A/N: Thank you everyone for commenting and leavng feedback on my chapters. I really appreciate it. I feel like this was a bit boring, but I really wanted something a bit soft and fluffy after last chapter. What do you think? Let me know... I'm working on an update for "Everything After That" for those who were wondering. :) x
"If that's the route you want to take, I understand but please also understand that I'm rooting for Noah, I love having him in my class and I don't know what the problem is, he's such a good kid."
"Connor is the problem and he has been the problem for over a year now and I don't blame you, but short of confronting his mother, I don't know what else to do – and now, even if Connor is told to leave Noah alone, his little friends have all joined in… so it's useless." Olivia closed her eyes and sighed.
Caroline Evans remained silent. She glanced at the tall, lean teacher and gave her a weak smile. "Thanks for saying all that nice stuff about Noah."
"You don't have to thank me for that, Olivia, it's all true and I will be really sad to see him go if that's what you and Trevor decide."
Olivia pushed the glasses up on the bridge of her nose and sighed. "You really think the principal won't take action?" she asked as a last ditch effort.
"Unless the kids did it in front of the playground duty teacher, its kind of just he-said… I'm going to take it to him regardless though."
"Okay," Olivia agreed.
The teacher wasn't sure what else she could say but she could see that Olivia's mind was ticking over, thinking about her next move as a parent. "Have you ever heard of The Lexington School? Caroline Evans asked slowly.
"No, what's that?"
"It's an artsy school, it sounds a little wishy-washy, but it has an incredible arts program and I believe that Noah is very, very intelligent for his age which could be somewhat of the problem. The education outcome of the school is supposed to be impressive without all the pretentiousness of a private grammar school… You can't just pay your way in, your child needs to go through a little interview process, but its painless from what I hear, maybe you should look it up."
"Thanks…" Olivia replied, "I will look it up. The last thing I want is to send my kid to some snooty, rich, grammar school."
Caroline cracked a smile. "I understand."
/
Olivia was walking back with the name of two schools that Noah's teacher had given her. She stopped past Erika's to pick up Eloise and Teddy. She and Sonny had both managed a day off together before he began a night shift later and were babysitting while Olivia took care of her meeting.
"I'm ba-ack!" she greeted Eloise when Carisi let her in – Eloise had been upset when she left, wanting to go with Olivia, not wanting to be left behind. Eloise still looked sullen and moody. She hadn't slept a lot the night before, constantly waking up and needing comfort. "I told you I wouldn't be very long." She glanced up at Olivia, slumped against the couch watching a children's show on the television.
"I think she's coming down with something," Erika informed Liv, "she's a little warm and she's not her usual sassy-self."
Olivia approached her daughter. She thought about her behavior all morning and felt bad that she had missed it. She had hardly eaten breakfast and hadn't said too much. Some mornings Eloise chatted so much that she exasperated her parents. "Baby, are you feeling a little yucky?" she wondered, lifting her up and sitting her on her lap. She felt Elly's forehead and grimaced.
"I just missed you, Mommy," she pouted, turning and wrapping her arms around Olivia. Erika was right, she did feel a little warm and it would have explained being up a lot of the night. She cuddled her close to her body.
"I missed you too," Olivia replied, "but I was just right down the street at Noah's school. We can go home and rest on the couch today if you like," she told her.
"Can we leave Teddy here with Ezzie and Sonny?" she asked softly as if it might be an option.
Olivia tried not to laugh, "No, sweetie, Auntie Ez and Uncle Sonny are busy today and they can't take Teddy… but we can still spend time together until Daddy and Noah gets home."
Olivia exchanged amused smiles with her sister-in-law and Sonny. "I won't hold you guys up, I know you have a busy day," she smiled at the couple. They were headed to a fertility appointment.
"Its okay, we still have plenty of time," Erika replied, more concerned about her neice.
"Thanks for looking after them," Olivia smiled, "I appreciate it."
"How'd you go with Noah's teacher?" Sonny asked curiously.
"Strangely, it went okay. It's not the teacher's fault; she's just young and I think there's a lack of experience and a sub par system that's not really doing it's best to help her help Noah, but I have the name of two schools which I'll have a chat to Trevor about and we might have a shop around for a better place, knowing what I know, I don't think I'll be keeping him at that school."
"That sucks, poor little munchkin," Erika replied, "when Trevor told me what happened with the book, it broke my heart."
"She cried when Trevor told her on the phone," Sonny smiled, placing his hands on Erika's shoulders, in love with how empathetic his girlfriend was. "she was so upset."
"I know," Olivia agreed, "it was so awful, poor Noah, he has tried so hard to make friends and to be likeable…"
"It's not on Noah, at T-ball, the kids love him, he is really well liked," Sonny pointed out.
"I'm glad you said that," Olivia remarked, lifting Eloise up as she stood, balancing her on her hip. "I thought that too, but it helps to have someone on the outside of that situation confirm what I know."
"Of course," he replied, "when Trevor and I took Noah to his game last week the kids were all so excited to meet his new brother and he even took Elly to play with his friends for a short spell afterwards, this is not on him."
Olivia sighed, it felt better to hear that. "Thanks… I think it's one or two kids that have created a big problem and for me it's heartbreaking… for Trevor too and Noah just doesn't understand."
"Do you need help getting the kids back to your place?" Sonny asked.
"No thanks, I'll just put him in the pram and I'm sure Elly will be okay to walk, won't you?" Olivia asked her.
"I want you to carry me," Elly replied.
"How's Mommy supposed to push Teddy and carry you too?" she asked. "I can't do that, I need you to be a big girl and walk. It's not very far," she promised.
Elly sighed as Olivia set her down. "Come on, sweetheart, let's get home and pop Teddy to bed and get you some lunch and maybe a rest."
Eloise began to whine but it seemed half-hearted. She said goodbye to Sonny and Erika and waited for them to say goodbye to Olivia.
"Good luck today, guys, make sure you let me know how it goes…" she warned them.
/
"Honey, I know you don't feel well, but we need to move a little faster…" Olivia warned Eloise. She was dragging her feet and looked up at her Mom. She had paled in the face and stopped in her tracks. It took Olivia a second to figure out what was about to happen but it was a second too late. Everything that she had eaten since breakfast came out all over Olivia's shirt and pants. By passers jumped out of the way, staring on with disgust.
Immediately Eloise began to wail. "Sweetie, its okay," she was thankful for her line of work that didn't necessarily allow for a weak stomach. Eloise held her arms up to be picked up, but it just wasn't possible.
"Liv?" a voice called behind her. She whirled around and found Elliot. She almost groaned beneath her breath. He was clearly on duty; a suit, tie and waist coat. He'd certainly come a long way from baggy old bits that his wife bought for him. She suspected his daughter had something to do with his more modern fashion sense.
"Do you need a hand?" he asked, glancing at the wailing child and the vomit all over her.
"No thanks, I've got it," she replied, looking away from him. She glanced at Eloise. "Baby, it's okay, I'm not mad, we just have to get home so Mommy can clean up…"
"Yeah, looks like it's all under control," he rolled his eyes. "I heard you moved, how far away are you?"
