We were awake early the next morning to leave for Berlin. Paul and Schneider were driving back in Schneiders car but the rest of us were travelling in the tour bus.

We cleared up the mess we had made outside the night before, and were on the road before 8am. Till and Flake went back to their bunks to get more sleep, and Richard and I took the blanket from our bunk and settled on the sofa near Ollie to watch some TV. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I was aware of was being shaken awake gently by Flake, and being told that we would be in Berlin in less than an hour.I stretched and leaned back into Richard who rubbed my back and kissed me hair.

"What's the plan for Berlin, then?" I asked, standing up and starting to walk along the narrow corridor of the bus to our bunk.

"Food first." Richard replied almost instantly, poking my side when I rolled my eyes at him. "Then we'll go to my place to get a proper shower. And later we have been invited to Christoph's house for dinner to meet the little one."

"Awesome." I grinned. I loved babies, Emily would often remark at how surprised she was that I didn't have any yet - not that she was in any rush to be an auntie!

We got dressed quickly and somehow managed to both squeeze into the bathroom to use the mirror and brush our teeth. When we were both ready we made our way back through to the living area to sit with Ollie, Till and Flake. Flake was having a quiet conversation on his phone, and I realised that it had been some time since I checked my own. I dug around in my bag and finally found it, and wasn't so surprised to see that I had several Facebook notifications.

I accepted the friends requests from both of the American girls, and replied to Emily's comment on my wall to have fun in Germany with an assurance that I definitely would. I frowned at the next notification which told me that "Oliver Reidel has added a photo of you." I glanced over at him but he was engrossed in his book. I tapped on the link and smiled as a picture of Richard and I popped up, entangled together under a blanket and both fast asleep. It was from that morning, and despite the fact that I had no makeup on and my hair was a complete mess, I quite liked the picture. He had added a caption saying "too much partying last night for these two, ruining my cartoons with their snoring!". I picked up a cushion from behind me and launched it at Ollie, cheering as it landed on his head, my intended target. He looked up in surprise then grinned when he saw who had thrown it and that my phone was in my hand.

"What? You both looked so peaceful, I wanted to capture the moment." He threw the cushion back to me and I caught it easily, returning it to it's rightful place.

Richard had been watching our exchange with a quizzical look on his face and grinned when I showed him the picture. "It's not bad."

When the bus arrived in Berlin it drove straight to the record company buildings, and we unloaded all of our things from the bus and into the boy's cars which they had parked there the morning before. I climbed into the passenger seat of Richard's BMW and waved to the rest of the guys as we drove off. A short time later we pulled up in the car park of an apartment complex that looked surprisingly low-key. He parked up and we trailed to the door of his apartment, dumping all.of our stuff down as soon as we got inside. Richard threw together a quick breakfast for both of us of yogurt and fruit, and we ate quickly, I hadn't realised how hungry I was until the food had been put in front of me.

After finishing eating, I wandered round the rooms while he busied himself unloading clothes from our bags and throwing them into the washing machine. It was quite a big place, a couple of extra bedrooms and two bathrooms, the decor was minimalist but there were a few family pictures on the walls to make it a little more homey. Walking into what I could only assume was his bedroom, there were boxes packed up neatly stacked and a suitcase of clothes sitting next to them along with two guitar cases.

"Here." He appeared in the door frame, offering me a mug of tea.

"Thanks, love." I accepted the mug gratefully and took a drink of the hot liquid. "What's all this?" I indicated the boxes and such with my free hand.

"That's what I'm bringing to Scotland. Some clothes, a couple of guitars, and some random crap to make the apartment more like home." He smiled. "Anyway, since you're exploring, I'm going to take a shower. Feel free to join me if you're done before I'm out..." The sweet kiss on my nose belied the mischevious glint in his eyes, and I locked gazes with him as I nodded, trying for nonchalant.

"Okay." I breathed, the word coming out as more of a squeak, making his grin more pronounced. He left the room then, walking to the bathroom and closing the door behind him, but not locking it. I continued my exploration of his apartment, my mind preoccupied with thoughts of my boyfriend in the shower, and soon I had come full circle and was back in the kitchen.

I drank my now cooled tea, rinsed out the cup and set it on the draining board. I took a deep breath and worked up the nerve to go into the bathroom after Richard. I walked the short few steps to the door, pausing briefly to retrieve my bathroom bag from the suitcase that had been abandoned on the floor, pushed it open and stepped inside, closing it quickly behind me but knowing that the draft of cold air would have announced my arrival anyway. The air in the room was thick with steam, and I could see the faint outline of Richard's head, shoulders and upper body through the glass surrounding the shower.

