Chapter 94

Tonight was the last concert before a few days off and heading up to Canada. The guys would head back to New York for a couple days and Richie was happy to spend some time in New Jersey, visit his mom for a few days with Daniel and Sarah. The little boy had not seen his grandma is a while and being so close, it only made sense.

Having a show so close to home meant that their families came out see them. These shows were planned with thought. A Friday night, so the children would be able to come as well. In reality they were more happy to see their dads than a concert itself.

"Ready for another show?" Richie asked as he walked back into the dressing room after visiting with Jon to discuss the setlist.
"Not as excited as Daniel." Sarah said as she passed him over.
Richie gladly took his son from her. "I'm playing a solo song right before the encores so try and keep Daniel awake for it, I don't want you to miss it."
Sarah raised an eyebrow at him, wondering. "Are you dedicating a song to me?" She asked in a teasy sing song voice.
"Maybe I will." He used the same voice to tease her back before reaching in for a kiss.

A few minutes before the concert would start Sarah followed Dorothea and her two youngest boys to a little spot in front of the stage where security stood. They found a side stage view but would be perfectly able to see their men.

Daniel had finally gotten used to wearing headphones that protected his hearing and didn't try to pull them off everytime Sarah put them on him. He had accepted his fate and didn't bother once all night.

The crowd around them started cheering as Sarah and Dorothea looked up at the stage where Tico had sat down at his drums, followed by Richie and David joining on the stage. Together they started the opening notes to the song and not much later Jon joined them all on stage too.

Sarah loved watching her man on stage, he always looked so passionate when he played guitar but even more so when he was able to share it with everyone and she loved to see that. Their shows had changed somewhat since the last time she had joined them on tour in Europe. She had noticed it during the last two weeks, Richie sang more parts of the songs. Sometimes starting a song or sometimes singing the second chorus by himself while Jon pitched in on guitar. It was subbtle but noticeable.

Towards the end, they made a show of switching places as Jon called Richie on his microphone and beckoned him to come over to the center of the stage. Richie walked over with a what do you want attitude and stood next to Jon, waiting for him. "Show 'em what you got." He said into the microphone for the whole crowd to hear.
In return, Richie played the opening notes of one of their most known songs on his guitar, showing off.
"No, no." Jon told him, keeping up their act. "You've got to sing for them!"
Richie gave him a look, acting like he was surprised. "Who? Me?"
Jon laughed and slapped his shoulder. "Yeah, you!" Then he walked away and headed down the back stairs, leaving the stage.

Now Richie stood at the microphone, ready to play his own song for the crowd. Standing there watching out over them made him feel great. For one song, he was in charge.

Sarah had seen them do this almost every night but it seemed clear to her that to Dorothea this was new. Their banter was cute to Sarah and she had started to like when they did so on stage, it showed they still had fun with what they did.

After Richie played his song, he followed the same direction Jon had left the stage, with David, Tico and Hugh behind him

"They loved that." Richie said as soon as he found Jon, he had changed and was almost ready to go. Richie did the same and pulled his shirt off as he was handed a new one to change into.
"Yeah, I could hear those cheers." Jon agreed with him. "I like the bit, people seem to like it."
"Yeah, exactly." Richie said quickly.
"Everyone ready for encores?" Jon asked as he looked around. "Let's show them what we've got with these last 4 songs!"

After the concert ended, Sarah followed Dorothea and the boys to the backstage dressing rooms where they found the men still in the hallway telling each other how great the show had been.

Richie looked up when Sarah approached with Daniel in her arms. She quickly reached up for a kiss.

Now that he was safely backstage, Daniel pulled off his headphones and interrupted his parents kiss to pass them to Richie.

"Thank you buddy." He said as he took the headphones, then held his arms out to take him.
Sarah gladly passed him over. "He had a lot of fun but I think he'll be asleep before we get to the hotel."
"We're not going to a hotel." Richie said, a little confused. "We're flying to New York and then taking a car to mom's." He explained, reminding her.
"It'll be the middle of the night when we get there." She pointed out.
Jon chimed in quickly to that. "That's probably the earliest Joan will have seen Richie come home."
Richie scowled at him. "Fuck off."
"Pretty sure you used to get home when the sun rose and got up when it started setting."
"As if you didn't." Richie countered, knowing Jon had been a close second back then.
"No, I was the one knocking on your door waiting for you to get up. I would've come in to wake you up myself but it wasn't ever safe to walk in to your room."
Richie rolled his eyes at that.
"I've seen more women leave that room than I can count."
"Fuck you." Richie told him, a tad annoyed that he had brought it up to begin with. It was almost thirthy years ago.

"Cars are here!" They heard from behind them. They all knew what that meant and gathered their belongings to head down to the back exit, ready for some travel time.

Chapter 93

He squeezed his eyes closed and held her, not wanting to let on as he asked, "Are you okay?" Against his arm, he could feel Sarah's response, a short nod. "What's wrong then?" He asked, knowing it wasn't okay at all or she wouldn't have stopped him like she used to do.

A little bit of frustration creeped in on him when he didn't get a reply, he just wanted to help her, to know what was wrong so could fix it for her and make it all better again. He only ever wanted to see her happy.

