A New York Evening

by LangsonGal

Based on the Video Killed The Radio Star episode in s23. Trevor and Olivia's date at the gala and what happens afterwards. Originally a one shot but with all the lovely comments and encouragement, this will be multichapter :)

21. Chapter 21

Hi everyone, thank you for being so patient and waiting for this so patiently. I have been working on my other fiction for quite some time and I know Ive kind of neglected this - but I required a bit of a break from it because I was suffering writer's block - but here's something new and with my other fiction starting to wrap up, I will tend to this properly and finish it up at some point too. Please be patient with me, please know I wont abandon this without finishing it :)

Anyway, maybe reread the last chapter if you need to re-cap :) Let me know what you think!

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"Ava Langan has the power to bring her whole family down," Ava announced sardonically as she flipped over on to her other side, listening to her father vomiting in the bathroom. "I'm sorry you guys," she told Olivia and Noah who were both worse-for-wear just like her father who, to her recollection, she had never witnessed sick.

"Its okay honey," Liv managed to murmur. "Are you okay?," she rolled over, ignoring the swirling in her stomach that had afflicted them all. Liv had woken up twice to both kids vomiting at different times and Trevor woke up with a fever and knew immediately he was unwell.

"Yeah… just want to sleep," Ava replied. "But I can get you guys something if you need."

"No sweetie, we all have water, we can order food in later."

Ava didn't need any further convincing She got closer to Liv and cuddled her. "Hope Daddy's okay," she added.

"He is…"

Trevor tried his best to push through and get dressed for work while the rest of his family slept. He had zero energy and was so cold with his fever just like Olivia and Noah that it was hard to concentrate on much else. He went downstairs to try to warm himself up with a coffee when Rafael called him. He was supposed to be at court at 10am for the appeal for the Steedhams.

"Hey…" Trevor answered, taking a sip of the coffee, wondering how it would feel in his stomach.

"Hi, I have a contact at Narcotics who sent me a copy of Rhiana Olsen's police interview where she sighed her rights and spoke about her daughter… you can submit this for evidence. I can come and drop it off to you this morning."

"Oh thank you," Trevor murmured, taking a second sip that soured his stomach, he was about to say another thing when he grabbed the kitchen trash and began to vomit again, quickly hitting the hang up button on the phone so Raf didn't have to hear it.

He hung his head over the garbage for a second, making sure he was done. He emptied the coffee in to the sink. He could see Rafael calling again. "You're sick too, huh?"

"Mmm,"

"Do you want me to do the appeal for you? You can't go to court if you're as sick as Liv or the kids…"

"I can't let you do that for me."

"Yeah- you can, you can't go in like that Trevor, are you fevery?"

"Mmmhm," he replied. "I can try to get the appeal moved-"

"Stop being stubborn. Send me your paperwork, I'll file the appeal, introduce new evidence and speak for the family. You'll just need to give them a call and let them know you have someone more competent to do the job now," he joked.

Trevor chuckled. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You can buy me dinner or something in return. Send me your files, contact your client and I'll sort through it all before I head in to court."

"Thank you, you're the best. I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it, go and get back in to bed with your barf family and so help me, Langan if I get sick…" he chuckled.

"I think it would have hit you by now…" Trevor replied. "I think you're safe. I've been sharing a bed and affection with these monsters…".

"Well, I'll have to keep away from Benj today until I know for sure," he replied. "And actually, when you're feeling better, I have something I'd like to discuss with you, a favour maybe."

"Sure," Trevor replied. "Thanks Rafael, let me know how it goes or if you need anything."

/

Trevor climbed back in to bed, barely having the energy to get changed out of his suit that he had optimistically put on, thinking he could just deal with the day. "Sweetheart, are you alright?" Olivia asked, running her hand through his hair that was starting to get a little curl about it. It was still a little damp from the shower.

"Mmm…" he replied.

"Do you want something?," she asked in her own sick, raspy voice.

"No, I'm okay, I just need to sleep so I don't puke."

"K…" Olivia replied.

/

It was well in to the late afternoon before any of the Benson-Langan family got out of bed. Ava started developing a little bit of congestion and a cough in to the evening and Olivia realised that they all had the onset of the flu; not the kind of flu people complained of lightly when they really meant that they had a bad cold, but this was a strong bout of influenza that had knocked them all down.

It seemed as though Noah had been hit the hardest, he hadn't stopped puking and his fever had spiked. As awful as Liv felt to get out of bed, she knew she had to. She had to see if she could get Melinda to come and see Noah or if she had to take him to urgent care.

"Where are you going?" Ava asked softly, waking up as Olivia tried to climb across her, slightly trapped by the teen.

"I'm just going downstairs to call the doctor to come and see Noah and you," she told her, "just rest, honey," she added, feeling her daughter's forehead, "you're still a little fever-y."

Ava didn't need much convincing, she rolled in to Olivia's spot and closed her eyes, burying her face in to the pillow.

Olivia vomited twice in the downstairs bathroom right after trying to drink a little water. She made the call to Melinda and thankfully as soon as her friend realised how sick she was, she promised to be over as soon as she could.

She sat at the kitchen counter, her body felt too heavy to move. She was overcome with a bout of exhaustion and struggled to stay awake. She sipped water slowly. She finally made her way to the couch, wrapping a blanket around herself.

Less than an hour later, Melinda arrived. As soon as Olivia opened the door her friend seemed shocked. She was wearing a surgical mask. "Rafael told me how quickly this brought you all down, I'm not taking any chances," she smiled at the detective. The only way Olivia knew she was acting good-naturedly was the crinkles beside her eyes that happened when the ME smiled.

"Yeah, we all feel so shit," Olivia replied, "I can barely move, Ava has a cough and is still vomiting a little on and off and Noah has a high grade fever. Trevor is trying his best not to puke his guts up…"

"Wow, okay… let's look at the kids first, show me to them…"

Realising how weak Olivia was, Melinda helped her slowly up the stairs and down to her and Trevor's room.

"Sweetheart, are you there?" Trevor mumbled from beneath the pillow.

"Yeah, I'm here… Melinda from work is here to check on the kids…" Olivia told him, clearing her throat. "I'm going to turn a lamp on."

"Okay, Hi Melinda," he murmured, not able to even lift his head.

"Hi Trevor," she replied. She circled the bed to see both the kids on the other side. She hadn't met Trevor's daughter before, but she knew that she and Olivia had grown very close very quickly. Olivia turned on the lamp and took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Mom?" Ava opened her eyes, seeing a strange woman looking at her. She looked around for her father.

"I'm here baby," Liv replied, patting the teen's leg. "This is Melinda, she's my workmate and she's a doctor. She's going to examine you and Noah, okay?"

Ava made a whining noise.

"I'll be quick, I promise," Melinda smiled at her warmly. She measured Ava's temperature first and listened to her chest. She asked her a few questions about her vomiting frequency. "Okay, sweetheart, squeeze my hand for me as hard as you can," she held out her hand to Ava who squeezed tightly.

"Excellent," Melinda smiled. She turned to Liv, "Ava has a little bit of wheezing going on, any history of asthma?"

"Just when she was little," Trevor replied without lifting his head or even opening his eyes.

"K… we'll keep an eye on that and it sounds like a cough is developing. I need to know if the wheeze gets worse," she told Liv. She turned to "Ava, you did well, do you think we could lift up Noah so I could examine him?"

"Mmhm," she agreed.

"If you sit up, honey, Mom'll grab him," Liv told Ava, using all of her energy to get up but Melinda was faster, she gently scooped Noah up and set him down on to the edge of the bed.

After examining everyone, Trevor got himself up to release his stomach and Noah woke up seconds later to follow suite. "I think I might give you guys an anti-nausea shot, just to help with putting something back in your stomachs and I'll get an oral pack of anti-nausea pills couriered over here in the morning for you all to take the second you feel nauseous tomorrow."

"Thanks Mel," Olivia told her, feeling relief that perhaps the whole family could stop vomiting.

"I think you all have a case of the flu, it's going around with the seasons turning," she explained as she went to her bag and rifled around for the some syringes and the anti-nausea drug. She held it under the light to examine the correct dosage. "Should I wake up Noah?," she asked, nodding at the syringe.

"Mmm," Olivia considered it. He had just drifted off to sleep. "Trev, can you hold him?," Liv asked. Wordlessly, Trevor sat up and took the little boy in his arms. Noah stirred a little and whined. "Keep still for me, Bug…" Trevor murmured as Melinda leaned over, jabbing him in the upper arm that Trevor held tight, knowing Noah would jerk his arm at the first burn of pain.

His eyes shot open and he let out a yelp of pain, trying exactly as they thought he would, to pull his arm away. "Just a second, sweetheart," Melinda spoke to him softly. "I'm sorry," she apologised, holding a cotton puff over the injection site, massaging it softly in place. "It's over now," she told him, "you're okay." She put a small circular bandaid over the spot and gave Trevor a nod to let him know she was done.

Noah whimpered and curled in to his father's body. Melinda went for Trevor next before turning to Ava, "Okay sweetie, it'll just be a small prick in the arm and you should stop feeling like barfing within an hour or so…"

Ava glanced at Liv and she realised that Trevor's daughter was afraid of needles. "Mel won't hurt you, I promise," she told Ava, "and I can hold your hand."

