Where Do We Go

Disclaimer:

If you've gotten this far, you know that it is the twenty third chapter in an on-going series. At the risk of repeating myself, I have neither relationship with either Stephen Gately or Eloy de Jong, nor the groups Boyzone or Caught in the Act. This story is a complete work of fiction and purely created within the writer's imagination.

I have been enjoying the comments I have been getting and would love to hear what you think. Please write.

Cheers,

Musicfan

Where Do We Go, Chapter 23

The ringing of the telephone jarred Stephen awake. He rolled over and glanced blearily at the clock. It was just shy of seven o'clock. He tried to remember whether he had set up a wake up call or not, but figured he should answer anyhow.

"Hello?" He said as he knuckled the sleep out of his eyes.

"Goedemorgen, liefde." A velvet voice rumbled in his ear. A big grin crossed Stephen's face.

"Good morning, love," he said. He stretched. "And what a wonderful way to wake up, too. You sleep well last night?"

"Well enough," Eloy replied. He was surprised that he had actually fallen asleep. He had been prepared to toss and turn most of the night, but after talking to Stephen he had felt better about being alone and had drifted off rather quickly. "And you?"

"Like a baby," Stephen said as he stifled a yawn. "But morning came much too quickly for me!"

"Ja, it does that when you're short on sleep." Eloy said, grinning into the phone.

"Hmmm, wonder how that could happen?" Stephen said around another yawn.

"Wow, should have let you sleep longer," Eloy said. He was sitting at his kitchen table toying with a napkin. It had been hard enough waiting as long as he did before calling.

"No, actually this is good. I can go hop in the shower before meeting the lads downstairs." Stephen said as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He felt really good this morning, now that he was a little more awake. Actually, it surprised him. He had been expecting to feel morose for weeks now that Eloy had gone back home, but he wasn't. There was this feeling of anticipation this morning and he was feeling rather positive about the plans to talk to Louis and the producers about the schedule for the album.

"Ja? I'm glad I called then." Eloy said, smiling at no one. He was picking up Stephen's vibes.

Stephen set his feet on the floor and peered through a crack in the drapes. It looked like the sun was shining this morning. "What are you up to today?"

"Not much," Eloy replied. "I'll probably go over to my Mama's for a bit. Haven't seen Luci in ages, either. So I'll probably head over and we'll have lunch together or something. Do you know what you're working on today in the studio?"

"Actually, we didn't get that far in the discussions last night. But I know Ro had been working on some lead vocals when we were in Dublin, so it's probably one of his songs. That's fine with me. I like playing with harmonizing." Stephen ran a hand through his hair, trying to work the tangles out. "Damn, I've got to run, hon, if I'm going to get that shower in."

"Ja, it's getting late. I really didn't mean to keep you this long, but it's so good to hear your voice." Eloy said.

"Yeah, same here. I'll try and give you a call once I know what the plans are on this end. Thanks for calling me. You made my day already." Stephen smiled. "Love you."

"Love you, too. You have a good day, okay?" Eloy said. Stephen agreed and they rang off. Eloy sat at the kitchen table for a bit. The sun shown through the skylight in the kitchen and he felt good at the way things had gone. He picked up the phone again and called his mother to see if she was available for a lunch date later on.

Stephen was just walking through the door of the restaurant when he heard his name being called. He saw that Ro and Keith were already sitting at a table by the window and waving him over. He shook his head ruefully. Already there was a group outside the window waving at them. You'd think they would learn by now, Stephen thought to himself as he headed over.

"Morning," he said as he took a seat. He waved to the fans outside and got cheers in response. He couldn't hold back a grin. He lived for this kind of stuff, and it was so good to know that there were people out there who actually liked seeing him. Sometimes he wondered what all the fuss was about, but he wasn't going to question it as long as it worked.

"Morning, Steo!" Ronan said with a matching grin. "How're ya doing in this morning?" He poured Stephen a cup of coffee and they both grinned some more. It was Ro who had gotten him hooked on the stuff when they were first starting out, and his actions now brought back memories of working on their first album and living together in the flat that Polydor had provided for them.

