Where I Belong

Part 1

Lindsey blew out all of the air in his lungs, his mouth slightly open, making more noise than he intended to. His wife stopped talking for about two second and glared at him before she turned away and faced a group of her friends once more. He wasn't even sure what they - she - was on about anymore, he'd zoned out a while ago, however, just the sound of her voice was driving him nuts. Wasn't Christmas supposed to be a family holiday? Not in the Buckingham household! No, it was yet another opportunity for Kristen to show off the house that she worked so hard to build and make it into a home, to show off her wonderful loving husband and their amazing kids. Lindsey didn't bother arguing about it, he knew that whatever he was going to say, she was going to do things her way. 

"Excuse me." Lindsey interrupted Kristen, who was reminiscing about the most recent family vacation in Maui, which it really wasn't. Mick had invited Fleetwood Mac members and their significant others to his residence to discuss a potential tour. "I've got to take this." He pointed to his ringing phone, when Kristen stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

Lindsey thought that Stevie had misdialed. Not because they were at a hating each other phase, but because it was Christmas after all and they had already talked briefly earlier that day. No matter the reason, he was grateful for the distraction.

"Lindsey and I are thinking about buying another property." Kristen smiled brightly at her friends as she topped off their wine glasses. "You just have to think about the future, you know. He won't be able to play forever."

"Uh, Kristen?" Lindsey spoke up from behind, standing in the doorway. "Could you come here for a second?"

Unpleased, Kristen followed Lindsey out of the room, arms folded over her chest as soon as they were out of sight. "What?"

"I have to leave." 

"What?" Kristen frowned, her voice grew louder. "You're not going anywhere. It's Christmas!"

"Yeah and you don't really need me here by the looks of it." Lindsey shook his head. "It's serious. I'd stay if I could."

"Uh-hu. Who were you on the phone with?" She asked, already knowing the answer to the question. "Lindsey, this is your home. You seem to forget-"

"Stevie and Callie got into an accident, okay? I'm going to the hospital right now." Lindsey said and went to look for his car keys.

There wasn't really much that Kristen could respond with to that. Needless to say, she wasn't a big fan of her husband's ex, but an accident did sound serious. So, she just exhaled heavily, unable to mask her annoyance and walked away.

Lindsey called Stevie back as soon as he arrived, asking where to find her. He didn't listen, when she told him, he didn't have to come, earlier. He didn't care, when she told him, that they were fine and he really didn't need to drop whatever he was doing. All he heard was the word 'accident' and told her, he was getting into his car.

"Are you okay?" Lindsey came rushing down a long hallway, where Stevie sat by one of the hospital rooms. "Did you get hurt? Did Callie-" He pulled her up onto her feet and examined her himself, looking for signs of broken bones and bruises. 

"Slow down." Stevie interrupted him, laying her hands on his shoulders. "It wasn't a big crash. We're here just to-" She paused as if to stop something slipping out that he wasn't supposed to know. "The other car hit us on Callie's side, we just wanted to make sure she's okay."

"Oh God, you scared the hell out of me." Lindsey breathed a sigh of relief, wrapping his arms around Stevie. "So, no one got seriously hurt? You're both totally fine?"

"Yes." Stevie emphasized, nodding her head as she took a step back. "I am, Callie is and the ba-" Her eyes grew wider, realizing what she was about to say. "Everyone's fine."

"What were you going to say?" Lindsey frowned, arms crossed.

Stevie sighed, looking around the mostly empty hallway. "The baby. The baby is okay."

"The what now?" Lindsey wasn't sure he heard that correctly. "Who else was in the car with you?"

"Me and Callie." Stevie answered, giving him a look as if asking, are you an idiot?

"I, uh- uh-" Lindsey stammered, lowering his eyes, he looked up again. "I didn't know that you and Chris were that serious. Cong-"

"Oh my God, Lindsey!" Stevie exclaimed. "First of all, it's none of your business how serious Chris and I are. Second of all, it's not me, who's pregnant! Jesus... I'm 58-years-old!"

Lindsey pressed a hand to his forehead, he then ran it through his hair, feeling a little lightheaded. "You mean..."

"Yes, Lindsey. Our daughter is pregnant." Stevie rolled her eyes. "You're going to be a grandpa, congratulations."

Hearing that word, Lindsey had to sit down for a minute. Maybe he was just having a dream, a really bad one. Stevie sat down beside him and he turned to look at her.

"This can't be happening. I mean, she's just-"

"23, Linds. She's 23." Stevie said, glad that they were in a hospital in case he passed out. "She's a grown woman."

"No, but-" Lindsey shook his head. "What kind of a no-good, son of a-"

"Her boyfriend." Stevie replied before he could finish his obscene question. "Whom she loves and is building a life together with."   

"Well, they're just gonna have to get married!" Lindsey yelled out unexpectedly and felt Stevie's elbow in between his ribs. "Ouch!"

"What year is this? What are you talking about?" Stevie scoffed. "Did we get married, when you got me pregnant?"

"No, you didn't want to." Lindsey leaned forward in his seat, head in his hands.

"Exactly. Callie doesn't want that either, not yet. So, you're not going to be an asshole about it." She gave him a look, challenging him to say otherwise.

"Why hasn't she told me yet?" Lindsey faced Stevie again and she softened a little, seeing a flash of hurt in his eyes.

"Because she knew that this was exactly how you were going to react." Stevie shrugged, putting a hand on his back, she moved it up and down gently. "She didn't keep it a secret from you just because."

The door of the hospital room they were next to opened and they both looked up to see Callie coming out, her arm in a sling. "It's just a minor fracture." She said before her parents could overreact. "It's not a big deal." Callie shifted her gaze over to Stevie. "Why is dad here?"

"Huh?" Lindsey frowned. 

"Because he's your dad and I thought he should know." Stevie said.

"I told you, he'd come here if you called."

"Cal', I'm right here." Lindsey spoke up, pointing at himself.

"I'm sorry." Callie sighed, giving him a one arm hug. "I'm just a little- well, this wasn't how I imagined Christmas this year."

"What were you two doing out driving at night anyway?" Lindsey asked.

"It's late evening." Stevie corrected in an attempt to defend herself and Callie. "We just needed some stuff from the store."

"Don't you have an assistant for that kind of thing?" Lindsey raised an eyebrow, but Stevie waved it off.

"It's not important, okay? Everyone's alright, so let's just... let's go home, please." Stevie said and turned to leave, hoping that Lindsey wouldn't bring up-

"Are you two really alright?" Lindsey turned to Callie once more. 

"Yeah, mom and I-"

"No." Lindsey shook his head. "You and the baby?"

"Mom!" Callie shouted at her mother, who was already running for the exit.

~

AN: Hey all! This just popped into my head and I wanted to get the first chapter out. We'll see where this goes. I hope you like it!