As It Seems
Chapter 3
A/N: Much thanks to my beta.
Olivia was applying the finishing touches to her makeup when Marissa came bounding into the bathroom.
"Mommy, can I go with you and Aaron tonight?" she asked Olivia.
"No sweetie not tonight," Olivia answered.
"Why?" Marissa whined.
Before Olivia could answer, the buzzer rang. Olivia walked out of the bathroom to answer it. Marissa was right behind her. After finding out that it was the babysitter and buzzing her in, Olivia went to check her reflection one more time. She heard a knock at the door and Marissa asking who it was. She smiled at the fact that Marissa had remembered; she and Elliot had been drilling into her young mind since she had learned to talk.
"Wow. You look great Miss Benson," Cindy, Marissa's babysitter for in the evenings complimented her. Olivia looked down at her outfit, an emerald green dress with a pair of strappy heels to match.
"Thanks," she said smiling, "and I've told you call me Olivia."
The buzzer rang a few minutes later and Olivia let Aaron know that she'd be down in a second. She gave Marissa a kiss on the forehead and headed out for what she thought would be a great date.
Aaron's jaw dropped when he saw her. "Wow, you look gorgeous Olivia," he said. Olivia smiled at his reaction.
"So where are we going?" she asked as they headed toward his car.
"Dolce, over on 21st and Washington," he answered.
"It takes forever to get a reservation there," she said clearly impressed with his thoughtfulness.
"I made the reservations last month," he replied.
They arrived at Dolce a few minutes later. Aaron handed the valet the keys and they headed into the restaurant. After being seated and placing their orders for drinks, Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet jewelry box. Oh my God, he's gonna propose. She didn't have time to think anything else. The next thing she knew Aaron was on bended knee in front of her.
"Olivia I love you so much. We've been together for a year and a half and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"
"I'm sorry Aaron . . . I can't," she stood and left the restaurant. She quickly hailed a cab. She heard Aaron yelling her name as the cab drove away. A few seconds later her cell phone rang; she glanced at the caller ID and saw Aaron's name on the screen. She wasn't ready to be bombarded with questions, well one question in particular, why did she say no. Olivia wasn't sure of that answer herself, so she turned her phone to silent. The cab pulled up to her building thirty minutes later in that time Aaron had called ten times.
"That'll be eighteen dollars," the cabbie said.
"Can you take me to O'Malley's on 16th and Orange instead?" she asked him. She knew it would look strange for her to come in so early from her date.
"Sure lady, it's your money," the cabbie replied.
"Thanks," she said and laid her head against the seat to think.
"Hey lady, we're at that bar." Olivia heard the cabbie say a little later.
"Oh thanks. How much do I owe?" she questioned.
"Thirty-five," he answered.
Olivia handed him two twenties and got out. "Keep the change," she yelled over her shoulder.
Upon entering the bar Olivia felt several eyes on her. Damn. I'm a little overdressed for this place. She headed toward the bar trying to ignore the lewd comments being made as she passed. When the bartender came over Olivia ordered a vodka neat. Twenty minutes later Olivia was finishing her fourth drink when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Damn it, Aaron. How did you find me?" Olivia fumed. They had came outside for some privacy. She was pissed, not surprised though. She should've known he would track her down.
"It doesn't matter how I found you. Why the hell did you run out of the restaurant?" Aaron asked her.
"So I wouldn't have to talk to you. I wasn't ready to have to give you a reason for saying no," she screamed.
"And are you ready now?" he asked calmly.
"Ok, you want to do this now fine," she said. "I said no because I don't want to get married to you. I was happy with what we had. I've done the whole being engaged thing and it went terrible." Her speech was slurred, but other than that it was hard to tell Olivia had been drinking.
"Olivia I'm not Michael. I would never hurt you."
"That's not the point. I don't want to get married. I am fine being in a committed relationship," she said quietly.
"Well I'm not," he responded.
"So what? Are you saying you want to end it?"
"I guess I am," he said sadly.
"Well I guess all I can say is goodbye." Olivia turned and headed up the street toward her apartment building.
"Olivia, wait," he called out.
She kept walking as tears burned her eyes. She refused to let them fall, though. As she neared her apartment building she pulled a tissue from her purse and dabbed her eyes. She pasted a fake smile to her face as she exited the elevator and headed for her door.
"Hi, Miss Benson. How was your evening?" Cindy asked her.
"Oh, it was great, but I'm kinda tired. Is Marissa asleep?" she asked, trying to appear as if nothing was wrong.
"Yeah, she went to bed about nine."
"Thanks, Cindy. Here's the money I owe you for tonight," Olivia said and handed her a fifty.
"Goodnight, Miss Benson."
"Night Cindy." Olivia locked the door behind the girl and went to change into her pajamas after checking in on her daughter.
The next morning Olivia was awoken by the feeling of her daughter jumping into the bed with her. Olivia rubbed her eyes and sat up, only to see Marissa sitting there watching her.
"Hi mommy," Marissa said happily.
"Hey sweetie. What are you doing up so early?" Olivia asked glancing at the clock. It was six-thirty in the morning.
"I want to go to Ariel's," Marissa answered, referring to her baby-sitter's daughter.
"Okay. Go play for a few minutes while I get ready," Olivia told her. Marissa got off the bed and headed out of Olivia's bedroom toward her own.
Thirty minutes later Marissa and Olivia were on their way out the door. It was only a twenty minute walk to Nicole, Marissa's babysitter's house. Once Olivia had dropped Marissa off she headed for the station.
Unfortunately, they had not discovered any new leads on the perp. The day had been long and uneventful. Olivia glanced at her watch, seven o clock, it's quittin' time. Olivia called Nicole to see if it was okay if she left Marissa over there with Ariel. Right now all she wanted was a night alone. Nicole said it'd be fine so Olivia headed for home.
Once she was home Olivia kicked her shoes off and locked the door. She went into the bathroom and filled the tub with a lavender bubble bath, so she could relax. She turned on the stereo that was in the bathroom, Olivia undressed and stepped into the tub. She laid her head back against the wall, closed her eyes, letting the words of the song fill her mind. As she listened to the song on the radio her thoughts drifted to Elliot. She could feel his lips pressed to hers in a heated kiss, his kiss filled with the same emotion he displayed with each case they worked. She could feel his hands all over body. Suddenly from the radio came the DJ's loud, booming voice, jarring her from her thoughts. Oh my God. I can't believe I was just thinking about Elliot in that way. When she had first arrived to SVU she had had these thoughts of Elliot, but she had been with Michael and Elliot had been recently divorced. Olivia got out of the tub, wrapped a towel around her, and went into her bedroom to put on her pajamas. Once dressed, Olivia climbed into bed.
