What the fuck was that noise? Where was it coming from? James didn't want to open his eyes. In fact just turning his head to the other side hurt. What the fuck had he done last night? That god damn noise needed to stop. It was music and it was blaring from under his head. James cautiously cracked open his right eye. What the hell was he doing back in Richie's guest room? The room spun and James knew he was going to be sick. Question was whether or not it he could stagger to the bathroom. He closed his eyes and prayed his stomach wouldn't revolt. He wasn't overly religious but now seemed like a good time to repent. He managed to move his hand under the pillow until he located that noise. He grabbed the device and pulled it in front of his eyes. He glared at the noisy device and then remembered how to silence the iPod. Someone was a fucking comedian the song jackhammering his skull was Early Morning Shakes. He looked at the tiny lit screen and realized it was an alarm. Oh fuck he had to leave for a 2 week road trip. Fuck was the last thought before he throwing up in the bathroom.

Tori Lynn heard the music shut off. She knew she should probably check on Neal. He more than likely had the mother of all hangovers. Or worse was still drunk. She heard feet hit the floor and then she heard wretching. Dear lord she didn't do vomit.

Richie walked into the living room with a packed suit case and his carry on. He looked from the bedroom to Tori Lynn sitting on the couch playing her guitar making notations in her song book. Richie dropped his bags near the door. He came back into the living room and listened to her play. He then heard someone vomitting.

"Hey Boo you think you might check on Jarnkrok." he asked looking towards Tori Lynn. She ignored him and strummed the guitar. She hated throwing up. Richie laughed. "I'll go I forgot about the throwing up thing."

"It's not Calle." she said in a small voice.

"Fuckin' Nealer" said Richie shaking his head "What the hell Boo?"

Tori Lynn turned and faced Richie "Would you believe he followed me home last night?"

Richie started laughing "What did Calle say?"

"Well Calle was gone. While I was getting ready for bed I heard the smoke alarm go off in Neal's apartment. So I went to check on him. He was attempting to make toast in the oven. He more passed out and burning bread. So I got him out of the floor. Fed him. And put him to bed. He wanted me to stay and I left. He followed me here and passed out in my bed. So he slept here. Just slept. And now he is tossing his cookies in my bathroom. And I so can't help him." she blurted out "Please go check on him Richie?"

Addison started laughing as she walked into the living room "Oh honey, you are a mess" she said looking at Tori Lynn "I leave you with the Swede and you wake up with the asshole. Go on Richie make sure he is alive."

"I know" said Tori Lynn "I am a horrible person." Richie laughed out loud as he went into her bedroom.

"No you aren't" said Addison "Confused maybe but not horrible."

"He'll live" announced Richie snickering as he walked back into the living room "We've been worse than this on random weekends. Come on Addi I need to get you home and make my flight." He kissed Tori Lynn "Two weeks kiddo to make good choices."

"I love you and this is going to suck Richie" she replied hugging him.

"Oh he is still drunk you might want to drive him over to the Bridgestone. He is dry heaving so you are set." Said Richie "Love you Tori Lynn. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Well that doesn't narrow it down?" said Tori Lynn "Dress warm, don't get arrested, and kick some AHL ass."

"No worries boo" He gave her a one armed hug before heading out the door.

"I'll call you later. You are going to dance class with me tonight." said Addi waving "Good luck with your hot mess and the Swede."

Richie and Addison left her alone in the apartment. Addi had it right Neal was a hot damn mess. And he was in her bathroom. She looked at the clock it was 8:45am. She had an hour and fifteen minutes to get him sober and to the arena. She could do this. Tori Lynn ventured into her room and then into the bathroom. How in the hell was she supposed to get all 205lbs of hockey player off her bathroom tile.

"Neal get up" she called from the door. He looked at her again out of one eye. Apparently drunk Neal only used that one eye.

"No" he said quietly "Don't yell."

"James Neal I am not yelling at you but I will." she said "Get your ass up we have 30 minutes to get out the door so you aren't late for your road trip."

"Loud" he said laying on his back on the tile "Loud."

Tori Lynn walked over to him and nudged him in the ribs with her foot. James looked up at her. She looked pissed. "Get up Neal."

"Can't" he said "I'll just die here."

