Part 43

'I..I don't know..what to say..' Caro tried forming a coherent sentence, this was the first time he actually hinted at there being something 'more' between them.

The arrogance of the 'rockstar' was gone, replaced by a raw vulnerability that made him look younger, stripped of the stage lights and the armor of his fame.

'I know the timing is a disaster,' he said, his voice raspy. 'And I know the divorce is going to be loud. It's a mess of lawyers, assets, and headlines that I'm still stuck in the middle of. It's going to get ugly before it gets quiet.' He looked at her with a pained honesty. 'I hate that I'm bringing that storm with me. I've spent months trying to figure out how to get clean of it before I even dared to look at you this way, but the accident... it took away my patience.'

He shifted slightly, a wince of pain crossing her face, 'I need you to know it wasn't just one moment. It was every time you stood in the wings while I was spiraling. It was the way you're the only person who actually tells me "no" when everyone else says "yes." I've been in love with the person who sees me when the guitars and the noise and the fame are packed away.'

His blue eyes searched hers, desperate for her approval. 'But I can't do this, the divorce, the fallout, the starting over, if I'm just projecting. I've lived a lie in that house here in London for years, Caro. I can't trade one fantasy for another.'

He leaned as close as he could, his gaze dropping to her lips before snapping back to her eyes. 'I need the truth, even if it ruins me. Please tell me I'm not alone in this? Am I wrong in thinking you have feelings for me too?'

Caro felt the air leave her lungs. The "professional boundary" she had guarded like a fortress wasn't just crumbling; it was being incinerated by the heat in his gaze. She looked at him, really looked at him 'You're not alone,' she whispered, the words catching in her throat before they came out steady and sure. 'And you're definitely not wrong.'

She laughed softly, 'I think I've known since you've played 'Slide Away' at rehearsals a while back..I think I've known since then that there was no going back.'

Her expression turned serious, 'I know that the storm is coming. I know the divorce will be a circus and the paps will lose their minds. But if you're asking me if I'm in this with you... the answer is yes. It's always been yes.'

Caro held his gaze, her expression softening but her voice remaining firm.

'I have one condition, Noel,' she said, 'One major objection to us giving in to our feelings. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can happen between us until that divorce is finalized. No "secret" dates, no late-night visits that aren't about the tour, no blurring the lines.'

Noel's face fell, the light of the confession dimming into a heavy, somber understanding.

'Noel, look at me,' she commanded softly. 'This isn't me saying no. This is me saying not like this.'

He let out a jagged sigh, leaning his head back against the pillow and staring at the ceiling. 'I know you're right,' he admitted, his voice thick with frustration. 'It's just... I've spent so long waiting for a green light, and now that I finally have it, I have to stop at the gate?'

'You have to, we have to..' Caro insisted, her voice unwavering. 'Because of the kids, Sonny, Donovan and even Bowie... they didn't ask for any of this. If we start something while you're still legally bound to their mother, the press won't just come for us. They'll use us to hurt them. And Sara...' she paused, choosing her words carefully. 'Whatever has happened between you two, she's been your life for twenty years. She deserves the respect of a clean break, not a replacement waiting in the wings.'

Noel closed his eyes, a muscle jumping in his jaw. 'It's going to be months, Caro. Maybe a year of mediation and arguments over the house and the assets, I don't know. It's going to be a long, lonely crawl.'

'But you won't be alone,' she reminded him, squeezing his hand. 'I'll still be your manager. I'll still be the one telling you the setlist is too long and your lyrics are too cryptic. I'll be right there, just like I've always been. But we keep this, this thing between us, in a safe place until the paperwork is signed.'

Noel turned his head back toward her, his expression softening with a mixture of resignation and deep admiration. 'You're the only person who could make me behave, you know that? Anyone else, I'd tell them to go to hell. But you..'

He managed a small, sad smile. 'Okay. We do it your way. We clear the wreckage first.' He looked at her intensely.

A mischievous glint returned to Caro's eyes. She saw the longing in his expression, the rockstar ego struggling with the newfound "good behavior" she had just demanded of him.

She leaned over to him, but instead of the passionate embrace he was clearly hoping for, she extended a single index finger. With a playful, mock-serious expression, she pressed the tip of her finger gently against the center of his forehead.

