Flicker

27

September 7, 1995

Stevie was tired, she was really tired and really pregnant but she was dressed in a black velvet really tight dress that showed off her nineteen-week bump and it was accompanied by a yellow silk jacket like thing with black stones where it connected under her breasts and on the elbows. Instead of her usual perm, she had her hair straight and long down her back falling at her hips. Lindsey was sitting in the car next to her wearing a black suit with a yellow tie. 

"Steph are you sure you want to do this. He's a little bit bigger than his sisters and you've been uncomfortable a lot more recently." Lindsey asks.

"Baby you're performing, to celebrate National Lampoons tenth anniversary, I'm not missing it." Stevie shakes her head.

"If at any point you don't feel comfortable and you wanna leave feel free," Lindsey tells her as their Limo comes to a stop. 

"Lindsey, Karen has Bree and Lee all night, Wes and I will be fine, and tonight Daddy better be willing to show momma some love," Stevie smirks kissing him hotly before stepping out of the car leaving him slightly stunned. They had chosen the name, Wesley Jess. Jess, after Stevie's father. 

The lights are flashing and he joins her from around the car and just for the camera's...maybe...he places his hands on her bump and kisses her. When they pull apart they wave and sign autographs and then they make their way to where the Interviews are being set up. 

"Can I just..." The interview lady motions to Stevie's stomach when they get up there.

Stevie nods and gives a slight shrug as the woman's hand caresses her stomach. 

"Are you guys excited?" She questions.

"We are so excited. The baby will be joining our family on January 16th and we absolutely cannot wait." Lindsey grins. 

"He's just excited because this one is a little boy and it's the last one." Stevie points her sharp red fingernail at him.

"That's what you say, you said the same thing after Tenley," Lindsey replies kissing her cheek. 

"So Lindsey, you are singing one of your biggest Songs, Holiday Road. How did you write that song and the dog barks, I love the dog barks?" The interviewer questions. 

"The dog barks weren't purposeful. Our dogs were just barking when I recorded it and I had them in the studio with me because there's a studio in our house. I thought it sounded good on the recording and just by accident, there was that dog in the movie. I didn't really have an inspiration for Holiday Road. John Hughes just said that he was doing a movie with Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo and that it was about a family that was going on a cross country road trip from the midwest to the west coast. The one that I did have an inspiration for was the other song that I did called Dancing Across the USA." Lindsey explains.

"What's the inspiration?" 

"Stevie and I joined my brothers and their wives on a cross country road trip. San Francisco to New York. That was a rough trip." Lindsey states.

"I quite liked it. I didn't like being smashed in the front between you and Jeff" Stevie fixes his tie as the cameras flash around them. 

"So after this baby is born, because it's coming soon. What's going to be your main focus besides your baby." The interviewer questions.

"What do you mean?" Lindsey inquires.

"So like what are your work plans after the baby comes." 

"There is none." Stevie laughs a little bit.

"Yeah, there's really not. Stevie's having a C-Section this time because he's big and the girls weren't at all, not to mention their mother isn't. So it's like Stevie's going to be recovering for a while and taking care of the baby and I think I'm going to spend a lot of time with the girls." Lindsey shrugs. 

"Well, we can't wait to meet him. We'll let you head in on, get you off your feet." The interviewer smiles and the Buckingham's exchange pleasantries before heading into the venue. 

"I didn't think mom's liked their bellies being touched unless it's by the father," Lindsey states once they're settled in their seats. 

"I don't mind when you or the girls touch my stomach and I really didn't want her too but at the same time, I was on camera so I had to let her I didn't want to get slammed in the media," Stevie replies. 

"Well, if it makes you feel better. I'll keep my hands plastered to your stomach all night if you'd like." He smiles leading her into the venue and to their seats. 

"I might actually quite like that." She grins. 

Once they're seated he wraps his right arm around her, she usually takes the aisle seat at award shows and fashion shows but because he's performing she's letting him have it this time and then he places his hand on her stomach and kisses her temple. 

***

Stevie listens intently when his performance is announced, but as soon as the guitar starts and the lights come up her baby starts to kick. Crazily and Hardly. Causing her to close in on her self and fall back into her chair a pained expression on her face. As soon as the song comes to an end and Stevie barely registers it ending at all, the incessant movement in her uterus stops and her mouth falls open. 

"Oh my God." Falling from her lips. 

When Lindsey returns she pulls him down to her and he gives her a concerned look.

"Tonight, we have to do an experiement." She states.

His eyes go wide, "Stevie." 

"No, not like that. When you were singing he...I don't know what ever he was doing didn't feel very good." She shakes her head.

"He...he as in," He lowers his voice even more, "Wesley." 

"Yes. I want figure out if he was actually kicking me that hard or if I was just imagining it, because it didn't feel very good." She shakes her head.

"Okay." Lindsey nods.

***

That night as they're laying in bed, Lindsey crawls from the foot up to her stomach and he starts singing Holiday Road accapella. And much like what happened when he was singing it live happened again and even though Lindsey's eyes went wide at the sight of his wife's head falling back into the pillow and her hands clutching at her stomach, not to mention the attempt to roll over into the fetal position which was stopped by him between her legs. He stopped when he saw the tears well up in her eyes. 

"Steph..." he asks concern filling his voice as he goes to sit by her head and take her into his arms. 

"He's...he's going to be a rockstar." She says after a moment causing Lindsey to laugh.

"He's going to be a rockstar, Aubree's going to be a fashion designer. I wonder what poor Tenley is going to end up as." He smiles.

"Mmmm, maybe both. A rockstar with her own fashion line." Stevie smiles.

"Are you okay now?" Lindsey questions.

"Yeah, he stopped when you stopped." She rubs her hand over the top of her stomach. 

"I know I could feel him while he was kicking you. They did feel kind of hard." Lindsey nods.