A/N: Not much plot, mostly just a little bit of fluff to balance out the last chapter, with a little bit of plot at the very end. Enjoy! :-)
"Mommy, you's ticklin' mine belly!" Gracie giggled happily as she lay cuddled safely in Mommy's arms with a pacifier in her mouth while Mommy gently tickled her belly, skittering her nails along the sensitive skin like spiders.
"Tickle, tickle, tickle. Tickle, tickle, tickle. Awww, does that tickle my sweet baby's little belly?" Olivia teased lovingly.
The much-loved game continued until Olivia noticed that Gracie was starting to pant a little bit, so she stopped and began to gently rub Gracie's belly.
"Okay, time to calm down now. That's Mommy's good girl."
"Mommy, tickle mine feeties." Gracie pleaded when she had caught her breath, eager for the game to continue.
"You want Mommy to tickle these cute little feeties? Okay, here come the tickles." Olivia teased as she reached over to gently tickle Gracie's bare feet and the little one burst into fresh giggles of delight.
It had been a month since Grace's rescue from Duarte's cruel hands. Thanks to Olivia's daily arnica application, her bruising and other injuries were mostly healed, and thanks to Olivia's love and guidance, her heart was beginning to heal. Whenever they weren't working, Grace spent most of her time at home as Gracie, playing with her toys and soaking up all of Mommy's attention and affection. Duarte had taken a hammer to Gracie's dollhouse, so Mommy had bought another one for her. The big girl world was much too scary for her right now, Gracie needed the safety of knowing that Mommy was lovingly in charge of everything and the only thing she had to do was be a good girl. Along with consistent love and affection, Mommy had now introduced the concept of consistent consequences in Gracie's life for naughty behavior and the balance of love and discipline was something that Gracie craved and depended on. Mommy had implemented a sticker chart that now hung on the refrigerator; if Gracie earned seven gold star stickers, she could trade them in for a pink heart sticker, and with seven pink heart stickers she earned a trip to the toy store to pick out a small prize that cost ten dollars or less - the catch was that if she earned some form of discipline she automatically lost her gold star sticker for that day, and if she lost more than one gold star sticker in one week, she automatically lost a pink heart sticker. Gracie didn't like having her tender bottom spanked, and she didn't like standing in time-out or being put to bed early or having her mouth washed out with soap, and she didn't like having her stickers taken away, but she was learning and she fully trusted that Mommy knew what was best for her and would never put her body, mind, or spirit in harm's way. Gracie's first taste of Mommy's discipline had consisted of merely ten sharp spanks with Mommy's hand on her bare thighs since the little one happened to just be wearing a diaper at the time and nothing else, but it was more than enough to shock the little one into obedience, partially because of the sharp pain from Mommy's usually gentle hand, but mostly because it didn't hurt anywhere near as much as the beatings she had endured at the hands of Duarte and she realized that this was the difference between loving discipline and loveless abuse, and she recognized that she was being lovingly taught the difference between right and wrong. Afterwards, Mommy had cuddled Gracie on her lap and reassured Gracie that she was a good girl and very dearly loved while the little one sobbed on Mommy's shoulder.
Gracie and Mommy continued to play on the floor until Gracie's belly called for attention. Mommy had put her on a strict eating schedule to help her gain her healthy weight back, and Gracie had discovered that there was no getting around it, she was expected to eat what Mommy gave her whether she wanted to or not. If she was a good girl and ate everything on her plate, she got a cookie for dessert. Luckily, Gracie wasn't much of a picky eater and Mommy didn't try to force her to eat the one or two items of food that she didn't like, wisely choosing her battles. Gracie was also allergic to kiwi, which sucked because she loved the taste, so Mommy never bought any.
"Let's go to the kitchen and put some food in this belly of yours, Gracie-baby." Olivia gave Gracie's belly a few gentle pats.
Gracie smiled happily upon hearing the much-loved nickname and obediently went with Mommy into the kitchen. Gracie climbed up to sit in her chair at the table and reached across for her coloring books and crayons so that she could color while Mommy was making lunch.
"Do you want milk or apple juice, little one?" Olivia asked, holding up Gracie's pink sippy cup.
"App'ah juice." Gracie replied.
"Manners, sweetheart." Olivia offered a gentle reminder.
"App'ah juice, peeze." Gracie corrected herself.
"Good girl, so polite." Olivia praised as she turned to fetch the requested drink.
When lunch was ready, Olivia gently fastened Gracie's favorite bib around her neck and Gracie happily ate her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, grapes, and carrots, and drank her juice while she babbled happily with Mommy, talking about all the things that little girls love to talk about. When lunch was over, Olivia removed Gracie's bib and gently cleaned the peanut butter and jelly off of her face with a damp cloth.
"Mommy, wet." Gracie wrinkled her nose cutely.
"Good girl for telling me." Olivia praised.
Olivia gently picked Gracie up and carried her into her room where she gently laid her down on her bed and gently changed her into a fresh diaper, cooing to her lovingly to keep her calm and relaxed. The first diaper change was an embarrassing experience for the big girl side of Gracie, but Olivia had assured her that there was nothing to be embarrassed about, and now after a month it felt completely natural just like every other aspect of their relationship. Gracie never hesitated to crawl into Mommy's lap for a cuddle in front of the TV or a story before naptime or bedtime and she didn't even blush when it was time for a bath. Olivia helped Gracie sit up and slid behind her to cuddle her, popping a pacifier into Gracie's mouth and reaching underneath her t-shirt to gently rub Gracie's satisfied belly while she read several of Gracie's favorite stories. Between Mommy's gentle rubbing and the fact that she had just eaten lunch, Gracie's dazzling blue eyes slowly began to droop and finally closed as she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep with her pacifier in her mouth. Olivia gently laid her sleeping baby comfortably on her bed, gently tucked Gracie's favorite stuffed pink and purple kitty under her arm, planted a gentle kiss on Gracie's temple, and tip-toed out of the room to let Gracie have a proper nap.