"What's wrong?" He urged again, he needed to know or he'd never be able to sleep tonight. "You know you can tell me anything." He reminded her gently. "Even if I don't understand, I'll always try to. You know that, right?"
He could feel Sarah nod against him again with a soft "Yeah."
"So why don't you tell me what's wrong so I can fix it for you?" His voice sounded almost pleading.
She cuddled closer into him, hiding her face in his neck. "I'm just scared it might hurt or something."
He frowned at that, unsure at why she would think that. "Because of the...?" He wasn't going to say it but he felt Sarah's nod of agreement. "Why would it hurt?" He asked unsure.
"Because of your size."
"My size?"
"You're big."
That wasn't news to him, what did that matter? Especially after two years. "Have I ever hurt you before?" Slightly worried he asked his question and hoped for a negative answer but only got a shrug. "I have?" Now he definitely felt worried.
"Not necessarily hurt but sometimes when you get a little rough it can feel a little tender when you reach too deep or afterwards." Sarah finally admitted to him, knowing he would never intentionally hurt her. "It also depends on the day so it's not always the same."
"Yeah, but you tell me when that happens and we go slower." Or at least so he had thought until now.
Sarah shrugged again. "Sometimes I don't."
"Why not? I would never want to hurt you or make you feel sore in any sort of way." He moved from his position to lay down next to her so he could face her.
"I know that," Sarah answered, "but I know you like to be rough once in a while."
"Not if it's going to hurt you." His hand reached out to cup her cheek, holding it there as he looked at her beautiful face in the dusk of their room. "We'll take it slow, okay?" He asked gently, waiting for her to nod before reaching in to kiss her tenderly.

He reached out and pulled her leg over his hip. Glad they were already naked before they started. He kissed her deeply again and pulled her closer against him. It had been a while and he could already start to feel himself getting excited.

Slowly he moved his hand down between her legs, gently nudging her to move them apart. As always what he found, made him smile. She might have been unsure but he was right, she wanted it just as much as he did right now. He kissed her again as he moved a finger inside her warmth, a gasp escaping from Sarah.

He pulled away from the kiss to look at her with worry. "Alright?" He asked quickly, not moving just yet.
Sarah nodded, moving closer to capture his lips in their kiss again.

Slowly he moved his finger, trying to be gently even though Sarah said she was alright with him doing so. His other hand gently stroked her back, hoping it would help her be more at ease. The more he kissed, the more he wanted her. He wanted to be inside her.

Slowly again, he pulled his hand away, wiping it on the sheet before pulling her closer to him. Once again he pulled her leg up to his hip so he could get in a better position next to her.

He pulled away from the kiss to meet her green eyes. "Ready?" He asked, wanting to be entirely sure she wanted to do this.
"Yeah." Sarah said softly, moving her hand into his hair.

He watched her eyes as he slowly entered her, not breaking the contact for a second. Sarah's feelings were all that mattered to him. He slowly moved his way in until he heard Sarah moan and stopped.

"Too far?" He asked carefully, unsure if her moan was pleasure or distress but by the look on her face he could figure it out.

Backing away just a little, he kissed her again and started making long slow thrusts making sure he didn't go all the way. Almost right away he could notice Sarah was enjoying his long and slow thrusts, which made him feel even better. Ten days had been much too long to have gone without while she was with him. If he'd been on the road on his own, it'd be different. With his wife with him, he craved her.

Not much later he noticed Sarah's tell tale signs, she pulled from their kiss so she could breathe deeping, her fingers grabbing on to his hair as she found her release.

Soon enough, he claimed her lips again and started improving his thrusts, a little faster and a little more until he could feel her fingers pull on his hair again.

He pulled her closer against him again so he could burry himself deeper inside her. He needed it all as he found his release inside her.

Holding her close, they both tried to catch their breath. Her heart beating against his chest as he held her, not ready to let go of her just yet. He loved her so much in this moment. The messy blonde hair, her eyes bright green with passion. Those lips he loved to kiss, just a tad swollen. Her cheeks a little flushed. He was simply grateful to have her back.

Chapter 92

"That's so nice of David." Sarah said as they headed down the hallway to the elevators.
"It was and Daniel didn't even mind it so maybe he'll have fun on his own after he naps and we can go have fun together."
"I like having fun with you."
Richie chuckled at that. "We can have that kind of fun as well." He teased as he pressed the elevator button, glad no one was around them.
"You terrible man." Sarah scolded, slapping his arm. "Not that kind of fun."

He knew she didn't mean what he thought but it still made him think, it had been over a week since her period ended, he knew that much. He didn't let on.

"Are we doing a tour bus again?" Sarah asked once they were alone in the elevator on their way down to the ground floor.
Richie feigned being offended. "I put a lot of effort into planning these trips for you, as if I would do the same thing twice."

Sarah laughed a little, although she knew he was right. He did put a lot of thought into the trips for her to see the cities they traveled to. They didn't always have a lot of time to do but since today was their day off before a travel and concert day tomorrow, they had some free time in the great city of Chicago and she was excited to see what her husband had planned for her this afternoon.

A driver took them across the city where they got out of the car, the driver would be waiting for their next trip.

Once she got out of the car to look around where her husband had brought her, Sarah was a little confused at where they were. There was a large greenhouse looking building that gave her a clue of what they were doing.

"Gardens?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah, it came highly recommended on Trip Advisor." Richie said as he took her hand, surprisingly happy at being able to hold her hand instead of pushing a stroller for the afternoon. "I thought it would be a nice walk before our next trip."
"I like it." Sarah said eagerly, ready to see the beautiful plants and gardens ahead of them.

They stopped at the entrance to pay the suggestion donation as entry fee of $10 but Sarah watched her husband being sneaky and paying much more than that. She loved that about him, how he cared to make sure places like this would continue to be able to take donations instead of payments.

