When I See You Again

Part 31

It was nice, having a quiet moment to himself. Stevie was napping and Lindsey took his acoustic guitar from its case, which he had at her house, and went downstairs as far away from Stevie as he could so he wouldn't disturb her. He had barely touched the instrument lately, his hands full with his heavily pregnant girlfriend. Girlfriend? Was she? Were they officially a couple again? Lindsey wondered, quietly strumming his guitar. They hadn't had that talk yet, they just sort of went along with the way things were. One thing he knew for sure, though, was that it would tear him apart if Stevie asked him to leave, once the baby was born.

His moment alone was interrupted soon. Stevie yelled out his name and he threw his acoustic on the couch, something he never would have done if her voice hadn't sounded so panicked. Taking two stairs at a time, Lindsey turned right and ran into the mast bedroom.

"What? What's going on? What happened?" One question after another rolled off his tongue, his breathing heavy due to unexpected sprint to Stevie.

"Calm down, Lindsey. And don't freak out again, okay? I have to tell you something." Stevie pleaded with her eyes. Despite looking like she was just fine, she really wasn't on the inside. "It's time."

"Time?" Lindsey frowned. "Time for what, baby?"

"For this baby." She looked down, her hands on her belly. 

"Huh, wha- OH!" His eyes grew wide. "Are you serious?"

"No, I just wanted to see, what your reaction would be." Stevie rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm serious!" She shouted at him then winced. 

"Are you okay?"

"For God's sake, Lindsey! No, I'm not okay." She took a deep breath, gritting her teeth. "Help me up." She held out her hand for him and he rushed to her side. "I... need to get cleaned up."

Only then Lindsey noticed a damp spot on the sheets. Realizing that all of his questions were dumb so far, he decided to keep his mouth shut and accompany Stevie to the bathroom. In a fresh set of clothes and the hospital bag swung over Lindsey's shoulder, they made their way down the stairs and into his car. Stevie insisted on lying down on the backseat and he didn't question her, jumping in behind the wheel. 

Lindsey's eyes shifted from the road to the rearview mirror, making sure Stevie was doing fine. Well, as fine as she could be in that situation. He kept reassuring her that everything was going to be alright as he was speeding over the limit to the hospital. Once they got there, Lindsey raised his voice and made sure everyone heard him loud and clear. That and their obvious celebrity status, had Stevie in an ugly hospital gown and in bed in no time. 

Sitting by her side, Lindsey suddenly felt bad. He'd wanted to be a father for as long as he could remember and while the making of the baby was extremely fun for him, he looked at Stevie sympathetically, her face scrunched up in pain more often than not. 

"Sing to me." 

Lindsey perked up at Stevie request, her eyes closed, her hand resting across her forehead. "What do you want me to sing?"

"Anything, doesn't matter." She said, hoping he'd just do it. "Whatever you feel like singing."

His quiet voice soothed her greatly and he visibly saw her relax even if just for a short while. Seeing as it was working, Lindsey thought of another song, then another and one more, before the door to the room opened and in came Stevie's doctor.

"Well, let's see what's going on here again, shall we." The woman said and Lindsey moved away a bit. He was shocked just how casually the doctor behaved, examining something he didn't have a clue about down there. The woman sat up straight again and smiled at the nervous looking couple. "Ready to meet you child?"

Stevie and Lindsey glanced at each other, he saw the fear of the unknown in her eyes. He mustered a smile and kissed her sweaty forehead. "I'm right here with you, baby."