Holy crap you guys...three months is way too long to be gone. The old laptop finally died before Christmas and so I have been writing on my phone and trying to publish on FF using only your phone sucks...but anyhoo...for those that have stuck with it - a heartfelt thank you. For those finding Come Through for the first time...welcome, I hope you enjoy! I can't promise that subsequent chapters will be much quicker, but I am more in the writing mode these days now that the chaos of December and January are over. For now, here's a nice big chapter for you...so glad to be back and as always ...read and review, follow and favorite! XO


Chapter 12

Seth and Olivia had decided on the drive back to Dean and Renee's that dinner and a movie at Olivia's was about as much fun as they could handle after a rough day. Seth parked the Tiburon and as they got out of the car and approached the house, Olivia felt a deep sense of relief at being free of the hospital. She squashed a sense of guilt over not staying with Renee and reminded herself of a few things…

First of all...Renee was on the mend - Awesome!

Secondly, no one else had been infected -Excellent!, and…

Last but - holy shit, not the least - she was in her own home with this incredible person who had crossed her path at exactly the right time - holy shit indeed…

Olivia glanced up at Seth as she unlocked the front door and noticed his furrowed brow as he glanced at his phone, "Everything okay?" She opened the door and stepped through, locking it after Seth came into the house.

He looked at her and scratched at his beard idly, "Yeah...I just noticed that my mom's been trying to call - I kind of bolted out of the house this morning when you phoned - I just need a minute to touch base?"

Olivia smiled, "That's adorable - do you need some privacy? You could call from Dean's office upstairs - I'm just going to my room to put my cooking clothes on." She was notorious in the Ambrose household for not leaving a meal prep without wearing a good deal of it - Renee had gotten her an apron with 'Sexy Women have Messy Kitchens' emblazoned across the front of it after Olivia had been in charge of the mashed potatoes and gravy for Christmas last year...Dean claimed he found a piece of dessicated potato on the underside of the napkin holder three months ago - it had been an epic dinner…

Seth grinned, "You have cooking clothes? I didn't realize that was a thing…" They continued up the stairs and Olivia chuckled and ducked her head, "Well, it's mostly one of Dean's old t-shirts and a pair of sweats-my apron is downstairs…"

"Apron? Sounds serious - should I lend a hand? Fair warning, though - I don't have any cooking clothes," he teased as he went into Dean's office.

Olivia stepped into her room, and closed her door behind her, leaving a crack so she could still hear Seth. "I think you're probably pretty safe - Renee says she has never seen anyone make as much of a mess as me in the kitchen - do you cook much?" she yelled from her room.

She didn't hear a reply from Seth-after she had changed, she walked over to the door of Dean's office and realized Seth was still

on the phone with his mom.

"No, it's all good Mom - I'm at Dean's now, no they're fine - I got invited to dinner, so don't worry about setting a place for me…"

Not wanting to intrude or eavesdrop, Olivia went downstairs to get dinner started. She had decided on something simple- vegan Philly cheesesteaks with portobello mushrooms and a kale Caesar. She was slicing the mushrooms when Seth came down and peered over her shoulder, "Alright boss, put me in - what needs doing?"

Olivia pointed to the pantry, "Buns, onions and veggie broth are all in there, knives-" she nodded at the knife block, "- and cutting boards are right in front of you can get the onions sliced up, I'll have the mushrooms done and we can get these bad boys going!"

The pre and cooking took no time at all and soon the kitchen was full of delectable aromas as Olivia plated dinner and took the apron off before joining Seth at the table. The sun was just starting to set, sending long shadows across the back lawn and setting off a gorgeous palette of reds and oranges off in the distance.

Seth took another mouthful of his sandwich and closed his eyes in pleasure, uttering a little moan, "Oh my god...I can't believe there's no meat in this." He opened his eyes to Olivia chewing silently with a smirk on her face. "What? You may be one hell of a messy cook-" he reached out and gently wiped a smudge of Caesar dressing from the side of her face with his thumb, " - but you make a wicked dinner."

