A/N
There will be some updates closer than others as I update as I go. Normally the first five chapters are written in advance and I update them strategically, but then I start publishing as I go.
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Stevie's European tour concluded in Ireland, and Lindsey and Annabelle met her at the Dublin Airport as she had been flying in from London.
After Stevie's Dublin concert, Stevie was laying in bed writing in her journal and Lindsey was flipping through the channels.
"Lindsey, what if we have another baby?" Stevie stops writing and looks up to him.
"Are you pregnant?" Lindsey cocks an eyebrow trying to figure out when they would've conceived.
"No, I am not pregnant. But I was thinking. We've been having sex quite a lot. And I'm still getting my period. It could happen." She bites her lip.
"Honey, we're fine. Would a new baby be great sure? But honestly Steph, you're 47 and you've had two miscarriages." Lindsey shakes his head.
"Three." Stevie bites her thumbnail.
"Three miscarriages?" Lindsey questions.
"I had a miscarriage with Joe Walsh. Anna was about three, maybe four." Stevie explains.
"Wow, you and the Eagles sure got around a lot," Lindsey smirks.
"Lindsey it's not funny." Stevie whines.
"I'm joking Angel," Lindsey chuckles.
"Still." Stevie sighs.
"But that just adds to my point. You're 47, you've had three miscarriages. If you get pregnant what are the odds that this baby will make it? Or you for that matter." Lindsey replies wrapping his arms around her.
"I know, but I...I miss when I was pregnant. I miss feeling her move around in my stomach, and I took it all away from you. You didn't get to see or experience me being pregnant and I feel like I cheated you out on a lot of things." Stevie sighs.
"Angel, I'm okay. Trust me. Goodnight." Lindsey kisses her head leaning up and shutting his light off.
Utterly dejected she moves away from him and lightly cries. Her hand falling to her stomach. She knows that her biological clock is ticking, and she really wants to have another baby. Simply because she wants to do it all over again. This time, most importantly with Lindsey by her side.
***
Christmas break is technically from December 22-January 5th, but they left on the 18th. The 18th and 19th were spent exploring Ireland. 20th and 21st they were in London, 22nd-23rd they explored Paris and they spent Christmas Eve through December 27th in Italy the 28th and 29th was Amsterdam and the 30th and 31st and 1st in Switzerland. Sadly, Lindsey and Anna had to fly back home, as they wanted to be at least semi back to normal for school to start. As for Stevie, she was heading to Australia for the final leg of her tour. It didn't technically start until the first week of February, but she enjoys Australia, so she decided instead of going home and having to fly all the way back, she'd just rent a suit in Sydney and stay until that final leg kicked off.
Her first show in Sydney was on February 6, a Friday and she had been in Australia at that point for about four and a half weeks. She was backstage getting ready when Margi Kent, her designer, and Karen walked in.
"Oh, are you here to fit me for the movie premiere?" Stevie stops touching up her makeup. She had done two songs for a movie called 'Practical Magic' and she would be attending the premiere when she got back to the states.
"Well, not fit but to do the measurements and show you what I have in mind for the outfit." Margi smiles pulling out her measuring tapes.
"Measurements?" Stevie questions.
"Every few years I like to update my client's measurements. You know that by now." Margi nudges her.
"I know, but I thought you just did that before the tour." Stevie looks at her.
"It's never a bad thing to be cautious." Margi shrugs.
"Alright." Stevie gets into the measurement position, arms splayed out like a T. Feet shoulder-width apart. It helped that she was only in leggings and a blouse, instead of her stage dress.
As Margi tightened the measuring tape across Stevie's breast, she winced.
"Did I hurt you, dear?" Margi gives her a skeptical look.
"My breasts are tender, and I'm slightly bloated, I think my period is due or I'm starting menopause. One of the two." Stevie lightly shrugged her shoulders.
"Your boobs have grown, I just assumed you got another boob job." Margi winks.
"NO! I got the implants taken out, you know how sick they made me." Stevie squawks.
"But that just proves why I do measurements so often." Margi smiles.
***
After her last song ended, Stevie was practically sprinting away from the countless number of people talking to her.
"Karen, get out of my way. I have to pee, and I am utterly exhausted." Stevie spits trying to get herself out of her stage get up.
She's ready to go back to her suite, get in bed, and sleep. She's sweaty, her stage clothes are slightly uncomfortable around her bloated belly and her tender breasts and she's just ready for this tour to be over. It's been long and grueling coming into month ten, her final month of touring thank god.
Once she relieves herself and she's changed and calmed herself down she finally emerges to see Lori, Sharon, and Karen waiting for her.
"I'm sorry about that." Stevie sighs.
"No, you're okay, we figured it was just one of your Diva moments." Sharon chuckles.
"I just really had to pee, and I wasn't comfortable at all. I don't know what's going on with me." Stevie slumps back onto the couch.
"You have been acting odd these past few weeks. I just attributed it to Lindsey and Anna being so far away." Lori sighs.
"I don't know." Stevie shakes her head.
"Well, I wanted to tell you, that you're off tomorrow, but you got snippy with me." Karen states.
"Oh good, I could sleep for a thousand years." Stevie chuckles.
"Sharon and I were wondering if you wanted to get some drinks at the hotel bar." Lori looks at her sister-in-law.
"I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling the best." Stevie sighs.
"We can tell." Sharon sighs.
***
Laying in bed that night she had absolutely no idea what was going on in her body. She hadn't felt like that in a long time and it was throwing her for a loop. She felt like she had been hit by a bus.
It's hard for Stevie to fall asleep at night, especially when Lindsey's not there to lull her to sleep with his heartbeat or breathing or soothing touches to her skin and after having to get up and pee so often in the middle night she finally gave up on trying to sleep around eight in the morning when she called for room service.
