Conditions Of The Heart
(Chapter Ten: Quality Time)
It had been just over a week since Elliot and Olivia had gone to Chicago to see the kids and they now sat on a plane headed back to move the two oldest girls back home. Olivia turned and looked at Elliot across the seat as she slipped her hand into his.
"I am so excited about this," she said softly.
"Me too, darling." he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "The girls are going to love how you have fixed their rooms up."
"You don't think it was too much? I just don't want them to feel like I am intruding or interfering with their time with you."
"Olivia, you are a part of my life now. And if they are going to live here you will be a part of their lives as well. Don't ever feel like you are interfering. The kids love you. All of them. This is not just about my life with my kids. It is our life, the seven of us, together as a family."
"Yeah."
"And I was thinking. Maybe not right now, if you aren't ready. But sometime in the near future. I want you to move in with me, us. It doesn't have to be at this house. We can find a place together, our place if you want. But I want us to all be together as a family and families live together."
"Elliot, that sounds wonderful. But I think that we should focus on getting the kids back first. All of the kids."
"I made reservations. I got us a room in Chicago at the hotel we stayed at last time. I figured we could spend tomorrow with the all of the kids just being together, some family time. Then Sunday I pick up the rental car and load their stuff up and head back Monday morning. I was thinking we would drive until we get tired and get a couple of rooms somewhere. Break up the trip a little and spend some time with the girls. Then get home sometime on Tuesday. I talked to Cragen and told him you were going with me to get them. He said take whatever time we need and we can fill out the paperwork when we get back."
"That all sounds good."
"This is going to be a big change for them. They are used to being with Kathy and the other kids all of the time."
"They will adjust Elliot."
"We all will. And hopefully before too long I will get custody of the other three and bring the family back together again. I'm hoping to get this mess all smoothed over in time to transfer them back here for school next semester. They can start school here after Christmas break. Olivia, I was also hoping that by then we would all be living together."
"You don't think that is a little soon?"
"Maybe it is. I don't want to rush you or make you feel pressured. I know this is a big change for you too. I just love you and I am anxious to get my family back together. Whatever you are comfortable with is good with me."
She smiled.
"I'm good with it Elliot. I just think maybe we should give the kids a little time to adjust to the move first. Let them get settled and have a little time alone with their father. They have not had that in a long time. Then after a little while sit down and talk to them about it, I want to be open and honest with them about things. I don't ever want them to feel like they don't have a choice or a say in any decisions. If they are okay with it then we could move forward. Either live together there or even find a new house, for all of us. But they need to be a part of the decision making, Elliot. Everything we do is going to effect them too."
"You are amazing, you know that?"
Elliot kissed her gently.
"Liv, what if the kids decide they don't want us to live together?"
"Then we wait. Until they are comfortable with the idea. Elliot we have waited all of these years for a chance at a relationship. It is not going to bother me to wait a little longer until the kids have had time to adjust before we live together. We can still date and have a relationship and do things with the kids without living together."
An hour later they were checking into their hotel and Elliot called the kids to meet them for dinner. The seven of them sat around a table in the restaurant in the hotel enjoying conversation and a meal. Afterward they took the kids to a movie and to get ice cream before returning to the hotel for the evening. The room was a suite with a king-sized bed in one room and living area in the other and had two bathrooms. In the living room area were two large couches that folded out into beds and a smaller loveseat.
Elliot watched pay per view movies with Olivia and the kids until he fell asleep in a chair. Olivia woke him a little while later gently gliding her hand down the side of his face until he opened his eyes.
Elliot yawned and smiled up at her as he slid his hand up her hip above her flannel pajama pants. Olivia smiled back at him and stopped his hand with hers just before it dipped below the waistband of her pants. She pressed her lips together and stepped aside a bit until he noticed the children sitting across the room watching television.
Elliot smiled and shook his head as Olivia grinned back at him.
"Why don't you go on to bed?" She asked softly.
"I'd rather wait for you," he replied with a devilish grin.
"Elliot," she said shaking her head. "I don't think that is such a good idea tonight. Besides, I could be a while. Elizabeth wants me to braid her hair. And I think we are going to paint each other's toenails."
"You are really enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Yeah. I love spending time with them. They are amazing kids."
Elliot pulled her hips toward him until she had no choice but to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arm across her and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her gently on the cheek. Olivia turned to look at him, bringing her feet up into the chair beside him.
"I was thinking we could all go down to the Navy Pier tomorrow. Maybe catch a live show somewhere. There is this place called Giordano's it is amazing, we can get some of that famous Chicago style deep dish pizza. I'd like to take them to the Shedd Aquarium. I think that is something that Eli and the older kids would enjoy."
"Sounds like fun."
"The girls are going to stay with Kathy tomorrow night, so I can bring you back here and take advantage of you."
Elliot nestled his nose against her ear and playfully bit her earlobe.
"I love you," he whispered softly into her ear as a smile spread across her face.
"I love you, too." She turned and pressed her forehead his as he cupped his hand under her chin and kissed her passionately.
"Woo, go dad!" they heard four voices call from behind them as Olivia lowered her forehead against Elliot's shoulder in embarrassment. They had been caught.
Elliot looked over her shoulder to see his four oldest children standing there watching them. "You guys," Elliot called out as he grabbed a throw pillow from the chair they were sitting in and tossed it toward the kids. That of course started a pillow fight that went on for about half an hour before everyone had settled once more.
Elliot and Olivia helped the children fix their beds. Maureen and Eli in one bed, Kathleen and Elizabeth in another and Dickie stretched out across the love seat. Elliot stepped out of the bathroom in his boxers and tee shirt and stood in the doorway watching as Olivia made her rounds.
