Bell’s Palsy were still evident in some places when he was awake, mainly when he talked. But he was still a handsome man. His face suited a man of thirty-three better than the pretty boy he’d been before. She loved looking at him, maybe now more than ever before. And now she had to send him away for good. Inside, she knew she had to hold together until he’d left. Otherwise, he might not leave and Darla wouldn’t hesitate to hurt him. But she’d never done anything she’d wanted to do less. She laid her head on his shoulder and fell asleep while she watched him.

Late that night, as Joe snored away on the couch and Liz slept against him, Sav woke up. The first thing he saw was Liz’s beautiful face. He studied every line of it. She’d lost a lot of weight since the last time he’d seen her. Joe had told him how depressed she’d gotten when she’d come back to the States. Now she wanted him to move on and forget her. For the first time, he considered telling Liz about the tapes. She might be willing to risk losing face in public to get rid of Darla. At that moment, Joe let out a very loud snore and Sav suddenly remembered that Liz wasn’t the only one who had something to lose. Sav had to protect his friend as well as his love. He couldn’t let Darla destroy two of the people he cared about most in the world. That left him with this one last night to hold on to Liz. He pulled her in closer to him and fell asleep listening to the sound of her breathing.

Sav sat on the bed most of the next day, just holding on to Liz. He was dreading leaving her again. But the time came when he had to go. Joe had brought JT in so Sav could see the baby before he left. Sav took him from Joe and held him for a moment. Then he kissed the child and whispered to him, “Take good care of your mummy for me. She’s one of the most precious things in the world to me.”

He handed the baby back to his father and turned to Dani. Then he said, “Dani, you’ve done a good job taking care of Liz so far. I know she hired you to care for JT, but take care of her too. Okay?”

“No problem. I’ll whip her into shape in no time.” Sav gave her a quick hug and turned back to Joe.

“I’ll see you in Spain soon, Joe. Take care of her for a while, okay?” Sav gave Joe a quick hug. Then Joe said, “I’ll be there as soon as she gets out of the hospital. I can’t leave til then.”

“I wouldn’t want you to. Joe, Dani, could you leave us alone for a minute?” Sav looked at Liz as he asked. Without a word, Dani and Joe both left the room.

Liz started to cry again before Sav said a word. Sav couldn’t stand to see her like this. He pulled her into his arms and held her there for a long time. Then he pulled back and said, “Lizzie, I have to go. I’m sorry, baby. I love you more than my own life.” He bent and kissed her. She couldn’t speak as he prepared to leave, she only sat crying helplessly. It broke his heart. He gave her a kiss and said, “I’ll never be able to forget you, no matter how much you think I should. I love you, Lizzie.”

Her mouth worked silently, trying to tell him even a part of what she felt for him. Finally she choked out four words. “I love you, Sav.”

He gave her one last hug and kiss and walked out the door. He stopped just outside the door and suddenly could hear her give in to the sobs she had held back. His own tears, for the pain they were sharing, flowed as he walked away.

Joe and Dani walked back in a few minutes later. They’d seen Sav walk by, tears streaming down his face as he left. Joe had just let him go. There was nothing else he could do.

Liz was curled up in the fetal position, sobbing. Joe took her in his arms and tried to calm her down. He sat beside her on the bed and pulled her onto his lap, comforting her as he’d tried to quiet JT earlier. Dani sat across the room and looked out the window with tear-filled eyes. She felt so sorry for Liz and couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose the man she loved under those circumstances.

Slowly, Liz calmed down. She pulled back from Joe a bit and said, “I know what I need. I need to get back on the road. Maybe then I’ll be able to forget this.”

Joe just laughed. “Little one, you just had a baby and major surgery a few days ago and you just came out of a coma yesterday. I don’t think the doctor is going to release you for a tour!”

“I’m well aware of that, Joseph. But I’ve got to call Guy and tell him to get ready to release the album. ‘Shadow’ is going to be the first single off it, so hope you’ll be able to make a vid shoot in about a month. I’m calling in a personal trainer so I’ll be ready for it. I figure within three months I should be good to go if I work my ass off,” she explained.

“Guy’s been pretty worried about you. He’s called everyday, cause he couldn’t leave the client he’s with,” Joe told her.

“That’s fine, in fact, I don’t need him to babysit me on this tour. Just get it set up and let me go.” She sighed and said, “But for the moment, I’m tired. I need to get some sleep. Can you stay with me, Joe?” she asked as a single tear bloomed in her eye.

“Of course, little one. Remember, I told you I’m always there for a friend in need?” he said as he pulled her back to him. Once she was in his arms, the tears came again. Slowly, she cried herself to sleep.

Liz was released from the hospital three days later, with a doctor’s warning to take it easy. She quickly ignored that. Joe stayed with her for a couple of days, trying to be strong for her when she started to crumble. At night, he dragged her into her bed and held her through her nightmares. But he couldn’t stay forever. The other band members were waiting for him in Spain to finish the recordings for their new album. After four days, Dani took him to the airport. She still wasn’t speaking to him much and Joe tried to break the ice.

“Thanks for knocking Darla on her ass. I’ve never seen a woman who deserved it more,” he said.

“That was undoubtedly my pleasure. She’s a bitch in the true sense of the word,” Dani replied without looking at him. Then she sat silent again. When they reached the terminal, Joe tried again.

“Dani, why do you hate me so much?” he asked.

Flabbergasted, Dani stared at him. “I don’t hate you, Joe.”

“I guess I just don’t understand.” They heard the boarding call for his plane. “Well, I’m off!” Then Joe thought to himself, fuck it, might as well piss her off good. He grabbed her by the back of the neck and kissed her again. As he pulled away, he waited for the fireworks, but nothing happened. Dani just stood there stunned. He gave her a chipper salute and took off for the plane.

Dani stood there wondering what had just happened. She must have stared at the doorway for an eternity before she finally left, confused, to head back to Liz’s house. That damn man was going to drive her insane, that’s all there was to it.

Joe sat back in his first class seat and ordered a drink as soon as he could. The past two weeks with Liz had been rough. He still cared about her a great deal, but reality had finally set in for him. She would never again be anything more than his friend. Funny part was, that didn’t hurt so much any more. As he sat there thinking of Liz, he realized thoughts of Dani were trying to creep into his mind. She was nothing like the women he’d been with before. But she was a fascinating puzzle for Joe.

Guy called Liz and told her that, while the rest of the band could be ready to tour in two and a half months, her lead guitarist, Dave, had taken another gig. He’d joined a band permanently. Liz told Guy to find another guitarist and get him into rehearsals with the rest of the band. She didn’t care who he was, she just needed a guitarist.

The video for ‘Shadow of a Memory’ was a dark affair that suited a song about lost love. In the video, Liz searched everywhere for Joe, but never found him. In the memory sequences, it showed the two of them in each other’s arms as lovers. The shoot had gone so smoothly, they’d wrapped it in one day, before Joe had to return to his own band.

She worked out everyday with her trainer and even talked Dani into joining her for her sessions. JT sat in his carrier and watched as his mother and nanny worked themselves into a daily lather. For Liz, it was necessary to get back up to her normal weight. Dani ended up losing a good bit of weight, to the point she began to fit into some of Liz’s larger clothes. Her own clothes hung off her like a sack.

When Joe showed up for a visit two months later, Dani still avoided him. Liz hadn’t been able to get what the problem was out of Dani. Joe’d had enough time to sort out his own feelings, and he realized he kind of liked Dani. Dani was still turned inside out about Joe.

It finally dawned on Liz what was wrong with Dani. She had a crush on Joe! All Liz could do was laugh. And start a bit of plotting. Joe needed someone to keep his mind of Liz and Dani already liked Joe. Perfect!

Liz called her sister and asked if Vicki could watch JT for her on Friday night. She would. Then, deciding Dani had absolutely no suitable clothing to go to a club, Liz left JT with Joe and took her out shopping. They came home with sacks of clothes, as well as a couple of videos for Dani to keep exercising to when Liz wasn’t around.

On Friday, Liz spent two hours making sure Dani looked perfect. Dani slipped into the long-sleeved black jersey mini-dress and high heels and looked in the mirror. At first, she didn’t even recognize her self. The woman in the mirror looked more like Liz had before JT had been conceived. Liz walked up behind her and said, “Looking good!”

Liz herself had chosen a barely there number that left little to the imagination. The band was meeting her at the club and for some reason she just wanted to see Scottie’s eyeballs pop from their sockets. Her upswept hair left her back bare and the high heels made her legs look even better. The dress had a front panel on it that covered the scar from JT’s birth, but the rest of her body looked totally perfect.

When Joe saw the pair of them coming down the stairs, he dropped back into his seat quickly. They were both stunning, though the outfit Liz wore almost made him feel faint. Then he got a look at Dani. She was gorgeous. He’d not really noticed how much weight she’s lost until that moment. He finally spoke a simple “WOW!”

“You like?” Liz joked.

“You thought I wouldn’t? Turn around, let me see here,” Joe laughed. Liz spun around to a long catcall from Joe. He turned to Dani and said, “You’re turn!”

She blushed and spun in a circle. Joe smiled and put an arm around each of them. “I’m gonna be the envy of all the men there tonight. I’ve got the two most beautiful women around on my arm!”

Dani cast a sideways glance at Joe. She’d been prickly as a porcupine to him, yet he was still smiling down at her. Confused, she looked at Liz, who merely winked at her. Joe went to get the car and Dani cornered Liz. “What’s going on?”

“I think he likes you,” Liz answered, feeling like a teenager passing messages at school.

“But he still loves you!” Dani shot back.

“Give him some time. Just enjoy spending some time with him without trying to shoot the poor boy down constantly. He’ll get over me someday!” Liz winked at her again and headed for the car.

The band was sitting at a table waiting for Liz. As she’d predicted, Scottie’s eye’s popped out when he saw Liz’s outfit. There was a guy sitting with them that Liz didn’t recognize. He had his back turned watching the dance floor. For the moment, all she could see was a mane of blond curls that reminded her of Sav. Liz assumed he was the new guitarist and decided to just introduce Dani and Joe to the rest of the group. Then she sat down, which, as it turned out, was a good thing. Scottie hit the new guy on the shoulder and said, “Hey man, the boss is here.”

He turned around and Liz and Joe both did double takes. His hair wasn’t the only thing that looked like Sav. He could have been Sav’s twin brother back during Hysteria. Liz gasped as Scottie said, “This is Billy Tedron. He’s our new lead guitarist.”

“Oh, God!” Liz exclaimed as Joe said, “Holy shit!”

Joe looked at Billy and said, “Has anyone ever told you that you bare an amazing resemblance to Rick Savage?”

“Yeah. Hey, has anybody ever told you that you look like Joe Elliott?” Billy asked.

Scottie laughed, “He is Joe Elliott!”

“Oh,” Billy murmured. Then he got a good look at Liz. “My, it’s going to be a pleasure working under you!”

Liz sat speechless. God really couldn’t be this cruel. This man looked so much like Sav he’d almost fooled her. The only real differences came from the Bell’s Palsy Sav had suffered. The next words out of Liz’s mouth were, “I really need a drink!”

She went to the bar and ordered a double shot, which she downed on the spot. Then she ordered another to take back to the table. Dani, who’d never seen Liz drink before, gave her a weird look. Joe, who had seen her drink much to his dismay, grabbed her arm and asked, “Are you sure you want to be doing this?”

“Yes, Joseph,” she said. And then she belted back the drink. She motioned to the waitress for another one. Everyone around her started talking, while Liz stared at Billy. As the music slowed down, Billy caught her staring and said, “Would you like to dance?”

“Sure,” she said and made a shaky way to dance floor. Joe grabbed Dani and headed for the floor. They kept a close eye on Liz as she moved slowly with Billy. His hands wandered all over her back and down to her backside. After six quick shots, Liz was too drunk to notice. Joe started over to stop Billy, but Dani pulled him back. She said, “Let her go. I don’t think she even knows its Billy. She thinks she’s in Sav’s arms right now.”

“But she’s not and I promised Sav I’d look out for her!” Joe fumed.

“Then we’ll make sure she comes home with us,” Dani said firmly. “Losing him has been hard on her. Let her fantasize for a while.” Then the song changed and Joe completely panicked. ‘Faithfully’ played over the speakers and Liz had frozen in place. She looked around as she cried helplessly.

“Help me, Dani. Get Billy off her, dance with him while I calm her down.” Joe said as he headed for Liz. Following Joe’s orders, Dani went over to the baffled Billy and asked him to dance. Joe pulled Liz into his arms and rocked her gently. Her arms wound around his neck and she buried her face in his chest, sobbing, “Why’d he leave me, Joe?”

“Shh, little one, don’t think about it now,” Joe whispered. He looked down into her alcohol-glazed eyes and saw a familiar pain had come back to haunt her. For a moment, he felt as if they’d gone back to the night when he first told Liz of Sav’s upcoming marriage. Liz pulled Joe’s mouth to hers and tried to kiss her pain away. At first, Joe’s body responded the way it always had to her. Then he pulled away a bit, though he still held her close.

“Don’t you love me anymore, Joseph?” she whispered sadly.

“Of course I do, little one. But this isn’t about me. It’s not right. The only reason you want me is because you can’t have Sav.” He looked away and saw Dani watching them. He gave her a smile before returning to Liz. Dani was a sweetheart and Joe could tell there was a chance of something there if he could just get through her shell. His thoughts returned to the woman in his arms. He wouldn’t fall into bed with Liz again. He couldn’t. He’d almost lost his heart the last time. But her next words almost broke his resolve.

“Will you marry me, Joseph?” Liz asked.

He threw his head back. A year ago, he would have jumped through a ring of fire to hear her ask that. Somewhere in his mind, he couldn’t believe the words he was saying to her. “No, little one. I love you too much to let you make that mistake. We’d just both end up hurting and you’d end up hating me. Besides,” he said in gentle reproach, “I want a woman who loves me, not my best friend.”

Silent tears ran down Liz’s face as she turned and stumbled out of the club. Joe and Dani followed her out with Billy close behind.

Liz made it to her car and fumbled for her keys. As soon as she freed them from her purse, Joe took them out of her hand. “Liz, calm down. I’m just thinking about what’s best for you!”

Liz turned on Joe and said vehemently, “First Sav had to leave me and now you don’t want me. What’s so wrong with me?” Then she saw Billy and thought he was Sav. In her drunken state, she couldn’t tell the difference. She moved over to him and put her arms around him. As she pulled his lips to hers, she whispered, “Sav.”

She pulled back confused and said, “That didn’t feel right. You used to kiss me different. After you got sick. I liked it that way.”

“I’m not Sav, boss,” Billy whispered, but he pulled her back to him and kissed her again. Joe wretched her out of his arms and told her, “Come on, Liz, it’s time to go.”

“No,” she yelled. “You can’t take me away from him again! Besides, you don’t want me anyway!” She cried as she tried to get back to Billy. Billy simply stood there, waiting to see if she’d come back to him. Joe shot him a dirty look and wrestled Liz into the backseat of the car, where she collapsed. Joe turned and got in Billy’s face. “Just stay away from her, asshole. She doesn’t need this shit right now. She’s too confused to deal with someone like you.”

“That’s up to her,” Billy snarled. Dani popped her head up over the car and said, “Can we please end this pissing contest before she pukes in the backseat?”

Joe relaxed the fist that had been about to fly at Billy and glared at him. Billy glared right back at the larger man, then turned and went back into the club. They got in the car and drove off. Joe growled, “I don’t like that bastard. Fucking womanizer is all he is.”

“You’re one to talk,” Dani said. She paused and asked, “Joe, why’d she keep going on about you not wanting her?”

He sat silent for a moment, then said, “She asked me to marry her.”

Dani’s breath caught in her throat for a second. Liz had asked to Joe to marry her? How could she? Trying to keep her feelings in check, she said, “Well, since you said yes, why’s she so upset?”

Joe looked out the window and couldn’t speak at first. Finally, he said, “Because I didn’t say yes. I told her no.”

Shocked, Dani focused on the road. “Why not?”

“Because she doesn’t love me. She’d end up hurt and so would I. I need someone who can love me as much as I love her. Being with Karla and a year of Liz has taught me that much. Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t trade the time Liz and I had together for anything. There are some good memories there. More in a few months together than in the entire time with Karla. And I got JT out of it too. But she’ll always love Sav. Anyone else is going to make her miserable.”

“You’re probably right. I was just surprised, that’s all,” Dani said.

“I have been known to use the head on my shoulders occasionally too, ya know?” came Joe’s sarcastic reply.

They drove in silence, broken only by the moans coming from Liz in the backseat. Dani helped Joe get her as far as the bedroom then left them alone. Liz looked at Joe and asked, “You here to stay for the night?”

“Only if you promise to behave yourself. Otherwise, I’m out of here,” Joe said seriously. Liz just cocked her head and stared at him curiously. She got undressed and slid between the blankets. Taking a deep breath, Joe lay down on top of the covers and put his arm around Liz, wondering if he would regret his decision earlier. As she fell asleep, Joe lay there wondering if things would ever be right in his world again.

The next morning at breakfast, Dani eyed Liz and Joe curiously. She couldn’t tell what had happened last night after she’d left, but it was driving her crazy. Finally, Liz solved it for her by saying to Joe, “Thank you for being such a gentleman last night, Joseph. I wasn’t quite in my right mind.”

“You’re welcome. I didn’t think you needed any more shit last night.” Joe paused, then said, “Are you sure you want to work with that Billy character? He seems like a real ass to me.”

“If he can play a guitar, I don’t care what else he does. I need to get on the road, NOW.” Liz took a bite of her food and looked at Joe. “Listen, Joe, at least for the first part of this tour, I need you to take JT. I’m gonna miss him like crazy, but he’s just too young to go on tour yet.”

“Sure. Does Dani come with him?” Joe asked without looking at Dani.

“Yep. That’s part of her job. She stays with JT.” Liz said.

Dani looked over at Liz and asked, “So when do we leave?”

“Well, I’ve got two weeks of rehearsals, starting in a couple of hours. Then, we head out. Oh, Joe, they’re releasing ‘Shadow’ tomorrow. Hope you’re ready for that.”

“Yeah, no problem. The video’s all we really had to do for it.” Joe smiled, “Easiest job I’ve ever done.”

“We’ll see about that,” Liz laughed.

For the next two weeks, Liz spent a great deal of time in rehearsal. Joe tended to go with her, watching Billy to keep him back away from Liz. Basically, Liz didn’t pay attention to any one person. She came in, she sang, she left. Still, Joe was afraid that Billy might decide to capitalize on the weakness Liz had already shown. Billy kept his distance from Liz as long as Joe was watching over her. But Joe couldn’t be there forever. When Liz left on tour, Joe and Dani went to Spain with JT. Suddenly, Liz started to notice Billy everywhere. He wasn’t obnoxious, he was just always in her line of sight. Because of his resemblance to Sav, Liz found it almost eerie.

‘Shadow of a Memory’ was an instant hit. It soared to number one within the month on the chart and stayed there for another month. The song was everywhere and MTV played the video constantly. One afternoon, during a break in recording, Sav flipped through the TV channels and landed on MTV just as the video started. He fell into a chair and stared at the set as Liz’s beautiful face filled the screen. Even seeing her in Joe’s arms was welcome. Tears ran down his face as her voice echoed in his brain. As the video ended, he turned and saw Joe standing in the doorway. Joe said, “She misses you. But you know that, don’t you?”

“Yes. But I can’t do anything about it until I get Darla taken care of,” Sav said. He stared at the TV and let the tears come. “Until then, I have to let her go.”

Joe stood silently and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder to comfort him. There was nothing else he could do.

Liz’s life started to fall back into her old routine. Even though the venues were larger than ever, she still did radio station interviews every morning. After the morning interviews, she usually went for lunch and then headed to the gig for sound checks. Then she had some time to herself until it was time to get ready for the show. Onstage, she was as good as ever. There, she could forget about Sav for a couple of hours as she entertained the crowds. Afterwards, she either went to the after show party or headed out to her bus to catch some sleep.

On one of the rare nights when she actually went out with the band, she sat alone watching Scottie and Michael compete over a girl when Billy came over and sat beside her.

“Kinda silly, aren’t they,” he laughed.

“Nah, she’s pretty. I can understand why they’re doing it. It can get lonely on the road,” Liz said. She turned to Billy and asked, “Have you ever done this before?”

“Actually toured? Nope, this is my first time out on the road.” He laughed and said, “I have to say it’s kinda nice to start out on this big of a tour.”

“Stupid question, but how old are you anyway?” Liz asked.

“Me? I’m twenty-three. How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-four.” She turned in time to see Michael get up and walk away in frustration. Two minutes later, he was hitting on another girl, this one wearing a t-shirt from that night’s concert. He had more success with her and they were getting cozy within minutes.

“So, how do you deal with being lonely on the road?” Billy asked.

Liz held up her glass and said, “Well, if it gets too bad, I crawl into a bottle and don’t come out til sunrise. So far this tour I haven’t fallen into that yet. Course, we’re only two months into it, so who knows what’ll happen.”

Surprised, Billy looked at her. “You don’t strike me much as the drinking type.”’

“My problem is, I usually only drink to get drunk. Tonight’s been a rarity. I’m usually falling down drunk if I’ve been drinking for more than an hour.” She gave a humorless laugh. “Don’t worry, I don’t drink before a gig. It doesn’t get lonely til late at night.”

“It doesn’t have to get lonely, you know.” He stared at her and she turned to face him. He bent and pulled her lips to his. She closed her eyes for a moment, just wanting the human contact she’d shunned since Sav had been taken from her. Then she pulled away. “I don’t think so, Billy.”

He pulled her back to him and said, “Why not?”

“Because you remind me too much of someone else. It wouldn’t work. I’ll always see him when I look at you.” She started to turn away again, but he stopped her.

“I don’t care. Maybe it’ll help you get over him then. Just spend the night with me. For once, don’t worry about tomorrow.” He stood up and held his hand out to her. Against her own better judgement, she followed her need for some kind of contact and took his hand. Billy led her back to his hotel room and as the door closed, Liz felt as if something had just ended for her.

