When Noah, Eli and a very excited dog tumbled out of the car, Elliot took advantage of the sudden silence to lean over and kiss Olivia. "Thank you," he told her.
"Happy Birthday!" She responded, smiling fondly at him. The dog wasn't a surprise. They'd spent the last several months visiting the shelter, bonding with Tiger and filling out the paperwork, but bringing him home on Elliot's birthday was. They had no idea how Tiger had gotten his name, since he was playful, loving, and as un-tiger like as possible.
Liv and Noah had just moved in with Elliot and Eli a month ago, and bringing Tiger home made their move feel more complete and their family more joined.
Tiger bounded around the car and yard enthusiastically as they unloaded cake and lunch from the trunk. All Elliot's kids and grandchildren were coming over for a party that afternoon, then Liv and Elliot were going out for dinner just the two of them. It was Elliot's second birthday since they'd been dating, and Liv was proud of the efforts she'd taken to make it special. After Eli grabbed the last case of soda to take inside, Tiger ran into Liv, knocking her slightly off balance. She stumbled slightly, her hand grabbing onto the car just as Elliot slammed the door of the trunk with a sickening crunch. Elliot hurriedly opened the trunk, gazing at her in horror, as she cradled her hand and doubled over in pain. Elliot held her as gently as he could, wrapping one arm around her uninjured left side, while he rubbed her back with his other hand. Noah looked like he was about to burst into tears and kept asking, "Mom, are you okay?" while Tiger nuzzled up against Liv's leg, gazing up with baleful, guilty eyes.
"Noah, I think your mom's hand is broken, and I'm going to take her to the hospital, but she'll be fine," Elliot told him reassuringly. "You and Eli can get Tiger settled in. Eli, can you call everyone to cancel the party?" Olivia stood up shakily at that, protesting.
"It's your birthday, El. Don't cancel the party. You stay; I'll go to the hospital." Elliot's concern rose several notches at her willingness to go to the hospital, and he shifted his diagnosis from probably to definitely broken as he looked at her incredulously.
"Liv, I just broke your hand! I care about you, not the party. We can have it another day, come on." She wanted to argue more but was in too much pain and reluctantly nodded.
"Noah, I'll be fine," she told her son, as convincingly as she could, given the shakiness of her balance and voice. Eli shepherded Noah and Tiger into the house, as Elliot helped Liv back into the car.
She sat on the exam table, the pain meds and ice pack on her hand having dulled the pain. Elliot sat behind her, his arm wrapped gently around her left shoulder as she leaned into his chest. "Sorry for ruining your birthday," she said guiltily.
"Sorry for breaking your hand," he responded, even more guiltily.
"It was an accident, El. It wasn't your fault," she argued.
"It certainly wasn't your's either," he pointed out. "And you didn't ruin my birthday. Although our menace of a new dog may have been responsible for breaking your hand," he added ruefully.
The doctor came back in then. "You broke your second and third metacarpals," she told Olivia, "but the good news is that you don't need surgery. I'm going to splint it until the swelling goes down, then at your follow-up appointment, we'll determine if you need a cast based on how it's healing."
Her arm and wrist wrapped in a splint, then immobilized in a sling, Elliot gently helped her up as the nurse brought the wheelchair into the room.
"I thought you said the pain was a lot better," he commented, when she didn't fight the wheelchair."
"It is. My balance is shaky," she admitted.
When they came through the door, Eli made sure Tiger was safely in his kennel, despite his whines. "You've done enough damage for one day, buddy," he chastised gently. Elliot settled Liv on the couch, taking off her socks and shoes, then propping pillows under her sling.
Noah looked like he was scared to hurt her, so Liv pulled him into a one-armed hug. "I'll be fine, I promise," she reassured him. Eli surprised her by hugging her too.
"Sorry you got hurt," he said shyly.
"Thanks, Eli."
They ended up ordering in Chinese food, eating the cake, although Eli cut it and lit the candles instead of Liv, and watching movies together, the four of them, with Tiger snuggled next to Liv's feet.
"Happy Birthday, El," Liv told him, wrapping her uninjured arm around him as they snuggled on the couch. "Stop feeling guilty about my hand. It wasn't your fault."
"Stop feeling guilty about the party and dinner," he countered, and she rolled her eyes. "Aside from you being hurt, it was a nice evening," he told her.
"It was nice," she agreed.
"Your squad's going to kill me," he added, and they laughed contentedly.
