Part 252

The nurses began to get the babies ready to go to their mothers' rooms, so the four friends made their way back to Becca's room. Nick helped Becca into bed and she collapsed back against the pillows.

"I am SO tired," she groaned.

"Bec, you overdid it," Nick chastised.

"No, it felt good, Nick, I just have a lot of sore muscles."

"Bec, how's your blood pressure?" Howie asked.

"Not bad. Almost back to normal. They said it might take a couple of weeks for it to come down completely."

The door swept open as one of the nurses pushed in the Plexiglas cart holding their baby. He was howling at the top of his lungs.

"Someone is not happy that his lunch is late," she smiled. "Do you need help Mrs. Carter?"

"Umm, no, I think we're figuring this out, but thanks."

"All right, just buzz me if you need anything."

Nick picked Garrett up as he wailed, talking softly to him before handing him to Becca.

Howie looked to Becca, then to Sarah, and back to Becca. "Bec, I can leave-"

Even though she blushed, she shook her head. "Thanks, but unless I want Garrett to starve, I have to get used to doing this in a crowd."

Sarah squeezed his hand as he discreetly turned away while Becca put the baby to her breast. Nick helped her adjust her gown and the baby's blanket so that they were completely covered. Once they were settled, Sarah tugged on Howie's hand and he turned to watch. Nick was stretched out beside Becca, his head tipped against hers, gazing at the baby as he nursed. As he watched his son he gently brushed his fingers over the downy fuzz on the baby's head. It was a perfect moment, and Howie lifted the camera to capture it. Once Garrett was fed and changed, Nick remained by Becca, holding him as she leaned back to rest.

"Hey, before you fall asleep, let me get some pictures of the three of you." Howie aimed the camera once again as they posed.

"We're going to email them to your parents," Becca said.

"Great idea, thanks D!" Nick beamed into the camera's lens.

Howie got some darling pictures of the new family while Sarah booted up her laptop.

"Bec, can I sign on from here?"

"I guess, just unplug the room phone."

"Bec, I talked to mom this morning," Nick said. "She's thrilled and sends her love."

Sarah raised her eyebrows at Becca and both women couldn't help but laugh.

"You're all bad," Nick said with a frown. "She's changed. Really!"

"Sure Nicky," Sarah snorted. "Whatever you say." The online connection was established and Sarah logged on to Becca's email account. "Holy shit!"

"Sarah, what is it?"

"Bec, this is nuts. You have over 200 emails. When's the last time you checked your mail?"

"East Rutherford, I guess. Right before the shower."

"East Rutherford, I thought you and Nick were-" She stopped short when she saw Nick smirking and wagging his eyebrows at her. "Carter, you are so dead," she said menacingly.

"What are the emails? I'm on no mail for every list but one."

"Well, that's where it's all coming from. Did you tell them where you were?"

"I guess. I mentioned that I was traveling in the New York area, why?"

"They're going nuts trying to find you. Us. Damn, Bec, we need to let them know we're all right."

"Sarah, we can't let them know who we are."

"Bec, what list is this?" Nick asked.

"LoveSlaves," Becca mumbled.

"Say what?" he snickered.

"Backstreet Love Slaves, that's the name of the list." Becca sighed.

Howie asked, "Sarah, you're on this one too?"

"Yeah, D, but under a different screen name. They have no idea who I am."

"Or me," Becca said. Sarcastically she continued, "I suppose I can just write a note, 'Hi, guess what, sorry to go missing, but I'm Nick's wife, and we have a new baby. Have a nice day.'"

"You could, you know," Howie said. "Sarah's on a list as herself."

"Bec?" Nick asked.

"I don’t know, our privacy would be screwed."

"How many members are on this list?" Howie asked Sarah.

"Only about a dozen, it's a private, closed list."

"Bec, it might be nice to have someone to talk to, you know?" Nick said. "Someone you could be yourself with and not have to pretend all the time."

"Maybe," Becca said, thinking about what he said. Her thoughts were cut short by the sound of her instant messenger program being activated.

"Bec, it's Julie, you wanta take this?"

"God, Sarah, I don't know …"

Sarah saw the questioning looks from Howie and Nick. "Julie's the list mom, she lives here in …. Toronto! Bec, you HAVE to talk to her!"

Nick moved off the bed so that Sarah could set the laptop on the rolling tray table. Becca stared at the screen for a full minute before typing in her message.

*silence*

Becca took a deep breath and began to type.

Becca sighed. "Sarah, I need to tell her, she's talking about 'you'. Nick, do me a favor, take a pic of Sarah and Howie for me, then one of me and Sarah."

He wasn't sure what she planned, but he did as she asked.

Just the way she called her 'Bec' gave Becca goosebumps.

