Chapter 125

Olivia and Natalia walked into the Beacon with their heads held high. Although Natalia was nervous, she was determined not to let it show. After checking in with the front desk to see if Isabel had checked into the suite they had requested for her, and finding she had, they made their way to Watershed. Walking in, Natalia stilled as she laid eyes on a woman sitting at a table towards the end of the bar. Her grip on Olivia's hand tightened and she released a ragged breath. Scanning the room, Olivia easily spotted the women who looked so much like her wife. She squeezed Natalia's hand, trying to give her the support she needed.

"You okay sweetheart?"

Natalia shook her head, bringing herself out of the trance she had been in since walking into the restaurant. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"You sure? We don't have to do this."

"Yes, I'm okay. I was just a little taken aback seeing her."

Olivia nodded. "Okay. You ready?"

"No, but I need to do this."

Olivia pulled her wife into a tight hug. "You're not alone baby. I'm right here." She whispered into her ear, placing a kiss just below it.

"I know." Natalia acknowledged. And she did. She knew Olivia would stay by her side no matter what. She trusted her wife to be the strength she needed. "Let's go." She said with conviction, pulling out of the embrace and taking Olivia's hand, leading her over to the table where Isabel sat.

Isabel startled as the two approached, having not noticed them walk in. She looked up into the eyes of her big sister and a sadness passed through her own. "Natalia." She whispered, almost as if she didn't believe she was seeing her, even though that was her purpose for being here.

Natalia swallowed the lump in her throat as she peered down as her sister. Several emotions warred inside her and she fought to keep her face neutral. "Isabel."

Olivia just observed as the two stayed locked in a stare off. Almost as if neither one of them knew what to say or do now that they stood face to face. She felt her wife tremble as she leaned against her and decided she would need to be the one to move this meeting forward. She held out her hand to the younger Rivera woman.

"I'm Olivia Spencer-Rivera. Welcome to our quant little town."

Isabel took the offered hand and shook it on auto piolet. Her eyes remained trained on Natalia. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me." She finally turned to look at Olivia but was speaking to Natalia.

Olivia let go of Natalia's hand and pulled a chair out for her. "Honey, why don't we sit." Natalia finally removed her gaze from her sister and sat in the chair Olivia had slid out for her. Once Natalia was seated, Olivia took the chair next her. "Sorry we're late, we had a family matter to attend to at home."

Isabel shook her head, much in the same manner Natalia had moments ago. She was desperately trying to slow her mind down so she could at least engage in the small talk Olivia was trying to provide. "It's no problem. I actually only got here a few minutes ago. I hit a bit more traffic than I expected to."

"Good. I'm glad you weren't waiting long. I trust you got checked into your room alright?"

"Yes, well, kind of. I didn't want to keep you waiting, so after speaking with the young women at the front desk and receiving my key and room number, I came straight here. Figured I would take my bag to the room after."

Natalia finally seemed to come out of the trance she was in, and it was apparent she had missed the small conversation Isabel and Olivia had been having when she finally spoke. "I can't believe it's really you."

Isabel gave a small smile, so similar to Natalia's when she was nervous or uncomfortable. "It's me." She stated shyly. "You look just like I remember, only, more relaxed, happier."

"I am very happy." She smiled at her wife, wanting to make if very apparent that she was the reason for her happiness.

"It suits you Natalia. I don't think I've seen you look this relaxed since we were little kids."

"You haven't seen me at all since we were kids." Natalia shot back. Olivia placed a hand on her thigh under the table and made small soothing circles. Natalia instantly calmed and was embarrassed at her outburst. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

"It's okay. You're right. We were kids the last time we saw each other, I just, I was hoping we could actually talk, without accusing or blaming one another. I came here to see if it was possible for us to have any sort of relationship after all these years. Not to fight with you. You're my sister and I have really missed you."

Natalia looked down at the table and spoke in a hushed tone. "I've missed you too."

