Title: Midnight Shift: Chapter Twenty-eight, Happiness and Innocence
Rating: PG-13 [language, sexual references]

Summary: Jimmy and Summer bond and depart California. Robert is still stuck in France.

Note: This is a transitional chapter. Also rather than writing each day, there is a three week jump.




As the door closed, Jimmy whirled around and nearly punched the wall. Had he not heard a soft voice speak his name, he likely would have. Glancing first at the Jones girls, who all clustered around their mother but clearly had not spoken to him, he could not imagine that they had spoken to him. Hearing his name repeated, his eyes quickly swirled and focused on the source: Summer stood at the top of the stairs, wearing a long floral dress, her wide eyes filled with fear. Wordlessly, he bounded up the stairs and scooped her up, quickly carrying her back to their bedroom. Sitting her down on the bed, he kissed her forehead.

“Jimmy,” her eyes held his, her bottom lip trembling, “what… why… why was he here?”

His right hand cupped her face, “Worry not, princess. He will not harm you.”

“I heard what he said…”

“No no no no,” Jimmy muttered. “Erase his words from your mind.”

“A wh-whore,” she stuttered, her eyes wide. “I’m a wh-whore.”

“No, Summer, you are not,” he declared. “You most certainly are not.”

“But, J-Jimmy,” her eyes left his, “h-he s-said…”

His fingers went to her chin, turning her face to back to his, “Do you truly believe an arse who tried to force you to have sex with him over the man before you who cares so much for you that his heart breaks to see the pain in your eyes?”

“I… but…”

“Summer, you are not a whore. You do not spread your legs for anyone who wants to crawl between them. You have not had more lovers than you can count on your beautiful fingers and toes. You are no more a whore than… Jonesy is. Have you ever seen him even kiss anyone?”

“I… well… no,” she responded. “But Jimmy–”

“No buts. You know I am right. Cole is an arse and not worthy another moment of your thoughts. You are perfect.”

“But–”

“No buts,” he repeated and kissed her forehead. “You are my perfect princess.”

She sighed and leaned forward, causing his arms to instantly fold around her, “I… I am afraid of him, Jimmy. So afraid of him.”

His fingers smoothed her long blond hair and he whispered, “He will never, ever touch you again. I promise, Summer. Never.”

Nodding she pulled back, causing him to do the same, “Thank you, Jimmy. For everything.”

Staying with Summer for a dozen more minutes, making certain she was fully calmed down; Jimmy eased her off the bed and headed downstairs. Depositing her on the couch where the Jones girls and Queenie instantly swarmed her, he kissed her sweetly. With a slight smile, he headed into the kitchen where Mo cooked breakfast, John Paul seated nearby sipping morning tea. Offered cup himself, he accepted with a soft word and slid into a chair across the table from the bassist.

“He will be back,” John Paul stated.

“I know,” Jimmy responded before sipping his cup. “This is precisely why I will ring Benji this afternoon and check on the status of Summer’s passport.”

“And where will you take her?”

“Somewhere safe from him.”

“And unreachable by Robert,” John Paul pointed out casually.

Jimmy sighed, “He has not called since the first time. He will not call again. I am certain of it.”

“Right. And what of Charlotte and Scarlet?”

“Will you just leave that be? They are perfectly fine where they are. They have a lovely roof over their heads and everything is provided for them. They are not a factor in this,” he stated.

“Right,” he set down his teacup. “Perhaps Summer could come with us for awhile?”

Mo turned, “I think that would be a lovely id–”

“No,” Jimmy interrupted. “She stays with me.”

John Paul looked at his band mate, “But–”

“She stays with me,” he stood. “End of discussion.”

Leaving the kitchen, he returned to the living room. The Jones girls sat upon the floor in front of the TV, though the appliance was turned off. The puppy turned about in the center of their makeshift circle, barking and trying to catch whoever tugged on her tail. Summer lay on the couch with her feet dutifully propped up on the armrest, watching her dog and the girls play, a smile on her face. Seeing no reason to interrupt the moment just yet, Jimmy leaned on the archway and just watched. The room was filled with such innocence; he was not entirely sure how to process it. Summer did fit in amongst it and yet not. 

She was such a complex young woman. Perhaps that was a greater part of her appeal. She certainly was not innocent; he had heard of Robert’s boasts of such, had even witnessed it the night of her birthday party and backstage after a concert. Yet Summer also oozed a certain naiveté that he could not describe and made him want to move heaven and earth to protect her. How did she do it?

“Jimmy?” her sweet voice interrupted his thoughts.

