Chapter 25
The next morning, the three scrambled around. Noah needed to go to school and Elliot did not have any clean clothes at Olivia's place. She promised to drop him off at his place after they dropped off Noah for school.
Finally, out of the door, an hour later, Olivia made sure to give Noah a hug and kiss before he rushed off to school. He made no protest, like he normally would have. Elliot watched them and was happy that Noah seemed to bounce back. He knew that deep down there was probably more to deal with but the young man was tough. He got that from his mother. He also knew that Noah would not keep anything from Olivia so if he needed to talk, she would be there to listen.
"Ma?" Elliot called out when he walked into the apartment. He'd convinced Olivia to at least get a cup of coffee. She'd agreed.
"Elliot? Didn't you leave already?" Mrs. Stabler was having one of those days.
"I need a shower. You all set for today?" He asked.
"Yes. My nanny will be over soon," that was the old Bernie.
"Ma…" Elliot gave her a look before ducking into the bathroom. That left the two older women in his life alone with each other.
"Olivia, it is so good to see you," Bernie smiled at her son's former partner.
"It's good to see you too," Olivia smiled back.
"I'm guessing that you could use some coffee," the older woman said.
"Yes please," Olivia told her. She heard the water in the shower come on. Bernie poured her a cup of coffee and then handed it to her in a nice mug. Olivia couldn't remember the last time she'd had coffee in a mug. It had been those paper cups since the night of the BX9 attack, maybe for longer before that.
"So, Elliot couldn't shower at your place?" That statement almost had the Captain spitting out her coffee.
"He doesn't have any clothes at my place," there was no point in beating around the bush. Bernie might be having memory troubles but she wasn't blind.
"That's because of me, I suppose," she said.
"Absolutely not. It's because of me," Olivia admitted. Bernie just nodded. The Captain wondered what that nod meant but didn't get much time to think about it as there was a knock on the apartment front door. Bernie went to answer it and Olivia heard the shower shut off.
"Miss Bernie, I did not expect guests," it was the nice nurse, Antonia.
"I'm just giving Elliot a ride to work. I'm Olivia," the Captain smiled at her.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Antonia. Here to keep Miss Bernie company," the nurse smiled. Bernie huffed and headed back into the kitchen.
"I wish you luck," Olivia whispered.
"We get along ok," Antonia winked. A few minutes later, Elliot emerged from the bathroom, dressed for the day.
"Ayanna is going to be upset if I don't get into the precinct soon," he said.
"Well, I'll tell her it was Captain's orders. It was nice to see you, Bernie. Nice to meet you Antonia," Olivia smiled.
"Good to see you Olivia," Bernie smiled.
"I'll see you later Ma," Elliot gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. The two were off down the hallway, back to Olivia's SUV. Everything was back to normal – or well as normal as it had been. Still there was a path ahead to forge and the former partners were up for the challenge.
The End