Part 346
"Go 'way …." Becca mumbled, pulling the pillow over her head and trying to ignore whoever was pounding on her door.
The pounding continued, and a muffled exchange could be heard outside her bedroom door.
"Jesse! Stop that," Jane hissed. "You'll wake them up!"
"But you SAID that Aunt Becca has a phone call. You SAID you'd get her," Jesse insisted, her hands on her hips.
"No, I said I'd get her IF she was awake, and she's NOT awake, so move away from her door and try to be quiet."
"But she's s'posed to help make breakfast," Jesse pouted, "and I’m hungry."
"I'm perfectly capable of making your breakfast, now let's go."
"No. I want Aunt Becca."
"Mom?" Aaron called from downstairs. "This lady on the phone wants to know if you deserted her."
"No!" Jane called back, before thinking to lower her voice. "Becca's still-"
"Asleep." Nick grumbled, standing in the now open doorway, his t-shirt wrinkled and his boxers twisted to one side. "Becca's still asleep, and so was I." He yawned and frowned at the two hellions who had the audacity to wake him on his first morning off in what seemed like forever.
"Uncle Nick! You're up!" Jesse squealed, wrapping herself around his leg and nearly sending him tumbling to the floor.
"Shh! Becca's-"
"Awake." Becca groaned from beneath her pillow. "I'm awake."
"Aunt Becca!" Jesse pushed past Nick and leaped onto the bed, making Becca grunt as she landed a knee in her back.
"Ow! Jesse, please!" Becca rolled to the side, managing to extricate herself from the tiny body that seemed to weigh about two hundred pounds.
"G'morning! Grandma Jane said you have a phone call, and it must be 'portant because she's calling all the way from Flor'da."
"Florida?" Becca said with a yawn, still not fully conscious. "Who could be calling me at this hour from-"
"Becca, it's your attorney," Jane said from outside the door.
"Heidi? Jesse, hand me the phone!" Jesse did as she was asked, and then began to snuggle under the covers, still warm from Nick's body. "Now go downstairs and wait for me, I'll be down in a bit."
"But-"
"No 'buts', Jesse." She dropped her voice to an evil whisper. "Please do like I asked, or I'll let Jane cook your breakfast again."
Jesse's eyes were wide, and she scrambled out of the bed. She wasn't sure Becca would follow through on her threat, but she didn't want to take any chances.
Nick and Jane were trying hard not to laugh as Jesse scurried past them.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked him.
"Yeah, better than I have in a while. Just not long enough," he smirked.
"I tried to stop her," Jane began to apologize.
"Don’t worry about it. I know Bec was anxious to talk to Heidi. We'll be down in a bit."
Closing the door, he went back to bed and lay down with his head on Becca's shoulder as she talked.
"Hello?" she yawned.
A loud laugh came from the other end of the line. "Rise and shine, kiddo."
"Very funny. Do have any clue what time it is out here?" Becca peered over Nick's shoulder, trying to see the alarm clock. "Damn, Heidi it's not even 8:00 yet."
"Sorry, sweets, but I got your messages this morning and they sounded urgent. I thought that anyone with an infant in the house would have been up long ago."
"Believe it or not, he actually slept in this morning. Well, that doesn’t count the two times I was up with him during the night," she sighed.
"Becca, I can call back this afternoon. I have to be in court in an hour so I'll call you after my deposition."
"No, don't. I don't know what the plans are for the rest of the day. So you got my message?"
"About the video? It sounds great! I can have the paperwork ready in a couple of days. I have your schedule here, so I'll FedEx it to you to look over. If everything looks right, then you just need to sign it and get it back to me. I'll handle the details with the production company."
"That's it?"
"Yes," she laughed, "That's it. Becca, that's why you have me. I'm the one that gets paid the big bucks to handle all the nasty little details, remember?"
"Yes, I remember, I sign your retainer checks, remember?" Becca rolled her eyes even as she grinned. Heidi had been her attorney since her father's death, and had helped her through countless difficult times since his passing.
"So what else can I do for you?"
"I was talking to Nick last night… what's going on with the foundation?"
"Your foundation? Not much, Bec. Without you here to run it, it's been put on hold."
"I want to know what I need to do to get it going, to make it more active."
"I'm not going to gloss this over, Becca. It's going to be hard work and it's going to take some sizable donations to make it happen. You need to prepare yourself to take an incredibly active role in it."
