Hey y'all!

Once again, thank you for the reviews or comments/texts on this fic. It really means a lot to me and keeps me motivated, so I appreciate you.

I also want to say that I know the last week has probably been difficult for a lot of us, so I do hope that this fic brings you some joy in these scary times of uncertainty. Sending everyone extra squeezes.

Enjoy xo

Someone New - Five

Olivia had never been so excited for the weekend before in her life.

Following the shit show of a week that the squad had had, Olivia and her squad were able to be off for the weekend - an executive decision from Olivia as she knew they had been ripping and running like crazy lately. The unis were on strict orders to only call if necessary, so Olivia was looking forward to having time to relax and to regroup after the long week.

She and Noah both slept in on Saturday, then enjoyed a light breakfast and did some house chores - Olivia finally organized the pantry, Noah cleaned his room finally, and then they headed out to drop off some items for donation - old clothes, books, Noah's old baseball stuff that was really too small for him. She and Noah had discussed the idea of going to hang out at Jalen's place, to which Noah was very excited about as he liked Jalen and had found him very interesting and cool after meeting him before, and since their initial meeting a while back, they had found that they liked the same movies and video games.

Jalen Shaw was yet another looming thought in Olivia's mind, but he was a good thought. She couldn't quite but her finger on things, but there was something very different and intriguing about Jalen – in a good way, of course. She didn't know where or even how this friendship had begun evolving in the direction that it was going, but she wouldn't stop it. She was going with the flow of whatever this was between her and the handsome detective.

It was around the latter part of the afternoon - shortly before Olivia and Noah were about to head over to Jalen's place - when Olivia's phone began buzzing. She whipped it out quickly, and slid her finger across the screen as she jokingly answered; "Are you checking to see if we're still coming?"

Jalen let out a laugh on the other end of the phone; "Actually Captain, I was calling to see if you and little man wanted sushi."

Olivia let out a little laugh as she responded, "Hang on, let me ask him..." she then pulled the phone away and looked towards Noah, who had just emerged from his room with his Nintendo Switch game console in hand; "Hey bud, Jalen wants to know if you'd like some sushi."

Noah nodded in an instant as he looked up from his game; "Yes please! Can I do a volcano roll and spicy tuna roll?"

"Noah-"

"He can have whatever he wants, Liv," Jalen was chuckling on the other end of the phone as he'd heard their exchange, capturing Olivia's attention as she heard him; "Just those two or does he want more?"

"Jalen-"

"I'll just get a variety platter that has those two and others, so it's all good," Jalen brushed her off, still chuckling away; "He bringing his Switch? I got a game to show him."

Olivia rolled her eyes while smiling; the bond between Jalen and her son over video games was very heartwarming to witness. "He's got it in hand."

"Cool," Jalen's tone then took on a little more playful nature as he spoke to her; "Now get your ass over here, I'm waiting."

Olivia burst out laughing while telling him that she would be seeing him soon. The two then hung up, and she looked up as Noah grabbed his charger for his Switch and stuffed it along with the console into the carrying case. The two then slipped on their coats, and Olivia grabbed her keys and wallet before the pair slipped out the door.

It wasn't long before they had reached the beautiful midtown apartment building where Jalen lived. Olivia managed to snag a good parking spot, then she and Noah made their way into the building. Before long, they'd made it up to Jalen's floor and to his apartment, and Olivia knocked twice as she and Noah waited patiently.

Within seconds, the locks clicked, and the door tugged open, revealing a smiling Jalen Shaw as he stepped aside to let them into the vast apartment. Olivia had to take a breath as she looked at him. She had to admit: he looked too good and relaxed in jeans and an NYPD sweatshirt.

"About time you arrived with my pal," Jalen joked before sharing a fist bump with Noah; "How you doing, little man? Everything cool?"

"I'm good, I'm real excited to hang out!" Noah grinned up at him. Jalen jokingly punched the air, then slipped into perfect host mode as he hung up their jackets for them. Noah immediately dashed over to the vast living room area and launched himself onto the plush sectional, leaving the pair by the door for a second. Jalen looked at Olivia and slipped an arm around her for a quick side hug while whispering; "Hey you." He was eyeing her, clearly taking in her jeans and the plain crewneck that she had opted to wear for today.

Olivia blushed a little while looking up at him. She wasn't blind to the fact that he was definitely checking her out. She reciprocated the hug as she quietly responded; "Hey."

