Part 275

Becca was just finishing the last bite when Dr. Anthony appeared.

"Save me any?" he quipped.

"As usual, your timing is about two minutes off," she smiled. "I can call room service …"

He laughed. "I'm going to miss you, Becca."

"You mean-"

"I've signed your release papers. You're free to check out of this luxury establishment first thing in the morning."

"So what happens now?" Becca asked, pushing her tray away and sitting up straighter.

"Well, I talked to your friend Lynne this afternoon. She's highly qualified, Becca. She'll be checking your blood pressure twice a day and sending me the reports. Then, I want to see you once more before you leave town."

"That's it?" she asked incredulously.

"Becca, I know it seems like I'm being overly cautious, but you don't seem to realize just how close we came to losing you."

Becca paled.

"The fact that you didn't have a stroke is evidence of a higher power keeping His eye on you, because all the drugs we pumped into you didn't help a bit."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be sorry, none of it was your fault. You did everything you were supposed to do. Now just follow orders so that your son can grow old with two healthy parents."

"I will, I promise."

"I'm off," he said, closing her chart. "I'll leave all the paperwork downstairs. You're officially released, Becca. Get some rest tonight and I'll see you in a few days. Lynne will set it up."

He was almost out the door when Becca stopped him.

"Dr. Anthony?"

"Yes, Becca?"

"Thank you."

He smiled brightly. "It was my pleasure. Now get some rest."

"Yes sir," she smiled. "G'nite!"

With Garrett in the nursery and everyone else at the venue, it was eerily silent. She was too keyed up to sleep and didn't really feel like venturing out into the hallway all by herself. Sure, Billy was there, but she didn't feel like making small talk tonight, either. Becca found herself drawn to the television, but the endless coverage of the disaster in New York was too much to handle. Turning down the volume, she slowly got out of bed and began to move slowly around her room.

"Not bad for an invalid," she mumbled to herself and then giggled at the absurdity. It actually felt pretty good to be up on her feet, walking around without having to hold onto anyone. She straightened up a bit, stretching out the kinks in her back and walking over to the shelf on the far wall. It was lined with flowers from all over: Nick's family, the guys, Jive, The Firm… Julie had even sent an arrangement on behalf of the list. She giggled, wondering what would happen on the list when the news got out about her top-secret identity.

The flowers were all beautiful, and she quickly pulled off the gift cards and tucked them in her bag. While she was being held hostage during the next week, she might as well begin Garrett's baby book. Wow. A whole ten minutes had passed. Way to kill time, Bec, she smirked.

"Packing, that's what I need to do." Her mind made up, she began to gather her things so that they'd have more time in the morning. She'd adopted quite a healthy outlook so far this evening and was quite pleased with herself. "I can do this. Go ME!" she said happily. She was on the other side of the room when the phone began to ring. Never one to let a phone ring more than three times, she turned to answer it and regretted her quick movement almost instantly.

She'd managed to forget about her stitches for almost ten minutes, but it all came rushing back to her as she tried to get to the phone.

"Ow. Oh damn, that hurts," she gasped. The phone continued to ring. "I'm coming," she panted. "Crap," she groaned. Finally she managed to lean against the bed while grabbing for the receiver. "H'lo?" she wheezed.

"Becca?"

In spite of her pain she smiled broadly. "Aaron! Hi!"

"Bec, you okay?" he asked and she could hear the concern in his voice.

"I'm fine, A.C., you just caught me on the other side of the room. Kinda forgot about the stitches …"

"Yuk." He was silent for a minute.

"Aaron?"

"Umm, are you really okay, Bec?"

Becca had to blink back tears. "I'm really fine, Aaron. They're letting me go tomorrow."

"With Nick?!"

"No, sweetie. I wish I was." She sighed. "I'm going to stay with a friend here in Toronto for about a week, then I'll be able to rejoin the tour."

"So, how's my favorite nephew?" he asked, and Becca could tell he was grinning from ear to ear.

"That's right, you're an uncle! Well, Uncle Aaron, your nephew is adorable. He's so good, but I have a feeling that will end as soon as I get him out of here. Did your mom show you the pictures?"

"Yeah, she did. I printed them out and everything. I emailed them to Kathy, too," he added in a rush.

"You did? How sweet!" Becca said, laughing when he groaned.

"You're not gonna tease me too, are you?" he whined.

"Oh no, don't whine, you sound just like your brother!" Becca was laughing so hard her stitches were beginning to hurt again.

"Look, I gotta go, Bec. I just wanted to call and say hello, you know?"