I shrugged out of my t-shirt, undid my bra and pulled off my jeans, socks and underwear. Feeling exposed naked, and feeling stupid for feeling exposed, I quickly pulled open the doors of the shower cubicle and stepped inside. Richard turned around and grinned at me, moving along so that I could get under the stream of water with him. I closed my eyes as the hot water cascaded down my back. His hands fastened around my waist and he pulled me towards him, and I automatically put my hands on his chest, unable to hide their shaking from him.

"What's wrong?" He frowned, concerned.

"It's nothing...just, an anxiety thing. I'm not used to feeling so exposed with someone." I knew I should explain to him the reasons for my lack of self confidence and security within myself but this didn't seem like the right time. I attempted a smile and continued: "It'll take a while to tell you this story, and I want to enjoy this weekend with you and not bring up my shitty past. Can you wait for an explanation?"

"Sure." He grinned, but there was an uncertain undertone to his expression.

"Thank you." I said sincerely, wrapping my arms around him and leaning against his chest. "I love you." I mumbled into his skin, planting a kiss under his collarbone.

"I love you too." He returned. "And you better not kiss me there again, or we'll be in this shower for a lonnng time!"

I giggled and reached a hand outside to retrieve my shampoo, and he surprised me by taking it from me and squeezing some into the palm of his hand, then washing my hair for me. He gently rinsed it, ran some conditioner through it then rinsed it again.

"I'm definitely keeping you around, you spoil me!" I joked, reaching up to kiss him.

"I just like to show you how I love you." He retorted, grabbing the bottle of bodywash and starting to clean himself. I followed suit and soon we were standing in the kitchen, wrapped in a towel each. My damp hair hung around my shoulders and his was standing in all directions. He looked at the clock. "Ach, two o'clock, not too early." He went to the one of the cabinets and pulled out two wine glasses, then retrieved a bottle of white wine from the fridge. He poured us each a glass and handed mine to me.

"I suppose we're not driving to Schneider's, then?" I asked, taking a sip of wine.

"Nope." He shook his head. "We're not due there until 7, but I thought we might take a tour of Berlin first. I know you've never been and your mother would be furious with me if I brought you here and didn't show you around." I had to laugh at that - he was completely right.

Grabbing my suitcase from the floor I carried it through to his room, and sorted through it to find an outfit that would be comfortable enough to wear around the city but also nice enough to wear to dinner. I finally settled on black skinny jeans, boots and a black vest top with red roses printed on it. I dried and straightened my hair, put on some eyeliner and mascara, and pulled on my hoodie. He had been getting dressed meanwhile and soon we were ready to go.

Leaving the apartment, I snorted as he pulled out a pair of sunglasses from his pocked and put them on, pulling his beanie hat down further to cover his hair. "Very inconspicuous." I commented, and he poked his tongue out at me. "Anyone who would recognise you anyway, would still recognise you like that." I reached up and yanked the hat off, then held it between my teeth as I used both hands to smooth his hair up into the mohawk he sometimes styled it in. He sighed in defeat and removed the glasses too, putting them back in his pocket as I put his hat in my bag. "Much better." I grinned up at him, and though he tried not to, eventually he grinned back. He took my hand and we started our walk into town.

"You have only yourself to blame now, if we get stopped a hundred times!" He warned.

"Don't worry babe, I'm getting used to it now."

************

Rather than walk around Berlin, we decided to take one of the tour buses that seemed to be constantly making their way around the city. I took hundreds of pictures, and by the end of the trip three hours later I was convinced that Berlin was the most beautiful city in the world, and told him so several times.

"This, from the girl who spent time living in Edinburgh? Where has your patriotism gone?" Richard joked, his arm around my shoulders as we walked from the bus stop towards a taxi rank. We stopped on the way to buy some wine and flowers for Schneider and his wife, then climbed into the back of a cab, Richard reciting the address to the driver.

Twently minutes later we pulled up outside Schneider's house, it was in a much quieter area from Richard's city centre apartment, and the street was almost deserted of cars and pedestrians. We knocked on the door and after a few moments it was opened by an attractive brunette who greeted us with a smile.