Olivia dropped her eyes and chuckled, fully aware that her cheeks were burning and feeling the touch of Seth's thumb long after it had left her face. "Well, I suppose I have my moments...thank you," she said quietly.

They sat and finished their dinner in a comfortable silence for a few

more minutes before Seth stood and cleared the dishes to the kitchen. Olivia followed him and shook her head at the sight of Seth loading the dishwasher, "You're doing it again, Seth," she chided gently.

Seth looked over at Olivia, leaning against the doorway with the late sun illuminating her in orange and yellow. He stood with his hands on his hips, "Doing what?"

"That nice domestic thing...just dump all the dishes in the sink and let's go find a movie on Netflix," she prompted.

Seth huffed, "What kind of guest do you think I am?"

Olivia smiled and took three slow steps closer, her hips subconsciously swaying as she approached him, "You are mine, Seth Rollins -" she stopped abruptly and froze as she realized that what she had just said was not what she had intended. Eyes wide, she began to backpedal, heart racing, "I mean...you are my guest, of course...and no guest in this house does dishes. So leave those there -" Flustered, she slapped the cutlery out of his hand and as it clattered in the sink she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the kitchen.

As he was unceremoniously dragged into the living room, Seth tried to shake the feeling Olivia's words had on him. "You're mine Seth Rollins" had caused his heart to drop into his stomach, and he was sure that the blood from his face had taken the expressway to his groin. 'Get a grip, Rollins - absolutely not the time..' He managed to keep himself in check before Olivia let go of his hand and hurled him onto the couch.

"Rom-com? Drama? Documentary?" She had turned on Netflix and was desperately flicking through channels, trying to get rid of the images that had started flashing through her head on the rushed march into the living room. What on earth had possessed her to say that? 'You are mine, Seth Rollins' had triggered an unending loop of erotic situations featuring Seth and herself. She couldn't even make eye contact with him right now - she really liked him, but right now she was in deeper need of the shoulder and listening ear he gave her. Anything physical would be miles down the road...not if you keep swaying those hips at the poor man...get a grip!

Olivia took a slow deep breath, closing her eyes and selected a movie at random. She gave herself some distance from Seth, deliberately choosing to sit in the armchair next to the couch rather than beside Seth on the couch itself.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him watching her, but she doggedly refused to look at him directly. When he finally cleared his throat to get her attention, she had little choice. "Uh, Olivia? I am totally not judging, but...Twilight, really?"

Olivia's eyes flicked to the TV and saw the lush forest of Forks appear on screen, and heard the deadpan monotone of Bella Swan and grabbed for the remote, stopping the movie. Now she was not only rattled, she was more than a little embarrassed. She couldn't admit to not being able to pay attention to the movie she'd "picked" without telling Seth why. She was just glad he'd called her on it as quickly as he did, instead of...hang on a minute…

"Wow, I'm impressed Seth...not many people can pick that movie out in under a minute...Team Jacob, are we?" Olivia might not be able to tell Seth how she was feeling, but she could misdirect like a champ.

Seth, to his credit, didn't go on the defensive, "What? The fight scene at the end of the last movie kicks ass...I was curious how the whole phenomenon started out…" At Olivia's raised eyebrow he smiled and fiddled with the couch cushion in front of him, " And I'm Team Tyler…"

And just like that, Olivia was able to shake off her anxiety and let the tension drain away and be comfortable around Seth once more. How was he able to do that? The grin on her face came as an automatic response to his own, "Wow - you are so far down the rabbit hole…you are so Twihard..."

Seth laughed as he reached for the remote, clearing his throat, "I've been called worse...why don't we go with something less polarizing…" He stopped on the original 1968 Planet of the Apes and watched Olivia for a reaction. His face fell slightly when she stood up and started the walk to the kitchen.

"Let it roll, Rollins, if we're going old school, we're going to need some popcorn," Olivia called behind her.

Seth shook his head and chuckled to himself, not quite able to believe the chain of events that had turned his life upside down in the last 48 hours, but ready to see where they were going next.