His dark eyes dropped down to her, “Yes, princess.”

“Can we go somewhere and go on swings today?”

He chuckled, “I will see what we can find nearby.”

An hour later, Summer’s arms wrapped around Jimmy’s neck, her legs around his waist. His arms looped over her legs, supporting her weight. She nibbled lightly on his ear, before giggling as he trotted some to catch up with the Joneses. Never riding piggyback before, she gasped and tightened her grip around Jimmy’s throat. Stopping, his fingers went to her arms and loosened her grip. They reached the playground not long after the girls squealed and began to climb all over it. Rather than pull her off his back, Jimmy turned and backed up to the swing, lowering her down that way.

After her arms released him, Jimmy turned around and leaned in for a kiss. Summer’s arms happily circled his neck again, her lips parting. Not one to turn down an invitation, he deepened the kiss but briefly. Winking at her, he moved around the swing to push Summer. Within minutes, she was laughing as she flew through the air. The ribbon holding her hair back slid from her hair and fluttered to the sand near Jimmy. He brought happiness and innocence back to her, and she needed that.



Groaning, Robert rolled over in bed – and right out onto the floor. Swearing he pushed slowly up from the hardwood floor and pivoted into a seated position. Both hands instantly went to his head, attempting to hold in the pounding. He recalled meeting up with Bonzo in the pub once more. And he recalled many beers and a few vodkas. But he did not remember coming back to the cottage. Was he even in the right one? Opening his left eye, but squinting because the sunshine filtering through the shades, he spied something familiar: his suitcase. He was in the right cottage so he had that going for him.

Closing his one eye again, he rubbed his temples, thinking it was odd that the children had not come in to wake him. Perhaps Maureen felt sorry for him and kept them away. Or maybe she had left? Had she taken the kids away from him because he was a drunken buffoon? But no, he had a vague memory of seeing someone else when he returned. It could not be his sweet Summer. It certainly was not Maureen. Who… 

“Shirley,” he groaned.

Seemingly hearing his soft groan and thinking he summoned her for some reason, the door opened and in stepped Shirley, holding a cup of steaming tea. She sat on the floor next to him and held it out, saying nothing. Accepting the cup a bit grudgingly, Robert sipped the hot liquid and closed his eyes, leaning against the bed.

“Why do you want to leave Maureen?” she asked softly.

He opened his left eye and glanced at her, “It’s none of your business.”

“She’s my sister. It most certainly is my business.”

“Our relationship is not your bus–”

“Considering you left me for her, it still kinda is.”

He closed his eye and sighed, sipping the tea again, “Shirley, you know damn well the reason our relationship ended. You couldn’t handle my lifestyle.”

Shirley responded, “And now Maureen cannot. Is that it?”

“It’s not that at all. She’s not the one who wants out,” he replied.

She stared at him for a long moment, though his eyes never opened again to look at her, “Is there someone else?”

“None of your bloody business.”

“Ah, there is,” she nodded. “One of those road trollops?”

His eyes opened and glared at her, “How can you make such a wide sweeping declaration about a young woman you have not met?”

Shirley smiled knowingly, “So you think this girl you met on tour is better suited for you than the mother of your children, than the woman who has been with you for years, through all of the hardships of your career?”

“I do not expect you to be able to understand it at all, Shirley,” he replied.

“Does she just suck cock better than Maureen? Because if that’s all it is, I’ll suck you.”

He dropped the teacup on the saucer, “What?”

“I know Maureen doesn’t like to give head. She never has. And your cock is not the easiest to suck,” she stated. “So if this is all about cocksucking, I’ll do it. And Maureen never has to know.”

Staring at his sister-in-law for a long moment, he tried to come to a decision. Saying yes would at least give him some sexual satisfaction, as Shirley had always been good at oral sex. But that would clearly keep him shackled into something he did not want. Saying no would hopefully release him from Maureen or at least put him onto the path to do so. Or perhaps he could play along with Shirley for a while while his lawyers worked on dissolving his marriage back in London.

That seemed the best way to play both sides of the coin…

“All right. But Maureen can never know.”



Pressing to the window, Summer’s eyes widened. Her blue eyes searched the sky, straining to see beyond the fluffy white clouds that seemed to fill her entire vision. Frowning, she slumped back into her seat and sighed. Glancing at her, Jimmy closed the notebook of figures Peter wanted him to look over and moved to sit beside her. It had been nearly two weeks since they visited Disneyland, nearly three since she walked on fire. Her feet were near healed, though still tender. And while he had enjoyed the past few weeks in Malibu with her, sharing much of that time with the Jones family, Jimmy needed a change of scenery. In addition, Benji suggested they go to New York, where they could leave more quickly should her passport be approved. So there they sat, eastward bound, on a small charter jet, the Joneses also aboard, though they were intending on returning to Maine. With just about a week before the band had to reunite in England to prepare for their few concerts, they had one final gasp of holiday to enjoy. Jimmy wanted to show Summer around New York, without the intervention of anyone else.

