Ok for those who are really looking for it: There is another encounter with Elliot in this chapter! Should Liv hear him out, or should he suffer a bit longer?

Olivia put out a plate of snacks for herself and Noah after he'd arrived from school. When she was home, it was a little bit of a routine they'd gotten in to, a way to spend some quality time together. He was always happy when she placed down the dinner plate of carrot sticks, celery and peanut butter and some cream cheese and crackers because he knew it meant that he got his Mom all to himself for an hour or so.

She asked Noah about his day and she told him about hers in a very watered down way, she could never tell him the actual details of what she did for a living, not for a long time at least.

The time together was without TV, screens or anything else except for communication. She encouraged it as a time for him to talk openly about his feelings and share with her if he was sad or happy about something; it was in a desperate attempt to make sure that sharing his heart wasn't something that came as difficultly to him as it did for her.

"So honey, I was thinking…" she began, watching him nibble on the last carrot stick, "would you like to go and have dinner in a nice restaurant tonight?" she wondered. She'd all but decided when she left Trevor's that it was something that she wanted; to take Noah out to meet him and test the waters under the guise of a friendship.

"Aww yeah, like McDonalds?" he asked, his little blue eyes lighting up with excitement. He sat forward, as if he was ready to leap out of his corner of the couch to go.

Olivia laughed, "No Noah, not McDonalds and not yet – we've just had a snack. Maybe somewhere a bit nicer but where you can still get some chicken nuggets or some pasta or something that you like…"

He thought about it, "Could I maybe have ice cream?" he wondered, almost as if he thought he was pushing it too far. Dessert was a sometimes treat and Olivia was terrible at going weekly grocery shopping so there was never really an abundance of food.

She grinned at him, "you drive a hard bargain my love, but I'm sure if you eat your dinner and you have good table manners, you could get some dessert."

"Yeah! Are we gonna take the subway there?" he wondered hopefully. He had recently become obsessed with trains and using the subway seemed to really excite him.

"No honey, I'm sorry, not tonight. we won't need to take the subway, we might get a cab or an uber, it depends on where we go. But I have one more question – Mommy's friend – Mr Langan, do you remember him?"

Noah thought for a moment and shrugged with slight disinterest, "he helped me when I was sick for awhile when you were little, he was here a lot— he's very tall and remember you told him he looked like a giant?" Olivia reminded him with a laugh, remembering Trevor's good nature about it.

"Ohhh maybe I remember him – he has a beard and gray hair cos he's old right?"

"He's not that old, honey, he's my age…." She poked her son playfully in the ribs, "be nice to me…" He was so sweet, his eyes crinkled in the corners with laughter as he giggled and flinched from his Mom.

"So Mr. Langan would like to come to dinner with us too, but its just for fun, no work talk, I promise." She knew how bored and annoyed her son became when she talked shop at home with Fin or other friends. He liked to be included and she encouraged him to include himself, but talking about work was a tightrope that she had to tread carefully so as not to speak candidly about details that might disturb him.

"Okay," he shrugged, "Does Mr. Langan know about art stuff or baseball?"

"I don't know," Olivia said, thinking that she really had no idea if he was in to sports or the arts. "you could ask him, I bet he'll be able to tell you some really neat stuff, he's very smart and he likes to cook like you do too."

Noah let a smile fall across his mouth, "I hope he's a better cook than you Mom…"

"Youuuuu little monster!" she exclaimed, grabbing him, and tickling him. "I try my best!" Noah erupted in to giggles, enjoying the jokes with his Mom.

Trevor chose a restaurant that was close to Olivia's apartment. It had to be child friendly and not too expensive, at least that was the brief that she had given him. He hadn't expected her to agree to dinner, but surprisingly she did.

He hadn't seen Noah in over a year but couldn't imagine that he was going to be anything but polite and sweet if his trust in Olivia's parenting skills were anything to go by.

