The Dance (Original Series Part 2)

The Songbirds Are Singing Like They Know The Score

*Please note: Stick through the concert scene for a beautiful, sappy ending to this chapter that'll have you in tears that Stevie and Lindsey aren't actually together! Thanks <3

"There is no getting around this tonight, Lindsey. It has to be perfect..and I mean perfect."

It was Friday, May 23, 1997, and traffic heading to Burbank had practically been at a stand-still, which had not helped Stevie's anxiety on the way to the Warner Brothers Studio. For the third and final night in a row, the classic Rumors lineup of Fleetwood Mac would be performing for a select audience. Beginning with "The Chain" and ending with "Don't Stop" along with the U.S.C. marching band, who hung around on stage after "Tusk", their set list was mostly a best-of compilation of their first two albums and a few new songs. Both Wednesday's and Thursday's performances had been excellent, but Stevie had spent the past forty-eight hours obsessing over "Silver Springs" and how it they still hadn't gotten it quite right. The concerts were all being filmed for a summer airing of VH1 and MTV simultaneously, and The Dance had just this one more performance tonight to be what Stevie wanted.

Lindsey stood near the door of Stevie's dressing room, watching her look in the mirror at her hair. She was completely dressed as "Stevie Nicks" tonight as she had been for the previous two nights, black dress with flowing sleeves and all. Her long blonde hair managed to be fluffy and silky at once, and he knew she'd be angry if he messed up her hair or her makeup, but resisting her was hard. He wanted desperately to kiss her, to play with her hair, something he loved to do and that he knew comforted her and made her feel safe, but she was stage-ready now, so he stayed away. He said, of her concerns about "Silver Springs", "I'm not worried, angel. We've got this...you've got this."

"I certainly hope so. I mean, I can live with the other two takes, but...you know what 'Silver Springs' means to me, Linds, and I really just want to do her proud." He knew she was talking about her mother. Barbara had refused Stevie's money from the beginning, so Stevie had registered "Silver Springs" under the name Barbara Nicks so she'd be entitled to the royalties, which is why she'd been so angry at Mick some years ago when he hadn't released the song from the Fleetwood Mac catalog to use on Timespace.

"Come here." Lindsey held out his arms to hold her; to hell with her being stage-ready! She lowered her head sheepishly and walked directly into his embrace. In her enormous black boots, she was tall enough to look him in the eye without bending back so far. "You have done her proud all your life, and while I can't speak on the first seventeen years of your life, I can tell you that you've done me proud too. I want to kiss you now and show you that it's true, but you're all made up for the camera and looking so beautiful I wouldn't mess with it."

"I hate you very much for threatening my eye makeup right now," she said, holding back her tears, "but I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too, sweet girl." He kissed the air in front of her and she did the same back at him, so as to stay put together for the show.

A knock at the door interrupted them, and Stevie pulled the door open to a stage hand who told them they had three minutes till curtain. Then he said, "Oh, and Mr. Buckingham, a message came for you. I knocked on your door but you weren't there." The man, who wore a headset and was no more than thirty years old, handed a small envelope to Lindsey.

"Thanks," he said. "You can tell Mr. Fleetwood and the McVies we're on our way out."

"Will do. Have a great show, Mr. Buckingham. You too, Ms. Nicks!" And he was gone.

"Secret admirer?" Stevie raised and interested eyebrow as Lindsey opened the envelop to discover a greeting card with a little dog on the front and the words "Good luck". He opened the card to see who'd sent it.