Chapter 19
Disclaimer: As with chapters 1 through 18, the show doesn't belong to me, but my original characters are still mine ... let's see that's what 2 characters?
XXXX
The Next Morning:
Olivia's eyes opened and she found herself looking at the back of her couch. Had she fallen asleep without pulling the couch bed out ... again? She thought back, yeah, she had fallen asleep while still thinking of her options. "Shit," she cursed under her breath, turning around to glance around the room. It was empty and from what she could tell it was just beginning to get bright outside, it must have been around six thirty in the morning. Plenty of time left to think ... or at least she hoped so.
Sitting upright on the couch she ran a hand through her hair haphazardly, pulling it out of her face only to have it fall back into her eyes. Sighing she blew at the stubborn strands, but then continued to fall back into their original spot. Giving up she got off of the couch and quietly tiptoed into the kitchen, praying that she wouldn't wake him or anybody else.
Deciding against making coffee she poured herself a cup of orange juice and sat down at her table, sighing to herself. She still hadn't come to a complete decision, but she was getting closer to it. Her talk with Kathleen had helped her a lot, it put things into perspective, and she had to admit no matter how simple her plan had been it had been effective. She quickly went over her options one last time; move in with Elliot and give up the peace and quite of living alone, or move in with Elliot and finally be happy with the way things were. It seemed like an easy choice, but it was tougher than she could have ever imagined.
Setting her cup down on the table she pushed her chair back and stood. Glancing at the clock she saw that it was almost seven in the morning, she needed to make a decision, and quick. Elliot would be waking up soon, if he hadn't already. She left the kitchen and once again sat down on the living room couch, picking up the notebook that Kathleen had left behind. Smiling she flipped through the pages, coming up on the page that Kathleen had written her pros and cons on.
She glanced over the "pros" for moving in, smiled to herself then looked over at the "cons", where Kathleen had written 'none'. Laughing to herself she put the book back down on the couch and leaned back, resting her head against the back of the couch, eyes shut. Sighing she went over her choices once again, live alone again or move in with Elliot when he got a new place. How was this so hard? She was in love with Elliot, shouldn't that make her choice easier?
A yawn took her from her thoughts; she opened her eyes and looked towards the direction of the noise. "Hey," she greeted him as he sleepily walked into the living room. "Sleep well?"
He nodded and sat down on the couch, groaning. "It's way too early," he stated, looking over at the clock.
Olivia smiled, "Then go back to sleep."
"Can't," he mumbled, "Dad's snoring."
"Really?" She asked, "I've never noticed that."
"That's because he doesn't snore when he sleeps out here, at least not loudly." He yawned again, running a hand over his short hair. "I didn't sleep more than four hours last night."
"Let me pull the couch bed out for you," she offered. "I can go in there with your father while you sleep."
"Would you?" He asked, "That would be great."
"Why not? You pull the bed out really quick while I go get you some blankets and pillows." She walked off towards the hall closet to some things for him and instantly understood why Dickey was unable to sleep; she could hear his fathers snoring through the shut door. She laughed to herself and grabbed the sheets, taking them back into the living room.
Dickey was already lying on the pulled out couch bed, his eyes closed. Sighing to herself she set the sheets down on the bed and covered him up with the blanket she had brought, then slipped a pillow under his head. His eyes blinked open and he smiled at her.
"Thank you, 'Livia." He mumbled, changing positions and turning towards the right. "G'night."
"Sweet dreams, Dickey." She said, running a hand through his hair. "I'll see you when you wake up."
Walking back to the hallway she glanced over her shoulder, smiling at the sleeping boy. She opened the door to the guest bedroom and quietly slipped inside, shutting it behind her gently. Tiptoeing across the floor as carefully as she could without waking him she winced at the loud snoring. As she slipped under the covers he turned, mumbled something, and began to snore again.
"Elliot," she whispered, scooting close to him. "You're snoring."
"Hmmm?" He asked, squinting at her. "What're you doing in here?"
"Trying to sleep," she told him, "I'd be able to if you would just quit with the snoring."
He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "I'll try," he mumbled into her hair. "Night."
She smiled and turned around so that she was facing him, "Yes."
"Yes what?" He asked, his eyes still closed.
"Yes, I'll move in with you."
A grin stretched across his face, although his eyes did not open. "Good ... we'll talk about it later."
She snuggled into his chest, "Right. Goodnight." Feeling her eyelids getting heavy she shut them and settled into sleep. A few minutes later Elliot's snoring stopped and she started to doze off.
XXXX
He was awake and staring down at her when her eyes opened again. Sunlight was coming through the window in the apartment's guest bedroom and shining down on the bed, warming the covers and causing her to sweat slightly, her shirt sticking to her back. He, however, didn't seem phased by the heat; but then again that might be because he was topless. She smiled at him and he smiled back.
"Good morning."
She scooted backwards and sat in an upright position, her eyes never leaving his. "Morning," she replied, a smile still playing at her lips. "How long have you been awake?"
He shrugged, "'Bout half an hour, I guess."
"...And you've just been sitting here the whole time, looking at me?"