'I mean it, Gallagher,' she whispered, her voice dropping into a perfect, gravelly imitation of a certain 80's alien. 'Beeee goooood.' She grinned.

Noel let out a genuine, surprised giggle, 'Did you just E.T. me? Really? I'm pouring my soul out here'

'It's the only way to make sure that stubborn brain of yours remembers the plan,' she teased.

But then, the playfulness softened. She didn't pull away. Instead, she leaned down further, her long hair falling like a silk curtain around his face. She didn't go for his lips, but pressed a lingering, feather-light kiss to his temple, right above his eyebrow.

It was soft, smelling of her perfume and the promise of more, and it felt more intimate than anything he had done or felt in a very long time.

Noel's fingers curling almost instinctively into the honey, heavy waves of her hair. He didn't pull her back, but he held the silk of it between his thumb and indexfinger, feeling the weight of it.

A small, lopsided smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, 'I love your hair. Always have. It's like everything else about you, luscious, beautiful, and completely out of my league.'

He let a strand slip through his fingers with a reluctant sigh, honoring the boundary she'd just set. 'I'll get out of here before I forget I'm supposed to be good. I've got a lot of phone calls to make'

'Daddddyyyyy' Bowie, followed by her uncle came storming into the room but froze in the doorway, her wide eyes darting between her father and Caro, sensing the electricity in the air.

Noel let the last strand of Caro's hair slip through his fingers, his expression smoothing into a mask of casual warmth, though the slight flush on his cheekbones gave him away.

'There's my little troublemaker', he said, his voice still a bit husky as he braced for the impact of his daughter's energy. He shot Caro a warm smile before turning his focus to the child.

Liam remained by the door, his eyebrows raised as he took in the scene. He had seen his brother in many states over the years, but "lovey-dovey" was a relative new one. He cleared his throat, leaning against the doorframe with a protective, yet curious, glint in his eyes.

'Daddy, uncle Liam said I had to ask if I could have another biscuit,' Bowie finished, even at her age, she could tell she'd walked into a moment that was 'grown-up' in a way she didn't quite understand, but it felt safe.

Noel let out a short, breathy laugh, the tension finally breaking. He reached out and scooped Bowie into a quick hug, burying his face in her hair for a second to fully compose himself. 'A biscuit? Is that all? I thought the house was on fire the way you two came charging in.'

Over Bowie's shoulder, his eyes met Liam's. The protective glint in Liam's gaze was still there, but it was tempered by a smirk that said he'd be bringing this up later, probably with a fair amount of teasing.

'She's already had two,' Liam chimed in, crossing his arms and leaning heavily against the doorframe. He didn't move further into the room, respecting the lingering boundary of the space Caro and Noel had just shared. 'I told her she had to clear it with the Chief. Didn't realize the Chief was busy being... charming.'

Liam's eyes flicked to Caro, a silent acknowledgment of the miracle he'd just witnessed: his brother, the notoriously stubborn Noel Gallagher, looking genuinely peaceful and cozy with his tourmanager.

Caro smoothed her hair back, her fingers still tingling from where Noel had touched them. She gave Liam a knowing look, one that warned him not to push his luck. 'The Chief says one more but that's the last one' Noel said, his voice steady despite the flutter in his chest. 'And Liam? Stop hovering.'

Liam let out a loud snort of laughter, turning to lead Bowie back toward the kitchen.

As they disappeared down the hall, Noel turned back to Caro one last time. The mischief was gone, replaced by a look of quiet resolve. 'I'll go check on my Cookie-monster..' he muttered as he tore himself away from her and got up, though his feet stayed planted for a heartbeat longer. 'Liam is capable to let Bowie eat the entire tin of biscuits'.

With a sharp exhale, he walked to the kitchen, not daring to look back in case he lost his nerve. He needed a cold glass of water and a very long, very boring business conversation to ground him before he did something completely reckless.

A few days later, The vibration of the phone on the duvet felt like a tremor through Caro's entire body. She squinted at the screen. It was a video from Mark, one of the backline techs.

The clip was grainy, filmed from the side of the stage. It showed Noel, his silhouette sharp under the studio lights, hunched over his guitar as the opening chords of Little By Little rang out. He looked focused, but there was a restless, jagged edge to his playing that only she could recognize.

