After Kathleen left, Olivia closed her eyes to sleep a little longer, but her mind was full. It felt like her life exploded in the last couple weeks, and she barely recognized it anymore.
She kissed Elliot's hand, still tangled with hers, and released her grip, sliding out from under the weight of his arm.
She needed to make some work calls and check her messages. Fin needed to know what her schedule would look like over the next few days.
She slipped out the glass doors to the back patio so she wouldn't disturb Elliot. She scrolled through her messages, answering the important ones. Her voicemail inbox was nearly full. She listened to those messages, noting she needed to call McGrath later, something she wasn't looking forward to.
While she checked in with Fin, Kathleen came back with their lunch. She gave Fin the basic schedule for the next few days, and let him know she would have more details later. Kathleen seemed to be getting adamant about something, and Elliot started to argue, so Liv jumped off the call to referee the situation.
"Damn it Dad, you can't do everything on your own right now." Kathleen looked completely exasperated.
"I'm pretty sure I can put a bandaid on without help."
"It's a little more complicated than that. Stop being a pain in the ass and let me get this done. And MAYBE in a couple days I'll let you do it yourself." Kathleen already had gauze and medical tape in hand.
Olivia leaned against the counter watching the familiar butting of heads between Elliot and Kathleen. It felt like it was 15 years ago, when teenage Kathleen wanted to stay out all night and Elliot lost his mind over her sneaking out after he told her no. The memory made her smile, but clearly Kathleen needed some back up.
She cut into the conversation, "Just let her tape the damn thing El. Watch how to do it, and maybe you can try later." She knew he would probably fail at it and she would have to step in, but he would argue his independence until they were all dead. At least this way he could think he had some control.
"Fine." Elliot pulled off his shirt.
Kathleen shot her a grateful look, and Liv nodded. "What did you pick up for us?"
Kathleen was removing the old medical tape, and Elliot winced. "Chinese. I got a little of everything," she said as she continued the wound care. "I wasn't sure what you liked."
"It all looks great. Thanks."
"No problem," she said as she applied antiseptic. Elliot winced again. Kathleen taped him up and tossed him his shirt. "See it wasn't that bad."
Elliot grumbled something unintelligible in response, but shuffled his way to the kitchen where Olivia was opening take out containers. "I was going to bring you a plate," she glared in his direction. He was the worst patient ever.
He waved her off. "It's fine," wincing again, "I needed a change of scenery."
Olivia shook her head, beginning to realize it was going to be a very long three days.
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Noah chattered excitedly while packing an overnight bag. He couldn't be more thrilled about staying over at Elliots for THREE WHOLE DAYS! His excitement made her smile, but she wished she was more enthused. Elliot and the kids needed her there, but she felt like circumstances were driving the pace of their relationship, and she needed to pump the breaks.
It wasn't like she didn't want to spend the night with him, and he had a gaping gunshot wound so he wasn't going to push her physical boundaries right now, but even the emotional intimacy sent her backpedaling.
She felt so hot and cold, and she hated it. She knew what she wanted, but getting there, letting them get there wasn't as simple as she wished it was.
Noah rushed into her room, "My bag is packed, let's go!"
Liv tossed a few things into her bag, and smiled, "Alright, let's go." She gave Noah a quick side hug before locking the apartment behind them.
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Kathleen needed to get to work, and Liv wasn't at his place yet, so he had about 20 minutes to himself. Kathleen left on the condition that he doesn't hurt himself before another adult came to supervise him. Resting was not his strong suit, and it was making him crazy. The one good thing to come out of this was the opportunity to spend more time with Olivia and Noah. Spending this much time with her made it almost worth it to get shot. He knew she was withdrawing. He could feel it, but he hoped the next three days would halt her emotional retreat.
He glanced at his watch. It had literally been five minutes. He laid back on the couch, reaching for the remote, but he wasn't really interested in watching anything. Time crawled until he heard a key turn in the door and his heart leapt.
