Despite the possible giddiness and mayhem of having Mia stay with her and Noah, Olivia stood by her offer to look after the teenager while Rafael was at the conference. He had suggested maybe only going for the first day/evening – he was keynote speaker at the opening night dinner – but Olivia had convinced him to go for the whole thing, saying it would look churlish only to go for his own speech. At first, Mia had bristled at the suggestion that she needed babysitting, but when Rafael did not relent – he would not, under any circumstances, leave a thirteen-year-old alone overnight and definitely not for three nights in a row – and offered her choice between Olivia and Lucia, she quickly agreed to stay with Olivia.

So, just over three weeks later, on the Monday evening of their second week back at school, Rafael dropped Mia off at Olivia's. The teenager ran up the stairs to the apartment and let herself in using the key Olivia had given her at the start of summer vacation. She'd been concerned that the long days at home alone may give Mia too much time to think so had told her she was free to call round to see Noah and Lucy whenever she wanted. The key was in case they were out – she didn't want Mia waiting outside or wandering the streets if there was no one home.

Mia dumped her rucksack by the door and greeted Olivia with a hug before allowing Noah to drag her off to his room to show her the rocket ship he'd made at school, leaving Rafael to haul her luggage up the three flights of stairs to Olivia's apartment.

He dropped the heavy, brightly patterned suitcase just inside Olivia's door and took a few moments to catch his breath. "She's only here for three nights, for goodness sake," he grumbled. "How much stuff does she need?"

"She's a teenage girl," Olivia replied with an eye-roll as she pulled some clean linens out of the hallway closet. "They're incapable of travelling light. I'm sorry the elevator is out of service. Of all the days…"

She walked past him to the sofa bed that she'd pulled out and began to ready the bed for the teenager. Olivia had offered to have Noah sleep in her bed, so Mia could have his room, but she'd declined, insisting the she would be fine in the living room on the sofa bed.

"It's not your fault. Although, this whole thing would be a damn sight easier if you'd just move in with me."

It took Rafael a moment to realise he'd spoken aloud. When he did, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes, wishing he could take back his words.

It was an off-the-cuff remark. The exasperated tone that had accompanied it was one borne out of frustration about the inconvenience of the trip and the fact that he'd not seen Olivia much outside of work over the last couple of weeks. Their schedules had been hectic, with work – he'd had back to back court sessions and she'd been on active shooter training and several high-profile cases – so, they'd barely had time to grab a coffee together, let alone talk about anything as major as living together. It hadn't even been on the agenda – at least not anywhere outside his own head. He knew he wanted the four of them to be a proper family. But now he'd opened his big mouth and just thrown it out there with no warning. He was just grateful that Mia and Noah were sequestered away in his room.

Olivia was just as shocked by his words. She froze, wide-eyed, half-dressed pillow in hand as she tried to comprehend what he'd just said.

"What?"

Rafael sighed. There was no point denying it. She wasn't asking him to repeat himself because she had misheard. Oh no. She'd heard him loud and clear. He had opened Pandora's box and now had to face the consequences. "I said, 'this whole thing would be a damn sight easier if you'd just move in with me'."

"I… have no clue what to say to that." She was floored by his comment. It had come completely out of the blue. There had been no indication that moving in together was even on the radar.

Rafael sighed. He should have kept his mouth shut. It had been an extremely long, tiring day, on top of an exhousting couple of weeks. Nothing good could come from trying to have this conversation now, but he couldn't stop the petulant reply that left his lips. "I think that says enough on its own."

"Rafa, I…" Dropping the pillow to the bed, she sat down, perched on the edge and sucked in a breath. "Where is this coming from?"

"Aren't you tired, Liv? Tired of running around trying to grab a couple of minutes together wherever we can? I just think it would be more convenient if we lived together."

"More convenient?" Olivia felt her own hackles rising at his words and couldn't help her sarcastic retort. "Because that's a romantic way to be asked. I'm sorry our current arrangement is so inconvenient for you."

He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "That's not what I meant. I-" His phone vibrating in his hand, cutting off his explanation. He glanced down and sighed. "Damn… my Uber is downstairs."

"Right. Okay. Well, I'll see you in a few days." She stood and turned away from him, unfolding the bedsheet.

"Liv, I…"

She didn't look at him, choosing instead to carry on making the bed. "You'd better say goodbye to Mia. She's down the hall with Noah."

Rafael walked down the hallway to Noah's room and, faking a happy demeanour, bid goodbye to him and Mia, promising to call when he got to D.C. and to bring them both a gift if he saw something he thought they'd like.

On returning to the living room, he found the sofa bed made and Olivia in the kitchen, preparing dinner for her and the children.

"Liv…"

She shook her head, steadfastly facing the wall. "Don't. Not when you're about to leave."

He nodded, despite the fact she couldn't see him. "I love you."

Olivia heard him open the front door and realised she couldn't leave things as they were. She turned her head and offered him a tight smile. "I know."