A/N: I don't own any of the characters except my own.
Thanksgiving was going to be different this year. Hank was also planning a surprise party for Olivia's 50th birthday. The party itself was going to be over the weekend at the Pub and everyone was from Chicago was coming in and Nick was coming in for it as well. Erin and Jay were coming in with Baby Camille for Thanksgiving but they were driving in. They were coming in on Wednesday and everyone else was coming in on Friday. Hank and Ed were at the Pub going over the last minute details with Ed's family.
"Thank you so much for having the party."
"You are very welcome."
"I just want this to be perfect for her and she really won't expect something this soon."
"What do you have planned for her actual birthday?"
"Her birthday and our anniversary are a few days apart, so I am surprising her with a trip to Hawaii. Her birthday last year was awful, since she had spent it alone and mourning the loss of our baby. I hadn't retired yet, so I was still in Chicago. She never told anyone except Lucy about the situation. I told her I would have come back out here or I would have been fine with someone from her squad or even Ed being with her to get her through it. She chose to go through it alone for whatever reason. This has been a rough year for her and I want her to spend some time relaxing. Noah and Rachel are all for it. Our daughter and son-in-law are coming in today but Erin is staying until after Christmas. Jay will go back to Chicago and come back for Christmas. Erin said she needs to do some thinking as well."
"Whether or not she wants to leave Chicago?"
"Yeah. Jay said he's fine with whatever she decides and he has talked to his brother about the possibility of him leaving Chicago."
"If they move here, are they getting their own place?"
"We still have room but Olive is thinking about wanting to move in with Trevor. If Erin, Jay and the baby move in with us it would only be until they're here long enough to be able to afford a place. If Erin goes back to work, she would want to be in Olivia's unit."
"Things to seem to be getting pretty serious."
"Yes and no. For the most part they've become inseparable. She does like the idea of Daniel being in the same school as Noah but that won't happen if they move in with Trevor. Someone would need to watch the kids or she would have to put them in daycare."
"Trevor can afford a nanny."
"That's exactly what Erin said. I love having Lucy around and usually Olive is the one that stays with the kids when we're gone, so if she moves out, then we won't have that."
"They'll have their favorite uncle."
"And if the 4 of us decide to go somewhere?"
"We'll take them anytime. You know that. We love Noah and Rachel like they were also a part of this family. Same for you and Olivia and Olive and her children."
"Thanks. We appreciate that. I had actually considered including you and Diana on this trip to Hawaii but she did mention that we haven't gone anywhere alone since our honeymoon and we actually had Trudy and Mouch on the cruise with us."
"I'm thinking I need to arrange a trip just for Diana and me. Maybe I'll look into taking her on a cruise for Valentine's Day or something."
"Kara can stay with us. Kelly would love it."
"That works."
"Are you sure you don't want to join us for Thanksgiving?"
"We're sure. Trevor is bringing his mom and step sister over. Olive's sister is coming over and her parents are coming in. Al and Meredith Olinsky are coming for Thanksgiving, so they are actually the only ones from Chicago that Olivia knows will be here."
"Are you, Diana and Kara coming here or going there?"
"There. Diana wants to spend Thanksgiving with her family. We'll come by later."
"Ok."
"We don't know about Christmas yet."
"For the most part, we've been doing Christmas Day and your siblings spend Christmas Eve with their in-laws."
"Diana and I haven't even discussed what her traditions are, so we can figure out what we're doing."
"She and Kara pretty much do whatever."
"Olive is ok with you being gone for the twins' first birthday?"
"Yeah. She knows what a crappy year this has been for Olivia and that I need to keep Olivia's mind off of what happened to her last year. Trevor wants to take her to his new place in the Hamptons for New Year's Eve and I already said we'd keep the kids. He's staying at the house while we're gone. I like seeing Olive smile again and Trevor is so good with the kids."
"I think they make a cute couple. Whenever I see them together, I hardly notice the age difference between them. Dan and I had lunch with them the other day and they seem like they are a regular couple. He rubs her back, they hold hands or he has his arm around her when they walk."
"They're always sneaking kisses whenever he's over at the house, which is quite often."
