Chapter 1: First times…

POV: Gabby

Word Count: 4011

A/n: Thanks Koolies20 for the help.

January 22, 2009

We had to be up entirely too early for my liking, the last several weeks had been so pleasant. I really didn’t think he was serious about taking me to London and Paris, even though I had to get a passport. They were places I never expected to see. London had been full of adventure with him showing me the key places he loved when they had visited, the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, several museums such as Soane’s and Madam Tussuad’s, and a variety of gardens and churches. Paris had been the city of love, where we saw the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Concorde square, Sacre-Coeur Basilica and of course the Moulin Rouge! Not to mention just taking in the city itself.

I thought that was it, but then he shocked me by going to Scotland. While the cities were beautiful, they didn’t hold a candle to the scenic views here. We visited several castles, including Edinburge Castle, which was so big and the Urquhard Castle, which was on Loch Ness, so we saw the lake where Loch Ness was believed to roam. We saw the highlands and his favorite? The Isle of Skye, which was an inner isles and known as cloud island because of the heavy mist. It had everything I could possibly ask for with green valleys, caves, waterfalls, and beaches.

And yet, he still wasn’t done. We spent six days there and we went to Ireland! We saw more castles there, museums, parks filled with natural greenery, and my favorite was the Ring of Kerry, which had the best views I could ever ask for. Over all, the honeymoon had been very relaxing and very spectacular.

Then we had to come back to the states, but not even home, we landed in Orlando and that’s where we stayed. Today wasn’t even a day to catch up on sleep or even rest or go through the thousands of pictures I took during the trip. Nope, we had to meet Richard and Victoria and complete an interview with People.

It was nine when Zac dragged me from the warm place that I’d found in the hotel bed.

“We’re gonna be late Gabby, come on.”

“Ten more minutes?”

“Baby, I’ve given you forty-five already. We need to leave by ten to meet Richard and Victoria, you get an hour to shower and get ready. Come on.”

I peered at him, already up and showered. His hair was brushed already, he’d gotten dressed in nice black jeans, white t-shirt and a button up long sleeve black shirt. He even had his shoes on! It should be a crime for him to be ready this early. Our plane landed at two am, I’d only been in bed like five hours!

I finally dragged myself from the bed and managed to get a shower. He had my clothes laid out when I came out of the bathroom, thankfully I wasn’t sure my matching skills would be up to par right now. He’d laid out black pants for me as well, but with a pink and grey stripped shirt. I got dressed and ready, barely running a brush through my hair before we were leaving.

We were meeting them for lunch, so there was no need to stop until we reached the restaurant.

“Are you awake over there?”

“Barely. I wish I could have slept on the damn plane home.”

“Well, once we meet them you can nap before People. I’m sure Taylor and Isaac won’t mind.”

“They have no choice!”

They were already present and seated when we went inside, so we were taken to the private room to the side. Where we greeted them and gave drinks orders.

“We figured this would be better since these are personal photos.” She said.

“It’s perfect actually.” Zac said.

We however did lunch first, which helped me to get woken up.

“You look really tired.” She said.

“I couldn’t sleep on the plane, I tried but I just couldn’t. I really wanted to stay in bed.”

“I don’t blame you, but did you have a good time on your honeymoon?”

“Yes, it was spectacular and I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

She smiled. “We did Brazil for our honeymoon and then for our twenty year anniversary, Australia. They were awesome but they can be exhausting.”

“That they can be.” I said.

Once lunch was done and the dishes were cleared she brought out her laptop, the first thing she did was slide a CD to us.

“Every photo we took is on those CD’s, the ones we’re about to show you are the ones that we feel are the best ones. They are secluded in a folder on the disk and there organized by event.”

“We have several packages and the prints are high quality, we even brought an example with us.”

He laid the five by seven down on the table, it was one of my dress hanging in the chapel. The clear light behind it was amazing. Zac examined the picture for the quality and he was impressed, so we listened to the various options they had for printed images. We really didn’t need a thousand prints, obviously our family and friends would want some, but choosing which one was hard.

Zac looked at me when she showed us the pictures of Sierra putting that garter belt on. But he wasn’t mad or anything about that picture, so I was glad.

“I’d like one of those, small one.”

“You do?” I asked.

“Yes, not to like share with the world but it shows your friendship with her, you trust her enough and this one here of me taking it off can be put beside it.”

I rolled my eyes and she moved on, the ones outside is where I paused her. They were so good, the pristine snow and the way the dress seemed to blend with the snow, they were perfect and I loved them all.

