I Think I'm in Trouble {Reimagined}

XLVII.

It was pretty late when Lindsey got to Stevie's studio, so he was able to make it to her pretty quickly, even though the anxiety she instilled into him helped his momentum in arriving.

Knocking on the door to her apartment, he was just a little anxious because he didn't know what was going on despite her tears telling him she was sad and the tone of her voice telling him she was troubled. But as always, she left things open ended, so he had not one idea of what was happening.

She opened her door and she instantly wrapped her arms around him.

"Hey, sweetheart, what's going on?" he embraced her easily, rubbing her back in a comforting manner.

Pulling away, she sniffled and she shook her head.

"Everybody knows I'm pregnant," she sighed.

"What?" he creased his brow, guiding her further into the apartment so he could close the door behind him. "What gave it away?"

"This morning, I woke up lightheaded but it went away once I started eating," she explained. "When I got to the hospital with the boys and I was gonna leave Shannon, I got up and I was spinning and so I stepped out. The boys walked over and of course, I'm a mom, I tried to power through so they wouldn't worry and I fainted... again," she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sure they were worried," he rubbed the side of her arm.

"I woke up in my own room, only to find out that the doctor told Robert about my test results. He's my husband," she shrugged, crossing her arms. "His entire stay, they've been telling me what's wrong with him... They simply figured, I wanted him to know business as well and they told him I was pregnant."

"How did he take it?" he sat her down, swiping her cheek to see if he could take the stained tears off.

"Right off the bat, he knew it wasn't his..." she looked up. "He was just surprised he didn't figure it out sooner, because I hadn't been feeling well in Arizona, all the way to now... Either way, we extensively discussed that we were not going to tell the kids... The situation with him being in a wheelchair and everything else is so much bigger right now, you know? That's their father..."

"What did the specialist end up saying? I take it not good news..." he assumed that was the reason for her tears.

"No, that's a thing of itself..." she shook her head.

"Well, then... What?" he shrugged.

"Lindsey, Robert told everybody I was pregnant at the dinner table not very long ago... He told them we were having a baby..."

"We, as in you and I?" he gestured between the two of them.

"We, as in, Robert and me..." she sighed.

"Wait... What?" he smirked. "Why would he do that?"

"To spite me, I don't fucking know," she stood in order to pace. "The kids freaked out... Shannon, the most..." she shook her head. "I'm so livid," she turned back to look at him as she crossed her arms. "I know he did it to get back at me, at us... Despite my being there for him, he's still mad of course."

"Well, Steph, maybe it's not the worse thing that could happen," he stood to meet her.

Spinning around, "How could you say that?" she furrowed her brow. "Lindsey, you and me are having a baby, not him and me..."

"I know that," he settled his hands on her crossed arms gently. "But think about it... If the kids know you're pregnant, even if they think it's their dad's, it'll be much easier for them to understand you need time to yourself, time to rest... I'm sure they'll take care of their father, and you won't have to take the brunt of things."