Part 453

Another night, another town, another show. Where were they? Becca frowned as she tried to concentrate. Boise? No, that was three nights ago. Salt Lake City? No. Oh yeah, Albuquerque. She giggled as she thought of the name of the town. Every time she heard it she thought of Bugs Bunny cartoons, but it always came out as ‘Alba-koy-kee’. Then there was the old Partridge Family album she’d bought at a church bazaar a few years back. She had always loved to listen to David Cassidy when he sang, ‘point me in the direction of Albuquerque’ …. Dear lord, the exhaustion was beginning to catch up to her. The dull ache in her temples threatened to escalate any second and she rubbed her forehead in a futile effort to make it stop.

"Becca?" Lynne walked up just as Becca leaned against the concrete wall of the venue hallway.

"Hey, girl, what’s wrong?" She lay a hand on Becca’s shoulder and frowned as well when she felt the tense muscles beneath her fingers.

"I hurt," came the pathetic whimper. Becca’s eyes were still closed, and several tears crept out of the corners of her eyes and slid down her face.

"Bec, we need to check your pressure. This could be a sign of-"

"No, it’s not that. I already checked and it’s normal."

"Have you always had headaches like this?"

Becca shook her head. "No, I’m just tired. All the riding on the bus, and I think Garrett isn’t feeling well either, because he hasn’t slept at all for the past three nights." She started to say something about Denver, but changed her mind. This was Lynne’s last night with them and she really didn’t want to bring everyone down with her. Besides, she knew that Kevin had big plans for after the show and there was no way that Lynne needed to have her mind anywhere but in Kevin’s bed.

"Where’s Garrett now?" Lynne pressed her thumbs deeply into Becca’s knotted muscles and smiled in satisfaction as she felt them begin to loosen.

"Oh, gosh, that’s good …" Becca moaned. "Umm, I think … I think … Nick has him. Yeah, Nick has him."

"Bec, when’s the last time you got any sleep?" Lynne had her fingers wrapped around Becca’s neck now and was trying her hardest to relieve the rest of the tension, but it was almost a losing battle.

"Dunno. Boise, I guess."

"Boise?! Bec, that was three days ago."

"I know. Three … long … days." Becca sighed and it was then that Nick, Garrett and Kevin rounded the corner. Becca never saw them, but Lynne did, and shook her head to keep them quiet.

"Bec, I can give you something for the headache, but it might knock you out for a couple of hours."

"No, I can’t do that."

"Why not?" Nick couldn’t keep quiet. He knew Becca was tired, but he hadn’t truly seen the extent of it until now.

"Because I have a baby to take care of, and you have things to do and there’s the show tonight-"

"Becca, Nick’s right," Kevin spoke up. "There are plenty of hands around to keep an eye on Garrett while you crash for a while. Lynne, what can you give her?"

"I get migraines once in a while, so I can give her one of my meds. I know it’s safe, and she’ll feel a lot better."

Nick had taken over rubbing Becca’s neck after handing Garrett to Kevin and he intervened, suspecting what the root of her problem was. "Bec, look, about Denver … we don’t have to-"

"No, it’s not about Denver," she protested as Nick rolled his eyes at Kevin. "I shouldn’t be taking anything at all. Garrett doesn’t need me passing the drugs on to him when I nurse him."

"Bec, by the time it gets to Garrett through your milk it will be so diluted it won’t even affect him. Please," Lynne said, "let me get you something. You’ll be up and fine by show time, I promise." She avoided Kevin’s raised eyebrows and hoped she didn’t sound like she was lying through her teeth.

"Becca, please," Nick whispered. He held her face in his hands and tipped her face up to his, but when the light hit her eyes and she winced, his decision was made. "Lynne, I’m taking her to the green room. There’s a huge couch in there and no one will be around until the meet and greet."

With no effort at all he scooped her up in his arms and strode off down the hall leaving Lynne and Kevin to watch his retreating back. A soft snuffle reminded Kevin that they weren’t alone, and he looked down to see two tiny blue eyes looking curiously up at him. "Well, hello there," he said with a grin. "So what am I supposed to do with you?" he asked Garrett.

"Come on, Uncle Kev," Lynne laughed. "Walk me out to the bus so I can get something for Becca’s headache then we can turn this youngster back over to his rightful owner."

Part 454            Index