"Excuse Me…"

Hey guys! Here's the latest chapter. Also, special thanks to those who commented. Enjoy!

The next morning…

With Charlie sound asleep in her arms, Olivia quietly leaned against the doorway of the kitchen. She watched as Jake swayed his hips to Otis Redding and chopped vegetables on the counter. This was the most amazing thing that she had seen in a while. She took a mental snapshot of it and quietly wished that every morning could be like this.

"Hey you," smiled Jake as dumped carrots into a bowl. "Do you want some coffee? I just finished brewing a pot."

She shook her head and glided over to the island. "But, I do want a kiss," answered Olivia coyly as she leaned over and puckered her lips. Jake gave her quick peck and returned to the task at hand. "That's all?" She pouted. "After last night, I deserve more than a peck…" She laid a hand over heart and attempted to sound hurt. Jake paused again and looked up at her. He leaned over the island again, and as their lips made contact, Olivia pulled away.

"What's that for?" he asked.

"I don't want it now." She replied as she turned away. She gently laid Charlie in his bouncer and buckled him in. "You only get one shot with me, and you blew it, Mr. Ballard." She joked. "Maybe…we can try again-" Her thought was completely interrupted when she felt Jake wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Sittin' in the morning sun…" sang Jake with a wide grin. He lightly turned her around and pulled her closer to him. "I'll be sittin' when the evening comes…" He grabbed one of Olivia's hands with his, and she instinctively placed her other hand on his shoulder. "Watching the ships roll in….Then I watch them roll away again, yeah."

"I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay…Watching the tide roll away, ooh," finished Olivia as she swayed her hips again his. She squeezed his hand a little tighter and winked "I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay…Wasting time…"

Jake smiled in return because he knew what she wanted. He took a step backwards, and she followed. "I left my home in Georgia…Headed for the Frisco Bay." Olivia bit her bottom lip in anticipation. "Cause I've had nothing to live for…And look like nothing's gonna come my way." Jake quickly dipped her and pulled her back up.

Olivia let out the loudest laugh as her chest smacked into his. She tried to hide her excitement but couldn't. "One more time," she begged breathlessly as he spun her around the kitchen again.

"Depends," responded Jake as he twirled her around. "Am I still in the doghouse?" "

No!" She answered with too much enthusiasm. "Now, one more dip! Please? You know that it's my favorite move."

Jake waited another beat before indulging her. As he lifted her back up, he saw the smile slowly fade away.

"Jonathan." She whispered as she dropped Jake's hand.. She wasn't expecting to see him, yet here he was standing in her doorway. . "Hey pumpkin, I didn't know you were coming home this weekend. It's been a while." She nervously ran a hand through her hair and tried to decide on what to do next.

"Yeah, I wasn't planning on it," he murmured back It had been almost three weeks since he stormed out of Ellie's house, and he had no plans of coming back. "But, the captain made me." He tilted his head towards Jake and narrowed his eyes.

Olivia turned around and gave Jake a questioning look. Her darting eyes conveyed exactly what she was thinking.

Jake untied his apron and threw it on the counter. It was amazing how quickly the mood could change. "Tell her why…tell your mother why I made you come home. " He demanded through clenched teeth.

"Because I made a mistake," answered Jonathan as he crossed his arms. "

What kind of mistake?" asked Olivia hesitantly while keeping her eyes locked on Jake. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the answer.

"I…" stammered Jonathan. "I got arrested…for assault last night…but it wasn't my fault. This guy attacked me-"

"So you decided to hit him?" Olivia took a seat at the table and shook her head in disbelief. It felt like the world was caving in. "My god, violence is never the answer Johnny bear. We raised you better than that. We taught you to walk away…"

"Oh, it gets better," interrupted Jake. "His bail was $7500, which I posted."

"Ugh," grunted Jonathan as he massaged his temple. "This is why I didn't call you! I knew you two would get all 'Holier than thou.' God, you guys are such hypocrites!" "

Excuse me?" interrupted Olivia.

