Olivia checked her watch for what seemed to be the umpteenth time since she got there, sighing in frustration and rolling her eyes when she noted that only five minutes had passed since she last checked. She rubbed her hands impatiently up and down her thighs, as she tried to keep her focus on the ongoing meeting, but failed miserably. She felt Amanda's calming hand on her persistently tapping leg, and nearly growled when their eyes met. The blonde merely smiled sympathetically at her, and mouthed 'I know' to the impatient brunette.
She had gotten the call early that morning that 1PP wanted both her and Amanda for a meeting there. She tried everything in her power to skip it, but Dodds insisted on her presence.
'I understand the situation, Lieutenant, but don't forget that you're also the commanding officer of one of the most elite and prestigious units in the country,' he justified his insistence on her presence. She had thought about leaving her in Barba's care, but her dismay skyrocketed when he told her that his presence was required as well. Courtesy of the DA himself.
The one saving grace was Carisi. It was his day off, and he told her that he had no problem keeping an eye out on Savina while she's gone. Which left Fin to man the precinct, and thankfully, no surprises turned up. It looked like it was going to be a calm, paperwork day.
Savina was still asleep when she left, and Amanda had to drag her away from the room. She had even texted Lucy and told her to take Noah over to the hospital once he's out of daycare. It had been their routine for the past week; daycare, then spend the day at the hospital with Savina and Olivia, then Barba would pick him up on his way home and put him to bed.
The meeting was actually quite fruitful, and Dodds wasn't lying when he said her presence was needed. They talked about interagency lack of communication, the backlogs, and the lack of information on the interstate databases that allows so many criminals to get away with their crimes for years. It was all things she was passionate about, and had spent years fighting for. She had tried her best to engage in the meeting, and weigh in on the matters. But she saw on their faces that they could tell she was off her game, and they were right. She could only think of the sleeping teenager she left that morning after promising her over and over that she'll always be there when she woke up.
She was practically jogging through the hospital, even took the stairs up to the fourth floor to get to Savina's room, when the elevator took too long to arrive, with Amanda and Barba silently trailing behind. The meeting had started out well, but Dodds had cornered her, along with Hank Abraham, right before she left, and dropped a bomb on her that left her seething. She nearly even bit his head off, if Barba and Amanda hadn't interfered. The one thing that helped calm her down slightly, was when Amanda and Barba talked her into going to her apartment and packing. She took her frustration out on her clothes and the boxes. And between all three of them, they finished in under an hour. And it had worked, she was still angry, but not as seething as before.
She gave Officer Watson a clipped smile when he stood up to meet her, and nodded her head in acknowledgment, before she opened the door. The blinds were closed, so she knew Savina was awake, since she always kept them open if she was asleep. And she could hear voices inside.
She saw Carisi sitting on the bed, by Savina's feet, the table pulled up between them, with cards spread out on them. To her surprise, Lucia was propped up in the bed next to Savina, partially behind her, with Noah in her lap, completely engrossed by the apparent heated game her daughter and detective were playing.
"Gin!" Savina exclaimed happily, and a bit arrogantly, at a gob smacked Carisi as she laid out her cards for him to see.
"Who taught you how to play?" he grumbled.
"That would be my grandmother," she gloated, before she turned her cheeky smile towards her mother. "Hey, how was it?" she asked.
The only response Olivia could come up with, was a groan. She had been worried about how Savina would react to waking up and not finding her, she was scared that she'll find the mistrust in her eyes once more. She was glad when she saw no hint of blame, no anger, and no mistrust. Just the usual walls she built, that Olivia was still desperately trying to claw her way through, so she can tear them all down. And so, when Savina asked about the meeting, the groan was part frustration, part her not trusting her voice not to betray her thoughts, and part her sleep-deprived brain deciding that it was the only way to describe the meeting.
Savina's eyes softened slightly, and she smiled softly at her. "That bad, huh?"
"Well, it was going fine, until Chief Dodds pulled me aside," Olivia confessed.
"And Abraham!" Amanda offered, and Carisi groaned.
"Oh boy! That can't have been good!" Carisi said.
"Uh…Abraham?" Savina wondered.
"Hank Abraham, Deputy Commissioner," Barba provided the answer.
"What did they want?" Lucia asked.
"Well, the good news is we're finally getting a new detective," Amanda replied.
"That doesn't sound so bad," Savina sounded hopeful. "Does it?" she added in doubt when Olivia plumped down on the bed next to her with a loud groan, that sounded more like a growl than anything.
"Except he's a Sargent," Olivia growled.
"And Dodds's son," Amanda added.
"Dodds, as in Chief Dodds?" Lucia sought confirmation, and Amanda nodded regretfully. "One and the same," she conceded.
