Hi everyone. I'm back again with a new update.
We have somehow gotten to chapter 29; still trying to figure out how we got this far. Thank you guys for always being so supportive of this story. It's not over yet; we still have a few chapters. I'll be sad to see it go, but let me know if you'd like me to tackle this pairing again. Maybe I'll throw together some one-shots or something.
Anyway, I present to you chapter 29 of Better Circumstances. Our fave little family has gone to Florida to meet Edgar's family. :)
Enjoy xo
Better Circumstances
Twenty-Nine
Within the next couple days, work had settled down for Edgar as well which meant he was now able to spend as much of his time with Olivia and Noah as possible. Olivia and Noah had stayed over at his apartment over the last couple days, and they'd genuinely had a nice time in the vast space while Edgar had been at work. Edgar too loved being able to come home to them, and for the first time in a very long time, he felt as though his apartment was now an actual home.
Summer vacation had rolled around as well, and by the weekend, the couple and Noah had packed a couple bags for their little vacation that they were setting off on. Today was Saturday, and today they were leaving for a week and a half long vacation in Florida. With it being the first official weekend of summer, their schedules as well as the schedules of Edgar's sister and her family had all lined up, so they would all be meeting up in Florida and going to visit their parents. After all, their parents' anniversary was in a few days and they were having a little get together with some other family members, so Edgar felt it was a good time to introduce them all to Olivia and Noah. When he had brought the idea up to the two of them earlier in the week, they both jumped at the idea, especially Noah at the thought of going to Florida.
They'd gotten up early in the morning and had breakfast together before setting off for the airport. Before long, they had gone through all necessary checkpoints and were boarding their flight. Noah was sitting between them both and was chatting away happily as he was so excited to go. He knew Florida was associated with Disney World, so he had asked Edgar if they could go. Edgar told him that they'd take the two-hour trip from his parents' home in Jacksonville to Disney World one day, and he shot Olivia a smirk even when she told him that he didn't have to go through all that trouble for them. He reiterated that he didn't mind and that they could make a family trip out of it, to which she smiled and nodded her head while biting her lip. She was still getting used to all this, but she wasn't complaining at all.
The flight to Florida seemed to pass quickly, and before long they had landed at Jacksonville International. They collected their bags and made their way further through the airport, and Olivia felt her heart melt at the fact that Edgar had even gone as far as to organize a rental car for them. He helped both her and Noah into the luxurious vehicle, before getting in himself and setting off for his parent's home in a luxurious suburb of the city.
The thirty-minute ride from the airport passed quickly as Edgar showed pointed out various places to them, to which they were both excited about as this was much different than the city. For Olivia, she was glad to be exploring another part of Florida. After all, she had only been down to the state for work conferences or to pick up a perp, and usually that just happened to be in Miami or somewhere which often left little to no room for her to explore. Noah was just excited as he had never really been outside the city before, so he was looking around everywhere with a wide smile on his face as the rays from the sun caused his bright blue eyes to sparkle.
It was a little past noon when Edgar pulled their car into the driveway of a beautiful, two story brick home. Olivia's eyes practically popped out of her sockets as she saw the vast home with is beautiful brick and vast arch windows, surrounded by the most beautiful green trees and lush grass. This was definitely a far cry from New York City.
Edgar beeped the horn just as the front door of the home practically flew open. A shorter, slender, dark skinned woman with luscious gray hair that trailed over her shoulders and down her back, and the most beautiful glowing brown eyes emerged from the house. She wore a simple t-shirt and leggings, and she had the biggest smile on her face as she waved excitedly at them.
Edgar got out of the car and smiled; "Mom, you been to the gym or something?"
"As a matter of fact, I have, you know I like to keep fit…" Kelly Pierce gave him a wide smile as she opened her arms. Olivia and Noah had gotten out of the car, and Olivia had the sweetest smile on her face as she watched the way Edgar practically hugged the life out of his mother. He placed a kiss to her cheek, then stood up properly as he reached out for Olivia and Noah.
"Mom, this is my girlfriend Olivia, and this is little man Noah…" he introduced them; "Liv, Noah; this is my mom, Kelly."
"It's so nice to finally meet you." Olivia sweetly spoke.
"And it's so very nice to meet you both as well," Kelly replied as she opened her arms; "Come here…" She pulled both her and Noah in for a big hug as she continued talking; "Edgar has told me so much about both of you, so it's great to finally put some names to some faces…" She pulled back, then sweetly pinched Noah's cheek as he smiled; "Come on in, no need in us standing out here in this heat; let's get inside. Edgar get the bags while I show these two the house."
