The first couple of days in Hawaii were spent like any other day at work for the band- hauled up in a room, passing around a bottle, arguing over lyrics, and complaining about one another... All the same, except on the island, the sun was a little brighter and they were all a little more motivated to finish up so they could go enjoy it.
"Momma, look!" Brady was so excited- he had been all morning, ever since Lindsey had pitched the idea that they take the kids down to the beach after breakfast. "There's dolphins!" He exclaimed, holding onto one of Stevie's hands as the other pointed out to the clear blue water.
Nodding her head, she used her free hand to hold her hat down as they trudged closer to the shoreline. "Get sunscreen on and then you can go play in the sand." Stevie glanced back over her shoulder, seeing that Carol Ann had already taken Penny over to sit under an umbrella without saying a word.
Co-parenting is usually always a very difficult job, but for Stevie, who had never planned on having children under such hectic circumstances, sometimes it felt catastrophic.
She didn't like it.
"Come on, Brady." Mary held out her two hands, motioning for him to hurry over as a big smile spread across her face.
She was a safe space in a crazy world.
The three year old looked up, silently making sure that it was okay to run across the beach. "Mama?" He had the biggest blue eyes... Those kids really were everything to her, even though the days felt long and nothing ever came easy.
Trying to raise kids, trying to get along with their father, trying to be his co worker, all while they worked as lead vocalist for one of the most famous bands... They weren't doing it traditionally, but no one could really expect anything else with them.
"You better run." She teased, a soft laugh escaping her when he let go of her hand to race towards the blonde, who had already starting construction on some pretty elaborate sand castles. "Don't forget the sunscreen, Brady." She reminded them with a light smile as she watched him run right into Mary's arms for a big hug.
Once she knew that he'd made it over there, she began to head back up the beach, where a couple of the other girls were sitting out by the tiki bar, pouring drinks in a haze of smoke.
"Here," Lori was sitting at a barstool, holding out a wine class for her as soon as she saw her trailing through the warm sand.
With a soft laugh, Stevie immediately brought it up to her lips to take a much needed sip... Something to take the edge off. "Thank you," she looked around, realizing that it was a very typical scene for the band.
There was a ton of people gathered around, all of them partaking, even though it was just barely two in the afternoon... That had never meant anything to them. Ten in the morning was the same as ten at night in their world.
"Did you brush your hair this morning?" Lindsey was behind the bar, having convinced the girl that was pouring drinks to let him do a couple...
Pursing her lips to the side, her brown eyes met his. "I thought you were with Penny?" She raised a brow, watching as his gaze fell back down to the glass in front of him.
"Yeah, and I thought you had said that you were gonna go swim with Brady." Lindsey reminded her, not afraid to call her out on her empty promises as well.
They both had their share of flaws and getting distracted by their environment was one of them... It was hard to be grounded when there felt like there was no ground to stand on.
Right as she was getting ready to strike back with another low blow, or harsh comment, a hand slipped around her waist.
"Hey," he gave her a soft grin, brown eyes melting into hers as he pulled her away from her conversation.
Lindsey chuckled lightly, watching the sound guy try to flirt for just a brief moment before he went back to squeezing a lime into his glass... He always tried to pretend like it didn't bother him- her relationships with other men, that is, but the truth was, it always had.
He knew that they were doing it wrong... They had been from nearly the beginning. He figured that if they hadn't joined the band when they did, they would have been a normal family- to some extent.
They had it in them, but they couldn't figure it out and that had the tendency to eat away at him... Not her as s
much anymore, but it definitely still bothered him.
"Brady!" Carol Ann's loud scream caught everyone's attention, but it instantly sent Stevie flying out of her chair and Lindsey hurrying out from behind the bar. "Brady!" She repeated in such a frantic state, it caused everyone to react the exact same.
~~~
Stevie stared at the wall forever, or so it seemed. She had drowned out all the voices, and all the people that had come in and out... It was just her, her thoughts and her sudden grief.
"TeeDee?" Barbara was standing in the doorway of the hotel suite, having arrived to the island with her husband and Ruth a few hours earlier.
They had already spoke to her very briefly, but it was Lindsey that they had a better time getting through to, especially in that situation.
Stevie didn't say a word, she just kept her eyes on the painting as her mom came further into the room.
"Your father and I have spent a lot of time talking this over," Barbara glanced back at Lindsey's mother, happy to have her there for moral support as well... They knew it wasn't going to be easy. "And we think it's best that Penny comes to be with us for a while." She wasn't going to dance around the subject, not when things had played out so awful.
Stevie paused for a moment, tear filled brown eyes finally traveling to the two older women. "You really think not having either of my kids is what's best?" She whispered, still clutching the pillow to her chest as a form of comfort.
Nodding her head, Barbara bit down on her lower lip as her heart actually started break for her daughter. "It's what's best for Penelope." She admitted, even thought it pained her to do so. "She could have seizures too, Stevie and we're worried that with all these distractions," she motioned around the room, but she really meant the world. "Something else could happen."
The road was no place to raise children and they had said that from the start. In fact, Jess and Barbara had begged Stevie to move back home with them when she found out that she was pregnant the first time. They told her that they would help- they would figure it out and when the time was right, she could go back to music... She didn't want that.
"You aren't taking my baby." The tone in her voice changed- she was no longer as calm as she once was.
"Steph," Lindsey replied before either Ruth or Barbara got the opportunity. "Let them take her." He was standing in the doorway as well, having already heard the spiel a few minutes earlier.
Stevie creased a brow, not sure she had ever seen him look that devastated.
His eyes were bloodshot from a lack of sleep and so much emotion and stress, it was actually visible. "We have to protect her."
