Part 221
Before Chelsea could stop her, Jesse burst through the door and bounded into Howie and Sarah’s room jumping on their bed.
"MOMMY! DADDY!" she squealed with delight jumping into the middle of the bed.
Awakened by the opening of the door and Chelsea’s calls, Howie scrambled to pull the covers over them.
"Mommy! You don’t have any clothes on!" announced Jesse.
Sarah groaned as her daughter bounced on the bed and Chelsea rushed into the room.
Howie said firmly, "Jessica, you need to go with Chelsea….NOW."
"But DADDY!" whined Jesse.
"No ‘buts’, young lady. Your mother and I were asleep and Chelsea told you not to come in here. Now go!"
Jesse slid off the bed and stomped off pouting.
Chelsea said from the door, "I’m sorry, Uncle Howie."
"It’s okay, Chels," said Sarah sleepily. "We’ll be out in a few minutes."
Jesse and Chelsea left the room closing the door behind them and Howie looked at Sarah. The two couldn’t help but laugh.
"OH GOD, Howie! What if we’d been in the middle of something?"
"Talk about ruining a mood! We need to start either locking the door or making sure we’re dressed."
"Or teach her to knock. Poor Chelsea! Did she see anything?"
"I don’t think so."
Sarah sighed, "Oh well! It could have been worse. What time is it?"
Looking at his watch, Howie answered, "Seven. Wanna go grab some
breakfast with Jesse?"
"Why don’t we give Chels the morning off and take Jesse with us to my
doctor’s appointment?"
"I think that’s a good idea, Angel. Family time, like I promised her.
Just promise me one thing…you’ll rest after your sound checks?"
"I promise, D," responded Sarah crossing her heart.
Howie rolled on top of Sarah and kissed her. Then said, "Go get a shower and I’ll let Chelsea know our plans."
The couple spent the morning with Jesse giving Chelsea some much-needed time off. With Raoul and Tommy tagging along, the family headed to get some breakfast, Jesse choosing the restaurant, and then to the park that Nick and Becca had taken her to just a couple days earlier. Jesse was excited to have them with her and Howie and Sarah made the most of their time, showering her with all the love and attention imaginable.
***********
At the doctor’s office, Sarah was unexplainably nervous. All she could think about was having had the flu and the high fever. All the possible complications ran through her mind as she waited to see the doctor, her foot taping nervously.
Howie had watched her the entire time they’d been sitting there and finally put his hand on her knee. "Would you STOP…please?" he said irritably.
"Sorry," mumbled Sarah.
Howie looked at her and immediately regretted his tone with her. He took her hand in his and said softly, "I’m sorry, Sarah."
She put her head on his shoulder. "It’s okay," was her tearful response.
Seeing the classic signs of her being tired, Howie kissed her gently on the top of her head. "Sarah, after sound checks, I want you to go to the bus and take a nap."
"But I wanted to go with you to the studio," pouted Sarah. The guys were going in to record their part for the song ‘What’s Going On’ and Sarah had planned to go.
"I know, but you’re tired and you’ve got the show tonight."
"Why can’t I just curl up on a couch or something? There’s ALWAYS a couch in the studios."
Howie understood Sarah’s need to be with him. Despite being seemingly okay with their impending separation, she really wasn’t. It was all a brave front she put up to keep everyone from worrying about her. "Angel, please, don’t fight me on this. I’m worried about you."
"And this is new how?" teased Sarah trying to lighten the mood.
Howie didn’t back down. "Sarah, I’m serious."
"Okay, Howie. I’ll get on the bus and take a nap."
"Thank you."
The nurse called from the door. "Mrs. Dorough, Dr. Bagley can see you now."
The couple went back taking Jesse with them. Howie held Jesse as they watched the nurse as she did all the routine checks; blood pressure, pulse, weight, etc. As she did this, she also asked the standard questions making notes on Sarah’s charts. Then she led the three to an examining room where Sarah was told that it would be a simple tummy check and there was no need to undress.
As they waited for the doctor, Sarah and Howie discussed what they needed to do to get ready to head to Boston. It was going to have to be done before lunch given the schedule for the afternoon. There was the group lunch at the hotel, sound checks, and then the taping of the ‘What’s Going On’ track.
When the doctor came in, Howie began questioning him about Sarah’s bout with the flu as the doctor examined her charts. Dr. Bagley did his best to reassure Howie and Sarah that everything seemed fine. Listening to the heartbeats reaffirmed the doctor’s belief that everything was fine with the babies.
With a clean bill of health for Sarah and the twins and Howie’s concerns addressed, Howie took his girls back to the hotel to get ready for their afternoon.