Hey everyone, I know this update took a little longer - i feel like readers on this one are wearing thin. I had a few more big ideas... or is it time to wrap it up?


"Hey babe, what are you up to?" Olivia asked, letting herself in to the room he was staying in. She handed him his cell phone which he thanked her for. She laid down beside him on the double bed; she could tell he was still tired.

"Just waking up, why are you up so early?," he asked, "do we have to leave early?"

"No," she shook her head, "I was just wondering about something…"

"Yeah?," he yawned.

"Do you wanna skip school tomorrow and stay another day?"

"Really?," he half-grinned at her. She chuckled at his mood instantly perking up. She couldn't resist the urge to ruffle his shaggy curls. "Oh wait, we can't it's Kaci's birthday…"

"Oh… yeah, okay," Liv replied, hiding her instant disappointment.

"What if… we stayed and then maybe we left tomorrow and then maybe I could go after school and drop off her gift and take her for a walk or something?"

"You don't want to see her at school?" Olivia asked. "Why don't you call her or text her and gauge her reaction, she might be upset if you're not at school tomorrow. You can get back to me."

"Okay," he agreed. He inched closer to his Mom and wrapped an arm around her. "I like it here. Everyone is so nice…"

"Me too, honey… Trevor thought that maybe we could either go for a drive to a lake and go swimming or we could just have a nice, relaxing day by the pool— whatever you like."

"Mom… I was thinking about something," Noah began, lowering his voice.

"Uhuh?"

"What if… you and Trevor get serious and he moves in or he's at our house a lot, which I don't mind," he paused, "I like that idea, actually—but … I don't know what I'll tell my friends and Kaci and I'm scared it'll cause problems at school."

The door opened and Trevor appeared, "Sorry-" he interrupted, "I wasn't eavesdropping but… I heard that last of that…" He looked sleepy too, in a pair of pajama pants and a white tank that he definitely hadn't been wearing earlier, Olivia thought.

"Sorry—" Noah went to apologise.

"Hey kiddo, don't say sorry, these are reasonable questions to ask."

"Maybe we should talk about it…" Olivia suggested, "the three of us— because, honey, it might end up affecting Trevor too."

"Okay," he replied simply. Trevor lifted his glasses and rubbed his sleepy eyes before pulling them back down. "Scoot over," Liv told her son, "make some room for Trev."

It made the child inside of him so happy to be sitting between his two favourite people, lazing around on a Sunday morning. As soon as Elliot would find him in bed with Olivia, he would leave, there was never a time when he would join them and chat or watch TV with them. Even on the couch, there was no cuddling or movie nights or being overly tolerant of affection.

Trevor sank down on the other side of Noah and yawned again. "Who do you think you'll have the most problems with?" He asked Noah.

Noah shrugged, "I don't know… just in general. Like, what if people on the team find out and they think I'm only there because you're dating my Mom."

"Noah, if you keep playing like you did in that friendly game, no one will ever think that and you can tell me and I'll be happy to set them straight."

Trevor watched him nod. He glanced at Olivia who gave him a weak smile. He sensed it too; there were things Noah didn't want to bring up.

"What are you not saying, Noah?," he asked.

"Nothing," he shrugged.

"Honey it's okay to be honest, you can tell us, no one will be mad."

"I'm just…" he paused, "I don't want you to misunderstand, Trevor-" he warned him.

"I won't."

"I'm just… embarrassed of—" he paused, "when I first joined the team, some of the guys on the team implied some gross stuff and I don't want them to do that again."

"Like, what? Inappropriate stuff?"

"Yeah," Noah admitted, "Peter and Ryan and Blake — they've all made gross jokes because one of them saw me get in to your car after training…"

"Oh, kiddo, I'm so sorry that happened. I wish you had have told me, I would have dealt with that swiftly."

"I think Noah is concerned that it might be hard to draw the line between teacher and friend, or caregiver, or whatever we want to label this…" she used the word a little tepidly. "I mean-" she watched him regard her with a warm smile and knew instantly the words that had fallen out of her mouth had been more than okay with me.

"Okay, well— I'll make sure that you're not in any of my gym classes or study hall or anything like that — I'll talk to Principal McCann about it shortly and we will put a system in place but you need to trust me and tell me if anyone is giving you a hard time, okay?"

"Okay," Noah nodded. Trevor put an arm around him, reaching it across to Liv who snuggled in to her son.

"Good, and if anything arises over time, you can come talk to us about it,"

"Thanks…"

"Did you guys think about whether or not you wanted to leave tomorrow or today?" Trevor asked them.

"Noah's going to call Kaci and gauge whether or not she wants him to be at school with her for her birthday…otherwise, we might go tomorrow and he can go and meet up with her after school for a walk."

"Great but Noah, if you think it's important to be at school tomorrow, that's fine… I'm being a terrible influence."

Noah laughed and shrugged. "I wanna stay here but I don't want Kaci to be upset on her birthday so I guess we'll see."

"Okay, I mean, either way we can hang out here and leave later tonight-" Trevor suggested, "I don't mind a late night drive."

"Oh yeah, we could do that… and we can always come back," Olivia replied with a little smile.

"Yeah, this place isn't going anywhere," Trevor told them both. "Okay, I'm gonna get up and get some coffee, I'll be back in about 15minutes, Mom and Dad only have cheap black coffee," he told Liv.

"You're leaving the house before coffee to get coffee?" Liv asked, making a face. "How can you function enough to drive?"

Trevor laughed, "Nah, there's a little cafe on the corner, remember? I pointed it out…"

"Oh yeah… do you want me to come?," Liv asked.

"Nah, Ruby and I will go straight there and come back. I'll bring you both back something nice," he smiled at them both.

"Thanks," she smiled. He eased himself up and leaned over Noah to kiss Liv on the temple. "Love you," he told her and turned to Noah and kissed the top of his curls, "love you too," he added without hesitating and giving Noah any chance to feel awkward about it. "Won't be long."

Olivia said nothing but could tell Noah was a little uncomfortable. "You good?," she asked him.

"Mmmm, was that weird?" He whispered, "that he said that? Was that weird for you?"

A small smile crossed her mouth as she made eye contact with her son, "He does love you, he has made that very clear with all the wonderful things he does for you, it's just that rather than showing you, he said it…"

"Mmm yeah, that's true," he replied quietly.

"What's wrong?," she asked him, "you can be honest, honey, if that made you uncomfortable or you don't want him showing you affection, I'll tell him not to- that he should keep distance in that respect, that is totally fine with me."

