The night before the big broadcast in New York, Johnny spent most of the night alone in his hotel room. He was supposed to be sharing with Davy, but his roommate, as predicted, was downstairs in the bar. Leaving Johnny by himself with his thoughts.

He knew that everyone was stressed about what would happen the next night, and so when they'd all been together earlier, he'd been joking around and trying to keep the mood light, trying to keep their minds off of it. But, as he let himself realize as he sat alone in the room, he was a little worried too. Donny seemed so sure that they were going to win, that nobody could beat them. And Johnny hoped that was true.

Because back home, his family didn't think he could do it. They were sure that he wasn't good enough to make it big, that he was too slow. They didn't tell him that, of course, but he knew it. Or maybe it was just him. Maybe the little voice in the back of his brain was telling him that he might not be good enough. That he might mess up, might ruin the whole thing. That he might lose the contest for them.

That he might go home with nothing, and his friends and family would all resent him for it.

No, he told the voice, after he'd thought it over. Even if he was too slow, even if he messed it up for everyone, they wouldn't resent him. He knew they wouldn't. Sure, maybe Donny would be a little (okay, a lot) disappointed, but he'd get over it. And he wouldn't hate him for it, none of them would.

He knew that, in the beginning of this, they were all in it for the victory, so was he. But not anymore. Now, he knew they were in it for each other.

So, he let himself go to sleep.

oOo

The night before the broadcast, Davy was in the bar. He felt a little bad about leaving Johnny alone in the room, but he knew he didn't mind too much, and after two or three drinks, his mind drifted away from his friend and on to other things. Not the concert, he knew they had a practically guaranteed win. That song could win any contest, he knew that.

No, what Davy thought about was what would happen after. They'd be in the movie, sure, but then what? Would they do more concerts? Make an album? Would they even stay together as a band? They'd have to, surely.

Then Davy remembered something. Something that Julia had said to him, when they were trying to raise money for the trip.

"Ever thought of giving up the bottle?"

Then he remembered his reply.

"I know there's not enough whiskey in the world to make me forget what I saw in those camps. But I owe it to myself to try."

He thought about that. Did he still owe it to himself? He'd made it here, after all. They were about to win this contest, about to become stars. Did he need to drink to prove something to himself?

Staring at his empty glass, he sighed before ordering another. He did. Right now, he did, and he couldn't give it up yet.

Maybe he'd try soon, though. Maybe.

oOo

The night before the broadcast, Nick and Wayne were both pretending to be asleep, right up until Wayne couldn't take it any longer.

"Nick."

"Yeah?"

"You think we'll win?"

"We'd better."

Wayne fell silent at that, pondering. Nick was right, they'd better win. They needed to win, but more importantly they deserved to win. After all that they'd been through, not just on the physical battlefield, but in the battle he knew each and every one of them, including Julia, had raging in their heads. It was too much. And they deserved this.

He wondered if anything would change if they win. His daughter would probably be impressed. And she would tell her brother about it, and maybe he'd be happy. Maybe he'd want to play the trombone, just like his father.

Then there was their mother. Maybe she'd be impressed too. Maybe she'd want to...

Wayne shook his head, not letting himself finish that thought. She wouldn't. Winning a contest wouldn't change that much.

He rolled over and tried to push his thoughts of her out of his head.

oOo

In the bed next to Wayne's, Nick was having thoughts of his own. He wasn't really worried. If he was he'd still be back in Ohio with Dwight Anson, wanting to pull his hair out teaching kids who had no business owning a trumpet. No, he was almost certain they'd win.

After tomorrow night, he'd go back and he'd quit his teaching jobs, because he wouldn't need it anymore, because he wouldn't need the money. He wouldn't need anything, really.

What he really hoped for was that the band would stay together. He could see a future for them. He saw more concerts, more movies. He saw them making records, and going on national tours. He could see them becoming famous. That's not why he wanted them to stay together, though.

That was because he'd built a family with them. He genuinely liked all of them, and he had a feeling they liked him. And he didn't want that to end. Because no, he wouldn't need anything.

But he'd like nothing more than to stay with this band.

oOo

The night before the broadcast, nobody was making any attempt at sleep in Donny and Jimmy's room. They both, though without saying it, had made it very clear that neither of them would be relaxing that night.

Jimmy was sitting at the desk in their room with the lamp turned on. A law book was sitting open in front of him, but he'd lost his focus on it around a half hour ago. Now he just sat, staring at the words and thinking. It had just really hit him where he was.

He was in one of the nicest hotels in New York City, and he was about to go onto a national radio broadcast with five other veterans, and he was going to play his saxophone for a theater full of people. He never thought he'd make it here.

Despite what he told Donny when they'd first met, he'd known Michael Trojan fairly well, and Michael had told him what he'd told Donny. That Jimmy was good enough to make it big in New York. And Jimmy knew that Michael had been good enough to make it here too, anyone who'd seen him play knew that.

Michael should be there. But he wasn't. So, Jimmy decided, he was going to make sure they won this. For Michael.

oOo

Donny was sitting by the window feeling absolutely useless. There wasn't anything for him to do. For the past few months, all he'd done was sit up at night going over charts, and writing songs, and changing notes, and making plans to raise money, and organizing gig after gig for the band.

But now, there was nothing for him to do. Now, on the night that he needed something to do more than any other night, there was nothing. He tapped his fingers restlessly on his knee, full of nervous energy. He glanced over at Jimmy, who was sitting at the desk across the room. Donny noticed he'd been staring at the same page in his book for the past twenty minutes.

He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced out his window, looking down at 45th street. He was here, he was finally here. He'd made it, just like Michael had said. He couldn't think about his friend now though, or else he might start crying.

He thought instead of the concert. Twenty-four hours from know it'd be over, ended one way or another. Hopefully, it will have ended in their favor. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so desperate for something to turn out the way he wanted it to - not since the war, probably.

Because this, this was what he'd put all of his faith into, what he'd put everything into. He'd never have walked into Jimmy's club if he hadn't been sure they'd win, but now the reality of it all was hitting him. He'd never heard any of those other bands. Sure, everyone he knew believed in them. Hell, the entire state of Ohio believed in him. But this wasn't Ohio, this was New York City. And what was good in Ohio might not be good in New York.

It had to be though. It had to be, because he'd made a promise. Not out loud but he'd made it. A promise the the  band, a promise to himself, and a promise to Michael. They had to win, or at least give such an incredible performance that someone noticed and decided that they were worth something. And Donny felt like that was all up to him.

They'd come this far. They were going to go the rest of the way, no matter how they did it.

oOo

The night before the broadcast, Julia was thinking of Donny. She knew he wouldn't sleep tonight. In fact, she knew most of the guys wouldn't sleep, and if they did they wouldn't sleep well. But mostly, she thought of Donny. About how much he'd done for them, and for her.

A few months ago, she was a widow, the girl who sang the solos in church and work in the cosmetics section of a department store. But now she was Julia Trojan of The Donny Nova Band featuring Julia Trojan, and she was about to sing a song that she had helped write, and the entire nation was going to hear it.

She never thought she would get even this far. And she knew that Donny was sitting up right now and hoping against hope that they would win, and she just wanted to go to him and hug him, and tell him that it didn't matter if they won, because he'd already created something special. To tell him that Michael would have been proud of him already, but that, more importantly, she was proud of him.

She was proud of what he'd done, and of how far he'd come, how far they'd all come. And she knew that whatever happened on that stage, it would be amazing, because they'd all be doing it together. Even if they lost, it wouldn't be the end of the band. It would be the beginning.