The Way Back

Little Blessings

The lights were dim as he let his hands fall to her hips and snake around to her lower back. Lindsey had worried he wouldn't remember what to do for her, but it had all flooded back to him the moment she reached for him. He let his fingertips meet at the small of her back and skillfully applied pressure to the muscles. He turned his head, kissing her arm that hung loosely around his neck and listening to her steady breathing. He never knew where she went inside herself to journey through the pain, but it only proved to him that she was much stronger than him. Lindsey firmly pressed the palm of his hand into her back and began humming Stephanie into her ear. A smile graced his lips as she relaxed and relished the small break between contractions.

Her eyes remained closed as she listened to his words of encouragement and rested her head against his shoulder. "That was more intense than the last," she told him and felt his lips brush across her hair.

Lindsey raised a brow. He would say more than that if he experienced pains equivalent to a giant's hand squeezing with enough force to break any part of his body in half. "You're so strong, Steph," he whispered.

"And knocking cobwebs off my uterus," she joked.

He chuckled and splayed his fingers out, smoothing his hand up and down her back. "I don't think there's room for any cobwebs in there."

She cackled softly and lifted her head to meet his eyes. "True." Stevie peeked over his shoulder and glanced around the room, furrowing her brows. "Where's Libba?" she asked. She hadn't realized the girl had left the room.

"Coffee run," Lindsey answered. "She's been gone for about thirty minutes. You were too focused to notice when she slipped out."

"Oh," she murmured.

"Think you're a chocolate chip cookie yet?" He peered down at her, listening to her giggles. "It's a serious question."

"I don't know, baby," Stevie replied. "I hope I'm not feeling any pain when I'm a chocolate chip cookie," she said truthfully, wanting relief soon. Stevie was experiencing the kind of contractions that required constant focus, and she remembered if she lost concentration for one millisecond that her whole world would crash painfully and consume her.

Lindsey nodded his head. He supported her decision to receive an epidural. He smirked, remembering how rigid she'd been with her wishes for Elisabeth's birth – at home, absolutely natural, and him by her side for every agonizing hour. He was partly relieved to be in the hospital considering how many times Dr. Shepard had stressed that the second baby's delivery could go smoothly or turn into a c-section. He felt Stevie hug him to her. "I got you," he declared and offered support as another contraction began. He jolted as the door banged against the wall of the birthing suite.

"I'm back!" Elisabeth announced as she bounced into the room. "Did I miss anything? I got coffee and walked around for a while with Andrew. He won't set foot in here. I think he's terrified of seeing something," she chattered. "There aren't lattes here. Just regular coffee that's basically brown bean water. I think I used all the cream and sugar in the place. It's still terrible...like I don't even know why I'm still drinking it." Her words jammed together from the caffeine coursing through her veins.

"Elisabeth," Lindsey hissed. "Be quiet." He cursed under his breath and felt Stevie's nails dig into him. Her focus had been obliterated by Libba's entrance and incessant rambling. He sunk his teeth into his bottom lip and winced as Stevie grabbed a handful of curls at the back of his head. "Breathe through it," he reminded. "Long, deep breaths."

The blonde in his arms swore loudly and whimpered in pain, tugging on his curls harder. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," Stevie groaned through gritted teeth and roughly pressed her forehead into Lindsey's shoulder. "Goddammit, Lindsey. Harder. Not there. No. Goddammit." She reached behind her and shoved his hand over to her hip. "There. Do not fucking move your hand. Harder. More," Stevie moaned deeply.