Part 150

When they reached the hospital, Raoul went in first and returned a few minutes later to get Sarah and Howie. "Come on. They’re gonna take her now."

Raoul carried Sarah in and the nurses had the examining room ready for her. He set her down gently on the bed while Howie stood by her side. When he was gone, a nurse instructed Sarah to change into a gown and then left the room too.

Howie said, "Let me help you."

Grinning, she said, "You’re favorite part…undressing me."

Howie laughed, "Yeah…but NOT like this. Sarah…I’m sorry."

Sarah shook her head. "Don’t….this isn’t the place to go into all that. I have A LOT to apologize for too and WE need to talk."

Howie helped Sarah change into her gown then sat on the bed holding her hands in his. Without thinking he stroked the backs of her hands with his thumbs as he watched her close her eyes and lie back into the pillow. Softly, he asked, "Does it still hurt?"

Sarah heard the fear in Howie’s voice and she opened her eyes. "Some…but it’s NOTHING compared to when I miscarried. D, are you okay?"

Howie shook his head, "No! I’m not. This is MY fault…the crowd loved you and I was the only one who knew there was something wrong. Hell, Nick didn’t even know until I told him. Why couldn’t I have just let it go and been proud of you?"

"Because you’re a perfectionist and you were right to be angry with me. It was stupid of me to change what you had done but Howie…."

The doctor walked in ending the conversation for the time being. "Well, what do we have here tonight?"

"Good evening," greeted Howie standing up to shake hands. "I’m Howard Dorough and this is my wife, Sarah."

"I’m Dr. Travis. What seems to be the problem?"

"I’m…" started Sarah.

"My wife is pregnant with twins," interrupted Howie. "Tonight, she performed and then afterwards had a really bad round of morning sickness before starting to have pains right here." Howie put his hand on Sarah’s stomach to indicate where the pain had been.

As Dr. Travis began to exam Sarah, he said, "Performed huh? At the Aaron Carter concert, by chance?"

Again, Sarah started to answer but Howie cut her off. "Yeah, she was the opening act," he said proudly.

"You said a bad round of morning sickness. How bad is bad?"

"I…"

"She threw up steadily for about ten minutes."

Dr. Travis looked at the couple and laughed. He saw the exasperation on Sarah’s face from where Howie wouldn’t let her answer anything and asked, "Does he ever let you talk?"

Putting her hand over Howie’s mouth, she said, "Sometimes. He’s just nervous now. I had a miscarriage last Halloween and he’s worried that it’s happening again."

"Well, from the sounds and looks of it, you’re simply dehydrated."

"But I was drinking water throughout the show," protested Sarah removing her hand from Howie’s mouth.

"And sweating just as much, Sarah," pointed out Howie.

"You probably would have been okay with the amount you drank replacing what you had lost but then you got sick too. That took whatever you had replaced and then some. What I want to do is start an IV to get some fluids back in your body and do an ultra sound."

"Am I going to have to stay overnight?"

"I don’t see any need for that, unless the ultra sound reveals problems. It shouldn’t take more than a couple hours."

"That’s cool," said Howie. "She’s not going anywhere. So, how did you know about Aaron’s concert?"

As Dr. Travis wrote out his orders for Sarah, he said, "It’s ALL the student nurses have been talking about for the last month. They were hoping to see Aaron’s brother too."

Sarah and Howie smiled as Sarah said, "Well, if they went, they got their wish. Nick and his wife were there and Nick was suppose to perform."

Dr. Travis shook his head, "I don’t understand the attraction grown women have to a fourteen year old…or to all these boy bands."

"Me either," smirked Howie as Sarah tried to contain a giggle both realizing the doctor had no clue who Howie was.

About that time, a very young nurse entered the room and when she saw Howie, she dropped what she had in her hands, "OH MY GOD…you’re….you’re…"

Sarah helped the girl out, "Howie D. Dr. Travis, you might want to know, Howie is a member of the Backstreet Boys…one of those ‘boy bands’."

"Only THE HOTTEST group around," gushed the nurse. "Hi…I’m Eileen."

Howie moved to help her pick up what she had dropped and said, "It’s nice to meet you, Eileen."

Dr. Travis said, "Eileen, do you think you’ll be able to handle starting an IV on Mr. Dorough’s wife?"

Blushing, Eileen said, "Yeah, I think so."

"Okay. Here are my orders for her. Make sure it’s taken care of immediately," he said handing her the clipboard he had been writing on. Then to Sarah and Howie, "I’ll be back later to check on you and look at the results of the ultra sound."

"Thanks, Dr. Travis," said Howie gratefully.