A little over an hour later, Gracie's dazzling blue eyes slowly fluttered open and gazed about the room. With her stuffed kitty still clutched in her arms and her pacifier in her mouth, she crawled out of bed and went in search of Mommy.
"Well, look who's awake." Mommy smiled lovingly and opened her arms. Gracie smiled happily and ran into Mommy's arms for a hug, receiving a gentle kiss to her forehead, "Did you have a nice nap, baby?"
"I sleeped good. I's firsty, can I has more juice in mine sippy, peeze? An' can I watch 'toons?"
"Good girl, so polite. Of course you can have more juice, and yes, you can watch cartoons. Do you want Looney Toons or Winnie the Pooh?"
"Pooh Bear!" Gracie cheered, her dazzling blue eyes lighting up happily.
Olivia gently settled Gracie on the floor in front of the TV so that she could play with her toys and gave her the requested drink before turning on the cartoons for her. Gracie wasn't allowed to touch the TV after she had once pushed all the buttons at once and somehow erased everything that had been recorded to watch later. She wasn't allowed to touch the buttons in the elevator for similar reasons, after she once decided to push all the buttons and they stopped at every floor on the way down. Neither incident had earned Gracie a true punishment aside from a gentle scolding, but Olivia set these rules in place to prevent any similar incidents in the future, and Gracie knew full well that if she broke Mommy's rules, there would be discipline. Olivia sat on the couch to read through a stack of files while Gracie played on the floor and watched her cartoons.
The next morning, Olivia found herself startled awake by Gracie practically jumping on top of her.
"Mommy, wakey up! Is morning!"
"Well, good morning, my angel." Olivia yawned and gave Gracie a tired but loving smile as she gathered her baby into her arms.
"Does I hafta go 'way today?" Gracie asked sadly.
"Only for a little while, because my big girl has to go to work today. When we get home, you can come back." Olivia assured her kindly, gently kissing Gracie's forehead.
"M'kays." Gracie kissed Mommy's nose and then climbed off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.
Grace emerged from the bathroom in her big girl form, freshly showered and dressed professionally for work. She went to the kitchen to start making coffee while Olivia took her own shower and got dressed.
"Coffee's hot." Grace smiled when Olivia breezed into the kitchen. The younger brunette was already sitting down at the table eating the breakfast that she knew she was expected to eat.
"Good girl, thank you for eating. How are you feeling?" Olivia inquired as she poured herself a cup of coffee and turned to her own breakfast. Olivia had noticed that Grace almost craved being called a good girl, and she endeavored to say those words to her as often as possible, whether she was feeling little or not.
"I feel good, I'm not sore at all. I checked in the mirror and the scars on my back are almost completely healed."
"Good. I don't have time to give you arnica this morning, we're running a bit late, but I'll give you some as soon as we get home, I promise."
When they arrived at the precinct, Olivia turned to walk into her office where McGrath was waiting to speak to her while Grace went to sit down at her desk.
"Chief, I wasn't expecting you this early in the morning." Olivia greeted McGrath.
"I wasn't expecting to be here, either, but there's a situation." McGrath closed the door to give them privacy, "Is it true that Detective Muncy is staying with you after having left an abusive relationship?"
"Yes, she is. How did you know?" Olivia asked, sitting down at her desk.
There's been some chatter among the boroughs that you need to be aware of, if it's true that you've taken her under your wing. Duarte is out of jail and he's looking for her, and he somehow discovered that she works here."
Olivia felt her heart drop into her stomach as she cursed under her breath.
"I've already taken care of it, as of today Grace will have a protective detail everywhere she goes anytime she steps foot outside. I know you and I haven't always gotten along, but I take care of my people."
"Thanks for letting me know, Chief, I appreciate it." Olivia said genuinely. McGrath stood up to leave and Olivia stood in the doorway of her office, "Muncy, my office."
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace stood from her desk and walked into her Captain's office, closing the door behind her.
"Sit down, Gracie-baby." Olivia ordered kindly.
Though she usually loved hearing her nickname, this time it sent a bolt of fear through Grace's heart, because she knew that it meant that something bad was about to happen. Olivia never used her nickname when they were at work. Grace obediently sat down and waited for Olivia to speak. Olivia took Grace's hand in her own.
"You know that you are my number one priority, right? It's my job to protect you and I will always do that."
"I know. Am I in trouble?" Grace asked hesitantly.
"Not at all," Olivia assured her and took a breath, "Sweetheart, Duarte is out of jail. He's looking for you and he somehow figured out that you work here."
Grace's reaction to Olivia's words was instantaneous as she began to visibly shake in fear.
"Come here, baby. I just want you to come look." Olivia gently guided Grace out of her chair and over to the window in her office. From the window Grace could see all of her colleagues sitting at their desks, "You are not alone in this. Every single person on this squad has your back, you will always be protected. As of today, you will have a protective detail anytime you go outside, and while you are here at work, you have absolutely nothing to fear. Duarte will have to go through at least six bodies to get to you."
"Mommy!" Grace couldn't help herself as she burst into sobs and turned to cry on Olivia's shoulder.
"Mommy's here, baby. Mommy's got you." Olivia soothed as she hugged her trembling baby close to her heart.