Chapter Thirty Four – Pending Interrogation
"You're sure you're alright with this, Olivia?" Ben asked gently as they headed down the street to the bar where her friends were waiting.
"Yeah. You were right. You deserve to meet them, and they want to meet you."
In fact, it was probably a toss-up between who wanted to meet who more. Whenever Olivia's friends had a chance they asked her about Ben. They didn't press as hard as Ben did, but that could have had more to do with the fact that they didn't see her as often. Ben had had far more opportunity to aggravate her about the meeting than the squad had.
Ben reached out and slipped his hand into hers.
"I'm glad."
"You might change your mind about that when they start interrogating you."
"Seriously?"
"Mm. I asked them to try and be normal, but no promises they'll actually do it. Some of them have known me for a really long time. They can get rather protective."
"I don't mind. It's not like I have anything to hide."
Olivia snorted and glanced at him sidelong.
"We'll see if you still feel the same way by the end of the night."
Ben was basically being thrown into a group full of nosey cops who knew how to get the answers they wanted. What was more, they would be trying to get answers related to the treatment of one of their own, someone they cared about deeply. It would only make them more aggressive. Since they were meeting at one of the cop bars Olivia had used to frequent with the group, all her former squadmates would be in their element. With all of them together they could easily build off of each other and become a little (or a lot) over the top too. Personally Olivia didn't know if she would be able to monitor the ongoings either since she and Suvi could become the center of attention also.
"Just don't let them scare you too much, okay?"
"Relax. I can take care of myself."
"I don't think you've ever been the focus of attention in a whole room of cops."
"How bad could it be?"
Olivia managed to hold back her laugh but only barely.
"You'll find out soon enough. We're here."
She pulled open the door and stepped inside with Suvi at her side. As usual all eyes turned to Suvi and lingered there much longer than they normally would when checking out someone who had just walked in. Some eyes shifted upward to look at her curiously, but most of the people in the bar knew her or at least knew of her. Anthony, the regular bartender, was the first to call out a greeting.
"Olivia! It's been too long. You look good."
She smiled at him and approached the bar, Ben somewhat forgotten for the moment.
"Thank you."
"This your guy?"
Before she answered she gave Suvi the command to get up on his hind legs and put his front paws on the edge of a barstool so Anthony could see him.
"Yes. This is Vesuvius. I should have brought him in sooner so you could see what all of your contributions amounted to."
While she hadn't known right away, Nick told her that Anthony had set up a collection jar in the bar once he'd heard what the squad was doing to try and help her. Olivia had been incredibly flattered and had sent him a thank you note soon after she'd found out. She shouldn't have taken so long to come in and thank him personally though.
"Nah. Don't worry about it. Happy to help. Besides, it's just good to see you looking like you're doing well."
"I am. Suvi's amazing."
"Well, the rest of your crew is waiting for you," he said with a nod in the detectives' direction. "Do you want your usual?"
"That would be great." She turned to glance at Ben. "What would you like?"
"Whatever you're having is fine," he returned.
"Two it is then," Anthony said as he pulled two cold beers out from under the bar. "You need anything else just ask."
"We will," Olivia replied. "Thank you for everything, Anthony."
They grabbed their beers, and Olivia led Ben over to where her squad was gathering. Nick pulled two stools out and motioned Olivia and Ben toward them.
"The guest of honor's here. Hey, Suvi," Amanda said as they sat down.
Olivia grinned in response and rubbed at Suvi's head. He leaned into her hand until she ordered him to lie down next to their stools.
"Guys, this is Ben."
"Ben. We met in Central Park, right?"
"Yeah," he replied as he leaned across the table to offer her his hand. "Amanda?"
"Bingo. Nice to see you again."
"Wait a minute," Fin protested. "You got to meet Liv's boyfriend already and we haven't?"
"Ben ran into us when we were with the dogs in Central Park," Olivia explained.
"Well, that explains it. Here I thought you liked Rollins best."
"She likes me best, and even I didn't get to meet him," Nick countered.
