Hey guys, please enjoy my update. I hope you all have a great week.


"Well, well, well… it's a party, huh?" Trevor asked with a little smile. Kaci was laying next to Olivia, cuddled up and he couldn't help feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He loved that she had all the time in the world for others and seemed to connect so quickly and deeply to her new set of friends.

"Not quite, we're just waiting for Liv's results to see the next course of action," Hannah replied as Trevor made his way to the opposite of the bed to kiss Olivia hello.

He smiled at Kaci, "you all good there? Comfortable?"

"Honey, it might be time to get off the bed now," Tara quickly pitched in, hoping that Trevor didn't think it was wrong to let her daughter so close to his partner.

"No, no, its okay," Trevor replied, "it looks cosy and they both look comfortable."

Olivia smiled back at him wearily. "We are… I never knew teens were so warm and fuzzy," she remarked. "And I love it."

"I think it's just you," Hannah told her with a laugh. "All the kids love you, Alice raves about Auntie Liv all the time," she rolled her eyes.

Olivia laughed, "If I'd had my way I'd have been the lady that lived in the boot with all those kids," she joked.

"And how are you feeling, love? I see you have an IV — did you go ahead and get stuck without the comfort of your Knight in Shining Armour?"

She chuckled, "Yeah, I got all my Joan of Arc's with me who held my hand and helped me so that we could get up to this room faster."

"Fair," Trevor nodded. "How did Hannah go with the needle? Was she as good as she promised?"

"Ugh," Hannah rolled her eyes at Trevor, "I don't talk up my skills for no reason, Trevor Langan, I was even better than she could have imagined."

Trevor lifted an eyebrow and smirked at her. "Mmm I feel like I have to keep you away from my sweet Olivia, I feel like you're somewhat of a bad influence."

They laughed.

"Okay for real though honey, I think it's getting a bit late so we should go home because you are definitely going to school tomorrow."

"Oh right, so the boys have football training tomorrow afternoon," Trevor told her, "what's Kace doing after class?"

Tara looked a little surprised. "Oh, she was gonna walk back to your place with Noah until I finished."

"You know guys, I can walk home on my own," Kaci told them, "I'm 14 now."

"Barely." Tara replied.

"I would come and pick you up babe but my shift starts at 2," Hannah replied.

"What about… if you're comfortable, I can run you over to the precinct as soon as school ends. Practice isn't til 4," Trevor suggested but as soon as he said it, he realised he was putting Tara on the spot. "You guys think about it and let me know, the offer is there."

"What about if while football training is on, I just do my homework on the bleachers and wait for you guys to finish up?," Kaci suggested.

"Sure, I usually drive the car up close to the field so you can sit in the car if it's too cold."

"Only if it's no bother to you Trevor," Tara told him always bordering on apologetic.

"Its absolutely no bother," he replied "and I'm impressed that you'll be doing homework so I win as a teacher and we get to make sure you get home safe."

Kaci beamed at him. She really liked Trevor a lot both as a teacher and also as Noah's father.

Everyone said their goodbyes for the night and Tara and Kaci left them with it while Hannah hovered before going to the nurse's station to give them a moment so she could call and see if the labs were back yet.

"Hey…" Trevor greeted her finally once they were alone.

"Hey baby," she replied. He made his way over and gave her a warm hug. "I'm feeling okay, the pain is almost entirely gone, it just comes and goes but its a bit crampy," she told him, "it really did scare me though."

"You scared us too," he said softly, sitting on the bed. "I'm proud of you getting that blood done," he nodded toward her wrist, lifting it gently to inspect it. He smiled, "was it really okay?"

She nodded, "it actually was. I had Kaci cuddling me and Tara right by my side the whole time. I just didn't want to hold anyone up," she explained, "but it wasn't the worst."

"Good," he leaned over and kissed her lips softly and lingeringly. "I had a really good chat with Noah at home earlier," he told her, "a really deep, heartfelt chat about … feelings on both counts and it was actually really nice," he informed her with a little smile. "I told him, Dad used to say to me, 'if you're lucky, one day you'll have a son and you'll love him so much that he'll be your bestfriend forever'," Trevor told her, "and I thought it was weird, but… I get it. I really feel that way about Noah."

Olivia smiled, "what did you both talk about?," she wondered.

"Just what happened with Elliot, how deep his hurt runs and just that he needs some assurance from both of us sometimes, he struggles a little with feeling like he might upset us so that we start avoiding him, I don't know… it's all a little heartbreaking if I'm honest, but I think he just loves both of us so much but he's such a people-pleaser so I think … maybe like Kaci, he might need someone to talk to outside of the home."

She nodded slowly, "Yeah, I was thinking that too…" she paused, "is it okay if we don't talk about Elliot tonight? I just feel stressed out and I don't want to make it worse."

"I'm just happy to be here with my greatest love," he replied with a smile. "Are you hungry? I could rustle up some dinner for you."

"A little hungry actually, but I don't know if I'm allowed to eat."

Hannah returned before Trevor had a chance to answer. "Okay babe, your bloods are back and everything is fine. I'm gonna take your blood pressure and if it's still high we're going to monitor it overnight and start you on some meds for it because you're at risk for preeclampsia and we don't want it to get to the point where you have to stay here for the rest of your pregnancy."

"Wait, that's dangerous right? Preeclampsia?," Liv asked, shifting herself up a little.

"It's not ideal, but its okay. I'm going to loan you my blood pressure machine that I've got at home and you're going to get the lovely Trevor to check your BP every morning and every evening and I'll explain what we're looking for and if it rises you're going to come back or you're going to call me or Raia for some advice."

"Okay," Olivia nodded. She looked to Trevor who just smiled at her weakly, she knew he was worried too. "Don't worry," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I'll take care of you, we'll get through it and make sure everything is fine."

"Thanks," she murmured.

"Don't worry Olivia, do I look very worried?" Hannah asked her.

Liv shook her head. "No."

"If I was worried I'd be telling you that you should be on bed rest to err on the side of caution, but at this stage I'm telling you to please just take it easy. Eating a good diet of food and some gentle exercise can help with blood pressure too, so maybe no more lazy meals, more vegetables and fruit and lean meats."

"Okay," Trevor nodded, "I can take care of that. We don't eat that badly but we've been a bit lazy recently with everything."

