hang out in your heart

i know you don't really need me

"And just remember - THE MAC IS BACK!" Lindsey trots off the stage as he listens to Mick's booming voice echoing around the arena, the crowd still going insane. He's joined immediately offstage by Kristen, who hands him a bottle of water and a fresh towel, and they head into the men's dressing room. John is already in there, and Lindsey nods, raising his bottle of water in salute.

"Great show tonight. Fun crowd."

John nods. "We played the shit out of that tonight."

"Sure did," Lindsey agrees, his eye swiveling to the door, momentarily distracted by movement there.

He watches Stevie walk past the door on the way to her own dressing room, followed closely, as always, by Karen. He steps out into the hallway quickly, ignoring Kristen's annoyed expression.

"Hey, great show tonight, Stevie. As always."

She turns and shoots him a scathing look, then enters her dressing room without a word, pulling Karen in behind her and closing the door.

The first show they'd performed after their fight in Florida, he'd thought everything was fine when they'd stepped onstage and she was acting normal, smiling and singing to him. It wasn't until afterwards, when she coldly brushed off his attempts to talk and locked herself in her dressing room with her girls that he'd realized something was off.

After Stevie had embarrassed him in front of thousands of people, Lindsey had been angry, so furious he couldn't think straight. He'd scoffed when Stevie had accused him of being selfish - who did she think she was fooling? She'd been playing that game as well as he had. Hell, she was the one who suggested that they try to live out their love affair onstage. He'd known it was a bad idea, but she'd insisted. And now look where that had gotten them.

He sighs and turns back into the room, barely even able to meet Kristen's knowing look. He had thought it couldn't get any worse than their moment in Florida, but he had been wrong. There was nothing he hated more than being ignored by Stevie.

Later that night, Lindsey slouches in his airplane seat, pretending to read a book but really throwing glances across the aisle at Stevie, wrapped up in a blanket, crocheting, on the opposite side of the plane. He feels Kristen shift next to him, swiveling his head back to his book in a panic, but she's still breathing deeply, her body angled away from him toward the window.

Lindsey gingerly stands up, heading across the aisle to slide in next to Stevie. She gives him a glance out of the corner of her eye, her hands not stopping what they're doing.

"Hey."

Stevie throws a quick glance to the sleeping woman across the row. "I can't believe your leash is long enough to extend all the way across the aisle here."

He pauses. He knows his wife's constant presence on this tour so far has been putting a strain on Stevie, and he hadn't been helping matters much. Kristen had gleefully been marking her territory ever since his and Stevie's fight, had barely left his side when the band were all together. He didn't know what had transpired between them, but while there had never been love lost between the two women, he could now almost feel the tension like a physical wall had been erected in between them. When he had asked Kristen about it, she had said that everything was fine, she liked Stevie a lot and really, just felt bad for her, all alone in life. Stevie, clearly, had not said a word to him in weeks, regarding Kristen or otherwise.

He ignores the comment. "Yeah, well, It'll feel good to be home for a while, at least. No hotel beds, no packing up every two days. The kids will be able to get into a semblance of a routine again."

Stevie shifts her attention to him for just enough time to throw out, "Yeah, that will be nice for you," before focusing her attention back on her crocheting.