Another fluff update guys, I'm really struggling with writer's block atm and have been busy on and off with lots of other things in real life (work, family, etc). I hope you enjoy this one - sometimes I just like to write the mundanity of every day life between this lil fictional fam i love so much. Othertimes events happen - I guess you could say this is going to a long train to nowhere, but its more about the trip than the destination or ... some other weird metaphor for a rambly fic.

With that said, hope you like my rambling fic lol.


"I don't wanna get up," Noah whined, pulling the covers back over his head.

"Bug, you have to go to school, you need to get up. On the count of 3, I want you out of bed," Trevor warned him.

"Please don't make me, I don't want toooooo," his whines were dissolving into tears and Trevor felt his firmness buckling a little.

Standing at the doorway he debated whether or not he should mean business or if he should show compassion. He thought about Olivia and what she would do. He went with compassion. He made his way in to Noah's temporary bedroom an sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled the covers gently from his face.

"Bug," he began, "it's important that you go to school and I know you know that. I know that you've had a big, fun weekend and you don't want it to end, but we all have to do things we don't really want to do today. Ava has to go to school, I have to go and meet with some families for work and Mom has to go to work…"

Noah began to cry, burying his face in his pillow. Trevor took a deep breath and rubbed his back gently. "What's going on, Bug? Why don't you want to go to school so badly? You were so excited to tell Timothy and your friends about your camping trip…"

"I don't want Mommy to go to work, when I get home she won't be here and I miss her."

"Oh," Trevor got it. Night shift was hard on Noah and he knew it. The last set of night's she had he'd been in a funk. He hardly saw her except for an hour in the morning. "I understand. It can be tough when she's working nights, can't it?"

He nodded.

"You know what? I miss Mommy when she's on nights too and so does Ava. I think Mom misses us just as much as well."

"Why can't I stay home?"

"Because we have to live our lives and Mom's job is important and sometimes she has to work nights but I understand it's tough. Would you like a hug?"

Noah nodded sullenly. Trevor lifted him out of bed and hugged him tight. He stood up and headed down the opposite end of the hallway to his bedroom where she was lightly sleeping. He had offered to get the kids up and make her some coffee.

"Hey Mommy," he greeted her gently, not wanting to startle her awake.

"Hey…" she smiled, glancing at him holding Noah. "What's wrong?"

"Noah is really upset about you going to nightshift and is having a hard time getting motivated to go to school because he knows he'll miss you all week."

Olivia sat up, "Awww sweetheart, come and have a little snuggle with me before you get ready for school and we can talk for a few minutes." She held her arms out to her son who still weighed almost nothing with his smaller-than-average body. Trevor passed him over.

She smiled at Trevor who leaned over and kissed her lips. "I'll go get your coffee."

"Thanks baby," she replied.

She turned to her son and smoothed his hair out of his eyes. "You're sooooo smooshy and warm!," she exclaimed, knowing that he normally protested and pushed her away when she gushed too much over him.

He didn't though. He sniffed and reciprocated her hug. "I love you babe, I know you're upset about me going to work, it can be really difficult some days, even for me too. The last thing I want is for you to be sad."

"Can I just stay home with you? Just for today?," he asked, even though he knew her answer would be no.

"That would be so nice, wouldn't it? Just you and I hanging out? But babe, I have to get some things done for work. You'd be so bored."

"I could help," he tried to bargain.

Olivia kissed his forehead. "You are such a sweetheart, but… I don't think it's a good idea. But… how about this? If I'm not busy tonight, I'll pop home to tuck you in and maybe read you a story."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "I'll do my very best. But I'll call you and check in with you and Dad and Ava and I know Dad and Ava will have some stuff for you to do so you won't be bored or sad."

"Okay," he sighed.

"Can I come and get in there with you guys?" Ava's voice came from the doorway, looking tired.

Noah looked up and nodded.

"Sure, the more the merrier," Olivia managed to laugh. "I guess Mom's not going back to sleep either…"

Ava slid in to the warm covers of her parents bed and sidled up to Noah, cuddling him. "What's wrong Bug? Are you sad about going to school too?"

"I don't wanna go," he sighed.

"Me either, but we have to, we can't stay home. We'll end up dumb and nobody wants to be friends with a dumb-dumb."

Olivia chuckled and it got a little laugh out of Noah.

"Okay listen, I'll take you both to school today so we can have a little more time this morning."

"Thanks, Mommy," Noah said with a smile. He curled against Olivia's flank, cuddling her. Ava sidled up closer, cuddling both of them.

Olivia grinned, loving her warm, smooshy, kids, knowing that they both needed and craved her attention and affection.

"What's going on here? Ava, I told you to get up and get ready—" Trevor made his way in with a coffee for Olivia. He set it down on the bedside table. Ava looked a little sheepish.

"We're all just having a little snuggle and a chat about the week ahead, Dad," Olivia told him, not wanting him to be annoyed with his daughter for something he was allowing Noah to do. "I'm going to take them to school this morning."

"You're supposed to be resting before work," he sighed, conceding.

"Part of resting is doing things that fill my cup, one of those things is taking my kids to school and seeing them off before I have to go to work for 5 nights," she replied simply. "So… we have time for a ten minute snuggle, right?," she smiled at the kids and kissed them both. Trevor flopped down on his side of the bed, giving in, tired as well.

He closed his eyes and enjoyed listening to Olivia chat to the kids about what was going on at school and what subjects Ava had for the day.

"I think Dad's asleep," Ava remarked, hearing her father snoring lightly.

Liv smiled. "I don't think he slept very well last night," she admitted, "why don't we all get up and wash our faces and brush our teeth and get dressed and meet downstairs in 10 minutes," she suggested.

The kids agreed and Liv got up too, asking Ava to watch over Noah to make sure he brushed his teeth correctly.

/

"Okay!" Olivia called the kids over to the kitchen, "lunch bags please…"

Both kids produced their lunch coolers that she put their prepped lunches in. "For you, my sweet heart, I made you a box of carrot and celery and some cream cheese and fruit for your snack, for lunch you've got tuna salad and a twinkie."

"Ooh thanks Mommy," he smiled as she handed him a juice box and his water bottle from the refrigerator.

"You're welcome, pack it up in your bag and sit down for breakfast, okay?"

He nodded.

"Here babe," she turned her attention to Ava, "you've got cold pasta salad and there's a can of tuna to put over it for protein. For snacks," Liv opened a little portioned container, "cherry tomatoes, carrot, cucumber and celery, cheese slices and some fruit."

"You're the best at lunches, thanks best Mom ever."

Olivia beamed at her. "Okay, pack it up and sit down, breakfast is almost ready."

She served the kids some scrambled eggs and toast and gave Ava a banana, trying to make sure she was eating enough due to her swimming and other activities.

"I'm going upstairs to let Dad know that we're headed off in about 15-20 minutes."

Thankfully the kids were busy eating. Olivia would get home and add some bacon to the breakfast and have a proper breakfast with Trevor. She found him in bed, laying on his back snoring away. She couldn't help but to smile. He was emotionally exhausted, plus she knew camping and the beach had made him tired too.

He had been up most of the night worried about his daughter, worried that what had happened between Sarah and Ava hadn't quite hit her yet. They were trying to busy her instead of addressing what had happened and he wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do.

"Baby," she sat beside him, giving him a gentle shake, "baby, wake up…"

He jolted away, sitting up, startled. "Shit… the kids-"

"Its okay," Liv smiled, "they're up, they're ready - they're eating breakfast."

"I'm so sorry I fell asleep, you should be the one sleeping," he told her rubbing his eyes.

"Trevor, its fine, I'm totally fine. I'm just about to walk them to school, you should stay here and sleep and when I get back I'll finish off our breakfast and we can eat in bed like two slobs and hang out til you have to go to your first meeting."

He couldn't help but let a smile fill his face. "I love you, you're the best."

"I love you too," she leaned over him and kissed his lips. "Just relax, you can have a sleep in too, we've had three super busy and highly emotional days."

"Thanks Liv… you're a super Mom and a super girlfriend."

"You're welcome, love. I'll see you when I get back." She leaned over and kissed him again and got up to find her shoes.