“I really like this one.” I said.

“I do too.”

The one we agreed on was where we were cuddled up under the arch with the fresh snow covering everything. It was my favorite and of course there were the ones of him carrying me down and back, but those were ours to keep. The ones we selected for family were more traditional, of course we got prints of the wedding party, with his parents and with Julian and our first dance. The firework pictures she had we got a large one of that one, it was perfect.

“Which ones are you releasing?” Richard asked.

“I have no idea.” Zac said.

“Would you mind if we made some recommendations?” He asked.

“No. By all means.” Zac said.

Neither of us were that well rested so making those decisions were hard. We had promised People magazine at least 5 to 10 pictures. He brought up ten total on the screen, not all of them being us, one was the cake and one was a picture of the dress.

“I recommend these ten. The cake is important to most weddings, this one symbolizes your theme very well. The dress is another integral part of the wedding and this is one of the best ones of it alone. Then we have the getting ready, this is the best one I took of you Zac, where your friend, who isn’t seen is adjusting your tie. For Gabby the one of Abigail fixing her nails shows the detail there. There is this one of you and your brothers standing as the snow started and the picture of the overall view once the snow was down.”

He paused and Victoria smiled. “For the couples we selected one of the fireworks, but you’re not kissing in this one, just taken from behind and there in front of you. We were unsure if you wanted to share any of you actually kissing.”

“Not really, I mean I may use it as a profile picture but I probably will use something different.” I said.

“We also selected one from inside, where you’re in the corner of the room with the snow behind you, then singles from outside. We picked this one of you Zac because you are relaxed under that arch and this one of Gabby because she looks happy.”

We looked at them, talked about them and ultimately chose to keep them all for People, so they wrote them to a disk after Richard watermarked them with their seal. We finalized the last few plans and then parted ways. People’s interview was at four, so we met Taylor and Isaac at the hotel, we were in their room so when I fell across Taylor’s bed he raised an eyebrow.

“He promised me a nap!”

“She didn’t sleep on the plane and I did, couple hours is all you get though.” Zac said.

“It’s all I want.”

“Do you feel okay? You’re face is a bit red.” Isaac said.

“I’m just tired Ike.”

“Nap well then, we’re just going to discuss the rock boat.”

I snagged the pillow he clearly hadn’t used and I barely even heard them talking before I was asleep. When Zac woke me back up a few hours later I really didn’t feel that much better. But, I was at least more rested and didn’t take as long to get woken back up.

“You really were tired.” Taylor said.

“I told you!” I said.

“Your phone went off a few times. I’m guessing it was Abby since she called me to make sure we made it back okay.”

I checked and found Abby had called, Sierra had called and then there was an unknown number. I called Abby and Sierra back but not the unknown. It could be Simon or Damien or one of them and I was tired of dealing with them. The girls just wanted to make sure we made it back to the states safely.

“Where are we meeting the interviewer for People?” I asked.

“Here at the hotel, they have a room already and they set up inside that room.””

“Okay. Do I need to change?”

“Nope. Brush your hair maybe.”

It was Taylor who tossed me the brush and I got the tangles out and put my shoes back on. We all walked down because they were interviewing Isaac and Taylor on their engagements which they spoke to them first. I heard some of the questions, Isaac clearly had more answers about the wedding dates and things, but neither said the actual date or where it would be held.

“Is it weird I’m nervous?” I asked.

“Nope. It’s your first time being in a magazine or being interviewed. But, remember this is a video too.”

“A video?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I laid my head on his shoulder, groaned. I wasn’t aware it was a video and that it would he shared. I was rather hoping this was just printed.

“Welcome to the real world of being my wife.”

“So mean to not even warn me.”

When they were done with Taylor and Isaac they headed off to do whatever and Zac and I went into the room. We greeted the interviewer, Jon Banks. He was tall, muscular with dark hair and eyes. He had a warm friendly voice though. Once we were introduced we sat down.

“Before we start taping, is there anything that either of you would prefer we not discuss?”

“Sex. It’s none of anyone’s business what we do or have done.” Zac said.

“I actually had no questions about that. Ma’am is there anything you’d prefer we not discuss?”

“Nothing comes to mind but just don’t push if I decline to answer something.”

“Deal.”

We got settled and I was rather shocked Zac chose to put his arm behind me and that of course made me closer to him. I laid my hand casually on his leg and Jon addressed the camera for a few moments before they were directed to us. He mostly said what the video would be about.

