[Claire] Stay another night

[Shane Alexander Madden]

Shane could not describe in words how excited he was to be home, even if it wasn't that long. They were home for a week or two and then it was off to South America. And then it was off to Europe. And then home for real. But these little breaks were little pieces of awesome to get them by. He had no idea how on earth he was going to get through the next few months, but they'd gotten this far. Surely they would make it until he was home for good. Shane had gotten home to the city this morning and spent a few well deserved hours with Claire. Him being away all the time was rough on both or them, he didn't know who it was worse for. Probably equally as shitty. Claire had been upset because the nursery had been painted the wrong color. So of course Shane, wanting to be apart of something baby related, had dragged her to the hardware store and let her pick out the correct color paint. So now Shane was in the nursery, finishing up painting. Pregnant women weren't supposed to breathe paint fumes or something, that or Claire just had better things to do like pick out curtains, so Shane had the window wide open, a soft breeze blowing through the room. Three months to go and there would be a little boy in this room. Other than Shane. It was still hard to believe they were having a kid. Well... not after this morning, that was a real reminder of how they were in this situation. But it was easier to picture now. Painting this room a color fit for a boy, imagining all the stuff they'd put in here. Surely Claire's friends were planning a baby shower. Pretty soon it would be all full of things and would only have one last thing to add. Shane set down his paint roller and put the lid back on the can so it wouldn't dry out, and then headed to the kitchen where Claire was eating baby carrots and searching the internet on her laptop for room decorations. Shane could see on the screen she was looking at curtains and what not. Shane put his hands on the back of her chair and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "I need to go take a shower and get cleaned up, I got paint all over myself. You should come see it." Shane grabbed a glass from the cupboard, filling it with water and finishing it on the spot. "... Do you need a shower?"


It was the best thing to be able to take Claire out for lunch and an ice cream after. He couldn't just take her out when he was on tour. He had to make the most of being home. As they sat at a table for two in the ice cream parlor, Claire with her cone and Shane with his chocolate malt, Shane couldn't seem to stop smiling at her. Leaving didn't feel like an option. Could he just cancel tour? Of course he had a whole band that would probably not agree, but in Shane's world, he'd be okay with it. "So," he said, sipping his malt, "Nursery theme, go." He laughed, "I know you have one, don't tell me you haven't already planned it all out."

[Claire Jayne Madden]

Waking up was never something that Claire relished, but when she opened her eyes and saw Shane kneeling at the side of the bed she had jumped up instantly and wrapped her arms around him. Even if they weren’t married – or even remotely close to thinking about it –when he was gone it still felt like a piece of her was missing. She’d held onto him tightly, for as long as she could before they both decided they couldn’t just stand in her room hugging each other. He’d made mention of how he was going to re-paint the nursery for her, which was a relief because she teared up just about every time she walked past it. Stupid hormones. But that didn’t mean they left their room just yet. They had a lot of catching up to do. Having Skype conversations over the computer every day didn’t exactly fulfill every part of their relationship. It was strange because she had wanted to move out of her apartment to give Anthony and Kyle some space, and to get a more family friendly environment to raise her and Shane’s kid in. And when she found this place she’d been so upset. It was perfect, and perfectly out of her price range considering she was still in highschool, didn’t want her parents to know, and Ethan could only help so much at the time. Shane had come in like it was the most obvious thing in the world to him, a home for his kid and the mother of his child. But with him upstairs working on the nursery, her sitting in the kitchen and eating carrots while surfing the internet for curtains, it sort of felt like it wouldn’t ever be home without Shane here. Did they really think she would live here with their son without Shane?

Claire smiled as he kissed her cheek and then pointed to the screen with a bitten into carrot. “ That’s the exact shade of grey I’ve been looking for,” she said before finishing the carrot and watching him go get himself a glass of water. It was so sweet of him to fix the nursery. Rock star by day, devoted dad by night. Actually, devoted dad would probably always take precedence for Shane, even if he was on stage. She smiled slowly as she finished eating at his suggestion that she join him in the shower. She shut the computer lid, not bothering to put the carrots away before she headed upstairs. Claire sort of hated that Shane loved music so much. If it wasn’t his passion then she would feel less guilty about asking him to stay. But, she would never do that. He would never ask her to give up her ballet dreams. So all they could do was just enjoy the time that they could spend together. Which is why as she sat across from him at the ice cream parlor she decided not to bring up the subject of what little time he had to spend there. Just be thankful. She smiled as he questioned her theme for the nursery, “ That’s sort of a surprise for dad” she said as she brought her ice cream cone to her lips. The last thing she wanted to do was tell Shane that she was doing a ‘batman cave’ theme for the nursery. That was just as much for Shane as it was for their little boy. “ Let’s just say you’ll wish it was your room,” she said , picking at the edge of the cone before she coughed uncomfortably and adjusted in her seat. Neither of them had ever really discussed this. They were boyfriend and girlfriend. They happened to be having a kid. He bought her a house. They never talked about marriage, and that was the last thing she was about to ask him now. But they didn’t need to acknowledge the fact that they were sort of.. stupid, for thinking her home wasn’t his. “ Were we dumb to think you wouldn’t be living with me and our son when you got back from tour?” she finally asked as she looked up at him, eyeing his malt for a second. Chocolate malt… if only she had some French fries to dip into it. She made a slightly skewed face as she looked down at her stomach. This child was going to enjoy the strangest foods.