"Grand, Ro. And yourself?" Stephen asked as he accepted the mug and drank from it gratefully. A waitress came by and took his order. He wasn't a big breakfast eater, so he ordered toast. Especially when he was going into the studio, he couldn't deal with a lot of food in his stomach.

"Fantastic!" Ro said. Stephen turned to Keith and saw that he was on his mobile with Lisa. He waved his hello for Keith to pass along to her and Jordan. Ro was pumped for the day and all but dancing with impatience to head off to the studio to get started. Stephen looked around for any sign of Louis or the others, but didn't see them at all.

"Where's the rest of the lads?" Stephen asked, sitting back as the waitress deposited the toast in front of him.

"Shanno should be down soon. I banged on his door on the way down. Same with you, but you must have been in the shower by that point." Ro said as he finished off the last of his breakfast.

"I guess I must have," Stephen said in mild surprise. He certainly hadn't heard anything, but he supposed he wouldn't have in the shower with the water running. Nevermind the fact that he had been humming to himself as he washed.

"No matter. If he doesn't show up soon we can go knock down the door. Mikey's already up and about. I think he's in the shop looking at stuff for Sharon." Ro said. Keith rang off from his call with Lisa at that point and waved. Stephen looked over his shoulder and saw that Shane was headed over towards them.

"Hey," he said as he slumped into a seat next to Ro and pulled a piece of toast off of Stephen's plate. "How goes it?"

"Morning, sleepyhead." Stephen grinned at Shane. He was used to Shane filching food off his plate. If not him, one of the other lads or Barrie. Thankfully he came from a large family and was used to that kind of thing. "It goes."

"Well, all we're waiting for is Mick," Keith said. He drained the last of his coffee and pushed his plate back. "Are we going to have a go at Louis this morning here or at the studio?"

Stephen tried not to look too eager. "Is he going to be at the studio?" He asked the question while trying to sound disinterested. He didn't want to let on how important this upcoming discussion was to him. He was also setting himself up to be disappointed. He figured if he expected the worst, that anything else would be a pleasant surprise. Louis was odd that way. He could be so driven about something that he pushed until he got his way, no matter what anyone else thought. Stephen could see his reasoning, wanting to keep the momentum up. Louis was always telling them that they were only as good as their last single, and had to keep in the minds of the public or they'd fade away. Well, fine, but there also would come a point where they'd all crash if they kept up that kind of push as they had the last couple of years. The strain still showed on everyone's faces, too. Maybe they'd be able to make him see that they had to have time to themselves for a change. He crossed his fingers under the table as he saw Louis and Mikey approaching together.

"Well lads, all set to go?" Louis asked jovially as he sat down at the end of the table. He swept his gaze over them and Stephen felt like a piece of prize livestock at one of those country fairs his father took them to on occasion when he was still little. They all murmured their own bits of affirmation and Stephen waited for Ro to say something. They had learned over the years that when they wanted something it was always best to have Ro approach Louis with it.

Ronan poured Louis a cup of coffee and handed it over. He looked inquiringly at Mikey who shook his head at the offer. Louis took the cup with a nod and sipped appreciatively. Stephen played with the end of a crust that was still sitting on his plate and tried to will his stomach not to tie itself into knots.

"Hey Louis, we've been thinking," Ro started off, giving Louis a winning smile as he put the coffeepot back down.

"Thinking's good. Sometimes." Louis quipped from around the mug he was holding in front of his face. He could tell by the way that Stephen was fidgeting that it was something that they were all interested in, and enough to make Stephen nervous that he wasn't going to go along with whatever it was. He narrowed his eyes in speculation as he looked back to Ronan. The young man was sitting at the far end of the table wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Louis idly thought that his hair was getting a little long, and he made a mental note to talk to Alex about the look for all of them with this new album. "So what's on your mind?"

"Erm, well, we've been talking about the last tour. Louis, it was a killer. I know it wasn't something that was planned, because of the incredible sales we extended the tour and all, but it was a bit too much. I know we were all knackered by the end of it, and we just wanted to talk to you about planning something this time, so that as we work on this album and the next set of promotion, we have some planned time off." Ro just piled the whole thing out on the table, figuring it was better to say it all at once than beat around the bush with Louis. He glanced up from where he was toying with his mug, making coffee circles on the tablecloth. He could also see that by this time Stephen had shredded what was left of the toast on his plate.