"Looking at you," he agreed with a nod. "Something wrong with that?"
She shook her head and leaned forward, kissing him briefly. "So, this morning, were you paying attention ... at all?"
He nodded, "I was."
"...So?"
"So, what? You agreed to move in with me, case closed."
"I hate to burst your bubble, El. But ... it's not that easy. First, we have to decide how the sleeping arrangements are going to go, of course I-" she couldn't finish her sentence, his lips had made sure of that.
She protested at first, trying to pull back in order to finish her speech. However, he had other plans, and had wrapped his arms around her waist, crushing her into him, so close that not even a playing card could fit between them. In the end she gave up and into the kiss. She laughed into the kiss as his fingers traveled up and down her spine, tickling her. Finally pulling back she swatted him playfully, "I wasn't done talking, you know?"
He smiled, "I know." Then pulled her back into another kiss.
She managed to pull out of his grasp completely when they came up for air the next time, and she scooted off of the bed. "I'd like to finish what I started to say," she scolded, folding her arms across her chest. "If it's alright with you."
"By all means," he said, throwing his hands up in his defense. "Please do."
She rolled her shoulders, stretching out her back, "Thank you." Sitting back on the bed she continued, "As I was saying before, we still have a lot of things to think about. It's not as simple as moving in together, you know? There's the bills, moving expenses, sleeping arrangements, central location, things as such. We should get the kids together and talk this over first, make sure they're all ok with it. Because, I don't want to make them uncomfortable. Then, after that's done we can go over the financial aspect, as well as the prospect of space and sleeping arrangements."
"Oh, we've already decided on that," he told her. "You and I will share a room."
"Oh?" She asked, "And when did we have this conversation?"
He smiled, "What? You'd rather sleep alone?"
"...Well no...." She confessed, blushing slightly.
"See ... conversation's over already." He leaned forward and kissed her, "Come on, let's go make something for breakfast."
XXXX
After making pancakes they went around and woke the girls, who were still asleep. Dickey had already taken control of the remote and was flipping through the channels, disappointed to find nothing but Sunday morning infomercials. "It's already 9 o'clock," he mumbled, "something else should be on by now."
"You could try and find a movie," Olivia suggested.
"You got anything good?"
She shrugged, "Depends on who you ask, I guess."
A few minutes later he came into the kitchen mumbling about chick flicks and cop dramas he'd already watched with his dad. She chuckled to herself and put a couple of pancakes on a plate, handing it to him.
"You'll have to put the toppings on yourself," she said, directing him to the other side of the kitchen where the butter and maple syrup were. "Can you do that, or you as useless as your father when it comes to any kind of cooking?"
"Hey!" Elliot called from the stove; "I'm making these pancakes, aren't I?"
"Yes you are!" She exclaimed proudly, "Good for you, you can flip a pancake." She winked at Dickey, "I'm just teasing you, I'm sure you're a much better cook than your father."
He grinned and went to fix his pancake. Olivia glanced over at Elliot, who was giving her the evil eye while his pancakes burned on the stove.
"Uh, Emeril Lagasse, your pancakes are burning."
He looked over at the stove; "Oh ... shit." He muttered, taking the pancake and lying it on the plate of the others that had already been cooked.
"What were you saying about being able to cook?" She asked, leaning against the sink.
He glared at her, "You ... don't even start."
She threw her hands up in mock defense, "Hey ... just askin' a simple question, all I need is a simple answer."
He growled and went back to making breakfast. Laughing to herself she decided to get the girls up so they could come out and eat. As she walked by Dickey she tousled his hair, causing him to call out to her.
She smiled at the look he gave her; it mirrored his father's exactly. She had never really paid attention to how much alike the two were, he definitely favored Elliot more.
After the girls were up and ready the rest of them sat down and ate their pancakes, Olivia nearly choked on her orange juice when she saw Elliot take a bite of the burnt pancake, and grimace from the taste it left in his mouth. He glared at her as she caught her breath and forced himself to swallow the food.
"I didn't want to waste it," he said in his defense, though he did not take another bite from the way too dark pancake.
She forced back her laughter and nodded, looking down at her food so that she wouldn't end up letting the laugh slip, though she desperately wanted to. Swallowing it away she picked up her orange juice and finished it off, then took the last bite of her pancakes. She caught Elliot's eye as he pushed the plate that the burnt pancake was on away, a look of disgust in his eyes. He noticed her watching him and looked in her direction, a smile playing at his lips.
"Never a dull day," he said.
"That's for sure," she replied, shaking her head with laughter.
This not living alone thing was a lot easier than she thought.
XXXX
A/N: I'm not positive at this point in time, but I think that this next chapter is going to be the last one, if not the second to last. Anyway, let me know what'cha think of it, I always enjoy feedback (if it's nice!). Thanks for sticking with me this far; I hope you've been enjoying it.
So ... get on with the reviewing!
If you were confused by my saying "Uh, Emeril Lagasse, your pancakes are burning." Allow me to explain, Emeril Lagasse is a professional cook, some americans (and maybe other nationalities) know of him ... you know "bang!"