/

"Will you and Ava come in to my classroom with me?" Noah asked Liv as they entered the school.

She looked at her watch. "Yeah… we'll walk you to your classroom and put your things away and say goodbye."

"Mom could we come and meet you for dinner one night maybe?" Noah asked.

"Maybe, honey, you know that sometimes I'm not at the station for dinner, it depends on how busy I get," she explained as they neared Noah's class. Ava had been quiet most of the walk. She looked a little tense, her face serious, not paying attention to Liv and Noah's conversation, just lost in her own thoughts, following them absently.

"Okay babe, we're not staying long, just a minute, okay?"

Noah nodded as he led Ava and his Mom inside. "Go put your bag up, we'll wait," she told him.

Olivia smiled at Noah's teacher and gave her a little wave. "Hiii Olivia," she greeted her, "I haven't seen you in awhile."

"I know, work's busy, Trevor does most of the school runs when I'm on day shift," she explained. She always felt guilt whenever the teacher remarked about her absence. She knew there was no indirect insult, but it seemed to salt a wound inside that she spent a lot of time batting away.

"You must be Ava," the teacher smiled, "Noah told us you started recently at the senior school."

"Yeah, I did…" she replied with a little smile. "And it's nice to meet you with your…" the teacher paused and stammered, "with your-"

"Mom," Olivia finished for her. Ava looked up at Liv and smiled. It was the first time she had referred to herself as her mother and she felt a moment of acceptance. It had been one thing for her to use the title but she couldn't help but to notice Olivia hadn't.

Olivia glanced at Ava and smiled back, putting an arm around her. "Well, Noah just loves you, Ava, he raves about you all the time."

Ava laughed, a little embarrassed. "Noah is the sweetest, I'm lucky to have him," she replied just as he had returned.

"Mommy, I don't want you to go," he told Olivia quietly, hoping his teacher wouldn't hear.

"I know baby," Liv replied, letting go of Ava and crouching down, "but we talked about this, I'm gonna do my best to come home and eat dinner with you guys, but I have to go to work and you have to go to school and Dad has things to do…"

He pouted as she stood up straight again and faced his teacher, "We've all had a big and exciting weekend, Noah went on his first camping trip with Trevor and coming back to school is a bit of an anti-climax."

The teacher smiled empathetically. "Noah, maybe you'd like to share with the class about your camping trip for show-and-tell this morning, would you like to do that?"

He nodded slow.

"That's exciting Noah, you had such a great time with Trevor, didn't you?"

"Yes," he replied.

"You're gonna be fine, Bug," Ava told him, taking his hand and pulling him toward her. "I'm down the hall and I'll come and get you as soon as school is over and we'll wait for Dad to pick us up out the front and we'll do some fun stuff while Mom is at work tonight, promise."

"Okay. Can we play your Nintendo?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we'll see if Dad will play too."

"That sounds fun," Olivia told them both, "Okay babe, I'm gonna go take Ava up to her class now. I love you so much, be good and have the best day, okay?"

He nodded, "I love you too Mom, I hope you have a good day too."

She gave him a hug and allowed Ava a moment to give him a hug too. "Love you, Bug, see you at 2:45."

They said goodbye to Noah's teacher and left them to it.

/

"So how are you feeling this morning?" Olivia asked Ava on their way upstairs to her own classroom.

"I'm just tired and cranky," she replied, "I think I'm getting my period because I'm emotional and bloated."

Liv smiled. "Its okay if you're having feelings about last night, you should talk to your Dad about it, he's worried about you."

"I have feelings about it but…" she paused and shrugged, "I wanna just focus on the people who do love me and care about me and our trip to Europe… Sarah doesn't really factor in right now."

"I know, but if she does factor in to your feelings, sweetheart, that's okay and you can talk about it with any of us."

"Thanks," she replied.

They neared her home room and Ava took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Okay, I'll let you go," she told Liv. Olivia gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead.

"I hope I'm not ruining your coolness factor by walking you to your home room," she smirked.

"I don't care about that stuff anymore and I feel like no one else does." Ava shrugged. Liv rested her hands on the girl's shoulders.

Ava did look a little off. She felt her cheek, "you're a bit pale and warm kiddo, did you sleep okay last night?"

She shrugged again. "I'm okay, like I said, my period is probably due… have a good night at work."

"Thanks, you have a great day." Liv hugged her again and watched her head in to her home room. It was almost immediately that she saw Ava's expression change in to a plastic smile as she waved to a few girls.

It troubled her to see Ava masking her feelings. She watched her for a second before turning and leaving, heading back home to get in to bed with Trevor for a snooze.

/

"Fuck!" Olivia cursed with a sigh as she and Carisi were on their way to a job.

"What's up, boss?," he asked as she hung up the phone. "Do we need to make a detour?"

"No, I just have to call Trev— give me one second…" she dialled Trevor's number for a few moments before he answered.

"Hey baby, what's up? I'm about to walk in to an emergency hearing."

"Sorry to call you, I'm on the way to a job and the school just called, Ava's been throwing up," she groaned, "don't worry, I'll see if Amanda or Raf can go pick her up."

"Shit," he hissed.

"If all else fails the nurse said she can sit tight where she is, don't worry, I'll work it out. You go in to court."

"I'm so sorry, I don't think I can put this off," he stammered, unsure of what to do.

"No, no, I mean it, I'll handle it. I'll call Amanda or Raf now."

"Thanks honey, thank you, you're the best. Gotta run but I'll call as soon as I'm out. Love you."

Olivia grimaced, "Love you too." She hung up.

She called around and eventually got a hold of Rafael who was less than pleased about the idea of picking up a sick teen from school. He sighed dramatically, "Olivia, what if she vomits in my car?"

"I'll get it cleaned and detailed for you, but she's not going to. She's not 5. I just need you to pick her up and take her home and sit with her or take her back to the precinct and she can lay on one of the cots."

"No, it's fine," he sighed. "I'll take her home and work from your place if I can use the wifi."

"You're the best, Raf, I love you!"

"You're lucky I love you back," he muttered. "You owe me."

"You love it. Ava gives you a run for your money and you love it. I'll call her school and let them know you're coming to pick her up and I'll text you the details."

/

Rafael made a face as he entered the hallway of Ava and Noah's school. He made his way to the reception area and identified himself. He tried to ignore the students milling around the corridors on their lunch breaks as someone led him toward the nurses station.

"She's just in the room on the end," the receptionist told him with a smile.

"Thanks," Rafael replied. He made his way down to the end of the hall and stuck his head in and found Ava laying back on a bed with a bucket beside her and an arm over her face. Rafael instantly softened, he could tell she wasn't playing about from a single glance.

"Hey…" he greeted her.

She pulled her arm from over her eyes and stared at him for a moment. "Hi, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, am I not good enough? I could go if you like?," he motioned to take a step back at out the door.

"Don't be mean to me, I feel like trash," she retorted. "Are you taking me home or to Liv?," she wondered, feeling weird about calling her Mom in front of him. She slowly sat up, wincing.

"Mom's out at a job and your Dad just stepped in to court, so I'm going to take you home and I'll work from your place until your Dad can get back."

"Okay, are we driving or walking?," she asked.

"I don't know, do you think you might vomit in my car?," Raf asked with a little smile.

"I'll make it my business to," she replied wryly. "I should be ok unless you're a terrible driver."

Raf smiled, "okay, come on smarty pants, let's go; do you need to get anything?"

"My friend is bringing my bag from my locker," she explained, "she'll just be a second."

Rafael nodded. He texted the group chat and told both Liv and Trevor that he was with Ava and that they were about to head home to their apartment.

A young girl threaded past Rafael with no regard for him. "Oh Ava, you look awful," she gushed and Raf had to hide a smile, he knew straight away by the tone of the girl that she liked Olivia and Trevor's kid. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thanks Luna, I'm okay, just feeling very nauseous. Thanks for getting my things, that was nice of you," Ava managed a smile. Luna ran her hand over Ava's hair and smiled at her lingeringly which Rafael thought was a bold move.

"Of course. I'll text you tonight and let you know how the meeting went today, I better get back though. Feel better, okay?"

