Disclaimer: They are not mine.
After seeing that the reviews in recent chapters have decreased, I was wondering what to do with this story and whether it was best just to cut it short and wrap it up now. However, it was pointed out to me that it wouldn't do anyone justice. So, I'll continue it as I planned. Thank you to all who have stuck with it - I appreciate it.
A special thanks to Loli!
Curled up in bed later that night, Elliot was quiet and Olivia let him be as she cradled his head to her chest, gently raking her fingers across his scalp. Finally, when he had shifted for the fourth time in five minutes, Olivia drew his face up to hers.
"Do you want to call her? See if she's alright?" she asked, her finger tracing his jaw.
"Kathy?" he asked.
"That's who you're thinking of, isn't it?" she asked, continuing with her caresses.
He nodded. "I really thought she should have been there today – for the kids' sake," he said quietly.
"Yeah, I thought that too," Olivia agreed, her fingers pausing by his temple.
"And for her not to be there...well..." he trailed.
"Call her...now or in the morning, call and see how things are," Olivia prompted.
"Why are you so wonderfully understanding?" he asked, gazing up at her.
She just smiled and kissed him gently.
.
After another ten minutes and more shifting, Olivia reached over and grabbed his cell.
"Call her now," she said, kissing his head. "You're not going to sleep until you do."
"Thanks," he said, taking it from her, relieved Olivia had made the decision for him. "I'll just..." he started to excuse himself, while there was nothing about the call he wouldn't tell Olivia, he just felt uncomfortable about making it in front of her.
"It's okay," she said, slipping from behind him. "You stay here and call."
Kissing him once more she headed to the kitchen and made herself some hot chocolate before curling up on the sofa. It would have been easier to let him leave the bedroom and make the call but she would have driven herself crazy laying in bed alone wondering about the conversation, at least this way she had the pretence of doing something else.
Nearly twenty minutes later, Elliot appeared at the door and smiled at Olivia.
"Coast is clear," he said, "If you want to come back."
"How did it go?" she asked, stretching but showing no intention of getting up.
"Okay," he replied. "She's not really coping at the moment. Actually started counselling three weeks ago and she thinks that's why it was all too hard today – everything was fresh and raw."
"Would be hard," Olivia replied, despite what she'd done to Elliot, she was still a woman who had lost her baby boy and that was something she would probably never recover from.
"Yeah, she talked to the kids when they got back and explained it to them. They said they understood," he continued, glad his children weren't distressed any further by the events.
"That's good," she replied, yawning.
.
Elliot looked at her sleepy face and wanted nothing more than to take her back to bed but he stood fixed to the wall, deciding to have the rest of the conversation now.
"Kathy also said how sorry she was – for everything – said it was a panic response to tell me I was the dad as she didn't think she could cope being a single parent," he related in an even, unemotional manner.
"Aha," Olivia replied, nodding.
"And she said that she is so sorry that by being so selfish she hurt me ... and you ... so much," he said, wondering what Olivia was thinking as she drew her legs to her chest.
"Aha," she replied, her emotions churning too much for any other words to come.
"And she said she wishes us all the best," he continued, his eyes fixed on hers.
"Said a lot, didn't she," Olivia replied, hoping this meant the worst was behind them.
"Yeah, she did. She also said she was thankful I still cared enough to call her and that I was lucky to have someone like you in my life," he concluded.
"You are," she said with a small smile.
Padding across the room, Elliot held his hand out to her. "So, now the call's made, do you want to come back to bed?"
"Sure," she replied, taking his hand.
.
Having left the plans to Elliot to sort out a vacation for them, Olivia spent the next few days catching up on some much needed sleep. Coming home from Maureen's, just after lunch on Wednesday, he had everything booked, thanks to a now near maxed out credit card and his eldest daughter's prowess with Google.
"So, where are we going?" Olivia asked with a yawn as he put the printed itinerary and receipts into the drawer of his bedside table.
"It's a surprise," he replied, climbing into the bed beside her.
"Well, what do I need to pack?" she asked, curling into him. "Clothes for warm weather, cold weather, bikini, snow boots?"
"My vote is for your bikini, wherever we go," he said with a laugh.
