I know I'm like a week late, but I had to write this. This is for bensidy cunts. iykyk.
Also, if you haven't seen Endgame and have managed to dodge spoliers...uh skip the ending
"Are you sure you want him to have legal custody over Noah? If you guys ever break up, he will still have every right to see him." Trevor asked Olivia. A few weeks ago, she asked him to draw up adoption papers so Brian can legally be Noah's dad.
"Yes." Olivia said with no hesitation. It had been a little over a year and a half since Brian's trial, and they had just celebrated their one year anniversary. Ever since Olivia introduced Noah and Brian to each other, it was clear that Brian was meant to be Noah's dad. She saw Brian grow into the man she knew he always was over the last year, and was glad to be part of the process.
With Father's Day this weekend, Olivia knew that adoption papers would be the best gift, especially since Brian wasn't expecting to celebrate this holiday. Noah hadn't called Brian dad yet, nor did Brian call himself Noah's dad, but it was very clear that they were a family. Even if her and Brian were to ever break up again, she would still want him to be part of Noah's life.
Trevor just nodded. He knew how much Olivia cared about Noah, and if she wanted someone to adopt him, then they must be a good person. "Sign them, drop them off to me, and we'll get this process started."
Olivia smiled. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me."
He gave her a small smile. "Actually I do. You have the family you've always dreamed of, and I couldn't be happier for you."
Olivia's best kept secret was her friendship with Trevor. It started when he defended her for murder, but became stronger when he became Noah's lawyer. She never expected to befriend a defense attorney, especially one that she has gone head to head with, but she's learned to always expect the unexpected.
"Yes, I do, and you've helped every step of the way." She said with gratefulness in her voice. There were times where she truly thought she was going to lose Noah, but not only did Trevor help calm her fears, but he did everything in his power to make sure that didn't happen.
"That's what friends do." He smirked a bit. "We'll try to fast track the process, but of course there will be questions about his past. Also, you guys aren't married, so you will have to present a solid case as to why Brian should be in his life."
Olivia nodded. Things with Brian were already very domesticated, so she hadn't given marriage much thought, but she would definitely liked to be married one day. Her being in Trevor's office right now made it pretty clear that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Brian. "Is there anything else we should be worried about?" The first thing that popped in her mind was Brian's rape trial. Even though, charges were dropped; like Brian said, once accused, always under suspicion.
Trevor leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "You know Brian better than anyone. Is there something we should be worried about?"
She was on a high and didn't want this meeting to end on bad terms. She shook her head before she stood up. "Do a thorough check and if you find anything, let me know."
Olivia walked in her apartment, prepared to hear laughter and yelling, but was surprised when it was awfully quiet. She dropped her things at the door and walked into the kitchen, where she saw a note on the fridge from Brian.
Good evening, beautiful. Our son got an A on his spelling quiz, so I took him out for ice cream. We should be back shortly with your favorite. Love you :)
Olivia's heart flutter at Brian referring to Noah as their son. It was evident that she was making the right decision letting him adopt Noah. She then remembered the adoption papers in her bag, and knew she needed to hide them before the two of them got home.
She walked back over to her purse and hid them in the bottom draw of her desk. Just as she was closing the drawer, she heard a key in the lock. She smiled, excited to see her boys.
Brian opened the door, letting Noah walk in first, who was surprised to see his mom home before bedtime.
"Mommy! I got an A and ice cream!" He said while running to hug her.
Olivia squatted down to his level and opened her arms up to hug him. "I saw! I am so proud of you, my smart boy." She kissed his forehead before pulling away. "So so proud." She said with a genuine smile on her face. She was constantly worried about Noah's progress because of the first few months of his life, but he has overcome every obstacle presented to him.
"How was your day?" Noah asked Olivia.
"Oh, I had a great day." She said standing up. "It got even better because I can spend some time with my boys before bed." She glanced over at Brian, who had just finished putting her ice cream away. "Thank you, Bri."
"Of course." He said with a smile before leaning over to kiss her forehead.
"How was your day?" Olivia asked Brian.
"It's better now that I see you." He said with a smile. "We'll talk about the rest of it later."
She nodded, understanding. They didn't like to go into detail about their days in front of Noah because of what they dealt with on a day-to-day basis. "Well, did you guys have dinner first or just have ice cream to eat?" She asked with her signature eyebrow raise.
Noah looked at Brian for help with this question. Brian made him promise not to tell Olivia that they didn't eat real food, but he couldn't lie to his mom.
Brian knew he was in trouble and quickly opted for damage control. "You know you look really beautiful today."
