Title: Love Runs Deeper: Chapter Six, Wake Up
Rating: PG-13 [mild language, drugs]

Summary: Lindsey worries about Lily's well-being - and with reason.






Waking to a completely dark room, Lindsey smiled, his arm tightening around Lily briefly. It probably was too soon to declare them an item, but it also felt so natural. Life was certainly too short for him to be worrying about anything. Besides he had spent so many years in a relationship with Stevie that it was about time he felt… relaxed in a relationship. That’s truly how he felt with Lily in his arms. She not only curved to fit his body just perfectly, there was something he could not actually touch that excited him and… well he should not be thinking about such things so soon.

However, she was also supposed to be at work soon. Slowly Lindsey pulled away and glanced at the clock. His eyes widened and he instantly reached to shake Lily. She grumbled and turned over but did not wake. For a long moment, Lindsey considered his options. He wanted to let her sleep, but he did not want her to be upset with him for not trying to rouse her to go to work. It was already an hour past the start of her shift, so he presumed she no longer had a job. She had every right to do whatever it was she thought necessary.

He had to wake her.

Getting out of the bed, he turned on the light and knelt beside her. His eyes looked over her sleeping face, seeing a sense of fragility exposed. He gently reached up and touched her face, his fingers catching on her bottom lip slightly. With a soft sigh, Lindsey pushed up higher on his knees and gently kissed her lips. Still she did not wake. Shaking her again, he pleaded with her to wake up. As panic began to rise in his soul from the lack of response, her eyes fluttered open. She groaned and covered her eyes with her hand, rolling onto her back.

Lindsey moved to sit on the bed, “Lily, sweetie, it’s almost eleven-thirty. You were supposed to be at the diner–”

She sat straight up, her eyes wide, “Oh god. Lindsey… Oh god.”

“Shhh,” he reached out, gently touching her hand, “we’ll just explain that you oversle–”

“I can’t… I can’t… oh god,” she covered her face with both hands.

“Sweetheart,” he shifted closer, his arms slowly circling her, “we can figure something out. You’re amazing they’ll–”

“Think I’m a flake and can’t be trusted,” she muttered. “I need this job, Lindsey. I mean… I know you took me from my apartment and everything but I owe money all over town and that does not even begin to touch what I owe for my mother. Oh god, Lindsey, they’ll kick her o–”

Lindsey interrupted, “They will not. Your mom is taken care of.”

Her hands dropped from her face, “What?”

“I… when we were there earlier today, I paid off her bill. For the entire year,” he declared.

Her eyes widened slightly, “You did not.”

“I did,” he responded cautiously. “I don’t want to step on your toes or anything but–”

Before he could finish his explanation, her arms quickly wrapped around him and she kissed his mouth. Her lips excitedly showered kisses all over his face, making him smile a bit uneasily. She met his mouth one last time before settling back to meet his eyes.

“You have no idea how much this means to me. I have been behind on her bill since… well since she went to live there. They’ve been kind and allowed me to pay a little with each pay check but… my god, Lindsey, you have no idea what you did,” she quickly muttered and kissed him again. “That was a lot of money to… for someone you don’t know… I… I…”

“I don’t care about the money. I would spend it a million times over,” he responded.

Her arms tightened around him, “This means so, so much to me, Lindsey. I feel… I feel like a sixty thousand dollar weight has been lifted from my shoulders.”

He smiled a bit more, not the least put off by the number she said, “Then it was worth every penny.”

She kissed him again, “You… you amaze. I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay you for your kindness.”

Lindsey reached up and caressed her face gently, “You don’t need to.”

“Lindsey, I…”

“You really don’t. Seeing you smile is more than enough.”

“I… Lindsey…”

He kissed her sweetly, “Really.”

“Thank you,” she brushed her lips across his again. “But I still need a job.”

Lindsey sighed, “Well, why don’t we go to the diner and see what they say?”

