Becoming

Out Of The Shadows

Dave and Ade lingered in the café over cups of tea and coffee, quietly talking about the arrangements they still needed to make for their upcoming moves back to England. They'd already offered to let Bruce stay in the flat for a bit after they bought it, if it took longer than expected for him to find a larger home nearby, but while he thanked them for the offer, he said it was far more likely that he'd stay in Finland, at least until Nightwish started their tour.

"We'll definitely need to sort out furniture straightaway," Dave said. "And I'd planned to let Tasha decorate her room however she likes, of course."

"I'm just glad the master bedroom has that sitting area," Ade said with a grin. "I expect the old sofa will fit in there nicely - and Nathalie will be glad to have it gone from the house!"

Dave laughed. "I'm sure! I wonder if whoever left it at the tip could have imagined how much use we've gotten out of it since you first nicked it."

"Probably not, or they'd never have left it," Ade pointed out with a laugh of his own. He glanced at his watch and blinked. "Blimey, we've been here nearly two hours, we probably ought to check in with the others, see if there's any word on Emppu yet."

"Good idea," Dave agreed. They binned their rubbish and Ade led the way to the conference room.

Austin and his mother were just exiting as they arrived, and they exchanged quick hellos before the two headed upstairs to see Bruce. Inside, Ewo Pohjola conferred with Rod, while Marko chatted with Tuomas and Jukka.

Janick looked at the couple with a quick smile of greeting. "Milla's out having a kip on the bus since she was up for most of the night. As you can see, the incoming travellers arrived whilst you two were gone - Tuomas took Emppu's parents right upstairs to see him, so we've not seen them yet - and Emma and Satu went up a short time ago to bring Bruce his bear. Paddy's here too, Austin took her up to see Bruce, so I expect Satu and Emma will be back soon."

Kia called over from the far side of the room, where she had Eeva on a blanket on the floor, "Dave, your mobile is on the table, I brought Dad his when I went up to see him and brought yours back down with me when I came back to mind Eeva."

"Thanks, Kia," Dave said, smiling to see Stanley and Maisie Harris along with Rick from the crew also on the floor playing with the baby. "If you need any extra help with her, let me know, I'd be happy to jump in and help."

"Thanks, Dave," Kia replied. "I think we're good for now, but it's nice to know everyone's willing to help."

Emma and Satu walked in at that point, heading to sit with their respective husbands, and Austin followed them not long after.

"Mum and Dad were having a serious talk when I left," Austin said. "I get the impression that Mum's finally got her head out of... erm, well, that she's got to where she and Dad can be friends again, so I thought they could use the privacy."

"Probably a smart thing to do," Dave told him. "Never hang about when parents are having a discussion, especially when said parents are already divorced."

"Yeah," Austin agreed.

Paddy showed up a few minutes later. "Apparently Emppu's mum talked them into bringing Bruce to see him, so Bruce isn't in his room at the moment," she said to the room in general. Then she looked at her sons. "Austin, Griffin, come outside with me for a bit."

"Yes, Mum," the boys chorused, their expressions indicating that they thought they were being marched to the guillotine and not just the car park.

Someone brought in a platter stacked with wrapped sandwiches and refilled the coffee urn and the kettle, then replenished the tea bags along with the milk and sugar. Everyone promptly helped themselves to the food and drinks. Kia cut up a quarter of a sandwich into pieces small enough for Eeva to safely eat, munching on the rest of the sandwich as the baby happily fed herself the sandwich bits. After that, she grabbed the baby bag and took Eeva to the nearest ladies' to change her nappy.