Olivia tried to keep a straight face, but she should have known better. The two of them were two peas in a pod, and if Olivia wasn't around enforcing the rules, they weren't going to follow them. "You two are never going to learn. So because of that, you guys will be having brown rice and Brussels sprouts tonight."
"Mom!"
"Oh, c'mon, Liv."
She shook her head and stood her ground. "I don't want to hear it." She looked over to Brian. "And you will be cooking." She tried her hardest to hide her laugh because of both of them pouting. She walked away to the bedroom before she broke character.
"You got us in trouble!" Noah said crossing his arms and glaring at Brian.
Brian chuckled. "Ice cream was your idea, remember?"
"But you're the parent." Noah shot back.
Noah didn't understand the magnitude of what he just said, but it completely took Brian off guard. Of course, he thought of Noah as his own child, but he would never make Noah call him dad. Brian felt tears form in the corner of his eye and had to clear his throat to shake off the emotions. "Yeah, yeah, I am, kid." He said while ruffling Noah's hair. "Let's make mommy dinner."
Brian and Olivia walked into their bedroom after putting Noah to bed. Olivia loved when she was home in time to put Noah to bed. It was one of the few moments she was guaranteed to spend with him. Brian usually let her take the lead with bath and bedtime, just because he spent the most time with Noah out of the two of them. He did like to be part of the routines because of his connection with Noah.
The duo climbed in bed, and Olivia snuggled into Brian's side with a content smile on her face. "It's been so long since we've been able to do this."
"I know." Brian said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to him.
"So, how was your day, really?" She asked again, remembering their conversation from earlier.
He sighed. He had been dreading telling her this news all day, but he couldn't hide it from her. "Promise not to get mad." As soon as he said the words, he felt her tense in his embrace. "I said don't get mad." He said with a slight smirk on his face.
"Sorry, but usually when someone says that, it's followed by something that is going to make me mad." The worst case scenarios started to run through her mind, and if Brian didn't tell her the news soon, she was going to overthink herself into having an anxiety attack.
"I have to go to Philly for the weekend."
Olivia immediately sat up. "Brian, no. It's Father's Day weekend! I've been planning this for months." Of course, he could get his gifts later, but she already took the weekend off and brought tickets to see that Marvel movie he had been going on and on about for months. There was no way his job was going to ruin this.
Brian was actually very surprised she had anything planned for Father's Day. He expected a card or something small, but not anything that would take months of planning. "Look, I don't want to go either, but we got a lead on our suspect."
"So, go tomorrow. Why wait four days? If this is actually your guy, you're just giving him more time to run."
Brian paused for a moment. "Well, yeah. You have a point. I just thought the weekend would be better because of Noah." He shrugged. Since Brian had come back into Olivia's life, Brian had been helping her tremendously with Noah. Since Brian's schedule was pretty set during the week and he had weekends off, it allowed Lucy to actually just be a babysitter instead of a nanny.
She wanted to be mad at him but she couldn't. Noah was always his first priority and it made her so happy. "I'm sure Lucy misses Noah, and I can call your mom to help if I really need it, but you need to be back from Philly by Sunday morning at the latest or so help me, God..."
Brian couldn't help but to laugh, but it also meant a lot to him that Olivia had put so much time and energy into Father's Day. "Yes, Lieutenant. Let me call Chad and see if he's okay with leaving tomorrow afternoon." He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and called his partner.
Chad answered on the second ring. "Hey, man. I was just about to call you. Wifey is not happy about this weekend trip."
Brian slightly smiled. "Yeah, neither is mine, especially because it's Father's Day. She suggested we leave tomorrow."
Chad's eyes lit up. "Perfect, man! Michael has his first soccer game Saturday, and I was told I had to be there, or I was a dead man walking."
Brian let out a sigh of relief, but smiled. "Our ladies gotta meet one day. I'll see you tomorrow." He hung up the phone and looked over at Olivia. "Your weekend plans are saved." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Aren't you going to miss me, though?"
She leaned back into his side before she answered. "Yes, but I rather have you here for Father's Day, and I know Noah would too."
Now he was intrigued. Olivia obviously had something big planned up her sleeve, and he was anxious to find out, especially if Noah was involved. "You're right. We gotta go on a double date with Chad and his wife some time." He said with a smile.
"I would love to meet the woman that puts up with Chad." She said in an amusing voice.
