Type of work: Chapters of Yesterday to Tomorrow
Genre: Romance, fan fiction
Title: Yesterday to Tomorrow: Chapter Seventy-six, Little angels on earth
Author: dreamsinfiction
Fandom: Chris Cornell of Audioslave
Rating: R/NC-17
Warning: violence, language, sexual nudity


Links to Previous Chapters:
Chapter One, Ice Cream
Chapter Two, Waves
Chapter Three, A Breath Away
Chapter Four, Completely platonically
Chapter Five, Don't leave bed
Chapter Six, Not a rebound
Chapter Seven, Kaleidoscope of feelings
Chapter Eight, Shadows of memories
Chapter Nine, Ripe circumstances
Chapter Ten, Domus
Chapter Eleven, Where it all began
Chapter Twelve, A blessing
Chapter Thirteen, Just a quick deposit
Chapter Fourteen, Precious
Chapter Fifteen, A Chest
Chapter Sixteen, Block the bullet
Chapter Seventeen, A test
Chapter Eighteen, Not a Girl's Best Friend
Chapter Nineteen, Nervous Twitch
Chapter Twenty, More every breath
Chapter Twenty-one, Fire in the sky
Chapter Twenty-two, Prickling revelations
Chapter Twenty-three, Baby steps
Chapter Twenty-four, Accidents happen
Chapter Twenty-five, Questions
Chapter Twenty-six, Je t'aime
Chapter Twenty-seven, Sommeil
Chapter Twenty-eight, Insta-family
Chapter Twenty-nine, Moving along
Chapter Thirty, Forever and a day
Chapter Thirty-one, Smiling down on you
Chapter Thirty-two, Always be here
Chapter Thirty-three, Music to the soul
Chapter Thirty-four, Surprise
Chapter Thirty-five, Kisses of passion
Chapter Thirty-six, Among the stars
Chapter Thirty-seven, A setback
Chapter Thirty-eight, Hold onto the moment
Chapter Thirty-nine, Paradise sunset
Chapter Forty, Sit with me
Chapter Forty-one, Lost like a prayer
Chapter Forty-two, 843
Chapter Forty-three, Out with the girls
Chapter Forty-four, Overwhelming
Chapter Forty-five, Mama Lyssa
Chapter Forty-six, Big sister
Chapter Forty-seven, Canned floor
Chapter Forty-eight, Given away to
Chapter Forty-nine, Set the scene
Chapter Fifty, Sticky fingers
Chapter Fifty-one, A little party
Chapter Fifty-two, Like red roses
Chapter Fifty-three, A long awaited release
Chapter Fifty-four, Cloud of inebriation
Chapter Fifty-five, Aftermath
Chapter Fifty-six, Protective
Chapter Fifty-seven, Family
Chapter Fifty-eight, Re-arrangements to be made
Chapter Fifty-nine, Bottle of happiness
Chapter SIXTY, Blood's thicker than juice
Chapter Sixty-one, Twelve Days
Chapter Sixty-two, Everything settled
Chapter Sixty-three, Every day is a dream
Chapter Sixty-four, Gifting
Chapter Sixty-five, It's wedding day
Chapter Sixty-six, Until death do part
Chapter Sixty-seven, Completed my heart
Chapter Sixty-eight, An all night thing
Chapter Sixty-nine, Let the game begin
Chapter Seventy, Against the passion
Chapter Seventy-one, Hands on skin
Chapter Seventy-two, Flushed out
Chapter Seventy-three, Sand ass
Chapter Seventy-four, Playing with euphoria
Chapter SEVENTY-FIVE, Shape of the anvil



Alyssa laid in bed with the kids, telling them storytales to get them to go to sleep. It took twice as long, because every voice that drifted into the room, made Toni worry that someone was coming to take them away. Repeated assurances from Alyssa didn't start to take effect for about an hour. Ever so slowly their eyelids dropped close and remained that way. Kissing each of their foreheads gently, Alyssa slid off the end of the bed. Standing very still she waited to see if either would awaken from the lack of her presence. When neither of her babies stirred, Alyssa backed out of the room.