Louis sat there a moment, glancing from one face to another. Mikey was looking right back at him with a serious expression on his face. Keith was picking on a thread on the tablecloth, focused on that. Shane was as unreadable as usual, hidden behind his sunglasses. Stephen moved his hands to his lap, out of sight after he realized what he was doing to the toast. "All right, let's hear what everyone has to say." He waited patiently for someone else to speak up.

"I think Ro speaks for all of us in this," Mikey said quietly. "It was a killer. And even after it was over, we barely had a break before we headed back into the studio in Ireland for this album. I know you want to keep this going, and we appreciate that. But we also have our own lives, and our own families that we need to spend some time with. Even if it's only occasionally."

Louis nodded and looked over at Shane. Shane sat up and leaned against the table. "Personally, I'd like it more than occasionally. Louis, this is too much. We need to know when we can get away, to be able to plan things, rather than just snatch a day or two here or there."

Keith was the next one to speak. "Louis, my own kid didn't even know me when I got home from this last tour. You don't know how much it kills me to hear Lisa talking like she's a single mom. I'm not there for her. I'm not there for Jordan. I feel like shite," he pleaded passionately. Mikey nodded from across the table.

That left only one. Louis turned to look at Stephen. "Well? What's your two pence worth?"

Stephen looked up from the crumbs on his plate. "We're tired, Louis. We need a break. I know that we're all up for doing the next album. That's not it. But we need to know when we can see our friends and families. I don't think it's too much to ask for to plan for something in the schedule."

Louis nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe we should just call it a day then. Maybe it's all too much for you and you've lost the hunger."

"Dammit, Louis, that's not what we're saying!" Ronan said, a bit angrily. He made an effort to control his temper, well aware of the crowd waiting outside their window. "We just want to plan some sanity into our schedule. As Steo said, we don't think that's too much to ask, is it?" He held Louis' gaze with his own. "We're asking you because you're the playmaker. You're the one calling the shots. That's fine. We've been happy with that and it's worked out well in the past. But you also have to acknowledge that we can't keep up that kind of pace on a regular basis."

Louis' expression softened in the face of Ro's plea. "You're right lads. Maybe I have been pushing you all a bit too much lately. But I get so worried that one wrong step, one false move and we're all history. Frankly, I'm surprised that the news stories are still as positive as they are. Especially after they found out about Hannah and Jordan. Just goes to show that the press doesn't know the fans. But eventually lads, we're not going to keep up that momentum. And I worry about that. Because it's your future I'm thinking of, lads. I only want what's best for you."

"And we appreciate that, Louis." Keith said quietly. He knew damn well that the press had a field day any time he had Lisa on tour with him. There were always questions about whether he was a good example for the kids who followed the group. Mikey got the same kind of reaction, but he got it less since he was more likely to leave Sharon and Hannah at home. Sharon never really cared for the pace of a BZ tour and he knew that was a problem for her and Mick. "So what about this upcoming album? Can we plan in some breaks while we work on it?"

They all waited expectantly for Louis' response. He mulled over the discussion so far. "Well, it all depends on what kind of breaks you're talking about. We do need to deliver an album, and I don't want to wait too long. There's too much competition out there, and those Yank groups are doing strong over in Germany right now. They're nipping at our heels, lads. The minute you begin to slack off, those who are out there and hungry are going to step right in."

"We're not talking about taking long breaks," Ronan cut in. "Just a weekend here or there where we can go home and recharge our batteries is all."

Louis nodded. "That might be doable. Besides, I've been thinking that we need to get some of this new sound that's going on out there. Get a different flavor. That would mean doing some travelling. I haven't gotten it set up quite yet, but I've been talking to some people over in Sweden and in the States. We're probably going to release another US album again. See if we can get some momentum going over there. So we'll want to work with some of the studios over there. You know, the Record Plant and places like that." Louis looked around the table, trying to gauge their interest. Their last attempt in the States had been a bit of a joke, with some person who didn't understand who they were at Mercury trying to promote them there. It had left a bit of a sour taste in their mouths. "I think I have an in on this one. Just think, you'll be recording at the same place that John Lennon recorded!"

