Chapter 30! Finally! Apologies for the extremely late drop of the most recent chapter - prepping for a whole new way of doing school and work took an emotional and physical toll...I needed a break. I am going to take a further break - I will still publish, but I need to take a bit more time between chapters, my goal is 1-2 a month, and hopefully that will also give me more time to go over and edit. I wanted to thank mariacampos12 for the story follow and thank everyone who has taken the time to read, review, favourite and follow this story so far!

Seth couldn't remember the last time he'd been to a zoo. He had a vague memory or two of his parents taking him when he was a kid, and there was probably a school field trip, but by the time he'd gotten to high school, he'd been far too cool to think zoos were for anyone but babies.

But he had to admit, this was pretty cool.

They were bathing an elephant.

Two elephants, actually.

Two live, larger-than-life elephants. He and Olivia had lucked out by arriving at the zoo early. The family in front of them—mom, dad, and two kids under ten—had been given tickets for the experience, and had been trying to coax at least one of their children to participate. It sounded like a tough sell, and the parents were getting desperate.

"Honey, Jason doesn't want to go…maybe we should…"

"Mama, I want to go and see the snakes. I don't want to see a stupid elephant." Jason was pretty determined that he was not going anywhere near the elephants today. His mother looked at the slightly older child, with a more helpful expression.

"Jenny, you like the elephants—remember you said how cool it would be to ride one? This is just like that, but instead you're giving them a bath —doesn't that sound like fun?" Jenny looked at her parents like they'd just offered to put her in the zoo instead.

"Mom, that was the rhinos…and it was two years ago…elephants are gross. Why would anyone pay to give them a bath? They would need to pay me…I'm not doing it." She craned her head around the people in line ahead of them, trying to see how much longer they were going to be in line for.

Jason and Jennifer's dad was prepared to give up the game entirely. "Honey, let's not force them to do something they don't want to do - we can just tell my parents we went and they had fun…"

"I'll take them off your hands, " Seth offered. Olivia hadn't paid much attention to the conversation in front of them, so when Seth spoke she'd tried to figure out what he was making an offer on.

The parents looked at him with suspicion, but said nothing. Seth thought maybe there was a miscommunication, "The tickets, I mean…not the kids."

The parents looked at each other, unsure of whether they should take Seth up on his offer. "Look, the tickets were a gift, so you didn't pay anything for them. I'll give you…" he rummaged through his wallet, "I'll give you eighty-five bucks -—it's all the cash I've got on me…you're ahead of the deal and you can still get your kids to lie to their grandparents about it."

Jason and Jennifer looked at their parents, then at Seth and Olivia, "Make it a hundred and you've got yourself a deal, mister." Jennifer folded her arms in front of her, "Final offer."

Seth looked at Olivia, "Do you have any cash on you?"

Olivia opened her wallet, "I've got…a twenty." She held it up and looked down at the kids, "I don't suppose you've got change?"

Jason reached up and grabbed it, "Nope."

Seth looked at Olivia, who was a bit stunned at being scammed by a six year old, and then at the parents, who seemed a little out of their depth. "So we're good?"

"Um, I…" Jennifer and Jason's mother exchanged a questioning glance with her husband, and figuring they had a winner, agreed, "I guess we do!" Their dad handed Seth the tickets, "You've just got to meet the zookeeper at the elephant exhibit in-" He checked his watch, "twenty-five minutes. Don't be late or they won't let you in. Have fun!"

Seth handed him the rest of the money and held up the tickets, "This is gonna be awesome." Olivia only shook her head and smiled. "What?" he asked.

"I just watched you negotiate with elementary school children to be able to give an elephant a bath…I don't think I can honestly say I've watched anyone do anything even remotely close to that…it was completely adorable," she took the tickets in one hand, and Seth in the other. "Let's go see Dumbo."

So here they were, doing their best to not get completely soaked while washing Jati and Mai Thai. Difficult, when the elephants had their own sense of humor and loved to give newbies a run for their money. Seth watched Olivia as the younger elephant snuck her trunk over Olivia's shoulder and give her a playful shove. She managed to catch herself before landing face first into the side of Mai Thai, and turned around to scold Jati - but got a face full of water instead.

To her credit, she took it in stride, turning to look at Seth with hands outstretched as water dripped down her hair and soaked into the shoulders of her shirt, "Hard to have a bad day that begins with elephants, amiright?" Her face was frozen in a rictus of shock and disgust—if you squinted really hard, it could have looked like a smile. He couldn't have been prouder of her.

