I Love You
Olivia had been thinking about it since that night. Since the night that Henry was born and Lincoln had said those three words that at that moment seemed trivial. But perhaps that was just because death was something that was so possible and she was giving birth in front of a bunch of Chinese people.
Now, all she could do was think about it. He hadn't said anything about it, or made any advancements. She wondered if he still felt the same way, or how long he had.
She was sitting in her apartment all alone. Henry was at his grandmothers and the absence of Frank still hung in the air. She wrapped her arms around herself, allowing this one moment to feel fragile. Lonely, scared, and vulnerable. Olivia's mind raced with all the memories that she ever had with Lincoln. All those instances when she felt like he had really understood her.
As if by magic, her legs swung over the side of the bed and her feet brought her to the phone. She dialed Lincoln's number, not having to look for it anywhere because she knew it by heart.
"Olivia?" His voice sent shivers down her spine. It's funny how knowing one little fact could change the way someone makes you feel. How their words, which meant nothing special in particular, could make your heart pound in your chest and have an affect on you that wasn't there before. "Liv?"
"Oh. Hi." She walked over to her couch and sat down. "I was wondering if you were free."
"Right now?" She nodded without realizing he wouldn't be able to see her.
"Yeah. Is that okay? I mean if you can't that's fine."
She could hear the smile in his voice. "No, I can. I'll be over soon, okay?"
Olivia mumbled an 'okay' and hurried to her bedroom to get dressed. She doubted underwear and a baggy shirt were appropriate for a 'first date.' She didn't want to look too overdressed so she grabbed a pair of jeans that she hardly wore from the back of her closest and pulled those on. Olivia took off her gray t-shirt and opted for a plain black one instead.
She picked up her phone and called for a pizza. It wasn't too late in the evening and she hadn't had anything to eat. Henry wouldn't be home until tomorrow night, possibly. His grandmother adored having him over and Olivia had to work tomorrow.
Her kitchen was a mess and the couch was covered with baby toys, bottles, and clothes. It was moments like these when she wished Frank had still been there. He always made sure the house was in order. He did all the cleaning and left her to do whatever she pleased. Now it fell upon her and she rubbed her lip nervously, not wanting Lincoln to see.
In ten fast minutes she had 'cleaned' the apartment. The house smelled like the candle she was burning and she was anxiously awaiting for him to get there.
She turned the TV on so it wouldn't seem like she was waiting. Olivia didn't know why this was such a big deal to her. Or why she wanted everything to be perfect. Maybe it was because in under ten minutes she was going to take their relationship to the next level, something she never thought would happen. Or really ever gave thought about. But after he had said that, after he said "I love you," it was all she could think about.
When she came back from Over There, Peter Bishop had still been on her mind. It had turned from being a mission to being something more and he was the father of her baby, after all. Frank leaving had affected her, but not as much as it would have if she hadn't left at all.
A knock on the door tore her from her reverie and her heart sped up a little.
She opened the door to see Lincoln smiling. "Hey," he said softly.
"Hi," she replied, her voice sounding quite unlike her own. She stepped aside so he could walk through the doorway. "I, uh, ordered a pizza. I didn't know if you were hungry or not, but I'm starving."
"As long as it's not Hawaiian." Lincoln said with a smile. "Mixing fruit with pizza isn't right."
She laughed. "It's pepperoni."
"Where's Henry," he asked sitting down on the couch. He grabbed the remote and turned the TV down as she sat in the chair opposite to him.
"He's at my mom's for the night. She insisted that I needed some time alone but I really just think she's coming up with excuses to steal him from me." Olivia laughed lightly, feeling warm inside just by looking at Lincoln's smile. It lit up his face and his eyes, making her capture his beauty in another way.
She had never examined him like this before. Never looked at him with an interest more than friendship. She'd heard enough stories and seen enough movies to know that sometimes your true love is always the one who has been there all along.
She had to talk to him about what he said. They hadn't addressed it and she knew that it was about time. But how was she going to bring it up? It wasn't something that you randomly blurted out. He was probably already wondering why she brought him here with no troubles with the Universes and no issues with Fringe Division.
"Lincoln, I have to talk to you about something."
He looked at her. "About what?"
The moment Olivia opened her mouth to get the words out, the doorbell rang. "I'll go get that. It's probably the pizza."
He followed her into the hallway, but stopped about ten feet away from her, leaning up against the wall. He watched her as she paid the man his money and chatted absentmindedly. He could tell that her mind was someplace else. He knew Olivia well enough to know when she was thinking about something. Lincoln wondered if what was weighing on her mind was what he had said to her a couple of weeks back. It couldn't be though. After all this time, she was now just realizing. It seemed a bit unreasonable to him. Every part of him hoped that she felt the same way. That that was what she was thinking about and she wanted to tell him how she felt towards him. His dream was to be with her, get married, and raise Henry together. He knew that he wasn't the father, and neither was Frank, but whoever it was, wasn't here. He couldn't help raise the baby. And a child needs two parents. He could be the other half. He realized that it was selfish. But he didn't care. He wanted nothing more than to walk up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist and kiss her.
"This smells delicious." Olivia said, walking over to him. She put her hand on his arm as causally as she could without making it seem weird. He smiled at her.
They walked into the kitchen and grab two plates and sat down at her little table.
"Wanna drink?" She asked him. She stood up and wiped her hands on her pants and walked over to the cabinet. Olivia grabbed two wine glasses and opened the fridge to find the bottle of red wine. She was going to mention it when they were eating. They wouldn't be interrupted and it would lead to a slightly less awkward escape.
Olivia poured the wine into the glasses and brought them over. "That looks good," Lincoln observed.
"It is," she said with a smile. She crossed her legs in her seat and gave a little laugh. After a moment of them eating pizza, in a comfortable silence, Olivia spoke. "You said you loved me."
It was out. She observed his face intently. He seemed to not know what to say. Her mind was racing with a million questions. Maybe he didn't want her anymore. Maybe she hadn't noticed in time and now he found another girl. She didn't want to be left again. Frank left her. That was understandable. Peter didn't love her, he loved Olivia. The real Olivia. His Olivia.
"I didn't think you remembered." Lincoln put down his slice of pizza and avoided looking at her directly. He couldn't read her face. He thought he had been able to read her so well, but now he wasn't so sure.
"I've been thinking about it a lot lately."
"And?" Lincoln asked nervously. He had been in love with Olivia for years. At any moment all those years could be wasted or worth it.
She stood up and walked over to the sink. It seemed wrong to be discussing this over pizza. She heard him stand up and come up behind her.
"Olivia? Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.
Olivia turned around and kissed him. He let out a little startled cry, but then wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and parted his lips with her tongue.
She turned them around and started walking them backwards towards the couch. She let him gently push her down onto the couch and he lightly crawled on top of her. Olivia started to unbutton his shirt, but he stopped her.
"What?" She said, breathing heavily. "Is something wrong?"
Lincoln gave a little laugh. "No, nothings wrong. I just want to do this right."
Olivia smiled beneath him. She kissed him with every intention of stopping, but aching to ignore his request. "Me too."
She snuggled up against him as they repositioned themselves on her couch. Their eyes fixed on the television screen, playing some silly love show. Lincoln had his arm around Olivia and was dragging his finger up and down her arm, causing her skin to tingle. Their legs were tangled up in each other and his body felt warm against her. She took his hand in hers and began playing with his fingers.
"I think I love you too," she said looking up at him. She smiled.
He kissed her forehead, knowing very well that she was sincere. "I know."