Once Rafael and Mia had cried all the tears they could for that day, he turned their attention to readying her room. She was quick to point out that she wasn't in any fit state to be moving furniture, wanting to retreat back to the living room, back to her solitude. As much as she was grateful to Rafael for taking her in, the thought of making a life for herself here was a bit overwhelming.

"No, but you can supervise," Rafael told her.

And she did, but her heart wasn't really in it. Once the broken glass was cleared, she instructed him where to put the furniture. The bed went in one corner, and the desk and bookcase were situated on the opposite wall. It was a practical choice rather than an aesthetic one; being nearer to the window would provide more natural light while she was studying.

When the furniture was in place, Rafael stood back to the admire the layout. "You'll need a closet,"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Maybe we could go to IKEA?" he suggested, hoping to get her interested in something, to pull her out of her grief. Personally, he hated the large Swedish furniture giant; having to walk miles to get to the one thing you needed annoyed him. It was why he ordered the bed online when he'd bought that. But Mia loved it. When she'd first seen the spare bed, she had complained that he'd been there without her.

She shrugged. "Maybe." She didn't really care. She just wished he would stop talking. She just wanted to go home, back to her old apartment, her old room, with her Mom singing and dancing in the kitchen while making dinner.

"There are probably other things that you need too. You should make a list." He looked around, analysing the space. "A mirror maybe? Some cushions? A-"

"Raf!" she yelled. "Just stop! Please!"

Her shout stopped him cold. He wasn't used to seeing this side of her; whenever they spent time together she was all smiles and teasing banter. He understood it was normal for teenagers to be moody and unpredictable, but it would take some getting used to. When he looked at her though, saw tears in her eyes. She wasn't angry, she was upset.

He considered the situation for a moment. Maybe he was pushing too hard. It had been less than 48 hours since she lost her mom and here he was prattling on about closets and cushions.

"Oh sirena, I'm sorry."

Mia began to cry, Rafael's apology suddenly making her feel guilty. He didn't deserve to be snapped at. He'd taken her into his home and was trying to make her as welcome and comfortable as he could. She sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I will make that list."

"There's no rush," he assured her. "You're not physically fit to be traipsing around the store at the moment anyway."

He was about to suggest she look at the website to see if there was anything she liked when a knock on the front door echoed through the apartment.

Mia sighed. "If that's Tía Lucia, can you tell her I'm asleep or something. I really can't deal with her right now." She didn't want to sound rude – she loved her great-aunt, but she didn't have the energy to deal with her at the moment. She was exhausted.

Rafael rolled his eyes as he stood from the floor. "Well, thanks for your support," he replied sarcastically. Although he understood, his mother's overbearing nature had shone through magnificently at the hospital earlier and he couldn't blame Mia for wanting a reprieve. He didn't think it would be his mother however, she had said that she wouldn't be able to drop Mia's things around until tomorrow. She'd muttered something about 'having plans' but wouldn't be drawn on what they were.

He opened the door to discover he was right – it wasn't his mother. It was Olivia… and Noah.

"Hi."

His shoulders sagged with relief at seeing her. He hadn't expected her to call round, but he said a quick prayer of thanks that she was here; maybe she could help him understand what Mia needed, help him to do and say the right things.

"Hi." Olivia regarded Rafael with concern; his pale skin, drawn expression and red-rimmed eyes. He clearly wasn't having an easy time.

Rafael stepped back to invite them in, but Olivia shook her head.

"We're not staying, we just figured you probably wouldn't want to cook tonight, so…" She held out one of the plastic bags she was carrying. "…we brought you dinner. It's from Luigi's. I didn't know what Mia would like so I just went with a simple Bolognese."

"Liv… that's… you shouldn't have." He hadn't even considered dinner; hadn't felt particularly hungry, but the delicious aromas coming from the bag she passed to him were quickly changing that. Luigi's was their favourite Italian place, but it wasn't on the way from her apartment to his; it was on the opposite side of Manhattan, so she must have made a special detour.

"I think what he means to say, is 'thank you'," Mia said as she rounded the corner into the hallway. Having heard the door open but not hearing Lucia, she had ventured back out of her room to see who was at the door. She was still a little wary of Olivia – not yet knowing how her presence in Raf's life would affect her – but she knew it was important to her cousin that she make an effort with her.

"Yeah, thanks guys," Rafael parroted.

"You're welcome, Uncle Rafa," piped up Noah and Mia's eyes flitted to the little boy.

Rafael bent down. "Noah, this is Mia. She's my cousin."

He nodded. "I know," Noah replied. "Momma told me. I made sure we got extra garlic bread for you," he stage-whispered. To him, garlic bread was the best thing in the world so naturally, he assumed it was the same for others too.