Chad and Brian were almost identical. Where one slacked, the other picked up. Their personalities, humor, lifestyles were all parallel. The only difference is that Brian had a little more street and book smart than Chad, and has had to Chad more times than he would like to admit. Olivia has told Brian that maybe he should ask for a new partner, but Brian loved working with Chad and couldn't handle the DA's office without him.
"I still don't know how he bagged her."
Olivia smirked. "The same way you got me." She said looking up at him.
"Ah, so good looks, sex, and charm?" Brian asked with a cocky grin on his face.
Olivia couldn't help but laugh. "In your dreams, Cassidy." But he was right. Those were the first things that attracted her to him, but what made her stay was how funny, caring, and patient he was. And most importantly, how he treated Noah.
"You know you love me." He said pushing her on her back and pinning her to the bed.
She raised a brow and licked her lips before she spoke. "You are not getting laid tonight. You gave our son ice cream before dinner. You are most definitely in the doghouse." She said grinning.
Brian smacked his lips. "Oh, c'mon-" Then it hit him. "Wait, did you just say our son?" Of course, Brian said it here and there, but this was the first time he had ever heard Olivia refer to Noah as theirs.
"Yeah, Bri. Our son." She said with a huge smile on her face. She couldn't believe she actually had the life she had spent so long dreaming of. Even if Brian legally adopting Noah didn't go through, it was clear Brian did not need a piece a paper to tell him if he was a father or not.
"Can we call Brian before I go to sleep?" Noah asked Olivia as she was putting him to bed.
She smiled at the question. "Yes, of course. I'm sure he would love to hear from you." Olivia grabbed her phone from her back pocket and called Brian, hoping that he wouldn't be too busy to at least say goodnight to Noah.
"Hey, Liv." He answered with a small smile on his face.
"Hey, Bri." She said being instantly comforted at the sound of his voice. "Noah wants to say goodnight. Are you busy?"
Brian's face lit up hearing the real reason she was calling. Of course, he missed Olivia and wanted to talk to her, but he was definitely missing Noah. "No, I'm never too busy. Put him on." Brian said with a smile.
Olivia could hear the excitement in his voice and it brought a smile to her face. She handed the phone over to Noah.
"Hi, Brian! When are you coming home?"
"Hopefully tomorrow night. Do you miss me?"
"Yes!" Noah nearly screamed. "Mommy hasn't played video games with me and she won't let me have ice cream."
Olivia just laughed and shook her head. Brian was clearly the fun parent, and Olivia was stuck being the one to enforce rules, but she knew Noah would appreciate it when he got older.
"Well, when I get back home, that's going to be all over with." Brian said with a smile. He could see Olivia's face right now listening to their conversation.
"Good. Love you, Brian. Goodnight."
"I love you, too, kid. Sleep tight."
Olivia grabbed the phone from Noah. "Don't hang up yet." She said quickly to Brian. "Goodnight, my sweet boy." Olivia kissed Noah's forehead before she walked out his bedroom and closed the door behind her. "Hi, there." She said to Brian over the phone.
"I said I wasn't too busy for Noah. You, Miss Benson, need to make an appointment." Brian said grinning.
She smacked her lips. "Oh, shut up." She said as she walking into their bedroom. "And to think I actually miss you."
"I miss you, too, Liv. However, you have to let our son eat ice cream every once in awhile."
She rolled her eyes. "He has to eat healthy."
"Hello pot, it's kettle." Brian said making fun of Olivia's unhealthy eating habits. "You don't have three healthy balanced meals a day."
"But I'm the parent. He's supposed to do as I say, not as I do." Brian did have a point, but she wanted Noah to do things better than she did.
"And as Noah's other parent, I say that he gets to eat ice cream." Brian shot back.
Olivia was caught off guard by his statement and didn't have anything to say back to him. Brian did let her lead the way when it came to parenting decisions for Noah, and he was always happy to give advice when she asked. But now, since she was allowing him to adopt Noah, she would have to always consider his opinion.
"I'm going to take your silence as a win." He said with a smirk.
She shrugged her shoulders. "You are his other parent, and have a say in what he can or can't do, so I will give you that. As for the ice cream situation, only once a week."
Over the last two weeks, Olivia had suddenly been referring to him as Noah's dad and allowing him to step up to the plate more, and he began to wonder if it had anything to do with Father's Day coming up. "Twice a week, and we have a deal."
She groaned. "Fine, but, only after dinner, Cassidy."
He laughed. "Yes, ma'am."
"Mom, why don't I have a dad?" Noah asked Olivia as they were sitting on the couch waiting for Brian to get home.
