Part 533

Becca stepped onto the lift and gripped the handrails tightly. She took a deep breath, and then another, and then-

"Bec, you’re going to hyperventilate," Kevin said soothingly. "Just relax."

"I’m ok," she squeaked.

"Here’s your mic, Bec," Nick said, pressing the cordless mic into her hand and folding her fingers around it. "Knock ‘em dead, baby," he whispered, kissing her cheek lingeringly.

Sarah closed her set with her signature song, and as the crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause, the center stage lift carried her down to the underworld where the Boys were getting ready for their opening number. As she stepped off the lift into Howie’s arms, it registered in the back of her mind that as she had descended beneath the stage, that she had passed Becca, who was ascending on another lifter. Before she could ask what was going on, she heard applause, followed by Becca’s clear voice coming through the house sound system.

"Two of the most destructive forces to any relationship are fear and silence. When I left home last winter, I was afraid. I was afraid that one night of naiveté and carelessness had ruined my only chance for a lifetime of happiness, and so I ran. I ran to the farthest place I could conceive of running to, a place so completely unlike my home that no one would ever think to look for me there." She paused, looking out over the faces in the crowd. "So you’re asking yourself, ‘where is this leading?’ Well, you see, my flight from reality led me here, to Denver."

There were startled gasps from the crowd and an eerie silence descended over the arena. Below stage, Nick was handed his own handheld mic as Sarah grasped his arm.

"Nick, what is she doing?" Sarah was puzzled, but Nick smiled and gave her a hug.

"Just listen, sis. Go up to the wings where you can watch. She’ll be off in a few minutes.

"But-"

"Sarah, just go. We want you to watch." Nick moved to the center lifter as Sarah worked her way toward the ladder that led to the backstage area. From up above, onstage, Becca continued with her story.

"It was here, in a tiny one-bedroom apartment, that I discovered I had more to think about than just myself. It was here that I discovered that I was pregnant. Through lots of soul-searching and sleepless nights I learned that the only way to overcome fear was not with silence, it was with love. Love and trust. It was by trusting my best friend’s advice that I finally decided to write to Nick, to let him know I was all right. Once the ice was broken, we began to piece our relationship back together. It was ultimately love, love for Nick and love for our unborn child, that led me back home."

Becca glanced to the side, and seeing movement in the wings, knew that Sarah was there, watching and listening. Her voice faltered just a bit as she saw Sarah wipe a tear from her face, but she took a deep breath and continued.

"I had to trust that the love we had would overcome what we’d been through and that same love would heal the hurt that I’d caused. Well," Becca smiled, "you know the rest of the story and you know that it had a happy ending, otherwise I wouldn’t be here tonight." She smiled as the crowd chuckled in agreement. "If you take anything away from here tonight, take the message of hope. Understand that you need Love, Trust and Hope, for without those, you have nothing."

The lights dimmed and a single spotlight shone on a wooden stool that had somehow appeared center stage. Becca sat as the music began and smiled gently as she sang.

The spotlight widened, encompassing the single lift that began to rise behind her. As it became apparent to the crowd who it was, Nick began to sing.

Stepping closer to his wife, Nick put his arm around her and held her close as he sang.

Taking Becca's hand, he steadied her as she stood to face him, and together they sang the final refrain.

As the music faded to a close, the crowd and everything else ceased to exist for Nick and Becca. Their eyes locked and as the lift carried them back to the underworld, they kissed.

Sarah watched with tears in her eyes as Nick and Becca descended beneath the stage, and as she peeked out into the crowd, she realized that there wasn’t a dry eye in the entire front section. A hand touched her arm and she turned to see Raoul motioning her to follow him.

"Come on," he said over the roar of the crowd, "the guys are getting ready to go an and Becca will want to see you."

In no time, they were in the underworld, and she stopped short when she saw Nick and Becca still holding each other tightly. Her first instinct was to give them a hard time, but as she got closer she saw the tears on Nick’s face and backed away.

"Angel?" Howie put his arm around her and frowned at the look on her face.

"Is Nick okay?" she whispered.

"Nick’s fine, Angel. I just don’t think he was expecting the rush of emotions he got. Remember the first time we sang together in a show?"

Sarah smiled. "Yeah, I do," she said wistfully. "It was awesome."

"Well, there ya go," Howie grinned. They both looked back at the young couple and caught their breath at the scene. Nick and Becca were in their own world, completely unaware of the crew or anyone else.

"Bec, that was amazing," Nick whispered, cradling her face in his hands and stroking her cheeks with his thumbs.

"I love you," was all she could manage to whisper in return.

"Me too," Nick answered, his face breaking out into a wide grin.

Sarah watched them and her stomach did back flips. "D, we have to help them," Sarah said.

Howie looked at her in confusion. "What? Angel, what are you talking about?"

Sarah shook her head with determination. "It’s a long story and you have to get ready to go on. I’ll explain it all later. Besides, it will give me some more time to think."

"Angel, I’m not sure I like that look in your eye," Howie said with a scowl.

"No, trust me," she laughed. "This time I’m plotting something good."

Part 534        Index