"No, don't," he said quickly. "I think—" he hesitated and sighed, "I dunno, I don't want to talk about it, I guess."

"Well… I think we should talk about whatever it is, because you're obviously affected," she pushed, "and I've told you that I want you to have input, it's important to me."

Noah rubbed his face and groaned in frustration with himself. "You know how much I love Trevor…" he murmured, "I hate that I have this stupid feeling in me that looks up to him the way I wanted to look up to Elliot. I wanted Elliot to love me-" he stopped and collected himself so his voice didn't crack, "and he just didn't no matter how hard I tried." He bit his bottom lip to stop himself from getting emotional.

"Oh, sweetheart, I know…" she slipped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a little squeeze. She didn't want to say anything that would stop him from adding more, so she let the silence hang in the air.

"Trevor keeps promising that he isn't going anywhere and I trust him because already he hasn't let me down but I'm just scared and I'm fourteen, why do I even care? I'll be a grown up soon."

"You're not going to be a grown up any time soon if I can help it," she smiled at him gently, "and you care because you've never had a father figure — not a live-in type that you've seen your friends live with and I know that must be so hard some days, to crave that person and I know you know I tried hard to fill in any gaps…"

"I don't blame you Mom, lots of people are in my situation…"

"Yeah, but not a lot of kids were traumatised by Elliot… you were such a beautiful boy, Noah, you have to believe me. Nothing you ever did was never going to be enough, nothing I could ever do was enough, sweetheart."

"I remember hearing you guys talk once… you were talking about having a baby together and I felt like Elliot wanted to replace me and that if you had a baby with him, you'd love it more because Elliot would have adored it," he admitted.

"Oh, sweetie…" she murmured, "No," she shook her head. "We discussed having a child after we got engaged. He knew I wanted to give you a sibling because when you were little it's all you ever asked for and the opportunity just never came up," she told him, "but it was also his way of manipulating things and getting his way— when I came to realise that he wasn't interested in connecting with you the way he did in the beginning to impress me, I knew I would never be able to give you a sibling. I wasn't going to have someone treat you less than a brother or a sister, Noah."

"I felt so betrayed…" his voice trailed off, "I remember feeling so, so-" his voice cracked and he found himself wiping his eyes. "I just thought I wasn't enough for Elliot or you and the confusion when he finally left, because I felt like he was just starting to accept me and even love me like a son—" he blew out air, trying to not break down.

"I wish I had of know you felt like that, my love," she whispered, trying to clear her throat so she wouldn't cry. "I would have told you that you were always, always enough for me. I just wanted better for you. I wanted you to have a father and a sibling and what felt like a normal family, it's all I wanted when I was a little girl and I wanted to provide that for you more than you'll ever know."

"I know…" he replied, wiping his eyes.

"With Trevor, it seems too easy," he admitted, "and besides Sonny and Nick who haven't ever been your boyfriends, we've not had a man in our life that's been comfortable to have around or that you've been okay with me being around… I'm not stupid, I know you dated after Elliot—"

She managed a smile, "I was scared too, maybe that's why I never had a serious relationship after Elliot. I certainly didn't want you to get hurt again."

"I think Trevor is a good man and I love that I've never heard him talk down to you or even make you look upset or sad or worried… not because of anything he's done. If anything, he makes you feel better when you're sad and he makes me feel better when I'm sad, the way you do too… I just don't know how I'm supposed to act when he gives me a hug or — that when he kissed my head, is that a normal thing for a Dad-like guy to do?" She could see the confusion in his stream of consciousness that he was speaking out loud.

"I think when you care about someone affection is nice and shouldn't make you uncomfortable if you want to accept it. You don't need to overthink it, I know Trevor wouldn't have given it a second thought. Trevor is an affectionate person, I don't know if you noticed, but his Dad is the same with him? Did you see when we arrived? His Dad hugged him and made a big show of grabbing his face and kissing his cheek."

Noah chuckled, "Yeah I thought that was sweet."

"See? Maybe I failed as a Mom because of my job and being so … vigilant of anyone paying you attention in a way that I deemed inappropriate and maybe as a side effect, it made you a little weird about receiving affection from anyone besides me."

"Maybe, but it's okay… I like that you prepared me for how crappy some people can be, its always good to be on guard."

"I know, but its also okay to accept affection too."

"Yesterday on the way to the football he helped me pay for Kaci's gift and I was really embarrassed and … I cried because I was overwhelmed by how nice it was of him to even care about a stupid gift for a girl. I told him that I wanted to tell him I loved him but I was too old for that-"

"Oh no honey, you are definitely not too old for that, if you love someone you tell them, I don't ever want you to be weird about that. Life is too short to not tell someone you love and appreciate them."

"K…"

"What did he say?"

"Kind of just that… that he wasn't too worried to tell me he loved me and age wasn't a thing and he gave me a hug and then we went to the game."

Olivia smiled. "I'm happy with Trevor. Are you happy with Trevor?"

Noah nodded. "I like that he hangs out with me when you're at work, that he goes to the effort of organising little projects like that lego technic we're working on and we've been watching Breaking Bad together…" he told her, "I don't know, just guy stuff. It's different to the stuff Sonny and I do when we hang out…its more casual but sort of more meaningful too."

"Do you think its because you know I love Trevor and maybe that means he could be a fatherly role?"

"Maybe… is it wrong for me to feel like that?"

"No… but it might not be a role that Trevor wants, but I'm scared too. I'm scared of you getting so attached to him and then if things don't work out or something goes awry, I don't want you to get upset."

Noah smiled at his Mom, "I think it's a bit late for both of us… I think our feelings are going to get hurt if that happens, but maybe they won't. Maybe Trevor is perfect for you — maybe you've waited so long and been patient because your real love was worth the wait…"

Olivia grinned at him, "you little hopeless romantic, you get that from Sonny, not from me."

Noah laughed, "Yeah, probably." She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big squeeze.

"I love you, babe and I love these conversations with you, please don't ever stop talking to me, okay? Don't shut me out…"

"Promise," he agreed.

"Come on, maybe we should get up and not be rude and stay in bed. I'm sure Grandma Georgie wants to see her new grandson," she teased Noah.

He chuckled. "Hey, I could do a lot worse than Grandma Georgie," he joked in a whisper.

"Just remember, if there's anything you don't feel comfortable with, you let me know, ok?"