He found himself feeling a little nervous as he sprayed on his cologne. He wore a plain T-shirt and jeans and put on a warm, black jacket; similar to the puffy Olivia had been wearing earlier. He slotted his glasses on his face over his ears and grabbed his things ready to go and meet them both at the restaurant.

Olivia and Noah arrived inside the American grill restaurant hand-in-hand. She hoped that the menu was simple – Noah was a simple eater when it came to food and wouldn't cope if there wasn't something on the menu that he wouldn't be able to enjoy. She didn't want him to complain when it was clear Trevor had done his research and carefully booked something that would cater to the three of them.

She spotted Trevor in the corner of the restaurant at a booth that he'd booked earlier. He looked wonderful and smart, she thought, loving it when he wore his clear-framed glasses. She was digging the beard that he'd grown since finishing up as a public-defender. It wasn't super long, but long enough for her to be able to think about running her fingers through.

He grinned at her, registering her arrival from across the room. She grinned back, his disarming, adoring gaze letting an aviary of butterflies loose in her stomach. She wasn't sure exactly when it had changed, but setting her eyes upon him made her feel overwhelmed, as though it was hard to breathe; there was excitement and electricity and she realized it was probably her heart's way of telling her it had won over her mind.

"There's Mr. Langan," Olivia pointed to him out to Noah, leaning down to help him take off his mitten and jacket. She took off her own next and stuffed her mittens in to the pocket of the jacket that she had worn to see him earlier.

"May I take your coats ma'am?" a maître de asked from behind her, almost causing her to jump a mile. Noah thought it was funny and began to laugh. "I'm sorry," the man said, hiding a smile too, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Its fine," Olivia smiled, handing him Noah and her own coat. "Thank you so much." Once they received their coat number, they went to meet Trevor who was standing at the edge of the booth, waiting with a warm, charming smile. Yep, she thought, that two-day growth adorning his mouth and cheeks was really doing it for her. It made him look distinguished, rugged and if she was honest, a whole damn lotta sexy.

"Noah, do you remember Mr Langan?" Olivia asked her son, peeling her eyes away from Trevor's magnetic stare. She let go of her son's hand. She awkwardly leaned in to give Trevor a polite hug and kiss.

"I think so," Noah said shyly. Trevor stuck his hand out, "it's so nice to see you again Noah, it's been awhile, you're almost all grown up!"

"Yeah!" he said, shaking Trevor's hand like a proper grown up, "you're the giant man."

Trevor laughed. "I am tall, that is a good observation."

Noah smiled appreciatively. Olivia laughed, good-naturedly reprimanding her son.

"Take a seat guys," Trevor motioned for them to sit across from him but Noah had other ideas. "Mommy can I sit in this biiiiig seat all on my own? You can sit next to Mr. Langan."

Olivia smiled at her son's politeness and shrugged, happy to sit opposing her son. "I suppose that's alright," she replied as if she was a little skeptical about the idea. Trevor made way for her to slide in first. He sat down as they watched Noah climb in to his own side, looking fairly pleased with himself.

"Hey Noah, why don't you tell Trevor the exciting news about your art project!" Olivia suggested, eager for there not to be any awkwardness. She really wanted Trevor to be good to her son, she was trepid because she knew this would be make or break for her.

"Ohhhhh," Noah instantly became animated.

Trevor smiled at her son, he was sweet and he was clearly used to being around adults. He was somewhat shy, but not shy enough to not speak when spoken to or enjoy being engaged in conversation. Trevor suspected that Olivia liked to include him rather than shoving an Ipad before him or sending him off to the jungle gym with the other restaurant kids.

"I love hearing about art!" Trevor told him. Noah looked him in the eye and smiled, a little embarrassed to tell him his exciting news.

"Go on," Olivia nodded at him as if to tell him that it was alright. Noah looked at his Mom almost for reassurance and he glanced back at Trevor slightly unsure, but Trevor's warm and inviting smile seemed to make him feel comfortable enough.