He took her into his arms and started to kiss her. Looking at him, she could almost pretend he was Sav. She shivered for a moment before getting herself under control. Before she knew what she was doing, he had removed his clothes and was helping her out of hers. Then she was on the bed with him on top of her and for the first time, she felt nothing. She could feel the tears coming, hot and shameful, as she realized what she felt. For the first time, she felt as if she had cheated on Sav. Not in all the time with Joe had that ever been an issue for her. She wiped her eyes, hiding the tears from Billy who was quickly building to an orgasm above her. She heard Billy say, “Oh, God, I’m cumming!”

She lay there as he came and then let him pull her into his arms. Within minutes he was asleep and she retrieved her clothes. Quietly, she went into her own room and got into a scalding hot shower, tears mingling with the water. She couldn’t go back now. Sav wouldn’t have her after this.

The next day was an off day from the tour. Before the rest of the band had gotten out of bed, Liz went into the liquor store and bought a bottle of Southern Comfort. With a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door, Liz sat in the room ignoring everyone who knocked and drank until she passed out.

When she came to that night, she got up and got a shower. The band was frantic, wondering what had happened to her. Finally, Scottie worked up the courage to knock on her door. She answered it and said, “Could you knock a little more softly next time?”

“Liz, what’s up? Have you been drinking? I thought Savage got you to swear off hitting the hard shit?” he asked, concerned for her.

“Don’t ever mention his name to me again, Scottie. Not if you want to kept this job,” she said angrily. “As for getting me to swear off the shit, I don’t see him hear to give me any bullshit about it, do you?”

“No, but then again, if he were here, you wouldn’t be drinking, would you?” He put a hand on her shoulder and said, “I remember that first tour, when you two were still together. You did this shit cause you missed him then too. Why don’t you try to get him back?”

She sighed and said, “Scottie, he wouldn’t have me now for anything. It’s just too late. Now get out of here. I promise, no more binges like today.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that!” he said as he turned and walked out of the room.

She sat down on the bed and murmured, “Guess I better be a little more careful next time.”

She didn’t see Billy until they left for the next gig the following day. He walked up to her quietly and said, “What happened the other night?”

“I just figured it wasn’t a good idea to be found in your bed the next morning,” she lied with a forced smile. He didn’t seem to notice. She continued, “It’s probably not a good idea for anybody to find out that you banged the boss.”

He slipped an arm around her and said, “Don’t worry, I can handle them. Don’t think I can’t.”

“I don’t think it’s a really good idea to keep this up,” she said as he turned her to face him. He bent down and kissed her as Scottie came around the corner. Scottie stared at her, stunned. He couldn’t believe what he’d seen. He turned and left before Liz saw him.

Liz pulled away from Billy and looked up at him. For a brief moment, she saw Sav again and she closed her eyes, trying to hold on to that second in time. Billy took advantage of it to kiss her again. Defeated, Liz gave in to him and realized everything she’d held on to was lost. Even without the haze of alcohol in her brain, all she could think was ‘Sav would never forgive me for betraying him’. She let Billy hold her and mentally she closed the door on her past.

“Liz,” Guy screamed into the phone, “have you seen the Grammy nominations yet?”

“No,” she said tentatively, “should I have?”

“Hell yes! You’re nominated in three categories. Song, Record and Album of the Year!” he yelled.

“Which song?” she asked, though she already knew the answer.

“’Shadow of a Memory’, of course,” came his excited reply.

“Am I off so I can go to the ceremony?” Liz asked, her own excitement finally starting to build.

“Yep! Gotta get seats for you and anybody that’s going with you, though,” he said.

“Okay, I’ll call Joe right now and let him know. And I’ll see if any of the rest of the band wants to come, cuz they helped write ‘Shadow’.” She paused and said, “Gotta go! Thanks for the news!”

She hung up from Guy and dialed the number for Joe’s place. “Joe, it’s Liz. We got nominated for a Grammy!” she screamed before Joe could say more than “Hello.”

“You’re pulling my leg, right?” he said in disbelief.

“Nope! Song and record of the year,” she said, her voice still above it’s usual volume. “Wonder if they’ll ask us to perform?”

“Most likely,” he replied. “I’ll have to get the guys on making sure they know it.”

“Will everybody come?” she asked, suddenly hesitant. She’d just remembered that this would mean Sav would have to be there. Darla wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to tag along for this one.

“Of course,” Joe answered.

“How many seats will you guys need?” she asked, hoping he would say five.

“Better say nine for right now. I don’t think anybody will want to miss this.”

“Are you going to take Dani?” Liz asked, not wanting to think about Sav for the moment.

“If she’ll go. Think her slavemaster boss will let her have the night off?”

“I’ll put a good word in for her,” she said and rang off the phone.

Just as Liz had figured, they were asked to perform the song at the ceremony. At first, the producers thought they would have to scrap up a backing band for Joe and Liz, but the other members of Leppard volunteered quickly to perform with them. When they showed up for rehearsals, Darla wouldn’t let Sav out of her sight. They ran through the song three times, while Liz completely avoided Sav’s eyes. After they finished, Darla rushed Sav back to the hotel so he wouldn’t have time to talk to Liz.

Liz helped Dani pick out an outfit for the show. Dani wore a rather demure white jersey dress that fell to the floor. Liz’s dress was a bit racier. It was a black floor length gown that bared her back and quite a bit of her front as well. When they arrived at the ceremony, Liz walked in solo followed by the band and their wives and girlfriends. Since their performance was early in the show, the guys lead their significant others to their seats, then headed for the backstage area. They all changed into their outfits for the performance, then sat waiting for their turn to go on. Liz could hardly look at Sav because of what had happened with Billy. He came over and sat beside her quietly, wondering what could possibly be wrong. When she looked at him, there were tears in her eyes as she thought what he would say if he knew what she’d done.

When the band finally took the stage, Liz stood on the opposite side of Joe from Sav. About halfway through the song, she turned to face Joe and found Sav staring at her over Joe’s shoulder. She could barely take her eyes away from him. By the end of the song, tears streamed down her face. Every word had ripped into her wounded heart a bit deeper. As they came offstage, the audience rose to their feet as one. Meanwhile Joe pulled Liz off stage and wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry. Sav took off his guitar and took Liz’s sobbing body into his arms. She wept as he held on, not understanding her tears. Finally, without speaking a word to each other, he released her and they returned to their seats in the audience after she’d changed clothes. Darla eyed Sav suspiciously, but said nothing.

Liz sat stoically as other artists received their awards. Then it came time for her first category, Song of the Year. Liz and all the band were up for it as the song’s writers. The nominees were named and then they announced the winners.

“And the winner is…Joe Elliott, Liz Diamond, Rick Savage, Phil Collin, Rick Allen and Vivian Campbell for ‘Shadow of a Memory’.” Liz sat stunned for a moment until Joe pulled her to her feet and hugged her. They made their way to the stage, where the presenters put the statues in their hands. Liz took the mic and said simply, “I want to thank the members of Def Leppard for helping me to write such a great song.” She looked behind her and her eyes caught on Sav. “I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you.” They started offstage, but Sav grabbed the mic and said without a smile, “Here ya go, Darla.” Darla sat there, steaming, knowing how the song had come into being.

They returned to their seats during the break and Darla hissed at Sav, “What the hell was that for?”

“Forget it,” he growled at her.

After the next performance came the award for record of the year. Joe grabbed Liz’s hand as the nominees were read aloud. Then they announced, “And the winner is…Liz Diamond and Joe Elliott for ‘Shadow of a Memory’.”

Joe and Liz made their way to the stage once again. Liz stood in front of the mic and said, “Well, I didn’t expect this! First off, we want to say hello to our son, JT Elliott, who should be in bed right now, right Joe?” As Joe nodded, you could almost hear the typewriters clicking out the news of JT’s paternity. Liz had never publicly acknowledged Joe as JT’s father, so it was a big moment for Joe. He leaned in and said, “Yeah, good night buddy!”

Then Liz continued, “Also, I’d like to the thank the man who inspired this song. He knows who he is. Thank you all.” She looked directly at Sav and then she walked offstage. Sav’s head dropped to his chest and tears ran down his face. Darla sat beside him looking like a storm cloud.

The final award of the night was for album of the year. Liz sat quietly as they gave the names of the nominees. Then, the presenter opened the envelope and simply said, “Liz Diamond, get your butt back up here. You won again, girl.”

Slowly, Liz made her way back the podium. “Well, I’d like to thank my manager, the producers and everyone else at the record company, and my family. Joe, for being such a wonderful partner. And the rest of the members of Def Leppard, for helping me to write so many of the songs.” She looked into Sav’s eyes and said, “And you, Sav. I love you.” Realizing what she’d just said, she turned and ran off the stage. Before anyone could stop her, she’d disappeared out the back of the pavilion, leaving Joe to handle the press for ‘Shadow’.

Liz went straight to her hotel room and got her stuff together. She’d left before Sav or Joe could find her, back to her life on the road.

Over the next three months, Billy spent every second he could with Liz. She was the biggest catch someone like him could ever make and he wasn’t about to let her go. When she got depressed, he did everything he could to cheer her up. Though what finally brought her mood back up to snuff was Dani bringing JT back to Liz. She picked up her now ten month old son and held him close.

“He’s starting to look like Joe, don’t you think?” Liz said.

“Yeah, especially around the eyes. His mom said they used to call him a little chinamen when he was small. You can definitely see the same slant in JT’s eyes,” Dani laughed.

“God, he’s gotten so big!” Liz said as she held him close. Tears came to her eyes, thinking of what she’d missed while he was gone. She stared at the baby for a moment longer, then looked at Dani. “How’s Joe?”

“He’s doing okay. They’re still finishing up the new album, so they’re working their asses off,” Dani said, but Liz could tell there was something else.

“What’s going on with you two, anyway?” Liz asked.

“I don’t know. He’s so damned sweet sometimes I almost get diabetes. Other times, he’s the most sarcastic bastard on the planet. I’m just not sure how to take him, but I think he might actually be interested in me!” Dani said, still not believing what she was saying or thinking.

“I told you, just give him a little time. Take it easy on him though. He’s had it rough the past few years,” Liz said. Then she paused and looked down. “How’s Sav?”

“Miserable. Still wondering why you disappeared after the Grammy's. Plus Darla was there while they were recording. I think she wanted to make sure he didn’t take off and find you again,” Dani said. Billy watched warily from across the room, listening intently. Dani continued, “He’s still trying to find a way to get away from her. He told me to tell you not to give up hope yet.”

Liz sighed. “Dani, next time you see him, tell him I said it’s over. I’m not in love with him anymore. I’ve moved on with my life and it doesn’t include him.”

Dani gasped and said, “Are you insane?”

“No, Dani, I mean every word of it. It’s for the best.”

Dani shook her head. “I’m not going to be the one to give him that news. You can do it yourself!”

“No, I can’t,” Liz whispered.

“That’s what I thought. You’re lying. But why?” Dani asked. “Why would you lie to me?”

“Don’t ask me that, Dani. It’s not important. Just make sure Sav knows I won’t be there anymore.” Tears glistened in her eyes and Billy walked over to her. He put his arms around her and gave her a quick kiss.

“Honey, cheer up. Tell me what’s wrong and I’ll make it all right,” Billy whispered. JT started to fuss and a stunned Dani took him from his mother. Liz and Billy? That didn’t seem possible. She made note to call Joe with this disturbing bit of news, before taking JT away to change his diaper.

Two weeks later, Liz sat in her hotel room with Billy as the phone rang. She picked it up and was surprised to hear Joe on the line.

“Liz, it’s Joe.”

“Oh, hi Joe. What’s up?” she answered with forced cheer.

“Oh, just calling to say hello. How’s JT? I miss him already!” He laughed. “Didn’t realize how attached you get to those little guys!”

“He’s fine. Just a bit of a cough, nothing serious. He got so big while he was with you!” Liz laughed.

“And I’ll bet he gets even bigger while you have him. When do I get him again, anyway?” Joe asked.

“Oh, a couple of months at least. I need a chance to get to know him again!” Liz said.

“Damn. Guess that means I won’t see Dani for a couple of months either, huh?” he asked.

“Sorry, Joe. What’s going on anyway?”

“Oh, nothing. I just got to the point where I really enjoyed her company,” he said, shying away from any further comment. He took a deep breath and started in on his real topic of conversation. “Liz, Dani gave me some rather disturbing news. She said you’re involved with Billy now.”

“Don’t worry about it, Joe,” she said abruptly.

“Liz, the man’s a jerk and a user. Don’t do this,” Joe said urgently.

“He’s been good to me, Joe. Let’s not get into this,” she said, trying to cut him off.

“Liz, Sav’s worried about you.”

“I’m not his problem anymore, Joe. Please, just tell him to get on with his life. I’m getting on with mine. Now, Joe, I don’t want to talk about this anymore, so I’m getting off here. Right now. Good bye, Joseph.” She hung up the phone as Joe spoke, trying to stop her. She left the phone off the hook so that Joe couldn’t call back. Billy took her into his arms and said, “Let me guess. Elliott decided to warn you off me.”

“Don’t worry about it, okay?” she said quietly.

“Listen, Liz, marry me! Then they’ll all shut up.” He said quickly. “They wouldn’t say another thing about me to you if you did.”

She stared at him, not quite believing what he’d just said. Somewhere, she knew that it was absolutely wrong to even consider it. She knew she didn’t love Billy and she wasn’t even sure he loved her. But love had gotten her nothing but memories now. Darla was never going to let go of Sav and in a strange way, marrying Billy would help Sav. At least that was the way she saw it. If she were married, he’d have no choice but to get over her. She turned to Billy and said, “Why not?”

Las Vegas was only a couple hours away and Billy wasted no time getting Liz into a car and heading straight there. She only told Dani that she was going to be gone for the night. She stared out the window and cried silently as they drove through the night.

Sav sat at the table eating breakfast when Darla dropped the paper practically in his food. “Looks like you can quit pining for your little lost love. She just got married.”

Sav fixed her with a nasty glare and said, “You’re lying.”

“Read it for yourself then.”

As he tore through the paper, he realized Darla was watching him with a satisfied smile. He found the article on page two, along with its accompanying picture. There stood Liz with another man. Then Sav got a good look at the other man. This guy could have passed for Sav’s twin before he’d contracted Bell’s. Reading the article in disbelief, it took two tries to actually get the information into his brain.

“Singer Liz Diamond got married last Monday at a quick ceremony in a Las Vegas wedding chapel. Her husband, Billy Tedron, is the lead guitarist in Liz’s touring band. Inside sources say that Tedron swept her off her feet after a short courtship. However, those same sources claim that it was actually Tedron’s amazing resemblance to Diamond’s former lover, Rick Savage, that did the sweeping.”

Throwing the paper onto the table, Sav ran to his bedroom. The television had been left on MTV and as he walked into the room, ‘Shadow of a Memory’ came on. He stared at the TV in disbelief, watching Liz and Joe onscreen together. After the video ended, MTV news came on. The headlining story was Liz’s surprise wedding to her touring guitarist Billy Tedron. Losing control finally, Sav picked up the wolf Liz had given him and threw it into the television screen, shattering her lingering image. Then he sat on his bed and wept.

Dani was shocked when they returned. If she hadn’t cared so much about JT, she would have resigned on the spot. As it was, she didn’t speak to Liz for nearly a week. She’d just come from several months of being with Joe and Sav and knew that Sav hadn’t given up on Liz. Why had she given up on him?

Billy kept telling Liz she should fire Dani. He knew Dani didn’t like him and he could figure out why. So he tried to undermine Dani any way he could. She didn’t feed the baby fast enough. The baby’s diapers always stunk. She was far too familiar with Liz, more so than any employee should be. After three months of Billy’s constant harping, Liz decided to go ahead and send Dani and JT back to Joe for a while. She hoped it would give Billy time to cool off and leave Dani alone. Liz protected her friendship with Dani, because, after a while, she was the only friend Liz had left. Billy kept the other band members away from Liz, not wanting any other man to come around his wife.

When Dani and JT had been gone for a month, Liz and Billy had their first fight. He looked up at her one night after a show and said, “When are you going to send in the papers to change your last name?”

“I’m not,” she said without thinking.

“What do you mean?” he asked, his temper rising.

“Billy, the fans all know me by Liz Diamond. Changing my name would confuse them,” she said quietly.

“Bullshit, they all know your fucking face. Who gives a shit what people call you?” he said, rising to his feet and standing over her.

“Calm down. You’re right, who gives a shit what they call me? What’s your problem, anyway?” she answered, her own voice rising.

“You’re my wife, bitch. You’re Mrs. Tedron, I’m not Mr. Diamond.” He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet. “You will send those papers in.”

“No, Billy, I won’t. It’s too late anyway. I only had two months to do it in.” She tried to pull her arm away from him, but he wouldn’t let go. “Billy, you’re hurting me. Let go.”

“No.” He twisted her arm behind her back, nearly dislocating her shoulder. She started to cry and he laughed at her. “Not so tough, now, huh?”

He shoved her roughly on to the bed and said, “Just remember, you’re my fucking wife.”

Over the next few months, Liz did her best not to piss Billy off. She also dodged several attempts by Joe to come over for a visit. Dani took JT back and forth between his parents every three months. For seven months, life went on as though nothing had happened. Billy was happy, because Liz did everything he wanted her to do. The tour had ended and Billy was now living on the farm with Liz. Then, one day just before Dani brought JT home again, Billy flared up again. Liz was sitting on the couch watching MTV when the video for ‘When Love and Hate Collide’ came on. She sat there hungrily watching Sav and the rest of the band on the television. Billy entered the room and saw the tears she was trying to hide even from herself. Without a word, he pulled her up off the couch and backhanded her hard enough to send her over the couch. Then he stood over her and screamed, “If I ever catch you looking at fucking Savage like that again, I’ll beat you fucking bloody. I don’t care how much he looks like me!” He turned and stormed from the room, leaving her crying on the floor.

Part of her said he was right. She’d married Billy and shouldn’t be looking at another man. But a small part of her cried out that she’d done nothing but watch a video. What was wrong with that?

Dani returned the next day. She took one look at the bruise on Liz’s face and said, “Did he do that?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Dani. Please,” she begged quietly, not wanting Billy to hear what she’d said. She was always careful not to upset him, but when JT was there, she went out of her way to keep the peace.

“Liz, this has got to stop. How many times has he done this when I wasn’t around?” she asked, her temper flaring.

“Only once. It’s nothing major, okay. Just let it drop,” Liz asked.

For the moment, Dani did let it drop. But she and Joe had gotten quite close over the past few months and during a phone call to him that night while he was touring, she let him know what she’d seen.

“She’s got a nasty bruise on the side of her face, Joe,” she said in a voice filled with concern.

“Billy hit her?” he asked incredulously.

“Yeah,” was all Dani could say.

“Listen, we’re coming to Cleveland in two weeks. Just tell Liz I’m stopping by to see JT. We’ll see what happens when I get there.” Joe had to get ready to get onstage, but he paused a minute. “Dani, I miss you!”

She gave a laugh and said, “I miss you too. Don’t forget me while you’re touring, okay?”

“Never.”

Liz was ready for Joe to show up alone for an overnight visit with JT before his Cleveland gig. What she wasn’t expecting was two tour buses to show up at her front door. She saw the buses pull up and made a run for her bedroom. She sat on the bed until there was a knock on her door. “Come in!” she called.

Joe walked in and said, “Hi! Long time, no see! Care to join the rest of us downstairs before I end up with a war on my hands?”

Immediately tense, she asked, “What do you mean?”

“I’ve got five hungry men and a wife here. Plus Malvin and the bus drivers, though I think Malvin is taking them for a night out. Everyone else may start tearing apart your kitchen if you don’t do something fast,” he laughed.

She followed Joe down the stairs into the living room, where Billy sat talking to Phil and Vivian. He’d made a point of totally ignoring Sav. Rick and Stacey wandered around the downstairs, and he hollered, “Damn girl, not bad for a farm house!”

“Thanks, Rick!” she replied as she entered the living room. She took one look at Sav and couldn’t breathe for a second. He sat forward, obviously glad to see her, but she couldn’t move. She tore her eyes away from him for an anxious glance at Billy. He was staring right at her. Closing her eyes to hide the tears, she sat down about ten foot away from Sav and said as casually as she could, “So, how have you been?”

Her eyes kept shifting back to Billy, obviously frightened. Sav could barely conceal the anger he felt. This bastard had hurt Liz and there was nothing he could do about it. At least, not yet. Getting a firm hold over his voice, he said, “Well, I’ve had better times in my life. How about you?”

“Me, too,” she whispered. Then she looked right into his eyes. She could see the anger there and thought it might be directed at her. She couldn’t blame him for that. Then he shot a look at Billy that told her all she needed to know. She glanced up and saw Dani and Joe standing side by side in the doorway. To Sav, she said, “If you’ll excuse me?”

She stormed across the room to Dani and grabbed her wordlessly. Pulling her into the kitchen, she hissed, “What did you tell them?”

“The truth. Someone needed to!”

“Damnit Dani!” she said in a hissing whisper. She picked up a glass and threw it across the room. The crash brought Joe and Sav running instantly, while the others sent Rick in to see what had happened. Liz was bent down picking up the glass and Sav came over to help her, glad just to be that close to her again. She looked up at him just as she reached for a shard of glass and felt the glass bite into her hand. “Shit!” she exclaimed, startled. Before she could check her hand, Sav had grabbed it and was looking it over. The pain of the cut was barely noticed because of his touch. He pulled her over to the sink and got her bleeding hand under the water.

“I don’t think it’s too bad. Just a superficial cut,” he said, yet he didn’t release her hand. Joe and Dani still stood in the doorway, acting as lookouts for Sav as he bent his lips to Liz’s. The kiss was brief, but for the moment all he could get away with. Then she pulled away from him, terror in her eyes. She stared at the door, waiting for Billy to show up. Sav held her hand and said, “Lizzie, I really need to talk to you.”