Olivia watched as Isabel made to reach for Natalia's hand but pulled back just before actually grabbing it. A sad expression on her face. She felt for the woman. It was easy to see that this was just as hard on her as it was on Natalia, the difference was, Natalia had her to lean on, Isabel was going through this alone. She needed to find a way to lessen the tension surrounding them, for both Rivera women.

"Are you hungry?" Olivia asked, wanting to hold off a little longer before diving into the emotions the two women were feeling. They needed to find some lighter topics to discuss, let both women get used to being in the others presence before they delved into the reasons they stayed separated for so long. "We know a great little diner just down the street. Best burgers in town."

"Are we not sitting in a restaurant?" Isabel asked confused.

"We are, and a damn good one. I devised most of the menu myself and handpicked our chef. However, for this little get together, I think a Buzz burger is in order."

"Olivia you think everything is cause for a Buzz burger." Natalia accused, picking up on what her wife was trying to do and very grateful for it. "She is right though; you can't come to Springfield and not have a Buzz burger." Natalia agreed, looking back at her sister.

"Well, I am hungry. I skipped breakfast this morning. Wanted to get on the road before rush hour." Isabel stated.

"Alright then. Company it is." Olivia stood from her seat and assisted Natalia. "Let me just give Buzz a call and make sure Marina isn't in today." Natalia nodded and Olivia walked into the lobby to call Buzz as the two brunettes went to wait outside.

Once outside the building Isabel turned to her sister with questioning eyes. "Who's Marina and why can't she be wherever it is we're going?"

"Marina is Franks daughter, the man from the trial, and she's just as delusional as her father. She likes to blame Olivia for Frank being in jail."

"Ah. I'm so sorry for what your family went through with all of that." Isabel said sincerely.

"Thank you. It's been hard, but we're getting through it. The kids actually stayed the night at our oldest daughters house last night. It's the first time they've been out of the house overnight without us since it all happened."

"Well, that's good. Right?"

"Yes, it is. It was just in our back yard, but it's the first time, Emma, our youngest, hasn't slept with either us or our friend Doris. So, baby steps."

"Wait, you're back yard? I thought you said they were at your daughter's house."

"Oh, they were. We converted our barn into a two-bedroom apartment for her and our basement was turned into an apartment for Rafe. We wanted them to have their independence since they are adults, but we like having them close. They both had the options to find a place in town but we're more than happy they chose to stay at home."

"It sounds like your family is very close."

"Oh, we are. You'd never believe the kids didn't even know each other a few years ago."

"That's for sure." Olivia commented, walking over to them at the last couple of sentences. "I swear Rafe and Ava are related somehow. And in this town, it wouldn't be surprising."

"That's true. Who would have thought Rafe and Emma would go from cousins who just met to brother and sister."

"Whoa." Isabel was getting confused. "Rafe and your daughter are cousins?" She directed her question to Olivia.

"Yup. My ex-husband was Gus's brother. And my other ex-husband was Gus's father." Olivia said with a smirk, knowing it would confuse the woman standing before her, but happy to delve into her confusing and less then flattering past if it kept the conversation away from Natalia and Isabel's past for a little while longer.

"Wait? What?" Isabel was shocked and even more confused than before. "Who is Gus?"

"Gus is Nicky. It's a long story." Natalia explained.

"Oh." Isabel said. "I would like to hear that story sometime."

"You will, I'm sure." Olivia said. "Come on, I'll explain Rafe and Emma's family tree while we walk." The three headed over to Company. Olivia explaining the Gus, Phillip, Alan, triangle as they went.

Walking into the Company the trio received a few curious looks, but most people just continued with their own conversations. It was now after one so the main lunch crowd had already come and gone and only a few families and couples still lingered.

They took a seat at the back booth where they would have at least a little privacy. Blake came and took their drink orders, unfazed by the newcomer, and acted as if the woman who looked so much like Natalia was a regular face around the small establishment. It helped that Olivia informed Buzz that Isabel was joining them and Natalia was having a hard time. She asked him to inform Blake in hopes that it would limit questions to the sisters.