But right now, she did not seem too excited about it.

“Princess?”

“This is my first time crossing over the Mississippi and I didn’t even get to see it,” she pouted.

He kissed her temple quickly, “I will make certain you see it before long, Summer. I promise.”

“You’re so good to me,” she declared with a smile. “You’ve taken such excellent care of me these past few weeks, even though you really didn’t have to. I forget to miss himwhen you are nearby. Thank you, Jimmy.”

His hand enfolded hers, “I can do nothing else. And now that your feet are nearly healed, I have some things in store for us.”

“Really? Like what?”

“Well,” he leaned closer, “I would like to take you to a play on Broadway. And of course to Central Park. And the zoo.”

Her eyes widened, “We’re finally going to go to the zoo?”

He kissed her softly, “We would have gone in California and I do think it would have been more accessible via wheelchair, but after you crashed for a couple of days after Disneyland, I didn’t think it was a good idea.”

“I crashed because of… Cole, I think.”

His eyes instantly darkened at the mention of the former manager, “He never came back. And he will not in New York.”

“Jimmy, why did he come back? And why did he say those mean things?”

Looking deeply into her eyes, he tried to figure out what to tell her. A greater part of him wanted to tell her the truth, which he found odd in itself. Perhaps her sweet innocence was rubbing off on him; he was uncertain. But he could not tell her the truth, tell her that he brought Cole back into the fray in order to hurt her mother. The truth would hurt her as much, if not more, than a clever lie.

“Cole needs help. I cannot answer why he came back, but he shall not return, princess. He did not in California. He will not again,” Jimmy finally stated. “He said those mean, untrue things because he’s an arse. There is no other explanation.”

She nodded, “I’m sure you will protect me from everything, Jimmy. No doubt.”

“You are absolutely right about that, Summer. Absolutely right.”

When the plane landed a few hours later, her wide eyes once more went to the window, trying to quickly absorb what she could see from the airport. Even though she had been to a number of large cities on the West Coast, something was completely different about New York and she could not quite describe it. The entire air seemed to vibrate with something. It both excited and scared her.

Jimmy held out his hand for her as the Jones family exited the plane. Slipping her hand in his, Summer slowly stood. Though the doctor had cleared her feet the day before to be walked on as normal, she still stepped carefully, afraid that being too zealous would bring back the pain from the blisters. Wearing shoes had been suggested by the doctor but not required; Jimmy however insisted upon it, even purchased her the best available shoes to protect her tender feet. They slowly headed to the door of the airplane, Jimmy exiting in front of Summer so that he could catch her if she stumbled on the descent. As like every single concert stop, they slipped immediately into a limousine after saying goodbyes to the Jones family.

Not attempting to distract her, Jimmy watched in amusement as Summer shifted as close to the window as possible. Her eyes tried to look at every sign and storefront as the limo crawled along. Queenie seemed less impressed than her human and curled up on the seat, using Jimmy’s leg as her pillow. Chuckling he patted her head, though his gaze only flicked down to her for a moment.

The car pulled up in front of a luxury hotel, not that Summer paid much attention to that. She only turned to Jimmy, a slight frown on her face, when she realized they were no longer in motion. Chuckling he motioned for her to scoot out of the car with him, one hand held out to her, the other holding Queenie’s leash. The couple quickly checked in and headed up to their top floor suite. Giggling with excitement, Summer kissed Jimmy’s cheek happily. Practically bouncing as the elevator headed up, she skipped out the moment the doors opened. However, she kept her cool and slowly strolled beside Jimmy, who walked in front of the bellhop pushing the cart of their belongings. They reached the suite quickly enough and he unlocked the door, pushing it open for Summer to enter. Both she and the puppy headed directly to the balcony, leaving Jimmy behind to tip the bellhop after unloading their luggage.

Joining the two girls on the balcony a few minutes later, Jimmy smiled, his fingers reaching to touch Summer’s shoulder, “It would be best if you did not lean out too far.”

Pulling back from the railing slightly, she beamed at him, “Is that Central Park, Jimmy? It’s huge!”

He nodded, “It is. We’ll go walking in a few once we get settled.”

