On With The Show (Original Series Part 4)

You Woo Me Until The Sun Comes Up

Saturday, January 17, 2015
Lincoln, Nebraska

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"She broke down and let me in..." Lindsey's voice was soft and clear above the guitar as he sang "Never Going Back Again" for the crowd at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. "Made me miss it where I've been..."

Stevie stood at her microphone, waiting for her turn to sing harmony with him on the chorus, watching him play and loving him so much in that moment she thought her heart would burst wide open into a million pieces. She'd always thought of "Never Going Back Again" as Lindsey's "Rhiannon", his go-to magical song, and watching him play it live night after night on this tour, she remembered how proud she had been of him when he'd performed it a few years ago for Soundstage, when she'd joined him on stage for a few songs including "Say Goodbye". He had been in top voice that night, the crowd had gone crazy, but she'd had to keep reminding herself that Kristen was in the audience and they were being recorded, because she'd had to resist the urge a few times to throw her arms around him and kiss him right there on stage, so proud of him that night she'd nearly cried.

Of course, they had kissed eventually, a hurried union of mouths and limbs and desperate breaths as he had cornered her in the dressing room after the taping and pushed her against the door to kiss her ravenously, Kristen just down the hall waiting for him. She could still hear the pleading in his voice as he'd confessed in a breathless whisper at her breasts, "Please, Stephanie...no one else understands why this is so important...she certainly doesn't care about anything but the check...I need to celebrate this with YOU...you know what this means, angel, please..." That night had been the most tempted she'd been to give in back then, letting him paw at her body and press her so tight against him he had to stifle a cry with his hand to her mouth, feeling him hard against her and not expecting her entire body to react that was, like it was on fire. It would be another eight years before she would let him into her again for real, but that night, so overcome with love and pride and joy for all he had achieved, she'd come damn close to "breaking down and letting him in" in more ways than one.

Stevie was so lost in the moment that night, harmonizing with Lindsey and thinking as she always did about how perfect a fit they were together when they were like this, that she was unaware of the commotion that had begun backstage. It wasn't until the song was over that she saw Christine and John talking to a Marty Hom, their tour manager, off to the side of the stage behind Lindsey. The crowd was still cheering as Christine beckoned for Stevie and Lindsey to join their huddled conversation.

"Mick is in the men's room, puking his guts up," Christine announced when they joined the group. "He got up from the drums during 'Landslide' and I figured he had to pee or something, but he never came back, so Marty sent a guard in to look for him."

"He's sick as a dog," John said. "He wasn't feeling well last night, but we took him home and he went to bed...I guess that wasn't enough."

"We can't keep going without him!" Lindsey said suddenly. "I mean, you need a drummer for, like, all of the songs we've got left..."

"Not 'Songbird'," Christine said. "I can still close the show, but...we have to make this right if we're just going to send everyone home early."

"Look, I've got the drum tech standing by," Marty said, using his thumb to point backwards towards the backstage area where Steve, the drum tech, had already said he would pitch in if they needed him. "Steve's got a handle on it.I can get Steve."

"That's true," Stevie said. "We can get him out here if we have to."

Lindsey was wearing that intense expression he had whenever things didn't go exactly according to plan. Stevie watched him waving his arms and telling Marty, "Hey man, if he's up to it, okay, but I don't know, but somebody has to tell them..."