Sarah had been right and indeed liked the conservatory a lot once they were walking through the palm house, many palm trees rising up to the glass ceiling, their lush green leaves shading everyone underneath. It took them a while to walk through the entire building, observing all the beautiful plants, trees and flowers around them.

Once outside, the path lead them to the city garden, a beautiful large park, perfect for a stroll.

Noticing some rose bushes, Sarah pointed them out. "Remember the rose bushes?"
"Of course I remember rose bushes."
"That was a wonderful night." Sarah stopped mid-walk and pulled her husband close and into a hug. She looked up lovingly at him before reaching up to kiss him.
He gladly kissed her back, agreeing about their memory.

They finished their walk around the park and headed back inside to make a quick stop at the gift store. She wasn't going to pass by one without at least looking into it.

Back at the car, Richie held the door for Sarah as she got into the car, making sure she was seated before he closed the door and walked around to join her in the back seat.

"Where do we go next?" Sarah asked excited about what else they were doing.
"Something fun." Richie said, not wanting to give it away just yet.
Sarah moved closer to him to lean against his arm. "So the conservatory wasn't supposed to be fun?"
"Not the same kind of fun anyway, more like the fun we'll have later." He watched as Sarah turned her head away but not before he could notice her cheeks blushing. He frowned but didn't say anything.

"This is more fun." Sarah said as they walked up to the pier. "I know you like these."
"What?" Richie asked confused at what she meant.
"Piers with rides and food trucks."

She was surely right about that, they reminded him of when he was a kid and went to the pier with his parents and then later on with his friends on the weekends or even after school. It had always been the place to be for the cool kids. He definitely had been the coolest.

"Are we doing the rides?" Sarah asked.
Richie kept walking, guiding her. "We have to do the ferris wheel at least. We'll get a view of the city with it."
She frowned, remembering the last time they were high up in the air. "What if I get scared?"
"I'll be there, I'll hold you." He promised quickly, not wanting to give up right away.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am." He started walking again. "Come on, it'll be fun. I promise you'll be safe." He urged her to follow him to the line up, which was pretty short anyway.

Slowly the ferris wheel started moving, taking them higher every minutes or so as it stopped at the bottom to let more people off or on each time. It didn't take too long for them to be high up and have the view Richie wanted to see.

"Isn't this view worth it?" Richie asked as he squeezed Sarah's hand in support.

Nervously, she tried to look out the cabin, looking at what her husband saw and once she did, it wasn't too bad. They weren't nearly as high as they were when they went in the hot air balloon last summer. She was glad he had encouraged her to go on the ride because this view she saw was lovely.

She gave his hand a squeeze back as the ferris wheel started moving downwards again. "Thank you." She smiled up at him before reaching in for another kiss.

"How hungry are you?" Richie asked once they were back on safe ground.
Sarah shrugged. "Not very."
"Can you wait two more hours?" He asked, even though it was still a little early but their next activity wouldn't offer them a chance to eat until it was over and they were able to get to the restaurant he had picked out.
She nodded happily. "I sure can." She said excited. "What else do you have planned?"
"You'll see." He said as he grabbed her hand and started walking down the pier.

It wasn't long before they reached the dock, where a large boat was docked amongst several other boats. Sarah was intrigued at where they were going, she was became more curious but didn't want to ask just yet, she could also guess what they were going to do.

"How's this?" Richie asked as he pointed out the cruise liner they were going on.
She was still a little stunned when he pointed out which boat they'd be boarding. "We're doing a boat tour?" She asked.
"Yes, Trip Advisor recommended this as well. It's going to take us on the river all around the city."

After their cruise, they were ready to go for dinner. By now Sarah knew her husband would always pick out the best places for dinner, even more so now that she knew he didn't know every city and used Trip Advisor just like anyone else would. Surely that meant the places he would take her would only be the best.

"You okay?" Richie asked once they got to their restaurant.
"Yeah, I just feel a little odd." Sarah confessed, making Richie frown with worry.
"What kind of odd." He asked carefully. "Should we skip dinner?"
"No, not that." Sarah said quickly. "It's just kind of nice to have a whole day to ourselves, without worrying about Daniel or having him fuss while we want to do things and I feel kind of bad feeling happy about it."
Richie gave her a little smile, trying to make her feel more at ease. "There's nothing wrong with that. We're allowed some time to ourselves, alone, once in a while as well. Plus, he's having fun with Uncle David and by now I'm sure he's called in back up from Jon and Tico as well."
"Three guys to take care of one little boy?" Sarah asked.
Richie shrugged at that, she had a point. "None of them have had little kids in a while though and Daniel can get really fussy sometimes." That made her a little nervous about being away from him, he could see it right away. "I'm sure they're all fine thought." He said quickly.

Dinner had been splendid and happily they got back into the car to finally go back to the hotel. They both couldn't deny they were ready to go back and relax, without Daniel, their day had been quite busy but perfectly spent together. They'd see him in the morning when he'd wake up. He'd be asleep by now and having David in the room next door with Daniel would give them a night alone in their hotel room as well.

Housekeeping had made their room perfectly welcoming when they walked in, the room was tidied and cleaned, the bed was made with crisp sheets.

After quick stops in the bathrooms, they were both in bed snuggled against each other. His arm around Sarah's back as he held her close against him. He was grateful for the day they had had and now to be holding her in his arms, some time alone with her was exactly what he had needed. Sarah was right though, it was strange not to have Daniel with them all day, it had been a long time since he had his wife all to himself. Having her by his side all they as they explored the city was a wonderful way to spend a day off while on tour.