Pulling out of his arms, she shook her head, “I don’t… I don’t want to be a waitress all my life.”

“Well,” he got up, headed over to the mini-fridge, and retrieved a bottle of beer. “What do you want to be?”

Her eyes watched him return to her, “I… I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it.”

He sat next to her, offering the bottle, “Well what do you like most in the world?”

Lily accepted the bottle and took a drink, “Sleep.”

Laughing, Lindsey accepted the bottle back, “Sweetheart, let’s go back to sleep then. It sounds to me like you have months and months of sleep to catch up on.”

Without an utterance against such, Lily stood and stripped off her jeans and tossed them aside. She unfastened her bra and removed it without removing her shirt, tossing it in the same direction as the jeans. Lindsey remained sitting on the bed, watching her actions, until she reached to pull back the blankets. Quickly finishing the beer, he headed to dispose of it in the small trashcan near the mini-fridge, turning the glimpses of her body over in his mind. The shopping assistant at the department store was completely correct: Lily was too thin. She was not petite or even small-framed. That was something that would take him longer to improve. He could not just throw money at her and get her to eat better, more often. However, Lindsey did hope that by alleviating her financial stress, the rest would come as well.

Clicking off the light he had turned on, Lindsey quickly stripped of everything except his shorts and slipped into the bed beside her. Before he could mutter a word, she shifted over and snuggled against his bare chest. His fingers reached up to play with her hair, finding her long locks still bound from her face. With a little finesse, he pulled the hair tie out and flung it away in the dark. His fingers slowly teased her hair into a fan across her small back.

“Lindsey?” she breathed softly, her breath sending chills down his spine.

“Yes, sweetie.”

“This isn’t… this isn’t a dream, is it?”

“If it is, I don’t want to wake up either.”



Without needing to be any place in particular, Lindsey did not wake Lily as soon as he had. He showered, dressed, and drank coffee. Opening the curtains revealed it a dreary day, the sun hiding enough that he did not think it would wake Lily. He read the paper, played his guitar softly, even watched a movie on the TV, and still she slept on. The clock ticked past two in the afternoon and he could no longer bear it.

Turning off the TV, not caring for Charlie’s Angels, Lindsey got to his feet and approached the bed. Standing beside it, the soft light from the windows filtering over Lily, he sighed. Her face was still completely relaxed, her breaths soft and regular. At least she was clearly still alive. However, she had slept for well over twelve hours. She needed to wake up, if for no other reason than to eat a full meal. Sitting on the bed, he stretched over to her and kissed her forehead. He had not expected her to stir with that and continued to shower kisses over her face. As he reached her lips, they curved into a slight smile but she still did not wake.

Shifting fully onto the bed beside her, Lindsey stretched out. Resting his head on the pillow next to her, he softly spoke her name. She shifted but continued to sleep on. With a sigh, he continued to speak to her, hoping that his voice could guide her out of her deep dreams. He told her stories of touring with the band and writing music. He even admitted to starting a new song since meeting her, undoubtedly influenced by their meeting. While he felt like she was listening, the fact her eyes remained closed was beginning to concern him.

“Lily, sweetie, please, please wake up,” he requested, a bit louder than all of his stories had been. “Please, sweetheart. It’s nearly three in the afternoon. Please wake up.”

He attempted shaking her shoulders again but she continued to sleep on. Worry etched on his face, Lindsey began to fret that she would not wake and he did not understand at all. Releasing her, he got up and paced over to the phone. Snatching it up, he called down to the front desk, asking to have a doctor sent to the room immediately.

Turning on all of the lights in the room, Lindsey began to pace. His eyes flicked to her, hoping the light would wake her when his words and touch had not. She shifted in the bed, causing him to rush back to the bed. Her eyes remained closed.

“Goddammit, Lily. Wake the fuck up. Please, dear god, wake UP!” he shouted. “FUCKING WAKE UP!”