As it turned out, Olivia was a Planet of the Apes fan and had some very strongly-held views on why the original series was still the best. Most of the movie was left unwatched as the two debated the strengths and weaknesses of the most recent movie series. "The issue with modern sci-fi movies is that for the most part, they rely on CGI to carry the story and that's where the bulk of the budget goes, instead of to practical effects and better writers," Olivia argued.

Seth raised an eyebrow and huffed in disbelief, "Are you saying that all the research Andy Serkis put into creating the movements and behaviors of a chimpanzee is irrelevant because he's rendered in CG? The acting in the latest movie is far superior to the campiness of the original."

Olivia had moved over to the couch next to Seth when she had brought the popcorn in from the kitchen, and the two of them had taken turns with the remote control, pausing and rewinding, pointing and arguing and laughing.

They had gone through each movie in the current franchise in turn, until halfway through the second sequel when Olivia was completely failed to stifle a yawn. She grabbed her phone from the coffee table and checked the time, "Oh my god, Seth...is that really the time?" It was after midnight, but it seemed like only a matter of a few hours had passed since dinner...not seven.

Seth quickly checked his own phone, eyes wide, "Wow...that...that went by really fast…" he stood up and looked at Olivia, meeting her green eyes with his own, "I guess we were having fun…" He looked out at the illuminated street outside, "I'd better get going, though - the morning run is bad enough without being sleep-deprived...are you going to be okay?" He offered a hand to Olivia to help her up off the couch.

She took his hand and tried to ignore Seth's eyes resting on the silvery spiderweb of scars on her right arm, focusing instead on the electric tingle his touch created, "Here? This is my home, of course I'll be okay…" she removed her hand from his and walked slowly towards the front door, reluctant to end their evening.

Seth didn't follow her, "I mean, are you going to be okay here by yourself?"

The question stopped Olivia as she reached the front door. She felt a chill erase all traces of the tingle from Seth's touch. She had not actually come face to face with the reality of Renee and Dean's extended hospital stay. Olivia hadn't been on her own for almost a year- could she handle a night alone with only her thoughts for company? Her demons had been at bay for months, the nightmares hadn't resurfaced for almost as long...maybe it was time to see how far she'd come.

"Olivia?" She heard Seth's voice, tinged with worry, come through her reverie. She felt rather than saw his hand touch her arm, banishing the chill once more with his warmth. The eyes she looked up at were wide and questioning, and Olivia couldn't help but smile thinly to allay the concern that was there as well.

"I'll be fine Seth, really - it's one night, I can survive on my own for one night. Besides, I'll be sleeping - how bad could that be?" She tried to sound upbeat, but inwardly she began to feel a finger of dread worm it's way to her heart.

Seth didn't seem to be completely sold, but he nodded his head, "Okay, but you promise me that if you need anything, you let me know. I don't care what time it is - you call me, alright?"

Olivia looked at Seth, his brow furrowed, the look of worry not totally erased from his expression. She patted his hand on her arm, "I appreciate the gesture, if I need to, I will definitely call...but I'm sure I'll be fine." She opened the front door and felt the cool summer evening air swirl around the two of them.

Seth's scratched at his beard as nodded again, "I'll shoot you a text when I get home...are you still wanting to go to the hospital for a visit tomorrow?"

They walked together to the end of the veranda, "Why don't you come out here for your run? I'm usually out and running by 6, you could use the shower in Renee and Deans room, then we can hit the hospital after breakfast?" The words were out before she could stop them - the Olivia of two days ago needed the time alone that running provided to process. Would she still need that time? In a ridiculously short period of time, Seth had become a fixture in her day - someone who let her process and think without fear of judgment. Surely that was more desirable than keeping everything inside her own head, or only sharing with a therapist?

Seth watched her for a moment, searching for something in her eyes before he answered with a nod, "I'll be here at six, ready to go - let me know if you change your mind, if you're not up to it...if you decide this was actually a bad idea…"

"No." Olivia answered without thinking, smiling at the ridiculous grin that bloomed on Seth's face. He looked absurdly pleased with himself as he ducked his head and stepped off the veranda towards his car.