He reached down and kissed her hair, not being able to reach much else in this position after all. "I love you."
Sarah tilted her head up and caught his lips in a kiss. "I love you too." She said once they pulled apart. "I loved spending today with you."
"Me too." He said quickly before claiming her lips again.

As he did so, he pulled her a little closer, feeling her body press against his side, he knew what he wanted. His free hand moved to cup her, letting her know what he wanted to do.

"Richie." She sighed as she pulled away a little.

His heart stopped and his stomach sank. He'd heard her sigh his name in that way before, it had been more than two years ago since she had but he recognized it just as well.

Chapter 91

The next morning he woke up to his phone buzzing on the night stand next to him. After a few seconds, the buzzing stopped and Richie reached over for his phone. Once again, it started vibrating in his hand, displaying a call from Jon. He quickly declined the call, looking over at Sarah, making sure he had not woken her up but she seemed comfortably asleep next to him. Instead, he shot off a quick text to Jon telling him he couldn't answer right now and asked what he wanted.

A few minutes later, he carefully turned around and reached for Sarah. Very gently he tried to wake her up.

"Hey sweetie?" He asked, waiting for a slight reaction from his wife. "I'm just going to the gym for a quick run. I won't be long."
"Mmmkay."
"We'll go explore Lincoln after, okay?"
"Mmmkay."
He chuckled to himself. "I got it." He gave her a quick kiss and got up from the bed. Letting his wife go back to sleep like she obviously wanted to.

"Why are we at the gym at 7am in the morning while we have a show tonight?" Richie asked halfway through their run, he had started to enjoy working out again now that he was on the road but he would still rather be asleep at this time.
"I couldn't sleep." Jon shrugged.
"So you figured I should be awake as well?" Richie asked, pretty familiar with that kind of consideration from Jon.
"Not necessarily." He replied. "I just enjoy going for a run with you and we talk."
"Oh."
"We have good talks."

Richie thought back of all the talks they had had the past week, it had helped him a lot but how would those talks have helped Jon in any way? After all, most of those conversations had been about his issues.

"I missed that, you know?" Jon asked.
Richie nodded, he did understand that. "Yeah, me too." He agreed but then couldn't help himself. "But I have a much prettier blonde upstairs in my bed."
Jon shook his head, feigning hurt. "Always insulting my looks. It's just cause you're jealous."
Richie laughed out loud as he pressed the stop button on the treadmill so he could safely laugh. "Yeah, right!"

Once they finished their runs, they went into the breakfast room, picking up some breakfast before heading upstairs. Most of the hotel was all of their crew so picking out breakfasts at hotels was fairly safe, luckily they were such a large group to take up half or more of the hotels they stayed at.

Upstairs they said goodbye before going into their rooms, Richie was careful with the tray of food he had brought up. No reason for Sarah to have to wait on breakfast if he could bring it right up to her.

Inside the room, he was met by Daniel standing up in his crib.

"Hey buddy, you're up already?" He asked, not really expecting an answer. "Is mommy still sleeping?" He put the tray of breakfast down and picked up his son. "I know, such a sleepy pants." With Daniel he walked to the bedroom, ready to wake Sarah up and get their day going, they had lots to visit today and had to be back by 4pm. There'd be lots of time for it all.


About an hour later they walked into the Nebraska Capital Building, approaching the building and seeing the outside of it, they never would have guessed that the inside looked this amazing. Mosaic tiles set beautiful pictures in the floor, the walls, the details were so precise and exquisite.

Richie walked over to a desk that offered them tours, Sarah behind him with Daniel in the stroller. He paid for them to go on a private guided tour of the building. If he was going to be a tourist, he wanted to see it all and not be distracted by everyone else in a group. The extra cost was almost always worth that.

As they walked through the building they stopped at almost each mosaic they found to learn it's history along with the history of Nebraska itself. This was what Sarah wanted to do when she had told him she wanted to see the whole world. Even if he was starting out in their own country, there were so many things to discover. He wanted to give her everything, because that's what she deserved, even if he had to visit every single museum in the country.

They reached the 14th floor by elevator to bring them a breath taking view of the entire city.

"It's so flat." Sarah remarked as they looked around them.
It was impossible to disagree to that. "No ocean or mountains, nothing."
"Does show how large this country is though."
"There's that." Richie agreed, wrapping his arms around his wife. "Very large and there's nowhere I'd rather be in that large country than right here with you."
"You're sappy."
"You love it." He pointed out gently, followed by a kiss.
"True." Sarah agreed. "Where are we going next?"
"Something for Daniel but I think you'll like it too."

After a quick car ride, they were once again unloading Daniel's stroller from the trunk of the SUV. It was a hassle to bring it everywhere but it was surely worth it for Daniel.

"The zoo?" Sarah asked as she watched Richie set up the stroller, holding Daniel in her arms until he could sit down.
"Yeah." He looked up at her, questioning his choice. "Is that not okay?"
Sarah shook her head. "It's fine. You're right Daniel will like that."
"Okay," He said, finally getting all the pieces to click together, "Ava loved zoos forever, pretty sure she still does, so I thought Daniel might too."
"He's going to love it."

As they walked into the zoo, the first animal they encountered was a tiger, making Daniel very curious to look at him in the enclosure. Sarah loved his reaction to the animals they saw as they moved on to the giraffes, this time making Daniel look up at them from his stroller Richie was pushing for him.  They continued their walk on the path to their right.