Shane made some crack about having to watch their backs as they left the studio if they did that, and Stephen muttered a reply about no one knowing what their backs looked like, so it wouldn't matter. But they didn't seem too negative at the idea. He figured that it would be their bargaining point. He'd give them their time off, and in exchange, they'd travel to these different studios and work with these producers he had been wining and dining over the last couple of months. A couple of weekends off wouldn't make a difference in the scheme of things and if it kept them happy, he was content to go along with it.

"All right, I'll see what I can do." He said as if he had just made the decision when really he had been trying to figure out how he was going to get them to agree to more travel for this album. They tended to be a bit lazy when it came to getting into the studio. Once they were there, they usually worked well enough, but they groused about it a lot on the way there. This way, he was giving them something they wanted and would get what he wanted in exchange. "But if I arrange things to make this work, I don't want to hear any griping, all right?"

They all nodded, eager to accept his conditions. Both sides felt like they had achieved a victory. They got up to head towards the van for the studio and discussed the schedule on how they'd get their breaks so they could make individual plans when they got a chance.

Stephen knew that Louis had gotten what he wanted, but really he didn't care. He didn't mind going over to America to work on some tracks, if that's what Louis wanted. He rather liked it over there. No one knew who they were and they could often wander around without being hassled. And he was happy that they were already discussing what dates they were going to get off, so he could give Eloy a call later and see if they could work their time off together. Eloy was just getting into some promotion for his group's album, and Stephen wanted to make sure he gave him more than enough notice to plan things accordingly. He got into the van after happily signing autographs for some fans who had been patiently waiting through their breakfast for the boyz to come out. He didn't notice that they were the same girls from the night before. Last night, he had been in a bit of a daze as he and Shane had walked out to the waiting van, and he hadn't really noticed any fans waiting!

for him. His attention this morning more than made up for the wait they had had the night before and each of the girls gushed to each other about him as he got into the van and sat down.

"Told you," Barrie said with a wink as he got the rest of the lads into the van. "Get everything you wanted?" He asked the girls.

"Oh yes!" One of them said, waving a signed photo at Barrie. "Thanks so much!" He grinned again. He was happy to take credit where there was no credit to take. It made life easier with the fans, and he was able to get them off the backs of the boys when he needed to without too much trouble. Luckily, Stephen had woken up in a much better frame of mind. He hoped he stayed like that for a while. Stephen was the one most likely to tend towards mood swings, and it was often hard to judge what was going to push him in one direction or another. He wasn't the worst celebrity that Barrie had to deal with. Not by a long shot. But with the amount of fans they had around them all the time, it was difficult to say what was going to happen. It certainly made his life easier this way.

He closed the doors to the van and jumped in the front seat next to the driver Chris. Nodding, he waved to the fans waiting on the street as they pulled away from the curb and headed over to the studio.

They arrived at Sarm West in good time and all piled out of the vans. They were goofing off as they walked in, waving to the receptionist as they went through to the studio beyond. The engineer, Jeremy, met them at the studio and got them settled. He played the backing track which had been recorded. Carl was standing by, working out which harmonies worked best with the song.

Stephen found himself automatically doing the harmonizing and having a ball with this new song. His enthusiasm infected the others, and other than goofing off occasionally, they got into the groove of the song and got a few good tracks down.

"I like this a lot," Keith said during a break. "It's fun." Stephen nodded. He really liked One Kiss at a Time. It was one of those fun songs that he could see them doing on stage somewhere.

It was late afternoon before they took another break. Shane had been running around the studio, acting wacky after they did a couple of takes of Will Be Yours. Stephen sat against the wall of the booth and sucked on the water bottle he had. He was really happy with the way things were going and was really upbeat about the tracks they had selected to record for the album.

"Hey," a voice said above him and he looked up to see Ro standing over him. He grinned companionably as Ro slid down the wall and sat beside him. "What do you think?" Ro asked, nodding his head over to where Carl was working with Keith on some part of the song.

"He's getting there," Stephen said as he watched Carl sing the harmony and Keith trying to reproduce what he had just done. "He'll be okay."

