We Didn't Agree To This

Is it because...?

At first Stevie thought she was dreaming. It didn't take very long, however, for her to understand that she was most certainly not, turning her head away and trying to hide under the covers. 

"Jesus, Lindsey, stop it already!" She whined. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm not doing anything." Lindsey finally said, picking up the source of very wet... kisses into his arms.

Stevie opened her eyes at last and squinted, seeing a... "Is that dog?"

"It is!" He beamed, getting into bed beside her. "Isn't she cute?"

"Lindsey, why do you have a dog?"

"We have a dog, baby." He ginned like a fool, stroking the puppy's fur. "I was running some errands and I passed an animal shelter on my way. It bothered me so much that I went back and inside. The moment I looked at her, I just knew we had to have her."

Still a tad skeptical, Stevie asked. "Didn't you think of talking to me first?"

"I, umm... honestly, no. Just look at her, Steph! What was there to think about?" Placing the little dog on Stevie's lap, he looked up at her with his own puppy eyes. 

Sighing, Stevie brought her hand to pet a still very tiny golden retriever. "What's your name, huh?"

"She doesn't have a name yet." Lindsey answered. "Thought, maybe you'd like to come up with it."

Smiling a little, Stevie shrugged. "Well, she is very beautiful. How does Bella sound?" She asked Lindsey, but the dog licked her hand at the same time. "Oh, I think you like that, don't you?"

"Bella sounds wonderful." Lindsey said, smiling himself. "I'm really glad that you're not mad at me."

"I was, for a bout a millisecond." Stevie admitted, smirking at him. "But she's going to get huge, Linds! And what about if we have to leave? Who's going to look after her?"

"We'll cross the bridge when we get there." He kissed her hair, before rolling out of bed. "I'll make us something for breakfast and you two behave, while I'm not here."

Stevie decided to wait in bed, not wanting to get up yet, so she lay back down and Bella occupied Lindsey's pillow, making Stevie chuckle. "Good dog."

About twenty minutes later, Lindsey returned, handing Stevie a cup of coffee and a plate of fried eggs, Bella of course sniffing around, but soon being put down on the floor by Lindsey. "I'll deal with you in a bit."

They were eating in silence, but there was something Stevie wanted to ask, but she was kind of afraid to. Although, Lindsey sensed it, glancing at her. "I'm listening."

"Is it because... because of the baby?"

Lindsey stopped chewing for a second, then swallowed the mouthful and put his plate away. "Wh- what do you mean by that?"

"Did you take Bella from the animal shelter and brought her home, because I lost the baby? Sort of to fill the void? I know how excited you were about them, Linds, and I'm sorry I couldn't carry them to term. I just want to know, I want you to be honest with me. I want to be sure you're... you're not angry at me."

Shaking his head, Lindsey was quick to answer. "Of course I'm not angry at you, not at all. You don't have to apologize either, Stevie, it was not your fault. The doctor said not to focus on the negative, remember? You can't blame yourself, baby." He cradled her hands in his, kissing them, before he continued. "To answer your question... maybe subconsciously I did, maybe. I can assure you that bringing Bella home I wasn't thinking of replacing something that we lost, I swear. I could only think of how cute she was and how for a really long time I wanted a dog." Lindsey said, laughing lightly. "I know we haven't talked about the miscarriage and I was never going to push you to talk about it, like I said it's up to you. But if you are worried, if it bothers you, the question somewhere in the back of your mind, then no, I wasn't angry or... or disappointed with you, not for a moment. It's just a very sad thing that happened to us, but I never thought of it as if it was your fault."

"That's truly how you feel?"

"Hand on my heart." He said, doing it as well. "I love you, Steph. What I said, it still stand. When you feel like you're ready, I would absolutely love to try and have a baby with you again. I want us to be a family in every sense of the word."

"I do, too, but..." Trailing off, Stevie began rubbing her hands together nervously, as she spoke. "Not yet, okay?"

"It's up to you, honey." Giving her a smile, he leaned in and kissed her lips briefly. "I'm sure we have our hands full with this little one for the time being." Lindsey steered the conversation into a different direction, looking down at Bella, who was trying her best to jump on their bed. Needless to say, she was widely unsuccessful. "Come here you." He bent down and picked the puppy up, placing her in between himself and Stevie. "Seriously, this is the most beautiful dog I've ever seen in my life."

Stevie just chuckled, shaking her head at Lindsey, as she then gave him a kiss, smiling at him lovingly. She didn't think she could get any luckier. Or could she?