Hannah shrugged and smiled. "I'll make you guys some meals."

"No, its okay," Olivia went to protest.

"Olivia, you know I love a chance to cook. I'll be making you guys some quick easy meals for you." She held her arms out and gave her friend a hug and gave Trevor a hug too. "Okay, well, that's me for today, but I'll text you in the morning and the doctor will be in shortly with some meds for you."

"Oh, Hannah is Olivia supposed to get dinner or should I go downstairs and get her food from the cafe?," Trevor wondered.

"Shoot, I forgot, sorry! I'll go and get someone to bring some food in and if it's rough, I suggest the cafe," she smiled. "Goodnight guys."

"Goodnight Hannah, thanks for everything."

"No problem. I hope I get my turn to run in to that Jackass Elliot next."

They laughed and watched her wave as she walked out of the room.

/

"How long can you stay for?," Olivia asked as Trevor heeled off his shoes and got on to the bed beside her. She took his hand in her healthy one and threaded her fingers between his. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"I'm staying the night with you, I told you, I'll never leave you when you need me, Liv…" he said with a simple smile. "Medical issue not-withstanding, you also had another run-in with that shit of a guy, so I'm here. I'm here to talk or not to talk or to just be your comfort person."

Olivia breathed in deeply and let out a long sigh, "Don't make me get emotional," she said with a sniff, holding her feelings back. He snuggled in beside her and put an arm around her, pulling her in to his body, holding her close.

"I love you. I'm sorry this happened today. I know you're angry, hurt and scared, but I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. You can rely on me to never leave. I sorted the kids with Mom and Dad and they're both happy."

"Thank you for being my backstop," she murmured, "it helps in a way that you can't imagine, you know? Just having you hold things down when my …" she paused to look for the right words, "when things aren't going the way I want them to and I feel …. Weak."

"Honey," he looked in to her gorgeous eyes, "I would never, ever describe you as weak. You're the strongest, fiercest woman that I know," he paused, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled faintly, "being vulnerable and sensitive and emotional shouldn't be mistaken as weakness and I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that, sweetheart." He caressed the smooth skin of her cheek with his thumb, the rest of his fingers curling around her jaw, the tips of them burying themselves in the hair on the back of her neck. "I'm here to hold it together when you feel like you can't, okay? Don't hold your feelings off just because you feel like you can't be vulnerable, because you can with me— always."

She bit the inside of her lip and just nodded wordlessly, afraid that she might begin to sob if she uttered a single word. He pressed his lips against hers. She rested her head on his chest once he pulled away.

"We'll give it ten or fifteen minutes and if you don't have any food I'll go and get you something from the cafeteria," he told her as he gently caressed her hair. He kissed the crown of her head and felt her settle comfortably against him. He knew she was trying to hold her tears back - that was the cause for her silence, but he said nothing. He let it go. She had made a good point - Elliot had been the one to elevate her blood pressure and she wasn't about to upset herself when her test results were a little precarious.

/

Trevor was a little frustrated, no one had bothered to offer Liv any dinner. He could hear her stomach gurgling. "I'm going to get you food, baby," he told her, "what would you like?"

She glanced up at him, grateful. "Whatever you grab."

He reached over for her phone on the bedside table and handed it to her. "Keep your phone close and I'll text you some options… If I leave it to these guys, you'll never get fed."

"Thanks baby," she murmured, feeling tired all of a sudden.

He leaned over and kissed her lips and grabbed his wallet and his own phone and headed out. He smiled as he found a cute little heart plushy with a comical face and arms and legs. He picked it up and a bar of Godiva chocolate and made his way to the counter to pay at the little gift shop beside the hospital's cafeteria. He thanked the assistant and headed out to the cafeteria and glanced over the menu and took a photo for Olivia.

He waited for a few moments, amazed at all the delicious sounding options on the menu. Hospital food had really come up in the world since his own last stay. He chose the Lamb pita salad for himself and Olivia sent her reply a moment later requesting a chicken caesar, hold the anchovies and some soup. He bought them both a soda and ordered the food.

He couldn't wait to eat, realising he hadn't eaten anything since his sandwich at lunch time. He took the food back to Olivia who was already sitting up with the table in front of her. It made him smile, she was starving.

"Oh my gosh, it already smells amazing," she smiled back at him.

"There's that face I love to see, happy… I don't even care if it's just because of the food," he laughed.

Olivia chuckled. "Here, this is just a little something to cheer you up." He handed her the heart from beneath his arm and took the chocolate out from between the two sodas in the small bag he had. He put it down on the table.

"Awww Trev, this is so cute, thank you I love it… and yum, my favourite chocolate." She was grinning now, incredibly grateful for his kindness. He leaned over and kissed her lips. "You're welcome, love."

He took the food out and put her little styrofoam cup of soup down and pulled out her salad and his own.

"Wow, this actually looks so good," she remarked.

"It doesn't look terrible," he agreed. He handed her a fork and took one for himself and sat at the end of the bed and they ate together for a few moments in silence, both appreciating that they were both very hungry.

"How is it?," he asked, as she took the top of her soup and sipped it straight from the cup. "Good?"

"Yeah," she smiled at him, "I really needed this, thanks baby."

"You're welcome, I'm glad to see you eating and enjoying it." He had all but finished his lamb salad and just had a little pita left. He tore a half of it in to two quarters, "here, for your soup," he passed her some. She gave him another smile of recognition.

"Thanks," she replied as she cleaned the bowl of her salad and turned her attention to the last bit of her soup.

They finished their dinner and Trevor took his iPad out as a nurse came in to take Olivia's obs. "How are you feeling tonight?," the nurse wondered, waiting for her blood pressure machine to finish taking the vitals.

"A lot more relaxed and no more pain, it kind of eased off an hour or so ago," she told the young man.

He glanced at the result of the machine and gave a little nod. "Your BP is still a bit high but it's better than it was. I'll probably come in and take your BP again tonight, I'll try my best not to wake you if you're asleep, but I can't promise anything," he gave her a smile.

"That's okay," Liv replied. "Could I possibly get some juice or some water or something that I can have overnight?," she asked. "Since I've been pregnant I usually feel thirsty during the night."

"Of course," he replied, "and if you need anything, Olivia, you just ring this button for me, okay?" He picked up the little remote that worked as a tv remote too and showed her.

