"How is she?" Crosby asked as soon as his father stepped into the living room.
It had been four days since the transfer and they hadn't seen her since they'd gotten back to the house afterward. She was knocked out almost the entire time, while Lindsey sat in bed next to her, continuously checking to make sure she was doing alright.
And since she hadn't been acting totally normal, none of the kids left the house either. Levy had to work- he wasn't his own boss like everyone else, but as soon as he could clock out, he was right back at home. It felt right for them to be there for her... She would have done the same if the tables were turned.
Nodding his head, he gave them all a simple shrug. "She's up, getting dressed." He was happy that she had finally crawled out of bed- that made him feel a lot better.
"We should all go out to lunch... or?" Lucy trailed, voice as quiet as a mouse.
It had been a hard adjustment for her. She had hardly known Stevie... She met her once before that week and suddenly she was thrown into the hectic mix that their family created. Lucy felt really out of place in their home. Other than getting to know Elise a little better and of course, her husbands brothers welcomed her... their mother just made her anxious.
Shaking her head, Elise sighed softly. "It's Friday." She reminded them.
"What's Friday?" She creased her brow, not sure why that was such a big deal.
They weren't allowed to eat on Fridays, or what?
"Mom hangs out with her friends every Friday." Kash replied, knowing, deep down that, that was probably the only reason she was getting back into her normal routine.
"I actually told the girls that I wasn't feeling well." Her raspy voice filled their ears as she descended the staircase. "We can go out to lunch." She assured, eyes meeting Lucy's.
She felt worn out and had spent a lot of time trying to sleep off a headache. It was a lot, but she did call her doctor to make sure nothing was wrong. And luckily, he assured her that it was normal- she might feel a little nauseous for the first few days.
He had also told her that she should stay in bed until she actually felt like herself again. But he never brought up any serious bed rest restrictions that she needed to follow, just a couple of days taking it easy and then not doing anything too strenuous after that.
They all glanced around the room at one another, a little stunned. "Well, you heard the woman," Levy held up his hands, motioning towards his mom. "She's gonna feed us, let's go." He knew that if they all sat there, silently shocked that she canceled ok her friends to hang out with her kids, she wouldn't be a very happy camper.... and they also wouldn't eat, which was a chance Levy wasn't willing to take.
"I'll drive," Kash followed his older brother through the room, while everyone else scattered to get their things around.
The entire time the kids swarmed around them, Lindsey's eyes stayed glued on Stevie, who had found herself sitting in the accent chair in their foyer, trying to get her shoes on. She hadn't been very talkative, not even when it was just the two of them each night.... He wanted her back, but a part of him feared that she wouldn't be the same until this was over.
"How are you feeling?" He asked as soon as all the kids had disappeared to find their shoes and jackets, leaving them alone for a moment.
She smiled softly, slowly standing back up. "Not too good." She was being honest- she knew he was the only she could do that with.
"Stevie, we don't have to go out." Lindsey didn't want her to push herself to do something she didn't feel up to do.
He knew that if she canceled on her friends, she really wasn't feeling it.
"No," she shook her head, reaching out to slip her arm through his. "Crosby's only here for a couple more days." Stevie wasn't going to take away from spending time with him, even if it felt like he was a stranger sometimes.
He was still the first person she had ever, truly fallen in love with from the very first moment her eyes met his. He was her baby, no matter how much they disagreed.
"You ready?" Levy asked, one hand meeting his dads shoulder as he started moving them out the front door.
The other four were already outside, lingering around the driveway. It was a chilly afternoon, especially for it being early spring, but it was still beautiful. There were birds chirping and flowers blooming- it was peaceful. And seeing all of her children together, talking and laughing, it really brought out a happiness in Stevie that she hadn't felt in a long time.
However, it wasn't long until they split up, all the boys and Lucy riding in one car, while Elise sat in the backseat of her in- laws SUV. "Mom, guess wha?" She leaned forward, a big smile on her face as they pulled down the driveway.
Stevie laughed, turning her head to the side to look back at her. "Yes, my dear?" She really loved Elise- she had since she met her.
She used to be quiet around them at first and then one morning- the first Spring break Kash brought her home, she just started dancing around the kitchen, singing Bruce Springsteen at the top of her lungs with a spatula.... And that's when Stevie realized that Elise was the daughter she always wanted.
"Guess who Levy went out with the other day..." she raised a brow, biting down on her bottom lip.
Glancing over at Lindsey, Stevie smacked his arm lightly, both of them laughing softly. "Janie." They said in unison, which caused her to groan.
"How do you know already?" She chuckled, sinking back in the seat.
He looked at her through the mirror, half a smile on his face. "Janie told us."
"She really likes him." Stevie thought it was adorable, especially since Levy had publicly promised that he would never really fall in love, or even consider settle down. He just wasn't that type.
"You might have yourself another daughter- in- law." Elise joked.
"Well," Stevie swallowed hard, tangling her fingers in between Lindsey's. "First let's just worry about making the other one happy enough to keep our son in our lives."
~
"Can we do another round?" Lindsey asked the waiter, using his index finger to circle around the end of the table, where all the men were basically talking over each other.
"A tour?" Kash creased a brow, looking from Crosby towards his father.
Shaking his head, Crosby held up his hand to quiet Kash down. "Don't tell mom- it was just something we talked about with dads band." He had wanted to go on the road for a long time and while his parents were in Chicago, Lindsey had offered to take him with the band... He could open for them, or something simple like that.
"Is this really a good time?" Levy chuckled, stunned that his dad would even entertain that idea.
"Let's not talk about it." Lindsey's jaw settled as his eyes fell on his wife, who was at the other end of the table, talking to Lucy. That was something they had talked about when Stevie was set on not carrying a baby... Things were a little different now. "I don't know if I'll be able to leave her."
