Seven Months Later…
"Mama…I hungry…" Noah said from his car seat as Olivia drove down the road toward Elliot's apartment.
"I know sweetie," she said, "We're almost there."
They'd had a busy day…finalizing Noah's adoption had been the highlight and she'd planned to spend the rest of the day with him, playing and going to the zoo, but she'd been called into work and there was no way around it. She wanted to cry leaving him with the sitter on the most important day of their lives, but luckily she'd been able to leave in a few short hours and now they were heading to Elliot's for dinner.
"You're gonna see Libby," she said to him and the little boy giggled. "You miss her, don't you buddy?" she asked. "Mommy misses her too. I haven't seen her in days." She felt tears stinging her eyes and quickly tried to blink them away. "But we're good, aren't we, Noah…just the two of us."
"Where's Libby?" Olivia asked, as she carried boxes up the steps to Elliot's new apartment. He'd been granted full custody of his granddaughter the week before and Olivia hadn't realized how much she'd miss the baby girl. The absence of her cheeky smile and soft giggle left a void she hadn't expected.
"She's with Kathy for the day," he explained. "I figured she would be hard to look after in the middle of the move."
"That's true," Olivia sighed, trying not to show her disappointment in not seeing the baby. "How's Kathy doing?"
She's great," he answered. "All her tests are coming back cancer-free. She's not out of the woods, but for now she's healthy. And she's letting me keep Eli next week…for the whole week. He's so excited…he'll be here tomorrow after school."
"You're even more excited than he is I bet," Olivia laughed. "I'm glad…"
"Where's Noah?" Elliot asked as they sat the boxes in the middle of the living room.
"With Lucy…I need to get home in a while," Olivia smiled. Then she looked around the apartment, "This is really a great place, El. I can't believe you found a place in Manhattan."
"I know you want to see Libby," he said truthfully. "And she loves you, Liv. She needs you. I didn't want her to be too far away from you."
"Thanks," she said gently, as she sat down on the new sofa and Elliot poured two glasses of ice tea, handing one to her and sitting next to her. "So…how's the new job going?"
"Not bad…" he said with a shrug. "Prison guard isn't exactly the career I saw for myself, but it pays well and I have regular hours. It's not bad at all, really."
"I'm proud of you...for doing everything you can to build your life back," Olivia sighed, taking a drink of her iced tea. "I should get going…Noah's adoption hearing is tomorrow morning. I can't believe he's finally going to be legally mine…he was three months old when I first met him, and now he's almost two."
"Can I come?" Elliot asked. "I'd like to come."
"Sure, if you want," Olivia answered. "It should be a pretty simple ceremony. Just signing documents and then they take a family photo…"
Elliot smiled, "I want to be there to see you become a mom…officially…"
Olivia laughed, "Okay…you should come. Can you bring Libby…I want to see her. Maybe we can go to lunch after."
"I told Kathy she could keep her until tomorrow night, but we can still go to lunch if you want…me, you, and Noah," Elliot squeezed her hand. "Hey, Liv…do you ever think about maybe having another baby? I mean, you're so good with Libby and I just think you're a great mom and you deserve more kids if you want them…maybe a little girl."
She nearly choked on her sip of tea and looked at him, clearing her throat, "That ship has sailed, Elliot. I'm not having any more kids."
"Why not?" he asked her. "Don't you want them?"
She sighed, sitting her glass on the coffee table. "Elliot…I'm too old to have a baby and adoption is expensive and I already have Noah…I love kids, but I'm happy with my son."
"I don't think you're too old to have a baby," he said with a smile. "You never know…"
"What are you trying to say?" she asked, shaking her head nervously. "El…if you think you and I are going to…"
"No…" he insisted. "I didn't mean that. I just want you to be happy…and I worry about you. You've done so much to help me these last few months…and I just want to make sure you're okay…that you have everything you need and want…that you're happy."
"I am happy," she promised. "Don't worry about me."
"You miss Libby," he said knowingly.
She nodded, a tear sliding down her cheek, "Yeah…but I know she's where she belongs. She needs her grandpa."
"She needs you too," he said gently. "You're the only parent she's ever known."
"But I'm not her mom," Olivia said softly. "I know that…and she's going to be fine. I'm still going to see her. We'll still be close."
"Hey…instead of lunch…why don't you and Noah come over here tomorrow after the hearing?" Elliot suggested. "I swear I'll have all the boxes and things unpacked by then and we can order Chinese food and watch old movies on TV. I know how much you love that."
"Maybe," she answered, then she stood up, "I really have to go, El."
She pulled up in front of Elliot's apartment and took Noah out of his car seat, holding his hand as they walked to the entrance. Then she pushed the buzzer and Elliot buzzed them in. They walked down the corridor to his apartment and she knocked, surprised that it seemed to take him so long to open the door. "Hey," he said with a sly grin as he opened the door, "I'm glad you're here."
"You invited us," Olivia laughed, "Did you think we weren't coming?"
