Part 137
"Alex McLean please?" Nick spoke cheerfully, flashing his best smile at the young woman behind the desk.
"Name please?" she asked, even though she clearly recognized him.
"Carter," he replied, "Nick and Becca Carter."
"I’ll need to see some I.D. please," she asked, checking the database for approved visitors.
Nick rolled his eyes and reached for his driver’s license. Becca handed hers to the receptionist, giggling as the girl winked at her, obviously enjoying Nick’s irritation.
Satisfied that they were really who they claimed to be, she signed them in as she buzzed Alex’s room. "Mr. McLean? Your guests have arrived," she stated sweetly. "He’ll be right down. You can have a seat over there if you want," she told Becca as she watched her rub her aching back.
"Thanks, I’m fine, just a little stiff from the plane ride."
"How much longer?"
"Only about a month and a half," Becca said. "It can’t happen soon enough as far as I’m concerned."
Nick folded his arms and watched them, somewhat disconcerted about the amount of attention Becca had been receiving lately and he jumped as a voice whispered in his ear.
"Whatsa matter, blondie, not the center of attention anymore?"
Spinning around he came face to face with Alex, who was grinning widely. "Damn, J, you scared me half to death!" There was an awkward silence as both men stood and simply looked at each other. Neither was sure what to say, or whether or not to make the first move.
Becca solved their dilemma for them. She moved swiftly to stand between them and wrapped her arms around Alex hugging him tightly. "Alex," she whispered, "you look wonderful!"
"Baby, I FEEL wonderful," he sighed against her hair. "But let me look at YOU." Holding her at arm’s length, he looked her over from head to toe and whistled in appreciation. "Bec, you look great! You’re glowing. I always thought that was some cheesy line, but it’s true. Nick, you done good," he added, shooting a grin at his little brother.
"Yeah," Nick quipped, "I think I’ll keep her." He laughed when Becca stuck her tongue out at him. "Girl, that tongue has already gotten you in trouble once, don’t push your luck."
Becca blushed as Alex laughed, winking at her.
"Man, thanks for coming all this way to see me," Alex said softly. "This means a lot to me."
Nick sighed. "Is there some place we can go to talk?"
"Sure. Um … come on, let’s go outside, I’ll show you guys around."
The three walked out the side door, and Alex gave them the grand tour, pointing out the various buildings and introducing them to the new friends he’d made. At the very back of the property, they settled into chairs beneath a huge shade tree and the silence threatened to overwhelm them once more.
"I’m sorry." They spoke in unison, breaking off in embarrassment, the silence descending once again.
Becca stood and stretched. "Look guys, I need to move around and work out the kinks. You guys talk and I’ll be back in while." Squeezing Nick’s hand, she kissed him and wandered away to give them time alone.
"How’d you get so lucky, Nick?"
Nick didn’t even pretend to misunderstand. "I don’t question it, ya know? I just say thanks every time I wake up in the morning and she’s next to me." He thought carefully before speaking again. "Alex, I’m sorry for all the things I said to you, the way I treated you."
"Nick, you don’t need to apologize. After what I did to Sarah and the things I said to Becca, you had every right to be pissed. I’ll never be able to make up for that, and the fact that you guys have all stood by me through all of this…. It just blows me away." He leaned back in his chair, wiping his eyes. "I’m a very lucky man, Nick."
"You could have died, Alex, it scared the hell out of us. You were slowly killing yourself and all we could do was stand back and watch. We tried-"
"I know. You tried to make me get help, but I wasn’t ready. Stop blaming yourself."
Nick inhaled sharply. Blame himself? Hell, was that what he was doing? Damn, maybe he HAD been. As he thought about what Alex had said, he began to rub his hand. The cast had just been removed a few days ago, but his fingers still ached sometimes.
"How’s your hand?"
Nick realized what he had been doing and grinned. "Better. Just got the cast off, but my fingers still hurt sometimes."
"Dumb ass," Alex smirked. "First you fall off the damn drum set and then you punch my lights out… and where the hell did you learn how to box? You damn near broke my nose you little shit."
Nick grinned. "Don’t mess with my woman, Bone. Lesson number one."
They watched as Becca made her way back to where they were sitting. "How’s she really handling everything?" Alex asked. "When I talked to her she sounded good, but I worry about her. She’s not Sarah, she doesn’t have the same experience with all this."
"No, but she’s finding her own niche. I think once she tried to stop being a carbon copy of Sarah it all evened out. Hell, she even has my mother wrapped around her little finger, and the other guys- all she has to do is frown and they have a chair pulled out for her to sit in. I shudder to think how they’ll be once this baby comes along. And then Sarah’s, too - Backstreet babies everywhere. What a logistical nightmare THAT’S gonna be."
"Logistical? Damn Nick, using big words now?" he cackled.
"Bite me, Alex, okay?" he smirked.
"Knock it off you two." Becca watched them bicker and it was just like old times. "Nick, I need to-"
Nick laughed. "Bathroom or food?"
"Stop it! Alex, he’s so mean to me," she pouted, rubbing her tummy as the baby did somersaults.
Alex laughed. "Come on beautiful. Uncle Alex will make it all better. Lunch and a potty, right this way." Leaving Nick to stare after them, he put a protective arm around Becca’s shoulder and led her toward the main building.
Nick shook his head, smiling at the way things were slowly returning to normal. Normal? No, everything was going to be very different from now on, but he had a feeling it would only get better.
Over lunch they talked about the tour, the other guys and babies.
"So, what’s it gonna be, you two?" Alex asked.
"Boy." "Girl."
Alex roared. "I cannot WAIT to see how this one turns out. Any names picked out yet?"
"No, because Nick insists that it’s going to be a boy, and I KNOW that it’s a girl."
"Baby, it IS a boy. Just because that silly test said otherwise…"
Becca rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Test?" Alex asked. "So, what? You did one of those sonogram things?"
Becca had the grace to look embarrassed. "Well, no…"
Nick chuckled. "No way, Bone, it was much more definitive than that."
"Never mind. Stop teasing me Nick." Becca tossed her napkin down and started to move away from the table, but Nick held her wrist and pulled her back.
"See, Sarah took my wedding ring and tied it onto the string from Brian’s swimsuit," Nick began.
"Wait, so didn’t Bri have a hard time holding up his suit?" Alex asked.
"He wasn’t wearing it at the time," Becca answered without thinking.
Nick snorted. "Hell, Bec, he wasn’t wearing ANYTHING at the time."
"Never mind!" Becca turned bright red.
"Come to think of it," Nick went on shamelessly, "neither were Howie and Kevin."
Alex howled. "I am too out of the loop. Damn I’ve missed you guys."
Becca was grateful for the change of subject. "When will you be back? It should be soon, right?"
"Not too much longer, Bec. I’ve already talked to management, because I need an extra week or so, but I’ll be back before you know it."
"It can’t come soon enough, Bone." Nick sat back watching the changes on his friend’s face. He looked so much better. He’d gained weight, he was well rested, and he looked at peace with himself for the first time in a long time.
The rest of the afternoon passed much too quickly. Just as Sarah and Howie had done, Nick and Becca met with Alex’s counselor. As they said their goodbyes that evening before returning to their hotel, all three felt they were back on solid ground and ready to return to the real world.