A/N: We're back with chapter three! Did you miss us? Thanks for all the kind reviews; again, it's really appreciated. Hopefully any confusion about anything will come clear. Enjoy!
"Hi! How are you?" Jim Owens greeted Olivia, as he stood up from his chair. He kissed her cheek and eased back down, as she took the seat across from him.
"I'm...alright, how are you?"
"I'm good. Just glad we were finally able to get together. Same place, same time, and no phone tag. Seems too good to be true."
Olivia smiled, neglecting to mention that he had been the only one playing "phone tag."
"Well, I know that last time we met we really didn't get a chance to, uh, talk much--" he was grinning at her, and she couldn't resist grinning back (although not without a hint of a blush), especially because he was right. "—so…tell me about yourself. Why don't we start with what you do for a living?"
Well…she might as well get it over with. This was the part where she'd be off the hook.
"I'm a police detective. I investigate…sex crimes." She watched his face, not knowing why she did. Holding out a desperate hope? Nah…she'd been through this too many times.
His gray eyes watched her intently. "Must be a tough job."
That was a new response. Or maybe it wasn't the response that was new, but the tone in his voice as he said it. Not distant, not too interested, but sincere. Just…sincere.
"Yeah…yeah, it is," she muttered, disarmed by his reaction. "So…what do you do?"
"I'm in business. I co-own an Italian restaurant."
"Oh, are you Italian?"
"Nah, that's my friend. His idea, I just went along for the ride. Turns out I enjoyed the ride and got really active in it. I mostly handle atmosphere, customer satisfaction and whatnot. I guess that sounds pretty boring compared to your job."
She smiled humorlessly. "Not really."
He quickly changed the subject.
Vulnerable, for the first time with a man since she'd taken this job, Olivia didn't know how to react. She felt a wave of nausea, reminding her of her present situation. Without thinking, she laid her head on her arms, which were resting atop the table.
"Olivia?" Jim looked alarmed.
There was no avoiding it now. It was the perfect moment, but she wasn't sure she could bring herself to do it.
"Jim, look, there's no easy way to tell you this."
"Are you okay? Do you need a doctor? I mean, do you want me to call someone?"
"No...Jim...I've called a doctor. The clinic. I've called the clinic." Olivia searched his face for any hint that he might be catching on. But she couldn't read his expression.
"Wh--you mean... " Olivia nodded. "Oh, my God…Look, if you're doing this because you think you have to...I mean…I'm…I can…I've always planned on…I'm here."
"Yeah, see…I'm sorry, but having a…it just really isn't the best thing for me, not right now. My lifestyle just couldn't handle it."
"I understand. It's your decision. But if you have second thoughts, or if you need help, I just want you to know I'm here. Look, Olivia, I like you. A lot. I want to help you out. I know how corny that sounds, but it's true. With…this…just, anything you need, call me. I'll go with you if you want. Anything." He briefly covered her hand with his.
She watched his face, which contained a degree of sadness beyond the concern his words expressed.
"Thanks, that's really sweet. Are you…are you okay?"
"Yeah, it's just…I don't want you to put yourself in the position to have to undergo this…I mean, obviously if it's the best thing for you, but there's another option. I did help create this, you know; it's my responsibility too, and…you shouldn't have to deal with this alone. My mom did, and I saw the toll it took on her."
Olivia nodded, understanding, but with slight unease. She wanted to deal with this on her own. She had thought she could shake this guy earlier in the conversation, but she couldn't…and did she want to? Well, maybe not under other circumstances. But she was carrying this guy's baby. She was carrying. And she wanted no interference here.
Odafin Tutuola, John Munch, and Elliot were sitting around the squadroom, filling out paperwork; Cragen was on the phone in his office; and Olivia, surprisingly, had not arrived yet. Sometimes her colleagues even suspected she lived full-time at the precinct.
So they all looked up when she walked through the door, appearing cheerful. But by this point all three of them knew her well enough to tell that it was forced.
"Morning."
They acknowledged her with a nod as she sat down at her desk across from Elliot. As she pulled papers out of her desk drawer, she asked, "Any new developments on the Mandolin case?"
"Well, his attorney claims that we all brutalized him, so we're buried in paperwork." Munch replied.
"What happened, we bruise his wrists with the cuffs?"
"Yeah, and our malingering friend might have sustained emotional trauma induced by the, uh, stress of the interrogation…" he glanced at Elliot, who looked at the ceiling innocently, and Olivia stifled a laugh.
As Olivia absorbed herself in her share of the paperwork, she didn't notice Munch pondering her for a moment.
After about half an hour, Cragen came out of his office. "Benson, Stabler, we've got a lead on the Nelson case." He gave them the address. "Get down there."
As Olivia stood up and walked past Munch's desk on her way out, she heard him say quietly, "If you need to talk…" She didn't respond, but he knew she'd heard. He watched her retreating back until she was out the door, then turned back to his work.
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Love and Kisses,
Jill and Ella
