Unconditional Love: A Mother's Gift

Don't Give Up

Stevie fell asleep on the floor while Lindsey still held her; he unwrapped his arms from her then gently removed Ethan's photo from Stevie's grip. He kissed the photo then he placed the photo back on the piano.

Lindsey bent down and lifted Stevie off of the floor. He took her upstairs and into their bedroom.

He laid Stevie in bed and covered her then placed a kiss her forehead then left back downstairs. He decided to go for a swim and get lost in the water. He walked to the pool house and changed into swimming trunks.

Swimming was something that Lindsey loved to do. It helped him stay in shape, he taught his children to swim, and he loved to spend time with them in the pool but also, in moments of destress from whatever was going on in his life, he would swim to blow off some steam.

A few hours later, Stevie woke up to find Robin playing with her hair and singing quietly.
Stevie smiled hearing her little girl's voice.

The weight of the day still weighed heavily on Stevie's heart but for now she would push away her pain and give her full attention to Robin.

Robin was singing Gypsy; she twirled Stevie's hair around her tiny fingers.
Stevie joined her daughter and both finished the song together. Robin wrapped an arm around Stevie and said. "I love when we sing together mommy."
"I love singing with you too. I love your beautiful voice." Stevie said then kissed the top of Robin's head. "Where's your sister?" Stevie then asked noticing Destiny wasn't in bed.
"She went downstairs with daddy and Mathew. I came back to bed with you." Robin explained.

After a moment of silence, Robin said. "Are you going to leave again mommy? I don't want you to leave! I missed you lots and lots!"
"No baby, I'm not leaving for a very long time. But guess what?" Stevie said enthusiastically.
"What!?" Robin asked, her eyes wide.
"Next time me and daddy leave, you get to come with us! And when daddy and I have to go back to work, you get to be there with us too." Stevie said speaking of the upcoming album and tour to follow. "But you have to be on your best behavior and be a good girl."
"Really mommy! Yay!" Robin said excitedly. "Don't worry mommy, I'll be a very good girl!"

Stevie chuckled then said. "Alright my little love bug, let's get up and get ready for the day."
"Okay mommy! Let's go!" Robin said as she got down from the bed.

Once both were dressed, Stevie and Robin walked downstairs and found her family in the kitchen.

Destiny quickly rushed to Stevie's side.
"Hey baby girl, how are you doing?" Stevie asked hugging Destiny.
Destiny smiled a little. "Better. Mathew and I talked it through when he arrived and..." Destiny sighed then continued. "We are going to take a little break from trying then after some time, we will to try one more time to have a child of our own. If not...then we will adopt a child who needs parents. We will shower that child with love and treat them as if they were our own."

Stevie smiled at her eldest child and said. "That sounds like a great plan." She then held her daughter's face in both her hands and said. "I know you will be a wonderful mother someday. Don't give up and don't lose hope; it'll happen for you. I just know it!"

Destiny's eyes filled with tears but she kept her smile. "I love you mom! You always know what to say! Thank you."
"I love you too, always." Stevie replied.
"So...how are you?" Destiny said pulling away to look into her mother's eyes, knowing what today was.

Stevie's eyes filled with tears of sadness and said. "I'm okay; I woke up earlier this morning and...well, I guess you can say the worst is over. My heart just feels heavy now but...it always does. It never goes away."

Tears rolled down Stevie's cheeks; Destiny followed by Lindsey and Aiden came over and hugged Stevie in a group hug.

Robin pulled at her mother's hand and held her arms up. Stevie pulled away from the hug for a second to carry Robin in her arms.
Robin buried her face in Stevie's neck and wrapped her little arms around Stevie as she sensed the heavy hearts in the room.

Mathew stood back knowing all too well what the day meant for his wife's family. He watched on, feeling much sadness for this family, his family and the Destiny's little brother that he never got to meet.

The rest of the day was spent together, Mathew joining in. They all talked, and comforted each other when either Stevie or Lindsey would break down in tears.  As the years passed, yes, life went on and Stevie and Lindsey pulled themselves together to help their family survive this tragedy. But nevertheless, it never got any easier on his birthday and death day.

Stevie didn't want the day to be ruined by her crying every minute so she suggested they play a board game before and after dinner so they could have some fun and make new memories as a family.

So, they did just that; they played a few games, letting Robin win a few times so she wouldn't get upset, then Karen, Stevie's assistant, cooked dinner for everyone and called them when it was ready.

As they ate, Stevie looked around the table at her family. She smiled watching her husband talking to the children and Mathew, her son in law.
Even though they were missing a family member, and Ethan's death was the worst moment of her life, Stevie couldn't help but feel like the luckiest woman on earth.

Her smile grew as her eyes rested on her daughter Destiny. She hoped with everything she had, that their family would grow and that her daughter would soon make her a grandmother.

Hey everyone!
This chapter was a filler chapter so I hope it wasn't too boring.

Thank you all for reading!
Next update coming soon.