Chapter 1

I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did.

Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them.

Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves.

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

Seattle, Washington – Early 1990's

Kurt Martin was a brash young man in his early 20's. Having grown up in Seattle, he had spent his formative years watching local bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden soar in popularity and establish the new genre of music known as alternative or grunge. And seeing them on stage, there was nothing more in the world that he wanted to do than to become just like them. In high school, he and several of his friends who shared that same dream formed a garage band of their own. In their hearts, they knew they were going to be the next big Seattle based band to take off and make it big. But like every other band, they had to pay their dues. And for a while, one of the only gigs they could get was playing 'booze cruises' around Puget Sound.

Carey Rhodes was an idealistic young woman in her early twenties as well. She too had an affinity for music, but she had discovered it quite by accident. She had been in a talent show as a stand up comic, but it had gone all wrong from the beginning. So, she did some improvisation halfway through her act and began singing. Turns out, she had quite the talent for it as she had a natural singing voice. But her mother feared that would be a fool's lark and encourage her to do it as a hobby as she got her college degree. When Carey agreed to do that, her mother was so grateful that she was willing to overlook the constant string of losers she brought home as boyfriends.

In early 1992, Carey got drug out by her friends for a night on the town. One of their little sisters had just turned twenty-one, and there was going to be a big party for her on board one of the local 'booze cruises'. Carey didn't particularly want to go, but she finally relented. She had no idea how much that decision would change her future. For Kurt, he held his guitar and was about to play one of their new songs when he happened to notice Carey in the crowd talking to one of her friends. Before that, he didn't believe in love at first site, but he was quickly rethinking his stance on that.

Throughout their entire first set, a throng of girls screamed at him, and a few even through undergarments at him. But his eyes never left Carey. And the fact that the cute lead singer kept looking at her caused Carey to feel butterflies in her stomach. She wasn't sure why, but she thought he was one of the best looking guys she had ever seen. And when the band's first break came, Kurt knew he had to go talk to her. And Carey made sure she was right there for him to do so.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Kurt smiled at her. "I'm Kurt Martin."

She smiled back. "Carey Rhodes."

"I'm...ummm...I'm the lead singer of the band..."

She laughed. "Yeah, I noticed..."

He shook his head in embarrassment. "Oh yeah..." He paused to collect himself. "Sorry about that. I don't know why, but I'm finding myself getting tongue tied trying to talk to you..."

"Why do I doubt that? I doubt you have any problems talking to girls." She looked around. "In fact, I see several of them giving me dirty looks right now..."

He laughed. "Well, usually, that's true. I really don't have that problem normally. Now, my brother is a different story. He's the sweet, sensitive type who is shy around the ladies. But what he doesn't realize is that the girls flock to him. If he knew the power he really had..."

Carey just looked at him. "Oh really..."

Kurt kept laughing nervously. "But he's not that type. He actually prefers to be in relationships. Anyways, as for the other girls tonight, I didn't really notice." He paused. "Actually, you're the only girl I noticed..."

She laughed. "Wow...what a cheesy line..."

"Maybe...but its still true. The point is...there's something about you that I'm drawn too, and I can't figure out what it is. But I want to."

"Oh?"

He nodded. "Yeah." He smiled. "How would you like to go out with me sometime?"

Carey paused. "I don't know...Do you have a girlfriend?"

Kurt shook his head. "No, I don't...so, what do you say?"

She smiled. "What if I have a boyfriend?"

He paused to consider that. "Do you?"

She laughed. "No, not currently..."

Kurt grinned. "So, no problem then. So, will you go out with me?"

Carey paused to think. "I don't know..."

"At least have a drink with me? I mean...we're on a boat. Nothing more romantic than that..."

"Well, I guess that wouldn't hurt...Alright. One drink."

One drink lead to two before Kurt had to return for the second set. But every break after that, they found each other again and talked. By the end of the night, Kurt had finally convinced her to give him her phone number. And ignoring the normal rules of protocol, he called her the next day to invite her for a real date.

Thus began a whirlwind romance. Less than four months after they first met, they were married on the same ship they had met. And their honeymoon turned out to be memorable in more ways than one. A few weeks after they had gotten back from it, Carey woke up feeling nauseous and throwing up. She thought she had just caught the flu, but a trip to the doctor soon revealed the real reason she wasn't feeling well. That afternoon, Kurt came home from his day job to see Carey just sitting on their couch staring off in to space.

