Chapter 114

The sun came shining through the curtains and straight into Ava's face. She groaned and tossed an arm over her eyes as she turned into the body next to her. It only took a second for her eyes to snap back open. She and Rafe had come into their moms room shortly before sunrise after a particularly bad nightmare had woken up her and Ashley as Rafe tossed and turned and screamed out. When they had come in, Olivia was laying almost on top of Natalia, one leg completely out of the covers and the blanket tucked under her arm across their ma's chest. It wasn't hard to see that they were completely naked. She had thought about leaving their room, but she herself hadn't had the best of dreams that night and wanted to be close to her mothers.

After realizing where she was, Ava sat up and rubbed at her eyes, shifting to use the bed to help her stand. She glanced at the moms, intent on waking Rafe and sneaking out before they woke up to save them all any embarrassment, but she noticed that her Ma was already awake and looking at her with a sweet smile on her face. Natalia pat the spot next to her and Ava quickly climbed up next her, completely forgetting that she was naked under the covers. She lay her head on her ma's shoulder as Natalia ran the hand not pinned by her wife through her daughter's hair.

"You or Rafe?" Natalia asked. Knowing that it was the horrors that plagued their dreams that brought her grown children into her room at night. She wished with all she was that she could take them away from them. Even though she herself suffered from nightmares of losing her wife, or son, or both, she would gladly take all of theirs if it would give them all peaceful nights. One like the rare one she had the previous night while lying naked with her wife.

"Both. Mine weren't too bad, more about before…when mom almost died…back when she had her transplant." Ava shrugged against her ma's shoulder. "Rafe was screaming again. Ashely and I got him calmed down before he woke James and Daisy. That's when we came up here. He kept saying he needed mom. He sat and watched her sleep for a long time before he finally laid down with me and went back to sleep."

Just as Natalia went to speak, Olivia stirred beside her. The blanket started to slip and Natalia grabbed it just in time to save her wife's modesty. Olivia's green eye's peaked open and she smiled at the sight she was met with. Although it was bittersweet, it was sweet none the less, her eldest daughter cuddled up to her wife. She threw an arm as far across Natalia as possible so she could lay a hand on her daughter's hip.

"M'ing. How a-are two of m-my favorite girls?"

"Good morning my love." Natalia greeted her with a kiss to her forehead.

"Morning mom. I'm good. How you feeling?"

"I'm g-good actually. I'm g-glad Phillip suggested w-we come last night. I t-think we all needed it."

"Me too. It was kinda nice getting to know Ashley too, we had a bit of a rocky start when I first moved here, and we never really talked after that. And it would seem she might be part of the family here soon, if little brother ever gets the balls to actually ask her out." The three women laughed as a dark head appeared at the foot of the bed.

"Hey!" He protested as he stood. He slowly sat on the very edge of the foot of the bed. Olivia motioned for him to lay on her lap but he just sat there and stared at her like she'd grown a second head.

"Come here s-son. I'm doing much b-better, just lay your h-head on my leg, I p-promise it won't hurt me." When Rafe still didn't move, Olivia stuck out her bottom lip in a very Emma like pout. "Please. F-for me."

After a minute, with all three women watching him like a hawk, Rafe finally moved. Slowly he made his way up the bed and lay his head on Olivia's thigh just above her knee. Olivia placed a hand on his head and weaved her fingers through his hair.

"That's b-better. Now all we n-need is our Jellybean."

As if being summoned, Emma came through the door, forgetting to knock in her excitement. "Mommy, Ma, daddy said it's time for breakfast, he made…." She trailed off as she looked at her family cuddled on the bed without her. Her head bowed and her bottom lip started to tremble.

Natalia nudged Ava who quickly jumped off the bed and scooped up Emma as she was turning back towards the door. "Where do you think you're going? Mom was just saying we needed you." Ava set Emma down so she could lay next to Rafe with her head on Olivia's other leg and her legs thrown over Natalia and Ava once she reclaimed her spot.

"Really?" Emma questioned. "You wanted me?" She looked up at her mother with hopeful yet sad eyes.

Olivia released the hold she had on Natalia and brought her hand down to cup Emma's cheek, still keeping the other one in Rafe's hair. "Of course, my J-Jellybean. Our family i-isn't complete without y-you."

Emma beamed up at her mother. "I miss morning cuddles with you mommy."

"Me too b-baby." Olivia agreed with a sad smile.

"Well, now that mommy is getting better, maybe we can start that again. We just have to be careful, and stay away from mommy's side, like right now. You and Rafe both get a leg." Natalia suggested with a smile.

