42. Good Morning

Olivia was the first one awake that following morning. When she woke up, Elliot was still snoring softly, clearly a mix of how busy this week and last night's activities had been. They hadn't just gone once last night, there had been several occasions of love making and it clearly wore Elliot out. Olivia didn't mind though, she loved the feeling of just lying in his arms and being with him. She had to admit, sleeping in bed with him last night, even after all their activities, had been the best sleep Olivia had in a long time. She did have to go to the toilet though and wasn't entirely sure how she could get out of the bed without waking Elliot. She lay in bed a little longer, resting her head on Elliot's chest, and just listening to his heart beat, the same way she had fallen asleep last night. But when the urge to go to the toilet was too strong, Olivia knew she just needed to go. Olivvia slid quietly out of bed and left Elliot's arm, that had been around her waist, in the same spot on the bed just without her. He stirred a little but seemed to go back to sleep afterwards, meaning Olivia was in the clear.

She didn't expect to see his gorgeous blue eyes watching her though, when she emerged from the bathroom. Clearly her absence from the bed had woken him but she couldn't help it
"I was worried you'd left"
"Left? My hotel room? I don't think so. Besides, why would leave when everything I could want is right here?" Olivia questioned.
"Technically it's my hotel room" Elliot was quick to reply.
"Ok smart ass" Olivia replied as she walked back over to the bed and climbed in again next to Elliot.
"You didn't seem to have any problem with my ass last night" Elliot remarked once more with a wink and Olivia playfully hit him but Elliot intervened and pulled her closer to him for a kiss. If there was one thing that Elliot could always do, he could make Olivia laugh with his smart remarks. He could make her laugh like no one else and Olivia really loved the playful, joking kind of relationship they had.

"Good morning" Olivia replied as they pulled back from the kiss.
"It is a good morning, one of the best I think I've ever had" Elliot replied before kissing Olivia once more.
"How did you sleep?" Olivia asked.
"Good and you?" Elliot asked, worried that Olivia hadn't slept great but hoped she had.
"Best sleep I think I've had in a while" Olivia smiled, it had truly been one of the best nights she'd had in a long time. She'd not slept with anyone else other than Brian and now Elliot. She'd missed that warm and comforting feeling of someone sleeping in the bed next to her and if sleeping in the same bed as Elliot was going to give her those amazing night's sleep then she couldn't complain. She knew that upstairs a little girl would be waking soon and she needed her mother. Olivia knew she also needed to relieve Lucy from caring for the kids for the night soon, she just didn't want to leave this little bubble she'd created with Elliot.


It was almost noon by the time Elliot and Olivia had made it upstairs to the penthouse. They had got a little carried away enjoying their morning together, which had then followed by Elliot needing to make sure he fed Olivia after their activities. So, it was only after they had eaten and showered, and Olivia had changed into fresh clothes, that they actually made it up to the penthouse. Of course, all the children were very happy to see them, and Olivia thanked Lucy profusely for staying over and looking after all the children. Elliot insisted that he would pay her extra for taking care of his children for the night, and he meant it. Though exactly who was going to pay her, would be a discussion for Elliot and Olivia to have later as neither were prepared to let the other pay.

"Daddy, where were you? Did you have confence work?" Richard asked, curious as to why his father was not around when they woke up this morning. He was always there when he was home, but he wasn't there this morning.
"Well, sort of. Remember how I told you I had a really big dinner last night and would come home super late?" Elliot asked and Richard just nodded.
"Well, Olivia came to the dinner thing with me and then I had to make sure that she got home safely and as we were talking lots, I accidentally fell asleep on her couch" Elliot explained, coming up with a lie as best that he could in the short time. It wasn't a complete lie but it definitely wasn't the truth. Olivia just smiled at Elliot, as she knew it was a difficult task, to explain his absence to his children, in a child friendly manner.
Bernie, who had been sitting in the living room with Lucy and the children, had been watching Elliot and Olivia from the moment they arrived back at the penthouse and was watching closely as they sat on the couch together. Chloe made her way over to her mother and snuggled close for a moment. Olivia could tell that Chloe was also curious as to where her mother had been this morning, as it was very rare for her mother not to be around when Chloe got up in the morning. But Chloe didn't know how to ask or even express concern considering she wasn't quite 2 yet and her vocabulary was only just developing. But the main thing was, Olivia was back now.


Bernie knew that there was something different between the couple now, the more she watched them, the more she could see it. She knew that something had changed between them. She even had to admit that when she didn't see Elliot at the breakfast table this morning, she knew that he would be with Olivia. Bernie could clearly see how Olivia was managing to get her 'claws' into Elliot and the children and she just couldn't stand it. A man as successful as Elliot, should be with someone who is equally successful and pushes him, or at the very least can understand the world that he has created and what is required. Someone who could see everything that Elliot was trying to build with his hotel empire. Yet Bernie just couldn't see that happening with Olivia, all she could see was Elliot and his children ending up hurt. She couldn't seem to get that message across to Elliot though and make sure he knew that she wasn't actually trying to hurt him, she was being his mother and trying to protect him from another world of hurt, after he'd already been through one, with Kathy.

Thanksgiving was coming up in a couple of weeks and Bernie had planned to have all the family together for that, at her lake house that was a couple hours north of New York. She wasn't planning on inviting Olivia to come with Elliot and the twins for thanksgiving but she knew that would likely be a dealbreaker for Elliot to come. Bernie knew that Elliot would never agree to come to Thanksgiving with the whole family, if Olivia wasn't allowed to come or if she was in danger somehow. Bernie knew there was a call she needed to make to a certain inmate...if she could remove the danger, then Elliot wouldn't be so focused on keeping Olivia and Chloe close by. She simply had to get Olivia out of the picture, then she could easily get Elliot and the twins close with family, and show them that Olivia just wasn't right for the family. Bernie was going to make that call, then bring up the topic of thanksgiving when it had been dealt with. She excused herself from the room.


