Author's note: This is the first time I've written in a while, but it's nice to be back. Please R&R. I'll update soon.
"Guys, I'll be back later," Liv said as she grabbed her keys off her desk and grabbed her coat off the back of her chair.
"We'll try not to have too much fun without you," Munch joked bitterly as he went to put a picture of their latest victim on the board. He pushed the thumbtack in hard, shaking his head at the poor girl shown in the image.
"Where ya going?" Elliot asked, turning his gaze on her. His light blue eyes showed all the red flags of confusion. "If it's something with the case you should have someone go with you," he warned.
"What you think I can't handle things on my own?" she asked. He looked surprised by the question and didn't have time to answer before she continued. "Anyway, it's not about the case. I have to pick my sister up from the airport. I'll be back this afternoon. I'm going to take her out to lunch and get her settled."
Elliot still looked confused. "She can't do that herself? This is a really important one, Liv. We've got tons of people on our backs to figure it out as quickly as possible."
"If she weren't fourteen, El, maybe I could stay but nothing's ever perfect," she said.
He finally understood. "Oh," he said in realization. She nodded, glad he finally understood. "Well, see you when you get back." He turned back to the file sitting in front of him and leafed through it.
She proceeded out into the freezing weather of the winter. This case had everyone shaken. She wasn't so sure how great a place New York was for a fourteen-year-old.
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Whatever Laura Marie Benson thought about this move to New York, it wasn't what most teens would think. She wasn't angry with anyone for shipping her off to live with her sister, for being ripped from her friends cause in truth she really didn't have too many of those. And she wasn't extremely excited about the move either. She hadn't really considered how big the city was or how easy it would be to get into trouble with her hardworking sister out all the time working on some case. Most teens would have thought one of the two. All she saw it as was a new start, a change that would probably bring up's and down's but most of all she hoped it would bring her closer to her sister.
The plane was landing. She slammed the window cover shut. She hated landing. Going up and staying up she was fine, but landing was another thing all together. It made her nauseous and just reminded her of crashing. She groaned and put her head between her legs. She felt that jerky feeling as the wheels materialized on the underside of the plane and waited for it to land. She could feel the eyes of the older woman next to her on her back.
There was a jerk and the ride suddenly got very bumpy as they touched down on the ground but soon they were riding along smoothly. She sighed in relief and slowly sat up. Calmly, she opened the window shade and looked out as the moved to an open terminal. She heard the buzzing as people everywhere on the plane turned on their phone and called their loved ones to let them know they were okay. She wondered silently if Olivia would want her to call. She decided to just wait 'til she got to baggage claim. She figured Liv would have enough time to get there by then since they had landed a little early.
She pulled her backpack out from under the seat in front of her. It was light and practically empty. She didn't have much to begin with and she had packed most of that in her suitcase. She had only used it as her carry-on because she had needed a way to get it here. It was light purple and said 'Laura Marie' in white curly-q writing on the front. She liked the way her first name sounded with her middle name and she always signed papers with her full name.
She finally cut out into the isle way between an old man and a young mother who was holding her baby tightly as if afraid someone might take it away. The flight attendant waved good-bye and she smiled at her. Generally fourteen year-olds had to be accompanied to baggage claim with someone who worked for the airport but they had been smart enough to lie and say she was fifteen which was easy enough since she didn't have a passport or a license that would tell the airline otherwise.
She followed the signs to baggage claim and pulled out her phone to give Olivia a call. She answered on the second ring.
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Olivia entered the airport at a slow pace. The traffic was horrible and she couldn't remember why they had chosen a Friday to fly her in. She inched forward. As she proceeded to 'A' the traffic let up a little and she increased her speed to a meager 20 mph. A new record she thought as she rolled her eyes at the traffic. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She didn't like talking on it while driving but when going so slowly she figured it probably wouldn't matter that much. She flipped it open. "Benson," she answered with her usual reply.
"Olivia?" Laura asked, already knowing it was her.
"Oh, I'm almost there. The traffic is ridiculous," Liv answered, not waiting for her to ask the question. "I don't like to use the phone while I'm driving so I'll talk to you when I get there, okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine. See you in a few!" Laura closed her phone.
Olivia did the same thing. She turned off the radio, annoyed with song that wouldn't end. She pulled into the first parking space in front of baggage claim she saw. The cold air entered her lungs as she pushed the door open against the effort of the wind. She breathed out and could clearly see her breath. She closed her door and locked the car. She wondered what her sister looked like. They hadn't seen each other in years.
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Laura watched as her sister pulled up, got out, locked it, came in through the sliding glass doors, looked around for her, and began to get out her cell phone. She felt the phone buzz in her pocket but couldn't bring herself to answer it. So this was her sister. She hadn't changed much in seven years but all of Laura's memories of her were just slivers, the type where you can remember what's happening but none of the details. She wanted to call out to her. Say, "Here I am! I'm your sister. This is what I've become. You haven't seen me in seven years but here I am, right in front of you." But she couldn't say anything. Words wouldn't grace her lips and her mouth was dry. And then Olivia spotted her. Olivia's face lit up with a smile and she rushed over to her sister.
It was a little awkward since neither of them knew how to greet the other. Olivia pulled her into a hug and the awkwardness ended. Laura finally found her voice, "Hi, Olivia." Laura smiled a little and picked up her suitcase.
"Hi, Laura." Olivia couldn't believe she was with her sister again after all this time. She had grown up so much but she could tell she was very much the same person. They walked out into the cold, got in the car, and pulled away from the airport slower than either had thought possible.