Hi everyone, its taken a little over a week for this one - enjoy it, please leave feed back- if you have any further ideas feel free to drop it in the replies :) x
"Can I sit with you guys?" Ryan asked sheepishly, approaching Noah and his friend's at their lunch table. Adam glanced up at him taken aback by his question. "Is that cool?"
"What happened to your other beef cake friends?" Katie asked without looking up. He stood dumbly with his lunch tray in hand not knowing how to respond.
"Guys, let him sit, don't be cruel…" Kaci spoke up. Adam said nothing and shuffled over so his team mate could sit beside him.
"Thanks…" Ryan replied.
"How'd you go in the English pop quiz" Noah asked, directing his question to Ryan.
He shrugged, "Better than last one I think," he replied. "What about the rest of you?"
They all answered him. "Sorry if I made it weird by sitting with you guys-"
"No, its fine. I told you you were welcome to sit with us anytime. Guys, Ryan and I talked and I think with Peter gone, we can maybe work on just … finding common ground."
Adam smiled across the table at his friend, Noah. He was always trying to find the good in everyone and if he was honest, it was a little inspiring. "We're good," he told Ryan with a little smile. "You're good with Noah, you're good with me."
Ryan returned the smile. He glanced at Kaci, "Kace, I'm really sorry for what I said about your Mom. I don't think I knew what I was saying— it's no excuse but, I was being such a dick and I'm so sorry."
Kaci shrugged. "Thanks for apologising. Its okay, let's forget it."
Noah smiled, feeling happy about Ryan easing slowly in to friendship with him. "Why are you guys being so nice to him?" Katie asked, annoyed. "He literally said the worst thing about your Mom when she could have died," she snapped, "and you're all like… sure, forgiven, don't worry about talking shit about both of our Dads or our Moms, tralalaaaa" she rolled her eyes.
"Firstly," Noah began, "my biological father is not my dad, don't ever refer to him like that again, please," he replied, "and secondly, how can you ever expect someone is going to become a better person and learn from their mistakes if you never give them another chance? I forgive people and I choose not to hold grudges and maybe I'm dumb for that, but I'd rather have forgiveness in my heart than hold on to darkness, I know for a fact that can you eat you alive."
Katie rolled her eyes, "this is why everyone used to find you annoying, Noah, you're such a fucking do-gooder, we liked it better when you got a rebellious streak, now you're back to boring, simping over Kace…"
Noah felt struck by her words but shrugged as she gathered her things, "I know you're upset because you feel protective of Kace, that's fair. There's no need to be rude to me for that, but its okay, I forgive you." He knew he was being a little bit of a wise-ass but he couldn't help himself.
"Fuck you, Noah. Are you coming?," she asked pointedly, glaring at Adam. Feeling torn he glanced between his friend and the girl that he was starting to realise was a little more high maintenance than he had immediately expected.
"Its okay," Noah told him, "I don't want you to have to pick a side."
"No," he shook his head and looked at Ryan who looked upset. "Katie, Noah is right… Ryan apologised, I feel like its sincere. I have to do my best by my team to make sure everyone gets along and that includes me… I'm not getting up."
She rolled her eyes and walked away, headed back to her old cheer table. Kaci watched her with a little disappointment. She watched her talk to the other girls from cheer who were laughing. Feeling upset for her, she watched Katie take her tray and head in the other direction, being rejected from the cheer squad.
"Why is she being so weird with me all of a sudden?" Kaci asked, "she won't answer my texts properly, she doesn't want to hang out…"
"I think she's still feeling upset that you didn't tell her about what happened but you told Noah."
Kaci rolled her eyes, "because Noah's Mom was the cop on the case and she was looking after me! No offence Noah," she glanced at him, "but I probably wouldn't have told you either if it weren't for your Mom."
"I know," he replied with a shrug, "but I wouldn't get mad at you for that, you needed time. You took forever to actually even reply to my texts and that was knowing my Mom had told me what happened," he shrugged and took her hand and smiled at her, "but its okay, you needed time and people that love you and care about you respected that."
Adam smiled at Noah too; he was thankful for his friend that had shown him it was okay to be a little softer and that it wasn't more manly to not talk about things nor was it less macho to be thoughtful and considerate of others. He'd never met anyone quite like Noah, but he was glad to call him his best friend.
"I feel like I have no right asking this, but have you tried talking to Katie and telling her how you felt from your perspective and then listening to how she feels?," Ryan asked Kaci.
Kaci looked up at him with a little surprise as he ate some mess from the cafeteria. "Sort of, I feel like she's so mad that she won't bother listening."
"When Noah agreed to talk to me, I think what helped was that he tried to see things from my perspective as stupid or as crappy as the excuses were and he wasn't immediately getting angry with me. He explained things about himself and his view and it made me realise I have always been assuming things about him and maybe if I am completely honest, I was a little jealous of how nice things seem to be for him."
Noah gave his new friend a little bit of a weak smile. Adam glanced at Noah. "Everyone always assume things. I know when Noah joined the team I was like Oh great another one of Coach Langan's projects."
They all laughed, "I felt like that too," Noah replied with a smile, "but then I realised I liked training and I have always loved running and I was surprisingly okay at it."
"No, you're more than okay at football, I'm comfortable enough to admit that now," Ryan complimented him.
Adam nodded with agreement. "You are, you're actually just getting so much better… you're going to be great once the competition starts." He turned to Kaci, "so maybe we are witnessing history, maybe Ryan is right, maybe you could try to talk to her."
"Maybe…" Kaci grumbled.
"Come on, you can be the bigger person," Noah told her, putting an arm around her and giving her a little squeeze.
"Okay can we not sit and watch you suck face at the lunch table," Adam made a face, afraid he would encounter them trying to swallow each other's faces again as had found them waiting for him at his locker.
Kaci blushed. "Okay fine, I'll go talk to Katie," she went to get up but Noah stopped her.
"No, but wait, eat your lunch first…" he told her, nodding to the banana and yoghurt she had sitting on the table.
"I don't want the banana. Do any of you guys want it?," she asked.
Noah shook his head. "No thanks," replied Adam. She motioned to hand it to Ryan.
"Are you sure you don't want it?," he asked. Noah remembered how little it seemed that he had and how he had acted like Noah had done the nicest thing, giving him his drink. He glanced at the limp pasta salad that he was eating that was the cheapest thing on the school menu.
"I'm sure," she replied.
"Thanks," he took it, discarding the pasta that looked bland and tasteless and somehow dry but limp at the very same time.
/
"Dad is it okay if Kaci comes over after school to study for our English test?," Trevor read the text message and thought for a second. He ran it by Olivia who was feeling a little better. He replied immediately after getting a response from Liv.
"Yeah that sounds fine kiddo, don't forget Grandma is at home too, but Kaci is welcome." He hit send and continued to mark some papers, getting as much done as he could before the end of the period signalling the day's end. Most days Noah liked to ride home with him.
A few seconds later another message came through, "can we still get a ride? Kaci might need to go home first and let her Mom and Grandparents know… is that fine?"