Then Diana, Olivia, Amanda and Olive came in.
"Here comes trouble times four."
"Nice to see you too."
"You should have told us you were planning to come here for lunch."
"What makes you think we wanted to spend our lunch with you two anyway?"
"Be that way."
"Your usual, ladies?"
"Yes and three more to go."
"For Fin, Sonny and Jeff?"
"You got it."
"You at your office?"
"Not today. I'm spending time at SVU."
"You seem to be doing that a lot lately."
"It's what I do."
"Olive, where's Trevor?"
"He has meetings pretty much all day. I do miss him when I don't see him all day though."
"Is Daniel in?"
"He was out of the office all morning but I think he's back this afternoon."
"Good."
Someone went to make the order for Diana, Olivia, Amanda and Olive.
"What sort of trouble are you two causing?"
"No trouble at all."
"Uh huh! Do you honestly think we believe that?"
"Believe whatever you want."
"Are you mad at me?"
"Of course not. I just missed you this morning. That's all and you never returned any of my messages."
"This is the first break I have had since this morning."
Olivia wrapped her arms around Hank and kissed him.
"After today I'm off until Monday unless they need me."
"Ok."
Olivia went to the washroom.
"That trip can't be coming soon enough for you two."
"Yeah, I know. I just hope she doesn't argue with me about going."
"I don't see why she would but if she does, I'll insist on it and tell her she's working too much again."
"She keeps tellin' us that she needs an actual vacation. I do too. It's been a rough year for me too."
"When are Erin, Jay and the baby due in?"
"Erin texted me about an hour ago and said they were about an hour out of Philly."
"Shouldn't be too much longer then. They'll probably be here before Olivia gets home."
"That's what they were hoping for."
"Is Jay doing all the driving?"
"Will, Nat and Owen are coming with them. They were able to get a few days off. That way Jay has company going home."
Olivia came out of the washroom just as the food came out.
"Olive, when are your parents due in?"
"Sometime tomorrow morning. My dad is working today, so once he gets off after his shift, they'll head to the airport."
"What does your dad do?"
"He's a firefighter in Indianapolis but he's retiring at the end of the year. My mom taught and retired last year."
"Are you an only child?"
No. I have two brothers and a sister. My siblings are not happy that my parents are coming out here for Thanksgiving or even thinking about moving out here. I get more support from my aunts than I do my siblings."
"Did Trevor meet them when you were there?"
"He did. They're nice to my face but then they turn around and stab me in the back. My mom overheard them talking and one of them said they think I'm only with Trevor because he has money. Why else would a 20-something single mother with 3 young children fall for a 4-something man? They never liked Justin very much either. It's never been about the money with me, just like I never cared that Justin had been to prison."
"Were they like that with your aunt too?"
"Pretty much. I'm closer to Erin than I am my siblings. Erin encourages me want more out of this relationship with Trevor. As much as I love Hank and my own dad, my kids need a dad."
"If anyone understands that, I do. Kara missed out on so much by not having a dad for the first 10 years of her life. Hank was the closest she had to having one and she loves the fact that he's her uncle now. She also missed out on a lot by not having any grandparents. We're both still kind of overwhelmed by all this because this is a huge family."
"I wish we had met sooner, like on one of my trips to Chicago."
"Me too."
"I also wish I had realized my feelings for Hank a lot sooner than I did but that did give me a chance to get to know the real Ed Tucker instead of the one from the Rat Squad that got on everyone's nerves. I am glad you're my brother-in-law now."
"I'm glad you're my sister-in-law too."
Hank looked at his watch.
"Lucy wanted to leave early, so we need to get back. Al and Meredith should be in soon too."
"Ok."
Hank kissed Olivia and then he kissed Olive on the head, while Ed kissed Diana and his mother and then they headed home after Hank wished Ed's family a Happy Thanksgiving. As soon as Olivia, Olive, Diana and Amanda were done with lunch and got the order for the guys, they all headed back to work. When Hank and Ed arrived at the house, they got out of the SUV and went in.
"Hey. Sorry about that. Olivia, Diana, Olive and Amanda showed up at the pub."
"It's ok. Did the surprise get spoiled?"