"I hate shots," Ava murmured.

"I promise it doesn't hurt," Trevor added, sidling up to his daughter. "Here, hold my hand."

Ava didn't have to be talked in to it. Trevor remembered when his daughter was small, trying to get her to the pathology to take a blood sample was almost impossible. She screamed and cried and it took two nurses, Trevor and a whole lot of bribing for her to go along with it. She had howled in pain the entire time and once finished, she skipped ahead on her way out with a lollipop as if nothing had ever happened.

"I'd rather barf than have the shot," she added.

Mel smiled at her. "It'll sting for about 2 seconds, far less time than barfing takes. You can close your eyes if you like."

Ava took a deep breath and clenched her eyes shut tightly and waited. She felt her father's hand in hers. She squeezed it tightly as she felt the quick sting of the injection. She tried to hold still and not flinch. "Good," Melinda smiled, "you did good."

Trevor kissed his daughter's temple and let go of her hand. "Mel just wants us to feel better," he told his daughter, "you did good, I remember how much you hate needles."

"I wouldn't have known," Melinda smiled at the teen, "you complained far less than my own daughter who doesn't have any fear of getting stuck," she told her. She turned to Olivia who was sitting on the bed, looking a little worse-for-wear.

"Can I go back to sleep?" Ava asked softly, wiping her teary-eyes.

"Of course you can, sweetheart," Melinda told her, "we're finished here. We're just gonna stick Mom and you can all go back to resting."

"How are you with needles, love?" Trevor asked Olivia, wondering if she had a phobia.

"I'm okay," she replied, waiting for her friend to put together a new syringe. She measured out the dose carefully and Olivia showed her her arm. She felt Trevor's hand reach for her across Ava, resting on her back.

It was over with quickly and almost painlessly. Olivia didn't feel particularly bothered by the injection. She watched Melinda pack up, feeling completely devoid of any energy. "I can see myself out, Liv," she told her friend, realising that she was in no shape to be going up and down stairs.

"I'll see you out," Trevor replied, getting up. He turned to Olivia and nodded to the bed, "lay down, baby, you need to rest."

Olivia didn't argue with him. She said goodbye to her friend and got in to bed on Trevor's side, sidling up to Noah and reaching out for Ava, grabbing her hand. "We'll feel better soon, I promise," she murmured.

"I wanna barf again," Ava admitted. "I'm trying to hold it."

"Get it out, sweetie, you'll feel better."

Ava reluctantly got up and made her way to the bathroom.

/

Despite Olivia and the kids developing a nasty cough, Trevor was the first of the four to shake the flu. It hit him the fastest, but he seemed to be able to recover in far less time than the others. Noah had finally stopped vomiting and had broken his fever but the cough was incessant and hard for him and Olivia to sleep beside him.

Letting the two girls rest in Ava's bed to get some sleep, Trevor set Noah up on the couch after helping him in to some fresh, clean pajamas. "Daddy, you don't let me eat on the couch," he told Trevor, surprised by the small tray of toast Trevor set down in his lap.

"I know, but we're all unwell and I'd like you to eat something," he smiled, "I'll get you your water bottle and I'm gonna have a little breakfast as well and today we're going to hang out on the couch while Mommy and Ava rest more."

"Dad, Mom and Ava are so sick, are they gonna get better soon?" he asked worriedly as Trevor returned with his drink.

"I think they'll be fine, we are so lucky that Melinda was able to help us feel a bit better and maybe she'll be back to keep an eye on their coughs… but you're still not very well either, mister, your cough is almost as bad as Mommy's, you're just younger and have more energy."

Trevor took a seat on the couch in front of the coffee table where all of his things were set up to try to work a little.

Rafael had worked a little magic with his appeal and date was set and now the real work was to begin. CPS had even done a welfare check on the child and noticed that he was in distress and there was a debate as to whether or not the child should have remained in the care of his adoptive parents until the case was over.

The Steedham family wouldn't have been able to take another incidence of the child being taken from them so everybody agreed to leave this as they were and expedite the appeal. Rafael was all in, Trevor had dozens of emails from him helping with arguments and suggesting different avenues to take to the point of Trevor inviting him to be the Steedham's co-counsel.

He and Noah sat in silence with Noah watching cartoons and movies while Trevor worked and stopped intermittently to get snacks and check on his girls.

After lunch, Olivia came downstairs in her winter pajamas despite it not being cold. Neither Trevor nor Noah were cold, they'd had the cooler on and Noah had disrobed down to his tank and underwear under a thin blanket and Trevor sat in a t-shirt and boxers. He looked up, "Hi baby," he greeted her.

"Hey…" sniffled, clearing her throat.

She had inflamed and congested sinuses and her nose was a little red from blowing it. She looked tired and unwell and on the pale side.

"How are you feeling?," he asked as she plonked down beside him.

"Crappy," she replied with a sigh.

"Poor thing," he remarked, reaching over to stroke her hair, drawing her close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"I hate being sick," she muttered grouchily.

"I know, nobody likes it, baby. Do you want me to maybe draw you a bath or something?"

She shook her head. "No, I just wanna be near you…"

He gave a faint smile for her neediness. "Okay," he kissed her temple. He wondered why Noah hadn't said anything but realised from his arm limply hanging over the side of the couch, and his nibbled toast on the plate on the floor that he was fast asleep.

"I had a really weird thought last night…" he told her, "I don't know if I was just being crazy but…" he glanced at Noah to make double sure that he wasn't awake, "I was thinking when we get back from Europe, maybe we could get the kids …" he leaned over and whispered, "a puppy…. To teach them some responsibilities and because Ava has asked for one forever and I know Noah has grand plans…"

Olivia smiled, "It could work…" she said slowly, "I could't do that for him in the past because of work — but theres four of us and a sometimes nanny, we could make it work, but something we should talk about when we're not sick and coming up with ridiculous fantastical ideas."

Her remark roused a smile out of him. He looked tired still, worn down by his less severe version of the flu. He could still hear the wheeze in both kids and even Olivia's chest when they sat close. "Probably a good idea, maybe when we're out of the flu fog we'll think this was the dumbest idea ever."

"Well… what type are you thinking? Because I know Noah has got big ideas."

"I don't know, I think that's something that the kids could negotiate and I'll want to take into consideration things like fur-shedding because I can't deal with that."

"Me either," Olivia replied, "I don't want fur on everything unless that dog knows how to vacuum his or herself."

Trevor laughed.

She sighed. She felt his lips on her temple and was happy that he was home with her. Just having him by her side made her feel less alone. "Do you want me to get you something to eat, sweetheart?," he asked caressing her hair absently while he stared back at the laptop screen debating whether or not to just shut it down and pack it in for the day.

"No, I can get food if I need-"

"I know, but I'm happy to get it for you, I'd rather you rest, I'm feeling better than you." His internal debate was answered as he closed the laptop.

"How about you rest here for a few minutes and I'll get you something. There's not much left to eat, but I think there's some bread, I'll do an order shortly."

"No, honestly, honey, I'm okay."

He relented and placed a cushion down on the other side of him and wrapped his arms around her, pulling in to a warm embrace. "K, well… just rest here with me then…"

"Thanks…" she let her voice trail off.

"For what, sweetie?," he asked gently, "why are you thanking me?"

She got more comfortable, resting her head upon his chest, an arm circling his torso. "I don't know… I guess this is the first time in a long time where I've been unwell and had someone who's going through it with me and still manages to make me the priority and so I'm thankful," she explained, clearing her hoarse throat that felt irritated and dry. "Because I'm not alone and because I know you feel shitty too…"

She felt his arms close around her, his hand resting on the small of her back, grazing the fabric of her thin-fabric sweat shirt with his other hand, absently rubbing her back with all the love and affection that filled him.

"I'm not feeling that bad," he admitted, "but I'm always going to be here to look after you, Liv. I know you'd do the same for me and the way that it hurts to see my kids sick, it hurts to see you sick too, I just want my family to feel better so, of course I'm going to stay home and look after you all."

"I know, I'm just saying… the way you care and show your love makes me feel so warm and lucky. I'm lucky to have you love me and I'm lucky to be able to love you."

"Oh," his breath caught and an adoring smile crossed his paled, dry lips, "honey, that's one of the most beautiful things you've ever said to me. I'm lucky too," he added, lifting his neck to kiss her forehead, "I'm lucky to have you and Noah and Ava and the love and endless heart you put in to us, Liv, I hope I never grow complacent in letting you know how deeply I appreciate that, because every day I wake up grateful and with relief to find you in bed beside me…"

Olivia tilted her chin so that she could look up in to his gorgeous blue-green eyes that were flecked with tiny hints of hazel when she truly gazed in to them. "I love you."

He lifted his head and kissed her lips gently. "I love you too, honey."

He felt her sighing against him. He caressed her hair as they laid in peace with Noah's movie playing on the TV. She could barely keep her eyes open, she hadn't remembered a time she felt such exhaustion and she had no idea how Trevor managed to evade that part of it.

Trevor could tell Olivia was asleep by the even rise and fall of her chest against his. He closed his eyes too, enjoying the warmth of their embrace. It wasn't often they laid this close or felt this needy toward one another, but feeling under-the-weather turned her to mush who needed extra love and attention.

