*Trisha*

"We're keeping the plans. That's it. Everyone is coming on tour. Julia's not gonna get better at The Avalon with Jeremy there. She needs to get away." Nate declares while sipping his tea, finally able to talk.

Julia is at The Avalon with Jonah while the rest of us are having an agenda meeting together in the living room. I don't agree with Nate's decision to bring the tornado on tour with us but I don't have much pull. The decision is made and when Nate makes a decision, there's no getting him to change his mind.

"And if she flips out?" I ask. "What's the plan? You need a plan Nate."

"I'll handle it." Paul puts his coffee down and gives Nate a nod.

"Nate. You need to focus on performing. You can't be worrying about this shit." I ignore the bodyguard but he stands his ground.

"I said- I'll handle it."

"Listen, I know everyone is worried. But we're gonna be busy. And having fun. There will be no Jeremy Donovan. No Dave Brennan. Nobody to worry about, yeah? James and the dog is gonna stay with me so James isn't in a hotel room alone." Nate nods to James, reassuring him once again, he will be taken care of. Casey pats James shoulder. It's not James I'm worried about. It's Julia.

"Trish. I need this. You know I do. I'm thirty-one years old with heart disease. I don't know how many more tours I will be able to go on. This could be my last one and I know I'm being selfish. Believe me, I fucking know, doll. But I need Julia to come with me."

Emotion fills the room hearing Nate say this. I can't handle it when he talks like this because I know it's true. My eyes tear up instantly at the thought of losing my best friend.

"I just want to make the best of it, yeah? I've been waiting over two years. I'm excited." He nudges me and I nod while wiping my eyes. "Now go help Gallo pack."

"C'mon hotpants." I get up and James follows me. Once in his room I pull out the suitcase from under his bed and place it open on top of the bed. James sits down on the corner.

"It's really that bad, huh? Nate's heart.." James starts and I nod.

"I guess so. He doesn't like talking about it around me much so for him to mention it like that to everyone.." My voice cracks from me trying to hold back the tears.

"Hey, it's ok.." James sees me about to break down, stands and hugs me. "He's here right now. Try not to think too far ahead, ok?" 

James tries to cheer me up by rubbing my back. He's a great hugger.

"You know what? Lets not do this right now. I need to get out of this house. Wanna go grab a smoothie or something?" I pull away and he nods.

We ditch the packing and spend the morning together.

******

*James*

We ditch the packing and spend the morning together. Trisha buys me my healthy spinach smoothie and gets herself a fruitier one filled with sugar.

"You know that kinda defeats the purpose." I laugh at her pink cup of sugar and kneel down to pet Maggie. Trisha holds on to her leash while we sit at a picnic table in Griffith Park.

"There's fruit in there...somewhere." She raises her brows while taking a large sip of her smoothie. "Better than...what the hell is that again?"

"Kale-spinach." I fumble with my cup and Trisha helps me hold it. "Ugh. I hate when my hands don't work. Sorry." 

"Will you stop saying sorry about shit? Be happy you are here right now." Trisha reminds me of how things could have turned out. "Things will fall into place eventually."

"Yeah, maybe."

"We're gonna have so much fun on tour." She changes the subject so I don't dwell on my shortcomings. Trish is good like that.

"Yeah. I worry about this big furball though." I glance down at Maggie who is literally staring at a few ants on the rubble very entertained. She's so weird.

"What are you worried about?"

"She goes with me everywhere. What if while traveling she can't go into places? She's not used to being alone."

Trisha looks at me in a proud manner and smiles. "That's why I registered Maggie to be your service animal. I'm already ahead of the game James The Receptionist."

"You DID? When? How?" My eyes widen.

"You can do it online! I already filled out the forms for you yesterday and paid for overnight shipping. The certificate should come in today. She more than qualified and so did you. Now, by law, your 'furball' can go wherever you go, no matter what." Trisha explains. I jump to a standing position and pull her up off the bench, wrapping my arms around her tightly.

