Chapter 8 - Stood Up
Olivia always took extra vigilant care with her collection supervision for her students. There were too many cases where teachers neglected to really care when students were pick up as they thought their 'day was done' and kids ended up going missing. That was Olivia's worst nightmare, that one of her students would go missing or get taken whilst on her watch. She had a really big belief in that it was her responsibility that as soon as her students walked into her classroom, they were her responsibility and she had to make sure they left just as safely as they'd arrived, at the end of the day. Elizabeth was one of the last children to be picked up today and Mandy had to head off to an emergency meeting, so she'd left Richard with Olivia till they were picked up. Olivia couldn't help to wonder whether they would be seeing Dani at the pick up or if it would be Elliot or another person all together. She knew that twins wouldn't have a clue either as they didn't know there was possible changes in their routines in the first place. Olivia was surprised when Elliot walked in through the school gates, but the look on his face showed things today clearly hadn't gone well.
The minute that the twins laid eyes on Elliot, they took off running over to hug him. Olivia smiled softly as she watched both Elizabeth and Richard almost bear hug Elliot to the ground and once she knew the kids were safely with their father, she turned to head inside again She really needed to go back and finish up a few things in her room so that she could get out of here and go to Chloe who Olivia knew would be just as happy to see her.
Olivia and Clara were discussing events from today and things to improve moving forward when they were interrupted by a knock at the door from the Stabler trio.
"Mr Stabler, is everything alright?" Olivia asked, wanting to keep things professional in front of Clara and the children.
"I thought we agreed that you would call me Elliot? Do you have a minute to talk?" Elliot asked as he remained stood in the doorway. Olivia could tell that Elliot needed someone to talk to about whatever was going on. She would have thought that someone like him would have a million other people he would talk to about this before turning to her. Yet here he was, looking to her as a confidant and she knew she couldn't turn him down.
"Sure, Miss Anderson, would you mind watching Lizzie and Dickie for a couple of minutes? We won't be long" Olivia asked as she started to move towards the doorway. She thought it would be better to keep the kids in the classroom with Clara rather than turn them away to entertain themselves. In the classroom at least there were things to do and Olivia knew Clara would have them occupied in no time. As Clara agreed, Elliot kissed both the twins heads and told them to be good before they moved over to sit with Clara and Olivia guided him into the corridor. They stayed in sight though, to ensure that they kept up the school protocol of a teacher never being left alone with an individual student or two, just to avoid untrue claims or an investigation.
"How'd everything go today?" Olivia asked, she was pretty sure this was the topic of conversation that Elliot wanted to talk to her about. Elliot just started at his feet silently, Olivia was good at reading people and she could tell he was rather angry at the moment within himself. If Elliot was angry, then clearly things hadn't gone well with Dani, especially considering he was here collecting his kids.
"Elliot?" Olivia prompted, wanting to see if he'd actually heard her question.
"Well they would have gone a lot better if there was actually a meeting" Elliot stated which shocked Olivia.
"What?"
"Dani never showed. I sat there for over an hour and she never showed up…I called her numerous times and she didn't even answer the phone once or give me any kind of message she wasn't going to make it" Elliot explained.
"You're joking?" Olivia was in complete shock, this was definitely not how she expected the meeting to go.
"I wish I was. Dani made me look like an absolute fool and stood me up when I was prepared to talk everything through and give her a second chance. Now, if she so much as thinks that I'll give her a good reference, she has another thing coming" Elliot explained, Olivia could hear the anger in his tone and could tell more than anything he was embarrassed and hurt.
"Elliot…"
"No, the one thing I hate is when people, who I take time out of my day to meet with, are late or even worse just don't show up"
"Sometimes things happen…Maybe there is an explanation for her actions?" Olivia tried to reason with Elliot a little. She didn't think he was wrong with his behaviour as Olivia really didn't like Dani, but she needed to help him see the full picture.
"I called her one last time this afternoon as I was paying for lunch at the café, I left a message and she hasn't got back to me yet. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see how that goes or if she gets in touch…She works for me, so she should be the one to really show me that she wants to keep her job" Elliot justified.
"Just…give her a chance to get in contact after your message and take it from there. If you can't be here to get the twins in the meantime, then that's ok. I can stay later here if needed or arrange to get them home safely. But I'll also send a list home with Lizzie tomorrow with other Nannies that you might be interested in hiring" Olivia explained, she was really going to look after this family.
"Thank you" Elliot said as he looked over to Olivia and smiled. Elliot knew that this was outside of her role as a teacher. His friend's had kids and their teachers really weren't as likely to go above and beyond to help when needed but clearly Olivia was. Elliot didn't understand why as she didn't have to, but he was grateful all the same.
"Don't mention it" Olivia smiled back as they headed into the classroom again so Elliot could collect the kids and Olivia could finish up with Clara. Elliot thanked Olivia once more for the talk and her assistance before getting both Elizabeth and Richard to do the same and thank Clara. The trio then made their way out of the classroom and down the hall.
