Part 244
Reaching the waiting room door, Sarah knew Denise and the guys would be waiting for news. She quickly wiped the smile from her face and tried to look as upset as possible. Pushing the doors open, Sarah walked in slowly and five pairs of eyes were fixed on her.
Seeing the look on Sarah’s face, panic set in.
Denise was the first to speak. "Sarah, what’s wrong? Is Becca okay?"
Somehow, Sarah managed to shed a tear as she answered, "Becca’s fine. They’re taking her to recovery now."
The implication of what Sarah was NOT saying and her apparent distress made everyone fear the worst.
Howie moved to her quickly taking her in his arms. "Angel, what’s wrong? What happened?"
Sarah shook her head as she wiped the tears. "God! Howie…it was horrible!"
"What was, Sarah?" asked Kevin as he moved to stand beside her rubbing her back.
Sarah looked at Howie and he saw the twinkle in her eyes as she said, "It was horrible. I lost $400 to Nick."
Confused, AJ asked, "Huh? What’s $400 got to do with the baby and Becca?"
"Nick and I had a bet on the sex of the baby and…god, this is the horrible part," grinned Sarah. "Nick was RIGHT…they had a little boy!"
A collective sigh of relief was heard throughout the waiting room and silent ‘thank yous’ were said.
Out of nowhere, Brian unleashed on Sarah. "DAMNIT! Sarah! You scared the hell out of us! After everything that’s happened, how can you make jokes about something as serious as a life?"
Sarah was tired…no, exhausted. She’d been on an emotional roller coaster for the last thirty-six hours and as Brian reprimanded her, fire flew through her. Pulling away from Howie and standing up straight, Sarah growled through clenched teeth, "You can get your self-righteous attitude out of my face, Brian Thomas Littrell. You haven’t spent the last thirty-six hours worrying yourself sick trying to figure out how to get a simple message through to your loved ones to let them know you’re okay. For thirty-six hours, I worried about seven people and what the news was doing to them…worried how Howie was going to go on stage thinking he’d NEVER see me in the audience again; worried about Jesse and how she was going to react thinking she’d lost her mother yet AGAIN; worried about Becca and what the news was going to do to her blood pressure; about Alex and if this was going to cause him to take a drink; about Kevin, knowing the guilt he’d feel thinking it was HIS fault for pushing me to go to LA."
Sarah took a breath and wiped the tears as Howie once again took her in his arms feeling her tremble with anger. He held her close trying to protect her from all the worries, all the pain. They all had tears running down their faces hearing the pain and desperation in Sarah’s voice.
As tears slid effortlessly down her cheeks, Sarah continued, "For thirty-six hours, I tried desperately to get in touch with Howie only to get ‘The user you have dialed is unavailable’ or a dead phone line. When I FINALLY get through to the hotel, I find out that ALL calls to Howie’s room were being stopped at the switchboard and the girl wasn’t sure if they could get the message to him because security had been tightened on you guys…obviously, my message DID NOT get through. Then when I DO get here, I watch my husband on his knees in front of thousands of fans trying to figure out how to get through a song that he’s sung a hundred times. And I find out my best friend has been hospitalized because she’d had a panic attack thinking I was dead. And we won’t even get into what Kellie is going through…having her baby today WITHOUT her husband by her side," sobbed Sarah. "If I DON’T joke, Brian…I’m going to go crazy and right now is NOT a good time. Becca’s NOT out of the woods yet! Her blood pressure is still dangerously high and she could still very well have a stroke and die!"
Spent and exhausted, Sarah turned into Howie’s chest and began to sob uncontrollably as the guys looked on helplessly. Howie picked his wife up and moved to the couch holding her close whispering reassurances softly into her ear. He sat down with her in his lap, cradling her in his arms.
Denise sat beside them stroking Sarah’s back. "Shhh…Sarah, it’s over now and you’re safe. That’s what matters."
Howie stroked her hair. "Sarah, calm down. You’re just going to make yourself sick."
Wanting desperately to help, AJ grabbed a trashcan. "Here, ‘Tigger’! You need to hurl, go right ahead."
Sarah looked up at AJ to see the playfulness in his eyes and began to laugh. "God, ‘Bone’! You’re too much…Thank you."
Seeing Sarah laughing, Brian knelt down in front of her and took her hand in his. "I am so sorry, Sarah. I was only thinking of myself and how worried I was that something had happened to Becca and the baby."
"It’s okay, Brian. It’s been a difficult two days for all of us. I never meant to scare you. I know you were ALL worried."
"So, what about the baby?" asked Kevin. "What did they name him?"
Sarah wiped her tears. "I don’t know but he was so perfect…little blonde fuzz on his head, his fingers…so tiny but when Nick took his hand, they wrapped around Nick’s," bubbled Sarah. "And Nick…I’ve never seen him so happy."
Denise asked, "What about the APGARs?"
"The WHAT?" asked AJ.
"APGAR…it’s a scale the doctors use to judge a baby’s appearance right after it’s born and then a few minutes later. Baby Carter’s were 8 and 9 which is excellent," explained Sarah.
"Can we see the baby…or Becca?"
"I don’t know, with it being so late. Becca was just going to recovery and they’re cleaning the baby up now. Nick’s with him," said Sarah.
"Boys, I think the best thing to do is hold off on visiting either one," suggested Denise. "We know they’re okay and I expect they’ve got Becca pretty heavily sedated."
Sarah saw the looks in all the guys’ eyes and knew they really wanted to see the baby or Becca…at the very least, Nick. She offered, "Howie and I will go see if we can at least see the baby."
"Thanks, Sarah," said Brian.
Before Sarah headed off to find out about seeing the baby, she gave each one of the guys a hug. Then taking Howie’s hand, they headed together to find the nursery.
While the guys waited to see ‘Baby Carter’ and Becca, they talked quietly.
AJ shook his head, "Guys, I’m really worried about Sarah. She’s been through so much in the last couple days."
"I know. Her mood changed so fast tonight and even on her WORST day being hormonal, she isn’t that bad," said Brian.
"She’s on the verge of a break down and I’m not sure Howie’s gonna be able to pick up the pieces this time."
Kevin and Brian looked at AJ knowing he was right and they were all scared. Sarah was strong but there was only so much she could take and in the last few months, they’d learned just how tough her life had been.
"Maybe we should talk to Howie," suggested Brian.
"No…he’s got enough on him with all this," said Kevin. "I think the best thing to do is just be there, show them that we’re behind them. Maybe now that Sarah’s back with us and she sees everything is okay, she’ll be okay."
"There’s still Becca," said AJ. "I know Sarah. She’s blaming herself for all this and God forbid something should happen to Becca now. You heard Sarah…she’s not out of the woods yet. IF something DOES happen, Sarah’s never gonna forgive herself. She’s ALWAYS been protective of Becca."
"Then we make sure Becca gets through this," said Brian with quiet determination.
Together, the three made a silent vow to see their ‘sisters’ through this ordeal.