He nodded. "Mom, I'm just gonna give Kaci a call to say good morning and ask her what she thinks about tomorrow."

/

"Here you go, love," Trevor passed Olivia a coffee, finding her sitting with Georgie in the kitchen.

"Thanks, sweetheart," she took the warm drink from him, looking up as he towered over her, waiting to catch her attention so that he could kiss her.

"And look, I got one of those awful fruit tea's for Noah…" he held up a green drink filled with lots of ice."

"Aww that's nice, we really do need to watch how much soda he's having though, I feel like it's a lot. I'm going to buy him a new water bottle and make sure he uses it."

"Trevor! You can't give that drink to that boy, it's hardly a morning drink."

"Noah likes it, and I like making Noah happy," he replied with a shrug, "and its Sunday, its okay. He's not having this every day."

Olivia smiled and shook her head as she lifted the toast to her mouth and took a bite. "See, I told you, he's already spoiling my kid rotten."

Georgie smiled at Olivia and pushed a chair out for Trevor. "Sit down, honey, I'll make you some breakfast…" She looked up, noticing Noah still in his pajama pants entering the kitchen. She beamed at him, "Ohhh good morning beautiful boy!" Georgie jumped up from her seat and pulled out another chair, "sit down, sit down, I'll get you some breakfast."

"Oh, its okay," Noah replied quickly, "thank you, but its okay."

"Nonsense, sit down honey. Grandma loves to make breakfast…" Olivia hid a smile as Noah's face reddened.

"Mom," Trevor warned her, "Noah might not feel comfortable with you calling yourself Grandma, Liv either…"

"Its totally fine with me," Liv replied at the same Noah offered the same response to avoid hurting Georgie's feelings.

"Mind your business, Trevor," Georgie told him with a little smile, "Now, Noah, what'll it be? I could make you some fried eggs and bacon and some hash browns— the works, how does that sound?"

"No, no, that's a lot of effort."

"Nonsense! I'm making it for Trevor too, it's fine. Maybe Mom would like some too."

"Mom, why don't you sit down, I can make breakfast for us all," Trevor opted, "please…"

Georgie smiled at her son that she adored, "I don't want to offend you, darling, but you don't cook eggs as well as I do. I think I better handle this."

Noah held back his laughter. Trevor laughed too, "Ouch… okay Mom, you win, thank you. If you need help I'm happy to … make toast or whatever."

"You're very lucky, Noah, everyone going to effort for you…" she told her son as Trevor slid the kiwi fruit tea across the table to him.

"Oh, thanks Trevor…" he grinned, "excellent, this looks awesome!"

"You're welcome kiddo."

"So what did Kaci say?" Liv asked him as Georgie got up and began cracking eggs in to a pain and letting the other hiss with the bacon.

"Oh yeah, so she isn't going to school tomorrow either. She said her Mom is letting her take the day off and they're going to spend the day doing girl stuff and she's going to pick up her gift. Her Mom said I could come and take her for a walk in the afternoon."

"Oh that's nice," Olivia smiled. "Great."

"Mom, we were thinking of staying here again tonight and leaving at around lunch time tomorrow-"

Patrick entered the kitchen and grinned at his son, "Ohhh, that's wonderful," he told them, standing behind Noah, resting his hands on his shoulders, "we'd love that, wouldn't we Georgie? More time to get to know Olivia and Noah too!"

Georgie was smiling as she turned around, "Of course, we'd be delighted to have you all again for another night."

"Maybe we should order a special take-out meal for dinner rather than having you cook tonight, Mom." Trevor suggested.

"Oh no— I don't mind."

"No," Patrick protested, coming to his wife's side and putting arm around her waist, "we should order in tonight, sweetheart," he told her, "you need a rest, you're doing too much."

"Yeah, it's really no trouble, you guys have gone to so much effort for us and we'd love to be able to do something nice for you both for dinner," Olivia pitched in.

Georgie's pride began to show and her face grew a little red. "It's just that I don't get to see my son often enough, I like to take care of him, and now I get a bonus family to take care of too, I enjoy it."

"Oh, Mom, that's so sweet, but let us take care of you too," Trevor told her, "here, let me help you with breakfast. It makes me feel good to help. Olivia and I will organise dinner, that's final, okay?"

"Alright," she sighed.

Trevor smiled and watched his father kiss her cheek affectionately.

/

"Oh, Olivia what is that!" Trevor's Mom squinted at her collarbone. Raia began to laugh to herself. "Mom, it's nothing," she said, pitching in.

Olivia gave them both a quizzical look.

"Yes, look! Liv, come here…" she commanded politely as Trevor made his way out the sliding door in his swimming shorts. Olivia looked hot in her black bikini, he thought. She moved closer to his Mom.

"Raia, look at this, this looks bad, Liv, what did you hurt yourself?"

"Oh, I'm looking," Raia grinned at Olivia, "from a professional point of view, I'd say it's nothing to worry about, right Trev?"

Olivia's face turned crimson as she whirled around to face her boyfriend. Her eyes widening with warning. Trevor realised quickly what his mother was talking about. He pressed his lips together hard so as not to laugh. "Yeah, nothing to worry about, Mom, just an occupational bruise from Olivia's bag, right Liv?"

"Mm right, it's fine, thanks Georgie."

She turned her back and made her way down the steps toward the pool as Raia snickered away to herself. "It was a love bite, Mom," she informed her.

"Shut up!" Trevor hissed, "mind your business!"

"Isn't your son, gross, Mom? You think he'd have some respect for his parents than to work on his girlfriend's body like it's another mouth… under the same roof!"

"Raia, shut up! Stop being a trouble maker."

Georgie reddened immediately, "Oh, no, I hope I didn't embarrass Olivia—" she glanced at her son, "Trevor, come on, you're not 12."

He sputtered for an excuse but eventually just laughed, "leave me alone, I'm a grown up. I didn't do it on purpose," he smirked, heading down to the pool after Olivia. He knew she would probably be annoyed with him.

"You totally did do that on purpose, that's the weird shit guys do to feel good about themselves."

Trevor looked over his shoulder and grinned at his sister as he disappeared down the steps.

"He's gonna marry her," Raia murmured quietly to her Mom. "You watch… he is really head-over-heels and I'm so relieved, Mom."

"Me too…" she replied quietly. "I'm just scared that he might be pushing himself too hard to get over Lana."