He sighed heavily but smiled. His responsibilities were new but he didn't mind even if he really was anxious to get home to Olivia. "Sure kiddo. Meet you at the car after the bell."
/
"Trevor… is it okay if you come and talk to my Mom?" Kaci asked him kindly as he pulled to a stop outside of her block. "Mom's just extra scared about me being anywhere on my own at the moment."
He turned the car off, "sure," he smiled. He understood, her mother wanted some assurance of where her daughter was. He had once met Tara at a parent-teacher interview. He followed the kids up to apartment 37. "Mom, I'm home! Grandma? Grandpa?"
Tara appeared with a slightly stilted gait, smiling to see her daughter and looking up, noticing Trevor and Noah. "Ohhh, you didn't tell me you were bringing company, honey…"
"Sorry," Trevor apologised, "I'm Trevor, I believe we've met but I'm also Noah's Dad," he re-introduced himself.
"Oh," she smiled, "yes, I remember, I didn't realise you were Noah's Dad. I'm Tara."
"Yeah," he smiled, shaking her hand. "Mom, is it okay if I go to Noah's house to work on our English test?"
Tara looked at Trevor, "Olivia and I will both be at home," he assured her, "but if you have something already planned or prefer Kaci stays here, that's totally understandable, I didn't realise these two were putting you on the spot," he said, glancing pointedly at Noah.
"Oh," she smiled, "its okay, if you need to study then that's fine," she glanced at Tara, "why don't you just go find out if Grandpa can pick you up later? I don't want you walking home."
"Its okay," Trevor said, "Liv or I will walk her back with Noah or if it actually rains like it's trying to out there, we'll drive her home."
"That's really kind of you." Trevor couldn't help but to notice how shy and measured Tara was— a lifetime of having to watch her interactions with anyone that wasn't her husband; learning that she was free to speak plainly and openly without fear or recourse. "Thank you for taking care of my girl, I've spoken to Olivia but … Kaci told me about how you all looked after her until her grandparents arrived, and … it means so much to me that she had someone to help."
"Oh," Trevor smiled, "of course, it was absolutely our pleasure. Kaci is a wonderful kid, we wouldn't have had it any other way and Liv and I were both so happy to hear you're almost fully recovered."
Tara returned the smile, "it'll take some time but we're getting there and we're healing, aren't we, sweetheart?"
Kaci smiled and nodded, sliding her arms around her Mom and gave her a little hug, still having to be gentle from her surgeries.
"I'm glad to hear that," He glanced at the kids, "Ok, what do you guys need? Do you have your books, Kace?," he asked her.
"I'll just go grab my notes and my book and say hello to my grandparents, I'll be three seconds."
"And how are you doing, Noah?," Tara asked him.
"Good thanks, I was so happy when Kaci said you came home from the hospital," he told her sincerely. "I'm glad you're healthy again."
"Aww, you are such a sweetheart, your Mom and Dad have really made you in to a gorgeous, kind young man," she gushed.
Trevor laughed and put a hand on Noah's shoulder. "I'll have to credit his Mom for that, I don't think I had a thing to do with it."
Noah looked up at Trevor and beamed, "Nah, you've had a hand in teaching me how to be a better person."
Trevor dropped his head back and smiled to the sky and glanced at Tara, shaking his head. "Who would have thought our 14 year old kids were capable of being this amazing?"
Tara chuckled. "You guys really are sweet, we're lucky parents to have such nice, attitude-free kids."
"For the most part," Trevor winked at Noah.
Kaci reappeared a few moments later. "Okay kids, we should get going, I've gotta get home to help Mom and Grandma out with the baby…"
They said goodbye before Trevor paused, "Oh, would it be okay if Kaci has dinner with us? If she wants to, of course."
"Sure, of course. Thanks Trevor. Be good Kaci. Remember your manners."
"I will, Mommy," she replied in a sing-song voice as she and Noah made their way down the stairs back toward Trevor's car.
/
"Ohh my gosh, you look better this afternoon?!" Trevor exclaimed, pulling Olivia close to him, engulfing her in a warm greeting. Noah, smiled at his Mom; it was nothing for him to see his Mom and Trevor showing their affection in front of him and it no longer bothered him; if anything it made him happy to see his Mom in a healthy relationship - it was a good blueprint for him, a second go at understanding that a relationship did not have to be toxic.
"Hi baby, I'm feeling a bit better this afternoon. I have some meds to help so fingers crossed," she replied.
Noah saw his grandma coming out of the living room holding Lexi. "Hi, Grandma," he greeted her, "Hi cutie," he spoke to his little sister. He glanced back at Kaci. He gave Georgie a quick hug and turned back to Kaci, "Grandma, this is my friend Kaci, Kaci, this is my grandma, Georgie."
"Ohhh!" Georgie grinned at the tiny blonde girl before her. "Hi Kaci, it's my pleasure to meet you, Noah has told us all so much about you." She pulled Kaci toward her and gave her a little squeeze. A little taken-aback at first, Kaci looked surprised, but she leaned in to the older woman's affection, realising quickly that Georgie was Trevor's mother from the absolute likeness they shared.
"Nice to meet you too, Noah told me a lot about you and your family as well."
She felt another set of arms around her, realising that it was Olivia coming to greet her. "You're like my other little girl," she told Kaci, "how are you, sweetie?"
"Good," Kaci grinned, loving how much time Olivia had for her. "Mom said to say thank you for the flowers and the cupcakes you sent."
Olivia smiled back at her, "Oh, she's welcome but she doesn't have to keep thanking me, she already called me. We're just so happy to see that she's on the mend."
"Thanks, Liv."
"Okay guys, better get to studying," Trevor told them, standing in the kitchen.
"Give them a second, honey, sheesh…" Georgie remarked.
"They have an important English test on Monday," he replied.
"Sorry smoosh, Dad's got his serious face on," Noah spoke to Lexi who he had taken from his grandmother.
Lexi pointed to Trevor, "Daddy!"
"That's right, that's Daddy and he's not allowing us food or water because we have an important test on Monday," he joked.
"Noah, come on kiddo," he cocked his head to the side, "you said you needed to study…"
Noah smiled and passed Lexi over to him. "Okay, we can go study in my roo-"
"No-" both Trevor and Olivia said at once. "No, at the table please," Olivia continued, "if this test is important, then I want to make sure you're both actually studying and not playing on your video game or phones."
"How about, you two," Georgie nodded at Olivia and Trevor, "go and relax in the living room and I'll get these kids a snack and something to drink while they set up at the table."
"Its ok-" Olivia began. Georgie raised an eyebrow. "Now, what did we talk about earlier, Liv?"
She held up her hands, "that you're the boss of my apartment," she winked.
"That'll do," Georgie laughed. Trevor was happy for the down time with Olivia and Lexi in the living room after work.
He set Lexi down, "Go with Mommy, sweetheart," he told her. He glanced at Liv, "I'm just gonna get changed,"
/
Noah was relieved when they were on their own finally. He gave his phone to Kaci, "put something on that we can listen to, your choice," he smiled.
