Author's Note: I come bearing gifts of new chapters for you! Just a reminder for when the songs come up in these chapters, I do recommend checking out the full lyrics for them. It's not totally necessary since you should get the main idea with what is in there already, but you might miss some of the subtle playing off the lyrics. Up to you!

Chapter Twenty Four – Lack of Space and Little Smiles

Suvi's head popped up and his ears pricked in interest. While Olivia didn't see a reason for his response, she could guess what had caused it. He'd probably spotted Micheal and Tucker before she had, which wasn't unexpected. Olivia pushed herself to her feet and waited on the steps of her apartment building. It didn't take very long for her to spot Micheal, and she lifted her hand to wave at him. She'd offered to meet them at their hotel, but Micheal had wanted to come to her place instead. If they went to lunch near her apartment she would know which places would be friendly to service dogs. Olivia was fine with that since it would save them a lot of trouble.

"It's been too long," Micheal told her when he reached her.

"Definitely," she agreed as she bumped fists with him.

"You remember my fiancé, Lauren?"

Olivia nodded and shook Lauren's hand in greeting. Suvi and Tucker were doing their own version of a handshake. Their noses were nearly touching as they greeted each other. That and wagging tails was about all they could do since they were both working. Despite that their excitement was obvious since both of their bodies were nearly wagging with their tails.

"We can either eat first or head down to Central Park depending on how hungry you are," Olivia explained. "Or, if you don't want to eat now but would rather not go too far we can go to the dog park."

"Lauren?"

"I'm fine with eating now. It will give the dogs more time to play after that."

"What are you two in the mood for?" Olivia asked.

"You know the area, Olivia. You pick."

"A deli café, Chinese, Italian?"

"There's a good Chinese place around here?" Micheal asked excitedly.

That made the decision rather easy. Olivia laughed and waved them forward. This was New York City. There was pretty much a good anything place around as long as you knew where to look.

"They know me pretty well there, and it's good food."

While they walked down to the Chinese restaurant Olivia and Micheal tried to catch up on what had happened during the year they'd been apart. Olivia wanted to know about the proposal and upcoming wedding, and Micheal pressed her with questions about her new jobs and some of the speaking events she'd been at. Even though they'd been sharing emails about the dogs throughout the year, that topic was bandied about as well. Most of lunch was focused on Lauren getting to know Olivia and Suvi better, which Olivia didn't mind much at all. She could talk about Suvi forever. The meal was delicious, and the restaurant staff was more than amendable to having Tucker and Suvi there. Micheal and Olivia didn't need to discuss how thankful they were for that since both of them had experienced the difficulties owning a service dog could bring. Being prohibited from entering a public place was always painful. Unfortunately it was also something they had to deal with.

When they'd all finished eating and had paid Olivia led them to Central Park. Suvi picked up on where they were headed shortly after getting off the subway and became a nearly uncontained ball of energy. He was still behaving, but Olivia could feel his excitement through the leash and had long ago learned the subtle signs that displayed his excitement. Tucker picked up on his change of mood as well. He started dancing around at the end of his leash and straying a bit beyond what could be called a heel. Unlike Suvi, he wasn't used to the overly high stimulation of New York City. Once he became excited it was even easier to be distracted. Micheal tried to calm him but with everything going on around them Micheal wasn't having much luck.

"We're almost there, and then we can take them off the leash," Olivia assured Micheal.

"Good. He's having a hard time."

"Not surprising. It's a lot to handle for a dog."

She motioned toward the park entrance to reassure him again that they were close. No more than ten minutes later they were unclipping leashes and vests so their dogs could play. The moment he was free Suvi rocketed off with Tucker hot on his heels. Micheal, Lauren, and Olivia watched as the two dogs zigzagged back and forth while occasionally jumping on top of each other. Olivia couldn't help grinning. It was always nice getting to see Suvi act like a normal dog and enjoy himself. He was definitely enjoying his time with Tucker too.

Suddenly both dogs stilled, their full attention locked on the same point. A squirrel. At first both dogs were statues. Then together, in perfect unison, they went after it. In a matter of seconds they'd chased the squirrel up a tree and were busy guarding the bottom. Apparently the squirrels of Central Park were in for a challenge today.

"It looks like Tucker likes our "lack of space" here in New York," Olivia teased.

"Alright, alright. I'll give you that one."

"They seem fine playing on their own," Olivia mused.

If the dogs didn't want any human playmates then she wasn't going to stay standing. They were out here to enjoy themselves, and she was going to take the opportunity to relax. She sat down on the grass and stretched her legs out in front of her.

"You realize if I join you down there you're going to have to help me up, right?"

Olivia looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Doesn't Tucker help you do that?"

"Yeah, but I like to make Lauren work sometimes, and you might as well take a turn."

"Oh sit your butt down. I'm sure between the two of us we can get you back up."

Lauren slipped under Micheal's arm to help support him as they sat down. Olivia caught him wincing and wondered if she should have chosen a spot that had benches nearby. It took him a long time to get settled on the ground. She immediately felt bad for not considering his condition earlier. While she didn't have as many limitations as he did, she knew how painful it could be to have a reminder of what was no longer easy or even possible.

"Sorry. I should have picked a better spot."

"Don't worry about it. I'm up for a good challenge every now and then."

"Still…"

"Olivia," Micheal said firmly in response to the guilt he could clearly hear in her voice. "Stop."

He didn't need to explain further. Olivia could read between the lines since she felt the same way. Neither of them wanted to be treated differently because of their injuries. They didn't want people feeling bad for them either. While that wasn't what Olivia had meant with her apology, the sentiment had been close enough. If he was okay then she would try to let her regret go.

