You Always Have Me

Part 22

Stevie was dead serious about what she told Jeremy and after a few days, she was up early and getting ready to go see her lawyer. Lindsey volunteered to take her, but she said she'd rather have him stay with Lily, while Karen would drive her instead. 

Standing in front of the floor length mirror in her closet, Stevie was checking her appearance once more, making sure her outfit looked fine. This was a serious matter and instead of her usual uniform, she wore a black suit with a white blouse under the jacket and black stilettos. 

As she was climbing the stairs down, Lindsey was making his way out of the kitchen and into the living room, where Lily was watching cartoons. "Wow..." He stopped, his mouth slightly agape.

"What? What's wrong? Tell me quick, I still have some time to change." Stevie questioned.

"Why would you need to change?" Lindsey gave her a small smile, approaching her, putting his hand on the small of her back and drawing her in closer, capturing her lips briefly. "You look different, that's all. And very sexy, too. I know it's not exactly appropriate to tell you that, considering where you're going, but..."

"Thanks." Stevie blushed, diverting her eyes. "And it's okay, it's the right thing to do. I'm surprised we've got this far." She shrugged her shoulders, Lindsey pressing a kiss to her temple, it being his way of letting her know he was there for her. 

Another thirty or so minutes passed before Karen arrived. She was a little late, which rarely ever happened, urging Stevie, saying they had to go if they wanted to be on time. 

"Call me when it's over." Lindsey said and Stevie nodded, kissing him goodbye.

Once they were in the car and on the road, Karen kept glancing at Stevie, for some reason feeling uncomfortable. She just wasn't used to seeing her boss this way; silent and completely lost in her thoughts, without much emotion crossing her face.

"I'm sorry about what happened, Stevie. You don't deserve that. You finally had everything you've wanted and-"

"And found out it was all a lie." Stevie interrupted, saying. "You don't have to worry about it, Karen. It's my problem and it will be soon dealt with. Actually, it's only for the better. These past couple of months brought Lindsey and I so much closer together and I allowed myself to feel for him again. I honestly believe I will be a lot happier once I'm officially divorced."

"I care about you, you know that, but I'm not going to push it. If you need me, you know where to find me." Karen briefly looked at Stevie, as the two smiled at each other.

There was a good reason why Stevie was entirely somewhere else in her mind. She was nervous to find out what her lawyer was going to say regarding the adoption, because it hadn't been finalized yet. Stevie didn't need someone with a law degree to understand there's going to be an issue. 

And her fears weren't unfounded. 

Lindsey flinched at the loud shutting of the door, immediately looking down at Lily, who fell asleep on the couch beside him. Stevie hadn't called like she said she would, so he knew something went wrong right away. Carefully lying Lily down, he went in search for Stevie, who was already marching up the stairs. He followed and walked into the bedroom after her, closing the door quietly.

"Hey... calm down." Lindsey said softly, taking Stevie by the hand, making her sit on the bed, wrapping an arm around her. "Talk to me."

"It's about Lily." Stevie said with a heavy sigh. "The divorce might affect the adoption process and she might be taken back from me. My lawyer said the best thing to do would be to talk to Jeremy about it and ask him to let me adopt Lily on my own."

"Can it be done?"

"I guess. I mean, documentation would have to be changed, that it's not us adopting, but just me, it would be a hassle explaining why, too. After that, everything would continue as planned and in the end, the court would decide whether make it all legal or not, once the six months had passed since I brought her home. But... I opened up about our current situation. I let my lawyer know that you're in the picture, too."

"So, that messes things up?" 

"Well, he said it's not good, that's for sure if Jeremy decides not to go along. He might become vicious about the whole thing. Lord knows, it runs in the family... He could tell all kinds of stories in front of the judge, which would make it seem that this is not a good enough home for Lily."

Thinking for a moment, Lindsey then spoke. "If needed be... I could stay away."

"What? No, Lindsey! Absolutely not." Stevie shook her head, disagreeing. "I don't want you to leave ever again."

"But it wouldn't be leaving, you'd know I would return."

"It doesn't matter. Things could happen. No, just no." Stevie refused. "First, I'll try to talk to Jeremy and hope that he agrees with what I'll ask of him, that he won't make this a messy divorce. And if he doesn't cooperate, then... then I'll wait until Lily is legally my... our daughter and I'll file for divorce when she is."

"You'd have to wait for about, what, like three more months?" Lindsey asked, seeing Stevie confirm it with a nod of her head. "No, baby, I can't let you do that just because of me. There's no reason to make this more complicated. Okay, talk to Jeremy, but if he's an asshole about this, then I'll just keep my distance. We'll see each other, I'll visit you, but I won't be living here for some time."

Leaning forward and putting her head in her hands, Stevie let out a deep breath. "It shouldn't be this complicated. I just want to be free from a marriage gone horribly wrong and have my baby with me."

"And it will all happen, Steph." Rubbing her back, as he assured. "Just listen to your heart and let me know what it tells you is the best thing concerning your daughter. I won't be hurt, Stevie. I know why it would have to be that way."

Suddenly feeling overly emotional, Stevie began quietly crying, leaning into Lindsey, who pulled her closer to himself. "I just love you, that's all." She smiled weakly, when he made her face him. 

"And I love you, too. That's why I would be okay with doing what would have to be done. I know that in the end I will have you and Lily both."

"I don't deserve you." Stevie said, circling her arms around him and snuggling closer.

"Yes, you do." He kissed her on the forehead and they stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, before the door opened and in came Lily, yawning.

"Hey, baby." Stevie smiled at the girl, opening her arms for her.

"I'm hungry." Lily said, her eyes heavy with sleep from her nap.

Laughing lightly, Stevie stood up, taking Lily's hand, as she looked over her shoulder. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she's all Buckingham."

Lindsey smiled, wrapping one arm around her. "She is."