Disclaimer: I own nothing
Hey all, just a small one. All I could manage with this blasted head cold. I feel like crap so sorry if you think it is below par. Would love lots of lovely reviews to make me feel better and help my muse. Maybe if I get lot's of reviews I can work up a little smut.
Upon arriving back at the ranch they stopped off at the mess. Stepping inside they saw Tate and Sofia working side by side cooking while Alex sat at a table with her laptop working with Rafe sleeping in his pram next to her.
Alex looked up when they stepped in and Olivia saw her gaze zone straight in on her hand. She was up like a jack in the box and hurrying across. Olivia gave a resigned sigh and waited for her, offering up her hand for inspection.
"Did you hurt it further?" Alex questioned immediately carefully examining the bandage before making a move to undo and unwind it. Olivia stopped her with gentle hands, holding the pale more delicate hands in hers. She waited until Alex looked up at her before smiling gently.
"Alex it's Ok. Beau made me go to the clinic, gave me no choice. I've got a few stitches and some antibiotics" Olivia told her, grateful her friend was so concerned. No doubt she was lucky to have a friend like Alex.
"So you are going to take it easy for the next few days?" Alex asked pointedly and Olivia thought it was more of a demand than anything. She always was a bossy ADA. She shrugged.
"I'm gonna keep Beau company. I still have another hand as he pointed out" Alex shot Beau a glare and he merely grinned and waved from his position near Rafe. Olivia thought the man was infatuated with the small boy. "We actually came in to get some coffee to go" Olivia hinted giving her friend her best puppy dog look and Alex sighed. She never could resist Olivia when she gave her a pleading look. Why was it she always caved in? She contemplated that for a while, flicking a quick look over Olivia's shoulder when Tyler walked in with two other men.
She presumed Olivia heard but was too busy giving her the pleading look as Tyler approached them.
"Fine but if you hurt your hand further I don't want to hear about it" Alex growled "And I will tell Tyler I argued the point"
"Eh, I'm not worried about Tyler, I have her wrapped around my little finger" Olivia chuckled.
"Is that so?" came a voice from behind her and Olivia cringed slightly before shooting a smirking Alex a glare. "I thought you were my sister" she grumbled to Alex before turning around to Tyler. She gave the two men with her lover a cursorily glance before smiling at Tyler "Hi"
"Wrapped around your finger huh?" Tyler asked and Olivia grinned sheepishly
"You weren't supposed to hear that" she admitted but not in the least repentant. Tyler was wrapped around her little finger, just as much as she was Tyler's.
"You don't say" her lover drawled then looked down at her hand "I see you wised up went to the clinic"
"Beau took me" Olivia admitted knowing Alex or Beau would probably dob on her anyway. Traitors!
"Stitches?" Tyler asked while gently taking her hand
"3" she admitted
"Yet you're going back out with Beau?" Tyler scowled and Olivia grinned, it was time to wipe the smile off Beau's face.
"He told me I had another hand" she informed and watched her lover about gain whiplash looking around at her younger brother. Beau slunk down in his chair and suddenly found the sleeping Rafe even more fascinating.
"Dobber" Alex whispered behind her and Olivia turned to look at her astounded.
"What you did was better? Not telling me Tyler was behind me" Olivia scoffed.
"I plead the fifth" Alex shrugged and handed her a thermos of coffee before strolling back to her computer and leaving her to the lions. Crap.
"I'll get you back for that" Olivia called after her and received an acknowledging wave. Wanting to avoid any further disapproval from Tyler she started to slink around her "Well I guess Beau and I better be off to finish the fencing"
"Olivia" Tyler growled and Olivia stopped with a sigh and looked up at her "Look after that hand, if it starts to hurt you better become a spectator and not utter a single word tonight in complaint. I won't want to hear it" Of course they both knew she was lying through her arse. She'd blow on it gently all night if Olivia said it relieved her pain. Olivia grinned knowingly.
"Yes ma'am" she saluted then hurried out, motioning to Beau to hurry up. Beau scampered after her, not wanting to be Tyler's next target.
Tyler watched her lover go, knowing that Olivia would last about 5 minutes before frustration and boredom would set in and she'd cave in and help Beau. She made a note to check Olivia's hand at lunch time and if was paining her she would sic her mother onto her.
Tyler was part right, Olivia did cave but Beau was bound and determined not to get any further into Tyler's or Alex's bad books. Tyler could make his life miserable and Alex only had to say one word to Tate and he'd be on a diet not of his own choosing. Speaking of Tate.
"I was surprised to see Tate letting Sofia in her kitchen" he commented quietly causing Olivia to pause in her task of wiring the ring lock wire fence to a post. It was the easiest task he had managed to find, that and getting her to sight so he could bang in the posts in the first place. She also had the hard task of driving the truck slowly forward, inch by inch to strain the wire.
This had been done by placing a special board either side of the ring lock fence, holding it sturdy. A chain was attached either end of the board and then attached to the trucks tow bar. By inching the truck forward it pulled the wire tight so the fence didn't droop. Beau then tied the fence to the large support post to hold the tension. Then all that was required was tying the fence to the posts and running some straining wire along the top to make it taller.
"Yeah" Olivia eventually answered with a shrug "Tate's always a bit possessive. Guess Sofia proved herself with the meal last night"
"Well it didn't look like they were making anything too hard, just cutting salad. I suppose Sofia wants to feel useful. Alex was obviously busy with work so she couldn't interview her"
Olivia smirked, she wondered how long it would take for him to bring up Sofia again.
"Why don't you just ask her out?" she chuckled then looked up as Beau swore and saw him shaking his hand "You ok there?"