"Thanks Luna," Ava replied lifting her hand to wave weakly at her friend.

/

Stuck in traffic, Rafael worried about Ava who hadn't said much, she'd just rested her head back with a plastic bag he'd given her in case she wanted to barf. "Do you think you might have eaten something bad?"

"I don't know," she replied.

"We're almost there," he told her. "Do you know the code for the underground parking at your apartment? Your Mom said you would."

"Yeah, its 7430," she told him as they approached the parking. Rafael punched in the number and found the visitor spots. He pulled the car up. Ava gave a groan as she flung the car door open, whipping off her belt and projectile vomiting all over the ground beside the car.

"Fuck," Rafael cursed under his breath. He clamoured over what to do, he went around to her side and made a face. He gave her back a little soothing rub, "looks like you're out of food, kiddo," he told her, looking at the watery vomit. She wiped her face with the back of her sleeve. She had tears running down her face and her nose ran a little. She wiped her face again, for some reason, she didn't want to look weak in front of Olivia's best friend.

"Sorry," she muttered, "I'm okay."

"Don't apologise, Ava, it's alright, you're sick, kiddo." He opened the back door and took out her school bag. "Come on, let's get you inside," he spoke gently to her, knowing that he needed to dial back his sarcasm, she was in no mood for it and she didn't deserve it.

/

"Hey sweetheart, I'm so sorry I had to run before, court is in recess while we wait for a witness, is Ava okay?"

Olivia smiled, "It's fine, baby, I worked it out, I said I would— did you not check your messages?"

"No, I literally just walked out to call you."

"Raf went to pick her up from school and take her back home. He's just gonna work from our place until you get home. He wrote a message in the group chat to let us know he picked her up," she explained.

"Oh that was so nice of him," Trevor remarked. "I can't believe I had to come to court today, it's really bungled up my day. How are you tracking?"

"Yeah, not too bad, I can't talk long, just waiting for the ME to turn up," she informed him. "Are you going to be okay to pick Noah up or should I see if Lucy can do it?"

"No its okay, I should be okay. I'll call Lucy if it looks like we're going to run in to the late afternoon."

"Trev, how are you going to leave court to call Lucy?," she asked, "how about this, if I'll call Lucy and see if she's available and if I don't hear from you by 2pm, I'll assume you're still in court and I'll get Lucy to go pick up Noah."

"Okay," he conceded. "Thanks Liv, sorry, I don't mean to stress you out on your first day back."

"Its okay, its life with kids, things go to shit sometimes, but we'll be okay. I love you."

"Love you too. I'll call you a bit later."

/

Rafael set himself up on the coffee table as Ava laid across the couch with a blanket over her and a waste bucket that he had found for her. "Would you like me to put something on the TV?"

"If you like…" Ava replied. She took a big sip of water from her drink bottle. He turned on the TV and passed her the remote.

"You choose- I know I'll regret it, but you choose," he gave her a smile.

"What's your favourite show?," she asked, her throat hurting from the strain of vomiting. "I bet it's something boring."

He laughed and took back the remote. "I like to wind down to something a little bit funny — maybe some old Seinfeld episodes."

"I don't know that show."

"Oh, come on Ava, you're missing out. The show is very funny and I think it'd be right up your ally."

"Put it on, I'll be the judge of that," she replied, but she knew with the pulsating headache and the swirling of nausea that she would probably be asleep soon.

He navigated the TV system and eventually found the show and pressed play on a random episode. He spread out his things but he had resigned himself to knowing he wasn't going to get much done.

"You just have to know that this humour is clever and silly and if you don't find it funny, that's on you," he gave her a half smile. She couldn't help but give him a little smile back.

"Oh shit," she said suddenly, sitting up. "I was supposed to meet Noah at his class room and walk him out to Dad…"

"That's okay, don't worry, I'll let your Mom know. Your Dad can go in and get him from the class room."

"Okay," Ava replied, relaxing back down as Raf picked up his phone.

/

"Uncle Raf… what are you doing here?" Noah asked, frowning. "Where's Ava?"

"Hello to you too," Raf smiled at him and waved to the teacher who he had met a few times before. "Ava is at home, she got sick, do you have everything?"

He nodded. "Okay, say goodbye to your teacher," he prompted him.

Noah said his goodbyes and came back to meet Rafael, taking his hand without thinking about it. Rafael didn't really dislike children but sometimes they made him uncomfortable and he was a little self-conscious that his interactions weren't kind enough toward them.

"Daddy was going to pick us up?" Noah continued to question.

"I know, Dad had to go to court and it's taking a long time so I picked up Ava a little earlier and Ava is at home resting while I came to pick you up. We're gonna go back to the apartment and we can have some snacks and you can do your homework or whatever you do when you get home."

"Okay. Is Mommy still gonna come home and eat dinner with us?"

"Not sure, kiddo, sorry, we'll give her a call in a little while and find out."

/

Trevor was full of self-loathe and incompetence after an adoption was vacated. It was the first time it had ever happened and he felt heartbroken for the adopted parents who had the infant in their care for almost 5 months.

He was all about biological parents having custody of their own children, but this had been a mistake— the mother was not only a well-known addict, but one who had put her baby's life at risk, dealing drugs and cooking meth. She had waived her parental rights. Since she had been in jail for drug trafficking, she'd had a change of heart and her parents were informed of the baby's existence.

As many times as Trevor had apologised, it still wasn't enough. The adoptive parents were rife with grief and he felt distraught for them.

He promised to fight it further, but he wasn't sure if there was truly much more that he could do.

He walked in the front door and could hear the TV on. Noah wasn't usually allowed to watch TV until all his homework was done, but the afternoon had been disrupted with his failure to turn up for pick-up like promised.

"Hey guys," he lifted his hand to wave as he put his briefcase down at the entryway of the living room.

"Hey Trevor," Rafael greeted him, a smile slowly fading from his mouth.

"Dad!" Noah jumped up with excitement and greeted him with open arms. This made Trevor feel slightly better - grateful that he had two wonderful kids whom he loved very much. He would never let anyone take them from him. He swept Noah up.

"Wow, what a welcome," he grinned at the small boy, "how was school, Bug?"

"Good! I told everyone about our camping trip and they were so jealous!," he informed him, "and when I said I went with my Dad, they said they didn't know I had a Dad and I said that I do now, it was cool!"

"That sounds like a big dad, Bug, I'm glad it was so wonderful. I told you you'd have a great day, didn't I?"

Noah nodded excitedly. "But you didn't pick me up, Uncle Raf did, I didn't know where you or Ava were!"

Trevor could see Ava stirring a little on the couch. "I know, I'm so sorry, I had to go help someone else's Mom and Dad. It was nice of Uncle Raf to help, huh?"

Noah nodded. Trevor kissed his cheek and set him down. "Thanks, Rafael, I appreciate your help today."

"It was actually my pleasure, we're just doing homework aren't we, kiddo?"

"Yeah," Noah smiled and went back to sit at the coffee table.

"How's my girl?" Trevor asked, "is she any better?"

"She's been asleep most of the afternoon between puking," Rafael replied. Trevor came to sit on the edge of the couch where Ava was laying.

He caressed her hair, "Hey sweetie," he gently felt her forehead. She was warm.

Ava stirred and opened her eyes. "Mmmm…."

"Hey, I'm home. How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," she replied. She looked a little off-color.

"Okay, would you like anything? Are you cold, or hot…or?"

"Freezing," she replied, pulling the blanket tightly around her, "I can't get warm."

"You poor thing," he replied. "I'm going to get you some Tylenol and fill up your water bottle okay?"

"Thanks Daddy," she murmured in a little voice that sounded much younger than she was.

"Would you like a drink or a beer or something Raf?" Trevor asked, "I'm grabbing one and something to eat."

"Mmm I think I might need something a bit stronger for the case I'm working on, is that too much?"

Trevor managed a laugh, trying to navigate the awkwardness between them without issue. "No, I can relate. Whisky and soda?"

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

"Did you guys have something to eat?" Trevor asked.

"Daddy I had some banana and strawberries. Can I please have some cheese?"