And with that, Kelly guided both Olivia and Noah inside while Edgar simply chuckled. He was at least glad that all was going well so far, and he couldn't help but grin to himself as he felt so happy having the two people, he loved the most here in Florida with him, visiting his parents.
After getting their bags inside, he joined the three of them in the kitchen where Kelly had laid out some cookies and lemonade for them all to enjoy. Kelly and Olivia were engaged in conversation while Noah was munching away on cookies while swinging his legs to and fro. He found himself smiling even more at this beautiful sight; his mother and his girlfriend already getting along so well.
"So yeah, Ronald and I retired here some years ago and we haven't looked back. It does get a little difficult having our kids live so far away…" Kelly playfully shot a look to Edgar, who shrugged as he leaned his elbows on the counter; "But hey, they are fine and taking care of themselves, and me and Ron are fine here; living our best lives."
"I would love to retire to Florida one day; I think that's where all NYPD cops end up retiring to anyway, so I'll probably end up following suit." Olivia joked, letting out a chuckle.
"Sweetie I'm tellin' you, you won't regret it if you do…" Kelly winked before looking over at Noah; "Are you enjoying those cookies, sweetheart? Edgar told me that chocolate chip was your favorite, so I baked a lot."
Noah swallowed the last bit of cookie before nodding his head; "They're yummy; thanks Ms. Kelly."
"You're welcome; I'm glad you're enjoying them…" the older woman then looked at her watch; "Ah Eddie honey, your father should be back in the next few minutes. He went fishing with Paul down the street; you know how they get. I reminded him that you were coming, so he said he wouldn't be too long today."
"I do know how dad is, so-" they were both cut off by the sound of the doorbell, leading Kelly to wipe her hands on a towel before she went to get it. As she left the kitchen, Edgar turned to Olivia and Noah; "You guys good?"
"Your mother is so sweet; I love her already." Olivia remarked.
"She makes the best cookies." Noah chimed in as he grabbed another one. Olivia simply chuckled, before looking up at Edgar again; "I'm glad we're here with you."
"I'm glad too." Edgar replied. He then leaned towards her, only to be interrupted when a loud voice was heard;
"My big brother is here!"
The three of them looked up, and Edgar smiled at the caramel skinned woman who came flying towards him. With her dark hair in braids and the summery blue dress contrasting perfectly against her skin, she was a vision. She had a wide smile on her face as well. Edgar stood up and hugged her while swaying from side to side.
"Okay…okay…Addy…it's good to see you too, damn…" he pulled back, then gave a fist bump to the tall dark-skinned man that had come up behind her; "Hey Sam, good to see you brother."
"Good to see you too, man; glad we could all get together." Sam – his brother in law – was giving him a wide smile. Two teenage girls came flying towards Edgar as well, and he wrapped them both up in a hug while dotting kisses to their foreheads. These were his nieces; sixteen-year-old Lianne and thirteen-year-old Noelle.
After all the greetings were exchanged, he went about introducing Olivia and Noah to them. Hugs were shared between them all as Adeline Pierce was so excited to finally meet the two people that had stolen her brother's heart and made him a happy man again. Lianne and Noelle were of course extremely welcoming people, and so offered to take Noah and show him around the grounds of the house as they had been there many times. Noah looked to Olivia to see if it was okay, to which she nodded and told him it was fine if he wanted to. Noah nodded then jumped up to join the two girls, who were already doting on him as if he was a younger brother or something.
The rest of the day passed pretty smoothly; Edgar's father, Ronald Pierce, eventually returned and upon meeting Olivia, he immediately greeted her with a hug as it was so nice to finally meet the woman that had made his son so happy again. The adults remained chatting away for a while as they continued getting to know Olivia. They seemed to love her already, and his parents especially found her to be a breath of fresh air considering how different she was from his ex. They could see the happiness in their son's eyes; he was back to being the man he was before hurt had changed him, and that warmed their hearts.
They'd had a nice big dinner together and stayed up for a while just talking and hanging out until it was time for everyone to turn in, especially as it had been a long day of travel for them all. Kelly had laid out extra towels for them all and told everyone to help themselves to whatever. Olivia had been a little apprehensive about Noah sleeping in one of the guest rooms on his own in a place that wasn't home as she wondered about how he would handle it, but he was less worried than she was and insisted that he was fine. She stayed with him until he fell asleep, then she flicked lowered the volume of the television before leaving out of the room, closing the door behind her. She went across the hall to the guest room where she and Edgar would be and closed the door behind her.