Seth looked at the zookeepers, "Any chance of a shower? Or a couple of towels?"

Elephant showers aside, their morning at the zoo made Olivia feel like she could have a normal life after all. Not one of the thousands of people that passed by them would ever know that a year ago, Olivia survived a car accident that killed her husband and their unborn child. No one would ever know to look at Seth that he came within a hair's breadth of bankruptcy at the hands of the person he was supposed to trust most in the world. They looked, to all intents and purposes, like a normal couple having fun and lost in the world they'd built together. Photos were taken, memories made.

Olivia made sure to shower again when they got back to the hotel to get rid of any last vestiges of elephant aroma that lingered—she thought she saw their Lyft driver sniffing now and then during their drive home, but to be on the safe side, another shower couldn't hurt. Her stomach growled and she tried to hurry along. She had mentioned wanting to try a classic Chicago deep dish pizza and hot dog before leaving tomorrow morning…although not necessarily both at the same time. While she was in the shower, Seth had promised to find a place to eat lunch that had at least one of those options.

When she emerged from the bathroom, Seth was just checking places out on his phone. Olivia came around behind him and rested her chin on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him. "Find something?"

He covered one of her hands with his own, and showed her the website for Girodano's, which claimed to have been serving the best deep dish in Chicago for over forty years. "What do you think, Livs - should we give 'em a shot?"

She hugged him tightly, ending it with a solid kiss on the cheek, "What the hell — but let's go quickly, I'm starving…" Olivia made her way to the door, making Seth step-to to catch up with her.

"That can't be right — is it supposed to be that big?"

"Olivia fifteen minutes ago you were trying to buy a muffin wrapped in plastic at the 7-11 we walked past 'just to tide me over', you said. And now you've got this gorgeous pie in front of you…and you think it's too much?" Seth cajoled. "Come on, Livs - dig in." He cut into the pizza and the aroma that wafted from it was mouthwateringly divine…it was the best thing Olivia had eaten in months, but in the end they couldn't finish it all.

"Oh my god, I think I'm going to burst…so worth it…" Olivia moaned, pushing her plate away and looking sadly at the half of a pie still sitting in front of them.

Seth looked at the leftovers with regret, "So where do we go next? I wouldn't mind heading out on the water again - maybe there's a dinner cruise we can catch?"

Olivia nodded, "We can see, but what do we want to do between then and now? That's still a few hours away…maybe there's a walking tour that we can get a reservation for…" She took a few minutes to search on her phone, then showed it to Seth, "What about this? It's a walking tour — two and a half hours, and it starts in half an hour."

"Perfect," Seth took a look at his watch, "But we'd better bust a move if we want to make it — we'd better hit the road."

After a quick stop to drop the food at the hotel, they made it just in time for the two hour walking tour. They went to some places Seth and Olivia had already been to, but the amount of information on the mob scene of the 20s and 30s was amazing. Olivia caught Seth actively looking for ghosts in the Palmer House Hotel lobby while the guide recounted stories of unexplained staff encounters with spooks. That aspect made Olivia feel a bit anxious, she could feel the hairs on her arms standing on end both in the Palmer Hotel and their last stop at the Congress Hotel - apparently one of the most haunted places in Illinois, and Al Capone's headquarters. "You know, ghosts always gravitate toward the nervous types…better keep an eye out for Al…" Seth teased, nuzzling the crook of her neck. Olivia tried her best not to squeal, and slapped him on the arm before hurrying to keep up with the tour.

As the group made their way back down Michigan Avenue, someone handing out brochures pressed one into Seth's hand. He looked at it, then surreptitiously glanced at Olivia to see if she'd noticed. When her attention was elsewhere he quietly booked their next adventure, which would start in about an hour and a half - time to get back to the hotel, do a quick change and get out to the Navy Pier.

Olivia flopped onto the bed in their room, "I am done. Let's go to bed early…"

Seth pursed his lips and ran a hand through his hair, "Olivia, it's only six o'clock, do you think you could stand just one more thing tonight?" he asked. "I kind of made reservations for dinner tonight on our way back from the tour. I think you'll really like it — if you can tolerate a romantic evening cruise on Lake Michigan, that is."

Olivia sat up and looked at Seth with a winsome glance, "A romantic evening dinner cruise on a lake? Do I have time to change?"