“Excellent!” she chirped, pecked him on the cheek, and turned to investigate the suite. “New York is going to be fantastic, Jimmy!”



Rolling out of bed, Robert glanced over at the woman in his bed. He did not love her, had not for years. And she certainly was no substitute for his Summer. But she did not grate on him like her sister did – which probably explained why she was still in France with him and his wife was not. Shirley had convinced Maureen to take a brief holiday by herself, leaving the kids with Robert and herself. Perhaps it was the week spent with her sister that convinced Maureen it was a good idea. Robert seemed more of himself, less distant, less moody. He still was not completely forthcoming with her, but perhaps she was just tired herself. Therefore, Maureen went to Italy for two weeks – by herself. Shirley happily eased herself into Maureen’s place, taking care of the children and Robert.

Some moments he wondered if this could have been his life had Shirley not dumped him prior to Led Zeppelin becoming big. But he did not begrudge his chosen path at all. It had brought him so many riches – and he did not mean entirely monetarily. He would not have met his sweet Summer if it had not been for Led Zeppelin.

“Fuck,” he grumbled before getting fully out of bed.

Finding his pants on the floor, Robert was silently glad he had not woken naked. While Shirley had given him head a few times since her promise, he struggled to orgasm. Guilt raked him – not guilt over Maureen, but rather Summer. Only her lips should be touching him thusly. But he still did not push her away, especially any night he met up with Bonzo at the pub. They had decided to meet during daylight that day, let the kids play together on the French beach. That was likely the only reason Robert still had his shorts on.

Dressed he headed out and checked on the kids. Both beautiful children still dozed and it took all of his willpower to not stroll in and caress their sleeping cheeks. But knowing this moment when he had the cottage to himself held him back from doing that; instead he closed their door and headed into the kitchen. Setting the teakettle upon the stovetop, his blue eyes focused on the phone across the room. It had been three days since his last attempt at ringing Summer on the phone. As per normal, it would ring until he could no longer stand the torture and hang up. Nevertheless, for some reason he thought that day would be different.

Robert sat in the chair next to the phone and reached for it. Speaking with the operator, whose voice was now almost as familiar to him as his own wife’s, he waited for his call to be transferred overseas. Once connected, he began to count the rings, hoping someone would finally answer. His breath caught and his heart stopped when the rings stopped.

“Hello? Summer?” he quickly blurted.

“I don’t know who you were expecting to find but there is no Summer here. Thanks for waking my wife up, asshole,” the line went dead.

Staring at the phone for a long moment, Robert tried to figure out what had just happened. Someone who did not know who Summer was had answered the phone. That meant Summer was not there.

That meant Jimmy had taken her somewhere. And that scared him to death.



Seated next to Summer on the couch, her puppy curled up at their feet, Jimmy happily strummed his guitar. His eyes were closed in quiet reverie, but he knew she was completely focused on him. His fingers slowly searched for the end of the song. With a single held note, his playing stopped and his eyes opened. A moment later, the grinning girl next to him leaned over and kissed his mouth quickly.

“I don’t know how you do it, Jimmy,” she stated, “but you are amazing.”

He quickly pivoted the guitar, “Show me how amazing you are.”

Blinking Summer reached for the instrument. Pulling it close to her, her eyes left his and focused upon the guitar. Her fingers gently caressed it before settling into place. She did not close her eyes like he had, but rather focused her vision on his face. Starting off playing one of his songs, her fingers soon drifted off into improvisation. The more she played the more light filled his eyes. Wrapping her play up with one of his codas, her fingers went silent.

Saying nothing, Jimmy reached forward and slipped the guitar out of her hands. Gingerly setting the instrument on the nearby armchair, he turned back to her. With a smile, he reached for her and pulled her into his lap. His fingers danced down her neck and traced down her arm. Lifting her hand to his mouth, he kissed each finger.

“Dear sweet princess,” he muttered and kissed her palm, “there is such magic in your fingers, in your hands, in your eyes. Every moment with you is musical and magical. I cannot believe I am here with you, talented, musical princess.”

“Jimmy…” she breathed.

“So beautiful,” he squeezed her hand before kissing her lips.

“My playing…?”

His lips touched hers again, “Amazing, Summer. You have come so far since we first began lessons two months ago. I think you must have inherited your talent from your dad. It is certainly natural. You are simply amazing.”

She continued to grin, “It certainly does not hurt that I have such a perfect teacher.”

Jimmy kissed her quickly again, “Perhaps it is time to take this to the next step.”

“What do you mean, Jimmy?”

“Let’s make music together.”