He understood, everybody liked to be treated with kid gloves when they weren't well.

/

Ava sat at the dining table, her face propped up by her elbow on the tabletop. Ordinarily, her father would have told her to get her elbows off the table, but he was just happy to see her sitting up. "Here, honey," he put the glass of watered down orange juice in front of her. "I know it's not the one you like but I haven't had the chance to do the groceries yet."

"Its okay, thanks Dad," she replied croakily. She had almost entirely lost her voice from coughing. She sipped her juice, bit by bit.

There was a knock at the door that Trevor had been expecting. He made his way over and opened it up.

He was surprised to find not just Rafael but also another man. They were holding bags of what Trevor figured was groceries. "Hi, we've come to save you guys," Raf smiled. He turned to the gentleman in a suit behind him, "this is my partner, Benji; Benji, this is Trevor."

"Nice to meet you, I'd shake your hand but Rafael told me if I make him sick he'd take me to court," Trevor replied, trying to make a joke.

Benji rolled his eyes and shook his head; he stuck his hand out to shake Trevor's anyway. "You guys have been sick for a few days, I'm sure if Rafael was gonna get it, he would have had it by now when Ava and Noah were the most communicable."

Rafael rolled his eyes but smiled, "Benj is a doctor so he feels like his ideas on germs will completely dispel mine."

"Sweetheart, they are not ideas, they are facts," Benji argued back, leaving Trevor looking amused. "So, are you coming in, or are you going to stand out there in case you get sick?," he asked.

"I said I wasn't coming in, but Benji insisted that we bring you guys some food and cook dinner, just… please try not to breathe on me."

He pushed past Trevor as if he had already been formally invited in. "Oh, that's not really necessary, you don't need to cook, I am probably well enough to cook,"

"Lies, you look like shit," Rafael told him over his shoulder as he made his way inside their apartment. Trevor motioned for Benji to come in as well. He was more polite, he took his leather shoes off at the door, revealing a cute pattern of pills and stethoscopes on his socks. Trevor was amused. He showed Benji the way toward the kitchen. Rafael was chatting to Ava who he immediately felt worried about. She looked tired and weak, thinner and more waif-like than usual.

"Hi honey," Benji greeted her, "you don't look so crash-hot." Ava glanced up at him and gave him her best smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Poor thing has developed a pretty nasty cough," Trevor remarked.

Rafael felt proud of his partner who instantly hit doctor gears. He pulled a chair out next to Ava. "Can I look at your hands for a second?," he asked her.

She thought it was a weird question but held a hand out. Benji motioned for the other one too. He held them in his own, soft hands for a minute. Ava gave Rafael a quizzical look

Benji looked up at the teen, catching her expression and gave a chuckle, "sorry, I should have explained, I just mentioned t.o your Dad; I'm a GP. You just looks a little dehydrated."

"She did spend the past almost three days vomiting. Liv's ME friend from work gave us all an anti-nausea shot. The girls had to keep taking the pills after it wore off," Trevor explained.

"No bueno," Ben replied, giving her hands a squeeze. "May I?" He motioned to touch Ava's face.

She nodded. He checked the inside of her eyelids and asked her to squeeze his hands. "Do you have any cramps or dizziness or headaches?"

Ava nodded, "My stomach is hungry but I don't want to eat anything, I don't want to throw it up again and I've been a little dizzy when I lay down."

He let go of her hands and stood up, pushing the chair back in. "I know it's rotten to eat when you feel sick, but you're very dehydrated, sweetheart, you can end up seriously ill if you don't eat something," he told her. He took the two bags from the floor that he'd put down as he saw Ava's pale face. He put the bags up and pulled out a few bottles of gatorade. He showed her, "grape or strawberry?"

Ava made a face, "Strawberry, I guess…"

He opened the lid and put it in front of her. "I need you to drink this," he glanced at the clock above the kitchen counter, "within an hour, okay?"

"I hate gatorade."

"She hates super sweet drinks," Trevor said, explaining to Benji and Rafael who were both confused. "But honey, Raf and Benji brought us this stuff to help us feel better so please be more grateful and Benji is a doctor, we're not going against doctor's orders."

Ben joined Rafael, taking items out of the bags. "We're going to make some chicken noodle soup and a mild lentil, vegetable curry, how is the vegetable intake in this house?"

"High," Trevor replied with a smile. "Ava could live on vegetables if we let her and Noah is more about disguising things."

"Excellent."

"Benji's got some Sri Lankan heritage," Rafael told them, "he makes an amazing meal, Portuguese on his Dad's side — I don't want to sound like a dick, but he is an amazing cook."

Trevor couldn't help but to feel happy for Olivia's best friend, it was the first time he had encountered him as good-natured, free-spirited and a lot in love. He could tell by the way Rafael looked at his partner, the way he found a way to touch him absently — proud of him, talking him up and wanting everyone to like him.

"I just find it relaxing and I guess it helps that my parents both loved cooking," he admitted.

"I mean, it's so unnecessary," Trevor told them, "but … now I'm curious to try the vegetable curry."

"It would be our pleasure to cook for you all, the way Rafael boasts about you all is so lovely and I can't wait to get to know you all too. I would also really like to make sure Noah and Olivia are okay as well, Rafael said Olivia has barely looked at her phone in days and it's unlike her."

"Yeah, Liv is so unwell. It's usually her go-to to push through. I haven't seen her sick for a lot of years, not this kind of sick anyway."

"Maybe before we start cooking, Benji can check Noah and Liv out."

"Yeah, absolutely, they're both in the living room sleeping." Trevor replied.

/

"You poor thing…" Rafael greeted Olivia with a warm hug when she slowly and weakly entered the kitchen. She looked as awful as Ava had complained about. Olivia leaned in to her friend's affection. He was holding Noah too, not something that he had ever really had time for but he seemed quite invested in being enviable Uncle Rafa in the more recent times.

She really did think Benji had softened him up a lot.

"Poor Mom, huh?" Rafael looked at Noah, giving him a little smile.

"Mommy can we watch another movie?" Noah asked, remembering to cover his mouth as he coughed.

"Uncle Rafa and Benji really want us to have something to drink and Dad's getting you some Graham crackers because you need something in your tummy, sweetheart," she told him.

"But… maybe I can set you up in the living room."

"I'll do it," Raf told her, "you go sit down at the table and Benji will get you some gatorade. We'll put some in Noah's drink bottle and make sure he's all set."

"Thank you Rafael, you're a new man with that handsome boyfriend of yours," she managed a wink over at Benj who smiled warmly at her as he cut up some vegetables.

"Ava, will you watch a movie with me?" Noah asked his sister.

"Okay," she replied, "you choose one, Bug, I'll come and sit down in a minute," she promised. Rafael took Noah back to the living room.

"It's so nice to see you again, Ben," Olivia told Rafael's boyfriend who she had met a few times now. She liked him from the second she met him. He was incredibly sweet, gorgeous and preppy and best of all, she was expanding Rafael's ability to show affection and compassion.

"I wish it was under better circumstances," he replied, "but as soon as Rafael told me how worried he was that you were all so sick, I suggested we bring some food across so that he didn't feel as helpless and that way I could check on you all."

Olivia gave him her best smile, "You guys are so kind… I had my work ME come and see us a few days ago, but have just been in such a fog ever since."

"I know, Trevor mentioned. Honey, you look like you're struggling to stand, go take a seat," Ben ordered her as Rafael returned. Raf didn't give Liv a chance to protest, he took her by the shoulder gently and guided her to the dining table and plonked a gatorade in front of her. "Drink—"

He went back to the kitchen and all but pushed Trevor out of the way who was taking a painfully long time to prepare Noah a snack. "Give me that, I'll take care of that, you look like shit, Langan, go and have a rest."

"I'm okay,"

"You don't look okay and you're slower than my great grandmother… this kid needs to eat something today, not in three years."

Trevor rolled his eyes. "I don't miss your sass," he muttered.

Rafael smiled to himself as Trevor relented. "Well, I guess I could go take a shower, I was too scared to shower earlier in case the kids needed me and Liv was asleep."

"They'll be fine, go take take your shower," Liv told him with a little smile. He leaned over her and kissed her forehead and paused to kiss Ava's as well on his way upstairs.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Liv turned to the teen.

She shrugged. "I drank half of this and want to vomit— it's so sweet."

"I know you don't like it, but let it sit for a little bit. Maybe laying down again might help," Olivia suggested. Ava just nodded. She slowly got herself up and stopped by Olivia to give her a hug, Liv hugged her back warmly. She felt her forehead. "Still warm, huh?"

Ava nodded, "but freezing…"

"As soon as I'm finished here," Benji cut in, "I'll take your temperature," he told her, "and if it's high, we can do a few things to break the fever. Are you very cold?"

Ava nodded, "not like I was the other day…"

"Okay honey go lay down, take your drink with you, maybe it'd be okay with Benji if you watered down the rest of it so it's not as sweet."

"The more fluid the better," Benji smiled. "Leave it there on the table and I'll fix it with water for you and bring it in to the living room when I come to take your temperature."

