28. Adjusting

Olivia decides to leave late Sunday night, so she can start the work week from her own place. Gene tries to understand but he is still a little disappointed. They are making such headway in getting closer and really going all in for this committed relationship and he finds it hard to let her go off into her own world again. Still, this is part of a real-life relationship and he tells himself to man up. But he doesn't really have a clue how to maintain a real relationship. His casual encounters never needed a lot of planning but it's all changed now.

Olivia texts him early on Monday morning to let him know she has arrived at work and he knows she will be busy all day. He has a conference call planned at 9, that he will conduct from his home office. Afterwards he has a few quarterly maintenance reports to read on his own apartment buildings in Manhattan, that his assistant tells him need his attention. He plans to set up blood tests for himself and Olivia with his personal Doctor too, and hopes they will be able to do the tests as early as this week.

Using condoms had become a very important principle for him after Barbara. He'd been relieved that she hadn't given him any STD's and he had vowed that he would never take the risk again. He knows oral sex has its own risks and it's an important reason that they need to take these tests now. He longs to have sex with Olivia without any more barriers between them and he is relieved that she was the one who brought it up.

After making his calls, he settles in with a cup of coffee to read the maintenance reports. When he reads about some problems with the roof of one of his Upper East Side buildings, he finds a note from his assistant Johnathan inside the report that makes him sit up a little straighter. His assistant lets him know that the tenants who live in the penthouse, directly under the roof, have decided to move out of the building. He stresses that they are not leaving because they are unhappy with the penthouse in itself; they have simply expedited their plans to buy their own place so the roof can be fixed properly once and for all once they've moved out.

Gene knows the building well. It's one of his more recent properties and he was aware of some overdue maintenance when he bought it. But the building has enormous potential. The location is perfect, just off Park Avenue and just two blocks away from Lenox Hill Hospital. If he remembers correctly, the view from the top floor is quite good. It has several terraces, allowing for a 360 degree view across the Upper East Side. It would be perfect for him and Olivia …

He leans back in his chair and lets out a breath slowly. He hasn't brought his idea up with Olivia yet. He knows there's no rush and he won't really miss a few months' rent on the place if it isn't occupied immediately after the roof has been fixed - or even if he doesn't collect rent from it again. But still, he wants to start making plans with Olivia. He doesn't want to keep meeting her in hotel rooms, and dragging her away to Long Island may not always be practical with her job. Not that he'd consider selling his house. He just wants them to have their own place in the city as well.

The longer he thinks about it, the more excited he gets, up to the point he really wants to call Olivia to talk to her about it. He blows out a breath when she doesn't answer her phone. He knows she's busy but still. He hasn't adjusted to it all yet and he will need to find a way to handle his desire to be in touch with her all the time. He isn't a schoolboy anymore, after all.

…

Olivia and the team have their hands full with several open cases and a few going to court, all in the same week. Casey has done her best to get them scheduled so that the Detectives can take turns testifying, and that the ones who have to be at multiple hearings, have them all on the same day. She hasn't completely succeeded but it's close enough. Olivia feels good about being hard at work again. Her time with Gene still feels like a fairytale and she needs some time to learn how to balance it with her normal life, as she calls it. Or maybe she needs to get used to a new normal, where the man of her dreams is waiting for her at the end of a long day.

She wonders if he'll be waiting for her though, and if so, where. She left him on Long Island last night and he is working there now in his home office. And she thought Elliot lived far away from Manhattan. In between a court appearance and an interview with a rape victim, Olivia sees she has a missed call from Gene, but she can't find the time today to call him back. Before they realize it, it's past 7 PM and Elliot mentions that he should have been home for dinner by now.

"And you?" he asks her when they finally sink back in their desk chairs, the last of their reports of the day completed.

The question reminds Olivia that she needs to call Gene back. It's nice to be able to do that in front of her partner now, and she holds up a hand while grabbing her phone. Elliot just grins and watches her as she makes her call.

"Hey stranger!" Gene's happy voice greets her and Olivia chuckles.

"Stranger? You just saw me last night."

"Well yeah, but I miss you already. Are you free now?"

"Almost."

"Have you eaten yet?"

Olivia realizes she has hardly eaten all day and thinking of food does make her hungry. And so Gene offers to pick her up and take her out to dinner. She looks at her work attire and huffs.

"I look a mess."

She bites her lip when Gene instantly begins describing all the things he loves very much about her messy body, and how he is volunteering to get her out of her clothes and into the shower. She glances at Elliot, who just keeps grinning meaningfully at her. He can read on her face exactly what Gene is doing, that much is obvious, and she feels her face flush.

"Gene … just feed me," she cuts him off and Gene laughs out loud before promising he'll be there in ten.

"Ten minutes? Where are you?"

"I just drove to Manhattan hoping to see you," Gene admits and Olivia isn't sure what to think. Doesn't he know she sometimes has to work all night? What had he planned on doing if she didn't have time for him? She tries not to let her mind go there, but she thinks about their very first evening anyway, when they had met up in a hotel lobby. That's how he is used to spending his time in Manhattan. What will he do when she can't make time for him?

After ending the call, she stares at her hands for a few moments, until Elliot asks her if there is a problem. She quickly shakes her head. It's nothing. Gene will be here soon.

