Where I Belong

Part 3

"How's your arm?" Lindsey asked, sitting across from Callie in a café a few days later.

"It's alright." Callie replied. "I'm still getting used to it, though. Two functioning arms are way better than one."

Lindsey chuckled lowly, nodding his head. "Wouldn't want to find out. How's your mother?" The last time they had any contact was a text message that he sent to Stevie on that Christmas' evening, letting her know, he had arrived home safely.

"She's terrified of letting me out of the house." Callie picked up her decaf latte for a sip. 

"I knew she wasn't completely fine." Lindsey crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his seat. 

"She didn't want you to worry." Callie shrugged. "You know how she is." Lindsey only sighed in response. 

Was it enough small talk already? How much longer were they supposed to dance around the subject?

"I didn't keep it a secret from you for any other reason than your reaction." Callie spoke up as if she'd read his mind. "I was trying to come up with a way to tell you, but I just didn't know how. I- I didn't want you to be disappointed in me."

"Cal'..." Lindsey leaned in closer and reached for her hand. "I have never been anything but proud of you, honey. We'd be having a different conversation if you were 16, but your mother's right, you're not a little kid anymore, it's just hard for me to think of you as an adult sometimes. So, no, I'm not disappointed, but I am surprised, to say the least." Lindsey added.

 "We didn't exactly plan this." Callie lowered her eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed having to discuss this with her father. "But hey, it's not like I wasn't a backstage quickie." She joked and saw Lindsey's jaw drop. "Okay, maybe that's too harsh, but you and mom weren't together, so don't tell me I wasn't a surprise."

"Yeah, but we were..." Lindsey sat back again, scratching the back of his head. "Older. Not much wiser, though." He admitted, laughing lightly. "How far along are you?"

"Just over three months." Callie replied, feeling guilty for keeping him in the dark for so long. 

"And Jack?" Lindsey asked. "What does he think about becoming a dad in his early 20s?"

"Actually, I think that he's more excited than I am. I'm just nervous and scared, while he's already buying clothes and toys for the baby." Callie was also afraid of Lindsey sitting down to have a talk with Jack eventually.

"Good." Lindsey nodded his head once. "I'm glad to hear that." His voice softened again. "You don't have to be scared. You have us, me and your mother. We'll be there for you every step of the way."

Callie smiled, sighing in relief. Even though she'd already had the same conversation with Stevie, she still needed all the reassurance she could get. 

"Mom wants me and Jack to move in with her until the baby is born."

Lindsey wasn't shocked to hear that. "Is that something that you want?" Callie shook her head. "She's going to be a nightmare." Lindsey said, laughing. "But it's just because she loves you more than anything in the world."

"I know, I know."

Lindsey shifted in his seat, seeing the moment as the perfect opportunity to be a little nosy. "Won't it get too crowded if you were to move in, though?"

"What do you mean?" Callie furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well, isn't she..." Lindsey trailed of, he wasn't sure what the situation really was.

"Oh, Chris?" Callie scoffed. "I'll tell you what I really think if you promise to keep your mouth shut."

Lindsey nodded eagerly, moving in closer. "Of course."

"It's not gonna last." Callie shrugged. "They're dating." She said, using air quotes. "Which translates into dinner once, maybe twice a week. I'm pretty sure that Chris has been in love with mom ever since they first met. I saw it as soon as I was old enough to understand." Lindsey had a feeling too, so it wasn't news to him. "But she's just-" Callie shook her head. "To be completely honest with you, I think that she decided to finally give him a chance only to prove to him that they're always going to be just friends and so he could move on."

Interesting, Lindsey thought. Stevie was painting a completely different picture. Lindsey wanted all the details he could get, but what Callie had already shared was quite enough to calm him down. The best move right now was to change the subject. 

"I wanted to ask you if maybe you'd like to come over for New Year's Eve?" Lindsey asked and saw Callie rolling her eyes. 

"Is your wife going to be there?"

Lindsey sighed. "Well, yeah."

"Then no, thank you." Callie shook her head. 

"Cal', come on. I'd love to spend more time with you." Lindsey already knew that his efforts were worthless.

"And we can do something together, just give me a call." Callie shrugged. "But I don't want to spend the New Year's Eve somewhere I'm not welcome." Before Lindsey could argue, she continued. "That woman has never showed an ounce of warmth towards me." And it was only because Callie was Lindsey's firstborn and her mother was Stevie.

Lindsey couldn't deny that. "Alright. It sucks, but I understand."

Callie gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry."

"Mm, me too." Lindsey nodded. He glanced at his watch as he was picking up his cup and cursed. "Shit, I gotta run. Kristen asked me to-" He paused. There was no reason to explain, Callie didn't care. "Doesn't matter. I'll drive you back to your mother's. Maybe she's home already, I'd like to say hello."

Callie gave him a questioning look as she got up from her seat. What's with the sudden interest, she wondered.

~

AN: Yes, Chris is Chris Isaak. I have always thought that there's something there, mainly from his side. I would never ever write about a serious relationship between him and Stevie, but I also wanted to get them together for a short while.