Clara was sure that she had never been lucky enough to work with a teacher quite like Olivia. Clara thought it was amazing the way that Olivia continually went above and beyond to support her students and make sure they were getting everything they needed. Clara had never seen a teacher with quite so high rapport with the parents either and you could clearly see from simple observations how much the parents all loved Olivia as much as the kids. One parent in particular though seemed to take more of an interest to Olivia and her support than others. It was the same parent who had interrupted their meeting to talk with Olivia. If Clara was the proper classroom teacher, she wasn't entirely sure that she would allow this type of thing and change her whole afternoon for a parent. But Olivia did it absolutely flawlessly. Clara felt incredibly lucky to have been partnered up with Olivia and she knew there was so much that she was going to learn and numerous ways she would grow from working with Olivia all year. She did have to admit though, she was curious as to what the story behind Mr Stabler and the constant chats with Olivia was.
"What's going on there?" Clara asked, once Olivia had taken her seat behind the desk again in the classroom.
"What's going on where?" Olivia tried to clarify, unsure exactly what the younger woman was referring to.
"Between you and Mr Stabler, otherwise known as Mystery Dad" Clara clarified.
"He just needed help with something, that was all that was" Olivia shut her down.
"I don't think that was really all that was, there is clearly something more going on. He just comes to the classroom and asks to speak with you and it's ok?"
"He's going through some things at the moment and needed advice on how to best support his children with this. I provided options and am going to send a further letter home with Elizabeth tomorrow"
"First, you magically get him to even come to school and take an interest in his children's education when you say that no other teacher has been able to. Then you not only have a long meeting with him this morning and one this afternoon as well. Are you sure that he's not abusing your kindness as a teacher?" Clara asked, she knew she might be crossing a line here but she wanted to find out as much as she can about what is really going on.
"He's a single dad, single parenthood is a hard road, I know that more than anyone. So, he's not abusing my kindness, he's after support and honestly if that means things might be better for Lizzie and Dickie then I'm going to help in any way that I can. It's what we do as teachers, we look after our students" Olivia explained to which Clara just nodded, Olivia really was an amazing teacher.
Clara was sure there was really something a little more serious coming between this pair, she was sure that there was a growing sense of closeness between them. It was the type of closeness that Olivia didn't have with all her other parents. Clara had seen it clearly in the short time that she had been at this school and really wasn't sure if this was healthy. Clara made a mental note to research the Stabler family later tonight and work out what might be going on here. Clara was sure that this entire thing wasn't completely down to the fact that Olivia and Elliot were able to relate to each other as single parents. There had to be more to it.
After everything that Elliot had told Olivia that afternoon and the fact that she was going to be a little later than intended getting home. Olivia stopped at a local bakery to grab a nice treat for Lucy. Olivia really wanted to make sure that Lucy knew how much she was appreciated and how thankful Olivia was for everything that she did. Olivia already had a good relationship with Lucy and was always very appreciative of her, but sometimes it was important to make a little bit more of an effort to show that appreciation. Particularly after hearing everything that Elliot was going through with Dani.
Olivia walked into the apartment and found Lucy and Chloe playing at the coffee table in the lounge room. Chloe was drawing on some paper, well due to Chloe's age it was more scribbling. but the little girl was happy. Olivia appreciated all the pictures that Chloe made her for as those were key stages in her development, and it was a sign of Chloe's creativity. Chloe looked up as soon as Olivia had walked in the door.
"Mommy" Chloe called out as she made her way carefully past the coffee table and ran straight over to Olivia.
"There's my sweet girl, did you have fun with Lucy?" Olivia asked as she picked Chloe up and the little girl rested her head on Olivia's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry I'm a little late, I had a last-minute unexpected meeting with a parent. But, I wanted to give you this, it's a little something to say thank you for everything that you do for us" Olivia said as she held out the bag for Lucy.
"Liv, you didn't have t-"
"No, I did, I wanted you to know that although Chloe can't quite say it, she and I are very grateful for you and everything you do for both of us. Aren't we Chlo?" Olivia ask and the little girl jut nodded. Olivia could tell this little one was tired from the day and it wouldn't be long before she was in bed. Olivia could relate, she felt exhausted from today.
"Well it's honestly my pleasure. I love hanging out with this one and you're the best boss I've ever really had. Don't worry about being late or plans changing or anything, I really don't mind. The daycare said she didn't want to nap today, so I think she's in the need for an early night"
"Alright, thanks for the heads up. Now you get off home safely and we'll see you tomorrow" Olivia said as she walked Lucy to the door and stood watching till Lucy made it into the elevator.
"Ok sweet girl, I think it might be time for a easy dinner and then bed" Olivia said as she ran a hand up and down Chloe's back.
"Not t'ied" Chloe whined, trying to shake off sleep as she rubbed her eyes. It was a key telltale sign that the little girl was actually beyond tired and ready for bed.
"Oh I think you are. But I'm tired too so I'm going to bed soon too" Olivia stated as she carried Chloe on her hip and started to organise something simple for dinner. She wasn't in the mood to cook so she would make a simple mac and cheese for Chloe and then once the little girl was in bed, Olivia would likely order something in.
A/N: Well looks like things with Dani are only going from bad to worse? Elliot doesn't appear to be taking it well, does he? But hey at least he feels like there is one person he can turn to. But is Clara on the right track? Is there something growing between Elliot and Olivia? Or are they simply being good friends? Hmmm I wonder...
Coming Up: Everyone has a life outside of work or school and if Elliot doesn't have a nanny anymore, is he going to look after the kids? What happens about weekends? What do our favourite people get up to? Do we hear more from Dani? Guess you'll have to wait and see ;)
Let me know what you thought of this chapter in a review? I'm loving seeing so many of your thoughts about different characters in this story and what you think might come next.
Until Next Time ;)
