Somebody Stand By Me

I'll Be There

Two weeks later, the new Fleetwood Mac album is now complete. The house the band used as a recording studio has been cleared out of all the recording equipment and instruments.

Now the band has some down time before going out on tour.

Today, Victoria and Sara are having a day with Lindsey. He takes them out for lunch and a movie.

Lindsey wants to speak his concerns about Victoria but he doesn't want to ruin his day with his children. He'll leave that for another day. Maybe he would speak to Stevie first.

After a good day of bonding, Lindsey drops off Victoria and Sara.

"Dad, before you go, mom wants to talk to you." Victoria said feeling a little nervous.

Lindsey nods then gets off the car with his children. They walk to the door and Sara walks right inside. Lindsey and Victoria follow behind.

"Mom! We're home." Sara calls out.

Stevie walks out of the living room and greets her children. She kisses their cheeks and hugs them then sends them upstairs to their rooms.

"Lindsey, I need to talk to about...about Ethan." Stevie said. "Follow me to the living room please."

Lindsey follows feeling a little worried since this has to do with his son. Stevie sets down the couch and Lindsey does the same.

"Everything all right, Stevie?" He asked.
"Lindsey...for the past few months, things have been going on with Ethan that you should know about." Stevie begins. "He..."

Stevie stops for a second thinking how strange it feels to use the wrong pronouns.
She has gotten so used to calling Victoria by the right pronouns. But she knew she must use the wrong terms for now in front of Lindsey.

"Ethan has been going through depression." Stevie continues. "Before you came back into their lives, Ethan was a different child than the child I was used to. He was withdrawing from Sara and I and he would spend a lot of time in his room. After you came back into their lives and we went back into the studio, he has been seeing a therapist."

"A therapist?!" Lindsey said. "For what? What's going on?"

"He's been seeing a therapist for his depression. His doctor's name is Dr. Warner." Stevie said. "I even started seeing her on my own to get more insight on the best ways to help our son. Ethan also has been working really hard and now I see this whole new person. It's a good thing, Lindsey. Before...before I could see the light leaving our child's eyes but now, I see a happy child again. Ethan's eyes light up once again. But there's more. Which Ethan will tell you about himself but, Dr. Warner thought it would be best if we all went to her office. She wants to be there for support and if you have any questions, then she can answer them."

"Wow...well, I'm glad he's doing better. I was actually going to ask what was going on because I've noticed somethings that are not right." Lindsey said. "Why didn't you tell me before? I'm his father. I should have known!" Now angry.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Stevie said calmly. "But Ethan made me promise I wouldn't. He wanted to tell you himself when he was ready. He's wasn't before but he's ready now. So, is possible for you to meet us tomorrow at 11:00?"

Lindsey sighed, calming himself and said. "Yeah. I'll be there."

Stevie wrote down Dr. Warner's address and gave it to Lindsey. Lindsey took it from Stevie and put into his pocket.

He stood up and Stevie led him to the front door. He told Stevie he would be there then he said goodbye.

Stevie closed the door and sighed, then looked up. "Please let everything go well tomorrow. For Victoria's sake."

Victoria, Stevie and Sara has trouble sleeping that night. Each were lost in their own thoughts worrying about telling Lindsey the truth of what was going on.

They wanted things to go well, but they were apprehensive to have hope.

When it was time, Karen drove the family of three to Dr. Warner's office. Karen would wait at a nearby cafe until Stevie and Victoria were done. It was decided that Sara would be joining Karen.

Dr. Warner had closed her offices for the day to keep Stevie's privacy. Dr. Warner didn't mind. She knew she needed to be one hundred percent focused on helping Victoria through this.

Stevie and Victoria sat in Dr. Warner's office waiting for Lindsey. While they waited, Dr. Warner gave her reassurance that everything would be okay.

As the time passed, Stevie looked at the clock and grew worried. Lindsey was ten minutes late. She thought he wasn't coming.

Victoria was close to tears; she thought her father had let her down yet again.

But, five minutes later, Lindsey walked through the door.

"Sorry, I'm late." He said out of breath. "Lee was sick last night so we didn't get much sleep. I over slept."
"It's okay. You're here now." Stevie said feeling relieved.

Dr. Warner stands up, gives Lindsey a warm smile and said. "Hello, Mr. Buckingham. My name is Dr. Kathleen Warner. Please have a seat."

Lindsey gave a nod and sat down next to Stevie.

Victoria chewed the bottom of her lip nervously. Now having Lindsey in front of her she didn't want to tell her father the truth. She felt terrified.

Victoria knew that Dr. Warner would be calling her by her birth name and using the wrong pronouns. So she was prepared for what was to come.

"Thank you for joining us today." Dr. Warner said. "We are here to discuss Ethan and his journey to find coping mechanisms to control and conquer his depression. Mr. Buckingham, your son has been living with depression for a few years now, but, before he started to see me...Ethan was at his lowest."

*Lindsey's POV*

I listen to Dr. Warner intently and I look to my son who looks so afraid.

Depression...that's something that grabs hold of you and sucks the joy out of you. My son has been living with depression and I didn't know.

At first, I was angry that Stevie didn't tell me but now, now I know I shouldn't be mad at her.

I walked out of my children's lives and just recently gotten back into their lives. Of course Ethan wouldn't trust me to tell me what he had been going through.

I continue to listen to Dr. Warner then suddenly she says. "Ethan, why don't you tell your father what has been really going on."

She gives him a warm smile and Ethan looks over at Stevie with unsure eyes. Stevie holds his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze and smile.

Ethan takes a deep breath and looks into my eyes and begins to speak.

*Victoria's POV*

"Dad..." I say; my body is shaking, my mom holds my hand tightly. Knowing that she is by my side makes me feel a little better. "I...uh...I've been struggling a lot lately."

My dad is looking at me intently and I look him in the eyes. I know I need to be strong and just tell him.

"Actually, I've been struggling since I could remember." I say. "I remember being a small kid and knowing I wasn't...I wasn't feeling right."

My dad's brow furrows and he's trying to figure out what this is all about.

"I knew I was different." I continue. "I knew from a really young age that...that..." I lose my confidence and look to Dr. Warner for reassurance. She gives me a small smile and nods her head for me to go on.

I close my eyes for a second, I take a deep breath and let it out. I open my eyes and look to my father again.

"Dad, I knew since I was a kid that I was stuck in the wrong body." I say with tears in my eyes. "Dad...I'm a girl."