The two of them got ready for bed, then climbed in. They snuggled up together; Olivia had her head on his shoulder and her leg thrown over him while his hand was dragging up and down her back. He turned his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead; "Are you okay? Noah went down okay – yeah?"
"He went down fine; I was more concerned than he was…" she giggled a little; "But…I'm great…well, I'm more than great. I love it here. Everyone's so sweet, and the way your nieces were including Noah; I could have melted. Your family is amazing, and so welcoming."
"I knew you and Noah would blend right in; at one point, I thought my mom and sister were more glad that you were here than me…" he chuckled, earning a small laugh from Olivia; "Seriously though, baby, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. I can't wait for you to meet some of the others in the family."
"I look forward to it as well…" there was a brief pause; her gaze flicked from his face to look out the window. The moon was shining so brightly in the sky, and Olivia's mind kept wandering as she talked;
"I never really had a family before…you know, I've had to pretty much take care of myself since I was a child, and when I moved out of my mother's place at sixteen, I never went back. I've been on my own for a long time."
Edgar nodded as he moved his hand to massage her scalp. The sensation allowed for a sense of calm to surround Olivia, so she kept talking;
"There's a rule with me – never let somebody get too close just in case. I always have kept this wall up so shit will hurt less – like when someone chooses the job over you, or when they can't commit to you or the idea of having kids, or when you finally find someone that wants it all with you, you can't commit yourself because you are just so…so scared of something going wrong. You say it's because you want to focus on your son, but…deep down…you know the real reason."
David…Brian…Tucker.
"I kept them all at arm's length just so it wouldn't hurt so…so bad…" she shrugged; "But then…then I met you."
She leaned up her elbow so she could look at him; his brown eyes had locked with hers as he listened intently. She had no idea where all this was coming from tonight, but she felt like she needed to release it.
"From that night I met you at the Garland house, I felt something…something I can't explain. I pushed it back, and then when I found out you were a criminal attorney, I really thought it was a sign that this would never happen. But then…you came back…you apologized to me, and then two weeks later, we met again. When we met, it felt like a new start…I felt something between us that night at the bar, and I saw in your eyes then that you felt it too."
Edgar nodded; "I did feel it. I couldn't explain what I felt – just like, some spark went off."
"Exactly that…" she agreed; "And when we went out, I still had every intention of keeping you at an arm's length until I felt ready. But fate had a different plan I guess; I saw the way you adored me and especially the way you adored Noah, and I started falling…" She paused again, then she went on to ask; "You remember when we all went to the zoo a few weeks ago?"
Edgar nodded, prompting her to continue;
"I was emotional that whole day because…I felt this…I felt like we were a family. I mean I knew we already had something great going on, but that day just felt so different. That night, when you told me that there was nothing you wouldn't do for me and Noah, I knew then it was the real deal. After you went to sleep, I kept looking at that picture we had taken that day, and the word family kept floating around in my head. For once, that didn't scare me; it made me hopeful and excited for the future."
She took a deep breath as she tried to blink back the tears that had suddenly formed in her eyes. Edgar swiped his thumb underneath her eye, and she gave him a soft smile.
"And when…when you referred to him as our son…" she bit her lip, and simply stared for a minute; "He is…ours. Maybe it's not on paperwork yet, but in terms of love and the way you two are connected, he's yours too."
"I feel it in my heart that he's mine too; I feel like we already are a family," Edgar remarked, his fingers still lightly brushing against her cheek as he spoke; "I meant what I said – there's nothing I wouldn't do to make sure the two of you were happy and taken care of. I love you, and I love Noah; I'm so happy with the two of you; so, I just need you to know…I'm in this…I want us…I want it all."
"Me too…and for once I don't want to run away," she shuffled closer, and she laid her hand against his cheek as she rested her head against his; "I am so happy with you, Edgar; I want everything with you."
"Good to know, Captain." His lips brushed hers for a brief moment, and she laughed a little before kissing him properly. He slid his hand from her face and down her body until it was pressed against her back, and he rolled them over so that he was on top of her. He tugged at her lip a little before pulling away;
"You have a family now, Olivia; I promise."
She could see it in his eyes; that came directly from his heart and he meant it.
And all she could do was tilt her head and kiss him yet again.
Another update completed. Leave some reviews and all that. I can't believe there's been 450 reviews on this thing. You all have been so incredibly supportive, and I really appreciate that. Anyways, I'll be back soon with another update. Stay safe and wear your mask :)
