The rest of the day drug on slowly. Amanda found herself checking on Olivia constantly, glancing at her office, peeking in to give her a friendly smile, asking if she needed anything. She had witnessed the aftermath of her thanking Fin for helping out this morning, the signs that Fin was emotional written all over his face and watery eyes. Olivia on the other hand hadn't done so much to try and hide her emotions, leaving stray tears behind on her cheeks to dry themselves. She looked plain exhausted, she hadn't slept the night before, and less than an hour in the early morning, it was all she could do not to collapse each time she sat down at her desk.
Just after five o'clock Amanda shut down her computer and gathered her things, making her way to Olivia's office. She knocked lightly on the door. "Hey Liv, you ready to go?" she asked, leaning into the doorframe.
"Actually I think I'll drive separate to your apartment. I need to finish up some paperwork here. I should only be a couple of hours." She smiled, it wasn't a real smile though, it didn't reach he eyes, they were sad and tired.
"Not gonna happen. Come on, pack it up. You can do paperwork in my living room just as easily as you can here in the office." She crossed her arms over her chest and mocked seriousness. She was serious, but she was also mimicking some of the things Olivia had once told her. Olivia chuckled, immediately knowing what Amanda was doing. She looked at her, smiling honestly this time and relented. How could she say no to her?
"Yes ma'am." She gathered her paperwork and laptop into her bag and stood. Reaching for the duffle containing the things Amanda had gotten for her earlier that day, Amanda stopped her.
"You just grab your purse, I've got this Liv."
"I'm capable of carrying it Amanda, you really don't have to do that." She said, reaching once more for the bag when Amanda lightly swatted her hand away.
"I know you are, but I've got it." She smiled at Olivia and picked up the bag and walked out of the office. Olivia shook her head, but smiled nonetheless.
The two women didn't speak much on the way to Amanda's apartment. The radio was playing country music that Olivia didn't care for, but she enjoyed watching Amanda. She tapped the steering wheel with her hand and nodded along to the music as if she was alone in the car. She has never seen the blonde so relaxed and laid back. It helped Olivia's anxieties lessen, but the chill from that morning seemed to have settled right to her bones, making it difficult to stay warm, she was still cold with her coat on, and with the heat blasting through the cars vents. Even though her hands we're numb she smiled at Amanda, humming along to the music, ignoring the world around her. She was happy to have something calm and happy to end her day.
"Liv? Are you okay?" Amanda asked, turning down the music. They were almost to her apartment.
"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" she asked confused, she felt fine.
"You've been staring at me for five minutes. Not that I mind a whole lot." She turned and gave her a sly smile. "But I do feel like you should blink at some point."
"I'm just thinking about how thankful I am that you helped me today." She looked away from Amanda and out the window where the rain was starting up again. "I'd have went back there tonight if you hadn't found me on the roof. Honestly, I'm not sure I would've told anyone what was happening. So, thank you for not minding your own business." She turned and gave her a smile, but there were tears in her eyes. She knew she'd never be able to repay Amanda for helping her the way she had, but she was going to try.
"You don't have to thank me Liv. I mean look at all the times you got me out of trouble, and those times were my fault, no one else's. You needed help, so I helped." She shrugged nonchalantly, trying to keep it light although her heart swelled in her chest with emotion at hearing Olivia's confession that she wouldn't have told anyone. "You don't deserve to be treated that way Liv. No one does, but you do so much good for so many people."
Olivia looked over at Amanda who was more staring at the road in front of her, she was no longer nodding to the music, or tapping the steering wheel, she looked sad. She felt bad, Amanda was in such a good mood just a moment ago, and now it looked as if she was fighting off tears.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." Olivia said, reaching over and taking one of Amanda's hands in her own. The heat from Amanda's hand seemed to penetrate to Olivia's bones.
"You didn't upset me Liv, you're fine. This whole situation is just kind of sad." She squeezed the cold hand in hers. "You do know that you're worth allot more than the way he was treating you, right?" she turned to Olivia as she parked the car and turned off the engine. "Liv?"
Olivia sat quietly for a moment, just looking back at Amanda, the misty look in Amanda's eyes now being reflected in her own. She knew Amanda was right, yes she was worth more than the way she had been treated, but she couldn't say those words or even agree out loud. She sighed. "Can we just go inside, I don't feel like getting into all those emotions at the moment Amanda."
"Okay, let's go inside." Amanda relented. She decided to let it go for the moment. Of course Olivia knew her with, she had to, but something was off. She knew she must be feeling a myriad of emotions after what she had been going through, then having it exposed so suddenly, so she decided a quiet stress-free evening was what she needed, the rest could be dealt with later.
"My guest room isn't set up at the moment, I never really have visitors over night." Amanda said sheepishly, setting Olivia's bag down in the living room while she shed her coat and boots, Olivia following suit. "So you've got my bed tonight and I'll take the couch, and I'll get the guest room together by tomorrow night hopefully."
"Absolutely not." Olivia said in a tone that startled Amanda. "I'm not kicking you out of your bed."
"Well you're not sleeping on the couch." Amanda countered, crossing her arms over her chest. "That is not happening."
"Amanda, don't be stubborn. I'm not kicking you out of your bed." Olivia said, cruising her arms over her chest, mirroring Amanda, fixing her with a challenging stare.
"I just want you to get a good night's sleep and my couch is not very comfortable to sleep on, it's not very big so you won't be able to stretch out, you'll be cramped up. Just take my bed, please?" for a moment Olivia was quiet, considering what Amanda had just said.
"Okay, I'll sleep in your room." She finally said.
"Thank you." Amanda said with a smile, leaning down to pick up Olivia's bags to take them into her bedroom.
"We can just share it." She heard Olivia say from the living room.
Oh man, what have I gotten myself into? Amanda asked herself, looking down at her full sized bed. Might as we be a twin bed. She sighed. It's going to be a long night.