Jalen gave her a squeeze and kept his hand on her lower back as he led her over to the living room area. Olivia curled up on the soft chaise as Jalen headed towards the kitchen while hollering out to ask if they wanted anything to drink. Olivia simply asked for water while Noah went towards the kitchen as well while asking for juice. Jalen did remind him to ask his mom if it was okay first, and when Noah looked over from the kitchen area, Olivia simply nodded her head while giving him a smile. She thought it was incredibly sweet and considerate that even though they were hanging out, Jalen still respected her authority as Noah's parent and reminded him to make sure things were okay with her first before proceeding further.

Jalen Shaw was a good one.

He and Noah soon returned from the kitchen; Noah with a bottle of organic juice while Jalen handed her a bottle of water before sitting on the sofa. Olivia felt incredibly relaxed as on the chaise while Noah and Jalen went about sorting the PS5 so that he and Noah could play. "Hey Noah, we can game for a bit while we wait for the sushi, okay? It's busy today so they told me about a forty-minute wait until delivery."

Noah nodded his head while Olivia looked up from her phone as she heard about the wait time they were facing today; "Damn, but again it is Saturday, so I get it." she remarked as she leaned back against the pillows. Jalen hummed in agreement as he glanced over his shoulder at her; "Yeah it's wild as hell, but then again I did order a lot."

"Jalen…" Olivia tilted her head while looking at him; "How much do I owe you? Let me at least pay for half."

"Did I say you owed me anything?" Jalen teased, giving her a wink as he handed a controller to Noah, who politely thanked him as he took in the sight of the beautiful, quite expensive gaming controller. Olivia eyed Jalen for a second while softly biting her lip as she relaxed against the cushions. That wink had done something to her, and she figured she better keep her mouth shut before she embarrassed herself.

She really had to keep it together and figure out what these new, bubbling feelings were towards Jalen.

The conversation continued to flow effortlessly even as Jalen and Noah began a game of Madden, and Olivia found herself ready to cry at how Jalen was giving Noah tips on the game and various strategies even though Noah had played the game before. Noah's smile was huge on his face as he was clearly having a good time already, and Olivia couldn't help but take a sneaky picture of the two of them together as they enjoyed the game. She then texted it to Jalen with a simple smiley face emoji, and just stared at it for a moment. She also couldn't help but feel so calm and content here at this moment. Here in Jalen's apartment, just hanging out and talking to him while he and her son enjoyed a video game, was something out of this world but in the best way. What warmed her heart more was the way that he made the effort to talk to Noah about his likes and dislikes and had gotten to know him, especially as they had this shared love of video games.

It was nearly an hour and a whole other game later when there was a knock at the door, signaling that their food had finally arrived. Jalen tasked Noah with turning off the game and selecting the movie, which he was more than happy to do. Meanwhile as Jalen answered the door, Olivia went over to the kitchen area to get some plates down and all that. Just as she turned around, Jalen had come into the kitchen with two large trays of sushi. He placed them on the island counter, and Olivia looked at the trays that he had set out, her eyes widening as she just knew that this had probably cost quite a bit.

"Jalen, are you serious?" she looked up at him; "Let me cover half, please."

"Nope."

"Jalen."

"Olivia." he teasingly said her name in a similar tone as he leaned his elbows on the counter, effectively leaning closer to her. He locked eyes with hers and gave her that smile; "I said I got it, and you two are my guests, so shh."

Olivia pouted adorably as she just stared at him for a second. Jalen was still smiling at her, not backing down from her stare as he looked at her. He did have to take a breath though, especially as his eyes flickered between her plump lips and pretty brown eyes for a second before he stood up properly. Olivia didn't miss the way he was looking at her, and that kind of scared her. She looked away and cleared her throat a little, deciding to change the subject as she called out; "Noah, come get some food, babe!"

Jalen eyed her before standing up properly, it seeming that she too had sensed something pass between them just then too - or maybe he just had. Either way, it had unnerved him but in a good way, leading him to rub his hand over the back of his neck, before looking up as Noah came into the kitchen; "Jalen, I chose Black Adam. Can we watch that?"

"I knew you two were gonna have me watching a boring superhero movie." Olivia joked, shaking her head as she handed Noah a plate. Noah gave her a cheesy grin, while Jalen laughed as he looked over at her.

"Come on now, you knew you would have to deal with our superhero movies…" he winked before turning to Noah; "Good choice, my dude; that movie is always a vibe!"

