When they arrived in the clothing store, both children gasped in awe. It was blatantly obvious that neither child had ever been in department store and both adults felt sorrow at their lack of childhood.
Grabbing a trolley, and motioning for Elliot to do the same, she placed Bella in the child seat, before turning to Elliot.
"You and Josh want to go by yourselves, or do we go in one big group?"
"We'll go. Meet you at the cashier in half an hour?" Olivia nodded, and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.
"Come on, Josh, my man. Let's get you some cool clothes." Elliot headed in one direction, Olivia in the other.
"You like 'Livia?" Josh asked, as they walked down the aisle, placing various garments in the trolley.
"Yes. Do you like her?"
Josh nodded frantically, "'Livia nice. She saved Bella and me. Love 'Livia," he stopped, and then continued, whispering conspiringly, "'Livia comfy. She soft."
Elliot laughed, "I bet she is, pal, I bet she is."
"You ready to try these on?" Josh nodded but looked apprehensive, "You want help?" Josh nodded but still looked scared, "You want 'Livia?"
Josh shook his head before speaking, "You won't hurt?" he asked, terrified.
Elliot looked shocked, "No! Absolutely not," he knelt down to Josh's height before looking him in the eye, "I will never hurt you, I promise."
Josh nodded slowly, and took his hand before they both entered the changing room.
Meanwhile, Olivia and Bella were wondering down the aisles, Bella having the time of her life.
"He nice," she stated as Olivia picked out a purple dress for the child.
"Whose nice, honey?"
"Elliot. He make good pancakes."
"I know. You like him?"
Bella nodded, "He like you too."
"Yes," Olivia laughed gently, before stopping the shopping cart, "You ready to try some of these on?"
Bella looked at the mountain of clothing, and then up at Olivia, "They don't fit."
"What do you mean, sweetie?"
"I not wear them at once. They don't fit," she stated again.
"Bella, you're not meant to wear them all at the same time."
"Oh," she paused and looked at the dressing room, "I scared Livvie,"
"How about I come in with you, is that better?" Bella nodded and they headed into the dressing room.
Half an hour later, they were both at the cashier, marveling at the cost of children's clothing.
"You want to stop for lunch, or go for toys?" she asked the children.
Josh, who was enjoying the shopping trip instantly spoke, "Toys!"
Olivia looked at the sleepy girl in her arms, and said gently, "You want to find some toys too?"
Bella nodded softly, and snuggled further into Olivia's warm embrace. Elliot looked at Olivia, and wrapped an arm around her waist, before placing a gentle kiss on her cheek, "You okay?"
She nodded tiredly, but leant further into Elliot's embrace as they continued down the street.
Once again, inside the store they split up, and Bella, looking at the large array of toys and dolls was instantly more awake than she had been before. An hour later, they were headed home for some lunch, and a midday nap.
As they arrived at Olivia's apartment, it was clear that both children had fallen asleep on the journey home and were not about to wake up. Tucking them in gently, in her bed, Olivia made her way out to the living area, and found Elliot setting up the sofa-bed.
"Come on, we'll have a nap too," he said as he cuddled her under the covers. Olivia nodded gently, before resting her head on his chest and drifting off to the comforting sound of his heartbeat.
A couple of hours later, a soft giggle from her right awoke her. Identifying the sound as one of her children, she lay back.
"Look Bella, Mommy sleeping." Olivia felt her heart swell as she heard Josh call her 'Mommy'.
"Mommy pretty," Bella whispered back, and softly stroked her hand. As quietly as they had come, they left her again. Sighing gently, she turned in Elliot's embrace to face him.
"El?" she asked..
"Mmmm," he replied, his voice sleepy.
"You awake?'
"Mmmm," he replied once more, clearly not awake.
"Elliot," she said, "Wake up!"
"What? What's wrong?" he questioned quickly, as a worried frown appeared on his face.
"Nothing. They called me 'Mommy'," Olivia responded quietly, as a tear fell down her face, "They accepted me so fast, I can't believe it."
"Hey," he nudged her, "You're a fantastic mother. Let's get up. We have to see the apartment today."
Grudgingly, Olivia extracted herself from his embrace, and before fully getting up, kissed him gently.
"Hey, come back here," he laughed, before capturing her lips in a deep kiss.
When they broke apart, Olivia whispered, "I love you," before heading to her bedroom to see the two children. As he watched her move away, he gently replied, "Love you too."
(Sorry it's so short, next one will hopefully be longer.)