Olivia watched him from the top step as he made his way to the Tiburon. Seth had his hand on the car door handle when he turned, "You will call if you need to...right?"

Olivia nodded, "I will...I promise. And you're going to text me when you get home, right?"

"The minute I walk in the door," he vowed.

A silence fell between them, neither wanting to be the first to say goodnight. Finally, Olivia relented, "Well, if you're going to be in any kind of shape to keep up in the morning, I'd better let you go…" she admitted reluctantly.

Seth snorted at Olivia's subtle jab, but nodded, "Alright...I'll see you tomorrow then- thanks for dinner, Olivia - next time it's on me, okay?"

Olivia smiled, "It's a date."

"Good night."

"Drive safe."

Olivia watched him back the car out of the driveway and didn't head inside until Seth was out of sight. Sighing, she made her way back inside the house. She made sure the dishwasher was turned on, lights were turned off, then climbed the stairs, dropping her head back onto her shoulders, "Six o'clock is gonna come way, waaaaaay too soon…but that was so worth it."

She was brushing her teeth before bed when her phone buzzed.

Soooo…how was dinner with the nice man? Go somewhere fancy? How were the bathrooms?

Olivia almost choked on the toothpaste when she read Renee's text. "She must be going absolutely stir crazy...she's going to be disappointed when I tell her we stayed home."

Dinner was great! Bathrooms were spotless after Seth cleaned them...we stayed home and had a lovely mushroom dip- I cooked…

She imagined Renee rolling her eyes and sighing as loudly as she could without waking Dean, who was definitely sleeping at this hour. She watched as the three grey dots popped up on the text screen, then disappeared, then popped up again. Finally, Renee's reply appeared.

That is seriously the lamest first date I have ever heard...YOU MADE HIM CLEAN THE BATHROOM? What does he have - some kind of cleanliness thing going on? What is wrong with you? A man that hot comes over for dinner and you make him clean the bathroom...I have failed you Anakin...how's the kitchen looking?

Olivia giggled as she responded,

I had nothing to do with it - he cleaned your master bathroom when I was packing Dean's hospital bag - he was pretty determined to set it to rights...and the kitchen is fine, thank you very much for your vote of culinary confidence, Obi-Wan...the dips were to die for…

Once the banter was out of the way, the real questions come fast and furious…

Soooooooooo….What did you guys talk about? Did you...DO…anything? Is he still there? ARE YOU HAVING A SLEEPOVER? OMG, am I interrupting a sleepover? Do NOT text me back if he's there…

This time it was Olivia's turn to roll her eyes. Renee must be more stir-crazy than she thought for her to be so worked up at this time of night.

Hold crap, Ree...cool your jets…

She prepared herself for the onslaughts she typed her reply.

We talked about the Planet of the Apes franchise while watching the old and new versions on Netflix. He left about ten minutes ago, no sleepover...jesus Ree I just met him the other night, of course there's no sleepover...we had a great time. He's coming over tomorrow morning and we're going to go for a run before we come out to the hospital to visit...then it's entirely possible we'll have dinner again. I have to get going and get some sleep - I won't be able to keep up if I don't...and you should be sleeping!

The grey dots appeared…then disappeared...then appeared and disappeared again before Renee's response showed up.

Sorry for going over the top...getting a bit stir crazy here- thank God Dean is here...I'm really happy that Seth is helping you out - he was an amazing friend to me and Dean in high school - one of the best. It's good to know he's still a great guy. If there's nothing going on or not - absolutely not my business, as long as you're happy and safe...that's the most important thing.

Olivia felt tears spring to her eyes and quickly wiped them away with the sleeve of her shirt. Her phone buzzed a reply.

Sorry for making you cry, Livs...still love me?

Renee the psychic strikes again...Olivia chuckled as she wandered back to her bed and sat down.

