"So what were you thinking about?" Olivia asked with a smirk as she bit into one of her sliders. "Work" Dominic replied. "Cop out." "I was thinking of work and I was also thinking of something that Missy said to me." "Oh lord, do I even want to know?" Olivia asked dramatically. "Good things I promise. Scout's honor." Olivia wiped her mouth with a napkin, "You were a boy scout?" "Yes, I was. A good looking one at that." Olivia smiled and kept quiet and Dominic's curiosity peaked. "What are you smiling about?" "Nothing. Just imagining you dressed like a boy scout" she said with a seductive smirk. Dominic choked on his drink and Olivia laughed and kept eating her food. Dominic was sure that she was flirting with him but he didn't get ahead of himself. He glanced at the kids and noticed that they were racing each other to see which one of them would finish their food first. Within the next 5 minutes, they both were finished and all but begged to go play on games, but Olivia shook her head no. "You just finished eating and your food needs to digest. Play Connect Four for a little bit and then you can go." They both complied and started playing their game again. "You're good at that." Dominic pointed out. "What? Bossing people around? It's kind of my job." Olivia said with a laugh. "Oh, that's right. It's Lieutenant now, right?" "How did you know?" "A little birdie told me." "Who? Someone in my squad?" "Actually, no. A friend of a friend." Olivia's expression wanted him to tell her but she refused to ask, which only humored Dominic more. "Who told you Dominic? Olivia, I'm so happy you asked. It was Sheldon Hawkes." "Hawkes….he's dating Rollins." "That'd be the one. I knew Sheldon for a while now. We met a bit after Jessie's case and we stayed in touch." "It's still hard for you to talk about her isn't it?" "You caught that?" "I did."

Noah tapped Olivia's arm and she checked her watch before getting up and letting Noah slide by. "You guys can go play now but don't go too far." "Okay mommy." Olivia watched Noah wait for Nova before running off to the nearby ball pit. Olivia kept her indirect focus on them and her direct focus on Dominic. "Noah is a really sweet little boy. You're a great mom." "Thank you Dominic. Nova is a doll and she has great manners." "Thank you. Can I ask you a question?" "Sure." "It's not really my place to ask but who's the lucky guy? Noah's dad?" Olivia stiffened slightly and Dominic felt like he shot himself in the foot. "Or his other mom" he added softly as an afterthought. Olivia chuckled, "Noah doesn't have an other mom. I dabbled with women here and there when I was in my twenties but never pursued a relationship with a woman. I adopted Noah. His birth mother was a prostitute and his birth father was a sex trafficker. He kind of just fell into my lap. I was in a rollercoaster relationship and I had a pregnancy scare and we both came to the conclusion that we were better apart. Noah was my miracle and I don't know what I'd do without him. What about you? Who's the lucky woman that snatched you up?" It was Dominic's turn to go rigid.

"There is no lucky woman. Nova's mom, and I used that term loosely, isn't apart of either of our lives." Olivia looked down, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." Dominic absently waved a hand at her, "It's okay. You didn't know." "Do you know where she is?" Olivia asked softly. "Prison. Angela and I met when I was on leave 6 years ago. It was my first time being on leave since Jessie died and her death was still fresh for me. Angela and I both agreed that it was a one-night thing before we even left the bar. I was hammered and I thought she was too but she wasn't. We got a room at a decent hotel and I was too dizzy to even stand. We used protection but it was a condom that she'd brought along and it was defective. I didn't know about Nova's existence until last year when her DCS case worker found me. Angela gave me some form of Ecstasy in the bar and intentionally got pregnant. I had no idea that she was as dangerous as she was. She beat the hell out of Nova since she was able to walk. She's facing 7 separate murder charges. Nova is supposed to testify against her when her trial starts in a couple of months. Angela killed a male escort while Nova was hiding in the closet. She'd gotten away with it for a while. The ADA on the case said that the only reason that I survived was because my leave was up. All her victims looked like me. The three before I ever met her looked like they could've been my brothers."