"Hey, there's a train." Richie pointed out as it approached on the tracks. "We're going on the train." He said determined.
"Oh are we?" Sarah asked, as she watched him with the same excited expression on his face as Daniel did when he saw the tiger and giraffes. It made her smile. "Maybe after we see everything up close."
"Not a maybe."

They crossed the train tracks and continued on into the larger part of the zoo to explore more of the animals. Seeing Daniel's excited reaction every single time he saw a new animals was something they both surely would never forget. He loved seeing all the animals, this kind of excitement was something they hadn't seen that often from Daniel.

The zoo wasn't that large and they made it through in an hour, ending at a play area with a cafeteria where they paused so Daniel could play in the sandbox and to have a quick snack. After the zoo it would be back to the hotel quickly, then head out for sound check almost right away. It was past nap time already and Richie's change room would have to do for that purpose as well.

From the cafeteria, Richie walked over to the sand box where Sarah and Daniel were digging for dinosaur bones. He carried a drink tray and a bag of popcorn, losing little kernels from the top as he sat down next to Sarah on the edge of the box.

After having been out of his stroller, Daniel was very reluctant to get back in his stroller, surely attracting enough attention from everyone around them.

"Do you want to just carry him?" Sarah asked, hoping it would stop Daniel from screaming his head off the entire time.
"Yeah, if you push." Richie said, hoisting Daniel back up in his arms instead of trying to get him to sit in his stroller. The walk back wouldn't be that far, surely he could carry him for that long.

The path lead them back to the train station, the train approaching once again.

"We still have to do the train ride."
Sarah frowned. "Daniel's tired though, maybe we should just go back to the hotel so he can sleep."
"Oh." He pouted but tried not to, for Daniel's sake. He knew his son was tired and a nap would probably be most beneficial right now.
His reaction made Sarah sigh, "Do you really want to go on a train that much?" she asked, even though she could see he wanted to.
"I like trains."
"Okay, let's go."
"Are you sure?" He didn't want to do something that would make him happy at Daniel's expense.
Sarah nodded, heading towards the train station. "He's not screaming anymore at least."

He adjusted Daniel in his arms and followed Sarah into the station, excited to get on the train around the zoo. They found a seat in the second wagon, Richie sneaking into the window seat with Daniel who looked up around him before laying his head down again to watch out the window. Richie gently stroked his back, he knew it wouldn't last long.

Sarah leaned into him, holding on to his arm as the train started moving, listening to it chug as it went along. They could still see some of the animals in their enclosures as the train passed by around all of them again.

"He's asleep." Richie said as the train past by the play zone where Daniel had tired himself out to begin with.

Chapter 90

"David wants us down at the convention room at 6.30." Richie said, informing Sarah of the text he just received.
"I know, he's almost ready." Sarah said from the bathroom.

Instead of talking through the room, Richie got up from the couch and walked over to the bathroom, finding Sarah sitting next to the bath tub on the floor. Daniel was enjoying himself in the tub with bubbles and ducks.

"He's enjoying himself." Richie remarked as he moved the towel off the toilet seat to sit down and join them.
"Yeah, so we might be a little later than 6.30."
Richie shrugged, he wasn't very worried about that either. "Fine by me. The party is for him so what's David going to do?" He watched Daniel splash around, anything that made his son happy, made him happy as well.
"He'll be squeeky clean." Sarah smiled up at him. "He'll be done in a few minutes and I'll get him all dressed."
"You've got his clothes picked out?"
Sarah smiled again, a little excited. "Yeah I got him an adorable outfit to match the party colors. He's going to be adorable."
"That's kind of a given though."
Sarah looked at her son. "Yeah, that's true."


"What do you guys think?" David asked once they finally walked into the convention room.

Richie carried his son into the room, his little head tilted to look at the hundreds of balloons floating on the ceiling above them.

"How many balloons did you blow up?" Richie asked, amazed at how many there were up there.
"Three hundred sixty." David answered.
"You actually counted them?"
"No, man. I can do math. Each bag had 60 balloons, 2 bags of white balloons, 2 bags of silver, 2 bags of green. Math."
"Alright. It's a lot."

Sarah joined them, looking around the large room, not many of the crew had joined them yet but a couple people were scattered around the room. Besides the ceiling being covered in balloons, the walls were adorned with streamers in the same colors as well as the other decorations. A catering table was set up by the far wall, a side table with a very large stack of cupcakes next to it. All the colors matched throughout the room.

"I even made sure Daniel would have some fun." David pointed towards a little bouncy castle with a small ball pit next to it.
"You did good." Richie agreed, David's effort definitely showed off.
"I'm going for that title of best godfather."
"I think you deserve it." Richie agreed with him once again. "But I think Daniel needs to try out the bouncy castle before he can decide on this."

He carried Daniel over to the bouncy castle. It was the perfect size for a toddler or three. He put Daniel down on his knees and urged him to crawl inside to explore it.

Daniel looked around himself, crawling around the vinyl. Richie watched him, waiting for a reaction but not getting one. Instead he moved to put weight down, mimicking a jump. Unlike he had expected, Daniel looked at him with a shocked look of surprise on his face. He repeated it, this time Daniel giggled as it made him move around. His giggle only encouraged his dad to keep doing it until Daniel started full out laughing. That was a sound he hadn't heard before. Quickly he sat up, looking around for Sarah. Once he finally spotted her, he quickly waved her over.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked worried as she made her way over.
"Watch." Richie said as he made the bouncy castle bounce again, making Daniel bounce around as he sat and enjoyed himself, fullheartedly laughing out loud.
"Oh my god." Sarah gasped, then joined Richie on the floor to watch her son. "He's never laughed like that. He loves it."
"Yeah, he does."

