"Knock, knock?" Stevie smiled softly as she leaned into the doorframe, scanning over the basement that was occupied by all of her most favorite men. "Are you having fun?" She asked, a gentle sigh of contentment escaping her.
Lindsey was sitting on the sofa, not too far from Crosby, while Kash sat on the fur rug and Levy swirled around in a chair. They had spent the morning down there hanging out and of course, all of them, except for Levy had a guitar in hand.
"Save me, mom." Levy joked as he tossed a rubber ball up in the air and then caught it once gravity did it's thing.
"Come here, baby." Lindsey motioned towards the empty space on the couch that separated him from Crosby.
"Yeah, come listen to this." Her oldest gave her half a smile before his eyes fell back down to the stings.
Trailing through the room, she stepped over sheet music, sneakers and even a couple of empty beer cans... They had been down there for awhile.
Letting off a smile, she sat down on the leather sofa. And as soon as she crossed one leg over the other, they each started strumming the cords to a familiar melody. It took her a second and then her heart to skipper a beat almost instantly.... it had been years since she'd heard the song that they danced to at their wedding.
Chuckling softly, she glanced at each of her boys, trying hard to keep the tears at bay.
It seemed like almost anything could cause waterworks for her at that time- hormones were through the roof, but she was certain, even if she wasn't pregnant, that would have tugged on her heartstrings anyway.
"That was so good." She tossed her head back once the music had come to a stop, giggling softly as she tried to hide how emotional it had made her.
"They've been practicing all morning." Levy smirked, pushing himself out of his seat to stretch.
"I loved it." Her hand met Lindsey's knee as she leaned in for a quick kiss. "Thank you," she told the other two men as her eyes melted right into Kash's.
"We love you, ma." Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Crosby brought her in to kiss the top of her head.
She could feel all of her blood rush to her toes as sank right into his arms. "I love you, too." She couldn't remember the last time she had heard him say those words so randomly... she had heard that wedding song more. "Anyway," she mumbled once he had pulled away slowly. "I came down to tell you that the appetizers are done." She pushed herself off the couch as she dabbed under her eyelids with the pad of her thumb. "And-"
Before she could continue, each of the boys flew around her to run up the stairs, playfully pushing one another out of the way- it was almost like they hadn't eaten all day.... She had made breakfast that morning, too.
"You alright?" Lindsey shut off the studio light as he followed close behind her.
Turning around slowly, she couldn't help but smile. "I'm great, sweetheart." She assured as she gave him a soft wink.
That was what she had wanted for years- all of them, together and happy. But it always seemed impossible, especially when everyone had issues with one another... It wasn't easy, but for that short moment as she sat there with all of the loves of her life, there was no doubt in her mind that she was doing the right thing.
"Good," his hand met the small of her back as he pressed his lips to her shoulder.
"Oh, do I look pregnant in this blouse?" She paused, using the railing to hoist herself up.
She had started to show and it was really uncomfortable for her. She was trying her best to cover it up, not only from people who didn't know her, but also from her children... Especially Crosby and Lucy.
He tugged at the silk softly, shaking his head before he replied. "You look gorgeous." That wasn't really the answer she was looking for, but he also wasn't sure how to answer that question....There was definitely a bump forming, but he wasn't going to tell her that.
"You're just trying to win yourself some brownie points." She giggled, feeling him wrap his arm around her waist from behind as they stood on the first step.
Smirking softly, he raised a brow playfully. "Me? Never." Between the song and the sweet little compliments- of course he was.
"Mhm," Stevie turned around carefully, putting one foot in front of the other to finish their journey up the stairs, where chaos immediately welcomed them.
Since it was Crosby and Lucy's last night in Santa Monica for awhile, Stevie and Elise decided to make dinner for everyone, including Stevie's closest friends. And that was also why she was trying hard to hide the extra weight that had literally just appeared over night... She still wasn't ready for anyone outside of that circle to know there was a baby on the way, let alone the fact that she was the one housing that baby.
Upstairs was hectic, like it usually was with all the kids in one place. Everyone was tossing forks back and forth, filling up wine glasses, laughing at their own stupid jokes and trying to find napkins... It was Stevie's favorite filling in the world- a house full of people.
"Mom, these are great." Kash had a beer in one hand and a chicken wing in the other as he slipped around her to get to the den, where the baseball game was literally blaring on the television set.
"Yeah, you're the best." Levy assured, also slipping out of the room to get seated before the next batter made it up to the diamond.
Chuckling softly, Stevie sank into a bar stool. "Well, I'm glad." She said, even though both boys were out of earshot.
Lucy chuckled a little, swallowing hard as she glanced from her husband back to Stevie. It was just the four of them, since the others had disappeared already. And she knew that that moment was probably the only time that they'd be able to talk the rest of the evening... She took it as her chance.
"Crosby and I have been thinking," she started, trying hard not to look over at Lindsey- she knew he didn't want Stevie to leave, but they wanted her close... After all, that was their baby.
Nodding her head, Stevie knew what was coming and she already had an answer.
"We would love it if you came to Chicago to stay with us for a little while." She would have liked her to stay the entire six months, but she knew that was a stretch.
"We think it would be good for-" Crosby was going to throw his two cents in, but his mother cut him off.
"I'll go to Chicago."