"Let's be real. We all know that you two are the most immoral people on earth. You completely disregard what is right and wrong, So, don't lecture me on what to do…"

"I am your mother. I carried you for nine months, and I provided for you for eighteen years. So, I can lecture you on anything."

"Yes, because I'm the bad child...the screw up...the rebel without a cause. You two are always lecturing me because Ellie..."snug bug"...does no-" Jonathan took a deep breath. "You know what, it doesn't even matter." He sighed. He refused to fight with them again. "I'm done. I have a cab waiting outside." Jonathan shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. "…and don't worry. I won't be coming back." He called as he slammed the front door.

Just like that, their morning went from unbelievably amazing to a nightmare. She had lost him again. Olivia took a moment to gather her thoughts. "You knew, and you didn't tell me?" She sighed as she rolled her eyes. "We are supposed be to partners. We are supposed to be in this together. We promised that we would never keep secrets."

"Liv…" Jake took a step towards her.

"No, you lied." Olivia held her hands in front of her. "You let me believe that last night was work related. I'm sorry, but you can't talk your way out of this one." She blinked back the tears that were starting to swell in her eyes. "Did you even take care of it?"

"Take care of it?"

"Yes. Did you handle it?" She clarified. "He can't have an assault charge on his record. Once companies see it, they will never touch him."

Jake's eyes widened. He stared at Olivia for moment because he couldn't believe his ears. "Are you asking me if I made it go away?" When Olivia avoided eye contact with him, he knew the answer. "No." He replied flatly. "Were you not here a few minutes ago when he yelled at us? He needs to learn his lesson."

"But, he's our son!"

"No, he needs to learn to respect me again. I may be flawed, but I am still his father," countered Jake. "If you all knew the things that I've done...the sacrifices that I've made...and the parts of me that I've closed off, so we could have normal life. All I've ever wanted was for him to be happy, and now, he has the nerve to treat me like shit.." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "He wants to be on his own, so I'm letting him be on his own. I am going to show him how it feels to be out in the freezing cold without a jacket. I am not fixing this for him. I didn't fix it for Ellie, and I'm not doing it for Jonathan. They are not playing me like they play you. They bat their eyelashes and cry a few fake tears, and you give in and promise to make everything all better." Jake took a step back and leaned against the island. "I didn't tell you because I knew what you would do. Like always, you would have called Harrison, asked for his little black book, and 'blackmailed' the highest person you two know in the police department. You would have covered his tracks, and he would have never paid for any of it. You did it when he was caught hacking into the University's grading system…when he was caught taking the LSAT for one of his friends…and let's not forget all of the other stupid shit that he pulled as a teenager. So…no, I didn't tell you, and I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"You-" Olivia shook her head disbelief. All of a sudden, their spacious kitchen felt too small. She had to get out of there.

"No," interrupted Jake. "These are our kids. They're not your clients, and you can't make all of their problems disappear. Sometimes they are in the wrong, and they have to take responsibility for their actions." He watched as Olivia hurried out of the kitchen and up the stairs. "Shit!" He screamed as he turned around and shoved everything on the counter onto the floor. "Shit!" It was so loud this time that he startled Charlie. As he saw Charlie shaking, he ran over to the bouncer and tried to soothe him. "It's okay," he whispered as he bounced Charlie on his chest. "Grandpa's here…"

For the rest of the weekend, Jake and Olivia tried to avoid each other. She locked herself in their bedroom and forced Jake to live in the study. She left his "go bag" along with some toiletries at the bottom of the stairs. The only time they saw each other was to switch off with Charlie. Even then, they wouldn't speak to each other. After Olivia spent all morning with him, she would simply pass Charlie to Jake for the afternoon. It wasn't until Teddy and Ellie returned from their getaway that they were forced to talk.

"Mom?" called Ellie as she walked into the house. "We're back!" She slowly walked down the hallway and searched for them.

"We're in the study," hollered Jake as he continued to stack blocks with Charlie. A few seconds later, Ellie walked in and smiled.

"There's my favorite man in the whole wide world!" She announced in her baby voice.

