70s;

Stevie was in tears as she watched Lindsey pack his bags. She knew he heard her crying, she knew he heard the words she was saying, but he didn't stop. She knew she had made a huge mistake by being with Don. The affair was something she never intended to happen but a song was being written and things happened that she couldn't explain. Stevie sniffled, trying to pull herself together but she couldn't.

"Please, Lindsey! Don't go!" she sobbed. Still his expression did not change. Inside he knew he was trying to be tough. He never wanted it to come to this point, he never wanted to break up with her and leave. He never saw his life taking this turn but it did and he had to live with it. Every time he looked at her, he saw what he imagined they did together. The same sighs, the same cries and moans. He couldn't stand it and it was time to go before he said something that would be the point of no return. "I love you, please don't leave me!" Lindsey looked into her eyes and saw all the remorse there. He knew he could turn around right now and take her back, they could go back to how they were and finally start the life he always wanted. She would be under his thumb, forever grateful to him for taking her back or...she could do it again, knowing he would take her back time and time again. Either way, he hated the idea of continuing this way. "Don't!" she wailed, following after him as he made his way down the stairs and to the front door. "Please!" she begged, standing in front of the door to block his way.

"Stephanie, move!" he said, finally speaking.

"No, I don't want you to leave"

"That's not for you to decide. I've made up my mind and I'm not going to stay."

"Please, Lindsey, one more chance!" she said. "Do you want me to beg? Do you want me to apologize again because I will say I'm sorry as many times as you want. I made a mistake and I swore I'd never do it again. I don't love Don, I love you!"

He turned his head, not wanting to hear that man's name ever again. "Move, Stevie, I've already stayed too long"

"What does that mean? Do you regret being with me? Do you hate me?"

"No, Stevie, I just..."

"I understand, I would hate me too. You're right, you did stay too long. You should have left me the second I told you. You should have packed your bags that very night."

"Stevie..."

"Instead you gave me three beautiful months. I thought we could get through this."

"If I had done this, you'd have dropped me in a second! I can't do this anymore and it's my right to leave. Get out of the front of the door and let me go!"

"Lindsey, please..." she sobbed.

"Stop fucking crying! You knew this would happen. Do you know how much you hurt me? You ripped my heart out and stomped on it!" Lindsey screamed in her face, which only made her cry more. She was coughing and hyperventilating, falling onto her knees before him.

"I'd d-do anything you w-wanted, a-a-anything y-you needed...I j-just w-want you to s-stay, Lindsey" Lindsey turned away from her completely, his bag still firmly in his hands. "One more night, please"

He whipped around, even more angry than before. "I'm not doing any favors for someone who never did any favors for me, for someone who betrayed me!"

"Just one more night!" she pleaded, trying to gain her footing again.

"No! I went through three goddamn months of 'one more night'! Do you call what we've been doing every time I agreed to stay making love? I don't think so. We were going through the motions. That's why I stopped."

"Every time we were together, I was making love to you. If you weren't to me...well, you were already gone" Stevie said sadly. "God, I'm so stupid."

Lindsey frowned, watching her cry. "Why should I stay, Stevie? What reason do I have?"

"I love you." Stevie said, looking into his eyes.

"You act like I don't love you. Of course I do or I wouldn't have such a hard fucking time right now. I wanted to marry you, Stevie and spend the rest of my life with you. I wanted to buy a bigger house and have children with you!"

"I want that too"

"No you don't because if you did, you wouldn't have fucked around with Don Henley!"

"I made a mistake!" she cried.

"Yeah, me too" he said, pushing past her toward the door.

"Don't leave me, baby."

"I'm not your baby, Stevie. We are nothing. Done, finished." Stevie broke down into sobs once more, covering her face with her hands. "Now, will you please move?" She wiped her eyes even though she continued to cry and moved away from the door.

"Can I just...say one more thing?" she asked and he nodded reluctantly, motioning for her to carry on. "I, um, I know what I did is unforgivable and it cost me our relationship but I will always, always love you, Lindsey." Lindsey looked away, tears now in his eyes. "I need you to know that."

"Thank you. I got it."

"Can I have a hug...please?"

"Stevie, I..."

"That's okay." she said, looking down at her feet. He put his bag down and held her. Her tears came faster and harder in his arms and he pulled away, not wanting to get sucked into staying.

"That's enough." he said and she nodded, wiping her eyes. As his hands slid over her sides, he couldn't hide his surprise. Her figure was definitely different. His eyes flashed with anger and he erupted. "You wanted me to fucking stay with you when you're knocked up by some other guy?!"

"No, Lindsey, I--"

"I'm fucking done, Stevie. This is a whole new low, even for you."

"It's your baby!" Stevie wept. "I was afraid to tell you because I didn't want you to be angry with me. I fucked up and I'm sorry but it's yours, I swear."

"How do I know?"

"Because apparently I was already pregnant when I..."

"Stevie..." he said, his voice full of disappointment.

"I didn't mean for anything like this to happen. I'm four months pregnant and even if you never want to see me again, I would love it if you were involved with the baby. You're too good a man to turn your back on them."

Lindsey sighed, processing everything she said to him. "Its mine?" She nodded. "There's a baby in there?" She nodded again. "Goddammit"  He ripped his hands through his hair and covered his face as he paced. "Oh...Stevie...Stevie, Stevie, Stevie..."

"I'm sorry"

"I know"

"I know I fucked up and I shouldn't have even kept the baby knowing you wouldn't want me but I fell in love with them. I couldn't just--"

"No, no it's good you didn't do that."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah, it's good." he said quickly. He stopped from a moment, his mind going absolutely wild. "What do you wanna do, Stevie?"

"About what?"

"All this."

"Anything you want. I didn't mean t--"

"Shh...I know." He paces a little more. "I can't leave you like this."

"Like what?" Stevie asked, sniffing as she wiped more tears from her cheeks.

"You're pregnant, Stevie."

"I know." she said.

"It's not right. If what you say is true and it's mine...I can't run out on the mother of my child."

"Will you stay through the pregnancy? Please?" Stevie asked.

"Yeah, I'll stay" he said.

"Thank you, Lindsey, thank you!" she sobbed, throwing her arms around him. She was making his tee shirt wet with tears.

"Don't thank me, Stevie." Lindsey pulled her off of him.

"I know it's just for the baby, but--"

"It's not just for the baby, it's for you too. You're stressed and worried...you can barely breathe. That's not good for the baby and it's not good for you." She nodded. "But it's for me too, though. I want to be here for doctor's appointments and watching you grow with the baby. I want to help you. Yes, I know I'm having a hard time with what happened..."

"You're being better to me than I deserve. If it weren't for this little baby, you'd be gone by now. I should be grateful." Stevie smoothed her tiny bump.

"You're really showing." Lindsey said, unable to stop himself from smiling. "Can I...feel?" She nodded. Her hands pressed to her lower back, tightening her top against her belly. "Oh my god" He touched her and Stevie instantly smiled though her tears. "Four months?"

"Yes"

"Wow..."

"I feel like I'm bigger than I should be"

"Probably just because you're so tiny naturally. The baby already likes to show off" he said with a chuckle.

"You think?"

"I know. You look beautiful, Stevie."

"Thank you. You don't have to say that though."

"It's the truth and you need to hear it."

"That's nice of you to say" Her smile faded a little and he looked up.

"What's wrong?"

"I just...I feel so guilty."

"Please don't cry anymore, Stevie. I can't stand to see an angel cry."

"I'm no angel, I've proven that." she said, sadly.

"But you're my angel and that's all I care about right now." He embraced her again, biting his lip. He would try his best to make it through but could he really forgive her, even for the baby?