Noah nodded in agreement before dishing up some sushi onto his plate. Olivia and Jalen followed suit, and after grabbing chopsticks and other essentials, they were seated around the coffee table in the living room. Noah started the movie, and it wasn't long before they were tucking into their food while settling in with the movie playing. Neither Olivia nor Jalen would say this out loud, but this was again giving off such a feeling of normalcy for both of them. They both enjoyed spending this time hanging out together and with Noah too, and it was becoming increasingly obvious for both of them that something was brewing.

Maybe they were both teetering on the edge of admitting that they liked each other.

Maybe.

Empty plates with chopsticks, empty drink containers, and three very full people were leaned back on the sofa as they continued to watch the last fifteen minutes of the movie. It was dark outside now since it was just after six, which meant Jalen did at least close the blinds to his large windows and switch on the floor lamps and kitchen light. As the three of them continued to relax on the couch together, Olivia absentmindedly had rested her head on Jalen's shoulder as they watched; something that damn near made his heart leap into his throat, but he certainly wasn't going to move. He just basked in the comfort that came with it, and unintentionally breathed in the calming scent of her hair shampoo which smelled absolutely divine.

As the ending credits began rolling, Olivia lifted her head from Jalen's shoulder so that he could stand up while Noah switched from the On Demand movie section and began searching for the sports channel so he could find some baseball highlights. As Jalen started clearing their dishes, Olivia decided to jump up and help him. She told Noah that she was going to quickly help Jalen clean up before they leave him for the night, to which Noah nodded his head as he sat cross legged on the couch while flipping through channels.

Really, she was just wanting an excuse to be alone with him.

The two headed into the kitchen; Jalen took the plates out of Olivia's hands and put them aside before turning to her. She looked up at him while leaning against the island counter as she spoke; "Thank you for having us over."

"Anytime, and I mean it," he leaned back against his own counter, simply gazing down at her; "Noah's a great kid by the way; I know I've told you several times before, but you've done an amazing job. I know it's hard, especially with this job, but give yourself a pat on the back."

"Jalen, please don't make me cry right now."

"I'm just being honest…" he winked. He then reached out and lightly took her hand, something that caused her breath to hitch but she kept looking at him as he continued to speak; "You really are an amazing mother, so don't ever second guess that."

Olivia gave him a kind smile and a soft, shy sounding "Thank you" to which he squeezed her hand before letting it go. There was very much something passing between the both of them, and it was becoming increasingly obvious as time ticked on. The two years of friendship thus far had been a foundation, the drink at the bar the other night followed by him asking her to breakfast had started something.

And the increase in conversations, him getting her favorite smoothie without her asking, the late-night phone call, him inviting her and her son to hang out.

Something was brewing, and she was scared and confused and really needed to think about it, but she also couldn't stop this if she tried.

She busied herself with helping him load his dishwasher and finish tidying up, followed by him giving Olivia one of the trays of sushi as there was no way he would eat the rest of it on his own. He then walked with her back to the lounge, where they found Noah on the couch playing a game on his Switch while partly watching baseball highlights on TV. As Olivia slipped on her shoes, she listened to the way Jalen and Noah began a very enthusiastic conversation about baseball, something else that just made her smile as there seemed to be no limit to the things they would bond over.

About twenty minutes or so later, Jalen was walking Olivia and Noah outside to the car. He and Noah shared their handshake that they'd made up, and after a promise to have another video game adventure soon, Noah climbed into the passenger seat while holding the sushi. Olivia then turned to Jalen as she quietly spoke again; "I know I said it already but thank you again for having us."

"I told you, anytime." he grinned. They both glanced to make sure that Noah wasn't paying attention - which he wasn't as he was playing a game on his phone now - then Jalen then reached out and pulled her in for a hug; wrapping an arm around her shoulders while the other was around her waist. Olivia found herself closing her eyes as she reciprocated the hug, feeling her whole body relax in his warm embrace. Jalen squeezed her a little tighter than pulled back while sliding a hand down her arm.

"Text me when you get home?"

Olivia gave him a playful smirk; "Maybe."

Jalen just chuckled while shaking his head, still lightly holding her arm as he quietly spoke; "Captain, don't make me beg."

Olivia bit her lip as she rolled her eyes in that playful, teasing manner; "Well I guess I could text you or something, Detective."

"More like you better," he winked then let her arm go; "Now get your beautiful self in that car, get out of this cold."

Olivia blushed adorably and gave him another wave before going around and getting into the passenger side. Noah looked up as he realized she was finally in the car, and then after the two of them gave Jalen a wave, Olivia was pulling onto the city streets.

She was sure that she thought about Jalen the whole way home.

And that was part five. Still figuring this story out as I go along but again, thank you for your lovely words. I'll try to get this updated again soon. Love to all xo