Chapter Fifty Seven – A Night in the Morgue

Olivia had thought deciding what to do about celebrating Christmas was hard, but deciding what to even get Ben for Christmas was just as bad. It wasn't like she'd left herself very much time to figure it out either. Thanks to a lot of hours spent researching she'd managed to find something she was satisfied with by the end. One challenge was solved, which only left her original one to deal with. Unfortunately the success in one didn't give her more confidence in deciding the other. She really didn't know what to do. Ever since Ben had asked about her joining him for the holiday Olivia had noticed the quiet change in him. He tried to hide the sadness he was feeling, but she could see it. It was in how quiet he was being, how forced his lightheartedness had become. She hated it.

With Suvi at her side she was on her way to Ben's apartment to try and fix things. Hopefully it would be enough, but she really wasn't sure. With one hand on Suvi's head for support, she knocked on his door. It didn't take Ben very long to respond, and when he opened the door he appeared completely shocked.

"Liv…"

"Hey."

Without saying anything else he stepped aside and held the door open for her. Olivia slipped in with Suvi and turned to face him. He was still looking at her curiously, so she decided to go at it full force.

"Would you mind celebrating Christmas a little bit early?" she asked with a bright smile.

Ben's confusion only increased, though Olivia could see some amusement glittering in his eyes.

"I thought you didn't have any Christmas plans?"

"I didn't until recently. We were invited to the ME's Christmas party. I was really hoping you'd come with me tonight."

His eyes raked her up and down, taking in the jeans and sweater she was wearing. When he looked back up at her he had an eyebrow raised.

"You don't exactly look dressed for a party."

Olivia pulled her duffle bag off her shoulder and held it up to show him.

"That's what this is for."

She hadn't decided if she would be going to the party if Ben didn't want to come with her, and she was hoping that she wouldn't need to make that choice. Ben slipped his hand through the strap of her duffle and pulled it away from her.

"Something nice in here?" he asked as he unzipped the bag and peeked inside. "Of course you are going to a morgue…"

Olivia merely rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Am I going to find any sexy lingerie?"

"Am I going to have to hit you?" she shot back to his joke.

Ben laughed and started digging through her bag. With any other guy Olivia would have never let it happen, but this was Ben. When he was finished he didn't look particularly impressed with her choice. It really didn't surprise her. Separately there wasn't anything special about her articles of clothing, but she knew that together and with the right extra touches he wouldn't be disappointed.

"So if I came, I'd be going to a party at the morgue and I wouldn't even get to see you in a dress?"

"Once I put it on I think you'll forget it's not a dress."

"Oh yeah? How long do we have for you to convince me of that?"

Olivia picked up on the "we" in his question and took it as an acceptance of her invitation. Relief flooded over her, and she grinned.

"About half an hour before we have to leave. Maybe a little bit longer if you don't mind being slightly late."

"We'll just have to be incredibly fashionable then."

She grinned but managed to hold back her laughter. If she started then she wouldn't stop, and they didn't have time for that even if Ben was already planning to be "fashionably late."

"Let's go then," she said as she grabbed her bag back from him. "Oh, and I'm stealing your bathroom."

"What? Hey!" he called out, but she'd already vanished into his room.

O . o . O . o . O

Olivia had been right. The black knee length skirt and emerald green three quarter sleeve shirt hadn't looked like much in the bag, but once they were on everything was different. She looked absolutely gorgeous. Not that Ben thought it took much for that to happen, but today was a bit beyond the normal. His eyes had almost been glued to her since she'd walked out of his bathroom. Even the somewhat morbid curiosity and fascination of a "morgue party" couldn't fully pull his attention away from her. Olivia suddenly wrapped her arm through his and pulled him close so she could speak to him without anyone else hearing.

"If you want to meet anyone else here you're going to have to find a way to peel your eyes off me."

"What if I don't want to?"

Olivia wasn't sure which part he didn't want to do, but in the end it didn't matter.

"You don't really have a choice."

She pulled away from him and stepped forward to continue greeting the people she knew. Since they'd arrived she'd only run into a few people so Ben's silence and distraction hadn't really been noticed. It was Melinda who would test whether Ben had listened to Olivia's instruction. The two women embraced.

"It's been too long," Melinda said when they pulled apart.

"I know."

"How's your little man?"

Olivia smiled down at Suvi. She knew Melinda and the rest of the morgue staff had helped with the donations for her supplies, but they hadn't met Suvi very often. Really, coming was worth it simply to let them see Suvi with her. They deserved to see what all of their donations had gotten.

