Title: Love Runs Deeper: Chapter Twenty-seven, Best Thing
Rating: PG-13 [language, drugs, mild violence]

Summary:  Lindsey tries to find somewhere to live while Lily is with Chris. Mick treats Lily to dinner. A dramatic scene enfolds around Stevie at rehearsal




Waiting out in the parking lot, Lindsey’s blue eyes remained staunchly focused on the door from the offices. Even though he had smoke two cigarettes and one joint, he could barely keep his nerves and emotions under control. It had been beyond wrong to snap Lily like that; he knew that. They did not need to continue to punish him, keeping him from apologizing to her. It was completely unfair and did not resolve anything.

It did manage to redirect his anger: from Stevie to the ladies in the office who kept him from Lily.

Pushing away from leaning on his car, Lindsey stubbed out his third cigarette and headed towards the building. Before he made it even more than a couple of steps, the door opened and Lily stepped out. His breath caught, thinking she was coming to him. It took him a moment to realize she was actually walking beside Chris, and very likely not heading towards him.

Heading to intercept the two before they got into Chris’s car, Lindsey softly called Lily’s name. The two women stopped, but Lily did not turn to him. Instead, the older woman did and headed towards him. Meeting her gaze, Lindsey suddenly felt very, very small.

“I’m really sorry,” he muttered once she was within earshot.

“I do not bloody care how sorry you are, Lindsey,” she responded. “Lily is very shaken. She has not explained why, but I’m guessing you know. She’ll be staying with me tonight.”

“But we were going to go and—”

“Not any more, Linds. Any plans you had with her, you are on your own. I’ll bring her with me to the airport tomorrow,” she declared.

“But—”

“This is not up for discussion. We will see you tomorrow.”

Not allowing him another word, Chris turned and headed back to the young woman’s side. She spoke softly to her, not loud enough for Lindsey to catch a single word. The younger blonde glanced over her shoulder at Lindsey. She did not smile, did not wave. He felt like his heart broke a little in that moment.

How was he supposed to find a place for the two of them to live, without her by his side?

Remaining where he was until Chris’s car disappeared out of the parking lot, Lindsey sighed and returned to his own vehicle. He did not reach for another cigarette or joint, but merely started the car up, glanced at the clock, and headed to meet up with the first agent at the first property. It would not be the same without Lily, but he knew it needed to be done. They needed a home where they could be undisturbed by anyone else. He needed to make amends with her for how he treated her. He sighed again. It was going to be a long evening.

By the third house, he no longer noticed anything remarkable about the houses. They were all blending together. He could not find a place for them to live on his own. It just was not fair. However, all of that changed with the sixth house he stepped into. It might have been the brightly colored flowers near the entrance that awakened him from his silent brooding. As they passed through rooms, he could definitely see Lily liking the house, maybe not the color choices, but definitely the house.

The spacious kitchen sealed it for him.

“How much?” he asked before even being led upstairs to the bedrooms.

“Don’t you want to see—”

“No,” Lindsey interrupted. “This is the one.”

“Well, okay. I’ll just get the rental contract and—”

“No,” he interrupted again. “I’ll purchase it.”

The realtor looked at him for a moment, “Are you certain, Mr. Buckingham? I was not aware you were looking to purchase tonight.”

“Neither was I. But I definitely want to purchase this house, not rent it. Can you arrange that?”

“I… of course, Mr. Buckingham. We will have to return to the office for a different set of papers. Also, it may take a couple of days before you take possession of the house,” he declared.

“That’s fine. Let’s go take care of everything that we can now. I’ll be out of town for a couple of weeks shortly, so I’m not in a huge rush to take ownership,” he stated. “Who would you recommend I have decorate it?”

“Your wife.”



Smiling as he pulled out the chair for her, Lily sat, unfolded her napkin, and waited for Mick to sit across from her. He quickly ordered a bottle of wine as he sat down, his eyes glancing at the young woman. Saying nothing more, nor glancing at the menu before him, Mick reached across the table and gently grasped her hand. A soft blush filled her cheeks, but she did not pull her hand away.

“This is really quite sweet of you, Mick,” she commented softly.

His thumb rubbed the back of her hand before he pulled his hand free when their server returned with the wine, “I could hardly let the best assistant my band has had be alone tonight.”

“I would have been fine alone, Mick,” she commented, glancing down at the menu. “Chris’s house is very nice.”

“I’m sure it is. Regardless, I would hate you to eat alone,” he quickly placed an appetizer order before turning his attention back to her. “Lindsey can sometimes be an arsehole.”

