Lindsey had to spend four whole days in the hospital, just so they could make sure he was stable before they sent him back home.... or back to a hotel. Anyway, in that time, he was put on medications, underwent more tests, and had lots of blood work taken, all while Stevie sat right next to him, listening intently to everything the doctors and nurses had to say.
She wasn't going anywhere, not without him, so she found comfort in the bed in the corner of the room at night and during the day, she sat in the chair close enough to hold his hand and talk to him... It wasn't necessarily comfortable, but if that's where he had to be- that's where she was too.
"That's what it says, Lindsey." Stevie was sitting on the edge of his bed, reading glasses perched on the bridge of her nose as she looked over the newspaper he insisted she pick up... He didn't have his glasses packed, so she was his eyes for the time being and neither of them were big fans of that.
"Read it again?" He had asked her to reread it twice already... by then he was really just pulling her leg.
She looked at him over the edge of her glasses, rolling her eyes when she saw a sly grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I can't stand you." She chuckled, lightly tapping him on the leg with the rolled up paper.
He gave her a soft wink as he lightly rubbed her hip through her shirt. "Thank you, baby." Lindsey didn't want to be totally useless, but he also wasn't prepared to have a heart attack in the middle of a baby shower and then ultimately, be forced to stay cooped up in a hospital bed for almost five days... It was what it was.
"You're very welcome, my dear." She leaned in, kissing his head before she pushed herself up.
It had been a long couple of days, but it gave them some time together... Not an ideal situation, but Stevie figured that if fate had to be that harsh, she was really thankful that it happened while they were in the same place. She wouldn't have been able to handle it if she weren't there with him, every step of the way, and she wasn't planning on being separated for quite awhile... no matter what.
"Elise should be here any minute with something to eat." Stevie slid her glasses to the top of her head as she turned back around to help him sit up a little further.
She was not babying him- she didn't want to do that and he told her not, but there were certain moments where watching him struggle was just too hard. It was easier to help, rather than see the man she adored get frustrated with himself over not being able to get up like he wanted to.
They had never been in that sort environment with one another. Of course, over the years there had been hospital visits- after all, she'd had three babies and those babies caused so much havoc, at one point, their doctor just gave them his home phone number. But other than that, neither of them had ever had to really take care of the other in such a manner... It really saddened Stevie, a lot.
"Just Elise, right?" He tossed the blanket off his legs, just so he didn't feel so stuck... he didn't like being so helpless.
"Just Elise." She assured, a soft nod following her words. "Though I'm sure our boys would love to see you." Stevie had found herself in the chair- there wasn't many places to wander in that room.
Shrugging his shoulders, he shook his head in disagreement. "Not like this, Stevie." Lindsey never wanted to be weak in front of those guys, ever. He didn't even like to lose monopoly to them- he definitely didn't want them to see him laid up in bed, while their mother nursed him back to health.
"Lindsey, this is nothing to be embarrassed about." She wasn't obviously, not at all. "They love you, no matter what." She added, which caused him to scrunch up his nose almost immediately.
"Alright, alright." He nodded his head, hoping she would just change the subject... He didn't want to talk about that.
And luckily, just as she was getting ready to continue, he was saved by the bell when Elise crept through the door, carrying to- go bags and clean clothes. "Hi, there." She gave her in- laws a gentle smile as she slipped further into the room.
"Hey, baby." Stevie watched Elise set everything down on the table on the other side of the room.
"Thank you, sweetie." He returned the smile, happy to see the only other person that had been welcome to the hospital since he'd gotten there.
It just didn't sit well with Lindsey, not the idea of his sons feeling bad for him, and trying to take care of him... No, he didn't like that. He was still their father- he was still supposed to be helping them, not the other way around, so until he was back to his normal self, the only visitor's he wanted were Stevie and Elise.
"I talked to your nurse and she said you're waiting to be discharged?" She pulled the boxes out of the bag, putting Lindsey's food right in front of him before she handed Stevie hers.
"Yes, but that could take forever." Stevie was almost certain they wouldn't get back to the hotel before nine o'clock that night, which was why she didn't tell anyone he was getting released.
Letting out a really heavy sigh, Lindsey got both ladies attention right away. "What is this?" He looked over at his wife as he held up a fork full of broccoli... who eats broccoli for breakfast? That was just ridiculous in his opinion.
"Lindsey," closing her take out box, Stevie tried hard to hide her bacon from him... she knew he would have jumped out of bed for it, if he knew. "We need to talk about these eating habits."
~
"She said what?" Lucy had heard him perfectly fine, but she couldn't believe it. "She told you I couldn't come?" She scoffed, hands on her hips as she watched her husband get around.
Sighing softly, he held up his hand to calm her down. "I can't have this conversation again." He had been arguing with her for days over what happened at the hospital.
If he had to pick a side, it was going to be his mother's and Lucy didn't like that. But she had also crossed a line, a line in which they hadn't even talked about since then. He wasn't sure he wanted to know much more about his father messing around on Stevie, so he didn't ask and neither did the other two boys.
It would have tainted an image that was too valuable... the image of two very happy parents, that was.
"She's being ridiculous, Crosby." Lucy wasn't afraid to tell him how she felt, not when it came to his mom, at least.
"You had no right to say that shit about my dad, Lucy." He ran his fingers through his curls as he headed for the door.
"You're really gonna go without me? You're going to go there when your wife isn't even welcome?" She was upset, or maybe just really fed up with everything.
Looking at her for a brief moment, he just nodded his head. "Yeah, I am."
"You can't even stand that woman!" She lost it- her pitch had gone from an inside voice to full blown yelling within mere seconds. "You're always complaining about them, and suddenly you're all worried? That's pathetic." She mumbled, a look of disgust written across her face.
"The issues that I have with my parents," he held his hand up to his chest, "Or more particularly, my mother, has absolutely nothing to do with you." He admitted, a simple, unenthused shrug following. "And their marriage, whether that shit is true or not, is not your business to share with their children... You owe that woman an apology, or I will walk out this door for good."
