Disclaimer: They are not mine.
After a swim, a long leisurely lunch and some time spent entwined in the hammock, Elliot reappeared on the porch, freshly dressed in blue shorts and a paler blue tee. Olivia eyed him curiously. While they had spent many summers together she could never remember him wearing shorts that were so short. She'd seen him in three quarter length pants, cargo pants, Bermuda shorts, boxers, briefs and swimming trunks, but looking at the cotton fabric now stretched over his butt as he bent to put on his sandals, she just thought it was odd.
"What?" he asked, with a smirk, as he caught her staring.
"The shorts..." she began, gesturing to him. "Never seen you wear them before."
"Never have," he said. "Well, not since I was a kid," he corrected. "Always been self conscious of it."
"You've got nothing to be self conscious about," Olivia replied. "You've got amazing legs."
"No," he corrected, coming over to kiss her. "You have amazing legs, I have hairy tree trunks."
"Your legs are amazing," she repeated, running a hand up the back of his thigh, her fingers creeping under the hem of the shorts. "You know why?"
"Why?" he asked, enjoying her fingers kneading his flesh.
"'Cos they lead to your cute tushie," she said with a laugh.
"My cute tushie? What am I two?" he asked as her hand cupped his butt.
"No, but it doesn't make it any less cute," she said, standing and planting both hands firmly on his butt.
"Well, I guess if it's just you calling it cute and tushie, I can live with it," he said, as his lips brushed across hers.
"Glad to hear it," she muttered, squeezing his butt.
Before she could take the kiss any further, Elliot pulled back and Olivia pouted.
"If I let you have your way with me, I'll never get into town," he explained, his thumb brushing over her cheek.
"Why are we going to town?" she asked.
"Not we, me," he corrected. "I'm going into town to do some investigating."
"Investigating what?" she questioned, her hands falling to her side.
"Investigating what I have to do to ensure you're my wife by the time we leave here," he said, kissing her briefly.
"Get married here?" she asked, her eyes widening.
"Yeah," he replied. "Unless you don't want to..."
"Oh, I want to," she said nodding quickly. "I definitely want to."
"Glad to hear it," he replied, pulling back as she went to kiss him again.
"Can I come with you?" she asked, as he checked he had his wallet and keys.
"Not this time," he said, grabbing his sunglasses from the table.
"But it's my wedding too," she said, pouting once more.
"I know," he replied, squeezing her hand. "But there's something special I want to do and I want it to be a surprise. I promise I'll bring everything back and I won't make a decision without you."
"Fine," she sighed dramatically. "I'll stay here...all alone ... with no one around...maybe I'll go for a swim ... naked..."
"Save that til I get back," he said, kissing her head.
.
When Elliot returned three hours later, he had an armful of booklets, brochures and fliers, as well as two brown paper carry bags and a huge smile on his face.
"Honey, I'm home," he called out as he entered the villa and deposited the items on the dining table. "Liv?" He walked into their bedroom expecting to find her there or in the bathroom but she wasn't to be found. Thinking she may have headed to the beach, he made his way down the white sandy trail and looked along the picture perfect beach but there was not a soul to be seen.
Slightly concerned by this, Elliot returned to the villa, looking for a note or any other indication as to where Olivia may have gone, but there was nothing, except some small red splotches on the kitchen floor that looked remarkably like blood to him. That's when his slight concern began to grow. Knowing she didn't have her cell as reception here was poor, he couldn't call her; instead he wrote her a quick note and left it on the table.
Liv, I'm looking for you. If you come back STAY here. El
Taking the path to the east of the villa, Elliot jogged along, looking for any sign his wife to be had headed this way but there was nothing but his own footprints dotting the sand. Turning around, he decided that the westerly path from the villa may be the better option. To his delight there were footprints embedded in the sand and although he wasn't positive they were Olivia's they were about the right size.
"Olivia?" he yelled, hoping she'd hear him from wherever she was, but he got no response. "Liv?"
Following the trail into scrub, he watched as the footprints disappeared where the track left the sand and became rocky. "Olivia?" he called, wondering what on earth would possess her to walk this way. When nothing was heard back, his level of concern escalated, and the fading light of day did nothing to help his distress.
Not wanting to go further into the scrub and waste time, if Olivia hadn't gone there, Elliot backtracked along the trail calling out but only birds responded. As he searched, his mind couldn't help but wander and while he knew Olivia was extremely capable of taking care of herself and that she was far safer in St Vincent than she was in New York City, Elliot was worrying. With everything else that had happened to him over the past year, he had learned that nothing was forever and it made his blood run cold.