With a gasp, she sat up. Her eyes went wide and focused on him. Lindsey instantly regretted shouting at her, seeing unchecked fear in her eyes. He reached for her instinctively. Lily instantly retracted, scooting back up to the headboard, clutching the blanket to her. Her entire body trembled in terror. Lindsey wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold her, but as that action had already caused her to retreat from him, he kept his hands to himself.

“Lily, you wouldn’t wake… I… I didn’t mean to scare you… I…” he muttered.

Before she could respond, a knock sounded at the door. Lily clutched the blanket tighter, her terrified eyes following Lindsey as he went to answer it. She strained to see who was there, unable to hear them talking with Lindsey’s shouting still ringing in her head. Her unasked question was answered quickly as an older man slowly approached the bed with Lindsey. The man sat on the edge of the bed, talking but she heard no words. Her fear seemed to pour out even more the longer he sat there.

The moment the doctor reached out for her, Lily screamed.

Both Lindsey and the doctor froze. Recovering first, Lindsey pulled the grey-haired man to his feet and pushed him towards the door. The man scrambled out of the hotel suite, closing the door behind him. Lindsey slowly crept back towards the bed. He wished for some sign as to what to do, some explanation of what was going on.

“Lily,” he spoke calmly, “sweetheart…”

Her eyes slowly focused on him. Keeping his distance from the bed, Lindsey spoke softly, choosing to re-tell stories he already told that day. Slowly he watched her shoulders relax, her trembling stop. He took a step forward and sat on the very edge of the bed, still talking. Her hands lowered the blanket from her chest. As he reached the part about the song he started on upon meeting her, Lily crawled out from under the blanket. She slowly approached him, lifted his arm, and slipped into his lap. Closing his eyes, Lindsey wrapped his arms around her. His words fell silent and he merely held her for a few long minutes.

“Lindsey?”

“Sweetheart?”

She turned to meet his eyes fully, “What happened?”

He reached up and caressed her cheek, “You wouldn’t wake up, Lily. I didn’t… I didn’t know what to do. I tried everything I could think of and still you slept. I was… I was so worried…”

Lily nuzzled him, “I didn’t… I’ve never slept that deeply before. I’ve never… felt safe enough to do so. I’m sorry you couldn’t wake me. I… I never want you to worry.”

He kissed her forehead, “It’s okay, sweetheart. Now I know you just needed the sleep. I’ll try to not worry so much in the future.”

“I… you scared me,” she admitted softly.

He sighed deeply, “I did not mean to frighten you at all, my dearest. It must not be… nice waking to someone shouting at you.”

“I… no, not at all.”

“I promise to not do it again,” Lindsey vowed.

She remained silent for a moment, “Lindsey, who… who was that man?”

His eyes went to hers, “Lily, when I could not wake you, I called for a doctor.”

Her eyes widened again, “He was a doctor?”

Lindsey nodded, “I know it must have been scary seeing a stranger reaching for you like that. I apologize. I should have warned you about him.”

“Oh… my… god,” she muttered, burying her face on his shoulder. “He probably thinks I’m insane.”

“You were just scared. It’s okay,” he declared.

“Lindsey, I…”

“It’s okay,” he repeated and kissed the top of her head again. “But… um…”

“What?”

“You can say no, but… I’d like to take you to see a doctor,” Lindsey stated.

Lily fell silent. Not once in her life had she seen a doctor, at least not for herself. She had been lucky and never fallen ill. Doctors kept her mother alive, but only barely. She was not certain how she felt about them at all. Moreover, she was confused as to why he would want her to see one.

“Why?” she finally muttered.

“Not being able to wake you is concerning, my sweet. I trust you when you say you have never been able to sleep that peacefully. And I am glad for it, but… I do not think that was normal at all,” he answered. “And… I don’t know how to say it…”

“What?”

“I think you might be… underweight.”

