Amanda heard the patter of Frannie's feet tapping excitedly along the wooden floor once she shut and locked the door. She placed her bag on the floor and hung up her coat before giving all her attention to the dog, who was now rolling around on her back. It was Frannie's way of asking for her belly to be rubbed and Amanda quickly obliged. It felt odd for Amanda to return to her apartment and not be greeted by Jesse running towards her for a cuddle, let alone having to do the usual "thank you so much" and "goodbye, get home safe" routine with the Nanny. Jesse was at a friend's house for her first sleep over, and although Amanda was missing her like crazy, she knew from a quick phone call in the car journey home that Jesse was having a great time and causing no trouble at all.
"You're a soppy thing" she smiled, bending down carefully and scratching Frannie's soft tummy as her tail happily hit against the floor. The tapping of the dogs feet followed Amanda closely behind as she strolled to the living room and settled down on the couch. Frannie curled up beside her and laid her head on Amanda's knee, letting out a big sigh.
"I know the feeling, girl" Amanda sighed softly, resting her hand on Frannie's head and stroking down one of her velvety ears. She looked down at her fast growing baby bump and rested her free hand on the top of it. Frannie's head lifted and cocked to one side as she looked at the bump and then up at her owner.
"Baby Rollins number two will be here soon enough, then you'll have to really take guard and look out for us, and Jesse". Amanda smiled as she rubbed her belly and felt the baby kick against her hand. It caught her by surprise and she gasped a little, which caused Frannie's ears to spike upwards in confusion.
"You're doing a little dance in there, huh?". She talked quietly as she lifted up her shirt and rubbed soothing circles around her perfect bump. Frannie's ears relaxed as she rested her head back down onto Amanda's leg. She had always been a caring dog, but since the pregnancy she had been on high alert and was hyper aware of anything to do with the baby.
Amanda's thoughts quickly drew back to earlier in the day, and the memory of the beautiful bouquet of red roses that had been delivered for her to the precinct moved to the forefront of her mind. She knew who they were from, but that didn't mean she was entirely happy about it. She had a complicated relationship with the father of her second child. Amanda had finally attempted to cut him off recently, telling him she didn't need his support and that she was keeping the baby. Since then, Al had been trying to win her over and todays attempt was through a huge bouquet of deep red roses and white gypsophila. Amanda grabbed her phone and hovered her thumb over her Lieutenants text thread. She was finding it increasingly difficult to stop her mind wandering back to the hug they had shared in Liv's office that day. It was the first time they had held each other in a proper, emotional embrace, and Amanda wished she didn't have to let go. She thought back to the flowers and remembered how Olivia had told her to keep them.
"Sometimes we just need a little pretty" were her exact words, and Amanda could still picture how her Lieutenant's eyes were tear-filled as she spoke. She was still curious as to why Olivia appeared so emotional over those simple seven words.
—
"You know those little white flowers he sent with the roses? They are called "baby's-breath". You think that's him trying to be cute or something?". Amanda hit send before she could talk herself out of it. She placed her phone face down on the arm of the couch and turned on the television to distract herself from awaiting too eagerly for a reply. It was only a minute later that she heard her phone vibrate. The sound caused Frannie to lift her head and give it a funny look before wagging her tail slightly against the couch pillows. When Amanda didn't pick up her phone straight away, the buzzing occurred again and this time Frannie let out a rather pathetic growl.
"Alright girl, alright" Amanda soothed with a chuckle, stroking a hand down the dog's back. She picked up her phone and unlocked it without letting her eyes fleet over the text preview as they normally would.
"He's certainly trying to make some kind of lasting impression. That one bouquet was more flowers than I've ever received all together in my long life!". Amanda smiled as she read the text, but felt a twinge of sadness as she re-read the second half.
"Oh come off it, Liv. You never got bouquets from any of your past boyfriends? What about anniversaries or special occasions?". This time, Amanda kept the text thread open and her phone in her hand. A few seconds later she saw the three grey dots floating about. They stopped. Then started again. Just as she was about to quit watching the phone so intensely a new text popped up.
"Not really. Men normally get women flowers for one of three reasons: they feel guilty about something, they have lied about something, or because their significant other has begged them to and reminded them every day for a week leading up to the occasion."
"I think we have a winner with the first reason for Al".
Amanda sighed once she hit send and set her phone down again. Her head filled with the stress of the past couple of months and she gently moved her leg from under a sleeping Frannie. She wrapped the tartan blanket from the arm of the couch around her and walked into the kitchen. She hadn't eaten for hours, but exhaustion from sleepless nights had caught up with her and she was too tired to cook anything that her cupboards or refrigerator permitted. She soon settled for a coffee and sat back down close to a snoring Frannie. After a few sips, she lifted her shirt and gently stroked the tips of her fingers around her belly button, which was now poking out due to her growing baby bump.
"I wonder if you're a boy or a girl" she whispered.
"Or neither, that's okay too". She smiled and rested the palm of her hand on the top of her belly.
Ten minutes later, Amanda's coffee was cold and she had drifted off to sleep wrapped in the comfort of her blanket. Frannie was now stretched out on her back, taking up most of the couch comfortably. Only the dull sound of a late night re-run could be heard floating lightly from the television as Amanda's phone let out a sudden and continuous buzz. Frannie's ears pricked up and she stumbled off the couch quickly. The sound of her claws tapping against the wooden floors woke Amanda out of her light slumber.