He could still see the fear in her eyes as she pulled her hand away from him. “I’m sorry, Sav. I can’t.” She looked down at the cut and saw that the blood had stopped flowing. “This is the way it has to be.”

She walked away from him, back into the living room. Hoping she hadn’t been gone long enough to anger Billy, she said with a forced smile, “How does Chinese food sound? I know a place that I’ve been told does great vegetarian Chinese food.”

Everyone agreed that Chinese was fine, so Liz called and ordered it. Then she asked Billy if he would go get it for her. Reluctantly, he said he would. Sav shot Phil a look and Phil volunteered himself and Vivian to go with him to pick it up. “Feeding this many people, it’s gonna take more than one man to bring it back!” Phil said with a smile.

As soon as they left, Sav knelt down in front of Liz. “Lizzie, please, tell me what’s going on.”

She looked into his eyes and was lost for a moment. She pulled him to her and kissed him with all her repressed emotions. Then she buried her head in his neck for a moment before looking up at him again. “I don’t know what to say. I kept trying to lie to myself and say I didn’t love you anymore. After I slept with Billy, I figured you wouldn’t want me any more. I never really felt that way with what happened with Joe. But Billy made me feel, I don’t know, kinda dirty. Like I’d finally gone too far and couldn’t get back. I just gave up.”

He pulled her into his arms and said, “Lizzie, there’s never a time you couldn’t get back to me. I can’t think of anything you could do that would cause me to want to leave you.” She started to cry and he held her close, not ever wanting to let go. “Come back with me, Lizzie.”

“I can’t. He’d kill me and you both. Besides, you still have Darla to deal with,” she whispered.

“Lizzie, I need to tell you this. We both have Darla to deal with. So does he,” Sav said, motioning to Joe. “God, I should have told you this a long time ago. Those tapes Darla has. She wasn’t trying to get me with them. She was having you followed and caught you and Joe having sex at his place. Then, later, her investigator caught you and I in the same situation a couple of times. I couldn’t let her destroy you with them, so I hid it from you and went back to her.”

“Oh, God. Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve taken it and you would have been away from her a long time ago.” She took his face in her hands. “I’d die for you, baby. Taking a blow to my pride and maybe my career would have been nothing. You’ve got to get out. NOW!”

“Lizzie, are you sure? Once I leave her, there’s no going back.” He looked into her eyes and she said, “Do it.”

“Okay, she’s history. But what about you?” He watched her as she dried her tears. She said, “I’m stuck. Maybe someday I’ll be able to get away from him, but not yet. But, I do still love you.”

“I love you, too, Lizzie. I can’t live without you.” Suddenly, they heard a door open and Phil hollered, “Honey, I’m home!”

By the time Billy made it into the living room to check on her, Sav was sitting across the room and they were talking about Def Leppard’s newest album. Billy looked at her suspiciously, but could prove nothing, so he merely called them in to get their food.

Liz started to relax around Sav. Much like the time she’d been with Joe, they fell into their old companionship. As they walked towards the kitchen, Liz looked around and said, “Where are Dani and Joe?”

“They were here just a few minutes ago. I don’t know where they went.” Sav looked around and he and Liz both headed for the basement. They looked down the stairs and, there at the bottom of the steps, stood Joe and Dani. Dani’s back was against the wall and Joe stood in front of her, his arms around her. His head was bent over her, kissing her. Sav and Liz cleared their throats in unison and Joe’s head popped up. He shot them a guilty look and said, “Did you want something, or can I finally kiss this woman?”

Sav just said, “Food’s ready when you are.” Then he backed away, pulling Liz with him, and closed the door. Then Liz and Sav looked at each other and started laughing. Billy watched them with a nasty look on his face and said, “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, Joe and Dani are, well, busy at the bottom of the stairs,” Sav laughed.

Billy looked at Liz and said, “I told you that you should have fired that bitch. Now she’s trying to get it on with her boss.”

“Billy,” Liz said seriously, “I’m Dani’s boss, not Joe. And I’ve been trying to get them together forever. So long as she does her job with JT, which I think she does wonderfully, what she does on her own time is her business.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he huffed and walked into the kitchen.

Sav and Liz just looked back at each other and giggled. Then they followed Billy into the kitchen. Everybody dished up their food, then paused as Dani and Joe walked into the room holding hands. Liz set down her plate and started to clap. Everyone else but Billy followed suit, with Phil saying, “About bloody time, mate!”

As the racket died down, Dani heard JT start to cry and went up to get him. Liz took one look at her son as Joe took him from Dani and could see the resemblance between them. As JT got older, he looked more and more like Joe. Liz smiled at Joe and said, “Are you sure I had anything to do with that child being born? Looks like somebody just replicated you whole and in miniature.”

“Well, as much as I’d like to take total credit for him, I think you had something to do with him, too. He’s got your stubborn streak,” Joe laughed as JT turned away from a bite of food. Liz walked over and took it from Dani. JT opened his mouth almost immediately for his mother. Everyone headed for the dining room and sat down. Rick looked at Liz and asked, “So, are you recording now?”

“Oh, not yet. They actually talked me into doing a movie. Ought to be interesting,” she smiled.

“Oh, my, does that mean you’ll show some flesh for once?” Phil joked, though Billy gave him a dark look.

“Well, actually, I guess there’s a strip tease in the bedroom they want me to do. I don’t know if they’ve got the music picked out for it yet, but personally I’d love to use ‘Work It Out’ if I have any choice. Then again, guess they need permission from you guys for it.”

Joe’s breath caught as he remembered the first time Liz had heard that song. And the video Darla had of it. He looked at Liz and saw that she had remembered as well. She winked at Joe, who immediately said, “Hey, sounds like an idea to me!”

The rest of the band agreed, though Sav took a minute, saying, “so, how far does this strip go, anyway?”

“Bare back, no more,” Liz said.

“Okay, sounds good then,” he finally agreed.

As soon as they finished eating, Billy headed for the bar. Phil stuck with his water and so did Rick after Stacey shot him a look, reminding him of their recent problems. Liz pulled out a bottle of wine for Sav and Joe and Vivian got their own drinks. Liz steered clear of the alcohol and so did Dani, since she was watching JT.

Billy talked Phil and Vivian into going down to the basement where he kept his guitars. The rest of the group sat in the living room talking. Liz told them about her movie, which was due to begin shooting in a week, and they discussed Def Leppard’s latest tour. Joe slipped his arm around Dani and Rick and Stacey snuggled together in one of the chairs. JT played in the middle of the floor, taking the chance to show off for Mummy, Daddy and the nanny he called Day. After a few hours, Dani and Joe took JT up to his room for bed, after giving Mummy a goodnight smooch. When they returned, they found Liz sitting on the end of the couch, talking to Sav in whispers while Stacey and Rick had thrown a movie into the VCR. Joe decided to lie on the floor and pulled Dani down to lay with him.

Billy, Phil and Vivian eventually came back upstairs, with Phil and Vivian sprawling out on the floor to watch the movie. Billy made Liz move and took her seat, then pulled her roughly down so that she had to lie with her head on his lap. She could see Sav clench his fist at Billy’s handling of her, but she shook her head slightly at him and he sat still. As the movie ended, everyone decided that since there was a gig the next day, they’d hit their beds early. Liz showed each of the men to a room, though Phil and Viv were forced to bunk together and Joe and Sav would share another room. Liz took an extra blanket into Joe and Sav’s room and Sav was waiting there. She whispered goodnight, but as she turned to go he took her by the arm and pulled her in for a quick kiss. She pushed away, afraid Billy might see them and heard Sav whisper, “Letting you go to bed with him is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Just so you know that.”

“Sometimes you just don’t get a choice in things,” she said. Then she whispered, “I love you” and walked out. Joe was standing in the hallway saying an intimate goodnight to Dani. It was obvious things hadn’t gone quite far enough between them for Joe to spend the night with her. She went into her room and Joe turned towards his, only to nearly run into Liz. “Oh, hi!” he said softly.

“Hi, Joe. Better head for bed or you’ll get stuck with the couch.”

“If I know Sav, he’s already got the good spot anyway,” Joe laughed. He turned serious for a moment and said, “How are you doing, anyway?”

“I’m better now, thanks.” She gave him a brief smile and said, “Thanks for bringing him here, Joe. I guess I really needed to see him after all.”

“No problem, little one,” he said as he folded her into his arms. They stood there for a moment before Liz realized they weren’t alone. Billy stood at the end of the hall, outside the bedroom he shared with Liz. Joe hurried and turned into his room and Liz walked towards Billy with a heart full of dread. He grabbed her arm in a vise like grip and said, “Come here, wife.”

He pulled her into their room and practically tore her clothing off her. Then, in his jealous rage, he fucked her passive body while she lay wishing she were back in Sav’s loving arms. As he came, she lay watching him with a heart that had turned to ice.

The next morning, Sav woke early after a lousy night’s sleep. Thinking of Liz sleeping in the same bed as Billy had given him nightmares all night. He wandered down to the kitchen, then stopped as he realized he heard music from the basement. He thought to himself, “I thought I was the first one up. Who the hell is downstairs?”

As he went downstairs, he realized that all he heard was a bass guitar. Listening closer, he recognized the song as well. Considering nobody else in Def Leppard generally played bass, Billy was a lead guitar player and Liz only knew keyboards, Sav was totally baffled. He went slowly down the stairs and that’s when he saw her. Liz stood with her back to the stairs and a bass guitar hanging off her shoulder. Headphones covered her ears as she moved to the music. He realized she was listening to “Work It Out” and playing the bass part along with it. Watching her, he couldn’t move. She was as beautiful as ever and there was something about listening to her play his instrument to his music that was absolutely spellbinding. She threw her head back as the song started over. Sav ducked out of her view so he could continue to watch her. When the song hit the chorus, she began to sing along as well. Then she did the bass solo perfectly. As the song ended again, she turned to change to another and saw him watching her. Throwing the headphones half way across the room, she jumped all the way out of her skin. She hissed, “How long have you been watching me?”

“Long enough to wonder how long you’ve been playing bass. When did you learn it?” he asked.

“Michael started to teach me on tour after JT was born. I figured keyboards were a rather limiting instrument if that’s all you knew.” She paused as he walked towards her. He’d finally gotten a good look at the bass. It was an exact replica of his Union Jack. “May I?” he asked.

She slipped the guitar from her shoulder and handed it to him. It felt just like his own Union Jack. “Why’d you get this? When?”

“It’s not important now. I thought it was then, but wood can’t replace a person. I was lonely and couldn’t get something off my mind, so I figured I’d do something constructive with that emotion and learn the bass,” she said as she turned away from him. As he grabbed her arm, she flinched away in pain. “What the hell…” he murmured as he took her hand and pulled up her sleeve. There was a nasty set of bruises there, just the size of a man’s hand and fingers. “Did he do this to you?”

Liz knew exactly who Sav was talking about and simply nodded. He took the guitar off and gently replaced it in it’s case. Then without a word, he headed for the stairs. Liz grabbed him and pulled him back, crying, “Please Sav, don’t say anything. He was drunk last night and walked out as Joe hugged me. He just gets really jealous sometimes.”

“Joe let him get away with this,” Sav asked disbelievingly.

“No, it happened after Joe went to his room.”

“I’ve got to stop him, Liz. He can’t keep doing this to you,” he growled.

“What can you do about it? Billy’s not really a monster. He just gets jealous. And hell, in the dark he looks so much like you it’s fucking scary. I just pretend it is you. At least for a moment I get to forget what went wrong in our lives and think things worked out.”

“Liz, come back with me. We can make it work out. We can ride this out together. Nobody can touch us now.”

Terror filled Liz’s eyes. “Billy would kill us both. If I ever leave him, he’s already promised that. And it’s my turn to protect you. I can’t let him hurt you. If he did, I’d die the next second. You’ve got to go back and forget this, Sav.”

“You can send me away, but I won’t forget, Liz. I haven’t forgotten a single moment with you. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Sav. But this has got to be goodbye.” She looked away from him, but he pulled her back around to face him.

“Look into my eyes, Liz. Quit trying to avoid me. I’m going to dream of you my whole life. You can’t leave me that way. Beside that, you made me a promise once and I’m holding you to it.” He pulled her into his arms and held her for a long while, until they heard someone moving upstairs. Sav turned and whispered, “I love you.” Then he walked up the stairs and Liz turned back to her guitar.

The band left in a hurry about two hours later. Joe walked up to Liz and gave her a quick hug that left Billy glowering. Dani and JT were going with them while they toured locally, so Liz hugged JT and said good bye to Dani. Phil, Vivian, Rick and Stacey all said quick good-byes, with Phil sneaking in a quick kiss. That left Sav and Liz staring at each other, not knowing what to say. Finally, Sav held out his hand to take Liz’s. When she reached out her hand, he raised it to his lips briefly. Then he said, “Guess I’ll see you at the movies.”

She gave him a wink and he got on the bus. As the buses were pulling away, Sav stared out the back window and waved to Liz. Then he saw Billy come over to her. At first he couldn’t tell what he was doing. Then Sav saw Billy raise his hand to slap her.

“STOP THE FUCKING BUS!” Sav screamed. Joe looked up, confused, from where he sat with Dani. Sav ran to the door and waited until the bus had almost stopped moving before throwing open the door. Joe asked, “What’s going on?”

“The bloody fucking bastard is beating her up!” Sav yelled as he jumped off the bus. As his feet hit the ground, he saw Liz fall from Billy’s backhanded slap. Sav screamed, “NO!”

Billy ignored him and started kicking Liz, screaming, “You fucking whore! I saw how you looked at him! Probably got out of my bed last night and crawled into his!”

“No, Billy,” she whimpered as his foot connected with her ribs again.

Sav came flying up the driveway with Joe right behind. The bus driver had radioed the other bus and when it pulled back in, the three remaining Leppards came spilling out.

Enraged, Sav flew at Billy and tackled the younger man. He got Billy to the ground and started swinging. It was all Billy could do to keep Sav from nailing him directly in the face. Joe ran to help Liz, who was lying on the ground bruised and bleeding.

Billy managed to push Sav off him after several punches had already landed. He pushed Sav back and connected a punch to Sav’s midsection. Joe left Phil to care for Liz and went to help his friend. Grabbing Billy by his long hair, Joe pulled him away and punched him right in the jaw, sending him reeling to the grass. Getting to his feet, Sav started to kick Billy, screaming, “How does it feel to have someone hitting you for a change?” His screams were punctuated by kicks to Billy’s ribcage. Slowly, Billy stopped struggling and lay there taking the abuse. Finally, Joe stopped Sav and Sav could turn to Liz.

“Oh, God, Lizzie,” he whispered as he knelt beside her, taking her in his arms. “You’ve got to come with me. Now!”

“No, Sav. I can’t,” she whispered. “It’s not over yet and if I leave, he’ll kill you.”

“Please, Liz, don’t make me leave you with him!” Sav begged. Then Joe stepped in and said, “You’re not. Liz, you’re coming with us whether you want to or not. So he’s got time to cool down and realize what’s happened today. We’ll put him on the couch inside and you can leave him a note. Tell him you’ll be back after you finish the movie.”

Phil and Vivian were already moving Billy back into the house. Liz followed them in and wrote Billy the note Joe suggested. Then she made a run for the basement, coming back with a small locked box and her guitar. Billy was starting to come around and Liz walked over to where he was lying on the couch.

“Billy, I’m leaving for a while. I’ll be back, but I just think we need a little time away from each other. I’ll see you soon,” she said. As she walked away, she heard him whisper her name.

She got onto the bus and sank down into a chair, exhausted. Sav sat on the floor at her feet and begged her, “Don’t go back. I’ll protect you!”

“No, Sav. I’ll have to go back eventually,” she said. She looked out of the bus window wearily, then back at Sav. “But not yet.”

She put her head back and sat not moving a muscle. Just as she was about to fall asleep, Sav picked her up and took her back to his bed. He laid her down gently, then crawled in behind her. She was asleep almost instantly.

When they reached Blossom Music Center, the band went straight in for their soundcheck. Liz sat at the side of the stage watching, until Phil walked over. He said, “You know, Liz, there wouldn’t be a better time for you and Joe to do ‘Shadow’ than tonight.”

“That’s up to Joe,” she replied.

“No, actually, Joe said it depended on whether you felt up to it.”

“Let’s give it a try, then,” she said. She walked onstage and picked up a mic. Then she looked around and asked, “Do you guys even remember ‘Shadow’?”

“Course we do,” Vivian volunteered. “We helped write it, remember?”

“Let’s give it a shot then!”

They ran it through twice, then went over ‘Photograph’ once, just to be sure Joe and Liz remembered how to divide up the lyrics. Then it was time to head under the stage to get ready for the show. Sav took a look at Liz and said, “What are you going to wear out there tonight? You didn’t bring anything from home.”

“Well, let me see what you’ve got hidden in here. Maybe I can swipe something from you.” She rummaged through his clothes and pulled out a black sweater. She slipped it over her head and looked in a mirror. It was loose, but hit all the right curves. “This’ll do,” she said.

She borrowed some makeup from Dani to hide the bruise on the side of her face and ran a brush through her long dark hair. Sav took a look at her and gave a low whistle before pulling her into his arms. He said, “You look better than ever, baby.”

“Thank you!” she said and gave him a quick kiss. They walked up the side of the stage arm in arm. She gave him a final kiss before he took off for the stage. The band tore into their set, bringing the crowd instantly to their feet. Song after song, the crowd went crazy. Finally, the opening riff of ‘Photograph’ tore threw the night. Liz bolted onstage right on cue. When the audience realized who had come onstage, she heard a deafening roar. Their rendition of ‘Photograph’ sounded better than it had all those years before. For ‘Shadow’, Liz and Joe took center stage and faced each other. Behind Joe, Liz could see Sav standing there with tears in his eyes by the end of the first verse. By the end of the song, all three of them had started crying. Joe gave Liz a hug and then stepped aside. Sav walked up, guitar still in hand, and held her for a moment before releasing her to the ovation of the crowd. As Liz got ready to walk off stage, Sav grabbed her and said, “Ya know, it’s the most amazing thing. I’ve got this hand cramp and I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to play the next song. Think you could help me out?”

She stared at him. Then she saw Malvin coming out with the twin Union Jack basses. Sav had made sure people knew this was all hers. She slipped it over her shoulder and said, “Okay, boss, what’s next?” Then she reached into her jeans and pulled out the wolf he’d given her when they’d first gotten together. She’d hidden it from Billy in the lock box, along with the bracelet Joe had given her. She slipped the bracelet out of her pocket and onto her wrist.

Sav had noticed the necklace’s absence, but not commented on it before because things had been tense enough with Billy around. A broad smile crossed his face as soon as she pulled it out of her shirt. “Think you can handle ‘Rock of Ages’?

“Yes, sir!” Sav motioned to the band and Rick got the song started. ‘Rock of Ages’ had enough bass to it that the addition of Liz’s playing just made it sound a bit more forceful. They stood side by side playing every note together. As the song ended, Phil went to his mic and yelled at Sav, “Look out, mate, I think she might be after your job.”

Liz shook her head and did a little ‘Wayne’s World’ motion of ‘we’re not worthy’ towards Sav. Then she waved to the crowd and came off the stage. But soon as she came of stage, she collapsed. Malvin rushed over, then called for a paramedic. Exhausted, her body had just shut down. Before the band came off stage, Liz was already in an ambulance on her way to the hospital. Sav couldn’t be told until he came offstage. He looked around for Liz and Malvin came running up to him. “She’s not here, Sav. They had to take her to the hospital. She just came offstage and went down.”

Terrified, Sav started to head for the backstage area to leave and follow Liz. Joe stopped him. “Listen, do the encore, then we’ll all go over. Give the doctor’s some time to find out what’s wrong first.”

As he remembered the last time she’d be hospitalized, Sav grew more and more concerned. What if she ended up in the same kind of condition? He didn’t know if he would survive that kind of thing again. He went out with the band for a short encore, then everyone ran off stage and headed straight for the buses. When they arrived at the hospital, they found out Liz was going to be kept overnight for observation, but no one would tell them anything else. The doctor pulled Sav aside and asked, “Are you her husband?”

“I wish!” Sav whispered.

“I don’t think so. Where is he?” the doctor continued.

“She left him this morning. The bastard was beating the hell out of her, so we got her out of there.”

The doctor sighed. “Shame you didn’t do it before he kicked her in the stomach. The baby might have been okay then.”

Sav grabbed the doctor’s arm and said, “Baby? She’s pregnant?”

“Not anymore. She didn’t even know it yet, so she seems to be taking it okay. She was about a month and a half, two months along. Luckily for her, it doesn’t seem to be doing any permanent damage. With a few weeks rest, she should be good as new. Now, if you’ll excuse me?” The doctor turned and walked away just as Joe came up to Sav.

“What’s going on, mate. Did they find out what’s wrong?” Joe asked as Sav slumped into a chair running his fingers through his hair.

“She had a miscarriage, Joe.”

“Oh, shit,” Joe mumbled as he sat down beside Sav. “How’s she doing?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her yet.” Sav stood back up and headed into Liz’s room. She had her face turned away from him and he couldn’t tell what she was feeling. He walked over and sat beside her quietly, taking her hand in his.

“I’m a rotten person, Sav,” she said.

“No, honey, it’s not your fault.”

“I know that. But I’m glad it happened. I didn’t want another baby. Not with Billy. I’m glad he killed it, cuz I couldn’t.” She turned to face him with eyes like ice. “I didn’t want it, but now I feel guilty about it.”

“Why didn’t you do something to keep from getting pregnant, then?” he asked gently.

“I tried. Billy kept throwing away my fucking pills. He wanted a child to prove he was more of a man than you.”

Sav’s head dropped to his chest. Billy had done this to her to get at him. Proving himself to be a better man was the only reason he’d wanted a child. “I’m sorry, Lizzie.”

She looked away again and said, “Don’t apologize. It just proved to me that he’s never going to be a tenth of the man you are. I used to be able to look at him and see you. Now I realize the two of you are nothing alike. There’s nothing of you inside him.”

