Henry watched as Beary opened the window, hanging his head out as the bus drove on the highway. They were beginning their trip with Fred. He was the only member with a known location, currently working as a security guard in Memphis. They had no time to lose. Saturday was only four days away, and they had to get all four male members of the band back.
"So is Fred still in show business?" Beary asked.
"Uh, yeah, you can say that…" Henry slowly answered, unsure of how to word his answer.
Vivian couldn't help but shrug. That technically wasn't a lie. Fred's job included securing the area during musicians' music video shoots, according to his last letter.
"Oh!" she gasped softly.
"Are you okay?" Beary asked as he and Henry looked at her nervously.
"I'm fine", Vivian smiled. "The baby gave a kick. Would you like to feel?"
The young cub nodded excitedly. She took his hand and pressed it to her belly. Beary's ears flattened when he felt no movement. Vivian giggled as she patted the top of her belly.
"It must be shy. Why don't you introduce yourself?"
"You mean talk to it?" he asked.
Vivian nodded, watching as she rubbed her belly. Beary looked at her almost uncertain before looking down.
"Hi there", he said. "My name's Beary. I'm a big fan of your mom and dad. I hope I get to meet you someday."
All was quiet for a moment, except for the rumble of the bus. Vivian, Henry, and Beary watched, waiting to see what would happen until they finally smiled.
"It kicked!" Beary laughed amazed.
"Would you like to feel, Henry?" Vivian asked.
"No thanks", he chuckled. "I felt enough already. I can't wait to see the little tyke!"
Everyone looked around as Roadie pulled into Memphis. It looked to be a fairly busy place. Finding Fred proved to be easy. All they had to do was find the only recording studio that was open. Roadie parked the bus in the garage, allowing everyone to get out. Henry looked around for a security guard to ask for Fred.
"Hey!" Beary said as his ears perked up.
Down the hall, they could hear music and singing. Beary ran down the hall with Henry and Vivian following him.
"Wow, look! There he is!"
Sure enough, there was Fred, playing his harmonica as a young girl stood at a microphone singing a cover of one of their songs. Vivian turned to Henry with a smile. Fred sounded great, almost as if no time passed at all. His talent really held up over the years. He continued dancing with the kids, looking like he was having the most fun he had in years.
"Stage dive!" he yelled getting too into the moment. "Stage dive! Stage dive!"
Forgetting there was no audience, Fred ran toward the edge of the stage jumping off. He hit the floor with a thud loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Oh!" Henry gasped. "Oh, Fred…"
"I felt that one", Vivian groaned watching him lay face down for a moment.
"Hey, Fred", the girl ran to him. "You alright?"
He slowly rolled over and kept his eyes down trying to avoid embarrassment.
"Uh…the dive works better…"
"With an audience, right?" the girl finished. "Well, if you're alright, I got to go get ready for the shoot. It was fun."
"Sure was", Fred nodded. "Wish I could play some more."
"I might be able to help you out with that", Henry called out from the door.
"Huh? Henry?"
"Hey, Fred!" Vivian smiled.
She ran into the studio, wrapping her arms around him as best as she could. Fred laughed his traditional deep laugh as he got up and hugged her.
"Oh, careful", Vivian said backing up. "Don't want to squish the baby."
Fred looked at her round belly with wide eyes. Henry walked up to them smiling as he hugged Fred as tight as he can.
"It's so good to see you", he said.
"What's going on, Henry?" Fred asked. "What are you two doing here?"
"We've got quite a story to tell you", Vivian sighed as she took a deep breath to start.