Emma's eyes filled with hope and joy as she turned to face her ma. "Really, we can cuddle with mommy again?"

"As long as we're careful, we sure can."

"Yay!" Emma started bouncing and Olivia bit back a wince as Rafe reached out to calm her.

"No jumping Em. Mom's ribs still hurt really bad." He explained.

"Okay. Sorry mommy."

Olivia let out the breath she was holding to stop the pain and reached down to her daughter. "It's alright b-baby."

The family settled down and just lay in the comfortable silence for a few minutes. Olivia rubbing Emma's back with one hand and sifting through Rafe's hair with other. Natalia stroking a hand up and down Ava's back while the other toyed with the hairs at the base of Olivia's neck. Rafe had one hand carefully stretched up beside his mom and the other tossed over his baby sister with one of Ava's hands resting on top of his. If you hadn't know better, you'd never know this family was still working their way back from hell. They just looked like a loving family snuggling together before starting their day.

That's exactly how Phillip felt when he entered the doorway. With the blanket stretched tight across his ex-wife's chest and both her arms holding it firmly in place, and Natalia in much the same situation, he could tell they were undressed, or at least topless, but he didn't let that thought even enter his mind. He just leaned against the door jam and observed his daughter's family for a moment. He knew they were all struggling with everything they were going through, and it was nice to see them in a peaceful moment. Even if he longed for one of his own with his baby girl, he knew it would come in time, and this was a step towards it.

After a minute he felt like he was intruding on an intimate moment, so he stood up straight and cleared his throat. "I uh, I just came to tell you breakfast and coffee are waiting. I thought I sent a cute little girl up here to tell you, but she must have gotten lost." He joked and smiled at his daughter.

Emma jumped up from the bed and into her daddy's arms. "No daddy. I'm right here silly. I just wanted to lay with mommy."

"Oh, okay then. But now, you need to go get some breakfast before Jane comes for you and Payton. I'm sure mommy will be down shortly."

At Olivia's nod, Emma ran from the room, Ava and Rafe also climbed off the bed. They kissed each of their mother's cheeks good morning and told them they were headed down and would see them shortly.

"If you need help getting down the stairs, just holler. Doris, Jamanda, and all the kids are already down there." Phillip said as he too turned to exit the room.

"Thanks Phillip." Natalia called out just as the door closed behind him. She turned on her side and propped herself on an elbow. With her free hand she ran her knuckles down her wife's cheek. "You are so beautiful."

"Mmm." Olivia grabbed her hand and kissed the palm. "I l-love you g-gorgeous." Leaning forward, her wife met her halfway, and they shared a sweet but passion filled kiss.

Pulling back Natalia swiped hair from Olivia's face and tucked it behind her ear. "We should get up."

Olivia groaned and threw her arm over her wife. "Five more m-minutes."

Natalia just shook her head and scoot closer to her wife. Wrapping her arms around her. After Olivia's requested five minutes, the two got out of bed and Natalia helped Olivia into her clothes for the day, then dressed herself. She gave Olivia her pills and then helped her to the bathroom so they could both brush their teeth before joining the masses downstairs.

After breakfast spent with more laughter then any of them had had in quite some time, it was time to return to the courthouse. Olivia was more than a little grateful for Phillip. It had been amazing to have an evening and a morning where Frank or the trial wasn't even mentioned. She slept through the night for the first time in weeks, and reconnecting with her wife had been amazing. The trial was still going to be hard to get through, but maybe now it wouldn't break her.

The extended family all entered the courtroom together. All of them taking their now normal seats and being joined by friends from around Springfield. Not long after being seated, Judge Anderson came in and court was called to order. Frank was brought in and sat next to his lawyer as he had been every day before.

Natalia leaned in close to her wife and laced their fingers together. Without thought, Olivia turned her head and kissed her sweetly. They both slid their chairs back as far as possible along with Rafe. Ava leaned forward and placed a hand on each of her mother's shoulders. Rafe leaned in close to Natalia and put an arm around her and Ava. They had reconnected as a family that morning. Their bond was once again as strong as ever.

They still had somethings to work out, but they would do it together from now on. It's how they worked best. They should have never quit leaning on one another in the first place. They had let their own fears and worries about Olivia's injuries cause them to separate. Even with the kids sleeping on their bedroom floor, they had quit communicating with one another, and they had let Emma fall way too far away from them. Not anymore. It hadn't been talked about, but after those few precious minutes spent in bed together that morning, they all just knew, it would be different from now on.