“Then leave him,” Sav said simply.

“I can’t. Not yet. But sometime soon I will.” Turning her head back to him, she said, “Get Darla dealt with first. Then I’ll take care of Billy. If we do this at the same time, the press is going to be all over us.”

“Okay. We’ll deal with Darla, then. But if Billy pulls this shit on you again, I’ll kill him.” Liz put her hand over Sav’s quietly then closed her eyes. He sat there, waiting for her to speak again. Slowly, he realized she’d fallen asleep. He put his head down on her bed and lay there til he was asleep as well.

Liz was released early the next morning. She went with Sav to the next gig and stayed with him for the rest of that week. The night before she was to leave for her movie shoot, they sat in their room talking about the future.

“Get it over with Darla, baby. Now,” she said emphatically.

“Are you sure?” he whispered.

“Yes,” she said firmly.

Sav reached over and picked up the phone. It was very early in the morning in Ireland and Darla was still asleep. She answered the phone groggily.

“Darla, it’s Rick. I’m not coming home.”

“I know that, silly. You’re on tour,” she said.

“No, the next time I’m in that house, you won’t be there. Get your shit together and get out,” he said in a flood of words.

“You’ve truly lost your mind, Rick. You know what I’ll have to do then. Little Miss Diamond isn’t going to like you at all after this,” she went on.

Liz took the phone and heard Darla’s last words. Then she said, “I wouldn’t count on that, Darla.”

“You bitch!” Darla hissed. “I’ll destroy you!”

Liz laughed and said, “Do your worst. Sav’ll still be free of you. I’d just get my shit out and leave him alone.” Then Liz carefully put the phone back in it’s cradle. “Well, the fun part’s over. Ready to walk through hell for a while?”

“If it means I get back to you, I’d do it barefoot,” Sav said.

Two weeks into the movie shoot, Guy stormed into Liz’s trailer. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

She turned slowly and asked, “What are you talking about, Guy?”

He threw done a tabloid that had pictures of Liz with Sav and Liz with Joe on the cover. The article was titled “Leppard Lover?”. The article went on to explain the existence of the tapes and the fact that they were now available over the Internet for $19.95 each. All told, there were six tapes. Three of her with each man. Liz threw her head back and sighed, “Darla certainly didn’t waste any time, did she?”

“So you knew about them?”

“Calm down, Guy. Sav just told me about them the day I walked out on Billy a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t think Darla was going to do this shit so fast.”

Frustrated, Guy looked at her and said, “Darla? You mean Savage’s wife did this?”

“Yeah,” Liz replied. “When I went to Ireland with Joe? She had me followed and her little investigator caught everything that’s on those tapes.”

“Ah, shit, now what do we do? It’s an offshore company, so we can’t even sue them to get it to stop.” Guy paced the small trailer, but Liz sat calmly watching him.

“Ignore it, Guy. No fuel, no fire. Sav and Joe are going to tell their managers the same thing. It’ll die down if we don’t keep fighting it.”

“I don’t know…” Guy went on, but Liz interrupted him.

“Just do what I say, Guy,” Liz said sternly.

“Okay. We’ll try it your way.”

The story of the tapes broke all over the country quickly. Liz made one statement about them, that they had been an intrusion of her private moments with her former lovers and that she was disgusted that anyone thought they should have ever been released. She read over Sav and Joe’s statements to the press as well. Joe expressed outrage that his time with Liz had been twisted into a public show. Sav’s statement was the most damning. He had opted to explain exactly how the tapes had come into existence, including naming his wife as the person behind them. He told how they had been used to prevent him from ending a loveless marriage in order to protect the people he cared about. In the end, he dismissed them as a vindictive woman’s attempt to hurt her husband and his friends.

Liz could only smile as she read it. Leave it to Sav to find a way to turn this thing back onto Darla.

Reporters swarmed over the movie set, trying to get a word from Liz. She spent the rest of the shoot ignoring them and their pointed questions. As the movie wrapped, Liz realized there was one thing she hadn’t taken into account when she’d told Sav to get it over with. Billy.

Suddenly terrified, she dreaded the thought of returning to the farm. Billy hadn’t tried to contact her since she’d left and now she found that worrisome. What was he up to?

She was sure that even after three months away from him, Billy would still be furious over the beating he’d received from Sav and Joe. She walked into her house nervously, waiting for the bomb to go off in her face. Billy was sitting in the living room watching television when she came in. He looked up at her and said, “Oh, hi. You’re back. How was your movie?”

Confused, Liz said, “Oh, everything went fine. They even let me use my choice of music for the scene we talked about.”

“That’s good,” he said as he got up and walked over to her. He put an arm around her and said, “We’ve developed a most interesting video collection while you were gone. A woman from Ireland, Darla Savage, sent you a shit load of tapes. I think there were about six or eight of them.”

Liz tensed, wondering if Billy had viewed the tapes. She didn’t have to wonder for very long.

“Ya know, when I first watched them, I was pissed as hell. I thought for sure that they had just been recorded since you’d taken off and I was ready to kill all of you. Even with the time stamp on them. Then I got a go look at them and realized you didn’t have the scar from when JT was born. You had a hot little body before that. Not so much skin and bones. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten off on them. Especially seeing how sappy Savage looks. All lovey-dovey, kissing and cuddling like an idiot.” His arm around her tightened. “Now, Elliott, there’s a man who knows how to put it to a woman. You almost looked like it hurt! Hell of a show.”

He pulled Liz around to face him and grabbed the hair at the nape of her neck. “But now it’s my turn to show you how a real man fucks. Not like those British faggots you got your panties in a bunch for.”

Still holding her by the neck, he took her upstairs to the bedroom they shared and closed the door. He let go of her and said, “Strip.”

She realized she could be in a good bit of danger if she didn’t do what he asked. Slowly, she took off her clothes and laid them on the chair. Standing naked and shivering, though mostly from fear, she looked at Billy and said, “What do you want me to do?”

Billy picked up the remote to the television and turned it on. Then he said roughly, “You’re going to get me off or I’m going to kill you. Now, get over here.”

She walked up to him and said, “What first?”

“Suck me off for a while and we’ll see what happens after that.”

Liz knelt in front of him and opened his pants. His already hard member sprang from his pants and she fell on it immediately. Feeling that she was going a bit too slowly, Billy cuffed her upside the head and said, “Get on with it, bitch.”

Dazed for a second, she did exactly what he said. Faintly, she could hear ‘Work It Out’ coming from the television and wondered what Billy was watching. He grabbed the back of her head and buried his dick in her mouth, causing her to gag. He pulled her head back and turned it towards the TV. Onscreen, Joe was lifting Liz onto a table and mounting her. Billy sneered, “See what I mean? You put on a hell of a show. Now get your ass up on that bed before I bust it.”

She lay on the bed, but Billy flipped her over onto her stomach and pulled her up to her knees. He entered her roughly, holding her head up by the hair to make her watch the images on the screen as he was pounding her body mercilessly. “I did a little work on the tapes myself. I hated switching tapes, so I just combined them all.”

“Oh, now here’s the true little faggot. Savage is such a pussy. Bet he’d rather be getting it on with Elliott than you.” To punctuate what he said, Billy rammed into her with all his might, causing her to gasp in pain. She whimpered and kept her eyes glued to the screen, wishing Sav could save her from this. She started to cry, which seemed to turn Billy on. He slammed into her body with all his might and said, “Damn, Guess I’ll have to call it a night now.”

Tired from his work out, Billy lay on the bed and was immediately asleep. Liz threw her clothes on and fled the room to try and work out what she should do. She got an idea and called Guy.

Two hours later, the phone rang. Liz went and got Billy out of bed, saying the call was for him. Guy got him on the line and offered him a job touring for the next nine months with a prominent band that needed a guitarist. Excited about the job, Billy slammed down the phone and said, “See, I told you people knew how good I was. Guy just got me a road job that could really turn into something big!” He cuffed Liz upside the head and said, “And you thought I was such a piece of shit, huh, bitch?”

“No Billy, I’ve always thought you were an awesome guitarist. When do you have to leave?” she asked, though she already knew the answer.

“Tonight. The band’s playing next week and I need to learn their shit. Guess I better pack. Thanks for the fuck. Looks like it might be the last one for a while.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Liz muttered.

Billy packed quickly and Liz took him to the airport. For the first time in a long while, she felt at peace. She looked up at the clock and realized it was getting close to time for the band to finish their soundcheck for that night’s gig. They were just finishing up the North American leg of the tour and were in Canada at the moment. Liz called Peter and found out were they were in Manitoba. She called the Winnipeg Arena and after much haggling with the people at the venue, she got through to Malvin.

“Good lord, Malvin, you guys are impossible to get through to,” Liz laughed.

“Well, sweetie, if we made it too easy every fan in the world would try to call the guys,” Malvin replied.

“Is Sav around?” she asked.

“Yeah. Is everything okay?” Mal asked.

“Yeah, fine. Can I talk to him?”

“Give me a minute to find him,” Mal said and sat the phone down.

“Hello, Liz?” came Sav’s voice. She could tell he was worried. “Baby, are you okay?”

“I’m great. Guy got Billy a job on the road for the next nine months, so I won’t see him for quite a while,” she said, smiling to herself.

“Thank God for Guy,” Sav said. “So what are you going to be doing for the next nine months?”

“Well, I don’t really have any plans so far. I’m probably going to have to stick around here in case Billy starts calling. Then I get to go to Europe for another movie in a two weeks.”

“Europe, huh? Which country?” Sav asked curiously.

“We’re shooting in Germany. It’s a period piece, so I get to dress up in these really fancy costumes,” she laughed. “Sounds like a basic horrible experience.”

“We’re going to be in Europe starting on October 5^th. I know we’re doing a few dates in Germany, too. Think you might be able to sneak away a few nights?” he asked.

“Most likely. Germany’s not a terribly large country. I should be able to get around okay.”

“Where are you going to be filming, Lizzie?”

“We’ll be just west of Berlin,” she answered.

“Terrific! I know we’re doing a gig in Berlin, so at the very least I’ll get to see you then,” he said enthusically. “Now, did I mention that JT is really sick?”

“No, Sav! What’s wrong with him?” she asked, suddenly worried.

“He’s got this horrible case of the ‘Sav misses mummy’s’. I don’t think Billy can say much if you’re here to tend a sick child,” he said slyly.

“That’s true. Where will you guys be tomorrow?” she asked, suddenly excited.

“We’re going to be in Ontario, at the Sudbury Arena. I’ll make sure Malvin knows you’re coming so you can get back stage. He’ll have to tell you what hotel we’re at when you get here.” He paused and said, “I’ll be glad to see you, baby.”

“I can’t wait to be seen,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll be there before you come off stage! I love you.”

“I love you, too, baby. I’ve got to go now. See ya tomorrow!”

“See you soon.” She hung up the phone and stared at it, smiling. She made a quick call to Guy, trying to sound as upset as she could about JT’s supposed illness. He would pass a message along to Billy saying Liz had gone to be with her ‘sick’ toddler. She went upstairs and packed a suitcase and took it out to the car. She planned to rent a car in the morning and drive the few hours into Ontario. Then she got an idea. She dialed the number for the Winnipeg Arena and asked for Malvin.

Sav and Joe walked into the hotel lobby and were greeted by a few diehard fans. They signed a couple of autographs before coming to a young blonde wearing a Hysteria t-shirt. She looked at the two of them through her sunglasses and said in a Southern drawl, “Mr. Elliott, Mr. Say-vage, may I have your au-tow-graph?”

Sav looked at her and said, “Sure, honey. What would you like us to sign though?”

“Why, my t-shirt, sweetheart! Of course!” she laughed. She pushed her chest out and handed him a pen. He looked at her funny, but signed the shirt right on her breast. “Why, thank ye honey!” She turned to Joe and said, “Your turn, Joseph.”

Joe froze. Very few people ever called him Joseph. He peered down at the woman and she tilted her glasses down on her nose and gave him a wink. Joe just laughed, remembering another time and place were he’d seen the same woman play the same trick. Shaking his head, he signed the shirt and looked over at Sav, who was busy with another fan. Joe slipped his arm around the blonde and said, “Sav, I think I’m taking this little one upstairs with me. She looks like she could use a little ‘attention’ to me.”

Sav turned around in stunned surprise. “Dani’s not going to like that, is she, Joe?”

“Oh, I don’t think she’s going to say anything. Besides, things haven’t gone that far with her, yet.” He squeezed the blonde and said, “This little number is just too hot for me. Come on, baby,” he said, leading the blonde to the elevator. They got about ten steps before Sav came after them.

“Joe, you can’t do this to Dani!” Sav said, pulling Joe around to face him. “You can’t hurt her like that! She’s gonna be here anytime.”

“Well,” Joe sighed, “you’re probably right. Here, you take her.” He gently pushed the blonde at Sav. “Your bird won’t fly in til tonight anyway.”

“Oh, yes, Mr. Say-vage, I’d luv to spend some time with you!” the blonde said as she curled her hands around Sav’s arm. “You won’t be surry, I can promise you that.”

“Hell, no,” he said, stepping back. “My girl’d kill me! Wait, do I know you? You seem really quite familiar.”

“I don’t know, sir.”

“Where are you from?” he asked.

“Oh, south of here, that’s for certain.” Sav continued to stare at her, sure he knew this woman quite well, though he couldn’t quite place her. He said, “Do me a favor. Take off those glasses.”

“But why?”

Without another word, Sav reached for the glasses resting on the blonde’s nose. As he pulled them off, she started to laugh. Before he could see her, Joe started to laugh as well and Sav turned to see what was so funny. Joe was just staring at the woman. Sav turned back to her and stood stunned for a split second before it completely dawned on him who was standing in front of him. Then he laughed and said, “You little witch!”

Liz laughed at him and then put her arms around him. “Is that all the hello I get?” she asked.

“It’s more than you deserve, you little sneak!” he said as he bent to kiss her. Then a long overdue pay back came to him. Running his hands through her hair as they kissed, he pulled out the bobby pins holding the wig in place. He pulled the wig from her head and looked down in her in pretend shock. “Oh my God, it’s Liz Diamond!” he laughed. The fans who had swarmed around Sav and Joe now headed for the unexpected rock star in their midst. Sav pulled in close to her ear and said in a whisper, “Paybacks really are a bitch, my love.”

With a laugh, she shook her head and started signing the papers pushed in front of her. As she finished up, she went back over to Sav for another kiss. Joe started to laugh and said, “Liz, do you and Phil still have you’re little war going on?”

“Always! Why, what’s on your mind?”

“Listen up!” he said as they huddled together.

Joe and Sav met Phil and Jacki in the lobby about twenty minutes later. Jacki was tired, so they headed straight for their rooms. Joe pulled Jacki aside for a moment as they walked along. When they reached their rooms, Phil opened the door and got a shock. There was a blonde woman in the bed, obviously naked under the sheet. She had her back to the door, but when she heard it open she asked, “Phil, is that you honey? I’ve been waiting for over an hour!”

“What the fuck?” he asked as Jacki stood looking more and more pissed.

“She’s been waiting for you, Phil? What’s this, did you forget you were bringing me along?” Jacki nearly screamed.

“I don’t know who the hell she is, baby. Let me call security to get rid of her,” Phil volunteered.

Sav stood in the doorway and said, “But Phil, Cat is going to be so upset if you do that to her. You might never get laid again.”

Phil looked at Sav, both confused and pissed. What the hell was Sav up to? Jacki rounded on Sav and said, “You knew about this?”

“Oh, he’s been seeing Cat for years,” Sav said earnestly.

The woman on the bed turned over, her hair hiding her face. “Phil, why’d you bring her? I told you I won’t do any of that freaky shit you wanted. Sorry, but I’m not doing you and your wife together!”

“What the hell are you talking about? I’ve never even seen you before,” Phil said, getting pissed completely now.

“Well, I believe her!” Jacki said and slapped him before storming off. Phil started to follow her, then walked over to the bed and snarled at the woman, “If she leaves me over this, I swear you’ll pay for it.”

Flipping the blonde hair out of her face, Liz smiled up at him and said, “Ya think so, Phillip?”

“Oh, you sneaky little bitch. No wonder Sav was playing along! Oh shit, I’ve got to find Jacki!” He turned to run out the door, only to find Jacki standing there laughing at him. Phil headed for Sav and yelled, “You prick! Do you always have to help her?”

“Hey, I didn’t lie. You have been seeing her for years. Just not in the way it sounded. Usually she’s laughing at her latest joke on you!” he snickered.

Liz wrapped herself in the sheet and gave Phil a quick kiss before heading to Sav’s room, where her clothes were waiting. Sav followed her and grabbed her as the sheet fell away from her body. “Hmmm, any idea how to pass the time til the gig?”

She pulled back from him and said, “No, Sav, I can’t. I’m still married, whether I like it or not.”

“So am I, but Darla’s a bitch and Billy’s a total asshole. We’ll both be free soon enough. Why can’t we celebrate that a little?” he said, puzzled by what she‘d said.

“I just can’t, as much as I want to. If I did, I wouldn’t be any better than what Billy thinks of me,” she said, reaching for her clothes. “We can wait til it’s over. Please?”

“Okay, but am I still allowed to hold you at night?”

“I don’t know yet. I think I’ll probably sleep in Dani’s room tonight with her and JT.” She looked up at him, hoping he could understand. He didn’t, but he didn’t care to fight about it either.

“I’ll do whatever you want, baby,” he said, pulling her back to him. “So long as in the end, you come back to me forever.”

“God, yes. There’s nothing I want more!” She kissed him before she pulled back. Then she pulled her clothes on and said, “Ready to head to the venue?”

“Yeah, let’s get going.”

The soundcheck and the concert both went perfectly. Afterwards, they sat in the bar for a while, Liz and Sav on one side of a booth facing Dani and Joe on the other side. Joe had his arm around Dani and it was quite obvious things had gotten very serious for them. He kept leaning over and kissing her, while JT played on Liz’s lap. Sav kept a protective arm around Liz, but did nothing else. He was trying to respect her wishes, though it was the hardest thing he’d in recent memory. He looked at Liz and asked, “So, when does your movie come out?”

“It’s going to be released while I’m in Germany. The producers are still asking if there’s any way I can make it to do some publicity for it, but I’ve told them there’s no way until two weeks after opening, unless it’s by satellite,” she answered. She turned to Dani and asked, “Can I bunk with you tonight?”

“Why? I mean, sure no problem, but are you sure you want to?”

“I don’t want to take any chances of Billy showing up and finding me in Sav’s bed. We all know he’s a bit violent when he gets pissed and I wouldn’t put it past him to show up here looking for a reason to start some shit,” Liz said.

“Sure,” Dani said finally.

“I’m heading up stairs then. I’ll take JT up and put him to bed,” she said, then looked down at the sleepy toddler. “Ready for bed, luv?”

“Here, I’ll help,” Sav volunteered. “He’s getting a bit heavy.” Sav picked up the child and carried him upstairs. Putting him in his bed, Sav turned to Liz and said, “I’ll have you know, this is very frustrating.”

“Well, look at it this way. We’re giving Joe and Dani a little time alone,” she smiled.

“I guess you’re right.” He bent and kissed her, then said, “Well, I’ll leave you to your bed then, my lady.”

As he turned to go, Liz said, “I love you, Sav!”

He swung back around and whispered, “I love you too baby.” Then he walked out of the room and headed back to the bar. Rather than intrude on Joe and Dani, he sat at the bar and ordered a drink. About ten minutes later, Billy burst into the bar, looking for anyone from the band. He spotted Sav and headed straight for him, screaming, “Where the fuck’s my wife?”

“Upstairs in Dani’s room, probably asleep by now. She took JT up to bed.” Mentally, he thanked Liz’s foresight for not staying in his room.

“What room number?” Billy asked impatiently.

“I’ll take you up there, but I wouldn’t disturb the baby. He’s been a fusspot all day today,” Sav said, hoping that would deter Billy from rushing up to confront Liz. It didn’t. Sav lead the way to Dani’s room with Billy close on his heals. When they reached the room, Billy started to pound on the door but Sav stopped him. He said in a raised voice, “Billy, do you really want to wake that child?”

Inside, Liz heard Sav’s voice and mentally prepared herself for Billy’s intrusion. JT was still sound asleep, so she got up as soon as she heard the knock on the door. She opened the door and said, “Oh, Billy, what are you doing here? JT’s not that sick.”

Billy brushed past her and Sav whispered, “I’ll be next door in my room.” Then he turned and left.

“I figured you took off to fuck that faggot,” Billy growled. He grabbed her by the arm and said, “You’re damn lucky I didn’t catch you in his bed.”

“Billy, JT wasn’t feeling well and they weren’t that far away, so I decided to drive up here. As for who I’m sleeping with, this is Dani’s room.” He finally released her arm and said, “You better not be lying to me, bitch.”

“Check with the front desk. It’s registered to Dani.”

“I will,” he said, and called the front desk. “Yes, I’d like to know who is registered in room 312? Really? Well, thank you.” He turned back to Liz and said, “Okay, so you weren’t lying.”

She could see him start to calm down. She said calmly, “Billy, shouldn’t you still be getting ready for that tour?”

“Yeah, well, I’ll leave in the morning. Hope Dani doesn’t mind losing her room for the night. Little bitch can stay with her British faggot for the night.” He grabbed a pen and paper from the desk and wrote a note to Dani, which he taped on the door. Then he closed the door and turned back to Liz. He pushed her roughly on the bed and took his time having his way with her.

Joe walked Dani back to her room, where they found Billy’s note. Joe freaked, realizing what it meant. “The son of a bitch followed her here. DAMNIT!”

Before Joe could barge into the room, Dani stopped him. She said, “Listen, Sav’s room is right next door. I’m sure he’ll stop Billy if he hears one wrong thing. Just go back to your room and keep your ears open. Going in there now may only cause Liz more problems in the long run.”

Taking a deep breath, Joe said, “I guess you’re right. But wait a minute. Where are you going to sleep now?”