"Yeah, he will. God love him, he's got the heart for it," Ro said as he took a pull from his own bottle of water. He watched Stephen for a couple of moments, debating with himself about something. He looked at the clock and saw that they were going to be cut loose soon. "Feel up for dinner tonight?"

Stephen shrugged. "Sure, what do you have in mind?" He turned to look at Ro.

"I don't know. It just seems like ages like we've had a chance to sit down and talk is all," Ro said, keeping his eyes on the other lads.

"Well, I'm game." Stephen replied. At that point, Carl called an end to the first session and told them to take it easy for the rest of the night.

Free to go, they all gathered their belongings and met Sam outside the studio. He bundled them into the van and got them back to the hotel. Once they got there, they went through the usual crowd of fans until they got inside. This time, Stephen joined them in the bar for their usual wind down.

As they were walking through the door, Ro held him back for a moment and let everyone else get ahead of them. "Hey, do you mind if it's just you and me for dinner tonight? I wanted to talk to you about some stuff."

"Sure, no problem," Stephen said. He knew that Ro was still going through a hard time with his mum and all, and figured that's what Ro wanted to chat about. He was happy to lend a shoulder, if that's what Ro needed tonight. Lord knew that Ronan had done it enough times with him in the past. He followed Ro through the door and they sat down for a while and had a couple of pints with the rest of the lads.

Mikey was all for crashing early and was the first to go off on his own. Keith talked Shane into pizza and seeing a picture and they invited Ro and Stephen to join them. They declined the offer, saying they wanted a quiet night. Ro and Stephen got up and headed off to the restaurant past the bar. They were seated in a booth towards the back and the hostess left them with their menus.

"I always like the stuff here," Stephen said as he looked down the menu to see if anything had changed much. He focused in on the beef bouillabaisse and was instantly flashing back to earlier in the week when Eloy had ordered that through room service.

"Earth to Steo," Ro said, tapping on his menu to get his attention. Stephen looked up, a bit startled. He gave Ro an embarrassed grin as he realized that Ro had been talking and he had been lost in his own little world.

"Sorry. Guess I a bit more tired than I realized," he said by way of an excuse. "What did you say?"

"Nothing, really," Ronan said, looking back down at the menu. "Just making conversation. Obviously it wasn't interesting enough." He loved taking the mick out of Steo. Sure enough, his friend rose to the bait, almost stumbling over himself in apologising for not responding to him. He grinned. "Ah, I'm just winding you up, Steo. What are you going to have?"

"Everything looks good," Stephen said as he ducked his head back down again. Their waitress came over to take their order and Ro ordered a burger. Stephen tried to focus back down on the menu and ordered the only thing he could remember, which was the bouillabaisse. The waitress took their menus and went to go put their order in.

They sat in companionable silence for a bit as they drank. Stephen looked around the restaurant. It was still early enough that they had the area to themselves, which was a blessing. He didn't feel like they were being watched as they sat there.

"I heard from Fran that you came out early," Ronan said. He picked at the breadsticks in their basket, plucking the sesame seeds off one of the sticks and lining them up in a circle around his plate.

"Yeah, wanted to do some shopping." Stephen said absently.

"Find anything interesting?" Ro asked. He was well aware that Stephen hadn't been in the best of moods last night. He had also seen Barrie shielding him in the lobby and knew that something had been up. That's why he had wanted to sit down with him and talk. Sometimes, Stephen could hold back something for so long that he'd be close to exploding before anyone found out that something was wrong. He leaned back in his chair and watched Stephen.

"Actually, no. Found out that once I got here, I really didn't want to shop." Stephen said. Ro nodded and brushed his hair out of his eyes.

"Well, no harm in just getting away and relaxing," he said. He waited a minute to see if Stephen was going to volunteer anything. When he didn't, Ronan figured he should just plunge right in and start the conversation. "Steo, is everything okay?"

Stephen looked up. "What? Yeah, everything's fine. Grand." He was grateful when the waitress arrived at that moment and brought their salads over. Ronan mentally cursed the interruption. After she had left, he sat looking at Stephen thoughtfully.

"Stephen, you know we worry about you," he said softly. He didn't want to make Stephen uncomfortable, but he wanted to get his point across. "I just want you to know that if you ever need to talk, or vent or anything, that I'm here to listen. Okay?"