What no one knew, was Olivia had a plan to make certain of it. She had already text Greg about the first part of her plan and he was working on it as they sat in court. He wanted to be at the hearing, but Olivia needed him to stay on top of things at The Beacon so her family could concentrate on nothing but putting Frank behind bars for good. He was going to be at the sentencing though, and at the moment, he was helping her with something just as important as locking Frank up.

"Defense calls Ava Paralta Spencer-Rivera."

Mr. Carter's voice brought Olivia out of her inner thoughts. She turned and kissed Ava's cheek. "I love y-you baby. Remember, n-nothing will change w-what we have now."

Ava nodded and kissed her mother's forehead. "I love you mom." She then kissed her Ma and brother before making her way up to the stand. Rafe reached a hand across his ma to his mom and the three sat all clutching to each other as Ava was sworn in. Rafe didn't know what was about to be revealed, but Natalia and Olivia suspected they did.

Natalia leaned into her son and whispered in his ear. "No matter what you hear, remember what you know now. WHO you know now."

Rafe wasn't sure he understood, but he nodded just the same. He knew enough about Olivia to know she had more demons in her past then everyone he knew put together, and from the way everyone was acting, it was clear that whatever Ava was about to be questioned on, wasn't going to bode well for his mom. It didn't matter though. Like his ma said, it's who she is now that mattered, and he would remember who he knows, not the woman he never met.

Mr. Carter moved to stand before Ava and cleared his throat. "Ms. Paralta, Olivia Spencer-Rivera is your birth mother, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"She's not, however, the woman who raised you, is she?"

"No sir, she's not."

"And who did."

"I was adopted by Connie Paralta, well Sutton then, but she married my dad Javier when I was very young."

"And was she a good a mother? Connie?"

"Yes, she was a great mother. I love her very much."

"It's my understanding that she's passed away. Is that correct?"

"Yes sir, she and my father, all of my father's actually."

"Did she ever try to harm you in any way when she was alive?"

"No, sir."

"And how about Olivia? Would you say she's a good mom?"

"The best. Emma, Rafe, and I are very lucky to have her."

"Would you say a good mom would ever try and bring harm to their children?"

Ava swallowed. She knew this was coming, but it didn't make her any more prepared. "No sir."

"Has Olivia ever tried to harm you?"

"No." Ava said sternly.

"No? Did she not leave you trapped to escape herself while her hotel was on fire? Try to hit you with a car, and hire a Mr. Gillespie to, and I quote, "take you out."

"No." Ava stated once again more firmly this time.

"Really?" He walked to the table Frank sat at and grabbed a file. "Cause I have here, a statement that you gave on August 2, 2006, stating otherwise, as well as a recording from Olivia to Mr. Gillespie ordering him to take you out, as well as a statement you had given to Mr. Frank Cooper stating she tried to kill you. Just because the charges were dropped does not mean it didn't happen. Now I will remind you Ms. Peralta, you are under oath. I will ask again, did Olivia Spencer-Rivera ever try to harm you?"

Rafe gasped at the evidence just revealed. But he remembered what his ma said and he saw the love his sister held for their mom as she sought Olivia's eyes from the stand. He gripped Olivia's hand in his a little tighter as he waited for his sister to continue.

"No." When Eric tried to speak Ava spoke over him. "You don't have all of the facts Mr. Carter. If you would allow me to explain please."

"Just remember, you are under oath Ms. Peralta, altering the truth is a lie."

"It's Spencer-Rivera and I am aware Mr. Carter. This started with a simple miss-understanding that escalated to an out-of-control situation. There was a fire at The Beacon, one in which I became trapped under a door that had fallen. My mother, Olivia, she tried to lift the door, she did, but she couldn't lift it and at the time, she didn't know I was her daughter. She didn't leave to escape. She left because she needed to find Emma, she was only four. She didn't know if she was still in the building. She told me she would send help. I'm not gonna say whether she did or not because I don't know, what I do know is that help did come. When I got out of that fire, I was so angry at her for leaving me. At the time I couldn't process why she left me. I couldn't even remember what she said before she left until days after. Had I registered what she was saying to me, I probably would have told her to go, especially if I had known she was my mother and Emma was my sister. I yelled at her and accused her of leaving me to die in that fire. I wish I could go back and never say that to her, because that's just not what happened."

"And what of the other accusations you made against her?"

