Tracy

066:

         

******066:

The exuberance she felt at the conclusion of the filming carried over to Madison Square Garden the night of the final reunion concert. Exhausted she, Jake, Monday, Danny, Kirk and Coral, had arrived via her little plane in New York, to be escorted at break neck pace to their hotel, and there ushered over to the Garden for the concert. Bridget and Julian had flown in-- Casey having cut the little pretend reunion tour short due to his and Jolie's health skipping the London concert they'd originally been hoping to conclude with. There had been an interview session, she'd missed.

Casey backstage was lit.

But he looked awful, and had been under extreme pressure for weeks, undergoing experimental treatments, and a lot of public ridicule, instead of the love he'd hoped for all around. Because AIDS was primarily known as a homosexual disease, the rampant belligerent speculation from the media alone was killing him.

Therefore, when Tracy arrived, amid catcalls and wild screaming—that hadn't necessarily been dished out in as abundant of array for Casey. It was surprising to her that the black roses were delivered to her green room, and the note cashiered through declaring her own life to be in danger if Casey died.

She brought the flowers down the hall to his green room, where he was drinking heavily before heading onstage, and dumped them on a wooden table near the door.

"These came for me, but the note is more for you. Your fans truly love you. They'd cash me in in a heartbeat."

He stopped his warm-up to stare at the flowers. "I didn't send those." He looked at the card, weakly flinging it across the room. "It's this kind of shit the FBI is supposed to be checking out."

"Yeah, well, it keeps getting through, which makes me think it's someone in your crew. Maybe look there." She started to turn and flounce out, but he caught her arm.

"Trace." Heart racing at his touch because of the last time he'd touched her and hurt her, she wrenched free.

"What?"

"I know what you're doing for me. This-- this concert will be my last. People don't understand AIDS, maybe someday they will. But they don't now. I thank you for not shunning me-- so many have. And if I don't survive, but Jolie does, thank you in advance for taking the baby, and being her friend."

He looked like he might cry, his freckled face got all red, in all the wrong places, the drink making it even worse.

"I'm-- I'm really sorry." She managed, choked up, but not feeling the compassion like she wanted to. In fact, she felt cold inside, the same cold she'd felt in Alaska. A cold that had nothing to do with the temperature.

His eyes had that pleading look in them like they had when they were kids.

"I can't believe you married that Mormon military guy." He turned away from her, seeing as she wasn't about to hug him for old time's sake, or to comfort and old friend. There was too much water under that bridge, and he'd burned the bridge to boot.

Her eyes snapped up. "Why? He's a good man, Case, a really good man."

"He's just not your type. You need someone who wants to take care of you, but not get in your way." It was the most astute thing he'd ever said, although she was sure he was wrong, and she could do it all-- all by herself if need be.

"He is exactly my type." She snapped and whirled to leave as the stage manager came busting through the door.

"You're on in three minutes." She said without even acknowledging the tension in the air.

Tracy flipped her hair. "Where's the set list?"

Casey pushed himself off the counter he'd been leaning on. "You haven't looked at it?" He shouted in outrage. "Haven't you even rehearsed? I sent it to your hotel."

"There isn't a Pepper's song you can name that I can't belt out from pure memory, Casey Crandall. Not a one. Just play an intro, I'm okay with that." And she stomped out the door, her ire showing on her face as she met Jules and Bridge coming out of their separate green rooms as well.

"Are you okay with that?" Julian yelled, as the stage lights dimmed and someone handed Bridget her guitar. She liked to walk on stage with it, not pick it up once out there.

"I'm okay with it." Bridget yelled back with a high five, not knowing to what she was agreeing.

Tracy felt the heat of her irritation melting as these two goofed around. Casey grabbed Bridget from behind and moved to stand beside Julian. For some reason, he felt it necessary to state the obvious.

"This is it, kids, the last first time. After tonight it's all history!" He threw an arm around Julian and Tracy, pulling them close, as only the band leader can do. Camera flashes went off all around them, and then he leaned in, forehead touching foreheads and grinned. "Let's do this!"

They ran for the stage following their leader for the last time bittersweet and historical, and they made it historical as it should be-- going out with a bang!

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