"Nah, he's had a few dalliances since Lana, he mentioned recently. Liv is different, she gives him the space he needs to still talk about her and she's open to hearing about her; it doesn't make her feel funny or upset or even jealous… that takes a strong woman and a very good woman. I only hope he won't be comparing her, because that would be shitty."

"I think he seems to have things back under control and I just love Olivia, she's so sweet. Shy, actually…"

"Mom's not shy," Noah replied, coming outside dropping in on the last bit of the conversation. "She's just not used to a lot of people, it makes her shrink a little," he told them. "Mom and I are introverts."

Raia looked up and gave Noah a smile. "That's understandable, especially given your Mom's job."

"Yeah," he agreed.

"So honey are you going to go down to the pool and swim with Mom and Trevor?"

"Oh yeah, in a minute… I'll just give them a bit of time on their own."

Noah looked up as Patrick walked out holding something under his arm and smiled at Noah. "Hey kiddo! I thought you'd be in the pool already! Not going in?"

"No, no," Noah smiled, "I will, I just wanted to give Mom and Trev a minute before I go and bomb in on them."

Patrick laughed, "I got you something when I was out this morning…" he informed him. Raia's interest was piqued too and she knew by her Mom's disinterest that she already knew.

"Oh?" Noah smiled, "you didn't have to get me anything!"

"I did," he replied, "I want you and your Mom and Trevor to keep coming back here and not get bored…" he showed him a box that held a pool game of football. "I think you set the net up on either side of the pool and have a game of catch…."

"Ohhh cool!" Noah exclaimed, "thank you, that'll be awesome."

Raia smiled; she knew that her parents were really antsy for grandchildren that they could have sleep overs with and spend more time with without diaper changes and melt downs and naps. Now that Noah was around and was perfectly patient with her own kids, she looked forward to them all spending time with their cousins and quietly hoped for Olivia and Trevor to have a baby together.

He pulled out something else, it was a pool rest with a foam border and a netted bottom so he could lay in it and still be in the water. "Oh, thank you so much, this is awesome."

"We don't have many pool things, just the discs that Gavin bought and that one pool float that your Mom was in yesterday, so I thought this might be fun for you and eventually the girls too when they can swim better."

Noah was beaming. "You guys are so kind, thank you… I'll use these today and force Mom and Trev to play with me," he laughed.

"I'll play with you if they're too busy being gross," Raia winked at him.

Noah chuckled, "Thanks, Raia."

"Uh Uhhhhhh," she laughed, "that's aunty Raia to you."

Noah laughed. "Ok okay, aunty Raia."

"Thanks, I'd just like to point out, I'm the fun aunt. I'm the one you come to, me and uncle Gav, when you want your first beer okay?"

"Raia! Not a chance!" Patrick exclaimed, "don't you dare."

"Oh I'm kidding," she rolled her eyes and winked at him and gave him a little nod.

"We saw that," Georgie told her. "Noah, if you ever want to have a beer you need to talk to Trevor or your Mom about that."

Noah laughed at their interaction, "My uncle Sonny let me taste his beer once. I hated it. I don't want to try it again, but… thanks aunty Raia."

/

"Baby, I'm sorry…" Trevor apologised to Olivia. "I know you're mad…"

She turned to him, "That was so embarrassing Trevor, I didn't even see it there. Did you do that on purpose?"

"No, it must have flared up overnight," he told her gently. "Honestly, I'm so sorry…" he murmured.

"Well my son is going to see this now and how am I supposed to explain that to him?," she wondered, frustrated. Trevor lifted his black t-shirt from over his head and passed it to her.

She looked at it quizzically. "Put it on," he nodded at her, "the sun has too much bite to it anyway… you can wear it while you're swimming." Olivia didn't particularly want to swim while encumbered by a t-shirt but she could see Noah coming down the steps toward them and pulled the shirt over her head.

"I'm sorry," he said again, leaning forward and kissing her forehead. "Really."

"Don't do it again…" she told him, trying to keep from laughing at the tiny smirk that he was trying to stifle.

"I can't promise that," he whispered, "and neither can you and you know it."

The smile up-turned in to a grin as he stood with his back to the pool. With one hard shove, she sent him flying in to the pool, with one arm outstretched trying to drag her down with him but he couldn't get a solid grip on her. He yelled out loud as he splashed in to the water, causing Noah to burst out laughing as he neared them.

She held up her hand to her son for a high-five. "He's been asking for that all morning," she remarked with a laugh. They watched him resurface with a big grin on his face. "That was evil and unfair, Olivia."

"No it wasn't. It was fair and just, wouldn't you say, Noah?"

"Well — I don't know, what did he do?"

"He's being a smart-ass," she replied, "and you know how I feel about smart-asses."

"Yeah, sorry Trev, you deserved it." Noah shrugged as he pulled off his shirt and handed his Mom some suncream. "Can you put this on my back?"

"Sure," she smiled winking at Trevor as she helped her son.

/

Before

"Nick… why won't Auntie Amanda talk to Mommy?," he asked softly as they rode quietly in Nick's car after Noah's ballet recital. "Mom has tried to call her, I heard her leaving voice messages and she's so sad."

Nick winced as he drove, glancing briefly at the little boy. "You know what? I think that's something that's private between them, but they'll sort it out, I promise. I know Mom's sad, that's why I'm here — to help cheer her up and to hang out with her so she doesn't feel alone."

Noah glanced out the passenger window and didn't say a word. "I know it's hard, Noah, but Mom will get over her sadness and she'll feel happy again."

"I'm sad too," he said in a whisper.

Nick reached out and rested his hand on the child's shoulder, feeling a pang of Noah's pain. He knew that Noah felt more than he was letting on; trying to put on a brave face for his Mom. "Do you want to talk to me about that?"

Noah looked away from the window and shook his head with a sigh and finally shrugged. "I want want to make Mom feel worse."

"I know, but maybe I can help…"

"I don't know why I can't make Mommy happy. Why does she need you or Amanda? Why can't I make her feel like she shouldn't be sad. I don't make her happy anymore."

"Oh no, no…" Nick murmured, "Noah, that's absolutely not true and I absolutely wouldn't be able to emphasise that enough," he told him. "Mom is sad because she got her heart broken romantically and Elliot did a really awful thing to her — and to you too. The same way you are trying to be brave for Mommy, she's trying so hard to be brave for you too. She doesn't want to make you sad, but sometimes we just have to feel sad, our friends, our partners, our kids — they can't always make us feel better; we just have to endure the feeling until it starts to hurt less and less."