"Okay thank you. Am I okay to get up and get changed in to my pyjamas?," she wondered.

"Sure!" He replied, "Do whatever you need to do." He paused, "I should let you know that visiting hours are over- unless-"

"Oh, he's staying the night with me," Olivia replied, "that's okay right?" Trevor dared him to try to say he had to go.

"Yeah," he replied, "Of course that's okay, sorry, I didn't want to assume your relationship."

"I'm Dad," Trevor replied, "And husband," he added.

The nurse left them to it and Olivia climbed out of bed to her feet as Trevor pulled the curtain around her bed and took her pajamas out, handing them to her so she could get changed from her stupid hospital gown. She felt a lot more comfortable immediately.

"Are you okay in that?," she asked.

"Yeah," he smiled. "I'll make do. You get comfortable in bed and I'll either sidle up beside you or I'll just get comfy in this chair…" he nodded to the plastic chair.

"No, just get next to me, I want you to hold me because I'm lame and clingy."

Trevor smiled at her, "no you're not. You're sweet and lovely," he replied.

Once she got comfortable, Trevor got on to the bed beside her and took her in his arms. The put the iPad on the table and put some of the I Love Lucy episodes on that she loved so much and he felt her falling asleep almost instantly. He understood, she was tired and emotional and the adrenalin of the late afternoon had really taken its toll on her.

He started to drift off when he was awoken by the nurse coming back with a few little bottles of juice and a plastic water jug. Trevor murmured a thank you as he left them again. Trevor reached over and turned the over head light off, the only light was something dim in the corner beside the medical machines.

/

Olivia woke up in the morning cuddling in to Trevor's warm torso. He didn't look comfortable but nevertheless, he was wrapped around her body with a blanket pulled up over him that she didn't remember him having. She could only have guessed that someone brought in for him. She tried to go back to sleep but the urge to go to the bathroom forced her up, apologising to him for waking him.

She was keen to get home to her children. She knew Noah would be angling for the day off to stay in with her and keep an eye on her. Trevor gave a yawn and a stretch and pulled the blanket off himself and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He checked his phone to see if anyone had sent him anything, but there was nothing. He sent a text through to John, his boss, letting him know that Olivia was in the hospital and he wouldn't be in for his first class of the morning.

He then texted Noah and asked him to let him know when he was awake and let him know that he needed to walk to school and he would see him when he got in.

Once Olivia was out of the bathroom, Trevor went in after her. She was back in bed when he reemerged. "Good morning sweetie, did you sleep okay?," he asked, sitting on the mattress.

"Yeah, thanks for sleeping here beside me. You made me feel really secure last night, I needed that."

He smiled. "You're welcome, I always want you to feel like that."

"What time do you need to go?," she wondered.

"I just texted John and told him to count me out for my first class. Noah is going to walk to school and I'll catch up with him as soon as I get there, but I'm going to stay here with you until the doctor sees you," he promised.

"Thanks…" she told him meaningfully.

"Hopefully we can take you home," he told her brightly. "We'll get you home, get you in to bed and Mom and Dad said they'd be happy to stick around longer if we need."

"Your parents are absolute angels…" Olivia replied softly. "I don't know how I can ever thank your Mom and Dad."

"You don't need to, they love this, feeling useful and spending time with the kids," he replied. Olivia heard her phone vibrating on the table and reached over to pick it up, seeing Noah's face light up the screen. "Hi babe," she answered, pulling the phone to hear ear.

"Hi Mom, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay sweetie, we just woke up and we'll wait for the doctor but I think I should be able to come home this morning. I'm not in any pain and my blood pressure is a bit better," she informed him softly.

"Oh good… do I have to go to school?," he asked. She had been expecting it. She couldn't help but to smile.

"Yes, you absolutely do have to go to school. You have football practice after school, don't forget. No practice no playing, isn't that what the coach tells you?"

"Yes," Noah groaned.

"Good boy. Okay send me pics of Lexi at breakfast and Dad will give you a call soon and I'll see you this afternoon."

"Ok Mom, I love you. Update me if anything happens, okay?"

Olivia agreed and they hung up. She turned to Trevor, "how did I know he would try to get out of school?"

Trevor laughed. "Give 'em an inch…"

/

"I almost took the day to be with my Mom," Noah told Kaci as he got closer to her, seeing her pretty face in the hall. Her hair was double-braided the way that his Mom had taught her Mom to do. He grinned to see her, sometimes it was like he was seeing her in a new light every day, the butterflies that he waited for so long for seemed to fill his stomach each time he saw her — now that he had the feeling of constantly worrying about what people might think of his sexuality no longer hanging over his head, or worrying about trying to be honest with himself, he felt the freedom to feel for her how he wanted without having to constantly label himself.

It was freeing and it allowed him to realise just how much he liked Kaci, how pretty he thought she was and how his body was starting to respond to her. He wondered if those were the feelings his Dad had been talking about — the ones where he couldn't seem to control despite his brain wanting him to slow it all down.

He took her hands and drew her close to him. She grinned at him. "Hi!"

"Hello," he replied, letting go of her hands and sliding his arms around her. "You look so gorgeous today!," he exclaimed, "I love your hair, your Mom is doing such a good job," he complimented her, tugging on one of her braids playfully. Kaci glanced up at him and waited for his lips to meet hers.

He kissed her lips softly. Noah pulled away, knowing how kissing her was starting to feel just a little too good and he remembered the conversation he had with his Dad about appropriateness at school.

"Noah Benson?," she asked, her voice a little soft.

"Yeah?"

She reached up and took his face in her hands, "I think I love you…"

His small smile grew bigger. "Yeah? Is that true?"

She nodded feeling slightly vulnerable.

"I love you too," he replied, leaning down to kiss her lips. He meant it with every bit of him. They had been through so much as friends and as puppy-love couple that even if they stopped feeling romantic toward each other, he loved her deeply even just as a friend. He had felt that way about her for a short while.

He pulled away slightly and felt her reaching on her tip-toes to reach him again for another kiss. "You're the best. I love that you told me that today, it feels nice to hear after yesterday. You always make me feel better about everything even when things are already good," he chuckled.

Kaci grinned so hard that her cheeks hurt. "You make me feel good too… Is your Mom doing better?"

