Part 259

The concert was in full swing. As they had the night before, they had opened with a tribute to those lost in the terrorist attacks, but tonight Sarah joined them onstage. Each one was dressed in a variation of red, white and blue, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house as they led the crowd in singing America's national anthem. Sarah took the stage as one of the opening acts as the Boys went to dress for their show.

Her voice was strong and clear, despite the exhaustion of the past days, and it was plain to see how grateful she was to be reunited with Howie and her extended family. Nothing was said about Becca and the baby, and Nick had been told there would be a special place during the band intros for him to share his news with the fans.

He was quite obviously pumped and a lot more relaxed that the night before. Three costume changes into the show and the lights dimmed, spotlights on all five men dressed to the nines in white suits and carrying crystal-topped canes. Their choreography was flawless as Brian began to sing.

On the giant screen behind them appeared superimposed pictures of Nick and Howie. As they began the refrain, the picture dissolved into scenes from Howie and Sarah's wedding and the crowd began to applaud. Howie knew exactly what was happening, and he turned to wink at Kevin, who in turn smiled back. The only one who didn't know what was happening was Nick. All of the footage had been edited without his knowledge, and it wasn't until the middle of the chorus as he spun around with his cane, that he glanced up at the screen.

He smiled as he sang with the others, but as Alex began the next verse he made a point of moving next to Nick. Breaking from the carefully rehearsed routine, he put his arm around Nick as he sang and turned him toward the screen.

The images of Howie and Sarah faded to footage that Carson had taped of Nick and Becca's engagement announcement. The love between the re-united couple was evident and Nick smiled as he watched the scene unfold. As the next refrain began, the scene once again dissolved to show Nick and Becca's wedding ceremony on the island off the coast of Tampa. As the chorus ended, the audience watched as Nick kissed Becca to seal their marriage vows and the picture changed to the gigantic heart that Sarah had drawn in the sand.

Laughter scattered through the crowd as they saw Sarah, Becca and Nick attempting to practice Lamaze on Howie's bus as Jesse played happily with Howie, and the picture was suddenly blacked out as Nick threw a pillow at Kevin's video camera.

Nick's voice rose emotionally and as he sang he watched the pictures change to those taken this morning in the hospital.

The crowd was unusually silent as the scene changed one last time to a video clip of Becca standing by the nursery window watching Garret, and as Nick came to stand behind her, there wasn't a dry eye either in the audience or on stage. It suddenly dawned on them what they were seeing, and the applause drowned out the last refrain. The pictures Howie had taken of Nick, Becca and Garrett were rotated on the huge screen and Nick wiped his eyes as he looked up at his wife and son. As the song came to an end, the montage ended with a double family portrait of Nick and his family and Sarah, Howie and Jesse.

The boys took a bow and Kevin waved for silence as he motioned for Nick to join him center stage. Nick smiled shyly as he ambled toward Kevin.

"Hey, hey Toronto!" Kevin called out. "So, ya'll liked our little home movie?" He smiled as he put his arm around Nick's shoulders. "I think our boy Nick was just a bit surprised, too." He laughed as Nick giggled.

"Yeah, just a bit, Kev." Nick grinned, wiping his nose on his sleeve and laughing again as Kevin wrinkled his nose at him. "Sorry, man."

"So Nicky, wanta introduce this little guy to your fans?" Kevin looked back at the screen where there was a picture of Becca holding Garrett and smiling happily for the camera.

"Damn," Nick said wiping his eyes again. "Ain't they beautiful?" he beamed as the crowd applauded wildly. "Yeah, well, like Kev said, this here's my new family. Ya'll all know Becca by now, the love of my life, but that little guy… that's my son. Our son," he amended. "Say hello to Garrett Thomas Carter. Garrett was born sometime last night … this morning…. Hell if I know when, it was damn late," he laughed. "Anyway, we had some problems for a while but everything's okay now. Thanks," he said as the crowd down front cheered. "But now if we can PLEASE get on with this show, maybe I can get back over there sometime tonight?" he glared at Kevin with a glint in his eye.

"Anxious much, Nick?" Alex called from the catwalk up behind the band.

"Hell yeah," he smirked, "let's do this."

In place of their usual smooth disappearance and reappearance, Nick and Kevin climbed up to take their places as the tinkling of wind chimes filled the arena. As the artificial fog surrounded the dancers onstage, they sang "More Than That" and just like all those months ago, Nick wept through the entire song.

He made his way to the shower backstage after the show, running a hand wearily through his hair and stopping to sign a few autographs.

Howie pulled Eddie aside as he watched Nick stumble towards the doors. "Keep an eye on him. As soon as you can, get him out of here and over to the hospital."

"Howie, he's dead on his feet, he needs sleep," Eddie frowned.

"I know, but I also know that he won't rest until he sees Becca. Just get him over there. Sarah and I will see that he gets back to the hotel."

"You got it, D."

Part 260        The Dance Index(3)