Fin's eyes snapped from Olivia's to Nick's and shifted from teasing to irritated. He shifted in his seat to face Nick full on. Olivia and Amanda glanced at each other briefly. They both knew what was coming.
"How you figure that?"
"I was her partner."
"So? I've known her longer. Over twice as long as you."
Olivia rolled her eyes at the two of them. What was it with guys and pissing matches? There was no way she was getting involved in this debate. She'd only been with them for a few minutes and already the meeting was turning out just like the last one had.
Ben leaned over and whispered into Olivia's ear, "See? I told you it would be fine. They're going to interrogate you, not me."
"Keep it up and I'll hit you just as readily as I'm going to hit them."
"Hey! I'm behaving!"
He didn't say it quite softly enough. Nick heard him and cut his argument with Fin short.
"Good to see I'm not the only guy she keeps on a short leash."
"Bet she wished it was longer sometimes so she could strangle you with it," Fin corrected as he smirked at Nick in triumph.
"Boys, behave yourselves," Olivia said as she shot both Fin and Nick a dangerous warning look before turning to look at Ben and gracing him with an even darker one. "You too."
"Hey!" Ben protested. "I haven't even done anything."
"You don't need to. I know you, and you could use the reminder."
"So little faith in me, Liv."
He flashed her a mock affronted look that quickly shifted into a beaming smile. Olivia only managed to hold out for a few beats before she grinned at him too. Ben reached over to squeeze her hand, and she leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. It wasn't something she would normally feel comfortable doing out in public, but after everything they'd talked about in the last few days she was willing to give in a little to his magic powers. His ability to make her relax and enjoy the moment always amazed her.
That was the turning point for the rest of the evening. Her actions had been enough to make her squad realize that she was serious about the relationship. It was all they needed to start in on the questioning Olivia had predicted would happen. Amazingly enough Ben held his own with them. He tossed back answers that made Olivia smile and often times left Nick and Fin completely confused. She could see it in their faces. They didn't know what to make of Ben. Since Amanda had already met him once she was handling his eccentricities. Olivia knew Amanda liked Ben well enough, but she wasn't sure what the other two thought. It didn't really matter that much what they thought of Ben, but they were her squad. She wanted them to like him. Maybe she even wanted them to approve of him, as strange as that was. She'd never wanted any kind of judgment on her boyfriends before, which was why she'd never talked about them in front of the squad or even considered bringing them around. For whatever reason, Ben was different.
"Alrigh'," Amanda said as she stood. "It's getting' late, and I don't know about the rest of y'all but I'm on call tomorrow."
"She's got a point, and I guarantee if we don't head home now we'll get called in and never get home," Fin added.
"See you later, Liv," Amanda said before touching Ben's shoulder. "Don't let her push you around too much."
"I won't."
"It was good to see you, Liv," Fin told her as he came around the table to give her a quick hug.
Like Amanda, he had a parting comment for Ben as well.
"You do anythin' to hurt her and you'll have me to deal with. Got it?"
"Got it," Ben replied solemnly even though he knew he would never do anything to purposefully hurt Olivia.
As Fin and Amanda headed for the door, Ben turned toward Olivia.
"I'll let you say goodbye. Be right back."
Olivia nodded, and Ben vanished off to the bathroom. It left Olivia and Nick alone.
"You like him?" he asked.
"Yeah, I do," Olivia replied without hesitation.
"I can tell. He makes you smile. It's nice to see."
She smiled and looked away, an embarrassed blush creeping across her face. It was very true. In fact, that was one of the things she loved about Ben. No matter what he always found a way to make her smile.
"I can't really figure the guy out," Nick continued, "but he's good for you. Don't lose him."
That time she looked up and met his eyes firmly.
"I won't."
She'd experienced what it was like to lose him already. It may have been only for two days, but that was more than enough. She didn't want it to happen again.
"Good. I'm happy for you."
Nick smiled at her, gave her shoulder a quick squeeze, and headed for the door. Olivia watched him go. She was so focused on him that she didn't even notice Ben's return and jumped slightly when he suddenly turned up next to her.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Ready to go?"
"Yup."
"Ready to go, Suvi?"