Becca went on to explain the entire scenario to Julie, who was understandably skeptical. Becca was certain she was going to be unsubbed from the list and become the fodder for the next list war.

After giving Julie Nick's cell phone number, she sent her the pictures of Nick, her and the baby, and Sarah and Howie. One of the nurses had come in to take Garrett back to the nursery, so she'd had her take a picture of all five of them.

Five minutes later, Nick's phone beeped and he didn't even wait to find out who it was.

"Hello, Julie? Hi, this is Nick." He smiled at her reaction. "Yes, I know, it's a wild story. Look, talk to Becca, she can explain more." He handed the phone to Becca, who pressed it to her heart while she gathered the courage to talk.

"Julie? Hi," she said shyly. "Yes, it’s for real."

"Oh my god," Julie sighed. "This is just too strange, Becky. I mean … Becca … that's hard, changing your name, you know. God, you're really Nick's wife?" She began to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined anything close to this.

"I know, someday I'll tell you the whole story, but I just needed to let you and the list know that I'm all right."

"You're going to tell the list?" She was aghast.

"I think so, we've been talking about it. Nick thinks it would be a good idea for me to have someone to talk to once in a while without hiding who I am. Can the list members handle the security issues?"

"If they can't they don't belong on my list," she stated emphatically.

They'd been talking like old friends for almost a half hour when Becca began to yawn and her eyes began to get heavy.

"Bec, let me talk to her." Sarah took the phone after Becca said goodbye, with a promise to talk later. "Hey Julie, it's Sarah. I know, don't sweat it. And thanks for your prayers and concern, it meant a lot to Howie and me. Look, how close are you to where we are?"

"About ten minutes, fifteen at the most. Why?"

"I'm sure Becca would love to meet you later and so would I. I'll leave your name downstairs, so come over around 2:00 and we can talk some more. And you can have a seat of honor at the show tonight." Nick and Howie could hear her squealing all the way across the room. "Cool, see you then."

Sarah shut off the connection and turned to find Becca sound asleep. "Poor Bec, she's exhausted."

"It's been a long week," Howie said.

"For all of us," Nick agreed as he yawned.

"Nick, why don't you go back to the hotel and get some sleep? You're worn out." Sarah looked at his haggard features and frowned.

"No, I don't wanta leave Becca." He saw Howie begin to argue with him and held up a hand. "No, D, don't start. I’m not leaving her. Look, when we go for sound checks I already planned to hang there until the show. I can crash in the dressing rooms off the side stage, and I promise I'll get some sleep."

Howie nodded, understanding completely his need to be as close to Becca as possible.

"Nick, Julie will be here before we leave and she can stay with Becca while we go to the venue." Sarah laughed. "You know, she's gonna freak when she walks in here to find all of you guys here."

"Hey Nick, let's email some of these pics to your mom and dad." Howie handed Sarah her laptop back and they began to upload the best pictures from their camera. Once done, she disconnected the camera and called Nick over. "Come on dad, you can do the honors."

Nick grinned every time someone called him 'dad' and Sarah and Howie got a kick out of watching his reaction. This time was no different and Sarah laughed at the look on his face.

"Happy much, Nick?" she laughed.

"Maybe just a little," he said with a grin, shrugging his shoulders. He logged onto his email account and spent the next several minutes sending out family pictures. "Hey, maybe I should send these to the online fan club while I'm here," he said.

"No!" Howie said a little too quickly.

"Why not?" Nick asked, puzzled.

"Umm, let's talk to Bec about it when she wakes up. Maybe we should let her help choose which ones she wants to share, don't you agree?"

"Oh, okay I guess. Sure D." Nick signed off and closed up the laptop, not thinking any more about it. He missed the glance that Sarah and Howie exchanged and their sigh of relief at deftly changing the subject. Howie had plans for those pictures and he didn't want them on the internet just yet.

As Howie and Sarah exchanged their conspiratorial look, Sarah began to yawn.

"Angel?"

"I'm okay," Sarah said waving him off.

"Let's give these guys a break. I'll take you down to get some lunch, you'll feel better."

"Lunch?" Becca asked, practically drooling at the thought of real food. "Bring me something back? Please?" she begged.

Sarah laughed. "No way, Bec. I will NOT be responsible for your blood pressure skyrocketing again. Once was more than enough."

Becca sighed and frowned, muttering, "Some friend YOU are."

"Don't even try it, Bec," Sarah laughed. "Be a good girl and eat your poached eggs when they get here."

Nick and Howie both had horrified expressions on their faces and they visibly shuddered.

Sarah laughed again as she pulled Howie out the door and toward the hospital cafeteria.

Part 253        The Dance Index(3)