She grinned mischievously at Noah and he laughed knowingly. He groaned with mock-annoyance, "Please, please no Taylor Swift," but he truly didn't mind. She hesitated. "No, I'm kidding, you can play whatever you want, I don't mind Taylor, but don't tell anyone I said that."
She chuckled, "Only a strong man will admit that Taylor Swift is incredible," she shot back.
"Well then I love her, I think she's incredible," he joked as Kaci hit play on her favourite album; Speak Now.
"I really like your Grandma, she's super nice, and these cupcakes are so good!," she told him.
Noah nodded in agreement as he opened up his notebook, "Yeah, I thought it would be weird to suddenly have this weird experience of just spontaneously generating a family — even giving Trevor that title… that it would be weird, but it wasn't… Even before he and my Mom were serious, I felt like he was less teacher-y and more fatherly. I know that probably sounds dumb."
Kaci smiled and shook her head. "It doesn't… It just feels so peaceful in this apartment. Sometimes its hard at home still because Mom gets sad and she feels a bit lost; she's not used to making her own decisions or doing normal things like managing money or working — its new, for both of us."
"I'm sorry," he replied gently, touching her hand.
"Its okay, Grandpa told me that it'll just take time and maybe some therapy for both of us." She paused, "dont tell anyone I'll have to see a shrink."
"My Mom sent me to a shrink for years…" he admitted, "I hated him, but I was being rebellious, you know, my more likeable trait," he joked.
Kaci laughed, "She really didn't mean that, I don't think. She always tells me how nice you are… I think she had a little crush on you too, maybe."
"Oh she did not…" he laughed. Kaci smiled and nodded at him. "Uh-oh, don't be silly. What do you mean too, do you have a crush on me? Or is there someone else who has a crush on me?"
Her face flushed, "Mmm maybe we should work on our English test before Trevor comes in here and gets mad…"
Noah grinned at her as she got her papers in order, ignoring him and the fact that her face was heating up with embarrassment. He focused on his own paper and picked up his soda and took a mouthful. "Well… I definitely have a crush on you. I figured you'd know that by now. I don't kiss girls that I don't have feelings for, that would be crappy of me."
She beamed back at him. She was too shy to speak. "Okay," she replied meekly.
Noah wasn't upset or offended by her lack of response. He knew by now that she was sometimes overwhelmed by shyness. He turned back to his paper and picked up a pen. "Sooooo, how should we do this?," he nodded toward the short story.
"The first part of the test is comprehension, so I think we should both read the pages and quiz each other on as many random things and not so random things. I'll show you what I mean after we've read it."
"Okay, can we pause the music while we read? I find it hard to concentrate with a lot of noise."
"Sure," she replied.
/
"Are they studying out there?" Trevor asked Olivia quietly as she spied on the two at the dining table from around the corner, trying to hear if their conversation was around school work or if they were gossiping about school.
Georgie laughed at Trevor and Olivia's deep interest in the young teens. "Oh come on now, does it really matter? They're 14, they're not locked in a bedroom, they're just at the table making googly-eyes at one another between pretending to study."
"I don't actually mind if they're acting like lovesick puppies, but I do want them to both do well in the test. Noah has a bit more to prove after a big grade drop last semester. Its getting better, but I want his average back where it was," she replied, sitting back down when she was satisfied that they were both reading and concentrating.
"And I don't want them making out all over the place," Trevor added.
Olivia laughed. "I love that the second you found out that they'd properly kissed, you're paranoid that they're about to have sex in the middle of the kitchen."
Trevor made a face, "I'm not paranoid, I just…" he shrugged, noticing his Mom watching their back and forth with a little amusement. "I know he says there's no chance he's ready to do that, but… we all know how fast these things get out of control."
"I don't," Olivia replied with a little smirk, "I would like to think that at 14 neither of them are thinking of sleeping together and I can tell you that if my son suddenly lost control of his inhibitions, that sweetheart girl out there who looks like she's barely 12yrs old would have her hand on the brakes."
"Let's hope so," Trevor muttered.
"Trevor," Georgie smiled at him, "relax, your father and I had to put up with boys coming around to see your sister and you and your little girlfriend's studying," she made air quotes, "and don't think I didn't catch both of you kids making out like life depended on it…"
Olivia chuckled, "Yes but that's different," Trevor replied, "Noah isn't me."
"No, Noah is different to a lot of other kids his age, Trevor, give me some credit for how he's been raised. If he and his girlfriend at whatever age decide to sleep together, I hope that he will think it over, be prepared, practice safe sex and understand the responsibilities that come along with it — we can't stop them, we can only hope that whenever it happens, that they are making wise and educated decisions."
Troubled, Trevor finally sighed, "I saw them kissing outside of her science lab class just before lunch," he admitted, "and … if it were any other kids, I would have told them to cut it out because the level of …" he made a face, "it was just inappropriate for a school hallway."
"Oh," Olivia replied. "Okay, so maybe we talk to him about a time and a place," she replied.
"Maybe," Trevor replied.
"But seriously, relax. You can't get all wound up every single time they are together, it's going to make you crazy. We should be happy for him, they really like each other and they're very sweet with one another."
"They are sweet, aren't they?" Georgie remarked, "she is delightful… I can see why you all like her so much."
Trevor finally got up and went to have a shower to try to relax a little.
Once out of earshot Olivia turned to Georgie, "am I being too lax about Noah and his girlfriend?, I mean, you've raised a teenage boy, should I be more worried?"
"I don't think so, I think Noah is a good boy and even though I was teasing Trevor, he was too. I think Noah is very respectful and that may just be because of you and what your job is and how aware he is, but I genuinely don't think you have to worry."
"Don't get me wrong, I do worry, but I don't actually think he's going to be having sex with her. Only days ago he was telling me that kissing her sometimes doesn't feel like anything," she told Georgie in a whisper, "and suddenly there's proper kissing? I think he genuinely wants to feel something that may not be there for her," she admitted. "I think he loves her as his friend, but either way… I know she's not really interested in much else than friends who kiss."
Georgie smiled, "the fact that your son is open with you about this stuff, Liv, it goes to show that he will probably be less likely to rush in to any big decisions, he's still figuring things out."
She nodded. "Anyway," she sighed, "enough about that…I'm just going to go and start getting Lexi's dinner ready. Can I get you something?"
"No, Liv, you just do what you need to do, let me know what time you'd like dinner and I will start getting it ready."
"You're a saint," Liv replied with a smile.
/
"Shit…" Trevor remarked as he glanced at his phone, about to sit down at the table. He looked up and saw that both of the kids and Liv were staring at him. Kaci tried to cover her smirk, Noah too, but Olivia just gave him a reproachful look. "Sorry," he quickly apologised. With a sigh he put his phone up on the kitchen counter. "Do you have anything planned on friday night?," he asked Liv.
"No, why? Should I?"
He glanced at his mother, "Mom, you'll be here over the weekend still, right?," he wanted to know.
"Yes, Dad's coming down for the weekend, remember? We were going to stay at your apartment so as not to crowd you all."
