Until the End of Time

24

July 14, 1994

Stevie was in her suite prepping for that evening, she had pizza waiting for her kids and she had gone to the store and gotten some games to play with Kaci on the long flights and the long nights in the hotel rooms and some art supplies, as the little girl had quite the knack for it. The knock came at her door and after checking the peephole she let her family in. 

"Hi, momma." Kaci grins wrapping her arms around her mother. 

"Hey, baby. Is this your suitcase. Why don't you go put it in that room right there." She points to the double doors that lead to her bedroom. 

"Hey, mom." Stella hugs her. 

"Hey," Stevie whispers. 

She hugs the other two and then she gets to Lindsey and the tensions rise. 

"Here's another bag for Kaci. Can I...Can I talk to you?" He asks.

"In my room." She points as Kaci comes back out and flocks to the pizza where her older siblings were. 

When they shut the door, Stevie perches on the bed cross-legged.

"Why the fuck did I get a call from Karen saying that you wanted Kaci on tour with you?" Lindsey bites

"Is it a crime to want my own daughter on tour with me?" 

"Stevie, I just don't understand why." 

"Lindsey, you hit me. You physically laid your hands on me and I'm not okay with that. And when you hit me I realized something." Stevie states.

"Oh yeah, what did you realize?" He asks.

"I realized that we're stuck." 

"Stuck?" 

"Stuck. Lindsey, we have been sleeping together since 1978 for christ sakes. 16 years. I've slept with many men, but I've only been really heavily involved with two. You and Todd. I love you, Lindsey, I really do. And I love your children like they're my own. Hell one of them is my own now. But I can't live like this. You've been promising me marriage for 16 fucking years. I am forty-six years old and I have two kids to think about. I don't want to have to be on red alert with you like I was with Todd because as soon as I was ready to settle down with Todd he knocked up some model and now they're both God knows where doing God knows what. I don't want to have to worry that you're going to do the same thing. Because when you got tired of Kristen you came to me. And you compared me to Kristen and I started thinking that maybe that's where you were heading. If I recall correctly she was pregnant with Leelee when we started sleeping together. I'm worried that you're becoming a creature of habit. I want to marry you, I do. But I don't want to live how I lived with Todd." She states.

"So now you're comparing me to your sleazeball ex." 

"Lindsey. I'm comparing you to you. I think we need to take a break." Stevie shakes her head.

"No, I'm not missing the birth of my baby." He spits.

"And you won't as soon as I go into Labor you'll know I might even be back living in the same house as you I don't know. All I know is that I need to take Kaci and we need to spend some time apart and reevaluate everything. As I said, I want to marry you. And even though you say you want to marry me I don't believe that you do and I think we need to take a break."

"Just because we got into one fight you're running away?" He asks.

"Yes. Yes, I am. Because it wasn't just one fight. You hit me, Lindsey. You actually laid your hands on me and that's not okay with me." She tells him.

"I'm sorry Steph. You don't know how sorry I am about that." 

"I know you're sorry. But I have to do what I think is going to be best for me in the long run. I know where my priorities lie but I don't think you do. I think your happy playing house with me. And that was good for a while but after that display the other day, I need to know if you actually want to make a home with me. We've played house for eight years and I'm ready to marry you, I wasn't at first but now I am. But I'm not going to be cheated on again. And I know it's hypocritical because I was the dirty mistress at one point but I've also been the one cheated on before and it hurts and I'm not going to go through that again. Especially with kids thrown into the mix. Now, I have to leave in an hour so I'm going to go spend some time with my kids." Stevie tells him.

"So that's it, we're over?" He asks.

"No. I'm not ready to make that decision yet, but while I'm gone on tour and maybe up until Thanksgiving I need you to really seriously think about what you and I want in life. I've been in a safe relationship that didn't go anywhere and I don't want to be in one again." Stevie walks away from him.

"You really want to marry me?" Lindsey asks.

"Yes, I really want to marry you, what makes you think I don't?" Stevie asks.

"I saw Todd a couple of weeks ago. His kid goes to the same school as ours. I was at the summer fundraising meeting. He mentioned how he knew that you and I were together and he was surprised that you actually went through with having my baby because you told him that since you were a rockstar you didn't want to get married or have kids because it would change your life and you wouldn't get to do what you want to do." He shrugs.

"And you believed him. Lindsey, I was crushed when I was told that I may never have kids. I told you how badly I wanted four of them...which, reminds me I had an appointment today. They did a procedure while I was in the hospital that checked for genetic abnormalities like disabilities and such. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to freak out. I was told I had to go in for a followup. We're okay, the baby is perfectly normal, but..." Stevie digs in her purse and hands him the ultrasound picture. 

He looks at it for a moment and then he plops down on the bed. 

"I CAN'T WIN!" 

"What do you mean you can't win?" She crosses her arms. 

"Have you looked at this yet?" He asks.

"Yes, I have." She nods.

"Do you realize that we're going to have four daughters? I have a hard time chasing the boys away from Lee and Stella now I have to do it for two more girls in the future. I'm going to be old and tired and it's going to kill me...I can't believe I'm shooting girls." 

"Shooting girls?" Stevie cocks an eyebrow.

"The sperm is what determines gender. The male sperm carries either an X chromosome or a Y chromosome. Mom automatically provides an X chromosome so dad is what makes the final decision. My sperm are female." He lays back onto the bed.

"Hey, you've got William." Stevie rubs his thighs.

"But William is going to UCLA in the fall he's going to be gone." Lindsey whines.

"But we got it so he still lives with us. Just cherish those moments. Come on, let's go tell the kids." Stevie grabs his hand and pulls him into a standing position.