"No. She still has no idea. We'll see you on Sunday, right?"
"Yes."
Lucy went to say goodbye to the kids and wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving before she left.
"Hopefully this all falls into place."
"It should. I've never really done this before but I'm glad your family agreed to have it there on the day they're closed."
"They were more than happy to do it then. More times than not, they have family parties on Sundays because they're closed. The only time they would be open on a Sunday would be if St. Patrick's Day falls on that day and then they'll be closed on Monday. Are we having a game this week?"
"We should have enough people. Jay and Will will be here and so will Al. Trevor will be around. I'm not sure about everyone else. They'll be there for the party though. It sounds like Al and Meredith are planning to look at places while they're here. He put his papers in and will retire by the end of the year."
"They definitely want to move here?"
"They said they did."
"So, then your former unit could be losing 3 people."
"Yep."
Then Rachel came into the kitchen.
"Daddy, I have to go potty."
"Ok. Come on."
Just as Hank was taking Rachel to the bathroom, the doorbell rang.
"I got that, Hank."
"Thanks."
Hank took Rachel to the bathroom, while Ed went to answer the door. It was Al and Meredith.
"Hey, Ed."
"Hey. Come on in."
"Thanks. Hank here?"
"He took Rachel to the bathroom."
Al and Meredith came in and then Noah and Daniel came to see who it was.
"Uncle Al, Auntie Meredith."
"Hey, guys."
Noah and Daniel gave them both a hug.
"Is Kara here?"
"No. She and Kelly are at a friend's all day. I can't keep up with her sometimes."
"We don't even see our daughter. She left home and won't have anything to do with us. She wouldn't care if we moved away or not."
Hank came downstairs with Rachel.
"Uncle Al, Auntie Meredith!"
"Hey, Cutie!"
Rachel gave them both a hug and then the 3 kids went back to watch their movie. Everyone else went into the kitchen and sat down.
"Do you have Jesse today?"
"No. She's with Carisi's parents and Lucy already left. Ed and I went to the Pub to go over the last minute details for Olivia's party, like what we want to eat."
"Who's in charge of getting her there?"
"Diana and Kara are. They're going to go out for breakfast and then try to do some shopping. She'll tell her that she got a text from Ed asking if they want to meet us for a late lunch somewhere but to meet us at the Pub."
"Do you really think that's goin' to work?"
"Alvin, don't be such a party pooper."
Al gave Meredith a look and she just rolled her eyes.
"Honestly, I just want this to be something memorable for her and I want this trip to Hawaii to be perfect."
"The kids are ok with you going?"
"Oh, yeah. Noah knows his mom has had a rough year and how sad she was after she lost the baby. I just want her to know how much I love her."
"I think she knows that though."
"Oh yeah, I know she does."
"You decorating your house?"
"Yeah. She wants to spend Friday putting the tree up and we'll probably put lights up on the house too."
"Diana wants ours done too."
"Is she taking Friday off?"
"She said she was."
Hank got another text from Erin.
"The Halsteads should be here soon."
"Good. What's for dinner?"
"Olive made lasagna last night, so all I need to do is put it in the oven and put the bread in."
"What happens if Olivia comes home before they get here?"
"Diana is keeping her there until she hears from me or Ed that Erin and Jay are here."
"I need to go pick up the girls."
"Is Kelly staying for dinner?"
"I'll ask her. Is there enough food."
"Olive made two lasagnas, so there is plenty of food and enough for leftovers. If any of the guys from Chicago come over, we may not have any leftovers left. Ruzek and Atwater love to eat and so do the firefighters."
Ed left and went to pick up Kara and Kelly. When they got into the SUV, he asked Kelly if she wanted to have dinner at the Voight's and she said she did, so he called his sister to find out if that was ok. She said it was fine. By the time he got back to Hank and Olivia's Jay was just pulling into the driveway.
"Hey, Erin."
"Hey, kiddo."
Kara hugged Erin, Jay, Will and Nat after everyone got out of the SUV. Will grabbed Erin and Jay's bags, while Jay grabbed the carrier. Natalie got Owen out of his car seat and then they went to ring the bell. Ed had texted Diana as Hank opened the door.
