Chapter 43

"Bullshit, Danny! It sounds like shit!" Brie heard as the guys were coming up the stairs.

"David, it's not that bad."

"Bullshit! I don't like it. It's too depressing. If I don't like it, then I have the liberty of rewriting the entire damn thing. So, that's what I'm doing. Don't like it? BLOW ME!" David said as he opened the door that led to the basement studio.

"David, it's not that bad. I'm serious", Mike said.

"I don't like it, Mikey, so, I'm rewriting it. Like I told Danny, don't like it? BLOW ME!"

"But that's my job", Brie laughed as they walked into the kitchen.

David laughed. "They want me to leave a song the way it is. I don't like the lyrics with the melody, so, I want to rewrite it, they're mad at me for it."

"Boys, it's his choice", she told them.

"You should hear the song though, Brie. It shows that there's a human being inside there, not a fucking God", John said.

"I'm no God, but Brie said some interesting things to me last night and I intend to live up to the expectations of our fans, even though we can't get out there and go on the road. Do I like being cooped up here? Hell no. No more than the rest of you do, but hey, this is where we are. Let's make it work."

"What did you say to him last night?" Dan asked Brie.

She shrugged. "I just said what no one else would."

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After the guys ate, it was back to the studio. Brie made them all a light pasta dish, but she made certain that it was something that wouldn't coat David's vocal chords so that he didn't damage them. Her training as a nutritionist paid off.

They finally finished the new album, but they were having difficulty naming it. They'd been bouncing around different names for a couple of months. Still no luck.

John and Kristen had their baby. A little boy they named Jonathan David. David, of course, was flattered.

The house was getting back into a routine again. Everyone was getting along. The twins were starting to walk and talk. Jacob's first real word was disturbed. David laughed his ass off when he heard that. "Oh my God. My son is going to be a rebel after all."

Jordan didn't have a first word, per say, more like a first sentence. Love you Daddy. David's heart sank. That night when they put the kids to sleep, he kissed his little angel on her head and said, "I love you too, Jordan."

Life was blissful, at last, David thought. He could finally breathe and not feel like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He had a purpose. He was whole again.

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The bliss in the Disturbed house was short lived and screeched to a halt in the blink of an eye when no one was looking.

It was a chilled day, right around Christmas. The families were putting up the Christmas tree and singing Christmas carols. Everyone was merry and cheerful.

The new album finally came out, but it was underground on the band's label, Intoxication Records. Though it couldn't be sold mainstream, it was still being sold and eaten up by their millions of fans.

On the night before Christmas Eve, a silence fell over the house that was rather eerie, especially to Brie. She told all of the adults, "I don't like this quiet. There's something not right about it. All adults that can be, should be armed." The guys all agreed. There had been small incidents in the past few months that Brie had been spot on about, and they'd come to trust her judgment. Thankfully, the agency had decided to send them weaponry not too very long before. The guys all gave guns to those who knew how to shoot. David was surprised to learn that his Brie, his once delicate flower, knew her way around a firearm. "Are you kidding me? I grew up in Tennessee. I used to go hunting with my dad and brother all the time." David just shook his head as he handed her the rifle.

"We should take watch in shifts", Dan suggested. "I have no problem taking the first watch. Mikey, take the shift with me?"

"No problem", Mike said and chambered a round in his rifle.

"I'll take the second watch", Brie said.

"Not by yourself, you're not", David said.

"I didn't say I was."

John and his wife took third watch. David didn't know that Kristen could shoot either. They decided that they'd all take two hour shifts, waking the next people fifteen minutes before their shift began. "We're gonna need plenty of coffee", David said.

Brie laughed. "You and your coffee", she teased, then kissed his cheek. "I swear you almost love coffee more than you love me".

"Not possible", David said. "I don't love anything more than I love you, other than maybe our kids."

"I would hope that you love our children as much as you love me, at the very least."

"I do. Don't worry. Now, let's try to get a little rest. We're only going to get a couple of hours before Danny and Mikey wake us up."