"Three blocks," Liv mumbled, scooping up a very unwell looking toddler. "It's okay baby, we're so close to home," she soothed her.
"Let me help you, Liv, don't be stubborn," Elliot insisted. She said nothing and let him take the pram from her.
They walked along in silence for a few moments while Olivia comforted Eloise, trying not to be concerned with the vomit over her. Elliot didn't seem perturbed either. She knew he'd also seen his fair share of child vomit being a father five times over.
"Congratulations on the little guy," he nodded toward Teddy, "sorry, I meant to text that to you—"
"But instead you sent me a barrage of borderline abusive messages after I tried to send pics of him to a group chat," she retorted. "Which by the way, I haven't read in full and I refuse to read your drivel."
Elliot said nothing. "Mommy," Eloise said softly.
"Yes, my love?" she gave her her attention. Elliot glanced at the small child that was clearly looking worse-for-wear. He observed Olivia's warmth toward her, her ability to put her own needs aside. He wasn't surprised, he always knew she would make a wonderful parent.
On one hand, he was filled with happiness for her but it was only countered by the emptiness that he felt when he thought about her adoration for Trevor Langan.
"Mommy I wanna be sick from my mouth again," she sniffled.
"Oh honey, you weren't done…" she looked around for something for her to vomit in. "Try to hold on for just a second, okay?"
Eloise nodded. She turned to Elliot, "can you please on in to the front of Teddy's diaper bag, there's a little bag in there, its for dirty diapers…" Elliot moved quickly. She set Eloise down and walked her out of the way of foot traffic. "here you go sweetheart." She held the bag out and as if on cue, Eloise began a weak attempt and bringing up whatever else was left in her stomach – it wasn't much, just a little bile that strained her throat.
She began to cry all over again. Olivia looked up and saw that Elliot was handing her some baby wipes to clean up the vomit that was on her shirt and her legs. She took more from him to wipe Elly's mouth and her clothes too.
"It's okay we'll be home in a minute, Mommy will run you a bath and we'll call Daddy to come home a little earlier," she told Elly who nodded through her sobs. Olivia kissed her baby's forehead, hating to see her unwell. She picked her up and took the bag of waste and thanked Elliot for tying it up for her to put in the trash.
"This is us," she nodded toward the lobby.
He pushed the pram inside. "Are you happy for me to bring him up for you?" Elliot asked, trying his absolute best to give her the space she needed to just take care of her kids and offer the help if she wanted it.
She really felt weird about Elliot stepping in to her life with Trevor but Eloise had wrapped herself around her and she knew there was no prying her off. "Thanks," she mumbled.
Once inside the apartment, Elliot found himself looking around at the incredibly opulent space that he knew he could never afford. He was glad she lived somewhere safe and in a nice neighborhood. It was what she deserved after the hole she lived in when they'd worked together.
She set Eloise down and felt her forehead. "You're very warm," she told her, "how is your tummy? Is it sore?"
The three-year-old nodded. Olivia reached for the hem of her sweater and pulled it over Eloise's head and helped her with her little boots and put them at the door. "I want you to go and get on Mommy's couch and lay down while Mommy says goodbye to her friend and then I'll call Daddy."
"I want you to come," she whined in a tiny voice, eyeing Elliot as if she was embarrassed.
"Elly, give me a minute and I'll be right there, okay?" without a word, Elly circled her arms around Olivia's neck, ignoring her. Olivia glanced at Elliot and sighed. He gave her a small smile, remembering what it was like to have toddlers.
"Thanks for helping us, I appreciate it."
"No problem, Olivia. Everything aside, I'm always here for you, I hope you know that…"
"Well it doesn't really help when you continually think everything I do is to wound you, Elliot," she told him bluntly. "I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm not trying to exact revenge for what you did to me – I'm just trying to live my life with my family and you make it really hard for me to want to be around you."
He nodded slowly, briefly glancing at her as she swayed Eloise gently in her arms. "I didn't post what I did to hurt your feelings, I would never have done that to Trevor and to think anything else is a little silly. It was a humiliating mistake that if I hadn't of been incredibly sleep deprived, would never have happened."
"I know that, you know me, I can be reactive," he replied, "but I'm sorry."
"That's the thing though, Elliot, I don't know you, it's like a lifetime has passed and rather than trying to just be my friend, you're making it hard for me to want you anywhere near me. You need to respect my boundaries, you need to respect Trevor and yelling at me, being rude to me, acting a certain way – well," she paused, "that's not what I want in my life, I don't have the energy for it anymore. I'm that 28-year-old baby I was when we met…"
"I'm not angry with you for moving on, Olivia, I'm angry with myself and maybe that's been misplaced…"
"Yeah, that's probably true, but still, I'm not ready to be your emotional crutch, Elliot, sorry if that sounds cruel, but I'm tired of continually extending myself to people who in turn, hurt me. That part of my life is over and I've realized it's possible to have unselfish people who care about me enough not to hurt me regardless of their own feelings."
"I'm glad you have that and I hope…. Maybe in a year from now you may feel different about me."
"Maybe," she replied. "But I don't want you anywhere near my life if you can't respect my family or my husband."
It was jarring to Elliot to hear her refer to Trevor as her husband and perhaps put it in to perspective that there was no hope for any kind of romance between them. She seemed to be settled in to her life with the children and the way she spoke about Trevor was with adoration and deep feelings. He knew he never stood a chance and he was angry with himself, but he knew he had to accept it – just the way Olivia understood his marriage to Kathy for all the years that they worked together. She respected it even when she didn't want to.
"I understand."
"I get that losing Kathy must be an unfathomable sadness for you and your kids, Elliot and the more I think of it, the more I realize it must be hurting you, but I went through something too and I had no family and no one to help me through it, I'm not trying to be hurtful, but you have your kids and other people to help you and so I can't prop you up, I am still healing from my own situation and that's a lot to work on after burying it below the surface for such a long time, so I can't be the friend you need me to be right now."
"I understand," he repeated. "I'm not asking anything of you, Liv, I just want you to know that whatever happens, however you may feel, I'm not going anywhere and if you need anything I'm here… even if its just help with getting your babies inside the apartment."
She was able to smile. "Thanks…" she had some issues with some of the things that he said, as if he wasn't going anywhere in case her mind changed, but she chose not to take it for more than face value.
"I'll leave you with it," he told her, glancing beneath the hood of the baby carrier, "he's still sound asleep…" he gave Olivia a little smile. "I hope this little one feels better soon."
"Thanks Elliot."
/
Olivia knew she wasn't going to get much done after-all. She was sitting upon the couch with Teddy feeding and Eloise flanked beside her sleeping in her underwear with a light blanket over her and a vomit bucket by the side of the couch.
She was keeping an eye on Eloise's fever which had seen her shivering and complaining of being cold and hot on and off since they'd arrived home.