"Hey!"
"Hey."
"Hank, I just texted Diana."
"Ok. Good. How was the trip?"
"Not too bad. Camille did pretty well on her first long car trip."
"Good. The kids are excited to meet her."
All three kids came to the door.
"Erin! Jay!"
"Hey, guys."
"Owen!"
"Hi!"
They hugged everyone and then Jay put the carrier down.
"This is Camille."
"Hi Camille. Can I hold her?"
"Sure but you have to sit down first. Let's go into the family room."
"Ok."
Everyone headed into the family room and Noah sat down. Erin took Camille out of her carrier and put her in Noah's arms. Hank took a picture to show Olivia later. Diana texted Ed and told him that she was on her way to pick up Olivia.
"Diana is on her way to pick up Olivia."
"Then I better put dinner in."
Hank went to put dinner in and then Kara held Camille. Will and Natalie left to go get checked into the hotel, so they left Owen with Erin and Jay.
"Jay, are you gonna survive without your girls?"
"It'll be hard but yeah. We'll video chat as often as possible, so I can see them and I know they'll be in good hands. Antonio knows there is a possibility that we could leave Chicago, so there might now be 3 openings in Intelligence. Will said he'd be fine with me moving out here and that would give them the opportunity to come out here more often."
"Daddy, I'm hungry."
"I just put dinner in a little bit ago and it takes 45 minutes. We eat when Mommy and Olive get home. We also have to wait for Will and Nat to come back."
"Ok."
Hank heard the door.
"HELLO."
"HEY. Stay here."
"Got it."
Hank went to meet Olivia in the kitchen and kissed her. She hugged Al and Meredith and then Diana kissed Ed and hugged Al and Meredith.
"How was your flight?"
"The flight wasn't bad but both airports were insane."
"I bet they were."
Hank wrapped his arms around Olivia and then Diana went to get Erin, Jay and Camille.
"Hey, Mom."
"You're here!"
"We are."
Olivia hugged Erin and Jay and kissed Camille on top of her head.
"She has gotten so big since I last saw her."
Then all the kids came in, including Kara and Kelly, who had Justin and Nikki.
"Livia!"
"Hi Owen. Where are Will and Natalie?"
"They went to the hotel to get checked in."
"Did you fly out here?"
"We drove. They came with to keep me company going home. Erin is staying here for a while."
"Is everything ok?"
"Yeah. I just need to do some thinking."
"About work?"
"That and we've been thinking about leaving Chicago. If I decide to stay working, I'd want to work in your unit. Unless it's a problem. Meredith has been great but I really miss all of you. They're moving here anyway. Jay is ok no matter what I decide."
"Will is fine with it and he said that will give them an excuse to come out here more often."
"I don't have a problem with you being in my unit."
"I don't either. Jay, you'd want SWAT or something like that, correct?"
"Yeah."
"I'll keep an eye out for any available positions."
"Ok. I know we haven't lived in the house for very long but we don't necessarily want to sell it. We may keep it and if any of us goes to Chicago, we can stay there."
"That's probably more of a hassle because you would still need someone to keep an eye on it and do the shoveling and lawn. You'd be better off renting it out but if something happens, you'd still have to take care of it as the owner."
"I've been working extra shifts on patrol whenever I can, so we can pay more toward the mortgage. If we'd sell it, whatever we sell it for would pretty much go to pay off the mortgage we have on it, so we may not end up with much after that."
"Right but you can stay here as long as you need to. New York isn't cheap either."
"He's right."
Hank checked on the lasagnas and then Olive came in with Will and Natalie.
"Hey."
"Hey, Olive"
Olive hugged Erin and Jay and kissed her kids, while Olivia hugged Will and Natalie. Olive then held the baby.
"Is Trevor coming for dinner?"
"He said he was."
"How's that going?"
"I'm seriously considering his offer to have the 4 of us move in with him. It is a lot closer to work but then I'd need to figure out what I'm doing with them. It doesn't make makes sense for me to drop them off here every morning before I go to work."
"I say get a nanny. Trevor can afford it."