"Don't be silly," Olivia quickly protested, "you're both welcome here…but wait, why are you swearing and what is happening friday night?"
"I just forgot I have a work thing on, it's a charity thing someone organised and I got bullied in to buying two tickets and was going to force Raia to come with me, it was so long ago now and I just checked my private email and apparently We-" he almost said the name of the teacher he sometimes complained to Liv about but stopped himself, remembering his audience, "the person organising is sending everyone a live countdown," he made a face.
"Oh, there you go," Georgie smiled, "I wanted to give you both a date night, so there you go, you both have an occasion to get dressed up and enjoy a night out."
Olivia glanced at Trevor and rose an eyebrow and shrugged, "could be fun?"
"Could be, but probably won't be…" he replied, sitting down. Olivia felt a little slighted but didn't want to make a scene in front of everyone.
"Well," she replied, "I don't have to go, you can go and get it over with and come back home, I don't mind," she replied in that tone that he knew was one that she used when she was a little hurt or put out. He reached out and placed a hand on her arm affectionately as his Mom sat down at the table too. "I didn't mean it like that, sweetheart," he murmured, "I just meant that if I was taking you out on a date, it wouldn't be a work event, you deserve a little better than that," he smiled.
She regarded him with a little smile, letting her hand slide in to his. He gave it a squeeze.
"You could do both, Dad and I will stay for the weekend and maybe a few extra days depending on how Liv's meds work," Georgie pitched in, "Noah will help us with Lexi, right honey?"
"Uhuh," he smiled. "Oh wait, Adam is supposed to be staying on saturday night, can that still happen?"
"Yes Noah," Olivia told him, "I spoke to his Mom this morning, it's fine, but you're not putting the xbox in your room, you guys can sleep out in the living room if you want and you can play your game there, but you need to be mindful of noise and also of who might want to watch TV. Grandma and Grandpa will still be here, so you won't be able to do your games until they go to bed."
"That's okay," Noah smiled, happy that his sleepover was back on track. "Thanks for talking to Hannah. But if you guys go out, I'll still help with Lexi," he told his Mom.
"We'll see," Olivia replied. She didn't want to say it, but she had assured Adam's Mom that she and Trevor would be home. They were both in agreement about the boys not being unattended for too long when they were hanging out; it wasn't that she didn't trust either of them, its just that she knew what kids could get up to when left to their own devices.
"Thank you for making dinner, Mom, this looks amazing," Trevor smiled at his Mom, he loved her casseroles. He stood up over the piping hot baking dish. He took his mother's plate, "here, let me get you some," he told her.
"No, no, you guys get your own first."
Trevor ignored her and scooped a serve of it for her, it was full of brown rice and cauliflower, spinach, shredded chicken and oozed with cheesy goodness. "Mmm it smells so good," Olivia remarked. She turned to Kaci, "do you like cauliflower and chicken?"
"Yep," she smiled, "it looks amazing," she added.
Trevor placed Georgie's plate down and picked up Kaci's, "Ok, kiddo, you tell me when to stop…" he began to scoop her food out. He went to get a second scoop but she halted him.
"Nooo, that's so much, thank you."
"Are you sure? That's barely anything? That's not enough-"
"Trevor, stop it, she doesn't want more," Liv laughed, "she can have more if she's still hungry after."
"I don't eat a lot," Kaci replied a little sheepishly.
"Okay, well there's salad too, so help yourself to that," he nodded to a giant salad bowl. He scooped everyone else's food out, happy to have a nice family dinner and to see Olivia eating a proper dinner for the first time in a little over a week.
"I'm glad to see you eating again," Trevor smiled at her, "you look so much better tonight than you did last night."
"The anti-nausea drug kicked in, I think, but apparently it can be hit or miss."
"We'll keep our fingers crossed then," he smiled at her.
/
"I'm not sure about this…" Olivia remarked, coming from the bathroom in an a-lined black floral dress. "I feel like it's too tight?" She glanced down at the cotton pulling taut across her bump. "I'm scared that if I eat and have a soda or something it'll feel too tight."
Trevor's eyes swept over her as a smile spread out over his lips. "You look beautiful," he replied, "I love that dress on you," he added, it showed some modest cleavage and it fit her body so nicely, complimenting her curves. "But I want you to be comfortable, so maybe if you aren't sure, you can wear something else? Do you have something that's a little more stretchy fabric-wise?"
"Thanks," she replied, pausing to thank him for his compliment and for his patience. He stood before her in a pair of black dress pants and an opened white business shirt that he was in the middle of buttoning up. He looked gorgeous too.
She disappeared in to the closet again and came out holding two other options - one was a plain navy blue dress that was a similar cut to the last but hemmed at her calves. The other was a black wrap dress which he knew was probably the safer option as she could adjust it if she needed to. "That one," he nodded to the black dress, "I think you should wear that one, can you loosen it if need be?"
"Yeah," she showed him the sash on it. The pattern was nice too, tiny little white daisies spread out over it. "I'll wear this."
He unzipped the dress she was wearing and she disappeared in to the bathroom to get changed and finish off her hair. She felt nervous; this was the first time she would be meeting any of his colleagues - she really wanted to make a good impression. She knew there would be some familiar faces of teacher's she'd met as a mother, so she wanted to show that she was more than just that, that she was somebody's other half and a professional in her own right.
She straightened her hair, tossing it over one side and spraying it in to place so that it looked just slightly tousled. She threaded some gold hoop earrings in each ear and finished off her make up look with a swipe of cherry red lipstick.
"Honey? Should I wear a jacket?" Trevor called out to Olivia. She came back in to their bedroom, clipping the back of her earring in to place. She saw his eyes light up when he saw her and she couldn't help but to admit how good it made her feel. His eyes lingered over her, drinking her in. "Wow… you look…" he shook his head before meeting her eyes again, "you look stunning."
"Thank you," she smiled. "I think if you wore a black jacket you'd look over dressed… let's see what you've got?" She went in to the closet and went through his suits and dress outfits. "Heeeey, what about this?" She picked out a dark grey waist coat. She found a pair of matching dark grey pants. "You should wear this? You'd look super hot…"
"Yeah? Change the pants, you think?"
She glanced at his pants and nodded. "Yeah, I think this will look nicer and you don't have to wear a jacket then."
Trevor quickly got changed, running the risk of turning up late while Olivia spritzed herself with some perfume and grabbed her purse. Trevor grabbed his wallet. Olivia held her hand out for it so she could store it in her purse for him. Switching off the lights they headed out in to the living room to say goodnight to Noah and Georgie and give Lexi a cuddle.
"Oh, wow Mom, you look so beautiful," Noah remarked without any single reservation and she loved him dearly for it. She beamed at him.
"Thank you sweet heart, come give me a hug." Noah got up and made his way to Olivia giving her a hug and a kiss. He glanced up at Trevor, "you look okay too, I guess." He opened his arms up to Trevor, laughing as Trevor hugged him right back.
"Noah's right, you do look absolutely lovely," Georgie complimented her, "you both do, you both look like a very attractive couple."
