Part 258

"Had enough?" Denise had been watching Becca move the remainder of her broiled chicken around on her plate for the past ten minutes.

"More than enough," Becca replied making a face.

"Not four-star cuisine, huh?" Denise laughed as she cleared away Becca's dinner tray.

"Not even close to two star cuisine," Becca laughed. "I have had more than my share of low-salt, bland foods in the last 12 hours." She shuddered dramatically.

"Well, it's the blood pressure, Becca. You know that salt is a no-no, so until they give you a clean bill of health you're stuck with tasteless meals."

"At least Garrett gets something 'he' likes," she mumbled.

Denise chuckled. "He's a male, what do you expect?"

"True," Becca agreed. "Thanks for coming to stay with me tonight. I told the guys you didn't have to, but now I'm glad they didn't listen."

"I'm glad to help, Becca. How are you feeling today?"

"A hundred percent better than last night. God, I've never been so scared in my life."

Denise sat down and held her hand. "We were all pretty scared, Becca."

"Especially Nick," she whispered. "I hated doing that to him."

"He's all right. He just loves you so much, you know? You're his entire world. Anyway, it's all behind you now. Now we just have to get you out of here and back home."

At the mention of home, Becca's eyes clouded. It was a thought she'd been doing her best to avoid, but knew that soon she'd have to face what her immediate future would be.

Denise was about to pursue the topic further when the door opened.

"Hey, Becca, how are you tonight?" Becca's doctor stood by the foot of her bead, reading over the chart that the nurses had been keeping since Becca had been admitted.

"Pretty good, Dr. Anthony. But the food-"

"Is all you'll be getting until your pressure stays down," he said with a smile. "Your pressure looks good tonight. It should be down within the week and then we can get you off of all the drugs. Let's see how you're doing." He helped Becca lie down and lifted the covers away. Carefully he peeled back the dressing to inspect her stitches.

Becca winced as he probed, biting her lip to keep silent.

"Not bad. It's beginning to heal nicely. I'd like to monitor you closely for another 24 hours before making a decision on your release. We'll get you on your feet some more tomorrow and take another look."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Make sure you don't overdo it, Becca. Too much too soon could cause heavier bleeding than normal. I know you feel good now, but tomorrow you'll pay for it. I'm going to leave orders with the night nurses for a painkiller. Don't be afraid to use it."

"No," Becca shook her head. "I'll be fine and I don't want to sleep through a feeding."

Dr. Anthony chuckled. "There will be plenty of time for all that. Skipping one isn't going to hurt either of you. They can supplement his feeding with glucose and he'll be quite happy."

"Sugar water? Yuk. I should just have Nick bring a bottle of Mountain Dew when he comes back." Becca made a face as Denise and the doctor laughed.

"Take it easy, Becca. I'll see you tomorrow and we'll try to make some decisions." He patted her ankle as he closed her chart and left the room.

"He's right, you know," Denise said. "You have to be careful, Becca, you're not out of the woods yet."

"Denise, I feel fine," she protested.

"Becca, I don't have to tell you that high blood pressure is nothing to mess around with. You have to do everything Dr. Anthony tells you. Nick needs a wife and Garrett needs a mother."

"Denise!" Becca was shocked at her bluntness.

"It's true. I'm sorry to be so direct, but I swear you're as dense as my son is sometimes. Becca, you're not invincible. Nick and Sarah and the staff here didn't fight so hard to save your life to have you mess up all their efforts by having a stroke."

"I wouldn't do that," she replied softly, tears in her voice.

"Sweetheart, I know you wouldn't. Not intentionally, anyway."

Becca grew silent, thinking about what Denise and Dr. Anthony had said. Staring out the window she spoke softly. "I'm just kidding myself."

Denise took her hand and squeezed it. "Why?"

"Denise, what am I going to do? They're not going to let me go back on tour."

"Becca, they just want to help you get better. I don't even want to imagine how uncomfortable it will be for you on the bus."

"But Nick-"

"Nick will be fine, honey, he just wants what's best for you. And he can't do his job every night if he's worried about you."

Becca leaned her head back, beginning to feel the effects of the day. "What am I going to do?"

"First, you're going to get some sleep. We'll work this out tomorrow, I promise."

Becca was crying softly, one hand on her abdomen,

"Hurt?" Denise asked, smoothing back her hair.

Becca nodded. "I guess I *did* overdo it today."

"It hasn't even been twenty-four hours since you gave birth, Becca. Your body's been through a lot. Want some motherly advice?"

"Sure," she nodded.

"Take a pain pill. Your body can't heal if it's busy fighting pain."

Becca reluctantly agreed to let Denise call the nurse's station. After taking her medication, she got up one last time to use the bathroom as they smoothed her bedding. Within minutes she began to feel the effects of the drug and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

Denise dimmed the lights and sat back to wait for Nick to return.

Part 259        The Dance Index(3)