"Micheal said you're speaking tonight too," Lauren said in an attempt to end the uneasiness.

"I'm supposed to."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Micheal asked. "You speak at conferences for a living. You can't be that nervous."

Olivia smiled weakly.

"I've never liked speaking to a large group, but I've gotten better at it. What I'm really not comfortable with is talking about myself."

It was a huge understatement, but Micheal still couldn't believe it.

"You didn't have a problem talking about yourself during our training."

"Because it was basically a guarantee that you would find out about the seizures."

"Then what's the problem? That's all you have to do tonight."

That made Olivia laugh outright. He was insane if that was all he thought they had to do. She could have handled talking about the seizures easily enough. It was everything else she would need to share that bothered her.

"We have to do a lot more than that. The goal is to get sponsors and to do that we're going to need to share our experiences and feelings. Get personal."

"Okay, so? You're a woman. You should be able to do touchy feely."

"I've never been touchy feely, Micheal. Even before I became a cop."

"Just because women are considered more emotional doesn't mean we like talking about everything we're feeling," Lauren agreed. "It's not easy to share your feelings, fears, and weaknesses with people you don't know."

"Or with people you do know," Olivia added.

"You'll figure it out. Suvi will help," Micheal told her, still not seeing what the big deal was.

Olivia looked up to watch Suvi and Tucker play for a moment, a small smile on her face.

"He will, but you still make it sound too easy."

She was still watching Suvi when he stopped and turned to look at her, apparently sensing her gaze. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and he bounded over to her. When he reached her he planted his front paws on her thighs and pressed the top of his head into her chest. Olivia dropped her head down to rest on top of his while she rubbed his ears. Yeah, he would help her. It still wouldn't be easy, but at least with Suvi there next to her it would be doable. Finally she lifted her head, gave his fur one more stroke, and let him go play again. Suvi shot off and plowed into Tucker. Both of them went down in a flailing heap of fur and paws. Watching from the sidelines it looked like a wrestling match. They rolled across the ground before springing back to their feet and taking off again.

"They're going to be so tired they won't even be able to work tonight," Micheal laughed.

"It's good for them to get a break sometimes."

"No denying that. No matter how often I try to let him relax or play it never seems like enough after all he does."

"No. It never does," Olivia agreed.

No matter what she did for Suvi, how much she spoiled him, or how much time they spent in the park it never seemed like enough to repay him. Never.

"Are you bringing someone with you tonight, Olivia?" Lauren asked.

"A friend."

"Friend?" Micheal pressed.

"A boyfriend, I guess," Olivia returned with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh?"

"Don't start. Seriously, don't start. I'm already worried enough about the thought of you two together."

"I think I'm going to like this guy."

She narrowed her eyes at him in warning. He was doing absolutely nothing to ease her worry, and she didn't want a reason to start second guessing herself now. She'd already asked Ben to come, so there was no backing out.

"Behave yourself around him. I mean it."

"He'll be good," Lauren assured as she patted her finance's arm. "I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you."

"That's not very fun," Micheal protested.

"Too bad. You'll have to find another way to have fun," Lauren advised.

While Olivia was thankful for Lauren's help, she had to wonder if it would be enough. One Ben could be bad enough, and Micheal's last statement had sounded so much like Ben. Olivia could see them playing off each other and compounding their teasing and insanity exponentially. Hopefully Ben wouldn't give Micheal any bad habits that Lauren would want to kill her for. She would find out what the result of their meeting would be in a few hours either way she supposed.

The ping of Olivia's cell caught her attention and she pulled it out to find a message from the very person she'd been talking about. It wasn't a text message but another music file. She smiled automatically. Despite the fact that she wasn't alone Olivia was considering playing the song anyway. The song title wasn't familiar to her so she had absolutely no idea what to expect or what message Ben was trying to send her. Curiosity got the better of her.

"Do you mind if I play this? Ben's a big music fanatic and he likes to send me messages through songs sometimes."

"Sure," Micheal told her. "It'll help me get to know this guy."

Lauren swatted him.

"That's private, Micheal!"

"So? If you play it out in public it hardly counts as private anymore.

Lauren looked like she was about to swat Micheal again, but Olivia laughed softly and held her off.

"It's fine," Olivia replied. "You can help me translate the message."

It wasn't like a song was going to be obviously personal. If there was more to the song than a mere declaration of love it would be so hidden that Olivia would likely be the only one that could understand it.

"If you're sure," Lauren told her.

Olivia nodded and hit play. When the music began she had absolutely no idea what she was listening to. It was such an odd sound. The moment the lyrics began she focused solely on those and nearly wound up laughing.

Hey good looking, why the frown?

You always look better when it's upside down.

"What the heck is this?" Micheal asked in confusion.

"It's called "Nowhere With You" apparently. I've never heard it before."

She didn't know why he'd chosen the song either except to make her laugh. It wasn't until the song reached the third stanza that she thought she understood the main reason behind his choice.

Can I tag along tonight?

We'll kill some time, it looks like you might

Need a little company

I'm so cheap I might as well be free.

It was quickly followed by the refrain of "Can I go nowhere with you?" which only strengthened her understanding of why he'd decided on this song.

"He's so cheesy."

She couldn't help smiling though. It was so like Ben to remind her that he was looking forward to tonight no matter how boring or awful the event might be. As long as he was with her he didn't care what they did or where they went even if it was "nowhere."

Micheal looked at Olivia with an expression of pure confusion. The look on Lauren's face wasn't quite as extreme, but it was similar. As Olivia had expected, they hadn't understood a thing from the song.

"You actually understood that?" Micheal asked.

"Yeah, I did." And it was probably going to make her smile for the rest of the day.