Blake returned with their drinks after just a few moments. "So, you ladies know what you're having?"

"I think we're all going to go with a Buzz burger Blake." Olivia answered. "I mean, if you want Isabel, feel free to order whatever you'd like."

"No, that sounds good. Besides, I've been informed that one does not come to this fine town of yours without having one." Isabel responded with a smile.

"That's very true. Buzz makes the best burgers in the state." Blake declared. "So, you want your usual order of onion rings too?"

Olivia gave Natalia a bright smile hoping her wife would allow the onion rings with her burger and knowing she was pressing her luck. Natalia shook her head and gave a small chuckle at her wife. "Yes my love, we can get onion rings."

Olivia fist pumped the air, much like Emma. "Yes."

"For us to share. And, you will be having a salad to go with all that grease."

"But Natallliiiiaaaa." Olivia whined as Blake laughed at her antics.

"I can take away the burger all together if you'd prefer." Natalia countered with a twinkle in her eye and a wink towards Blake.

"No, nope. Salad is good. I love salad. Bring on the salad."

Natalia laughed. "That's what I thought."

Blake tried to reign in her giggles and directed her attention to Isabel. "How about you? Would you like fries or onion rings with your burger?"

"I think I'll do fries please."

"Alright. I'll go get this put in for you three. Do you need some crayons and a coloring sheet for your forth child Natalia?" Blake joked as she walked towards the kitchen with the sounds of Natalia and Isabel's laughter trailing after her.

Olivia stuck her tongue out at Blake's back but then hid a chuckle behind her hand as Natalia playfully swatted her shoulder. "Way to prove her point there honey."

"Oh, you shush."

Isabel laughed at them some more. "Are you two always like this?"

"If you're asking me if my wife always acts much the same as our nine-year-old, then yes." Natalia answered with a grin.

"Hey!" Olivia bellowed, mock offended. "I'm at least ten."

Isabel giggled again. "You're a hoot. I can see why you fell for her Natalia."

"Yup, I charmed her right from the beginning." Olivia stated, trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh yeah, you were just peachy, right from the very first meeting." Natalia drawled. Sarcasm dripping from her words.

Olivia winked at her wife and kissed her cheek. "That's me, peachy and whimsical."

"You're something alright." Natalia mumbled under her breath then kissed her wife's lips chastely.

"I get the feeling you didn't always get along like this." Isabel surmised.

"That would be an understatement. Also, a long story. Didn't you hear a lot of our past from the trial?"

"Well, I didn't see the beginning. If my roommate hadn't been channel surfing on my day off, I would have missed the whole thing. I'm not one for watching the news. I started watching when the girl with the short brown hair was on the stand. I looked up the story online to get most of the details, but I couldn't find any videos of the witnesses before I started watching."

"That was our daughter, Ava. And the judge gave strict orders not to release any videos until the trial was over. Only what was released to the News was available until we knew for certain no one else was involved and they were ordered to air it only once." Olivia explained.

As the women ate their lunch, Olivia and Natalia gave a short, watered-down version of what had happened with Frank. Natalia wasn't ready to give her sister any details. She wasn't even sure if they would maintain a relationship past the day.

Olivia felt the shift in her wife's demeanor as they finished eating. She knew the sisters needed to have an actual conversation about their past. They needed to decide if they were willing to forgive one another and move forward, but she hated this for her wife. Their family had already been through so much and had little time to recover. She hoped at the end of the day this would turn out to be a good encounter and not another in a long list of bad ones.

Taking a deep breath, Olivia decided it was time to handle this in true Olivia Spencer style. Direct and to the point. "Alright, now that lunch is done, let's get straight to the point. Shall we? You contacted Natalia for a reason. W-Why?" She asked, ignoring the small stutter, and giving her patented glare, eyes narrowing, making certain the Latina knew she better keep herself in check at all times during this conversation.