“Shit, I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll just have to go and get another room, I guess.” She turned back towards the staircase, but Joe stopped her. He said softly, “You can stay with me, if you want to. Promise I only nibble a little bit.”

She stood there for a minute, debating with herself. She wanted to stay with him, God knew that, but should she? Finally, she gave into the temptation and said, “Okay.”

Joe unlocked the door and let Dani into the room. She walked in, a bit shy at first, then decided to go with what she really wanted to do. She turned to Joe and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him much more boldly than she felt at that moment. Joe was shocked at first, then returned her kiss with a growing passion. Suddenly, she pushed him down on the bed and climbed on top of him, kissing him again. After a while, Joe’s hands started to wander over Dani’s body as they lay there. His fingers fought with the buttons of Dani’s blouse for a second before Dani pulled away from him.

“What the hell am I doing?” she asked. “This can’t be happening.”

Confused, Joe sat up and said, “Why not?”

“Oh, please Joe, don’t act like you don’t know. You’ve still got all these feelings for Liz! What the hell am I, a little stress relief?” She walked across the room and sat in the chair.

“Hold it!” he said emphatically. “Liz and I are ancient history. She’s always been Sav’s girl. What we had was a little moment in time that’s way over. I knew that the night she asked me to marry her. I couldn’t do it, cuz I didn’t feel the same about her. This little blonde girl kept invading my mind.”

“Oh, really? Who’s that?” she asked sarcastically.

He walked over to her and pulled her to her feet. Putting a hand on top her head, he said, “Well, she’s about this tall, cute as a button, but she does occasionally have one hell of a mouth on her.” He gave her a smile to soften those last words.

“Sounds like she’s a bit too much trouble for someone like you!” she snapped, turning away from him. “God knows you rock stars always go for the easy conquest!”

“Oh really? That’s odd, cuz I don’t see a line of groupies hanging around my door,” he said, starting to get a bit angry. “I only see one woman here and she’s trying to be a pain in the ass!”

“Oh, a pain in the ass, huh?” she yelled. “What’s your problem with me, huh, Mr. Elliott? Not quite easy enough for you? Sorry I can’t just roll over and give you another quickie!”

“What the hell do you know about what I want? Maybe, just maybe, I’m not looking for another notch in the bedpost! Did you ever think of that?” he yelled back.

“No, not once,” she said with fire in her eyes.

“God damn it, Dani, do you always act like this?” Frustrated, he spun her back to face him and said, “Why won’t you even give me a chance?”

“Cuz I have no desire to be another one of those women you forget to call back in the morning,” she spit at him.

“Why? Planning on running out of here sometime soon?” he asked.

“I just might!” she said, yelling again.

“I certainly hope not! I was hoping you’d want to stay with me for a while,” he yelled back at her.

Baffled, Dani pulled away and said, “Yeah, sure! I believe every word of that!”

He grabbed her by the arm and said, “Damnit woman, is it always this hard for a man to tell you he loves you?”

“Only when I’m in love with him!” she yelled, turning away from him again.

“What’d you just say?” he asked softly.

“Don’t make me say it again, Joe,” she whispered.

He walked around her to face her and put a hand under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. He whispered urgently, “Please, just say it one more time!”

“I love you,” she whispered.

“Well, I love you, too, odd as that may sound,” he replied. He put a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his. Then he bent down and picked her up. As he got to the bed, he threw her onto it and pounced on her. As he kissed her, she reached up and tore open his shirt, then pulled his body down to hers. She pulled his shirt roughly off his shoulders then dug her nails into his back, bringing a groan from deep within him. His hand went to her breast, pinching her nipple through the thin fabric of her blouse and bra. She arched her back, pushing up against him. Pressing his lips to hers, his fingers nimbly open her blouse and then he snaked a hand behind her, unfastening her bra. Soon they were both naked from the waist up. He lowered his head to her breast and took her nipple into his mouth, bringing a moan to her lips. her nails raked across his back, raising a welt that caused him to flinch for a moment. He looked up into her eyes and saw a fire burning there, matching his own passion. He whispered, “Oh, so you want to play that way, huh?”

His mouth moved to the tender flesh on the underside of her breast, where he sucked at the skin hard enough to raise a hicky there. She squirmed under him, the mix of pleasure and pain pushing her even further over the edge. She lifted up from under him and pushed him forcefully onto the bed, climbing on top of him again. Wrapping her fingers through his long blond locks, she pulled his lips back to hers, kissing him with all her might. His fingers dug into the flesh of her waist. As she moved away from his lips and down his throat, he murmured, “Oh, god Dani, you’re going to drive me crazy yet!”

“I try my best!” she whispered into his ear just before she bit his earlobe.

“Ouch! Damn, woman, I’d like to keep my flesh intact please!” he growled.

Her lips trailed down into the hollow of his neck, where she left a mark of her own, bringing another growl from deep in Joe’s throat. Moving lower, she left a trail of marks down his chest before taking his nipple into her mouth. She held it between her teeth gently and looked up at him. He said, “Don’t you dare! Paybacks are killer, hope you remember that before you do anything stupid!”

Releasing it from her teeth, she licked at it like a kitten lapping milk. Her hand went to the other side of his chest, teasing the other nipple with quick pinches. Then she licked down his stomach. When she got next to his belly button, she stopped and raised another mark there, leaving him squirming again. While he was occupied with what she was doing to his stomach, she opened his jeans and grabbed the waistband. Moving back slightly, she yanked the jeans down until both the denim and his underwear were around his knees. Grasping his manhood firmly with one hand and the family jewels with the other, she looked into his eyes and said, “Hmmm, what do we have here? Is this the fabled Python I’ve heard of?”

“Um, yes ma’am, I believe it is,” he said as her warm mouth closed over it. Taking him fully in her mouth, she moved slowly up the shaft, using her tongue to create wonderful sensations for Joe. She nibbled at the base of it, slowly working her way up the length of him before taking all of him into her throat again. His hand rested on her neck, guiding her up and down his entire shaft. She massaged his balls as she worked over his throbbing member. Then, taking her by the back of the neck by a handful of hair, Joe pulled her back up to his lips. He rolled her over on her back and quickly removed the rest of her clothing. Her legs hung off the edge of the bed as he maneuvered his way between her thighs. He raked his teeth across the soft flesh of her inner thigh, then pulled her legs a bit further apart. His tongue flicked against her clit, driving her right to the brink of an orgasm before he inserted two fingers into her. Then he sucked her clit gently into his mouth, constantly flicking his tongue over it until he felt her innermost walls start to contract with her climax. He moved up slowly, enjoying the feel of her skin against his, until he could kiss her again. He whispered, “Like that, did you?”

“Oh, God, yes,” she said emphatically.

“Let me show you one other trick I know,” he said as he brought his hard member to her secret opening. With one thrust, he was buried deep inside her. Her back arched in pleasure, bring her nipples into his reach. He leaned down and took one into his mouth again as he moved slowly in and out of her. His hands dug into her shoulders, holding her in place as his thrust came harder and harder. Then he rolled them over so that she was on top of him, letting her take control of their lovemaking. She ground her body onto his, whispering, “So, you like letting a woman take control of you for a while, huh.”

“Oh, man,” he moaned, “there’s nothing like it!”

“Really? Do this often?” she asked.

“Huh? Can I plead the fifth on that one?” he said, suddenly realizing this could be a dangerous topic of conversation.

She pulled off him and said, “You’re not American, so no, you can’t.” She moved away from him and across the room. Before she took three steps, Joe was up. He backed her into the wall and said roughly, “Listen, Dani, I haven’t been with anyone in a year and a half. You can’t try holding my past against me. None of this will ever work if you do. Now, am I forgiven for ever having been a total dog with the opposite sex?”

“I suppose so,” she said as she pulled his mouth back down to her. He picked her up and tossed her back onto the bed, where she landed on her stomach. He sunk his teeth into the skin of her shoulder, bring an inarticulate growl from her. He moved quickly between her thighs and entered her from behind. His teeth hung on to the flesh of her shoulder as he thrust completely into her. He hit just the right spot and suddenly she was screaming with another orgasm. With a few more rough thrust, he reached his own climax, whispering into her ear, “God, baby, I’m cumming too.”

They lay there motionless as minutes passed. He rolled over and took her into his arms, holding her close. Her head lay against his shoulder as her hands wandered over his chest. Within minutes, she had aroused him again. Joe laid back for a moment before acting, wondering if there was going to be any sleep for either of them that night. Apparently, Dani had more important things on her mind than sleep as she urged his body on through the night.

The next morning, JT woke Liz up early. She took the baby down to the lobby so as not to wake Billy up. She let him play there for an hour, until Rick and Stacey came downstairs for breakfast. She led JT into the restaurant by the hand and ate breakfast with Rick and Stacey. She finally decided it was time to wake Billy up, but first wanted to leave JT with his father. She knocked on Joe’s door but no one answered. She knocked again and heard a murmur from inside the room. After a third knock, Dani managed to make it to the door.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Liz said sarcastically. “You look like you had a rough night.”

“Yeah, you could say that,” she mumbled.

“Listen, I need you to take JT so I can get Billy out of here,” Liz said. “Can you handle him right now?”

“Yeah, sure.” She turned to the bed and said, “Joe, it’s time to get up.”

“Hmmm? What’s going on?” he asked.

“Liz needs us to take JT for a while,” she answered.

“What time is it, baby?” he asked.

“Nine o’clock, Joseph,” Liz answered.

“Damn,” he directed at Dani, “You’ve got to let me go to sleep next time, okay? An hour and a half’s sleep just isn’t going to get it if I’ve got to perform tonight.”

Liz raised an eyebrow at Dani, who merely shrugged her shoulders. All Liz could think was, ‘Oh my god, she kept him up til seven thirty’! Dani bent down and took JT from Liz and said, “We’ll see you later, Liz.”

Liz turned and faced her door. She opened it and said, “Billy, it’s time to get up. We’re going to be leaving soon.”

He turned over and opened an eye at her. “What the fucks going on?”

“The band is going to be leaving soon. We’ve got to get ready to go,” she said.

“Whatever. I’ll be down in a minute,” he rumbled.

She threw her things into a suitcase and took it down to the desk to wait for the others. Joe and Dani came down with an excited JT. Neither of them looked terribly impressed to be alive at that moment. Phil took one look at them and shot Liz a knowing look. He slapped Joe on the shoulder and said, “So, what truck hit the two of you last night?”

“Definitely had to be a red-eye, whatever else it was,” Rick said as he walked up.

“Haha,” Joe replied grumpily.

Billy walked down and said, “What the fuck happened to you two? Little too much fucking last night?”

“Billy, please, don’t,” Liz pleaded.

“Oh, fuck off, bitch,” Billy rumbled. “You coming on the road with me?”

“No, Billy,” she said, “JT still isn’t quite right yet.”

“Yeah, right, probably still trying to get in that faggot Savage’s pants, huh babe,” he growled. Joe, Phil and Rick shot Billy a nasty look, but said nothing. “Whatever. I’ll see you when you get back from Europe, I guess.” As he stalked off, Liz turned and saw Sav standing just off to the side.

“He doesn’t have a very high opinion of me, does he?” Sav said as he walked over to the rest of the band.

“Don’t worry about it, baby,” Liz said, though she didn’t quite feel safe going up to him yet. Billy could still return.

Once Vivian joined them, they headed for the airport and the next town. Liz made a quick call to Guy to verify that Billy had rejoined the band he was touring with before she could finally relax. She walked up to Sav and said, “Hello, luv.”

“Oh, you’ve finally decided to speak to me, huh,” he said, a touch of hurt in his voice.

“Listen, if I wasn’t totally paranoid about Billy, last night would have been a disaster. I’ve no desire to see that pretty little head of yours split open by a beer bottle or anything worse happen to you just so Billy can prove how macho he is.”

“Yeah, I guess you were right about him showing up. I’m sorry,” he said sheepishly. “Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut about him.”

She pulled him to her and kissed him, saying, “Just let me worry about Billy. You worry about getting onstage and kicking the crowd’s ass.” She kissed him once more and said, “You know I love you, don’t you?”

“I love you too, baby.”

The band gave another great performance while Dani and Liz sat just offstage with JT. At one point, even though the band was playing at it’s normal volume, Dani fell asleep sitting next to a speaker. When Joe came offstage before the encore, he leaned down and kissed her sleeping eyes. Unfortunately, Dani came up swinging and nearly connected with Joe’s nose. Joe jumped back and said, “Okay, bad idea.”

“Ohmigawd, Joe, I’m so sorry! You just caught me off guard,” she said, jumping to her feet and throwing her arms around him. He stepped back and laughed, “Shouldn’t I have my dukes up or something if you’re gonna swing at me? Ask Liz how I feel about getting hit!”

Liz walked up to Dani and whispered something into her ear. Dani turned and grabbed Joe by the hair at the back of his neck, pulling his mouth roughly to hers. Then she asked, “Is that better?”

“Much! Well, see you in a few!” he said as the band headed for the stage again.

“Thanks, Liz,” Dani said.

“Oh, don’t think anything of it. Joe’s a good guy and the two of you are good for each other. Just don’t hurt him. He’s like a brother to me,” Liz replied. “Oh, by the way, what got a hold of his neck last night? A fucking vampire?”

“Oh, just a little one,” Dani said with a grin. Laughing, she said, “Ya oughta see him without his shirt!”

“Oh, man!” Liz said as she rolled her eyes.

When the band came offstage, Liz and Dani followed them to the dressing room with JT in tow. As he hit the door, Joe stripped off his shirt. Rick took one look at Joe’s chest and whistled. “Damn man, when’d you catch leprosy?”

“Huh?” Joe asked confused. Then he looked down where everyone was staring at his chest. “Oh, Dani got a bit, um, rambunctious last night.”

“I’d say, mate,” Phil said with a low whistle of his own. “Looks like she beat the hell out of you!”

“Not quite,” Joe said with an embarrassed smile as he put his arm around Dani.

Sav came over to Liz and took her hand. She looked up into his face and said, “You’re tired, aren’t you baby?”

“Yeah, why do you ask though?” he asked.

“Well, um, your eye’s drooping a bit, that’s all. It always happens when you’re tired or stressed,” then she kissed him on the right eyelid. “Call it your exhaustion gauge.”

“Well, I didn’t sleep very well last night. I kept listening to make sure I didn’t hear anything next door. He didn’t try anything last night, did he?” he asked, a worried expression crossing his face.

“Um, no, he didn’t hit me or anything,” she answered evasively. He lifted her chin so she had to look into his eyes and said, “What happened Liz?”

She pulled away from him and said, “Don’t worry about it, Sav. He didn’t do any permanent damage or anything.”

“Did he make you...” Sav stopped short, unable to even asked the question.

She spun around and hissed, “Yes, Sav, he exercised his conjugal rights last night. Are you happy knowing that? Personally I’d rather forget it. It wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences.”

Sav slumped into a chair, wishing he’d never asked the question. Tears came to his eyes as he looked at Liz’s furious face. Her stare could have torn a hole in the wall she was looking at. Joe laid a hand on her shoulder to try to comfort her, but she brushed him off and took off out the door. Bitterly regretting bringing the topic up, Sav rose to follow her, but Dani stopped him for a second. All she could say was, “Take it easy on her. She’s had it rough lately.”

He bolted for the door, but when he got there he couldn’t see Liz anywhere. He looked all over the backstage area before running into Malvin. “Hey, Mal, have you seen Liz?”

“She left. I saw her run out the door about ten minutes ago,” he said. “She looked really upset and she was crying, but I couldn’t get her to stop.”

Sav headed for the door before Malvin could stop him. A small group of fans waited outside the entrance, greeting him with a small cheer as he came out of the building. He stopped and signed autographs for them, asking them if anybody had seen Liz. One girl spoke up, “She was looking for a ride to her hotel and two girls offered to take her there if she’d sign an autograph for them.”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he said and gave her a kiss before jumping into the limo and heading for the hotel.

When he reached the hotel, Sav sent the limo back to the others and headed straight for Dani’s room. He pounded on the door and Liz opened it before turning back to her suitcase. Sav looked at the case and asked, “Going somewhere?”

“Yeah, anywhere away from here,” she said shortly, continuing to pack.

“Why?” he asked.

“Cause you’ll never be able to look at me without thinking of what’s happened with Billy. I can’t stand it, so I’m leaving,” she said without turning around. He crossed the room without saying another word and pulled Liz into his arms. As soon as his arms closed around her, she started to sob. He whispered, “Shhh, Lizzie, everything’s going to be okay.”

She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her. “Baby, please, tell me what’s wrong,” he whispered. All she could do was shake her head. Finally, Sav pulled away from her and said, “Lizzie, please, tell me what I said. I’m sorry, whatever it was.”

Looking away from him, she finally said through her tears, “Things are never going to be the same for us, are they?”

He thought for a moment, then said, “You’re right, they’re not.” She started to sob again as he took her face in his hands. “They’re going to be better than they ever could have been before. Our first five years together, we never had one obstacle to overcome. Other than separation. The past few years, we’ve had to withstand Darla and Billy and all the shit they threw at us. And we still love each other more than ever. How many other people can say that?”

“But my having been with Billy last night got you so upset...” she started.

“Only because I got pissed at Billy for doing that to you. Did you want to sleep with him last night?” he asked.

“No,” she said in a trembling voice.

“Then what can I hold against you if you were just trying to keep him from starting shit with me? Didn’t I do the same kind of thing when I went back to that sham marriage with Darla?”

“I guess,” she whispered.

“Then please don’t leave me again so soon,” he begged. She couldn’t answer him, she just let him hold her. He ran a hand over her hair and whispered, “I love you, Lizzie.” He led her over to the bed and got her to lay down, wrapping her in the safety of his arms. As she drifted off to sleep, she whispered, “I love you, Sav.”

She spent the rest of the week on tour with Sav before leaving for Germany. Def Leppard still had a couple of dates left on the North American leg of the Slang tour before heading for Europe and Liz couldn’t bare the thought of taking Dani away from Joe, so she let JT stay with Joe for the moment. The first couple of days on the set were hectic and Liz barely made it to her hotel before she collapsed. By the fourth night, things were finally starting to settle down. She stopped for dinner in the hotel restaurant, then headed for her room. Within minutes she’d climbed into bed. She was so tired that she didn’t even feel it when Sav managed to sneak into her room quietly, slip into bed and put his arms around her.

The next morning the phone rang before dawn for her wake-up call. She heard the first ring then realized she wasn’t in bed alone. She jumped out of bed, pulling the sheet with her, and snapped on the light. It took a moment for it to register that it was Sav who sat up in the bed, guarding his eyes against the light. He finally looked up at her and said, “Hi, baby.”

She jumped back on the bed and smacked him on the arm, saying, “You just scared the hell out of me!” He pulled her close to him and said, “You were sleeping so soundly, I couldn’t bare to wake you up.”

She pulled away and answered the phone. Hanging it up again, she said, “What are you doing here, baby?”

“Oh, we’ve got a week off before we start the European leg of the tour, so I thought I might drop by and say hi. Hi!” Then he pulled her in for a kiss.

“Are you going to go on the set with me?” she asked hopefully.

“Of course. I didn’t come all this way to sit in a hotel room waiting for you all day.”

“We better get going then. I’ve got to be on the set in an hour.” She threw on her clothes while he watched, then leaned over and gave him another kiss. “Let’s go.”

He stayed with her until the night before the first gig in Oslo, Norway. Before he left, he gave her a pass that would allow her to get back stage at any of the gigs. They got together every night he was in Germany over the next month and a half. The last night in Germany, in Munich, Stacey offered to watch JT so Liz and Dani could go out and enjoy the show. Joe got them tickets in the front row, where he could ‘keep an eye’ on Dani, who was proving to be a complete handful for the blond vocalist.

“You may not want to sit with me, Liz,” Dani said with a mischievous look in her eye.

“Why’s that,” Liz asked curiously.

“Well, I figure I’m gonna torment the hell out of Joe tonight,” she said wickedly.

“What are you up to?” Liz questioned.

“You’ll see.”

Dani had intentionally worn a very demure jacket over a long skirt. When Joe found her in the audience, she was sitting with her legs crossed in her seat. After the first three songs, she discarded her jacket, revealing a white button down blouse. A few songs later, she slipped out of the skirt, showing the mini skirt under it. She sat down and crossed her legs slowly, running her hand down her legs in a very sensual motion. The next time Joe looked at her, she unbuttoned the top button of her blouse. Ten minutes later, she caught Joe’s eyes again and licked her lips as she unbuttoned the next button of her shirt. After another good interval, she waited til he looked at her again and trailed her fingers down her chest until she reached the next button down, which she slowly undid. By this time, it was obvious to Joe that she hadn’t worn certain undergarments. He was having a bit of difficulty concentrating on the set, so he made a conscious effort to avoid looking at Dani. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do it for long. When she found him staring at her again, she slipped a hand into her shirt and played with her nipple, immediately causing Joe to stumble over the words to the song.

Sav saw what Dani was doing to Joe and raised an eyebrow at Liz, who shrugged helplessly.

With Joe’s next glance, Dani sucked on her finger seductively, mimicking an act she’d performed on Joe several times. Luckily, he wasn’t singing at that moment, because Liz saw him give a quick gulp for air. Liz could tell Joe was having a difficult time not embarrassing himself onstage as she watched the bulge in his pants swell a bit. She sat back down and waited for him to look again. Curiosity was killing him as he wondered what Dani would do next. He didn’t have to wait long. As soon as he looked, she trailed her hands up her thigh and raised her skirt so that only Joe could see that she wore nothing underneath. The next time he glanced her way, she undid another button. And the next time she did the same thing, leaving her shirt open to the waist of her mini-skirt. By this time, all the guitarists had noticed Dani’s little show, but if she was embarrassed at the thought it didn’t show. The band finally left the stage before the encore, where Joe was a bundle of raw sexual tension. He looked at Sav and said, “She’s doing this on purpose!”

“Yeah, Joe, I don’t think she could be doing anything like that unintentionally,” Sav laughed as they headed back out to finish the show.