Leaving the door cracked open, she headed down the hallway, slipping down the stairs. She knew Chris's lawyers were there, already hashing out a defensive strategy to keeping the kids firmly where they belonged. She wasn't entirely certain she had heard Judith's voice, but thought maybe she had. Rounding the corner to the living room, her lips curved into an easy smile, seeing Judith was seated amoung Chris's lawyers.

Chris and Judith saw Alyssa at the same time, both moving towards her. Seeing Chris's movements, Judith hung back, sitting back down. His arms wrapped around her, kissing her gently.

"How are they?" he asked softly.

She frowned, "I don't know what they did to our kids, Chris. But they've convinced Toni that you're bad."

Anger flashed in his green eyes, "I'm going to—"

"No, Chris. Legally they're ours. There's nothing Vicky can do to take them away. She already gave up custody of the kids," Alyssa stated. "We're merely going to protect our parental rights. We are not going to attack her."

"But—"

"No. Let her be the bad guy, Chris. We're playing this right," she declared.

"But—"

"Christopher," she muttered before kissing him, "we're playing this right."

"Lyssie, what would I do without you?"

"Probably punch your hand through a wall."



Toni watched as Alyssa tucked the last of her clothes into her little pink suitcase. Tears dripped off the little girl's lashes, unnoticed by Alyssa until she sniffled and wiped her nose. Stopping what she was doing, Alyssa dropped to Toni's level.

"Why are you crying, sweetie?" she asked calmly.

"You gonna make me go France."

"What makes you think that?"

"You pack my dolly," she pointed at the suitcase.

"Oh no, sweetie," Alyssa pulled the girl into her arms. "I'm packing your things so you can come with Daddy and me to New York."

"I go wif you?" she asked, tears still dripping off her chin.

"Of course, baby girl," she assured her. "I'm not going anywhere without you. Daddy is starting his new tour, so we're going to travel around, remember?"

Toni nodded, rubbing her cheek on Alyssa's chest, "Nickie too?"

"Of course."

"Lily?"

Alyssa hesitated, "We're trying."

That seemed enough for Toni, who nodded again, "Can I sleep wif you, Mommy?"

"Of course. But we're going to have to wait till we're on the plane to take our naps, okay?" she pulled back from Toni, brushing the little girl's hair from her forehead. "You know how much Daddy and I love you, right?"

Toni nodded, her thumb moving up to her mouth.

"Good. Don't forget that. Never ever."



With Toni snuggled in her lap, Alyssa looked to Chris. He smiled at her, before reaching to tuck a blanket around his daughter. He then slid pass Alyssa's legs, settling into the now vacant seat next to her, eyes glancing at sleeping Nick in his carseat. His lips touched Alyssa's temples softly.

"Have I told you how amazing you are today?"

"I'm only amazing today?" she teased.

"You're amazing every day," Chris quickly clarified. "But really, Lyssa, you've been amazing these past twenty-four hours. Getting the kids back, being such a wonderful mother to them. Being such a calming force to me."

"I could do nothing else," Alyssa replied.

"Sure you could. They're not your ki—"

"Yes they are. My heart's kids. And according to all of the legal paperwork we have, in the law's eyes as well. Just because they didn't come from my womb, means shit, and you know that," she interjected.

He smiled slightly, "I know. But you never had to do that. You never had to take my kids as your own. You never had to love them. But you did, you do. And that amazes me. Every time one of them calls you 'Mommy' or 'Mama' or reaches for you when they wake from a nightmare. It makes my heart full just being able to witness moments like that."

"Even if they weren't yours, I would still love those kids, Chris. Toni and Nick are little angels on earth, even those moments when it seems the devil possesses them. I don't think I could love them any more, any less than I do. And Lily... that sweet, sweet girl. We'll get her back too," she claimed softly, her hand gently caressing Toni's head.

"God, I hope so. These past few months with her around have been wonderful," he muttered. "I hadn't realized how much I missed her until then."

Alyssa leaned over slightly, catching the corner of his frown with a quick kiss, "Don't be sad, my love. Things will turn out in the end. This whole ugly affair will be over soon. And then we'll discuss adding another child to our growing family."