"I did a competition at school in my class and Anita and I won and we get to make a new art project and there is an art show at the middle school and my art project will be on display with all of the big kids and everyone will see it," he blurted out in a giant explosion of words that Olivia and Trevor tried very hard not to laugh at – the juxtaposition of being shy versus wanting to share all of the exciting news all at once.

Olivia wished she was able to share everything that she felt with the same ease of her child.

"Wow!" Trevor breathed as if it was the most interesting thing that he'd heard all day. "That is so awesome, congratulations Noah, that is such a big achievment. What kind of art did you do to win the competition?" he wondered.

"I drew a picture of my Mommy with her uniform, Mommy can you show Mr. Langan my drawing?" he asked, knowing she had it on her phone. She had taken a photo to show the squad; one of her proud mother moments.

"Sure my love," she replied, leaning to find her phone in her handbag.

"By the way, Noah, you can call me Trevor," he flashed the boy a warm smile. Noah looked to his Mom for confirmation.

"Its okay honey, Trevor said it's alright," she assured him once she had found her phone. She flicked through the camera roll until she found the pic. She handed her phone to Trevor who zoomed in a little. He was surprised, he'd expected to see an immature drawing with crayon and finger smudges much like any other 6 year old's drawing, but this was something else. Noah's drawing was very good, it wasn't worthy of the Louvre, but it was certainly good for a child of his age.

"Wow Noah," he said nodding with a smile, "this is really wonderful, Mommy must have been so proud of this one," he looked to Olivia who was grinning at her son and back at him. She seemed to sparkle with pride and happiness, sharing time with two men; of whom she already loved and the other of whom he dearly hoped she was potentially going to love.

"Thanks!" he said graciously.

"I was super proud!" she said, taking her son's hand across the table. "Remember when I saw it? What happened?" she asked him.

"You criiiiied," he rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of it, but really he was happy that he'd had such a reaction from his mother.

Olivia laughed and so did Trevor. "That just means that she was super duper proud of you, that's a good thing." He gave Olivia a wink. "So what are you going to do for your new art project?" he wondered.

Olivia watched the two chat away and she knew it was going well. She gave Trevor points for engaging him; not finding him to be a nuisance or a barrier in the way of their pending relationship.

She felt content and glad she had made the choice to bring her son out with them – she knew there was no funny business and Trevor certainly respected the space that he needed to create between them, understanding that Olivia was not ready to introduce a male in to her son's life in a romantic capacity until he had well proven himself – it was something he felt was part of responsible parenting.

He wouldn't involve anyone in his daughter's life until he knew that it was a long term thing either, he understood.

The server came and brought a child's menu and two regular menus.

"What's on for the weekend?" Olivia asked Trevor. It was Friday night and unfortunately her weekends weren't the same as everyone else's weekends. He would find out soon enough as he started a role with the DA. Noah busied himself looking over the children's menu.

"I have Eloise tomorrow and Sunday and I'm pretty sure we're trialing Monday if Helena is still riding that train," he smiled briefly. "But, I was thinking I might take her for a joy flight. She's never been in the plane with me before, it might nice."

Olivia didn't say so, but she found the idea of him piloting a plane to be incredibly sexy. "Sweet, where will you go?"

He shrugged, "there's a hanger in New Jersey that I normally go to, so maybe we'll just go for a little bit, it depends on how Eloise likes it, she might hate it or get scared, I guess I'll wait and see. And even then, I don't know how I'll feel flying a plane that my daughter is aboard—" he gave a laugh, "it brings me anxiety."

"Do you own a plane Trevor?" Noah interrupted, almost completely gobsmacked by the idea.

Trevor turned his attention to Olivia's son and smiled at him, "Noooo, that would be too expensive! I learned how to fly a plane though, so sometimes I get to take a plane out on a short day trip."

"Woooowwwww!" Noah gushed. "I've never been on a flight, have I, Mom?"

She smiled at her eager son, "No honey, not yet, maybe one day."

"Could you take me on a plane one day while you are flying?" he asked Trevor and Olivia knew it was going to be the next thing out of his mouth. He was obsessed with transport.