She bit her lip, but did not pull her head away from his shoulder. It did not take a doctor to tell her that he was right; she knew that. She also did not need to be told it came from eating maybe one meal a day. Eating breakfast and lunch with Lindsey the day before seemed decadent. It was not really a choice, but a necessity. After years of eating so minimally, she could not imagine life any other way. However, he was right.

“All right,” she finally agreed. “I’ll see a doctor. But not that one. And not a man.”



With Lily in the shower after eating, Lindsey picked up the phone and called his mother. It rang for a ridiculously long period, making him check the time. He thought she would be home from work by then, though he did not understand why she worked at all. Just as he was about to give up, she answered the phone. After exchanging pleasantries, he took a deep breath to get to the matter at hand.

“Mom, I need a doctor,” he stated.

“What? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” she instantly asked, worry in her voice.

“I’m fine, Mom, really. I just need one for… my girlfriend.”

She was quiet for a long moment, “I thought you and Stevie were over and that’s why you came back home.”

“We are. I’m not talking about Stevie,” he answered.

“You have not even been gone from this house for a week and you already have a new girlfriend? Is that what all the rock stars do?”

“Mom,” he sighed, “when you meet Lily, you’ll understand. But really I don’t have much time. I need a recommendation for a female doctor to take her to.”

“Why? What have you done, Lindsey?”

“Mom, please. Just a recommendation.”

She finally relented and gave him the name and number of her doctor, reminding him that the office closed in an hour. Hanging up with her, Lindsey quickly dialed the number and talked the receptionist and doctor into seeing Lily that day. The moment she stepped out of the bathroom, her waist-length hair hanging wet and limp, he kissed her, told her to put on shoes, and rushed her out the door.

Seated in his car a moment later, Lily looked over at him, “Where are we going, Lindsey?”

“The doctor’s office.”

“Oh,” her eyed dropped to her lap, her fingers instantly playing with the hem of her shirt.

“I don’t… I don’t mean to rush you, but I don’t... I don’t want a repeat of this afternoon when I couldn’t wake you,” he stated.

“I understand,” she responded softly.

Lindsey reached over for her hand at a stop light, squeezing it gently, “I… care a great deal about you, Lily. I do.”

“I… know. I appreciate it,” she glanced up, smiling slightly.

He quickly kissed her hand before the light changed, “Then afterwards we can go some place nice.”

“Like where?”

Lindsey considered it for a moment, “Well I’m not really sure. We could go walk in the park or go to a movie or something like that. It will be too late to go to a museum unfortunately.”

“Any… any of those would be nice, Lindsey. I’ve never…”

He glanced sideway at her, “It’s okay. Things have been tough for you. But you don’t have to worry about anything right now.”

Sitting in the waiting room a few minutes later, Lindsey flipped through random magazines. His eyes really did not absorb any of the images or articles as his mind was racing about the doctor’s appointment. Though she was certainly nervous, Lily had not objected during the drive to the office, only briefly hesitated before entering the office. He supposed he had forced her into the visit. That did make him feel slightly guilty, but he truly was worried for her health. If that was what it took her to be healthy, he was okay with it.

As the door to the waiting room opened, Lindsey jumped to his feet. Lily smiled sheepishly at him before turning to the counter to check out. Hurrying to her side, he quickly offered his credit card to pay her bill. The doctor came out while the receptionist finished the paperwork with Lindsey.

“Make certain you take the prescription with a full meal, Lily. And I want you to really focus on what we talked about,” the woman stated.

Lily nodded slightly.

“And I want to see you in six weeks, okay?”

“She’ll be here,” Lindsey stated.



Walking along the pavement path, Lindsey’s hand grasped Lily’s, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand softly. Her eyes did not glance at him, but looked around at the park, taking in the trees and flowers in the dusk light. She pulled away from his hand, leaving the path, and knelt to sniff a flower. Her action was sweet and innocent, making his heart swell. He instantly had a new appreciation for… the world, just by watching her.

