January, 2014
Sara was sitting on the edge of her parents bed, poking Lindsey's side with a finger, while he tried to get some more sleep by pulling the sheet up over his head. 56th Annual Gramy Awards were in a few days and he was supposed to go to rehearsals as he was going to be performing at the end of the show, but he didn't want to move, because last night was his and Stevie's three month wedding anniversary and she made sure to make a big deal out of it every month. Not only because of their marriage that became reality much too late than it should have, but also because she lived through the fear of not seeing him again.
After Stevie's birthday last year, she along with Mick and John had decided to take a short break, move the dates, so Lindsey could have some much needed rest, since the doctor told them it was all he really needed at the moment. Of course he wouldn't agree and they continued with their shows. Stevie wasn't very reluctant about it, because he did in fact felt and looked much better, until one morning she found him in the bathroom of a hotel room, unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital and while he was sleeping and alright at the moment, Stevie had to hear the words from the doctor she was so scared of. Lindsey had suffered a mild heart attack. She wouldn't be herself if she hadn't freaked out. She thought she had lost him, but the doctor assured things weren't as horrible as she thought they were. Of course, the tour had to be put on hold, Lindsey would have to be looked after at all times, he should be getting as much sleep as possible, he should rest instead of getting tired and when he was fit enough, he would have to participate in simple physical activities, to get strong again. They both started looking at life differently. The realization of life without the other hit them hard and it was not something they were going to deal with.
"Dad, wake up!" Sara tried for nth time, sighing heavily. "You know, getting mom out of bed is supposed to be hard, you were meant to be on my side."
"Five more minutes, sweetheart." He mumbled.
"You said that about half an hour ago."
"If you make me a cup of coffee, I'll be up in no time."
"First of all, that has never worked with you and also, mom would throw me out the house if I made you coffee. You're not allowed to enjoy the simple joys of life now, father."
Lindsey finally reappeared from under the covers and sat up, resting his back against the headboard. He looked around, checking for Stevie's things, then he furrowed his eyebrows. "Where is she anyway?"
"She's a free spirit, you never trully know with her."
"What in the hell is wrong with you today, Sara? Have you been on your mother's fairy dust or something? Please, don't act this weird, it's creeping me out!"
"Mom left with Karen not that long ago, they're out shopping."
"Of course they are." Lindsey rolled his eyes. "What was the purpose of me marrying the love of my life if I don't get to ever see her?"
"You couldn't live without her, remember?"
"Ahh, yes." He looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. "You could have let me sleep for another hour at least."
"Gee, will you stop whining?"
"What have you done to my sweet little girl?"
"I'm not a little girl anymore, dad, I'm seventeen next month!"
"You'll always be to me. I will always remember you sitting on the floor with one of my guitars two or three times bigger than you, being a kick ass rock star already."
Sara smiled and looked away, mindlessly taking her father's hand in hers. She wasn't a typical teenage girl. She had her moments with the boys occupying her mind, but usually, she would much rather hang out with her parents, listen to their stories, sing with her mother and play guitar with her father. She wasn't emotional often, but she would never forget the moment, when she saw Lindsey in that hospital bed, looking pale and almost lifeless. Stevie held her in her loving embrace, while Sara cried her heart out. And this one moment of her childhood shared by Lindsey, took her back to that night in the hospital, knowing that she would not survive with one of her parents gone.