Trevor laughed, not wanting to answer, knowing that he couldn't promise anything and had no idea how Olivia would even feel about that. "Maybe one day if your Mom is comfortable with that."

"Maybe one day," she repeated, "Trevor is a very busy man, honey."

"Do you know how to conduct a train?" he fired more questions at Trevor who seemed so happy and good-natured about it. He was used to the constant questions; his daughter had finally hit the age of 'why'.

Olivia rested her hand on his thigh beneath the table, just to make some contact, to show him that she appreciated his kindness.

"I don't know how to conduct a train, but that would be cool, wouldn't it?" he asked.

"I want to go on a steam train," Noah informed him, "Did you know that steam trains don't run on diesel fuel or electric tracks?" he asked and without waiting for an answer, he continued, "in a steam train, there's a boiler and it heats the water and it creates a loooooot of steam and then it makes the pistons move and that's how the train moves," he was excited and giddy to share his knowledge. Olivia had heard him recite the same information to far too many people.

Trevor began to laugh at his earnestness. "Wow, you sure know a lot about trains, don't you?"

"Too much," Olivia muttered.

"Yeah, I learned it in class."

"Honey, take a breath, you're getting a little too excited, you need to calm down, we're going to order dinner soon," she reminded him, not wanting him to pester Trevor with his incessant chatter—she didn't want her son to be hardwork, but she also wanted to know that Trevor could handle it if he was.

She knew if Trevor had ignored him or dismissed his chatter, she'd have been disappointed and possibly it would be an immediate deal breaker. She wanted to see that he was naturally good with kids and he seemed to be, even if it was still early days.

Noah looked at his mother who gave him a kind but serious look. "Sorry Mommy," he said softly, the wind taken from his sails.

"Its okay," she said, feeling a little guilty, she didn't want to upset him, but she was conscious of him becoming hard work on a first-official meeting basis. "You can still chat to Trevor, but just take it down a notch."

"I think steam trains are pretty cool, myself…" Trevor interjected, not looking particularly moved by the interchange; he wanted Olivia to know he was just fine with Noah engaging with him. In fact, he took it as a compliment that Noah was opening up to him so confidently despite him being not much more than stranger with a slightly familiar face.

"Maybe you should make a steam train model from clay or something fun for your art work," he suggested. Olivia nudged him, not wanting to make the project anymore difficult than it was already going to be for her; she didn't consider herself to be at all artistic.

Trevor looked at her expectantly. He was unsure of what it was that he said.

"Ohhhh yeahhhh! Mom maybe we could make a working steam train!" Noah suggested, his eyes gleaming with excitement at the thought.

"Oh, my love, I really think that's a little beyond my scope, honey, I don't know that I'd be much help with something like that," she said gently.

Noah pouted. "Could we try?" he asked softly. Olivia glared at Trevor, narrowing her eyes but she wasn't truly mad. She was amused by how easily he had put her in it.

"Thanks a lot…" she kicked him gently beneath the table. "I don't know, Noah, let's just think about what the other ideas we have for now, okay? We can talk about it later."

"Okay, what'll it be for dinner?" Trevor changed the subject, speaking to both Olivia and her son. They had barely glanced at the menus.

"Can I choose my own dinner Mommy?" Noah asked.

"Yes as long as you're planning on eating it, remember the deal, you're only getting dessert if you're eating all your dinner."

He nodded and looked over the menu that had pictures to make it easier for him to determine what food he knew and what he would eat.

"And Mom is only getting dessert if she eats all of her dinner too," Trevor winked at Noah who giggled.

"Mom can have what she wants cos she's paying," Olivia replied nudging Trevor beside her. They shared a knowing smile. His blue eyes stared at hers, twinkling slightly. Her wide grin made his knees feel a little weak.

"Not when I'm paying," he retorted.

"Good thing you're not…" she shrugged, peeling her glance away from him back to the menu that the waiter had put in front of her.

"I am paying. I invited you both, I pay… when you invite me you can pay," he countered. Olivia just smiled, slowly finding it a little easier to relinquish some control with him.

