Before anyone knew it, it was the week of Thanksgiving. Raphael and Olivia had agreed to go to his mother's house, who hosted the whole family. Olivia had met some of his family here and there, but she was nervous. She asked Lucia what she needed to bring, but the lady insisted she does nothing but makes sure that Raphael and Noah were seated at the table when it was time for the feast. Olivia felt bad, not cooking anything. Usually, Olivia would invite some co-workers over, or she would be invited to someone else's house, but Thanksgiving was never a big deal. Olivia found out that Thanksgiving was a huge deal in the Barba house, and Lucia was running Raphael all over New York for precise ingredients the days before.
Olivia laughed when she received a text
-You'll beat me home tonight. I have to go to Al's Deli to pick up smoked bacon. It's in Jersey City!
Olivia looked down at her paperwork, not knowing if she would beat him home or not. Olivia had so much paperwork. There was leave for Thanksgiving. There was rotation for Thanksgiving. There was paperwork for staff working the parade. She hated it. The floats were pretty, and the ballons were massive, but all those people packing around tightly, New Year's Eve was even worse. Rookies usually were required to go to all of these things, but there were volunteer forms as well, with generous overtime pay involved. She sighed as everyone had declined the offer. She may be forced to send someone if asked, but she was hoping enough other units chipped in.
Olivia heard an argument and looked out, it was Carasi and Rollins, as per usual, but it seemed to be personal more than professional. Olivia wasn't sure if she even wanted to deal with it, but when it only seemed to get worse, she finally intervened.
"You guys good?" Olivia asked.
"I don't know, are we?" Amanda asked.
"So it's on me now to say if things are okay, it's never been that way before!" Carasi stated.
Olivia looked at the two of them, but it was as though she wasn't even there.
"Maybe that's the issue, Carasi. It's always up to me!" Amanda stated.
Amanda looked over at Olivia.
"I'm sorry, Liv, I got go cool off," Amanda said, and with that, she turned down the hall.
"Carasi, a word a please!" Olivia stated.
He sighed and scrubbed his face.
"Yeah, I know I screwed up, it won't happen again." Sonny states sounding defeated.
"It will. It will happen again. Partners get into fights. I can't have your personal affairs get mixed up in all of this, next time you and Rollins, get into a personal issue at work it better change into a work-related issue real fast, because I can't have everyone around watching it," Olivia claimed
"I'm sorry," Sonny stated.
Olivia smiled, "Now, as a friend is everything okay with you two?" Olivia asked.
Sonny smiled.
"Yeah, we'll be okay," Sonny stated.
"Okay," Olivia stated.
Amanda comes in about 10 minutes later she is still high strung, but she isn't screaming, and she apologizes to Sonny as soon as she walks through the door.
Olivia gave her a minute but told Amanda to come into the office as well.
"Are you sure everything is alright?" Olivia asked.
Amanda looked back over, staring at Sonny for just a minute.
"Yeah, I've just been stressed out, I'll be okay. He's not the easiest man to live with it." Amanda stated.
"So, you're living together?" Olivia asked.
Amanda looked at her.
"No, not quite we've been talking a little bit, I just, you know there is so much he doesn't know about me." Amanda started.
"You'll get there, but I can't have you in the office fighting with each other, or I'm going to have to separate you," Olivia stated.
"It won't happen again," Amanda responded.
Olivia laughed, "That's what your partner said, don't make promises you can't keep just try to keep it down." Olivia stated.
"Will do," Amanda stated.
Olivia finished her paperwork occasionally, looking out at the two detectives. She saw so much of her and Elliot in them. Of course, it was a bit different, Amanda had pushed Carasi away for so long, and all he had been doing was trying to be her friend. If Olivia had to admit it, she loved Elliot, she was friends with him, but Amanda and Sonny were on a different level. Of course, Olivia had a lot of "what if" thoughts about her and Elliot. At one time, she had imagined them being together, but now she knew they wouldn't have worked out. They were too challenging for each other. Everything was a competition. It would never be an equal partnership. Not like her and Raphael. She sighed as she looked at the stack of forms in front of her and the afternoon ticking down to yet another meeting, she wasn't even sure what it was for or why she had to attend. It was in the next hour, and she was going to be late if she didn't finish up with everything.
