Prompt #38: Snowed in with only one bed
It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
~oOo~
"Bye, Mom!"
Olivia blew her son a kiss after he waved her goodbye.
He was going to spend Christmas with the McCanns at their vacation home in Miami, and with enough convincing, Olivia allowed Noah to go with them, on the promise that he would be back on Christmas Day.
Now, she had dropped him off at the designated terminal at JFK airport. She would miss him greatly, but it was important for him to spend time with his other family.
The McCanns were waiting inside the terminal entrance for him, and once Olivia saw Noah leave with them, she felt a bit worried.
But she figured that was just any parent's regular fear.
She could trust the McCanns, and they'd been very good to Noah.
Olivia then started driving away, deciding to go and do her grocery shopping while the weather was still pleasant.
It was 30 degrees currently, and there was a good chance that there might be a winter storm later that day. Noah's flight was due to depart in two and a half hours, and Olivia silently crossed her fingers, hoping that if bad weather were to come their way, it would hold off until he was in the air.
While at a red light, she turned the volume back up on the radio and tapped her thumbs against the steering wheel in time with the music. She couldn't help but sing along with the lyrics.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
Now there's a tree in the Grand Hotel…
She was singing to her heart's content and became distracted by the song, only coming out of her funk when the driver behind her blared their horn.
Olivia wasn't sure how long the light had been green, but she figured that it couldn't have been that long.
She rolled her eyes before stepping on the gas pedal and continuing on her way, heading to the grocery store.
She was a bit surprised that the store seemed busier than usual, but she remembered that Christmas was only a few days ago, so she figured that people were here to do last-minute shopping.
Olivia grabbed a cart and started making her way up and down the aisles, grabbing what she needed, plus some bottled water and a few surprise goodies for Noah for when he returned from his trip.
After getting everything she needed, she paid for her things and headed out of the store, finding that the snow had started to come down.
It was falling lightly for now, but the temperature had dropped about ten degrees more, and she didn't want to be outside for too long.
Olivia got all her groceries in the trunk and then left the cart in the designated drop-off place before getting in her car and preparing to make the trip back home.
After getting onto the main road and driving for a few minutes, she started to notice that she was having difficulty controlling her vehicle.
She didn't understand what was going on, but when she started to have issues with steering, she figured that her car was going to stall.
"Oh no, no, no, please!" Olivia said to herself, not wanting to have her car break down right now. She was still not close to home, and the temperature was dropping further. Looking at her dashboard, she saw that it was ten degrees outside. Near the shoulder of the main road, her car completely shut down, and she couldn't get it to start. "DAMN IT!"
She angrily hit the steering wheel, wondering what she was going to do now.
The snow had started to come down a bit more heavily, and she knew that if she didn't do something soon, she would soon start to suffer from hypothermia.
She blew air into her hands, trying to warm them up. Since the car wouldn't turn on, she couldn't get the heater to work.
For a moment, she was relieved that her car managed to last long enough for her to drop Noah off at the airport.
Because right now, she would be panicking more if Noah had still been with her when this happened.
Reaching into her jacket pocket, she pulled out her phone and dialed Elliot's number, hoping that he would pick up. She was sure that he wasn't undercover, but things could easily change.
When he answered her call, Olivia felt herself breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hey, Liv," he said. "I was just pulling some cookies out of the oven. What's up?"
She didn't want to sound frantic, but as she spoke, all of her emotions came out.
"I'm stuck on the highway," she told him. "My car broke down and it won't start up. It's freezing outside, and I can't get the heater to work." She said her exact location, and Elliot became concerned for her safety.
"I'm leaving now," he said. "I will be there soon."
Then he ended the call, with Olivia silently praying that he would make it to her in time.
She wasn't someone who really believed in a higher power, but at that moment, she prayed, asking for protection until Elliot arrived to rescue her.
While she waited for Elliot to arrive, she made one more phone call — to Triple-A, to have them come and tow her vehicle. The company responded by saying that someone would be dispatched right away and should be on the scene within five to ten minutes.
She continued to blow air into her hands, trying to keep herself warm.
Olivia tried to remember if she had a pair of mittens in the glove compartment, and to her relief once she opened the latch, she found mittens inside, then put them on, feeling a bit more relieved.
She got a text from Noah a couple of minutes later saying that he was at the gate, enjoying a cheeseburger with Connor while they waited to board their plane. Olivia was just glad that Noah was safe, but she hoped that the plane would still be able to leave. However, noticing how much the snow was coming down, Olivia figured that there might be a delay when it came to taking off.
Elliot, please get here quickly, she told herself. I'm getting really cold…
She began to shiver in her winter jacket, wishing that her car heater would work, if that was the only part of her vehicle that would function at this moment.
Once ten minutes had passed and there was still no sign of Elliot or the person from Triple-A, she began to get worried.
She looked at the weather app on her phone and saw that the temperature had dropped another five degrees. Even in her car, she could see her breath because it was so cold.
She undid her seatbelt and pulled her knees to her chest, doing her best to preserve as much body heat as she could, but she was getting desperate for warmth.
When she heard the tapping on her window, she wanted to cry tears of joy.
"Liv!" Elliot said, frantically. "I'm here. We need to leave as soon as possible. There's a heavy winter storm coming soon, and there's a high chance it might become a blizzard."
She unlocked the door and stepped outside, feeling the cold air immediately hit her face. She pulled her scarf up more to cover her nose and mouth, to try and have as little of her body completely exposed to the elements as possible.
