Motley Crue - You're All I Need (Vince Neil/Nikki Sixx/Tommy Lee/Heather)

57: Slow Ride

- a month later -

~ Vince's POV ~

The past month has been hard. Amanda has seemed distant from me, but she's been spending lots of time with Heather. I think she's starting to get worried about the baby, and Heather has lots of experience in that area.

Me, I was just waiting for the big day to come. I couldn't wait to finally get to hold that bundle of joy in my arms. I wasn't nervous about any of it, I figured we'd figure it out when the time comes.

Currently, I was actually hanging out with Axl. We had been getting long exceptionally well lately. Amanda was relieved to see the two of us being friendly around each other, and frankly I was too.

We went to the beach to do some surfing, and yes, it was embarrassing for me because I had been out of the game for so long.

"How's the album going?" Axl asked.

"Getting there," I said, sighing. "We have about half of the songs recorded. Only demos so far, of course."

"Hey, one day at a time," he said, shrugging. "We're getting close on ours too."

"You really ready to leave New York?" I joked.

"To show the world some good music?" Axl joked back. "Definitely. Are you going to be okay leaving Amanda and the kid back here?"

"Oh, I think she'll still come along," I said with confidence.

"You think?" He wondered.

"I mean, I hope so," I said.

"You're a lucky guy, my friend," Axl said with a firm smile.

We got back into the water and I started to let his questions get to me. Maybe she wouldn't come along. Maybe she'd want to be home with the baby. But then I'd be alone, away from both of them. I didn't want that either.

I mean, our tour was almost a year away yet, but still. I never thought a ton about missing seeing my child grow up. It bothered me more than I thought it would.

"Pick out a car yet?" Axl wondered as we were packing up our things to head back into the city.

"I've got it narrowed down, sort of," I explained.

"As long as you don't get a Camaro like Tommy," Axl began. "I support it."

"I was thinking something older actually," I said. "And something a bit less flashy for Amanda."

"Especially when you've got a kid," Axl reasoned.

That's another thing I hadn't thought much about. We hadn't done a whole lot of planning in that department. And there was a lot to be done.

Sure, we got lots of gifts from friends at the baby shower. But we didn't have a whole room or anything set aside. And aren't you supposed to baby proof things? Maybe I was freaking out more than I originally thought.

"Relax man, I didn't mean to make you nervous," Axl said as we hopped into his pickup truck.

"It's all good," I assured him.

Sure, me getting a little nervous about all of this wasn't exactly where I thought that I'd be in my life right now. I thought I was keeping things cool and calm, but now my mind was whirring with all of the negative things that fatherhood could bring upon my life.

Axl dropped me off at home, and to my surprise, Amanda was home.

"Hey baby," she said as I stepped through the front door, locking it behind me.