She moved in and out of the scattered pile of blankets and children making sure each of them was tucked in and covered well. She placed an extra blanket at the foot of each bed and a small kiss on the forehead of each child before she turned and made her way back toward the bedroom. Half way back across the living room she looked up to see Elliot standing leaned against the door frame watching her.
She smiled at him. "I just wanted to make sure they had enough blankets and no one got cold."
"You are adorable, Liv."
He reached out his arms and pulled her against him kissing her again. "I love watching you with the kids," he breathed against her ear. "You are so good with them. After my divorce I never thought I would ever find a woman who was right for me. Then I realized that I had found her a long time ago. But I never would have imagined, that she would also be so right for my kids."
Olivia smiled at the compliment.
"We should get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow."
"I thought we could have a big night, tonight." Elliot kissed her passionately as he moved them into the bedroom and closed and locked the door behind them.
"El…." Olivia mumbled between kisses in protest as he pushed her gently to the bad and crawled over her.
He smoothed his hand under her tee shirt and raised it exposing the soft skin of her belly. He kissed her stomach softly trailing his tongue across her navel causing her to sigh. He moved his hands up her back and unclasped her bra sliding it out from under the shirt and tossing it into a chair in the corner of the room. He moved his mouth back to hers sealing it with kisses of passion, tenderness and love.
He pulled back for a moment and moved his hands to pull the shirt over her head.
"Elliot," Olivia said holding her shirt down and looking up at him.
"What baby?"
She exhaled for a moment and shifted her eyes to the door.
"The kids are in the next room."
"They're asleep, Liv. And I locked the door."
"I just feel strange. I can't relax enough to do this. I mean what if they woke up?"
"Olivia, the room only has one bed. Where else would they think you were going to sleep? And I'm pretty sure they know we have been together."
"I know, but we have never been together with them in the next room."
"Okay, we won't do anything tonight if you're not comfortable with it. But eventually we are all going to live together in one house all of the time. I intend to spend the rest of my life with you. Olivia, that is a long time without sex."
Elliot laughed and hugged her as he laid down beside her in the bed.
"You know what I mean. The idea of us even being together is still new to them. And Kathy had them convinced that we had an affair and that was why she left. I just think we should kind of ease into this and take things slow until they are used to us as a couple."
"Okay," he said kissing her lips. He stood up from the bed and headed toward the bathroom just off the bedroom.
"Where are you going?" She asked sitting up in the bed.
"To take a cold shower. That is the only way I am going to get any sleep tonight."
Elliot closed the bathroom door and Olivia laughed and laid back on the bed. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She thought about the taste of his kisses and the way his strong arms felt around her body when he held her tight. She rolled over and looked at the bathroom door as she heard the shower start. She took a deep breath and smiled as she stood up and walked slowly to the bathroom door. She leaned against it to hear Elliot singing some song she didn't recognize.
She quietly pushed the door open and stepped inside. She untied the drawstring on her pajama pants allowing them to fall to the floor, then took off her lacy boy short panties as well. She pulled her tee shirt over her head and dropped it on top of the pile of clothing in the floor and walked toward the large shower stall.
Olivia opened the frosted shower door and stepped inside. Elliot stood at the other end of the shower under two shower heads in the room full of steam. He had his hands leaned against the wall and his eyes closed as she powerful streams of water fell over him.
She looked around the shower stall and noticed the body wash and shampoo she had packed for the trip sitting in the floor near her feet. She leaned down and poured the body wash out into her palm and walked to Elliot. She stood behind him and reached her hands around to his chest, smoothing the gel over every muscle in his chest and down to his abdomen.
Elliot turned around and raised an eyebrow to her as he pulled her under the cascade of water with him. He reached over picking up a loofa and soaped it up then smoothed it over every curve of her silky body. He moved his hands up her back and smoothed them over her shoulders then backed her under the water to rinse the soap away.
Elliot leaned her against the shower wall as she kissed her passionately and they let their hands slide through the warmth of the water between their bodies. Moments later he was inside her with one hand holding her knee up and the other on the small on her back. Elliot kissed her neck and collarbone as he moved inside her and the hot water poured over them.
Olivia moaned softly against his ear and dug her fingernails into his back and shoulders in reaction to his movements. They made love until the water ran cold, then Elliot shut off the water and they stumbled from the shower. He dabbed them both dry with a towel and lead her to the bed by the hand to finish what he had started.
Within moments Olivia sighed as he entered her once more. She wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes moaning softly in encouragement.
"I am so glad you changed your mind," Elliot gasped between kissed as he moved on top of her.
"What if they hear us?" She asked.
"Do you want me to stop?" He replied.
"God no! No, please don't stop." She moaned clawing at his back.
Elliot reached to the nightstand and picked up the remote control. He reached his arm around behind them and turned on the television adjusting the volume to a low but steady rumble, his eyes never leaving hers. He sped up his movements inside her as he listened to her soft coos and moans.
Olivia closed her eyes and tipped back her head as she felt the weight of him pressing against her body on the mattress. If she could do this with him every night for the rest of her life she would be the happiest woman in the world.
Elliot placed his thumb under her chin and brought her mouth to his as they finished together. They had become so in sync when making love that this was a pretty common occurrence for them now. They both gasped trying to catch their breath as he lowered his body to hers. He kissed her tenderly then rolled over beside her in the bed and pulled her into his arms.
"I love you, Olivia."
"I love you too Elliot," she said with a smile as she nestled in against him and settled for the night.
Elliot kissed the top of her head gently then placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.
"You know I want to marry you?"
"Yeah, I do."
"I want to spend every night of the rest of my life curled up in bed beside you."
"Someday, El."
"Someday."
"Let's get our kids first," she said softly staring into his eyes.
"Our kids. I like the sound of that."
Olivia smiled and kissed his chest.
"I like the thought of falling asleep with you every night and waking up to you every morning."