Ava made her way back to the living room to lay down and watch a movie with Noah. She felt overwhelmed by fatigue as she laid her head down.

/

"Liv— drink a little of that gatorade," Benji commanded her gently, watching her fuss with the label of the unopened bottle. She glanced up at him. She was definitely lethargic, he thought. She was slow to react, slow on her feet and looking paler than all the other times he'd met her.

"Huh?" She gave him a blank stare.

He nodded toward the grape Gatorade, "I need you to drink that, love."

"I will… I'm just.. not that thirsty."

"I understand, but that's because you're dehydrated and your body is making you think you don't want it. When was the last time you vomited?," he wanted to know. He exchanged glances with Rafael before washing his hands and wiping them on a dish towel in the kitchen.

"Late last night, I think."

"Early this morning," Trevor corrected her, "because she didn't take Zofran yesterday afternoon."

"Okay, are you still nauseous?" Benji asked, getting a few things from his shoulder satchel he'd brought along and then coming around to sit with her again. He had looked her over in the living room when he'd arrived but now he'd seen her up and about, he realised that she was at a more dangerous point of dehydration than the others. It was her slowness, her inability to actively follow the conversation without vaguely staring at them.

Olivia shrugged. "A bit."

"Okay, let's check your temperature," different to Melinda, Benji had a thermometer gun that he could press against her forehead for a much quicker result. Trevor took a seat, worried about how immediately concerned Benji had grown. He leaned forward and let it rest against the warm skin of her forehead and clicked the button. She was wearing her winter pajamas despite it being so warm that both he and Rafael were wearing t-shirts and had debated wearing shorts.

He retracted it and glanced at the reading. "Your fever is kind still kind of high," he thought for a second. "Olivia, I really need you to drink that Gatorade because I'm concerned about you."

Trevor reached over with concern and opened the lid. "Please drink it, sweetheart," he glanced at her, "I want you to get better."

She slowly and gingerly picked it up without a word and took a few tiny sips. "You work your best on that drink," Benji told her, "and I'll go take the kid's temperature and take Ava's drink to her."

Trevor sucked in a breath and glanced at Liv, "honey, I know you don't want to drink that, but please, I hate seeing you this sick, I need you to get better as soon as possible."

"I'm sorry," she apologised, "I wish I was better," she answered.

Trevor dragged his chair close, ignoring Rafael in the kitchen preparing food. He slid his arms around Olivia and drew her close to him. "I'm not upset or frustrated with you, sweetheart, I just really, really don't like you feeling like this. I feel so helpless, so I need you to follow Benji's advice."

He kissed her cheek and then her temple and and her dry lips.

Raf smiled to himself, realising just how much love was between his best friend and Trevor. He could see the desperation in Trevor's eyes, his helpless need for the woman that he loved to get better.

Olivia took three big gulps of the gatorade, trying to appease Trevor, hating that he felt bad.

"Thanks…" he gave her a little smile. "I'm sure you'll feel better even if you don't want to drink it. I'm going to get you something to snack on too, okay?"

She just nodded, trying hard to breathe through the nauseousness that hit her only seconds after swallowing the gatorade.

Trevor got up and went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, forgetting that they'd not really been grocery shopping. "Trev, there's some bags still here on the floor, there's some groceries in there — I figured you guys probably wouldn't have left the house in a few days."

Trevor smiled, finding a couple of grocery bags on the floor. He lifted them and put them on the countertop out of Rafael's way. "Thank you so much," he told Olivia's friend, putting a hand meaningfully on his shoulder, "honestly, this is so kind of you and Benji."

"You're welcome," Rafael replied. He nodded to the dining table, "where's Liv?"

They both heard her in the bathroom, vomiting up the gatorade she'd just drank. "Fuck," Trevor sighed. "I thought she was getting better."

"She's not herself, even I can see that…" Rafael replied.

Benji returned and put his thermometer away. "Trevor, it might be a good idea for me to write a refer for Olivia to go to the hospital for fluids. If she's not holding anything down, it's a problem."

"Really? It's that serious?," he asked, feeling instantly wracked with concern.

"Yeah, when was the last time she had anything to eat or drink?" Benji asked.

"She got out of bed early this morning and she said she was going to make some herbal tea and something light — I went back to sleep with the kids but I think that was it."

"She just seems a little lethargic and slow to respond, her skin is pale and I tested her with a little pinch to her skin for dehydration. Was she like this this morning when she got up? You said she came downstairs and slept for awhile with you on the couch before we came."

Trevor thought, "Yeah, she came down around 11, we both fell asleep but I got up after an hour and she slept until you guys arrived so that was most of the day."

Olivia reappeared and slowly found her way to a seat. "Liv, I think I need you to go to hospital for some fluids, we're really worried about you not keeping anything down."

"Oh, no," she shook her head, "I'll be fine."

"No," Trevor said firmly, "if Benji says you need to go to the hospital, I'm taking you to the hospital."

"You need to look after the kids,"

"We'll stay and look after the kids," Rafael replied, "I'm responsible, Benji can help them if they need something medically."

"That's right… I really want you to go and get treated. I just don't have access to an anti-nausea shot or the ability to give you fluids on the spot."

"Okay," Liv sighed.

"Okay, I'll write the referral."

Olivia looked at Trevor with sadness, "Can you help me find something to put on? I can't go in my pajamas."

"Of course, sweetie," he gave her a weak smile. "You want us to go now?" He asked the pair.

"Yeah," Benji nodded. "They might not even choose to keep her overnight, might just give her some fluids and let her go."

As they got to the landing of the stairs, Trevor grew impatient with Olivia's slow movements and despite feeling less than wonderful himself, he still was doing better than the rest of his family. He swept Liv up in his arms, ignoring her protests, taking her upstairs, smiling back at their company who seemed semi-amused had it not been such a serious situation.

Trevor set Olivia down on the bed. "Sit there, baby, I'll find you something to wear."

He walked in to the closet and sifted through her folded clothes and found some gym pants and a hoodie. "Here, something comfortable."

"Thanks…"

He got changed too and left for the hospital almost immediately after.

/

"Can I tell you something?" Olivia murmured quietly as they took a seat in the waiting room before triage called her in.

She held one of his hands in both of hers, clutching on to him. He could tell that she was a little anxious.

"Of course," he turned to her, giving her all of his attention.

"I've only ever been to hospital for work stuff, you know, to get checked over — I've never been to the hospital cos I'm actually sick."

"It'll be okay," Trevor told her, realising that she was worried and maybe a little scared. "Ben didn't think you were in danger of anything serious, he was thinks you're too dehydrated to fix at home given that you're still having a bit of trouble keeping things down again."

"Do you have the aches too?," she asked. He gently pulled his hand from hers and put his arm around her and drew her close.

"No, sweetie, what kind of aches?"

"Aches to the bone, like — everything hurts. Ava told me her legs hurt and I knew what she meant, it's just a dull pain that hurts everywhere — I can't explain it. It comes in waves, I woke up early this morning with the pain so bad I was clenching my teeth."

Trevor buried his lips in her hair. "I think we'll mention that to the nurse when you get called in." He paused, "but don't worry, you'll be fine, you'll get the care that you need and we can go back home to the kids."

"Okay. I hope I won't need to stay overnight."

"Me too, but whatever the doctor says goes," he told her firmly. "If you have to stay tonight, I'll go home and get a change of clothes for us both and I'll organise the kids and I'll come right back to stay with you so that you're not alone."

"If I have to stay here, you'll have to go home and be with the kids, I'll put my brave girl pants on," she managed a smile.

"Don't worry, we'll work it out, but hopefully you can just get your fluids and go…" Trevor replied. He kissed her as she slid her arms around his torso, resting her head in the crook of his arm.

The doctor called them in and together they went in to the triage room for Olivia to give over her referral and to give all of her medical and insurance information.

/

"Is Mommy okay?" Noah asked, Rafael, trying to refuse his dinner. It wasn't lost on Rafael that Ava was staring at him for some indication.

"Mom is fine, I promise," he assured them both, "your Dad is with her, they are just waiting for a doctor to check her over and then she can get some meds and be home before you know it."

"Why couldn't she just drink the Gatorade like me?" Ava asked.

"Because Mommy didn't take the anti-nausea meds that you and Noah and your Dad did, so she couldn't stomach any fluid and it's really important when you're sick like you've all been, that you drink as much fluid as possible." Ben explained, "that's why eating soup and drinking all this juice is a good idea."

"Oh, I don't want to have to go to the hospital like Mommy," Noah replied, looking at the soup with a little bit of a turned up nose.

"You should eat a little, Uncle Raf only gave you a small bit," Ava pointed out, "and don't turn your nose up, it's rude, they cooked for us and we're really lucky."

Noah looked at Ava and said nothing, unsure of if he even liked chicken noodle soup. It smelled okay.

"What if we put some special noodles in it for you?" Benji asked him. "Do you like ramen?"

Noah nodded and smiled.

"Okay," he took the bowl and smiled at the little boy. He turned to Ava, "do you want some ramen in your soup too, sweetie?"

"No, I'm okay, thank you," she replied, smiling at Rafael's partner.