"Believe me, he's offered. I'm not used to being spoiled like this. I need to take my stuff upstairs. Come with me."
"Ok."
Jay took Camille from Olive and then she and Erin went upstairs.
"So, is this just physical?"
"No. I find myself missing him when I don't see him. When he was in San Francisco when we came to Chicago for your baby shower, I missed him like crazy. When he's at meetings all day like he was today, I missed him. There are also some days when I just can't get enough of him and that is easier to do when it's just the two of us. I've noticed I've become a lot more vocal during sex lately and it makes me a little uncomfortable being like that and having Hank just across the hall if Trevor stays over, which he does quite often or even having Daniel in the next room. I was never like that with Justin. When I get where I can't seem to get enough of Trevor, we go to his condo at lunch time and spend the entire time in bed. I'm actually surprised I'm not pregnant yet but I do eventually want a baby with him."
"When do you get like that?"
"Mid cycle."
Then Natalie came up and knocked on the door before she came in. She had Camille with her.
"Come on in."
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Someone wants to eat."
Natalie handed Camille to Erin and then she fed her.
"Is it normal for women to want more sex mid cycle?"
"It is. I just told Will at the hotel. We're expecting."
"Nat! That's great. Camille is going to have a new cousin."
"Yep. We're going to tell Owen together. I figured that was the perfect time to tell Will and we did celebrate, since Owen wasn't around.
They heard the doorbell and then Jay, Will and Trevor all came upstairs.
"Hey, you."
"Hey, yourself."
Trevor kissed Olive.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too. I would have much rather spent our lunch together at my place than at that boring meeting all day."
"Me too but I did enjoy my lunch today. I went to the Pub with Olivia, Diana and Amanda."
"Ok."
Then Olivia, Diana and Meredith came up.
"Langan, you are here."
"Yep."
"You two disappeared in a hurry. Is everything ok?"
"Yeah. I just needed to talk to Erin without the kids around."
"Must have been a sex talk. It must be pretty good from what I hear."
"What have you heard?"
"Plenty. I am right across the hall, don't forget."
Olive turned bright red and gave Trevor a look. Then he turned bright red as well.
"I am so sorry."
"I'm not much better."
"I've just been a lot more vocal lately."
"It happens. I was never this bad until Hank and I got together."
"How's your hip?"
"It's doing much better. I'm not out chasing perps yet though. The rest of my squad is doing that."
"It does take a while sometimes."
"By the way, congratulations, Brother-in-Law!"
"Thanks."
"Congratulations for what?"
"Nat and I are expecting."
"No way! You never thought to tell your own brother?"
"She just told me and apparently Erin. Owen doesn't even know yet."
"When are you two getting married?"
"We still haven't set a date yet. Maybe we should just do it and get it over with."
"We'll talk about it. All I care about is that Jay and Erin are there and of course Owen."
"I'd like Maggie to be there too and maybe my parents and Helen. Helen has definitely changed her mind about you."
"Yeah, she has. Even if I adopt Owen, she's still his grandma and I always want her to be a part of his life."
"I think she knows that now. I don't need a big wedding. I had that when I married Jeff."
"I don't need one either."
"Owen never knew his dad, right?"
"Right. I was pregnant when Jeff was killed. Will was pretty supportive from the beginning and honestly, I ignored my real feelings for him for a long time before we actually got together. A part of me felt like I was being unfaithful to him but I had started seeing someone, who I thought was a friend, before I realized how I really felt about Will. Jeff's mother did not like Will when she first met him. She basically wanted him to stay away from me. This was around the time I gave birth to Owen. When things were getting more serious between us, Owen did not like him at first either but now they get along great and Helen likes him more now than she did. I made her understand that I loved Will, he loved us and he wasn't going anywhere any time soon. If she couldn't accept it, then I wasn't going to let her be a part of Owen's life."
"A part of me still feels like I'm being unfaithful to Justin. It's only been a year and a half."
