"Noah, go get dressed, we're leaving in 15 minutes." Olivia called out to her son, trying to pull him away from the TV while she quickly ate her breakfast.
Noah pouted a little but eventually went to his room. As Olivia took a bite, her phone rang, and seeing the Unknown Caller displayed made her heart skip a beat. Swallowing her mouthful quickly she answered, hopeful. It had been over a week since Elliot's last call, and she knew the weekly arrangement could be skipped if the case didn't allow him to reach out.
"Hello?"
"Hey." his voice instantly relaxed her.
"Hey yourself."
"Is this a bad time?"
"No, we're getting ready to leave the house soon, but I have time."
"Great. How are you?"
"I'm fine. We're good. Noah is in full-Summer mood, with dance camp and friends' sleepovers and beach trips with the McCann's."
"Ah I remember the days where we used to be more taxi drivers than parents." Elliot joked, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.
"Yeah well, even though I don't want him to grow up too fast, I find myself wishing he could drive himself, you know?" she complained, taking another bite.
Elliot laughed.
"It'll happen soon enough."
"Don't remind me…" she said, mouth full.
At that moment, Noah came out of his room, ready to go.
"I'm ready, mom." He said, grabbing his lunch from the counter and putting it in his backpack.
"Give me a few minutes to finish this call, sweetie, and we'll get on the road." She replied, taking another bite of her breakfast.
"Who's on the phone?" he asked casually.
Olivia hesitated, not sure if she could reveal that information.
"You can tell him. Say hi from me." Elliot's voice came through the phone again.
"It's Elliot. He says hi." Olivia relayed to her son.
"Hi Elliot!" Noah shouted. "I'm going to watch tv while you finish breakfast."
"Okay honey."
Elliot waited a moment to continue their conversation.
"What are you eating for breakfast?"
"Toast." She chuckled at the question. "We have a few minutes to chat here and there, and that's one of your questions?" she teased.
"Hey, I just want to know about your day. We don't have much time left, so I'm making the most of it." He teased back.
"Are you timing us, Detective?" she asked, half teasing, half curious.
"I'm keeping track of the five minutes on my watch so it doesn't cut us off in the middle of a sentence, Benson." he replied playfully.
She smiled, finding it cute.
"How many minutes do we have left?"
"43 seconds…" he sounded disappointed.
Time flew fast while in good company.
"Hm, tell me something about the place you're in right now that doesn't compromise your position."
He laughed, making her stomach flutter.
"It's raining cats and dogs."
It was the first thing that came into his mind, which made Olivia laugh in return.
"Sounds tropical." She joked, somewhat fishing for more information about his location.
"If only." He scoffed, cautious in his answer, but ultimately telling her it wasn't that kind of destination.
A silence followed their banter, both not knowing how to end the call.
"Everything's good on your end?" Olivia asked, a hint of concern in her voice.
"Yeah. Everything's okay." He replied, and she sensed a hint of homesickness in his voice.
She wanted to ask more, but they didn't have much time.
"Have a good day, Captain." Elliot said, his voice warm.
She could imagine his eyes fixed on his watch looking at the last seconds ticking by.
"You too, Detective." She replied, a smile in her voice. "Stay safe."
She didn't get a reply, as the call disconnected by itself. Jet had programed it so the call cut at the 4 minutes and 59 seconds mark, ensuring it wouldn't be traced, and maybe because she knew the partners wouldn't be able to respect the time limit and hang up by themselves.
I'm having fun with this...so many ideas! Angst is coming in chapter 3...!