Title: Turn It Up
Characters: Pete and Cady Townshend, Roger Daltrey
Word Count: 1,695
Rating: PG-13 [language, violence]
Warnings/Spoilers/Summary: Inspired by Roger's comments in recent interviews about the state of Pete's hearing. Fic takes place during the first concert of The Who's 2011 tour (date and location unknown, but not really necessary).


It really was true what Roger had said to press months before, Pete’s hearing was mostly okay except when post-show. In addition, as Roger said, Cady fully knew that it had everything to do with the fact that Pete was caught up in the moment and turned up the volume on stage. They had planned the tour with enough dates in between for Pete’s ears to recover, but she knew it was unlikely to be enough. As per usual, it would be up to her to keep Who tours from getting out of hand. 

Having survived through wreckless Keith tours and depressed Pete tours and even John-less tours, she fully believed this tour would be easy to navigate. She would host a few gallery openings during the tour, but spend most of the time taking care of Pete and especially his hearing. She truly believed that was what any good rock wife would do.

Roger pulled her aside as she headed towards the dressing room before the first show, “You sure about this?”

“No. But Pete is. So I’ll do what needs to be done so that this isn’t the last tour or the last time you make and play music,” Cady responded.

He nodded, “Okay good. You think Pete’s in a good mood tonight?”

She smiled crookedly, “I don’t know yet, Roger. I haven’t spoken with him since arriving here at the arena. But I’ll do my best to see to that too. Did you check on the graphics? I know they were having some difficulties with some of the pics.”

He nodded again, “I really like the additional John photos that you provided. I hadn’t seen some of those before.”

“Thanks,” Cady smiled again. “I’m going to go check on Pete now. If I don’t see you before the show, have a good one.”

“Thanks, Cade,” he commented before turning away.

She froze for a moment, hearing her name not in Roger’s voice but in John’s. Eyes squeezed closed, she took a deep breath to silence her emotional reaction to being called ‘Cade.’ Pushed aside, Cady opened her eyes and went looking for her husband. Not unexpectantly at all, she found him in the dressing room, dozing on the sofa, his arm draped over his eyes. Motioning Pino and Zak out of the room silently, Cady crept up to Pete and knelt next to the couch. Ever so carefully, she leaned forward and kissed his slack mouth.

Lifting his arm from his eyes, Pete’s fingers dug into Cady’s hair, keeping her in the kiss. Smiling her lips parted and allowed him to deepen the kiss. They kissed for a few moments before she gently pulled back. She kissed him quickly once more and leaned fully back, her blue eyes looking into his.

“Feel like putting on a show tonight, Mr. Townshend?” she asked softly.

“With you? I didn’t know we were in Amsterdam. And who likes geriatric sex anyways?” he responded.

She playfully slapped his chest and stood up, “Just because you’re old doesn’t mean I am. Get your fine ass up. There’s a couple of kids out there who sent in two cents to pay for your retirement.”

“You’re still giving me shit about that?” he slowly sat up.

“Pete, you told the world you thought that wearing band merch was stupid and that you would never and had never done so… and then thousands of fans came back with pictures showing you in Who shirts,” she stated. “So no, I’m not letting it go.”

His arms slipped around her and pulled her close, squeezing her ass briefly before kissing her, “God, I love you, Cady.”

She smiled, “I love you too. But you still need to head to the stage.”

“But I was having the most remarkable dream during my nap.”

She kissed his nose, “We’ll re-enact it back at the hotel. Come on, my love.”

Holding her hand, Pete followed Cady to the door. She stopped, turned, and motioned to his ears. Sighing, he turned his ears to her, showing that he did in fact have his hearing aids in. Cady kissed him once more and headed to the stage. She slipped the on-stage monitors over his ears, plugging them into his regular aids, and kissed his frowning mouth. Hands clasped again, Cady headed up the steps to the stage, her blue eyes glancing out at the screaming crowd.

With a smile, she released Pete’s hand and accepted his red guitar from his guitar tech. As was custom, she turned to her husband and slipped the guitar strap over his head. Pete cupped her cheek and kissed her deeply, smiling as he pulled away and headed onto stage. Turning to the tech, Cady accepted her earpieces from him and barely inserted them into her ears before the band erupted on stage.

