Chapter Sixty – Last Touches on a Good Night

After cleaning up all of the wrapping paper that was sitting around Christmas cookies were passed out. With how late their lunch had been cookies were a perfect dinner. Add in milk and music and it was even more perfect. Of course they all had to work on their willpower with Suvi standing there and eying their cookies. Olivia was pleased to see he only managed to mooch two pieces: one off Bernard and one off Kinsey. Of course Clarissa wasn't anywhere near as pleased. Both of her sons had resorted to cramming an entire cookie into their mouths to avoid Suvi's pleading eyes. It was also possible that they did it just to make sure Suvi didn't manage to steal any of their cookies. Whatever the reason, Clarissa still wasn't approving of the behavior. She was even less impressed when she realized her kids weren't going to stop getting more cookies until she actually cut them off.

Ryan was more than happy to use that limitation to his own advantage. Once his niece and nephews were cookie-less he purposefully got another one just to make a big deal out of eating it. The boys got beyond frustrated with their uncle, though obeyed their mom with only minimal whining. Eventually their dad had gotten them each one final cookie. Clarissa wasn't happy, but considering how much of an ass her brother was being she understood her husband's decision. Her kids had impressed her by still listening even with Ryan doing everything he could to get to them.

"You're cut off too," she growled at Ryan.

"Sorry, my dear sister, you have no control over what I eat."

He went to grab another cookie just to prove his point, and Sheila slapped his hand away.

"Behave yourself," she warned.

"Sorry, Uncle Ryan," Tommy teased.

"No more cookies for you," Chase added and together they waggled their cookies at him and dramatically took a bite.

Ben leaned closer to Olivia.

"He's a great uncle isn't he?"

"Oh fantastic."

"He wasn't a much better older brother," Cole admitted just as conspiratorially though it was loud enough for anyone sitting near them to hear.

"I guess the Peter Pan Syndrome runs in the family," Olivia nearly laughed.

"I don't wear tights," Ben protested.

Olivia definitely couldn't resist laughing that time, and Cole was more than happy to laugh at Ben too. When their laughter finally died down it was Clarissa's husband, Tim, who tried to refute Olivia's opinion.

"It can't completely run in the family. Clarissa grew up just fine."

"So did Wendy," Olivia countered.

"So did Wendy what?" Kinsey asked.

"Grew up," her dad answered.

"What?"

"Wendy. From Peter Pan? She grew up," Olivia explained when Kinsey still looked confused.

"You guys are talking about Disney movies?"

"I guess we are."

Kinsey's eyes scanned over all of them and she shook her head.

"You guys are so weird."

She returned to her seat on the ground and dug through her pile of Christmas gifts for her gift card so she could add new apps to her phone. Her brothers were also busy playing with their new gifts. While the adults enjoyed some light conversation Olivia took the opportunity to get to know Tim. This was really the first time they'd met, and it was nice to talk with someone who was part of the family but also had an outside view. Of course there was only so much they could actually discuss considering where they were and who else was around. It was two hours later when Ben drew her attention away from Tim. He was standing over by the window and waving to her. She glanced down at Suvi, confirming that he was content on the floor with Tommy, and headed over to Ben.

"Look." He wrapped his arm around her and pointed out the window. "Snow."

She leaned against him and looked out at the gently falling flakes. There wasn't much, but it was definitely snowing.

"It looks like you're getting your white Christmas after all," she told him.

"Looks like it."

She turned in his arms so she was facing him and pressed her lips to his despite the fact that his family was only a few steps away. Ben's arms snaked tighter around her and he deepened the kiss, though he kept it brief.

While they were at the window, Suvi was intent on something else. Tommy had gotten a football from his grandparents, and it was sitting on the floor beside him. Suvi was lying on the floor only inches away watching it intensely. He really wanted that ball, but with Tommy sitting right there playing with it wasn't possible. The second Tommy turned away though Suvi saw his chance. He lifted his head off the floor and slowly raised a paw to put it on top of the football. Just before he could make contact Tommy turned back toward him and Suvi quickly dropped his paw and head back down again. All he could do was continue staring at the ball. Tommy eventually noticed Suvi's locked-on stare. When he moved his new football a little further away from Suvi, Suvi scooched closer as well, eyes still never leaving the ball.

"Olivia!" Tommy called out, breaking up the moment between Ben and Olivia. "Your dog is creeping me out!"

She glanced over at Suvi and immediately understood what was bothering Tommy. If Suvi were looking at anything of hers that closely it would make her uneasy too. He was demonstrating a creepily one track mind at the moment. There wasn't going to be any way to keep him away from that football if it was still within view. A quick look at the time gave her the perfect answer to the problem.

"Are you almost ready?" she asked Ben.

"Sure. Whenever you are."

"Suvi, come."

He looked sadly at the football once more before getting up and padding over to Olivia.

