Until the End of Time

29

April 14, 1995

Stevie groaned slightly as she stood up. Her stomach and the C-Section incision was fully healed, only slightly tender if she stretched a little too far, but it wasn't horrible. It was her ribs that she was still struggling with.  While she ultimately bruised them, there was some form of cartilage in her ribs that had been agitated and slightly torn. There was nothing she could do about it so she was just letting them heal and going back monthly for chest x-rays and though the bruising on her ribs was gone the tears were still there and they were slowly regenerating themselves. 

It was around two in the afternoon. Lindsey was in the studio, William was finishing up his first year of college and even though he still had half a month left in the semester he had been at the library and the Condo non-stop cramming and studying. But a lot was happening in the Buckingham-Nicks family. Leelee would be graduating this year and instead of going to UCLA like her brother she was going to USC. And Lindsey certainly enjoyed that decision because he and his band had worked with the USC marching band back in the 70s. But it meant that they could only reuse the golden decorations they had from William's open house and she had to go out and buy some burgundy-Cardinal Colored-decorations per Lee's request who wasn't graduating for a month yet but wanted to get everything in order early because she was a perfectionist much like her father and a planner much like her "Step-Mother" even though Stevie STILL wasn't legally married to Lindsey and it was killing her a little bit but she wasn't going to argue with him. Because she was enjoying being back home with help especially when dealing with the baby. Not to mention, Stella would be turning sweet sixteen over the weekend and she had to get things ready for that. 

With the baby monitor strapped to her hip, she adjusted the belt of her dress. It was a light blue-almost like a jean dress but it was cotton, not a denim fabric. In her light brown boots, she traipsed down to Lindsey's studio and  he was fiddling with something so all she did was swoop down and wrap her arms around his chest

"You're going to hurt yourself, Angel." He tells her rubbing her forearms and standing up to hug her properly. 

"I'm fine. I know Leelee has her own car but I'm going to go pick Stella up and take her shopping for stuff for her birthday. Are you getting Kaci?" She questions.

"I can yeah. Is it a dance night?" He wrinkles his forehead.

"Honey it's Friday. No it's not a Dance Night." Stevie shakes her head.

"Oh right. Stella's birthday is what Sunday?" He questions.

"You don't know your child's own birthday..." She trails off. 

"No, I know it's the seventeenth but i'm going to be honest with you, I don't know the date." He sigh.

"It's the fourteenth dear. Her party is tomorrow though." Stevie tells him. 

"Oh yeah, what are we doing for that?" He asks.

"Well, now that's why we're going to the store after I pick her up. I don't know yet, but I know that she didn't want a big party like Leelee had and she invited her five friends over. I know that your band is coming, and Kristen and her parents. I know that Karen will be here. Just don't worry about it. I've got it." Stevie smiles kissing him.

"Alright." He chuckles.

"But I also came down here to ask you if you wanted me to take Lexa or not." She explains.

"No, I'll take her. I want to spend some time with her anyway." He nods.

"Good, here you go. I'm heading out. Schools out at three and I need to be there in the loop waiting for her. I told her I'd be there right at three." Stevie tells him handing him the baby monitor.

***

Stevie was writing a list in the parking lot when a knock comes at the passenger side door. She looked up to see the girls and she smiled before unlocking the car door allowing them to open it. 

"I want to go with you." Leelee pouts.

"You have to go to your Jocky whatever," Stevie tells her.

"But I don't want to I want to go shopping for my sister's birthday." Leelee pouts.

"I know honey, but it's your last year and I know you want to do well at your competitions this summer. It's not my fault that you registered for Wednesday and Friday." Stevie tells her.

"Fine, I'll go but you better show me everything you got." Leelee scolds sauntering towards the parking lot where her Toyota is parked. 

Stevie chuckles as she and Stella pull out of the school's pick up loop. 

Stevie gawks at the 250 dollars she spent on the decorations for the party-granted it was still less than they paid for Leelee-but then the fact that the cake she bought was about two hundred dollars in itself. 

The cake was three tiers with white whipped cream frosting the bottom tier had pink lace detailing on it. The middle tier was a quilt pattern with jut the base white frosting and the top tier was just like the bottom tier. It was in a giant box and tapped to the top of it was a gold sweet sixteen decal that they were going to put on top of it. 

As they were pulling into the driveway the pizza man was pulling out and Stella started jumping in her seat. 

"Are you excited that your dad ordered pizza for dinner?" Stevie asks.

"Well yeah, but I'm also excited because now I get to decorate." 

"Slow down a bit, no one is going to be here until around two tomorrow. We can decorate in the morning." Stevie tells her. 

"I know but I'm so excited. I'm turning sixteen!" She cheers.

"Monday, you're turning sixteen on Monday-which have you scheduled your drivers test?" Stevie asks.

"I want you with me when I take it and I don't know what your schedule is like." Stella shrugs.

"Honey, I don't have any plans for a very long time. I've decided to take some time off and focus on being your mom. So go ahead and schedule it and I'll be there for you baby." Stevie nods getting out and grabbing the cake. 

***

The next morning Stevie was sitting at the kitchen table covered by a blanket nursing Lexa when Stella came busting into the kitchen. She grabs a granola bar off of the counter and the bags of decorations that were left on the Island the night before.

"You can relax you know," Stevie tells her.

"I know. I'm just mom I'm going to be sixteen." Stella grins.

"I know you are and that's a huge deal. Honestly, it is and I'm so glad that you're having this giant party baby but we still have about four hours." Stevie tells her.

"Which is exactly why I need to get going. Where's daddy at?" Stella questions.

"He and Kaci went out for some last-minute things before the party. We need more mayo and mustard for that potato salad you want. He has to get me some more veggies for the veggie tray." Stevie lists.

"Alright. Well, I'm going to start." Stella cheers shoving the granola bar in her mouth and heading towards the entrance of the house. 

As the party was starting Stevie was impressed at how Stella had decorated. There were pink streamers on the banisters and pink balloons literally all over the house and on the mantle there were some paper decoration things that looked like popcorn and the counters were littered with pink shiny confetti. Stella's sweet sixteen was simple a barbecue. Lindsey grilled burgers, hot dogs, and brats, there was potato salad, veggie and fruit trays, macaroni salad, chips, taco salad, deviled eggs, and ham rolls and their backyard though wasn't necessarily filled with teenagers, their families were there and Kristen actually complimented Stevie's Deviled Eggs and her newest baby which came as a total shock to her.