"I guess Mom was told…" she looked at her son and smiled.

"Noah, you can have whatever you want because its my treat tonight," Trevor informed her son; perhaps it was a little over the line, but he took an inch with it.

He grinned, realizing Olivia wasn't fighting him. Normally she would have clarified Trevor's grandiose offer by telling Noah what he could and couldn't have, but she decided to just let it go, they were all having a great time and she was really happy that he seemed to genuinely enjoy chatting to her son.

"Thank you," Noah said, smiling happily at Trevor, he turned to his Mom, "Mommy can you help me choose something?"

Olivia laughed gently, "I thought you wanted to order on your own," she reminded him.

"I know but I don't know what it all spells," he replied, drawing a line along one of the dish titles, trying to figure it out. He looked a little confused when he looked at the pictures.

"Okay babe, show me…" she commanded lovingly.

He turned his menu over so Olivia and Trevor could see it. "Okay, let's see, we have breaded nuggets and fries with a little mac and cheese and some ketchup or barbeque sauce," she read out to him. "That sounds good, right?" she asked him.

He nodded enthusiastically, "Or… you could have a small cheeseburger," Trevor pointed out, "with some fries and mac & cheese."

"Do you like cheeseburgers, Trevor?" Noah asked him, resting his elbows on the tabletop, holding his face in his hands as though he were absolutely enamored with this new man in his life.

"I do, I love burgers but I don't eat them very often because they're not very healthy, just a once-in-awhile treat."

"I think I'll have the cheeseburger for my dinner, Mommy," he nodded with confirmation. Olivia thought it was sweet that he clearly wanted to be like the man across from him. "Please," he added quickly, remembering his manners, making Olivia feel a sense of pride and happiness with her polite, sweet boy.

"Great choice…" Trevor remarked and turned to Olivia, "And what will it before you?"

She glanced at him and they shared happy smiles. She wanted to kiss him and she could tell the way his eyes swept all over her face before settling upon her lips that he was thinking about it too. "Maybe it'll be the steak for me," she told him, "do you like steak?"

He nodded. "I love the steak. But, I probably shouldn't order it tonight, maybe another night we can get the steak together."

Their lips both tightened with stifled smiles, of words that they wanted to say out loud but couldn't because of the child that carefully monitored their interaction. She wanted to grab on to his jacket and kiss him; she wanted to graze her mouth over the soft spot beneath his ear where his cologne was the strongest, where she could taste his skin and become intoxicated by his scent.

She was finding it a little hard to breathe.

She peeled her eyes away from him and stared back at her son, a little red-faced, knowing that her child wasn't stupid and had picked up on the vibe between them.

"So, steak?…" Trevor murmured, under his breath, "fries or vegetables?" he asked Olivia, clearing his throat.

"Vegetables and mash…" she replied. "I guess I'll take this steak over the other steak you're talking about…"

Trevor's lips upturned in to the makings of an impish grin, trying to keep his impure thoughts at bay.

Olivia knew she should get Noah home but she really didn't want to leave. Her son had continually yawned and it was getting close to his bed time.

"Mommy can I come sit on your lap?" he asked in a small voice after he'd finished eating as much of his chocolate ice cream as he could. Olivia smiled, knowing he was growing bored of listening to them chat.

"Honey, we can go home in a minute," she said, but she loved it so much when he wanted to cuddle her. It didn't happen nearly as often as it used to.

He didn't want to argue with her and cause a scene but he made a face that showed he was tired and ready to start complaining.

"Okay," she relented, "if Trevor is kind enough, he can let you in…" she was boxed in against the wall of the booth with Trevor beside her. There was plenty of room, but he'd had her sandwiched in, his legs pressing against hers, his hand disappearing beneath the table from time-to-time to rest on her knee or thigh.

"Of course," Trevor smiled, standing up. He didn't bother to slide out of the booth, he simply leaned over the table, his height working to his advantage. "You ready?" he asked Noah who was unsure of what was about to happen

Noah seemed slightly confused but Trevor reached for him under his arms and picked him up with great ease and pulled him over the top of the table, making Olivia's son laugh in surprise.