"Baby, you done?" she asked her tiny infant who was no longer feeding but falling asleep at her breast. She covered herself and brought him up over her shoulder.
She heard the front door close and knew that Trevor was home. She heard his keys drop on the mantelpiece by the front door and he appeared, following the source of the noise to the TV in the living room. "Hey baby," he greeted Olivia, advancing toward her, kissing her lips in greeting. "How are we all doing?" he asked surveying his sleeping daughter.
"She's not well," Olivia replied, "I'm just keeping an eye on her fever, she's vomiting and has the runs, and this little guy is out of sorts too, I don't think he's unwell, I think he's just wanting to comfort feed every five seconds."
"He's a boobs guy," Trevor smiled, "can't blame him?"
They shared a little chuckle. "Should I take Elly to the doctor, do you think?" he wondered as he lifted Teddy from Liv's shoulder to cuddle him. He wasn't back at work yet, but had visited the office to get a few things in order for his return.
"I don't know, it might just be a little bit of a stomach bug, let's just see if she improves tonight, if she gets any worse or can't hold any water or dry food down, it might be worth it."
"Okay," he agreed. "What can I do?" he asked, "do you need a rest too?"
"Despite Elly being sick, we've actually had a fairly easy day. If anything I'm just a little concerned but that's what we're meant to do," she shrugged.
At the sound of the voices speaking, Eloise stirred and opened her eyes. "Hey, sweetheart," Trevor greeted her in a hushed, soft voice. He circled the couch and sat on the edge, swapping Teddy in to the crook of his opposite arm so he could caress his daughter's warm face. "You're not feeling very well?"
She shook her head and half-heartedly cried.
"I know," he told her, "your tummy must feel really yucky, but just close your eyes and Daddy will get you your drink bottle and you can have some water…" he told her.
He leaned over, holding Teddy securely and kissed his daughter's forehead. She wriggled around beneath her blanket and turned her body in toward Olivia for comfort. "Is it wrong that when any of the kids want my cuddles and comfort like this, that it totally turns my insides to mush and makes me feel so good?" she asked with a little chuckle.
Trevor laughed. "No, it kind of makes me feel the same… I think by nature of what happened with Helena, watching Eloise in particular need you and totally accept you regardless has an effect on me. Despite the circumstances, I think that Helena would be grateful for that and I am really grateful for that."
Olivia smiled faintly. Eloise fidgeted around a little more before complaining about her tummy. "Come on," Olivia said, going to sit up, "Maybe you need the bathroom," she told Elly. She wasn't really interested in having any other bodily accidents. She scooped her up before she could protest and took her to the bathroom in case she was too slow to get there herself.
She knew it was going to be a long night if Eloise didn't begin to feel better.
/
"Mommy can I sit with Elly and eat my dinner so she isn't by herself?" Noah asked sweetly as Trevor put a plate of food down in front of him.
"No, Elly is fine, she's sleeping. After dinner I'm putting Elly to bed and maybe you can sit in her room with her and watch a movie on the ipad with her." Trevor answered for Olivia.
"Okay," Noah replied. "Is she okay?"
"Yes bud, she's okay, she's just got a tummy bug but it's really sweet of you to worry about her."
Noah stabbed at a tater-tot with his fork and dipped it in to some ketchup, kneeling on his chair, excited to eat his favorite dinner which also happened to be the meal that Olivia found easiest to make.
Olivia came to sit down at the table beside Noah and across from Trevor. "Sit down on your chair properly, babe," she told him. He dropped down on to his backside without a word. "So how was school today?" she asked him.
"Fine," he replied.
"Did anything happen that you think you should tell us about?" Trevor pressed.
Noah shook his head. "Jodi Monson bought her pet rat for show-and-tell and we all got to touch it," he grinned knowing Olivia would be grossed out and as if on cue, she made a face.
Noah giggled. "I can get you a pet rat from the subway if you like," Trevor joked.
Noah laughed a little crazier, "that's silly, Dad… subway rats are dirty."
The three of them laughed. "Don't even think about getting a rat, either of you, I don't like them."
"No Mommy, it was so cute, it's name is Ralph and he was white and had some black spots like a spotty dog."
"Sounds … wonderful." Olivia replied and both Trevor and Noah knew that she did not care for hearing about it anymore.
/
"At what point do you think we should go to the emergency room?" Trevor asked Olivia. It was after 1 in the morning and Eloise was still having trouble holding down water.
"Maybe one of us should take her just to make sure," Olivia frowned. She cradled Eloise in her arms and dabbed at her face with a luke-warm cloth. "Noah's never really been sick with anything like this for more than a night at a time."
"Maybe I should call the emergency room for some advice?" Trevor suggested, looking concerned and a little nervous that his daughter wasn't improving. "Her fever is at 101.5," Olivia told him, removing the thermometer from beneath her arm. "It's kind of high."
"Okay, I'm gonna call…" he announced, taking his phone and headed downstairs.
Eloise shivered and Olivia put the cloth down and wrapped a light blanket around her. "Sweetheart, you tell me if you need to be sick or if you need to use the bathroom, okay?" She bundled her up and drew her close to her, resting against the bed head and stroked her hair. Eloise reached up and put her arm around her neck, crying, her teeth chattering.
"Close your eyes," she directed her. She turned to Trevor, "don't bother calling, I think we need to take her, she's shivering too much, look…" Olivia held still so Trevor could observe how his daughter's body was unable to relax from the shivering.
Trevor didn't want to admit just how worried he was when Olivia seemed calm. He knew he needed to man up, he wanted so much for her to be the one who took her to the hospital or at least not to have to take Eloise on his own. He'd never had to worry about Eloise's health, he couldn't remember her having anything more than a head cold or a sore tummy.
He knew out of the both of them though, it made sense for Olivia to stay with the baby and with Noah, plus he didn't want her going anywhere alone in the middle of the night.
"It's okay, baby," she reassured him, "just keep her warm and the doctors will know exactly what to do."
He nodded. "Okay," he had been almost ready to change from his jeans and button-down in to his pajamas for bed since they'd been up late watching movies while taking care of Elly.
He grabbed a hoodie and pulled it on and slowly scooped his daughter up out of Olivia's arms. Olivia got up too and adjusted the blanket around Elly, wrapping it tightly. She kissed her forehead. Trevor cuddled her close to him, feeling how cold she seemed to be.
"Love you, text me, I'll wait up," she told him.
He nodded in agreement.
/
Finally, they called Eloise's name. He was getting desperate. She wouldn't stop crying and it was starting to turn in to screams and he felt it within every fiber of his body – her hurt and her pain.
He stopped swaying Eloise, trying to comfort her as best as he could and stop the glares of the other sick people waiting. "Baby, we are gonna get you all fixed up so you feel better as soon as we can, my sweet heart," he told her soothingly. He stepped inside the doors and was guided to a gurney by a nurse. As soon as he put Eloise down she started to scream. He couldn't deal with her pain, he picked her back up again, "I'm sorry," he told the nurse.