"No you aren't dying in my bathroom. Crawl to yours" she said sitting down on the tile beside him. He shifted and laid his head in her lap. "No no snuggling Neal. Get up. I can't drag you. You have 100lbs and 14 inches on me."

"You're a midget" he said looking up at her from his lap "A loud beautiful midget."
Tori Lynn shoved him off her lap and turned on the shower. She turned it on as cold it could get. She held her hand out to Neal. She managed to pull him to his feet. She didn't bother trying to undress him. Tori Lynn shoved him into the cold spray of the shower.

"Damn, fuck, shit. You are fucking try to kill me Tori Lynn." yelled Neal. Tori Lynn was half in half out of the shower but she held him against the icy spray. "It's fucking frigid" he whined.

"Deal with it" she said holding him in the spray as she adjusted the temperature. "Scrub up. I am going to go over to your place a grab your clothes. Suit or comfy?"

"Suit" he said relaxing into the warm spray "Don't care grab one out of the closet. The ones I want to take are packed. All my stuff is packed except my shaving kit."

"Come over after you are clean" she instructed.

"Can't" he said leaning against the shower wall. Tori Lynn grabbed the knob and cranked the water back to freezing.

"God Damn it Victoria Lynn Hall" he exclaimed shaking the ice water from his face.

"God has nothing to do with it James Deter Neal" she said "Your place 5 minutes."

"Fucking Pete" he said as he moved the shower back to hot water. He tossed his wet briefs out of the shower. Her hand was no longer in the shower so he assumed she had left to get his clothes sorted out. Way to go Neal he thought. Way to be a damned mess. Tori Lynn would be with Jarnkrok before they left for the Western swing. James opened his mouth and rinsed out the furry bourbon feel. He decided best case scenario was doing what Tori Lynn said. He used her pink body wash. Then washed his hair with her gummi bear shampoo. At least he would smell like her to begin the trip. He stepped out of the shower and dripped on the rug. He grabbed the polka dotted UK towel off the towel bar. He ran it quickly over his hair and his body then wrapped it around his waist. He rubbed the fog off the mirror and looked at his reflection. Yep he was still drunk. Fuck my life he thought. James looked around Tori Lynn's room but couldn't find shoes or clothes. He for the life of him couldn't remember how he ended up in her bed. She had put him in a cab. He came home opened a second bottle of Maker's. Last thing he really remembered was facetiming Pauly.

James found the offending iPod and his iPhone on the pillow he slept on. He headed over to his apartment in a towel. This was a new low for even him. Never made the walk of shame in a towel even in his junior days. He made it to his apartment and found Tori Lynn in his kitchen. She had a Gatorade, Advil, and coffee waiting on the counter. He didn't bother getting dressed he just flopped down on a barstool. He swallowed the Advil with the entire contents of the Gatorade. He then laid his head beside the coffee.

Tori Lynn was busy dumping things into the blender. She had robbed Richie's supplements and protein junk on her way out. She put ice, greek yogurt, and finally skim milk into the carafe. Tori Lynn turned the blender on. James made a groaning sound at the noise of the blender.

"You hate me" he said pitifully to Tori Lynn "Or you wouldn't be trying to explode my brain."

"If I hated you I would have left you in my bathroom floor instead of getting your drunk ass to the Bridgestone." she sassed as she turned off the blender. He was now laying on his arms looking at the concoction in the carafe. "Go put the suit on your bed on." He gave her a baleful look then headed to his room. Tori Lynn shook her head as he trudged to his room. She didn't know whether to beat him or hug him. She was leaning towards the beating as she poured his shake into the big to go tumbler.

Tori Lynn sat the cup on the edge of the counter. She headed back to the bedroom. Neal's suit was still on the bed along with everything she had laid out. She started to the bathroom but heard gagging.

"James are you okay?" she called from near the closet but not actually looking in the bathroom. She heard more gagging. "James?"

"Just brushing my teeth" he answered "It's not an easy task when you are this hung over." He came out of the bathroom still wrapped in her UK towel. He threw his shaving kit on the bed. He ran his hand through his wild hair.

"You planning on doing something with that mop before it dries?" asked Tori Lynn. He shook his head and mumbled something about his hair hurting. He was over at the bed and dropped the towel to pull on his briefs. Dear lord please help me thought Tori Lynn. He pulled on his under shirt and then managed to struggle into his pants. Before he flopped back on the bed. The entire room was spinning. "James get up we have maybe 30 minutes before you have to be at the Bridgestone."