Olivia smiled at Trevor who gently placed her son on her lap. "There you go…" he said, creating a little bit of room for the pair, "a cuddle for your Mom…"

"Thanks…" Olivia said to him gratefully, feeling her son slide his arms around her and rest his head on her shoulders.

Trevor's eyes lingered over her, loving how warm and cozy she looked with him, incredibly maternal and he was overcome with understanding; he could see just how much she loved her son. It was something he could relate to.

He had witnessed Olivia's love for Noah from the start, from the age of 5 months old when she had first approached him to be her adoption lawyer to now, the fast-growing little boy that she didn't look ready to let grow up just yet.

He knew he would feel the same when Eloise started to hit new milestones. Time spent as a parent seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, he thought as he watched her lose herself in her love for him for just a moment.

Finally Olivia sighed, "I shouldn't have let him get this tired," she was regretful. "He is going to cling to me like wet clothes all the way home."

Trevor shrugged understandingly, "I'll walk you home, I can be the muscles…" he winked.

"Thank you for tonight, Trev, I've had such a nice night and I think Noah did too, didn't you babe?" she asked her son.

Trevor laughed in disbelief, "Does he normally fall asleep that quick?"

"Shit, he's asleep?" she asked with a groan, "Jeez…and no, he doesn't."

"You wait here, I'll go fix up the bill and I'll come and get you and I'll carry him if you like."

She wanted to say no, but he was already getting heavy in her arms and she wasn't even moving. She couldn't see herself trying to get him home without waking him up and making him walk and having to hear him complain and possibly cry all the way home.

Noah had only stirred when Trevor picked him up from Olivia. He looked at his Mom's friend a little confused, but seemed to give up looking for an answer to the question on his face. He encircled his arms around his Trevor's neck and rested his head on his shoulders shoulder. Trevor held on to him comfortably and still found the ability to hold Olivia's hand.

"I bet you're a really sexy Dad…" she remarked, watching the man that she was slowly but surely falling for, carry her son for her.

Trevor chuckled. "I'm certainly not trying to be sexy," he said.

"Wrong answer," Olivia laughed, "I doubt you are trying but you are nevertheless succeeding… a real DILF, that's what the kids call it, isn't it?" she joked.

Trevor laughed again, appreciating her big grin, loving her playful side coming out. He gave her hand a squeeze. "If it helps, I love watching you with Noah, you turn in to a total MILF."

She squeezed his hand back. "When can we make that happen?" she asked with a little chuckle in spite of herself.

"You can't plan that sort of thing," he replied, his grin widening, "I'm a spontaneous man, I don't want to ever be in a situation where I have to schedule something like that in again."

"Again?" Olivia rose her eyebrow, "what do you mean again—oh wait, were you in- ohhhh," it dawned on her that his marriage was a little too regimented. "How does that even happen?" she asked, amazed when she'd heard of women who all but put one night a week or a month aside. "How unsexy…"

"Yeah, really," he agreed, turning a little more serious. "I know relationships change pattern, it goes from sexy and romantic love to companionship love and friendship love and so on and then it ebs and flows between those feelings, but …I want someone to feel passionate about me enough to not want to pencil that kinda stuff in. It's robotic."

"I want that too…" she replied, "if anyone tried to pencil making love in with me, its time to go…"

He nodded, "Yeah maybe the writing was on the wall for me for a long time…" he replied regretfully, thinking of how Helena at times tried to use sex as a bargaining chip to get her way. He hated those memories. "I kinda wanted to have more children and enjoy a family, you know?" he glanced at her for her understanding, "I wanted to go on family holidays or I dunno… it just seems like I wasted a long time on the wrong person."

Olivia smiled wryly. "I can certainly understand that feeling…"

He turned to her as they grew close to her apartment, "this is a fresh start for both of us, right? Are you on the same page as I am-?" Olivia stopped walking in her tracks, her feet firmly planted in the one spot. He turned back to see what was happening. She stared ahead at something; at someone.

