Chapter Ninety One – My Old Self

Olivia nearly skipped into her apartment that evening she was so happy. Ben spotted her and felt her bubbling happiness even from where he was sitting on the couch. Her beaming smile was so infections that he couldn't help smiling as well.

"Somebody had a good day," he laughed.

It had definitely been a good day. She'd gone in to help the squad pin down a suspect on a serial rapist case. Over the course of a few weeks over ten women had been assaulted and raped. Each one had nearly been strangled with a silk scarf which was then left tied in a bow around the woman's neck. There had been a whole slew of possible suspects, and Olivia had spent most of the day sifting through them and trying to narrow down the list. Luck had keyed her in on one specific guy. Well, luck and some help from his social media pages.

"Hey, Nick. Come take a look at this," she'd called out.

When he'd come over she'd showed him the photos she'd found. Both photos had shown the same guy in different locations. She'd had to point out the scarf in each one: one folded into the pocket of a sports blazer and another showing in the background.

"The patterns look familiar."

"Yeah," Olivia had returned and pulled over the files with crime scene photos. She'd pulled out three pictures that matched the two patterns. "Plus, look at this."

She'd promptly returned to the computer and pulled up a few old pictures of the scarf guy standing with women that could have been girlfriends. All of them were slightly older than him and had deep brown hair and eyes. Every one of the women that had been raped fit the same type.

Cragen had immediately ordered Nick and Miskee to go and pick him up for some voluntary questioning. It wasn't like a few scarves (which could be one of dozens of identical ones) and women who looked like the victims were enough for an arrest. That wasn't enough by a long shot, but if it was the right guy and he came in willingly there was the chance they could get something out of him that would be enough to make an arrest. The entire time they'd been gone Olivia had pressed Cragen to let her help with the questioning. She was this guy's type, and her seizures weren't likely to put her in danger in an interrogation room with the entire squad watching. He'd flat out forbidden her from even trying, much to her annoyance. Of course she'd never been one to take no for an answer. When their suspect had been brought in she'd watched him, a smile on her face and her head tipped to one side so her hair fell in waves and bared her throat. She'd hardly even needed to try to get his eyes on her.

Having figured she could get a little teasing in before Cragen put a stop to it she had taunted silkily, "Bet you'd like to use some nice rope on me, huh?"

He'd been dumb enough to fall for it and had grinned rather hungrily at her as he walked by.

"Nah, Sweetheart. Ropes leave burns. Now a silk scarf most definitely. They just enhance the experience and feel oh so good."

Gotcha. Olivia had simply smirked. Cragen, of course, had been furious, but she had still thought it'd been worth it.

She still thought it was worth it now, even after facing some of Cragen's wrath. It had been a long time since she'd felt that intense thrill of being involved with a case, especially in more than a paperwork and desk research way.

"It was an amazing day. I broke a case, and they got the suspect brought in. I even pinned him with something that connected him to the rapes. He basically connected it himself. Cragen was pissed, but I'm glad I did it."

The whole time she was talking her face was incredibly animated and alight in a way that sent warmth rushing through Ben. This was the Olivia he loved seeing. No unease or restrained emotions, just pure, unfiltered joy and confident power. It brought a glow to her face that nothing else did. He could only grin at her in response.

"Good."

She came over and perched herself on the couch's armrest closest to him. Her eyes still sparkled, and her face continued to shine with warmth. This was what he wanted to come home to. Always. He told her just that.

"I want to come home to this every day, Liv, not just the days I come here after work. What would you think about finding our own place? Not mine, not yours, ours."

Olivia's eyebrow lifted slightly in surprise.

"You mean… you want us to move in together?"

"I can't think of what else that would mean. One of our places is empty basically every night now anyway."

Olivia tipped her head to the side and considered that. It did seem rather ridiculous to be paying rent on two places when they were spending most of their time together. Most of the days when Ben headed back home she hadn't particularly wanted him to go anyways. Of course she wasn't sure she wanted to find a new place. She'd lived in her apartment for years, almost her entire adult life. Plus, she'd finally gotten the other residents in her apartment building to accept Suvi. If she moved not only would she lose the place she'd known for so long she would have to start the process of getting people to accept Suvi all over again. She would get to be with Ben though, and it wasn't like all of her memories of her place were good. Maybe it was time for a completely fresh start.

Ben waited in silence as Olivia considered the offer. It took longer than he would have expected, but he saw it in her eyes when she made her choice. With the warmth glittering in them he thought he knew which side of the fence she'd fallen on. He grinned and leaned back so he was lying across the couch with his arms tucked behind his head.

"What?"

His smile widened, but he didn't answer her.

"You already know I'm going to say yes, don't you?"

"I can see it on your face."

She laughed softly and shook her head at him. When he grinned impishly up at her Olivia couldn't help crawling onto the couch and leaning over to kiss him. When she released his lips she remained hovering over him, her hair draped around his face. Ben pulled his hands from behind his head and ran his fingers through her hair. It was so soft and silky.

"I could run my hands through your hair like this forever, you know."

"A perfect reason to move in with me."

"Added bonus."

Olivia grinned and flopped down on top of Ben, hard. Ben's breath rushed out of him in one fell swoop.

"Oof. You did that on purpose," he moaned breathily.

"Mmhm."

He just wrapped an arm around her and continued stroking at her hair. It was nice to have her pressed up against him like this even with the minor pain he'd had to go through to get it.

"So, what are the requirements for me when I look for a new place for us?"

"Us being together and Suvi being accepted."

Well, that was easy enough.

"Us and Suvi. Got it. So no other requirements for a new place? You're just going to give me free rein?"

"None yet, but I'll think about it. I definitely have to come up with some though since the thought of giving you free rein over anything is scary."

Ben laughed. It sent a rumbling through his chest that Olivia could feel against her cheek. That coupled with the sound of his laughter made her day even better. It rivaled the joy that had rushed through her when she'd helped break the case. Hearing that laughter and actually feeling it bubble out of him every day would truly be something to look forward to when they were living together. She snuggled closer against his chest. Ben rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head before tipping his head toward where Suvi was lying.

"What do you think, Suvi? Any requirements for a new place?"

Suvi's ear pricked, and he glanced at Ben. All he did was yawn though before flopping his head back down on the ground.

"Well, he doesn't seem to care. I guess that gives me more free rein."

"Hardly," Olivia returned with a laugh. "I'm hard enough to please and convince for the both of us."

Ben burst out in amused laughter again and held her tight against him, which she was more than happy to have him do.

"You don't have to tell me that," he chuckled.

Olivia was basically the epitome of hard to convince. The fact that she'd agreed to trying to find a place for them was amazing by itself. While he didn't really know how hard it would be to find a place she liked, he figured it had to be easier than convincing her to do something she was set against doing. If he could pull that off he could find them somewhere they both liked. It might take some time, but he could definitely do it.