Isabel wiped her hands on her napkin and sat up straighter in her seat. It appeared they were done skirting around the subject and she was more than ready to be. She may have been quiet and a bit shy the last time Natalia saw her, but much like her sister, she had grown up. She had a backbone now and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She came here to see her sister face to face and find out if a relationship with her was possible, or if the scars ran too deep. She had spent the last twenty years of her life wondering what it would be like if she ever saw Natalia again. Now here she was, sat across from her at this small restaurant. It was time to bite the bullet, so to speak, and see if her effort in coming here was all for not, or if calling her sister had indeed been a good idea.

"I'm here for exactly what I said back at your hotel. I wanted to see my sister. I want to know if it's possible for us to move past all the years and hurt between us. I have spent twenty years wondering where she was if she was okay. If she indeed had the baby and if they were doing well. I've questioned what it would be like to see her again and I've hated myself for not seeking her out." She huffed out sternly and all in one long breath. She took a moment to breath and then shifted her attention from Olivia to Natalia.

"I told myself that when you left you found your Nicky and the two of you had somehow made a life for yourselves and your child. It was the only way I could handle not knowing. Papa wouldn't even let us speak your name. After you left, I was stuck there for almost six years. By the time I finally left, I had told myself that story so many times that I actually believed it. I just figured you didn't need me. You never once tried to come home."

Natalia's anger flared at those words and she barley contained herself as she explained to her sister why she never tried to go back to her childhood home. "Tried to come home? How could I? Papa made it very clear when he dropped me at the home for unwed mothers that I was no longer a part of his family. He only had one daughter and I wasn't to even think of ever coming back. Your little fantasy is nice, but it's exactly that, a fairy tale. One I wished to come true for sixteen years. Sixteen years I spent working two and three jobs to keep a roof over my sons head and food in his mouth wondering why Nicky left me without a word.

When I finally did find the father of my son, I only got to have him for a year, a year Isabel, and then, then he died and left me all over again. I was alone with only Rafe from the moment I left that house. I had no one. I never sought you out because I didn't have the time. I spent my days working to make sure Rafe was taken care of and when I wasn't working, I was tending to him. Taking him to doctor appoints for his diabetes and making sure he got to school on time.

I barely had time to sleep let alone look for someone I assumed didn't care about me. I didn't get to finish high school and go to college. I didn't get to go to hang out with friends or go on dates. I didn't get to do anything outside of work, take care of Rafe, sleep, and eat. And sometimes those last two didn't even happen. I want to feel sorry for not trying to find you. I did feel sorry for it, but I can't and I don't.

You had no one but yourself to look out for, and until you moved out, you had mama and papa and Javi and abuela. I didn't have anyone until Olivia. No one but Rafe. You could have tried to find me, could have been there for me, for your nephew, but you didn't. Instead, you told yourself a fairy tale to make yourself feel better and let me slip to the back of your mind. I may be the older sister, but I had too much on my plate to try to find you. What did you having going on for past twenty years?"

By the time she finished, both sisters were crying. Olivia took Natalia into her arms and rocked her gently, stroking her hair with one hand and rubbing her back with the other. When she looked across the table at the woman that could have been her wife's twin if not for the age difference and shorter hair, her heart clenched in her chest. It was just as painful to see the younger Rivera so broken as it was to see her wife like this. Removing the hand tangled in Natalia's hair, she reached across the table and gripped tightly to Isabel's hand, rubbing circles with her thumb to try and calm the woman while still trying to sooth her sobbing wife.

After a few minutes with both women still crying, Olivia slid Natalia further into the booth. She gave a tug to Isabel's hand, signaling for her to join them. Isabel took the hint and hurried to the other side of the table. Olivia disentangled herself from her wife and allowed Isabel to take her place. She watched as the long-lost sisters clung to each other. Both holding the other tight as years' worth of tears and heartache poured out of them. Olivia watched for a moment more and then quietly slipped to the bar, making sure Natalia would be able to see her when the two Latina's finally composed themselves.

Blake saddled up to her, sliding a coffee into her hand. "So, Natalia's sister huh?"

"Yup."