Stephen smiled. "Thanks, Ro. It means a lot to know that. And if I do need to talk, I know where to go. But I'm okay. Really."

Ronan really wanted to pursue it, because he had a feeling if he pushed, that maybe Stephen would talk. He paused though, because he knew how hard it was for him to talk about things. And he knew if it was the other way around, that he'd hate like hell if Stephen had tried to get him to talk about things that were bothering him. He decided to make one last try.

"Barrie mentioned that you weren't looking too good last night when we went out for the meeting. Didn't talk at all." He said as he lifted the water glass up and took a sip.

"Well, you know how I am with those kinds of things. Hate those forced 'come schmooze' parties," Stephen said offhandedly. He was half tempted to tell Ronan about what had happened, but didn't know where to begin. So he changed the subject. "Hey, how are things with you and your girl?"

Ro's face softened as he thought about Yvonne. "Ah, its grand, Steo. She's lovely. I'm missing her like mad right now. But I'm hoping to see her since she had some work over here for the agency. Maybe I'll be able to nip out one of these nights."

Stephen smiled, happy to see his friend smitten. "Sounds like you two are made for each other."

"It's fate, I think. She's been great about everything. And she's been so good with Mam. Spending time with her, especially when I can't be there. They're getting to be good friends." Ro paused.

"How is you mam?" Stephen asked softly. He knew that Ronan had been avoiding his mother's illness for some time. He was hesitant to bring it up, but he also wanted to let Ro know that he was there if he needed to talk.

Ronan sighed and looked down. "Not too good, Stephen." He stopped and took a large gulp of his drink. "She tries so damn hard to act like everything is okay, but it isn't. I'm a bit scared, actually." He laughed self-consciously. Inwardly Stephen winced at the harsh sound. He leaned forward and put his hand over Ro's, which was lying on the table.

"It's okay to be scared, Ro. It's a scary thing. But with love and prayers, you can get through this together. You've got a lot of people here to support you, you know. And if anyone can lick this thing, it's your mam." Ro grabbed onto his hand like it was a lifeline.

"Ah, please God that you're right, Stephen," he said roughly. "I think we're all a bit scared right now. Linda's moving back from New York, you know."

"Is she?" Stephen said. He got an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach at the news, but tried to put a positive spin on things for Ro. "Ah well, that's great news. You'll know your mam is in good hands with Lin there to watch over her when you can't be there."

Ro looked up and smiled. "Yeah, that's true. Lin's great at that kind of thing. I'll tell ya, Steo, I'm so glad she's moving back. Mam hasn't been happy since the others moved to America. I think Linda moving back will be just the tonic she needs to perk her up."

Stephen smiled back at Ro, eager to encourage his positive thinking. "Ah then, she'll be right as rain with Linda back."

Just then their waitress came back with their food. They dug into their food and chatted about the album, and Louis' reaction to their chat that morning. Ro was feeling positive about their chances of getting some time off and told Stephen that he was planning on going away with Yvonne the first chance he got.

"Got anything planned for when we get a break?" He asked Stephen, fishing for information.

"Oh, I have some ideas. Michelle's been after me to get some decent time to spend with her. I'd like to do that. Oh! Did I tell you that I asked her to look around for a place for me?" Stephen responded.

"It's about time!" Ro chortled. "What brought that around?"

"Well, it's about time, you know." Stephen said with a grin. "Besides, I don't think I want to be at home when Mam finds out that Tony's reading smut magazines."

Ro cracked up. "He isn't! A bit young for that, isn't he?"

Stephen shrugged. "Not really. He's 16. When I think of what I was doing at 16, if all he's doing is reading, he's doing okay." He chuckled as he shook his head. Their waitress came back with coffee and took their plates away. Just then, Stephen's mobile rang. "Let me get this," he said as he pulled it out. Ro nodded drank his coffee while looking at the dessert menu.

"Hello?" he said, answering his mobile.

"Hey," a deep voice said and he smiled.

"Hey, how are you?" Stephen asked, absently stirring his coffee.