His eyes snapped to hers, "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Not yet. Not until the tour is over do I even want to think about getting pregnant. But I'm open to discussing it soon," she answered.

"What did I do to deserve you?"

"If I ever figure that out, I'll let you know," she teased. "Until then you can live in constant wonderment."



Half-tempted to ask for a suite with two queen beds, so she could pawn one of the kids off to Chris in another bed, Alyssa adjusted sleeping Nick so that she could move her legs. Seeing her movements, Chris slipped out of the bed and lifted his son gently from the bed. Laying him in the nearby crib, he tucked a blanket around the young boy, his hand lovingly brushing the little boy's locks.

Waiting to insure the boy still slept, Chris crawled back into bed. His hand slipped over Alyssa's stomach, a little disappointed that she had taken to wearing a tee shirt to bed once more. Cuddling up against her, he smiled when she wiggled to be closer to him, without losing contact with Toni.

"You're coming to MTV with me tomorrow, right?" he breathed.

"Of course we are," Alyssa replied. "Then we're going down to FAO Swartz. And the bookstore."

He grinned, "Yes of course. Something for the kids. Something for you."

"And if you're lucky, something for you too," she replied.

"Oh really now?"

"Yup. You know what's not too far away, right?"

"Nope," he shook his head, his messy hair tickling her shoulder.

"A cute little lingerie store."

"Ohhhhh," Chris replied. "But what about the kids?"

"They can stay with Selene and Brad. Or play with Xavier and Quentin," she suggested in a whisper. "But maybe we should wait a day or two. So neither of us is too tired."

"Baby, I'll never be too tired for you."

She giggled softly, "We'll see how you feel after you step off the stage, artifact."

"Hey now!" he retorted, but didn't really have anything else to add to that.

"But really, three nights in New York City, usually doesn't lead to much rest," Alyssa claimed.

Chris's hand wandered on her stomach, "Says who?"

Her free hand covered his, stopping his caresses, "You have a lot of album promotion to do while we're here, love. I don't expect us having much downtime at all. I've seen your iterinary."

"I know. But it's good."

"Why's that?"

"Keeps me distracted from worrying about Lily."

"Love, Susan won't fight us forever. Vicky gave up easily. Susan will soon too. I'm confident of that."

He shook his head again, "No. Susan is a different breed than Vicky. She has more invested into attacking us. I'm just waiting for the allegations of us having an affair to come to surface, because I know she'll throw that stone too."

"It doesn't matter. We're stronger than anything she can throw at us. If she had half a wit to her, she would fire her legal team and settle with us. This stupid fighting isn't good for Lily," Alyssa claimed. "Hell, Chris, maybe you should just offer a settlement."

"You think so?"

"Maybe," she replied. "Just to get this all over and done with. It's been a year of fighting already."

"I just don't—"

"Think on it. Sleep on it," she instructed. "We'll talk more of it later."

"Dada?" Toni's little voice interrupted Chris's chance at replying.

"Yes, sweetie," he replied, pushing up slightly so he could see over Alyssa.

"Sing a lullaby."



"So just over two weeks ago, you held the party of the year in LA, how did that go?" the VJ asked Chris.

Chris smirked, "It was great. My wife did an excellent job of planning every little detail of our wedding reception."

"Ah, congratulations. Is she here with you today?"

"Of course."

"And how was the honeymoon?" the VJ glanced off stage at Alyssa who shook her head.

"None of your business. Nor does it pertain to this new record," Chris replied, though he was smiling.

"So your wife wasn't an inspiration for any of the songs at all?"

He chuckled, "Of course she was. You'll just have to listen to it to figure out which ones."

When the conversation moved to the new album, Alyssa breathed a sigh of relief. She half-expected to be pulled onto the soundstage. Luckily that particular VJ wasn't that type. Before the end of album promotion, Alyssa was certain to be in the spotlight. But she was used to it. It was just a part of who Chris was.

The band then played a short set, featuring three songs from their third album. The small crowd in the MTV studios went crazy, singing right along with all of the lyrics. Even Toni danced and mouthed what her father was singing, moving a little too close to Chris at once point, making Alyssa jump up and gather the girl before she ended up on camera.

