"Penny?" Lindsey had knocked twice before he decided to use the spare key to her suite to open the door, a little worried since she hadn't answered any phone calls either. "Penelope?" He repeated, creasing a brow as he slowly trailed into the room.
Swallowing hard, Stevie used the counter to pull herself back up off the floor... she was starting to feel icky too.
"That's just my dad." Penny assured in a soft voice as she waved a hand lazily, silently assuring her that she had nothing to worry about... Stevie felt like she had everything to worry about.
Nodding her head, she felt the tears in her eyes as she shifted. "I know..." she whispered so low, Penny hadn't even caught it.
"I-" the younger woman was just about to call out to let her dad know that she was fine when he stepped in front of the open bathroom door.
He was wearing a white button up, a pair of jeans with slightly messy salt and pepper hair, and a sunburned face... He was still incredibly handsome and it immediately made the older woman weak in the knees.
"Oh," Stevie froze the second she looked up into the vanity mirror, heart beating a mile a minute when her eyes met his through the glass.
And as concerned as he was about his daughter sitting on the floor, obviously not feeling her best, he found it impossible not to stare right back at the woman in front of him.
He had always thought she was the most beautiful, but believe it or not, the hands of time had made her even more so and even though he hadn't seen her in years, his heart literally skipped a beat.
So for a long moment, a weird silence engulfed the entire room and it felt like a battle of the orbs... The tension was so high between them for a second, it was surprising that Penny didn't take notice.
"Those fruity drinks with the stupid little umbrellas got me good, dad." She admitted as she brought her hand up to her forehead to rub it.
It was going to be a rough morning for her, that was a given.
Lindsey couldn't look away and neither could Stevie, both of them feeling the overwhelming emotion, anger, sadness and regret that had been so bottled up for twenty years... All the things they had tried to push to their back of their minds came to surface the moment they saw one another.
"She might need some Tylenol before bed." Stevie finally broke the silence as she began to turn around to actually face him.
She didn't really know what was running through his mind, but she could only hope that he understood the silent pact not to mention anything in front of their daughter... Not that night, not when she was in that sort of state.
"This is Stephanie, dad." Penny held out one hand lazily as a big smile spread across her sweet face. "Some weirdo dude was bugging me at the bar and saved me." She told him, creasing a brow when she realized how intense he was staring over at Stevie.
Finally prying his eyes off of her, he glanced down at Penny before he looked back up at her mother. "Thanks for taking care of my girl." The emphasis on that was heavy for Stevie... She got the hint right away.
Nodding softly, she carefully pushed herself away from the bathroom counter. "Women have to stick together." Stevie decided to shrug it off as she slowly began to travel through the bathroom.
"Thank you so much," Penny reached out for Stevie's hand as she passed, smiling again when the woman gave hers a soft squeeze.
"Start feeling better, sweet girl." Stevie gave her the most gentle wink before she let her go to head for the door.
Lindsey's eyes followed her the whole time, stepping off to the side when got close.
He didn't know what to feel.
"You did good." She mouthed to him, brown eyes full of tears as she slipped around him to get out into the living room of the suite.
"Goodnight, Stephanie!" Penny shouted when she heard the door come open.
Cracking a soft smile, Stevie's heart instantly melted as she looked back over her shoulder. "Goodnight, Penny." She repeated the same thing she had a million nights before, but this time, unlike all the others, Penelope actually heard her.
~~~
"Is she okay?" Erin was sitting on the edge of the sofa when he entered through the door of their room, having been watching a movie for the hour that he'd been gone.
She figured that he had it under control next door and her presence wouldn't have been that appreciated.
He let out a soft sigh, nodding his head as he set his room key down on the small table in the suite. "She's fine." He wasn't feeling talkative, not at all. "She's asleep and I'll check on her in a couple of hours." He announced, already having been worried to leave her in her room as it was.
He knew Penny was an adult, but he had spent the last twenty - one years protecting her and it was the most natural thing for him... He wasn't shocked to find out that it also came incredibly natural for her mom as well.
"Oh..." Erin frowned softly, pushing herself up on her knees as she held out her arms for him to come closer.
He had a million other things on his mind... Okay, maybe just one other thing, but it was enough to distract him, especially when it was another woman.
He couldn't believe that out of all the places in the world, they were back on that island at the same time, where so many huge life moments happened for them... Not all of them good, either.
"What's up?" He met her at the edge of the couch, feeling her wrap her arms around his shoulders immediately.
"I suppose you haven't gotten the chance to tell Penny about the-"
"No," he cut her off, shaking his head as he carefully let her go. "And I'm not in the mood to even think about telling her tonight."