"I'm getting there. A few days later, I offered to baby sit Emma for Olivia, we still didn't know we were related. Emma got into a bottle of my perfume and drank it. She ended up at the hospital. She had to have her stomach pumped." Tears fell from Ava's eyes as she remembered that night. As painful as it was then to think she had accidently hurt Emma, it hurt more now. Knowing it was her baby sister that she wasn't watching closely enough. She could have died that night and it would have been her fault.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Ava looked to her mother, who also had tears streaming down her cheeks. "Luckily she was okay, but Olivia, she thought that I did it on purpose. She thought I tried to hurt her baby to get back at her for the fire. I didn't I would never hurt a child, but in Olivia's fear and grief, she lashed out at me. She did come towards me in her car in a parking lot, but she couldn't do it. I don't know why, we still didn't know who we were to each other, but she couldn't. She hired Gillespie so scare me so I would leave town. He took it too far on his own. When she realized I was her daughter, she went to try and stop him, but he said it was too late. Then I was there, alive, and fine. I was scared and shaken. I still didn't know she was my mother and I couldn't see anything from her point of view. Mind you, I still don't approve, and I think it was extreme, but I understand now that she was just trying to protect her child. She had no clue I was her daughter; she didn't really know me at all and she thought I had tried to hurt Emma and feared I could try again.

I went to Frank to file charges against her, but when they were arresting her she told me she was my mother. I didn't believe her, I couldn't. I didn't even know I was adopted. But she had the adoption papers, and a picture of me, I looked so much like Emma in it. I went through with having her arrested, but eventually dropped the charges. I couldn't have my own mother put in prison, especially after I started to understand her reasoning. It took a long time and a lot of hard work, but we eventually built a relationship, and now, I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. My mom has always been a great mother to Emma, and after some time, she became a wonderful mother for me too. And now Rafe gets to have her too. So, did my mother ever try to harm me, no. Did she hire someone else to, under an extreme circumstance, who took it too far? Yes. But I ask, who among us wouldn't do whatever was necessary to protect their child. I know I would. Just as I would do anything to protect my brother and sister, and moms. She did what she thought she had to do. I understand that now." Once again Ava's eyes locked with her mother's as they both cried. She watched as Natalia and Rafe held tight to Olivia, giving her the comfort Ava wished she herself could give at that moment, give, and also receive.

"Say what you will Ms. Spencer-Rivera, but as a father myself, I know that there is never any reason to knowingly and purposely do anything that would cause a child harm. No further questions."

Mel was going to question Ava. They had planned to speak with her about her and Olivia's beginning. How hard it was to find out not only that she had been adopted, but that she was the product of a rape. Now though, Doris had a better idea. She whispered to Mel and then stood and walked around the table to stand before Ava.

"Hello Ms. Paralta Spencer-Rivera. May I call you Ava." Ava nodded as she dried the last of her tears. "Ava, could you tell us where you currently reside?"

"Um, I live with my mom and ma at the farmhouse." Ava answered, somewhat confused by the question. This is not what they had talked about.

"And where do you work?"

"Uh, at The Beacon hotel."

"With your mothers?"

"Yes, and my brother, Rafe."

"Do you work with them on a daily basis?"

"Yes. Rafe is my assistant so I see him most of the day and I often have to run things by one or the other of my mom's or have them sign off on something. We usually have lunch together as well."

"So, let me get this straight, this mother, the one who supposedly tried to harm you, as Mr. Carter claims, is the same mother whom you not only live with, but also work with?"

"Yes ma'am."

"So, most days you really don't get a break from her?"

"Until recently, yes. I mean, we have a lot of work to do. Between running The Beacon here and the one in Chicago, plus my mom's dealing with the renovations in St. Louis, we're busy a lot, and we don't spend every second of everyday together, but we do spend a lot of time together."

"Would you say your family is close?"

"Objection! Relevance?" Mr. Carter shouted.

Doris turned with a smirk. "You brought up this line of questioning Mr. Carter. You questioned what kind of Mother Olivia Spencer-Rivera is, I am merely continuing on that same line of questioning, except I have an actual point." She turned to Judge Anderson. "One I will get to very shorty your honor."

"Please do Ms. Wolfe. Overruled."

"Go ahead Ava."

Ava looked at her family sitting at the prosecution table. She thought about that morning, and so many like it before all of this happened. She thought of movie nights in the living room and game nights in the kitchen. She thought of all five of them piled up on the moms beds. And dinner together every night. She thought about Christmas morning and getting to act like a little girl again. Her adopted mother had been a wonderful mother and she would always love her, but this family was something else altogether. Close didn't even describe it.