The young, blonde nurse smiled at him empathetically, "its okay Mr. Langan, why don't you just take a seat here," she nodded at the gurney, "can you just tell me about her symptoms?"
He cuddled Eloise close to him, "my wife left her with my sister earlier today," he surprised himself using the title of wife for Olivia before they'd even really planned their nuptials, "and she said Eloise was a bit off and on their way home she vomited twice and ever since she hasn't even been able to hold down water. Her fever has only increased and she's at the point where she is tensing and shivering and won't calm and nothing seems to be breaking her fever…"
"Okay," the nurse nodded. She came to Trevor's side, "Hi honey," she greeted Eloise, "my name is Freya and I'm going to help Daddy make you feel better, is that okay?"
Eloise whimpers were exhausted. "Come on, sweetie, Daddy is gonna sit next to you on the bed and we are gonna make you feel better."
"Mommy!" she whimpered, "I want Mommy," she sobbed as he tried to put her on to the gurney.
"I'm right here…" a voice called. Trevor did a double take and was surprised to see Olivia standing at the curtain of the cubicle they were in. He felt relief fill his body. The nurse looked up too. "Wait, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Sonny was on tonight. He went past home and woke up Erika and brought her across to come watch the kids," she gave him a smile and came around to where he was beside Eloise. "Hi," she paused to greet the nurse, "I'm Mom."
She kissed Eloise's forehead. She lifted her up and sat on the bed with her. "Okay baby, time to be brave for Daddy and for the lovely lady who is going to help you…"
"Thanks for coming," Trevor murmured, so thankful that he didn't have to deal with it on his own. He leaned in and kissed the crown of Olivia's head.
"I think that we'll take Eloise's obs to start," the nurse told them, "we might take some blood and insert an IV with some fluids and keep her for observation overnight… but we'll take the obs and wait for a doctor to consult."
Both Olivia and Trevor nodded with understanding.
"I'll leave you guys for a moment and I'll be back…"
Trevor gave her a nod of acknowledgment before coming back to Olivia's side. He wrapped his arms around her and sighed with relief. "Thank you," he breathed.
"For what, baby?" she asked softly.
"For showing up… I've never had to do this before and I know its ridiculous but—I'm really wimpy when it comes to the kids. I just want her to be okay," he admitted.
Olivia reached up and gave him a weak smile. "It's okay, honey. They're our life, we can't help the way we feel… Sometimes we just need the emotional support of one another."
Trevor gave her a little squeeze and caressed his daughter's scalp.
The nurse returned a few moments later with a hospital blanket for Eloise.
A doctor trailed in behind her. "Hi," she greeted the parents, "I'm Dr. Nicholson," she waved. She glanced down at Eloise and took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Hi, sweetheart…" she smiled warmly. Dr. Nicholson glanced up at Olivia, "we might unwrap her from the blanket for a second so I can have a listen to her chest and take her temperature and all of that, is that okay?"
"Of course…" Olivia replied.
Eloise had calmed down in her arms and was almost asleep. She stirred and whined a little as she became uncovered. "Its okay, babe," Olivia soothed her, "close your eyes…"
The doctor warmed her stethoscope on her hand before she pressed against the outside of Eloise's sweatshirt. She listened in silence for a moment. She pulled it away and took her pulse, taking her thin little wrist in her hand and feeling for her heartbeat.
She turned to the Olivia and Trevor, "how much water would you say she's had today?"
"It's hard to tell," Olivia replied, "she's had maybe half a cup but each time she sipped she vomited again almost immediately after…" she added.
"So nothing is staying down," she confirmed.
Dr Nicholson looked at the nurse. "I think we'll insert an IV and infuse some fluids and administer some Tylenol for the fever. If she doesn't hold down the Tylenol, we might look at something else, but let's go fast with the fluids."
"Okay," the nurse nodded and made some notes on a clipboard after they discussed dosages. The doctor turned to Olivia and Trevor, "I'd like to keep her overnight for observation until her fever goes down and I'm happy that she's hydrated and holding down some basic food." She took out an instrument to take Eloise's temperature.
"Will she be okay?" Trevor asked. Olivia could hear the stifled panic in his voice.
"I'm sure she will be fine, once the IV is in we'll take some blood work and check for an infection and we'll best know if we need to treat her with antibiotics or if it's a matter of just waiting it out and observing her."
"Thank you," Trevor nodded, feeling only slightly better.
/
Trevor felt a heavy blanket of relief when he realized his daughter was too sick to care about the prick of a tiny needle in the back of her hand. Olivia did her best to distract her when the shock of it woke her up but Eloise had remained calm but curious.
"Daddy," she whined softly, looking everywhere for him. He took a step closer appearing within her line of vision. "Its okay baby, Daddy's right here," he assured her, smoothing her warm cheeks with his forefingers. He watched the nurse take blood from the IV before connecting it to the bag of fluids that hung on a pole beside the bed.
"Are you tired?" Olivia asked him, "you can go home if you like, I don't mind staying with her…" she offered.
"No, it's okay. Is there enough milk for Teddy?" he wondered, thinking the same, that maybe Olivia needed a rest.
"Yeah, there should be enough… but I told Erika to call if she needed anything."
Trevor sank back in a chair and watched Olivia slowly extricate herself from beneath their daughter. She sat down in the spare plastic chair beside Trevor. He put an arm around her and drew her in against him. "I love you," he murmured, kissing her forehead. "I can't even tell you how much I appreciate you right now…" he spoke softly, exhausted by his own emotions.
She lifted her chin and planted a soft kiss on his neck. "We're in this together, love," she replied.
"I know… I'm just very grateful for you and I want you to know that," he told her. He created just enough distance so that he could look in to her eyes.
She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, realizing he needed to be comforted. It was the first time that he'd been in a medical situation with any of the kids. "I love you too, don't worry about Elly, she will be back to her sassy-self in no time."
He managed a chuckle. "She is getting sassier by the day, it's scary."
Olivia laughed too. "Is it wrong of me that it's my favorite thing when she swears in perfect context?" she asked. She knew it would make Trevor laugh.
"Please don't ever let my baby girl start swearing, she's too sweet to hear that language coming out of her mouth."
"What about me?" Olivia asked, "you don't think I'm too sweet?"
"Yes I do, but you're a grown adult. In fact, I don't want to hear any of the kids swearing like that… but, I do have to admit that her grasp of perfect curse words in context is kind of impressive."
"I heard her call Felix a stupid bastard yesterday," Olivia told him with a little smirk. She had walked past Elly's bedroom carrying Teddy to his crib when she'd caught her giving her rabbit stuffie a stern talking to.
"What!" he exclaimed, "Liv! Did you tell her off?"
"To be fair," she defended her, "I've personally always felt that Felix is a stupid bastard."
His eyes widened but he just laughed. "You know, if my little girl wasn't laying in the hospital bed, I'd be mad about this, but right now she could say fuck a dozen times and it wouldn't bother me."
Olivia laughed. She was tired too; remembering the fleeting moment of her daughter swearing was suddenly very funny to her. "To be honest, I heard it and I got distracted by Teddy fussing so I didn't get the chance to address it."