Once everything was set up and the IV started, Howie and Sarah were left alone giving them a chance to talk. Sarah played with Howie’s wedding band as he sat beside her, his arm around her and holding her hand.

Sarah started, "Howie….I was wrong for changing the set, especially just to get your attention."

"Why did you feel like you needed to get my attention, Angel?"

Sarah looked down at their hands joined together as she whispered, "I was jealous."

"Of Becca?"

"Yeah. You were making such a fuss over her and working me so hard. All I could think was…I’m pregnant too."

"Sarah, I KNOW you’re pregnant too and I never meant to hurt you. It’s just that…well, you keep saying you don’t want me to smother you and you were pretty head up the other day to keep working. Angel, sometimes I don’t know HOW you want me to handle you. I want desperately to baby you, to wait on you hand and foot. God, you’re carrying MY babies! And don’t get me wrong on this because I know what you said earlier about Becca but this is her first time being pregnant, she doesn’t have any family to gush over her…."

"She’s got the same people surrounding her that I have, Howie," pointed out Sarah. "I’m NOT trying to take away from this being her first time, Howie. I’m THRILLED for her but YOU are MY husband and today you made me feel like shit. I don’t know why today of ALL days I chose to get like this."

"I know. You were exhausted because we’d worked so hard and when you’re tired, you get overly emotional. I just refused to see the signs or to back down because I was excited for you. I wanted tonight to be perfect for you."

"Forgive me?"

Smiling, Howie kissed her on the side of the head, "There’s nothing to forgive you for, Angel. I’m the one who should be apologizing. You gonna forgive me?"

"I don’t know," teased Sarah. "You were pretty tough on me."

"I know. I should have asked you first before telling Nick you’d do it."

Sarah laughed, "You know, it didn’t bother me that you didn’t ask. You knew what it would mean to me and this is business. I trust your judgement to do what’s right for me."

"And you were fantastic tonight, Angel." Then, somewhat embarrassed, Howie said, "The change was even perfect and you walked them through like there was nothing to it. I guess that’s part of why I was so mad. Here I’ve been doing this most of my life and you walk out for your first MAJOR show and pull off a change like it was nothing."

"So…you ARE proud of me?" asked Sarah looking up into Howie’s eyes.

He broke out into a wide smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling, as he said, "EXTREMELY proud of you. But…NO more performing until AFTER the babies are born."

"No, D…I just have to take it easy. I can’t spend three days going NON-STOP practicing and not getting any rest."

Howie laughed as he thought about how she had put her foot down that afternoon. "You were pretty damn cute telling me ‘no’ this afternoon…even though it did piss me off. So, you told AJ everything?"

Thinking Howie was gonna be mad, she hesitated saying, "Yeah…I didn’t think I could tell you. God, I can’t believe I said what I did about Becca! I’m ETERNALLY grateful that she didn’t hear any of it."

"She knew you were just being hormonal. She tried to calm me down after the show but I was already past my boiling point with you. You were pretty hateful to her today."

"Yeah…jealousy does that to you. I’m just glad that I don’t get like that on a regular basis."

Before Howie could respond, a nurse came in with the equipment to do the ultra sound. Howie caught a glimpse of Raoul at the door and he said, "Sarah, I think it’s time to tell Raoul, especially since he’s your bodyguard now."

"MY bodyguard?"

"I’ll explain later. Do you mind if he comes in?"

"No, not at all."

Howie went to get Raoul as the nurse prepared to do the ultra sound. As soon as Sarah was safely covered and the ultra sound started, the two men returned.

Howie took his place beside Sarah taking her hand in his as he gazed at the screen. "Raoul, the reason Sarah’s been so sick is because she’s pregnant."

Raoul was standing beside the couple mesmerized by the sight on the screen. In awe, he asked, "Twins?"

Sarah laughed, "Yeah, twins."

"I want you to stay close to her and make sure she’s well protected."

"Like I don’t already do that," quipped Raoul.

"You’ll have to forgive him. He’s being…"

"Your husband who loves you and is trying to take care of you," finished Raoul. "And with good reason. Is this why I’ve been pulled off you?"

"Yeah…Sarah, I arranged with Billy for you and Becca to have your own bodyguards. I KNOW how much you hate the idea…"

"Not really. I just didn’t want it then because I felt like you didn’t trust me and were trying to babysit me."

"Well…Raoul is your bodyguard. And yes…he’s here to babysit you now," teased Howie.

"Who’s got Bec?"

"Billy."

Sarah laughed, "Oh…she’s gonna LOVE that! Poor Billy…she’s gonna give him hell."

