Disarm

Chapter 10: Just can't make a Sound

**Jade**

"Had Billie not been there after Daphne and Jason's death... Chase would be growing up with his grandparents in Houston." I admit to Claudia.

It's been hours since my conversation with Claudia and while my body is exhausted my mind won't let me sleep. I look over at Chase who is still sleeping in the bed next to me, his shark laying carefully between us as he snores softly and will occasionally smile the way he used to when he was a baby. I smile at the cute toddler laying next to me as he smiles in his sleep again like he knows I'm watching him, but his blue eyes moving rapidly behind his closed eyelids tell me he's somewhere off in a dream.

I push myself off the bed gently and cover Chase back up as push his curls off his face. "You need a haircut, baby shark." I whisper to myself before kissing his temple and walking out of my bedroom and downstairs to the kitchen. The time on the microwave reads 4:17am I have yet to sleep, I debate brewing coffee and "working" from home.

"Hi Mommy." Chase says rubbing his eyes as I walk into the bedroom holding a cup of coffee in one hand and my laptop in the other.

"Hi baby. Did you have a good sleep?" I ask setting my laptop and coffee down on the nightstand as I sit on the bed next to him.

"Yeah." He says enthusiastically as he crawls into my lap.

"Good." I say brushing his hair off his face and kiss his temple. "Mommy is staying home today."

"You are?" He gasps happily.

"Mmhmm. We get to spend the whole weekend together." I hope spending the weekend with Chase will take away the small ache in my chest, truth is I haven't spent much time with him since I took this promotion and I promised Daphne I'd take care of him. "How about we go to the Aquarium today? And mommy takes you to get a haircut? Then we can have a picnic."

"Okay." He says yawning gently as he leans against my chest and traces the small tattoo on the inside of my right wrist.

"C'mon Daph, it's not like it'd be your first tattoo." I say pulling Daphne into Black Lantern Tattoo.

"And you say I'm the bad influence." She says rolling her eyes walking into the tattoo shop behind me.

"Mommy! Look!!" Chase exclaims as he points to a hammerhead shark swimming past him and presses his tiny hands against the glass as he watches the shark in awe.

"Wow!" I say kneeling behind him as he keeps his eyes on the shark as it swims slowly through the water, the pilot fish swimming on either side of it.

"What are those?" He asks pointing to the pilot fish.

"Pilot fish." I say as he backs up against me. "They help keep the shark clean, like when Mommy gives you a bath." I say tickling his sides causing him to laugh. "C'mon dude." I stand up and hold out my hand and wait for him to say goodbye to the sharks.

"Okay." He says taking my hand as he waves to the sharks. "Mommy, can we get one?"

"Get one what? A Shark?"

"Yeah!"

"I don't think our house is big enough for a shark, dude." I say looking down at him and I can see the look of disappointment on his face.

"Okay." He says looking down at the ground, thoroughly disappointed at the idea of not having his own pet shark.

"But." I say stopping in front of him to crouch down and look at him "How about we go pick out a fish we can both take care of?" I ask trying to compromise with him. It's not a shark, but it's a fish.

"Okay!" He says smiling.

**Billie**

"Fin!" I yell from the guestroom as I paw through my clean clothes on the bed for my laptop charger. I know I brought it with me.

"What?" He asks poking his head in the door.

"Have you seen my laptop charger?"

"Why would I have your charger?"

I groan in frustration, "I just fuckin saw it last night."

"Maybe it's downstairs."

"Why the fuck would it be downstairs?" I'm frustrated. I can't find my fucking charger. My first show is in 2 days, I don't feel prepared, Dakota keeps blowing up my phone; I miss Jade and I shouldn't, I know Claudia was talking to her that night a couple weeks ago and she's not telling me shit. I stomp downstairs and into the kitchen to see my charger in two pieces on the floor with teeth marks in it. Fuckin' Peaches.

"Oh... there it is." Fin says monotonously, like he's mourning my loss.

"You owe me a charger."

"Actually.... Peaches owes you a charger." He says ruffling my hair.

"You look fine." I tell Dakota as she checks herself in my greenroom mirror, again. I don't know why she's concerned about how she looks; no one is here to see her.

"Yeah, but I still want to look cute for you." She says smiling at me in the mirror as she wipes the excess lipstick off her bottom lip. I roll my eyes and check my phone for the time, and still hope for a text from Jade. Part of me is dying to text her, ask her how Chase is doing, ask her what she wants for her birthday next month, ask her if there is any possibility if we can be friends. I look at the last text message I sent her and start typing but delete it, then start typing again. "You okay?" Dakota asks still looking at me in the mirror, "you seem distracted."

"Yeah, I'm good." I say giving her a tight lipped smile as I hear a knock on the greenroom door.

"15 minutes, Bil." Fin says walking into my dressing room then looks at Dakota as he rolls his eyes then looks at me, "Dakota go stand with Claudia on the side of the stage."

"But..." Dakota starts, as Fin shoots her a look, "fine." Dakota says rolling her eyes as she walks out of the greenroom, leaving the smell of her perfume behind her.

"We can have her escorted out..." Fin says half-joking as I push myself off the couch.

"And have her throw an epic tantrum? No fucking thanks." I say lockingmy phone as I set it down on the couch before walking out of the greenroom, with Fin behind me his hands on my shoulders.

Jade Holland: Yeah, I miss you too.