They let Daniel enjoy himself for a little while longer before picking him up and going to socialize. They joined David at one of the tables and pitched in on the conversation.

Richie got a couple drinks from the buffet table, admiring the room as he walked back when a thought struck him. Once back at the table, he pulled out his phone and sent off a text to Noah, feeling smart of what he had noticed.

It had been a week since he talked to Noah, if not getting a response to his question counted as talking. He really needed to put more effort into getting a conversation going with him on most days. At least today he had thought of a Harry Potter reference. For him, it counted.

"You did amazing Lemma." He said to his buddy next to him. "You really did think of everything."
"Oh yeah." David agreed. "Did you see all the cupcakes? I figured cupcakes were trendier than a cake."
"And easier for Daniel." Richie agreed.

He really was amazed at what David had created in the room. The entire room was decorated, the food was perfect for a birthday party and even a table was set aside for gifts. Not to forget that he had thought of entertainment for Daniel. The bouncy castle was definitely his favorite. If he had planned Daniel's birthday party himself, it surely would not have looked like this.

After dinner they opened some gifts for Daniel, glad to see so many people had thought of him and had brought him a gift, small or big. Most of them would have to be shipped home the next day due to lack of space to travel with but clothes and some toys would come in handy.

Richie was sitting at a table with all of his friends and Sarah next to him, enjoying a conversation with some friendly banter when he noticed Daniel had fallen asleep on his shoulder. The little boy had enjoyed the ball pit some more before snuggling up with his dad.

"He's asleep." He said to Sarah next to him, craning his neck to try and look at Daniel's face to confirm his suspicion. "I guess we better go upstairs." He suggested a little regretfully, he was enjoying hanging out with everyone.
Sarah stood up next to him and reached for Daniel. "I'll take him to bed." She said.
Richie carefully let go of him and started to get up as well once Sarah had taken Daniel.
She stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him to sit down again. "You stay here." She told him. "Come up when you're ready."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely." She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before walking away to take Daniel to bed.

Although he would not have minded to go upstairs with his wife and son, he was glad to be with his friends as well. Lately everyone did their own thing before and after a show but now he got to catch up and just relax with his friends. Some banter and teasing, the way it should be. The part he had missed while he was at home.

Chapter 89

"So we are leaving early tomorrow morning?" Sarah asked after she put Daniel in his crib on the other side of the room.
"On the road early, yeah."
"How early is that though?" She tried to get a straighter answer, sitting down next to her husband who was watching TV.
"We leave the hotel at 10."
Sarah nodded, thinking it over. "We should get up around 8.30 then? Have breakfast, get ready and be ready to get at 9.45?"
It caught Richie's attention away from the TV show he was watching. "8.30?"
"Yes."
"In the morning?"
"Well, yeah."
He groaned, not looking forward to that at all.
"What? Were you going to get up at 9.45 and hurry out?"
Richie nodded. "Usually, yeah."
Sarah shook her head. "Daniel will probably need a little more time than that and so do I."
"I don't mind you both getting up at 8.30 and letting me sleep another hour."
She looked at him, knowing he was only joking but gave him the reaction he was looking for with his teasing. "I don't think so."
"Fine." He sighed.
"We could go to bed right now so you'd still get a long enough sleep." Sarah suggested instead.
"It's not that late yet."
"I'll make it worth your while." She suggested.
Richie looked over again, "What do you mean?"
"Maybe we'll have some fun."
"You're on your period." Richie pointed out even though they both knew that.
"Doesn't mean you can't have any fun."
He picked up the remote beside him and turned off the TV before getting up and pulling Sarah up with him. "I'm ready for bed."
Sarah chuckled but followed him to the bedroom.

Once in the bedroom, Richie closed the door behind them and walked over to the bed to sit down. Sarah watched him, impressed how eager he was for this but she followed him to the bed. He propped up some pillows behind his back and leaned back as if to say he was ready to go.

"That's it?" Sarah asked as little disappointed in his reaction.
"What do you mean?"
"I kind of expected something more than you just laying there."
"Come here then." Richie instructed

Following his instructions, Sarah sat down next to him on the bed. Patiently, she looked up at him. Richie just shook his head and pulled her closer against him, kissing her deeply. He was definitely up for some personal time with his wife after the couple of rough days they had, ready to let that all go and just enjoy her.

Sarah kissed him back, feeling the emotion behind the kiss but sharing it as well. With it, she knew she had missed it just as much as he had. She could feel his hand reach up into her hair as he pulled her closer again, leaning into her without letting go of her lips. He heard her soft moan against his lips, he smiled to himself as he kissed her again. Knowing what he did to her, always made him feel good.

He moved his hand to Sarah's back, pushing her closer against him once again having the need to hold her close as they shared their passionate kiss.

"Is this more like it?" He pulled away for a second to ask his question.
Sarah simply nodded before capturing his lips again.

Richie took her hand that was resting on his hip and moved it to where he needed it to be. He groaned as she cupped him and gave him a squeeze.

He felt Sarah's hand move up to undo the button of his jeans, followed by the zipper being undone. A few seconds later, he felt her warm hand on his skin inside his boxer briefs as she wrapped her hand around him. In response, he kissed her deeper, trying to share how he felt.

She stroked him steadily, making sure he was ready before she pulled away from their passionate kiss. He looked up at her, questioning but expectantly, hoping for what came next. Pleased, he watched Sarah sit it up next to him and reach to push his jeans down. Once past his knees, he kicked off his jeans, followed by his boxer briefs.

