Part 7
Rested and nourished, Sarah was ready to face the fans and the press. The guys went with her back to the hospital to see Howie before heading to MTV studios. Before she left though, she had packed a small bag of things for Howie for when he was in his own room and a few things for herself. She’d been sure to include the small Pooh Bear she’d given him when they first started dating and a picture of the children since he couldn’t see them just yet.
At the hospital, Howie had been moved to ICU and his parents were just coming out when Sarah and the guys arrived.
"How is he?" asked Sarah anxiously.
"He’s tired but that’s from the sedatives," answered Mr. Dorough.
"He’s asked for you each time he’s woken up, sweetie, but we’ve reassured him that you’re okay," said Mama D.
Dr. Anderson was there and said, "Go on in and see him, Sarah."
Sarah pushed open the door and entered the darkened room. Standing by the bed, she took his hand and smile when he opened his eyes.
"I’ve died and gone to heaven," he whispered. "I have an angel with me."
"Not heaven but close. I brought you something," she said pulling the Pooh Bear out.
Howie gave a half laugh as he took it from her. "I hear you gave them a hard time about leaving."
Sarah sat on the edge of the bed and Howie lay his hand on her stomach. He was rewarded with the baby moving under his touch, as if it were trying to get closer to him. He smiled as Sarah put her hand on top of his.
Reaching to caress his cheek, Sarah said, "I didn’t want to leave you, baby."
"I know but Angel, please take care of yourself."
"On one condition."
"What’s that?"
"You stop worrying about me. There are eight people doing enough of that for you. You need to concentrate on getting well."
A tear slid down Howie’s cheek and he closed his eyes to keep the others back. His voice trembling, he whispered, "I can’t help it, Angel. I never meant for you to find out and now I’m putting more stress on you. It can’t be good for the baby."
"I know you kept it from me. Alex told me earlier, while you were in surgery but Howie, you should know better. We don’t keep things from each other…not something like this."
"Your pregnancy…it’s been so much easier on you. I didn’t want anything to happen."
"Shhh…look at me, Howie." Howie gave her the request and opened his eyes to look at her. She continued, "Baby, I’m fine as long as I have you by my side. That’s why you have to focus on getting better. Now, I’m headed to MTV studios to do TRL today. I want you to sleep while I’m gone and when I get back, I’ll climb in bed with you and hold you….but ONLY if you will STOP worrying about me."
Howie smiled, "Okay! Okay! No more worrying. Is AJ here?"
"And Kevin, Brian, and Nick."
"I want to see AJ for a minute."
Sarah went to the door and got AJ for Howie returning seconds later with him.
"Hey there, bro," said AJ softly as Howie took his hand.
"You need to do me a favor."
"What’s that?"
"Look out for her…don’t let her out of your sight. She’s gonna be stubborn but she can’t stay with me all the time. She’s got the kids to look after and herself."
AJ laughed, "Yeah, I know how stubborn she can be but don’t you worry about it, okay. She went back with me and got some sleep earlier."
Howie closed his eyes with relief knowing that AJ was already looking out for Sarah.
Thinking he was asleep, AJ leaned over and gave his ‘brother’ a kiss on the forehead and whispered, "She loves you, Howie."
Not letting AJ move away, Howie whispered, "She’s my world, ‘Age’."
"I know, D. I’m gonna clear out. Don’t worry about her, okay. I’m gonna make sure she takes care of herself and that little one and as for the other three, we’ve got them taken care of too."
"Thank you."
AJ let go of Howie and gave Sarah a kiss on the cheek. "I’ll be outside. Don’t be too long. We need to get going."
"Okay. I won’t be much longer," she answered. She rejoined Howie on the bed. "D, I’ve gotta go now."
"Why are you going to MTV?"
"We’re gonna make the announcement about the rest of the tour and let them know about you. There’s a press conference at 5 here at the hospital where all the medical questions are going to be answered."
"Tell the fans that I love them and thanks for all the support."
"Without a doubt. Mama and Dad are gonna be here until I get back and then I’m shooing them back to the hotel to get some sleep and something to eat."
"What about the children? How’s Jesse taking this?"
"Ilse has them back at the hotel and Becca and Sonja are helping her out. Jesse’s scared but she’s being tough for her daddy."
"Give them all a kiss for me."
"I will. As soon as you’re in a room, I’m going to bring Jesse to see you."
Howie looked into Sarah’s eyes. "Come here, Angel."
Sarah leaned in to him and he touched her cheek. "I know you’re scared, but we’ve got each other. We’ve gotten through tough times before."
"Tough times? Not us…when have we ever had tough times," she teased.
Howie smiled, "That’s my angel. Now go reassure the fans that I’m gonna be okay."
Sarah kissed him tenderly and whispered, "I love you, D."
"I love you too, Sarah."
