Edge of Midnight

33

When the doorbell rang Stevie dried her hands on the kitchen towel and she went to go open the door. Lori, Chris, Barbara, and Jess where on the other side and Stevie smiled before taking them all into separate hugs. Despite Barb and Jess living in Phoenix they were staying with Lori and Chris. It had been a thing to alternate Holidays. They stayed with Stevie and Lindsey Christmas and New Years, but Christopher had gotten Thanksgiving. This year, it was obviously New Years Stevie, Easter Christopher, Stevie would get Thanksgiving and then Christopher would get Christmas and New Years. It worked for them and it was nice being able to trade off who got the parents each time. 

"So Stevie, where's my little munchkin and her father?" Barbara questions when she welcomes them into the house.

"I sent them to the grocery store. Elayna is insisting that I make deviled eggs, but she won't let me use her Easter Bunny Eggs and I'm out of eggs because I used the last ones to make the potato salad." Stevie explains.

"She reminds me so much of you when you were little." Jess chimes in.

"Yeah well, makes me wonder what this one is going to be like." Stevie sighs rubbing her stomach their little girl was moving around quite a lot. 

"I just can't believe that you two got pregnant at the same time." Barbara smiles.

"Neither can I." Stevie sighs.

"Oh are you not happy about this baby?" Jess questions wearily.

"No, No, I am...I am so excited. I've already picked out a name for her, I'm just scared that Lindsey won't like it." She bites her lip cradling her stomach. "It's just that...Lindsey wanted to try again when Elayna was barely one year old. I put my foot down and said no. I just had too much going on with my career. And then in a blink of an eye five years went by. I realized that I actually had missed Elayna's fist steps and her first words because I was working and I was ready to take a break after Timespace and she was five years old and it just hit me that time was going by way to fast and I wanted to give myself a second chance at motherhood but then Lindsey said no, and we hadn't discussed it and it happened. It happened on Christmas Eve." 

"Well Honey, someone somewhere obviously wanted you to have another baby." Barbara smiles.

"So when are you due? I'm September 20th." Lori asks.

"September 16 but she's not going to wait that long, I don't know why, I just have a feeling." Stevie states.

"Yeah I don't think this one is coming on the 20th either. What made you guys decide to find out, because we're not going to find out." Lori asks.

"We found out because we're planners and since we found out with Elayna it was a no brainer." Stevie shakes her head.

"And what made you decide to find out with Elayna?" 

"Well...the doctor just said do you want to know, and we just shrugged and said sure. There was no prior thought process to it." Stevie shakes her head standing up when she hears a timer go off and makes her way towards the kitchen.

***

That night after the family had left Lindsey, had done the dishes and the cleaning up and when he finally plopped on the couch next to Stevie, she threw her legs up on his lap and he started rubbing her feet. 

"Lindsey...the only thing we had chosen for Elayna was Bella...and I know it didn't stay Bella, but Belle's close enough..." She starts.

"What are you getting at?" Lindsey asks

"Well...I don't know if I want it to be a middle name or a first name yet, but what do you think about the name Evangeline." She asks.

"Evangeline, I think it's pretty and if it ends up being her first name it'll match with Elayna...because of the E you know...And we could call her Evy." He smiles.

"Yeah, you really like it?" She asks.

"I do...but what I also really like is our bed...so what do you say we call it a night?" Lindsey asks.

"I'm not tired yet, so I'll stay up and either crochet, read, or write...but I'll go up with you. And I want to check on Elayna. She ate so much sugar today that she's either up there playing with her toys or having crashed. I hope she crashed." Stevie rolls her eyes. Putting their child to bed seemed almost impossible because she wouldn't sit still. During her story, she was jumping on the bed and she was trying to climb out and she wanted to reenact the story as it was one of her favorite stories that she knew by heart-Alice in Wonderland.

Lindsey smirked and nodded. He stood up first and then he held his hands out for her. 

"Charmer." She smiles taking them as he helps her up and then she just stopped and she kissed him. She kissed him with every fiber in her being and when they pulled away Lindsey just looked at her.

"I love you." She replies.

"I know, you tell me all of the time. I love you too." Lindsey kisses her forehead.

"But I don't feel like I say it enough. I want to scream it out to the universe. I love you and I love the baby girls you gave me." She explains.

"You do baby, it's in every one of your songs. I can see it everytime I look into your eyes. And baby you are the best mom to that little girl upstairs, and you're going to be just as great of a mom to the one in your belly." Lindsey smiles.

"I hope so." She states.

"I know so." Lindsey nods. 

"Let's go check on Layna." Stevie grins. 

When they get upstairs, Elayna is passed out upstairs and Stevie just gives a wicked smile to Lindsey.

"What?" He whispers.

"Pick her up." 

"Why?" 

"She's sleeping with us tonight, I want to cuddle her but I can't do that in her little twin bed," Stevie explains.

"She's eight," Lindsey replies.

"She's still my baby Lindsey," Stevie states pressing out of the bedroom and going to their own. 

When Lindsey gets into their bedroom, she's changed into her pajamas and she's perched in the bed. Lindsey just smiles at her and crawls on it placing a passed-out Elayna in the middle. Stevie sinks down slightly and she pulls Elayna to her chest and she kisses Elayna's head. 

"I love you, Elayna Belle. With my whole entire heart and I don't you ever forget that." Stevie whispers. 

Lindsey just smiles and changes into his pajamas and crawls in with his girls.