Patience

21

When the knocks came at the front door, Tori slowly trudged into the entryway and looks out the peephole. She lets Mallory in and the two girls hug tightly before Mallory pulls away and looks at her. 

"Oh, your cheek and your neck. Tori, I'm so sorry." Mallory gasps.

"It's okay. Come on in, I'll let you meet my parents." Tori winks.

"Wow, this house is amazing. What I would give to be a billionaire." Mallory explains slipping he brown uggs off and taking her coat off. She's wearing a purple long sleeve shirt and some black and white checkered pajama pants her red hair back in a french braid. 

"I'm agh...I'm moving in here. After that run-in with Chad, I don't feel comfortable at the complex he was literally at my front door Mal. He got there before I got home. God knows how long he was waiting there." 

"So that means I have to give you my key back." She sighs.

"I'm sorry. I'm moving my shit out on Sunday if you want to help. I haven't told Tony yet. I'll call him tomorrow and let him know." Tori sighs leading her further into the house. 

"Mallory Briggs, I'll have you know I played a part in Practical Magic," Stevie smirks when the two girls walk into the kitchen where Stevie had resumed cleaning the dishes. 

"I know. That's how I got Tori to watch it with me. My sister gifted me the movie for my birthday one year. I was not impressed but for some reason, she loves that movie. Were you there when we were talking on the phone?" Mallory shrugs.

"She was, I needed moral support.  I literally just stopped crying but I'm still shaking." She holds her hand up for everyone to see.

"Jesus girl, you're shaking like a Chihuahua and that is nasty." Mallory points to her neck.

"Mal, you know Aunt Lori and my mom. This is my dad Lindsey Buckingham." She says her hand going up to her neck. 

Stevie just stops what she was doing and goes to the freezer. She pulls out an ice pack and wraps a kitchen towel around it before gently placing it against her daughter's neck and kissing her cheek.

"Stevie, did you know? Before the test I mean?" Mallory asks.

"When you brought us to her apartment and told us her story I looked at Lori because it was kind of similar to my daughter's story. Lindsey and I had our baby girl surrendered and we had given her the same name, Tori Paige. But I just figured it was a coincidence. Firehouses are safe havens and they get hundreds of babies like that a year. But then I saw her and I saw how she looked like me in a lot of ways and even though he's totally white her hair is the color his was when we were her age and even though he had an afro and she doesn't their hair looked similar to a point and I knew. I just knew." Stevie nods. 

"Hell I even knew and I wasn't the one that breastfed her," Lori explains leaning up against the counter. 

"I can't imagine breastfeeding and then giving a baby up." Mallory shrugs.

"It was hard and I had my days. I never forgave myself but it's in the past now and she's here and that's all that matters." Stevie shrugs.

"Can I change my last name?" Tori asks out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" Lindsey asks.

"Like have you guys finish filling out my birth certificate and getting it all filed. Changing my last name and getting a new driver's license and social security card? I only kept Cryderman as my last name after the divorce because I didn't have a last name." 

"I don't care. What would you go by? Buckingham, Nicks, Buckingham-Nicks, or Nicks-Buckingham?" Lindsey opens the fridge and grabs a beer that was leftover from Christmas. 

"Buckingham, she's going to be a Buckingham." Stevie smiles. 

"We'll go on Tuesday." Lindsey grins.

"Alright, now, let's go rip this movie to shreds for the eightieth time." Tori grins and pulls Mallory towards the staircase. 

***

The girls were halfway through the movie when Stevie popped her head in.

"Lily wants to join." She tells them.

"HUH LILY! I HAVE A DOG NOW MAL!" Tori cheers going over to her mother and taking the small dog from her hands. 

"You've wanted a dog for a very long time. And this one is really cute." Mallory beams when Tori brings the dog onto the bed. 

"Alright, I'll be in my room if you need me." Stevie leaves them be. 

As Stevie shuts Tori's door she turns to see Lindsey.

"Um, which bedroom do you want me in?" 

"This one." She points to hers.

"Are you sure?" He asks.

"We have a lot to talk about. It's been two years and we've beaten around the bush enough. I've had a great few weeks with you and Tori and we need to address it all so we can keep having these good days." Stevie tells him.

"Alright, that sounds good with me." He nods opening the bedroom door for her. 

***

After discussing and crying over the night that got Lindsey fired, they were sitting on the bed staring at each other cross-legged like they've done millions of times.

"Lindsey, she's here," Stevie says.

"I know. Did you ever think that we were going to find her?" He asks.

"Honestly no. We've hit so many dead ends and so many bad timings that I didn't and I can't believe just by happenstance that we found her." Stevie shakes her head. 

"I know it's insane." Lindsey nods getting closer to her.

"Lindsey," Stevie gulps. 

"What?" He asks.

"Your-your marriage?" She asks.

"Is over. I get Stella every other week. Leelee and William have a choice on who they spend their breaks from school with. I'll probably never see Lee again. But I know William will make an effort." Lindsey shakes his head.

"Don't say that. Leelee loves you." Stevie says as their foreheads clone.

"She's a mini clone of her mother...all of my girls are little clones of their mother's." He connects their lips. 

After a minute of necking like teenagers, Stevie lets out a slight moan and Lindsey starts kissing down her neck, to her chest, to her stomach, and then he gets to the top of her leggings.

"Stevie you need to stop me right now if you don't want me to continue."He breathes against her covered apex and she gulps.

"No, don't stop." She shakes her head.

He slowly hooks his fingers and in one swift movement he has her bottom half completely bare and he was slowly pushing her blouse up. 

"Lindsey we have to..." She starts but he pulls her top off of her.

"We have to what." He slowly sinks back down.

"Be quiet because...because...L-Lori is four doors down and the g-OH GOD! The girls are right a-across the h-hall." She whimpers.

"MOM ARE YOU OKAY!" Tori calls through the door and Stevie has to bite her lip when Lindsey takes that moment to insert his tongue. 

"I'M F-FINE. IT WAS JUST A SPIDER. I KILLED IT." She calls back her hands gripping his curls.

"Alright, good night. If the TV is too loud feel free to yell at us." Tori says before walking away.

"I think you're the one that needs to be quiet," Lindsey smirks pulling away briefly.