Layover
Chapter 10--Home Again
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The next morning as Elliot and Olivia packed up their clothes, an uneasy silence settled over the room. Neither of them looked at the other and the tension in the room could be cut with a dull knife. The elephant was standing in the middle of the room, but neither was willing to speak about it.
"What time does our flight leave?" Olivia asked.
"10:30," Elliot replied as he folded a pair of pants and set them in his suitcase. "It's almost eight o'clock now so we better get a move on."
Olivia nodded and zipped her suitcase shut. "I'll call the front desk and ask the to call us a cab." She made her way to the phone without waiting for Elliot's response. She punched the zero and waited for someone to pick up.
Elliot sighed as he dropped his suitcase by the door and turned to look at Olivia. She was standing near the window, staring out it while she conversed with the person at the front desk. Her hair was styled as it usually was, hanging down to just touch her shoulders with a piece tucked behind each ear. She wore a pair of dark blue jeans, a baby blue sweater and her favorite boots. 'She looks absolutely beautiful,' Elliot thought. 'This is going to be a long flight.'
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Thankfully the plane was not crowded. Other than Elliot and Olivia there were only 2 other people in first class, an young businessman sitting in the very front and an older woman sitting a few rows behind him on the opposite side of the aisle. Elliot and Olivia sat side by side in the very last row busying themselves with various reading material provided by the airline.
"Is it supposed to be cold back in the city?" Olivia asked suddenly.
Elliot looked up from that pamphlet he was reading on the many uses of the Air Phones. "I don't know. I guess we should have checked before we left the hotel."
Olivia nodded absent mindedly and went back to her reading. She looked up and opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it, hoping that Elliot hadn't seen her.
"Just say it Liv," he said in a hushed whisper. He knew what was coming and decided that other passengers didn't need to hear their personal problems. "We're both thinking about it and it's stupid to keep it to ourselves."
Olivia sighed and turned to look at her partner; brown eyes locked with blue. "What's going to happen when we go back to New York?" The question hung in the air between them but their gazes never faltered. Olivia stared into Elliot's eyes finding something there that she had been seriously lacking in her life: love. It was as if she were being wrapped in a warm blanket, one that could protect her from everything the world would throw at her. For the first time in her life she felt whole, like she was part of something that mattered.
"I really don't know Olivia," Elliot answered taking her hand in his own. "But I know that I want to be with you and nothing can change that."
Olivia wanted to smile but the sinking feeling she had in the pit of her stomach stopped her. "It's not going to be easy, you know?"
Elliot chuckled. "Since when has anything that involved you ever been easy?"
Olivia smacked his arm and allowed herself a small smile. "I'm serious El. Cragen will want to separate us; the Brass will have a conniption fit; and I don't even want to think about how everyone will react."
"Are we talking about the same squad here Liv?" Elliot asked. "The people that congratulated us on eloping when we told them we were staying in the honeymoon suite. I'm fairly certain they'll adjust."
"Maybe," Olivia sighed. "But what about your kids? I mean won't it be weird for them? I mean one second I'm your partner and the next we're dating and sleeping together and…"
Elliot grabbed Olivia's head and pulled her into a chaste kiss. Immediately the tension drained from her body and she merely sank into the embrace.
"Better?" Elliot asked; Olivia nodded. "My kids love you Liv. The girls look up to you and I'm pretty sure Dickie has a little crush on you. I really don't think they're going to mind seeing more of you. And as for sleeping together, I would never tell my kids that. I can't afford the amount of therapy they would need to get past those mental images."
Olivia laughed, a light blush creeping into her cheeks. Elliot cupped her cheek in his hands and rubbed his thumb over her smooth skin. "You know, no matter how many obstacles you can come up with it won't deter me Liv. I love you and I'm not about to let anyone or anything stand in the way of that."
"I know that," she said and for the first time in a long time she believed it. "I love you too Elliot. I guess I'm just worrying over nothing."
"Yes you are," he agreed sitting back in his seat as the Captain began his pre-flight speech. "Now just sit back and relax. We'll be back home in no time."
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When the plane touched down at JFK International Airport, Olivia stared out the window at the rising skyline. It felt good to be back on her home turf but there was still a lingering feeling of doubt deep in her heart. She felt Elliot's hand come to rest atop her own, a soft and reassuring presence.
They gathered their bags and made their way down the tunnel, hands still clutched together, eyes never straying from their straightforward positions. As they joined the throng of travelers in the airport, a certain sense of anonymity came over Olivia. In this place she wasn't a New York City detective who was trying to hide her newly found relationship with her partner of eight years. Here she was merely another person in a crazy, mixed up world looking for her direction.
A smile spread across Olivia's face as the thoughts raced through her mind. Her grip on Elliot's hand tightened causing him to stop in his tracks and turn to her.
"You okay?"
She turned to him, smiled and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being so understanding of all my neurotic tendencies," she laughed. Olivia wrapped her arms around Elliot's waist and felt his hands come to rest on her hips. And it was right there in the middle of a crowded airport, only a few yards away from their gate that Olivia realized everything was going to be okay. She was finally with the man she loved and no one could do a thing about it.
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He had intended to show up at their gate and welcome them home. After spending nearly four days stuck in Washington, he was sure they would be ecstatic to be back in the city. He intended to take them both out for lunch and get them caught up on what had been happening with the squad, but he was not prepared for this. Not only were they holding hands, but they were kissing. In the middle of JFK airport.
Cragen sighed and turned on his heel walking in the direction he came from. 'This isn't going to be good for anyone.'