"Is that a good cry fest they're having, or a bad one?"

"A little of both I think."

Blake nodded her head in understanding. "Natalia gonna be okay?"

Olivia finally removed her eyes from them and looked at the red head next to her. "She's stronger than most. She'll get through this."

"And you'll be right there beside her."

"Damn straight. But I think this is a g-good thing, at least I hope it will be."

"It will be. Natalia's too stubborn for it to be anything else."

"What do you mean by that?" The statement didn't make much sense to Olivia. Yes, her wife was stubborn as all hell, but she wasn't making a connection here.

"She stopped in for coffee earlier in the week. I think she was out shopping or getting your prescriptions, something. Anyways, we sat and talked for a few minutes and Natalia said she wasn't going to allow anything to disrupt your lives the way Frank had ever again. We all know she can't stop anything bad from ever happening again, but the conviction in her voice Olivia, she's damn sure gonna try, with everything she's got."

Olivia glanced over at her wife, a proud smile making its way across her lips. If she knew her wife, which she did, Blake was right, it would take a hell of a lot more than a long-lost sister for Natalia to allow harm to befall on herself or her family. "Your right Blake, that woman is way too stubborn to let this effect any of us in a negative way, including herself."

"Tell me again how you ended up with her." Blake said in jest. Bumping her shoulder against Olivia's.

'You know, I have no fucking clue, but I thank my lucky stars every day that I did." She smiled over at her love, who was now drying her eyes and cheeks, a soft smile on her face as her eyes locked with Olivia's, silently thanking her.

Olivia chatted with Blake for a little while longer, allowing Natalia and Isabel some time together, checking in with her every few minutes. She was surprised to learn that Blake and Doris had been spending an awful lot of time together. Doris stopping in for lunch either before or after the lunch crowd so Blake could take her break with her. She had noticed Doris talking less and less about Jamanda, but it had been little more than a week since Jamanda had stayed at the farmhouse, so she assumed they were still going strong.

"Are you telling me Doris is thinking of breaking up with her?"

"I don't know. All I know for sure it that she's quit spending her lunch hours at Tower's and started spending them here."

"Wow. I really need to find some time to talk with her. With everything that's been going on I've let our friendship slip to the back burner." She looked down in shame as she realized that she really hadn't spoken with her friend about anything outside of her families problems in quite some time.

Blake placed a hand on her arm. "Hey, she understands Olivia. You've been through a lot. She's happy to be able to be there for you."

"I know, but I need to be there for her too." Just then she noticed Natalia and Isabel standing from the table and walking towards them. Both wiping a few stray tears. As they approached, Olivia lifted an arm and allowed Natalia to nuzzle into her side and kissed the top her head. "Hey you."

Natalia had one arm wrapped around Olivia's back and the other across her stomach, she squeezed gently and buried her face in her wife's neck, breathing in her scent deeply. "Hi."

Olivia pressed her nose in her hair and whispered in her ear. "Everything okay?"

Natalia nodded. "Everything is great. Isabel is going to stay for a few more days so we can talk some more and I invited her to have dinner with is at the farmhouse tonight."

Olivia pulled back slightly, glancing over at Isabel. "Well alright then. You two ready to head back to the hotel?"

"Yup, just let me grab my purse." She kissed Olivia sweetly and went to the booth to grab both her and Olivia's purses.

After settling the check with Blake, the three walked the few blocks back to the Beacon. The wives walked Isabel up to her room for a bit of down time before they came back to pick her up for dinner. Oliva took Natalia's hand and led her to their suite. Wanting to give her wife a little time before they headed home.

Walking in, Olivia took Natalia to the bed and had her sit on the edge. She knelt and removed her shoes, then removed her own and climbed up on the bed, beckoning her wife down to lay with her. The two-lay wrapped in each other's arms, facing one another. No words were exchanged, they just lay there together, surrounded by their love. Olivia tilted Natalia's chin up and sealed their lips together in a kiss meant to convey all the love and gratitude she had for the strong woman wrapped in her arms.