"I missed you too, snug bug," joked Jake. "But, I may be a little too old for baby talk..."

"Dad," she laughed to herself as she rolled her eyes. "I didn't know you were home. It's Monday. I thought that you would be at work right now."She gently picked up Charlie and balanced him on her hip.

"I took a day." He quickly answered trying to hide the truth.

"Oh okay." She turned her attention back to Charlie and tickled his belly. "How was your weekend with Grandpa and Grandma? Were you a good baby?" she asked as Charlie giggled loudly.

"He was perfect," purred Olivia as she leaned against the doorway. She focused her attention on Ellie and Charlie and tried to avoid eye contact with Jake. "Where's Teddy?"

"He is in the car," responded Eleanor casually as she squished Charlie's arms into his jacket. "He wants to get on the road as soon as possible because has an early in flight in the morning." Eleanor handed Charlie back to Jake and grabbed Charlie's diaper bag of the coffee table. "Dad, do you mind taking him to the car?"

"Of course not," he answered. "I would give you the world…if I could." Jake leaned over and gave Eleanor a quick peck. "…and you two should come over for dinner sometime this week. I'll make your favorite…"

"Pot roast with extra veggies?" She asked hopefully. "Of course, snug bug." Jake walked towards door and paused when he saw Olivia standing there. "Excuse me," he whispered, and she gladly stepped to the side. .

"How was your trip?" asked Olivia she took a step into the study.

"It was fine," lied Eleanor as she shoved blocks into Charlie's bag. When she saw Olivia frown, she decided to leave well enough alone.

"Eleanor," she threatened.

"We had another fight." She sighed. "It started off well though. Once we hit the road, he apologized for lunch and promised that things would be different. Everything was fine until he shared some awesome news with me." She took a deep breath to calm her anger. "Teddy's firm offered him a managing partner position."

"Wow. That's…amazing," grinned Olivia as she pulled Eleanor into a hug. "Congratulations."

"No, it's terrible." She countered. "We would have to move to New York. They want him to manage one of the newly acquired firms…and the best part is…he's decided to go with or without me. Oh god, my marriage is over," she sobbed as thought about their weekend. "Mom, I have to go. Teddy and Charlie are waiting in the car." She pulled away and grabbed the diaper bag. "I'll call you later. Love you."

With only her thoughts, Olivia stood in the middle of the study and tried to process everything. Listening to Ellie cry about her marriage really placed things into perspective. It wasn't until she heard Jake clearing his throat that her brain slowed down.

"Can I have my study back?" He asked coldly. "I have over a dozen briefings to read and about fifty CVs to review."

"Jake," she started.

"Nevermind," he interrupted. "I can stay in one of the B613 safe houses. and we can continue pretending like the other one doesn't exist." He marched over to his desk and shoved some files into his bag. "...and when Ellie gives you a time for dinner, you can just add it to our shared Google calendar. No need to call or text."

"Jake-" She wanted to tell him to stop being ridiculous...and to stay. While he couldn't be in the same room with her, she more was more than willing to give him the main level. She just needed a little more time, so the sting from his words on Saturday could subside. Instead, she decided to let him go. "That's fine." She nodded.

"If you need anything, call Huck. He'll know what to do."

"Well, how long are you planning on staying at the safe house?"

"I don't know," he answered as he grabbed his tablet off of the coffee table.

"Tonight? A week? A month?"

"I don't know, Olivia." Without another word or a kiss goodbye, he left.

So...things were going good until... Anyways, Jonathan cut his parents out of his life, and it destroyed Olivia. I don't think Eleanor's abortion was his only problem with Jake and Olivia. Teddy and Eleanor are farther on the rocks. He's moving to NY with or without her. Where does that leave poor Charlie? Lastly, Jake left and suggested that Olivia calls Huck if anything happens. So, is he gone for good? Olivia asking him to fix the arrest may have caused him to snapped. Was she wrong or was he wrong? I hope you guys enjoyed it, and feel free to comment on it. I would love to hear your thoughts.