/

"Noah!" Ava hissed, "stop complaining about the food, just be quiet and eat it. We both feel yucky. I don't want to eat, I know you don't want to eat but Dad and Mom would be so upset if they knew you were giving Rafael and Benji attitude about foo-"

Ava was surprised by Noah bursting in to tears. She immediately felt bad. She knew he was worried about his Mom. She slid off the couch and headed across the room to him. "Bug, I'm sorry," she apologised immediately, hugging him. "I know you're feeling awful too, we all are."

"I want Mommy," he sobbed. She held him tightly.

"I know, I want Mommy too, when we're sick she knows how to make us feel so much better, doesn't she?"

Noah nodded. "But she's sick too and she can't help us feel better if she's not getting better either and we want her to be okay, right?"

He nodded again. "And we want to be okay too, so we have to eat and we have to drink and do everything that Ben says because he knows best."

"What's wrong?" Rafael asked, finding Ava trying to comfort Noah.

Ava looked up at Rafael, "Nothing, we're fine," she told him, despite her own teary eyes. "Noah just got a little upset, that's all."

"Are you okay Noah?" Raf asked, sitting on edge of the couch, is there anything I can do?"

He shook his head.

"Okay, Mom will be ok, you know that right?"

Both kids nodded and he knew that they were both concerned and feeling rotten.

Benji repeated with Noah's ramen soup. "You don't have to eat all of this," he told Noah with a smile, "but as much as you can would make me very happy."

Ava gave her little brother a kiss on the cheek and wiped his tears. "Eat up, bug, when Mom gets home you can tell her how much better you feel that you've had something yummy to eat."

Noah rubbed his eyes, trying not to cough.

Ava went back to her own food and tried her best to take small spoonfuls of the soup. It was delicious, but she had zero appetite. Benji gave them both anti-nausea pills to take and sent Rafael down the street to the pharmacy for an inhaler for Ava given her loud wheezing and long-lasting coughing fits.

Both kids ate quietly while watching TV.

"Have I eaten enough?" Noah asked Ben when he returned to the living room to make sure the two sweet kids that belonged to Olivia were okay. Benji glanced in to the bowl and saw he had eaten most of the ramen and a little of the soup.

"Of course, sweetheart," he smiled at Noah, "I'll take your plate for you back to the kitchen, I just need you to make sure you finish all of your water in your water bottle."

"I will," Noah promised quietly. As if to prove a point, he opened it and guzzled down a few big mouthfuls.

When Ava was done she took her plate out to the kitchen where Benji was cleaning up. "Thanks for cooking for us, the soup was really good."

"You're welcome, here let me take that…"

"Thanks. Do you want me to help clean up?"

"No," he smiled, "that's for Rafa to help me with. You go lay down, angel."

"Noah will you share your blanket with me?" Ava asked, having no energy to go upstairs and get her own.

Noah nodded slowly, pulling his eyes away from the TV. Ava smiled at him. They both felt a little alone without their parents with them and Ava knew she had to step up a little and take care of Noah who was more out of sorts than she was with Olivia being in the hospital.

"Why don't you come over here to the big couch," she suggested. She got up and set Noah up a spot at the opposite end. She helped him with the blanket. "Wait, I want to lay with you, Ava. Like if Mommy was here."

She knew that he just wanted his Mom. Just like her, he was in and out of coughing fits that lasted a little too long. "Okay, okay-" she surrendered. She let him put his pillow beside hers and laid down, waiting for him to snuggle beside her. She covered them over with the blanket, feeling instantly warmer.

"Are you good, bug?" She asked him.

"Uhuh," he replied, turning to watch the rest of his movie.

"Okay good." She closed her eyes and focused on resting, listening to the tv but actively trying to sleep.

/

Trevor let Olivia sleep while the last bag of fluid ran through the IV. It was almost 8pm and Rafael and Benji were being complete angels watching over the kids. Olivia had been given some dinner, 2 bags of fluids and a shot for anti-nausea. She was promised that she could return home once she had held down the soup and sandwiches that she had forced herself to eat.

So far, so good, Trevor thought. It had been over an hour since she'd eaten and she seemed to be sleeping peacefully without as much coughing. Rafael sent him a photo of the kids snuggled up on the couch, both sleeping side-by-side together.

Trevor smiled absently — they both banded together when they were worried or scared and he loved that so much.

He pulled his chair up to Olivia's bedside and rested his head on the mattress. He was tired and starting to feel average. He texted Rafael back, updating him on what was happening. He closed his eyes for a minute to find some reprieve from his congestion headache.

/

Olivia woke up feeling a little clearer in her mind and less sluggish. She caressed Trevor's longish hair. He had to have been exhausted. She noticed the bag of fluid was just about done. "Baby," she shook him gently.

He lifted his head, finding his bearings, wiping a slight bit of drool from the corner of his mouth. He glanced at her and suddenly realised where they were. He lifted his hand to the back of his neck to massage the stiffness he felt. "Hey sweetie, are you okay?"

She nodded. "The machine beeped and woke me up," she told him, "I think its done, I hope we can go home."

A nurse came shortly after to check on the machine. "What are the chances I can go home to my kids?" Liv asked.

The nurse glanced at her chart and took her temperature again. "Mmm I think we'll confirm with the doctor but your vitals are better and you don't have the same dehydration signals," she smiled. "I think we'll want to give you some prescriptions for the anti-nausea, but I'm confident you're okay. You haven't vomited since you arrived, have you?"

Liv shook her head. She couldn't wait to be in her own bed.

"No."

"Okay, I'll need to go to and speak to the attending and will be back shortly."

/

Around 10:30-11pm, Trevor and Olivia walked in the door - Trevor looked as exhausted as Olivia felt. The first thing they did was head to check on the kids. Noah was asleep and Ava was awake watching a movie. Trevor couldn't help but to laugh as he glanced at the black and white movie playing.

"Ava…. Are you making Raf and Ben watch this?"

"No," she replied slowly sitting up. "Ben chose it."

"Ah, you're both spirit animals," Trevor joked, kissing his daughter and waving at his two new friends.

"Where's Mom?" Ava asked.

"Right here…" Olivia smiled, appearing in the doorway. "I think it's time for bed…for both of you guys," she nodded toward Ava and Noah."

Trevor swept Noah up and took him upstairs to his own bed as Ava reluctantly said goodbye to Raf and Benji with a hug to each of them.

"Are you okay, Mom?" Ava asked softly as Liv came in to tuck her in after she saw the boys out.

Liv smiled and nodded, "I'm exhausted but feeling a big better tonight. How about you?"

She shook her head and pouted. "Let's just all try to have a good sleep tonight and hopefully in the morning we'll have all improved a little."

Ava agreed. "Goodnight." She kissed her forehead as Trevor let himself in.

"Thanks for taking care of your little brother tonight. Rafael said he was a little upset and you consoled him and let him cuddle with you on the couch."

"I hate when he's upset, but I understood, he felt awful and he was worried about Mom."

"Still, that was kind of you," Trevor told his daughter, kissing her, "goodnight, angel. I love you. I hope you feel better in the morning."

"Goodnight Dad," Ava smiled and gave a little wave to Liv as they left her to it.

/

Olivia dressed down to her cami and her underwear and climbed in to bed, she knew the second her head hit the pillow she'd be asleep.

"Are you hot or cold?" Trevor asked her.

"Hot, really friggin' hot…" she replied.

He was glad, he turned the air conditioner on and pulled up the lighter sheet over them. "Too hot for snuggling?," he wondered.

She immediately kicked the sheet off. "Give me a few minutes to cool down and then I'll let you know.

They both fell asleep almost instantly without Olivia coming to a result, but later she found him beside her in the night and cuddled up close, pulling the bed sheet over them.

/

Olivia got up early, feeling a little more energy than the day before and a rumbling stomach that made her want to eat; a feeling that had surpassed her for an amount of days that seemed to run in to the next. She threw on one of Trevor's cologne scented under shirts and let herself out to go downstairs to make some tea and maybe a piece of fruit.

"Mom? Dad?" Ava called softly as she passed her room. She pushed the door open to find her half-sitting up, reading from her novel.

"Hey baby, how are you feeling?" Liv asked her.

She made a face, "I couldn't sleep because I coughed all night," she replied.

"I know, I heard you a few times. I'm going to make some tea, maybe that'll soothe your throat, do you want some?"

Ava nodded. "Thanks,"

"Okay," Liv smiled, "I'll be right back."

/

Olivia checked in on Noah who was sleeping soundly in his bed with the hum of his humidifier probably giving him a better sleep than the rest of them. She went downstairs and made herself a camomile tea and prepared one for Ava too.

She liked the quiet of the morning when she was well-rested enough.

She took Ava's cup along with her own upstairs and found her sitting up, leaning back on her pillow taking the inhaler that Rafael had got for her the night before. "Here you go, careful, it's really hot."

Ava put the inhaler down and took the mug, thanking her. "Can you hang out with me? Or is Dad awake?," she asked.

"No, Dad's snoring away, I can hang out."

Ava made some room beside her, sharing her pillows. She held Olivia's mug for her while she got comfortable.

"Are you feeling better since you went to the emergency department last night?" Ava asked her.

"Yeah, a little, we just have to force ourselves to eat and drink even when we don't feel like it. That's the key here, so having tea is good."