Treovr followed Olivia's eyes to the front stoop of her apartment block and cursed under his breath as she let go of his hand like it was a hot coal.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed at her unwanted guest.

Trevor was surprised at the gall of this man to turn up after she had earlier asked him to leave—repeatedly. She watched Elliot's eyes fall over Liv; there was a certain blanket of unfinished business and he didn't like it one bit.

He felt Elliot's eyes travelling to him, making the connection between himself and his ex-partner. He was glad for the surprised expression that spread over his face.

He motioned toward to Trevor, "what the hell, Liv? Did you have to make your way through all the New York scum?"

Before he knew what was happening, he watched on with horror as Olivia slapped Elliot aggressively across the cheek. He took a step back, smarted by the sting of her hand.

He couldn't help himself, Trevor felt proud of her for standing up for herself and by default, himself.

His hand covered the spot that grew red immediately. "Don't you ever speak to me about who I choose to date!" she said, "And can you lower your fucking voice, my son is asleep."

"Your son?" he sputtered, his eyes registering the child that Trevor held carefully against his shoulder. Elliot immediately wondered if he was Trevor's son, but something told him it wasn't the case.

"Yes, my son. I have a son and you're not going to fuck with either of our lives." Trevor wondered at what point he needed to step in, but so far, Liv had it covered.

"You don't know me Elliot and you didn't fucking know me back then either so can you get the fuck out of my life, my son and I are doing just fine without you – without your…" her eyes burned in to his with the emblazoned fury that she had felt toward him only hours earlier, "your fucking weak ass apologies…"

"Olivia- I just-"

Trevor could tell Olivia was beginning to get emotional, he knew the signs now, he knew when her anger was dissipating and the tears were ready to replace it.

Elliot went to get closer but Trevor knew it was his time. He calmly got closer and grabbed Olivia's wrist with a gentle but firm grasp, "honey, it's okay," he told her and she relented easier than he'd expected. He couldn't help it, he was territorial, and she was right, this douche had no right to turn up after all what she had been through, talking about sorry.

She let Trevor guide her behind him protectively.

"Elliot, its best if you leave. Now isn't a good time," he nodded toward Noah asleep in his arms, "let's not make a scene."

Elliot glared at Trevor, he really did want to cause a scene but he knew better than to do that in front of Liv's son who she was clearly very protective about. That was conducive to convincing her to hear him out.

He was so shocked.

He wondered how on earth he hadn't found out that she had a child. He looked to be at least 5 years old.

You don't know me, her words rang through his head and he had to admit, if she was in a relationship with Trevor Langan and had a 5-year-old then maybe she was right, maybe he really didn't know her.

Finally, after staring down Trevor, Elliot lifted his back from against the banister of the stoop he'd been leaning on and began to walk away, shooting an angry glare at Liv as he left.

She was better than that, he thought, running around dating all of their enemies. He knew she had had a relationship with Cassidy, he'd seem them holding hands after the trial on the news. And he'd heard through the grapevine that she had a long relationship with Tucker – long enough for her to have fallen in love.

If he had to take a guess, the child in Langan's arms was probably Brian's, he thought. He tried not to think about her giving that mess of a man a child.

He sucked in a deep breath and tried to keep his composure as he disappeared in to the night.

"Are you okay?" Trevor asked Olivia who ignored his question and walked up the stoop in front of him, pressing her apartment code in. Trevor followed her and figured that he would give her some time to process; their first priority was putting Noah to bed. He was shocked that the little boy still hadn't woken up.

They ascended the stairs in silence until they got to the 4th floor. Olivia opened the door and let him in first. "I can take him," she told him, a little coldly, not on purpose, but still letting the event from moments earlier take up far too much space in her brain.

"Its fine, where is his room?" he asked politely even though he remembered where Noah's room was.