"You said that last time" he groaned. He was trying his damnedest not to throw up the Gatorade or more importantly the pain relievers. "Just let them fine me, Tori Lynn. I need to sleep this off."

"Oh no, Mr. Neal the last directive Richie gave me was get you to the Bridgestone. So you are going if I have to get the entire Swedish mafia down here to pack your ass out to the vehicle." she said "Now stand up and come here. Bring your shirt and tie."

Tori Lynn sat on Neal's dresser. He managed to make it to her as he shrugged on his shirt. "Your new boyfriend might not want to drag me to the arena." he said looking at Tori Lynn.

"He is not my boyfriend you jack ass." she said pulling him closer by the lapels of his shirt. She started at his neck and buttoned all the buttons of his shirt. "Tuck your shirt in." He followed instructions. Tori Lynn was digging around on top of his dresser and found a simple pair of silver cufflinks that had an 18 on them. He could wear them with everything if he hadn't packed the rest. After inspecting the job he did of tucking in his shirt she put his tie around his neck. Tori Lynn managed to tie his tie. She helped him get his vest on and buttoned. His collar stays were in. She fastened one of his watches on his arm. It was the most basic of his collection but he could wear it the entire trip. There was nothing short of wetting his hair that could fix it. James leaned over and put his head on her shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Why am I always saying I'm sorry to you Tori Lynn?"

"I don't know Neal?" she replied "The bigger question is why do I keep letting you apologize."

"I am a fuck up Tori Lynn" he said "It's all part of my charm."

"Don't start that again Neal" she admonished "We went through this last night. But you don't remember do you? I could have professed undying love."

"You didn't I would have remembered that" he answered. He pulled away from her and looked down at her. "No matter how drunk I am if you tell me you love me I will remember." He leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth. "I would love to really kiss you but I don't have time." He put his forehead on hers "You smell like gummi bears and Maker's Mark."

Tori Lynn started laughing "Nope that's all you Neal. Come on grab your bags." Tori Lynn went into his closet and found a black toque. She motioned for him to lean down. She managed to fix the beanie so that it looked like he meant to do it. As he headed out of the room she grabbed his iPad and his charger. She put all the things into the carry on bag by the door. She grabbed the shake and his suit coat.

"Can you drive a stick" he asked standing at the door staring at sets of keys. She nodded. "You can drive me to the arena in the Ferrari."

"Umm how about no" she said "I will drive you in my truck."

"I don't want my luggage wet it's raining" he reported "Then drive the Rover."

"Fine get the keys and lets go." she instructed.

"As much as I enjoy the booty shorts and the tank I think you will be cold." he said after looking her over. He handed her a Preds hoodie from a hook near the door. She just looked at him. "Not so Jarnkrok will see you in my number. So you don't have to drop me off your pjs. And I would prefer the entire Mafia not see you braless in a Bruins tank."

Tori Lynn shrugged on the hoodie and they both headed to the Rover. Her phone chirped in the pocket of the hoodie.

Jarnkrok: Morning Flicka.
TL: Morning.
Jarnkrok: Did you dream about me?
TL: Nope but started a new song it might be because of you.
Jarnkrok: You aren't like Taylor Swift are you?
TL: No worries.
Jarnkrok: Any chance you can go next door and wake Neal's dumbass up. He is going to get benched if he isn't here by 10am.
TL: He is either still drunk or majorly hung over. I am driving him over.
Jarnkrok: See you soon älskling

James was buckled in the passenger seat looking at Tori Lynn. She was a beautiful mess. Her hair was still teased like June's but she had pulled it into a ponytail. Last night she looked liked an antique pinup today she still had that pinup look. He realized she was talking to him when she told him to drink his shake. Considering the color of the shake it tasted great.

"Okay I will lock up your place and leave your keys on the counter."

"Keep them" he said "Drive the Rover instead of that beat up truck."

"My truck is fine" she said "I don't need this battle ship."

"Please Tori Lynn" he said "I would worry about the truck and none of us being around. It's insured and a lease." He opened the carryon and pulled out a credit card. "Here use this for gas."