"I think so," he nodded. "Dad will come and see me when he gets to work today and let me know how she is, but hopefully she will be back home today."

"Great, after training we can go home to your place and give her a big cuddle because I doubt that she's gonna be at work," Kaci told him.

"Yeah, I think you're right. You know, my Mom absolutely adores you, yeah? She's so happy that we chose each other."

"Aww, that makes me happy," Kaci replied. "My Mom loves you too, she always says that she's so glad that my first boyfriend is a boy that treats me with gentleness because it's all she ever wanted in a guy."

"I'll never not be kind or gentle to you," he replied, slipping an arm around her shoulder as they made their way to the locker now that they shared. Kaci had all but disbanded her own.

"I know, that's what I tell her. I think she's always scared that I'll get my heart broken or that we'll move too fast, but I think that she wants me to just be able to always make my own decisions and not be pushed in to anything."

"And I'd never want that for you either," he replied. "I never want you to agree to something or do something just to make me happy or because you think that's what I want."

"I think you're just like your Dad and Mom — perfectly kind and gentle so you have good role models. My Mom has always been so kind-hearted and so protective of me and she's learning now about what she does and doesn't want and it's so nice to see that, but it's also sad too."

Noah stroked her hair as she leaned up against their locker. "I hope your Mom and my Mom stay friends for a really long time and Hannah too. They seem so close already and I love that because it means my Mom and Hannah will always look out for your Mom and they'd never let anyone take advantage of her kindness."

"What about my Mom, you little lovebird creeps?" Adam asked, coming up behind them. Kaci laughed and let go of Noah.

"We were just saying how nice it was that our Mom's have become really close friends…"

"Oh yeah, Mom's so happy to have friends that are parents with kids who go to the same school. She's a bit older than the parents of Alice's friends so this makes her happy." He turned to Noah, "is your Mom okay after last night?"

Noah relayed the same information that he gave to Kaci. "Unless Dad cancels training, I'll see her tonight."

"Well, he might… to be honest, I wouldn't be sad if training was canceled, I have a project for my stupid social studies class that I want to spend more time on. Not at the expense of your Mom's health though," Adam said quickly.

Noah laughed and shrugged, "We better get our books and get to homeroom because I can't be late again," he told his girlfriend and friend. He took his books out and waited for Kaci to get hers and they set off in the same direction, the three of them breaking off when each of them reached their own homerooms.

/

"Olivia, you come and sit on this couch," Georgie ordered her as she ushered her in.

"Wait, I need to get changed and maybe have a shower first," she told Trevor's Mom with a laugh, "and also I need to see my baby."

Patrick appeared with Lexi and smiled. Lexi shrieked happily before her smile quickly turned to overwhelming tears. "Awwwwww, baby come here to Mama," she held her arms out.

"Should you be carrying her?" Patrick asked, "don't you need to rest?"

"I'm fine," Olivia replied as she took Lexi. Patrick gave her a hug and a kiss hello. Trevor greeted his parents and kissed his daughter's cheek hello as she wrapped herself around Olivia.

"Olivia we're here to make sure you don't lift a finger, so make sure you take it easy and you need to let us know if you need anything," Georgie told her.

"I will, I promise. I'll just take little miss with me in to the room until she calms down and I'll have a long hot shower and come and sit out on the couch." She turned to Trevor, "and baby, you should go to work?"

"Nah, I canceled. I canceled training too," he admitted. "I just didn't feel right about going to work when you're still not 100%."

"Honey, I'm okay," Olivia replied, "I just have to take the pills and Hannah is gonna check my blood pressure every day and we'll take it one day at a time."

"I know, but… you've just had a big past 24 hours and I wanted to be with you. You're on rest for the rest of the week until the doctor gives you the all-clear," he reminded her. Trevor's parents watched with smiles as the couples bickered.

"Okay well you guys do what you need to do, I've got lunch ready for whenever you both want to eat and whatever you want, you just tell me, Dad and I have got it all under control."

Olivia smiled, "Thank you Georgie and Patty, I'm okay for right this second. I think I'll go have a cuddle with this little monster and then we'll see."

"Okay Liv," Georgie nodded. "Take it easy though."

"I will, I promise."

/

Trevor helped Olivia in to the bathtub. She felt hot and was desperate just to lay back and relax. Lexi begged to get in too so Olivia relented and had Trevor dress her down so she could take a bubble bath with Mommy. He smiled watching her simply lay against Olivia's chest, cuddling her.

"Hannah wants to come over tonight to check on you, are you okay with that?"

"Yeah of course," Olivia replied. "After my bath I think I'll get in to bed and have a nap with little miss, I didn't sleep well last night. The nurse came in to check my blood pressure twice, I don't know how you slept through it."

Trevor smirked and shrugged, "you know me, I can sleep through anything once I'm asleep."

"True," she agreed. "Anyway, don't forget about making sure Noah and Kaci get home okay, Tara is working til 5:30 today so maybe just text her and ask if she's okay with Kaci coming here unless you want to take Kaci there when she finishes her shift."

"Don't worry about that, sweetie, I'll sort it out."

"I'm gonna leave you alone for ten minutes, if you feel yourself drifting off or you think you might fall asleep, you need to tell me okay?"

"I won't fall asleep with Lex, its okay baby," she murmured.

/

Olivia didn't care to be on home-duties, she wanted to be back at the office, but she went along with doctors orders, not wanting to chance anything with the baby when she was so far along.

Still, it was hard and Trevor wasn't really keen on her going too far from home either. She couldn't get nearly as much done from. Home as she could in the office. Trevor's parents were still with them and as well-meaning as they were, dropping in to check in on her every half an hour as she worked certainly wasn't helping with her focus.

How much longer will you be here for?

She dropped the phone and sighed deeply, turning her attention back to the screen. She read over a report before sending it back to Sonny, asking for some details that he'd missed out on adding. She moved on to some other pressing contacts and an email from her boss.

This Saturday, honey, I'm sorry, I have to go back to work. How are you feeling?

She didn't want to miss him. She replied again, Okay, can we do dinner? I'm thinking somewhere nice and relaxed - not too noisy where we can all talk and it will be a laid back affair so Trevor won't have to panic.

She put her computer to the side and laid back on her bed and scrolled through her phone to find Trevor. Hey baby, friday night we're going to dinner with Danielle and Nick. I know you're worried about me doing much but I'll take it easy and you'll be with me and I really just need to get out of the house.

