A New Life

Two years later…

"Mom, I absolutely love you." Eleanor screamed from the master bedroom as she packed her carry on. "I really appreciate you watching Charlie."

"No problem. I love spending time with this little guy anyways…we're going to have so much fun this week," Olivia replied as she played peekaboo with the eight-month old.

"I don't know what happened. Teddy was supposed to be back this yesterday, but his trip was extended," she explained as she walked into the kitchen. "And I can't cancel my trip because then I would be removed from the account, which is like a demotion in my field, and I've worked too hard to get here, especially…"

"Ellie breathe. Everything will be fine." Olivia walked over to Eleanor and wrapped her arms around her. "You and Teddy will figure it out. Give it some time."

"Mom, I've given it time. This isn't working. We're not working."

"Ellie…"

"Teddy and I haven't been in the same state since Charlie was born. He travels every other week and when he's not traveling, he stays in the city. Occasionally, I receive text messages, but he never returns my phone calls," she cried. "I don't know what to do Mom."

Olivia wiped away Eleanor's tears and hugged her tighter. "It will be fine. After you were born, your father and I went through the same thing. At least, you two can coordinate schedules. Jake's business trips were always a surprise. Don't give up. Everything will work out."

Eleanor took a deep breathe. "Thanks Mom," she said.

"You're welcome. Now, go. Get out of here before you miss your flight." Eleanor grabbed her bag and headed out the door. "…and don't forget to call me when you make it." Eleanor looked back at Olivia and blew her a kiss.

Olivia walked over to Charlie and picked him up from the playpen. She bounced him on her chest and thought about her next move. How can she fix this? A few minutes later, her cellphone rang. "I wonder who that is she thought," as she walked over to the kitchen counter. She looked down at the caller ID and smiled. "It's grandpa, Charlie." She said aloud as she slid her finger across the screen. "Mr. Ballard, it is so nice of you to call. I'm starting to believe that I mean nothing to you." She joked.

"Liv, you know that you mean the world to me. You are the mother of my children, my wife, and the only woman that I've ever went down…"

"Mr. Ballard! You are on speakerphone, and there are baby ears in the room." Her cheeks were starting to burn from the embarrassment.

"to Mexico with." He finished.

"That's better." She smiled.

"I love you, and I can't imagine my life without you. You and the kids are my whole world. " He exclaimed.

"Really?" She asked.

"Really." He smiled into the phone. They took a second to enjoy the moment. He could hear her breathing on his end, and she could hear his breathing on her end.

After a few seconds, she asked "What time is your plane arriving?" breaking the silence.

"4:30 and a town car will drive me from the airport to the house. I should be home before dinner." He replied as he initialed and signed a classified briefing. "If not, you can…."

"Wait." She interrupted. "I will wait for you."

"Liv…"

"It's fine. I want to because we haven't eaten dinner together in over three weeks. You've been so busy with work. We…"

"I know. I know. I know." He said as he placed the pen on his desk and focused on the picture beside his computer. It was a photo of the entire Ballard clan at the hospital in the hours after Charlie was born. It was one of the happiest days of his life.

"Jake I don't want to lose you." She finally admitted. "We've been through too much to lose each other now. We survived the hard part. This should be the easy part of our lives." Olivia glanced down at Charlie, who was sleeping now, and began rubbing small circles on his back.

"You're not losing me. You will never lose me. I love you, remember?"

"I love you too." She replied as she laid Charlie down in the playpen to nap.

Sensing her pain, Jake decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. "How's my snug bug doing?"

"She's okay."

"Okay? Can you be any vaguer? He asked as reclined back in his chair. "What is wrong?"

She took a deep breathe. She hated talking about Teddy and Eleanor's relationship with Jake. He never really realized that Eleanor was an adult. In his eyes, she would always be a newborn that needed his protection, which made him biased towards her. To him, she could do no wrong, and Teddy was always the bad guy. "Jake, they are having problems. Nothing to worry about. They are trying to figure out how to make their old lives work with Charlie in it. That is all."

"Liv, I have to go." Jake responded as he pushed a stack of papers into a folder. "I have a meeting in five minutes. I love you and kiss Charlie for me. Bye."

"Will…" before she could finish the line went dead. Olivia laid her phone back down on the counter and stared at it for moment. This time was supposed to be different. They should have grown closer together, but they were the farthest apart that they had been in years. She had grown to love him, and now, she could not imagine her life without him. Instead of worrying about a despondent situation, she decided to focus her energy on dinner and fixing Teddy and Eleanor's marriage.

A few hours later, dinner was finished and nicely placed on the table. Olivia was pulling a white wine from the fridge when she felt an arm snake around her. "Perfect timing as always, Mr. Ballard." She smiled. "Go clean up, and we can eat dinner in five minutes."

"What if I don't want to eat dinner?" he whispered into her ear.

"Oh…what do you have in mind?" she responded as she snuggled closer to him.

"I think we should put Charlie to bed early." He began.

"Tell me more."

"…and cuddle on the couch with a bottle of wine. We could sit and talk like old times."

"Or we could relive our old times," she giggled as she grinded on the top of his thighs.

"Ok. I like your plan more" he screamed as he turned her around, so he could kiss her. Jake grabbed Olivia's face and slowly leaned in to kiss her. He tilted his head. He grazed his lips over her lips until she parted them. He slowly slipped his tongue into her mouth and began to slowly increase the intensity. They were just getting into a comfortable rhythm when they heard the front door open and close. Olivia looked at Jake.

"Are you expecting anyone?" she asked. He shook his head no.

"Mom? Captain?" the voice called out.

They both looked at each other, and their heart sunk. They knew who it was. "Sorry," she whispered. "We can finish this when we get back to DC. Let's eat dinner and go back to plan A." Olivia slid out of Jake's grip and walked towards the living room. "We're coming Jonathan!" she screamed. Olivia turned to Jake and gave him an encouraging smile.

"Mom!" he yelled. Jonathan dropped his bags and ran towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her as tight as he could "I missed you."

"I missed you too pumpkin." She responded as she rubbed small circles on his back.

Jake took a deep breath and walked into living room. Jake reached out his hand and said "Hey son."

Jonathan ignored his gesture and continued to hug Olivia. After releasing her, he finally said "Hi Captain."