[Shane Alexander Madden]

Shane shook his head, making a face of mock disappointmentm "Seriously, I don't get to know?" he smiled, laughing slightly, that was her thing. Plan the nursery, decorate it. Part of preparing for being a mom was getting all the house stuff ready. At least, that was what his own mom had told him, and then also lectured him on letting Claire do basically whatever she wanted and not question her. Even if he thought a particular stuffed animal was way to pansy like to be owned by his son, he wasn't supposed to say anything. His mom had a lot to say to him about those things. 'Don't comment on her weight' 'Don't tell her you think that color sucks' 'Do not ask her if she wants to go hang out while you get plastered' 'Don't tell her what she is eating is gross. Chances are, she KNOWS it is disgusting and can't help it.' The list went on and on. But even so, as he was sitting across the table from her, there wasn't a damn thing wrong with her. He didn't care if she wanted to eat weird foods, or had days when she looked like hell for lack of motivation, or if she cried when the paint was a shade off. She was gorgeous no matter what she did, from her clear blue eyes that only glowed brighter when she was pregnant, right down to her belly. He couldn't find a damn thing wrong with her, just gorgeous all the time. Shane shrugged when she asked if they were stupid to think he wouldn't move in. He paused for a second, pondering that and drank some of his chocolate malt. She was right, he hadn't thought about it much. It wasn't that he didn't think he would, just that he hadn't given any thought to actually doing so.

"Maybe," he finally replied, "But I don't think we're stupid, just taking it one day at a time. Maybe it's time we think about the future, we sort of haven't..." Shane shrugged, leaning back in his seat and rubbed his hands against his jeans, "I mean, I know I'll be around a lot, I guess I sort of figured it'd be okay if I stayed over a lot at first." He stopped looking at her and then grinned, "You're right, that's such a given. If I'm going to be around that much I'm as good as moved in, huh?" Shane grabbed his malt and finished it off, setting the empty cup back down on the table, "Well, if that's okay I mean."

[Claire Jayne Madden]

Claire tore at the side of the ice cream cone nervously before she looked up at Shane. She smiled as he said that he would be over a lot at first, staying the night. It was sort of nice to know that once he was home from tour he’d be helping out a lot. That was to be expected, it just sort of felt like she was alone right now and was only able to steal a few days from him while he was on tour where he got to do a few things on the ‘honey do ‘ list. “ You’re asking me if it is okay if you move into the home that you bought?” she asked with a lift of her eyebrow and a smile. Claire set the remainder of her ice cream cone in Shane’s cup and quickly wiped her fingers off on a napkin. “ There is nothing I would love more than for you to stay with me and our child,” she said, standing up from the table and making her way over to Shane’s side where she gave him a quick kiss before she put on her jacket. It sort of felt weird when they were in public, being so young and she was pregnant. There were the judgmental stares. But who cared, it wasn’t like she was going through it completely alone.

“ Do you think you could help me go pick out a crib for little Brayden?” she asked before slightly holding her breath. It was pretty common knowledge at this point that they were having a boy but they hadn’t discussed names at a full length. And she had been thinking about Brayden for a while. As much as Shane was angry at his brother, she thought it still might mean a lot to him. But he was right. They hadn’t talked about their future…ever. She reached down and held his hand before she wrapped her other hand around his jaw and kissed him. “ I’m okay taking it one day at a time as long as I know you’re going to be there..” she said before wrapping her arms around him tightly. She never would have imagined that she would end up caring about him this much. The rocker boy in black skinny jeans at her ballet audition, who bought her taco bell and who would dance poorly with her in Los Angeles had become the most amazing man she had ever met and she clung to him in a way that she never thought she’d be able to fully understand.