A small smile crossed Ava's mouth. "I have a question… you can say no if you want."

Olivia turned to her, giving her her full attention. "What is it? You know I can never say no to you guys," she smiled at the teen, sipping her piping hot tea.

"I meant to ask you last week but I forgot— in my LGBTQ(..) group, we've talked about dealing with bullying and unwanted attention from the opposite sex, or the opposite sex always trying to prove something by coming on way too strong — mostly the guys toward us girls, thinking that being a lesbian or bi is something we're doing for their attention—"

"Uhuh?" Olivia listened. She hid a smile. She loved to hear Ava speak so passionately about something that meant a lot to her.

"So… I mentioned to my friend Luna that you work in sex crimes and we thought maybe you could talk to us about how to combat unwanted attention or… that next step, what to do if someone assaults you — one girl mentioned how guys will try to touch them inappropriately as a little game…"

"Of course I can do that. I'd actually love to do that, sweetheart and thank you for asking me."

Ava glanced at Liv and grinned, she looked weary and exhausted, but Olivia felt grateful to see her smiling again. "Really?"

"Of course, why would you think I'd say no?," she wondered "Ava, you don't have to ever be afraid of asking me to do anything for you or for your school — whether that's to help out with projects you're working on in your extra curricular stuff, or something that you want to do or something you need me to buy… or even something you want." She paused, "not saying you'll always get it, but you can ask."

They both laughed. "You're really okay with being my Mom?" Ava asked as though the question had been weighing on her mind since seeing Sarah, "like for real? Because Sarah is gone now and the paperwork is signed and I know I haven't processed it, but… I still hesitate sometimes with you."

Olivia didn't rush to answer, wanting to be wise with her choice of words. "Honey, what you've been through with Sarah is going to take a lot of time to work through and if you feel like you're not gelling with your therapist, you tell me, we'll go through 85 until we find one that is actively helping you…"

Ava wasn't quite sure what she was saying, but she let her continue, feeling a little uneasy.

"That aside, I already told you that my hesitancy was always trying to fill a spot that was already taken, it wasn't about my commitment to you and your Dad being lukewarm, sweetie," she explained, "but Sarah is out of the picture now and unless you want it otherwise and she is open to it, permanently. I'm here to be your Mom if that's what you want, but labeled or other, I'm gonna be here for all of those parental things regardless."

"Like when I was sick this week…"

Olivia's expression softened. She nodded. "Exactly. You've been sick and wanted cuddles and affection and despite the fact I hate to see you and Noah both feeling so sick, I do love how mushy and needy you both get, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I can't help but to give in to every whim."

Ava smiled and sipped her own tea. "So if I came to you and said, 'Mommmmmm, all the girls at school have cute summer bikinis, can we get one for me?' You'd say yes?"

"Sure… unless you want to ask your father."

Ava made a face, "Dad will say that its too grown up."

"Wait, is this a real thing? You want to buy a bikini for summer?"

The teen's face flushed, "Uh… well, no I guess it was just a uh… just an example."

Olivia cocked her head and glanced at her, "are you sure? Because if it's for real, we can get you something besides your swim meet bathing suit, but it still has to be appropriate. Dad is gonna be always a bit harder to deal with with this kind of stuff, but I still do the job that I do and need to take care of you in that way."

Ava nodded with understanding, "do you ever sometimes just think that it shouldn't matter what I wear? That I should be able to express myself in whatever bikini makes me feel good about myself and men or other guys my age should just learn that my body doesn't exist for their gaze?"

A part of Olivia was flooded with pride from the adult thoughts that spilled from her daughter's mouth. "Absolutely, I believe that 100 percent. Women, girls, teens — they get raped or assaulted in bikinis or jogging sweats or … whatever — but sweetheart, I don't want grown men looking at you at all in that kind of way, it doesn't matter at all what we think and how we feel, but there are just a lot of sickos out there."

"I know… what I said is a dream, but it's not the reality is it?"

"It should be… I also think at 14, you should be dressed like you're 14, not 21."

Ava nodded in agreement. "I get that… but it'd just be nice to not have the same boring, bland bathing suit I've been using since I was 7."

Olivia nodded. "Do you want to go together to get one when we are feeling well enough? We could do a little shopping trip for our European holiday."

Ava grinned and nodded. "Could you talk to Dad about it too? I don't want to put on a two-piece and have him make a huge deal out of it, that would be way too embarrassing."

She laughed, "Of course. So, while we're on the subject — what's happening with Luna?"

Ava quizzically stared at Olivia, "nothing, why?"

"I don't know… I just see her name pop up on your phone as much as Rory's and Rafa told me that a cute little girl came to see you at school with all of your things the other day."

The same shade of crimson crossed Ava's face again. She shrugged. "I think we're just friends. I think she's really adorable though," she finally admitted.

Olivia smiled at her and gave her a little nudge. "Would you tell me if there was more to it?," Liv wondered. "I mean, I'm Mom now, I have to know about these things, its fun for me to see your world developing and experiencing all of those things with new eyes…"

"I would tell you, as long as you didn't tell Dad, I know he's still burned by the pics of me kissing Rhiannon and Rory on my Insta."

"It's girl talk, sweetheart, I don't need to involve Dad unless I thought you were acting in a way that required both he and I to make sure you're not doing anything that puts you in harm's way or is risky."

"Not me," Ava smiled, "I've had my day with pot and I'm too boring to want to do anything stupid. I love swimming and I want to be the best at it and I can't be the best if I'm not fully focused."

"I understand, but you can still have a girlfriend if you liked someone enough, you just have to be disciplined because new love is dizzying and infatuating and it makes you want to drop every single thing to be with that person…"

"Mmmm maybe I do have a crush on Luna, because I kind of feel consumed around her— does that make sense? I just feel I could burst sometimes when I see her smile or when we're talking — but nothing's happened and I'm not sure if she feels the same as well, so for now it's just a crush."

Olivia smiled. "Oh, sweet Ava," she sighed sipping her tea and putting an arm around her, "I think you've really underestimated yourself… You ask Raf what he saw the other day when he picked you up."

Ava giggled. "Really? I'll ask him."

"He had a bit to say, I'm shocked he didn't tease you."

They both laughed, knowing that it was something Rafael would have done if she hadn't been so sick when he came to pick her up.

"What are you both doing awake?" Trevor asked, interrupting them from the doorway. He scratched his head. His voice sounded nasally, indicating that he still hadn't fully recovered.

"We've done all the sleeping we can, that's usually how it works…" Olivia smiled at him lovingly. He slowly pushed his way in to his daughter's room.

Without a word, Ava made room for her Dad, shifting close to Olivia. He got sat down, his energy still on the low side. He felt clearer in his head than the day before, but his energy was certainly lower. "How are you feeling, Dad?" Ava asked him.

"Tired. Tired and heavy and still a lot of crap in my chest," he replied. "Let this be a lesson for us all to get our flu vaccines next year, I haven't been sick like this in probably well over ten years."

"At least we're all able to get up and not feel like collapsing," Ava pointed out, leaning on her Dad's arm. Olivia offered him some of her tea. He smiled at her and took her cup and a few little sips.

"Good point kiddo," he smiled, taking a sip of Liv's tea. It felt good on his throat. "So what are you girls chatting about?"

"Not much," Liv replied, "just about going to get some stuff before we head off to Europe. Ava and I need some summer clothes and some new bathers and probably both kids need some decent luggage. We'll have to start making some lists— thing the kids want to take with them, things that we need to buy for the trip…"

"Good idea, it'll creep up on us before we know it." Trevor agreed.

He sipped the tea again before passing it back to Olivia. He leaned his head back against Ava's bed head. "You know, the nicest thing about being sick — if I can find a silver lining," he smiled, "is that we've all been together taking care of one another…"

"Yeah but you did most of the caring, Dad," Ava smiled at her father, "Noah had the good sense to sleep through most of it and Mom and I laid in bed whining and crying from feeling so awful the whole time."

Olivia laughed. "I only remember crying from vomiting, but the last few days feel blurry, Benj was right to send me to hospital yesterday, in hindsight, I was dizzy and struggling to think and do anything but just… sleep."

"You cried a few times — when you had a fever and I made you take a bath," Trevor pointed out, "and then I woke you up a few times to make sure you were okay and you cried."

"Okay okay, I'm a little crybaby," Olivia admitted, "and for the record, I'm not 100 percent so you might still squeeze some tears out of me."

"I'm not afraid of tears, I'm very okay with tears," he replied with a shrug. He turned to Ava, "do you want a bigger bed when we move out to the new apartment?," he asked her.

"Really?," she asked.

"Yeah," Trevor smiled, "If Mom keeps hanging out here she's gonna need to fit somewhere…"

Ava laughed. Trevor glanced at Liv, "that okay with you?, maybe Noah could have this bed, it's bigger than his…"

"Fine with me, maybe we'll ask Noah if he wants to pick out something new or if he's happy for this one."

Trevor nodded, realising it was fairer for them both to have the opportunity to get new things, not just one. It had to be across the board.

"Maybe we can do that this weekend, make a list of things we need to do for the new apartment — if we're all well by then."

"Good idea," Liv agreed.