"It was Billy’s idea."

The three watched the screen and the two little shapes moving around. A tear rolled down Howie’s cheeks as he held Sarah’s hand to his lips.

She looked at him and whispered, "They’re fine, D."

"Healthy, strong, and beautiful…just like their mother."

Raoul slipped out to give the couple some private time together. He was thrilled to know that Sarah was pregnant and would be extra protective of her to make sure she was safe.

After the nurse left, Howie sat facing Sarah. "Angel, let’s finish what we were talking about."

"You mean about what I said about Becca?"

"Yeah. I know you said it in anger but it’s still an issue for you to even bring it up."

Sarah hung her head, "I said some horrible things and I feel like a heel for feeling this way."

Howie lifted her chin to look her in her eyes. "Sarah all five of us love you. God knows, if I give the slightest hint of not wanting you, Kevin and AJ are gonna pounce."

Sarah smiled, "That’s not such a bad thing but I don’t see us EVER breaking up."

"Me either, Angel. Our love for you is different from what we feel for Becca. Nick and Becca are young and inexperienced in all this relationship stuff and they need our guidance, yours included. As for Becca, she doesn’t have a mother…or a mother-in-law for that matter…to turn to for advice on marriage or with babies."

"I know all this in my head."

"I know you do. Do you realize how much Becca looks up to you? You’ve ALWAYS handled yourself with confidence, even when you were so unsure. You don’t need scripted interviews or us stepping in to stop an unruly reporter. You handle yourself as well as the five of us and its probably because I eased you into this circus a lot better than Nick did Becca. You know, Raoul told me about the reporter back in Orlando the night of Nick’s bachelor party. Even drunk, you know how to handle yourself."

Sarah smiled, "He didn’t print anything either."

"No, he didn’t," smiled Howie. "Sarah, you’ve been pregnant before and Becca needs you. She needs your experience. I know that something’s wrong now but she’s NOT gonna talk to me."

"You’re right. Something is wrong. Near the end of my pregnancy with Jesse, my ankles started to swell and they watched my blood pressure closely."

"What did they do for you?"

"Nothing other then to tell me to put my feet up and take it easy. My blood pressure never went too high. It was up for me but not dangerously high."

"What could happen to Becca?"

"Stroke…lose the baby…a number of things and none of them good. She needs to slow down…go back home."

"You need to talk to her, Angel."

"No, not this time. If she needs to talk, she can come to me. The last time I stuck my nose into her business, I got jumped on. Besides, she doesn’t need me hounding her."

"If you went home, do you think she’d go?"

"I doubt it. She’s pretty set on being with Nick, especially after having been gone for five months. Being without him isn’t gonna help her blood pressure either. The best thing for her would be for Nick to go back with her to Tampa or Orlando until you guys have to go back out."

"Do what you can with her, Angel. They’ve come too far to have something happen now."

"What about us, D? Are we okay?"

"We’re fine, Angel. Just an argument."

Sarah smiled, "Our first MAJOR fight."

"I’m sure there will be plenty more…especially if you continue to perform. Do you WANT to keep on with it?"

"God, yes! Howie…it felt SO GOOD to be onstage."

"How about we let either Kevin or AJ manage you then?"

"It’s not necessary, D. I promise to behave from now on. Kevin’s got Krystal anyway."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I really do trust you to take care of me and my career."

Dr. Travis returned to the room. "I see you’re feeling better."

"Much better."

"I looked at the ultra sound and everything looks perfect. You’ve had a whole unit of fluids and your color is much better. As long as you get plenty of fluids, you’ll be fine."

"I’ll make sure she takes care of herself," said Howie as he squeezed her hand.

"I’m going to give you something to help you sleep. I expect that as tired as you are, it will have you pretty groggy by the time you get to the hotel."

"Not a problem. I’ve got two men to get me to my room."

Dr. Travis gave Sarah the injection, her results for her medical records, and his warm wishes before leaving them alone. Howie helped Sarah get dressed and then they headed to the car.

True to the doctor’s word, Sarah began to feel the effects of the drug on the way to the hotel and when they got there, Raoul carried her up to their room.

Before turning in for the night, Howie hung the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door and then went to join Sarah in bed. He slid in next to her, wrapped his arms around her tight, and whispered, "I love you, Sarah."

Dreamily, Sarah answered, "I love you too, Howard."

Later that night, as Nick and Becca made their way to their room, they spotted the sign on the door and Becca smiled warmly. "Looks like they worked things out."

Nick hugged her close, "True love conquers all, baby."

Part 151        The Dance Index(2)