"I understand completely. As much as I love Will and can't wait to start our life together with the kids, a part of me will always love Jeff because he's Owen's daddy. I know that what you, Hank and Erin went through was difficult on all of you. You could have had someone from the Military show up at your door just like I did. With Daniel being only a year when Justin died and you finding out that you were pregnant after you lost him just made things a lot worse. I never wanted Owen to grow up without having a dad. Will loves him like he was his own and he took him when he went to pick out my engagement ring. At least Hank seems to like Trevor."
"He does. The age difference kind of bothered me at first but my aunt is married to a guy over 20 years older than her, a friend of Trevor's is married to someone a year older than me and Trevor's step-sister is married to someone closer to his mom's age. I don't want to end up with a jerk or someone who's going to hurt us physically. My siblings are so obnoxious about stuff lately. My mom heard them say that I'm only with Trevor because he has money and I want someone to support me, which is also the reason why they think I took the job in New York, so my father-in-law could support me and my kids. Now that my parents are talking about moving here after my dad retires, my siblings think I want them to support me. They don't even know me. It's not like I live here for free. I give them money for Lucy, for the mortgage payment and for the utilities. I also do a lot of the cooking, which I like to do. Every girl has a dream of marrying a rich guy, so she doesn't have to work. I would love that at some point but not right now. I knew that Justin was never going to be that guy because he didn't really know what he wanted to do after he was done in the Army. My siblings didn't even like Justin."
"Justin had his faults, just like Dad. When Dad sent me to pick Justin up when he got out of prison, he tried kissing me. Even before I found out that Hank was my dad, I always saw Justin as my annoying younger brother and that's exactly what he was to me. I was always closer to Justin than I was to Teddy. At least I grew up with one of them in my life."
"I didn't find out that I had half-siblings until I was an adult. It's good to know that one of them isn't an addict and only contacts me when they want money."
"So, our "sperm donor" was actually a father to our half-brother?"
"Yep."
Then Ed came into the room.
"Dinner's ready."
"Ok."
Everyone went downstairs and had dinner.
"Olive, this is delicious."
"Thank you."
"Who's cooking tomorrow?"
"Actually, Hank and Ed are."
"Wow!"
"Ed's been cooking a little more lately."
"We came home yesterday and they were baking."
"Who was baking?"
"Hank and Ed."
"Is there proof of this?"
"Oh, yeah! I witnessed it and took a video of it."
"Kara, you totally have to show me that later."
"I definitely will."
"What did they bake?"
"Cookies and they're delicious. Lucy was here and she was baking cookies and a pie to take to her parents' for Thanksgiving. The kids always help her. Hank and Ed were here and started helping."
"I used to help Mom bake all the time but it's been years, since I have done it."
"I never had any use for it. Camille used to bake all the time. I like trying new things now that I'm retired."
"Good for you, Hank."
"Man, you're nuts."
"Try it sometime, Al."
"I'll pass."
Meredith rolled her eyes.
"Jay and I used to bake Christmas cookies with our mom all the time."
"Yeah, we did."
"If I asked you to bake some cookies for me, would you?"
"Maybe."
Everyone finished dinner and then they cleaned up. Everyone who was leaving, left and then they got the kids to bed. Hank and Olivia decided to watch a movie in their bedroom and Olive and Trevor watched one in hers. After the movies were over, everyone went to sleep.
The next morning, Olive's parents left for the airport as soon as Dan got off of his shift. At the Voight's, Trevor and Olive got up and cooked breakfast for everyone. Erin and Jay had gotten up a few times with the baby. Olivia and Hank had even gotten up to get Camille to sleep. Jay was on his way down to get coffee to wake up when he heard a knock at the door. He looked to see who it was. It was Ed, so he answered the door.
"Happy Thanksgiving."
"You too. Is Hank up yet?"
"I haven't seen him yet. Come on in though."
"Thanks."
Ed came in and they went into the kitchen. Olive and Trevor were kissing, so Jay cleared his throat.
"Sorry. Happy Thanksgiving."
"You too."
"Happy Thanksgiving. Any coffee yet?"
"Just about. I made a pot the way Hank and Olivia like it and I'm making a pot of strong coffee now. I figured you needed more of a kick."
"Oh, definitely. I apologize for all the noise last night. We're still trying to get used to this baby stuff."
"Don't worry about it. Ed, did you want a cup of coffee?"