Olivia arrived home exhausted. She met Raphael at the door. He hadn't yet got his keys out.
"Hey, you!" Raphael stated.
"Hey, you think your mom has everything she needs now? Olivia asked.
"I hope so. She can ask Leanna if not I'm done," Rapahel admitted.
Olivia laughed, knowing right this second if his mother called, he would go to California if she asked.
She grabbed the lapels of his Jacket pulled him close to her.
Their lips touched, and quickly they were making out in the hallway of his apartment with Lucy and Noah just on the other side of the door.
Olivia sighed and leaned on Raphael, he leaned against the door frame, and he held for just a moment before she straightened herself out, and they opened the door.
The two made their way into the room, and Rafael grabbed the mail sitting on the table in the kitchen. Lucy got it for him on the way up when they were there. He was sorting through it. One was from the owners of the building. He knew what it meant a new lease agreement. Although this was hardly the time to bring it up, he remembered Lucy saying something about Olivia making the place her own. This would allow him to put her name on the lease, list tenants as himself, Olivia and Noah.
He looked at the letter for a long time, and Olivia looked at him.
"Is everything okay," Olivia asked
"Yeah, it's my lease," Raphael mentioned.
Lucy looked at him, smiling, and Olivia didn't seem to notice as her heart pounded out of her chest. Of course, they could have moved in at any time, but with a lease in hand, it was a conscious decision if he signs it if he adds her to the agreement. It meant a vital discussion right before the holidays. She knew it was needed more than anything. If Olivia closed her eyes and thought about when she pictured home, she pictured Raphael and Noah and general, and that's all that mattered.
Olivia's ears were swooshing, and she didn't hear Noah call out to her, to show the project they made in class. It wasn't until he flung the book up in her face that she realized he was trying to show her something.
It was a story of family and how everyone was different. Noah had filled in the blanks and drew pictures.
"This is wonderful, Noah!" Olivia professed.
She had tears streaming down her face, and Raphael looked at her for a second, before he looked a the project himself, it talked about mommy and daddy and all his uncles and aunts. It talked about his grandma Lucia and Grandpa Don. Raphael had his tears threatening to fall.
"This very good mijo," Raphael stated.
The three had a group hug.
Lucy took this as her sign to leave, telling them Happy Thanksgiving. They would see her again Monday morning.
Olivia and Raphael talked to Noah about the rest of his school day and his excitement for the very long weekend. Dinner came, and Raphael sat down to his email.
"FUCK!" he said out loud
Olivia and Noah both whip their head around so fast.
"Daddy said a really bad word, mommy," Noah stated.
"He did, sweet boy," Olivia claimed.
"Liv, I need to talk to you later tonight," Raphael stated.
She seemed upset by not knowing.
"It's not that important," Raphael said quickly.
"Well, with that kind of reaction, that's kinda hard to believe," Olivia claimed.
"No, it's just something I forgot about," Raphael said quickly.
Olivia shook her head. The 3 of them played connect four swapping out playing the winner. Olivia made sure Noah took a bath and brushed his teeth. Raphael read him to sleep.
Raphael pulled out a bottle of scotch and poured himself a drink. He hadn't done so in quite a while Olivia excepted a glass as well.
"So, what did you forget about?" Olivia asked.
"How would you feel about taking time off for a Christmas vacation?" Raphael asked.
"Rafa?" Olivia asked.
"I guess I should have told you sooner, but I and some college friends own a house."
"I'm sorry you own a house where?" Olivia asked
"It's a beach house," Raphael stated.
"Rafa, what are you not telling me?" Olivia asked.
"look along time ago at our ten year Harvard Law reunion we all got together, and you know how it goes we were glad to see each other we got drunk, had a hair-brained idea and 12 of us bought a Malibu beach house."
"I'm sorry, did you say you own a Malibu beach house?" Olivia asked.
"Well, 1/12th of it. We paid it off a few years ago. It's sort of like a timeshare we each get a month every year, we have yearly meetings, and I chose two weeks in May, and no one else wanted Christmas, so I took it." Raphael explained.
"And you were going to tell me when?" Olivia asked.