Monday night, Olivia was sitting on the couch in the living area of her deluxe suite in the hotel, marking some of the writing from today's class. Elliot had escorted her back to her apartment yesterday, so she could pick up a few more things for work and stuff. Olivia didn't really see the continued need to stay at the hotel, her apartment wasn't in real danger but Elliot just wasn't convinced. He was going to get a cop friend of his to have a team completely sweep over her apartment before Olivia and Chloe went back in. Olivia though this was slightly overkill, but she would go with it for Elliot's piece of mind. She didn't want him stressing over them and she knew that he was being like this as he simply didn't want to see them hurt.

Olivia couldn't believe that she only had a week and a couple of days left before Thanksgiving break and then only a couple more weeks before it was Christmas. These weeks were just flying by and she couldn't quite believe that so much in her life had changed this year. So much had changed that she hadn't even had a chance to think about what it would all mean for the holiday season this year. Months ago, Olivia would have thought that she would simply take Chloe back to her father's place and her home town for the holidays. But now there was Elliot and the twins to think about as well. Would they want to come with her? Would she be expected to go with them for the holidays? They hadn't talked about it. It was clear that Elliot's mother simply couldn't stand Olivia, so would she even be welcome for the holidays with them? Could they come to some kind of compromise? Again, she and Elliot hadn't talked about it, so she really didn't know what he was thinking for the holidays.

Thankfully, Olivia's thoughts were interrupted by a call from her father on the computer. They had been meaning to Skype for a while and sadly the older man had missed seeing Chloe, but Olivia was grateful for the chance to talk with her dad. Grateful for the chance to get her mind off other things.
"Daddy" Olivia smiled as her father's face popped up on the screen.
"There's my girl! How are you?" Don greeted as he smiled back to his daughter through the computer screen. They spoke on the phone at least a couple of times a week but it had been a while since they last skyped like this and Olivia had to admit she'd really missed her father.
"Good and you? You're looking well and clearly have been working hard on that farm?" Olivia replied.
"Yes, things are good. Everyone in town though is asking when you're coming back to visit? Now you know me, always busy at the farm and always lots of things to be doing with the boys" Don explained which Olivia understood. There was always plenty to do, especially coping with the summer crops through the winter and the winter crops in harvest.
"I do miss everyone, and I want to bring Chloe home again soon. Things here are on the mend, just taking things easy after the case with Brian. After his demonstration in court, there is no way that he'll be able to come near me or Chloe and I would never want him near her" Olivia explained.
"Are you still at the hotel?" Don asked, Olivia had told him all about how she was staying in the hotel after the court date as there were some security scares.
"Yeah. I don't think there is really that much of a threat anymore, as if Brian was going to do something to me, he would have done it by now. But Elliot is determined to have his police friend get a team to sweep the apartment properly before he lets us go home" Olivia explained.
"Sounds like a smart guy there" Don replied to which Olivia smiled. She had really got lucky in finding Elliot and building the relationship that they have now. Not to mention, he was an absolute legend in the bedroom, but she was never going to tell her father that. Olivia still had a little pain from the bedroom activities with Elliot this weekend, but it was totally worth it.

"Do you have a date for that other court case yet?" Don asked, turning the conversation back to more important topics that they needed to discuss.
"Not yet, Lewis told me that when he had more information, he will get in contact with me. But for now, I'm just kind of embracing the fact that we've dealt with Brian and looking towards the holidays" Olivia explained, grateful that she had got over that first hurdle with Brian.
"I was only wondering as I'm planning to come out for that case. I want to look the woman who has caused so much pain and frustration for you, in the eye and make sure she gets what she deserves"
"Dad, you don't ha-"
"I want to...Besides, it will give me a chance to see New York again and meet this man whom seems to have become such a huge part in your life, make sure he's decent" Don remarked to which Olivia smiled and rolled her eyes a little. Don was such an incredible father to her and even though she knew deep down he wasn't biologically her father, it still felt like he was. Not to mention how great of a grandfather he was to Chloe. Olivia wasn't sure how things would go with Elliot and her father meeting in person but she hoped that her father would be more welcoming to Elliot than his mother had been to her.


Olivia really enjoyed her conversation with her father that night. They had discussed a lot about Chloe and the farm. But they also made plans that even though her father was going to come out for the court case with Dani, Olivia and Chloe would go home for thanksgiving. School would be out for a few days around then which would work well for Olivia's travel plans. Olivia didn't know what Elliot was doing or if he and the twins would want to go with her for Thanksgiving. She would extend the invitation but she knew that they would probably have family plans. She didn't think she would be invited to those plans though, so she had gone ahead and made her own. She would have the perfect week at home with her father and Chloe in the fresh country air and away from the city for a while.

Of course, that would still depend on a whole range of things, as with all the time off Olivia had taken off lately, she didn't have much more leave from work that she could take. So, she had to be careful with the exact length of break to take, but Olivia was prepared to take a couple of days leave without pay if she needed to, as she wanted to go home for thanksgiving.

A/N: Now, I couldn't let the holidays go by without an update, could I? But I thought what better way than 2 chapters for you all. I hope that wherever you are, your Christmas was lovely and you were able to spend it with your loved ones in a safe and happy way. I'll try update again soon but life is a little crazy right now. Leave me a review and let me know what you thought and what may happen next?
Until Next Time ;)