Noah nodded again. "Do you hate Elliot?," he asked.

Nick wanted to show his feelings; the fury he felt for the coward that left his best friend without the courtesy of letting her know. "I don't think we're allowed to use the word hate," he replied.

"I don't care. I hate Elliot Stabler. I hate him because he tricked us in to loving him and I hate being tricked!"

"I hate that he tricked you and your Mom too, Noah, that was a really nasty thing that he did. I want you to know though, what he did; that's not a normal thing for someone to do to you. You probably won't ever have to worry about anyone leaving you like that again, because most people are kind enough to tell you if there's a reason they have to go. They won't ever leave you guessing."

Noah began to wipe his eyes and Nick realised he was crying. "I think we should stop off and get some ice cream and have a talk, what do you think?"

Noah just shrugged.

"Okay then, why don't I take you to Starbucks and you can get one of those fun fruit drinks that my Zara loves so much."

Noah nodded. He knew exactly what he was talking about. He had been allowed to get one on a special occasion with Cooper after school a few months earlier and even then Elliot had something to say because he picked the strawberry drink.

He knew that he would probably choose it again almost as if to spite his Mom's ex fiancé.

/

Nick bought himself a coffee and let Noah choose whatever he wanted — a strawberry tea. They walked across to Central Park and found a spot on a bench by the lake, watching the ducks pass.

"You know it's okay to be sad and upset with Elliot; even angry. I bet you're very angry."

"He made me quit dance," Noah sputtered, "because it was too girly. I had to do tee-ball and I hate Tee-ball. I don't want to do it anymore."

"Why did you agree? You know Mom would have supported you."

Noah shrugged, "I wanted him to like me. I really wanted to have a Daddy like Cooper. They always have fun together."

Nick could feel his veins heating with anger. "Elliot liked you, Noah."

"No!," he protested, "he didn't want to be my Dad, he didn't even love me, he told Mom, I used to hear them fighting and he used to always get mad at me for cuddling with her or calling her Mommy, nothing I do is right and now he's gone and I can't cheer Mom up because I'm not Elliot." He set his drink down on the table and wiped his eyes as he began to sob.

Nick put his own milky excuse for a coffee down and wrapped his arms around the child that he felt furious for. He held him firmly and let him cry. "Its okay, kiddo."

/

After Noah had calmed down he expressed that he wanted to get home to his Mom. Nick understood. Noah was sad and he wanted to be sad with his Mom.

Once home, Noah put his half-finished drink in the refrigerator and headed down the hall. He could hear his Mom sniffing and he knew that she was crying. "Mommy?," he called out carefully.

"Yes honey, give me a second okay?"

"Mommy, I'm coming in now," he said despite her protests. He found Olivia trying to make her way to the bathroom to clean herself up. "Mommy, its okay that you're sad," he told her softly. "I'm sad too."

"Oh honey, its going to be okay."

"I know, but sometimes we just have to be sad," he told her. "Its okay if you cry."

She could do nothing about the tears that streamed down her face. "Thanks babe," she sniffed, "its okay if you cry too. Maybe we need to both cuddle up and watch our favourite movie and just be sad together."

Noah nodded wiping his own eyes, hating to see his Mom cry. "K… why don't you go have a shower and put some pajamas on and Mom will clean herself up a little and speak to Uncle Nick."

"Okay. Mommy we could use some of my allowance so I can buy dinner for you-" he suggested that only made her want to cry harder.

"Ohhh my sweet heart," she murmured, kissing his temple, "I have money, I don't want you to spend your money. Thank you though, that is incredibly sweet."

Noah reluctantly let go of her and went to do what she asked. Olivia continued to the bathroom and washed up a little before going out to talk to Nick.

/

Present

"Hey Noah… Trevor and I were wondering how you'd like it if this week Trevor stays here with Ruby while I work nights," Olivia asked her son after Trevor had dropped them both home.

"Oh, yeah that'd be really cool. Does this mean Michelle will come over less and less now?"

"Yeah, if that's what you want, babe, if Trevor isn't busy and is happy to, then I'm happy too," she smiled at her son.

"Thanks Mom, I like having Trevor here and his family were so nice! Also, Trevor said I could go to his apartment sometimes too for a change of scenery. Is that cool with you?"

"Yeah, sure? Why not?," she shrugged. She turned to him, "okay babe, if you wanna go see Kaci, you need to go unpack your bag and put out your laundry for me."

"Okay," he agreed, "Oh, Mom, what are you gonna do while I'm gone?," he asked.

Olivia shrugged, "I don't know, I'll find something to do."

"Do you want to meet us at Central Park? I really want you to meet Kaci. Maybe we could get a drink or something?"

Olivia was surprised by the invite. "Are you sure you want me around?," she asked, "maybe Kaci doesn't want your Mom interrupting things."

"No, she wants to meet you, Mom, I promise. I want you to meet her too and maybe you could come with us when we walk back to Kaci's house and meet her Mom."

"Okay honey, why don't you text me when you are ready for me to come meet you. You guys can meet me at the Starbucks across from Central Park and we can get a drink and go across and sit and chat, how about that?"

"Thanks," Noah smiled.

/

"So….I thought that you didn't have much family?" Kaci asked as she and Noah walked along holding hands toward Central Park. He was so happy to see her. She had her hair reverse braided in to two sections with lots of different colours threaded through them — mermaid braids she had called them. They'd only last til she took her hair out, but her cousin was a hair stylist and had done them for her for her birthday.

"We don't… just family friends that I've grown up with," Noah replied, "but…" he paused, "I want to tell you something but I'm scared that if you stop wanting to hang out with me, you might tell people and right now I'm just … scared of getting bullied."

Kaci stopped him, "I promise. I wouldn't do that. You can ask Adam, I know about his Dad and all that stuff and I've never breathed a word and we've had huge fights before."

Adam had shared with Noah that his father was in prison and he hadn't seen him since he was little. It didn't seem like something anyone should tease another person about, but he knew that the kids at school would pick on anything.

"Remember I told you my Mom is friends with coach Langan?"

"Yeah…" Kaci nodded, gripping his hand a little tighter.

"Mom and Coach Langan are together… like … dating."

"Ohhhh," Kaci smiled at him, "that's no big deal, Noah, that's kind of nice. That explains why you're defensive about him. You know him really well. Do you like him for your Mom?"