"No…but you're late," he smiled. Then he knelt down to Noah, "Hey, little man…" he said gently. "How are you doing?"
"I hungry…" Noah whined again and Elliot nodded.
"He's hungry," he looked at Olivia, "Guess we should eat, huh?" He pushed the door open and they walked inside, greeted with balloons and a banner with Happy Adoption Day, Noah printed in bold blue letters. Eli popped out from around the corner with noise-makers and the shrill shriek made them all jump.
"El?" Olivia looked around in shock. "You didn't have to do this."
"Yes I did…" he insisted. "It's a special day." He kissed her on the cheek, "Happy Mother's Day, Olivia."
"It's not Mother's Day," she reminded him with a sigh.
"Yeah it is...for you it is," he said seriously. "It's your Mother's Day...you're a mom now."
"Noah's your baby now," Eli gave a grin that looked so much like his father than Olivia had to laugh. "Daddy told me."
"Yeah…he's all mine," Olivia picked up her son and held him close."
"Cake…" Noah said, pointing to the blue and white sheet cake on the table.
"Come here," Elliot took Noah from Olivia and sat him at the table. "I'll get you some cake."
"El…he hasn't had dinner," Olivia sighed.
"It's a special day," he teased, cutting the cake for Noah and Eli and sitting the two boys at the table. There was a cry from the bedroom and he turned, "Libby's awake," he said. "You want to go get her?"
"Sure," Olivia nodded. She walked toward the room and turned to watch Elliot playing with Noah and Eli at the table. "El…" she called and he looked at her. "Thanks."
Later that night Eli and Noah were curled up together in Eli's bed, sound asleep and Olivia held Libby in her arms, finishing up her bedtime feeding, "She's asleep…" she looked at Elliot and he reached for her. Olivia kissed the baby gently, "Sleep tight sweetheart," she whispered, and he picked the baby up and took her to her crib.
"Thanks for making this day so special," Olivia said as he sat down next to her. "I appreciate it."
"You're welcome," he smiled, "I'm glad things went well at the hearing. I'm glad Noah is yours…for good."
"Me too," she yawned and clicked on the TV, finding an old black and white movie, "Hey…you never did get me my Chinese food," she teased. "Noah might like cake for dinner… but not me."
He laughed, "I'm on it," he walked over to the kitchen, grabbing a takeout menu and calling to place the order. Then he came back and sat next to her on the sofa.
"Olivia," he said gently and she looked at him, "Thank you…for being here…for helping me with all this…for helping me get better. I couldn't have done any of this without you."
"Of course I'm here," she leaned her head on his shoulder. "We're partners, right…nothing will ever change that."
"Partners…" he said, the meaning of the word floating through his head until he couldn't take it anymore. "What do you mean…partners?"
She looked surprised, "Partners…" she said, "Friends…right? We're friends again…finally. It took a while, but I think we're good. Don't you?"
He nodded, "Yeah…" he sighed, putting his arm around her while she curled her legs up on the sofa and leaned into him, staring at the movie on television. "We're good…" Then he leaned over, kissing her softly on the head, "But I still love you," he said honestly. "You need to know that."
She looked up at him, forcing a smile and nodded, "I know," she said softly. "I love you too…I always will."
"Then where does that leave us?" he asked. "Liv…if we love each other…"
"Don't," she said seriously. "El…not now, okay. I just…I don't think we're ready to go there. What we have…it's good. Let's not ruin it now."
"I don't think we'll ruin it," he admitted. "I think we'll make things better." There was a knock at the door and he went to answer it, bringing containers of food back to the table. He watched her dip her eggroll into the sweet and sour sauce and smiled, "I know we can make things better," he insisted.
She sat her food down and looked at him, "Not now," she insisted. "I'm not ready."
"When?" he asked. "When will you be ready?"
"I don't know if I ever will," she admitted. "Sometimes I think we're better off as friends."
"I think we're better off in love," he winked at her and she laughed. "I'll give you however long you need…and if you just want to be friends, then I'll be in love with my best friend for the rest of my life…and I'll be okay with that."
"Are you sure?" she asked seriously, "I don't want this to trigger you…"
"No," he shook his head, "Don't do that to yourself, Liv. I'm not drinking…I'm not planning to…but if I slip up again, that will never be your fault. No matter what happens with us."
"Okay," she nodded.
"Let's finish dinner," he smiled, sitting next to her, "And finish this ridiculous movie."
"I like the movie," she laughed.
"Yeah, of course you do," he teased. "One of the things I love about you…your bad taste in movies."
"Ha…ha…ha," Olivia snickered, popping the rest of the eggroll in her mouth. Then she leaned into him and watched the movie in silence, until she fell asleep.
He could hear her snoring softly, and clicked off the TV, looking down at her sleeping against his chest. "I love more things about you than I can even count," he sighed, stroking her dark hair. "I'm not going to give up on us." He leaned back and closed his eyes, "Goodnight, Liv." He whispered, as he let himself drift into the most comfortable sleep he'd had in years.
The End...