Olivia could see that Dominic was struggling to finish and she felt her own tears fill her eyes, "Why did she keep Nova?" "Her first victim was a male escort that got her pregnant. Their daughter was stillborn. I don't think that she planned on keeping Nova until she realized that she was carrying a girl." "Her second chance?" "Yeah. Her second chance. Had I known that she was pregnant, I'd have done anything possible to keep her away from Angela. She used my daughter as a punching bag. What kind of person does that?" Olivia reached across the table and wiped Dominic's stray tears. "A very sick person. Nova is lucky to have you as a father." "No. I'm truly blessed to have that little girl. I don't want her to testify. She's petrified of Angela." "It'll be okay. She has a Marine for a father." Dominic was thankful for Olivia trying to make him feel better. "I have a question Dominic. How have you not been shipped back out yet? Did you get out?" "Yes and No. When I found out about Nova, I'd just become a Sergeant Major, which is almost the highest ranking to have, but I was recuperating from an injury. There was a bomb set off near our barracks and by some miracle, I was able to get my most wounded man out and kept him alive until we were able to get medical. I had third-degree burns on my back and injuries to my right arm and leg. To fully recover, that's taken about 9 months. A friend of mine offered to take my spot on our next mission when I told the Corps about Nova because he didn't have children or a companion. Now, I do private security but realistically they want me to come back." "When?" "Probably the end of the year." "Dominic, it's August!" "I know. I know. Nova's supposed to testify in October and I can't let her go through that by herself. The Corps has been really supportive and helpful but Olivia, that's my job. It's all I know how to do. You should know that better than anyone."

Olivia couldn't say a word and Dominic felt bad for what he'd said to her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It feels like it's so hard to choose between Nova and the Corps….now I sound like an asshole. The Corps I can do with no problem and I'm in way over my head with being a dad. I feel like a creature from another planet." Olivia stacked their plates up at the edge of the table and a busboy swiftly came by and cleared their table. "You don't sound like an asshole Dominic. Special Victims is in my blood and it is definitely something that I can do with my eyes closed. When Noah came into my life I felt the exact same way. I still feel guilty because he sees his nanny more than me because I run my squad. I get jealous of these in-depth talks we have about everything he did with Lucy and not me. Sometimes it does feel like a hard choice because the job doesn't really require afterthought and parenting does constantly. If there was a book on how to parent, trust me, I'd have been the first in line to get it. As parents, we aren't going to always get it right. We will mess up and have to learn a new way to do things. We will continue to get scared and fret over the little things. We will always overthink and panic. There are so many different ways to parent and no two people do it the same. As long as we love them unconditionally, our kids don't hold us to some ridiculous standard. I've learned the hard way that parenting is 90% instinct and 10% luck. Nova loves you because you are the good thing in her world. She's not going to judge you for not always getting it perfect." Dominic wanted to kiss her senseless but he settled for squeezing her hand in gratitude. "You're really great Olivia." She blushed and looked away, "No I'm not."

Dominic's phone rang, "I'm sorry." "It's okay. you can take it." Dominic's expression let her know that whatever was being said was upsetting him. She waited patiently until he ended the call. "Is everything okay?" "No. A private that I trained just had a bad PTSD flashback and walked into oncoming traffic. He's at Mercy and it's pretty bad. I need to grab Nova so we can go." Olivia's small but strong hand gripped his forearm tightly as she sought out his attention. "Dominic are you sure that's a good idea? Do you want Nova around that much gore? I don't know if she has flashbacks or anything but do you really want her in that environment for God knows how long?" "What other choice do I have? The woman that usually watches her won't be back in the city until Tuesday." "She can go with me and Noah." "Olivia, I can't ask you to do that." "You're not asking. I'm offering. Look at her." Olivia commanded as she turned his head to see Noah helping Nova play the racing game. The smiles on their faces were infectious. "With the trial coming up, I'm sure that you want to keep her as happy as possible. They both look really happy and I honestly don't mind. Noah has me, work-free, for the entire weekend. We'll be building forts and watching cartoons all weekend. She won't be imposing and at least you know that she'll be safe." "She has nightmares." "I deal with victims all the time. I'm sure I can handle a nightmare." Olivia said with a chuckle. Dominic thought for a moment before giving in, "Olivia, you're the best."

Dominic felt a tug on his pants, "Daddy, are we leaving?" He knelt down, "Daddy is because he has a friend that's hurt and at the doctor's office. Olivia offered to take you home with her. Is that okay?" "We get to make a fort and have ice cream. We're gonna have so much fun" Noah said, bouncing up and down. Nova looked at Olivia once and agreed. Dominic and Olivia exchanged numbers and she texted him her address. "Thank you again Olivia. Thank you so much." "It's not a problem." She looked down at the kids, "You two ready to go?" "Yep. Can we get gummi bears?" Noah asked. "And marshmallows" Nova added. Olivia started to laugh and grabbed both of their hands.