"Its okay, maybe it's not a good idea to make a big deal of it…"
Olivia's attention was stolen for a moment by Eloise who began to stir and whine a little. Trevor went to jump up to be at her side. She put her hand up to pause him. She whined again, a little loudly before she sucked in a deep breath and seemed to relax.
She turned back to Trevor and cupped his face in her palms and smiled at him wearily. He could see the lines beneath her eyes that showed how tired she was. He circled an arm around her shoulders and placed his free hand upon the side of her own face, letting his fingers find their way in to her hair that she had pulled back off her face in a ponytail.
"You should go home and get some rest," he spoke softly; his whole body softening when she stared at him as she was, loving and adoring – as if he was her whole world. "You must be so tired…"
"Its okay, I'll wait til the doctor comes back with the blood results."
"Okay," he accepted her bargain. He did want her to get some rest but selfishly he didn't want her to go. He closed the distance between their lips and found comfort in her affection as brief as it was.
"Sorry to interrupt," the nurse made Trevor pull away quickly. Both parents turned their attention to her. It had only been around thirty minutes since the fluids had begun to infuse.
"I just wanted to check in on Eloise. She doesn't seem to be shivering anymore," she remarked, coming to Elly's side, reaching beneath the heavy hospital blanket to find her wrist.
"No, she seems to be sleeping with less interruption, but maybe she was exhausted…" Olivia replied.
The nurse took her pulse and then her temperature. "It's dropped a tiny little bit," she smiled, "that's good news, it means the fluids are probably helping."
Trevor found himself breathing a long silent sigh of relief. "How long do you think it might be before we know about the blood work?" he asked.
"At this time?" the nurse gave a little shrug, "it shouldn't be too much longer, usually an hour or so." She pulled the blanket back up over Eloise.
"Thanks," Olivia smiled.
"I'll check back shortly," Freya the nurse promised. "feel free if one of you want to rest with her, you guys look exhausted."
"We'll be okay, thank you."
/
By 4 in the morning the doctor had come back to let them know that Eloise had a stomach infection that could be treated intravenously. Her fever had started to come down and Trevor knew that Olivia was having a hard time staying awake. She was all but asleep in his arms in the hard plastic hospital chair beside his.
He insisted that she leave to go and get some rest.
"Are you going to be okay?" she asked him. Trevor nodded sleepily. "Yeah, you go home to bed, my Olivia," he smiled. "I'll be okay, you need the rest, Teddy will probably need you and so will Noah."
"Fuck school today," she murmured, "I didn't even get to talk to you about the meeting with the teacher," she sighed, "but I'm not sending him today… we are all gonna have a pajama day."
Trevor chuckled. "That bad, huh?"
Olivia yawned, she didn't really want to get in to it at 4 in the morning. "Yeah, we'll talk about it later." She stood up as the nurse came back in to help administer the drugs and take some observations. "Love you so much," she told him.
He smiled at his wife-to-be. "Love you too baby, please text me when you walk in the door or send me the GPS when you get in to an uber."
"Promise," she replied. It was always so heart-warming to have someone that cared how she got home, that worried for her every step of the way. He knew Olivia could handle herself and she knew he was aware of that too, but it never stopped him from worrying. She indulged him every time because she knew she was very lucky to have his concern.
She pulled her bag over her shoulder and waved goodbye to the nurses. She leaned over and kissed Trevor's lips again. "Message me if you need anything, but she's gonna be fine…"
He nodded and grabbed for her hand and gave it a squeeze. Reluctantly, he let go and watched her leave.
/
Olivia was happy to see Teddy asleep beside the couch on his hammock just in Erika's reach. They were both sleeping. "Hey…" Olivia shook her sister-in-law, sitting down beside her, not wanting to frighten her.
Erika was looking peaceful on her side with her hands beneath the couch cushion with the TV on quietly for background noise. It struck Olivia in the moment just how much like her brother she actually looked. "Ez," she tried again, softly laying her hand on her arm and giving Erika a little shake. "I'm back, Ez…"
Erika opened her eyes, finding Olivia sitting beside her. She felt disoriented for a moment, taking a second to find her bearings. She looked to Teddy and then back to Olivia. "Where's Elly?"
"She's still at the hospital with Trevor but she's okay. Are you okay if I go get an hour or so sleep?" she wondered.
"Of course, Liv, I can get up and take Noah to school," she offered, "I'm sure you're exhausted."
Olivia just smiled, "thank you for the offer, honey," she said gratefully, "but I'm keeping Noah home. We're gonna have a pajama day."
"Okay," Erika agreed. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "What time is it?"
"It's almost 5, I'll take Teddy up to bed so you can sleep too-"
"No, leave him, you go sleep, I've only been up with him once since I got here and he fed and went right back down to sleep, just go to bed and if I need you I'll come get you."
Olivia leaned over and kissed Erika's cheek. "You're the best. Goodnight."
Erika smiled. She was incredibly grateful to have Olivia too. She felt close to her and there was a lot of warmth to the woman that her brother was marrying – that she could go to her with anything as if she had been her sister her entire life.
Olivia got changed and got right in to bed.
She texted Trevor and asked him for an update as she put the television on. Just as a text came through she heard footsteps followed by the sound of the bedroom door opening. "Mommy," Noah whispered.
"Hey honey," she greeted him.
"Mommy where's Dad and Eloise?" she couldn't help but to smile. In some ways Noah seemed grown up, but he looked tiny standing in the middle of the room with an all-in-one set of dinosaur pajamas on. "Baby, why don't you come and climb in to bed with Mommy?" she suggested.
He didn't have to be asked twice, he made his way to the end of the bed and climbed his way up. Olivia pulled back the covers for him and pulled them over him once he got comfortable. "Elly got was sick last night and Daddy took her to the hospital so a doctor could look at her, but she's okay she is just resting."
Noah looked at Liv, horrified – his blue eyes were wide with concern. "Is she sad? Can we go and see her?" he asked, "she doesn't have her stuffie."
"It's okay, Elly is too sick to worry about her stuffie right now, but she will be home maybe later. I was with Daddy at the hospital while you were asleep and auntie Ez has been downstairs with you guys. I just got home now."
"Mommy, do I have to go to school? I want to see Elly. I don't want her to get sick like her Mommy."
Olivia had wondered in the past if Noah had ever internalized what had happened to Helena. "Oh, honey, that's not going to happen, it's okay." She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled him. "I promise. Elly is just getting some meds and Daddy just sent me a message to say that she is feeling a little better and that she will stay until her fever is better."
"Good," he replied, "Mommy, can we get Elly a feel-better surprise?"
Olivia loved her little boy so much. She stroked his shaggy curls out of his face. "Like what, honey?" she wondered.
"Ummmm like a get well balloon andddddd…." he thought for a moment, "maybe another dolly or a book!"
"Okay we'll have a think about it after we wake up, but I think we could put some cartoons on and go back to sleep for awhile, okay?"
"School?"