She went back to her job and decided if her blood pressure continued to midline out through til the end of the weekend she would negotiate going back to the office. It was just a little hard to get much done at home with a thousand distractions and she did miss talking to people and being more hands-on in the role.

/

"So…" Trevor slid on to the bed, "I called Mom last night," he began, "I asked if she had anything special she wanted to do for her her birthday this weekend and she said she wanted to do something low-key but with family…"

"Uhuh?" Olivia listened. Her eyes were closed and she laid with a heat pad stuck to her aching lower back. At 29 weeks now, everything was beginning to hurt and feel so heavy. Her belly had seemed to expand comically over just a few weeks.

"Raia and Gavin wanted to bring the girls to the city and take them to Little Island and to the Zoo maybe so Mom suggested we have a picnic in Central Park if the weather is okay."

"Oh, that kinda sounds nice," she smiled. "Actually there's the park in there that's for the smaller kids, I'm sure we could probably get a table or something, I don't know how I'll go sitting on the ground."

Trevor smiled and rubbed his hand over her belly. "We'll take you a chair if you need…"

"Okay that sounds nice. Now we can think about what might be a nice gift for your Mom. I hope you've been listening to what she's been talking about for the past year for some hints."

"She won't want anything-" Trevor replied.

Olivia rose her eyebrow, "Excuse me? Would you tell Noah not to buy me anything because you assume I don't want anything? Because let me tell you, I could tell you I wanted nothing 1000 times over but if you turned up empty handed on my birthday, I'd be really upset."

Trevor laughed, "I can't figure women out…"

"We always want something, we just want you to figure it out rather than to ask us."

"Fair…" he agreed, "but I don't know what to get her…"

"She is your Mom, for crying out loud," Olivia was surprised, "she's been your Mom for almost 40 years, you should definitely know what she likes and loves and doesn't like and you should be picking up on any hints she drops… or am I going to have to step in?"

"Mmm no," he replied sheepishly, "I'll speak to Raia and next year I'll do better."

"Good," Olivia replied, annoyed with his lack of effort for his Mom. "Your Mom does so much for us, Trevor, you better make a big deal out of her birthday."

"Okay, okay, I will. I promise."

/

"Mom, is this lame…?" Noah asked, Kaci not far behind him as he beckoned his Mom in to his room. Olivia had to admit, with her fatigue she had dropped the ball on allowing Kaci and Noah to hang out in his room, even though the door was open, she knew she should have been policing it a little harder out of respect to Tara if no other reason.

"What is it?," she wondered, slowly following him in to his room.

"I made this for Grandma… Kaci helped and Dad got Lexi to help with some too…" he told her, holding a beautiful plant that they had made out of huge paper leaves and flowers that she knew would have taken them forever.

"Oh my gosh!" Olivia gushed, "Noah, that is so beautiful!," she grinned, "did you guys make all these flowers and leaves?"

"We did," Noah smiled, "I'm just kind of… nervous about giving it to her, is it weird? Or too much?"

"No, honey! Why would it be?"

Noah shrugged and stared critically at his gift. It was in a pot filled with florist foam that they'd taken from the school art room with permission, they had filled it up so it wouldn't move around and painted the pot white and pink and used Lexi's pink hand prints around the rim of it. Inside on top of the fake-soil and florist foam, they had painted larger rocks, about 8. One was a lady beetle, the others listed names of the grandkids with patterns attached- Lexi, Sadie, Chloe, Noah and Baby. Olivia felt her eyes well up at all of the effort that they'd put in to it.

"Noah, I think Grandma is going to think this is the most beautiful gift ever…"

"Well, I'm going to wait til she comes back here to give it to her. I can't give it to her at the park."

"See Noah, I told you, it looks great," Kaci assured him, resting her hand on his shoulder. He glanced up at her and gave her a weak smile. He turned back to his Mom, "I just feel like… maybe because I'm not really her Grandson-"

"Nope!" Trevor let himself in, catching the tail end of Noah's words, "stop that," he said firmly. "I don't want to hear you say anything like that again. Biologically speaking, we all might not share the same DNA but you are every bit as much of my kid as Lexi is and as the baby is and I know Grandma and Grandpa feel the very same as I do."

He came up behind Noah and put his hands on his shoulders as he glanced at his special gift on the desk. "Your gift is amazing and it's going to put to shame any other gift anyone has for her and you are so deeply treasured by Grandma and Grandpa…" He gave him a kiss on the head and Olivia grinned at both of her boys and shared a tearful smile with Kaci.

"Okay," Noah replied in a whisper. "Thanks Dad." Trevor turned to Kaci, "you guys are both so creative, my little wonders."

Kaci smiled happily. Olivia knew from how close she and Noah had got, that she also had began looking up to Trevor as a strong male influence in her life too— even Tara had picked up on it. Noah was more than happy to share and announced proudly that Kaci had asked Trevor if he had time to help her out as a spotter for her gym class that she was taking for cheer - most of the girls and guys in class had parents to help out where the coaches couldn't, but Tara wasn't able to make the classes since she was working, that left Trevor available and happy to help out after running it by Olivia.

"So it's okay?" Noah asked, "not cheesy?"

"Nope and even if it was, Grandma's love cheesy," Trevor replied. "We love you guys, this was so thoughtful," he told them.

"Dad's right… even Mom's love cheesy, so remember that too," she winked at the teens. "Okay, we're almost late, if you guys are ready can you please get Lexi together for me? I just have to change my top since she just put a custard hand print on me," Olivia told them both, giving Kaci a hug and a kiss and the same for Noah.

/

Trevor and Olivia walked slow together trailing behind Noah and Kaci who took turns pushing Lexi in her stroller. "Look at this two all but playing house…" Trevor remarked quietly with a little laugh.

"I had this panicked thought last night…" Olivia told him, "what if they break up and they cant stand each other and you and I are going to feel awkward because we adore this kid and we adore her Mom…"

"We'll tell them that they have to just get over their differences because we're all connected now… but I dunno, Liv, our son really strikes me as the kind of kid who isn't fickle and who just throws his whole heart at everything and part of the reason I think he and Kaci get along so well is because they're such good friends and that's always been the case before anything else."