Always...don't worry about me, Renee. You and Dean have done everything you possibly could have to get me moving towards the light, now I need to start taking my own steps, but I know you always have my back. Love you both bunches-see you tomorrow. xoxo

Olivia plugged in her phone and placed it on her bedside table. It buzzed one more time as she reached over to turn off the light. Blindly, she snatched it off of the table, typed out a firm response, mouthing the words as she went.

GO TO SLEEP!

She turned off the light and dropped the phone on the bare tabletop before rolling over and burrowing into the warmth of her blankets. Her mind started to relax and drift almost immediately...until the clattery buzz behind her brought her immediately back to consciousness. She sighed heavily and reached for her phone. When she saw who the text was from, she sat bolt upright in bed.

Um okay...just wanted to let you know I was home safe…

Oh whoops...she looked at Seth's previous text and sure enough, there was his dutiful Just got in, safe and sound...see you in the morning…

Olivia flopped back in bed, covering her eyes with her forearms. She lowered the hand that held her phone and quickly typed out her apology and reassurance.

OMG - I am so sorry! thought you were Renee, who is already experiencing insomnia and cabin fever at the hospital. She wasn't going to tell Seth the content of the texts but felt he was owed a bit more than a basic apology. She's bored and Dean is sound asleep, so I was the recipient of several late night texts...I thought yours was one more version of "would you rather eat pickled beets for the rest of your life or live in a house made of cheese?" I am so sorry, Seth - I am looking forward to the run tomorrow, but really need to hit the hay…

She waited for his reply, chewing nervously on her lip as she waited for his reply.

No worries, we're good :) Sweet dreams, and I'll see you in the morning...goodnight.

Finally, she could relax and get some sleep. And she did...for a while…

She was walking down the stairs that led away from the backstage entrance of Benaroya Hall to the street, which was weird because they always parked in the underground parking lot when they had to use the car. Usually she came over to pick him up after she finished up at Garfield High. On evenings he was watching rehearsals, they would sit up in one of the theatre boxes and make notes for Mark to give to the conductor the next morning. But that night, she had parked on the street.

She walked down what felt like a million stairs, watching her step and feeling a little off-kilter as she went down. She grabbed the handrail to steady herself and felt the blood drain from her face when she heard him speak, "Careful there - you feeling dizzy again?"

Olivia could not believe that she had almost forgotten about that silky baritone voice...her head snapped up to see Mark waiting at the bottom of the staircase and the sudden intake of breath caused his look of mild concern to furrow more deeply into his brow. Olivia would have given anything for this to not be a dream as he climbed the one or two steps left and helped her down safely.

They stood at the base of the stairs, and Olivia couldn't speak as she tried to memorize his smell, his recently-acquired and closely-trimmed beard, the almost-invisible tiny scar across the wrinkles in his forehead...how had she forgotten about those? Mark regarded her with concern, "Hey, Livs - are you really okay? Maybe we -"

He was cut off by Olivia launching herself at him, and holding him in a bear hug that she never wanted to let go of.

"Oh my god, Mark...I have missed you so much...have you always smelled this good?" She felt unexpected wetness on her cheeks and tried to wipe them away quickly. Mark once again was looking closely at her with his green-gray eyes.

"Wow, I will never cease to be amazed at how much being pregnant messes with your emotions and general state of weirdness...Olivia?" Her hands had automatically gone to her belly, which was healthy and round in her second trimester, and froze, her heart pounding through her chest.

"Oh god, I'd forgotten what this felt like...hello little Bean…"

She looked up at Mark, who smiled uncertainly at her, "Everything okay? Is this just a pregnancy brain thing? Do you need me to get you anything before we go home?"

Olivia reached up to caress his bearded cheek, shaking her head, "I have never been better...I've got everything I want right here." He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. Olivia's lips parted as she nibbled his bottom lip and her fingers slid into his short hair and lightly scraped his scalp. Mark groaned, "I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying the 'horny, pregnant wife' portion of the pregnancy…top marks…" he muttered against her lips, making her grin.