Sarah chuckled at his eagerness but reached down to stroke him again. "Is that what you want?" She asked him.
"Oh yeah." He nodded eagerly.
"Oh okay." Sarah teased. "I was thinking blow job but if you're happy with a hand job."
"Nuh-uh. I want a blowjob."
She continued stroking him. "Well, maybe if you ask nicely."
"Please?" He asked.
Sarah leaned down to take him in her mouth, glad to hear the moan of pleasure coming from him.

She bobbed her head up and down in a steady rhythm she knew he liked. Gently, she sucked, not wanting him to get all his pleasure at once.

He thoroughly enjoyed Sarah skills, he loved when she did this. He loved her. He reached out to her and snuck his hand under her shirt, gently stroking her back as he watched her move up and down his dick. Just the sight of her turned him on even more. The way she looked she pleasured him, even more so when she noticed and locked eyes with him. He moved his hand up and snuck it into her bra, finding himself something else to enjoy as he made Sarah moan himself.

All too soon Sarah could taste the telltale sign of what was going to come. Eager to let him get there, she increased her efforts, taking him deeper as she sucked down on him.

"Oh god yeah." He groaned in reaction to Sarah's changes, it just felt that good. He pulled his hand back to moved it into her hair, tangling it to keep her going, he was so damn close now. Just once or twice more and he felt the release come from within him, rushing through him.

He groaned his release as Sarah bobbed one more time, getting every last bit before she pulled away to lay down next to him again.

"I think that's what you wanted." Sarah said before she leaned in for a quick kiss.
"Exactly what I wanted."

Chapter 88

Sounds from the main hotel room woke him up. It was quiet, not an upset noise. Just Daniel being awake but content. He reached out for his wife next to him and pulled her closer against him. The curtains seemed to block most of the sunlight which made it hard for him to assume what time of day it was. The day could wait a little longer, he thought to himself, perfectly content knowing his son was pleased on his own and he could be right next to his wife. So close that he could smell her scent, the soap she had used yesterday during her bubblebath.

He moved his arm when stretched her body next to him and turned around to face him. She reached up and gently kissed his lips.

"Good morning." She said softly as she snuggled back into his chest.
"Morning."
"What time is it? Is Daniel awake?"
"He's awake but he's fine."
"I need to see him."

He nodded. He didn't want to get out of bed yet, his body was still tired. If he could, he'd prefer two or maybe three more hours of sleep before getting up. Having a one year old, that didn't often happen. This was where he was happy but he understood when Sarah pulled away and got up.

She returned a moment later with their boy and carried him into bed, letting him lay down between them.

"It's almost 10." She stated as she laid down again.
"Hmm." He said pensive, it was rather early but he already felt hungry. "Do you want breakfast?"
"Yeah, I'm starving."
He looked at her, usually he was hungry before Sarah would be. "You didn't eat last night, did you?" He asked but he knew the answer so he got up reluctantly and found some clothes to wear.

When he got to the breakfast buffet, the sitting area was almost empty and most of the people sitting around were having coffee and had finished their breakfast.

He walked into the breakfast area, the buffet area empty except for the attendant.

"Is breakfast over?" He asked unsure.
"There's a few minutes left."
"Can I take stuff to my room?"
"You sure can." She smiled at him.
"Thank you."

He found himself a tray and started at the buffet by filling a bowl of cheerios for Daniel, grabbing some freshly cut fruit and some yogurt cups. Next, he grabbed two plates and proceeded to the hot items, finding cheese omelettes and bacon strips next to a chafer of hashbrowns. Figuring nobody else was going to eat, he made sure his plate was full before he moved on to toast two bagels which lead to the discovery of the waffle iron. Surely Sarah would like to share a waffle.

Back in the hotel room, he put the tray on the small dining table and headed to the bedroom.

"I've got breakfast." He said as he walked into the room.
"Richie." Sarah looked up from her task of getting Daniel ready for the day.
"What's wrong?" He frowned.
"Im terrible."
He could see tears start to well up in her eyes and hurried over to the bed to sit next to her. "What's wrong?" He repeated.
"He's got such a rash. He started crying when I changed him."
Richie sighed, he understood. "It's alright. It'll be gone soon if we put the diaper rash stuff on him."
"But I did that to him."
Her voice hurt him, so sad and full of guilt. "I know." He said calmly, trying to support her. "But he's had rashes before and he'll get rashes again." He said, wanting so much to make her feel better while also knowing what she had done. He knew she hadn't meant for it to happen. "He seems pretty happy cuddling you and just wait til he sees what I found for breakfast." His attempt at being cheerful and letting last night's darkness pass, convinced himself to do so as he grabbed Sarah hand and showed them both to the kitchenette.

Chapter 87

An hour later he carefully stood up with Daniel from the couch in Jon's room. "I think I'll take him to bed."
Jon nodded. "Good idea."

They spent the last hour quietly, watching a TV show Jon had switched the TV to and kept their conversation about what they were watching. Richie enjoyed holding Daniel as he slept but he was getting bigger and heavier, besides that, he was also starting to feel ready for bed.

"Can you help with the door?" Richie asked so he wouldn't have to move Daniel around too much.
"Sure can." Jon got up as well and headed towards the door to hold it for Richie. "Don't worry too much, okay?" Jon asked him as Richie walked out of the room.
"I'll try." He said, not entirely lying.