"Richard, hi! You must be Rebekah, welcome, I'm Ulrike. Please come in!" She gestured, giving us each a hug and a kiss and leading us through the house, into the living room, which was separated from the kitchen by an open arch rather than a conventional door, and was also used as a dining room. As she took our gifts of wine and flowers to the kitchen area, Schneider rose from his seat on the sofa to greet us as well, and the short time he had spent at home seemed to have done him wonders already. The tiredness was gone from his face, and he looked much happier and more relaxed compared to how we had seen him this morning. More hugs and kisses from Schneider, then Richard went to help Ulrike in the kitchen and Schneider led me over to the other side of the living room where his baby son was sleeping in a crib. Holding Schneider's arm I leant over to see inside, and at that moment he woke up, his little eyes snapping open and gazing around, finally settling on his father then me. Expecting him to cry, I moved back slightly, but he just gurgled happily and Schneider picked him up.

"Want to hold him?" He asked, and passed the baby expertly to me when I nodded enthusiastically. I cradled him carefully, making sure to support his head. He looked up at me curiously and I smiled down at him.

"What's his name?" I asked Schneider, as he maneuvered us back to the sofa. I sat down gently, being sure not to jostle the little one who was quite content in my arms.

"Lukas." He answered, his face the picture of paternal pride.

"Hi, Lukas." I cooed, and he gave me a gummy baby grin in return. Richard and Ulrike emerged at that point, Ulrike wiping her hands on a cloth and Richard carrying a tray with a bottle of wine in a cooler and five glasses on it - Ulrike had insisted that Schneider was to relax and have a drink with us, and since they had a new baby, she had opted not to drink at all. He placed it on the dining table and poured glasses for those of us who were here. Schneider jumped up from the sofa and went to help his wife in the kitchen, and I sat contentedly holding the baby, who's eyes were getting heavy. I rocked him gently as he dozed off, and Richard stood watching me, one hand in his front pocket and the other holding his wine glass.

Not long after, Paul and his wife Arielle arrived, and I put baby Lukas back into his crib so that I could socialise, but not before Paul had snapped a few pictures with his camera. Arielle and Paul were so similar, she had the same sense of mischief as he did, they really made a perfect couple.

Ulrike and Schneider made perfect hosts, and the night went smoothly through the meal and the drinks, Richard even declining to smoke at the table because of the baby; instead taking a few short smoke breaks during the meal, nowhere near as many as he would normally take. Around 11 I started to get tired, and after Arielle and I helped Ulrike clear the table and tidy up a little, we all moved to sit on the sofas where it was a little more comfortable. Schneider and Ulrike took the smaller sofa, and Arielle, Paul, Richard and I squeezed onto the larger one. I was sandwiched between Richard and Paul, and rested my head on Richard's shoulder, following the conversation in German, my brain too tired to muster the effort to speak the language clearly. Noticing I was about to doze off, Paul poked me sharply in the side and giggled when I glared at him.

"No stamina!" He joked, edging away from me as I aimed a punch at his shoulder.

"She's with Reesh, I think a lack of stamina is out of the question." Schneider quipped, leading to laughter and a few not-unkind jokes aimed towards Richard. Surprisingly, given his nicotine deficit, he took them all cheerfully and even agreed with a few of the comments. In the following few hours, all but Ulrike got steadily more drunk, and when the noise levels got too much she quickly and quietly moved Lukas from his crib in the living room to one she told me they had in their bedroom. I was amazed at how well he slept, and when I told Ulrike so she laughed and said she was glad he didn't take after his father.

Arielle and Paul were first to say goodnight, they called a cab and she practically had to pour Paul into the back of the car, he was so drunk. He refused to leave until he had hugged and kissed everyone at least twice, and told me several times that he was so happy I was part of their "kleine Familie" as he called it, even when speaking English. By this stage of drunkenness my German was terrible to I just hugged and kissed him back.

"See you later Paulie!" I called and waved, before kissing Arielle on the cheek and saying goodbye to her too. Finally they were off, and it was back to the four of us. Schneider and Richard were both quite drunk, and seemed to be finding everything hilarious. Back inside, we noticed that Paul had forgotten to take his camera with him, in his drunken state, so we took some ridiculous pictures on it as a surprise for when he got it back. Ulrike and I had to laugh at our men, considering they were 46 and 47 respectively. I snapped some pictures of them on my phone, then as even Schneider started to yawn, we decided that it was more than time for us to be heading back to Richard's home ourselves. So we called another cab, said a quiet goodbye to Lukas then to Ulrike and Schneider, and went home to bed.