Seth made the decision even easier by making sure there was a car waiting to take them out to the pier. Olivia had made it clear that she was quite done walking for the day, and that there was no way she could walk a half hour in the shoes she was wearing with the dress she'd picked out for dinner. Seth realized she was wearing the same satin dress she wore for their dinner the other night and hoped the bad memories from that evening had been exorcised and that tonight would make more pleasant ones.

The car pulled up to their destination and he got out, then offered a hand to Olivia. In the glow of the lights from the ship, she was radiant, and the necklace Seth had given her, sparkled. He wished he had a camera to capture that moment. Olivia caught him staring and blushed, "Is that the ship?" she asked quietly.

Seth nodded, "Looks like it…" He put an arm around her shoulders and they went to board. They were able to grab a private table for two by the window and got a chance to take a look at the offerings for dinner and entertainment.

"Wow — a dance floor too? I'm impressed, Rollins…this is pretty fancy for a last-minute reservation." Olivia smiled and Seth felt the corners of his mouth turn up in response.

"I thought you'd like that — the buffet is all-you-can-eat, so no worries about going hungry tonight, either. But make sure you can still dance afterwards — I'm hoping I can make up for the way our last dance floor encounter went." He reached across the table for her hand and gently caressed the back of it with his thumb.

Olivia touched the pendant around her neck, and tightened her grip on Seth's fingers. The lighting in the cabin was dim, and the tables were all illuminated by candlelight, and the way the light played with Seth's features made Olivia think she really was very lucky to have found someone so thoughtful, so intelligent, but also so terribly handsome. "I think we can probably make up for some lost time…it's been a while since we danced." She pulled his hand in hers as she stood, "But first, let's eat…I'm starving."

The buffet was not your run of the mill, cheap and bland tourist fare. Everything was made fresh, and the carvery station at the end was making Olivia's mouth water. The server watched her go by, "Nothing for you, miss?"

"No, sorry — I don't eat a lot of meat…" she explained apologetically.

"That's a shame — I'm sure a beautiful girl like you will need all the energy she can get to keep up with the guys who're gonna be asking you to dance all night…" Olivia couldn't believe she was getting a meat sales pitch and laughed. Seth looked over from his place in the buffet and frowned.

"Oh trust me, I've got it covered…but thank you," she blushed and smiled as she retreated back to the table. Seth followed a few minutes later, ignoring the server's question as he walked past the carving station.

"That guy had some kind of nerve, right? Do you want me to speak to a supervisor?" Seth asked, jabbing at his salad.

Olivia put her fork down, "Are you jealous of a little harmless flirtation? I doubt he meant anything by it…and it's not like I'm going to ditch you for the guy who mans the carvery station at a buffet…he probably says that to literally every girl that comes in here." She took a sip of her water as Seth looked up.

"I'm not jealous of him, I just think that he crossed a line he shouldn't have crossed — that's all." Seth sounded defensive, and Olivia decided to drop the subject before it turned into something that would put a big damper on their evening. She could admit to herself that she was a tiny bit jealous of the woman who had taken the selfie with Seth in the hotel lobby the other night. She could also admit to being very curious, if not completely jealous about Seth's previous life with Zahra. She had wanted to ask Eric about it when they were in Ann Arbor, but it had felt a bit like sneaking around behind Seth's back, so she had dropped that idea.

"This is probably the best buffet I've had in ages…usually places like this skimp out on their salads and don't give a lot of choice for vegetarian or vegan diets. Renee would love it…" she fell silent, and turned her attention to the view of Chicago from the lake. She had meant to change the subject, but had blundered onto another sensitive topic — sensitive for her this time, but one she hadn't dealt with yet.

"Still set on June 22 to contact her?" Seth asked, trying to get rid of the wave of jealousy that had flared up when he heard the carver try to flirt with Olivia. He knew he shouldn't get so worked up about it, and he knew Olivia was right — the guy probably said some version of that to everyone who came in. He couldn't help how it made him feel, although he did think he deserved points for not acting on those feelings.

Olivia nodded, feeling a pang of anxiety, "I think so — I need to clear things up before I come home, one way or another. I'm sure she's fine — if she wasn't, Dean would have let me know." Seth nodded and continued to eat, ignoring the voice that told him he really needed to mention that Dean had contacted him once already.