[Shane Alexander Madden]

Shane nodded, not realizing how funny that sounded. Asking her if he could live in his own house that he bought. But he'd bought it for her, so he hadn't really been calling it his. But it was where Claire was going to be, and the baby. That really made it home, didn't it? Shane stood up, tossing their empty ice cream receptacles in the trash, "I'll have to get some boxes then," he added, leaning down to kiss her. Shane hadn't honestly been planning on moving in, just because he hadn't totally thought about it. That was the future bit that they hadn't really discussed what with him gone all the time. It wasn't as if they were currently living together or apart anyways, he was just on tour so it didn't exactly count. Shane had every intention of telling her he'd be glad to help her pick out a crib but stopped when she mentioned the name Brayden. Brayden. That was an idea that hadn't crossed his mind. But it deserved some thought. It was very thoughtful of her. Shane nodded once again, mostly agreeing about crib shopping, but watched her carefully anyways when she placed her hand on his jaw. All she wanted was to know that he wasn't going anywhere. And how could he? Every day he spent with her just seemed to bring more small moments like this, little things that brought them closer together. Little things that made him sure that she just... got him. They were just such a good pair, somehow. In some way they just balanced each other out. "I'll be there." he told her, letting her kiss him again.

As they left the shop they started heading in some direction to go crib shopping, Shane still haven't having said anything about the baby name. Now that he'd let it sink in for a minute since she'd brought it up, he was really warming up to it. And he wasn't even sure why he liked it. Maybe it was a good way to just honor him. Or forgive him. Or just some other way to make sure he was still part of Shane's life. Or maybe he just liked the name. Or liked that Claire had thought of it. He didn't know. But he liked it. Shane wrapped his arm around Claire's shoulders, sighing, "So..." he started, glancing at her, "Brayden. I like it. But he's gonna need a kick ass middle name to go with it." Shane smiled, nodding decisively, "I like that a lot."

[Claire Jayne Madden]

Claire placed her hands in her back pockets as she walked alongside Shane down the street. She was relieved that he was okay with the name choice of Brayden. It was a sensitive subject to bring up to Shane, there always seemed to be a mixture of anger coinciding with his pain. She took her left hand out of her back pocket and slid it easily into Shane’s hand. “ Well I was sort of thinking his middle name would be Shane,” she said , standing on her toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek as she continued to walk. “ That’s pretty much the most kick ass name I know,” she said before she turned to head into a baby boutique. She held the door open lazily for Shane before stepping inside. ‘ Hi there! ‘ an overly peppy girl said as she walked over to the pair of them. ‘ You must be a new mom.. you look so nervous!” she said and Claire smiled politely, opening her mouth to say something when she noticed the girl looking down at their hands before turning to Shane, “ And you are..?” she questioned. Claire made a slight face before she interrupted the pair of them, “ We’re looking for a crib,” she said before the girl smiled brightly again and pointed towards the back of the store, urging that if they had any questions to go ahead and find her.

Claire moved past her quickly before she got to the back of the store and sighed out of annoyance. “ It is so frustrating,” she said. But it was just the fact that girls always did that. They checked out her hand, then looked at her stomach. Claire looked up at the cribs. It felt so strange that she was looking for a crib to go along with a batman themed nursery in such a lovely boutique. “ I think I might actually buy one of those cubic zirconia rings just so that I feel like people aren’t judging me,” she said under her breath as she looked over her shoulder to see if the girl was still watching them. Claire bit the inside of her lip as she looked back at the cribs. Marriage wasn’t something that had been on her mind, not with Shane. It sort of seemed… she wasn’t sure what the word was. She knew she was going to spend the rest of her life with him, marriage or not. But her parents had been on her mind a lot. She was definitely going to have to spill the beans soon.

[Shane Alexander Madden]

Shane looked at Claire, expecting her to say she hadn't really thought about middle names or to have a general middle name or something that just sounded good with Brayden. He was not expecting her to suggest Shane as a middle name, although honestly, it DID sound fine with it. And he had to agree, it was a good name, he always liked to think so. Shane pondered it and said it out loud, seeing how it sounded, "Brayden Shane..." He nodded, "You're right, it really fits doesn't it?" Shane smiled, as Claire opened the door for him, "Oh, ladies first, huh?" he laughed, stepping inside and immediately they were met by a sales associate who was very happy about life apparently, and Shane raised his eyebrows, noticing her comment about how Claire must be so nervous. Shane didn't know but if Claire was nervous, what did that make him? Right away the girl just examined them, making it obvious they weren't married, asking Shane who he was. What should he tell her, I'm the gay best friend? That'd save Claire from being stared at like whatever it is people thought she was. Or he could just say, "Oh, I'm her husband. Rings are being cleaned, sort of weird without them-" and Claire had cut in, telling her they just wanted to buy a crib. After the girl had pointed them in the right direction, they headed to the back of the store, Claire looking at the cribs and Shane stopping to look at little baby hats. Which were really small. Except there was one that was shaped like an owl which was kind of cool, though he thought maybe they could make one that looked like a batman mask? That would be cooler. He glanced over at Claire and then walked over to her, thinking about what she said. About people judging her. And it didn't help that all his fans judged her too. He didn't really know much but he knew enough from the girls he hung out with that cubic zirconia didn't belong on her hand. "Yeah... or we could just... get you a real one..." he shrugged, looking at her, not sure how she'd react to what he was sort of suggesting. The fact he'd just suggested it was kind of surprising, but then again maybe it wasn't.

