Laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, Lindsey let out a really heavy sigh as he listened to his wife groan on the other side of the wall.
It was just a little after three in the morning when Stevie slipped out of bed and started sitting on the bathroom floor with a churning stomach. Then, after almost falling asleep sitting up, she tried to crawl back into bed, but she couldn't get comfortable- she tossed and turned for almost two whole hours. She ended up laying on the floor in bathroom for awhile, the chilled tile cooling her down some.
It was miserable and a part of her thought it would never end.
"Baby?" He creased a brow at how quiet she had been- he almost thought she had finally fallen asleep.
"Hmm?" She hadn't- she was still sitting there, leaning back against the wall as she tried to calm a raging headache.
"Do you need anything?" He threw his legs over the edge of the bed, having also gotten very little sleep that night.
It was hard for him to find comfort when all she did was roll around, and break into sweats... it was insane. But he wasn't going to tell her how worried he was, because she already knew that and repeating it for the seven months that followed would have driven them both absolutely crazy.
They had also decided, since their little disagreement on the way home from the hospital, that arguing over the baby, or their adult children just wasn't worth it... She was having a baby, whether he liked it or not- it was already a done deal.
And after thirty- six years of marriage, they had figured out what was important enough to fight over and what was better left alone.... for the most part. Making sacrifices is just something everyone who has ever been in a relationship has to do- theirs was no exception.
"No, thank you." She pressed both of her hands against the floor, pushing herself up unsteadily.
Letting out a yawn, he stretched a little. "The kids will be here in a couple of hours, so I think I'm gonna go down and order breakfast for everyone."
That morning Kash was set to pick up Crosby and Elise from the airport and they all planned on heading back to their parents for the day. And Lindsey knew that with all of those rowdy kids, it would be pretty hectic... it always was with them. He didn't want her to worry about cooking and he couldn't cook, so that just seemed like their best bet. It would make life a little easier in a small way.
"I don't ever remember feeling like this before." She mumbled, wrapping her robe around herself a little tighter as she trailed through the room.
One of his hands met the small of her back, while he followed her down the hallway. "Hopefully it gets better." He pressed his lips to the side of her head, which caused her to wrap her arms around his waist.
Patting his chest softly, she let out a defeated sigh. "It will." She had to say it; maybe then it would manifest itself into a reality.
"Good, because I need you." He smirked, lighting pulling away.
She waited at the top of the stairs for a moment, watching as he ventured down to the kitchen. "I know," she whispered to herself as she reached out for the railing.
They spent a couple of hours getting around- Lindsey went to pick up breakfast and Stevie did a final walk through of the house to make sure it was ready, just in case the kids decided to spend the night. She was a little upset that when they were all at the house for the transfer, she didn't get to spend any time with any of them... She missed it, so she was kind of hoping that at least Crosby would stay a night or two at their house.
But of course, just to make sure she wouldn't get her feelings hurt, she wasn't going to get her hopes up too much.
"Hello, hello?" Elise's voice echoed through the house, which made Stevie smile softly.
"In here, sweetheart." She called out from the kitchen, where she had been wiping down the counters and making sure they had enough groceries for all of those kids... Three boys went through an insane amount of cereal and orange juice- it was kind of scary.
Elise slipped into the room a second later, carrying in cupcakes with Lucy right behind her. "Good morning!" She grinned, putting everything on the island.
"Good morning." Stevie leaned back into the counter as her eyes wandered towards Lucy. "Hi, dear." She wanted to make her feel welcome in her home, even if Lucy seemed a little more stand off in her opinion.
"Good morning, Stevie." She returned the smile as she slipped onto the barstool.
Stevie brought her cup up to her lips, a gentle sigh escaping her. "Where are the boys?" She knew it was far too quiet for them to be there, which was a little disappointing.
"Crosby called Lindsey on our way here and I dropped them all off with him." Elise begged them to just come back to the house like they had planned, because she knew that it would hurt their mother's feelings.... She didn't want to see her upset, but she also couldn't force them to tag along.
Shrugging her shoulders, she kind of rolled her eyes. "Of course." That was exactly what she didn't get her hopes up- it was always an empty promise.
Lucy sank down, a little upset that her husband let Stevie down once again. It had become kind of routine and even though he had tried explaining the relationship he shared with his mom, Lucy really didn't understand it.
She saw it all a little different- she saw a woman who wanted to desperately mend whatever bond they may have had once upon a time and then a son, who was scared of getting too close.
It was really sad.
"Well, ladies, we shouldn't just sit around and wait for them." Stevie plastered another big smile on her face, setting her cup down gently. "I would like to take you both out for breakfast and then maybe we can do some shopping, or pedicures?" She shrugged a little... she was trying her best.
"You're my hero." Elise told her that all the time- she knew Stevie was a great mother, even if those boys didn't always pick up on it... She would have given anything to have had a mom like theirs growing up.
"I would like that." Lucy assured, nodding her head softly.
Giving them both a subtle thumbs up, she chuckled quietly. "Prefect."
~
"I think your mother wanted to see you all this morning." Lindsey piped in, cutting off the conversation that was floating around the booth.
It was déjà vu and he wasn't liking it.
They had only had one beer and Lindsey knew that staying much longer would get them all in trouble... That was the last thing he needed.
"Yeah, we should probably get going." Levy threw some cash down to pay their bill before he pushed himself out of his chair.
"Good idea." Kash stood up as well, running his fingers through his hair as he looked back at the other two.
"We'll be right out." Crosby held up his hand, silently asking Lindsey to stay for another second.
Creasing a brow, his father leaned back into his seat. "What's up?" He asked once his younger sons were already half way across the restaurant.
He paused for a moment, not sure how to ask about something he didn't necessarily agree to in the first place... It was Lucy's idea. "Do you think, if I asked mom, she'd be willing to come stay with us for the next couple of months?"