“Good Evening Mr. and Mrs. Hanson.”

“Evening.” We replied.

“So, Zac why did you decline our interview request for January of last year?”

I blinked, totally unaware that they’d even requested an interview, but I guess I was glad Zac had declined because that was a weird time.

“I declined because things were complicated. Our wedding itself was not traditional or planned, so we really didn’t know if we would remain married or if things would blow up. I just had no idea what to truly say to answer and we were also very busy as a band.”

“Understandable. You said your marriage wasn’t planned, so what was it that made you two decide to do it?”

“Vodka.” I replied and laughed. “It was in Vegas and we both had a few too many. I made the suggestions under the impression that the chapel inside the hotel was just for entertainment. It wasn’t.”

He laughed “I can’t say I have ever heard that one before! So, what made you guys decide to stay married?”

Zac Smiled. "We were both freaked out at first and for a few days really, we hadn't been together very long and it wasn't planned. We did have some issues right after the date but we both agreed to try, we both knew it may not last. I think I knew the moment I saw her."

I couldn't help the slight blush. "That really is a tough question for me but I really thought about it while I was stuck in a hospital. I came home to him because we wanted this to work, we wanted to be together."

"I can image how freaked out you were, I was freaked out at my wedding and we planned it for over a year! Which date will you use for your anniversary?"

“We will use November 13 th, it’s the date we actually got married on. We did a formal wedding this past New Years mostly because my parents were disappointed they weren’t able to see me get married. We also done it for my family and friends as well.”

"Besides disappointed how did both of your parents and family members react to the "not planned" wedding?"

“Mine were pretty mad actually, we had not been together very long and they hadn’t even gotten to meet her yet. They were suppose to Thanksgiving but things happened. My brothers were quite shocked and my family members were..shocked as well. They really didn’t expect me to be married.”

I started not to answer, but he looked at me, expecting something. “I uh…I was adopted and I hadn’t seen my adoptive parents in years, um..my brother and I weren’t talking either so I had no family to be upset. My friends however were completely against the marriage, one of them actually no longer is a friend because of my marriage.”

Zac looked rather shocked that I had answered the question, but it was the truth and I saw no real need to hide that anymore.

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you no longer speak to your parents and what brought you and your brother back together?"

Zac started to tell him I wasn’t going to answer, but I squeezed his thigh kind of hard and he looked at me.

“It’s okay. I ran away when I was sixteen. My adoptive father was molesting and raping me, I couldn’t handle being there anymore. My adoptive mother didn’t know and she didn’t find out until he hurt the little girl they adopted after me, she was older and told on him quickly. He’s currently in jail. My adoptive mother I actually very recently began talking too, she and her new husband were at our wedding.”

I paused a moment. “My brother, who is my biological brother, we reconnected when I was in the hospital in 2007, right after we got married I was attacked at the house I lived in. I was pretty bad and he worked at the hospital I was at. He and Zac talked first and then he came to me. I won’t say why we weren’t before, I’m not sure he’d be okay with that.”

"Wow, sorry to hear that, but I am glad you were able to reconnect with a couple family members." There was a slight pause and he looked a bit sketchy on his next question. "On a lighter note...I am sure everyone is wanting to know if there will be any mini Hanson’s in the future?”

All my brain heard from that was mini Hanson’s, which was children and I couldn’t answer.

“We don’t have plans for that, anytime soon.” Zac said.

"Gabby, I know when news first got out that you married Zac the fans weren't too thrilled. How is your relationship with the fans now?"

I let out the breathe I’d been holding and sighed a bit. “Weren’t thrilled is an understatement really. They were ruthless with their put downs and comments. I tried my best to be nice and to understand that they didn’t expect this either. However, I think the turning point was a fan tried and succeeded to get a reaction from me, she dumped two milkshakes over my head. After that I have noticed that a lot of fans are more accepting.”

"It seemed you had a fan that was on your side even before that. Bailey. The drawing of her baby is amazing. Do you draw professionally?"

I wondered if that was going to come up…”Yes, I met Bailey in Rochester, I had an emergency appendix removal, it ruptured on the way there. There are twitter photos of me being rushed inside. She had her baby that day and I was just wandering and saw her. I actually have been drawing professionally. Thank you, she actually posted a more recent one that I did as well.”

Someone behind him said time and he nodded. “We don’t have a ton of time left but there were some fan questions submitted and we have some rumors, are you both okay for those?”