Trevor smiled. He turned to Lexi who was having a quiet play while Noah and Georgie watched TV. "Lexi, sweetie," Trevor called, making his way to her toys, crouching down to his haunches. "Honey, Mommy and I are going out now but we'll be back later. You're gonna stay with Noah and Grandma, okay?"
Lexi looked up and glanced at Olivia, letting go of the Duplo in her hands. She ran toward Olivia, "up, up!" She begged her, realising that they were leaving. Liv leaned over and swept her up. "You can have one big Mommy cuddle and then you can have a Daddy cuddle and then we're gonna go. Maybe you and Noah and Grandma can wave at us," she tried to explain.
Lexi wrapped herself around Liv and whined. "Its okay baby, we're always coming back," she promised, turning her head to kiss her daughter. "Grandma is gonna read you a story soon and when you wake up, Mommy and Daddy will be home." She gave her a little squeeze and passed her over to Trevor to say goodnight.
"Goodnight princess," he kissed her and hugged her. He smothered her face in kisses until she finally giggled. "There's my favourite laugh," he smiled. "Goodnight, be a good girl for grandma and your big brother," he told her as she passed her back to Georgie. "Thanks Mom, thanks Noah."
They walked them out to the hall with a little fuss from Lexi, but thankfully she didn't have a melt down like Olivia suspected she might. "Dad, if you see Mr. Hartley, tell him I said he's a dick."
"Noah!" Olivia exclaimed, but Trevor hid a smile, he shared Noah's opinion of the science teacher. "Don't say things like that in front of Lexi or your grandmother… or at all!"
"I probably won't be repeating that, sorry kiddo," Trevor winked at him over the top of Olivia's head as they headed out. "To be fair, Hartley is a bit of a dick, Noah wasn't wrong," he told her when they were out of earshot.
"Come on, the last thing Noah needs is any encouragement from you."
Trevor laughed and slipped his hand in to hers. He glanced down at his phone, "okay, we're waiting for a black Audi," he announced referring to the Uber he had ordered right as they were about to say goodbye.
/
"Oh here she is," Trevor muttered in Olivia's ear as they walked in to the beautifully lit ballroom with black and white checked tiles and copper decorations with white floral arrangements that excited her more than she cared to admit. An older woman wearing a lovely, extravagant glittery black dress approached them, "Wendy Kilsyth, French history extroadinaire," he joked. "Get ready to hear the most boring story of your life…"
Olivia elbowed him as he grinned, "Bonjour, Trevor, comment ça va?"
"Ça va bien, Wendy, et toi?"
"Bien, bien," she smiled, tossing her hair to one side before glancing at Olivia, appraising her, "Oooh la, la Trevor, where have you been keeping this gorgeous fille?"
Olivia almost giggled; her use of French words seemed strangely comical, perhaps it was the way that Trevor had warned her, but it seemed almost like a novelty. "This is Olivia Benson," he replied, placing his hand upon the small of her back, "Olivia this is Wendy, she teaches French history to the senior students and French to the juniors."
"Nice to meet you, you look beautiful, I love your dress," Olivia complimented her.
"Oh, thank you," the older woman's cheeks turned a brief shade of pink. Olivia couldn't help but to notice how she immediately grew coy to receive a compliment. It was a little adorable. "Not like you, your dress is stunning! Magnifique!"
Trevor smiled at Olivia; she really did look stunning. It was so nice to see her done up with her gorgeous hair looking very sexy tossed over to one side of her head as if it had been wind-swept and every strand was where it belonged. He was going to make sure that their night, despite it being a work function, was fun and light and full of as much romance as he could muster at a place where he might encounter all of his colleagues. "Olivia is a Manhattan Police captain," he told the teacher.
"Oh wow, you look too sweet to be a tough captain," she remarked but then remembered herself, "sorry, that was rude-"
"No, it's not rude," she smiled. "In uniform I probably look a little meaner, similar to Trevor as a teacher," she joked.
"Oh no," Wendy laughed with the shake of her head, "Trevor isn't mean, he's got more patience for those kids on a bad day than most of us on good day," she joked. "I don't think I've ever heard him raise his voice."
"Okay, okay, that's enough. Thank you so much for invite tonight, Wendy, this place looks amazing."
"You're welcome, I hope you both have a wonderful night. There's a seating chart over there," she pointed to an area where a few people stood, directed by someone who clearly worked at the function centre. "And we have a Photo Booth at the back if you want to get some cute photos of your-" she caught herself in time, she didn't want to assume that Olivia was Trevor's girlfriend or more— not after what he'd been through with the death of his wife, "with Olivia."
"Oh," Trevor smiled, "sorry if I wasn't clear," he told her, realising that Olivia picked up on the fact that he hadn't introduced her as his partner or his girlfriend. It left her with a slight sinking feeling when she realised that the woman before them wasn't quite sure either,
"Olivia is my girlfriend; my better half." With his words, Liv felt his hand on her waist, his fingers gently brushing the fabric of her dress. The feeling of disappointed left her as quickly as it had showered her. His affections were always so welcomed and so affirming that she couldn't ever help but to focus on it; never taking his small shows of love with any complacency.
Wendy grinned at Olivia and then back to Trevor; it was easy to tell that he was a master of schmoozing and that all of the older ladies fell in to stupidity around him; she had never seen women blush or turn coy as quickly as they did around Trevor and she wasn't quite sure he was even aware of it. It was a mixture of his model-good looks and his absolute sincere kindness; the way he spoke and addressed people, the way he complimented others without thinking twice of it; Olivia was aware that the man with his arm around her was a true catch.
"That's so nice for you both, you make a very beautiful looking couple. Oh, imagine how beautiful your children woul-" she covered her mouth, "I'm so sorry! Me and my big mouth, okay have a nice night."
Trevor laughed and let go of Olivia's waist, sliding his hand in to hers. They waved to Wendy and headed off to see where they were seated. "Aww Trev, she was kind of sweet," Liv remarked.
"Sweet?! Ha!" He spoke quietly, getting close as he looked around the ballroom conspiratorially, "see that guy to your left? At about 8 o'clock, grey hair and that awful lemon button-down top?"
Olivia glanced over and nodded as she caught the man picking his ear with his pinky. She tried not to make a face but quickly glanced away, a little grossed out. "They went on a cruise together once and put the old… upside down pineapple out on display if you catch my drift."
Confused, Olivia glanced at him, looking him in the face, studying him for an explanation. "What? Upside down pineapple, what does that mean?"
"Shh!" He began to chuckle, "not so loud, sheesh…I'm giving you the- wait, what do the kids call it? Oh, yeah… I'm giving you the tea."
She started to laugh, "I literally don't know what any of that means… Our kids are doomed. Or they're going to talk in code and we'll never know what they're on about."
"Okay, so the upside down pineapple is an image of what swingers do when they want other swingers to know that they're available for … swinging."
Olivia's eyes widened and a look of amusement spread across her face, "No! No, fuck off," she lowered her voice with a little burst of laughter, "is that for real?," she glanced at the man again and made a face, "no no, please tell me that's just baseless gossip the kids made up."