Olivia thought about for a moment and then shrugged. "What's the life span of a normal teenage relationship?," she wondered.

Trevor laughed, "about 25minutes…"

They both laughed, "No .. maybe a few months, but they've been making eyes at one another for months now, I think we're safe."

"Well… we will be until Noah's raging hormones start coming in and who knows what the hell to expect then."

"Respectful, sweet Noah who may just need more private time," Trevor replied with a little chuckle. "Don't worry, I'll keep talking to him about everything."
"Tara told me Kaci was gushing over how helpful you were at gymnastics last night. I'll tell you what, she may not have shown any outward signs of an abusive Homelife when her dad was around, but she is a new level of confidence and happiness now."

Trevor slid and arm around her shoulders. "She's naturally gifted," he replied, "I told Tara that last night when I dropped her home. I think she has size on her side and she gets a lot of momentum because she's a fast little runner. She's already gone up a grade because she has a perfect back and forward handspring."

"Once I have the baby, I might be able to help out as well," Olivia replied, "depending on how things go."

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves - but I'm happy to continue helping out. I actually love watching some of those guys do gymnastics, it wasn't a sport I would have ever done well in," he laughed, "my centre of gravity wouldn't have allowed for it."

"Oh look," Olivia pointed, "I can't believe they brought chairs," she laughed. She saw Trevor's parents sitting close to the jungle gym with Raia and Gavin setting up some picnic chairs and spreading a blanket on the ground. Noah had paused to pull Lexi out of her stroller as they got to the grass. He passed her to Kaci as he folded it up and carried it down toward them.

"Aww, this is gonna be so nice…" Olivia remarked. "And perfect weather too! What a way to start summer break."

"I'm so excited to just be able to hang out with you and do nothing for a little bit until summer school starts, but at least its not so many hours…" he told her as they approached his family.

"Me too…" Olivia replied as he let go of her hand and they began to greet everyone.

/

"Oh, you are crazy," Olivia laughed as she pulled Sadie in to her lap.

"I might be crazy but I'll sleep better for it," she replied pulling out her kit. Trevor laughed when he realised his sister had a blood pressure machine with her in the girl's backpack.

"Sadie, give Auntie Liv her arm back for a minute, Mommy needs it."

"Oh my gosh, Ray, I told you to calm down, Olivia is fine. She has healthcare professionals here," Gavin looked at Olivia and shook his head, "I'm sorry Liv."

Olivia just laughed. "Whatever helps her feel better," she shrugged as she freed her arm from Sadie.

"Look at Mom and Dad, they're totally in their element…" Trevor remarked watching his parents pushing the two oldest girls on the swings.

"They love it," Gavin agreed.

"See?," Liv looked at Raia with a smile, "I'm fine."

"Good. I'm happy," Raia replied, freeing her of the blood pressure cuff and putting it away. "Are you guys getting excited for the baby? Have you got any names picked out?," she wondered.

"Maybe. We have one that we've both agreed on but we still want to have a couple under our belt because you hear so many stories of the name just not suiting the baby when she or he is born," Olivia replied as Trevor got up and headed to the jungle gym to help out with the babies, taking Sadie with him as Gavin took a seat beside his wife.

"Can I ask what it is?," she wanted to know nosily.

"I think we're gonna call him Luca… obviously things can change, but it's a nice four-letter name that fits with Noah and Lexi…Noah really likes it too."

"It's sweet," Raia agreed, "I love it."

"Anyway, how amazing is the weather? If I could swim right now…" Olivia breathed wistfully.

"Why don't you guys come down to Mom and Dad's now that Trevor and Noah are on break? You can swim and take it easy and Mom and I can make sure that you don't do too much."

"Between all you Langan's and Hannah, Tara and Amanda, I don't get the chance to do anything," Liv laughed, "we might come for a few days, but I don't know if Noah can be apart from Kaci for that long," she shook her head, "they're attached at the hip."

"Bring Tara too," Raia suggested, "you gotta have some kind of a summer break."

"I don't know, I'll think about it. The last thing I need is these kids sleeping in the same house under the same roof."

Gavin laughed, "Yeah, maybe don't do that."

"Honey, I think Kaci and Noah could share a bed and nothing would happen. That little girl looks like she's 11 and Noah treats her like she's a princess. He wouldn't do anything."

"Maybe, but I'm not going to chance it," she smiled.

"Ray, I think we should start getting food out and readying for lunch, what do you think? I don't think it's the best idea to have the kids and even your parents out here in the sun all day long."

"True, okay, let's get lunch ready."

/

Everyone sat around eating on the blanket they'd set up on the ground, even Olivia managed too despite how heavy she felt and how she knew she'd require help getting back up.

"Here baby, I've got some fruit for you, stop trying to steal Chloe's," Trevor told Lexi, holding a small plate with some melon and strawberries. Lexi turned to find Trevor and made her way back to him, leaving Chloe who was starting to whine at Lexi, trying to pluck food from her plate.

"So rate your birthday out of 10, Mom?" Raia told her mother as they all started to finish up.

"10. It's always a ten when I have you guys and the grandkids around me, and this year is extra special because our family grew, so Grandma is very, very happy…" she smiled at Noah and over at Lexi.

"We went from worrying about it raining to worrying too much about getting burned," Patrick told them, looking around.

"Gavin and I thought that maybe the kids could have one last little play on the jungle gym and then he and I might take the chairs back to the car and everyone can come back to our place…" Trevor announced.

"Sounds good," Georgie agreed, "but this is nice… thank you everyone."

They chatted for a little longer before Trevor helped Olivia up and together they took Lexi to the swing that was unattended. "Your sister wants us to go hang out at your parents place for a few days…" Olivia remarked, gauging Trevor's reaction.

"I actually have something planned for us, perhaps… I just have to talk to Raia about it so hold your thoughts. Can we discuss it later?"

"Mmmm, can't you just tell me?"

Trevor grinned at her as he pushed their daughter gently. "No, I want to make sure it's good by everyone else before I surprise you…"

Olivia grinned back at him. "Okay," she agreed. He leaned over and kissed her lips. She glanced over at the rest of their family. Noah and Kaci were chatting away to Raia and Gavin and playing with the girls as his parents marvelled over them all. It wasn't lost on Olivia the way at times she'd catch glimpses of Georgie or Patrick watching their kids or their grand kids almost in awe, as if it was pure unadulterated happiness within their existence. She truly hoped she could feel that content one day.