His car was parked right behind hers, and she wanted to get all the groceries she just bought before they left. Elliot helped her to put all of the things she'd bought into the trunk of his car before having to wait a few more minutes for Triple-A to show up. Once they did, they hooked her car up to the tow truck and said that her car was going to be at a nearby auto shop for a couple of days to be examined thoroughly.
After the tow truck left, Olivia got into Elliot's car and he started to drive towards her place, but as he drove, he suddenly hit a patch of black ice.
Olivia felt herself panic as his car swerved, but he managed to get control.
"We're okay," he said. "I'll get us out of here, Liv."
They were lucky to not hit any other patches of black ice, but they were horrified to discover that the roads leading towards her apartment had been blocked off by the highway patrol due to a massive car accident. There had apparently been whiteout conditions for about fifteen minutes, and it had led to a sixty-car pile-up, leaving the roads completely blocked.
Not wanting to risk getting stuck outside in potentially more whiteout conditions, he wanted to get back home as fast as he could. Unfortunately, he couldn't really go that fast, and the snow started to come down even harder.
Elliot was lucky to make it back to his house in under a half hour in the current conditions. But once he parked the car in the garage, the wind started to howl a bit.
~oOo~
He helped Olivia to put her groceries in the fridge and then asked her if she wanted something warm to drink.
"Coffee would be great," she told him. "But I think a hot shower is calling my name first. Do you mind if I use yours?"
He nodded his head yes and she immediately headed down the hall, grabbing a towel and then heading into the bathroom.
Elliot heard the water start running soon after and forced himself to not think inappropriate thoughts about her, but with her just a couple of rooms away…
What he wouldn't give to walk down the hall and join her, seeing the water run down her gorgeous body.
He wanted to touch her, to give her pleasure.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his phone buzzing, alerting him to the bad weather outside.
Blizzard Warning until eleven PM Eastern tonight, the alert said.
Elliot realized that he and Olivia would be stuck inside the house until late this evening, but even then, with the massive pile-up out on the highway, he knew she wasn't going to be able to go home until at least tomorrow.
And he only had one bed.
How would they make this work?
It was a dilemma that they'd have to figure out eventually, but right now, he was focused on brewing some coffee and putting a few of the freshly baked cookies on a plate.
Once he finished with both of those tasks, he turned on Spotify and found his Christmas music playlist, to which he selected 'play'.
He wanted to keep his spirits up during this winter storm, and he also wanted to spend some time with Olivia.
She came out of the shower ten minutes later wearing the same clothes as before, and she had her hair pulled back in a ponytail.
Elliot couldn't help but admit to himself that she was gorgeous and that he really wanted to kiss her.
He poured her a cup of coffee and she took a few sips, enjoying the taste of the hot, fresh liquid.
"Cookie?" he asked, holding the plate. She nodded yes and then took a bite, enjoying the taste of peppermint. "Are they good? I've never bought this mix before."
"Yeah, it's really good," she replied, flashing him a smile. "It tastes even better with the coffee."
He swore he could feel his cheeks turning a bit red as she smiled at him. Elliot forced himself to do his best to calm himself down and focus on the words coming from Perry Como.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in every store…
"'But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be on your own front door,'" Olivia chimed in, and Elliot found himself smiling at her. He hadn't really heard her sing before, but she definitely had a beautiful voice.
He had always enjoyed Christmas music and the entire holiday season. He always had good memories of the holiday, especially when his kids were growing up.
"Where's Noah?" he questioned, curious about where the preteen was. He had been surprised to not see him in the car with Olivia when he had gone to get her from the side of the road.
"At the airport," she replied. "He's spending a few days with the McCann's for the holidays, and he's supposed to be back sometime on Christmas Day. But now, I'm not sure if this storm is going to affect their plans."
"Where are they headed off for vacation?"
Olivia sipped her coffee again before answering him.
"They have a secondary home in Miami," she said. "It's a pretty nice place. They've invited me to come along on their next trip, which is sometime in the spring, and I'm going to go."
She unlocked her phone and showed Elliot the pictures she had of the home, pictures that she'd gotten in text conversations with Mrs. McCann.
"Oh, that is a nice place," Elliot said, after looking at the photos. "Really nice…I love that pool."
It ended up being just casual conversation while they shared the plate of cookies, Christmas music still playing in the background.
"Elliot, thank you," Olivia said quietly. "For taking me in, letting me stay here."
He placed a hand on top of hers for a brief moment before pulling it away. "Of course, Liv," he replied. "I wasn't about to let you freeze to death out there. You're welcome to come over here anytime you want."
It was at that moment that she found herself staring at him, and he returned the look. After twenty-five years of pining and longing for one another, they finally decided that enough was enough.
She stepped forward and kissed him, and he was immediately cupping her cheek, returning the kiss.
He'd been spending years thinking about how their first kiss would go, and he wasn't disappointed. He wanted to kiss her again…and again…among other things.
Elliot pulled away from the kiss, and he told her that he wanted to continue, but he wanted to make the room a bit warmer before they did anything.
"It's going to get very cold soon, even more than what it is now," Elliot said, holding her hand. "I'm going to get a fire going…and then we can pick things up again."
Making love in front of a roaring fire?
It sounded incredibly romantic, and she was looking forward to it.
Olivia went to sit on the couch while Elliot placed a few logs in the fireplace and then lit a match before tossing it onto the logs. The fire soon crackled in the background as Elliot made his way over to Olivia, holding out his hand for her to take it.
She didn't hesitate to take his hand, standing up and then kissing him again.
"Want to stay here?" he asked. "Or do you want to move to the bed? I only have one…"
Olivia smirked at him. "I'm sure we'll get there at some point…"
He returned the smirk. "Let's get to it, then."
The author of this SVU - Heart for the Holidays story will be revealed in January