"Back..and better than ever...."

"Zac, shut up."

Taylor rubbed at his tired eyes. It was too early for him to be up on his day off. They were standing in the Tulsa airport watching person after person come off the plane, just in from New York.

"Oh, where is she already?" he groaned. Zac had gotten them up at six to meet Meg off her eight o'clock flight.

"There she is." Isaac said, pointing toward the gate as Meg came speeding through it, grinning widely.

Her golden hair had grown to her waist and her eyes were a lot brighter than they had been the last time the guys saw her.

She threw her arms open and Zac came bounding over to her grabbing her in a bone crushing hug that raised her off the ground so he could spin her in circles.

She looked so much better than she had six months ago, as she smiled through tears and swore she'd be back, in an aiport in Nashville, the day after her two older sisters died. She looked older. Smarter. Alive.

"Back and better than ever," Zac repeated, "The new and improved Meggie Waters!"

Meg giggled, extracting herself from his arms and moving to hug Isaac.

"Long time, huh Fribble?" Ike greeted, "We missed you."

"Oh, I missed you all too.." she moaned. Even her voice was different.

"Meg, you sound so old." Zac marveled.

"Leave her alone, Zac." Taylor warned.

Meg looked over at him in surprise at the sound of his voice as if she hadn't known he was there.

"Tay!" she said, in amazement, "Guys, how did you get Tay here on his day off?"

"Same way you used to." Zac answered, "We sat on him."

"They dragged me out here but I don't even get a hug, what the hell?" Taylor crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a dirty look.

Zac and Isaac hugged him in unison.

"I was so excited to see you guys, I just had to come on the earlier flight." Meg gushed as she and Taylor hugged. She had a lot of energy for someone who had just gotten off a plane at eight am.

Her parents and brother would be flying in tomorrow afternoon.

The Waters family decided to move only a month after the passing of the two oldest girls. They finally chose Tulsa because that was what Meg wanted. She had suffered the most, six months earlier, when her two older sisters hopped on a borrowed motorcycle, promising they'd be right back only to crash to their deaths, bringing to a screeching halt the trio's rein of terror.

Now the Waters tip-toed around their only living daughter and, anything that could so much as make her smile, was done in a heartbeat. Moving to Tulsa, so she could be closer to the guys, was a last desperate attempt.

They were even moving into the large, vacant house next door to the Hanson's.

It was exciting for the guys too, because it meant Meg would be coming back to the band.

Zac slung his arm heavily across her shoulders.

"Got luggage, Fribble?" he asked.

"No, just the carry-on." she answered, gesturing to the big denim bag, covered in tour patches, that was tucked under her arm. "All our stuff is being trucked down day after tomorrow."

"Good, I'm too tired to schlep your stuff around." Taylor groaned, walking ahead of them.

"Has Tay had his coffee yet?" Meg asked, turning to Zac.

"No. We're gonna stop at Starbucks."

"Oh, great, I could use a pick-me-up."

"Say no more!" Zac swept her up into his arms to the sound of her laughter.

"I missed never having to walk when I'm around you."

"Never mind that..." Zac started, putting her back on the ground, "You lost crazy weight. Haven't you been eating?"

"No." she confessed, "I haven't been hungry."

"Wait 'til Mom sees you." Zac laughed, "She'll feed you like mad."

"Oh, she'll be fine, come on, look how skinny Taylor is."

Taylor turned from the car door he had just opened to glare at them.

"Hey!" he yelled, "Kiss my ass, Waters."

"Come now, this is neither the time or the place for that." Zac reasoned, as he and Meg climbed into the backseat of Ike's gigantic SUV, lovingly christianed The Beastly Mother.

It always went that the oldest of them to go somewhere drives by default. Their pride just couldn't take having someone younger behind the wheel.

"So, Meg." Ike started, looking back at her in the rearview mirror, once they had pulled out onto the highway, "Are you coming back to the band for the next tour? It's really only a matter of months."

Meg hesitated a little.

"What?" Zac pryed, urgently, "You are, aren't you?...Meggin."

"I really don't wanna play anymore." she said, quietly, "I mean," she continued, cutting off Zac, who was about to protest, "I haven't picked up an instrument in six months...I've been kinda..not interested in that stuff, you know?"

"Meg." Taylor reasoned, from the passenger seat, his eyes closed as he leaned his head back, "It's your life."

"It was my life." she corrected, "My life is different now."

Zac sighed, sliding towards the car door, away from her.

"Oh don't be mad at me, Zac." she groaned.

"Well, this sucks, Meg!" he shot, angrily, "I mean, we haven't seen you in months, now you're finally here and we're getting ready to hit the road, now you're not coming!?"

"Now wait a minute," Isaac said, calmly, as he pulled into the Starbucks parking lot, "She could still come." he parked the car and they all climbed out of the Beastly Mother and headed for the starbucks. "She does, afterall, have experience as our assistant.

"Oh yeah.." Taylor moaned, in remembrance, "Finishing the tour without our fun little assistants was hell."

"No one did my laundry." Zac added, sadly.

Meg's eyes lit up a little.

"Yeah? I could do that? Would I get paid still?"

Zac snorted.

"Spending time with her best friends? No. The kickass time she'd be having? No. Money? That she goes for."

"Gotta pay rent, baby."

"You don't pay rent." Taylor scoffed, as he ordered their coffees.

"Yeah, really." Zac laughed, "But feel free to call me 'baby' more often." he winked at her and she rolled her eyes, accepting her lattee from Taylor.

"It'd be awesome to have our Fribble back." Isaac agreed, as they left the shop again.

"Yeah, I'm in." Taylor shrugged, turning to walk backwards so to look at them as he put his hand out in front of him, "Right?"

"Hell yeah!" Zac slapped his hand on top of Tay's. Ike did next and looked at Meg expectantly.

"Alright." she shrugged and added her hand to the pile, "Let's do it."