Part 143

"Rise and shine!" Nick laughed, knocking on Howie's door.

"Shh! Nick, be quiet!" Becca said.

Nick ignored her and knocked again. "Come on you two, breakfast is waiting!"

"Damn, Nick, you could wake the dead." Howie flung open the door. "Hey Bec!" he added, his eyes and voice softening.

"Hi Howie, where's Sarah?"

"She's-" He didn't need to answer. The sounds of Sarah throwing up could be heard from behind the closed bathroom door.

"Poor thing," Becca said. "Is it like this every morning?"

"Morning?" Howie asked. "Morning, afternoon, nighttime… It's pretty bad."

"Becca, did you-?" Nick asked, concerned.

"Only for a few weeks, and never this bad. Let me see if I can help." Becca slipped quietly into the bathroom and wet a washcloth for Sarah's face. Sitting gingerly on the edge of the tub, she waited till Sarah was done before speaking.

Sarah lay her head against the cool tile wall and moaned.

"Here, use this." Becca handed her the cool cloth.

"God, Bec, I didn't even hear you come in." Sarah wiped her face and scooted to a more comfortable position. She was afraid to get up for fear that her nausea wasn't quite finished.

"Well, you weren't exactly in the best position for small talk," she said, smiling.

"Bec, I hate this. I'm sick ALL day long, and I was a total bitch to Nick and Howie last night."

"So I heard. Nick says you were in rare form, sis."

"I'm just tired, Bec. It's been a rough month and my head is still spinning from everything that's happened, you know?"

Becca sighed. "I tried to get Nick to leave you alone and not call you, but he insisted. I feel really bad about this."

"Well, Howie and Kevin seem to think this is just what I need to help jumpstart my career, so here I am." She pulled her self to her feet and rinsed out her mouth. Running a brush through her hair, she looked in the mirror and deemed herself presentable enough to get on with her day.

"Better?" Becca asked.

"Mostly I guess, let's do this."

Becca and Sarah walked down to the dining room arm in arm as the guys followed them, discussing the show. Once seated in a corner booth, they began to read over the menu. Howie and Nick were going traditional, and ordered a huge breakfast, while Sarah decided to stick with something safer, toast and juice.

"Bec, what are you having?" Nick asked as the waitress hovered impatiently.

"Not sure yet …." She was taking her time, reading the menu from cover to cover and finally closing it decisively. "I'll have a chef salad, please, French dressing with extra dressing on the side."

The waitress raised her eyebrows, but simply thanked them for their order and headed off to the kitchen.

"Salad?" Nick asked.

"Yes, a salad. What's wrong with that?" Becca asked playing with the straw in her coke.

"Just seems an odd choice for breakfast, Becca." Howie smiled, watching Nick watching *her*.

Becca shrugged her shoulders. "Not really, I just didn't feel like a plate of soggy eggs and wiggly bacon when a cool, crisp salad would do just as nicely."

Sarah groaned at her description and barely managed to hold onto the meager contents of her stomach.

"How are you feeling, Becca?" Howie asked, leaning on the table to look into her eyes.

"Fine, I guess, why?"

"Nick says you've been tired, and what's this about your ankles swelling?"

Sarah watched the by-play amongst the three and was slightly irked at the attention Becca was receiving. Finally chalking it up to hormones, she did her best to ignore the little green monster that was growing bigger and bigger within her chest.

"Nick's over-exaggerating," Becca said. "You'd be tired too if you had to carry all this weight around 24 hours a day."

"But Bec, the swelling isn't good." Howie continued. "It could be a sign of early complications. My sister-"

"Oh look," Sarah interrupted, "breakfast is here." Thankfully all attention was turned toward the meal and the subject of Becca's health was forgotten. For the moment.

Everyone else had finished, but Becca was still hard at work on her salad. Nick sat back and watched in amusement as she methodically polished off every last bite. Shaking his head, he glanced over at Howie who winked at him and grinned.

"Have enough?" Nick asked, tongue in cheek.

"I think so," Becca replied seriously. "That should hold me till lunch."

Sarah snorted. "God, Bec, you keep eating like that and the rest of you will balloon up to match your ankles."

Becca looked at Sarah, astonished at her friend's tone of voice. Before she had a chance to reply, Howie stepped in.

"Not to worry Bec, I think you look healthy and beautiful. Pregnancy suits you." Shooting a look at Sarah, he rose from the table. "Let's get going. We have a lot to do to get ready for the show tonight."

Sarah rolled her eyes. It was going to be another long damn day.

Part 144        The Dance Index(2)