Lindsey had nearly worn a path in the floor by the time Stevie had come back down the stairs. She wore a tiny satin and lace thin strapped romper with her silk robe thrown overtop. He hadn't seen her in so little since she had birthed his daughter and he did a double take as she passed by. Her hair was loosely pinned up, her curly, frizzy bangs framing her unmade-up face. He called her name but she either didn't notice or didn't care. He followed after her, his  boots hitting the floor loudly compared to the soft padding of her small bare feet.

"Steph" he said again, watching her fiddle around in the kitchen, making herself a cup of tea. Her hands shook ever so slightly, upsetting her. She slammed her hand down on the counter and began to cry, covering her face with her hands as she leaned against the counter. He immediately wrapped her in his arms and let her cry. As the moments passed, her hands moved from her face and she held onto him. He held the back of her head, pressing her to his chest. Her sobs shook her small body and he kissed her hair repeatedly, not sure what to say. If he were honest, he wasn't really sure what was going on. She drew in a deep, ragged breath and loosened her grip on him. She wiped her eyes, frowning.

"I'm sorry" she said softly, her voice hoarse.

"Don't apologize. Are you okay? What happened?"

"I just...I can't cope, Lindsey."

"With what?"

"How did we get like this? Why wasn't I enough for you? You tell me it was all a mistake and I know that's true. I know you love me, I can see that...I can feel that. Just...why? Why? Why me? Why us? Then...then, we got pregnant and I hid it from you. I was scared and we were such a mess. We were fine for a while after that night in my room and I was so happy, then you confessed all those things to me and I felt even worse about our situation. We're broken and I can't fix it. I just want it to go away!" She broke down into tears again, unable to speak further and he opened his arms to her again. She nodded, gripping him even harder than before.

"I'll do anything to help us get past this. I'll go to counseling with you. I love you."

"I love you too...and our daughter..."

"Is beautiful" he said, finishing her thought.

"I should wake her up and nurse her. I bet she's hungry." She pulled herself together a little, wiping her eyes once more with the sleeve of her robe.

"Can I come upstairs with you?"

She nodded again and held her hand out to him. He gladly took it, wrapping his arm around her waist as they ascended the stairs. When they approached the crib, Arabella was already awake, peacefully watching the mobile above her.

"Hey there, beautiful. Are you hungry?" The baby began to suck on her fist and Stevie smiled. "I guess so! Mommy can do something about that, can't she." Stevie picked her up and sat down in the rocking chair. The light in the room was incredible, the sun was going down and color filtered softly through the curtains. She pulled down the front of her romper and helped the baby latch. "Perfect" she whispered, stroking her little cheek. Lindsey stood at a distance, eyes focused on the image before him.

"Life must be so beautiful from their perspective. A baby is seeing everything for the very first time." Lindsey said and she nodded, rocking smoothly in the chair. She hummed faintly and he couldn't tell what song, if any, it was, all he knew was that he enjoyed hearing her voice. "Arabella is so wise though. You can see that in her eyes. She has all the answers, she just can't tell us."

"If only we got to keep that special knowledge." Stevie mused, sadly.

"Maybe we do, somewhere inside."

"We just have to tap into it, but how?"

Lindsey shrugged. "I guess just by learning, living, getting up one more time, even after we fall."

Stevie nodded again, processing his answer. "Do you think we should try again?"

"Arabella is so young, and you're still recovering...maybe in a couple of years." he said with a smirk.

"I mean us." she replied, managing a soft chuckle.

"Well, of course, but that's not for me to decide. I'm game for counseling or whatever it takes to keep you."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah" he said.

She's quiet for several minutes and he stayed where he was, waiting. He didn't really want to leave if she still wanted to talk. He wanted to give her all the time she needed to make the decision that was right for her, knowing in turn it would be right for him too. She seemed to be thinking hard about something. The baby was now limp in her arms, completely asleep. She covered herself back up, though her mind was not really present in the room with her body. She continued to rock and he turned to the door. As he put his hand on the door knob, he heard her take a breath, as if she were about to speak.

"Linds?" she said softly. He turned his head, focusing his blue grey eyes on her brown ones. Despite their darkness, her eyes shown brightly in the inky blue night that now filled the room.

"Yes?"

"I think I want to sell the house"