"Yeah, I'll get some snacks for us. Just finish your homework, okay?"

Trevor went upstairs and hung up his coat. He undone his sleeves and rolled them up to his elbows and went back to the kitchen to make some snacks for their house-guest and to pour Rafael and himself a whisky.

He was surprised the ADA wasn't itching to get out the door, but never-the-less, Trevor intended on making some effort with him given how close he and Olivia were.

"Here…" Trevor began, setting down the two drinks on the coffee table and a tray of snacks. "Noah, would you like a juice?"

"No thanks," he replied, holding up his water bottle. "I have this."

"Okay, I'll be one second," he told them as he saw Ava sitting up, pulling the blankets around herself. He went and refilled Ava's water bottle and grabbed some Tylenol. "Hey honey, take these okay? It might help with your fever."

Ava shivered and took the pills with water. "Dad, I think I want to go to bed," she murmured.

"Okay. Can you get up?."

"I'm too cold to move," she whined.

He worried about her, he hadn't seen her so unwell since she was little. "That's okay, sweetie." He turned to Noah, "Bug can you please grab Ava's barf bucket and her water bottle and go upstairs and put it in her room?"

"Do you need a hand," Raf asked, also worried about the girl, she seemed to have gotten worse since she got home.

"Oh, it's okay, I'll just get her up to bed and call Liv— I don't know how to curb a fever, do you?"

"Don't call Liv, I'll call my Mama, she'll know," he replied.

"Thanks Rafael, I appreciate it. I hate to bother Liv at work," he replied. "Come on you," he turned to his daughter and lifted her off the couch and took her upstairs with Noah ahead of him.

"Bug, could you please pull Ava's covers back?," he asked the little boy. Noah was happy to help, sad to see Ava feeling so bad. Trevor laid her down on the bed and covered her over with the blankets. He kissed her forehead. "Sweetie, I need you to drink some water okay? I'll get you some soup for dinner later."

"K," she nodded, pulling her covers up tight. Noah climbed on to her bed and put his arms around her.

"I love you Ava, I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks Noah…" Ava mumbled.

"Come on Bug, let's leave Ava alone to get some rest. You've got homework and a snack to eat and we've left Uncle Raf downstairs all on his own."

/

Trevor sank down in to the couch with an empty space between him and Rafael and couldn't deny the awkwardness in the air. He took a few sips of his whisky before putting it down and helping himself to some grapes he'd put on a plate with some cheese and other bits and pieces.

"This is weird," he remarked at last, "no offence," he added quickly.

Rafael laughed in spite of Trevor's comment. "I can go—"

"No, no, that's not what I meant," Trevor quickly replied, "I guess it's been weird since Olivia and I got together because nobody including Olivia had a lot of love for me," he remarked. "Which I understand-"

"I have no issue with you, I don't know you, you and I are lawyers, Trevor, we don't get to choose our cases and you worked as a defence attorney for whatever reason and I don't begrudge that — everyone has the right to a fair trial even if I think they're guilty," Raf reasoned, sipping his own drink.

Trevor went to speak but Rafael cut him off. "Olivia and I have been very close friends for a very long time — I consider her family and Noah too. Your daughter has even wormed her way in to my heart with her sass and her sense-of-humour and so now it's just time to get to know the man that hopefully will marry my best friend, if she wants that."

Trevor was smiling, "cheers," he held his glass out and clinked it gently. "And thank you so much for picking up Ava and Noah — Ava really is delighted by you and raved about meeting your partner too."

"They're both great kids— Ava is finding her way, I guess and I hope you don't mind but Benji and I told her that if she needed to talk about anything that she couldn't approach you or Liv about, she could ask me — as far as relationships and navigating how she identifies…"

"I appreciate that, it's hard, I don't ever want to say the wrong thing or give her the wrong advice. But, across the board, Liv and I always just say we don't care who she falls in love with, as long as the person is a good person and makes her happy."

Raf shrugged and smiled, "Well, that's more than I ever got from my Mom…" he paused, "oh, which reminds me, my Mama told me Tylenol or Ibuprofen and fluids is the best thing for a fever, so I think you're in the green with Ava."

"Thanks, it's been a long time since she's been this sick."

"She had no back talk or anything for me, that's how I knew she was really unwell."

"Poor thing, I wonder if it was something she ate… hope it's not contagious," Trevor replied.

Rafael helped himself to some crackers. "I hope not either, I pride myself on not getting kid sickness," he joked.

Trevor smiled. "How was your afternoon anyway? I hope you were able to get some work done."

"I did a little, I finished some case files and that was all that was pressing," Raf replied. "How did your hearing go?"

"A mess," Trevor sighed, "a giant f-" he paused and noticed that Noah was suddenly paying attention to him, "a giant freaking mess," he replied. "One of my adoptions that I thought was solid got vacated today."

"What?!" Rafael raised his eyebrow, "under what grounds? I thought that kind of thing was almost unheard of."

"It is," Trevor responded, sinking back on to the couch, "super rare. The biological Mom is a mess, in and out of jail, waived her rights and the adoptees have had this little one for two years, biological Mom has had a change of heart, says she's clean and the grandparents have been made aware of the child's existence."

"That sounds like a similar scenario we know of," he glanced at Noah and back at Trevor. "What's the grounds for vacating it?" Raf was curious.

"She has filed a motion of temporary impairment due to her drug addiction, that she didn't understand what she was signing and the judge sided that due to the heavy convictions she faced, she could have been manipulated by police and signed the waiver under duress," Trevor explained. "It's gut-wrenching. She's not even three years old and the adoptees are absolutely beside themselves. They've had her since she was 2 months old, I can't even imagine…"

Trevor felt frustrated all over again. He took a long sip of his drink and sighed.

"Are they going to appeal the decision?" Rafael pressed.

"I assume so, I told them I would call tomorrow morning. I just have to really scratch my head to find something that can loan credibility to the fact that she wasn't manipulated or under duress or even too sick to understand what she was doing. Her kid had already been yanked out of her care, she knew that, that's why she signed the documents, she hated that child. She spoke about her with such — disgust and resentment."

"Do you want my help?" Rafael asked kindly, "I mean— two heads in the book are better than one, right?"

Trevor thought for a second, "Sure, absolutely."

"If you can find out who the arresting officer was, I can have a talk to narcotics about her and see what we can come up with."

"Thanks Raf, I appreciate that, cops won't talk to me, not after my last gig," he managed a laugh.

Raf smiled. "Most cops close ranks to everyone, that's why I love Liv so much, she plays fair and she plays just — every single time."

"Daddy," Noah interrupted, getting up from his workbook on the floor.

"Yes Noah, did you finish your homework?"

"Almost," he replied, "could you ring Mommy and find out if she's going to come home for dinner like she said she would?"

"I believe Mommy said she would try but I don't know if that's going to work out tonight, kiddo, but if you go get my phone from the dining table and bring it back here, we'll give her a quick call."

Noah didn't need another word, he hot-footed it to the kitchen to get Trevor's phone. "What a fucking day…" he muttered.

/

"I'm so sorry," Liv apologised, "I know you had a bad day and a hard night with the kids, I actually spoke to the Chief and I've taken tomorrow off so you can get to work on your case and I can look after Ava."

"Oh, Liv, you didn't have to, I would have called Lucy…"

"No, kids come first, I would have come home straight away but we were at a job. I'm on my way home, it's been a shitty night here too."

"Okay baby," Trevor knew that as a mother, her first instinct was to be with her kids and it wasn't a reflection on his ability to take care of them. He understood, he would have felt the same if he had to be away for the long hours that she did. "Would you like me to warm you up some dinner and a glass of wine?"

Olivia felt herself relax, she knew Trevor could always make her feel like someone had her back. "I already ate but maybe a wind-down glass of wine would be really nice."

"Alright, I'll have it waiting for you and you can come and find me upstairs, watching TV when you get in."

"Thanks sweetheart. I'll see you very soon. I'm just gathering my stuff now."

/

"Daddddd…." Ava's voice called from her bedroom just as he was getting comfortable, turning the TV on, getting the air conditioning set to a cooler temperature, and changing in to sweats and an old t-shirt.

