I Wish That You Were Mine

Chapter Twenty One

“Come on baby...” Stevie sighed, desperation dripping in her voice. “What’s wrong? Hmm?”

Stevie had been trying to get Lily to take her bottle for almost half an hour, but the baby was not having any of it. Lily had been particularly irritable all day and she had hardly eaten a thing. As the day went on and her attempts proved futile, Stevie became more and more worried about her baby.

“Don’t you want to eat something for Mommy? Please?”

Lily’s face suddenly scrunched up for the countless time that day and Stevie braced herself for yet another emotional outburst.

“Ohhhh, Lily-bee...” she cooed, discarding the bottle and rocking the baby against her chest comfortingly.

It had been a long few days; Stevie had been out of the house for most of the week attending press events and several production meetings with the band. Today was her day off and she had been looking forward to spending some more quality time with her new baby. They had originally planned for Brenda to make her second post-placement visit on this day, but when Stevie realised that it would be her only day off that week, they had asked for it to be rearranged.

Lindsey had been her saving grace; he had taken care of Lily all week while Stevie had been away from home and so she had told him to sneak out and go somewhere, before he got cabin fever from being cooped in the house for too long.

Now, six hours later, she was regretting that decision, wishing that he was there to help her with the baby after the exhaustive week she had had.

Just on cue, a set of keys jangled in the back door and Lindsey’s voice danced into the living room.

“Honey, I’m home!”

He chuckled a little to himself at how his playful greeting sounded, having always wondered what it would be like to say it in real life.

Stevie, on the other hand, could not tell whether the wail that escaped her lips was due more to her frustration at the situation she was currently in or her relief that he was finally home.

“Steph?!”

Worriedly, Lindsey ran into the living room and dropped his bags onto the arm chair, before sidling up next to her on the couch and wrapping his arm around her trembling shoulders.

“Steph? Baby, what’s the matter?” he asked in concern.

Lily was moaning weepily and wriggling restlessly in Stevie’s arms.

“It’s nothing, I’m - I’m fine,” she stammered, trying to smile through her tears.

“Well it doesn’t look like it to me...”

“Does Lily feel warm to you?” she asked, leaning into him so that he could hold his hand against the baby’s forehead.

“I don’t think so, why?”

“Well she’s been really fidgety all day and she won’t stop crying and she’s hardly eaten a thing and…”

Stevie waffled on and on in her hyper-emotional state and Lindsey could tell that she was working herself up over nothing.

“Here,” he held out his arms. “Let me take her for a while.”

“I think something’s wrong with her…” she said, flinching as Lily’s scream pierced through the room.

“Don’t be silly,” Lindsey calmed, bouncing the baby on his knee and eliciting a tiny smile from her. “See! There’s nothing wrong with you, is there princess?”