After another yelling match and a demand of a paternity test Lindsey was not so kindly asked to leave. However, he promised to return, he wasn't going to give up so easily. The mop of curls on Theo's head and the blue eyes that matched Lindsey's was enough to raise suspicion.
Stevie hadn't said a word since Lindsey's car pulled out of the driveway. She sat with Theo in his room, watching him crawl on the floor and play with his toys until it was his bedtime. She had this uneasy feeling, as if her son could be taken from her. It was a baseless thought, but she convinced herself that if Theo was out of her eye sight, he'd be gone.
Mark managed to coax Stevie to leave the boy's room a good hour later after Theo had been sleeping soundly. He wasn't really sure what to say to her and it seemed like Stevie wasn't going to start a conversation either. Stevie was clearly distraught and in a way Mark was too. He knew that the day was going to come when he'd come face to face with Lindsey, but he certainly didn't think it would happened the way it did. Another thing that was unsettling was the fight between Stevie and Lindsey itself. Mark saw the fire, the passion that was very obviously still there.
"Can I get you anything?" Mark asked, unable to stand the silence any longer. "Tea maybe? Or a drink?"
"No, thank you." Stevie shook her head slightly, staring ahead at nothing in particular.
By no means was the fact that Lindsey asked for a paternity test unimportant, but all Stevie could focus on was him calling off the wedding. What did it mean? Was Kristen out of his life as his partner, was she just the mother of his children now? Or were they still somehow trying to be together? It shouldn't matter to her, not at all. Her life had changed, her life now was Theo and Mark. She was supposed to get married soon herself, Lindsey shouldn't be on her mind, at least not the question of his relationship status.
"Why didn't you tell him?" Mark spoke up after another lengthy pause.
"Tell who what?" Stevie asked, her thoughts entirely somewhere else and it showed.
Sighing, Mark ran his fingers through his hair before folding his arms over his chest. He stared at Stevie, sitting on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest, he then turned around to look out the window into the darkness for a moment. Mark was there from the beginning. He was the one at Stevie's side through labor, he was the one after Stevie to hold Theo when he was born, he was with her during the sleepless nights. Mark was the only father Theo had known since birth, however, he considered himself to be an honest man as well.
"It isn't fair, Stevie." Mark shook his head, facing her. "I love Theo with all of my heart, but I'm not his real father."
"Yes, you are. You've been there since he was still growing inside me, Mark. You've cared for the both of us since the very start." Stevie argued and it should have warmed Mark's heart, which it did, but...
"Lindsey deserves to know about his son, he deserves to know his son." He emphasized, approaching her slowly he knelt in front of her, reaching for her hands. "I love you both, so much, but I know that it would tear my heart apart if I'd learned, I'd been kept away from my child."
"How do you think it would work, huh? Theo's known you and you alone to be his Daddy. All of a sudden, a stranger comes in and replaces you? How's that fair on you and him?"
"That's not the part I'm trying to concentrate on now, Stevie." Mark said with a heavy breath. "Who says, Lindsey would replace me? I'd still be there."
Scoffing, Stevie shook her head. "You're stupid to think that. It would be the end of us, of you and I. What's Lindsey's is Lindsey's, whatever it is. He'd push you out before you'd realize what's going on."
"You make him sound evil."
"Not evil." Stevie shrugged. "Just... I know Lindsey."
"Yeah, the father of your child." Mark added. "Stevie-"
"No." She cut him off. "You don't get to decide, you don't get to tell me what to do in this situation. If you do honestly love me, then you're going to keep your mouth shut."
"But-" Mark began, but she got up to her feet, interrupting again.
"Goodnight."
Sighing, Mark shut his eyes tightly for a second, feeling a headache coming. Cocking his head back, he stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't believe Stevie's stance on this. If she didn't tell Lindsey the truth, maybe Mark was going to have to do it himself, even if he'd risk losing her.
