Chapter 51
Alone, Howie turned his attention back to Sarah to see a single tear roll silently down her cheek. Tenderly, he wiped it away as he asked, “Have I told you how amazing you are lately?”
“Not since we got here.” Sarah played with his wedding band, staring at his hands as she did.
“What are you thinking about?”
Looking up into the tenderness of his beautiful brown eyes, Sarah felt like her heart was going to explode with love. “How will I ever show you how much I love you?”
“How about we fool around?” leered Howie.
Laughing, “I can’t do anything now, ‘D’. My water broke. You’re just gonna have to wait six weeks.”
“Six weeks?” shot Howie in disbelief. “You’re gonna make me, your HOT Latin lover, WAIT six weeks?”
“Uh huh,” smirked Sarah.
“Woman! YOU can’t even make it six weeks.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Sure…..a thousand dollars says I’ll be able to convince you to fool around before you leave the hospital.”
“You’re on, Dorough.”
“Now let’s seal it with a kiss,” and he leaned in to kiss her. His mouth covering hers, his tongue slipping between hers, touching the sweet spots he knew so well. Instinctively her hands found their way to his chest, her fingers playing in the hair that was exposed by the open buttons.
A gentle knock interrupted the couple.
“Arggg,” groaned Howie leaning his forehead against Sarah’s. “It’s GOT to be Nick.”
Sarah laughed, “Nah, Nick wouldn’t wait for an answer and neither would the other guys. It’s probably Becca.”
“We don’t have to answer,” suggested Howie. “I just want more time alone with you, ‘Angel’…to hold you and get you through all this…just you and me.”
Sarah ran her finger down his chest. “Do you want to tell Becca and AJ that we’re gonna do it alone?”
“Do you mind?”
“Why would I mind being alone with my husband to bring our babies into the world?”
Chagrined, Howie tucked his head. “I don’t know….I guess….I just figured since I got you in this, you wouldn’t….”
Sarah put her finger on his lips. “’D’, I love you and I want to share everything with you….and there is a part of me that is overjoyed that WE are having these babies…a bigger part than the part that is scared.”
The knock sounded louder and Howie said, “Maybe we should answer it.”
“Probably. ‘D’, I love you,” whispered Sarah giving him a kiss. Without taking her eyes off Howie, she called, “Come in.”
Becca stuck her head in. “You ready for us to come back?”
“Sure, we were just…ummmm, talking,” smiled Howie moving back to sit beside Sarah putting his arm around her. He took her hand in his tickling her palm with his fingers.
Laughing, “I know all about you two talking. Let me go tell the others.”
“I’ll go get them, Bec. Stay put,” offered Raoul from behind her.
“Thanks, Raoul.” Becca moved into the room and sat beside Sarah. “What’s come over you? You look….like yourself…calm and confident.”
Giving Sarah a wink, Howie boasted, “I just took charge and told her to get over it.”
Sarah rolled her eyes, “You are so full of it, Dorough.”
Becca laughed, “Maybe you need to put your foot down with the guys too.”
“What’s that mean?” asked Howie.
“Brian and Nick were going at it a few minutes ago.”
“Where was Kevin?” asked Sarah.
“Right there listening.”
“And he didn’t stop it?”
“He wouldn’t,” said Howie. “Look, Bec, when I’m sure Sarah and the babies are okay, I’ll take care of it.”
Another knock but this time, they didn’t wait for an answer. In walked the ‘gang’ looking…well, it was clear something was wrong.
Looking at Howie, Sarah said, “See, I told you they wouldn’t wait for an answer.”
Seeing the serious look in Kevin’s eyes, Howie asked, “What’s up, Kev?”
“They’ve got a problem with the crowd outside and the hospital administration asked if we could do something about it. I talked to management and they said they’d schedule a press conference to announce the birth of the babies if you and Sarah agree.”
“When are you going to talk to the crowd?”
“We were hoping you’d go with us,” said Brian.
“Now, before Sarah gets too far into labor that you can’t leave her,” added Kevin.
Howie looked at Sarah. There was no question about whether Howie was going. They both knew it was the only way to get the crowd to back off. “I won’t be long, ‘Angel’,” promised Howie.
Kevin was watching the couple and mistook the look in Sarah’s eyes. Thinking she was going to protest, Kevin said, “Baby, it’s not fair to the other patients to disrupt their recovery. You’re being selfish. You know Howie is the only one the crowd is going to listen to.”
“What an incredible jackass you are?” shot Nick.
Spinning on Nick, Kevin growled, “HOW in the HELL do you figure I’m being a jackass?”
Not intimidated by Kevin, Nick stood his ground. “You claim to know Sarah as well as Howie but if you did, you’d realize that she wasn’t going to stop him from going.”
“When did you become such an expert on Sarah?” shot Brian angrily.
“I’m NOT an expert on Sarah but I can tell when my friends are hurting and when they’re happy. If you would just LOOK at Sarah, you can tell that she’s calmer even though she’s still scared….and justifiably so.”
“Whoa….mighty big word for such an immature jerk!”
“Immature? Oh, that’s right….I’m Nick the Kid…Nick the screw up….Nick…the one who will never grow up. I’m not capable of doing anything on my own according to you and Lord Kevin.”
“Well, you ARE the one doing community service because of getting into a drunken brawl and resisting arrest,” smirked Brian.
“NICKOLAS!! That’s enough!” Nick had started after Brian but Sarah stopped him. “Brian, you and Kevin are WAY out of line on this. Neither one of you knows the whole story about what happened that night and have no right to judge him. Now, if you two can’t find a way to apologize to Nick, you might as well go home because I don’t want you around me.”
Kevin and Brian were stunned.
“Sarah…you can’t be serious?”
“I’m DEAD serious, Kevin.” Turning away from him, Sarah looked at Howie, “Go take care of the crowd, ‘D’.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“And I’ll be with her,” said Becca. “You know, I had a wonderful teacher when I was doing the childbirth stuff. I think I can stand in for a few minutes.”
Howie smiled, “Yeah, you did have a pretty good teacher. Thanks, Bec. Make sure my angel doesn’t go hitting on some good looking intern while I’m out.”
“Get out of here, Dorough,” and Sarah pushed him away from her playfully.
Quickly, Howie stole a kiss and then rushed out with the other four guys following close behind leaving the girls in Sarah’s room.