"I usually don't go and give my weeks to colleges, friends, When I do go, it's usually to get away from this place, and it slipped my mind," Raphael stated.
"We don't have to go, I can just not show up," Raphael explained.
"Rafa, the flights out to the west coast near Christmas will cost a fortune," Olivia stated.
"I have the points, Liv, if you want to go, we can go. I know it's going to be hard to get that much time approved, though." Raphael sighed.
"No, the time off isn't the issue having a 7-year-old is the issue, I don't know, Rafa. Does it even feel like Christmas when it's 70, and the sun is beating in your face, and you're on the beach?" Olivia asked.
"I've only been there on Christmas one other time I took my mom with me, and it was wonderful to give her that experience." Raphael beamed.
"Well, if you want, you can take her again, we'd miss you," Olivia stated.
"No way she would never agree if you weren't going. Maybe in the summer. We have a meeting every January, and I'm second in line to pick my four weeks there. We all break it up into 2- 2-week trips.
"So who takes care of the place pays the bills?" Olivia asked.
"Well, we constantly make sure someone is in it. There are house rules. We get a maid once every two weeks between stays. We all cover the utilities one month out of the year, so it works out." Raphael stated.
Olivia shook her head.
"So, what happens if one of you wants out?" Olivia asked.
"There are clauses. It was 12 lawyers. Liv, we knew what we were doing, and like I said, its paid off, so if someone wants out the agreement is they have to sell it back to us, we will pay for it evenly. Nobody has wanted out yet, but if you want me too, I can bring it up in January." Raphael asked.
"Why a Malibu beach house?" Olivia asked.
"Well I don't know we graduated from Harvard Law in 1994, we were sitting around close to graduation day, and all asked what the dream was, and someone said doing law in Malibu, take all the rich people's money and lay on their beach. We joked about how nice it would be. On our ten year reunion, in 2004 none of us made our Malibu beach house dream come true, we had way too much to drink and agreed together to buy the house, we found one online being all lawyers we negotiated a deal over the phone, and that's how I became 1/12th owner of the beach house." Raphael described.
"Why does that not surprise me?" Olivia asked.
"Would it surprise you if Rita Calhoun owned another 1/12th?" Raphael asked.
"No, it seems you followed her around a lot back then," Olivia mentioned.
"I did not follow her. If anything, she followed me." Raphael huffed.
"Oaky whatever you think, Rafa," Olivia stated.
"I saw the look on your face about the lease. Liv, it's whatever you want, you know my feelings, but I'm not going to push." Raphael stated.
"I know, and I've been thinking about it a lot. Noah loves it here, and I do too. It's not fair to be dragging him around. I would rather give up my apartment than yours. I think a new sofa may be in order though, and possibly a King size bed?" Olivia claimed.
"That I can arrange," Raphael stated.
"So is that a yes, are you moving in?" Raphael asked.
"My lease is up in the spring. I want to get Noah used to the idea. I think the only thing holding him back would be the fact he and Dalton won't be neighbors anymore." Olivia claimed.
"Well, we can still take him up the park, and we can invite Dalton over," Raphael stated.
"I know, and he'll still see him in school. It will be nice to have everything in one place again." Olivia mentioned.
"That it would," Raphael stated.
"So Malibu for Christmas and a change of address is in store for your New year," Raphael stated.
"Yeah, it seems like right now, the world is moving pretty fast," Olivia commented.
"Too fast?" Raphael asked.
"Sometimes, it makes me feel dizzy, but usually, if I'm with you, I still feel pretty grounded," Olivia stated.
"Glad to hear it," Raphael stated.
Olivia and Raphael discussed details of Christmas and Noah, and the New Year fast approaching. Olivia was excited about the change, and even though she had nervous butterflies, she didn't have a sense of dread about the pace that this was headed. It was a whirlwind for sure, but when wasn't her life all over the place, if anything, this was her usual, and it felt kind of nice if she had to admit that to herself.
Olivia and Raphael cuddled in the Queen size bed, Raphael wasn't sure why they needed a King, but if that's all it took to have Olivia in this room every night for the foreseeable future he wouldn't argue. He closed his eyes and thought about the last year and how much had changed for the better. He drifted off to sleep, knowing that the end of this year was shaping out to be the best days of his life.