"Hey, I thought I get to call dibs on that!" Savina quipped.
That actually made Olivia laugh, genuinely laugh, as her shoulders shook with the first genuine laugh Barba had heard in days. Savina grinned ruefully at her, her eyes shining just a little bit with happiness when she saw the small glimmer of joy in Olivia's eyes. Olivia was on the bed next to her, one hand on her back, their faces so close to each other that Olivia could see the tinniest bit of hope hidden beneath the surface. She desperately wanted to tell her how much she loved her, to lean forward and plant a kiss to her forehead, to pull her into her arms. But she knew very well that Savina was still not ready for any of that. So she merely flashed her a genuine smile. "I really needed the laugh, thanks."
"Anytime. But how come they stuck you with a Sargent? Amanda's already one," she wondered, and that got Olivia to roll her eyes once more.
"He's more of a spy than anything," she deadpanned.
"Excuse me?" Carisi interjected.
"Well, apparently going after DCS twice in less than a year is a big no-no, so they're sticking me with someone who can rat me out when I'm planning something like this under the table, so they can stop me in time," Olivia explained in exasperation.
"Translation please!" Savina looked over to Barba for help.
"There was this case last summer, a nine year-old died because of neglect from her social worker," Barba started.
"Yeah, I remember that. The social worker didn't go see her for months, and therefore had no idea that the mother was back on drugs, and basically torturing the girl."
"Yeah, well, I decided that a mere slap on the wrist wasn't good enough, and helped Rafael build a case against them," Olivia continued.
"That's badass!" Savina exclaimed proudly, and Olivia couldn't help the smug smile from tugging on her lips.
"And then you went after Linda McNamara," Carisi added, and Olivia nodded.
"So you basically pissed the Gods in the marble halls, and now they want someone who knows how to kiss ass, and play politics!" Savina exclaimed incredulously. "Ow!" she suddenly shrieked, when Lucia slapped her arm.
"Language!" Lucia admonished, before turning her attention back to Olivia, as if nothing had happened. "But why a Sargent?" she asked.
"Because a detective is easily molded; they're young, they're eager to learn, wanna prove their worth. So they can easily be trained in our ways, and can grow loyal very quickly to the people around them because they know that those are the people who have their back. But when he's a Sargent, he already has people who have his back, has his own ideas and conceptions about how certain things should go. I'm not dealing with someone green, I'm gonna be breaking a few stereotypical ideas in his head, and starting from scratch with someone who will basically be fighting me all the way. Not to mention, that he could think that if I go, he'll take my place. So he'll have no problem not being loyal," she explained begrudgingly.
"He'll be more of a liability than a helping hand," Savina realized, and Olivia nodded.
"He may not be so bad," Amanda hoped. "I mean, we handled Carisi and his moustache! How bad can he be?" she teased.
Carisi opened his mouth to protest, but Savina beat him to it. "I'm sorry. Carisi and his what?" she inquired, a mischievous smile already tugging on the corner of her lips.
"Moustache," Amanda repeated, as she dug her phone out of her pocket.
"You had a moustache?" Savina sought confirmation, as she tried hard to stifle the laugh bubbling up in her chest.
"It wasn't that bad!" Carisi defended.
"Oh, yes it was," was chorused by all three who had seen him.
"Please tell me there are pictures," Savina practically begged.
"Ask and you shall receive," Amanda said, as she handed her the phone.
Savina burst out laughing when she saw the picture, her hand immediately flying to her side in a futile attempt to splint her ribs, since trying to control her laughter was out of the question.
Noah, who had crawled over Savina to Olivia the minute she sat on the bed, was now looking at the laughing brunette with concern.
"Hey, it's not that bad! You're gonna crack a rib!" Carisi protested.
"It's worth it," she giggled, her laughter now calming down slightly, and mixing in with sounds of pain.
"Sassy?" Noah pouted, as he reached for her.
"I'm fine, kiddo." She maneuvered him away from her injured side, and kissed his cheek. She smiled when he wrapped his arms around her neck, and gently patted her back, both her arms now wrapping around him. "Don't worry, sweetie, I'm fine," she cooed softly into his hair.
Olivia had tears in her eyes at the sight; it appeared that Noah had no trouble at all accepting Savina, and had immediately warmed up to her. And Savina's patience with him was overwhelming, she knew how to handle him, put him ahead of herself, ignored any pain his poking knees and elbows may cause so he wouldn't worry. She had told Olivia that the only reason why she didn't want him spending the night with them, was because of the nightmares. She knew she will scare him, and she didn't want that.
"Well, it's almost somebody's bedtime," Barba's voice pulled her out of her thoughts, and she saw Noah tightening his hold on Savina, who smiled. "You know what's coming, don't you?" she teased gently, as she rubbed his back, and he merely buried his face in her neck even further.