"Nope," Trevor shook his head, "they were together for a short spell but something happened on that trip. I remember Wendy showing us photos and there were upside down pineapples all over her cabin and one of the teachers at the time googled it and showed us what it meant…"
"Oh wow…" Olivia murmured, "and I thought I knew Wendy!"
They both laughed as they stepped before the seating chart. "She's better than that other guy though, he was just picking ear wax… who is he anyway?" Trevor glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was within earshot.
"He is absolutely the school's resident drunk. He's a history teacher and that's using the term quite loosely."
"He doesn't teach my kid, does he?," Olivia smirked, "I pay enough in fees to want my kid to be getting a good education."
Trevor shrugged, "I can't teach every class, Liv," he joked, nudging her in the rib. She smirked as they found his name and his plus one guest at a table toward the front of the room. "Here we are…" he pointed, "come on, let's go check out our seats."
"What's the fundraiser for?," she asked, "I thought this was a charity event? Why isn't the charity loud and clear?"
He shrugged, "Who knows? Probably for the import of especially ripe pineapples from South East Asia or something," he couldn't help himself but to joke.
She gave him a shove as they both laughed. He hooked an arm around her and walked her to the table. "Hey…" she turned to look at him, "I just want you to know that you look so, so beautiful tonight and I'm so proud to have you beside me…"
A slow smile spread across her mouth, "Aww… thank you, I'm proud to be here with you too." He leaned forward and lingered his lips along hers. "I love you," he added.
"I love you too," she replied.
They took a seat and Olivia rested her feet that were already hurting in the stilettos she wore with her dress. She didn't want to complain to Trevor; it was far too early in the evening for that. Trevor sat down beside her when somebody approached.
"Well, well, well… if it isn't Trevor Langan and the beautiful Olivia Benson that I've heard so much about," John Lattimore remarked. Trevor glanced at Olivia and plastered on another one of his fake work smiles as he turned behind him to greet his long-time colleague and sometimes friend.
"Hi John, nice to see you," he stood up and Olivia went to stand as well, "its okay honey, you can stay sitting."
"No, I'm okay," she smiled back. He held out his hand and helped her up. "Honey, this is my boss John and his wife Yvonne."
"Oh, we've met, hi John, hopefully this time the circumstances will be a little friendlier," she smiled, shaking his hand and greeting his wife. "Hi Yvonne,"
"Oh of course," John chuckled, "Noah and the bunsen burner incident…"
"Mmmhmm, how could I ever forget my kid almost blowing up the school… not one of his finer moments, I have to say."
"Oh? What happened?" Yvonne asked.
"Our kid Noah got himself in to a bit of trouble at the beginning of the school year," Trevor smiled, filling her in, "but actually after discussing it with him in great length, I think Noah is purely guilty of being loyal to a fault of his own."
Olivia beamed at her man who swept in, claiming parentage too; making his role very clear.
"Well, we're not really here to talk about that tonight, are we?" John asked with a smile, "but to assure you, Olivia, Noah is actually an incredible kid, but I'm sure you know that."
She smiled, "thank you… he has his moments as all kids do, but I'm glad he's mostly good."
"And how's the little one?," John asked, he looked at his wife, "Trevor and Olivia just adopted a tiny baby girl."
"Well," Liv began, "she's not tiny, she's almost 2 years old, but she is incredible," Liv corrected him. Yvonne was curious.
"Wow, that's so wonderful, congratulations. Do you have any photos?"
It didn't take Trevor longer than a second to fish his phone out, swiping through til he found an adorable photo of Lexi and Noah together, laughing with one another. "This is Noah and Lexi," he showed them both. "It's my favourite photo of them both. They love one another so much."
"Ohhh they look so sweet," Yvonne gushed, "congratulations to both of you."
"Thanks," Liv replied as Trevor took the phone back and slid it in to his pocket.
"Who did you guys get placed next to?," Yvonne asked a little nosily. Olivia glanced behind her at the place card for her seat mate, "Oh," she looked to Trevor, "Graham Hartly."
"Great!" Trevor grinned, "you'll be able to pass on that sweet message Noah mentioned."
With a sugar sweet smile, Olivia nodded, "Oh, I'll be sure to."
"Well, I'm sure we'll catch up later, we are gonna go find our table— you must be the favourite Trev, sitting here on the VIP table," John winked, patting his friend on the shoulder, "lovely to meet you again, Olivia."
She gave him a wave and together they sat back down. "I wish I could have a wine for my nervousness," she mumbled, "this is nerve-wracking stuff being surrounded here with all this profound teacher brains," she murmured.
Trevor lifted his brow inquisitively, "what are you talking about?," he chuckled, "you're the smartest woman in this room-"
"I very much doubt that, baby, I barely finished highschool— apparently they were letting just anyone in to the academy that year."
"Liar," he grinned, "and anyway, you know what they say about teaching— those who can't do, teach."
"Speaking of lies…" she turned her legs to him so that she was facing him. She felt his hands resting on her knees. "It takes a special kind of person to be able to impart wisdom and do it in a way that captivates and drives kids to go out and use that education in the world, it's one of the most difficult jobs and I have a man who not only does the job, but does the job with great enthusiasm and excitement after all these years…"
"Ooft, stop it, I'm going to get a big head." He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.
She laughed. "I wish I could have known you when you taught first grade, that would have made me so weak at the knees…"
Trevor laughed, "would it surprise you to learn that if I wasn't so heavily involved in coaching, I'd probably go back to it. The hours are better, the job is way more fun and funny and the kids haven't developed much of an attitude yet."
"What about next year? Is there a possibility that you could stay on as the football team coach and have another job at an elementary school?" Olivia's mind wandered now that she knew he may have not been entirely happy where he was. "Are you not happy with work?," she asked, solutions already mapping their way through her mind.
"No, no," he halted her, "I'm happy, I just think that… at some stage, I might like to go back to Elementary teaching, it's just… fun."
"I bet you'd be so good at it," she grinned, imagining him trying to take a school picture with the tiniest of humans.
"Yeah…" he smiled, "maybe I'm a big kid at heart."
"Well, I've seen how good you are with Lexi, how patient and gentle you are with her— Noah too, I think you'd be amazing and I encourage whatever you want."
He smiled back at her, "that means a lot, Olivia, thank you." He kissed her again.
"Ah-hemmmm," a cough behind them broke them both apart. "Hi guys, I wasn't sure you were gonna show up, Trev, not now that I heard you got a new ball and chain!" The teacher in the sports jacket and ill-fitting dress pants laughed loudly and obnoxiously at his own joke.
Trevor's smile was more of a grimace; Olivia couldn't even bring herself to pretend.
"Hi Roy, this is Olivia," he gestured toward his partner, "my girlfriend and someone I don't really consider to be a ball and chain," he smiled.