"That means a lot to me, Aaron. Thanks." She was smiling now too, and her spirits were a lot brighter than they had been earlier. "Look, I'll be online at Julie's, so drop me a note once in a while."

"I'll do that Bec. Give my dorky brother a hug, okay?"

"You miss him, don't you?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," he admitted, "but don't tell him I said so."

"Cross my heart. Aaron, take care, okay?"

"Yeah, bye Bec!"

Becca started to say goodbye but he'd already hung up. He was so much like Nick sometimes it was frightening and she began to laugh. Deciding she felt pretty decent after all, she stepped outside the door and asked Billy to walk with her to the nursery. They both took perverse pleasure in the looks they got from the other visitors, and they both knew they were all wondering just what the connection was between them. By the time she was back in her room and settled, the late news was on and it was almost time for Nick to be coming back from the show. Becca was just smoothing out her covers when the announcer's voice caught her attention.

"What?!" She scrambled for the remote, turning up the volume. Sarah's face filled the screen as they cut to a commercial.

"Damn, of all the rotten timing." She suffered through five minutes of obnoxious commercials before the lead-in for the show began again.

"And now we return to "Survivor Stories". With us tonight is Sarah Dorough, wife of Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough, and their daughter Jesse."

Becca's eyes were glued to the screen as the reporter talked to Sarah about her ordeal in the Boston airport and her struggle to get back to Howie, and her efforts to let him and Jesse know that she was indeed all right. She talked about Danny and how excited he had been to be flying home to Kellie and she began to cry softly. From off camera an arm appeared around her shoulder, and the camera pulled back to reveal Howie by her side and the other four Boys surrounding her. When Sarah couldn’t continue, Kevin took over. He explained about their efforts to raise funds for Kellie and the other victims by donating portions of their ticket sales.

Becca reached for a tissue as stock footage of their concerts began to play and suddenly Nick was in the spotlight. The film showed their opening number, Nick rising from beneath the stage as artificial smoke swirled beneath his feet and the crowd screamed their approval. Nick's voice spoke over the footage.

"He was a good guy, a real hard worker, you know? Tears me up about what happened to him. Anyway, he was the one who worked my lift, like you see all through the show." The camera cut back in just as Nick stopped to wipe his nose and his voice dropped with emotion. "He was always there for me and the other fellas. This-" he couldn't go on, and the camera showed Sarah putting her hand on his.

The reporter closed out his interview with a shot of the entire crew singing "America the Beautiful" at the concert the previous night. The crowd was strangely silent as they paid tribute to the victims before starting their show. The last image on the screen was one of Danny and Kellie, taken just before the start of the tour last winter and as the image faded away, Becca was crying once more. She never heard the final credits of the show or the door to her room closing, but she felt the warm hand that removed the remote from her icy fingers and the strong warm body that suddenly lay down beside her, holding her close as she cried.

"I'm sorry Bec," Nick whispered. "I never thought you'd see that."

"When-"

"Tonight, right before the show. They’ve been after Sarah to do an interview and one of the networks from back home got the green light from management."

"How can I do this, Nick? How can I watch you walk away from me tomorrow when our entire world is upside down? I can't do this Nick," she sobbed.

He had no easy answer for her. Hell, he'd been thinking the same thing and dreading the morning. He had known Becca was going to fall apart, he just hadn’t expected it tonight. "Becca, I'm sorry. I wish there was another way." Nick held her as he stroked her hair, wishing for the magic words that would make it all better.

As they lay together, Laura opened the door to check on Becca. It was apparent what was happening and she slipped out and walked quietly down the hall. Nick was still wrapped around Becca when she returned with Garrett, wide-awake and looking for his next meal.

"Knock knock," she called as she pushed open the door.

Nick turned to see who it was and smiled as he caught sight of his son. "Hey, come on in."

Becca wiped her eyes and tried to compose herself before turning around. She had no desire to spook the nursing staff and make them consider keeping her another day.

"Someone was lonely and wanted mommy and daddy," Laura smiled.

Nick smiled back at her and gratefully mouthed 'thank you'. "Hey, Laura, what's up?"

"What's up?" she laughed. "Your son, for one. He figures his mom has had enough time to loaf tonight and now he's demanding attention."

"Just like his father," Becca laughed, wiping her eyes one last time.

Nick rolled his eyes and moved to help Becca sit up. "Thanks for your support, Bec."

"Any time, Nick."

