Save Me

I'll make this easy

Their vacation came to an end far too quickly. Stevie was getting more and more nervous about seeing the band. She knew she couldn't keep it to herself, she had to inform them, knowing it was going to affect the future of Fleetwood Mac quite a bit. 

On the morning of the day Stevie and Lindsey were going to return to the studio with their fellow bandmates, Stevie was up way earlier than she usually would be. It was barely past eight, but she couldn't fall back asleep. Carefully, lifting Lindsey's arm, she slipped out of his embrace and the bed, reaching to put her robe on, before tiptoeing out of the bedroom.

Her heart was beating faster than normally, knowing that facing Mick was only hours away. She went to the kitchen and made herself a cup of herbal tea, sitting down with it in the terrace. Taking a sip, she closed her eyes for a moment, placing her hand over her growing belly as she said quietly, softly...

"It's all for you, I'm doing this for you."

Stevie spent about an hour outside, the fresh air doing her good, as she was thinking to herself, that Mick could hate her all he wanted, but this was what she had decided and she was not going to go back on it, nor was anyone going to make her do so. 

When Lindsey finally woke up, he was surprised to be alone in the bed. He stretched out his arm and Stevie's side was cold, so she wasn't just in the bathroom. He got up and put his clothes on, going downstairs, to see a cup of coffee and breakfast set up for him. It was strange. One minute they're drinking brandy or beer for morning coffee and chain smoking pot, adding one drug or the other into the mix, and now, all of a sudden, they're getting almost eight hours of sleep every night, eating healthier and taking proper care of themselves. It would be a lie if Lindsey said he had laid off weed, but he tried his best not to do it in front of Stevie. For one, it was still hard for her, going through such drastic changes, and also, he knew he'd be getting a telling off about how absolutely harmful it was for her to be around it.

"Babe?" Lindsey called out, looking around. "Steph?"

"In here." 

He heard her voice coming from where she had her grand piano placed and he followed the sound of it. "How long have you been up for?"

"Two, three hours." She shrugged, writing something down on a sheet of paper. 

"Oh? Why's that?" Lindsey went to stand behind her, trying to sneak a peek, but Stevie quickly shielded her writings from him. 

"It's not finished yet. And I'm worried about today, that's all."

"Well, you don't have to be. It's what you want."

"I know, but I feel like me leaving, is putting the whole band's success at risk and I hate that."

"If it was just you, wanting out completely out of the blue for no reason, I might react totally differently, but it's because you want what's best for our child, so I don't think you should feel guilty. Honestly, it's so admirable that you're putting our baby in front of your own and ours, as a band, success."

"You're right, I know you are, but..." Again, she shrugged, standing up from the piano stool. "I left you breakfast."

"I saw it and thank you." He pulled her closer and gave her a kiss. "You can go and get ready, while I eat, then we can go."

She just nodded and went back upstairs.

Arriving at the meeting, Stevie was even a bigger bundle of nerves. Lindsey took her hand and it felt clammy in his, but he didn't bother mentioning it, knowing the exact reply he would have been given.

When they walked into the room, it was Mick and John, Christine hadn't arrived yet. They all greeted each other and did some catching up, waiting for the fifth member to join them. Uncharacteristically, Chris was late, nearly half an hour and she apologized profusely. 

As usual, Mick opened his mouth to direct everyone to something they would be working on that day, but Stevie interrupted, catching everyone's attention. 

"You need to know something." She let go of Lindsey's hand, placing both of hers palms down on her lap, before meeting the eyes of her expectant colleagues. "I... well, um... Lindsey and I... fuck."

"It's okay." Lindsey said, covering her hand with his.

"You see, um... we're going to have a baby."

Naturally, they received congratulations from their bandmates, being asked questions right away, but Stevie wasn't quite down, quietening them down. 

"That's not the part I'm worried about telling you. I have decided that... that being a part of Fleetwood Mac doesn't go well with becoming a mother. And while I love you all and I love our music, I simply cannot be doing this any longer."

Everyone was trying to process it, thinking if they understood her correctly, but Stevie made it crystal clear in a moment.

"I'm leaving the band."

"Stevie..." Christine gasped, while John's eyebrows shot up. 

Then there was Mick. "You can't."

"What do you mean? Of course I can, I'm not changing my mind."

"You committed to this band and you can't just quit."

"Yes and I will absolutely fulfill my commitment, I'll stay for as long as it takes to finish the record, but then - I'm gone. This is way I'm telling you this early."

"We need you. Fleetwood Mac will fail if you go."

"Gee, Mick. You believe in us a lot, I see." John remarked.

"Fleetwood Mac without Stevie Nicks is over!" Mick continued, not listening.

"That is not true. You will still have two of the most incredible songwriters with you in Chris and Lindsey and they can make up for lack of me. It will be different and it will be an adjustment, but I know it's possible."

"Did you two do this on purpose or something?"

"Do this on purpose?" Lindsey asked. "Mick, it's not a dog we bought together, we're having a baby. We didn't exactly plan it, but it happened and we couldn't be happier. I thought since we're all friends here, you would be happy for us too."

"It's inconvenient." 

Stevie's mouth was agape, she didn't know if she heard that correctly. "What the hell is wrong with you? You should understand, you have children of your own!"

"But they don't keep me away from my work."

"Right, because you're not raising them. Mick, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." Stevie instantly apologized, but he didn't quite care for it now. 

"You can be a real bitch."

"Hey!" Lindsey wasn't going to take this. "Watch your mouth."

"Please, you called her worse."

"Let's just all calm down." Christine tried, but...

"No." Mick shook his head. "I now realize you are not half the person I thought you were." He told Stevie, making everyone frown, because they didn't truly know what he meant. "You don't care about the band, you don't care about us, all you care about is yourself. So, there." He showed to the door. "I will make this even easier for you. I don't need your songs, you can leave now."

"Mick-"

"I said, leave!"

"Mick-" Lindsey wanted to say something too, but Stevie didn't let him finish.

"No need, Linds. It's okay. He made it quite clear, he doesn't need me, so... well, I'll just go then."

Doing her best to fight back the tears, Stevie got up on her feet, her head held high, as she walked out, leaving everyone stunned.

"You're an ass, Mick. I can't believe you just did that." Lindsey shook his head in disbelief and went after his very emotional girlfriend.