From the studios, the band headed to a CD signing at a local music store. Alyssa with kids in tow as well as Selene and Aleece and her kids, headed to the toy store. Selene had volunteered to go along to help out with coralling the kids, but soon regretted it. While Toni and Nick stayed close to Alyssa and minded her well, Xavier and Quentin dashed about the store, Aleece and Selene trailing behind.

"Mama?" Nick muttered, before burying his face on her shoulder.

"What, Nickie?" she asked softly, glancing at him before returning her eyes to Toni wandering down the doll aisle.

"Go bye-bye?"

"No. I'm not going bye-bye. Not again," she assured him.

"Me go bye-bye?"

Alyssa shook her head, "Not without me."

"Goo," he muttered, his thumb finding its way to his mouth a moment later.

"Mommy?" Toni's large eyes pivoted up to meet Alyssa's. "I want a chocolate dolly."

She smiled crookedly, "You find the one you want and we'll get it. Should we find something to send to Lily too?"

"Yeah!" she chirped. "She'll need a big girl doll."

"Well, let's find one then."



"Sorry, Lyss. I just don't think we can handle the boys in another store," Aleece apologized again.

"It's fine. We'll be fine on our own. Really," Alyssa replied. "Huh, Toni?"

"Yep," the little girl nodded. "Mommy's gonna get me a new book."

Aleece smiled, "Good. You can show me when you get back."

"Okay!" Toni giggled, before skipping away from the taxi cab.

Not saying another word to Aleece and Selene, Alyssa hurried after the little girl, wishing for a moment that Nick would walk. But a moment later she took that thought back. Two kids walking in the busy sidewalks of New York was more than she could probably handle.

"Toni!" Alyssa called, holding her hand out. "I need you to hold onto my hand, all right? I don't want to lose you in the crowd."

"Oh, okay," she nodded, slipping her little hand in Alyssa's. "I want a book that moves."

"I'm sure we can find one like that," she replied, eyes looking ahead for the bookstore's sign. "But you can't get more than one. Because we have to carry them back to the hotel."

"Okay," Toni agreed. "Can I pick one out for the House too?"

For a moment, Alyssa was confused. But then she remembered that Toni had gone to a benefit with Chris. The very fact Toni wanted to send books to the kids at the Stuart House tickled Alyssa and would surely do the same to Chris.

"Of course. I'm sure the store will ship them for us. So let's choose... a dozen," Alyssa decided, guiding Toni towards the doors to the store.

Once inside the doors, Nick wiggled down from Alyssa's hip, his little hand slipping into her other one. For a few moments the three of them just stood in the entrance, Alyssa inhaling the scent of books deeply.

"Okay. Let's go find some books."



Feeling rather comfortable in the store, Alyssa had released both kids' hands thirty minutes into their wandering the store. Both stayed in her eyeline, plopping down on the floor to open up brightly coloured books. Smiling, Alyssa wandered a little further, browsing the tables in the middle of the store, never more than a few yards from Toni and Nick. Tucking a leather-bound copy of Huckleberry Finn under her arm, she headed back to see what Toni and Nick had found.

Apparently Nick had found a rather tasty book, as he was chewing on the corners of a picture book about farm animals. Rolling her eyes, knowing that book now belonged to them, she scooped him up. He gurgled some, resisting Alyssa's attempt to pull the book out of his mouth. Giving up, she turned to find Toni.

"Toni?" she called, not seeing the girl readily.

"Here, Mommy!" her head poked around the end of an aisle. "I gots lots for the House."

"Did you find your moving book?" she asked, squatting to shelve some of the apparently forgotten books.

"Yeah," Toni answered, putting another book in a basket.

"Where'd you get that?" Alyssa asked, slowly making her way towards the girl.

"A man gived it to me," she shrugged. "So I could get more books."

"Come get my and Nick's too. You can keep them in your basket," Alyssa suggested, holding her book out.

"Okay!" Toni chirped excitedly, rushing over to Alyssa.

