It had been a few days since Stevie was released from the hospital. She was relieved to know her baby was alright, as was Lindsey of course, but she noticed a change in him and not exactly for the better. He barely spoke to her, claiming to be too tired for anything, when he would return home from work, as well. It worried her and she wanted to talk to him about it, but she didn't know how to approach him, especially not wanting to say anything if there was nothing going on in the first place.
Lindsey came home earlier and Will was at a soccer practice, Stevie decided she was going to ask what the matter was anyway. Having washed the dishes after they had dinner (in silence), Stevie entered the living room and sat next to Lindsey on the couch, who was watching TV. She didn't speak up right away, waiting, wondering if maybe he would ask her something, but that didn't happen.
"I want us to talk."
"What about?" Sighing, he glanced at her briefly.
"Could you please turn the volume down?"
Showing, that he didn't really want to, he did as asked after all and faced her. "Well?"
"I would like to know what has gone wrong between us?"
"There's nothing wrong though." He frowned.
"Yes, there is, Lindsey. You don't talk to me, you don't touch me, you don't pay any attention to me for like the past couple of days or so. Was it something I did? Because if it is, don't hesitate and tell me."
"You didn't do-"
"Cut the crap, will you? I sense that things are different between you and I. I really don't like the turn our relationship has taken all of a sudden."
Breathing out heavily, Lindsey still didn't say a thing, but Stevie could read him easily, knowing that something was definitely on his mind.
"This hurts me to ask you, but... are you having second thoughts? Have you realized you don't actually love me? Has it become too real for you?"
"I suppose there is some truth in what you're saying." Lindsey admitted at last.
"You can't be serious..." Her eyes welled up with tears instantly. "I knew this was too good to be true. I just wish you hadn't pulled me in so deep, before you decided that this is not what you want. That I'm not what you want..."
"Oh, baby, that's not at all what I mean." He shook his head, wrapping his arms around her. He then placed his palm on her cheek, making them look at each other. "I'm not having second thoughts and I do love you, so very much. But yes, it has become too real. You're like a gift sent to me from the heavens, Steph. You're the most beautiful, amazing woman I have ever met in my life and you're mine. We've also been blessed with a child and I've been too caught up in the bliss of it all, I completely forgot how things sometimes go wrong, how it doesn't actually matter the way we want them to go. It was a reality check, that what we have this minute, we could, sadly, lose it in the blink of an eye. I'm sorry I didn't come to you and explain how I felt right after it happened, I'm sorry I chose to shut you away, I didn't realize I was doing that, honestly. Please, don't have such thoughts on your mind that I don't want you in my life anymore, because that is as far from the truth as it can get."
It seemed like she was holding her breath the whole time he was talking, finally releasing it, once he grew silent. "You're an ass, you know that?" A few tears escaped her eyes, as she said it, but she didn't mean to offend, a hint of a smile on her lips, she was simply terrified of losing him. "And here I was, thinking I should go pack my things."
"I'm so sorry, truly, that I made you feel that way, Steph." Kissing her briefly, he pulled her closer. "You're a dream, baby. I would be the stupidest man on earth if I so much as thought of letting you go. Coming into my life, you've changed it and for the better. You made me feel things I wasn't sure I was capable of feeling. As cliche as it sounds, you're the first thing on my mind when I wake up and the last, before I fall asleep. With you, I have everything."
"Those are beautiful words you're saying to me, Linds." She smiled, resting her head on his chest, as he played with her hair, relaxing her. "You should have been a musician, written songs."
"Who knows, when I'm tired of fixing people's backs, I might pick up my old dusty guitar again." He shrugged his shoulders, joking.
"In all seriousness, though, I really don't think I could live without you anymore."
"And you know I feel the same." He said, pressing a kiss to her hair.
Falling silent, Stevie relished in the moment of having Lindsey so close again, as she breathed a sigh of relief.
