OUT OF THE RED ↝ dave grohl

one-hundred-twenty-one.

DECEMBER, 2000, LOS ANGELES, CA

REAGAN WAS HAPPY. Given the point in time, she was able to admit that in some way, she was content with her life after the total meltdown that it had been through.

It was still strange for her to admit that she was alright with the way things had panned out. It hadn't been in accordance to the plan she'd first created when she'd been twenty-two and hopelessly in love with the drummer of Nirvana, but it held up alright in comparison.

Jesse was good for her in a way that no one else, including Dave, had been before. He treated her just as well as Dave had, and on top of that he adored Gracie, but the complications of his life were so sparse when she was with him that Reagan found not one reason to complain.

He was never gone. He was always there, never across the world from her, and he never would eventually leave because his profession never called upon him to do it. There were no painful stakes in the relationship that forced her to reconsider it and surprisingly, she was beginning to envision a future with him. It seemed plausible.

She had never intended for it to go as far as it had. When Jesse had promised her friendship, Reagan had taken that at face value, believing that their joint future would only consist of them being friends that hanging out every now and then, keeping each other company in bouts of loneliness.

She could have never predicted that it would turn out the way it had.

As June had transitioned into July that year, she had found herself starting to develop real feelings for Jesse. He'd been the best antidote for her pain that she could have ever asked for and that was why she had ended up in his presence all the time, whether it was grabbing lunch together or hanging out in the control room at Big Apple Sounds.

It wasn't until he'd kissed her for the first time in August that Reagan had realized how much he meant to her. The world had seemed to tilt father on its axis and she'd understood from the moment that Jesse had taken her face into his hands that he was someone she could picture herself with, even introducing Gracie to as her partner.

Things had only gotten better from there.

She'd reveled in the newfound discovery of something exciting, a project that she could work on gradually giving her heart to. While Kate and Chris had only known the scarcest of details thanks to her discretion, they'd encouraged her to go along with what was happening anyways, insisting that it was time she found happiness outside of Dave.

Reagan had done exactly that. She'd devoted any of her time and energy that wasn't given first to Gracie towards Jesse, nervously stepping into the first relationship she'd been in since nineteen-ninety.

It had brought more happiness than she'd expected. Jesse was sweet and he made her laugh, and he seemed to instinctively know all about the things she preferred in comparison to what one might have thought she'd enjoy. He took her to dive bars and underground concerts and always doted upon her even when she didn't ask for it. He had even taken to helping Gracie learn the bass, something that had shocked Reagan considering that Gracie had persistently refused help from anyone but Dave.

Gracie liked Jesse, though. She'd pleasantly surprised Reagan with her admiration of him. It had blossomed cautiously at first, with a tepid curiosity that hadn't permitted more than a few polite 'hello's' and standard introductory questions, but a few weeks had changed a lot. Her daughter was beginning to enjoy Jesse's company just as much as she did.

It had been difficult for Reagan to open herself up at first, as she still had been unable to release her grasp on her relationship with Dave. She'd been hesitant around Jesse, never the one to make initial physical contact, but his sweetness had eventually warmed her to the idea.