"I'm just ah ... " she says, standing up and gesturing in the direction of the bathrooms.

Elliot nods and doesn't say anything, but she knows he knows her too well. Still, it's not something she should discuss with her partner. It's something between her and Gene.

Olivia is back at her desk when Gene comes striding in and her heart skips a beat when she sees him. His smile is warm and she smiles too, rising from her seat and welcoming his embrace. Gene keeps one arm tightly around her shoulders as he faces Elliot.

"Do you mind if I whisk her away?" he asks her partner, who just gives him a half-smile. Olivia knows that smile. She just hopes Elliot will keep his real thoughts to himself for now, giving Gene the benefit of the doubt like he has before.

"Just get her home before midnight," Elliot manages to say seriously and Olivia rolls her eyes but smiles. "I'm off too," Elliot adds as he stands up, and they end up leaving together.

Olivia can tell that Gene is enjoying pampering her with an expensive dinner and he doesn't seem to mind that she looks tired and feels sweaty after a long day in the same clothes. He keeps his word though to help her out of them once they get to her apartment and in her tiny bathroom together. And although Olivia almost falls asleep standing up under the hot spray while Gene washes her body gently, he doesn't complain. When she asks him about it, he tells her he's simply glad to be with her. He kisses her sweetly and she kisses him back lazily, draping her body against his. She instantly feels his erection pressing against her and smiles against his lips.

"I know you're tired," Gene mumbles.

"Maybe I'm not that tired," she tells him and now he is the one smiling against her lips.

...

Twenty minutes later they're cuddled up together in Olivia's bed, satisfied for now and ready to fall asleep in each others' arms. Gene has decided not to tell Olivia about the penthouse yet. He doesn't want to rush things with her and possible scare her away. They're in a good place now, moving forward gradually. He tells her he's been able to schedule an appointment to have their blood drawn for Thursday and she promises she'll try to make it.

"You never know with your job?" Gene asks, and she nods against his chest.

"Yeah. The perps don't stick to a timetable. If they did, we'd be able to stop them before they committed a crime."

"Perps?" Gene asks, grinning. "You sound so much like a cop now."

"I am a cop."

"I know."

Gene kisses her forehead and she moves her head so she can make eye contact with him.

"Does that bother you in any way?" she asks.

Gene rolls on his right side so he's facing her and Olivia mirrors his movements until they're face to face on her pillow.

"Does it bother me that my badass girlfriend is walking around town with a gun on her hip and puts scum away for a living?"

Olivia breaks out in a wide smile.

"Well, if you put it that way …" she starts and Gene plants a kiss on her nose before assuring her,

"I couldn't be more proud of what you do, Olivia. Never doubt that, alright? It's just …"

He hesitates, not wanting to come on too strong but when he sees Olivia's eyes fill with worry, he knows he will need to explain further and he speaks quickly.

"Well, your job keeps you away from me, that's all. I know it's childish. I just need to grow up. I just … have to get used to feeling this way."

Olivia blinks and he can tell she's trying to understand what he's telling her.

"What way?" she asks.

"So … so deeply in love with you, Olivia. I wasn't gonna do that again, remember?"

Olivia bites her lower lip and nods, her eyes dropping to his chest. She rubs his pec gently with her hand.

"Are you scared of it?"

Although she isn't looking at him now, he can see the same insecurity in her features that he feels. He needs to be honest with her so he admits,

"A little, yes."

She nods again, then tells him,

"Me too."

"Not because I don't believe in us," he adds, hoping she really does know what he means.

"I understand."

She looks into his eyes again and he can see that she does. They will both need some time to get used to this new life and there is no shame in that.

"We'll get there," he promises her and he closes his eyes when Olivia caresses his cheek with her hand.

"We'll get there."

They kiss again and their kisses contain promises and reassurances. Gene feels himself relax, thinking that as long as he gets to hold and kiss Olivia often, just like this, he will learn to relax more into their relationship. He loves her in a way that he didn't know was possible and he wonders now how he was ever capable of sleeping with another woman after meeting her. But he had needed time to acknowledge it; to admit to himself that she was in his thoughts in moments she shouldn't be and that he wasn't able to give himself fully to another woman anymore - only to her.

He pulls her closer, feeling her slip her leg between his and he sighs contently.

"I love you," she mumbles against his neck and he wants to tell her he loves her too when her phone begins to buzz on her nightstand.

"Do you have to get that?" he asks her, nuzzling his nose in her hair and trying to keep her close to him.

"Yeah."

Olivia moves to turn away from him so she can grab her phone, and very reluctantly, he gives her some room. It's work. It has to be. Who else would call her at 11 PM?

He only hears her end of the conversation and it's very brief.

"Alright. Where? … Yes. ... I'm on my way."

He sees the apology in her eyes and he has to look away to hide his deep disappointment. He watches Olivia hop out of bed and throw on clean clothes within two minutes. When she's ready to run out the door she turns at the bedroom door at the last moment and tells him,

"Please. Stay here."

He just nods. Where else would he go anyway?

"There's a spare key in my kitchen drawer. If I'm not back in the morning and you have to go, please take it with you."

And then she's off and suddenly he is alone in her apartment. He sighs and switches off the bedside table lamp. One moment she's here and the next moment she's gone. How is he supposed to get used to that?

...