Needless to say by the time the villa was in sight, he was struggling with all the negative emotions and thoughts which had engulfed him. Approaching the villa, he saw there had been a light turned on and his slow jog became a sprint. Taking all three steps at once, Elliot threw the door opened and stopped abruptly when he saw Olivia standing in the middle of the room, setting the table for an intimate dinner. Startled, when Elliot barrelled in, Olivia still had the fork in her hand in mid air.
One look at Elliot's face told her of his distress.
"God, Elliot, what's wrong?" she asked, dropping the fork and running over to him. "What happened?"
"Where...have ...you been?" he panted, his hands running over her arms and shoulders.
"Went to make a phone call and came straight back. I was gone less than twenty minutes," she replied, her hands cupping his face.
"Blood," he said, gesturing to the floor. "There was blood and you were gone and you were supposed to be here and..."
"Shh, shh," she soothed, stroking his face. "I had a little accident," she said, holding up her right index finger with the bandaid wrapped around it. "I cut it when I was making the fruit salad for dessert."
"You cut your finger?" he repeated, staring at the injured digit.
"Yeah," she replied. "It's not too bad. There was a lot of blood but it's not too deep."
Wrapping her arms around him tightly, Olivia pressed her body against his and kissed his head repeatedly; wanting nothing more than to take away the fear she'd seen in his eyes when he'd first returned. She knew the man in her arms wasn't the same one she'd spent years with on the street, the one who could deal with anyone or anything, usually without breaking a sweat. Once again she cursed Kathy for taking away the man she first fell in love with all those years ago and replacing him with a man who had lost his self confidence, his self reliance and himself all due to a lie.
Eventually, Elliot pulled back and dropped his gaze, ashamed at his overreaction to something so innocuous. Deciding to ease the situation, Olivia held up her finger once more.
"Now you're back, baby, can you do me a favour?" she asked, her uninjured hand still draped across his shoulder.
"Anything, Liv," he mumbled, slowly looking up at her.
"Can you kiss it better?" she asked. While she would never let on, Olivia was sure there were tears in his eyes as his lips met her finger.
"That feel better?" he asked, not really meeting her gaze.
"Much," she said with a smile. "The healing power of a kiss is quite amazing."
"Really?" he asked, his watery eyes finally meeting hers.
"Yeah," she replied, stroking his cheek.
"Can you kiss me then?" he asked sadly, and Olivia willingly obliged.
Although she knew the future for them would consist of a million kisses and it would help in the healing process, she also knew there was a whole lot of therapy and counselling on the agenda too.
.
After dinner, Olivia and Elliot sat on the sofa, looking through all the wedding information he had garnered. There were simple services, elaborate ones, ones which were too touristy, others which were just not them. By midnight, they had decided on the one that was perfect for them; an intimate ceremony on a white, sandy beach at sunset, a bouquet of tropical flowers, casual dress and bare feet. Olivia wasn't sure why, but they had to have bare feet.
"We could do the nudist option," Elliot said with a laugh, "And have bare everything."
"Would you do it?" she asked, pulling back and raising an eyebrow.
"Would you?" he countered.
"I would if you would," she said, studying him.
"I would if you would," he said, bravely.
"I would ..." she said breaking out into a grin. "But I think we both might be a bit distracted."
"Maybe," he conceded, glad she was giving them the out. "Besides," he added, pulling her close and kissing her head. "We wouldn't be able to show the wedding pics to anyone."
.
Early the next morning, Elliot stirred to find Olivia sitting on the floor beside the bed.
"Liv?" he said, reaching out and touching her shoulder, causing her to startle. "Sorry," he quickly added. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she replied, swiping at her eyes, but although she removed the liquid tears, they were still evident in her voice.
"Try again," he said, scooting across the bed before dropping onto the floor beside her. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked again, his arm wrapping around her shoulders and drawing her to him.
Sighing deeply, Olivia rested her head on his shoulder, while her fingers entwined with his. Gently he kissed her head before leaning back and waiting, he knew she had shown extraordinary patience with him over the years, he could afford her a few minutes of silence to collect her thoughts.
Five minutes passed, then ten and Elliot would have thought Olivia was sleeping except for the fact her fingers kept moving in his.
"Livvy," he started quietly. "You can tell me anything, you know."
"I know," she replied just as quietly.