"You're not going to school today," she told him, "but it's not because Elly is sick," she told him, "its because I think school has been a little hard for you and Mommy wants to sort out the problems with Connor and I want you to feel safe at school."
"Okay," he yawned.
Olivia kissed his forehead. "Okay, get snuggled cos Mommy is so tired and needs a biiiiiiig cuddle."
Noah giggled and got comfortable.
/
"It just seems a bit… unstructured," Trevor whispered to Olivia as they looked in to a room where children were milling around, looking like they were doing whatever they wanted.
"Not really," the Principal, Jane Potter overheard and smiled. Olivia felt her face flush and Trevor gave a little shrug, "I assure you, Mr. Langan that it's organized chaos. It appears unstructured because the way our learning structure works is not the same as a regular school. You'll notice the child-to-adult ratio is a lot smaller than the school Noah is at. It's currently 10-1 for classes of children 5 and older, it means that no child slips through the cracks and they are able to have more specialized help if necessary," she explained.
Trevor was a little impressed with the woman who had so far allayed all their fears regarding bullying, what the children learned and how early they learned it.
"The class I'd like to take you to is down this way…" she nodded to the left of a hallway and Trevor took Olivia's hand. Neither said a word as they followed the Principal down the corridor to a classroom.
"As I told you both, we have a zero tolerance policy for bullying and unfriendly behavior and if any incidents occur, you will know about it and depending on how small or large the incident is, is whether or not you will be required to attend a meeting with the other student's parents to work through it," she explained.
"Good," Olivia remarked. "That's what we want," she told the friendly principal. She was a small woman, but Olivia didn't doubt her confidence or her firmness. She could see she was about business but was interested in seeing her interact with the kids.
"We need solid communication with what's going on while we're at work," Trevor added, "it's really upsetting to find out that something upset our son well after the fact."
"That won't happen here," the principal replied with absolute conviction that comforted both parents. She nodded to a classroom door. "This is Mr Daniels' first grade class." She knocked on the classroom door.
The young male teacher looked up from his desk where he was looking over some work with a couple of other six year olds. He waved the principal in and greeted Olivia and Trevor with a warm smile. He asked the children to go back to their desks.
"Hey guys," he announced to the kids, capturing all of their attention on the first go, "we have some special guests today,". Olivia felt happy to see a little girl come rushing up to the principal. "Hello!" she greeted her.
The principal grinned right back and crouched down, "Hi Milly!" she greeted her, opening her arms and receiving a hug. The child hugged her warmly. "What a wonderful greeting!" she exclaimed. Olivia was happy to see that the principal was not at all sterile toward the children.
"We better listen to Mr Daniels' for a moment," she released the little girl, and Olivia observed the child slip her hand in to the principals'. All the kids stared at Olivia and Trevor curiously from wherever they were in the moment. Some were at desks, others were in a make shift library corner and two other children were sitting on the floor doing some cutting-out.
"Mrs. Potter is here with us this morning so we can meet…" the teacher smirked at Olivia and Trevor and realized that he had no idea of their names.
"For ease, let's go with Trevor and Olivia Langan," Trevor piped up, smiling back. He glanced at Olivia to make sure she was okay with being introduced with his surname. She smiled back reassuringly.
"Guys, Mr and Mrs. Langan are here to see what we've been working on and maybe ask some questions, so I want everyone to be kind and welcoming, okay?"
There were lots of head nods. Trevor observed that there was only around 8 or 9 children in the room which impressed him too – it was a smaller audience and the kids were easier to keep track of. He knew that would be better for Noah.
"Do you have any questions?" The Principal asked Trevor and Olivia.
"I do, is that okay?" Trevor asked.
"Sure, go ahead…" she nodded.
Trevor turned to the teacher and to the children, "what are you guys learning in math at the moment?" he wondered.
Mr. Daniels was tall and lean and had long honey-brown hair pulled neatly back in to a ponytail with a light mustache with round lens-glasses covering his brown eyes. Olivia dug his vibe but she knew Trevor wouldn't be entirely sold on his left-of-the-middle look with his band t-shirt, converse sneakers and sports jacket.
She almost laughed to herself about what Trevor would have to say later.
"We are learning basic multiplication," Mr. Daniels replied. He turned to one of the kids at a desk, "Bryce, I know you love math, can you tell Mr. Langan what 6x6 equals?"
The little boy thought for a moment before replying, "36... I think."
Trevor smiled and nodding, "that's correct, it's 36. Thank you, Bryce."
"What's your favorite part about Mr. Daniels class?" Olivia piped up.
"Remember hands up if you want to say something," Mr Daniels' reminded the kids. Olivia almost laughed at a little boy at the front grunting and almost throwing his back out raising his hand with such eagerness that his little body arched backwards. She stifled her grin, "you look like you might have something to say," she nodded at him, "what's your name?"
Trevor marveled at Olivia and her commanding attention – he knew she'd had a lot of experience working with children and working in schools to teach children about the tough subjects.
"My name is Julien," the little boy replied. Olivia smiled at him, "Nice to meet you Julien, what do you love about being in this class with Mr. Daniels?"
"Ummmm," he thought about her question, as if he hadn't just been bursting at the seams with something important to say, "I like Mr. Daniels class because he is funny and fun and sometimes he brings his doggy to school and other times he brings his guitar and we sing good songs and he never gets mad at me."
"Wow," Olivia remarked, "that sounds like a lot of great reasons," she agreed, "and what about your classmates, do you and your classmates get along?"
He nodded. "We sometimes do class projects together like when we learn about dinosaurs or the other countries besides America."
Trevor liked to hear that.
"Thanks Julien, that's a big help."
The rest of the questions Trevor and Olivia had they'd decided to ask directly. Mrs. Potter, the Principal, had asked the children to go back to their activities while they had a moment to chat with Mr. Daniels.
"My class structure is different on different days," the teacher explained to Olivia and Trevor, "but it's the same every week for routine purposes."
"Great," Trevor smiled. "And what does the day look like today?"
Olivia leaned in to Trevor, hoping that he would be on the same page with her – she had a good feeling about the school and all of the kids seemed so happy and from her observations, got along well.
"I start every morning off with the children talking about their feelings – whether or not they are happy or sad or if there is something they want to talk about. They get the choice to talk to me one-on-one at a later date about it or they can talk about it with the class and I encourage it to be a discussion and I discourage silliness during that time. I do this instead of getting the kids to do show-and-tell because not every parent can afford new toys or exciting things for their kids to share every day."
"That's really nice, I like that…" Olivia remarked, "I can't explain how important it is for children to be able to talk one-on-one about their feelings with an adult, especially if it's unavailable at home."
Mr. Daniels' smiled, "Thank you, I just invite them up to my desk and we have a little pow-wow and if it's something I need to discuss further or take up with a parent or other, then I go from there…"
Trevor knew that meant a lot to Olivia. He put an arm around her waist absently. "After that, we usually work on a learn-and-relax type vibe. If we work on spelling for 45 minutes like we did today, we will have time after that to do something relaxing like read a book or some coloring or if they have an art project they're working on, I invite them to do that – something at their own pace," he explained, "that's what you've walked in on on right now. Later today, we'll be going over to the little science lab and I'm going to teach them a little about very basic litmus testing and we're going to have a look at some slides beneath the microscopes."