She pressed her hips closer to his, easily being able to tell just how much he really was enjoying the moment and chuckled, "We should really get off the street before you're able to to tell all the passers-by how much you're enjoying this." After a few more seconds, Mark pulled away reluctantly and took her hand, interlacing their fingers, and Mr. and Mrs. Madsen continued down the street…

Dreams have a funny way of jumping around, so to find herself suddenly in an oddly familiar car that wasn't theirs was not totally disconcerting. She knew it wasn't the car they owned, but she also knew she'd been in it before. She settled back into the bucket seat, knowing she'd need a hand or two to help her out of the car when they got home. She looked out the window at the weirdly beautiful downtown traffic - a light rain had started to fall, and the reflections of taillights and storelights in the glistening pavement held her attention for the moment. "Where did this car come from?" She asked out loud.

"Hmmmmm?" Mark was a tense driver, especially with downtown traffic on a Friday night- his attention would be everywhere but inside the car.

"This car...whose car is this? Where is our Prius?"

"Seriously Livs? We've always had the Tiburon-I promise you by the time little Bean makes their appearance, we will have the Prius...for now, you'll

just have to rely on your chauffeur to winch you out of the passenger seat." She punched him on the arm, laughing, "Idiot…" But she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she'd been in this car before, and that they had owned a Prius...weird…

It didn't take long for them to make their way out of the insanely busy downtown core and start heading toward their apartment on East Olive in Capitol Hill. She let her head drop back and rest on her shoulders as she looked at Mark, wanting to absorb every detail about him - the curve of his ear, the way the headlights of the cars highlighted the odd ginger hair in his otherwise rich brown beard...she felt a tear slip out of the corner of her eye and she wiped it away quickly, not wanting to spoil their time together.

"Mark?"

"Mmmmmm?" Olivia loved how the corners of his mouth always turned up when he answered her like that.

She saw two things happen faster than she could react to them: the street sign for East Denny Way and the blinding headlights on the 2015 gold Lexus, that gave a halo to Mark's profile before slamming into him at 80 miles per hour, killing him instantly.

"Mark…"

Olivia's eyes snapped open as she whispered his name sadly, the split-second horror of the dream fast retreating...along with the memories of her life with her husband. Her cheeks were wet with tears shed, and there were stains where they'd soaked into her pillow. She slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position, and looked at her phone, then swore. Somehow she'd managed to turn the volume down and missed her alarm - Seth would be here any minute. On cue, the front doorbell rang and Olivia sprang out of bed, pulling on a sports bra under her sleep shirt, some leggings over her bare legs and padded as quickly as she could down the stairs to the front door. She fumbled at the locks, pulling the door open with more force than she meant to. Seth stood there, dressed in leggings, t-shirt, and a hoodie. His hair was pulled into a tight bun and the hair of his neck, but a few rogue strands escaped. He dropped the gym bag he carried when he saw her damp, red-rimmed eyes, the dark circles under them, and the searching look that met his own eyes.

Seth was a little surprised to have the door opened so abruptly, but he was stunned by Olivia's appearance. Gone was the woman who last night had intelligently and brilliantly argued the dominance of the 1960's sci-fi genre, in her place was someone who appeared to have been up half the night in tears, scared of her shadow.

"Oh my god...Olivia, are you okay? What the hell happened?" He reached for her and held onto her arms, trying to provide some small comfort.

Olivia closed her eyes and exhaled shakily, the reality of Seth's hands on her upper arms was starting to dispel the leftover cobwebs from the nightmare, letting her feel normal again. When she had woken up, it was as if no time at all had passed since the accident, and she was waking up to a whole new world she wanted no part of. She took a few more breaths to settle herself before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Seth's waist, looking for the safety he provided. She made a decision then to tell him everything - if no other reason than at this moment, she needed to unload the raw emotion she was feeling. Her voice sounded small and muffled, but Seth heard every word as he smoothed her hair and held her close to him.

"Seth, if you don't mind...instead of running this morning...I need to tell you a few things."