He got up and headed back half-way down the other end of the hall to Ava's room. "Hey," he greeted her, "are you okay?"

"No," she murmured, "I feel so awful," she added.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and reached for the bedside lamp. She was pale and shivering still. Her forehead was warm to the touch. "I'm sorry honey, what can I do?"

"Could I have some juice? I'm really hungry but I don't want to barf again," she complained.

"Sure. What if I got you some rice cakes or crackers? I know its bland but it might be good to try to have a bite or two of something."

She made a face and shook her head. "No thanks, I'll just try the juice."

"Okay," Trevor agreed.

/

"I expected you to be in bed," Olivia's voice struck him from the dim light of the front door. He whirled around, smiling at her as she shut the door behind her. She hung up her handbag and took her work phone out. She put it on silent and made her way to the kitchen to greet her man.

He reached out to her and pulled her in to his arms. "It's good to see you," he kissed her forehead and glanced down to look in to her chestnut eyes. He smiled before kissing her lips, drawing her in for a hug.

"It's good to see you too, it seems like all of us had a tough day…" her voice trailed off.

"Yeah, it feels like it," he murmured, pushing her hair out of the way, wrapping his arms around her slim waist. "I'm glad you're home even though I know it's not an ideal situation."

She managed a chuckle as she slowly and reluctantly drew away too. "The murder I went to was a little brutal if I'm honest and the most foul, depraved shit we found at his house— cupboards and cupboards full of VHS and CDs, I'm relieved I wasn't sticking around to have to go through it."

"I'm glad you didn't have to either," Trevor replied.

"How about you? Tell me how your day went?," she asked, feeling better already for his presence. He let go of her and opened up the chilled bottle of wine and poured some in to a tumbler and passed it to her. He shrugged interiorly and poured one for himself too.

"I actually am too frustrated to go in to it again right now," he replied, "but Ava just asked me for some juice so I'm gonna go take this up to her," he nodded toward a juice box on the counter.

Olivia winced, "I probably wouldn't give her 100 percent orange juice on a sick stomach," she told him, taking a mouthful of wine. "Why don't you go take our wine's upstairs and I'll get her some watered down juice and I'll find the thermometer of Noah's and I'll take her temperature."

Trevor sighed, "you really are so good at this stuff— I've had such little practice."

She smiled at him. "You're doing great, some things you learn as you go."

Trevor took the glasses upstairs and decided not to tell his daughter that Olivia was home, he knew it might make her feel just slightly better.

Olivia found some apple juice and watered it down with some seltzer. She went upstairs and rifled around the bathroom til she found the thermometer and made her way in to Ava's room. "Hey, sweetheart," she greeted her in a soft, soothing voice.

Ava opened her eyes and looked up to find Olivia. The sheer relief of having someone motherly with her made her eyes flood with tears.

"Oh, honey, don't cry… it will just make you feel more rotten."

"Why are you home?" Ava asked, slowly sitting up. "Are you on a break?"

"No, I came home because Dad told me you were sick, my kids are number one priority…" she held up the juice, "here is some juice, I've watered it down a little so it doesn't upset your stomach."

She handed the glass with a straw to Ava. She tried not to guzzle it down, but it tasted so good and so sweet after not being able to stomach anything but water since around lunch time. She handed the glass back to Liv who set it down on the bedside table.

"I know you have a temperature so let's just put this under your arm and see what we're dealing with."

She shivered a little as she put the thermometer beneath her arm and watched Olivia sit on the edge of the bed. "So tell me, when did you start feeling sick today?," she wondered stroking her the tears from her cheeks.

"I felt a bit funny this morning after breakfast but I knew everyone was stressed out so I didn't want to say anything and then after Math I felt like I was going to be sick so I had some water and felt worse and went to the bathroom and barfed and I saw Mrs Howler, my English teacher and she said I looked awful so one of my friends came down to the nurse's office with me and I kept vomiting each time I'd try to eat something."

"Poor thing," Olivia remarked as the thermometer beeped. Ava gave it over to Olivia who squinted to see it. "Its 101.2, it's a little high but I think you're okay, we just have to get it to break. How do you feel about a bath?"

"Its too cold," she replied.

"I'll make it warm and put the bathroom heating on— I really think it might help. I just want you to feel better."

"Okay," Ava relented but was weepy and upset about having to agree.

"When you're done you can wrap yourself back up in your blanket as warm as you like," Olivia bargained with her. "You wait here, I'll go get the bath ready."

Olivia went to let Trevor know what she was doing. "Do you think she's okay? That's a high fever right?"

"Slightly," Olivia replied, "it's higher than it should be, so I just want to be able to get it down to a low-grade fever…"

"Okay, do you want me to do it?," he asked, pulling back the covers.

"No baby," she smiled, moving closer, leaning over him on the bed and kissing his lips, running her fingers through his hair. "I've got this, I know you had a terrible day, I'm so sorry about the family."

"How'd you know about that?," he asked but knew instantly that she had spoken to Rafael.

She smiled and caressed his lightly bearded face. "Raf rang before I left work, he's kinda chuffed about helping you out, I think he wanted to boast that you and he got along really well," she chuckled.

Trevor laughed, "I'm kind of surprised but we actually had a nice time chilling out and talking about cases and sections of the law that may help with an appeal."

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Uhuh, sounds… fascinating." She kissed him again and picked up her glass and took a long gulp. "I might take this with me."

"Okay call out if you need anything."

Olivia went and set her glass down on the bathroom vanity and turned the water on. She knew Ava would complain that it wasn't warm enough, but despite how uncomfortable she felt from her fever, she would have to stand it to try to bring it down a little.

She turned the bathroom heaters on and headed back to Ava's room. She pulled back the blanket and realised that Ava was still in her school clothes. "Oh, honey, I'll get you a fresh set of underwear and warm pajamas. "Go and hop in the bath, okay?"

"I'm too cold," she shivered violently.

"Come on, you can do it, I know it's uncomfortable, but once you're in there you'll be okay, I promise."

Ava said nothing and cried as she made her way to the bathroom while Olivia got her some warm clothes.

"Honey, I'm coming in, is that okay?"

"Give me a second," Ava replied. Olivia waited at the door to give her some privacy before she called out that she could come in. She watched the teen shaking.

"I know you're cold but just… ten minutes. I'll get you a fresh towel and your juice-"

"I don't want the juice, I feel like I'm going to be sick again."

Olivia grabbed the barf bucket from the room just in time for Ava to evacuate her stomach in to it from over the edge of the bathtub. "Its okay, honey, just get it all out…"

Once she was done, Olivia made her sit while she rinsed the bucket trying not to look or smell before coming back to her with her juice. "Very small sips, Ava, I don't want you to be sick again."

She sat on the edge and drank her own wine until it was empty. "Are you still freezing?"

Ava nodded, sitting back. Olivia was surprised by just how comfortable the teen was with her body, not caring about her own privacy. It struck her as another thread of trust woven between them.

"If you think this is too much or if you feel too sick, I can take you to urgent care," she offered.

"No, I don't want to," she replied and reminded Olivia of her son whenever he was sick, pouty, teary and against just about anything she tried to do that would make him feel better.

"Okay, but if you don't stop vomiting or if your temperature doesn't come down, I'll be taking you," she told her.

"Mom, do you think I have food poisoning?," she wondered quietly.

"I'm not sure, it could be from the salmon you had at lunch yesterday, but it's hard to tell. I guess we can find out when you wake up in the morning to see if there's been any improvements."

"I feel really anxious," Ava admitted.

"Yeah? What's making you feel anxious?," she pressed.

"Just… missing school tomorrow, vomiting, feeling so bad, my stomach is aching and my head feels awful."

"Don't worry about school, you're not well, you just need to relax and sleep as much as you can til you feel better."

/

Once Ava was back in bed Olivia covered her over with her warm blankets despite it not actually being cold at all.

"Goodnight babe, come and get me or Dad if you need anything or just call out, ok?"

Ava nodded and closed her eyes tightly. Olivia kissed her forehead and turned out her lights and left her bedroom door ajar.