Roy Bernau laughed again. There was something gross about him that bothered Olivia, his laugh was too loud, his clothes were too tight and his cologne was too strong. She knew he fancied himself as a lady's man immediately. She had dealt with a lot of arrogant men of his nature in her life and she could read them like a book. Couldn't keep a woman so settled for bedding as many as possible and saw it as something to inflate his self-esteem.
"Hi Olivia, you're a looker, aren't you?"
"Ummm," she smiled ironically, raising her eyebrow, "and you're a teacher who works with Trevor?"
"Oh, guilty as charged," he grinned at her holding up his hands. He was conventionally good looking, but she didn't find him at all attractive. "Oh wait, shit are you the one who's the detective? I better not say that to you, you might handcuff me," he laughed.
Trevor was surprised by Roy's gross attempt at flirting with his girlfriend right in front of him with his smugness. He wiped his disgust immediately off his own face as soon as felt it crossing his expression. Olivia glanced at him and he quickly realised that she was uncomfortable and waiting for him to say something, anything. He jumped out of a weird feeling of self-consciousness and remembered how he commanded respect for his partner.
"Roy-" he warned, "come on, that's enough, this is my girlfriend and the mother of my kids, that's enough."
"And can we stop talking like I'm not a person sitting here in front of you?," she laughed a little ironically.
Roy's face soured a little. "Sorry, I was just joking, no offence meant, Olivia and didn't realise you both had kids, I thought you've been alone for a long time—" he paused a little uncomfortably, "you know, with your ex wife and all," he lowered his voice.
Olivia almost rolled her eyes but she was curious as to how Trevor might respond.
"Ah, workplace gossip," Trevor smiled and nodded knowingly, "well, Roy, Lana wasn't my ex wife, she passed away a few years ago and Olivia and I have been together for quite awhile," he informed him.
"Okay then so maybe I'll take my foot out of my mouth now…" Roy remarked, finally the smug smile disappeared from his mouth. Olivia knew Trevor was slightly revelling in his colleague's genuinely horrified expression at the realisation he had really put himself in it.
He extricated himself from the situation as quickly as possible.
Trevor glanced back at Olivia once he had disappeared. "What a dick…" he muttered.
She smirked, "yeah, really… what does he teach?"
"Phys Ed, is that not obvious? Once he got so drunk at a school event that he had to be escorted off school property because he pissed in the water fountain."
"Oh gross, what a loser," Olivia laughed, "I hope it was properly cleaned,"
"We should hope so, he got suspended from the job for two weeks until he agreed to some very specific terms," Trevor chuckled.
"Thanks for standing up for me," she smiled, resting her hand upon his bicep.
"Of course. I hated the way he was looking at you. I know it's wrong but I kind of enjoyed seeing him squirm a little when he realised he was running his yapper about things he'd obviously heard in dribs and drabs." He sighed, "never a dull moment, huh?"
"Never a dull moment," she repeated with a smile. "I might go get us a drink, do you want to come or would you prefer to sit tight?"
"No, I'll come, don't leave me alone, I already feel .. a little awkward," she admitted.
"Why?," he asked, "you are the most beautiful woman in this room, everyone should feel awkward around you," he added.
Olivia laughed at the ease of which his compliments came. "I'll come with you all the same," she replied, getting up and taking his hand as they walked slowly at her pace to the bar, stopping occasionally to introduce Olivia to this person or another.
"What would you like to drink?," he asked her, already knowing that since the subject of Lana had been broached, he needed something a little stronger than a soda. "Just uh…" she thought for a second, looking up at the drinks list, "just a diet coke thanks," she answered. Trevor ordered their drinks and a whisky neat for himself. They made their way back to the table just as the emcee commenced the evening.
Olivia vaguely listened; she was put off by the growling of her stomach— she had felt a little queasy most of the morning and afternoon but hadn't told Trevor, he would have insisted they stay home, but she really needed a night out of the house. She took an anti-nausea pill before they left and felt okay, but she knew she needed to eat while she could.
Trevor exchanged pleasantries with everyone at the table quietly - they were mostly colleagues, but there were other people too, that he'd never met and he was thankful for that. He didn't love the idea of being surrounded by everyone he worked with. It wasn't that he strongly disliked anyone, it just was that there had always been a little gossip around him that it made others stand-offish and reluctant to try to befriend him since he'd been quietly labeled the sad, lonely widow.
No one ever said it, but it was implied and he certainly felt it. It was a reason he didn't bother pushing work relationships but rather, he focused on his job; on the kids, putting his energy in to being a good teacher and making sure all the kids in his charge got a fair chance at a good education.
She felt Trevor's hand upon her knee as she leaned in close, scooting her chair over. He smiled at her as his fingers caressed the skin just on the inside of her lower thigh. She loved his affection, but it bordered in to the territory of making it even harder to think or concentrate. She had already entirely missed what the charity was in aid of — but it didn't really matter, all that mattered was that other people obviously felt envious that she was on the arm of the most gorgeous man in the room.
Once the opening speech had finished, a waiter brought around h'ordeuvres. "Can you grab me something?," Olivia asked, nudging Trevor, "I'm starving," she admitted.
"Of course," he smiled at her, kissing her temple, "wait right here…" he went and approached a woman who had a tray of cheese and spinach stuffed triangle pastries and some beet chips with coats cheese and balsamic. It looked good, Trevor had to admit. He took a napkin and took two of each item, realising as he made his way back to Liv, that soft cheeses were out of the question.
"Here you go, I just realise… you can't have goat's cheese," he made a face, "but this is regular cheese and spinach,' he passed her the pastries, "I'll eat the beet chips and then go and get us some other snacks."
"Oh my gosh," she remarked, "thank you, that looks so good…" faster than he expected, she polished off the food and glanced longingly at the beet chips and cheese.
"I'm sorry, honey," he pouted as he was about to take the last bite. "I'll find you something else that you can have," he promised.
"Thanks…" her voice trailed off as he got up again, heading over to get a drink refill, feeling nicely warmed by the whisky. He got another and found some bite-sized cheeseburger sliders and mini pizza slices. He took a couple and precariously balanced his drink as he headed back, spotting Olivia speaking to Kara Wentworth; the youngest teacher that had only just started. He didn't know her well despite greeting her politely in the halls.
"Hi," he greeted them both, "here you go, sweetheart, some snacks."
"Oh my gosh, thank you, you're an angel, I just met Kara," she smiled. "You guys don't know each other very well?"
"No," Trevor smiled at her, taking a sip of his drink, "no we haven't really had much of a chance to say much to each other, just greeting in passing. How are you finding the job?," he asked the lovely, long, blond haired teacher who wore a simple green dress.
"It's okay, I'm still getting used to the confidence that these kids speak to us with," she laughed, "they can be brutal."
"Yeah," Trevor nodded with a smile, "I was telling Liv, the other day a couple weeks back I made the awful faux pas of nodding off in the middle of one of my classes and the kids all filmed me and all at once bombed my phone with videos and pictures of me nodding off…"
Kara and Liv both laughed, "that's actually kind of coordinated and hilarious, they got him good," Liv smiled. She felt bad about eating a couple of the hamburgers and offered one graciously to Kara who accepted gratefully.