"This is amazing!" I pull away and kneel on the ground. "You hear that, Mags?? You get to go wherever I go!" I exclaim and look up at Trisha. "Thank you so much!"

"Wow. I didn't know this meant so much to you, James. I was just trying to make sure everything was all set for everyone."

"Yeah but even me. Me and my dog. That means a lot." I look back down at Maggie who is now on her back while I scratch her belly. Trish is thinking of everything to make this tour a successful one. She's thinking of everyone and making sure we are all happy. Maybe that's why she's having a hard time with Julia joining us. She can't make Julia happy. Trisha is a control freak and Julia's moods are out of her control. We won't know how Julia will be while traveling and we all just have to take each day as it comes.

And that drives Trisha crazy.

*****

*Trisha*

"It was crazy, Nate." Jonah goes on and on talking about how smart Jeremy is while I'm making dinner. Julia, James and Casey are down at the gym and Paul is sitting at the kitchen island. "He knew just what to do."

Jonah gets super excited when he sees medical stuff happen like this. Even if it's Jeremy that's the doctor.

"He called it 'Fixation Technique'. I paid attention to it all so I can help Julia if it happens while we're away. But Nate, it was unreal. Everything he said. Everything he told her to do. It all worked." 

"How did Julia react to THAT?" I turn around and watch the nurse pace while talking.

"Like once she was out of her panic attack? She cried. Then said she hated him. I think because he knew what to do. He always seems to know what to do."

"God if I didn't want him to rot in prison, I'd hire him to be Julia's doctor on tour. He royally fucked that one up." Nate huffs but he's right. I think everyone would have felt better and less on edge if Jeremy was Julia's doctor while on tour. 

"And you pay well." Paul laughs earning an eyeroll from Nate.

"Poor Jules. This is an impossible situation. I can't imagine what she must be feeling." Nate continues until everyone comes up so we end the conversation.

"James ran on the treadmill!" Casey exclaims.

"Wow, really?" Nate looks just as shocked as I do. This is huge for James.

"Jogged. I jogged. But ye-yes. Really." James stutters a little. "Casey had to spot me to make sure but I did it."

"Five miles!" Casey is very proud of this accomplishment. Everyone should be actually. James works hard to make things happen. It's a quality I love about him. He doesn't complain about it either. He just keeps pushing himself to heal. I wish Julia had a little of that effort in her.

"Where's Julia??" Nate looks back at the elevator.

"She's still down there running. She didn't want to come up with us yet. I think she's a little hyperfocused." Casey looks at Jonah nervously. "She wouldn't budge and is pushing herself to the limit. That's why we came up here. Not really sure what to do. She seems upset."

"I've got this." Nate hops on the elevator before anyone has a chance to respond. I wait until the doors close before saying anything.

"She's a lost cause that one." I continue to stir the pasta sauce while talking. "We really do need a solid plan for when shit happens in that girl's head. Nate's whole tour management team will be with us. She can't go acting batshit crazy."

"She's not gonna go batshit crazy." James takes offense. "But yes, we need  a concrete plan."

"Well, then lets think of one while Nate is down there with her." Jonah says from the dining room table where his laptop is. "I have Jeremy's cell phone number now. He insisted I call him whenever we see signs of Julia having an episode. So there's one step we can take. And it's not like she can freak out with him since he's not physically with her. He can give us advice on how to calm her down."

"But you'll have to find a way to remove her from the situation. The tour manager, Leslie, is very professional. She's worked over two years to make this happen. She can't see Nate's girlfriend make a scene." I turn the stove down so the sauce can simmer and lean against the counter. "Paul you're gonna have to handle that."

"And I will, Banks. You know I will."

I still worry though. God, what if Julia spirals out of control often? What if nothing gets through to her? She can't shut down for days on end, we have an agenda and travel itinerary to follow through with.

I really don't see this working out.