Olivia inhaled sharply. She knew this day would come, but she never could prepare herself for it. "Well, not all families have a mom and a dad. Some people only have a mom or they only have a dad. Some people also have two moms or two dads." She said hoping that would kill his curiosity.
Noah was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "Can Brian be my dad? Miss Liz had us make things for our dads in class today, but since I don't have one, I just made something for Brian." His voice softened and trailed off at the end because all he wanted was a dad, and he didn't understand why he didn't have one, but other people did.
Olivia's eyes immediately filled with tears hearing this. She wanted to talk to Noah about Brian being his dad, but this was all the confirmation she needed. It was obvious the three of them belonged together. "Of course he can. We should ask him on Sunday to be your dad."
Noah eyes lit up and he smiled at hearing the fact that Brian could be his dad. "Why wait?" He said nearly jumping off of the couch.
Olivia could only chuckle at his excitement. "Well Sunday is Father's Day and I think you asking him on that day will make him extremely happy. Plus, I was going to ask him to be your dad, also."
"You were?" He asked surprised.
She nodded. "I think he's a really good dad."
Noah smiled and leaned back into Olivia's side. "He is."
xx
It was about twenty minutes later when Brian walked into the apartment. Noah jumped off of the couch when he heard the door open. "Brian!" He nearly screamed.
Olivia knew that if any of her neighbors were sleeping, they were definitely awake now.
"Oh, man, did I miss you buddy." Brian said while scooping Noah up into his arms and hugging him tight.
"I missed you the mostest." Noah said squeezing Brian tighter.
Olivia cleared her throat, but had a small smile on her face.
Brian looked up at her and laughed before he put Noah down. "I missed you, too, beautiful." He said before walking over to her and giving her a light kiss on the lips.
"Can we play video games, Brian?"
"How about we let Brian get some rest and we can play with him tomorrow?"
"It's fine, Liv. I made Chad do the drive back." He looked over at Noah. "Get everything set up while I take a shower."
"Okay!" Noah ran over to the tv and started pulling out the games.
Olivia wrapped her arms around Brian's waist and brought him closer to her. "You spoil him." She said looking up at him with a content smile on her face.
"I have no regrets about it." He said with an equally content smile on his face.
Olivia laid awake in bed waiting for 7am to come. She could barely sleep at all last night because of her excitement for Father's Day. This was the first year she was ever excited for the holiday because of how she was conceived. Even when she adopted Noah, the day wasn't celebrated or talked about because she was a single mom. Now that Brian was around and was the perfect dad for Noah, she couldn't help herself.
"I can't believe you didn't sleep last night." Brian grumbled into the pillow. After Lewis, Brian gained a sixth sense when it came to Olivia sleeping. His sleeping pattern had started to match hers, just so he knew if he needed to be awake or not. Even though, she was almost always completely still when she was awake, he could never sleep.
Olivia looked over at his body, that didn't even move an inch when he spoke and raised a brow. "How did you know?'
He wasn't going to tell her that he was basically up all night with her because then she would feel bad. "I know you, Liv." He said now turning his head to look at her. "Besides, when you're really sleeping, you cuddle up into my side." He said with a slight smirk on his face.
She smiled because he was right. She always slept the best with his arms wrapped around her. "I feel like a kid on Christmas." She confessed. "I'm so excited for today, that I couldn't sleep."
"Liv, what are you doing today?" He said now shifting his entire body to look at her. She didn't have to go all out for him. A card and a small gift would have meant the world to him, but now it seems like he will be getting way more than that.
"Spoiling the best father in the world." She said before she leaned over and kissed him sweetly on the lips. She pulled away with a smile, before slightly grazing his face with her hand. "I love you, Bri. Happy Father's Day."
Brian felt himself get emotional and the day had just started. Knowing Olivia, he had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time he felt this way today. "I love you, too, Liv."
"Good. Now you lay here and relax while our son and I fix you breakfast." She said grinning and getting out of bed.
"I can get used to the sound of that." He said watching her walk out of the bedroom.
Before Olivia could even get to Noah's bedroom, she saw that his door was open and heard something in the kitchen. She changed paths to go into the kitchen and couldn't help but smile when she saw Noah pulling out pots and pans. "What are you doing, love?"
Noah jumped at the sound of her voice. "You said we had to cook Brian breakfast." He said innocently.
"Yes, I said we. You can't do it by yourself, sweetheart." She said walking towards the refrigerator and grabbing eggs and butter. "What were you planning to make him?"
"Chocolate chip pancakes! He loves them."
Olivia grinned. "Yes, he does. Do you want to make bacon for him, also?"