Joe took one look at Dani during the encore. She cupped her breasts in each hand and rubbed her thumbs over her nipples, which were clearly visible through the thin fabric of her blouse. Joe did the only thing he could think of to chill her out. He grabbed his water bottle and dumped the contents over Dani’s body. She shot him a wicked look and plastered the wet fabric flat over her full breast, giving Joe a full view of what lie beneath the material. The band finished it’s last number and headed back stage, where Joe waited for Dani to show up. As soon as he saw her, he seized her without a word and headed for the nearest room. He pinned her against the wall and his hand grabbed roughly at her breast. Without removing his lips from hers, he picked her up and laid her down on a table. He quickly undid his pants and pushed himself violently into her. She threw her head back and let out a moan that just seemed to arouse him even more. His hands ran up her back and clutched her shoulders in a vise-like grip. As Dani’s orgasm came over her, she let out a passion-filled scream, driving Joe over the edge. He thrust fully into her one last time, then exploded inside her.

His body relaxed on top of her and he looked up into her eyes, still seeing the playful glint there. “Woman, you’re killing me!”

“Oh, no, that just won’t do,” she said with a laugh. “Should I behave myself from now on?”

“Never!” he said in a uneven voice. “But, please, don’t do that to me onstage again! I damn near lost a load in my pants right there in front of a few thousand people!”

“Yes, dear,” she said mockingly.

As they pulled their clothes together, Joe gave her an amused look and said, “Who would’ve ever thought meek little Dani was an exhibitionist at heart!”

She laughed and said, “You just don’t know me very well yet!”

As Joe opened the door, he found all the other members of Leppard standing right outside, along with Liz. Every one of them had a knowing smile on their face as they turned and headed for the showers. Liz threw an arm around Dani and said, “Mission accomplished?”

“Definitely!”

Liz had finished filming just before the last show in Germany, so she was off the next day. She had spent the night with Sav, but left before he woke up the next morning. When she returned, Sav asked where she’d been for the last several hours.

“Oh, I had an appointment this morning,” she said with a smile.

“Appointment? What kind of appointment?” he asked.

“Well, I decided to do something before I went home,” she said evasively.

“What, Lizzie?” he asked, a trifle impatiently.

Without answering, she unbuttoned her shirt and turned her back to him. There, on her shoulder, was a tattoo of some sort of Japanese character. Baffled, he looked at it for a moment before asking, “So what does it say?”

“Savage,” she said as she looked over her shoulder at him.

He pulled her around, kissed her and said, “Then it’s the most beautiful tattoo I’ve ever seen. But how are you going to get it past Billy?”

“I’ll just tell him it says Diamond. Why on earth would he need to check that?” she asked.

She flew back to the States later that day. There were several messages waiting for her on her machine when she returned. The first few were from her family, but then there was one for Billy that said, “Hi, Billy. It’s Melissa. Hope you get this before Liz gets home. I’ll be waiting for you to call me. Love you!”

She sat down next to the phone and listened to it again. It was obvious this girl had more than a passing interest in Billy. Liz smiled at the phone and removed the tape from the machine. It was the perfect thing to get Billy out of her life. She called Guy and found out where he was the next night, then booked a flight out.

Liz walked backstage and looked at Billy with daggers in her eyes. He took one look at her and said, “What’s wrong, Liz?”

“Who’s Melissa?” she said accusingly.

“Um, what are you talking about,” he asked, though she could see in his eyes he knew exactly who she meant. From the look on his face, there was no denying that the name had hit a nerve with him.

“The fucking bitch on this tape, Billy!” she screamed, acting far angrier than she could have ever been in this situation.

“What’s it matter to you?”

She threw off her jacket and said, “Get your shit out of my house and keep your ass away from me!” She turned her back towards him and he noticed the tattoo. He yelled at her, “What the hell is that on your shoulder?”

“It’s a tattoo of my name. Don’t change the fucking subject! I want you out of my life!” she screamed using all her anger to give force to her words.

“Never! You’re mine, bitch. I’ll never let you go!” he yelled back at her.

“You should have thought of that before you fucked around on me, Billy,” she said, finally letting herself calm down. “You’re shit’s gonna be in storage and the locks at the house are being changed right now. Don’t bother coming back there, Billy. My lawyer will be contacting you shortly.”

“I’ll kill you,” he growled.

“You’re not that stupid. You fucked up. Now live with it.” Then she turned and walked out of the venue, allowing herself a satisfied smile as she got into the car.

It had been nine months since Liz had thrown Billy out. He’d been furious when she told him it was over, to the point that Liz had finally gotten terrified. After dozens of threatening phone calls and letters, she had resorted to getting a restraining order against him. She still lived in fear that Billy was going to disobey the order.

She was napping on the couch when the doorbell rang. Maybe that was why she opened it without thinking and Billy was able to force his way in.

“So, you alone, Elizabeth, or is the nanny here?” Billy asked. Liz could smell the alcohol on his breath from five foot away.

“Yeah, Dani is in the other room with JT,” she lied and he immediately called her on it.

“That’s funny. I just followed her and Elliott to the fucking airport.” He grabbed her wrist and kicked the door closed behind him. “You always were a fucking bad liar!”

Liz tried to pull away from him, but he refused to let go. He grabbed her shirt at the collar and ripped it open. “That god damn tattoo is a good fucking example. You told me that was your name in Japanese, didn’t you? Well, since you told me to leave, I got suspicious. I took a picture of it to the tattoo parlor and imagine what he told me?” Billy grabbed her by the hair and turned her around so he could see the mark on her shoulder. “He said that it’s fucking Japanese alright. For Savage!” With that, he drew back and punched her right on the tattoo.

Liz fell to her knees, then tried to crawl away from him. Billy got a hand full of her hair and pulled her ear next to his mouth. “If I find out you’ve been with that fucking British bastard again, I’ll kill him!”

“I didn’t sleep with him, Billy,” she said, forcing the words out through her fear.

“Yeah, well, you’re about to find out what a real man does with a woman, bitch,” he said, lifting her to her feet by her hair. He dragged her into the bedroom and pushed her face down on the bed. When she tried to run away, he pulled her back by her hair and punched her in the stomach, doubling her over.

“Go ahead, fight me, you cunt! I’ll enjoy kicking your ass. Then, when I’m done with you, I’m going hunting. That British faggot’s about to get one hell of a repayment for fucking with my wife!” Liz looked up into Billy’s eyes and saw madness burning there. She struggled to her feet, only to have a back-handed slap send her to the floor. Billy grabbed the remains of her shirt and pulled them off her. As she tried to pull away from him, he punched her in the temple, making everything go black.

Liz came to a while later. She was naked and Billy was now passed out on the bed. She crawled to the phone and dialed 911. All she could say was, “Help me!” before she passed out again.

When she came around, paramedics were standing over her trying to revive her. Police had Billy cuffed and were hauling out the door when he saw her eyes open.

“I’ll kill you, you fucking cunt! And that faggot boyfriend of yours, too!” he screamed.

Her world went black again as they loaded her onto a gurney.

“Ms. Diamond?” the doctor said softly.

Liz’s eyes fluttered open under the bright lights of the hospital room. The doctor said, “Welcome back!”

“Where’s Billy?” she asked as she remembered what had happened.

“He’s at the police station. They’re holding him for arraignment right now.”

“Thank God!” she sighed.

The police took Liz’s statement before she could go to sleep.

A few days later, she was sitting up in bed when a police officer walked into her room. He said, “Ms. Diamond, I’ve been asked to inform you that your husband made bail.”

“How?” But even as she said it, she realized what had happened. He still had access to Liz’s bank accounts. Knowing he would be coming after her, she swung her legs over the bed and grabbed her clothes. She said, “Officer, would you be kind enough to drive me to a hotel? I know my husband well enough to know he’ll be coming after me.”

“Yes ma’am. I’ll wait outside while you change.”

The officer took her to a hotel in Canton, far enough away that Billy might not think to look there. Terrified, she called only Guy who had already read about the attack and had been in constant contact with Liz’s doctors. She refused to tell him where she was. She only asked him to call Joe and Sav and tell them to stay out of the country until Billy was behind bars again. She also wanted Joe to keep JT until things blew over.

Sav was sitting alone in his house when Joe and Dani stormed in, newspaper in tow. Joe threw the paper down in front of Sav and said, “Billy finally snapped.”

Sav picked up the paper and read the headline. “Singer attacked by estranged husband.” The story went on to say that Liz had been attacked five days before by Billy, though most of the details were vague.

Sav wordless stood and headed for his bedroom to pack. Joe followed him and said, “What are you going to do?”

“Go take care of her! What else can I do?” Sav asked impatiently.

Just then the phone rang. Guy was on the line. He told Sav quietly, “Listen, Savage, she wants you to stay out of the country. Billy’s been released on bail and he’s made threats against both of you. She won’t even tell me where she is right now. She’s gone completely under ground.”

“Is she okay?” Sav asked, near tears.

“She sounds fine, just scared. She said she’s going to keep changing hotels until Billy is back in jail. And she adamant, she wants you and Joe to stay out of the country. Billy has been looking for her and she doesn’t want to have to worry about you, too.” Guy paused, then said, “I haven’t even been able to find her, Savage.”

“Okay,” he said, “I’ll stay where I am for right now. Let her know I’ll be waiting to hear from her. Tell her,” he stopped, trying to regain control of his voice. “Tell her I love her and ask her to come here. Billy won’t be able to look for her here.”

“She can’t leave the country. The police have asked her to stick around in case they need her,” Guy answered.

“Then just make sure you tell her I love her and I’ll be waiting for her to call,” Sav said. As soon as he hung up, he started to pace. He did laps across the floor while Joe and Dani tried to calm him down.

“I need to be there,” Sav said finally. “I don’t care what she says.”

“What good is that going to do if you can’t even find her?” Joe asked. “Just stay put and wait for her to call you. She will, I’m sure.”

Just then, the phone rang. Sav picked it up before the second ring. “Hello?” came his worried voice.

“Sav, it’s me,” Liz said in a tired voice.

“Thank God!” Sav said in relief. “Where the hell are you?”

“I can’t tell you right now. I’m sorry,” she apologized.

“Why not?” he demanded.

“Cuz I know you and you’ll be over here trying to find me. I need you to stay where you are for a while,” she said.

“This is bullshit, Liz,” he growled. “If he comes after you again, I should be there to protect you.”

“If you’re here, I’ll just have to worry about you, too. You’re safer where you are,” she insisted.

“Baby, please! Don’t...”

She cut him off, saying, “No, Sav. I mean it! Stay in Ireland!“

“Alright,” he sighed. “Baby, what happened? The paper was pretty vague about what he did.”

“Please, you don’t really want to know. Just let it drop,” she said quietly.

“Lizzie, I do want to know. And I think you need to talk about it,” he said patiently.

“Basically, use your imagination. Anything he could do to cause pain,” she said, waiting for him to explode.

“Did he just hit you?” Sav asked, worry coming through the phone line.

“No,” was all she said.

“Oh fuck,” he said, slumping back into the chair. “Are you okay now?”

“I won’t be okay until he’s back in jail,” she whispered. “Listen, Sav, I’ve got to go. I love you, baby.”

“I love you too, Lizzie. Don’t make me wait too long to see you again,” he whispered.

“I can’t promise you anything, Sav,” she said slowly. “I’ll do what I can. I’ll see you, luv.”

“See you soon!” He said as he hung the phone.

Liz spent six months running from Billy before she finally allowed Sav and Joe to bring JT for a visit. She’d kept in contact through phone calls, but had never let Sav know where she was before that so Sav wouldn’t be tempted to find her. When she met them at the airport, Liz nearly collapsed into Sav’s arms. He held her for a moment before pulling back to look at her. There were dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep and living in fear had worn away what little spare flesh there had been on her body.

“My God, baby, are you okay?” he asked.

“I am now,” she whispered in answer. “I’ve missed you something awful though.”

“I’ve missed you, too, Lizzie,” he said as he pulled her in for another hug.

JT stood back with Dani, not recognizing Liz at first. She bent down to him and said, “Sweetie, it’s Mummy. Can I have a hug?”

The child hid behind Dani’s leg. When Liz realized he was hiding from her, she fell to her knees and wept, covering her face with her hands. She knew then that Billy hadn’t just destroyed her life. He’d taken her son from her as well. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to make up the lost time to JT.

Joe finally persuaded JT to go to Liz, though the child was still reluctant at first. Slowly, he began to warm up to her again and by the time they got into the car, he acted as though he’d never been away from her. Still, it lingered in Liz’s mind and she cursed Billy for it.

It took nearly a week before Sav could convince Liz to leave her hotel room again. He got her to take short walks, making them longer each time they went out. Within two weeks, the only way to tell Liz had had any kind of bad experience was when she jumped at unexpected people coming into the room.

Billy sat in his girlfriend’s apartment watching TV. He’d looked everywhere for Liz, with no success. When the phone rang, Melissa answered it and then handed it to Billy.

“Hello, is this Billy Tedron?” came the female voice.

“Yeah, what do you want?” he answered crossly.

“I know where Liz Diamond is,” she said.

“What?” he exclaimed. “Where?”

“She’s staying at the Hilton in Canton, Ohio. Rick Savage and Joe Elliott are with her right now.”

“Damn, thank you! Who is this?” he asked.

“Just tell her Darla said hello, okay?”

“No problem. Thanks again,” he said, but she’d already hung up.

“Let’s take JT to the park,” Dani suggested.

“Okay,” Liz said reluctantly. She was still scared to go out in public, but she was making an effort to keep Sav happy. They packed up and went out with the guys in tow. JT played around on the jungle gym, getting a kick out of running behind it to hide from the adults with him. He ran behind the set and hid again. When he didn’t pop right back around the play ground equipment, Liz got worried. She got up and walked behind the set. JT wasn’t there. She screamed for Joe, who came running.

“JT’s gone! Help me look for him!” she screamed. Sav and Dani came up and started to search the area. A little boy looked up at Liz and said, “What’s wrong, lady?”

“Have you seen a little boy, about this tall,” she held up her hand to JT’s height, “with brown hair.”

“Yeah, a guy came up and told him he was going with Uncle Billy.”

Liz froze. Billy had JT. She let out a bloodcurdling scream and Sav came running. At just that second, a car horn blew. Liz looked up and saw Billy sitting in a car at the curb. Billy waved and hit the gas pedal. He was long gone before she made it to the spot where he’d been sitting. Liz fell to the curb, screaming incoherently. Joe picked her up and took her back to a bench while Dani ran for the phone to call the police.

“He’s got JT! He took my baby!” Liz screamed over and over. Finally, Joe slapped her and said, “I’m sorry, Liz, you’ve got to calm down.” She could see the tears running down Joe’s face and remembered that JT wasn’t only her son. Joe was terrified to the point he almost couldn’t move. Liz threw her arms around him and they held each other as they cried. Sav rubbed Liz’s back, trying to calm her down to no avail.

A police car had been only two blocks away and arrived at the park in only moments. He took their statements and told them to stay by their phone in case Billy called with a ransom demand. Liz knew him better than to think he might actually ransom JT. He’d done the one thing that hurt Liz worse than hurting Sav. He’d taken her child away from her.

When they got to the hotel, Liz was hysterical. A doctor was finally force to tranquilize her to keep her from hurting herself.

The four of them spent two days waiting by the phone, but Billy never called. Liz sat listlessly in front of the television and when the news played a story about JT’s kidnapping, tears ran down her face silently. Sav held her and let her cry.

Melissa was watching the same news story. She hadn’t had much time to watch television since Billy had dropped off his nephew two days before. She was worried, because Billy hadn’t returned since leaving the child with her. The boy was cranky and cried a lot for his mummy and daddy and someone named Danny. When Melissa asked him his name, he said, “JT.” She finally won the child over by giving him a little ice cream. She got him to take a nap, then sat down in front of the television.

“The four year old son of singers Liz Diamond and Joe Elliott of Def Leppard has yet to be found. He was abducted two days ago from a playground by Diamond’s estranged husband, Billy Tedron. Detectives on the case are asking anyone with information to call the Canton police department at...”

Melissa didn’t get the number because she was stunned by the picture on the screen. The child who’s picture was on television was sleeping on her couch. With a shaking hand, she picked up the phone and dialed the number for information, asking for the Canton Police.

“Liz, wake up,” Sav said quietly. “They’ve got JT at the police station.”

Liz jumped off the bed and threw on her clothes as she asked, “Are they sure it’s him?”

“Yeah, they’re positive. Tedron dumped him on his girlfriend and took off. Told her it was his nephew. As soon as she saw the news story, she called the police. They’re holding her at the station right now,” Sav said.

Liz and Sav went into the living room and joined Joe and Dani, who already had their jackets on. Without a word they headed for the door. But when Liz opened it, she found a note stuck to the door by a hunting knife. She jumped back and screamed, “He was here!”

Sav pulled the note off the door and let out a steady stream of curses. Joe read the note which said, “Liz, Sorry to her about JT. Cute kid. Too bad you won’t get to see him anymore. You hid from me pretty well, but apparently you’ve got yourself more than me to worry about. The woman who called to tell me where you where said to give you a message. She said, “Tell her Darla said hello.” Hope that means something to you. I’ll be seeing you around. Love, Billy”

“Jesus, Darla was behind this?” Dani said in amazement.

“Sounds like she was trying to get him to come after Liz, not JT,” Joe mumbled.

“I’ll kill the fucking bitch!” Sav swore.

“No, you won’t. But I might,” Liz said calmly.

When they arrived at the police station, Liz sprinted in to get JT. She held him close as Joe wrapped his arms around the two of them. Sav and Dani sat back, letting them make sure their child was alright. Then Liz looked at the officer on duty and said, “Where’s the girl he left JT with?”

“She’s in a holding cell downstairs,” he replied.

“I want to see her,” Liz said.

“Okay, I’ll take you down there.”

The officer took Liz to a cell in the lower floor of the department. Joe followed along, carrying JT, with Sav and Dani bringing up the rear. Liz stood there for a moment, looking at the terrified woman in the cell. She peered into the cell and asked, “Did you know you had my son?”

“No, I swear it!” Melissa cried. “Billy said it was his brother’s kid. Then he left and didn’t come back. The kid was a real handful, crying for you two and some guy named Danny. I finally got him to calm down and when I turned on the TV there was a story about your son. Man, I called the cops as soon as I knew who he was, and now I’m going to jail as an accessory!”

Liz turned to the officer and said, “Get her out of here. She didn’t do anything but make sure JT was taken care of. And she called as soon as she figured out who he was.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but she’s going to have to go in front of the judge. The DA’s bringing the charges, so you’ll have to talk to him.”

“Get him on the phone, then,” Liz insisted, while Joe stood behind her nodding his head. He said, “She brought our son back to us. I don’t want to see her punished for that.”

Within minutes, Liz had spoken to the DA and gotten him to drop the charges against Melissa. She picked JT up and asked him, “Was that woman nice to you?”

“Yeah, mummy. She was nice, but I was scared. Uncle Billy left me,” he said quietly.

“Well, I’m glad he left you with someone nice,” she whispered. A shudder passed through her body as she thought about what Billy could have done to him. She looked up at Joe and said flatly, “Get him out of the country. Now.”

“Liz, I don’t want to leave you alone,” Joe said quickly.

“I won’t leave you,” Sav said at the same time.

“Damnit!” Liz yelled at them, “he took JT this time. What’s he going to do next? If it had been Sav he’d managed to grab, he’d probably be dead right now! I’m not going to let you stay here in danger!”

“Liz...” Sav started, but she stopped him with a glance.

“No! You’re leaving as soon as I can get you on a plane and that’s it!” she said forcefully. “This was just a warning. Next time, it’ll be either me or you he goes after. I don’t want to have to worry about you right now!”

Defeated, Sav sat and watched as Liz called the airport and booked them a flight home. They stopped at the hotel long enough to get their things, including Liz’s and then went straight to the airport. Sav sat in the back seat with Liz, with JT sitting behind them. She kept looking between the two of them, crying and not knowing what to do.

“Mummy, why you cry?” JT asked, confused.

“Because I’m going to miss you, sweetheart,” she said through her tears. “Don’t forget me, okay?”

“I won’t. I wuv you, Mummy,” he said quietly.

“I love you too, JT,” she whispered into his ear. Sav reached over and took her hand silently, trying to support as best he could during their last few minutes together. When they reached the airport, Liz took JT by the hand and lead him inside. They had twenty minutes til their flight boarded, so Liz took JT into the gift shop and bought him a bear, saying, “When you hold this bear, you think of Mummy, okay?”

“I will,” he said, though his eyes were shining with tears. She pulled him in close and held him for a long time. Then she led him back to the others and let him go with Dani and Joe to get on the plane. Left alone, Sav just stared at Liz for a while, then pulled her into his arms and whispered, “Let me stay, please!”

She laid her head on his shoulder and said, “No. I can’t risk anything happening to you. I love you too much for that.”

“I love you too, Liz. I just want to stay to make sure you’re going to be okay,” he said as he choked back his own tears.

“I can hide easier if it’s just me that I have to worry about. He doesn’t have a passport, so he won’t be able to come after you in Ireland.” She turned her face away to hide her tears. The final boarding call came over the PA and Sav grabbed her for one last hug, saying, “I love you more than anything, Lizzie. Don’t let anything happen to yourself.”

“I won’t, baby. I love you, too. Now go, before you miss the plane,” she said, pushing him away. He turned and walked away, leaving her crying in the hallway.

As Sav made it to the plane, Liz was walking out of the airport. Neither of them had seen Billy watching from the shadows. Just as she made it to the car, she saw him walk out, looking around to see where she’d gone. She slammed her door and took off just as he spotted her. He tried to stop the car, but Liz nearly ran him over. He jumped in his car, trying to keep her car in sight as she sped away. She hit the freeway doing seventy, and sped the car up from there. She lost sight of Billy, but didn’t slow down for over ten miles. Finally, she pulled off onto a less used highway and took off. Driving for nearly two hours and constantly changing roads so Billy would have a hard time following her, she finally found a hotel she felt safe stopping at. She moved a dresser in front of her door and crawled into bed, sleeping restlessly for hours.