"Damn it Jamie" she said "I don't need this I can put gas in it myself and I haven't even agreed to drive it." For the first time since he had woke up he gave Tori Lynn that cocky smile she was so used to.

"It's fine that's the spare to that card. I know you can but I am insisting you drive it." he said "you can break in and watch your Cats play with the keys."

Tori Lynn nodded. James smell permeated every pore in her body from the hoodie. She was pretty sure if she could bottle that smell women all over the world would swoon.

"Can you do me a favor?" he asked "Since you were going to quasi be my assistant as well."

"Sure what do you need Neal?" she asked

"Back to Neal, eh?" he replied "I think I like damn it Jamie better. Okay so I need furniture for the spare bedroom. Whatever you like in there and you decorate it however you want. Ally and Nat are coming to visit in December and I need somewhere for them to sleep. Plus I need a new couch. I don't care what but I want the cube couch gone. Find one that makes you want to nap on it. Use the card for everything,"
"I'll keep the receipts" she responded "What do Nat and Ally like?" He heard the catch in her voice.
"Ally is awesome you will love her, they are from Kentucky too. And Nat is the most awesome 4 year old ever." He tried to gage her reaction and only saw confusion. He showed her a pic of Ally and Nat. The dark haired dark eyed child was beautiful and so was the mother but she had fair features compared to the child. "Natalya is G's daughter. Ally is his one but she is still pissed over everyone questioning if Nat was his. Nat is perfect. I promised to take her to Opryland to see the ice. And if you can manage to get tickets to the Nashville Ballet for 4 that would be awesome."

"James Neal you are excited that Nat is coming." she laughed "I will get tickets."

"Most people think Nat is my niece because she calls me Uncle Jay. None of the guys know she is G's. By the way you have competition on the Jarnkrok front. I had to send her a jersey." Damned if she didn't like him more when he spoke about Nat. "Ally is a friend nothing more. But I want to be upfront about any other females that might appear on the door step."

"I planned on stocking the fridge before you get home" she reported "So send me a list."

She listened as he navigated her into a spot at the Bridgestone. He saw the guys gathered around the bus that would take them to the airport. Tori Lynn pulled the Rover to a stop near the bus. She unbuckled and went to help him with his stuff. It was chilly but not miserable. They had forgotten his overcoat. He would survive. She carried his bag that had all his stuff for the plane in it. He stopped her by the suv and took the bag from her.

Tori Lynn pulled her iPod out of the hoodie pocket. She handed it to James. He looked confused. "It has both Sam's on it." she explained. He nodded. "And my demo album and a bunch stuff I recorded. No one has this stuff. If you lose it I will kill you." He leaned in and kissed her gently.

"I'll take care of it. Now I can listen to you sing me to sleep instead of Ribs snoring. I will text and call. Just give me a chance Tori Lynn." he said leaning in close "Get to know me before you hate me."
Tori Lynn just nodded and hugged him. As he finally let her go he whispered "I will miss you. I think I will miss you more after 5 days than I have ever missed anyone."

Jarnkrok and the rest of the boys were watching as Neal kissed Tori Lynn. Calle heard nothing but rapid fire Swedish. He wanted to tell them he had a plan. But he didn't. Once Neal started towards the bus he headed to Tori Lynn.

"Hey you got him here." said Calle looking at Tori Lynn. She was beautiful even though she still had half of the previous nights hair do. "You look beautiful älskling."

"Calle" she began. He noticed her face and the fact that she looked like she might cry. He cut her off.

"No worries Flicka" he said "Richie came by and cleaned out his locker. I know what happened last night. I get that you like us both. Just make me a deal, okay?"

Tori Lynn nodded "Don't decide right here right now. Wait until after the roadie. Text, call, facetime me, or even send smoke signals. But get to know me before you give up."

"Okay" she agreed "And I am sorry Calle."

"I'm not! Neal changed the rules by following you home." he answered. He held his arms open and Tori Lynn walked into his embrace. Her arms went around his waist her head on his chest. " So now I need to get in my own zone." Calle's mouth crashed down on hers. She moved her hands from his waist to his neck. Her fingers tangled in his messy hair under the toque he wore. His tongue sought entrance to her mouth. It was a hot wet slide that was over as quickly as it began. As he walked away her hand went to her mouth. "Hey Flicka" he called "I will miss you." She would miss them both. She was so screwed.

Notes