They finished their dinner just in time for the DJ to start his first set. Seth was determined to shake the vestiges of jealousy that had continued to bother him. He pushed his chair back, made sure he wiped the traces of dinner from his beard, and stood holding his hand out to Olivia. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Would you like to dance…with me?" She sat and stared at his hand for long enough that for a moment Seth actually thought that Olivia might say no.

She touched her pendant for a moment, and then looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the twinkle of the candlelight. He felt a flutter in his stomach and was struck once again not only by her dark beauty, but the light in her eyes that was more than the reflection of the tea light on their table. This light was for him, and he realized he needed to stop being such a horse's ass about a harmless flirtation, and instead focus on helping Olivia find her way forward.

"I'd love to."

He felt himself release a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and grinned at her hand in his. They walked onto the dance floor and Olivia closed her eyes at the familiar feel of Seth's arms winding around her waist and gently pulling her closer to him. They swayed on the floor together, quietly, but not the same uncomfortable silence that had accompanied their dinner. This was the silence of two people who didn't have the words to express their feelings, so instead they continued to gaze into each other's eyes.

Finally, Olivia broke the silence, "Seth, I want to ask you something…but you don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable…can I ask?" Her face had taken on a tightness that hadn't been there a few moments ago…Seth didn't think he liked where this was going.

He gave her a searching look, trying to anticipate what was coming, "Can't we just have a nice dance without one of us running off the dance floor?" He tried to make it sound lighthearted, but he saw Olivia's jaw shift and he realized his joke had fallen flat. "No, okay…that wasn't as funny as it sounded in my head…I'm sorry. Of course you can ask…go ahead." He tried not to appear concerned, but thought Olivia could probably see through the pretense.

Olivia ran the hand that rested on Seth's shoulder along his lapel and back up to the top of his arm. "It's just that - I've noticed you tend to get a little, well, jealous when guys flirt…"

"Olivia, I know it's not a big deal…I —" he tried to explain himself, but Olivia put a finger across his mouth, effectively silencing him for now.

"Just —let me finish." She dropped the finger against his lips,"Back in Ann Arbor at the Wolverine with our server there , the guy slicing at the carving station…I know that you know that those are nothing but harmless. But I've been thinking, and I need to ask you…are you jealous of Mark?" Seth stopped moving, and Olivia immediately wished she had never brought it up. "I just - I know you've said it's okay to talk about him, but I think maybe after the other night…that we never talked about it, about how it made you feel…"

"Do you want to go and sit down?" Seth interrupted. He had been caught slightly off-guard by Olivia's question, but he wasn't upset.

Olivia exhaled in a shaky breath, "Why don't we go out on the deck?"

They made their way out to the deck where a few other groups had gathered to watch the Chicago skyline silhouetted against the setting sun. Seth put an arm around Olivia, trying to decide how honest he should be, and they found a quiet alcove out of the wind of Lake Michigan. Seth took off his suit jacket and put it around Olivia, who had started to shiver in her thin dress, "Are you warm enough, Livs?" When she nodded, he started to answer her question. "The other night, when you called out Mark's name…I had no idea that it was possible to be angry at a dead guy…to be jealous of a ghost."

He saw Olivia drop her head to hide her expression, and tilted her face back up to his, "You asked me how I felt that night Olivia, and I want to be honest with you — it hurt. But I know you didn't do it on purpose, and the circumstances were…extenuating." He paused, wanting to choose his next words very carefully, "How I felt last night in no way affects what I said to you before — you shouldn't have to hide him away either, and you shouldn't be uncomfortable talking about him. I am glad that you're going to start seeing a therapist again - I can listen to you talk about Mark for as long as you need, and if you want I can even give you my ideas…but I think talking to someone about how to go forward is going to be more helpful to you…to us."

Seth leaned against the adjacent wall, and pulled a hand down his face, "I guess it was a little awkward thinking that it's not like you broke up with him…and that if he hadn't died, well… you would still be with him, and we would have never met." He smiled weakly, "It's just something I'll have to get over…and I will." He saw a stray tear fall, and wiped it away gently, "Olivia, I didn't mean to make you cry, but I wanted to be as honest with you as I could. We'll get through this…I know we will."

