With a soft smile on his face, Lindsey's eyes traveled to the review mirror, taking his attention off the road for just a split second to see his girls in the backseat.
Stevie was sitting right next to Clara, one hand resting on her car seat and the other holding a little teddy bear as she sang to her in the softest, most beautiful tone of voice.
They had spent the last couple of days in the hospital- a few more then they had originally anticipated since Stevie began experiencing a few minor complications. She had started running an elevated heart rate and then her blood pressure began to increase steadily as well, which wasn't ideal to send her home with... Not when she had a new baby too.
So they put her on seizure watch, but let her keep Clara in the room with her, which was all that mattered... She didn't care where they were as long as her baby was there and healthy.
"You doing okay back there?" Lindsey wondered as his gaze fell back to the road ahead, even though he kept a small grin trailing across his face.
To say that Lindsey was feeling happiness might not totally do it justice... He was so over the moon to have those two girls in his life.
"Miss Clara is very sleepy." Stevie couldn't look away- she hadn't been able to the entire ride.
She was so perfect and since her mother knew that she'd never be that little again, she was soaking up every single detail. She wanted to remember those sweet eyes, the tiny little grins that she was already giving them, the button nose, and of course, the light coos.
"How is miss Clara's mom?" He was more worried about her, being that the doctor had warned them about being a little precautions for the first few days.
They wanted to make sure that Stevie wasn't getting too overwhelmed too quickly- the main reason for her spike in blood pressure during her hospital stay. She had never had a new born baby like that, so every time Clara made a noise or if it was too long in between noises, she was up, checking on her.
"She's fine." Stevie smirked lightly, looking up to make eye contact with him in the review mirror. "Don't worry..." she added as she slowly slid forward to rest her chin on his seat and rub his shoulder.
"I need you to be okay." Lindsey admitted, finding it nearly impossible to not be concerned.
He wouldn't be able to do it without her...
Her brown eyes grew softer as she pressed a light kiss to his neck. "I promise you, I'm not going anywhere." She assured with a faint smile. "There's no way I'm missing this." She whispered in his ear before she kissed him one more time. "Now get us home, please." She let out a soft laugh, patting his shoulder and then sitting back in her seat.
Lindsey nodded as he let out the lightest laugh. "Got it, baby."
She spent the rest of the ride chatting and singing to Clara, all while Lindsey listened with a smile on his face and a heart so full... He loved this life with her already.
"Watch your step." He had one hand on the small of her back as the other held onto the car seat.
Stevie chuckled, wrapping her shawl around herself a little tighter as she led the way up the stairs outside of the Inn. "Thank you." She was very appreciative of his concern, even though she had never been used to it... Her husband had never been like that with her.
Of course he didn't want anything to happen, but he also didn't have the constant urge to protect her either. He wasn't overly involved or interested, so it was new and at times, she didn't know how to respond.
Lindsey cracked a grin, pushing the glass door open to let her go in first.
And the second she stepped into the lobby, she let out a deep gasp, immediately being greeted by a room full of all her most favorite people.
It was her parents, all the kids and almost the entire staff of the Inn, all waiting for them with balloons and flowers to welcome sweet Clara home.
"We have a new guest." Stevie announced with a tear filled laugh, which caused everyone else to chuckle as well.
And within a split second, they all flocked to Lindsey, who was still holding the car seat with his daughter safely bucked in.
However, while everyone was immediately drawn to the baby, someone was headed right for her baby.
"Congratulations, my girl." Barbara held out her two hands as she traveled through the room with the sweetest, most loving smile on her face.
Tears instantly started to fill the brims of Stevie's eyes, a deep sigh escaping when her mom wrapped her in a hug. "Thank you for coming." She was already feeling emotional as it was, but to have them surprise her like that made her feel even more sentimental.
Barbara and Jess had promised that they would be out when the baby was born, but Stevie didn't expect them to drop everything like that when Clara came an entire month early... None of them needed to do that, but they did, because that baby was just as important to them.
Barbara nodded lightly, kissing the side of her head as she lightly motioned over to Lindsey, who was carefully unbuckling the baby from her seat to show everyone. "He really loves you, Stevie." She was sure of it, and not just because of how thrilled he looked in the moment, but also because of how proud he was when he called to tell everyone that Clara had arrived.
He was over the moon and told Jess and Barbara a thousand times over how incredible Stevie was.
Stevie giggled lightly, sinking into Barbara's side as she watched Lindsey pass Clara over to Brooklynn, who had big tears rolling down her cheeks as well. "This is it." She announced. "This is where I belong."