Billy played cat and mouse with Liz for over a year. He left constant messages with Guy, telling him what he wanted to do to Liz when he found her. There was a steady stream of nasty letters, spelling out the same thing. But he never got any closer to Liz than he had that day at the airport. He was on the run from the police, but somehow he always managed to stay two steps ahead of them. His bail had been revoked and there was a new warrant out for his arrest for kidnapping JT.

Dani racked up frequent flier miles, flying in with JT every few weeks and spending a day or two with Liz before taking him back to Joe. Liz refused to allow Sav or Joe to come back until Billy had been put in jail, though she called Sav every day to let him know she was okay. She got to the point where she was living for those daily calls.

Finally, in May of 1999, Liz couldn’t take it anymore. She had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown for months and decided that if Billy was going to kill her, let him get it over with. She called the police in her home town and told them the situation. They came up with a plan to flush Billy out of hiding.

A story leaked out into the press that Liz had returned to her hometown and was planning on doing a meet-and-greet for a local charity. Billy caught wind of the story and never suspected the set-up. He watched outside the location until Liz left, then followed her home. As she got out of her car, Billy pulled up beside her, holding a gun.

“Get in the car, bitch,” he yelled, pointing the weapon at her. At just that moment ten police officers jumped out of the bushes, holding their guns trained at Billy. He grabbed Liz by the hair and pointed the gun at her head. “One move and I’ll shoot this whore,” he screamed at the officers. Liz stood still, letting fate play itself out. Suddenly, Billy waved the gun at the cops. Liz took the chance to fall flat to the ground, ignoring the pain from her pulled hair. Billy swung the gun around, pointing it at Liz. In that second the police opened fire, pinning Billy to the car with a spray of bullets. Just before Billy fell, he squeezed off one round into Liz’s body. Then he fell to the ground dead.

The bullet hit Liz in the shoulder, knocking her unconscious. She vaguely heard the siren from the ambulance, then the sounds of the emergency room. When she finally came to, she was in her room. Her shoulder was throbbing, but other than that she felt okay. Then she realized this was going to be all over the media as soon as one reporter found out. She had to call Sav. She called for a nurse and asked her to bring Liz a phone. She called Peter, Def Leppard’s manager, to find Sav. As it turned out, the group was about to play a gig in Wisconsin. He gave her the number and she dialed it as soon as she’d hung up from Peter. She got through to Malvin, who went to look for Sav.

“Lizzie?” Sav said.

“Yeah, it’s me baby,” she said in a tired voice.

“What’s going on? You didn’t call me earlier,” he said in a worried voice.

“It’s over, Sav,” she sighed.

“What? What are you talking about? You’re not leaving me, are you?” he said, panicked.

“Oh, God, no baby. Billy’s gone,” she said quietly.

“He finally decided to leave you alone?” Sav asked hopefully.

“No, Sav. He’s dead,” she whispered.

“How?” he asked.

“Then police shot him tonight at my house,” Liz answered. “He was coming after me.”

“How’d he know where you were?” he asked quickly.

“We leaked it to the press that I was doing a small meet-and-greet to benefit the children’s home. He followed me, just like the cops knew he would.” She paused then went on, “He pulled a gun on me and the cops shot him.”

“Are you okay, baby? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” he whispered.

“I’m going to be okay in a few days,” she said, trying to hide what had happened from him. Then she remembered that it wouldn’t stay hidden for long. “For God’s sake, don’t panic when I tell you this. I’m okay enough to be talking, so I ain’t gonna die. He shot me in the shoulder just before he died. I’m...”

“What!” Sav screamed into the phone. “Fuck the gig, I’m on my way now!”

“No, Sav. Please, don’t. I’ll see you in a few days. As soon as I get out of here, I’ll fly to where ever you are. I’m fine, really,” Liz said quickly.

“Lizzie, no, I need to make sure you’re okay!”

“I am, baby,” she said in a soothing voice. “I’ll see you in a couple of days. And this time, no more hiding. I love you!”

“I love you, too, Lizzie. Goodnight,” he said and hung up the phone.

The doctor released Liz from the hospital five days later. As soon as she got home, she called Peter to find out what the guys were doing. As it turned out, they were scheduled to do the Howard Stern show the next morning. He told her what hotel the guys would be at and wished her well. She booked a flight to New York and a room at the same hotel.

When she got to New York, she hid in her room so she could surprise Sav. She found out which room Dani and Joe were in and called Dani. With some quick instructions from Liz, Dani got off the phone with a satisfied smile. Sav was going to be a happy man the next morning.

Liz called Sav in his room, telling him she was still at the hospital and that she’d probably released in two days. When they hung up, Liz watched some TV then went to bed.

“Okay, folks, we’ve got Def Leppard here in the studio today.” Howard said. “So guys, let’s talk about the rumors that came out of the Hysteria tour. I heard you guys were banging broads under the stage.”

“Nah,” Phil said, “all we ever did was take photos under the stage. Honest!”

“Yeah, right, these chicks were all over you! You can’t tell me you never did any of them!” Howard said in disbelief.

“Nope, never.”

“How about those tapes released of Joe and Sav? Those were pretty hot stuff!” Howard said.

“Yeah, er, well, I guess so,” Joe said reluctantly.

“Oh, come on! We’re talking about doing Liz Diamond here. I’d do her in a minute!” Howard laughed.

“Yeah, well if I slept with her now, my girl would kill me and so would Sav!” Joe laughed. Sav said nothing, though Howard tried to goad him on for several minutes.

“Okay, well let’s go to the phones. Hello, you’re on Howard Stern. This is Liz here in New York and you say you met the band during the Hysteria tour?”

“Yes, I did,” came a female voice. Sav sat up. That voice!

“So, did you get to do any of the band members?” Howard joked.

“Actually, yes, I got to ‘do’ one of them back then.” The band fell silent. Sav was sure that he knew who that voice belonged to and now Joe was pretty sure as well. They looked at each other, not sure what the other one was thinking. Howard looked at the band and said, “Which one of these guys did you get it on with, Liz.”

“Hello, Sav.”

“Lizzie? Is that you?” Sav said, still not really believing it.

“Yeah, Sav,” Liz said.

Howard stepped back into the conversation without knowing what was happening. “So you got it on with Rick Savage, eh? So was this like, the best one night stand of your life or what?”

“Yeah, considering it lasted five years.” Even Howard fell silent as he realized who was on the phone.

Sav spoke up again. “Where are you, Liz?”

“Look out the studio window.” Liz stood up and waved into the studio. Sav jumped out of his seat and threw off his headphones. He ran into the other room and threw his arms around Liz. “Oh my God, Lizzie, I can’t believe it’s really you!”

“It’s really me, baby. But you better get back in to your interview.” Sav wouldn’t let go her hand and dragged her back in the studio with him.

“Holy crap, Liz Diamond just walked into the studio, folks.” Joe and the others greeted Liz, then Sav sat down, pulling Liz onto his lap.

“Hi,” Liz said into the mic.

“So, Liz, you’ve had a rough road the past couple of weeks!” Howard said as Sav wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Yeah, well, you know how it goes when someone gets obsessed, Howard. I’m sure you deal with it all the time!” she said with a laugh.

“True, but now the Enquirer has you with your own obsessions!” Howard said quickly.

Confused, Liz looked at him as he said, “Oh, you haven’t seen that yet?”

“No.”

“There’s an article titled something like ‘The man she can’t forget’ or some crap like that,” Howard laughed.

“And who would that be?” she asked.

“Well, you’re sitting on his lap right now,” Howard continued.

“Guess they were right, mate,” Joe laughed. “I don’t think she’s ever forgotten him!”

Liz kissed Sav and turned back to Howard, “That’s true.”

“So, Liz, I gotta ask you. We were just discussing those video tapes of you with Joe and Sav. So which one of them was better?” Howard asked.

Liz rolled her eyes as everyone in the room turned to stare at her. Holding up her hands, she laughed and said, “Oh, no, Howard, I’m not even going to go there. Especially not with both of them sitting right here!”

“Oh, come on, whisper it to me then! I gotta know,” Howard continued.

“Sorry, Howard, the only thing I’ll say is it was different with each one of them!” she laughed.

“Okay, then let’s ask a factual question. Who’s bigger?” Howard egged things on.

“Oh no, not going there!” Liz laughed as Sav and Joe looked at each other and laughed themselves. “Hey, isn’t this supposed to be a Def Leppard interview?”

“We’re just trying to get some facts straight about the band!” Howard said defensively.

Robin, his sidekick, added, “These are things the fans want to know!”

“Well, I’m not saying a word!” Liz laughed.

“Okay, guess we’ll go back to the phones then,” Howard said disappointedly.

The band took a few phone calls before Howard had to call it quits. He shook hands with them all before they left the studio. Dani stood right outside with JT, who ran straight up to his mother. She gave him a huge hug before he ran off to his father. Sav grabbed her and scolded, “You lied to me about still being in the hospital!”

“Sorry, I wanted to surprise you!” she said with a laugh. He bent to kiss her quickly before letting the others say their hellos. Then she turned back to Sav who looked her over with concern. She flinched back in pain as Sav pulled her in close again. He moved back and said, “Baby, how’s your shoulder?”

“It still hurts,” she said quietly. “Doctor says there won’t be any permanent damage, though.”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through all that by yourself,” he whispered, taking her back into his arms gingerly so as not to bump her bad shoulder. “Let’s get you back to the hotel!”

“We’re going out for lunch,” Joe said. “Care to join us?” Sav looked at Liz, who nodded quickly. Sav said, “Sure.”

Joe, Dani, JT, and Viv piled into one cab while Sav, Liz, Rick and Phil got into another. Liz sat on Sav’s lap, resting her uninjured shoulder against his chest. She snuggled carefully against him, trying to keep her legs out of Phil’s groin with very little success. Her legs stretched across Rick and her feet rested in Phil’s lap. The cabbie slammed on the brakes and Liz’s foot slammed into Phil’s crouch as their bodies slammed against the seat. She heard a groan as Phil doubled over. She brought her hand to her mouth as she gasped, “Oh my God, Phil, I’m so sorry!”

Rick looked at Phil and tried to stifle a giggle, then elbowed Sav and let him know what happened. Sav laughed as much as Liz’s pure mortification as at Phil’s situation. Slowly, Phil regained his breath enough to murmur, “Don’t worry about it, Lizard.”

They finally made it to the restaurant, though Rick and Sav were still giggling about Phil’s misfortune as they arrived. Of course, it was necessary to tell Joe, Dani and Vivian about it as soon as they got out of their car, which gave them all a laugh at Phil’s expense.

Through lunch, the guys asked Liz a million questions. Phil asked her, “Why didn’t you just leave the country?”

“The police wanted me to stick around to help with the case,” she answered.

“Couldn’t they have done that by phone?” he said curiously.

“No, they said they needed me in person,” she said quickly.

Joe asked her, “Did they intentionally set things up that night to bring him out of hiding?”

Sav leaned in to hear every word of her answer. When he’d asked her this, she’d been pretty evasive with her answer. She glanced at Sav and lowered her head before answering Joe. “It was all my idea.” Sav looked ready to explode. She continued, “Actually, I was fed up with running. I gave the paper the story, then told the cops what I’d done. One way or the other, it had to end. Either he was going to kill me and get it over with or the cops were going to get him.”

Sav blew up, “You risked your life without so much as talking to me about it! Why the fuck did you do that?”

She pulled away from him and said, “I couldn’t live like that any more. I was nearly dead from being scared and I couldn’t even go to you. He would have killed us both. He almost did kill me!”

“But why’d you let him get that close...” Sav started, still furious.

“I didn’t have a choice, Sav. If he hadn’t gotten close to me, they never would have gotten him. He’d gotten really good at hiding.” She reached for Sav, but he pulled back angrily. She stood up and stormed away from the table towards the restrooms just as Sav jumped up and walked out of the restaurant. Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Joe and Dani looked at each other and Joe said, “You try to catch him, I’ll go calm her down.” He left JT with Phil and the others and ran after Liz. Dani took off at a dead run after Sav.

Dani caught Sav just as he got to the door. She grabbed him by the arm and spun him around, saying, “Just what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“I can’t deal with this shit! She hid from me for an year and a half because of that maniac and now she tells me she got used as bait to catch the bastard? She wouldn’t even let me come into the fucking country because of him! How could she do that to us!” he screamed.

“Why do you think she did it!” Dani said as several customers turned to stare at them. She pulled Sav into the coat room to avoid those stares.

Across the restaurant, Liz slammed her body against the wall as Joe made it to her. She looked up at him tearfully, “Can’t he understand I had to do it? We’d have never gotten rid of Billy otherwise!”

Joe pulled her into his arms and said, “Little one, he doesn’t like you taking any risks. He’s male, for god’s sake! He’s supposed to protect you, not let you get into any kind of danger!”

“But it was the only way, Joseph!” she said tearfully.

“You need to understand, it was hard enough for me to let you do what you needed to. I still love you, little one, and you’re the mother of my child. But for Sav it was even worse. There were days when Dani practically had to sit on both of us to keep us from flying over here to take care of you,” Joe said with a small smile. Dani had been a rock for the two of them even though her friend and employer had been in danger because she’d trusted Liz to know what she was doing.

Dani hissed at Sav, “You think she wanted to do this alone! Well you’re wrong! I can remember so many times when I brought JT over that she would collapse crying because she wanted to be with you so bad. But she didn’t want to expose you to that kind of danger!”

“I could have taken care of her...” Sav started.

“What could you have done if Billy’d shown up with a gun? Died? That would have killed her even if Billy didn’t!” Dani continued. Sav slumped against the wall, defeated. “Billy might have killed you and let her live just to make sure she suffered more!”

“I couldn’t take the chance that Billy might hurt Sav,” Liz cried. “He’d already tried taking JT. If he’d gotten Sav alone somewhere, we’d have been identifying a body! I couldn’t do that!”

“I understand that. And somewhere, inside, Sav does too. But right now, all the stress of the danger you’ve been in for the last year is caving in on him.” Joe pulled Liz into his arms, holding her close as she cried. He looked up and saw Sav and Dani coming towards them. Dani stopped a few feet away and let Sav walk up by himself. Without a word, Sav took Liz’s sobbing form from Joe and held her close. Joe walked over and put an arm around Dani, leading her back to their table. Sav whispered, “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to get so angry.”

She couldn’t stop crying and simply let him hold her. He went on, “I just wanted to be there for you. I didn’t want you to get hurt...”

She pulled back at that and said, “That’s why I did all this. So you wouldn’t get hurt. Even if Billy’d killed me, you were safe. That was all I cared about. In the end, I just wanted it over, no matter what it took. Just as long as you were safe.”

His eyes were haunted as he pulled her tightly to him. The thought of what Billy might have done to her still followed him every day. He ran his hand over her hair then brought her lips to his for a kiss that seared both their souls. Slowly, Sav lead Liz back to their table to rejoin the others. JT looked at her red eyes and said, “Mummy, are you okay?”

She reached across the table and said, “Sweetheart, I’ve never been better in my life!”

“So Liz,” Vivian asked, “what are you’re plans now? Another movie or another album?”

“Absolutely nothing!” she laughed. “I’m out of things for a while.”

Phil looked up and laughed, “I was hoping you were going to do another movie so Sav could quit watching that first one over and over on tour. Though I must admit, I get aroused listening to ‘Work It Out’ now after so many viewings!”

Liz looked at Sav who was staring at the table intently. She put her hand over his and said, “So, you liked that one, huh?”

“You could say that,” he mumbled.

She leaned over and whispered into his ear, “Then maybe I can do a special encore just for you sometime!”

Looking her straight in the eye, he said in a throaty voice, “God, I certainly hope so!”

“So, when’s your divorce final, anyway?” Liz asked, changing the subject abruptly.

He leaned back and sighed, “April of next year. Damned Irish divorces anyway! I did get some good news about that though. Because of Darla’s little stunt with the videos, the judge said she forfeited any claim on my assets and I got my request granted that forced her to go back to her maiden name.”

“That’ll get her where it hurts!” Joe laughed.

“Yeah, she always more interested in being Mrs. Rock Star Savage than being my wife. So now she won’t be able to keep calling herself Darla Savage and there’ll only be one Mrs. Savage around,” Sav said with a smile.

“Oh, really?” Liz asked curiously. “Who’s that?”

“You, as soon as you put this ring back on,” he said, pulling a box from his pocket. He opened it, revealing the engagement ring she’d worn all those years before. He got out of his chair and knelt beside her, saying, “Here we go again. Liz Diamond, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she said simply. The rest of their group cheered as he slipped the ring back on her finger where it belonged. Some of the restaurant patrons joined in as they realized what had happened. She bent down to kiss him and whispered, “I always try to keep my promises.”

He stood up and pulled her up into his arms to kiss her. At that, the whole restaurant went up in a cheer for them. A few tourist snapped pictures as they stood there. A few minutes later, everyone agreed it was time to head for the hotel for a while. Joe and Dani took JT out with them to give Liz and Sav sometime to themselves.

They walked into Sav’s room and stood looking at each other for a few moments. Neither of them could believe the other was there again and that they were finally free to be together again. Sav held out his hand and she took it gently as they looked at each other. Slowly, he pulled her into his arms and held her close to him, never wanting to let go. His kiss burned through to her soul, marking it his forever. His hands ran over her back and came to rest on her waist as he whispered, “I love you, Lizzie.”

She buried her face in his neck and whispered into his ear, “I love you, too, Sav.” Her hand wandered up to the collar of his shirt and she slowly unbutton it as she nuzzled at his neck. After she reached the last button, she slowly peeled the shirt off his shoulders, holding his arms behind his back with it for a moment. He laughed and said, “Oh, no you don’t. Not tonight!”

She let the shirt fall off his arms and ran her hands up his back unhurriedly. Her nails raked slowly up to his shoulders, leaving small red marks in their wake. His hands tangled through her hair, holding her lips to his and kissing her deeply. She moved her hands to the waistband of his pants, undoing the button there. Her hands wandered inside his pants and around to his backside, holding it firmly through the fabric of his briefs. Releasing her hair, he untucked her shirt from her jeans and lifted it off her body in one motion. Next he unsnapped her bra with a practiced hand and slid it from her shoulders. Kneeling in front of him, she stripped his pants off his legs, pulling his shoes off with them. Then she skinned his briefs off him, leaving him naked in front of her. Her hands moved slowly back up the back of his legs, stopping on the back of his thighs. She took his hard member into her mouth and carefully licked up and down the length of his shaft before taking him completely into her throat. His hands found their way back into her hair and he guided her movements gently. She pulled off him and gradually worked her way back up his body as he stood trembling in front of her. As his mouth reached hers, he lifted her and carried her over to the bed. He removed her shoes and jeans and lay his naked body next to hers, his hands wandering all over her body as he learned it again. He teased her nipple tenderly as he lay propped up on one elbow, watching her reactions. Her hand went to his short locks and pulled him down to kiss her. As they kissed, his hand went down and parted her thighs, massaging her hard clit. His fingers explored her hidden sex as he kissed her passionately. With one quick motion, she pulled him over onto her, not wanting to wait any longer. He looked deeply into her eyes, watching her as he slowly entered her body. He buried himself fully inside her, then leaned down and kiss her again, not wanting the moment to ever end. He whispered roughly, “Sometimes I wondered if I’d ever get to hold you like this again.”

“I know I haven’t wanted anything else for the past five years,” she said in return. He began to move slowly, thrusting gently into her with each stroke. They took pleasure in relearning each other’s body, not missing a single second of it. Their bodies fit together perfectly as they built, with ever increasing speed, towards their climax. His impassioned movements took her body over the edge to her orgasm just as he reached his own. When it was over, neither of them moved, choosing to hold each other tightly instead of falling away from each other. To spare her his weight, Sav rolled over and pulled Liz on top of him, letting her settle down comfortably against his chest. He lifted her chin to look at him and kissed her. Then he asked, “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?”

“It’s been such a long time, baby, I almost forgot,” she said with a small laugh. So he told her all over again. And showed her over and over in the next few hours.

Over the next six months, Liz went on the road with the band as they toured for their Euphoria album. She went out onstage with them somewhere around two dozen times, performing ‘Photograph’, ‘Shadow of a Memory’ and usually at least one other song each time.

The band took the month of November off and everybody headed home for a break. For Sav’s thirty-ninth birthday on December second, Liz planned a surprise party. Everybody flew in, including Liz’s family and Sav‘s brothers and mother, without Sav knowing it.

Joe kept him busy at the studio most of the day, then took him to the pub for drinks to celebrate his birthday. Sav was rather quiet and Joe asked, “What’s wrong, mate?”

“Oh, it sounds a bit silly, but I think Liz forgot my birthday. She hasn’t said a word about it all day,” Sav said glumly.

“Well, that’s not like her,” Joe replied in feigned surprise. “I’d make sure I did the same for her when hers rolls around next month.”

“You know, I’m not really in much of a mood to celebrate right now, Joe. Think I’ll head on home,” Sav said.

“Listen, I need to talk to Liz about JT, so mind if I tag along?” Joe asked.

“Sure,” Sav said quietly.

When they got to the house, the only light on was in the bedroom. “Damn,” Sav thought, “She’s even already gone to bed.” He unlocked the door and jumped back into Joe when the lights flared on.

“Surprise,” came the yell from a room full of people. Liz walked forward and said, “Happy Birthday, baby.”

“I should’ve known,” he said, shaking his head as he pulled her to him. “I didn’t think it would be like you to forget. Taking Dani shopping today sounded a bit convenient.”

“Oh, we went shopping alright,” she said with a smile.

“Yep,” was Dani’s only reply.

“Well, have a seat, cuz JT can’t wait much longer for you to open your gifts.” She gave a quick laugh. “He’s been trying to get into them all day.”

“Alright, alright, whatever Prince Joseph wants, he gets,” he laughed with a fond smile for the child.