Olivia took a few deep breaths before speaking. She really did appreciate Seth's honesty and she felt like they were taking one more step together by having this conversation. She wiped the last of the tears from her eyes and looked up at Seth. His look was intense, his eyes were dark and wide and his mouth was pressed together in a tight line as he waited for her reply. He had folded his arms in front of himself, as if defending from the worst. She laid a hand on his arms, trying to put him at ease, "I know we will too, Seth." She unpeeled his arms and took a step into his embrace, "Thank you for being honest, and really, truth be told…I can't stay I haven't had my jealous moments…"

Seth pulled back to look at her curiously, brows furrowed, "Who would you have to be jealous of?" He sounded legitimately confused.

Olivia pursed her lips and looked a little embarrassed, "Well…there was that woman after the game…" Seth's eyebrows pulled together in a question as he tried to remember - obviously she hadn't made as much of an impression on him as Olivia had thought. "She asked us to autograph her jersey…she took several selfies with you….tried to pull you nice and close for the last one before I pulled you away…ring a bell?" Now it was Olivia's turn to fold her arms in front of her, she felt more than a little stupid for being jealous of someone who obviously didn't warrant a remembrance from Seth. "And then there's Zahra…"

"Zahra."

"Um…yes," she avoided his gaze, unsure of why she couldn't bring her self to meet his eyes. "Maybe a little? Not so much jealous, maybe …maybe more…she didn't have the full set of emotional baggage that I do, did she? Maybe sometimes I think you'd be better off with someone who is capable of being on a more even keel than I am…" Olivia's words even surprised herself a little. She had always felt a twinge of uneasiness when Seth had talked about Zahra. Yes, most of the time it was him recounting a bad memory, but every once in a while he made a comparison between them, and apparently it bothered her. More than she had realized. "I guarantee she never called out an ex's name in the throes of passion…" she said softly, looking down at her shoes intently.

"Olivia," Seth reached out a hand to touch an arm. "Let me be absolutely clear - Zahra was a garbage human being with no moral compass whatsoever. She almost bankrupted me and put thirty people out of work without even a second thought, and certainly no regrets when she was confronted about it. Yes, at one point I loved her…and then she broke my heart and stole my trust. If I ever compare the two of you in passing, you definitely come out on top, every time. There is no comparison…not for me. It's always going to be you…"

Olivia looked up at Seth and saw him regarding her with a look of concern. Her eyes softened and she felt a familiar flutter in her stomach when he said things like that…the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile that was quickly mirrored by Seth. He slowly dropped his head to hers, touching her lips with his tenderly once, twice, and then he dipped his tongue inside her mouth. Olivia brought her arms around the back of his neck and felt his arms come around her waist and sighed. She knew it wasn't always going to be like this, she knew for a fact they would have ups and downs - hadn't they already? But she also knew that if they could be honest with each other, and respect each other, that would be the glue that would bind this fledgling relationship together.

The sun had set on Chicago, but the view of the city from Lake Michigan at night was stunning. A glittering array of lights from the riverwalk and hotels along the river reflected their light onto the dark lake. Seth and Olivia emerged hand in hand from their alcove, Olivia still wearing Seth's suit jacket against the evening breeze on the lake. "Oh my god, Seth - look at that!" She pulled him over to a space on the rail and they stood taking in the view, Seth with his arms around Olivia, holding her from behind.

A young woman with a camera had been making her way down the line of patrons, taking photos for the tour company. "Excuse me folks, would you like a photo to remember your night by? It's a complimentary service — we can use your phone or I can take it and email it to you. Your choice."

Olivia looked up at Seth, "Do you want to?"

"When you look so cute in my jacket? Absolutely." Olivia playfully punched him, and started to take the jacket off.

"Wait..no, I meant it — you are adorable…keep it on!" He pulled the jacket back on after Olivia had half-shrugged it off. He kissed the top of her head, "These are memories worth keeping…"

Olivia rolled her eyes and looked at the photographer for support, but was disappointed. "It actually is pretty cute…sorry…maybe one with and one without?" she suggested

Olivia handed her phone over, "Thank you."

The woman smiled, "No worries. You two make a very cute couple…the cute silly photos are the ones you really want anyways…any idiot can smile, it's the silly photos that make you look happy. Okay, hold her close and look at me, both of you…aaaand perfect. Thanks folks — have fun while you're in Chicago."

Olivia took a look at the photos, but said nothing. Seth looked over her shoulder to get a look, "She's right…we are very cute." He commented. "Livs? You okay? Do you want me to catch her and redo them?"

