"Are you all tucked in?" Lindsey's voice filled the landline after just one ring- he'd been waiting to hear from her all day.
Chuckling softly, she nodded as if he could see her. "I just got in my pajamas and I'm already in bed." She assured, leaning her head back against the velvet board as she stared down at the duvet.
She had just gotten home about an hour earlier, after an emotional goodbye and an afternoon flight out of Arizona.
It never got easier being away from her husband, but when she was getting ready that morning, it was a little worse than usual... She was already counting down the days until he was back at home with her.
"I miss you so much, baby." Lindsey was in bed too, but five states away in a hotel room... not where he wanted to be, that's for sure.
Her lips turned up into a smirk. "I just left you..." she reminded him in a joking manner. "How can you miss me so much already?" Stevie knew it was possible, because she felt the same way.
Even after twenty- one years of marriage, they were almost inseparable... They would remain that way well after their fifth anniversary as well.
He grinned, shrugging lightly. "I can't get enough of you, that's all." Lindsey knew that would make her giggle and he was right.
Her contagious laugh echoed through their room for a moment, her cheeks turning a soft shade of red even though he didn't know that. "Oh, Lindsey..." she let out a soft sigh a second later, a smile still trailing across her sweet face. "I miss you, too." She assured as she softly bit down on her lower lip. "How are the boys?" Stevie let a very short silence come and go before she asked....
She wasn't worried, but she was a little upset.
After their small argument, Crosby didn't speak to her for the rest of the weekend. In fact, he skipped dinner with them, didn't acknowledge her before or after their show and didn't come out of the hotel room when she was getting ready for the airport.... he was mad and though Lindsey could understand why, he still tried to talk it out with him, but he wasn't having that either.
He wanted to pout and there wasn't much they could do, but let him.
And even though she felt as small as ant, she knew she wasn't in the wrong... She didn't tell Claire to break up with him- she wouldn't have done that, but she did give her the exact same advice that she'd give any other woman in the entire world and her own children as well.
You can't wait around for someone else to determine your fate.... it's not fair to let your dreams sit stagnant like that.
And she hoped, one day, after he had kids of his own, he would understand where she was coming from...
He wouldn't.
"They're good." He shrugged a shoulder, knowing that it was a sensitive subject at the moment.
He wasn't mad at her, not at all. Lindsey didn't always agree with everything she did, but he did stand behind her... He definitely told her that he didn't think that was the right thing for her do, but he didn't fight with her over it and sure as hell didn't make it obvious that he wasn't on her side in front of the boys.
Crosby thought it was both of them, and Lindsey was fine with that.
"Meredith ordered them a couple of pizzas and they rented some scary movies when we got in town." He added, a soft yawn following his words.
He had a long day, but hearing from her was the highlight.
She smirked softly, twisting the cord of the phone around her finger as she closed her tired eyes for a brief moment. "I would have waited for you..." Stevie admitted, totally certain of it.
He couldn't help but chuckle, running his hand down his cheek. "I would have waited forever for you, too." Lindsey would have, no questions asked.
She wasn't always easy, but she was his heart outside of his body.
"Will you stay on the phone with me?" She whispered, butterflies forming in the pit of her stomach.
"I'll be here until you fall asleep."
~~~
"Is that really cheating though?" Stevie came through the doorway of the dining room, carrying another cup of coffee as she listened to the women chat from the kitchen.
It was just Carol and Becky that morning, being that Donna was out in Santa Barbara with her boyfriend for the entire week.... They didn't know how she got away with it.
Lindsey would have been on Stevie's case the entire time she was gone, there was just no way.
"Dinner with another man?" Becky creased a brow, looking up at her friend over the edge of her reading glasses.
"That's cheating." Carol told her, shaking her head softly as she brought her cup of coffee up to her lips. "You are entertaining someone else..." she added, which caused Stevie to frown.
Slumping down into her chair next to Becky, she pursed her lips to the side. "But I would never, ever let it go any further than that, so-"
"Lindsey wouldn't do that to you." Carol cut her off, not interested in listening to those kind of excuses.
Nodding lightly, Becky had to agree. "If you aren't looking to start an affair, there's no reason to even go out with him, Stevie." Her eyes were gentle- she was a little more sympathetic than Carol.
Stevie paused for a second, biting down on her lower lip as she softly nodded. "You're right..." she assured. "I don't want to do that to him."
