Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (JoeMazzello!JohnDeacon fanfic)

fifty four

"Hollywood Diner, Roxanne speaking, how can I help you?"

"Rox?"

"John?" her brow furrows, "John, hey!"

"Listen," he sounds rushed, "Roxy, I know that this is short notice but is there any way that you could possibly pick us up at the airport?"

"The airport?" she repeats, "I-what do you mean the airport?"

"We're coming home," he tells her and her mouth drops, "Tonight."

"What? Why? I thought the tour had another month?"

"It does," he confirms, "But Brian's sick. We're not going to be finishing it."

"Sick?"

She's repeating a lot of what he's saying, she knows that but she's very, very confused.

"Yeah. Love, listen, I'm going to have to go, were going to the airport in a bit but the plane is due to arrive in London at one."

"In the morning?"

"Yeah," she hears the receiver being covered by his hand as someone else talks to him on the other end of the line, "Paul wants to know if you'll take Brian to the hospital? The minibus will take the rest of us home."

"The hospital? John, what's going on? You're scaring me."

"I wish I had time to tell you love but I don't. I'll explain everything when I see you."

"Okay," she frowns, "I...I guess I'll see you later then."

"I love you," he murmurs and her frown turns into a small smile.

"I love you too."

Roxy hangs up and just stares at the phone in front of her.

How sick could he be? That was what she wanted to know but she's gutted for them, really, she is. John was just getting into the swing of things and everything seemed to be finally going right for them.

"You alright?"

She turns to their new cook, Jason, who's sitting at the counter with her lunch, "That was John. He says they're coming home tonight."

"What? Why?"

"He says that Brian's sick."

"Oh really?" Jason frowns, "That's too bad. Did he say what was wrong with him?"

"No, he didn't have time to say. They're heading to the airport."

"It must be bad though if they're having to come home."

Roxy starts wiping the counter, "That's what I was thinking. I'm picking Brian up tonight and taking him to the hospital...I just don't know how bad a state he's going to be in."

"Hospital? You've to take him to the hospital?"

She nods, "Straight there. A minibus will take the rest of them home."

"That sucks," Jason mumbles and she nods absentmindedly, deciding that she'll set off for the airport at midnight - it won't take her that long to get there, especially at that time of night and she's hoping that the flight will come in earlier.

"Yeah, it does."

++|++

Instead of coming in early like she'd hoped it would, the flight comes in almost an hour late. Roxy's reading a magazine that she'd bought from the WHSmith and as she reads, she glances up at the arrivals board every so often as she shifts every so often in the uncomfortable seats but when she sees that, at 2:15 am, that they've landed, she tosses the magazine onto the seat beside her and makes for arrivals.