The sunlight shone in, brightly flooding the bedroom. Abbie had been up for hours. Finally giving up on sleep she rummaged through boxes of clothes before finding shoes, some old Longhorns track shorts and a worn t-shirt, and set out to explore new paths in her neighborhood. She'd tossed and turned all night, pondering the wisdom of returning to New York; torn between calling Olivia just to say hi and packing her bags to leave town immediately; worried about what to say when the two of them inevitably crossed paths.
'Let it go, Abbie' she told herself as she ran. 'It's been two years. She's moved on. Why haven't you?' And there was the sticking point... Why hadn't she moved on? She'd briefly dated a college Lit professor during her Alpine stint, but in such a small, conservative town it became difficult to maintain such a "scandalous" relationship. Abbie hadn't been too broken up when Clare ended it.
Jogging down 79th , she rounded the corner and headed towards Central Park. Coming to an abrupt halt, she leaned forward, hands on her knees, squeezing her eyes shut and hoping that she didn't just see what she thought she saw. There, not fifteen feet away from her, stood Olivia and Elliot, notebooks in hand, questioning a witness, while Fin and Munch cuffed a perp and led him to the awaiting unmarked vehicle. As Abbie stood on the sidewalk, her brain frantically working to determine her next move, Liv looked up from the notepad and made eye contact. Abbie watched as a myriad of emotions flashed across the other woman's face.
"So you're telling us that you heard..." Olivia looked up at the witness as she was asking the question, her words trailing off as she saw Abbie Carmichael turn the corner and stop. Abbie Carmichael... Back in New York... God, she'd missed her. Olivia searched Abbie's face looking for a sign of friendship, or at least non-hostility, and caught the glimmer of warmth in her eyes.
"El, can you finish this up?" she turned to her partner, subtly gesturing over at Abbie. He gave a brief nod and took over the questioning while Olivia attempted to stroll casually to where Abbie was standing. Wiping her palms on her brown trousers, she fervently hoped that she'd manage a coherent sentence when got close enough to speak.
"Hey Liv" Abbie said casually, as if they'd just seen each other yesterday. She forced herself to hold onto the grin on her face, not allowing her lips to tremble or her voice to quiver. 'God, she looks amazing!' Abbie thought, her stomach tying itself into a tighter knot.
"Abbie" Liv rejoined, standing awkwardly in front of her former lover. Her memory quickly flashed back to their last meeting, the angry words spoken, the tears and accusations. Suddenly all Olivia wanted to do was take Abbie into her arms and erase the years that had separated them, erase her former doubts. She had found, almost as soon as the door had slammed behind her, that she missed Abbie with an ache, her heart squeezed with regret. Stubbornly she'd continued down the hall and out of Abbie's life, her fear of emotional intimacy stronger, at the time, than her love for this woman.
Now, after all this time, Abbie was standing in front of her again, and Olivia vowed not to miss this opportunity. Lord knows that life doesn't give too many second chances. 'What do I have to lose?' she questioned herself, stepping forward and pulling Abbie into her arms.
Abbie wasn't sure what to make of the embrace, but it felt so familiar and so comforting that she found herself returning it, pulling Olivia even closer. Her senses were alive as she reveled in the feeling of holding Olivia again. Without thinking, she nuzzled against Liv's neck, kissing it gently. Olivia's low moan in Abbie's ear brought Abbie back to reality. 'What am I DOING?' Abbie thought to herself as she pulled out of the embrace. "Liv... Um... Hey, you wanna go get a coffee?" Abbie stammered as she worked to regain her composure.
Olivia stepped back, a blush rising up her neck. "Oh, uh... Yeah. That sounds great. Um..." Olivia looked back at Elliott, frantically hoping that he'd come to her rescue while at the same time wondering what it was exactly that she thought he'd be able to do. She caught his eye though, and his smirk as he gave her a thumbs up sign. He was closing his notebook and walking towards her, smiling at Abbie. "Well well well, if it isn't Abigail Carmichael back in the big city." He said as he pulled her into a bear hug. Abbie didn't even try to smother the laughter as she snuggled into Elliott's leather jacket.
"El, it's been WAY too long." She replied, smiling and tightening her grip on the tough detective. "Y'all wouldn't believe the panty-waist cops they've got down there in Alpine. They wouldn't know what to do with a felony case. It's good to be home."
"It's good to have you home." Elliott responded, letting go of Abbie so he could get a better look. "Looks like they don't feed you much down there in God's country. When you're all settled in, you'll have to let me take you out for some pizza and beer, get you healthy again." he laughed, grinning at her.
"It's a date." She stated. Then, looking at Olivia, she continued "Would you mind if I borrowed your partner for a bit? We've got some catching up to do."
"Not a problem. Liv, I'll put you down for lost time. See you back at the house."
"Thanks El. Back in a bit. Call if anything comes up." Olivia replied nervously. She and Abbie were alone again. How did they begin a conversation that was two years overdue?