After adding the two books to her basket, Toni struggled in an attempt to pick it up. She grunted and pulled, the basket not moving at all. Alyssa laughed softly, moving to the girl's side.

"You hold your brother's hand and I'll carry the basket, okay?" she said, lifting the full basket. "Nickie, hold onto Mommy's belt."

The little boy's hand reached up for Alyssa's belt loop. The small family headed up towards the registers. Toni's attention was grabbed by a colourful display of Harry Potter books, causing her to release her brother's hand and fall behind.

Releasing this a few yards further, Alyssa stopped and turned, "Toni! Catch up!"

The little girl's fingers left the book cover and she turned abruptly. Running, she bumped into a short man wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Picking herself up, she continued on to Alyssa, saying not a thing to the stranger.

"Toni, go back and apologize to that man for running into him," Alyssa instructed.

"But I not supposed to talk to strangers."

"You're not supposed to run into them either. Go apologize."

"Yes, Mommy."

The little girl skipped back over to the man. Her wide eyes went up to his face, frowning slightly as her eyes met his brown eyes.

"I sorry."

He tucked the C++ for Beginners book under his arm before replying in a nasally tone, "That's quite all right, little girl. You go catch up with your mommy."

"Okay! Buh bye!" she spun again, hurrying to Alyssa's side. "His face was wet, Mommy."

Alyssa glanced up at the stranger, before turning back towards the register, "It's just oily."

"Like Dada's gets when he doesn't wash it?"

She laughed, "Yeah. Just like that."

Luckily for them, the line was short, meaning Alyssa didn't have to hold the basket for long. Hefting it up onto the counter, then doing the same to Nick since he was starting to whimper, Alyssa smiled at the cashier. A young man, probably no more than sixteen smiled back.

"Okay, this is going to be kinda weird," Alyssa began. "I only want to take three of these books with me now."

"All right. I can return the oth—"

"No," she shook her head. "We want to purchase those as well. But we need to ship them somewhere. Can you do that?"

"Uh. I don't know. I'm new."

"We can wait while you ask a supervisor."

"All right," he responded, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair before turning to find his supervisor.

Returning a few moments later with a middle-ages woman, he smiled at Alyssa again, though didn't step directly up to the counter. Instead the woman did.

"What can I do for you?"

"My daugher wants to send these books to a charity in California. Is there anyway you can ship them for us?" Alyssa asked.

The woman glanced over the rim of her glasses and over the edge of the counter down at Toni, considering her answer, "We can do that."

"Yay!" Toni cheered.

"Great," Alyssa grinned, separating out her three books. "And if you would be sure that three of each book gets sent, that would be fabulous."

The woman glanced at the basket, mentally counting the books held in it, "So you want to ship 36 books to this charity?"

She nodded, "Correct. If you have a pen and something for me to write on, I'll get the address for you while you ring up my purchases."

"Of course."

With the receipt for all 39 books tucked into her back pocket, Alyssa held the bag containing the three books out to Toni. The young girl giggled, accepting it happily. Positioning Nick back on her hip, she thanked the supervisor and teenager once more and headed towards the door. Toni hummed and skipped next to her, babbling about the new story her daddy would read to her that night.

Glancing down the street, Alyssa considered not heading back to the hotel just yet. But Nick was being fussy and she was certain he needed a diaper change. Directing Toni towards the hotel with her hand on the little girl's back, they joined the crowd of people on the sidewalk. She considered hailing a cab, but with the hotel only being a few blocks, Alyssa thought that to be really lazy, especially since it was a beautiful early October day. Not too warm, not too cool, the leaves not yet starting to change.

"After we put Nick down for his nap, we'll get something to eat, okay?" Alyssa glanced down at the little girl.

"Ice cream?"

"I'm not sure they can deliver ice cream to our room, but we'll ask," she answered.

"Okay. My new dolly be there?"

"Yep. Aleece was going to drop her off for us," Alyssa stated.

"I think Dada will like new dolly. She's pretty," Toni declared.

"She is. What are you going to name her?"

"Hmmm," the little girl's nose wiggled. "I think her name is Lizabeth. But we'll have to ask her when we see her."