Joining her by the flowerbed, Lindsey plucked a single, brightly colored flower from the flowerbed and tucked it behind her ear before kissing her. She giggled and let him pull her back to her feet. They kissed again before beginning to walk once more. Pulling her away from the path, Lindsey found a tree overlooking the bay and sat. With hardly any motion at all, he beckoned her to sit. Lily started to sit on the wet ground beside him, but Lindsey pulled her into his lap. He kissed her deeply, before settling into leaning against the tree.

Lily attempted to shift out of his lap, figuring having a girl sitting in his lap was not the most comfortable of situations. His arms once more circled her tiny waist, keeping her right where she was. With a smirk, she shifted on his lap, leaning her head on his shoulder. They sat silently for a few long moments, the sun inching closer to oblivion.

“Do you mind… if I smoke?” Lindsey asked softly.

“Not at all,” she answered. “I mean, I have no right to–”

“If it bothers you, I won’t do it,” he declared.

“Lindsey, if you want to smoke, smoke. I don’t care.”

He eyed her for a long moment before shifting underneath Lily to pull his pack of cigarettes out. Her golden eyes dropped to his fingers and he fished out a hand-rolled white… joint. A touch of surprise shined in her eyes, but she said nothing. Instead, she shifted in his lap, careful to not leave it as he seemed to want her there, and positioned herself better so he could smoke. The pungent smoke curled in the heavy air as he lit the blunt. She leaned slightly away, turning her face away from his.

Though he noticed, Lindsey was not entirely sure how to approach the subject. She had assured him it was okay to smoke, but now she would not even look at him. Maybe she had been expecting cigarettes. Maybe her issue was with pot. However, he did not really understand that. Pot was better to smoke in his opinion.

Finishing the joint, Lindsey reached to turn her eyes back to him. He did not try to kiss her, merely looked into her eyes. She smiled slightly, but it felt forced. Lindsey ran his fingers down the side of her face, still trying to read her eyes.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong? You seem mad at me,” he declared.

“I’m not. I have no reason to be.”

Lindsey frowned, “I… Lily, I smoke. It’s just part of who I am. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry about it, Lindsey,” she responded. “It’s fine.”

“Then why do I feel like you have closed down on me right now?”

“I’m not. Everything is fine. We’re fine,” she claimed.

He tilted her head slightly and kissed her. The moment their lips touched, he knew she was holding back from him. He did not understand it at all.

“Lily,” he spoke softly, “talk to me, sweetheart.”

“Do you think maybe we could go get dinner?” she asked. “I think I might be hungry.”

His eyes brightened and he completely pushed aside his worries about her reaction to his smoking, “Of course, sweetheart. What would you like? Steak? Chicken? Fish?”

“I… I don’t know. Maybe something light, since we ate not that long ago,” Lily answered.

He thought about it for a moment, “I know just the place. They have really good chocolate cake too.”

Getting to their feet, they strolled back to the car just as the sun fully disappeared. An ethereal darkness settled about the park, making it almost spooky. Had she not been with Lindsey, she certainly would not be there at that time, but then again she had never been to the park ever before during the day either. In the few days, they had known each other, her entire world had spun on its axis in a completely different direction. She wore new clothes from a department store, had slept for longer than four hours in a bed that did not belong to creatures unthinkable, and no longer had to worry about her mother’s care for the rest of the year. He was taking better care of her within those days than anyone had in her years of life before. It was weird, foreign, and dream-like. She should not be bothered by his smoking – pot or otherwise. However, it forced to reconsider her values. Could she relax about Lindsey’s smoking or was it really an issue she could not ignore? She was not certain in that moment and remained silent on the walk back to the car.

“Lily,” he spoke as they reached the car, “are you okay?”

“Let’s just get something to eat. This chocolate cake sounds good,” she smiled wanly.

He kissed her forehead softly before opening her car door for her. Her silence was not abnormal, but he did not like it. He hoped food or perhaps the presence of others would allow her to relax again. On the other hand, maybe he needed to convince her to share the next joint with him.