Elliot let out a frustrated sigh. He wanted to run after her but instead he remained seated. He was hurt by her reaction. He had known that she was guarded from the beginning. It took him a long time to work his way through her walls and he thought she might finally be more accepting of their relationship. Apparently he was wrong. He didn't think he had been rushing into telling her he loved her. Had he planned it or expected it himself? No. They knew from the beginning it wasn't a fling. What did she expect to happen? He didn't want to be upset with her, but how much more did he have to do to prove he wasn't going to hurt her?

He took a long swig of his drink. AT that moment the kids came running onto the porch, with the firework display now over they needed more sparklers. He tried not to show any signs that he was upset. By the look on Charlie's face he knew he failed. She waved to Dickie signalling that she would join him in a second. She leaned against the table and observed Elliot for a second before speaking.

"Is my mom ok?" He knew she must have seen Olivia rush inside.

"Yeah, she just isn't feeling very well," he reassured her. He didn't want to lie to her but he was left in an awkward situation. Charlie nodded, accepting is answer. He thought she might runoff but she never moved. She seemed deep in thought.

"You ok?" Her eyes lifted from their spot on the floor as if she forgot he was there.

"You guys aren't breaking up are you?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"No, of course not. Why would you think that?" She offered no response, other than a shrug of her shoulders.

"You make my mom really happy," Charlie had moved from the table to the chair next to Elliot's. He gave her a soft smile. If only she had seen what had just happened.

"I don't know about that," he said rubbing a hand down his face. Charlie had either chose to ignore his comment or was confused by it, but she didn't respond to it.

"The way she smiles with you is the same way she is smiling in the pictures with my dad." The statement weighed heavy in Elliot's chest. It was a simple observation by the girl and he was sure she didn't know how much it meant to him. Over the time he had known Olivia and her daughter they had become a huge part of his life. He had verbalized the love he had felt and it hadn't been returned. Now Charlie was telling him of the love she could see in her mother's eye. She was extremely observant for a young girl. As he was trying to think of a response to her statement she stood from her position. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder.

"I love you Elliot," she said quickly, almost as if she was embarrassed, before running off and joining Dickie on the beach. He couldn't help the smile on his face. It wasn't the 'I love you' he had been expecting, but it touched his heart all the same.

Meanwhile, inside Olivia was pacing the floor. His confession had taken her by surprise. Their weekend had been so wonderful and her guard had been down. It wasn't something she was used to. She had lost the last man she had said 'I love you" to, it hadn't been an easy thing to recover from. It had turned her into a bit of hard case. She almost never gave anyone the benefit of the doubt and was always cautious. Elliot had changed her. Why, then, did she panic when he had told her he loved her? She should be rejoicing. He was an amazing father and their relationship had been magical. She couldn't deny that she had been thinking about their future more and more.

Perhaps it was just familiarity that made her run. In the past when a man would profess his love for her, her feelings of self-preservation would kick in and she would head for the hills. They were nothing like Elliot though. She was still panicking, but now it seemed for a different reason. She knew she had made a mistake. Why do you always do this? You finally find an amazing man who loves you and your daughter and you ruin it. A tear slipped from her eyes as she scolded herself. She wanted to rewind time and do everything all over again. Instead of running she would stay in his arms and rejoice in the feeling. She ruined her opportunity. He was probably furious with her and incredibly heart broken. Something she never wanted to cause. She stopped pacing and sat on the bed as more tears fell.

She heard a knock on the doorframe as she sat in her own regret. She looked up to see Elliot filling the space.

"Can I come in?" She nodded and swatted at her tears. She could see his hesitation and it only fed her sadness.

"Are you ok?" Again she nodded, not sure if she trusted her voice.

"I'm not sorry I told you that I love you but I am sorry that it upset you. It wasn't my intention," his voice remained calm as he sat on the bed next to her. He stayed close to her but didn't touch her. Her tears started falling again. She had been weak and her action had hurt him yet he was the one apologizing.

"I'm so sorry," she all but sobbed. He couldn't take it anymore as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.

"You don't have anything to apologize for-"

"I do. I acted immature and unreasonable. I panicked and overthought things like I always do. You deserved more than that. I'm so sorry," she said her eyes finding his. He gave her a soft smile.

"I'd be surprised if you didn't overthink things every now and then. It's who you are. It's who I fell in love with," he said cautiously, hoping she might be a bit more responsive to his words this time. He was rewarded with a kiss on the lips. He leaned his forehead on hers after their lips parted, a content smile on his face.

"I did realize one thing while I was in here though."

"What's that?"

"That I love you too." She was smiling widely. His mouth was on hers in an instant and she felt more passion in the kiss than she had ever felt before.

"I love you so much," he said, his lips never leaving hers. They let the kiss last a few minutes before they separated. They made their way back to the porch and settled back into the same position they had been previously. This time however, they found it harder to keep their hands off of each other. Stealing kisses and whispering sweet nothings as they watched their kids play on the beach.

It isnt super long but it ties up last chapter...the nextt chapter is planned out in m head so prolly will be up soonish

I got a new laptop so im finding it much easier writing(compared to usually doing most of the other chapters on my phone)

Anything you guys wanna see happen in the future with my four fave characters? let me know! I love spitballing new ideas

review pls!