Over the next few months, everything seemed to fall into a routine that was manageable for everyone. Olivia worked until 6:00 most nights, getting home by 6:30 so Maureen could go home to Queens. She usually had at least one late night during the week, but really tried not to make it too late and so far Maureen and Kate had only stayed over once when Olivia ended up stuck at the station overnight in the middle of a kidnapping case. Olivia had to admit that she wanted to be home with her son more than she wanted to be working half the night, and she really appreciated that the rest of her coworkers recognized that and helped her as much as they could.
Maureen was grateful too. She was able to spend time with her daughter, and Noah was a very good baby. At eleven months he was crawling everywhere and pulling himself up on the furniture and she loved telling Olivia about all of her son's new accomplishments at the end of the day. She also felt blessed that Kate could have a friend close to her age and the two children seemed to be getting along really well and learning from one another. They were almost like brother and sister, and since neither of them were likely to have a sibling, Maureen felt their relationship was special. Each night when they went home, Kate would sit on her grandfather's lap and babble about little Noah. Luckily her words were not very clear, typical for a twenty month old, and Elliot never seemed suspicious when she mentioned Olivia or Noah. Maureen simply told him she was working for a single mother in Manhattan and he hadn't asked much more than that. She didn't want to lie to him though. She wished things were better between him and Olivia because she knew how much her father missed his ex-partner. Their friendship had been so strong that Maureen couldn't help but wonder what had come between them. She wanted to ask her father, but he always clammed up at the mention of Olivia's name. She had finally given up on trying. She could tell Olivia was hurt by whatever had happened, but she hadn't had the nerve to ask her about it either. So for now, she just avoided mentioning one in front of the other and hoped things didn't come to a head.
Olivia rushed through the door a little after seven, "I'm so sorry," she explained. "I didn't think I'd be this late." She knew Maureen was planning to take Kate to her mother's for a few days and needed to get on the road. Olivia had even taken the next two days off of work so Maureen could enjoy the time with Kathy, but preparing to be gone for a couple of days made it impossible to get out of work on time. She looked at Noah, who was crawling toward her and smiled. "There's my favorite guy." She picked him up and kissed him and the little boy giggled happily.
"I already fed him," Maureen said as she packed up Kate's things, anxious to get started on her trip. She grabbed her daughter by the hand and the little girl walked with her to the door, stopping to hug Olivia before she left.
Olivia knelt down, Noah in her arms, and hugged the little girl close to her, "Bye Precious…have fun with your grandma." Then she hugged Maureen, "Drive safely," she smiled. "I really am sorry about being so late."
"Its fine," Maureen insisted. "We have plenty of time." She opened the door, "Enjoy your two days with Noah." She waved as they walked down the hall.
"Well, looks like it's just the two of us," Olivia kissed her son one more time. Then she sat down on the floor with him and rolled his soft toy truck back and forth. The baby loved when she made noises to go with his truck and it made her smile to see him so happy. She'd missed him all day. Their play was interrupted by an urgent knock at the door and Olivia quickly put her son in his play pen. "Who could that be?" she asked as she looked through the peep hole, surprised to see Maureen standing in the hall holding Kate. She unlocked the door quickly, "What's wrong?" she asked as they stepped back into the apartment.
"My car won't start," Maureen explained with frustration. "I think the battery is dead, but I don't have jumper cables with me." She looked at her watch, knowing she was probably not going to make it to her mother's that night. "I called Dad," she could see the color fade from Olivia's face and knew she'd better explain quickly. "I told him not to come to the apartment…just to call my cell when he got here. You won't have to see him, Olivia. I promise."
Olivia nodded, "It's okay. Of course you called him. It's fine," she cleared her throat. "You know…I have jumper cables. I can jump your car."
"I didn't know that," Maureen replied honestly. "I'm sorry…"
Olivia forced a smile. She knew Maureen felt guilty for calling Elliot because she knew Olivia didn't want to see him. "It's fine," she assured her. "I'll just jump your car, and you call your dad and tell him he doesn't have to make the drive in from Queens. Okay?"
Maureen nodded and dialed the phone as they made their way down to the car. Within minutes the car was running and Maureen and Kate were on their way to Kathy's. She couldn't reach her father, but she'd left him a message telling him her car was fine and he didn't need to come. She figured he'd check it on the way and turn around to go back home.
Olivia, back in the apartment, gave Noah a bath and put him to bed. Then she decided to take a shower and curl up in front of the TV…something she seemed to have very little time for. She emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in her blue terrycloth bathrobe with her hair pulled up into a plush, white towel when she heard a knock on the door. It was more of a pounding than a knock and she rushed to the door, worried that whoever it was would wake up the baby. "Hold on!" she yelled as she made her way to the door. She hoped Maureen hadn't had more car trouble. She looked through the peep hole and gasped. It took a while to find her voice, and when she spoke she realized it came out nervous and weak, "What do you want?" she asked.
"I'm looking for my daughter," Elliot replied from the other side of the door, a hint of frustration and worry in his voice. "Maureen…she works here, right? She called me. Her car broke down. She asked me not to bother you, and I'm sorry, but she's not downstairs and I don't even see her car. I need to find her."
"She already left," Olivia decided if she didn't open the door, she'd never have to face him and things could go back to normal, "We jumped the car and it was fine. She called you."
"My cell phone died," he replied. He wondered why this woman wouldn't open the door. Maureen had told him she was a single mother, so maybe she was just worried about a strange man coming to the door, "I used to be a cop," he offered. "I swear. Could I just use your phone to call Maureen and make sure she is on her way to her mother's…that they're not on the side of the road somewhere?" he sighed. "You can just hand it to me through the door. I don't have to come in."
Olivia closed her eyes. She didn't know what to do. She wanted open the door and confront him and run away both at the same time. She had to admit it was a good idea to call and check on Maureen and Kate though, so how could she tell him no? She slowly unlocked the various locks on her door.
"Overprotective and scared…" Elliot shook his head and mumbled under his breath as he heard the different locks clicking. Finally the door opened, and he smiled determined to make the woman feel at ease. He looked up and stared into her face, the smile quickly vanishing without a trace. "Liv?" his voice was a whisper.
She didn't say a word to him. She didn't know what to say. She just turned around and grabbed the phone, handing it to him so he could call and check on his daughter.
Special thanks to everyone who has taken time to review this story! It definitely motivates me to keep going. :) More soon...