"But if it's somewhere cold and I wear my bikini, I'll turn blue," Olivia said pouting.
"That's okay," he said, grinning. "I always thought Smurfette was kind of sexy."
.
Olivia laughed, at first it was a chuckle, but then turned into a belly laugh. Smurfette and Elliot, just the imagery was enough to keep her laughing.
"What's so funny?" he asked, tugging her closer and kissing her head.
"Nothing," she said with a laugh. "Just never pictured you as a fan of The Smurfs."
"Never said I was a fan," he replied, stroking her arm. "Just that Smurfette was sexy."
"What was it about her that was sexy?" Olivia asked, trying to be serious.
"Well, she was cute and funny and I don't know... I guess after watching endless episodes with Mo when she was a kid, I got attached."
"I think it's cute," she replied kissing his cheek. "When are we going?" she asked, taking a new line of questioning.
"Day after tomorrow," Elliot replied before yawning.
"Friday? What time?" she asked, rubbing his chest.
"We have a 10:20 AM flight out of La Guardia," he reported, his fingers tangling in her hair.
"Flight to where?" she asked, slipping her hand under his shirt.
"Good try," he said, taking her hand before it dipped under his waist band. Both knew he would have told her anything had her fingers reached their ultimate destination.
"Spoilsport," she said, slapping his hand.
.
For a while longer they lay in silence until Olivia rolled herself onto Elliot and kissed him deeply.
"Still not telling," he mumbled when she pulled back for air.
"Don't care," she replied as she placed kisses along his jaw.
"What changed your mind?" he asked, bringing her face back up to look at her.
"Just so long as we're going together, I don't care where it is," she replied, kissing him once more.
Without speaking, both had decided this mid-afternoon encounter would become something more than a mutual nap but as Elliot pulled Olivia's tee off, the intercom buzzed.
"Ignore it," he mumbled as her lips worked down his neck.
"Can't," she muttered as it buzzed again. "It'll be one of the kids."
"They'll think we're not home and go away," he said, tugging her back as she tried to climb off him.
"Or they'll use their key and come up anyway," she replied. "And look what they'll find."
"Why are you always so logical?" he asked, letting her go.
"One of us has to be," she replied, kissing his cheek.
.
The visitor, or pain in the ass, as Elliot called their interrupter, wasn't one of his offspring, it was Michael.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Michael asked hesitantly as Olivia opened the door.
"No, come on in, Mike. Can I get you something? Coffee?" Olivia offered, gesturing towards the armchair.
"No, no, I'm good," he replied nervously, heading towards to chair. "Is...ah...is Elliot home?"
"Yeah," she replied. "He'll be out in a minute. Is there something wrong?" she asked, noting Michael's nervousness as he fidgeted in his chair.
"No, ma'am," he replied, tapping his fingers on his leg.
"Ma'am?" Olivia echoed, something was indeed wrong.
"Mike, what is it?" she asked, sitting on the end of the sofa closest to him.
"Can we wait for Elliot?" he asked, looking to the hallway, hoping the man in question would hurry up and appear.
"I'll go get him," Olivia said, patting Michael's arm as she stood.
.
A few minutes later, Olivia and Elliot emerged from the bedroom and Michael jumped to his feet.
"Mike," Elliot said, extending his hand. "I thought we'd be seeing you at dinner tonight."
"You will be, sir," he replied, nodding quickly. "I just wanted to ah... to speak to you... today...before we go to dinner. If that's okay?"
"Sure," Elliot said slowly, taking in the nervousness of the young man. "Sit down."
"I'll leave you two to talk then," Olivia announced, heading toward the kitchen.
"No!" Michael retorted, getting back to his feet. "I mean ... I'd like you to stay Olivia, if that's okay?"
"Sure," she replied, coming to sit next to Elliot as Michael sat down once again.
.
There were several long, strained moments as Michael twisted his fingers together. This should have been a whole lot easier, he'd been practising for weeks, but now as he was faced with two sets of eyes staring at him, he was struggling to find his words.
"What is it, Mike?" Olivia asked gently, reaching out to pat his arm.
"I love Maureen," he said abruptly, getting to his feet once more. "I really do."
