"I never thought the day would come when you were cooking something for me." She was sitting on the edge of the kitchen counter, legs dangling down as she watched him move around with a smirk on her face.
He had invited her over to his house a couple of nights after they had decided to figure out some way to move forward the right way. Of course there hadn't been any changes in their lives- they were both still sneaking around and lying to their significant others about where they were and what they were doing...
But luckily, they were both seasoned at that and neither Dan, or Erin suspected a thing. And even though they didn't know what was actually supposed to come next for them, they were going to try to be good for each other... Something they really hadn't been in the past.
Anyway, they had gotten a little less secretive about their relationship and decided to spend that afternoon down at the beach. They had lunch at the restaurant by the water, walked in the sand for hours and even had a couple of drinks before they came back to his house, where he was going to make her dinner...
He grinned lightly as he leaned back into the island and stared into those sweet brown eyes. "I've been told that I make the best breakfast for dinner around, so it's your lucky day." He teased, which caused a soft giggle to escape her.
He had never been the best cook in the world, but there was a time when he was the only one around to do it, so he learned a little bit... The bare minimum, honestly.
"And that's definitely not easy." She shook her head, keeping her legs crossed as she used her two hands to hold herself up.
She was in one of his t- shirts, hair in natural curls traveling down her sides and not a trace of makeup on her face. She was so casual and so natural, yet the most incredible looking woman... He could hardly take his eyes off her.
Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he turned back around to flip the eggs before they burned. "You're distracting me." He was joking... to some extent.
She tossed her head back, letting a deep giggle fill the air around them.
"That's funny, huh?" He chuckled when he looked back over his shoulder, still working on unsticking his pancakes from the skillet.
"Mhm," she nodded her head softly as her eyes met his once more. "Means that I'm doing it right." She added with a crooked little smirk.
There was something about him at that age that she just adored. He was so calm and so gentle- two things that he usually wasn't when they were younger... He made her feel like every emotion she had mattered and when he was around, she honestly felt like it was all going to be okay, even if the future was so uncertain.
How did he have that power over her still... after everything they'd been through?
Lindsey set the spatula down on the counter before he took the three steps that separated them.
She didn't hesitate to sit up and wrap her arms around his shoulders the moment he was within reach. "Oh, hi..." Stevie's eyes melted right into his for only a short moment.
"Hi," he chuckled, hands slipping around her waist as his lips met her forehead.
Her eyes fell closed as she soaked up those couple of seconds in his arms. "I love you." She told him for the first time in a really long time, which instantly made her a little more anxious than before... Maybe it was too soon, but it didn't feel that way, not when they'd known each other for so long.
However, he had told her, a couple of days earlier that he was in love with her and she had replied with the same, but they hadn't necessarily said that, not since the 70's... That was a little different, especially for two people who had always been very complicated.
"Then marry me instead."
~~~
Barbara's hands were shaking like a leaf, heart beating a mile a minute as she held the phone to her ear and dialed the same number that he'd had forever.
"It's okay." Jess was sitting in the chair across the empty waiting room, knee bouncing up and down as he watched his wife hang up and try again... She had already tried to reach him two times and each call went right to voicemail.
Shaking her head, she let out a deep sigh. "I'll try one more time and if he doesn't answer, I'll leave him a message." Barbara didn't want to do that, only because she knew that he'd want to hear it right from her, but he was really giving her no other option.
Nodding his head, the older man sank back in his seat, so caught up in what was happening there at the hospital, he couldn't think or focus on anything going on outside those four walls.
"Hi, Lindsey..." Barbara's heart sank when she caught his voicemail again. "Dad and I are at the hospital with Penelope." She announced, tears lingering in her eyes as she stared down at the linoleum floor. "She was out with a couple of her friends, having some drinks and she had another seizure." She shook her head lightly, trying not to sound as worked up as she was.
She didn't want to worry him, not when he was all the way out in California, but she also couldn't hide how serious it was either.
"It's not good, Lindsey." She admitted, wishing so badly that he would just pick it up... She just wanted to talk to him.
He wasn't always the most reassuring man, but after years of being in and out of the doctors office with Penelope, he always knew exactly what to say to make Barbara feel better about those situations.... Jess didn't.
"Call me back when you can, okay?" Her voice finally cracked. "Okay, love you." She quickly added before she set the phone back down on the hook.