"Hey Babe...Is everything okay?"

Carey just looked up at him. "Actually...I don't know. Today's been an interesting day..."

Kurt smiled at her. "Yeah? What happened today?"

She paused. "Well, I went to the doctor because I still wasn't feeling well..."

"Still have a touch of the flu?"

"I never had the flu..." She took a deep breath. "...I'm pregnant."

Kurt just stared at her for a moment. He didn't even notice that he was losing feeling in his legs until he had already sunk down into the couch next to her.

"P...p...pregnant?"

She nodded. "Yeah..."

He shook his head. "This is karma. I was giving Billy a hard time today because he said his wife Janet is pregnant now too..."

Carey paused again. "There's more..."

Kurt just looked at her. "More?"

She swallowed and nodded. "Yeah...twins..."

Kurt could have been knocked over with a feather. "Twins?"

And twins it indeed was. In March 1993, Carey gave birth to identical twin sons. The decided to name their eldest Zachary after Kurt's late grandfather and their youngest Cody after Carey's late grandfather. The first several months were rough on all of them. With two newborns, its seemed like one of them was always awake and crying. They both learned that to Zack, they were just moving targets while they tried to change his diaper. If they didn't know better, they could have sworn he was doing it on purpose. On the other hand, they learned that Cody was a finicky eater. If something didn't taste good to him, he had no problems expressing his distaste for it.

But beyond that, both Kurt and Carey absolutely loved being parents. To Carey, they were her little men and complete angels. Often, she and Janet would watch all three of their kids together. And little Addison would wail just as much as the boys wood.

Carey looked at Janet. "Do you really think its wise to eat so many Twinkies before you breast feed her?"

Janet laughed. "Why wouldn't it be okay? Not like its going to cause any lasting damage..."

All in all, life was going pretty good for the Martin family. Until...yes, there's always an until. Kurt had been at his day job when he got a call from the band's manager. Seems like a record executive had seen them play the week before and was interested in signing them. Immediately, Kurt left work and met the manager at the record company. And it went even better than he could have imagined. The executive liked what he heard and wanted to sign them to a three record deal. And in addition to that, they wanted Kurt's band to be the opening act to another, higher profile band on its upcoming European tour. As this is what he had been waiting for forever, Kurt immediately signed on the dotted line.

But to say that Carey was a little angry at that would be an understatement.

"You just signed up without even bothering to call me and talk to me about any of this?"

Kurt just looked at his wife. "But this is my dream! You've known from the very beginning that this is what I've worked so hard for. I thought you would be happy for me...for us."

Carey just shook her head and nodded over at a bassinet. "Did you forget that we have two twin infant sons now?"

"No...of course I didn't. I love my boys."

"But you're okay with just leaving them and me to go traipsing around Europe for six months?"

He paused. "Of course not. I want to take them with us..."

She just sighed and shook her head again. "Do you really think that living out of a suitcase and diaper bag for six months will be good for them? Kurt, our boys need some stability in their lives..."

"And that's what I'm trying to give them! I want to provide for my boys and make sure they are taken care of!"

"No, providing for them and taking care of them means doing what is best for them. They need to be in one place where they can grow and be around their families."

Kurt paused. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying the boys and I are staying right here in Seattle...I'm going to show them that they are my top priority."

"They're my top priority too!"

She shook her head sadly. "No...they're not. You're top priority is you and your band."

He swallowed and shook his head. "So...is this...is this it? You won't even think about going with me?"

Carey sighed. "No, I won't. I was hoping you would reconsider."

"I can't do that. This is about more than just me. I have the other guys to think about as well..."

Tears formed in Carey's eyes. "I see. I see what's most important to you now. I'll call my Uncle Harry the lawyer tomorrow. When you're actually around, I'll let you see the boys as often as you want..."

Kurt just stared at her. "No way! I don't want this to end, but I'll be damned if I give up my boys!"

Carey sighed again. "Then what do you suggest? You'll be away all the time and I'll be here in Seattle..."

He paused to think. "I can only think of one solution. You'll have custody of one of them and I'll have custody of the other..."

"That's the most asinine thing I've ever heard!"

"Do you have a better idea?"

To be Continued...