A/N :Thanks for the reviews guys - they keep me motivated !
Olivia checked her phone again for what felt like the tenth time. Still nothing from Roman , she was currently on route to Pensacola for the funeral . Roman had taken compassionate leave but Olivia had to jump through hoops to get some time off she worked extra house shows to make up the time. Roman was in a bad place , when she did speak to him he broke her heart he was just so down and low. Mickie and Finn continued to taunt her they did it when no one was really around and she knew they were purposely trying to break her . Olivia considered herself a strong character but without Roman there to reassure her she felt the gap between them was widening. She couldn't tell him about the Mickie and Finn thing , he had enough on his mind at the minute. She was going to meet them at the church for the service. She had worn a black dress and blazer and had pulled her hair up into a bun. She looked respectful which is what she was aiming for. She parked up and spotted Roman and his family standing outside the door speaking to people. JoJo was there too holding tightly to her dads hand and Galina on the other side of Roman , Olivia couldn't help but feel that they looked like a family , united together in grief. Galinas shoulder was caressing his and Olivia felt a flare of jealousy. She needed to calm down she told herself , Mickie and Finn were not right about any of it , he was interested in her. She watched as Galina turned her head and said something into Romans ear , he nodded at her and then went back to the conversation with a family member.
Olivia walked quickly across the path and towards the family. Roman was wearing sunglasses , shielding his gorgeous eyes . As she paused for a moment she was never so happy to hear "Doc, we could have given you a ride . " she turned to see Seth and Dean both dressed in black and both also wearing sunglasses . " We literally got an hour and have to jump on a plane" . She hugged them both tightly and Seth looked at Dean with raised eyebrows " All ok Liv?". She smiled at them both " Yes it is now". She turned at the same moment that Roman saw the three of them . He let go of Jojos hand and walked away from Galina. They met him halfway . He reached for Olivia first , pulling her into his chest almost crushing her with the force of the hug he gave her. He pulled back and put a hand on each cheek before leaning in and kissing her , just for a few seconds , given where they were standing . "I missed you Liv". She felt her heart swell. "I see you picked up a couple of strays" his voice remained light and he hugged his brothers. "Thanks so much".
The service began and Olivia and Dean and Seth sat towards the back. When Roman walked in , Olivia tried not to get annoyed at the sight of Galina next to him. JoJo obviously needed her mother for support so Olivia tried to reason with herself. The little girl had hugged her tightly and Galina had given her a tight lipped smile earlier when she met them. As Galina sailed past with Roman , Olivia tried to avert her eyes , and she put her head down. That was until a strong hand reached in and pulled her out from the row. She felt the whole church was looking as Roman pulled her into step next to him holding her hand proudly. She looked at him , his now brilliant blue eyes on show " I need you with me" he whispered. She squeezed his hand back and nodded. Up ahead Galina had turned back for a moment and one sharp look from Roman made her move along. The service was beautiful , Olivia had tears in her eyes after Roman delivered a eulogy that moved the entire congregation, he had loved his brother deeply it was obvious. When he sat back down next to her she took his hand in hers " Rosey would have loved that Ro, You did him proud".
After the service Olivia bade goodbye to Dean and Seth she was so glad they came . Without realising it they had given her the strength to approach Roman. She had agreed to go back to the house for a few hours , she would fly the next morning and had booked a hotel room for the night , she didn't want to impose on the family. Romans family had been very welcoming and she encouraged them to sit while she helped serve the food at the house and make sure everyone had a drink. She had been introduced as Romans girlfriend and even though they hadn't really confirmed they were in a relationship she didn't bother to correct people. Olivia was slicing a cake when she heard a voice behind her "Settling into the family well then?". it was Galina , her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Yes all of Romans family are lovely thank you" she stayed neutral but was on high alert. "My daughter is the most important thing in the world to me , anyone her father is in a relationship with has to realise that she comes first". Olivia was confused "of course , JoJo should be his priority , I have never thought any differently". Galina stepped closer and lowered her voice "I'm her mother sweetie and still technically his wife. Just because we aren't together anymore, it doesn't mean you can replace me. Got it?". She stepped back just as Nia walked into the room , as if the conversation never happened. "Nice to see you Olivia". She said kindly before leaving the room . Nia smiled at Olivia "Good , you guys are getting along".
Olivia stepped out onto the dock for some air. This was all getting a bit much. Galina clearly didn't like her and was threatened in some way by her. This would make the relationship more complicated with JoJo and she was Romans daughter, and his most important priority. She was tired suddenly, sick of questioning herself and her relationship. She walked to the end of the dock and sat down swinging her legs over the side. She turned her face to the sun and closed her eyes for a moment. "Liv, I been looking for you.". She turned and saw Roman. She hadn't seen him since they parted at the church , he was mingling. He carried a glass of white wine and a whiskey for him. He went to sit next to her and handed her the glass. His arm touched hers as they sat looking out to the water and enjoying their drinks. "How you holding up". She asked. He turned to look at her and she realised how much she missed just looking at this man and being next to him. "Better , I guess. No one ever tells you how to deal with the death of a sibling. I keep running memories of him over in my head". He turned to look at her "Nothing seems normal anymore, tell me about you, I need distraction. Sorry I have been MIA the last while. Have the family been grilling you?". She smiled at him and was glad to see a little glint as he smiled back at her "Who me? Romans girlfriend?". She was poking fun at what they were introducing her as. "I guess it's better than Romans fuckbuddy" she said cheekily. His eyes flared in surprise "And to think all of these people think you're so sweet and innocent , if only they knew" he teased. "Well I don't think the term fuck buddy really gets what you and I are." He looked her dead in the eyes "So how do you feel about girlfriend?". Olivia was beyond happy and for a moment forgot all of the troubles of the last few weeks "Only if you insist" she said happily. His hand came up to her face and he leaned in and kissed her , she responded in earnest taking his face in hers , allowing herself to caress his face. "Easy now girl, or else we are going to have to put that fuck buddy term to the test".
Olivia felt revitalised as she got into bed that night at the hotel. Everything had been going really well and now that Roman had asked her to be his girlfriend then things were definitely looking up. As she got into bed the phone rang and she saw that it was him . She turned the lights off and jumped under the duvet the phone nestled to her ear and she listened to his voice . He was a little drunk but she didn't care just listening to him made her happy. " We are taking the kids for breakfast tomorrow morning , wanna join us before you fly out?". "Sure I'd love that" she said. "Goodnight baby, soon i'll be right there next to you". Olivia fell asleep happy. The next morning she packed her bag and showered and got ready for breakfast. When she got back she saw she had a missed call from Roman , when he answered she knew something was up. "Hey babe I hope you don't mind this but JoJo was a bit upset this morning asked to go to breakfast with just me and Galina to talk about Rosey. Do you mind?" . Olivia felt her throat tighten, she knew without hesitation that this was a power play of Galinas a way of showing her who was most important to him. "Of course not ,go be with your daughter , I understand".Roman said "That's why you are so amazing. Text me when you get to the airport , I need to make sure my girlfriend gets home safely. And thank you for coming , it meant so much to me". She hung up feeling more conflicted than ever. She was officially his girlfriend but between Mickie , Finn and now Galina she felt there was so much working against him. He had just lost his brother too what was she to do ?