One by one, Sav opened his gifts. There were present from his mother, his brothers, the other band members and even a plaster cast of JT’s hand that JT was particularly proud of. Finally, Liz handed him her gift, saying, “I’ll give you the rest of this later.”

Sav gave her a kiss as he took the small package from her. Half expecting it to be something totally ornery, he was afraid to open it in front of his mother. Then Liz looked down at him and said, “I behaved myself. It’s just that the rest of the gift is homemade and it’s not going to be ready for a while.”

Bewildered, he tore into the paper and opened the box. Pulling apart the tissue inside, he lifted out a pair of baby booties with the words “Sav’s kid” embroidered on the ankles. Stunned, he looked back at Liz who merely said, “You’ll get the rest of your present in about seven months.”

With a wordless whoop, Sav jumped up and threw his arms around Liz. He pulled back and said, “We’re going to have a baby? When?”

“Close as the doctor can figure, about six and a half or seven months,” she said, still smiling. Since Dani was the only one in on Liz’s secret, the room broke out in a chorus of congratulations. Joe took one look at Dani and realized she wasn’t surprised. He walked over to her and put an arm around her, saying, “So, how long have you known?”

“Oh, about a month now,” she laughed. “Hardest month of my life, too. That’s why Liz was so adamant that everybody was here for this.” Across the room, JT was playing with all the band members children, though seven year old Amanda, Liz’s niece, was more interesting in following nine year old Rory around. Lauren and JT were fascinated by little Lily, who sat calmly in her rocking seat.

Sav sat down and pulled Liz into his lap carefully. “Guess I’ll have to take it easy on you from now on,” he laughed.

“Try it and you might not enjoy the results,” she said with a wicked laugh. “Maybe I’ll just have to give you an even harder time, now.”

Rick snickered over Sav’s shoulder, “Doesn’t she make things hard enough on you already?” Then he dodged a quick swing from Sav. She ran her fingers through Sav’s now lengthening hair, though it was still much too short for her tastes. She laughed and asked, “Are you finally going to let your hair grow again?”

“If you want me to? I’ll do whatever you want right now, baby,” he whispered.

“I want your mane back, if that’s not too much to ask,” she replied.

“Your wish is my command,” he laughed.

The party continued far into the night. When it came time to go to bed, Sav pulled Liz into his arms and said, “So, how do you feel anyway?”

“I’ve never been happier,” she answered honestly. “I’ve got you and JT and now we’re going to have a child of our own. What else could I possibly want?”

“I can think of one more thing, Lizzie,” Sav said seriously. “Something I want more than even this child.”

“What’s that?” she asked curiously.

“To be married to you,” he said as his lips found hers. Then he led her to the bed and made love to her passionately, though ever thoughtful of the child she now carried.

The band had three more months on the road, touring until the end of February. Liz still went out on stage with them on occasion, though it became less frequent as her pregnancy advanced. After the second leg of the tour ended, Liz and Sav returned to Ireland to await the birth of their child. Since Joe lived fairly close by, JT took to spending part of the week with Liz and part with Joe. For the first time, she felt like her son was living a somewhat normal life.

Over the next few months, Liz and Sav got things ready for the new baby. They decorated the nursery and baby proofed a part of the house where they would be able to write and work on demos while the baby played close at hand. When there wasn’t work to do getting ready for the child, they spent much of their time writing songs for both Liz and Def Leppard. Liz even talked Sav into singing a duet on one song, though she wasn’t sure he’d ever let her release it. In April, when his divorce was finally final, Liz threw another party to celebrate. Then Sav spent most of that night trying in vain to get her to just go ahead and marry him then. She laughed and said, “Nope, I’m gonna make you do the whole thing for me. I ran off and got married once and look how that turned out!”

Sav shuddered as he finally gave in. They would just have to wait until the tour ended that September, she told him.

In late June, Liz woke with a horrible backache. She got out of bed carefully, trying not to wake Sav. Unfortunately, with her time being so close at hand, Sav hadn’t been sleeping terribly soundly. He sat up and looked over at her, then asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, my back just hurts really bad,” she sighed. Then she clenched her teeth as another wave of pain shot up her back. Sav pulled her back down on the bed so that she was laying on her side and started rubbing her back. Then he laid down behind her and held her close to him, worried because of her pain. They feel back to sleep, though Liz slept fitfully through the waves of pain in her back. About five in the morning, she and Sav woke within moments because something just didn’t feel right. Within a second of each other, they realized the bed was soaking wet. Her water had broken in her sleep. Sav jumped out of bed and started calling in the troops. He called the hotel where his mother was staying so that she could be close by for the birth of her grandchild. Then he called Joe and Dani, letting them know what was happening. Dani would stay home with JT, but Joe promised to meet Sav at the hospital. He could still remember what a wreck he’d been when Liz had had JT. Of course, that situation was a bit more stressful than this, because Liz had been in a coma when they’d taken JT. Then Sav got dressed and they headed for the hospital.

He stay with Liz as her labor went on and on. The nurses allowed Joe and Sav’s mother to come into her room to sit with them as she labored all that day and part of the next. Finally, the doctor checked Liz again and shook his head. “You’re just not dilating, Liz,” he told them finally. “You’ve been here for twenty eight hours and only made it from two centimeters to five. I think we’re going to have to do a caesarian section and take the baby that way.”

She gave the doctor a weary look and said, “You know, at this point, I’ll do whatever you say. Let’s just get it over.”

Sav went out to tell Joe and his mum the news. “I think he’s afraid to let this go much longer,” Sav said, a trace of fear evident in his eyes. His mum pulled him in for a hug and said, “Don’t worry, Richard. The doctor’s going to take care of them.”

Joe gave him a supportive pat on the shoulder as he walked away with the nurse. She got him suited up and Sav waited by the OR for them to bring Liz in. As they wheeled her by on a gurney, she grabbed Sav’s hand and pulled him with her.

He sat by as they gave her an epidural and hooked her up to monitors. Then he took her hand as they began the operation. Liz couldn’t see what was going on, but Sav told her several times. Finally, she looked up at him and said, “You know I love you, right?”

“Of course!” he said quickly.

“Then don’t take this the wrong way,” she paused and said, “Shut up! I don’t want to hear what body parts they’re down there removing!”

“I’m sorry, baby. It’s just fascinating to watch,” he apologized.

Within ten minutes, the doctor had the baby out. “It’s a girl, Mr. Savage.”

“You hear that, Lizzie? It’s a girl!” Sav laughed.

Liz looked up at him and he could see something wasn’t right. She whispered, “I love you” then closed her eyes. Sav watched her for a moment, then said, “Lizzie? Lizzie?” He turned to the doctor and said, “What the hell’s going on?”

Suddenly one of the nurses checked Liz and said quickly, “She’s not breathing!”

The operating room broke into a flurry of activity. Sav tried to stand out of the way so he wouldn’t have to leave. He needed to be near Liz. One of the nurses grabbed him by the arm and said, “I’m sorry, you’re going to have to go outside.”

One of the doctors had an bag over Liz’s face, forcing air into her lungs. “We’ve still got a heart beat! Keep going on that bag!”

The nurse finally just pushed Sav out of the room and into the waiting area. “We’ll let you know as soon as we know something,” she said quickly, before rushing back into the room. Sav’s mother stood up and said, “What’s going on, Richard?”

Joe grabbed Sav just before he slammed his fist into a brick wall. “What the hell happened?”

“She’s not breathing!” Sav screamed. “She’s not fucking breathing, Joe!”

“Jesus,” Joe said quietly as Mrs. Savage sat back down quickly.

“What about the baby,” Mrs. Savage whispered.

“She’s okay, they got her out before Liz stopped...” Sav slumped into a chair and started crying. His mother took Sav into her arms, trying to calm him down. Joe started pacing the floor, not knowing what to do. A nurse came out and Joe grabbed her. “What’s going on in there?” he asked impatiently.

“They’re still working on her. They’re getting the baby out of the room, though, so she should be coming by any second.” Just then, a nurse wheeled the baby out in her bassinet. Joe looked down at the child and asked, “Is this Liz’s baby?”

“Yes, sir, this is Ms. Diamond’s child. Would you like to see her for a minute before I take her to the nursery?” she asked.

“Can I pick her up?” Joe asked.

“Well, I’m not supposed to, but okay,” the nurse said quietly. Joe bent and took the child in his arms and walked her over to her father. “Sav, look.”

Sav refused to look up at Joe, knowing only that Liz was on that table fighting for her life. Mrs. Savage let go of him and took the child from Joe. “Why, hello little lady,” she cooed.

Sav heard the door open and saw the doctor walk out quietly. He jumped up and said in a voice much louder than he’d intended, “What’s going on? How is Liz?”

“She’s gonna pull through. Looks like her body just gave out for a moment. Her heart never stopped, which is a good sign. She’s breathing on her own, so we just have to wait and see,” he answered gently.

“Can I see her?” Sav asked anxiously.

“Not yet. She’s going into the recovery room til she comes out from the drugs completely. Be patient, you’ll see her very soon,” he said with a smile.

Only then could Sav turn to his daughter. He took one look at her and was instantly in love. His mother held the child out to him and let him take her. He looked up at Joe with tears in his eyes and said, “My God, she’s beautiful!”

Joe laughed. “That’s the same thing I said the first time I held JT.

They followed the nurse to the nursery and watched as they did a thorough check up on the child. The nurse walked out and said, “Mr. Savage, they’re taking Ms. Diamond to her room now. Do you want to take the baby to see her?”

“Of course!” he said excitedly. The nurse brought his daughter out in her bassinet and let him wheel her around as she showed him what room Liz was in. Liz was sleeping as he walked in, with Joe and Mrs. Savage following them. She woke up as he spoke her name.

“Sav,” she whispered. “How’s the baby?”

“She’s fine! She’s a beauty too, just like her mum,” he smiled. “But her mum gave me one hell of a scare earlier.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You don’t know? You stopped breathing on the operating table! I thought I’d lost you for good!” he said with tears in his eyes.

“Nah, can’t happen,” she said with a small laugh. Laughing hurt, because of the incision where her daughter had been taken from her body. “I still haven’t kept my promise.”

“You’re right. Now, would you like to see our daughter?”

“Yes please,” she said quietly.

Sav handed the child to Liz and sat down on the side of the bed. Mrs. Savage took one of the chairs as Joe sat in the other. Liz held the baby close, looking her over completely. “She is beautiful, Sav.”

“Told you so,” he laughed.

They sat around and talked for a long time before Joe took Mrs. Savage back to her hotel. Sav called Phil, Vivian and Rick to let them know that Liz had given him a baby girl. They decided on her name, Morgan Elizabeth Savage. Sav had insisted on naming the baby girl for her mother.

Liz was in the hospital for four days before they let her out. He took them home and got to take care of them for four weeks before he left on tour again. They’d decided Morgan was just too small to be out on tour. But after a month without Sav, Liz couldn’t take it anymore. She simply flew in to Lewisburg, West Virginia, baby in tow and sat in the lobby of the hotel where they were staying. Dani spotted her first and took Morgan into the restaurant, pretending she found the child alone in the lobby.

Sav looked at the little girl and said, “My God, she looks a good bit like Morgan!”

Liz, sitting where the band couldn’t quite see her, giggled. Joe heard it and looked around for its source. Sav was too intent on the baby to notice Joe get up and go around the corner. He found Liz trying to hide from them, but leaning up over the back of the booth to hear what was said. He picked her up without a word, letting her squeal. He carried her over to Sav, who was just saying, “You’d better take that baby back out there! It’s mother is going to be looking for it!”

“Don’t worry, Sav, I found her mother,” Joe said, laughing. All anyone could see of Liz at first was her backside. Sav looked up, confused, until Joe sat her down. “Lizzie! What the hell are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t take staying home anymore.” She looked at the ground and said, “Are you mad?”

“Hell no!” he said quickly. He took the baby from Dani and said, “Get your ass over here.”

From that point on, Liz toured with the band til they were finished in September. When they came off the road, Liz and Sav finished planning their wedding. It happened a month later at Liz’s farm, where they had plenty of outdoor space to do exactly what Liz wanted.

Three large tents spread out over the lawn of the farm. Two of them were connected for the reception after the ceremony and one was used for the ceremony itself. A large floral arch marked where the wedding was going to take place. Joe acted as Sav’s best man. The guests all took their seats and Joe and Sav took their places at the altar. Phil and Vivian picked up their guitars and Phil started to play the wedding march. Mrs. Savage sat beside Liz’s mother, taking turns holding baby Morgan.

Dani, Liz’s maid of honor, was the first one down the aisle. Joe stared at her, stunned by how beautiful she was. He made a decision right then and there. She took her place at the opposite side of the altar and smiled at Joe, making his heart race.

Next down the aisle were JT and Lauren, their ring bearer and flower girl. The little girl beamed proudly, holding on to her basket of flowers tightly but not throwing any of them. As she passed her father, he tried to get her to put the flowers on the floor of the aisle. As they reached the altar, Lauren turned and looked at her father, then upended the whole basket in one spot to the laughter of the guests.

Rory and Amanda came down the aisle next. Rory wore a tuxedo, while Amanda had on a shortened version of Liz’s own dress. As the children reached the altar, Sav saw Liz stepped to the opposite end of the aisle on her father’s arm. He couldn’t see her face because of her veil. Vivian joined Phil for the wedding march as Liz took her first step down the aisle. She floated down in a cloud of white, her train trailing far behind her. Her father handed her arm to Sav and collected the smaller children so they could return to their seats for the ceremony.

The ceremony itself was brief. As the justice of the peace pronounced them man and wife, Sav lifted the veil to reveal Liz’s tear streaked face. He bent slowly to kiss her and whispered “I love you” just before their lips met. As he pulled back, she said, “I love you too.”

The guests headed for the other tents while Liz and Sav posed for their wedding photos. Most of them went smoothly, but for a photo with all the children of the members of Def Leppard they just had to wing it. Sav and Liz sat by the altar with Rory and Amanda on either side. Liz held Vivian’s daughter Lily while Sav held Morgan. The photographer snapped pictures while JT and Lauren played at their feet.

After the photographer was finished, Liz and Sav joined the party in the next tent, which was already picking up speed. Everyone ate and listened to a toast to the newlyweds from Joe. Then they hauled Liz up to throw her bouquet. She turned her back and hoped she knew where she was throwing it. It landed squarely in Dani’s hands, who looked at Liz stunned.

Sav plotted where he threw the garter as well. Joe snagged it from mid air, not waiting for it to fall into his hands this time. And as soon as he had it, Sav watched as he walked straight over to Dani and got down on one knee.

“I’d already decided to ask you this before you caught the bouquet. Dani Randa, will you marry me?” Joe asked.

She started to cry and managed to get out a quick “Yes” before Joe folded her in his arms.

Sav and Liz cut the wedding cake next. Liz gingerly put a piece of the cake into Sav’s mouth. Then he turned around and smeared the cake all over her lower face, bring a huge laugh from Phil. Liz shot Phil and nasty look and reached down to pick up a large slice of the cake. Sav didn’t see what she’d done, because he had turned to look at Joe. As he turned around, Liz plowed the whole piece into the side of his face. Everyone busted up laughing as Sav reached for a napkin to clean his face off.

Joe called Sav and Liz out to the makeshift dance floor and said, “Okay, now it’s traditional for the newlyweds to have the first dance. I know you don’t dance, Sav, but I’ve got a song here you won’t be able to resist.”

As the music started, Sav and Liz immediately recognized ‘Faithfully’ pouring from the speakers. Sav nodded a quick thanks to Joe and took Liz in his arms, moving slowly to the music. Liz pulled his ear down to her mouth and whispered something softly into it.

He pulled back, a little stunned at what she’d told him. “Are you sure? Morgan’s only five months old!”

“I’m sure. I just went to the doctor day before yesterday,” she said with a smile that melted his soul.

He smiled at her, searing through straight to her heart. He looked down at her and said, “I love you, Mrs. Savage.”

“I love you, too, Mr. Savage.”

Epilogue:

Morgan walked quietly into her mother’s house, hoping not to wake her if she was still asleep. Since her husband’s death two months before, her mother’s health had been rapidly declining and Morgan knew she couldn’t hold on much longer. Even though cancer had spread through most of her body, her mother had held on, tending her husband as his own fight for life had ended. Now, at 71, her mother was giving in to the disease that threatened her life.

Morgan heard the stereo playing an old song by a group from the 1980’s. It was one Morgan had heard many times in her life, because it had meant a great deal to both her parents. As the song started over, she heard the singer singing “Highway run, into the midnight sun...” Then she saw her mother sitting in a chair close to the speaker.

“Mum?” she said quietly. She moved in closer and looked at her mother carefully. Then she realized the woman wasn’t simply sleeping. She had finally given in to death, the thing that had stolen the love of her life from her. Tears flowed from Morgan’s eyes as she knelt in front of her mother’s lifeless body. “Oh, Mummy,” she whispered.

After a while, she went to the phone and called the studio across town where her brothers were recording. Her cousin Amanda answered the phone. “Manda? Are any of the guys there?” she asked in a voice filled with tears.

“Sure, JT’s right here. Just a sec,” she paused and asked, “Is everything okay?”

“No, it’s Mum. She’s dead,” Morgan cried.

“Aunt Liz is gone?” Amanda asked, starting to cry herself. “How?”

“I think she just died in her sleep, Manda,” Morgan explained.

JT took the phone and asked, “Mum’s dead?”

“Yeah, JT. Can you come over? I’m at her place now,” Morgan pleaded.

“We’ll be right there,” JT said and hung up the phone.

Morgan walked back to her mother’s body. In her lap, there lay two picture frames, each containing a photo of her parents taken more than fifty years ago. Her mother had been only eighteen when the photos were taken. Morgan picked up one of the frames and looked at the picture. Her parents looked so happy and young in it. She hugged the frame to her chest, hoping her parents were together again now. She sat at her mother’s feet and waited for her brother to arrive. JT was really her half brother, but it had never mattered to them.

JT walked in the door about fifteen minutes later, followed by her younger brothers, Rick and Kenny. Behind them came Amanda and her husband Rory. Rory was in a band with JT and Rick, while her youngest brother Kenny was now producing their new album. Rory had followed in his father’s footsteps by taking up the guitar. Rick sang lead vocals for them, while JT played bass.

JT pulled Morgan up off the floor and took his sister in his arms. He said softly, “We all knew she wouldn’t last much longer. She just didn’t want to live without Uncle Sav.”

Morgan cried, but managed to say, “I know, Dad was everything to her. But I still can’t believe she’s really gone.” She looked around and asked, “Where’s Lauren?”

“She stayed at the house to take care of the kids. With everybody there, it’s a houseful. Did you call Dad yet?” he asked.

“Oh, God, no, I forgot Uncle Joe!” she said, completely upset.

“I’ll call him,” Rick volunteered. As he dialed the phone, Morgan looked at him carefully. While Morgan looked a great deal like their mother, Rick was an exact replica of their father. Before she’d died, their mother had found talking to Rick difficult because she confused him with his father a great deal.

“Denise is going to bring him over, JT,” Rick said quietly. Denise was JT’s sister, adopted by his father and second wife not long after they’d gotten married. “She said not to call the police til they get here.”

Rory looked down and saw the picture in the elderly woman’s lap. “You know, I never saw two people as happy together as your parents.”

“Mum always said they’d spent five years in hell, so nothing bothered them anymore,” Kenny said thoughtfully.

A short while later, JT’s father strode into the room. Even at nearly 83 years old, he was still an imposing figure. Without a word, he walked over and knelt in front of the body. “Ah, little one, I wish I could have been there for you at the end,” he whispered. Tears ran down his face. Once, he’d loved her enough to die for her. Even now, he would still have given anything for the chance to tell her he loved her one more time. She’d been there for him when he’d lost his wife two years before and he’d tried to comfort her when her husband died. But she wasn’t ever quite right after that. He looked down at her wrist and saw a glint of silver there. Pushing back her sleeve, he saw the bracelet he’d given her just before they’d found out she was pregnant with JT. He sighed and said, “Guess, maybe in a way, I was there, little one.”

He turned to the adult children around him and said, “That bracelet and necklace go with her, you understand?”

They all nodded, knowing those were the only pieces of jewelry their mother had ever really cherished.

Three weeks later, Joe Elliott walked through Wisewood Cemetery. All his friends were buried here now. First he found Steve Clark’s grave. Dead over fifty years, the tragedy of Steve’s death still haunted Joe.

Further back in the graveyard, he came to Rick Allen’s grave. At fifty-three, a car crash had taken the Thunder God’s life. It was his death that had finally been the end of Def Leppard. Nobody’d had the heart to carry on after that.

Five years later, cancer had claimed Vivian Campbell. Joe still missed his sunny Irish smile as he found the headstone that marked Viv’s grave. He knelt for a moment before moving away to another grave. Phil Collen’s grave marker loomed large in front of him. The heart Phil had taken such good care of had finally given up on him four years ago. Joe bowed his head for a second, then walked to the back of the cemetery.

He came to four gravesites, three of which were occupied. The remaining one was his own and somewhere inside, he felt it calling to him. He bent and pulled a few weeds from around the marker on his wife Dani’s grave. A heart attack had claimed her as well. He still missed her everyday. They’d been together over forty years and now he couldn’t stand to be alone. He’d given over the house and studio to JT, Lauren and the boys and went to live with Denise and her family.

Joe looked across the grave to where Rick Savage lay. His best friend, they’d survived everything together. Even the fight over the woman who lay between them now. Until the illness that had finally stolen Sav away from them three months ago.

Joe finally knelt down by the last grave he’d come to visit. Elizabeth Diamond Savage had only died three weeks ago and her loss still pained Joe’s heart. She’d been his friend, his lover and the mother of his son. With a chuckle, he laughed at the irony that when he died, she would lie between him and Sav forever. She would have liked that, he thought. It’s where she always felt safest, with one of them on each side. Then he looked up at the headstone she shared with Sav. Tears came to his weary blue eyes as he read the four words that had encompassed Sav and Liz’s whole relationship:

“I’m forever yours...Faithfully.”

THE END