Hello my lovely peeps! I apologize for how choppy and jumpy this chapter is. I kept reworking it but I couldn't get it to gel. Thank you for the support and I promise to get to more Benstone goodness soon! I had to throw in a little bit for my sunken Barson ship. Have a great day!
Two Days Later
Olivia sat on the couch in Peter's office, waiting for him to come back from arraignment. She had some time to kill so she was shopping for Noah's baseball gear on her phone. The problem was, she had no idea what to get. Thousands of different gloves and thousands of different bats overwhelmed her.
"Sorry that took so long. The defense tried to turn it into the trial and it was a mess" Peter explained as he set his briefcase down on his desk. He turned so see Olivia too busy staring at her phone to answer him.
"Everything alright?" He questioned.
"Yeah sorry. I'm trying to figure out what glove to get Noah. He's still little so I could probably get anything and that'd be good for now right?"
The expression on Peter's face was definitely an amused one.
"What?" Olivia pressed, wanting to know what she said that was so funny.
"Oh nothing" Peter said shaking his head.
"Spit it out".
Peter sat down next to her, looking at her phone over her shoulder. "Oh Liv". He scrolled a few times and chuckled.
"What?" She asked once more. She felt a flutter in her chest and she didn't know if it was because of her insecurity or the fact that this felt oddly normal.
"First of all, these gloves are all way too big for Noah. Second, how do I put this nicely... They're crap".
Olivia felt herself blushing, embarrassed that she didn't know. Peter immediately noticed and tried to back track.
"Well I'm speaking from a professional standpoint. For a child starting tee ball I'm sure one of those would be fine".
"Or maybe you can just pick out his gear and I'll pay" Olivia offered with a smile.
Peter nodded, agreeing that it was a good idea. "We can all go to this shop I know tomorrow before practice if that's alright with you?"
Olivia thanked him and was relieved that she had one less thing to handle, but at the same time she couldn't help but wonder if she'd feel like this more often if Noah had a father to share the load with.
"So what's your plan for tomorrow?" Olivia questioned, wondering what they were going to start with.
"I'm going to do what any good coach would do and start with whipping you guys into shape an-"
"You guys? Meaning me too?" Olivia interrupted.
Peter had a wicked smile on his face. "Absolutely. Don't you want this to be a bonding experience with your son?" He knew exactly how to force her hand.
"Yes but isn't it still bonding with him if I'm just there watching?"
"Nope. Full experience or nothing Benson".
Olivia rolled her eyes, trying not to show that she found this whole situation quite entertaining. "If I must".
"Oh you must" Peter chuckled.
"I'll see you tomorrow at 11 then" She said as she gathered her stuff and left, feeling lighter than she had in a long time.
The Next Morning
Olivia felt a weight on her stomach and it was heavy enough to keep her from breathing in. She opened her eyes to find her son's only an inch away, excitedly staring at her.
"Time to get up momma! We have to get ready for baseball practice!"
Thankfully he moved off of her, letting her breathe. "Noah we have two hours until Peter comes to get us" Olivia whined, turning over to try and get a few more minutes of sleep. "Lay down with me" She said as her arms opened to hold him.
"Mommaaaa. Athletes don't cuddle" Noah told her as he climbed off of her bed.
"Have you ever asked one?" Olivia challenged as she sat up.
"No, but I'll ask Peter!"
She couldn't wait to hear his response to that question. Or any of Noah's questions really. When Barba first met Noah he was completely thrown off by the inquisitive nature of young children. It didn't take him long to get used to it but the beginning was still fun for her.
Barba.
She hadn't let herself think about him in a long time. She missed what they had...She missed him. Of course she understood him leaving his job, but her? How could he say all of those beautiful things, how she added the color to his once black and white world, and leave?
What if Peter gets close and suddenly bails? Noah wouldn't be able to understand that. As a mother it was her job to protect him from heartache and pain. Peter could hate coaching him and change his mind completely. What would she do then?
At the same time, what evidence did she have that Peter was like the rest? It wasn't fair of her to assume that he would leave. It was time for her to turn off her brain and let it she had to get up and make breakfast, which she much rather do than the impending workout.
Two Hours Later
"Noah please brush your teeth. Peter will be here any minute!" Olivia yelled as she tied her sneakers. A firm knock on the door made her jump. She tried to get up so fast that she tripped over her own feet and fell.
"Ugh" She groaned as she pushed herself up. "Just come in" She called, using her coffee table to push herself up.
"Hey Liv-what happened?" Peter offered his hand and pulled her up with the slightest trace of a smile on his face.
"I tripped over my own feet. No big deal".
"Coach" Noah cheered, running down the hall.
"Noah!"
Olivia felt a flutter in her chest as her coworker picked up her son and tickled him. It was like they had been the best of friends for years.
"Alright team Benson, let's go get your gear and get started".
There was that flutter again. Team Benson? How cute!
It took about forty five minutes to get all of their gear, which Peter paid for much to her dismay.
She kept replaying the scene in her head, mostly out of embarrassment.
"I'm the one that picked the expensive stuff, so I should pay" He insisted. "You can pay next year".
"How about I pay for lunch after practice?" She said in a much flirtier tone than she had intended.
"Deal" Peter said without missing a beat. "Now who's paying for dinner?" He joked (?) with a wink.
At least she took it as a joke.
Did he mean it as a joke?
"Olivia! Did you hear what I said?" Peter asked, knowing damn well that she didn't. They had just arrived at the park and set their belongings down, but she hadn't realized that Peter was already getting down to business.
"Uh...You said we're all here to have fun and learn?" Olivia tried with a big grin.
Noah giggled while Peter gave her a stern look.
"Well , you just earned yourself an extra lap around the pond at the end of practice".
Her jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"
Peter was enjoying this way too much. "I'm your coach, and as your coach I need my players to respect and trust me. Also, congratulations on earning yourself an extra two laps for questioning my methods".
Noah was laughing uncontrollably while Olivia mouthed "I'll kill you" to Peter.
"Want to make it three ?"
"No" She sighed. "Can we get this started please?"
"Now that I have both of your attention, I think we should start with some stretches. Then we'll start working on batting with the tee. Sound good?"
"Yes coach!" Noah excitedly agreed.
It was a much easier day than Peter had made it out to be and for that she was relieved. Practice had gone great so far. Noah was enjoying himself, and she was taking note of how he should stand and what to keep an eye on incase they ever practiced alone. After two hours they decided to call it a day since Noah was getting tired. Olivia was grabbing their stuff to leave when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned around to look at Peter fully, trying to contain her smile when he placed a hand on each shoulder.
"Noah is a natural Liv. He's picking everything up so fast. I know we didn't work on throwing and catching yet, but I wanted to break in the glove some so it's not as stiff not week".
It was nice to hear that he thought the same thing that she had. "More importantly to me, it seems like he had a blast".
Peter leaned in closer, close enough to whisper in her ear. "I had a blast too...And it's about to get even better".
Her heart was pounding now. "Why?" She dared to ask despite the obvious quiver in her voice.
"You still have two laps around the pond Benson. Go".
"Fine, while I'm running I think Noah has some questions about athletes for you, don't you Noah?"
"Oh yeah! Do athletes cuddle?"
To say she was enjoying the confused look on Peter's face was an understatement.
"Have fun" She sang, jogging away to do her laps.
I do not own Law and Order SVU or the characters.
