Chapter Ninety Eight – Making Plans

Ben's eyes flickered up at the clock for the third time that evening. He wasn't truly expecting Olivia to arrive until 6:30 for dinner, yet he was surprised he hadn't heard from her so far. She tended to make it a habit of arriving early, and had even told him yesterday that she would try to come early if she got done with her work in time (which she didn't figure would be too hard). Ben honestly thought it was edging away from early and getting closer to on time, but he was trying not to worry. Olivia could have easily gotten sidetracked. He shook his head at the thought of Olivia buried in paperwork without realizing how long she'd been working and returned to making dinner.

He was almost up to his elbows in flour from breading chicken when his cell phone rang. Ben had to scramble around the kitchen to clean his hands off in time to grab it. In the end he still smeared flour across his cell, but that was alright. It meant he got to the phone in time to talk to Olivia. When the warmth of her voice floated across the phone to him in greeting Ben's smile automatically grew.

"Hey, Liv. I was starting to wonder when I'd hear from you."

"I know. I'd wanted to be at your place already, but it just didn't work out. I'm actually going to be late for dinner. I'm at the hospital."

Hospital. That was the one word that now sent panic racing through him whenever he heard Olivia say it. Something had happened. Something bad. Ben felt his heart skip a beat before it raced ahead at uncomfortable speeds.

"The hospital? Why? What happened?"

The panic came out loud and clear in his voice.

"Breathe, Ben," Olivia near laughed.

She sounded perfectly fine. If anything instead of sounding weak or hurt she sounded amused. It eased Ben's fears slightly, but he still wasn't breathing easy. He wouldn't be until Olivia told him what she was doing at the hospital. Before he had a chance to ask Olivia gave him his answer. She knew him well enough to know that if she didn't ease his mind completely Ben would continue panicking. Without an explanation she could easily see him frantically racing up to the hospital to meet her. Normally that would be appreciated, but today it was completely unnecessary.

"I was up here to see all the kids and bring Suvi around to visit with them. Before I could leave and head to your place the doctors flagged me down. They want me to talk to their new interns."

Immediately Ben relaxed. The tension left his shoulders, and he leaned back against the counter. She was fine. Everything was fine.

"Talking to the interns, huh? About SVU?"

"Yeah. They could easily run into an abuse or rape victim while they're on the job. They need to know the signs and what to do."

"And they don't get training for that before they come?"

"Apparently not. I'm really sorry, Ben. It shouldn't be all that long."

"Hey, it's alright. I can't think of a better person to do that, and you'll be here eventually."

"Thanks, Ben. I'll be there in an hour or less. I promise."

O . o . O . o . O

Olivia's guess about how long it would take at the hospital was just about right. By the time she got to Ben's apartment it had been about an hour since they'd spoken. The second the door opened Olivia didn't waste any time. She tossed her arms around him and leaned heavily against his chest so he was forced to take some of her weight.

"I always have to share you with everyone else, huh?" Ben teased gently. "Everyone wants a piece of your attention."

"I think it's more my experience they want and not my attention," she laughed after she kissed his neck.

"I want your attention."

Olivia pulled back from him slightly and grinned, her eyes sparkling.

"Well you have it now."

"And I have to share it with Suvi."

She snorted back a laugh and patted his chest comfortingly.

"I'm sure you'll get over it. Suvi is pretty good at sharing."

Ben chuckled softly and leaned forward to kiss her. While it was true he didn't like sharing Olivia with anyone, Suvi was a slight exception. Well, he would accept it as long as he got more kisses from Olivia than Suvi did.

"Come on. Let's go eat before food gets cold."

He turned away and headed toward the kitchen. Unfortunately for him he didn't get very far before Olivia's sudden laughter brought him to an immediate stop. Ben glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. He hadn't done anything humorous as far as he knew, and Olivia wasn't exactly prone to spontaneous laughter.

"What?"

Olivia couldn't help laughing again, though she at least tried to cover her mouth to hide it. Not that it did any good of course.

"What?" Ben demanded.

"You have this white line on the back of your shirt."

"I do?" he asked as he tugged at the back of his shirt and glanced over his shoulder to try and spot the line. It didn't work, and he ended up turning around in a circle to try and see better. The circling made him look like Suvi did when he was chasing his tail.

Olivia didn't even bother trying to hide her laughter over that one. It was just adorable. She eventually just had to reach out and grab his arm to stop him.

"Hold still and I'll see if I can get it off."

"What is it?" he asked as he again tried to look at what was on his back.

"I won't know unless you stand still so I can look at it," she told him in mild impatience.

She brushed at his back and quickly found that the white line easily smeared and came off. Or at least it sort of came off.

"Did you use flour for dinner?"

"That's what it is? I thought I got all of that off."

He'd actually spent a lot of time trying to get all of the flour off his hands, arms, and phone. Apparently when he'd leaned against the counter to answer her call there had been flour on the edge. It must have transferred to his shirt without him knowing.

"It's all off now, so don't worry."

She leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"Thanks."

He turned toward her and gently gripped her arms. Dinner could wait for another moment or two. It was probably already cold anyway. Plus, this was important. Her eyes met his and glittered warmly, though questioningly. He'd said he wanted to eat dinner before it got cold but now he was stopping her.

"Saturday," he said.

A smile flickered across Olivia's face. That was really descriptive. Did he expect her to understand the importance of Saturday beyond the obvious fact that it was a weekend?

"What about it?"

"Don't make any plans. I'm claiming you that day."

There was an odd look in Ben's eyes that Olivia couldn't identify. She tipped her head slightly and watched him, but she still couldn't figure out what it was she was seeing.

"Claiming me for what?"

His smile widened, and his eyes gleamed but again there was something different and unidentifiable in them.

"You'll see. I'll pick you up at two."

He beamed at her and headed toward the kitchen and their dinner. It was a very clear end to the conversation, and Olivia knew she had no hope of getting any more out of him. She was just going to have to wait until Saturday.