Christmas Village
Summary:
Due to sudden work obligations, Rafael is unable to join Olivia and Noah on trip to a quaint snowy village in Vermont the week before Christmas. He drops everything when Rita convinces him, in classic Hallmark movie fashion, that some small-town hunk in flannel is going to steal his girl.
Notes: It's that time of year where I watch too many Hallmark Christmas movies.
"Are you sure you can't join us? We were all looking forward to this trip for a while now," Olivia Benson questioned her boyfriend, Rafael Barba, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice.
She was packing Noah's suitcase when Rafael dropped the sudden news on her – the District Attorney insisted that he step in to assist a green ADA when they got in over their head on some case. He wouldn't be able to join her and Noah on the long-awaited trip to a quaint snowy village in Vermont, known as Christmas Village, where they planned to spend the week leading up to Christmas. Noah was particularly excited about the trip and now his Uncle Rafa would miss it.
Rafael ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he sat on the edge of Noah's bed, leaving his normal, impeccably styled hair disheveled, and sighed heavily. "Liv, you know I would rather be with you and Noah, but duty calls. What am I supposed to do?"
"I know, Rafa. Believe me, I know it sucks when work calls. Maybe we should just reschedule the trip?" She stilled in the motion of placing clothes into Noah's suitcase and met Rafa's gaze. He looked exhausted.
"What? Liv, no. Noah will be disappointed I'm not going, but he would be devastated if we had to reschedule. It took us forever to book this trip as it was," Rafa insisted. He was adamant that they still go. "Besides, you and Noah deserve some relaxation after such a busy year."
He wasn't wrong. It had been a busy, stressful year for all of them and Noah would lose his mind if the trip was cancelled or delayed. It was prime season for the little village, and they were all booked up through the winter. She winced at the thought of losing the non-refundable deposit and having to wait until next year for the trip.
"I don't like it, but you're right," Liv admitted causing Rafa to smirk. "Promise you'll try to do what you have to quickly and at least join us for a couple of days? You deserve some relaxation too, you know."
"Of course, Liv, I will do my best," he replied and pulled Liv onto his lap. He pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss before deepening it. When they broke a part, he whispered, "I will miss you and my amiguito."
"We'll miss you, too, Raf. Will you stay the night? I would like to have you next to me tonight if I have to spend the next week sleeping alone." They weren't living together yet, but they had grown used to not spending many nights apart.
"I would love nothing more."
Early the following morning, Rafa helped Liv load up the Volvo SUV with their luggage and supplies for the week. She packed some of his things as well, wishful thinking that he would be able to join them at some point during the week.
Still tired from waking early, Noah whined to Uncle Rafa. "Why can't you come with us? It's not fair."
"I know, amiguito. Being an adult is hard sometimes and we have to do things we don't want to. In this case, I have to work when I would much rather be going with you and Mami," Rafa explained while strapping the young boy into his booster seat. "I'll miss you lots."
"I'll miss you too, Uncle Rafa," Noah replied, a little less whiny that time.
"Be good and have fun, amiguito. I'll see you when you get back on Christmas Eve, if not sooner." He placed a kiss on the young boy's curly head and stepped back to close the door. Turning to Liv, he swept her up in his arms.
"Don't work too hard, Counsellor," she murmured against his lips, her arms clinging around his neck. "We will miss you."
"I will miss you both as well. I am going to work my ass off in hopes that I can finish early," he replied in between kisses. "Please be careful driving and have lots of fun. I'll be thinking about you constantly."
"Same here, Rafa." With one last lingering kiss, Liv stepped back and climbed into the driver's seat of the SUV. "I'll text you when we get there, and you can call me this evening when you take a break."
Though he, at least, had been feeling it for a long time, they hadn't exchanged the words to fully express their feelings yet. As he picked up his briefcase off the sidewalk and watched them drive away, Rafa wished that he would have spoken the words, told her he loved her more than anything in the world. It was a long early morning walk to his office while he thought about how much he already missed them.
"Ok, sweet boy, do we want to listen to holiday music on our road trip to Christmas Village?"
"Yes!" came Noah's happy response from the backseat. His early morning crankiness was starting to wear off now that they were on their way.
"Ok. It's going to take a little over 5 hours to get there," Liv explained to her son. "We'll stop for lunch on the way. You have your iPad and headphones in your backpack for when you get bored."
