Until the End of Time

27

January 1, 1995

Stevie was 37 weeks pregnant and Lindsey had been urging her to move back into the house quicker because she could go into Labor at any time but she was stubborn and she insisted on doing it at her own pace. Which is why she and Karen were heading back to her condo at two o'clock in the morning after their yearly New Years Party. He told her she could stay at the house and he wasn't necessarily comfortable with either of them on the road, but she claimed that they had hired a car and Sulamith was at the Condo and she didn't want to leave her longer than necessary. Lindsey was getting ready to crawl into bed when the telephone rang. A pit formed in his stomach and he answered the call. 

"This is Lindsey Buckingham." 

"Oh, Mr. Buckingham, wonderful. I'm calling from Cedars-Sinai. You're the emergency contact for Stephanie Lynn Nicks." 

"What happened?" 

"She was involved in a car accident. A fatal car accident. Both drivers were killed on impact. Ms. Nicks and another woman were brought in they're stable but they've both sustained substantial damage...Ms. Nicks though was bleeding." 

Lindsey started to cry and then he sputtered out. "I'll be right there. Is our baby okay?" 

"That is uncertain at the time, they're running some tests and are about to start prepping her for an emergency C-Section." 

Lindsey hangs up and runs to inform his mother and the Nicks' of what happened and like a bat out of hell, the three of them are on their way to the hospital.

***

Lindsey rams into the information desk and as he's breathing heavily he gets out. "I'm...Lindsey...Buckingham...I was....called....about...Stephanie Nicks." 

"Yes, she's back in surgery right now. Are you the father?" The nurse asks.

"Yes, I am and these are her parents." 

"Alright, I'll show them to the waiting room and I'll get you back to the OR." She tells him. 

Dressed in his blue surgical gear he follows the nurse and she tells the surgeon who he is before he's led up to be sat by her head. She's got a bruise forming on her cheek and a gash on her head but he grabs her hand and holds it as tears stream down his face. She's unconscious as they had to knock her out but he kisses her head anyway and just lays his head on hers.

"Mr. Buckingham, she's got some bruised ribs and some cuts and she was unconscious when we got here, so we have to run some scans when she wakes up to make sure there isn't damage to her brain. As for the baby, the placenta had torn completely away from the uterine wall. After the baby is out we may have to do a complete hysterectomy but the chances of that happening are slim to none. If it does happen, though we need your permission." One of the nurses looks at him.

"Fine, do whatever you need to, to keep her alive." Lindsey sniffles squeezing her limp and lifeless hand. 

"Mr. Buckingham, it's a little girl." The surgeon working on her holds up the baby as a cry echoes through the room and Lindsey lets out a relieved sigh. "We need you to cut the cord." 

As Lindsey follows the pediatrician out of the room with his crying baby he hears rapid beeps and he pauses briefly as he hears a nurse call out "her BP is dropping."  He knows it's her blood pressure and it scares him and he's torn. Does he stay or does he run after the baby? Knowing that Stevie wouldn't want him to see her like that, practically dying on an Operating Table, he follows the baby. 

When the baby is cleared he takes her into his arms and he brings her out to Barbara and Jess. 

"She's gorgeous Lindsey." Jess sighs.

"We didn't have a name picked out or anything," He sniffles.

"How is she?" Barbara questions.

"I don't...I don't know. The last I head her blood pressure had dropped. But they said she had some bruised ribs and she's got a bruise on her cheek and a gash on her head. They have to run some head scans still because she was out when they arrived." Lindsey looks down. 

"Hey, don't think like that." Jess scolds. 

"I'm trying not too." Lindsey sniffles taking his baby back and cuddling her to his chest. 

He takes a moment and then a police officer walks up to them. "I'm the officer working on Stevie Nicks and Karen Johnston's accident. I've already spoken to Karen but Stevie is still in surgery and I was told that you were her family." 

Lindsey nods. 

"Alright, the driver of the car that hit them was drunk. As to be expected as it's New Years'. It looks like the crash started out as a head-on, but the driver driving the car Ms. Nicks and Ms. Johnston was in swerved in time. The front left side of the car is practically gone and both drivers died on impact. We documented their injuries when we got there. Ms. Johnston, took the worst of it, as she was on the left side. They had to reset her left arm. She suffered from a broken collarbone and a concussion but she's okay. It could've been worse." He explains.

"Thank you, officer." Jess shakes his hand.

"My pleasure. I'll be in touch when more information becomes available ." He walks away leaving the little family as the doctor who had worked on Stevie came out. 

"Mr. Buckingham, how is she?" He motions to the baby.

"She's fine how's Stevie?" 

"We were able to save her uterus so we didn't have to give her a Hysterectomy and plunge her into early menopause. But if you guys have any more children it'll be difficult, I'm not going to lie." He shrugs.

"It wasn't guaranteed to begin with so we'll take what we can." Lindsey looks down.

"Well, she's in a private room in the maternity ward recovering. She'll be out for a while as we put her under a heavy anesthetic, and like you were told when you got back there, she was unconscious when we brought her in. As to why it is still undetermined but as soon as she's awake, we'll figure it out.  She should be awake in a few hours." 

"Thank you." Lindsey nods.

"Sure, right this way." He starts to lead them.

"Lindsey go ahead, we're going to head home and fill Ruth in on everything and we'll bring the baby bag tomorrow and some stuff for you and Stevie," Jess tells him as he nods and treks after the doctor. 

"What do you want us to tell the kids?" Barbara questions.

"Tell my kids first and then they'll help you figure out a way to tell Kaci. We don't sugarcoat with the older ones but even I wouldn't know how to tell Kaci." He shakes his head.

"Alright, call us with updates." Barbara hugs him, the doctor watching on. 

"How many kids do you have?" He asks leading Lindsey down the hall.

"Well, 5 now I guess. I had three from my previous marriage and Stevie and I have two together." He explains. 

"I have 7. Don't ask me why because I don't know, but we do. It's a lot of work." 

"Yes, it is. I can't imagine if I'll have to do it alone." 

"She's not going to die we aren't going to let that happen. Amnesia is possible though so we'll just have to see. I'm hoping that what made her pass out was the pain. Childbirth hurts but I'm told that the placenta practically ripping away hurts worse. She's right here. Even though visiting hours are over she's a special case so you can stay with her. There's a couch in there. Not the comfiest but it's something and we can't have you in the same bed as her because of the injuries to her ribs." 

"Thank you." Lindsey shakes his hand. 

Walking into the room, she's laying there lifeless and peaceful, slightly pale. She's hooked up to three bags and two IVs. One IV is administering her medicine and the other is administering blood. The curtains are drawn and the couch has a pillow and a blanket on it. There's a little rolling plastic crib that's sat at the foot of the bed and he takes it all in, before letting out a breath and placing the sleeping baby into the plastic crib and moving it over towards the couch.