Once back in his own room, he laid Daniel down in the crib and pulled the sheet up to his chest. His brown eyes stared up at him sleepily. It made Richie smile but he didn't say anything, sure Daniel would go right back to sleep if he didn't disturb him anymore. Quietly he walked away and headed towards the bathroom to get ready for bed, very much ready to get out of his stage clothes. He'd have to get these washed tomorrow instead.

Their bedroom was still dark, Sarah still in the same spot in the bed.

Richie sighed as he walked to the bed, feeling somewhat torn at what he should be feeling. Should he be sad for Sarah or be angry with her? Most likely he felt both at the same time.

First, he pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor before he undid and took off his pants, followed by his socks. Then, he pulled back the sheets and sat down on the bed.

"Daniel." Sarah gasped as she sat up in bed, reaching to where Daniel had been.
Surprised, Richie answered. "He's in his crib, it's just me."
"Richie?" She asked confused, her voice reflected her feelings.
"It's alright, I'm here." He pulled her down next to him as he laid down in the bed. "I'm here." He repeated gently, letting her cuddle into him as she laid her head on his chest.

Out of habit, he started stroking her back. He wasn't sure of what to say or do in this moment. Would he confront her about what had happened tonight or would he wait til the morning and ask her then? Was she even really awake right now? He felt tears drop to his chest, followed by a sniffle from Sarah.

"Sarah?" He asked carefully. "Are you crying?"
She quickly moved her hand to wipe at her eyes.
"Sarah?" He asked again. "What's wrong?" His question was in vain as she continued crying, all he could do was try and comfort her. He didn't move and held her until she calmed down.
"Daniel was crying." Sarah finally said when she was able to.
He wasn't crying now, he was sure of that. "While I was at the arena?" Richie asked.
She shook her head against him. "When you took him from the bed."
"You were awake?"
This time Sarah nodded her head on his chest.
"Yeah, he was crying." Richie said sternly, remembering why his son had been crying.
His matter of fact way of saying it made Sarah cry again. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm-"
Richie frowned, looking down at her, he pulled away slightly. "You're what?"
Sarah shook her head again.
Richie sighed in frustration. "Sarah you need to talk to me. I know you're not okay and leaving Daniel like that without taking care of him is unacceptable. I need you to tell me what's going on."
"I don't know." She let out a sob.
"Then what are you feeling? You have to give me something here. I want to help you." He sounded more stern that he had anticipated.
Sarah sniffed again and cleared her throat. "Empty." She finally said. "I feel terrible and hopeless."

He was taken aback by how she felt, it was obvious she had been feeling down but so badly that she would forget about Daniel? Richie surely had not expected that to happen at all. He had never seen Sarah react this badly a disappointment.

"I'm sorry." Richie said to her, holding her close again.
"What if this was our last chance?" Sarah asked him quietly.
"What do you mean?"
Sarah sniffed. "Our last chance for a baby."
Richie shook his head, in disagreement and disbelief that this was what she was worrying about. "It's not our last chance."
Sarah moved a little to somewhat look at him. "You don't understand. It was easy to get pregnant when I had Caleb and Noah and then with Daniel it took 6 months and now this one took even longer. There's something wrong with me."  She sounded so convinced of herself, she had already made up her mind that this was her fault.
"There's nothing wrong with you."
"How do you know?" Sarah countered. "My body is done making babies."
Richie sighed as he looked away from her. "'Cause there's something wrong with me."
Sarah frowned, very confused at this point. "What do you mean?"
"There's a reason Ava didn't have any siblings." Richie sighed, then continued on. "When Heather and I didn't conceive again, we got tested and-" He hated it. It made him feel terrible about himself, as if he was failing at something that should be easy to do.
Even though it was dark in the room, it was obvious enough to Sarah to notice her husband's discomfort. In return, she moved next to him and held him. "It's not your fault."
"It is though, there's less of them going out, less of them to be successful."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Sarah asked.
"Because I didn't realize we were trying that hard to have another baby."
Sarah frowned at him, even if he couldn't see it in the dark. "Don't you want another baby?"
"I'd love another baby." Richie said quickly. "I just didn't know we had a deadline."
"We don't." Sarah agreed. "I just thought with it taking so long maybe it wasn't going to happen anymore for us and I'd really like Daniel to have a little sister."
"I know." He rubbed her back.

He was thoughtful for a moment, thinking about the entire situation. How Sarah had felt because of this and what it had lead to. That it took her to a place where she felt so hopeless for herself. It was scary how something could affect his happy wife that much and change her instantly, that self doubt.

"Is Daniel okay?" Sarah asked quietly.
Richie nodded slowly. "He had a wet diaper and it gave him a rash and he was hungry but he went right back to sleep after he had his formula."
"I'm sorry." Sarah sighed. "I just felt so bad and my mind wasn't helping me. I feel like I'm useless as a mother."
"You're a wonderful mother." Richie reminded her, he knew it was true.

She was amazing with Daniel and almost every day he was flabbergasted at how she connected with Noah, something he was only able to do with Caleb. He knew how amazing she was with her children. Besides that, she was a great stepmom to Ava as well. Anything Ava needed, Sarah would try to get for her, even when she wasn't staying at their house. Sarah cared for and loved them all deeply. He understood she wanted another baby to take care of, to raise and watch grow up into a wonderful human being. Richie had felt that need years ago as well and with Daniel's arrival, he had been happy to have the opportunity again. He could kick himself for not realizing how much hope Sarah had put into having a daughter of herself. That was something he should have known.

"There's meds I can take."