Laura watched with amusement. Every once in a while she had a patient that was just a little more special than the rest, and Becca fit that bill nicely. She was glad to have gotten to know her, and even more glad to know they'd be able to keep in touch when she finally went back to the States. "I'm off in a little while, so I won't see you again. I'm going to hold you to your promise to get together this week though, okay?"

"You can count on it, "Becca said, smiling.

"Sounds like trouble to me," Nick frowned.

"Just wait, Julie has added her to the email list."

"No!" Nick gasped in mock horror. "Please tell me you're not one of those… those…"

"Fans?" Laura asked.

"Argh!" Nick groaned. "Bec, save me, she said the 'F' word."

"Carter, get over it," she laughed. "I was a fan, remember?"

"Was? You're not anymore? Bec, say it isn't so!" He held his hand over his heart and adopted a wounded look.

Becca rolled her eyes and looked at Laura. "See? See what I have to put up with?"

"Bec, I think you're both nuts, but you look a hundred percent better than when I looked in on you a few minutes ago. So, I'd say my work here is done."

Nick stood up to take Garrett from her and grinned. "Laura, you're the best. Maybe I'll see you when I come back for Bec."

"I'd like that. You two enjoy your evening. The late shift knows you're staying, Nick, so if you need anything just buzz the nurses' station."

"I will. Take care, Laura."

With a quiet hug for Becca and one last glance at the baby, she was on her way.

Nick sat in the large armchair and propped the baby up on his knees. Making silly sounds, he played with Garrett's hand, loving it when the baby grasped his fingers. "Look at that grip, Bec, he's gonna be a drummer."

"Nick," Becca said quietly, "you can't spend the night here."

Nick ignored her. "So we'll get you your own drum set and you can take lessons. But we have to set you up in your own room, dude. That racket's gonna drive your mom crazy-"

"You have to get some sleep, Nick, you have a show tomorrow night."

Nick kept playing with the baby's fingers, but looked over at Becca. "I'm going to sleep on the bus, Bec, no big deal."

"But Nick-"

"I'm not leaving you tonight, Bec. End of story."

"But-"

"Howie and Sarah are gonna meet me here in the morning and help me get you to Julie's. From there we have a ride arranged back to the bus. Can you imagine what would happen if we took the bus down Julie's street?" he grinned.

Becca narrowed her eyes. "You also know," she whispered, "that if I set foot on your bus you'd never get me off of it."

"I know Bec." He sat and watched her face. "You know it has to be this way."

"You know I don't have to like it," she countered.

He grinned. "Wanta neck?"

"Changing the subject won’t work."

"Wanta bet?" Pushing out of the chair, he sat on the bed by Becca. "Here, take him," he said, thrusting the baby into her arms. While she was off guard, he leaned over to nuzzle her neck. His hot breath tickled her skin and goose bumps rose on her arms.

"Nick-"

"Is it working?" he took the lobe of her ear between his teeth and nibbled, his nose brushing her ear and cheek.

"Nick, for god's sake-" she choked out. Garrett began to fuss and as Nick licked the rim of her ear, her breasts began to tingle and without warning, began to drip. "Oh damn," she groaned. "Nick, move."

Nick sat up, rather dazed and definitely confused. "What?"

Becca sighed. "I need a washcloth and a clean gown. Damn, they said this would happen." Becca cleaned herself up and tried to explain one of the hazards of sex and breastfeeding to Nick while he watched in amusement.

"Bec, this is just weird. So this is gonna happen every time-"

"I have no idea," she sighed. "I'll ask Lynne about it."

He held Garrett while she changed and then stretched out beside her while she nursed the baby. Finally Garrett was sleeping soundly and Becca began to yawn, trying unsuccessfully to hide it from Nick.

"Baby, you need to close your eyes."

"No, I'm fine" she insisted. "I just want to stay up a little longer. Tomorrow-"

"I know, but Bec, staying up isn't going to make it any easier."

"Nick," she said tearfully.

Nick pulled her head over onto his shoulder. They lay together in silence watching Garrett sleep and Nick could feel Becca's head getting heavier as she began to drift off to sleep. As she yawned again he took Garrett and tucked him into his bed.

Becca smiled sleepily. "Come back?"

"Sure, baby," he smiled. "Come on, get comfy, Bec." They lay together once more, Becca's head pillowed against Nick's shoulder.

Becca breathed in his scent and sighed deeply. "I love you so much," she whispered.

Nick smiled as he stroked her hair and began to sing softly.

Nick kissed her through her hair and sighed. "I love you baby. God, I love you so much." He knew she was sound asleep, so he closed his eyes and scooted down beside her. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Part 276        The Dance Index(3)