Chapter 23
The afternoon spent at the zoo was lovely, Elizabeth was practically glued to Olivia's hip near every exhibit they looked at and she tried several times to interact with Chloe, but with the mood Chloe was in today, the little girl simply wasn't reciprocating. Olivia had apologised numerous times to Elizabeth about Chloe and appreciated how friendly Elizabeth was trying to be. But Olivia still couldn't quite help feeling embarrassed by her daughter's actions. Especially when just a few weeks ago, Chloe had been absolutely fascinated by Elizabeth. Olivia had been glad to see Elliot and Alex talking throughout the afternoon though, she wanted her best friend to get along with Elliot and get to know him like she was. This had meant though that Olivia didn't really get much chance to talk with Elliot throughout their time together and she kind of missed that. But that had helped them remain friendly despite their relationship change and this being the first time that they had been with everyone since they went from friends to something more. She also had to admit that she really enjoyed being out altogether though and hoped that next time they did something like this, Chloe would be in a better mood.
At the end of the day, Chloe was 19 months old and Olivia had read that this was the time that children really started to show the whole range of emotions that people go through. Olivia knew that this was going to be the time that was likely the hardest to handle as Chloe could change in a blink of an eye. Olivia hadn't seen too many of the crazy emotions from Chloe recently, but she knew they were coming, and Olivia honestly wasn't sure if she was truly ready for this or not.
"Hey you" Elliot spoke up as he appeared next to Olivia, whilst they walked towards the park after the zoo. Chloe was out of the stroller, walking slowing with Alex after much of a debate on whether they would let her out of the stroller or not. Olivia had decided it was best not to fight the little girl any longer and just let her out. So Olivia was walking slightly slower behind the group, with the stroller and watching Chloe with Alex and the twins. Chloe definitely seemed a bit happier out of the stroller and excited to be heading to the park. This park had a large playground and Olivia was desperate to let her little one use up all her energy off before they worked out what was happening for dinner and head home.
"Hey" Olivia smiled, gad that it was just the two of them for this moment.
"I feel like everyone else has had your attention today but me, so I'm going to steal this moment" Elliot remarked.
"Well I think you were the one who got the most of my attention last night compared to anyone elseā¦But I think you stealing this moment is perfect" Olivia teased Elliot in return and he just smiled, last night was a great night and one for the memory books to him.
"I suppose that's true and I have to share you today, but that doesn't mean I actually want to though" Elliot remarked as he made a slight reach for her hand.
"If you do that then I'm not going to be able to control the stroller It's kind of two hand job" Olivia remarked, having noticed Elliot's movement for her hand in her peripheral vision. As much as she wanted to hold his hand right now, the stroller wouldn't be right with only one hand controlling it.
"How about I change that? I happen to have a particular skill pushing strollers single-handedly. So why don't I push it and then you hold my hand?" Elliot tried to compromise to which Olivia couldn't say no. If Elliot really wanted to push the stroller just so he could hold her hand then she wasn't going to stop him. Sure enough, as they continued to walk on, following the group, Elliot managed to successfully push the stroller in one hand and hold Olivia's hand in his other hand whilst talking with Olivia herself.
The afternoon seemed to pass by quicker than anyone was expecting, especially with how well everyone was getting on. Olivia had followed Chloe closely around the playground, pushing on the swings for a long time with how much the little girl loved the swings. Elliot had played with Alex and the twins in a game of hide and seek for a while but when things started to tire down from that, she made his way back to where Olivia and Chloe were. Alex still managed to entertain the twins further and she was surprisingly good with children, Elliot was really impressed by this. But Olivia wasn't surprised at all, she knew how good Alex was with Chloe and had seen her with other children too in the past. Olivia knew when the time came, Alex would make a fantastic mother and Olivia was excited for that time. But when Chloe started to show key sings of being tired, Olivia knew it was going to be time to get the little girl home, have dinner and then likely get her into bed. She thanked Elliot for a wonderful afternoon and hugged both the children goodbye in the process before she, Alex and Chloe all left the park.
Elliot had offered her his car and yet again, she had refused. Even Alex had tried to accept the car as a ride home but Olivia turned it down and expressed that they could manage on the way home, Elliot needed the car with the twins more than she did. Elliot really didn't understand her hesitancy to take his car or any of his offers to do things for her. He wanted to do this for her because he wanted to do things for her and he cared for her, but she refused every single time. Elliot couldn't help to wonder whether this was what things were going to be like between them, was she going to reject his chivalry or offers every time he wanted to assist her? If that really was the case, then he wasn't sure how he would could with that in this relationship, as he felt like he had to do things for others to be happy.
Elliot wanted to make Olivia happy, he wanted to be the one that would bring that beautiful smile of hers to her face and he felt the way that he could do that was through doing things for her. But she continued to refuse his attempts each and every time he offered. Things were still so new with them, maybe it was that Olivia was so fiercely independent that she didn't like it when other people did things for her and Elliot would come to accept that. But maybe there was something with this that was simply because things between them were so new and it would change over time. Elliot really couldn't be sure what was going on but he was prepared to find out.