She began making her way back over toward them when she stopped dead in her tracks, hearing someone use her name. "Hi Olivia."

She glanced over to a bench where he sat — two small kids all of about 5 or 6 each ran off. She felt confused for a moment as she watched them head toward the same swings that Olivia and Trevor were pushing Lexi on. "My granddaughters," he offered by way of explanation. "Maureen's girls."

She wanted to tell him she didn't care, but it was jarring to see that one of his kids, one that she had known since she was a tiny little girl was now a mother to kids older than her own. She was a little speechless, finding her bearings. She glanced over at Trevor who was squatting down on his haunches in front of Lexi with his back to her, chatting to her.

"Your daughter is adorable. She looks like her father."

"Out of a city of 92 million people, how the fuck is it that I keep running in to you?," she asked at last. "Last time you came to the 1-6, you put me in hospital, why can't you just leave me the fuck alone?." She asked.

"What? I- what?"

"Stress. Your presence distresses me so much that I-," she just paused, "just leave me alone."

"I owe you an explanation-" he stood up, glancing over at the girls, "I just want to say-"

"Why can't you respect that I don't give a fuck about your explanation? No explanation you could ever give me would make what you did to me and Noah okay nor would it make us feel better…"

"I just wanted to tell you none of it was your fault, any of how I treated you or Noah- I know you Liv, you would have internalised it—"

"Oh Elliot, you do not know me. You never really knew me because you never allowed me the space to be myself. I spent the whole relationship walking around on my tip-toes, trying to fit in to the box that you put out for me so that you would love me the way that I needed to be loved and Noah? You didn't allow any room for him, you punished him for existing and you were so fucking—" her voice cracked, "you were so cruel to my kid and I wish I wasn't wearing rose coloured glasses because I didn't see it…"

"I'm sorry-" he said softly, his voice coming out as a hoarse whisper.

"You could have picked up the phone days after you left, weeks, shit…" she ran her fingers through her hair, "even months and I still would have felt better to have some closure— but now I just don't give a fuck because once again you left me and this time you didn't just break my heart again, you broke my sons heart too."

"Are you kidding me? Again?!" It was Trevor— appearing behind Olivia. He took a step beside Olivia, slightly closer to Elliot than she was. "How many times does she need to spell it out for you?" Trevor asked, "she's not interested in hearing whatever bullshit is coming outta your mouth."

Elliot tensed up as Trevor turned to Olivia. "Here baby, take Lexi, I'll catch up with you in a second-"

"No Trev- don't do-"

He stared in to her eyes for a moment and caught fear in them which bothered him. He glanced back at Elliot. "Do you want to talk to him?,"

"No," she said softly, "but— I don't want you to do anything stupid-"

"Its okay," he said gently, "just go back with Mom and Dad and the kids…I'll just be a second."

Olivia took Lexi who was wriggling around and headed back to his parents without another word. "Leave Olivia alone, she doesn't want to hear from you and the last time she did, she ended up in hospital with blood pressure through the roof and I won't let you put our baby or her health in jeopardy just because you can't figure out that no is a complete sentence."

Instantly Elliot was vexed by Trevor telling him off. It felt emasculating. "Tough guy, huh?"

"Man, you have no idea, what are you even doing hanging out at a kids park anyway? Are you stalking her?"

"Oh don't be fucking stupid," Elliot blurted out rolling his eyes, "I brought my grandkids to play. I don't want to leave bad blood between Liv and I, but I'm not about to stalk her."

Trevor laughed, "No bad blood?" He laughed again, "you think that a bunch of placating words and an apology is going to make up for what you did and the trauma that you left her and her son with? You have no idea so I think you better just keep away from her— be a man for once and honour her wishes."

Trevor turned to walk away and then as if he had another thought, he turned back, "if you approach her again you'll regret it."

"Yeah, sure thing hero," Elliot couldn't help but to bite back just as Trevor turned to take a few steps toward his family. He was seething on the inside but for the good Olivia's blood pressure and his family watching on, he held it in, quietly seething on the inside. He turned back and made the distance between them til he was towering over Elliot.

"You stupid, stupid fool, the only reason why I haven't knocked your block off already is because I don't do stupid shit just because I'm angry and in case you didn't realise, violent situations triggers Olivia and Noah, just another crumb in the shit sandwich you left them with… but you just try to approach her again."

Elliot looked up at him, squaring up, tensing his jaw. Finally, Trevor took a few steps back, staring him down before turning and walking away. He didn't want to be angry when he reached his family. He didn't want Olivia to worry, or for Noah to be upset. He took a slow, deliberate breath in before letting it out very slow and repeated it a second time.

Without a word to anyone else, he made his way to Olivia and grabbed her hand. "Come with me for a second." Noah looked up, a little shaken up too, but Georgie was on one side of him and Raia on the other, chatting to him and assuring him while Kaci busied herself with the babies.

"Are you okay?," he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah… I think so…"

He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. "I love you."

"I love you too. Thanks for … for not losing it… for protecting me in a way that doesn't feel scary or — unwanted."

"You're welcome baby. I respect your wishes. I know you don't want me to get physical with him-"

"It just wouldn't help anything and I don't want to hurt him, I just want him to leave it all alone…" she shrugged. "Anyway, I think I'm ready to go home. My sweat is sweating," she tried her best to change the subject.

Trevor smiled and kissed her again. "Okay, why don't you go take a seat and I'll get the kids to help Gav and I take some stuff back to the car and then we'll come and grab the kids."

"No, no. I want to go, I don't want to stick around here when he's so close by not if you aren't here," Olivia replied. Trevor saw immediately that she fearful of him approaching her again. "Its okay, how about I take you home now and I'll come back for everyone else?"

Olivia shifted uncomfortably. He glanced over her shoulder at Raia approaching. "Hey-" she smiled, "guys, we were just talking, Liv and I might go back to your place with Mom and Sadie and Lexi and Noah and Kaci and Dad can look after Chlo while you guys bring the other stuff back."

