I Wish That You Were Mine

Chapter Thirty Two

Stevie smiled at Lindsey lovingly and Brenda blushed a little at the intimacy between them.

“Stephanie, I…” Brenda stammered awkwardly, searching for the words. “All I can say is that I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you had to go through this, and I know that this situation can’t be helping things either…”

“What do you mean?”

Lindsey’s heart jumped into his throat as what Brenda was trying to say suddenly clicked in his mind, whereas Stevie was a little more reluctant to see things in black and white.

“Lindsey, what does she mean?” she asked even more agitatedly.

“Steph…”

He squeezed her hand between both of his and tried to be as gentle as possible, not wanting to bring her back down to the harsh reality that they still faced. Stevie’s eyes suddenly shot open and she readjusted the sleeping baby in her arms, clutching her closer to her chest protectively.

“No…” she breathed, shaking her head defiantly. “No you’re not taking her away from me again, Brenda. I won’t let you! Lindsey, tell her!”

“Stephanie, there are rules we have to follow…”

“No Brenda!” she snapped. “Lily was brought in here all alone! The neighbours had complained that she had been crying for hours! She was severely dehydrated and she hadn’t eaten anything in days!”

Stevie had become so worked up that her voice began to shake as she tried to speak as loudly as she could without waking up the baby.

“So you tell me…” she continued. “What’s best for Lily? To be left with her negligent mother who can’t comfort or feed her? Or to be loved by two people who care about her more than anything else in this world?”

Lindsey wrapped his arm around her shoulders and turned her face towards his, resting their heads together calmingly. Mercifully, before Brenda could respond, the door to the room brushed open and Dr Perlman snuck into the room.

“Ah, I see we have more visitors for Miss Lily,” he smiled, shaking Brenda’s hand and introducing himself.

“Has there been any news yet?” Lindsey asked impatiently.

Dr Perlman heaved a sigh and bowed his head as he nodded.

“There has been, yes.”

All three of them waited with bated breath as the doctor took his time in relaying the details.

“When I left you earlier this morning, I called accident and emergency to see whether anyone who fit your description had been admitted around the same time that Lily had arrived with us, but no one had.”

Stevie’s breath hitched in her throat, anxious at the thought that Louise could walk through the door at any moment and rip Lily from her arms.

“So I decided to call the two paramedics who brought Lily in. They told us that another ambulance had also attended the scene and that they had found a woman in the bathroom a little after Lily had been taken away…”

The doctor paused and the room was deathly silent with the sound of held breath.

“Where is she now?” Stevie asked, already fiercely protective.

“I’m sorry Ms Nicks, but she was found dead at the scene.”

A collective gasp rang through the room, all three of them genuinely shaken to the bone with the shocking revelation.

“Wha – what – what…?” Stevie stuttered, her eyes darting between Lindsey, the doctor and Brenda, whose hands were clasped over her mouth in disbelief.

“Traces of drugs were found at the scene and in her system. The coroner’s report reads that she had an overdose. I’m terribly sorry.”

Stevie’s hand flew to her mouth and tears sprung to her eyes. Although she had many times wished that Lily’s birth mother did not exist, she would never have wished this on her, she would never have wished this on anyone.

She looked down at Lily, still sleeping as peacefully as an angel in her arms, so blissfully unaware of the drama unfolding all around her. It broke her heart.

“I’m going to give you some time,” Dr Perlman piped up, gathering up Lily’s charts and heading towards the door. “Will you two be staying with Lily today?”

Uncertain, Stevie’s eyes found Brenda, who was staring deep in thought at the baby in Stevie’s arms. It was no more than a tiny jerking movement, but everyone in the room saw when Brenda affirmatively nodded her head in response to Stevie’s unspoken question.

“Yes, they will,” Brenda’s voice was hoarse but light, her eyes shined with hope. “They are her parents now.”

The wail that broke forth from Stevie’s lungs was so heartfelt and full of emotion that it brought tears to Lindsey’s eyes and he chuckled breathily as a wave of relief and excitement washed over him.

Dr Perlman smiled broadly at the couple as he made his exit from the room, having been lucky enough to witness the extent of their love for that little girl.

As the door closed, Brenda watched as the couple shared a tender kiss and fussed over the baby between them joyfully. Even after all she been through, the fact that Stevie was still as in love and committed to being a family as she was when Brenda first met her, she knew that she had made the right decision in believing in Stevie.

“Do you really mean it, Brenda?” Stevie squeaked in disbelief. “Can we take our baby home?”

Brenda nodded her head happily.

“I do, Stephanie. You are all that that little girl has now… She’s all yours.”

“Did you hear that, Lily-bee?” Stevie cooed cheerily, looking down at the tiny baby who was now wide awake in her arms. “You’re coming home baby! We’re taking you home!”

Just like the day that Stevie had first laid eye on her, Lily reached up and clutched at the chiffon of her blouse, clinging onto her with all of her might.

“I’m going to arrange a court date for the soonest possible time. Lily doesn’t deserve to spend a moment longer without a family.”

“Thank you so much, Brenda,” Lindsey chimed in, wiping a tear away from his eye and standing up to embrace the woman warmly.

“No, please don’t thank me. If it weren’t for the rules, I would never have let Lily be taken away from you in the first place. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all in the past now,” Stevie brushed off the comment. “The future is too bright to worry about the darkness of the past.”

Brenda smiled gratefully and gathered her things together.

“I’ll be in touch with Karen about the court date. In the meantime, take care of that precious little girl and I’ll see you both very soon.”

“We will,” Stevie beamed, unable to wipe the smile from her face.

When the door finally closed again, it was just Stevie, Lindsey and Lily, and it was perfect.

“She’s ours, Lindsey! She’s ours!” Stevie cried in joy.

“She’s been ours for fifteen years...”

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A/N: *sobs in a corner*