"Yeah," he said without flinching, "he's really nice to my Mom and I and my Mom really deserves for a guy to be nice to her. She deserves to be loved. She's always been the person that helps everyone else and protects everyone, but no one else returns that except coach Langan, he is so kind to her and he makes her happier than I've seen her in a long time even if it is a little bit weird for me — or at least was."

"I'm glad. Everyone says your Mom is a super badass, so I love that, Noah and I hope Mr. Langan is kind to you, because it seems like you're like your Mom."

"Thanks for letting me tell you that."

"Does Adam know?," Kaci wondered.

"No… I haven't really had the chance to tell him yet, but I will… I don't want it to be a big secret, but I just don't want the guys on the team to think Trev-Mr Langan put me there as a favour or I didn't earn my spot or something."

"Well, I won't say a word about it."

"The best part is, I get to hang out with Coach's dog, she's the coolest dog ever. She comes to stay at our place all the time. I get babysitting duties."

Kaci smiled at him.

They kept walking until they found somewhere to sit. "So… I have something for your birthday," Noah told her after they settled.

"Oooh really? You didn't need to!"

"Of course I did!," he exclaimed, "I wanted to. Also, did I mention how cute your hair looks?," he asked her. He could tell she really liked how they looked as she kept reaching up to touch them. "You're already so cute, but they're really adorable on you! Too bad you can't keep them for school tomorrow."

Kaci grinned, "Well, maybe if I sleep carefully…" she chuckled.

Noah reached in to his small backpack that was at his feet and pulled out the small pouch. "I hope you like it. Coach Langan and my Mom helped me pick it out…"

"Aww, that's so nice." Kaci giggled excitedly as he handed her the pouch.

"Happy birthday, Kaci, thank you for being such a good person. I really care about you," he told her as she stared at him for a moment. He wondered if it meant that he should kiss her. His heart strummed against his chest as suddenly he felt a little nervous. So far it had only been kisses on the cheeks but nothing more.

He tried to keep in mind all the times his Mom had talked to him about how to treat a girl. "C-can I kiss you?," he asked, stammering.

Kaci smiled sweetly at him and nodded, her stomach turning to mush. Noah leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers briefly. It was awkward and clumsy but his heart soared. He opened his eyes again and pulled away, staring in to her eyes for a moment. "Was that okay?"

She giggled, "I think so? That was my first kiss!"

Noah sighed with relief, "thank goodness," he chuckled, "mine too." They were both red-faced and feeling a little silly. "Uh.. open your gift," he motioned for her to open the pouch.

Slowly she did as he asked and opened it up and spilled the bracelet out in to her small hands. "Oh my gosh," she murmured, holding up the silver bracelet with the rose quartz beads. "Noah! This is so beautiful! Thank you!"

"I know pink is your favourite colour and Mom said that it's a healing crystal for peace and calm and you said sometimes things get crazy at home."

"Yeah…" her voice trailed, "maybe it can bring some calm," she replied. She glanced up at him, "will you help me put it on?"

"Of course…" Noah took the bracelet from her as she held out her tiny wrist. He opened up the small parrot clip with his thumb and clipped it on.

"Thank you Noah, I love it so much. This is so heartfelt and thoughtful…" She sighed happily and took his hand again.

They sat for a little while chatting before Noah texted Olivia to come and meet them.

/

"Okay sweetheart, I gotta go, I can see them both now. Oh jeez, they're holding hands," Olivia chuckled, "they both look like tiny babies trying to be grown up, this is almost too weird for me Trev."

She heard him chuckle, "I know, it's bizarre, but I'm sure you felt grown up at 14 too."

"That's true," she replied. "Okay, I'll call you on our way back home. Love you."

"Love you too, have a nice time."

Olivia noticed that he and Kaci had dropped hands as she approached them with a smile and a wave. "Happy birthday, Kaci!," she greeted the girl who looked to be 12 if she was lucky. "Hey honey," she greeted her son.

"Thank you Mrs. Benson."

"Please, you can call me Olivia," she replied.

"Thank you so much for helping Noah pick out my birthday gift. It's so special, I love it so much," she gushed. Noah smiled at his Mom proudly.

"Oh, I didn't do much, Noah had strong ideas on what he wanted for you, but I'm very glad you like it." She glanced up at Starbucks, "are you both ready to go get a drink or a snack?"

"Yes," Noah replied. Kaci shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't bring any money, I thought we were just walking, I'm sorry," she apologised.

"Its fine, I have my Starbucks card, its your birthday," Noah told her quickly.

"Don't worry about it, either of you," Olivia smiled happily at them, "I've got this, this is my treat. It's your birthday," she told Kaci again, "and you have been a patient angel all weekend, you both deserve it."

They both said thank you and followed her inside.

"What would you like, Kaci? Anything you like—" Olivia told her gently, leaning over the small girl so that she could hear her over the coffee grinding machine. She could tell immediately that she didn't really ever come to Starbucks. She ummed over the menu and looked to Noah for help.

"Well," Noah told her, "you could get a fruit lemonade - I like the Mango and Dragonfruit Lemonade or the Pineapple Passionfruit one — or if you like milky drinks, you could get an iced chocolate or something…"

"Uh… the strawberry lemonade sounds nice. Could I please have that?," she asked politely, making sure to make eye contact with the detective.

"Of course, would. You like a pink or a turquoise cup?," she pointed to the two display Starbucks cups that sat by the register. They were shimmery and gorgeous but Kaci knew they weren't overly cheap. "Oh, the regular plastic cup is fine."

"Please," Olivia insisted, "birthdays are a special day and I really believe that it should be fun and memorable." She happened to glance at Noah who was beaming at her happy for her putting in so much effort. He was thankful for his mother. He really wanted to know how she felt about Kaci before he asked her to be his girlfriend.

"If you don't choose, I'll choose for you," Olivia continued.

Kaci blushed, "pink please, its my favourite colour," she replied in a small voice.

"Pink it is," Olivia replied. She took charge and ordered herself a cold brew and ordered Kaci's drink for her and Noah leaned in and made his own order. They pulled to the side and waited for a few moments. Olivia texted with Trevor, gushing about how cute her son and his friend were while Kaci and Noah exchanged shy, nervous smiles.

One by one their drinks were ready and Olivia led them across the road to her and Noah's favourite spot in Central Park, the one that Noah had just been at with Kaci - the very same spot Nick had taken him to talk all those years ago. It was Nick's fault he loved Starbucks so much.