"We know," Elliot said, nodding.
"I'd do anything for her, anything," he continued as he paced to the television and back.
"We know that too," Olivia answered, a slight smile coming to her lips; she knew where this was going.
"Good, good," Michael replied, nodding quickly. "Well, here's the thing..." he said before pausing and drawing in some deep breaths.
Michael stopped in front of Olivia and Elliot and studied them for a minute. "I love your daughter very much and I can't imagine a life without her. She's everything to me and I have no idea what I ever did to deserve someone as amazing as her but I am eternally thankful that I did it. Maureen is the love of my life and I want to spend the rest of my life with her and I want that life to start as soon as possible and I want ... I mean I would like your blessing to marry your daughter... well, actually I would like your blessing to ask her, I wouldn't presume to answer for her ... and ...."
"Breathe, son, breathe," Elliot said, standing and grabbing Michael's arm as he paled. "But, sir, I need you to know..." he tried to continue.
"I know you love my daughter," Elliot said. "I know you are a decent, caring man and I couldn't have asked for anyone better to be there for her in this last year. You have my blessing," he said, patting the younger man on the back.
"Ma'am?" he asked quietly, looking towards Olivia.
At first she wasn't sure what to say, she wasn't her mother or step mother, and she also didn't know what Elliot would think about Michael even asking her.
Looking from Michael to Elliot, she was relieved to see his warm smile.
"What do you think, Liv?" he asked, answering her unspoken questions. "Does he have your blessing too?"
"Of course," she replied, smiling broadly. She had come to love Michael in the past year as much as she loved Elliot's children.
.
After hugs and congratulations were given, Michael sat down and they both knew he had more on his mind. It took a few minutes for him to find the words.
"I'm not sure if Mo has said anything to you about my upcoming promotion," he said, looking from Elliot to Olivia and back. They both shook their heads. "Well, at the end of last month we complete our performance reviews and my boss has been impressed with my work and has offered me a promotion."
"Congratulations," they said in unison.
"Thanks," he replied gratefully. "It means a lot more money and benefits, gives us some financial security."
"That's good," said Olivia, lacing her fingers with Elliot's, knowing something not so good was coming.
"Yeah, it is. Mo's pretty impressed by it all," Michael continued, as he started to twist his fingers once more.
"So?" Elliot prompted, trying to push this along.
"Well, the promotion comes with an out of state transfer. Mo and I have discussed our options and she seems to think I should take the one in Sacramento."
Elliot's gulp was audible to all, the thought his daughter would be on the other side of the country just too hard to believe.
"It has the best remuneration package, for me, it's only a three year commitment and Mo can transfer her job there too," he continued, looking at Olivia.
"And what do you think?" Olivia asked, pulling Elliot's hand to her lap.
"I think we should take the one in DC," he said, taking a glance in Elliot's direction. "It's not as much money, it's a five year commitment but Mo can still transfer there, so she won't lose out."
"So, if Sacramento is the best financial choice, why are you thinking DC?" she asked as she squeezed Elliot's hand.
"Because Sacramento is 2821miles from here and DC is only 228," he said simply looking to Elliot.
Elliot stared back at Michael.
"Look, El," Michael said, his confidence back. "I love your daughter very much and I want her to be happy and I want her to be my wife but I also respect you and I know how much you love her too. I don't want to take her any further away from you than I have to..."
"So, you'd take the lesser conditions just to keep her closer to me?" he asked, his voice thick with emotion.
"Aha," Michael said, nodding. "It's been a hell of a year and I don't think either of you would have gotten through had it not been for the other. I know I am extremely grateful for the time and advice I've gotten from both of you in that time and I know we are very lucky to have you in our lives. I guess I don't want that to change ... well, anymore than it has too."
By the time Michael left, they had a plan of sorts. Michael would propose in his own time but in the meanwhile, the promotion and transfer would be tabled for conversation that night over dinner. Olivia and Elliot agreed that if Michael was prepared to go to DC, then they would support it. After all, he was the only one to come off worse from the deal – but as he had reassured them, having a happy wife was worth more than any financial gain.
Thank you for reading, please review!