"Yeah sure."
Olive got Ed a cup of coffee.
"Thanks."
"Sure."
"Hank and Olivia even got up and tried to get her to sleep. She slept in the car ok and for the most part she sleeps at home but she just did not want to sleep last night."
"It could be the time change. I had the same problem with all three of mine when we first moved here."
"I didn't even think of that. When were your parents getting in?"
"They had an early flight this morning. My dad had to work until this morning but as soon as his shift ended, they were heading to the airport. Trevor and I are going to pick them up and take them to the hotel for a while, so my dad can sleep for a little bit. I'm sure he's going to sleep on the plane though. Hank is aiming for 2 for dinner, so I'll go get them in time for dinner."
Hank came downstairs and poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Morning."
"Morning. Happy Thanksgiving."
"You too."
"Is Liv up?"
"Nah. She needs the sleep."
"We apologize for all the noise."
"Don't worry about it. All 3 of Olive's kids were like that when they first moved here. By the time you take Erin and Camille back to Chicago, she'll be sleeping better."
"Olive said it was probably the time change. I'm hoping she's not going to be like this the entire time they're here."
"It really didn't take that long for my kids to adjust. The twins weren't that much older than Camille is now when we moved here."
"True."
Once the pot of stronger coffee was done, Olive poured some for Jay.
"Thank you."
"Sure."
Olivia, Erin and the kids got up and Diana and Kara came over. Everyone had breakfast. Once breakfast was over, Hank put the turkey in, while everyone else went to take showers. As soon as Trevor and Olive were ready, they checked the status of the flight from Indianapolis and headed to the airport to pick up Olive's parents and take them to their hotel. They then stopped at Trevor's condo for a little while. Ed kept an eye on the turkey, while Hank and Olivia went to take a shower. By the time they were out of the shower and dressed, Olive and Trevor were back and Al, Meredith, Will, Natalie and Owen were there.
"My aunt is picking my parents up to bring them here."
"How was their flight?"
"They said it was fine."
"I got a call from my mom. Katie has to work, so she's coming by herself."
"That stinks."
"Yeah, it does."
"There were many years when I volunteered to work on Thanksgiving, since I didn't have a family to celebrate with. I'm glad I have a family now."
"You even have my family."
"Your mom is amazing!"
"She loves everyone except my ex."
"Would you have introduced Noah and me to them?"
"I eventually would have. Like you, I wasn't sure it was going to last but I'm glad things turned out the way they did."
"They seem like they would have supported you with what happened last year no matter what."
"Yeah. I just never realized how much all that affected my nieces and nephews."
"Is Colin's situation any better?"
"Yeah, ever since that kid was arrested. You really did some good by speaking at the school."
"I just want kids to know that it's ok to speak up when someone does something to them. It can happen at any age."
"I've always been aware of stuff like that. Mom drilled that into my head at a young age."
"That's good."
"The 9-1-1 thing too."
"Noah and Rachel know how to call 9-1-1 but they know it's for emergencies only. We wanted them to know how to do it in case Hank wasn't home and something happened to Lucy."
"We've seen many cases where the kid has had to call 9-1-1 because their parent overdosed on something."
"Exactly."
Everyone kept talking and then periodically, Hank or Ed would check on the turkey. They then started doing the sides. By 1 o'clock, Adrienne, Dan, Nicole and Denise arrived at the house. When they rang the bell, Olivia went to answer it.
"Hey, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving!"
"You too."
They came in and joined everyone.
"It smells good in here. Is Olive cooking?"
"No. Hank and Ed are."
"Hey, Mom."
"Hey, Sweetie."
Trevor kissed Denise and Olive hugged her parents and aunt. They introduced Denise to everyone/
"DANIEL, COME SEE WHO'S HERE."
Daniel came into the living room.
Grammy! Grampy! Auntie!"
"Hey, you!"
Daniel gave everyone including Denise a hug and then he went back into the family room.
"He's a ball of energy."
"Always."
"This is the newest family member?"
"Yep. This is Camille Olivia."
"She's precious."
"Thank you."
"How is your husband adjusting to fatherhood?"
"He's been great. He does get up with her."