"Not too bad. Missing you, though." Eloy said. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Well, I'm just sitting here having dinner with Ronan," Stephen said. Ro looked up and noticed that Stephen looked different than he had a moment ago. He tried to put his finger on what it was, but couldn't figure it out. He continued to watch Stephen, trying not to appear like he was watching him.

"Oh, I won't keep you then." Eloy said. "Just wanted to know how today went."

"Good, very good. Can I call you back a little later? I'll tell you all about it then." Stephen said. He opened his dessert menu and looked down at the list.

"Ja, fine. No rush." Eloy said. He didn't want to feel like he was pushing Stephen too much, though he had initiated both calls today. "I'll talk to you later, then."

"Okay. Bye now," Stephen said.

"Love you," Eloy said softly. Stephen closed his eyes as he smiled. He felt a warm feeling flood through him at Eloy's words.

"Same here," he replied. "I'll call you in a bit." He replied and rang off. Their waitress came up at that point and Ro ordered some dessert. She looked over at Stephen, who shook his head. "None for me, thanks."

Ronan was still mulling over what he had seen. After a couple of minutes, he remembered when he had seen Stephen look like that before. It had been right after that break during the tour, when he had come back with the hickey.

"Steo," he said.

Stephen looked up. "Yeah?"

"If I asked you a question, would you answer straight?" Ro asked.

Stephen looked puzzled, not sure where Ro was going with his question. "Yeah, course I would. What's the question?"

"Have you gone sweet on someone?" Ro asked, waiting to see what Stephen's reaction was going to be. Stephen looked a bit startled. He hadn't been expecting Ro to come out with that. He looked down at his coffee and tried to think of how he was going to respond. He was feeling a bit relieved that Ro had figured it out. It must have been the call that make him think of it, though.

"Yeah, I think I have," he said softly. He glanced up at Ronan with a small smile on his face. "It kind of bit me in the arse, though. Wasn't expecting it at all."

Ronan smiled back. "Yeah, it can happen that way. And is this someone else feeling the same way?" He didn't want to pry too much, but wanted to make sure Stephen wasn't setting himself up to get hurt. The incredible smile that crossed Stephen's face pretty much answered his question.

"Oh yeah," Stephen said. There was an incredible feeling of relief to be able to talk about it. "Yeah, he does."

"Ah, that's grand, Stephen. Just take it easy, okay?" Ro said. "Enjoy it." Stephen nodded his agreement. It also added another piece to the puzzle. "Steo, is that why you talked to us about taking time off? So you could be with your friend?"

Stephen looked down for a moment before looking back up with a shy smile creeping across his face. "Yeah. Though I still think that last gig was a bit too much for all of us. But I do need to make some plans, or at least know when I can see him again."

"I know what you mean," Ro said. He saw their waitress heading back in their direction and held the rest of his comment until she had left again. "Sometimes I feel like I miss Yvonne as soon as I walk out the door."

Stephen gave a heartfelt sigh. "God, that sounds like me." He picked up the bill and signed it to his room. "That's how I felt yesterday."

"You've got it bad, brother." Ro said with a laugh. "Ah well, it will sort itself out sooner or later. You'll get used to it."

"Will I?" Stephen said in surprise. "I hope not. I want to enjoy this for a bit. But I don't know if I can take the wait in between meetings."

"Ah, that's the hard part," Ro said knowingly. "At least we are busy and don't have to sit around waiting for the other person to call."

"Yeah." Stephen said. "Speaking of which, I owe him a call before it gets too late. You mind if I skip out?"

"Nah, not at all," Ro said. They both got up from the table and Stephen dropped some money on the top for a tip. "I want to make a call myself." They headed out of the restaurant and took the lift up to their floor. As they exited onto the fourth floor, Ro tugged on Stephen's sleeve. "I'll see you in the morning. Don't stay up too late chatting."

Stephen laughed. "I won't. Hey Ro? Thanks. For dinner, and for talking." He gave Ro a hug. Ro hugged him back. "Good night."

"Good night, Steo. I'll see ya later." Ro said as they reached his door. He waved as he went in and Stephen walked down the hall to his room. He glanced at his watch as he got his key out. He had just enough time to call his sister like he had promised before giving Eloy a call.