She gave a sigh and found Trevor still reading with his glasses on, scanning pages of a digital law book and looking up other similar cases.

"Aww love, you have to switch off," she told him, "it will eat away at you. You know you don't get to win them all."

He sighed and looked up at her. "I know but I think I can win this one, it's in the best interests of the child, really, it's not about winning for me."

Olivia nodded with understanding. "I get it, it's the hard ones that rest on your shoulders, but please baby, it's bed time, put it up for now…"

She could tell he was reluctant but acquiesced. She took the iPad from him and put it on the nightstand and got ready for bed. She climbed in beside him relishing how good it felt to be off her feet. She stretched out and sighed.

"Is Ava okay?" Trevor asked, rolling over and getting comfortable on his pillows.

"I'm not sure. If she keeps vomiting and not holding anything down, we'll probably have to take her to urgent care or something. She has a fever too, but I've left our door open so we can listen out for her."

Trevor sighed, "thanks for checking on her, did she take the bath?"

Liv nodded. "I have to say, I'm surprised that Ava, for everything she has been through as zero problems with her body."

"What do you mean?" Trevor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Noah isn't quite ten yet and he wants his privacy and gets weird if I enter the bathroom and he's not covered up by bubbles or whatever unless he's sick or tired… but Ava had zero care last night and even less of a sense of self consciousness when I was in the bathroom."

"Oh great," he muttered, "my daughter is going to be a go-go dancer isn't she?," he joked.

Olivia laughed, "don't be silly… I just think it's admirable to not care."

"I think she just has a lot of trust in you," Trevor replied. "And Noah doesn't really care when I help him with bath time, maybe its just a girls and dudes thing."

"Maybe," Olivia shrugged, "it was just a bit cute, last night she made me sit down next to the tub and talk to her so she wasn't bored."

Trevor laughed too. "That's my daughter, she is literally just living her best life and has become so happy to be hanging out with us and that makes me so happy because she's never wanted to spend as much time with me — she and I have great talks and she's so much smarter than I ever gave her credit for."

"I always want my kids to want to be around us— I'm scared of Noah getting to that embarrassment stage where he stops asking us to hold his hand or running at me with a cuddle when I get home…"

"Me too. I hope that doesn't end. Although it would be weird if at 20 years old, my daughter still wants to hold my hand."

"Nah," Olivia shook her head, "its only weird if either of you let it be weird."

"Still…" he added, the thought of Ava being an adult momentarily freaking him out.

He sighed and yawned, "Okay love, let's get some sleep, I have to be up and out of here pretty early for another hearing and Rafael is going to meet me at his office later in the morning. Are you sure you're good with Noah and Ava?"

"Yes, of course that's why I took the time." She eased closer to him and rolled over. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, spooning her. "Thanks, I love you so much."

"I love you too," she replied, turning her cheek to meet his lips. They both snuggled in and got comfortable and closed their eyes for sleep.

/

Olivia woke up to the indisputable sound of Ava vomiting. She yawned and slid out of bed, cursing as she hit her knee on the corner of the mattress.

"What happened?" Trevor asked, startled and awake.

"Nothing, I just bumped my leg, go back to sleep, baby, I'm just checking on Ava." She covered him over and kissed his forehead. He was warm and cosy and it didn't take much convincing. She closed the door behind her as she made her way down the hall to Ava's bedroom.

"Honey are you okay?," she made her way in to the bedroom and switched on Ava's lamp. She was covered in vomit.

"I didn't make it," Ava murmured sitting, a little unsure of what to do, getting the energy to move felt like a lot.

"Oh, sweetheart… it's okay," Liv soothed her. "Let me get the cover off your blanket… Is it on the sheets or anywhere else?"

Ava shook her head, "just on my sweater…"

"Let me change this and I'll get you a new pajama top." She told her, unbuttoning the cover over her comforter. She took it to the laundry after handing Ava a fresh PJ top. She put a new cover on as Ava miserably and feebly changed her clothes.

"Are you still cold?"

She nodded, "not like I was before though…"

"Okay that's good. Lay back down," she told her, throwing the comforter back over her, tucking it in at the end of the mattress.

"Mama, can you lay with me…" she asked softly.

Liv gave her a smile. "Of course… let me turn this light off."

Ava made some room for her and Olivia got in to bed beside the teen and absently stroked her hair until she felt her going back to sleep. She knew she needed to get up and return to bed, but her eyes were starting to fall shut.

"Mom," Ava whispered softly in her weak little voice.

"Yeah?" Liv answered sleepily.

"Thanks for being here for me…" she spoke slowly as if she was almost on the cusp of sleep too.

Liv gave her a little squeeze. "Of course, sweetheart… close your eyes and get some rest."

/

Trevor rolled over to find his bed empty. He shot up, hoping that his daughter was okay. He hoped that Liv hadn't taken her to Urgent care on her own in the middle of the night. Surely, she would have woken him up.

He put his tank on and pulled on some sweats and headed down the hall past Noah's room to Ava's. He pushed the door open and felt himself relax. Ava was laying on her chest snoring softly with Olivia sleeping soundly beside her with a hand on her back.

He decided not to wake them, he was sure Liv had probably been up for awhile with her. He checked in on Noah who was still sound asleep and made his way downstairs to make some coffee.

It was almost 7am and he was still a little bleary-eyed. He went and sat in his office and turned on the computer, drinking his coffee and staring in to the abyss while he waited for it to load up. He was still tired, but he wanted to get his brain in to gear for court and then for a little brain storming catch up with Rafael.

He needed to prepare paperwork for the appeal and speak with the family as soon as he could. He answered a few emails and started on his paperwork.

He finished his coffee and knew he'd need to read over it a little later. He began to pack up his laptop and place everything he needed for his busy day in to his satchel and took it out, leaving it on the hat hanger by his coat.

He rinsed his coffee cup out and began getting all the ingredients out to make some breakfast before he woke Noah up for school.

He made his way back upstairs and gave Noah a gentle shake awake. They had to wake him up slowly, he wasn't an alarm kid — if he was woken up too harshly, he was instantly grumpy. They allowed for him to slowly get up over thirty minutes, allowing time for a cuddle with himself or Olivia. Just as clockwork, Noah whined for a moment before opening his eyes.

"Bug, it's time to get up for school…" he told him gently.

"I don't wanna," he replied, flipping over on to his side, facing the wall.

Trevor rubbed his tired eyes and yawned himself. "I know, I'm tired too, but once you're up you'll feel better, kiddo."

"Where's Mommy?"

"Mommy is asleep still, she was up all night with Ava."

Noah rubbed his eyes. "Is Ava okay?"

"Yes Bug, I think so, but she's still unwell," Trevor explained. "Come on, why don't you get up and help me make breakfast…"

He moaned with frustration. "Daddddd," he protested, "I don't wanna…"

"Okay so why don't you get up and go in to Ava's room and gently say good morning to Mommy and see if she wants to have a little snuggle before you get up."

Noah said nothing and sighed. Trevor got up from the edge of the bed and lifted Noah. "Come on, let's go see Mom…" he told Noah, knowing that he really was going through a stage of missing Olivia horribly when she was at work.

Trevor circled Ava's bed and patted Olivia's shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked around, catching her bearings, remembering where she was. She turned to find Trevor behind her, holding Noah.

"Hi my sweethearts," she whispered. "Good morning."

"Good morning, love, Mr Morning Grump would like a cuddle…"

A smile crossed Olivia's lips. "I'd love a cuddle…how about I get up and go back to our bed," Liv suggested.

"Nooooo," Ava moaned, not moving, "don't go… I want a cuddle from Bug too."

"I think it's a bit crampy in here, sweetheart," Olivia told her, "but you can come and get in to Dad's bed with me and Noah if you like, bring your bucket."

Ava agreed and Trevor took Noah down the hall, waiting for Olivia. "You're a lucky little guy, even I didn't get a morning cuddle with Mom."

"You're a big person, you don't need one."

Trevor laughed, "big people need cuddles too, Noah, why do you think I ask you for a hug or why it makes me so happy when Ava cuddles me?" He tossed Noah on to the bed and Noah couldn't help but to laugh.