When the call came at her door, she went to answer it but passing by a mirror hung up on a wall, she noticed her breast straining against the thin fabric of her nightgown and she got severely self-conscious so she threw one of her cashmere blankets over her shoulder and answered the door. The nice man handed her the tray and she tipped him well. As soon as she took the lid off of the coffee she requested, the smell wafted up and hit her like a brick wall. She dropped the tray on the table and sprinted into the bathroom just in time for the non-existent contents in her stomach, as she hadn't eaten anything since noon yesterday, reappeared.
When she sat up it finally hit her, and her hands automatically fell to her stomach.
"FUCK!" She stated loudly, clutching the sink and standing up.
She brushed her teeth and made her way back into the main room of the suite. She immediately dumped the coffee out in the sink, gagging as the dark liquid swirled around the drain. Then she called Karen.
"Stevie, why are you up, it isn't even ten yet?" Karen asked. Clearly, the older woman had woken her up from sleep.
"I need you to go out right now and get me like four pregnancy tests. All different brands." Stevie spits out.
"What! Are you serious?" Karen was fully awake now.
"Yes, don't ask questions just please go do as I say," Stevie begged still pacing, not once turning her attention to the fried egg sandwich she had so been craving.
"Alright." Karen sighed hanging up.
***
A half an hour later, Karen returned the tests and sat on the Hotel bed.
"Do you want me to be here when you take them?" Karen asks crossing her arms.
"No, I need to do this by myself." Stevie sighs.
"Alright, let me know how it goes." Karen nods walking out.
She takes the tests and waits the allotted fifteen minutes before staring down at them. All four of them screamed positive in their own different ways. One just a tiny pink plus sigh, one saying the words pregnant, one having two lines, the third much like the first with a little plus sign.
"Jesus Christ, I must be a witch...I have to be a witch. Why would've I have asked that question to Lindsey. I had to have known I was going to get pregnant." Stevie mumbles to herself.
When she composes herself she sits down on the bed and looks down at her stomach.
"Well, baby, you had to have been conceived in Italy on Christmas Eve. My little Christmas miracle. Now, you stay all nice and cozy in there and stay healthy. Momma won't be able to survive if she loses you." Stevie smoothes her hand on her stomach gently laying back in the bed and closing her eyes. Her right hand firmly pressing her lower abdomen.
***
In Melbourne for her second night of concerts in Australia Karen pulled her aside,
"I forgot to ask you the results." Karen looks at her.
"I'm pregnant, but Karen you cannot, and I repeat CANNOT tell anybody, Anna, and Lindsey included. I want to tell them myself. As for everybody else, I am 47 years old, if I did my math correctly, I should be about six weeks along. Twelve weeks is the miscarriage cut off. That's when I'm going to start telling people. I have had three miscarriages before, therefore my chances of having another one are likely. I really love this baby already and it's going to absolutely kill me if this baby doesn't survive and I don't want to get anyone else's hopes up." Stevie tells her.
"Well congratulations, a new baby." Karen hugs her.
"I'm so excited but I am so scared," Stevie replies.
"It's understandable. When are you going to a doctor? I can get you an appointment for one here if you'd like." Karen nods as the get their cue from a stagehand.
"No, I'll call my OBGYN when we get home. I can't risk anything getting out yet and if I'm spotted here at an OBGYN of all places..." Stevie trails off.
"Alright, but anything out of the ordinary happens you call me immediately and we go to the hospital," Karen says as the music starts. Stevie quickly nods and makes her way onstage for Stand Back.
Her energy level absolutely plummeted halfway through the show, she was so tired but she knew that she had to keep going or else things weren't going to be good and her secret would be out sooner than she would like.
She pushed through and when she got back to the hotel room she collapsed in her bed and didn't even bother changing into her pajamas.
***
Back in Santa Monica, Annabelle was pacing back and forth in her dad's classroom.
"My health teacher paired me up with Christian of all people, can you please do something about it?"
"Well honey, what project is it?" Lindsey asks.
"The family project." Annabelle sighs.
"And what is the family project?" Lindsey leans back in his chair.
"It's essentially where we are paired up and we have to get married and create like a budget plan, and we have to raise a stupid electronic baby. It's like sexual health, planning, and prevention. Something like that. We essentially have to work together for a month to raise this baby." Anna sighs.
"Do you want me to email, Mrs. Humphry?" Lindsey questions.
"Please, or go talk to her. I don't know anything. Involve Mrs. McVie if you have to, but I just...I don't feel comfortable doing that particular project with him." Anna pouts.
"Alright, now go to class, lunch is almost over. I'll email her right now." Lindsey sighs
***
"You had to involve Mrs. McVie." Anna throws her backpack on the desk when she came in for lunch on the following day.
"You asked me to." Lindsey defends.
"Well now, I'm stuck with her son. Graham McVie. He's also a sophomore." Anna states.
"And there's something wrong with that?" Lindsey crosses his arms.
He'll never admit it, but he's struggling with this parenting thing. Maybe if Stevie were here things would be easier, but it was like he turned up out of the blue and was just left to his own devices when Stevie up and went on tour.
"Well, no...it's just I don't really know him, our paths don't cross. I'm Art he's Music our groups don't really mix." Annabelle shakes her head.
"Maybe this will be a good thing, allowing your groups to mix. Look at me and your mom, I was a nerdy swimmer and she was the hot cheerleader. Before I got to her, by asking her to join our high school band, she was dating the star quarterback, Dave Matthews, then like a week after she broke up with Dave Brian Johnson tried to swoop in but I literally took her and moved her to LA. Now look at us, we have a sixteen-year-old kid together." Lindsey explains.
"I know, but still." Anna slumps into the seat pulling out her sandwich.
"Just give it a try," Lindsey says.