Oliviastepped in front of him and led Trevor to the short hallway. Inside was everything he expected a little boys room to be – toys everywhere, artwork taped to the walls and a lot of pictures of dinosaurs and trains; Trevor smiled, he had always wondered what it would be like to have a son.

He wouldn't have traded his daughter for the world, but in some ways, it would have been easier to have a little boy.

He carefully laid Noah down and watched as his mother skillfully removed his coat and shoes without waking him up. She failed, she thought. He stirred a little and opened his eyes, searching for his Mom. He set eyes on Olivia who seemed to soften immediately, her stony expression melted in to warm butter. "It's okay my love," she soothed him, kissing his forehead, smoothing his curls from his face. "Close your eyes…"

His eyes fluttered for a moment before they fell shut again. Trevor found his way out of the room and made his way back to the family room. She came out just seconds later, pulling her son's door until it was slightly ajar.

"I'm asking again – are you alright?" he asked her gently as she came back in to the open-planned living room. It was a bit messy, there was Lego on the coffee table- a project that Olivia and Noah were undertaking together – a huge Harry Potter castle that he'd received for his birthday from Rafael. Olivia knew it was ridiculously expensive, but Barba didn't really take money in to account when it came to Noah.

"I guess so," she sighed with resignation, keeping a little distance between herself and Trevor. She was a little embarrassed that he'd witnessed the ugliness of what was left of their relationship.

"He had no right showing up here," Olivia remarked. "I'm angry, Trev," she told him, "I'm so fucking angry with him!"

He could see that she was, she clenched her fists when she spoke and stretched out her hands again as if she was trying to calm herself down.

"You have every right to be, I agree, he has no right turning up to your apartment after you've asked him to leave you alone." He was angry for her and the protective streak that dwelled within him was starting to surface.

Trevor couldn't remember the last time that feeling had been awoken within him.

She ran her hand through her hair with frustration and sighed again. "I guess I'm just…" she paused and looked at him. A tiny smile crossed his lips and she felt bad; she'd just let Elliot ruin their perfect date. She rolled her shoulders, hoping for the tension to ease as Trevor got closer to her.

"Liv, its alright," he said softly, silencing her explanation that she felt she needed to give. He placed his hands on her shoulders, gently massaging his fingers in to the tense pockets of flesh beneath her collarbones. It felt good, she immediately felt her anger melting away.

Trevor let his lips meet with hers briefly. "I'm here for you and if you want me to make sure he stays away, I will make sure he stays away…"

"I am going to have to eventually talk to him," she said with a frustrated groan, "I know I can't avoid it – maybe if I hear him out, he'll leave me alone…"

"Maybe," Trevor nodded, "but you don't have to if you don't want to, its all your choice Liv and he has to respect it." She slid her arms around his torso and relished the comfort of his body against hers. They were both still wearing their coats. He expected that Liv would be wanting him to leave her to it so he didn't bother making the effort of removing it.

"Should I go?" he asked her, "I mean, I don't have to, but I respect your space with Noah…"

"Not just yet… I feel incredibly irresponsible tonight, letting Noah fall in love with you and letting you come back here but… I can't help having a good feeling about it," she told him bluntly. Trevor smiled, it was music to his ears and he was happy that Elliot's little stunt didn't entirely overshadow their evening.

"Noah is a fantastic kid," he told her, "he is so sweet and so curious, he's very perceptive and smart."

"Thank you, I dunno where he gets it from," she joked.

Trevor laughed too, "Of course you do, everything he is is a credit to his incredible mother," he flattered her. Olivia loosened their embrace and repeated his kiss.

"Would you like some tea?" she asked him.

"Sure…"

"Why don't you take your coat off and take a seat, it'll be nice to just… spend some time with you," she told him.

Trevor regarded her with a smile and did as he was told. He watched her shed her own coat. She took his and hung it up at the door and disappeared to the kitchen behind him which was pushed to the back of her living area.

It wasn't a big apartment, he thought, but it was cozy and he knew that she was happy there.

And Olivia was even happier to know that he was there.