"Elliot!" Noah flew through the door.
"Noah slow down!" Olivia ran in after him, attempting to contain the ball of energy exploding towards Elliot.
Noah skidded to a stop, and Liv caught up to him. "Slow down. Elliot is still pretty sore."
"Oh yeah." He looked back and forth between the adults.
Elliot patted the couch next to where he sat, and Noah bounded over, this time a little more slowly, and plopped down next to him. "I'm happy you're here Noah, I have been pretty bored."
Noah's eyes sparkled, "I brought my playstation," he turned to Olivia, "Can we play? Please Mom?"
"You have a math assignment that needs to be finished FIRST, and then you can play with Elliot." Elliot almost laughed at Noah's obvious disappointment, but he was a good kid, and snagged his backpack from Liv's hand, and shuffled over to the barstools at the counter.
Elliot watched Olivia stand awkwardly in his living room. He knew this pushed her out of her comfort zone, but he was grateful she wanted to try. "You can drop Noah's stuff in Eli's room." He tried to get up, but the stabbing pain brought him back to the couch.
"Just sit El, I can handle getting our bags where they need to go."
"I really hate this." It felt rude and unwelcoming to let her drag all their stuff in without help, but he really couldn't move much, and it frustrated him. He knew she didn't mind. She was here to help, well, also to make sure he didn't die. Basic stuff she always did for him. They were partners after all.
She smiled back at him, and he swore she was slightly amused. "I know, but it's not forever."
He grumbled, but she already started carting Noah's things back to Eli's room. It took a couple minutes, but she got Noah's things arranged. They would be here a few nights so he hoped they could be comfortable, at the very least.
Olivia eyed her overnight bag, and a few other things draped over the barstool next to Noah. Why did this feel awkward? They lived in this fuzzy area where their relationship wasn't clearly defined by either of them, and neither knew what the other's expectations were.
"Just take my room, I don't think I'm going to get off this couch anytime soon. We try to keep out of Mama's room. She gets a little freaked out when things are moved around, ya know." His mother's mental state was fragile at best, keeping things consistent made things easier. He kept her room the same, even while she lived with Kathleen because she stayed with him periodically.
Liv nodded in understanding, but protested, "El, you need the bed, I can easily sleep on the couch, I don't mind."
"I'm not making you sleep on the couch." He was firm on that. He didn't care if it set his recovery back. He wasn't going to let Liv sleep on his couch. He could see her own stubbornness rising, but he didn't plan on conceding on this one.
"You have a literal gunshot wound. You ARE going to sleep in the bed." She stood her ground. Elliot heard Noah snicker at the argument he was clearly listening to. He probably didn't hear people stand up to his mom much. Her rank, and overall demeanor commanded respect, and people didn't often challenge that.
He returned her stubborn stare, "What are you going to do? Its not like you are going to drag me in there." The image almost made him burst out laughing.
He watched a smile twitching at the corners of her lips as she tried to hold a hard line. She resorted to begging. "Please Elliot. I'll feel really bad if I'm sleeping in your bed while you crash on the couch."
Elliot looked over at Noah to be sure he wasn't really listening. He knew exactly how to end this argument. He kept his voice a little lower. He couldn't keep the smirk off his face, "Fine. I'll take the damn bed," she seemed relieved until he said, "but you are not sleeping on the couch."
She eyed him, confused and cautious, trying to get his meaning. He knew when she understood because her beautiful face filled with an adorable blush. "No El." Her eyes darted to Noah. "No way."
He leaned back into the couch cushions, pretty proud of himself. "That's the deal. You can take my room, and I'll stay out here on the couch, or.." He didn't even try to contain his smile. "We share."
He laughed out loud when she yanked her bag off the barstool and fumed the entire way to his room. He winced with the tightening of his abs in laughter, but God, he couldn't help it. She wasn't a gracious loser when she lost an argument, and it was so damn adorable.