Noah nodded. "Plus, cheesy eggs!"
"Chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and cheesy eggs it is."
"Breakfast in bed, I got to see Endgame, and then dinner at my favorite restaurant with my mom. Liv, you truly spoiled me." Brian said to Olivia, who was making ice cream for the three of them. Throughout the day, Olivia and Noah was constantly reminding him how great of a dad he was, and he couldn't believe the life he always imagined was actually his.
"Most of the day was Noah's idea, but we just wanted you to feel special." She said with a genuine smile on her face. Today was easily one of the best days of her life, and the best had yet to come.
"Yah! I told mommy we had to go to the movies, but I'm sad Ironman died."
"Yeah, but he saved the world." Brian said smiling at the small boy.
Olivia handed them their bowls of ice cream. "I'll be right back, boys." She walked over to her desk and grabbed the adoption papers from the bottom drawer. She walked back to the bar where Brian and Noah were sitting. "Noah, remember that super secret important question you wanted to ask Brian? I think now is the perfect time."
Brian looked between the two of them, confused as to what was going on. He had already cried with the handprint and small letter Noah wrote him and the card Olivia gave him. He couldn't even imagine what else they could do.
Noah's eyes lit up upon hearing that he could finally ask Brian to be his dad. "Brian, do you want to be my dad?" He said with his voice full of excitement. He was nearly bouncing in his seat, awaiting the answer.
"Yeah, Bri, do you want to be his dad?" Olivia said as she handed Brian the adoption papers.
Brian felt his heart stop as he looked down at what Olivia had just placed in his hands. "I.." He tried to speak, but his voice cracked. This little boy could hardly wait to ask him and Olivia had gone out to make sure it would be official. "Hell yeah, I want to be your dad." Brian said with tears rolling down his cheek. He grabbed Noah from the chair he was sitting and wrapped him in his arms so tightly. "I love you."
"I love you, 3000!" Noah said reciting a line from the movie earlier and wrapping his arms around Brian's neck.
Olivia let out a small sob as she watched Brian hug their son so tightly. She couldn't recall a time she had ever seen Brian so happy, and she was glad she was part of this moment.
Brian pulled away smiling and looked down at Noah. "Hey, kid. Remember that super secret important question we have to ask mommy? I think now is the perfect time." Brian smirked as he copied Olivia from earlier.
Now, it was Olivia's turn to be confused. "Bri, this is your day."
"Yeah, I know." He said walking away to their bedroom to grab a small black box he's had hidden for the last three months. He walked back into the living room, sporting a huge grin, not believing that not only was Noah going to be his legally, but Olivia would hopefully be his wife. "Remember your speech?" He asked Noah.
Noah nodded before he looked at Olivia. He grabbed her hand and made her turn her back to Brian, just like they practiced. "Mommy, Brian loves you and me very much. He wants to live with us forever, so you have to marry him!"
Olivia's eyes widened as she turned around to face Brian, who was on one knee holding a small black box that had her dream ring nestled in the black velvet. It was princess cut diamond, that had three smaller diamonds on each side of it.
"Well, Liv, what do you say? Will you marry me?"
She just nodded while more tears rolled down her face, because she didn't trust her voice.
"Is that a yes, mommy?" Noah asked innocently.
Olivia chuckled. "Yes, yes!" She cradled Brian's face in her hands and kissed him with all the love she felt for him. She couldn't believe this was happening, nor that he had been planning this for so long.
"Ewww." Noah said as he watched them kissed.
They both pulled away from the kiss, laughing at Noah's reaction. "I love you so much, Brian." She said still holding his face in her hands, afraid that if she broke physical contact, that she would wake up from this dream.
"I love you, too, Olivia, but you haven't let me put the ring on yet." He said chuckling.
"Oh!" She smiled and stepped back holding out her left hand so he could slip the ring on. "It's so beautiful." She said finally admiring her engagement ring. She looked back up at Brian. "I love it and I love you."
"Hey, what about me?" Noah asked, not liking that he was being forgotten in this moment.
Olivia picked him up, struggling a bit and smiled. "I love you the most." She looked at Brian, who was looking at her and Noah with nothing but love in his eyes. In that moment, she finally felt true peace and happiness.
"We both do, kid." Brian said leaning over to kiss Noah on the forehead. This was it. This was the life that Brian had convinced himself he didn't deserve anymore. He was grateful that Olivia never gave up on him and continued to push him to be the best version of himself. "I don't know how you're going to top this next year, Miss Benson." He said joking.
She laughed with him. "I have a few ideas."