Trevor glanced at Olivia, "Okay," she agreed. Trevor kissed her forehead and drew her in and held her for a moment. "Thanks Raia," he gave her a weak smile. His sister understood that they both wanted Olivia as far away from Elliot as possible. She placed a hand on Liv's back, "come on, let's get you out of the sun and in to some cooler clothes," she referred to Olivia's black tights.

Olivia reluctantly pulled away from Trevor while he helped get Lexi in to her stroller alongside her cousin.

/

When they got back to the apartment, Olivia turned the air on and told her family to make themselves at home and promised to be back in a moment after changing. She put on a pair of linen shorts and a tank top and made her way to her ensuite bathroom and splashed her face with cold water. She leaned over the sink and stared in to the abyss for a few moments.

She turned the faucet back on and wet the back of her neck to stop the dark thoughts from swirling in her brain. It was as if pregnancy brought it all out of her.

"Get it together, Liv…" she whispered to herself. She glanced up at her reflection in the mirror and saw her own glassy eyes staring back. As her tears blurred her vision she blinked a few more times trying to push the urge to cry away.

Before

"And you know what, Elliot? All I wanted was you — you were all I thought about, you were the reason I-" her voice broke. She sniffed and cleared her throat as his blue eyes stared right back in to hers, reaching to take both of her hands across the table. "I just thought you might come back to help — but you didn't and it feels like everything you're saying right now… it's just what you think I want to hear."

He let her words sink in, staring at her with regret and an onslaught of selfishness over how he'd left after the bad shoot, how he didn't bother saying goodbye - that he packed up his kids and wife and skipped the country because he couldn't bear to face the fact that he had taken her life in return of a criminal who taunted her after killing her mother. It wasn't just or right and he had to know when enough was enough.

"I don't know what else to say except that I am so sorry that I wasn't there for you. If I had my time over Olivia, I would never have done that to you — but I just didn't know what else to do, I could tell you that it wasn't about you or anything you did, but more about me and how I was running away from myself and what I had done … but I don't think that is going to bring you any closer to forgiving me," he told her, "and maybe I'm not as good at sharing my feelings as you are, but I'm trying my best."

"I know," she wiped a tear away. "And I appreciate your apology."

"I just don't want to ever lose you again. I don't want to be your friend or have this weird relationship with the chemistry between us but neither of us game enough to make a move. So, Liv, I mean it, I want to jump in to this head first, eyes shut— I might have not been there in the past, but I won't make that mistake again, I want you, I want to love you and that whole thing, about wanting me there when Lewis took you, I'm here now. I'll always protect you and no one will ever harm a hair on your head or your son's head on my watch, I can promise you that."

She wanted to believe him, she took him at face value — it was in his eyes, the way he stared at her, he was sincere; she could always tell when he was being sincere. His eyes softened a little and his hard features seemed to dull at their hard angles, perhaps it was him losing some tension that seemed like it was always filling him up.

"Okay," she whispered, giving in even if she wasn't completely sold; even if she was still carrying the wounds that he had left her with.

"I'm tired of people walking out of my life, El, I don't want that anymore."

"I won't, Liv, I won't leave. You can always rely on me, I'll never hurt you."

She wanted to fall in to his arms but there was an air of reluctance, the part of her that had never really shown him that softer side when it came to her romantic heart. He would have to initiate the first contact. And surprising her, he did. He gently tugged on her hand and pulled her toward him. "Come here…" he commanded in a sedate tone. Mesmerised by his eyes, she made her way to him. He got up from his chair and guided her to her own bedroom.

They hadn't discussed sleeping arrangements but she felt too weak to ask him to sleep down the hall and before she knew it they were both half undressed and laying beside each other. Elliot made the first move and pulled her in to his arms. "I don't know that you should stay here, Noah might wake up and come in here-"

"Noah is 9," he told her as if she didn't know, "he shouldn't still be crawling in to bed with his Mom," he said with a bit of a laugh. She didn't realise it in the moment, but it was just the start of his critical approach to her parenting.

"I mean it," she insisted.

"Are you kicking me out?," he wondered.

"No just…" the rest of her sentence got eaten up by his mouth suddenly upon hers. It was a surprise but it was very typical of Elliot — if he thought any harder about it, he would have never had the courage. It took her a moment to still her thoughts before she was able to lean in to his kiss. She pulled away slow, but he recaptured the kiss and too her chin in his hand, holding her steady as kissed her with passion.

She turned her head to break the kiss; it was a too rough, she thought, but the warmth of him was a welcomed feeling when compared to the way she felt when he wasn't around.

She could only hope that this time he would stay.

/

Present.

"Olivia-" Raia's voice interrupted her thoughts. She suddenly became aware of the gushing water from the faucet that she had her hands beneath. She turned it off.

"Liv are you okay in there?"

"Yeah," she cleared her throat.

"Can I come in?" Raia asked.

"Umm okay," she agreed.

The door was pushed open and Raia glanced at Trevor's partner and smiled weakly, "honey are you doing okay?"

"Yeah…" Liv nodded slowly. "I'm just a bit more sensitive than usual."

"I'm sorry that guy won't leave you alone…" she told her.

"Thanks," Liv murmured with a nod. Raia waited for it, she could see her lips twitching, pulling them downward as she did her best to hold her tears back.

"It's alright if you need to cry, although I'd have preferred if we got to make him cry-" she joked. But her words were enough for Olivia to lose her composure. Immediately Trevor's sister gathered her brother's partner in her arms.

"Its alright, honey, men are absolute pieces of shit and they have all the power and they leave us feeling powerless, wondering how we got it so wrong… luckily, you have the most amazing man now." She rubbed her back while Liv cried until she calmed down.

"I just don't know why he wont leave me alone, he fucking left… why did he choose me, why did he go through everything he went through with me? Make all the promises he did and then fucking leave!?," she asked rhetorically, "I don't want to hate him, I just preferred when I didn't have to see him every time I turned around-"

"I know, honey… I wish he didn't do all of that, I wish that you met my brother instead."

"Thanks Raia," Liv wiped her eyes. "But … time and circumstance I guess…"

She nodded. Raia drew Olivia out of her bedroom and got her a comfortable place to sit in the living room before pulling her blood pressure kit out again.

"Oh for goodness sakes…" Georgie rolled her eyes and laughed when she saw Olivia roll her eyes too.

"Time to take your blood pressure and if it's risen, I'll go back to the park with my kicking boots on to find that dickhead," Raia announced.