"There's a dedicated science lab for 6 year olds?" Trevor asked, surprised.
"We have dedicated science labs, yes," Mrs. Potter replied, "There are two and they work on a time table system with the classes, one of the labs is for the older children and the other is for the younger and we have some very high-tech equipment…. We also have a computer lab, drama rooms, a couple of art studios and even a kitchen where as a class, kids can get used to helping out with cooking and it's always so much fun for them."
"Oooh, maybe we can get Noah to take over cooking by 7," Olivia joked.
Trevor laughed, "From who? Me?" he winked.
The four adults laughed.
"I guess we want to know that if Noah is accepted here, that he'll be happy and welcomed and will feel safe with his classmates and with his teacher but at the same time, his education will be valued and nurtured. Education is very important to Olivia and I and while the emphasis on fun is also important at six, we want to know that there is an element of seriousness of keeping the kids up-to-date in terms of what they should know at certain ages."
"That's completely understandable," Mr Daniels nodded, smiling warmly. Olivia got a very good feeling about the young teacher. He was just the perfect amount of nurturing and seemed bright and passionate about his charges.
"I believe that children do pick things up at different speeds, but we have a benchmark of what needs to be ticked off before they go to the next grade and the beauty of having small classes is that no child gets left behind. I might be able to allow some of the more advanced students to work a little more autonomously so I can spend more time with another student who may struggle in a particular area – I like to keep my learning style fun because it will keep them engaged, but it doesn't mean that the importance of learning is not serious."
"I love the idea of the smaller classes. Noah is currently in a class with 27 children and so much happens and we are not blaming the teachers, but there's a lot that gets missed and unfortunately for us, there's been a lot of bullying issues for Noah that hasn't been appropriately addressed"
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Mr Daniels responded kindly, placing a hand on Olivia's shoulder, "As parents that must be so heart breaking," he empathisised with her, "I don't know if Jane told you," he nodded toward the Principal, "but we don't tolerate bullying. I was a bullied child myself so I absolutely will not let it go on in my classroom and I won't ever let one of my students feel unsafe."
Olivia and Trevor both smiled, feeling his sincerity in his admission.
"Thank you for letting us come and storm your class, we both appreciate it so much." Trevor thanked him, extending his hand to the teacher who was likely half of his age.
"Anytime. I hope we'll get to meet Noah," he smiled.
"I hope so too," Olivia replied and Trevor knew that she was completely sold on the idea of sending him to the school.
They said goodbye to the class and the teacher and walked back to the administration office and they asked a few more questions. "If we decided this school is a good fit for Noah, what would be the next step?" Trevor asked.
"We'd want Noah to come and meet with us and do a basic numeracy and literacy test to see where he's at with his education. Currently we do have an opening in Mr. Daniels' class and we'd be able to involve Noah in an activity so that the can have a soft-meeting with the class and you both can come and oversee that if you want to…"
Olivia nodded. "Okay, I guess Trevor and I will go home and discuss it and speak to you further about it in a couple of days."
They made their exit shortly after and Trevor felt a little less apprehensive about the school after speaking directly with the teacher. "Well I'd ask what you think," he began as they got out on to the sidewalk, "but I think I already know you're sold."
Olivia laughed, "aren't you?"
"Actually, I was thinking about putting Eloise down for their Kindergarten program," he smirked.
"Seriously? I thought I'd have to sell it to you more than that…"
Trevor laughed. "Look, I'm gonna be honest when I saw the teacher at first I thought he looked like he would smell a bit like pot and bad decisions," he admitted laughing in spite of himself, "but that's on me, he was really nice and he really seemed to care about the kids… and the science lab? Oh my god…" he laughed again, "did you see the map of the world on the back wall that the class had put together? It'll be so incredible to see a child be able to point out random countries out besides North America on a map."
Olivia couldn't help but to join his laughter at his raving review of the school. She had not been expecting that. "Wow, you really are sold, and yes that was a little judging of you about the teacher… He seemed completely sweet and kind."
"I guess its just that male teachers from memory were always stern, a little scary and dressed in suits and ties."
"Times have changed, baby," she told him, "and I'm glad my kid isn't going to school and being taught the ways of the world by an old-school disciplinarian who probably would have some very strong ideas that I would never agree with."
He grabbed Olivia's hand and laced his fingers through hers. He drew their hands up between them and leaned over, kissing the back of her hand. "I love you and I feel really positive about this school for Noah… so if you want to call and go forward with the next steps, I'd be totally on board and I wasn't kidding about Eloise either."
Olivia grinned. "I guess we should find out about tuition costs, it's a private school so I imagine its not exactly going to be a bargain."
"It's our son's education, money is no objective, don't worry about the cost, we'll cover it," he shrugged.
"Really? What if it was 100k a year?" she asked.
"Oh, well shit, if its 100k that's different, I was thinking more in the ball park of like $1k a semester…" he replied with a straight face. Olivia was shocked, she stared at him for a moment. She knew that a religious grammar school would be 10 times that per year.
Eventually he broke in to laughter.
"Trevor!" she slapped him, "don't play with me like that…"
"Oh, you should have seen your face…" he teased, grabbing her hand before she slapped him his shoulder again, flinching away jokingly. "you were so shocked, like, 'how could this man I marry cheap out so badly on our kid's education!?'"
"I hate you!" she muttered.
"No you don't…" he nudged her with his hip, grabbing her hand again as they began walking, "you love me and money is no problem. It's not going to be 100k we're not sending him to the Ivy League of elementary school, but even if it was 100k and it was the right fit, we'd work it out," he replied, kissing her temple. "Now…" he paused to look at his watch, "we have time to go get something to eat for lunch and go grab Teddy from Erika and then to the doctor…"
They'd left the kids at home with Erika who was taking a short extended leave from work. They were going back to pick up Teddy for his and Olivia's final post-partum check in with her GP. Eloise was still feeling a little under-the-weather so they were reluctant to take her anywhere.
"Sounds good!" Olivia thought for a moment before she blurted the words out, "I don't mean to be crass, but if she says we can go back to business, can we please organize an epic date night?"
Trevor threw his head back and laughed. "Yes my love," he replied still chuckling, "definitely we can have an epic date night, we could go see a show and have dinner and have an early night sleep," he teased.
"Early night sleep?" she rose an eyebrow, "okay sure, that's totally what I had in mind…"
He gave her hand a squeeze as they got closer to Erika's. "I mean, maybe if the mood was right, my arm could be twisted in to staying up a little later."
"Right now, if I could express enough milk for an overnighter, I would totally let Teddy stay at your sisters with the other kids…"
"Or they could stay at our place and we could stay at a hotel…." He laughed at himself, "I love how we've already decided that this is something that Erika would agree to…"
Olivia laughed, "Yeah its probably a big ask… although she was so wonderful with Teddy when Eloise was at the hospital."