"My little brother is a great dad. I'm proud of him."
"Thanks, Bro."
"Yep."
"Would you like to hold her?"
"Sure."
Erin handed Camille to Nicole.
"Well hello there, pretty girl. Where are the twins?"
"In the playpen in the family room."
Trevor went to get the twins and then came back into the living room.
"Look who's here."
Justin and Nikki smiled at their grandparents.
"I can't believe they're going to be a year old pretty soon."
"It doesn't seem like it sometimes. So, Dad, are you counting the days?"
"Oh, definitely."
"I've been packing like crazy and once that's done, the house will go on the market. We're looking for something while we're out here. I don't want to wait for the last minute to pack."
"That makes sense."
"Have you decided what you're doing yet?"
"No. I'm still thinking about it."
"What we're doing depends on what you're doing. If you're staying here, we'll look for something closer but if you're moving in with Trevor, then we'll look for something closer to his condo."
"I still don't know what I want to do yet."
"It's not that tough of a decision."
"It is for me. This is basically a life-changing decision for me, ok? I'm the one that had my life completely turned upside down a year and a half ago. I have my kids to consider too."
"I realize that but they love Trevor."
"I know they do."
Olive was starting to become frustrated with the conversation and went upstairs, so Nicole followed her after she handed Camille back to Erin.
"Sweetie, I know you love him too."
"I do but I'm afraid of screwing this up."
"Don't let what your siblings said get to you."
"I'm trying not to but they always know how to get into my head."
"He's a great guy and he loves the kids, which is a plus."
"Yeah, I know. I'm at the point now where I miss him when we're not together."
"Then I think you've made a decision."
"Maybe I have. Thanks, Mom."
"You're welcome."
Olive hugged Nicole and then they went back downstairs. Olive went into the kitchen.
"Hank, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Yeah, sure."
"I'll give you two a few minutes."
"Thanks."
"Yep."
Ed went to join everyone else.
"What's goin' on?"
"I think I want to move in with Trevor."
"I kind of figured you would. I want you to be happy and he seems to make you happy."
"It kind of sounds like my parents may be watching the kids, since my mom said my decision depends on where they're going to look."
"I'm fine with that."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I just want to have a relationship with them."
"And you will. You're still going to watch them when Trevor and I go to the Hamptons, right?"
"Yep."
"Thank you for being so supportive and for putting up with me."
"You're welcome."
Olive hugged Hank and kissed his cheek. She then went to talk to Trevor. Olivia came into the kitchen.
"She's moving in with Trevor, isn't she?"
"Yep. I'm fine with it. I think the time is right. If Erin, Jay and Camille move in until they find a place, it won't be forever."
"Then we might actually get our house to ourselves with just Noah and Rachel living here. Erin and Camille are staying until after Christmas, right?"
"Yeah. As long as you don't decide to move out."
"Why would I move out? You're stuck with me. I love you."
"I love you too."
Olivia kissed Hank and then Ed came back in. They finished dinner and then everyone came in and sat down. Hank carved the turkey and then they all ate.
"Hank and Ed, this is delicious!"
"Thanks."
"Are we eating twice?"
"No. We're going over to my parents' for dessert."
"Ok."
Everyone continued eating and enjoyed each other's company. After everyone was done and everything was cleaned up, Ed, Diana and Kara left and headed to see Ed's family, while everyone relaxed for a while. After they had dessert, Denise left but not before Hank gave her some leftovers to take home to Katie. Denise kissed Trevor and left. Adrienne, Dan and Nicole left as well after they hugged Olive and the kids.
"Great dinner, Hank."
"Thanks."
The kids watched another movie before Will, Nat and Owen left. Al and Meredith left after a while as well. Trevor helped put the 3 kids to bed, while Hank and Olivia put Noah and Rachel to bed and Erin fed Camille before putting her to bed. Everyone watched a movie together and then went to bed.
On Friday they started decorating for Christmas, while the Olinskys and Morgans looked at places. Trevor and Olive went to his condo to put his tree up. Late Friday afternoon everyone from Chicago arrived and let either Hank, Al, Erin or Jay know when they were there.
To be continued…
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