"Are you taking him for a walk before we go?" Ben asked her after briefly rubbing Suvi's ears.

"I think so."

"Do you want me to come?"

"Um, actually I was going to see if your mom wanted to come."

Ben's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

She sounded a lot more confident than she actually felt, but what she was planning seemed necessary. Bernard and Sheila might have thought their conversation earlier had been subtle and quiet, that Sheila's continued distrust wasn't known to Olivia, but Olivia wasn't oblivious. She'd been more aware of what was going on around her than any of them thought. It was the detective in her, but also the situation. When she was uncomfortable, especially when she was around a large group of people, she was far more attentive to her surroundings. Sheila's dislike hadn't been much harder to miss this time than it had been last time.

Ben ran his hand up and down her arm in mild comfort.

"Okay. As long as you're sure."

Olivia nodded and clipped on Suvi's leash and vest. Instead of heading straight for the door she stopped beside Sheila's armchair.

"I need to take Suvi for a walk before we leave, and I was hoping you would come with me. We could have some time to talk."

Sheila didn't look convinced, but Bernard didn't give her the chance to refuse. He dropped Sheila's coat into her lap before turning to Olivia.

"She'll go."

"Bernard…"

"Go."

She didn't argue with him further besides giving him a dark glare that Olivia suspected meant they'd be talking about this later and followed Olivia out the door. They walked in silence as Olivia gathered her thoughts and Sheila tried not to make eye contact. Sheila was pretty sure she knew what this was about and didn't want to have the conversation that was about to happen.

"I'm not a fool you know," Olivia began. "My head may be a little messed up, but I still think perfectly clearly."

"Olivia, I never thought…"

"It's okay." She smiled softly and reassuringly at Sheila, hoping to prove that she really wasn't upset. "I know that the reason you don't approve of me has more to do with Ben than it does me."

"I don't disapprove of you," Sheila defended.

"You're just worried about Ben, and in many ways I'm the source of that worry. I understand that. You don't want to see him hurt again."

"You're right. I don't."

There was definitely a snap to Sheila's words. It almost came across as a threat or a barb meant to force Olivia to admit that she was out to hurt Ben. Olivia wasn't going to admit that though because it wasn't true. What she would tell Sheila was how she really felt in the clearest terms possible. If she had to open up her heart a little then she would even if it put her more on display than she would like.

"And you won't have to see him get hurt. At least not because of me. I'm not going anywhere. As long as Ben still wants me by his side, that's where I'm going to stay."

Sheila stopped, forcing Olivia and Suvi to slow to a stop too. Olivia sounded so sure of that, but Sheila wasn't completely convinced. She wanted to believe Olivia; she really did. The problem was her own protectiveness.

"And if he does decide he's done?"

Olivia smiled sadly and dropped her head. The words alone sent a stabbing pain through her so strong she could barely handle it. She fought it down though so nothing would show on her face. It was harder than she thought it should have been. Suvi felt her sudden tension and distress and shifted closer to her so she could feel the heat of his body against her leg. Too bad it didn't reassure her as much as usual. When she looked up at Sheila her detective's face was in place though traces of her pain remained in her eyes. She didn't quite manage to keep it all out of her voice either.

"I'm not like Ben." Her voice dropped to hardly above a whisper. "Nobody would stay with me long enough to consider marrying me. Every man in my life has walked away. I wish I could tell you that all of them were romantic, but I can't."

"Somehow I don't see how a girl like you couldn't keep a boyfriend."

"I'm not exactly the easiest person to deal with, and my job…"

She shrugged. There wasn't a need to explain the impact her job had on relationships.

"Ben's the only one that's managed to see through all of that. I'd like to think that I've managed to see into him too."

The ring of honesty and truth was so clear and resounding that Sheila could feel her self-erected walls crumbling even though she was still trying to hold them together. Her husband had been right. There was no reason not to like Olivia. Fear for her son was a powerful thing though.

"You have, and that's what scares me the most. You understand him far more than she ever did. If he loses you I don't think there will be anything left of him."

"It would do the same thing to me, so it's probably a good thing I'm not going anywhere."

Olivia could see tears in Sheila's eyes and reached out to touch her arm reassuringly. Sheila responded by taking a step forward and giving Olivia a quick hug. When she pulled away she had to wipe tears out of her eyes.

"You better make sure that's true or you'll have me to deal with," Sheila warned.

"I wouldn't want that," Olivia laughed softly.

There wasn't anything to worry about. At least not on her end. For once she actually felt like part of something outside of work, especially now that Ben's mother was beginning to come around. She didn't want to lose that, and more importantly, she didn't want to lose Ben. After Suvi, he was her best friend.

Author's Note: Well, this was it for this round of uploads. Sorry to say you probably can't expect anything with much speed until the semester is over. It's possible that I might just skip the writing and go into editing the next section for you, but who knows... the writing is the actual fun part.