"She was, I think she'd love to have Teddy and the kids overnight."
"She's going for her first set of hormones tomorrow, you know?" Olivia informed him, "they're really moving on this."
"I think they're moving a bit fast, but hey… we've got a new seven-week-old baby less than two years in to a relationship – when it's right it's right."
Olivia laughed. "I love that you've relaxed a little with your sister, she needed this version of you – the brother that can protect her without bossing her around and she adores when you show your fun side, she told me she didn't get that a lot of fun with you over the years."
He nodded, agreeing. "Its just because I saw her get hurt so often… it was affecting me and it made me angry and stern around her because I wanted her to stand up for herself and stop allowing assholes to rule her life."
"I get it…" Olivia told him, "but its nicer now, I feel it and she feels it – its less tense and you are treating her in the way that I would want my older brother to treat me…" she told him, "if that chance had been afforded to me."
"I'm sorry that chance got taken from you…" Trevor replied, letting go of her hand and putting an arm around her, rubbing her shoulder. He knew that even though she didn't speak about him often, losing her brother still bothered her. Despite the fact that she had a troubled relationship with Simon, he knew she would have longed for a blood relative to get to know and love.
"Its okay," she shrugged, "we have our own family and I have Erika and I do really love the fact that soon enough I'll be able to refer to Sonny as my brother-in-law. I've always had the softest spot for Sonny."
Trevor smiled. "He's hard not to love."
/
"Liv, can I talk to you about something?" Erika asked Olivia with urgency the second they walked through the door in to her apartment after. She and Trevor were in greet moods after getting the all clear from the GP. Trevor pushed the Pram with Teddy inside past the two women.
"Uhhh sure," Olivia rose her eyebrow at Trevor. "Where's Sonny? I thought he was gonna be home early?" Liv asked, looking around.
"He's just stuck on a case at the moment but he's not far away," Erika replied quickly.
"What's wrong?" Trevor asked, "is everything okay?"
"Yes!" she quickly snapped, "female problems, you don't want to hear this, trust me." She watched Liv check on Teddy. "Elly is in the living room," she told her brother, "she's not long awake from a nap."
"Okay," he left Teddy in the pram and went to greet his daughter, leaving the women to talk about female things. A subject he definitely didn't want to be involved in when it came to his sister.
Erika grabbed Olivia and dragged her way out of earshot. Once down the hall, Erika ushered Liv in to her bedroom and left the door ajar. "I've been feeling funny," she told her sister-in-law and stepped in to the en-suite bathroom, grabbing Olivia's arm, pulling her close behind her. "Look…" she picked up something and shoved it at Olivia.
Olivia stared for a moment and tried to focus on the pen-shaped stick that Erika held in front of her. Her eyes widened. She glanced up at Erika – her huge blue-green eyes stared back at her. Olivia clapped her hand over her mouth. "Are you fucking serious! Ez! That's amazing! Right?"
"Right… what the fuck… I didn't think it was going to happen – we were about to drop some serious money on IVF…" she murmured. "What do I do now?" she asked Olivia. "What if Sonny freaks out? It's so soon!"
"I don't think Sonny is going to freak out," she assured her, you're just in shock, "you guys were about to do IVF," Olivia reminded her of the very thing Erika had said just seconds ago, "wow, congratulations!" Erika put the pregnancy test down and stared at Olivia for a moment before bursting in to tears.
Olivia pulled her in for a hug and squeezed her. "Congratulations, you deserve this, Ez, I am so, so, so happy for you and Sonny is going to be so happy and your brother… he is going to be over the moon."
"Because he doesn't have to help us financially anymore?" she joked, stifling a sob.
Olivia laughed. "No, he just wants you to be happy and I know that being a Mommy is going to make your life so happy and full."
Erika nodded and wiped her eyes. "Can you guys stick around for when Sonny gets home? I really want to tell Trevor…"
Olivia reached to wipe the tears from her little sister's eyes. "Why don't I grab Trevor and the kids, it's time for us to go pick Noah up from school and then we'll go home. You need to give this news to Sonny in private."
"But I want you guys to celebrate with us…"
"So…. Come over for dinner, call me when you've told Sonny and you've both had a minute to celebrate it and then call me and let me know if you guys want to come over and I'll organize something special…"
"Really?"
"Really," Olivia smiled, taking her face in her hands. "We can't be here when you tell your baby's Daddy that you're pregnant," Liv added, "I'm so happy and excited for you, Ez, really, this is amazing news." She kissed her forehead. "I'll leave you here to get your composure back and we'll get the kids ready…"
"Okay, thanks Liv, you're honestly the best. I don't know how the fuck I have managed all these years without you…" she sighed.
"Me either, kiddo," Olivia smiled back.
"Youuuuu said fuck!" Eloise announced from the doorway.
"Oh my goodness," Erika remarked, turning her back completely because she knew she was about to burst out laughing.
"Eloise!" Olivia exclaimed, "what have we told you!"
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, how the fuckity fucky fuck!" she sang as if it was a soft melodious song.
"That's it, you're done." She grabbed Eloise's arm and pulled her out in to the living room. "Trevor, our sweet, cherub daughter is using foul language again… you'll have to deal with this," she stared at him, pressing her lips together so hard that they burned to stifle her laughter.
Trevor seemed irate that Olivia couldn't keep her composure but ignored her for a moment.
"No!" Eloise exclaimed, "I didn't, Daddy! I just wanted to tell Auntie Ez that she said fuck!"
"Oh my god," Trevor was exasperated, "Eloise, I don't care if you hear Princess Elsa say it, it is not to come out of your mouth at all, ever."
"Its fun, Daddy!" she advanced toward Trevor and tried to cuddle his leg.
"She's got a point…" Olivia muttered.
"No," he told Olivia just as sternly, "Don't, Liv. This isn't funny. Eloise, when we get home you are going on time-out at the kitchen table for ten minutes."
"No, Daddy I'm sorry," Eloise said quickly. "I won't say it anymore."
"I don't care, I've heard that language come out of your mouth far too many times and since you won't listen, you will start facing consequences. Time out when we get home, as soon as we walk in the door."
Eloise looked to Olivia for help. "Sorry Elly, you were warned," Olivia replied. Her face crumped and she began to cry. Trevor sighed and rolled his eyes, turning his attention away to Teddy, putting him in the pram. "Hey, is Ez okay?" he asked Liv, ignoring Eloise.
"Yeah, she's fine, she will be out in a moment."
"Okay, we'll go and get Noah as soon as we say goodbye." He turned to Eloise, "you need to get ready to say goodbye to Auntie Ezzie."
"Daddy I don't want to go on time out," she tried to bargain with him between her tears. "I'll be a good girl."
"You are a good girl," he told her plainly, "but your behavior is a little disappointing and you're still having the time out," he replied, "and that's final."
He hated to punish her but he didn't need his three year-old to be openly swearing all the time. It wasn't a good look.