“…yeah.”

Setting down his wine glass again, Mick reached for her hand, “You do know that he is madly in love with you, right?”

“Today he…”

“I know,” he declared. “The girls told me. As fucked up as it is, what happened was not your fault. Stevie just… knows exactly how to get under his skin. I have spoken with her as well. These… things should not continue.”

“You can’t guarantee that…”

Pausing the conversation to place their orders, Mick’s eyes held hers, “No, I cannot. But I can guarantee he does love you. And that he would do anything for you, even leave my band.”

“He’s not going to leave the band, Mick.”

“Damn straight he isn’t!” his voice boomed briefly before he smirked and apologized.

“I just… I can’t be near him when he gets like that. I think you would understand that,” Lily said.

He paused for a moment, crunching on the appetizer, “Well I do, Lil. I get that there have been many arseholes in your life. We put a bunch of them in jail. Lindsey has his moments, but mostly he’s a nice guy. And totally in love with you.”

“I know.”

“I’m sure he’s all kinds of worried right now.”

“I’m sure.”

“Anyways,” he smiled as their entrees were placed in front of them, “I am quite excited to have you along this little tour. It should be a lot of fun and I think you will find it… enlightening.”

“Lindsey,” she paused to eat a bite of her chicken, “told me stories about touring when we first met. Is it really… that much different from the past few weeks?”

He chuckled, “In ways, it’s exactly the same. It is basically a traveling party. But you will get to experience full songs every night, opposed to just hearing snippets here and there in control rooms.”

“Oh that will be nice. I have listened to your records, though.”

He smiled, “Good, that’s good. It will be different live. More fun I would hope.”

“Hopefully…”

They continued to chat throughout their meal, avoiding Lindsey as a topic. Mick was aware enough that they did not need to beat a dead horse. Instead, he used the meal as a chance to really get to know the pretty blonde. He loved how she flushed anytime he complimented her. She was completely adorable. He understood why Lindsey was so infatuated with her, especially now that he was spending time with her outside of the scope of the bustle of the band.

After splitting a piece of decadent chocolate cake, Mick led Lily out of the restaurant. Though he led her back to the car, he did not turn towards Chris’s house. Instead, he took it upon himself to show her around town. For two hours, they drove around the streets of Los Angeles, through sketchy areas that reminded Lily of places she lived back in San Francisco. It made her further appreciate the neighborhoods the bands lived in—and feel more out of place.

Noticing her eyes no longer darted around in awe, Mick headed back towards Chris’s house. He briefly considered taking her to his own house to meet his wife and children, but he was not entirely sure that was that great of an idea. It might have been too much for one day. The only is was: he did not know if Chris was home yet.

Pulling into the songstress’s driveway, feeling slightly weird that John no longer lived with Chris, Mick glanced at the young blonde again. He flashed her a smile before pivoting out of the vehicle and hurried over to open her door. His hand closed over hers, tugging her towards the house.

As they reached the front door, Lily bit her bottom lip. The house was still dark and she did not have a key. Mick dropped her hand and knocked on the door. Waiting for just a moment, his long finger depressed the doorbell as well. As expected, the lights did not flick on, the door did not open.

“Mick…”

“Guess you’re coming home with me, Lil,” he grinned.

Before she even had a chance to protest, Mick picked her up and flopped her over his shoulder. She squealed and wiggled, but fear did not touch her senses. Instead, Lily let Mick have his moment and settled happily back in the passenger seat a moment later.

“You are going to be dangerous for this band,” he commented, touching her nose.

“How so?” she asked, golden eyes looking up at her.

Mick winked and closed the door. He said nothing more as he got behind the wheel again and pulled out of Chris’s driveway. Lily’s eyes watched him for a moment before realizing he was not going to answer her question, probably never. Shaking her head, she sighed and leaned against the window. At least Mick was willing to take care of her — and asked for nothing in return.



More than anxious to share his news with Lily, Lindsey sped to the practice studio earlier than everyone else. He attempted to practice his guitar, letting the techs mess with mike setups, but could not focus on a single note, much less a song. He needed to see Lily, to tell her he loved her and would never, ever behave like that around her again. He just… needed to be with her again.

John arrived at the rehearsal space. While the guitarist bubbled to him about his rather hefty purchase the night before, the older man remained silent, smoking a cigarette. Once Lindsey paused to take a breath, the bassist smiled, patted his shoulder, and walked off.

Frowning, Lindsey lit up a cigarette before searching out someone else to chat up. Finding Ken, he instantly launched into his previous night’s activities, following the sound man around the rehearsal space. He stopped hounding the other man once he heard another bandmate had arrived.

