"Are you okay?" Lindsey's voice was soft as he laid on his side, elbow pressed into the sheets so he could look up at her.
She was leaning back against the headboard, reading glasses at the top of her head, hair in long blonde waves and eyes indicating just how tired she was... Tired but beautiful.
Her gaze fell, turning her attention from the nightly news that was running on her bedroom television back to him. "I'm okay." Stevie nodded softly, even though the tone in her voice wasn't nearly as convincing as she had hoped it would be.
He paused for a second and then he slipped his arm around her waist as he slid in a little closer. "Do you want to talk about it?" Lindsey hadn't really asked too many questions, not after the short conversation Brooke and her mother had before the younger woman hung up on her.
Stevie had tried to call back twice and both times, right away, she was sent to voicemail, which made her feel about as small as an ant. And since that was so out of the ordinary for her relationship with Brooklyn, it also really upset her. So she got pretty quiet after that and about half way through the movie, she told them that she was going to head to bed for the night, where she would spend the next hour in silence... thinking.
Creasing a brow, she bit down on her lower lip as she started to feel another hint of emotion wash over her. "I always call Brooklyn back." She whispered, feeling so guilty for having totally spaced it. "And I should have reached out with all this news before Tom did." She added, shaking her head in a disappointed manner as her brown eyes dropped down to the comforter.
Lindsey nodded his head lightly, giving her waist a gentle squeeze. "You wanted to do it when the time was right..." he reminded her of something she had said weeks earlier, really just trying to make her feel a little better in some way.
But Stevie had said, early on that she wanted to wait until she knew everything was going to be okay before she told her children... But after three really good doctor's appointments, even she knew that she should have mentioned it somewhere within one the dozens of phone calls that she'd had with Sam and Brooke since.
"This is hard for me." She admitted, even though it really pained her to. "I've always just been their mom..." Stevie's heart felt really heavy as she her mind began to drift back to the two humans that she loved more than anything in the whole world. "What if I can't do it all?" The hint of worry that lingered in her soft voice caused him to let out a gentle sigh.
She was worried that she couldn't juggle it all. For twenty five years, her life had been all about Sam, Brooke, and Tom... She wasn't sure she could be everything for everyone and that scared her more than anything.
She felt like she was already failing and she was only three months pregnant...
"Well..." Lindsey took a moment to think about it before he continued, really wanting to say the right thing. "To expect you to do it all would be kind of crazy." He told her with the softest grin as he continued to stare into her brown eyes. "So why don't we start doing it together..." Lindsey really didn't know how to make her feel better, but he did know that he would never let her do it all alone and no one should either.
Nodding softly, her vision began to quickly blur as she bit down on her lower lip.
He patted her hip lightly before he ran his hand around the small of her back. "You were only trying to protect your kids..." he told her with a light shrug of his shoulders. "And if that doesn't prove just how amazing of a mother and a person that you are, I don't know what would." Lindsey thought that she was perfect and parenting was hard- no matter how old your kids get... It's never easy, or cookie cutter, unfortunately.
"Thank you, Lindsey." She brought out one hand, running her fingers through his curls before her palm rested on his cheek.
"We'll figure it all out, sweetie." He was certain of it, even though he wasn't sure how or if it would be that simple. "We got this."
~~~
The next morning rolled around quick and by ten, Stevie and Lindsey were moving around each other in the kitchen, trying to make breakfast. It was the last morning having the kids in town and even though they had offered to help, Stevie assured them that they could handle it... or at least, she could handle it and Lindsey could just pick up after her.
A real team effort.
Anyway, that meant the kids were all lined up at the counter, sitting at barstools with coffee in front of them as they gossiped. Not really, but Laura and Drew did talk all about their friends from college that they'd met with the night before, which had Stevie interest from the start.
She didn't know Laura's friends, but there was something effortlessly exciting about hearing all the details of someone's start in life. Laura was only in her mid twenties, so all of her friends were having babies, getting married, moving away from home, traveling the world, living abroad.... It was amazing and the older woman hung on to every word.
"This is so good, Stevie." Mallory announced as she used her fork to motion down to the plate in front of her.
"I'm glad you like it, honey." She smiled lightly, leaning back into the counter to cradle her cup of coffee.
Her stomach was in such tight knots, there was no way she could eat much anything without feeling the new familiar wave of morning sickness wash over her... Well, it was that and a little bit of anxiety.
Nodding in agreement, Laura smirked softly. "Our mom could burn toast." She let out a faint laugh, causing Stevie's heart to sink instantly.
Mallory giggled as well, shaking her head. "But she always tried her very best." She reminded her older sister, even though it would have been impossible to forget.
Biting down on her lower lip, Stevie glanced over at Lindsey for a moment, not surprised that his eyes were on her... He knew that she was nervous when it came to blending their families, but in that moment, she didn't feel it.
In fact, she was feeling awfully fortunate and hearing the girls talk about their sweet mama made her heart feel a little lighter.
"I'm sure she was wonderful." She assured with a little grin as she turned back to look at the girls.
She was going to miss them, which was crazy considering she'd just met them a week earlier.
"She really was." Mallory was quick to agree as she reached out to take Stevie's hand in hers. "And so are you."