"So, did you come on your own or with someone?," Olivia asked her.
"On my own, Wendy promised me that she wouldn't leave my side," she laughed ruefully, "and I honestly hate stuff like this," she admitted quietly.
"Me too," Trevor replied, "especially when you get all but bullied in to it, next time you just have to have your wits about you and say no or always have an excuse ready to pull from nowhere," he advised her. "I would have just honestly not shown up, but Liv and I haven't been out for weeks."
"Ohhh, riiight, the new baby, Noah was telling us about her the other day."
"Oh, really?" Liv's interest was piqued, "like the whole class?"
Kara chuckled and glanced at Trevor's very attractive partner. "Yeah, I can't remember how it came up — oh right, Noah and Kaci are both in my Monday morning social studies period and we're all tired and grumpy on a Monday, right? So I like to just spend fifteen minutes or so, letting them have a chat and I asked if anyone did anything fun or cool on the weekend and Kaci said she'd been hanging out at your place and asked Noah if it was okay to talk about meeting his family… and she mentioned spending some time with Noah's baby sister, Lexi."
Trevor glanced at Olivia and grinned. "That's actually incredibly sweet," Trevor remarked. "Kaci is such a sweetheart and Noah…"
"Noah is amazing," Kara remarked, "I keep meaning to tell you that, Trevor, but just haven't had the opportunity. You are an amazing Dad."
"Aww," he chuckled. "Well, I think Liv had the most to do with that," he replied, "but thank you."
"No, but… Noah talks about both of you with such respect and love and I've just not come across too many teenage boys who adore their baby siblings. He took out his phone and showed us his background photo, which was a picture of Kaci holding your baby."
Olivia laughed, "Oh he must have changed it for home," grinned at Trevor, "did you know our kid was showing off his sister?"
"Yeah a little, I kept wondering how colleague's knew we adopted and Noah has been telling everyone."
"Oh, was it a secret? Sorry, I didn't mean-"
"No, it's no secret," Trevor shook his head, "I just hadn't really had the opportunity to tell many people. I only just told John last week."
"Well you probably won't need to tell anyone else now," Olivia replied, amused, "because our boy is spilling the tea all on his own," she winked at him.
They laughed. "Well," Kara began, "I'll leave you guys to it, don't be a stranger, Trevor."
"Of course, also, if you have any problems with any little wise-asses, let me know, especially if they're on my team."
She flashed him a smile, "thank you." She turned to Olivia, "it was so nice to meet you."
/
They got through dinner and Olivia politely chatted to the teacher beside her, ignoring the fact that he was the one who told Noah he shouldn't receive any special treatment for his dyslexia. "Okay, I think we better go and have a look at the silent auction," Trevor told her, wanting to get her away from the table. He was a third whisky in and starting to feel it.
He helped Olivia up as an announcement from the emcee asking everyone to make use of the dance floor. "I suppose we should do some giving, huh?"
"Yeah," he smiled. They moved toward the back of the room and perused over items for auction.
He slipped an arm around Liv's waist as they looked at a few of the items. "Oooh this is nice, what do you think?" It was a night at the Hotel Barriere Fouquet's NY in one of the Deluxe King Suites. "We could do with a night in a fancy hotel, what do you think?" Trevor asked.
"Oh man, that place it so pretty, I know this shouldn't surprise you, but I went there once for a job…"
Trevor made a face, "Oh, so it's not that nice?"
"Oh no," she laughed, "it's really nice. Date rape," she supplied. "Anyway, Amanda and I went and had a little nose around because it's the kind of thing we couldn't afford," she laughed in spite of herself.
"So let's bid… you never know?," he suggested, "what about $300?"
"$300!? Are you willing to kiss goodbye to three hundred dollars? That's a lot of money."
He rolled his eyes at her, "Do you think I'm a broke-ass Olivia Benson? Is that what you think of me?" He flashed her a grin.
"No—I just—" she sighed, "$300 is a lot of money, that's all."
"Well for one night in a fancy room we can enjoy how the other half live," he smiled, putting an amount down. They made some light bids on some other things. Olivia put down a bid on a streaming services subscription for a year.
Trevor took Olivia's hand as they walked a little further to the back where a bunch of helium filled balloons were tethered loosely to some weights. "Oh, the gorgeous couple!" Wendy's voice came up from behind, "ready to spend some money I hope!?," she grinned.
"Well, what's going on with the balloons?" Trevor wondered, "maybe we can spend some of our hard earned teaching money," he tried to just go with it, enjoy himself even; it was a little hard not to with Olivia by his side, looking for him even if he only took a step or two away.
"Inside a couple of balloons are prizes, its kind of like a raffle only you're buying the balloons. There's a numbered tag on each balloon and If your number gets called you get to come up and pop it and get your prize."
"Oh, that's a neat idea," Olivia smiled. She stepped over to the person who was in charge of selling the balloons and opened her purse to purchase a few, a tag was handed to her for every balloon she bought.
Trevor did the same.
"And don't you kids forget to take some pictures," she nodded toward the Photo Booth.
"Oh, we won't. I have to take some photos because Olivia may never come on another date with me again and I'll need to prove it happened to my friends," he joked.
Olivia slapped him playfully and rolled her eyes. Trevor laughed and grabbed her hand. Wendy grinned at them both. "Oh, Trevor it's so nice to see you happy again.," She looked at Olivia and pattered her colleague's shoulder, "it was roughing-going for this big guy for many years…"
"Wendy," he cocked his head, smiling out of politeness, but finding annoyance in her performative concern. During all the time that all the people in his life called his hard-road, no one had ever checked in with him directly and asked if he was okay. The only person who did, was John, but then, he kind of had to, it was within the best interests of his job. "I'm fine and I've been fine for quite some time."
Olivia's smile tightened too, knowing all that he had been through and feeling for him; for the unspoken betrayal of those around him who never bothered to take themselves out of their own discomfort and help him deal with his grief head on and for those who allowed him to feel lonely and alone, wracked by his grief.
The very idea of his immediate desperate grief after Lana's death was enough to make her want to cry and hug him. Instead she slipped an arm around him and looked at Wendy. "He's fine, he has me now to talk to if he ever needs."
"Of course," Wendy realised that maybe she had overstepped. "I'm really glad that you have one another."
"Thanks," Trevor murmured. The teacher quickly disengaged from the conversation and made an excuse to dash off elsewhere.
Olivia looked up at him, "You okay? These coworkers are kind of shitty," she murmured.
"It's all well-meaning, just displaced and too little too late," he replied quietly, appreciating that he didn't have to explain himself, Olivia understood. "Where were these schmucks when I actually could have done with someone asking if I needed to talk or something?"
"I'm sorry," she murmured, "but I meant what I said and you know it to be true, you can always talk to me."
"I know and I know you love me and are always going to be here for me," he smiled, "and you have no idea how much that means to me," he told her.
"Come on, let's go dance, I want to be able to wrap myself around you.." Olivia smiled at him, pulling him to the dance floor. Trevor was eager to please.