Bill joined her in the wings, watching the band blast through their first song. The dynamics were certainly different. Not only because they were keeping it quieter on stage to preserve Roger’s and Pete’s ears, but also because half the band was no longer with them. Maybe newer fans of the band did not feel it, but Cady felt it palpably. Her eyes kept flicking to his side of stage. No matter how talented Pino was, she felt a big, empty, gaping hole on stage. She knew Pete did too.

But before long, the music swept over the stage, taking on a different aura. It had a life of its own and as long as she did not glance at the images on the screens behind, Cady could focus on what was on stage, not what was not there. She closed her eyes, feeling the musical euphoria wash over her. Even after decades with him and his band, Cady still loved Pete’s music.

However, with her eyes closed, she did not see Pete step back over to his equipment and adjust the volume on stage. But she certainly heard it. Eyes flying back open, she waited until he stepped away from his stack and discreetly stepped forward. Roger glanced over and noticed her presence on the stage. He smiled as she quickly re-adjusted Pete’s volume and then disappeared into the darkness again. 

Pete played for a few minutes before realizing it was not as loud as he thought. Mid-song he returned to his stack, his fingers going to the knob. Noticing it was not at the level he set it not ten minutes before, his brows knitted before he turned it again. As soon as his back turned to the stack, Cady stepped out again and re-adjusted it.

This continued throughout the entire concert. Though Roger knew it was Cady’s doing, he said nothing at all. He merely smirked at her every now and then. Once the concert completed, Pete threw his guitar onto the stage, much to the crowd’s glee, and stomped off. Cady pulled off her hearing device and attempted to cut him off, but was not fast enough and fell in behind him again.

She chased after him, closing the door to the dressing room behind her, “Pete?”

He tore the on-stage monitors and hearing aids from his ears and threw them across the room, “I AM NOT BLOODY WEARING THOSE AGAIN!”

Cady rushed over and scooped up the now broken hearing aids. She shoved them into her jean pockets before turning back to her husband. Watching him kick and throw things, she folded her arms over her chest, waiting out his tantrum.

Once he chucked the last thing he could get his hands on, Cady stepped forward. Her hands went to his shoulders, turning him to face her. His wild eyes went to hers. Ignoring the anger, she framed his face with her hands and guided him into a kiss. He fought and struggled to be released, but she remained strong, holding his mouth to hers. As soon as his anger subsided slightly, Cady leaned back, but her hands remained on his cheeks.

“Pete, you will still wear your hearing aids. Remember how glorious it was to hear the birds sing and the waves crash on the beach again?” she spoke evenly, very aware he was reading her lips to fill in any gaps he missed.

“THE SOUND WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE TONIGHT,” he responded. “EVERY OTHER MINUTE IT WAS A DIFFERENT LEVEL. IT’S DEFECTIVE!”

“No, baby, it’s not,” Cady replied. “Not at all.”

“CADY, I HEARD IT. YOU DIDN’T. I CAN’T PLAY LIKE THAT.”

Ignoring the fact he still shouted at her, she calmly said, “Baby, it was not defective. In the heat of the moment, you turned it up past the acceptable range. I snuck on stage and turned it down.”

His mouth fell open in surprise, “YOU DID THAT?”

Cady nodded slowly, “And I will continue to do so. I want you to be able to hear our grandchildren and make and enjoy music until the end of our days. I will do what I need to in order to protect you, Pete. I always have.”

His shoulders slumped, “You did it.”

She nodded again, “Because I love you.”

Pete quickly circled her in his arms, holding her tightly. He kissed her ear, whispering an apology. She nuzzled his neck, kissing his still racing pulse. Holding his wife for a few minutes, he inhaled deeply, soaking in her love and essence. Married for more than forty years and he still believed she was more than he deserved. But oh, he was ever grateful for her.

“Thank you,” he muttered. “For everything. I’ll make it up to you.”

Cady turned his face to hers so he could read her lips, “You have nothing to make up to me, Pete. You know that. Just love me as you always do.”

“I will always love you,” he stated and quickly kissed her.

“Come on, love. Let me go excuse you from stupid post-concert press and go back to the hotel. I need to call Alec and make sure he can sends the five pairs of backup hearing aids we ordered,” her fingers weaved with his. “I have a feeling we’re going to need them.”