Mia cast a baffled look at Rafael, who shrugged as if to say, 'just go with it'. "Thanks," she said to Noah. "I, uh, love garlic bread."

"Everyone loves garlic bread," Noah replied, glancing longingly at the take-out bag his mother still held.

Mia followed Noah's gaze and then looked back at Olivia. "If you picked up dinner for yourselves too, you're welcome to eat with us," she offered.

"Oh, we don't want to intrude." She had only intended to drop off the take out for them, not wanting to push in on their grief.

"You're not," Mia replied sincerely. She didn't really want to socialise but having Olivia and Noah there may distract Rafael for a bit. Give him something else to think about other than her. And, once dinner was over, she could always excuse herself if she wanted to, claiming she needed to rest.

"Well, if you're sure…?"

Mia nodded, and Rafael agreed. "Stay? Please?"

"Okay then."

"Great," Mia took the take-out bags from Olivia and Rafael and beckoned to Noah. "Come on, Noah. You can help me set the table."

Once the kids were out of sight, Rafael stepped closer to Olivia. "Hi," he repeated, his arms circling her waist and pulling her over the threshold.

"Hi." She let her arms slide around him, her hands settling against the small of his back, fingers locked together. "How are you doing?"

"Struggling," he admitted, "but you being here is helping."

"I've only just arrived."

"Just the fact that you're here and I can do this." He leant into her capturing her lips in a soft kiss.

She melted into him with a sigh as his lips touched hers, her hands travelling up his back to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. A soft, low sound rumbled in her throat as his tongue brushed against her bottom lip.

"We should… stop," she gasped. "The kids."

"They'll be fine for a couple of minutes," he mumbled between kisses. Being able to hold her like this, kiss her, was addictive and he could easily get lost in the feel of her in his arms, his lips caressing hers.

"One minute," she countered.

"We'll see," he smirked, as his tongue swept into her mouth.

Despite knowing Noah and Mia were on the other side of the wall, Olivia allowed him to deepen the kiss. She threaded her fingers into his hair and surrendered to his ministrations.

Meanwhile, Mia and Noah were getting acquainted while setting the table for dinner.

"My mom said you're going to be living with Uncle Rafa now," Noah said as Mia handed him a bunch of cutlery to set out.

"Yeah. My mom..." Her breath hitched as she realised that was the first time she'd spoken the words aloud She took a breath. "My mom died. Do you know what that means?" She didn't have much experience with younger kids, so didn't have any frame of reference for what he might or might not know about death.

"That you can't see her anymore because she's in heaven."

"Yeah," breathed Mia. "That knife and fork are the wrong way round by the way," she told him pointing at the last place he'd set. She turned to the cupboard to retrieve a jug and then switched on the faucet to fill it.

Noah obediently switched the two pieces of silverware. "My mom's in heaven too."

Mia turned from the sink, her brow furrowed. "Your mom's in the hall with Raf."

Noah shook his head. "I'm 'dopted. It means I had another mom when I was a baby. Her name was Ellie. But she died. So my mom 'dopted me because there was nobody to look after me."

Olivia had sat Noah down after the whole fiasco with Sheila and explained the situation. It was earlier than she would have liked but her hand had been forced. Thankfully, he'd accepted her rather simple explanation; that Elie had died so she had adopted him, so he would have a mom. She knew there would be more questions to answer as he grew up, but for now, he seemed content with just knowing the basics.

"Oh." Mia paused as she put the jug of water down on the table and regarded Noah closely. She didn't realise he was adopted. Given that he hadn't mentioned a father, she decided not to ask. She knew from personal experience how unreliable fathers could be. "I guess we're kind of kindred spirits then." Noah looked confused, so she elaborated. "It means we're in similar situations. That we kind of understand each other."

There were differences, of course. Noah was a baby when he lost his mom so didn't have the same attachment or memories. She supposed, having never really known her that he didn't miss her. Not like she did. It felt there was a gaping hole in her heart and she didn't know how to fill it.

"Yeah, I guess we are then." Noah looked over at the take-out bags on the counter. "I'm hungry! What are they doing out there?"

Mia had a pretty good idea of what was keeping Raf and Olivia, and when she popped her head around the corner, she found that her suspicions were correct. They were kissing rather passionately; Olivia pressed against the wall. She covered her eyes. There were some things in life she didn't need to see. She knew she should back away discretely, and maybe just start plating up hers and Noah's dinner, but she had this sudden urge to tease Raf like she usually did – and it was what her mom would have wanted. She cleared her throat loudly before speaking.

"If you two have finished playing tonsil hockey, Noah and I would like to eat before the food gets cold."