"Whatever it is," he continued, trying to ease her into the conversation.
"It's nothing really," she replied, with a sigh.
"Liv, it's three in the morning and we've sitting on the floor for twenty minutes in silence. I think it's something," he observed, his hand dropping hers to cup her face. "Please talk to me, baby."
"God, I love you, Elliot," she replied and his stomach lurched.
"I love you too, Liv," he replied. "With all my heart."
"Had a dream," she said, finally offering him something.
"Bad dream?" he asked, stroking her cheek.
"Nope," she replied, gazing at him.
"Good dream?" he asked, not believing it was, but having to ask.
"Nope," she repeated, shaking her head.
"Then what?" he asked, trying to get a read on her emotions.
"Wasn't any sort of dream," she explained. "Nothing of any consequence anyway."
"Then why are you awake and sitting on the floor?" he asked and it prompted her to stand up and slip back into bed, Elliot followed her.
.
After a few more minutes and after she'd nestled herself into Elliot's arms, Olivia began talking without further prompting.
"The dream woke me," she explained as his fingers raked through her hair. "Don't even remember what it was about but I woke up and then I started thinking and then I started crying," she said, pausing once again as her tears welled.
"What were you thinking about?" he asked, pulling her closer.
"I was thinking ... I was thinking about how scared you looked when you came running back in this afternoon and it broke my heart," she admitted. "It's so unlike you to ..."
"I know," he interrupted. "It was an overreaction and..."
"It wasn't just that," Olivia cut in. "You used to be so sure of yourself, of everything and she took all that away from you – with a lie."
"I know," he admitted. "I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" she asked, pulling back. "What on earth are you apologising for?"
"I'm not really the man I was... probably not the man you fell in love with..." Elliot admitted, resignation in his voice. "So, I'd understand if you didn't want-"
"NO! Don't you dare even finish that thought!" Olivia interjected, grabbing his face and making him look at her.
"But, Liv..." he began again.
"No, Elliot! No 'but' anything," she said fiercely. "In case you haven't got it yet..." she continued, tapping on his head. "I love you so much ... more than I ever thought possible..."
"But..." he tried again.
"But what?" she all but yelled. "At your toughest time I should what? Just walk away? Leave you alone? Bail out? What?"
"It would be easier for you," he said, not wanting to cause her more pain than necessary.
"Easier?" she countered. "How exactly?"
.
Not being able to think of a suitable answer, Elliot fell silent.
"Do you really want me to go?" she asked. "Do you want time and space?"
"No," he said quietly. As difficult as the past year had been, he knew Olivia leaving could quite possibly prove fatal for him; he wouldn't survive without her.
"Answer me this," she said. "When it's my turn to hit rock bottom, where will you be?"
"Right with you, every moment," he declared, grabbing her close once more.
"Why?" she questioned.
"Because I love you so much, there's no way I'd ever let you go through it alone," he vowed, kissing her head.
"Then why the hell do you want me to walk away from you?" she asked exasperated.
"I don't," he said in a whisper. "I just didn't want you to be disappointed in me ... or worse...start resenting me."
"Will never happen, Elliot. Never!" she declared. "In recent years there have been many times where I've been disappointed or disliked certain things BUT I kept on loving you. You may not believe me, Elliot, but from experience I know that trying not to love you is a lot harder to do than loving you."
"You've been in love with me for a long time, haven't you?" he asked. They'd never actually discussed the true origins of their non platonic feelings.
"Yes, I have," she said. "And there is no way I am giving you up now."
"Thank you," he whispered, as his tears welled. For the first time in a long time, he finally felt he was worth something.
"You don't have to thank me," she replied, kissing his nose. "You just have to love me back and let me in."
"I will. Can I give you something?" he asked, pulling back just enough to see her face properly.
"Sure," she replied. "What is it?"
Elliot slipped out of the bed and retrieved a small blue bag from one of the paper bags he'd brought back earlier. He handed it to Olivia and she tipped it up. A small white box slipped out and she instantly knew it was a ring box.
"An engagement ring?" she asked before she even opened it.
"No, not quite," he said, opening the box. "It's an eternity ring..."
"Doesn't that usually come after the marriage?" she asked, staring at the exquisite piece in front of her.
"It does," he agreed. "Thing is, I wanted you to choose your wedding bands... but, I also wanted you to know that whether we're married today, tomorrow or next year, that I am yours for eternity."
"And I'm yours," she whispered as he slipped the sapphire and diamond encrusted ring onto her finger.
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