"Hmm?" she sighed sleepily. Her phone continued buzzing. In a daze, she grabbed it and answered without checking the caller ID.
"Rollins?". She yawned very audibly and immediately opened her eyes wide when she realized this could easily be a work call.
"Amanda, hi, it's only me, and before you jump up in a panic, this isn't about a work case". The familiar voice coming from her Lieutenant made Amanda relax back against the couch and rub her watery eyes, although she was definitely surprised to hear from Olivia at this time in the evening. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair and pushed it away from her rosy face.
"Oh, Liv, what's up?". She suddenly remembered how they'd been exchanging texts before falling asleep.
"Did you send another text? Sorry for not replying again, I couldn't fight sleep" she chuckled, pulling the blanket from round her shoulders and laying it over her bump and thighs.
"No worries Amanda. I only called because - well, uh, I don't know really" Olivia sighed, letting her words trail off into almost silence. Amanda sat upright and switched the phone over against her other ear. Frannie picked up on the sense of worry and nudged her cold, wet nose against Amanda's arm.
"I'm sure you do know. I'm listening, Liv"
"It's Noah. He was so mad at me for being late home again, because of that bastard perp today. I feel awful, Amanda. I keep promising him I'll be home and I keep letting him down because of this fucking job". Olivia's voice trailed off into a muffled sniff and Amanda's heart near broke.
"Damn, thats tough. He got mad again, huh? I'm so sorry Liv. But hey, your fucking job is the job that you've poured your heart and soul in to. The job that you won't give up until the day you die" Amanda encouraged before continuing.
"I'm pretty sure that if tomorrow, you were offered a large sum of early retirement money and the rest of your days on a Caribbean island you'd still choose to bust perps in New York City".
"Probably, but this isn't making me feel any better about Noah" the brunette woman sighed, a little impatiently.
"Right. So, how about… tomorrow is Sunday. Why don't we take the kids out for the day? I know Jesse is dying to see Noah again, and Frannie wouldn't mind a good run around. That way, you get to spend time with Noah, I get to spend time with Jesse, our two little rascals with each other and… well, we can spend a few hours in each other's company without killing each other, don't you think?"
"I don't know, a few hours without killing each other? Bit of a far stretch if you ask me" Olivia replied seriously. Amanda's shoulders sunk down and she leaned back into the couch. She couldn't help but feel the disappointment in the pit of her stomach when she heard her Lieutenant speak so seriously.
"Rollins, I'm kidding. A day out with you and the kids sounds great". A smile made it's way on to Amanda's lips and she felt her cheeks flush red and warm.
"Perfect. How about I swing round to yours tomorrow morning after I collect Jesse from her friends house?"
"Great, 11am okay?"
"11am it is. See you tomorrow, Lieu. Goodnight". Amanda's smile grew as she heard the sweet sounding "goodnight" from the older woman before hanging up the call.
—
As Amanda walked with Frannie pulling on her lead in one hand and holding Jesse's hand with the other, she spotted a flower market across the road. She was already a couple of blocks away from Olivia's apartment and running a few minutes early, so she crossed once an over-protective Frannie allowed her to. She let go of Jesse's hand once they made it over safely and smiled as she took in the beautiful array of colors and shapes.
"Mommy, I like dese' ones". Jesse was excitedly pointing at a big bunch of sunflowers, all beautifully bloomed and a gorgeous golden yellow.
"Oh wow! Me too, sweetie. They are beautiful. Let's get them for Auntie Olivia then, shall we?". She bent down to Jesse's eye line and smiled, adjusting her fairy hairpin that was slipping out of her shiny, light blonde locks. Jesse nodded and grinned in happy agreement as Amanda stood back up and paid for the sunflowers. She picked them up carefully and thought again to herself, how beautiful they were.
"Me hold them, please?" Jesse asked sweetly. She was pulling gently on her Mom's hand and looking up at her with big, blue eyes.
"It's a bit much for you to carry all of them" Amanda replied calmly. She pulled out one single sunflower from the bunch and placed it in Jesse's free hand.
"There we go, one special sunflower for one special girl, is that a good compromise?". Jesse nodded with a smile as they headed down the street towards Olivia's apartment. Jesse tried her best to keep her single sunflower as still as she could while she walked along, fearing that she would damage it if she moved it too much. This presented itself as a game to Frannie, who kept trying to jump up and catch the yellow petals in her mouth.
"No, Frannie! Bad girl!" Jesse chimed out for the fifth time in as many minutes. Amanda chuckled and helped Jesse up the steps to Liv's apartment door. She pressed the bell and waited patiently. She heard the muffled sound of Olivia's voice from inside, and it grew louder and closer until she finally answered the door. Jesse felt comfortable enough to run inside after giving Olivia's leg a quick hello hug, and she ran off to find Noah and show him her single sunflower that she was so proud to have safely delivered in one piece.
"Sorry, she's a bit hyper after her sleep over last night. Oh, and these are for you" Amanda smiled, feeling a little nervous as she handed over the bouquet of sunflowers to Olivia.
"Oh, Amanda! Look at them, they are gorgeous!". Olivia's face lit up in a way that Amanda had failed to see for so long now. She traced her eyes across every sunflower, taking in beauty of them and pondering why she deserved such a perfect gift on any other Sunday morning.
"I love them. I love them so much, Amanda. Thank you. But why?". Olivia kept the radiant smile on her face as she looked up from the flowers. She met eyes with Amanda, who simply grinned and shrugged casually.
"Because sometimes we just need a little pretty".