"I'm can't wait for our new apartment," Ava told them both, finishing off her tea. "It feels like it'll be a nice fresh start."

"Yeah?" Trevor pressed, thinking about everything that had happened with her mother. He reached over and ran his hand over her long blond hair. "In what ways?"

Ava shrugged, feeling a little self conscious, "I don't know…" she replied coyly, glancing at Liv, "I guess just…it feels like a start toward forever for us as a family, I can try to let go of Sarah and move forward-"

"You don't have to try to let go of Sarah, that's not going to go away overnight," Olivia cut in, "those feelings surrounding what happened, sweetheart, they're not a faucet that you can just turn off and suddenly everything is okay, it might be something that needs some time and attention and — if I'm honest with you, some therapy."

"I know but… I guess since she signed those papers and made her stance clear, it means that for me and for Olivia," she glanced at her, "Mom," she added causing Liv to smile at her, gently taking her hand and giving it a little squeeze, "that relationship feels… less like something I should feel bad about."

"I don't ever want you to feel bad for any relationship in your life if it's a positive one, sweetie," Trevor told her, "and Olivia wouldn't want that either — but I understand…"

"But now we can move forward — my friends at school, Luna and Sadie, they've both met Mom and that's how I've introduced her to them — I told Luna that I had a different biological mother, but Luna pointed out that being a parent is more than giving birth and I thought about Noah and how real you are as his mother regardless of who gave birth and how real he is to you," she turned to Liv and smiled, "and all the work you do to give people family," Ava added to Trevor, "Sarah checked out emotionally far longer than I realised and I like people thinking Olivia is my Mom, because she feels like my Mom, better than any Mom that I can remember for a very long time."

Olivia squeezed her hand. She leaned over and kissed her temple. "You are a beautiful kid, Ava, I hope you know that I love you so very much, and you're absolutely right, biology means nothing unless you are willing to sacrifice every part of yourself to love the child that's in your arms. I made that sacrifice with Noah and I would make all the sacrifices that I need to for my daughter— you."

Trevor let them have their moment but he was bursting at the seams with love and warmth for them both, appreciating just how much Olivia had to give and just how analytical and reasonable his daughter's thoughts were.

"I love you both so much…" she replied. Trevor gave his daughter a kiss too. "My sweet girls," he flashed them both a smile. "Our new place is going to full of love and new memories and I think we'll all be happier for it."

"Thanks Dad," Ava replied.

"I'm gonna leave you girls to it for a bit and I'll go make some breakfast, nothing too crazy, I think we can deal with bland, what do you think? Toast? Maybe a little fruit."

"Mmm Banana on toast sounds amazing," Olivia murmured. "But given that I haven't eaten properly in days, I'll have to take it slow."

Trevor laughed. He glanced at his daughter, "what about you, missy?"

"Mm I don't think I can stomach oats yet — maybe I'll just have some dry toast with a little bit of butter or something…"

He promised to call out once it was ready.

Once he left the room Ava turned to Olivia, "I really have the best Dad, don't I?"

Olivia smiled, "Yes, sweetheart, you definitely do have the best Dad. We're all so lucky to have him. He does so much for us all."

Ava smiled. "Mom, don't tell him what I told you about Luna, okay? I just want to keep it between us for awhile… it's probably nothing and I don't want anyone to make a big deal out of a mild crush."

"Of course, I won't say anything."

"Thanks…"

"Okay, I'm gonna get up while I still have some energy because I fear that it'll be up and down for us for a few days. I'm gonna suggest to Dad that we have a movie day and take it easy and try to eat the meals that Rafael and Benji made for us and drink lots of fluids."

"Sounds good — but no more gatorade, that was disgusting," Ava made a face as Olivia slid out of the King sized single bed.

"No more gatorade," Olivia agreed, "okay, come down soon to eat, okay?"

"Okay Mom."

Olivia smiled as she took Ava's empty teacup and headed downstairs.

/

"What about this one," Trevor nodded toward a queen sized bed with white frame - the upper area of the bed head doubled as a book shelf - he knew Ava would appreciate a place to put her things around her bed.

"Ooh, I like it," she smiled.

"I'm sooooo boreddddd," Noah whined, dragging his feet.

"Noah don't be rude!" Olivia scolded him. Trevor turned to Noah, understanding that he was tired of walking and looking at things to buy that weren't for him.

"Hey Bug, wanna get on my back?"

Noah looked at him suspiciously, "you mean like a piggy back?"

"Yeah, like a piggy back. After we get Ava a new bed, we can look at some stuff for you, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay," he crouched down so Noah could climb on to his back. Olivia couldn't help but to smile as Noah held on to Trevor tightly.

"Is that better?" Trevor questioned him, "you think you might have a better time up there?," he asked the little boy over his shoulder.

"Yeah," Noah chuckled, "thanks Daddy."

"You're welcome…" he turned back to Ava as he took Liv's hand, "what do you think kiddo?"

"I think it'll go well with my pink and purple and white theme."

"Okay great, do you want to keep looking for a bit? Or…"

Ava laid down on the mattress and looked around, making sure to keep her feet off of it. "Hmmm I like this, can we just look around the rest of the store first?," she asked looking between her parents, not really wanting to be difficult.

"Of course, we want you to be sure…"

They let her walk ahead. "What things do you think you want to look at for your room, Noah?" Olivia asked him.

Noah shrugged, "I don't know…" he replied. "Well, actually, I have an idea, you wanna hear it?"

"Uhuh?" Noah's interest piqued.

"I think we should get you a cool new loft bed, like that one over there…" she pointed to a far wall. "Do you want to go take a look?"

Noah lifted his head from Trevor's shoulder and saw what Olivia was pointing at. Trevor glanced at Olivia, wondering when her mind had changed. She had been set that Noah would take Ava's old bed as he didn't seem to have much interest in getting anything new. "Yeah… I wanna look." Trevor let him slide off and watched him make his way over to the bed Olivia pointed out to him a little curiously.

"I know, I know," she told Trevor, "but I want him to be excited about moving too, Trev, he's bummed out for some reason and so far today has been about Ava and it has to be fair-"

"Liv," Trevor smiled, "its okay, I was just about to say that I was glad you changed your mind because it should be fair and that is a pretty good idea, actually, getting him a space saving bed so he can have more floor space."

"Thanks," she replied, squeezing his hand. He lifted hers and kissed it before leaning closer and kissing her temple. They followed behind Noah until they got to him. It was a simple black framed loft bed with step-shelves at the foot. Beneath it had been styled with a one man couch and a space for a tv as a little gaming area. She knew that would appeal to Noah - she wasn't really a huge fan of him playing the Playstation or iPad in private but Ava had showed her how child-friendly and parent-controls were available on her Nintendo, so she had been thinking about buying him one since he was forever asking Ava if he could use hers.

"We could either put a desk under here or a couch for when you'd like some alone time, we could discuss that a little later, and this way you'd have all all the space on your bedroom floor for whatever you like…I know you prefer to do your homework on the floor," Olivia told him.

Noah nodded with a happy smile. "That's fun, I like it!"

"Or there's another one over here, look…" Trevor showed Noah a similar, more enclosed loft bed with a built in desk beneath it and book shelves with probably still enough room for a little couch or a beanbag at the end of the space.

"Oooh, I like this one, its kind of like a cubby!" Noah exclaimed, "and the bed is bigger!"

"You could put some cool lights beneath it," Trevor told him, "what do you think? Some neat green and blue LED lights? And maybe you could still fit something at the end like a little armchair or something."

Noah nodded with a tight, closed mouth smile and Olivia knew immediately he was sold. "Would you help me decorate the cubby, Daddy?" Noah asked Trevor.

"Of course! I'd love to! So are you want this one? For sure?"

Noah nodded decisively. "Yes! Can I?"

"Mom?" Trevor glanced at Olivia who was smiling at her son.

"Sure, if thats what you want, then it's only fair that you should pick what you want. And then tonight we can go online and pick you out a theme for your bed stuff and your curtains and rug and whatever else."

"Thanks!" Noah beamed.

"High five," Olivia held up her hand. Noah whacked her hand with a big grin. He took her hand as they made their way over to Ava. She glanced behind her, patiently waiting for them to finish with Noah. "Ummm I think I like this better…" she told them. It was a queen sized storage bed that had a wall of shelves built in to the bedhead and wall side a lot higher than the other they had looked at. Beneath it was a trundle bed and other storage. She showed them as she rolled it a little of the way out — "In case I have someone stay," she shrugged.

"I could have a sleep over in your room!" Noah said excitedly. Ava grinned at him. "Or that, sure."

"I like the idea of you filling it with all of your books and things, it might be less messy than the way you throw everything on the end of your bed," Trevor remarked. "What about your colour theme?"

She shrugged. "I guess I can be flexible. I don't want to be a total loser."

Olivia smirked. "Well, sweetie, if this is what you want… this is what you want. Are you sure this is the one?"

"Yes!," she exclaimed.

"Okay then this is your new bed."

"That was easier than I thought…" Trevor was relieved. He went to find one of the sales assistants while Noah dragged Ava to show her what he had picked out.

/

"Okay, Ava and I are going to go get some bathers now," Olivia told Trevor as they were about to part ways. "What are you guys gonna do?"

