"You are such a good man..." she had her head in his lap, whispering that through the dark room as she stared up at him.
They were holding out at the hospital until Penny woke up, which was very typical for Lindsey, but new for Stevie. And he had assured her a handful of times that if she wanted to go sleep in a real bed, he would go with her to a hotel, or even to her parents, but she didn't want that... She didn't want to leave Penelope either, not all alone like that.
So they were on the couch in her room, curled up with thin blankets, stiff pillows, and listening to the sound of the loud machines that were working on the night shift.
It wasn't comfortable, but it's something you do for your children.
Lindsey chuckled softly, continuing to trace the circumstance of Stevie's beautiful face with the tip of his index finger. "I'm really proud of you." His voice was quiet too, and his lips were turned up into a soft smile.
She bit down on her lower lip, not sure how he had the power to make her fall in love all over again like this. "I regret leaving the two of you every single day." She admitted as her tired eyes started to grow a little heavy. "If I could go back in time, I would have stayed." She added, voice still so somber and sweet, it made him weak in the knees.
At that age, a little over fifty, she was everything. She was kind, funny, mature, yet still so free and so passionate... He actually adored her, which said a lot for a man that hadn't really been able to give his heart away for many years.
He shook his head softly, shrugging a shoulder lightly. "We can't change the past, baby." When he called her that, it made her feel a little lighter. "But you're here now, with us and that's all that really matters." Lindsey assured as he slowly bent down to press his lips to the tip of her nose.
She closed her eyes for a moment as she tangled her fingers in his. "I'm not going anywhere again." It was Stevie's turn to promise things and that was something very easy to do, which was a huge sigh of relief for him.
He had been a little worried that if she found out about Penny's health problems, she'd get anxious and it would cause her to run. And not because he didn't think that she cared... In fact, it was because she cared too much.
Lindsey knew it would be hard to relive that, but she was doing really good at the whole mom thing so far.
"I'm really glad to-"
"Hello...?" Penny's groggy voice caused them both to jump, almost bumping heads as they rushed to sit up. "What is happening...?" She had a brow creased, eyes just opening and ears just turning on, only to be met by darkness and very soft, suspicious whispers...
She was confused and kind of weirded out.
Stevie slid to one side of the couch, reaching up to turn on the lamp as Lindsey pushed himself up to stand... They both had racing hearts and deep red faces.
"Hey, there, kiddo." He cracked a soft smile, happy to see his favorite girl awake.
Her eyes slowly began adjust to the bright light, not remembering a single thing from the time they got to the bar to that moment... She didn't know what happened but by the way she was feeling, she actually knew exactly what happened.
Stevie bit down on her lower lip, watching the younger girl bring her hand up to her head to feel one of the two French braids that her mother had carefully twisted into place the night before.
She didn't necessarily feel out of place, even though she sort of was... She didn't really feel like she was overstepping or crossing some invisible boundaries by being there without Penny knowing.
"It's so good to see those beautiful eyes..." Stevie whispered as her gaze traveled her entire face.
She didn't look twenty- one in that moment, not to her mom... Instead she looked like just a little girl that needed to be wrapped up in the safety of her parents embrace.
"Hi..." She was still tired and obviously a little confused, but Penny's lips turned up into a smile when her orbs sank into the older woman's identical ones... She was shocked to see her, but so happy as well.
Stevie let out a tear filled giggle as she slipped off the sofa to move a little closer to the bed. "Hi, angel." She replied, heart melting when Penny reached out for her hand. "How are you feeling this morning?" She wondered in a soft tone of voice as her vision continued to blur from how emotional she was getting.
Penny was nauseous, her head hurt and she was a little dizzy, but none of that seemed to matter and instead of admitting it, all she said was; "I'm really glad that you're here." She was so thankful to wake up and see her... The same woman she used to wish for in times like that.
Stevie paused for a moment and then she slowly leaned forward, leaving the softest kiss on her baby's head. "Should we let someone know you're awake...?" She asked as she glanced over at Lindsey, who was having a hard time hiding his tears as well... It was a sad moment.
"Yeah," he nodded his head, slipping one hand into his pants pocket as he began to trail backwards to the door. "I'll grab you a coffee and let the nurses know." He wanted to give them a minute alone anyway and he kind of needed one himself.
Penny used her free hand to wiggle her fingers as she cracked another very weak smile. "Bye, daddy." She mumbled, voice still raspier than normal.
Stevie waited until he had slipped out of the room before she turned back to look at Penny. "I am so sorry that I've never been here for you like I should have been." She admitted that almost out of the blue, kind of catching the other woman off guard.
But Stevie felt like she deserved an apology... A real one.
Penny didn't ask to be born into the hectic world that she was and it was her parents job to protect her. Lindsey did a good job, but Stevie knew she should have done more.
Tilting her head to the side, Penny grew quiet for just a moment. "You can sit with me...?" she whispered as she began to feel the tears in her eyes.
Nodding her head, the blonde slipped out of her shoes before she sat down on the bed. "Of course, I'll sit with you." She assured with a light smile as she gently sank back.
Penny's head met her shoulder instantly, tears rolling down her cheek at that point.
"I love you, Penelope." She didn't expect to hear it back, but she wanted to tell her anyway... She wanted her to know.
"I love you, mom."
Stevie had never heard that before...