"Yeah just pinched myself with the pliers" he muttered before going back to his task. Olivia returned to tying on the fence, not an easy job with one hand but she managed well enough to meet her own high standards. "I can't ask her out" Beau finally filled the silence as they moved on to the next posts.
"Why not? Scared she'll turn you down?" she teased and then blinked in surprise when he nodded. Oh, well. What to say to that?
"Also worried that I hardly know her, she will probably only be around for a short time and I've been there done that"
"What? Dated a woman only passing through?" she finished tying the bottom rung and moved a couple up.
"That and a woman with a kid, it didn't end well" Beau admitted and Olivia was surprised, hearing the true pain in his voice. For some reason she knew it had more to do with the kid than the mother. He must have loved the kid.
"I'm sorry Beau" she told him genuinely, pausing in her task "I can tell that hurt you a lot"
"We were together a year when the kid's father MIA in Iraq, presumed dead, came home." He sighed. Olivia didn't need him to fill in the blanks. The woman had returned to her former partner, taking the child with her.
"How old was the child when she left?" she asked gently, resuming her task and quickly finishing before turning to wait for Beau's answer. She found him deep in thought, staring off at the Mountains in the distance. Standing she walked over to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He started and turned to look at her. Her heart broke when she saw unshed tears in his eyes. Poor Beau, who knew the jovial young man carried such pain?
She ignored his grumble of protest and pulled him gently forward, his crouched position had his face at her waist level and he leant his head into her side, taking her small measure of comfort as she gave him an awkward hug.
"How long ago Beau?" she asked softly and he sighed
"Two years" a while ago then but not long enough to forget the raw pain he would have felt.
"How old was the child?" she gently asked next and he raised his hand, trying to subtly wipe an errant tear from his face.
"Two years old when I met his mum, three when she left me. I haven't seen him since" he paused then whispered softly "He called me daddy"
Oh shit. Olivia opened her mouth to offer words of comfort but closed it again when she realised she had no words to make his pain any better, obviously time had not healed those wounds. So she just let him take a moment to regain his composure before he pulled away.
"Sorry about that" he muttered before turning back to his task "Best get back to it"
Olivia sighed but knew after dealing with Elliot all these years not to push. Instead she gave his shoulder one last squeeze and moved on.
To say the atmosphere between them until lunch was strained was a slight understatement. Olivia realised Beau was either ashamed of breaking down or worried what she would think. She didn't feel any different than she had before and rather admired he had felt so strongly for the child he still missed him years later.
Driving back to the Mess the cab of the truck was extremely silent as both pondered what had been revealed. Once Beau turned off the truck and made to exit a gentle hand stopped him.
"Just so you know Beau, I don't think any less of you for showing your emotions." She told him quietly "In my job I have dealt with all levels and types of emotions, including my own. I want you to know I won't tell anyone what you said or how you reacted, your secret is safe with me, always." She waited letting that sink in and watching as the set of his shoulders relaxed. "Having said that I think you have bottled this up for a while and you need to deal with your anger and grief. If you need to talk to anyone I am here"
There was a long silence as no one moved and Olivia barely dared to breathe as she waited for Beau to relax.
"My sister is a very lucky woman" he finally stated and Olivia let loose her pent up breathe
"Make sure you tell her that for me wont you" she teased trying to lighten the mood. She thought she heard a quiet chuckle before she withdrew her hand and they finally left the cab.
Once inside the Mess they hurriedly joined the cue which was lining up for Baguettes. They had the choice of ham or chicken. Olivia chose the chicken, thanking Sofia who served her and heading to the table where Alex sat, once again holding Rafe.
"Getting clucky Cabot?" she teased as she sat down, watching as Alex burped Rafe like an expert.
"All in good time" Alex smiled waiting for Olivia to take a sip of her drink "I want a lot of alone time with Tate first to jump her bones without interruptions" she said and laughed as Olivia exhaled the drink through her nose.
Tyler sat down next to Olivia when she had regained her composure and was sending Alex death glares. Alex was gently cradling a now sleeping Rafe not in the slightest bit worried about the looks she was receiving from her friend.
Tyler was amazed at the boy, she barely heard it cry and he seemed to either be asleep or content to just lie there and stare around his surrounds. She had no issue with him as long as he stayed that way.
"How's the hand?" she asked her lover and Olivia smiled
"It's fine Ty, Beau has made sure I am not doing too much and given me easy jobs" she assured then looked around "Where are the Arson investigators? I was a bit lax in introducing myself this morning"
"They are still out in the barn securing evidence." Tyler's jaw tightened "Whoever did the job didn't try to hide the fact it was arson. They poured gasoline all through the tack room and out past the stalls" she shook her head in disbelief "He wanted to cause maximum damage and quickly. It's little wonder we got all the horses out. It's also not surprising we missed the prick in all the confusion to get them out quickly. He obviously hiked out to where he left his truck and then passed the neighbours on their way in to help"
"So you believe it's Chase then" Olivia stated
"I have no doubt. We just need to prove it. Or the investigators do." She sighed "They are taking over the investigation. I've told them about the other couple of instances and they agree they are all connected. A couple of Detectives are coming out from Great Falls. These are serious crimes"
"Did you nominate our main suspect?" Olivia asked next
"I did, along with the fact it's a New York Detective's gut instinct and the very little evidence we have" Very little being a grand overstatement. They had the fact Chase had been kicked out of the Bar angry the night of their accident and that a neighbour had seen him coming from a direction that was suspicious at best when responding to the fire.
"Hmmm" Olivia conceded "Along with his fixation on you"
"Don't remind me" Tyler groaned
"Well I am sure they are competent, hopefully Chase was careless and he will be in custody soon" Olivia assured everyone. Unfortunately no one, including herself was assured. They had been a part of Law Enforcement for far too long.