He hurried to find who it was, expecting it to be Chris and Lily. It was Chris, but Lily was nowhere to be seen.

“Um, Chris?” he approached the older woman as she accepted a drink from one of the band’s people. “Where’s Lily?”

“I have no idea,” she responded, her smoky voice even. “She did not return home last night.”

He blinked, “She didn’t come home? What?”

“She went to dinner with Mick since I had a date. Did not see her after I left.”

“Mick!? You left her with Mick!?”

She rolled her eyes, “There is no one else she would be safer with, Linds. You know that.”

“But Mick!?”

“Relax, I’m sure she’s—”

“Hello!” Mick’s voice bellowed throughout the rehearsal space.

Lindsey instantly ignored Chris and headed towards the big voice. Eyes barely glancing at the tall drummer, he looked around for his girlfriend. Wildly looking around, he did not see her anywhere. His excitement to tell her his news was instantly replaced with worry and fear.

“Where is she?” he whirled around to Mick.

“Where is who? Stevie? She’s always late.”

“You know damn well who I mean.  Where is—”

“Linds?” her soft voice interrupted his demands.

All of his thoughts and feelings arrested with that simple whisper. He could have heard it in a crowded arena, surrounded by screaming fans. Taking a breath to chase away all of the worry in his face, he turned around to face her. As their eyes connected, he smiled uneasily. For a few long moments, they stood there, looking at each other.

Lily suddenly smiled and hurried over to him, flinging her arms around his neck. He squeezed her gently, muttering how sorry he was. Saying nothing, she kissed him softly.

“Last night was horrible without you,” he mumbled as she leaned back slightly.

“I’m sure you did just fine, Linds,” Lily stated, pulling back a little more.

“Where were you?” he asked, brushing her hair from her face.

She closed her eyes, silently beckoning him to kiss her. When he did not, she leaned forward and kissed him herself. Instead of answering, she pulled away and headed over to Chris, softly chatting with her. Lindsey sighed and headed back over to Mick.

“Tell me you didn’t—”

“My kids love her. She’ll be a great mom once you knock her up,” Mick interrupted before sucking on his beer.

Lindsey flushed slightly, “We’re not…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But you should. She’s gorgeous and sexy and in love with you. So make your move already.”

Before the guitarist could even begin to argue with him, Stevie entered the rehearsal space, a swirl of chiffon and lace. The entire energy of the space changed and Lindsey was not sure it was for the better. As he had not spoken with her since learning she threw out all of his things, he turned to confront her. Before he managed even one step, Lindsey halted.

Lily was headed straight towards the singer.

With all eyes on her, the young woman held her shoulders straight. She could feel everyone watching her, but she was not about to give into Stevie. The two women stared down each other, the singer uncertain what exactly the young woman wanted.

“I know that you’re hurt by the fact you and Lindsey imploded. I can only how much it has hurt, especially since you have had to stew in all those emotions since the final fight. I have not been where you are. I do not know exactly how you feel. But I think anyone can understand that you are in a world of hurt. But you know what? You chose to remain in this band, around Lindsey,” Lily paused, glancing at her boyfriend. “So stop being a crazy bitch, suck it up, and stop trying to incite World War Three.”

There seemed to be a collective gasp in the rehearsal studio. No one knew quite what to think, much less say — least of all Stevie.

“I love Lindsey and even if some of the things he does or says scare me, I am not going anywhere. It was not just chance that he stumbled into my diner a couple of months ago. I am here to stay. So stop being a bitch, put on your big girl panties, and get over it,” she remained focused on Stevie. “I’m here to stay. Accept it or leave.”

“Who do you think you ar—”

“Lindsey’s girlfriend. And the band’s assistant. I’m here to stay.”

“You little bi—”

“Oh and you owe Lindsey an apology for throwing out all of his things,” Lily stated before whirling around and heading over to Lindsey.

Slightly slack-jawed, Lindsey’s eyes flicked from Stevie to Lily. His eyes searched hers, trying figure out where her courage came from. Without pause, she kissed him quickly and grabbed his hand. Not looking at anyone else, she led him out of the room.

“Lil, what…”

She kissed him again, “I know what happened yesterday was instigated by her. I don’t… I don’t want her coming between us anymore. And I realized last night, while I was sleeping in Mick’s guest room, that she isn’t going to just give up if I ignore her. It was time to make a stand. You’re my boyfriend and I’m not giving up on the best thing to ever happen to me.”