"Wow, it was so busy and noisy in there…" Olivia remarked. "What have you kids been up to?," she asked, taking a seat.

"Nothing, I just met Kaci near her apartment and we came here and talked for awhile and I gave her her gift," Noah shrugged. "Did Trevor and Ruby get home okay?"

Olivia rose an eyebrow at him, surprised that he was openly talking about his teacher in front of Kaci. "Yeah, he's going to unpack and give me a call a bit later. I might leave the laundry to you guys tomorrow night."

"Okay," Noah shrugged.

"Do you help your Mom out around the house, Kaci?" Olivia wanted to know.

"Yeah," she replied with a smile, "My Mom and I cook every night and clean up together and make sure everything is neat and tidy. My Dad likes it that way," she told her.

Olivia tried not to react to her remark but she saw Noah give her a funny look. "That's nice, I bet your Mom loves spending that time with you. Did you guys do something special for your birthday?"

"Yeah! Mom has been saving up and bought me a new phone," she showed Olivia the new iPhone with a sweet pink rubber case with Hello Kitty on the back and a few little charms dangling from the corner. "And went to see my cousin and she did my hair."

Olivia grinned, "I love your hair, it's so pretty and colourful. Do you know, when I was in college, all of my friends always had their hair braided like that because I was the only one who knew how to do it and every morning girls would be lining up at my dorm to get their hair braided for the day."

Noah and Kaci laughed. "Is that true Mom? I didn't know that."

"Of course its true. I'll do yours for you tonight," she joked.

"Mommm," he groaned but laughed.

"That's so cool, I wish my Mom could braid my hair. My cousin lives in Queens so I can't just cut across and get it all the time, its just a special occasion, although one of the girls in our cheer squad can do it, but she's not very nice so I don't like to ask her."

"Well, if you ever need to have it done, you can get Noah to tell me and I'll happily do it for you."

"Thank you!," she exclaimed, "that's so nice of you."

Olivia liked her; she was sweet and sincere and apart from the slight alarm bell about a chauvinistic father, she was happy that Noah had chosen a girl who seemed just as young as him, not a girl who was advanced or looking for a boyfriend to mean anything more than a boy who was a friend. Perhaps she was being naive, but she felt she was safe from Noah jumping in to bed with this girl anytime soon.

"Do you have any siblings, Kaci?"

"No, it's just Mom and I … and Dad too."

"And Noah tells me you and your friend Katie — she's dating Adam, right? You're both part of the cheer leading squad?"

"Yeah I used to do gymnastics as a kid," she explained to Liv while Noah listened, learning new information about her. "I really loved it but its super competitive and it's expensive too. Mom and Dad couldn't really afford it anymore and I didn't want Mom to take a job to help pay for it, so I quit and Cheer seemed like something I could do for free at school," she replied.

"Oh that's a shame. You're so tiny, you would have been great at gymnastics. Noah used to do gymnastics too but he didn't want to do it anymore, did you, babe?"

"Mom!," he exclaimed, "don't tell her that, that's so girly!"

"No it's not, Noah!" Kaci exclaimed, "some of the guys I did gym with were so, so strong and don't be silly, I already know you did dance, Katie told me the kids used to give you a hard time, I would have been so angry if I was at our school back then, sports don't have genders and I hate it when people think they do."

"Yikes, sorry," Noah grimaced.

Olivia hid a smile as Kaci immediately softened, "Sorry," she said to both Olivia and Noah, "it's just silly. I love watching the mens gymnastics, people can think what they want but those guys are stronger than the dumb-dumbs on the football team."

"She's right, babe, you were nothing but muscle when you did gym and danced."

Noah shrugged. "Anyway, Katie isn't dating Adam, Mom, they're just friends, the four of us hang out together, the cheer team kind of broke away-"

"They're the type of girls who are popular for the wrong reasons and who tried to make Katie and I come to their parties, but both of us have strict parents and… I'm not interested in all of that stuff that goes on there. I don't like hanging out in big groups."

"Wise girl," Olivia smiled at her. "There will be plenty of time for parties and seriousness of life, you guys should just take it easy and enjoy everyones company and have fun," she paused, "but not too much fun."

"Yeah," Kaci smiled, "my Mom says the same. And it's okay that I can't go to parties, Noah, Adam and Katie can't either so I'm not missing anything."

"Well… I'm glad you had a wonderful birthday. Are you going to have something special for dinner?"

"Maybe, Mom said we'll have to see what Dad says when he gets home," she shrugged, "but its okay, if not, Mom promised to make me tater-tot nachos."

Olivia lifted her brow and laughed, "What on earth is tater-tot nachos?!"

"Wellll….." Kaci grinned, blushing a little, "its like nachos, but you use tater-tots, its really good, I promise, you guys should try it."

"I love tater-tots and so does Noah, we should try it, huh?," she asked him.

"Yeah! That sounds really good, I'll get the recipe," he smiled at Kaci.

"Well… I wasn't really allowed to stay out that long so I should head back home," Kaci told them, "but I am so happy to meet you, Olivia, Noah says the nicest things about you and everyone knows you're Noah's bad-ass cop Mom."

Olivia chuckled, "Well, that's lovely to hear," she winked at her son. "How about Noah and I walk you home and I can meet your Mom, would that be okay?"

"Uh…" Kaci thought for a second, "I think so…"

/

They picked up their drinks and started the slow walk back to Kaci's apartment which wasn't too far away from Olivia and Noah's. Olivia let them walk ahead so they could chat quietly. She could hear them both laughing and it was sweet. She plucked out her phone and took a photo of them both from behind as they walked and smiled at how sweet it was, how the sun going down ahead gave them both a gorgeous glow.

She was satisfied that Kaci was a sweetheart and that even if Noah decided to call her his girlfriend, they wouldn't be much more than just friends. She knew they'd kissed because of Trevor, but she also knew it wasn't more than a kiss on the cheek.

As they neared her apartment it started to look familiar. Perhaps she'd been to a job at the block once before — she'd been to jobs almost everywhere in the city. "I'm just here, I can go in…" she told them with a smile. "Thanks."

"Nah, we'll walk you to the door, that's the right thing to do, right Mom?" Noah asked.

"Yeah, it's polite and we want to make sure you're home safe, sweetheart."

"Uh… let me ask my Mom if my Dad is home. I don't think my Dad would like it if I was hanging out with a boy."

