Thank you everyone for reading! This one is a transition chapter to the next one as I felt there needed something in between them after writing the next chapter. Please let me know what you think!

Chapter 8:

When she picked up Noah she explained to him his Rafa had another young man staying with him and that he would be taking care of him. Noah hadn't asked many questions and remained silent in the back seat longer than Olivia ever knew existed. Noah was usually bubbly and would talk her ear off about his day and his friends however, today he was uncharacteristically quiet. When he did speak up he asked, "Is Rafa going to be Jake's daddy like you are my mommy and like Billy's daddy and mommy are to him?' Liv had to take a step back and think through the question before answering. She was surprised at Noah's question as it had taken her off guard. However, Noah was smart and would figure things out whether she told him or not so she figured it was best to tell him as much as she could while still keeping it relatively vague. "Noah, Jake's mommy is in heaven now so Rafa is going to take care of him like I take care of you or like Billy's mommy and daddy take care of Billy." Liv didn't know if Noah fully understood what she was vaguely telling him as she did not want to completely say "yes" to Rafael being Jake's "daddy" until both Jake and Rafael were comfortable with everything. She also knew Rafael would want to explain everything himself to everyone before Noah did so as he was not one to keep things a secret for very long, especially with his Uncle Fin and Uncle Munch.

Olivia arrived at Barba's apartment forty minutes later thanks to afternoon traffic arriving to a chaotic nightmare. Sometime since speaking with him he had arranged for most of the furniture previously occupying the spare room to be picked up for storage and he and Jake had managed to spread every instruction manual out throughout the apartment. "Hello?" She called out as her and Noah walked fully into the apartment, passing by the last of the movers picking up the furniture for the storage unit as she did. "Olivia?" Jake asked as he came around the corner from his bedroom. "Hey Jake!" Olivia greeted him as he made his way into the room fully. She had to smile as she saw him fully. His hair was mused, he had a slight Barba-esk grin plastered on his face, and was wearing one of Rafael's old shirts with his basketball shorts he brought with him. "Jake I would like you to meet Noah. Noah say hi." Olivia said as she moved Noah in front of her. She was surprised at Noah's shyness as he usually wasn't afraid of meeting people or talking. "Hi Noah!" Jake said as he went to give Noah a high-five causing Noah to smile at him feeling a bit more comfortable.

As the three of them finished introductions Rafael walked out of the back bedrooms and Olivia had to hold back a smile and laugh as she saw him. He and Jake were pretty much matching with the exception of their clothing. Rafael's hair was without product and was messy and he held the same grin as Jake. "Rafa!" Noah squealed when he finally saw his favorite person. "Hey buddy!" Rafael stated as he went to give Noah a hug and ruffled his hair as he picked him up and went to hang him upside down causing Noah to burst into a fit of giggles. Olivia rolled her eyes at their usual shenanigans and looked over at Jake. She saw he was a bit uncomfortable and was looking at random things trying to distance himself from the situation. "Hey Jake.. why don't you show me what you guys picked up today. Let's let these two be monkeys for a minute." She said as he nodded and led her to the room, passing more boxes as they went.

"I think you guys bought out the story Jake!" Olivia laughed as he finished showing her the different pieces they were working on before her and Noah arrived. "He was letting me read the instructions and help him put the pieces together!" Jake said excited and Olivia smiled. She had only met one other person who became that excited over instruction manuals and he was currently hanging her 5 year old upside down making monkey noises in the living room. "Do you want me to help you with putting some of these together? I am pretty good at it." She asked. "Umm.. sure.." Jake said and she could sense his hesitation and that he didn't want to tell her "no." "Jake.. you can say 'no.' It's okay. You won't make me mad or hurt my feelings." She said as she saw the tension leave his shoulders. "It's just.. We had a good system down and .. uhh.." "You would rather Rafa be in here with you?" She asked and he nodded as a slight smile crossed his face before dissolving. "What's on your mind Jake?" Olivia asked as she sat on a new bean bag chair she figured was where Rafael or Jake were sitting earlier before they arrived. Jake didn't look at her and instead played with the screwdriver sitting on the half completed bed. "I don't want to impose .. umm.. You guys already have a family and I am ruining it. He was so different with Noah.. I.. I want that." Jake said as she heard him sniffle and rub his nose and eye quickly trying not to let her see him cry. Olivia's heart broke and she knew he was desperately wanting his "dad" and he was wanting to be with him and be part of their "family" as Jake saw it. "Jake, look at me." Liv said as she stood up in front of him. "Rafael adores you and is wanting you to be here. We all want you to be here. He just doesn't know how to do those things with you yet. Trust me.. He will be monkeying around with you in no time.. Why don't Noah and I work on clearing out these boxes and you and your da-Rafa can put us to work on what you are needing before Ms. Lucia gets here in a few hours?" Olivia asked as Jake smiled brightly nodding. "Okay. Why don't you take a few minutes and I'll wrangle the zoo in the living room?" She asked and both of them laughed a bit.