Stevie and Lindsey were in their own little world for most of the afternoon with Penny, who was more interested in them than she was anyone else. She held onto Stevie's hand most of the time, cried when Barbara tried to pick her up and out of all the little friends she had over for her party, she only wanted her parents to play with the new gifts she'd just opened.
Penelope may have been just a one year old and maybe she hadn't seen her parents in three months, but none of that seemed to matter to her... She knew who they were and her love for them hadn't dwindled, even if she didn't understand what was happening in the world around her.
She didn't know that her parents were grieving, or that her grandma and grandpa were in the midst of talking about getting full custody of her, or how her mom and dad both had serious personal problems that they needed to figure out, or that she lost her big brother forever.
She was just a baby and the only thing that mattered to her was that her mom held her up when she blew out her candles, her dad was there to hold the wrapping paper, and that the cake had pink frosting.
"She's out..." Stevie had a weak smile on her face as she sat next to him on the sofa, staring down at her sweet girl.
She was passed out in her dads arms, head on his chest, blanket wrapped around her and little lashes fluttering so soundly.
Lindsey nodded softly, wrapping one arm around Stevie's shoulders as he the other hand patted Penny's back. "She was a busy little bee today." He cracked a soft smile, pressing his lips to the top of her head.
It was just the three of them in the living room, being that the party had ended an hour earlier and everyone had cleared out, even Jess and Barbara, who went across the street to play a round of cards with their friends.
"She was." Stevie's heart sank as she leaned back into the couch, eyes never leaving her daughters face as her mind began to travel a year into the past.
It didn't seem that long, it really didn't. She could remember it like it had happened the day before and she wished she would forever.
She had gone into labor at home in the middle of the night and since she was a week passed her due date, she had a house full of her closet friends- all of whom were ready and willing to help.
Penny was born just shortly after her water broke and perfect was an understatement... Penelope was the sun and moon to Stevie.
And thinking back to how happy they had been to welcome another baby, even if the family circumstances weren't the best, it was still incredible... She didn't understand how life could change so drastically so fast.
It wasn't fair.
"Now is our chance..." Lindsey lingered in a playfully manner. "We can take her home now and they couldn't say a thing." He was kidding- sort of... it kind of just depended on what Stevie said, actually.
She chuckled as she reached out to trace the circumference of Penny's face with her index finger. "She's doing so well here." Stevie didn't want to admit that, not in the slightest, but as a parent, you have to put your children first in this world.... if you don't love and adore them, who will?
And it would have been so selfish of them to uproot her again when they didn't have anything figured out in their lives. They were still mourning and their situation hadn't changed very much... There hadn't been much growth and that was the entire point of Penelope going to Arizona.
"Hello?" Barbara's voice rang through the house a second later as she led the way through the front door. "We're home." She added as she slipped out of her shoes and trailed into the living room with a soft smile on her face.
She was happy to see them all bonding... That was what she wanted, even though she was so set on not letting them take her back home.
She thought she was knew what was best and in all hindsight, she was right.
"Did you have a good time?" Lindsey wondered as he looked over, seeing that she was carrying some kind of pie plate in one hand and her purse in the other.
"We did," she assured with a soft nod as she continued to watch them from a distance.
She knew they could do it and do it right, but their lifestyle was holding them back. Being a mom and dad on the road couldn't have been simple and Barbara was proud of them for even trying for as long as they had.
"But Jess stayed back to play another game of cards cause he sucked at the first round." She teased as she started to head for the kitchen.
Stevie waited for a second, trying to decide if she wanted to get up and talk to her or not... She had to. "I love you with all my heart." She whispered down to Penny as she began to push herself up to stand.
Lindsey smiled lightly, eyes also growing incredibly heavy. "Penny loves you right back." He assured, even though he was on the verge of taking a nap as well.
It had been a long day and he was exhausted.
Stevie grinned softly, making sure they were both covered up with a throw blanket before she followed her mother into the other room.
The older woman was already making a pot of coffee and putting things away, moving around the kitchen and unaware that there was a set of brown eyes burning into her for a long couple of minutes.
"I need to talk to you." Stevie announced as she pushed herself away from the doorframe.
This would be the most difficult thing she'd ever do in her entire life.
"What's up?" Barbara glanced back at her, more focused on putting away the dishes from the party.
"I won't fight you for custody of her." It pained her, it really did but she couldn't do it. "I don't want to fight with you over Penny at all, not when I know that you're what's best for her." Stevie added as the tears instantly began to blur her vision.
It took a lot of thought and that wasn't something she decided on a whim....
Raising a brow, Barbara dropped what she was doing to look at her daughter a little better. "What do you mean?" She obviously had heard her but she wanted to make sure they were on the same page.
"I'm gonna call a car to get me to the train station and I'll leave tonight." Stevie assured, heart beating a mile a minute. "I don't want Penny to know me like this and I know Lindsey won't ever let me just disappear, so I have to do it now." She was a mess, but she also knew what was best... or so she thought.
"No, Stevie." Barbara shook her head, holding up her hand to calm her down. "You have it in you to be-"
"I want her to have the most incredible life, mom." Stevie cut her off. "And right now, I can't provide that, so I don't want to make it any more difficult."