The morning of Thanksgiving came, and Olivia was rushing around trying to get ready. Despite Lucia telling her not to bring anything, she and Noah baked cookies the night before, and she packed them to go. She was questioning what she should wear, not wanting to show off but also not wanting to under-dress. She wasn't sure what to wear. She finally found a Maroon sweater more formal than she would wear to work, but not overly flashy, and she wore a pair of black flats, she knew Raphael had an issue with her being taller than him, in heels.
Lucia smiled when the three of them arrived on the doorstep, some family already there and others coming a little later. Lucia informed them that the meal would be served at 1 pm and to get comfortable. Raphael showed Olivia and Noah off to all the unmet family. Many were surprised by the man's date as well as the little boy calling him daddy. His cousin, Nina, had pulled him to the side.
"Raphael, I've never seen you like this!" Nina claimed.
Raphael blushed.
"Do I hear wedding bells?" Nina asked.
"I don't know she's a very independent woman, It hasn't come up in discussion, but she is moving in with me," Raphael claimed.
"Good, you deserve it," Nina claimed and pushed him back into the crowd to mingle with the rest of the family.
Olivia held her own answering questions that they asked. Most of the family generally seemed interested in her life and how she and Raphael met. Through the years, she had seen close family just by being friends, and none seemed surprised by the fact she was there now in a relationship with him. Everyone huddled around the table. There were enough people it was tough not to rub elbows with the neighbor you were seated by. Multiple conversations were going on around the table. Noah wasn't used to all the noise but took in stride listening in on the discussions and butting in time to time, mainly reminding the adults there was a child in the midst.
Lucia and Noah were playing a game of Uno. When the last of the family left for the night, everyone sent home with heaps of food. Olivia and Raphael helped clean up, and Noah fell asleep in front of a football game on the couch.
"So you never told me, are you going to Malibu for Christmas now, that you have Olivia and Noah?" Lucia asked.
"Glad you remembered, I forgot until the reminder Email from Yvette," Raphael stated.
"So, do I expect you home or out in the sun?" Lucia asked.
"Olivia and I've discussed it, and she's interested in heading out," Raphael explained.
"You can come too. You don't have to stay the whole time." Raphael stated.
"Well, although I hate the fact you won't be home on Christmas, I think I want to stay here this year, it will be hard not seeing Noah on Christmas day, this is the first Christmas with him," Lucia explained.
"Then come out with us, or at least for a week," Raphael begged.
"I'll see, you know, the school staff goes back early for training," Lucia stated.
"Just tell me the dates, and I'll get you a ticket," Raphael stated.
"You talked me into it, as long as it's okay with Olivia," Lucia stated.
"As long as what's okay with me?" Olivia asked as she looked at the two of them.
"Well, she wants to be with Noah on our first Christmas together, so she'll be in Malibu with us," Raphael stated.
"Only for a few days," Lucia quickly stated.
"Well, of course, Noah will be very excited, we haven't told him yet," Olivia explained.
"Well, then he will have a very nice Christmas," Lucia stated.
"I know I've said this before, but I am so happy for both of you, and for Noah, I'm glad you two found each other," Lucia claimed.
"Thank you," Olivia stated and hugged her tight.
Olivia rounded up the food that Lucia insisted they take home, she wasn't sure if it would all fit in the fridge, but she excepted it, and the three of them when back to Raphael's apartment. Olivia had to work in the morning, and she was praying for a break in the action because she was also on-call for the weekend.
Noah woke up long enough for the ride home and the walk to the apartment but instantly walked in his room and fell asleep without a story.
"That was a lot of people for him, it wore him out," Olivia noted.
"It wore me out too," Raphael stated, he slumped over the island in the kitchen.
Olivia rubbed his back, and he leaned sideways into her. He stood up taller and captured her lips, she squealed when he roughly grabbed a nipple, and she pushed his hips against hers. Raphael quickly stopped and pulled away.
"Too tired for this?" Olivia asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," Raphael stated.
Olivia frowned for a second but laughed and simply said "tease" before walking into the bedroom and getting pajamas on before bed. She rolled over and cuddled next to Raphael before falling asleep, thinking about the days ahead and what the holidays will bring.