[Claire Jayne Madden]

Claire looked at the price tag attached to a few of the cribs as Shne wondered off to look at a few things off on his own. What a jokester he was.. telling the lady they were married. She tapped her finger against a pricetag, seeing a crib she liked before she looked back at Shane as he approached her and offered a small smile. She opened her mouth to suggest that they get this crib when he started talking again. A real ring? She stared at him with her mouth slightly open and her eyebrows narrowed. Had he lost his damn mind. “ What is that?” she asked finally , gesturing her hand around him. Surely that wasn’t his proposal. In the middle of a boutique shop, due to a nosy saleswoman. Claire closed her eyes running her hand over her face before she scratched the edge of her forehead with her thumb. “Okay.” she said, trying to wrap her mind around whatever he was saying . “ Run this by me,” she said, finally looking back at Shane. “ What are the conditions of you getting me a real ring?” she asked, sort of in shock that Shane Madden of all people would be considering getting someone a ring. Let alone her. Was this really happening? She had been a fan at a show. Flashforward a few years and she was standing in a baby boutique picking out a crib with Shane Madden and he was talking about rings. “ Wait,” she said, realizing just how crazy this was. Shane Madden was in a baby boutique. Talking about rings. How was he not panicking right now. “ How are you okay?” she asked as she looked at him with slight concern.

[Shane Alexander Madden]

Claire was looking at him as if he'd lost his mind or something, which was kind of what he expected actually. How was she supposed to take it? He'd be confused as fuck if he was in her shoes too. He was notorious for being that guy who ran from serious relationships and no one thought he was ever going to settle down and get married. So what happened? Life happened. Claire happened. When you know, you know. And they were having a kid, why not just make it a family? He'd kind of been as shocked as her that he was suggesting it but he was quickly realizing that him suggesting it was not random; somewhere in his mind he obviously wanted it. Odd that he'd blurt it out indirectly now, but apparently that's what he wanted. No sense in running from it. At least when he ran from stuff it was because he just didn't know what he wanted. But he was pretty sure of this. He looked at her, raising his eyebrows, "What is what?" He shoved his hands into his front pockets, leaning against a nearby crib. Shane scratched his chin, scrunching up his nose in thought, "Uh... just the regular conditions. You know, I get you a ring... you agree to marry me... I mean, that's how it usually works." What other conditions were there? That's how it worked. Claire was still looking at him like he'd just puked up rainbows or something, asking how he was okay right now. Shane chuckled, shaking his head and blinked a few times, "I don't know. Just am? I mean, we've been doing everything right so far, we're on a roll. Seemed like a good idea to just make things official, I don't know." He laughed, looking away, "Yeah, I don't know, maybe I AM losing my head... is that the crib you want?" he asked pointing to the one she had been looking at, "That's a nice one." Shane thought all the cribs were nice really, but if that's the one she wanted then they'd probably be getting it.

[Claire Jayne Madden]

Claire was still standing there staring at him like he had lost his mind, or come down with some mad sickness. She blinked, staring at him as he leaned against the crib and just sort of explained what he had meant by all of that. Marriage? He was testing the waters with how she felt about marriage? She blinked again, looking at him, not saying anything. Really, what all could she say? First of all, why say anything? Right? She should figure out how she felt about it herself. How did she feel about it? Claire lowered her arm , feeling sort of numb for a moment as she tried to process everything. A pre-proposal. Basically what this was. Then he was pointing at the crib she had been looking at . Yeah it was a nice crib, that’s why she wanted it. Who cared about cribs right now? Claire stood on her toes, wrapping her hands around his neck and kissed him as she pressed him against some of the merchandise in the store. He was hands down the greatest gift she’d been given since they came to the States. He put up with her silly accent, her ballet. And he made her feel like she was whole. And he just kept getting more and more sexy, like he was on a one man mission to just take over her world. She dropped her hands from around his neck down to the fabric of his shirt as she nibbled against his lower lip.