Olivia felt a little defensive of her son. She couldn't help but to notice the nervousness that overtook Noah's friend. She texted and waited a few moments for a response and immediately the tension seemed to leave her face. "Its fine, Mom said," she smiled at them both reassuringly as they followed her in to the walkup to the 6th floor.

Apartment 37, Olivia said to herself interiorly. There was something familiar here… Before she could think about it any further, the door was opened and she came face-to-face with a blonde woman who she had definitely met before. "Hi," she flashed her the woman a smile. She knew that the woman recognised her too — the alarm spread across her face- she had no ability to hide it.

"Hi Mom," Kaci greeted her Mom with a hug around her waist. The woman hugged her daughter back and gave her a kiss on the top of her head, "Hi my birthday princess."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Olivia," she said using her professionalism to pretend that she either didn't remember, or that she would never bring up anything outside of her work.

"Tara, nice to … nice to meet you," she stuttered. She turned to Noah, "and you must be Noah, nice to meet you Noah."

"Mommy!" Kaci grinned at her Mom, "look at this beautiful bracelet that Noah bought for me, isn't it so pretty?"

"Aww, honey that is beautiful, I hope you said thank you."

She nodded and smiled at Noah. "Thank you a thousand times over, Noah, it's perfect." She turned back to her, "Mom can I show Noah my birthday cake really quick?"

"Okay, but just quickly, honey, Daddy will be home very soon."

"Okay," she grabbed Noah's arm who held up one finger at his Mom. "I'll just be one minute, promise."

Once alone the two women appraised one another. Olivia smiled at her. "Its okay," she assured her. "I'm just here as a Mom."

"Thanks," she whispered, "Please— please don't say anything to your son."

"Oh, of course not. Work and Noah do not cross paths, ever… but…" she paused, "you know what I said to you, if you ever need me, I'm here, as a Mom and a cop."

"Thanks, but … we're fine."

"I know," Olivia nodded, "and you have such a beautiful daughter. She's very special to Noah and I want to assure you that he's a young 14… you don't have anything to worry about with him, I promise."

"Thank you, detective Benson. He seems like a sweetheart."

Olivia smiled as her son came back to her, by her side. "Okay, well, we better say goodbye and go home and make dinner." She glanced at Kaci's mom, "We've been told we need to try Tater-tot nachos, so maybe we could do that tonight. We might need a recipe."

Tara laughed, "I'll get Kaci to send our best one yet. Nice to meet you finally, Noah. Thank you for making Kaci's birthday that little more special."

Noah blushed, "Of course… Happy birthday Kaci, have a great night."

The two hesitated before they hugged. Olivia and Tara exchanged little smiles. Kaci turned to Olivia. "Thank you so much for my drink and my cup, it's so pretty."

"Oh, of course, sweetheart, anytime." She hugged Kaci too. "Enjoy your night ladies!" She greeted them, putting an arm around Noah as they waved them off.

/

"Mom did you like Kaci?" Noah asked eagerly as they headed back toward their apartment.

"Yes babe, I really like her. Trevor told me she was a very sweet girl and I think I trust his judgment and I also trust yours too and she really was a sweet girl."

"Thanks for being so nice to her — she never gets to go to Starbucks or anything like that, I think her parents don't have much money."

"Maybe not sweetheart, you're very fortunate, I hope you know that."

"I know," he replied, "And Kaci really liked her gift. I need to tell Trevor thank you again. Whenever I ask him when I can start paying him back he changes the subject and tells me to worry about saving my allowance."

Olivia put her arm around her son and kissed him on the temple. "Let me repeat, you are very fortunate. Trevor loves you and wants you to concentrate on other stuff with your money and I don't think he would have helped you out unless he understood how important it was for you and because above all else, he cares."

"I know, it's really nice to have someone care about us the way he does, huh?"

Olivia nodded. "I can tell he makes you happy Mom and he makes me happy too."

She smiled. "So tell me, what was the change of heart telling Kaci that I'm dating him."

Noah shrugged, "I guess I know some of her secrets and I know I'd never tell unless I absolutely had to, so I know she wouldn't either — especially if it meant kids would bully me."

They walked silently until Noah turned to her, "Wait, it was cool that I told her, right?"

"Of course babe, tell who you want, I don't mind at all… We're going to have to navigate it at some stage and I think its healthy that you don't keep secrets from everyone."

"Thanks Mom," he replied.

/

Once they were back at home Noah had a shower and got in to his pajamas, dreading having to go to school the next day. He found himself missing the company of Trevor and Ruby while Olivia did her best to throw together a dinner, promising to go to the store for some tater-tots the next day.

"Mom, is Trev gonna come over or not?"

"He thought he should give us some space together," she replied.

"Oh…" Noah sounded a little deflated. "I hoped he'd come over, I wanted to tell him about my walk date with Kaci."

"Why don't you call him and tell him you miss him and if you want him to come over, you only have to ask."

"Is that weird?" Noah asked, looking at his phone, scrolling through his group chat which was mostly Katie and Kaci gushing over her new bracelet.

"No, not if that's how you feel…"

Noah drew in a deep breath and began to text Trevor. "Hi Trev. Mom just told me you weren't coming over tonight and I'm bummed out…. I hope it's not weird to say, but I really miss you and Ruby. Do you want to come over? I understand if you want a night to yourself, but I wanted to tell you about my date with Kaci… its nice getting used to you being here."

"Should we wait for an answer from Trevor before we eat?" Noah asked his Mom.

"Yeah… give him a few minutes to respond."

Before Olivia had even finished her sentence, Trevor had responded.

"Oh I'm so sorry I forgot to ask you, kiddo. I thought you and your Mom might want some space. I'll have a chat to your Mom and let you know. If she'd prefer the night alone, I'll give you a call and you can tell me all about it."

"Mommm, he thinks you don't want him here."

"Call him," Olivia prompted her son.

Trevor answered, "Hey kiddo, I was just about to text your Mom."

"Mom told me to call you and that if I wanted you to come over I should ask you…" Noah told him. "I think you should come over; Ruby too. We've got dinner waiting for you and we could maybe hang out before I go to bed."

Trevor felt a small smile pull at the corners of his mouth. "How about Mom, is that what she wants?"

"Mommmm tell Trevor you want him to come over too," Noah told his Mom impatiently.

"Come on over Trev…"

He chuckled, "Okay my two favourite people in this world, I will be there soon and I promise to bring Ruby and I want to hear all about this date."

Noah smiled with satisfaction and said goodbye and excitedly waited for him to turn up.