Getting through the typical early morning traffic in Manhattan took a while, but the it cleared up by the time the were passing through Yonkers. They sang along to the holiday tunes on the radio as Liv drove up the Hutchinson River Parkway before jumping on the interstate through Connecticut. The traffic flowed until they reached Hartford but cleared up again as they reached Massachusetts. Noah watched through the window for most of the ride before he got restless.
Liv decided to take a break for lunch at a pleasant little place called Sweet Lucy's Bakeshop in Bernardston, Massachusetts before they crossed the state line into Vermont. They loaded up on pastries and a coffee to go before hitting the road for the last leg of the trip.
"Woah," Noah breathed as Liv exited the interstate and turned onto Skunk Hollow Road. The area was rural and forested, unlike anything Noah had ever seen before. He gazed in wonder at the snow-capped trees and fields. Though the roads were clear, there had to be at least a foot or two of snow on most of the ground.
"No wonder they call it Christmas Village," Liv said, pulling up to a majestic white building with an old-fashioned wooden sign out front stating it was Rudolph's Inn & Resort.
"Is this where we're staying, Momma?" Noah wondered. "It looks awesome. Look! There's a snowman! Maybe we can make out own snowman!"
"Wow, that's cool. I bet we can, sweet boy," she replied, pulling into a spot in the parking area on the side of the inn. "Are you ready for our adventure?"
With a nod, Noah climbed out of his seat and helped his mom unload their luggage from the car. He insisted on being in charge of his own luggage and made sure his backpack was secure on his shoulders before rolling his luggage up the snow-dusted walkway behind his mom.
"Well, hello there," a friendly feminine voice greeted the pair as they approached the entryway. "I am Anna, the manager her at Rudolph's Inn & Resort. May I help you with anything?"
"Hi Anna!" Noah greeted merrily. "I'm Noah and this is my mom. We're here on vacation."
Liv laughed at how boisterous her son was and introduced herself to Anna. "We are checking in for the week."
"How wonderful! Is it your first visit to Christmas Village?" Anna asked leading the way to the check-in desk.
"It is! This looks just like what I thought Santa's home would look like!" Noah chattered away in his excitement, completely charming Anna.
"It does, right? Where are you coming from?"
"New York City," Noah replied.
"Well, welcome to Christmas Village, Vermont. I'll let you in on a little secret, Noah," Anna said conspiratorially. "Santa comes here before Christmas as a little getaway from all of the Christmas preparations. You may just see him this week."
Noah's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Mmhmm. Oh, and something else you might like. There is a giant gingerbread house over there," Anna said, pointing a finger behind Noah's right shoulder.
He turned and released a loud breath. "Momma! Can I go look at the gingerbread house? Please? I promise not to touch anything!"
Anna smiled broadly, delighted by the mother and son. "He is such a charmer! Is his dad like that, too?"
"I don't have a dad," Noah declared, unfazed by the sudden drop in Anna's expression. He turned to his mom, eagerly awaiting her response to his request.
"Yes, sweet boy, you can go," Liv laughed as he skipped away immediately. She turned her attention back to her phone, typing out a text to Rafa to let him know they arrived safely.
"I'm so sorry, forgive my nosiness. I saw that the reservation was for 3, so I just assumed that the third person was Noah's dad!" Anna hurriedly explained, crestfallen.
Liv waved her off absent-mindedly and handed Anna her credit card. "It's no problem at all, believe me. Someone might join us later in the week, but it's just Noah and me for the most part."
Anna surreptitiously glanced at Liv's hand and noticed the distinct lack of a ring. The wheels were turning in the woman's mind as she set Liv up with room keys and some information on the town. She had a feeling that the beautiful brunette and her adorable, curly-haired son from New York City would be a hit with the townsfolk.
After she picked up the room keys and information, Liv fired off her text to Rafa as she waited for Noah to finish his inspection of the gingerbread house. Hey Rafa, we made it to the inn safely. The town is so cute! We're going to settle in and explore.
A minute later, her phone buzzed with his responding text.
Glad you made it safely. Have fun and take lots of photos! In an entirely uncharacteristic move, his text included a heart emoji.
Liv's heart fluttered and she responded with a heart emoji of her own – it would do for now until they were ready to speak the words aloud. She followed it up with a photo of Noah in front of the giant gingerbread house.