Suvi's head popped up, and he trotted happily out from under the table to join her. When Olivia grabbed his leash Suvi didn't even need to be told to heel. He simply moved to stand next to her leg.
"Good boy. Let's go home," she praised as she patted his head.
Together they left the bar and headed toward the nearest subway station. They walked in silence for a little while before Olivia spoke up.
"I have something for you," she told him while still keeping her eyes straight ahead of her.
"You do?"
"I do."
That time she did look over at him. While he'd been in the bathroom she'd taken a moment to set up her phone with a message ready to send. All she would have to do was hit the send button. As she was smiling at him she reached into her pocket and did just that. His phone pinged a moment later. Ben was caught a bit off guard and didn't seem to realize the message was related to what Olivia wanted to give him.
"Sorry," Ben told her. "Keep going."
"You're not going to see what it is?"
"It can wait."
"Maybe you should check. I can wait too."
He eyed her curiously but pulled his phone out regardless. The moment he lit the screen it became obvious that the message was from Olivia. It wasn't just a message either. She'd sent him a music file. Ben glanced over at her with a tiny smile. He'd never expected her to send him a song even though it had become almost a tradition for him to send them to her. Honestly, Ben hadn't thought she knew enough songs to find anything she would want to send.
With his eyes on her Olivia looked down and nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I heard it playing while I was at the gym. It fit what I wanted to tell you. I thought it was just… right, you know?"
"Won't know until I listen to it."
"You really don't have to do that now," she said as she reached out to still his hand and stop him from hitting play.
"Sure, I do. I want to."
The next moment Nickelback's "I'd Come For You" began to play. While it was late and the streets weren't as crowded as during the day, New York City was never completely dead. They weren't the only ones walking around.
"Ben!" Olivia hissed uneasily as she looked around to see if they were bothering anyone with the music.
He wasn't the least bit concerned and let the song continue to play. This was one song he definitely wanted to hear the end of. So far Olivia was right. The song really did fit her and their relationship. It drove home how much she wanted everything to work out. She was willing to do what she had to do.
When the song finally ended Olivia was doing her best to hide. People were staring at them as they walked by, and she got enough of that without doing anything to draw more attention to herself like Ben's song was. She was about to have eyes on her for a different reason. Ben slid his arms around her and pulled her up against him. Before she could even begin to protest Ben pressed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. At first Olivia was shocked but she quickly got sucked into it. Here she was engaging in a deep kiss out in public and she didn't want to break it off. She had never expected that to happen. When they broke away from the kiss Olivia only removed her hands from his back with hesitance. Ben quickly made up for the loss by sliding his arm around her as they walked.
"I'd come for you too, Liv," he whispered.
Once they reached the subway entrance they stopped, and Ben turned to look at her. This was the point where they would need to go separate ways.
"I don't want to say goodbye," he told her softly.
"So don't."
"Really?"
She smiled warmly up at him and nodded. No hesitation, no second guessing. She wanted him to come home with her.
"We might have to stop at your place first though. I'm pretty sure I don't have anything you'd be willing to wear tomorrow," Olivia teased lightly.
"That's what washing machines are for."
"Good point."
After they reached her apartment and Olivia had given Suvi a treat, Ben picked up basically where they'd left off on the street. Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. Ben happily reciprocated the kiss and then initiated a few more, some butterfly soft, others intense and passionate. Impulse quickly began to take over, and Olivia found herself unbuttoning his shirt. It was only after she pulled it off that it hit her. What about the seizures? She paused, her fingers lingering on his biceps. Ben looked up at her in confusion.
"Liv?"
"I don't know if… What if I have a seizure?"
"Then I'll deal with it when it happens."
He leaned in and gently kissed her neck. Hopefully it would give her the reassurance she needed. Now that they'd started, Ben definitely didn't want to stop.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. It's worth the risk."
Olivia hesitated for another second and then smiled. She did want this, and she didn't want her injury, her disability, to alter her life more than it had to. If he wasn't concerned then she would try not to be either. She leaned in and kissed him again. He was right. It was worth the risk.