"Alright, I have to admit it. When you and Elliot were together today, I wouldn't have known you were an item if you'd not told me beforehand" Alex remarked as she sat on the lounge in Olivia's living room with a glass of wine. Olivia was sitting next to her with a glass as well.
"Really?" Olivia asked, she hadn't known Alex was watching so closely when they were out. She figured that Alex would be but she hadn't really noticed it.
"Yeah, I...I would have thought you were friends or something but wouldn't think you were anything more than that. It wasn't like you two were acting like a couple would, you were acting like friends. But he is definitely into you" Alex remarked, thinking back to the conversation she'd had earlier today with Elliot and the times she'd watched Elliot and Olivia together.
"Oh dear, what did you say to him?" Olivia asked, she knew from that remark that Alex must have had a pretty serious conversation with Elliot and was scared by what she said.
"I just...asked him a few things"
"Are you trying to scare him off?" Olivia teased, she knew her friend would never do that and was simply being protective but Olivia had her concerns about what Alex had talked to Elliot about.
"No, I'm being your protective best friend. I just want to make sure he's in this for the long term and not just wanted some kind of a fling as I don't want your heart broken" Alex explained.
"Well thank you but Elliot's not like that. He's...there is something just really special about him"
"But you've not told him about Brian? Or the past?"
"He doesn't need to know, no one needs to know that. I've moved on from that time and I intend to keep things that way" Olivia explained.
"Olivia, if you want Elliot around for a long time then when you're comfortable you need to tell him about that. Talking with Elliot today, I can tell you that he cares about you greatly and I'm more than sure he would do anything to protect you and Chloe"
"I just...Brian is a big part of past, one that holds so many bad memories. I don't want to uncover those again when I can't be sure that what I have with Elliot is going to work out. It took me a really long time to be able to put all of that past away in a box and I don't want to bring it out again if I don't have to. I want whatever I have growing with Elliot to be a fresh start" Olivia tried to explain. She wanted her friend to see that there really was a specific reason why she had yet to tell Elliot about her previous relationship with Brian. Olivia felt really strongly for Elliot and she wanted to be happy with him, she couldn't see things working out if she brought up Brian or even mentioned everthing that was her past.
"But Brian is Chloe's father" Alex stated.
"Don't you think I know that? He doesn't though and as far as I'm concerned, Chloe's father is dead. I never want her to know him nad I never want that man near Chloe" Olivia defended.
"Elliot may ask though and then what are you going to tell him?"
"If Elliot asks, I will tell him. Things are just so new between us I don't want to risk ruining it. I want things to be different with Elliot than they were with Brian. I want things to last between us and I can't see that happening if I mention Brian because...well...you know"
"You really don't think if things get serious between Elliot and you that you should tell him? It's easier if you tell him rather than him finding out elsewhere" Alex explained and Olivia knew she was right but it was such a touchy subject she didn't know what to do.
"I honestly intend to tell Elliot, I know that a long term relationship can't have secrets. But I just feel like everything between us is so new, we literally took that step forward yesterday. I will tell Elliot about Brian and the past and everything when I'm ready. Please don't pressure me to do it beforehand"
"Just make sure you do. I can't see from the way that Elliot is around you, he's in this for the long run and he'll love you regardless, he just needs to know" Alex explained as Olivia took the opportunity to pour herself another glass of wine and hoped to change the subject. She really cared for Elliot, that was clear as anything and she could see herself falling in love with him in time. She could really see herself being happy with Elliot and she could see him being the ideal father figure for Chloe. She knew she would talk to Elliot about her past in time, but that time wasn't right now.
Elliot managed to get the twins home from the park with dinner organised and in bed before ti was even their bed time. They had a huge afternoon and both were exhausted from it all so went to bed without any issues. Elizabeth was feeling nervous about the return to school tomorrow but Elliot promised that he would walk in with her. He also wanted to see Olivia there in the process. He knew that due to the setting, they would have to remain professional and he couldn't kiss her like he may have wanted to. But he felt comfortable with the idea of just seeing her and knowing that she was at school again. If the twins and Olivia were all back at school then things really were starting to get back to normal. He wanted things to be back to normal in a way, but he also liked the changes that had happened too and the fact that he and Olivia had started a relationship. Whilst he hated that the attack by Dani had happened but it had really given him the kick in the backside that he needed to confess to Olivia how he felt about her. If he hadn't done that then he wouldn't be here right now thinking about her and the way things had changed in one weekend. But they had changed for the better and Elliot couldn't be happier about it.
Elliot had to admit his conversation with Olivia's friend today was rather strange though. Especially when Alex had asked if Olivia had told him anything about her past, was there really that much to tell? As far as he was aware that wasn't the case. He knew there were things about her that she hadn't told him about, just like there were things he hadn't told her. But they were going to get to those things in the future, they were just taking things slowly now. He was excited to get to know her more though and hoped that they were building something that would turn out to be truly magical.
A/N: So I wasn't sure whether i would get this chapter up or not this week but i seemingly couldn't stop editing last night and knew i had to publish today. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was kind of a filler but an important conversation about Brian. Let me know what you thought with a review! Until Next Time ;)