Olivia shook her head, "Nope…these are perfect. I love them. I just…" she trailed off, trying to find the words. The couple in these photos were very silly, very happy, and looked very much in love. She had photos just like these ones sitting in an album in a storage locker in Seattle. "I love them," she finished simply.

Seth put an arm around her. "Should we go back inside — try to catch the last few songs of the DJs set? It's a bit chilly out here for me…and someone has my jacket and won't give it back," he teased.

Olivia smiled, "That's too bad - I'm really quite comfortable. This jacket is really warm."

Later that night in the car, Olivia was curled up against Seth as they rode back to the hotel. "So— early night, early morning tomorrow?" She asked.

Seth nodded, "Not too early, Davenport's only a three hour drive…so if we're up at six, in the car by sevenish…should be fine…plenty of time for sleep."

Olivia took out her phone and looked again at the photos of her and Seth, "You should send these to your mom…I'm going to send them to you."

Seth chuckled softly, "She would love to see me freezing my ass off on a boat in the middle of a lake…and she really likes you, so she'd love that you at least were warm."

It soon became apparent that a full day of walking had taken a toll on Seth and Olivia; an entire morning covering the grounds at Lincoln Zoo, plus a walking tour of downtown Chicago had tired them both. They had hit the touristy wall where the end of the day was spent in exhausted, yet contented, silence.

When they got back to the room, Olivia took a long time looking out the window, witnessing the sequins of light from the hotels peppering the Chicago River. Seth had changed into more comfortable clothes and came up behind her, slipping his arms around her middle and nuzzling her neck with his lips. She sighed contentedly and lifted a hand up to caress his hair. "It's so beautiful here — we really need to come back again…"

"You're beautiful," Seth murmured, "and we will definitely come back - I do this trip four times a year, and Chicago has been a great detour…" he pulled his arms just a little tighter and kissed the crook of Olivia's neck. "But I really need to hit the hay - I can't remember the last time I was out walking so much…I'm beat," he admitted.

Olivia turned in his arms, her hands traced a path up his chest and met at the base of his neck. "I want to thank you for this…it's the most fun i've had in a very long time, and being with you these last few days has been so wonderful…"

Seth savored the sensation of Olivia's fingers at the base of his scalp, closing his eyes briefly in bliss. "Well, I think we both deserved some time alone…and it was fantastic, I wouldn't change a thing…"

Olivia lifted an eyebrow. "Nothing?" she asked skeptically.

Seth shook his head slowly back and forth, "Nope - we made some pretty incredible memories in Chicago…time spent with you is always amazing, Livs."

Olivia went up on tiptoe to kiss Seth, kisses that soon became much more involved. Reluctantly Seth broke their kiss, "We really should turn in and get some sleep…"

She stole three more kisses before releasing her hold on the back of Seth's neck, "Fine…"

Seth let his hands remain on her hips for a moment longer, a contented smile on his face, "I'll let you change…I'll be in the other room." He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles, letting his eyes drift shut briefly. Then he walked to the living room to give Olivia her privacy.

Olivia's eyes followed him out, until the door closed behind him. She took a deep breath and once again touched her fingers to the pendant Seth had given her. It's now-familiar weight was comforting, and she felt like it had always sat in place, just above the hollow at the base of her throat. The corners of her mouth turned up as the memories of the weekend whirled around in her head, and she went to get out of the camisole dress and into something comfortable.

Before she tucked herself into bed, she opened the curtains and laid down under the covers, enjoying the view of the city lights. She heard the door open and turned to see Seth enter, his eyes heavy with fatigue. He stripped off his shirt, keeping his track pants on, and crawled into bed beside Olivia. He spooned along behind her, draping one arm around her, and kissing her gently as she stretched her neck around to meet him.

"I am going to miss these windows…" she murmured, turning her face back towards the twinkling, blinking lights.

Seth nuzzled her neck and rested his cheek against hers, sharing the view, "They are pretty impressive, but we'll see them again, I promise." He kissed her once more on the cheek, then laid back down on his pillow.

Olivia did the same, feeling the weight of the day's activity finally settling on her. She rolled over and laid a hand on Seth's chest, "Good night, Seth." She felt her eyelids start to feel heavy, and she thought she'd probably be sleeping very soon.

He laid a hand over hers, and gave her a sleepy smile in return, "Good night, Olivia. Sweet dreams."

They fell asleep like that— faces relaxed, but hands together. It was the most peace they would find for some time…