"You get to cuddle Mommy every night, it's not fair," he grumbled as he got up from the bed. Trevor was about to console him when Olivia in the doorway caught his attention, she gave Trevor a kiss good morning as she ushered Ava in to the room.

"Hey sweetheart," Trevor greeted his daughter, "are you feeling any better?"

"MMm I don't know yet," she murmured. Olivia had been holding her pillow and put it down on his side of the bed. Trevor pulled back the covers for her as Noah disappeared in to their bathroom to pee.

"Okay, just rest for you today and I'll call school and let them know you won't be there."

"That's okay Trev, I'll do that," Olivia replied. "I have to call work and let them know I won't be in either, so… no stress."

Noah appeared from the bathroom. "Go back and wash your hands Noah," Olivia called to him. He glowered at her. She stared him down, "I didn't hear the water, go and wash them please," she insisted.

Rather than arguing he disappeared again. She and Trevor shared a smirk. She shook her head. "What's he got against clean hands?" She asked softly so her son couldn't hear.

"He's 9, everything."

Noah reemerged and climbed up the bed between Olivia and Ava and got comfortable beneath the covers.

"Okay my sleepy loves, I'm going to make breakfast, Noah I'll take you to school on my way to work so you've got about 15-20 minutes before you need to get ready."

Noah ignored him and buried his face in to the pillow.

Trevor sighed.

"Thanks baby," Olivia smiled at him.

"Of course," he responded, leaving them to it.

/

"Mommy," Noah began sweetly, "can I have a day off school today too?," he asked.

"Honey, why? What am I going to tell your teacher?"

He shrugged, "that my sister is sick and maybe I could be sick too?," he offered. "I'll be good, I promise."

"I'm just going to be looking after Ava, sweetheart. I'll be watching TV and maybe doing a little bit of work from home."

She looked at her son who stared back at her with his big blue eyes and she felt herself caving in. They didn't have days together where they sat around in pajamas watching movies much anymore, he was growing up and there was always something that had to be done — or Trevor was around and as much as Noah loved Trevor, she could tell there was a little bit of her son that had been yearning for her attention a little more lately.

"Why don't you lay here and let me go talk to Dad, okay?"

Noah smiled and nodded, knowing he had won his mother over. "You haven't won, Noah. I need to discuss it with Daddy."

"Okay," he replied, but he knew better.

Olivia got up and left the two kids in their bed while she went downstairs. She was awake now and she needed a coffee.

Trevor was leaning over the counter sending a text and drinking his coffee when she she found him. He looked up and gave her a soft smile. "Morning again," he greeted her.

"Good morning," she replied. She came up behind him and slid her arms around him and rested her head on his broad back, enjoying the warmth of his body for a moment. Trevor loved her sleepy cuddles. He heard her yawn. He reached down, resting his hand over hers. "Is Noah getting ready?," he asked.

"I'm thinking of keeping him home too…" her voice trailed off.

"What? Why?"

Olivia let go and made her way to the cupboard to grab her pottery mug Trevor had made for her and filled it with coffee from the pot.

She took a sip as Trevor turned to face her, looking a little annoyed. "Because," she took a second sip, "he's not getting enough attention from me, he's literally begging for my attention and with work and everything else, he's just… sad when I have to do anything that doesn't involve him. He knows Ava is sick, he's also worried about her, he wants to stay home with us."

"Liv, that's a bad habit to let him get in to…" Trevor told her gently, "what if tomorrow he pulls the same thing? Or any other day he decides he doesn't want to go to school."

"Trev," Olivia cocked her head, "he needs some attention from his Mom. You said yourself that he asked a thousand times last night if I was coming to eat dinner with you guys. I just want both kids to feel like they're getting enough of me."

Trevor sighed, "I get it, Ava has had a lot going on, Noah has been patient…"

"So I just wanna hang out with them both. Hopefully Ava will start to feel better and if not we'll take her to the doctor. I'll order groceries for the week, I'll get some laundry done and with a little luck, Noah might actually help me."

Trevor laughed, "Oh, I get it… you want a little helper for the house chores."

She laughed too, drinking her coffee. "No, just… I dunno, I'm being soft, I know, but I can't help it, they've both got me around their little finger…"

"Uhuh," Trevor grinned, setting down his coffee, "I know how that feels, I know a certain someone else who has me around her little finger…"

Olivia chuckled and let him advance toward her. He took her coffee from her hand and placed it on the counter behind him. He slid his arms around her with a sigh. "I feel like we haven't had a good chance to really spend time together, so I'm a little jealous you guys are all hanging out."

Olivia raised her head to meet his face, reaching up to take his face in her palms. He felt ear fingertips tickling the shell of his ears. He loved her touch, she was so soft and sensual without ever really thinking about it. "I'm sorry… want me to organise something for us on the weekend? Maybe just a day to ourselves…"

He thought about it for a second and then made a face, "I told the kids I could take them to their dance classes and if they didn't complain about getting up early, I'd organise a surprise afterward."

"Oh, that's okay, we'll get Lucy, you're gonna need all your energy for Saturday night anyway with Tim coming to sleep over," she smiled.

"Mmm maybe that's a good idea, I could be convinced — as long as Ava feels better." He leaned over and kissed her lips. "I love you, thanks for indulging my whininess."

She smiled, "It's not whiny, time together is really necessary — as necessary as family time, I get it. I don't want us to feel disconnected. Maybe we can find a place to hang out and an activity or a movie or something, if you have any ideas let me know today, okay?"

"Okay," he kissed her again. "I'll check in with you through the day, I'll try to come home early and help you with some chores."

"Don't worry about that, just do what you have to do, I've got it."

He let go of her with reluctance and handed her back her coffee. "Want me to call school and let Noah's teacher know?"

"You can just text her… she's usually good with that. Just say Noah won't be in today as both he and his sister aren't well or something like that…"

"Okay will do."

Olivia took filled her coffee back to the top. "Okay, I'm going back up to bed with the kids, let me know when you're on your way out."

/

"How are you going there with the water, sweetie?," Olivia asked Ava as she slowly sipped her drink bottle. Olivia had her propped up on some pillows so that she was able to see the TV and watch the Pixar movie with them.

"It's okay," Ava replied a little croakily, her throat dry from all the vomiting and lack of fluid. "I'm really hungry, my tummy is so crampy."

"I know, just let that water rest for about 15 minutes and if you're not bringing it up again, I'll go and get you something to eat, k?"

Ava nodded. Olivia leaned over and felt her forehead. It was still a little warm. She glanced at her son who had been suspiciously quiet most of the morning. He was asleep. Olivia sat up and leaned over her son. He looked a little sweaty. She gave a groan and flopped back down in the middle of the bed. She put her hand over his forehead and realised that he was also warm. She hoped it was just a coincidence.

"Mom, did you tell school I wasn't coming in?," Ava asked.

"Of course I did," she replied. "I think I told a little lie to keep Noah home too and it's coming back to bite me in the butt."

"What did you do?" It was the first time Olivia had seen even half an amused look on Ava's face.

"We told a little fib and said Noah was under the weather and now I think he's also unwell…"

"Aw, I hope I didn't make the little guy sick."

"You focus on feeling better, I'll focus on the little guy if he's sick," Olivia replied, patting Ava's arm. "You seem like the water is staying down, do you want to try a little bit of chicken noodle soup and maybe a slice of toast?"

"Can I please just have some crackers with it?"

Olivia nodded and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "You stay there and rest and I'll be back."

/

Trevor looked at his phone and sighed, scratching his head. "What's going on?" Rafael asked, realising his unlikely new friend seemed frustrated.

"Ah, nothing. Liv just texted me to say that she thinks Noah is coming down with whatever Ava has. It just happens to be a busy week for me, any other time it would have been easy to hold things down while Liv worked."

"You're done with court for the day, aren't you?" Raf asked him, looking up from the law books that they were both highlighting bits and pieces from.

"Yeah, but I need to work on this appeal for The Steedham family," he replied, nodding toward his notes.

"Leave it with me, go home and be with Liv and the kids, I'll work on this."

