Stevie cracked a soft smile, sitting up in bed and leaning back against the headboard as her eyes followed Lyric around the room. "My sweet ballerina..." she mentioned, eyes sleepy but still holding focus.
Lyric was in her new slippers and the fluffy pink tutu that Christy and Barbara had taken her to get. And as soon as they were back home, she was twirling around the room, practicing before her first dance class.
"Is your tummy feeling better yet?" She wondered, still jumping around the fur rug with her arms in the air.
She had been very concerned about her mother since the trip Stevie had taken to the doctors. In fact, Lyric was so worried about her, she refused to go to sleep the night before and instead, waited up half the night to make sure Stevie made it home okay... After she'd spent hours in tears, that is.
Stevie couldn't help but chuckle, nodding her head softly. "I'm feeling much better, yes." She assured for the second or third time that morning. "Thank you for asking." She added, shifting in bed once more to get comfortable.
She'd been there all morning and most of the afternoon, resting. She was exhausted and nauseous, but she was going to force a smile for her two kids.... Of course, she was- she felt like that was her job. She had to assure them that everything would be okay, even if she was on edge, herself.
Lyric paused, hands softly falling to her sides as she trailed closer to her mom. "I am really glad you're okay." She told her, brown eyes staring into the identical set.
Nodding softly, Stevie could feel her vision begin to blur immediately. "Lyric?" She tilted her head to the side, blinking heavily to refrain from letting the tears fall. "I bet if you ask so nicely, grandma will make some of those cookies that she talked about this morning." She said with a hint of enthusiasm in her voice, hoping that was enough.
Even at four, she knew what her mom was up to... she knew that Stevie was trying to keep her mind occupied and even though Barbara's homemade chocolate chip cookies sounded good, she was still really worried.
"You'll have some, too?" She wondered in a very gentle tone of voice as she carefully took Stevie's hand in hers.
"Of course," she quickly assured. "They're my favorite." She added as she gently squeezed her daughters hand. "But she's going to need help." Stevie leaned down, kissing the top of her head before she motioned for her to go down to the kitchen.
"I love you, mommy." Lyric mentioned as she slowly headed for the door, nearly dragging her feet.
"I love you more." She assured her, watching as she pulled open the door to head out into the hallway.
Once she was alone, she let out the heaviest sigh and sank back into the pillows as the tears began to roll down her cheeks.
She knew she had to call Lindsey- it was an inevitable at that point. He had been trying to get ahold of her all day, and she'd just let them all go to voicemail... It was difficult to tell him, but she also didn't want to go through it without him either.
~~~
"There you are." He let off the softest smile as he held open the door to his condo a little further, welcoming her in. "I was getting worried." Lindsey added, not daring enough to admit that he was about to drive past the house to make sure everything was okay if he didn't get a call back before midnight.
With her sweater wrapped around herself tight, she gave him the weakest smile. "I'm sorry that I didn't call you back today." Her eyes were puffy and he could tell, right away that she had been doing some crying.
Creasing a brow, he slipped his arm around her waist, using his free hand to cradle her chin. "What happened?" Lindsey wondered, staring down into the dark brown eyes that he adored. "Are the kids okay?" His tone of voice shifted, showing how concerned he was.
"Lyric and Pierce are fine." She promised with the most sincere, but small smile. "Can we sit?" Her voice was so soft and gentle.... Even fragile, almost.
With a gentle sigh, he nodded his head. "I'm a little nervous right now, Steph." He led the way into the living room, keeping her hand in his the entire way.
She bit down on her lower lip as her free hand slid up his arm to squeeze his bicep. "Me, too." She admitted, heart already beating a mile a minute.
Nervous was an understatement... she had been totally sick, just thinking about this conversation with him.
"What's going on?" He repeated, once she'd taken a seat on the sofa and he found himself sitting right in front of her on the coffee table.
Looking into those blue eyes, she knew she couldn't hide it any longer, even though she wanted to.
She wanted it to be her little secret forever...
"I found out that I was pregnant about a week before I left France..." she announced, biting down on her lower lip softly.
And in a split second, just like twice before, his face dropped. He looked like he'd seen a ghost and maybe he had... Maybe he'd seen the ghost of his past staring right in his eyes, telling him the same thing that had changed his life before.
"I was five weeks pregnant at my first appointment," she added, tears already lingering in her eyes. "So..." Stevie paused for a moment, creasing a brow softly. "So I know this baby is yours." Her heart sank as her stomach twisted into tight knots. "But I didn't come here to ruin what you've rebuilt for yourself." Stevie's voice hitched, trying to reassure him before the tears began to fall. "If you don't want this, we will go back to France and I will never ask you for-"
"Steph..." He cut off her rambling, knowing already how overwhelmed she was becoming. "You're having another baby?" Lindsey needed to back track for a moment as his heart continued to race.
She nodded lightly, bringing one hand up to hide her tears. "I'm so-"
"No, don't say that." He shook his head as he reached out to take her hand in his. "Don't be sorry." Lindsey's voice was so reassuring as he brought her hand up to his lips to leave a couple of kisses on her knuckles. "This is exciting, Steph." His words stunned her, to say the least. "And I can't wait to raise these kids with you."