"Close doesn't seem adequate enough, but yes, we are very close."

"It's been made clear that it wasn't always like that for you and Olivia, when did the two of you start getting close?"

"It took a lot of time, and it was a slow process. I guess a few months after we found out is when we really started becoming close. To be perfectly honest, helping my mom attempt to take Gus from Natalia was a bonding experience for us. We had really started to get closer, become a mother and daughter team, before I lost my son, Max. I moved to San Francisco after that. Mom and I still talked a lot, but uh, it wasn't the same."

"And why did you decided to move back to Springfield?"

"Um, it was after my dad died. I left because it was so hard to be here after losing Max. There were too many memories. But after my dad died, and after almost losing my mom, I needed to be here. I needed to spend as much time with her and with Emma as I could. Life's too short to waste time."

"How long have you know your mother Ava?"

"Um, I moved here in 2005 but I didn't know she was my mother until August of 2006, so a little over three years."

"And in that time, how many times have you feared your mother was going to die?"

"There were three episodes with her heart that I knew of, and then this. So, four."

"Four times in three years that you've been afraid your mother was going to die. You stated earlier that your adoptive mother and all of your fathers are deceased. Correct?"

"Yes. My adoptive mother and father and my mother's ex-husband, the one she was married to when she first adopted me, Greg Sutter, all passed away, and then my dad, Jeffery, only two years after I met him."

"So, you have lost a mother and three fathers in your short twenty-seven years. I am so sorry. No child should outlive their parents, but to have four pass before you, that must be difficult."

"It is. My moms and siblings are all I have left, and I fear losing my mom every day."

"Has this made that fear worse?"

"Yes." Ava had tears building in her eyes and could no longer hold them back.

Doris walked to the table and grabbed several tissues. Handing one to both Olivia and Natalia who both had tears falling freely, and then walked to Ava and handed her a few to dab her eyes with. "Can you explain how for us?"

Ava wiped at her eyes and blew her nose. "It's not like Emma or Rafe for me. It's different. I saw her in that hospital bed two years ago when she almost died. She was so frail. She looked so small in that bed. She wasn't the Olivia Spencer I met, the take no prisoners businesswoman half the town feared. I had only known she was my mother for a year and we worked so hard to build a relationship, and she was going to be gone. I felt so bad for Ma and Rafe when Gus died, but I was so thankful that his heart was going to save my mom. Then, when I got the call that she collapsed, when she needed a pacemaker, I was so scared and so far away. I've never known relief like I did when I got the call that she was out of surgery and okay. Then last November, when Phillip flew me and Rafe to Chicago cause mom quit breathing again, I just, I couldn't do it. I remember running to Ma, and I remember seeing mom. But I wasn't really feeling or truly seeing anything. All I could see was my mom in the hospital bed at cedars when she was getting her transplant. I thought she was going to die and I couldn't deal with it."

Ava paused for a few breaths and to wipe some more tears away. She saw her ma holding her mom in her arms as Olivia cried. Never hearing how bad that last episode with her heart had affected her daughter. Ava took a deep breath and scanned from her family to Frank and then back to Doris.

"This was different. It made the fact that we could lose her at any moment that much more real. My mom is always going to have to be cautious. We are always going to have to worry about her heart. I'm always going to be afraid that today could be my last day with her, but what Frank did, that was different. It made me realize that her heart isn't the only worry. Anything could take her from us. A car accident, someone trying to rob The Beacon, a million different things, but to think that the chief of police, someone we trusted, a supposed friend could have taken her, that just boggles my mind. I don't even know how to cope with that."

"Thank you Ava. I have no further questions."

Judge Anderson excused Ava from the stand and she all but ran to her mothers and brother. The family enveloped her in a hug. Knowing they only had a moment before she had to return to her seat. They all held her as close as possible, being mindful of Olivia. Olivia and Natalia kissed their daughter's head and both whispered how proud of her they were and how much they loved her. Ava pulled back just enough to see her mother's green eyes. "I love you so much mom."

"I l-love y-you too b-baby." A sobbing Olivia choked out. "I p-promise, w-we'll talk m-more. Okay?" Ava nodded and buried her face in her mother's neck. "I h-had no idea y-you felt like y-you did a-after my l-last episode with m-my heart."

Ava didn't say anything, just held her mom a little tighter, doing her best not to hurt her. She pulled back and kissed her mother's cheek, letting her lips linger before she would have to go back to the row behind her family. This kiss was for all that the two of them had been through together and the unbreakable bond they had carefully constructed and knew nothing could tear apart.