Whatever It Takes

Part 4

Lindsey checked his watch again as he sat behind the wheel of his car in the parking lot. Stevie said, she was going to be done at around 6, which meant that she was supposed to have come out about an hour ago. A couple more songs started and finished playing on the radio and Lindsey decided to go check what the hold up was. Maybe he'd even hear a snippet of Stevie's new material. She never let him listen until her record was available to everyone.

Running a hand through his curls, Lindsey plastered on a big smile as he swung the door open to enter the building. A young receptionist glanced his way then did a doubletake, realizing who had just come in. Lindsey leaned against the wall by her desk, ready to charm the woman. 

"Hey there." Lindsey took off his shades and placed them on top of his head. 

"H-hello." The brunette, much younger than him, stuttered. "Do you have an appointment?"

What is this, a doctor's office? "Uh, no, not exactly. I was wondering if you could tell me something." The smile hadn't vanished for a second. "My wife-" Lindsey began, lowering his voice. "She's around here somewhere. I've been waiting for like an hour already and I just wanted to make sure that everything's okay." 

"I'm not sure I can give you that kind of information." The receptionist shook her head slightly, disappointed in herself. 

"Oh, come on." Lindsey leaned in closer. "You won't get in trouble, I swear."

The woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling shyly. "Well... since you asked so nicely-"

Someone cleared their throat loudly and while she didn't know, who, Lindsey knew exactly. Shit. He turned around and gave Stevie that same fake smile, trying to appear totally innocent. 

"Hey, you." Lindsey opened his arms, Stevie just raised an eyebrow at him. "I was just-"

"I'm ready to leave." Stevie announced, side-eyeing the receptionist. 

Stevie walked off with that and Lindsey, feeling only slightly guilty for flirting with the other woman for personal gain, rushed to follow her. He called out her name and apologized several times before they reached his car, but she ignored him.

"Stevie, I'm sorry." Lindsey repeated, fastening his seatbelt. "That was nothing! I promise, I only wanted to find out where to look for you. That's it."

Out of every possible reaction, the last thing he expected was for Stevie to start laughing. He stared at her beside him, confused. Stevie held up a hand and palmed his cheek, which was something else that surprised him.

"I know, relax." Stevie said. "But I love seeing you sweat."

Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, Lindsey apologized again anyway. "It was stupid, I don't know why I did that."

"Maybe you didn't think that you'd get caught." Stevie shrugged, smirking at him.

Deciding it was time to move on from that particular subject, Lindsey asked if Stevie had any idea where she wanted to eat. She said, she preferred ordering in and he had no problem with that.

"But I want you to take me to your place." Stevie faced him, awaiting his response. 

"Why?" Lindsey asked, frowning. "I don't even have a dining table. There's literally a bed, a couch and a TV."

"Sounds perfect." Stevie replied.

Why, Lindsey still wondered as he pulled out of the parking lot. Did she want to see for herself how miserable his living conditions were? To see how miserable he was and that he couldn't handle living without her? Or did she want to make sure that during the past three weeks that they'd been apart, he hadn't replaced her yet?

"Welcome." Lindsey said, pushing the door to his temporary apartment open, allowing Stevie to go in first.

"Huh." Stevie looked around the scarcely furnished space. "You weren't lying." 

"Why would I have been lying?" Lindsey gave a weak shrug, tossing his keys away. 

This is sad, Stevie thought as she went on a short tour by herself. Was this how that chance at happiness looked like? How was this empty and rather small apartment so much better than working on their marriage and staying in their family home? Or was he so desperate to run away from her that this was enough for him?

"I want Chinese." Stevie returned to Lindsey, who was in the kitchen, gulping down a bottle of water. 

"Alright." Lindsey nodded, breathing heavily as he pulled the bottle away from his mouth. "This is where I would say to you to make yourself comfortable, but..." 

"That couch looks okay." Stevie gave him a small smile, feeling sympathetic.

Lindsey joined her shortly and they found themselves unable to speak to each other again. They knew, what they met for, but where and how to begin? He would have liked to know what that night that they spent together meant, but she'd accused him of solving their problems with sex far too many times. He could already hear her saying that, things aren't suddenly okay.

Since he'd already asked about her day in the studio, Lindsey thought that he should just dive right in. "It feels like we've been given a second chance. This is not a puppy we've decided to adopt, we're bringing a new life into this world." Stevie let him talk. "I understand that nothing has been resolved between us, I know that we have a lot of problems, but I've thought about it and I don't think I could be apart from you right now or our child once they are born. I don't want to be a dad on weekends and holidays only."

Stevie sat with her lips sealed. Lindsey had pretty much just told her that divorce was no longer an option. In her heart of hearts, she never truly believed that it had ever been the only option. However, something was stopping her from welcoming him back with open arms. 

"It really hurt me." Stevie spoke up. "Yes, you keep saying that we came to that decision together, but you were the first one to bring it up. There's no question that I love you and always will, but how can I be sure that you're staying for me too and not just because of the baby?"

"I-" Lindsey began then paused. "I don't think I can say anything to prove that to you. I'm not even convinced yet that we're going to make it work, but... that night, it gave me hope. Hope that not all is lost."

"We had sex, Lindsey." Stevie rolled her eyes.

"Well, yes, but for the first time in a very long time we were also connected emotionally." Lindsey argued. "I looked at you and I felt that you wanted me, all of me." He added. "And when we kissed, I felt like you truly wanted to kiss me, that you wanted me to touch you. I've missed that. That's who we were until the last few years and I want to get it back."

"How do you imagine we can get it back?" Stevie asked, not entirely convinced either. "You can't just snap your fingers or wave a magic wand."

"It's hard work to make it work." Lindsey echoed her own words. "Even if it felt right in the moment, Stevie, I'm glad and so relieved that we haven't moved over to the legal side of things."

Chewing on her bottom lip, Stevie stayed silent. She then exhaled heavily and turned to look at him. "I don't want you living here."

"Where am I supposed to live?" His eyebrows creased.

"You can take the guestroom." Stevie said, she wasn't quite ready to welcome him back into their marital bed. "We'll come up with something to say to Avery, but it sure as hell will be easier than explaining to her why daddy is living somewhere else." 

Somewhat carefully, Lindsey reached for her hand. "We'll get through this."

Stevie gave his hand a gentle squeeze, she released a shaky breath, nodding her head.