We both agreed and the fan questions were oddly nice, they wanted to know our first date which was the fair technically. One wanted to know who liked whom first, clearly Zac won that one because he was the one that came after me, someone wanted to know if there anywhere we had wanted to go too, but hadn’t. He really had no answer for that but I had a whole list of places.

“A fan wanted to know why her? Was there anything specific that drew you to her? Apparently their perceived type for you was blonde hair, obvious she is not blonde.”

“I never have been either.”

“Honestly, I can’t even answer it. I think at first it was just appearance, there was something about the way she moved. Twice I approached her on the walks and it was..well, assets. Once I got to know her more it was how she was, how she acted, she was flirty but not overly. I began to realize that I wanted to be with her. I really can’t explain any one specific thing that drew me to her.”

“There were a lot of submission wanting to ask about you and Sierra Sampson, she was the drummer for the opening band. There were some photos and a lot of people wanted to know what or how your relationship was.”

“Sierra and I are friends. A long time ago there was a little more there between us but we both have talked about that and really I’m married, so there isn’t anything between us but a really good friendship. I believe she is actually dating someone now.”

“I know you mentioned your marriage was not really expected, lot of the rumors had various speculations about why you got married. The primary reason was that you were pregnant, some were you tricked him, they go on and on. Is any of those reason true?”

“No. We were drunk in Vegas, she did suggest it as something fun to do. I mean we chose a theme of Star Wars but there was no underlying reason why. She suggested it as a joke and honestly we were both under that impression that it wasn’t legal.” Zac said.

“I agree, I didn’t have a motive and honestly legally married wasn’t my goal. I didn’t have a lot of experience with Vegas chapels, so I didn’t think it was real. I was drunk and suggested it.”

“You’ve mentioned the hospital and there have been some rumors about that. The first trip in November seems to be related to some kind of break in?”

“Yes, I really cannot talk about that because it is under investigation still. Um, I was hurt pretty badly and spent several weeks in the hospital as a result. It’s actually when my brother and I reconnected.”

He hesitated. “We struggled with including this particular one, it has a personal tone and if you don’t want to answer that is completely fine with us.”

“Okay.” We said.

I wasn’t entirely sure what kind of rumor could be of a personal tone unless someone got wind that he liked his prostate to be stimulated at times or if it was sex related.

“It was submitted by someone in your hometown and they indicated they had inside information into your New York hospital stay. The rumor was that you miscarried while you were there, is there any truth to that at all?”

I really didn’t need to question who submitted it, there were only a very limited number of people that knew.

“I think we’d prefer that question be edited out.” Zac said.

He nodded. “Understandable. We’ll have the editor’s remove the footage.”

I felt Zac’s hand tighten and the guy seemed to know but I really didn’t want people to know about that. So, I was glad they understood.

“I don’t have any more questions that I can think of. Thank you both for your time and patience.”

“No problem, sorry I declined last year but the timing wasn’t good.”

“You’re welcome.” I said.

They turned the cameras off and Zac leaned forward. “Mr. Banks.”

“Yes?”

“I would like something in writing stating that that question will be cut from the final edit and the write up.”

“Not a problem. My wife and I have had two miscarriages, I completely understand not wanting to answer the question and I apologize for your loss and for even asking.”

Zac nodded and sure enough he provided him with a written guarantee and I didn’t want to know what Zac would do if he didn’t adhere to it. After providing the disc with our pictures we headed out to meet Taylor and Isaac for dinner.

“It was Max, it has to be him. No one else would have said anything.”

“I agree but there’s nothing we can do. They will cut the footage and not print anything, so he didn’t win. But, are you sure you feel okay? You felt kind of warm when you were beside me.”

“I feel slightly warm and I think my sinuses are bitching at me. I’ve had a mild headache too.”

“We will feed you, medicate you, and put you to bed. We have some promo tomorrow but I think if you’d rather stay at the hotel it should be fine.”

“I probably will stay, I can start going through my thousands of pictures. We board the boat Saturday right?”

“Saturday morning, yes.”

I nodded and we had dinner with them, they discussed some potential set lists, songs and then we headed different ways. Zac did exactly what he said, I got Tylenol for the headache, got my warm pj’s on and he tucked me in. Opting to sit beside me to watch TV for a while. I was glad because I was feeling iffy and I didn’t want to get sick.

*Links to places*

http://www.inlondonguide.co.uk/

http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/scotland-sco.htm

http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/ireland-irl.htm

http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/ring-of-kerry-irl-kr-rrik.htm