"You don't have to do my work for me, Raf, I appreciate that-"

"I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for the family and because I love your kids and I kinda … like Liv being very happy with a smart, logical law man."

Trevor gave a measured laugh, thrilled by the backward compliment. "I guess I could work on it from home…"

"Yeah work on it from home and we can check in later in the evening and see if we came up with anything solid."

"Are you sure? Don't you have other work that you need to do?" Trevor asked, a little skeptical.

"I'm sure I do, but I'll get to it by order of importance. Trust me, as much as I really love Liv, I'm not going to lose any of my own cases to help you out," he smirked.

Trevor got up and put his suit jacket on and smiled, "I wouldn't expect that you would Rafael, thank you for your help, I deeply appreciate it."

"You're welcome. I'll phone you later."

Trevor gathered his things and headed home to be with his family.

/

"Oh jeez, this doesn't look good at all…" Trevor remarked as he set his briefcase down in the living room entryway. Olivia had Noah's head on her lap and Ava was settled, flanked against Olivia with her arms wrapped around her, cuddling her Mom.

"Hi Daddy," Ava greeted him softly. He knew she was still sick, the two buckets beside both kids were enough to go by. Olivia smiled at Trevor softly.

"Good afternoon, sweetie, how are both the kids going?" Trevor wanted to know.

"One has had water, soup, two vomits but kept down some toast and Noah is just complaining of a sore tummy and when he finally got up and asked for food, he vomited it all over the bathroom."

"Ah, so no relaxing for Mommy, huh?," he asked, leaning in to kiss Olivia's lips. He kissed his daughters forehead and ran his hand over Noah's curl's not wanting to wake him up.

"That's okay, I stayed home to take care of Ava and as it turned out, it was a good choice to keep Noah home too. But dare I say, the sleep over may be canceled."

"Well, let's not break his little heart til we see how quick they recover," Trevor replied.

"Dad I thought you had to see Rafael today?" Ava reminded him.

"I did, we decided we'd both work alone and talk later so I could be at home with you guys so Mom doesn't have to do all the dirty work." He turned to Liv, "so with that said, there were some chores you wanted to do, what are they? I'll get them started."

"Oh," Liv smiled, "you're a dreamboat… I just needed to do our laundry from the hamper. My underwear need to go in the little zip bag that's hanging up-"

"I know, I know," he laughed, "why are you acting like I never do laundry?"

"Sorry," she replied, "I'm just reminding you," she replied, feeling a little bad. "And I wanted to make dinner but now that Noah is sick and Ava is still unwell, it'll probably be just us eating, so whatever you feel like, just take it out of the fridge and I'll cook it when we're hungry."

"I'll get dinner ready — maybe we'll make some more soup, maybe something light and easy, is that okay?"

"Sounds good, honey, whatever you think."

/

Trevor spent a little while doing some chores upstairs and changing the bedding on both kids beds so they'd have fresh sheets to lay on once they got back in. He had an idea about an arguable angle that he texted urgently to Rafael before putting the laundry on.

Some time later he came downstairs to find Olivia asleep too. Her cheek rested atop of Ava's head. It looked a little uncomfortable. He scooped Noah up and put him on the other couch with the bucket beside him.

"Liv…" he murmured softly.

Her eyes opened and she glanced around looking for her son. She made a face and sat up straight, trying to free herself of Ava. "Honey, you look so tired, go upstairs and take a little nap. You were up and down with Ava all night. I'll sit down here with the kids…"

She didn't need to be told twice. "Thanks honey," she murmured. He helped her up and encouraged Ava to rest on the couch cushion. It didn't take much convincing. He covered both of the kids up. Trevor kissed Liv softly on the cheek. "I'll wake you up if you sleep for too long."

"Thanks sweetheart," Liv mumbled, definitely feeling fatigue hit her hard.

"How are you feeling tonight?" Trevor asked as he finally sat down with his daughter on the couch.

"Awful, I haven't felt this awful since … I don't know. I think at least I'm not freezing like I was last night."

"So you must be a little better. How do you think he's going?" He nodded toward Noah, "he's been asleep the whole time I've been home."

"Poor thing, I hope he doesn't get it as bad as I did. I don't want him to feel that sick."

Trevor smiled faintly. "Do you want something to eat? I can make you some toast or something else?"

Ava shrugged, "Maybe I can have some graham crackers or something later, I don't know about anything right now…"

"Okay," he replied. "Mom's been asleep now for almost two and a half hours so I better go wake her up or else she won't sleep tonight. Yell out if you need me."

Ava nodded.

/

"Shit," Trevor muttered when he felt Olivia's forehead, "honey, wake up…" he shook Olivia gently, "wake up…"

"Mmm" she opened her eyes. She eased herself up slowly and raised the blanket over her shoulders. "I'm really cold, Trev…"

"You're getting it… whatever it is that Ava's got, you're getting it too, you're so warm."

"I don't feel warm, fuck, I'm really cold."

"Okay, you made Ava get in to the bath last night when she was freezing, so I'm going to make you do the same. The quicker you get rid of a fever the quicker you'll feel better. You stay here and I'll get a bath ready and turn the heated tiles on," he bargained with her.

"Maybe later," she replied, "I'm too cold right now."

"Not an option, baby," he replied gently, "I don't want your fever to get worse. I'm going to start the bath and go downstairs to get you some water to sip on and I'll bring Noah up here to be with you."

Olivia said nothing but slunk back down in to the bed with a pout. "I don't want you to get sick," she told him softly as he leaned over to kiss her.

"I think we're a little past that. I'm still feeling fine, you just rest, love, I'll be back shortly."

/

Olivia let her son cuddle in to her warmly. They both were running low grade fevers. After Ava ate some toast she went upstairs with her water bottle and got in to bed on Liv's side. Realising Ava was on the edge, Olivia wriggled over toward the middle with Noah.

She felt relief to feel the teens arms around her, adding more warmth to her body. "I'm sorry you guys are sick, Mom," she murmured.

"It's okay, honey, we'll be fine."

Ava rested her cheek against Olivia's shoulder and closed her eyes, pulling the blanket over her. She was feeling just a little bit better. Her vomiting had mostly stopped, but it didn't stop the feeling of wanting to from swirling around in her stomach each time she had a drink or swallowed some food.

"Can we sleep in here?" Ava asked.

"Yes," Olivia replied, not wanting the warmth of either one of the kids to leave her. Olivia reached for her daughter's hand and held on to it, letting sleep take her away again. Ava sighed, despite feeling awful, she felt grateful that her father's other half loved her so deeply and never made her feel like a baby for wanting to be coddled and treated the same way she treated Noah when it came to doling out affection.

The sound of the TV was blaring down the hallway. He was tired but at least he and Rafael were making some pathway to some legal arguments that would support his appeal and hopeful nullify the earlier ruling.

He couldn't help but to smile when he noticed the three of his greatest loves all huddled up together. He couldn't bring himself to move any of them and was slightly jealous that they were bundled up without him.

He brushed his teeth and got changed in to some appropriate pajamas and climbed in to bed, turning the TV off. As soon as he got comfortable Noah sat up and began to whimper.

"Hey Bug, what's up?" Trevor asked softly, "what do you need? Are you going to be sick?"

He nodded. Trevor quickly grabbed the bucket that was down the side of his bed and passed it to him. He put his head over the designated barf bucket and began to bring up everything he had eaten for the day. The nine year old cried with each heave.

"Its okay," Olivia weakly consoled him, going to get up.

"You stay where you care, I've got him," Trevor assured Liv as he gave Noah's back a gentle pat as he finished up.

He took the bucket away when his son was finished and rinsed it, this time lining it with a plastic bag to save himself the trouble. He got Noah a drink and made him take some small sips before the little boy laid back down, this time cuddling him.

Trevor turned the lights out again and reached for Olivia, just wanting to touch her. He felt her hand find his, threading through her soft fingers. With a sign of relief he closed his eyes and listened to the deep, even breathing of Noah, the very, very light snore of Ava and knew just by Olivia's breathing that she wasn't fully asleep.

He gave her hand a squeeze and felt her squeeze it back. "Love you, baby, feel better and wake me up if you need something."

"Love you too…" her voice trailed off.