Trevor looked at Noah and shrugged, "Wanna go get ice cream and go for a play at the park?"

"Yeah!"

Trevor smiled at Liv, "that's our afternoon set. Have a good time, ladies. He kissed Ava on the forehead and kissed Olivia softly on the lips. "Nothing too grown up," he murmured in to her ear. She just smiled and winked at him.

Olivia gave her son a hug. "Have fun!"

They went in separate directions as Ava and Olivia walked with arms linked slowly on their way to find somewhere where they could shop for their summer things. "Its so nice to feel better, huh?" Ava asked, "I felt like I would never get over that infection."

"You're still coughing at night," Olivia pointed out, "but at least we're doing well enough to go back to work and school.

"I wish you didn't work shifts," Ava told her, "I know your job is important, but it would be cool if you just worked around everything like Dad so that you would be home when we are…"

"I know, I agree it's annoying sometimes, I would love nothing more than to be able to pick you guys up from school every day but…I really like my job too, I like helping people and I think that its important that I keep doing this for as long as I can and even when I retire, I think I'll still work in some way or another with victims."

"You know, I was so happy when Dad met you and I stalked you online, for all the things they said you did online, you are a real life super hero, not many people are as brave as you, Mom, I wouldn't want you to stop, I think I just miss you when you're at work."

"Awww! Ava," she glanced at the 14 year old. Ava blushed, noticing Olivia's eyes welling up. She kissed her cheek and put an arm around her and gave her a squeeze, "thank you for saying that, you're incredibly sweet."

"We should go in there," Ava nodded to H&M. Olivia had to do everything but make a face, knowing there was no way she would ever fit a pair of bathers from H&M, let alone whether or not they'd make an age appropriate set for either of them.

Ava guided Olivia to the bathers section and glanced at the hangers for a moment before picking up a red string bikini where the bottom was a tiny g-string. "Ohhhh this is so cute! What do you think Mom?"

Olivia stared at her for a second, trying to figure out if she was kidding or not. She imagined Trevor ripping her to shreds for allowing Ava to come home with something like that. His head would actually pop, she thought.

Ava stared at Liv waiting for a reaction, her face looked hopeful, "don't you think its cute?"

"There's no coverage on the butt, Ava," Liv told her gently.

"Its just a butt!," she retorted, "everyone's got one, and besides its the fashion now, butts showing on the beach is normal and I bet you see even less on people in Europe…and when in Europe…"

"Actually, its when in Rome," she corrected her. "And honey, I don't think you are going to even be allowed to put that in your luggage with your Dad around."

"But you could talk to him, it's sooo cute," she stood with her hands on her hip, wriggling it closer to Olivia's face. Olivia saw for just a tiny split second a crack of a smile. She snatched the bikini off her.

"You clown, no you can't have a bikini that shows that much skin, you really thought you had me there, didn't you?"

Ava let out a burst of laughter, "I did, I had you, you were sputtering for excuses because you didn't want to hurt my feelings, shame on you, Mom, trying to blame Dad…" she chuckled again.

Olivia laughed, "Okay okay, come on, don't do that to me, let's find you a bathing suit that doesn't show your butt or too much skin."

"Okay and for you too," Ava replied.

/

"Should I be worried about this?" Trevor muttered to Olivia as Ava excitedly welcomed her friend inside the apartment.

"No, I've actually met her before, she's lovely and I think it's just being young and maybe a little flirty but nothing more, she and I talked about it all," Olivia quietly told him, eyeing off Ava's sweet face, alight with happiness; a certain something on her face that she wasn't used to seeing — certainly not the way she had looked at Rory.

It was puppy love, she thought. Trevor didn't know the details; he didn't need to freak out and she truly believed Ava when she promised her she wasn't interested in anything but enjoying the feeling of having a crush.

"Uhuh…" Trevor murmured as a smile filled his face as Ava brought her new friend toward the kitchen where he and Olivia were hanging out, trying to decide what to cook for dinner.

"Luna, this my Dad, Dad, this is Luna."

"Hi Luna, what a pleasure to meet you," he extended his hand. The girl confidently took his hand and shook it firmly. He was immediately impressed. She smiled excitedly.

"Hi Mr. Langan, Ava has told me all about you and Mrs. Langan," she gushed.

"Oh, that's nice, you can call me Trevor," he replied. "And this is Olivia, I believe the two of you have met."

"Just briefly, right?" Olivia shook her hand, "awhile back now."

"Yeah, when I was on the way to pick up my brother from his friend's house. Nice to meet you again Ol- Mrs. Langan,"

"Olivia," Liv corrected her. She turned to Ava, "what are you guys gonna do tonight?," she wondered.

"Well, I promised Noah that Luna and I would play Mario Party with them but we have some projects we want to work on for the LGBQTI+ club."

Trevor smiled, "and homework, you're both up to date?"

"Yesssss Dad," Ava rolled her eyes.

"Just checking," he replied feeling Olivia gently kicking him behind the counter.

"Dad and I were just figuring out what to have for dinner," Liv told them, she turned to Luna, "is there any food that you won't eat, honey? Or anything you can't have?"

"No, I like most food," she shrugged.

"Why don't we just order something?" Trevor asked, hating that Olivia was going to cook for four kids and the both of them, it seemed like too much trouble to try to cater to the tastes of four different children. "We could just order some pizzas, it's a special occasion when the kids have a sleep over," he smiled at her.

"Pizza is good," Ava replied. "Do you eat pizza, Luna?"

"Of course, I am a New Yorker," she chuckled. Olivia caught Ava gazing at her short friend with her long, thick brown hair that was piled on top of her head.

"Okay, easy enough," Olivia replied.

"I'm gonna take Luna upstairs and show her around and let Noah and Tim know we'll play their silly game soon."

"Oh, can you please send the boys down here?" Trevor asked, "I'd kind of like to keep my eye on them, they can play down here in the livingroom."

"Sure…" She turned to Luna, "come on, let's go…"

/

"Thanks for wanting to hang out with me," Ava smiled at her friend as she connected her phone to her speaker and turned a playlist on the girls had made during the week that they could listen to.

"What?! Are you kidding me?" Luna grinned at her, climbing on to Ava's bed comfortably. Ava appreciated that there was no awkwardness. She thought it might be awkward, it felt like it had been a long time since she'd had a genuine female friend, "I was so excited when you invited me over, I knew we'd be friends. There's no one else at school like you, you're very cool, Ava."

"What? No… I'm not cool."

"Yeah you are," Luna grinned at her, watching Ava self-consciously play with her hair as she sat down on her bed too. "And I love that you are so close to your parents and Noah, most kids are so embarrassed of their parents."

Ava shook her head, "I would never be embarrassed of my Dad or Mom, they are both the coolest people. Dad helps place children with people who are yearning to be parents and Mom is probably the coolest kind of police officer ever, as you know…"

"Yeah, she is pretty cool." There was a pause between them before Luna smiled, "but I'm glad you're my friend. I have friends at school but they don't listen to the same kind of music as me or … have the same thoughts about stuff as me, I don't know, I feel like since you've come to school, I feel like the other kids do now, like, I have that one friend that I can rely on — is that weird?"

"No," Ava smiled and shook her head, feeling her cheeks heat up. "I had such a hard time at my last school that I was so scared at starting somewhere new, I thought there was something wrong with me, but… I'm glad we're friends too, it's nice to be able to connect with someone who I don't fear is just pretending to be my friend."

Ava made a face, "I don't understand why someone would do that, I'm sorry the girls at your last school were such homophobes."

"That's okay, I feel like I'm in a better space over all… Dad and Mom and Noah were the best when things got hard, that's why I'd never be embarrassed by them. Mom has even dropped me off at homeroom before, I have zero shame, I love that she still walks me to class after we drop Noah off…"

Luna smiled, "My big sister always threatens to embarrass me by waiting outside of my last class and I think she would if she knew what my schedule was like," she giggled.

Ava laughed too.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Luna asked, "do you want to work on club stuff or should we go and hang out with your brother and his friend?"

"Mmm maybe we'll get the Mario Party game out of the way," Ava shrugged. "I'm sorry by the way, he bothered me all week about it."

"Don't be sorry! It's sweet, I don't mind playing…Mom and Samual were just going to go to my sister's house for dinner so even if we just hung out and chatted all night, that would be more exciting," she smiled.

/

"I don't know about those piercings at 14," Trevor remarked to Olivia, referring to the many studs that ran from Luna's lobe all the way to the top cuff of her ear and the nose ring she wore.

"I think it's cute and you know, if the worst thing she's doing is getting involved in school politics and social issues, then I think you can ignore your own snobby ideas on self-expression."

Trevor stared at Olivia for a moment before his face relaxed. He let out a sigh, "you're right, I'm being judgmental."

"Yes, you are… look at them, did we hit the jackpot? There's four children in the house and they are all having a great time together, I didn't even dream that something would be this amazing."

Trevor grinned at her and put his arm around her. "Come on, let's go take our drinks and sit down in the living room and watch them," he suggested. "Pizza won't be here for another 45 or so minutes," he added.

They both picked up their respective drinks, Trevor took Olivia's hand and guided her to the living room to watch the kids play the Nintendo game.