"He's good."

"And this is your man too?"

Olivia followed Melinda's gaze to Ben and smiled again, though more strained this time. Despite the odd way to refer to Ben, he didn't seem bothered. He might not be, but she was. When people referred to her as "his" it tended to bother her. Even though this was the exact opposite it still felt strange.

"He's not "my man," Melinda."

"I'm fine with being your man," Ben corrected.

Olivia sighed and shook her head. Ben only grinned and reached his hand out toward Melinda.

"I'm Ben Ollenghy."

"Melinda Warner."

"You worked with Liv?"

"Melinda is the ME," Olivia explained.

"You work here?!"

Both Melinda and Olivia laughed. Neither of them were all that surprised by Ben's stunned reaction. The general response to the morgue wasn't a good one, and Melinda didn't exactly fit in with people's assumptions.

"I do. Of course it doesn't always look this festive."

And the room really did look festive and Christmasy. There was a small, fully decorated tree in the corner and strands of Christmas lights lined the perimeter of the room. Garlands were draped over the edges of the tables and glittered red and green when the light hit them. As the night went on Ben noticed the same glitter in Olivia's eyes. Her face seemed to be lit up with the same glow as the nearby tree. She was so incredibly happy. Just seeing her like that made Ben glad he'd agreed to come. As frustrated as he'd been with her lately, he loved seeing her excited and lit up like this. Now if only she'd let him give her the chance for the same thing with his own family. That argument could wait for a while though. For now he wanted her to continue enjoying herself. He would do the same. Considering more than one person was sneakily slipping Suvi snacks, he was probably fully enjoying himself too.

O . o . O . o . O

Ben kept a firm arm around Olivia's waist as they walked toward her apartment. She hadn't been all that steady on her feet when they'd left, though that had nothing to do with alcohol and everything to do with a seizure. Although she was starting to get steadier, Ben didn't want to take any chances by letting go of her. Olivia wasn't anywhere near as concerned.

"Thank you for coming with me."

"I'm glad I did. It was nice to see you so happy."

"Did you at least enjoy yourself too?"

Ben laughed softly. She sounded so worried.

"Of course."

Olivia fell silent and leaned a little bit against him as they walked. When Ben glanced down at her she didn't look relaxed anymore. Something was whirling through her mind, so Ben left her to her thoughts. She'd talk to him once she figured whatever it was out. Unfortunately it didn't quite work out that way. She remained silent longer than he liked, and his own uneasiness was evident on his face, though likely for different reasons than whatever was causing hers. He was done waiting on her.

"Nickel for your thoughts?"

She blinked up at him, and an amused smile tugged at her lips.

"A nickel? What happened to a penny?"

"Your thoughts are worth more than a penny."

"Not worth a quarter?"

"I'm sure they are, but I'm even surer I only have a nickel in my pocket. Maybe a dime, but that's questionable. So, thoughts?"

"Nickel?" she asked with the same inflection and tone of voice.

He snorted and started digging through his pockets. While he'd been truthful about the nickel he hadn't exactly expected her to ask for one. It was probably just a stalling tactic, but when he found the nickel he dropped it into her hand anyway. Immediately she started twisting it between her fingers.

She hesitated another moment. When she finally did speak she didn't even look up at him until she'd nearly finished asking her question.

"Do you think your family would mind if I showed up late for Christmas?"

Ben almost stopped dead and looked over at her with wide eyes.

"You want to come?"

"I know you want me there, and I do want to spend Christmas with you. Spending it with your family too is… a little intimidating, especially for so long. Plus, I'm still an outsider and I don't want to interfere. Maybe if I come late it'll be the best option."

She would have some time on her own and so would Ben's family. More importantly though there would be less time for Ben's family to say something that would get under her skin. Her past with them caused tension for her. The less time she had for the tension to grow with them the better. When tensions were high things could be said that weren't truly meant, and Olivia didn't want to be the cause of an argument on Christmas. She didn't want to be in any way involved with one either. If this could reduce the chance of that happening then it was worth it in her mind.

"I don't think they would mind at all. If they do, I don't care because I want you there even if you are late."

"That's not overly reassuring."

"It's fine, Liv. Just come. Whenever you want to."

Olivia smiled and pressed tightly into his side. All of the worry she'd been piling up for the past week had finally dissolved. It had all worked out. Hopefully Christmas day with his family would work out just as well, for Ben's sake as well as hers.