"Come on, buddy. How does a bubble bath sound? You can keep me company too," Barba tried to lure him, but the boy merely looked skeptically at the older man, before his eyes shifted over to Olivia. "Mommy?" he wondered, and Olivia's gaze saddened immediately.
"Not tonight, baby," she cooed regretfully, as she took him from Savina and hugged him.
"Actually, yes, tonight," Savina interrupted, and Olivia's head snapped in her direction, her mouth opening to fire off a million objections, but Savina held her hand up to stop her. "Just hear me out," she started. "You've barely been home in the past two days, this recliner is the most uncomfortable thing on the planet, and he misses you terribly. It's one night. Go home, let him have you for today, and I'm sure you'll be back here before I even wake up. I don't even sleep till it's sun out anyways, so I should be fine," she argued softly, but Olivia shook her head. Savina could clearly see how torn her mother was between both of them, and it made her feel good slightly. "Olivia, he's two. He can't be the patient one any longer. You're not breaking any promises," she stated softly, knowing very well that she was worried about what she might think. "You're just getting some much deserved rest, and letting him have his mommy back for one night."
Olivia's heart fluttered slightly in her chest, and her breath hitched a bit when she heard Savina saying 'mommy'- even if she wasn't really meaning it that way – but it made her wish for it even more. She couldn't help but smile proudly at how thoughtful Savina was, and her heart swelled with so much love and pride for her little girl that it could burst at any minute.
"I can stay the night, Mija," Lucia offered.
"Uh, no. Your back and neck will hate me for the rest of the week if you do. I wasn't kidding when I said this thing was uncomfortable. Not to mention that you actually have work in the morning, and if you stay here, you won't be getting any sleep," Savina pointed out.
"You think it'll be the first night I go to work with practically no sleep?" Lucia countered. "Who do you think raised this one?" she asked, pointing towards Barba.
"Yes, but that was ages ago, when…" she trailed off when she saw Lucia's raised eyebrow as she waited for the end of the sentence. "And unless I want to break any more ribs, I really shouldn't finish that sentence," she back-tracked cheekily.
"Wise, wise decision!" Lucia stated matter-of-factly.
Just then, Fin walked into the room, a stoic expression on his face.
"I take it you heard," Olivia commented, and he nodded stiffly.
"Yeah, Dodds Jr.," he declared. "Wonder how he got that job!" he inquired incredulously, and Olivia groaned once more.
"And this is exactly why you should head home. It's been a long day, you're running on almost no sleep, and now you have to babysit the mini version of your boss. You need all the rest you can get," Savina listed.
"Tomorrow's my day off, Liv. I can stay the night," Fin offered. "I have about sixteen years' worth of stories on your mom that should keep us both entertained," he winked at Savina, and she grinned. "I'm with him!" she declared.
By the time Olivia and Barba made it home, Noah had already fallen asleep. They had stopped for take-out on the way home, and she was carrying the bags, while Barba had Noah cradled close to his chest. He was humming a lullaby softly in the toddler's ear as he maneuvered his coat off his shoulders to avoid waking him. Tommy had already moved the boxes she packed to the new apartment, and all she had to do was swing by the old apartment, pick up a few last minute things, pay a few bills, and hand over the keys. She had expected to be a bit more attached to the apartment, after all, it was where she had gotten Noah. But when she thought about it, she realized that most of her happy memories with her son, somehow involved Barba. Ironically, Noah had taken his first steps at the ADA's office on a desolate visit once. It had been the first time she had seen the ADA act uncharacteristically, when he practically jumped off his chair, and reached for his phone to record the toddler as he toddled over from where he was sitting on the floor amongst his toys, trying to get to his mother. Olivia had cried in joy, and hugged Noah profusely that day, whispering words of encouragement, and declarations of love in his ears as Barba looked on happily. The first time he called her 'Mama' was in her own office, and Barba had walked in less than a minute after, and yet again witnessed the tears of joy. Although the entire squad had joined in on the celebration that day.
So to her, the memories weren't really tied to a place, but rather the people. So to her surprise, she wasn't all that sad about leaving the apartment behind, since she got to be with the man she loved every night now, her son – and soon, her daughter as well – all under the same roof…..the dream that she had long given up on had finally come true.
So very sorry for the late update, but between doctor's appointments, and vacation with the family, I didn't get much time to actually sit down and write anything.
Some of the canon plotlines will be included here, but the timeline might be a bit different to fit the story.
Now, I have a question for all of you my dear readers; I have two versions of Townhouse Incident in my head, both would work well with the story and the dynamic of the characters. One that follows the episode, where Olivia is the one taken, and one where Barba is the one who's taken hostage. Which one would you prefer? I'm taking votes.