Dreams .... Do Come True

Why?

"I can't believe it, Linds... H-h-h.. How are they gone?! And how is Danica w-with... W-without, without..." Stevie said, as she begins to sob, as she rests her head in her hands once more, and sobs harder.

"Oh, sweetie... I don't know what to really say here," Lindsey said, as he walks over to Stevie, and she immediately buried her face into his chest.

"What can you say?!" Stevie sobs.

"B-b-but.. Why them?! Why?! Why, Lindsey?! I could have prevented this! I could have stopped this! I-I-I—" Stevie begins to breathe harder.

"Oh, Steph," Lindsey said, as he just holds Stevie in his arms, and can't stop thinking of the two really good friends, whom they had just lost..

"You couldn't have stopped this. No matter if we had stayed in contact with them... Don't blame yourself, baby," Lindsey said, cradling Stevie in his arms. 

****

Stevie was just sobbing in Lindsey's arms, as he held her for over an hour. No words were spoken, as he just held her tightly, until she had worn herself out, and drifted off to sleep.

"Lindsey?! What am I doing up here in bed?" Stevie asks him, as she lays in their bed.

"Ssh... I carried you to the bedroom, so that you could rest a bit... I don't like to see you so worked up, Steph," Lindsey said, as he's lying right next to Stevie.

He has never left her side the entire time that she was sleeping. He just couldn't stop thinking.

"It's not good for you, or the babies," He tells her, as she gives him a small nod in agreement, before emitting a lingering sigh.

"How can I not be worked up, though?!" Stevie said, as she sits up.

"Our friends just died, Lindsey... They died!" She exclaims, point blank.

"They're never coming back," Stevie cries again, as Lindsey stares at her, and puts his arms around her.

"It's not fair.. It's not.. How can honest, and great people like Jo and Dale be gone?! And there's all kinds of bad people running around loose in this world?! And why do the good people have to die?! The universe is just— J-j-just so unfair sometimes... You know.. One day you're perfectly healthy, and happy, and in love, with a beautiful family, and then the next day, y-y-you get killed in a car accident, or you die from that God awful disease.. It's... I-i-it's just unfair..." Stevie sighs, as she breathes in and out, once again.

"You remember what Robin said, sweetie... 'Lots of things happen that we, in a million years— Would have never thought were going to happen... But, there's nothing that we can do to prevent it from happening.." 

"No," Stevie said, as she looks deep into Lindsey's eyes.

"I mean, y-yes... You're right with what Robin said... I just can't understand why it happened to them," Stevie said, as Lindsey lets out a sigh. Looking off into the distance.

"Steph.. What are we going to do with Danica?!" Lindsey asks the inevitable question.

"We have to do whatever we have to do, to gain guardianship of Danica," Stevie exclaims, fervently, as she gets up off the bed on the first try; which had surprised Lindsey, since that had been a daunting task as of late.

"We need to take care of that little girl.. For Jo and Dale... If she were to become a foster child, I-I-I," Stevie said in a shaky voice, as Lindsey gets up off the bed, and stands there, just listening to her.

"She's not," Lindsey simply states.

"One day, she has both Jo and Dale, then—" Stevie's voice trails off, as she wipes a tear off her face.

"I know.. I know," Lindsey said, pulling Stevie in for a hug.

* April 11th, 1983 *

"Push sweetie, push... You just have one more, and then the baby will be here... Give us one more big push," He said, putting the damp wash rag on her forehead.

"Ahhh.." She screams in pain, as she pushes hard. "I-I-I-I-I can't... I can't," She cries out.

"Oh, yes... Yes you can... Just think of how much better you'll feel, once this is over?!" He said, as she gives him a death stare.

"Al— Alright, I'm s-s-sorry," He said, as the doctor said that the next contraction should be coming in 20 seconds.

"That was totally not 20 seconds.. Ahhh," She screams out, as the baby is crowning.

"Good... G-good. Keep pushing..." The doctor explains, as she makes one final push, and the baby comes out.

"It's a girl!" The doctor said, as she holds the baby up.

"Do you want to hold her after we clean..?"

"N-n-no..." She quickly responds, as the doctor turns, and hands the baby to the nurse to clean.

"Not yet, at least... Not yet.." She starts crying once again, as he cleans the sweat off her forehead, and sighs quietly.

"You did so good," He said, as she lets out a small smile.

"This has been the hardest thing that I've ever had to do," She said, as he looks intently into her eyes.

"I know... I know," He said in a sympathetic tone.

********

"What if something happens, Lindsey... What if we don't get her, and she winds up in some foster care system, and is not loved?!" Stevie questions, as she begins to sob once more.

"Nothing will happen... Danica will be fine... S-she'll be fine," Lindsey said, cupping Stevie's face into his hands.

"How can you be so sure?! She just lost both of her parents?! She's only five years old, and doesn't know where her mommy and daddy are. One to a car accident, and one to.. To.. I don't want to say," Stevie sighs, as she had buried her face into her hands, as Lindsey's holding her tight.

"But she does have parents, Steph... She has us.. She'll always have us... That'll never change.. God willing.. She's our daughter, too."