'I'm going crazy, Debbie, I want to go to work, I want to go back to my apartment and choose some new outfits..I miss being me..I miss having a goal in life, all I do is sit around, sleep, and I'm not even allowed to help you with the house and things..I'm so sick of resting' Caro sighed, looking at Debbie, who was sitting at the end of the bed with a tray of tea, over the last week or two, they had become quite good friends.

'Caro, you can't even sit up without being in a lot of pain' Debbie reminded her gently, reaching out a hand. 'Stay here with us. It's safe here.'

'I don't want to overstay my welcome, I know I'm quite a handful' Caro sighed, while Debbie shuffled closer to her .

'You're not! Liam and I love having you here, and so do the kids,..Look, I understand your need for independence, I really do, but I'm not letting you go back to your apartment, you can hardly get up the stairs here without any help, let alone tackle the 3 flights of stairs at your place. The only thing you have to fear staying here is that Liam will want to adopt you soon. He's so grateful that you brought Noel and him back together' Debbie gently pulled her in for a comforting hug.

'Anyway, I'll call you a cab so you can go and check on the boys? And on one boy in particular?' Debbie gave her a mischievous wink, 'I..I have no idea what you're talking about..' Caro tried to play it cool but Debbie was on to her, 'Oh come on, don't you act all innocent with me, you and Noel?'.

Caro swallowed hard 'you're wrong, Debbie..nothing's going on..with the accident and everything that happened, we've just become a little bit closer but we're friends, nothing more' she hated having to lie, but she just couldn't risk it, besides, technically it wasn't a lie, all there was between them was words, they hadn't kissed yet, they barely dared to touch each other because there were too many, especially little, eyes about.

Debbie didn't say a word, she just held the look, one eyebrow arched in a way that suggested she'd seen more than enough of the Gallagher brothers' history to know exactly when a "friendship" was actually a ticking time bomb.

'Right. Friends. That's why he looks like he's lost his favorite guitar every time you're not in the room,' Debbie teased, finally relenting and pulling out her phone to book the car. 'Just remember, Caro, Noel might be the "Chief," but he's still a man. And a Gallagher man at that. They don't do "patient" very well.'

The taxi ride to the studio was a brutal reminder of why she was supposed to be in bed. Every pothole felt like a physical assault on her ribcage, and by the time she limped through the heavy soundproof doors of the rehearsal space, she was pale and breathless.

The wall of sound was a physical blow to her chest. She stood in the shadows near the back, leaning her weight against a flight case to keep from swaying.

Noel saw her instantly. He waited, impatiently, for the song to end before he hopped off the riser, 'What the hell are you doing here?' he called out as he marched toward her, his face a storm of irritation and raw, unfiltered worry. 'You're supposed to be flat on your back, not wandering around drafty warehouses, how many times do we have to discuss this?'

'I just needed air, Noel, I'm fine, let it be' she lied, though her voice was breathless and her face was the color of chalk.

Noel stopped inches from her, his eyes scanning her face, seeing right through the wall she was throwing up 'You're a terrible liar. You look like you're about to collapse. Why aren't you at Liam's? Or your own place?'

The mention of her apartment broke the last of her defenses. The frustration of her own physical helplessness boiled over.

'Because I can't go home!' she almost yelled, trying to suppress a sob. 'I tried to call a car to take me there, but I realized I can't even get up the three flights of stairs. My lungs won't let me. I'm trapped, I can't even get behind a wheel because every time I see a pair of headlights in the mirror, my heart stops.'

She looked down at her shaking hands and she felt absolutely useless. 'I can't drive. I can't climb stairs. I'm the manager of one of the biggest bands in the world and I can't even get into my own bloody bedroom.'

Noel's anger melted, replaced by a devastatingly quiet tenderness. He stepped into her space, finally breaking the distance he had been so carefully maintaining. He didn't grab her, he just closed the distance between them.

'Di Benedetto, look at me,' he commanded softly. When she finally met his eyes, he was closer than he'd been in days. 'You're not going to your flat. And you're not going back to Liam's if it makes you feel too much like a guest.'

He leaned in, his forehead resting against hers, his breath hitching as he fought the urge to finally, finally kiss her. He was starving for it, the 'good behavior' crumbling under the weight of her vulnerability.

'You're coming to a hotel with me, I'll book us somewhere' he whispered against her skin. 'Ground floor. No stairs. No driving. Just me.'