"You mean management?" Becca sat up and leaned against the headboard, pushing Nick off her lap.
"No, we can hire someone to manage it. You need to be the 'front' person, the one who is the face that everyone sees."
"Heidi, you know how I feel about crowds." Becca frowned, picking nervously at the comforter.
"Then dissolve the organization now."
"Heidi!"
"Becca, I mean it. If you want to save lives and make a difference, then you need to be out there talking to the kids, telling them your story. It's the only way they'll listen."
"You mean tell them what happened to me?"
"Absolutely, Becca. Look, you've already done that on MTV when Carson interviewed you and Nick. The ice has been broken, so take it a step further."
Nick was paying attention now, leaning up on one elbow and watching Becca's face. She was chewing on her lower lip, which wasn't always a good sign. "Bec?" he whispered, but she waved him off.
"So what do you suggest?"
"I've made a list," she said without hesitation.
"And this is supposed to surprise me?" Becca laughed. "Okay, lay it on me."
"You need to do public service announcements. Thirty-second spots that can be shown during prime time and on all the major cable networks. We'll target times when teens are most likely to watch."
"Okay, that's easy enough, what else?"
"We'll set up a schedule for you to visit schools. We can package a program geared to different ages, you know: middle schools, high schools… we can even market you to local service clubs and business associations."
"Heidi, I don't think-"
"Becca, that's where the big money is. You have to be out there working for this. If you're not sure, then maybe you need some more time to think about it before we set it all into motion."
"It's just … overwhelming. I guess I didn't realize what all was involved. And the appearances- Heidi, I have a baby to consider."
"I understand that. None of this will begin until the tour is over, Becca. Maybe we can film the first public service spot when you're with Aaron filming the video. That wouldn't take too much time, and the camera crew will be right there."
"I guess…"
"And the rest of it, I don't see why we can't arrange the speaking engagements to coincide with Nick's schedule. That way you can still travel together and kill two birds with one stone."
"That could work." Becca smiled and Nick was becoming more curious by the minute.
"Bec, what?" he whispered.
"Shh! Hold On."
"Nick feeling left out?" Heidi grinned. "Here's a job for that handsome man of yours. You need a name for the foundation, Becca. Something catchy that kids will remember. Get Nick to help you with that."
"This is a lot of work," Becca sighed.
"Anything worthwhile always is, Bec."
"It's a lot to think about, Heidi."
"Tell you what, give me a call in a few days. Talk it over with Nick, write down any questions you have, or any ideas you come up with. We'll talk again and go from there. Okay?"
"Fair enough." Becca heard a shriek from downstairs just as Garrett began to cry. "Look, I need to go and I know you do, too. We'll talk soon."
"Wait! One more thing. Do you know someone by the name of Robert Callahan?"
"No, should I?"
"I don't know. He's called here almost daily for the last week."
"Why?" Becca's curiosity was piqued.
"He won't say. He's insisting that he speak with you, a - what did he say?- oh, yes, 'a matter of great urgency'."
"I've never heard of him, Heidi."
"Well, not to worry. The last message I had was from his attorney, so I'll call him this afternoon and see what I can find out. I'll keep you posted."
"Thanks Heidi, for everything."
"Any time, Bec, you know that." Her voice softened. "Are you all right?"
"I couldn't be better," she smiled, looking over at Nick who was engrossed in changing Garrett's soggy diaper and seemingly loving every minute of it.
"I'm glad everything worked out for you, Becca." Heidi closed the open folder on her desk, talking now as friend to friend. "You've had a rough time."
"I have my family, Heidi. I have everything."
Garrett was howling at the top of his lungs and even Heidi could hear him.
"Go take care of him. I'll call you soon."
"Okay, thanks Heidi!"
"Any time, Bec."
Becca broke the connection, took one look at Nick and fell over laughing. He was swaying from side to side, trying to calm Garrett by letting him suck on his finger. It wasn't working.
"Give him here, Nick, you don't have the right equipment."
"Gladly. I'm going down and see if I can run interference between my mother and Jesse. Please hurry." He shot her a panicked look and she laughed again.
"We'll be down in a bit. Hang tough, big guy." With her free hand, she gave him a 'thumbs up' and giggled.
"Once more, into the breach …." he quoted, took a deep breath and went to join the rest of the family.