By the time Olivia made it home that night, it was almost 2am and she was exhausted. When she walked into the apartment, all was quiet, and there was only a small lamp on the table next to the sofa as a source of light, she smiled at how thoughtful Amanda could be. Locking the front door behind her, she moved towards the sofa to drop her bag down and shrug her coat off. Hearing a rhythmic clicking against the floor she looked around, then jumped slightly as something cold and wet touched the back of her hand. She let out a sigh of relief, realising that it was only Frannie coming to greet her. "Hey Frannie girl, sorry I woke you up." She petted the dog's neck lightly, then watched her wander off back to Noah's room.
Olivia flipped off the lamp and followed, she stood in the doorway, observing as the pit bull hopped back onto her son's bed and settled herself in to guard him for the rest of the night. Noah was sprawled on his back snoring softly, the sight tugged at Olivia's heart and she smiled, lovingly. "Goodnight, baby boy," She whispered under her breath. Happy that her son was sleeping soundly, she made her way to her own bedroom. She barely had the energy to change for bed. All she did was strip down to her panties, threw on an old t shirt and crawled under the covers, almost instantly asleep.
-x-
It was only four short hours later when the alarm clock blared angrily at her from the bedside table. Reaching out blindly she hit it until it shut up, she groaned and shoved her face harder into the pillow, as if by burying herself in it she could avoid getting up. She knew she couldn't avoid it though, and after a few seconds she rolled onto her back and rubbed her hands hard over her face. "Let's get this day over with," she sighed to herself, threw back the bed covers and got up, heading to her en-suite bathroom for a shower.
Fifteen minutes later she was headed to the kitchen in her dress blues, minus shoes and blazer. She felt a little more awake after her shower but still made a beeline for the coffee machine. It was on and the coffee had just finished brewing. Liv spied a bright orange sticky note stuck to a mug in front of it.
Hey Lieu,
Thought you would need coffee first this morning. I took off early so I could get Frannie walked and home before work. Good luck with CompStat. I'll catch up with you later at the precinct. Thanks for letting me stay the night. Give my love to Noah.
Rollins
Again, Liv smiled at Amanda's thoughtfulness. The blonde sure acted tough, like one of the guys, but underneath it all she was kind and considerate. Always thinking of others. It was part of what made her such a good Special Victims detective. Pouring herself a cup of the dark bitter liquid, Liv set about making breakfast for her and Noah, who no doubt would be awake soon.
Sure enough, just as she turned off the stove and moved the pan of oatmeal off the heat, she heard little footsteps padding down the hall. Noah rounded the corner into the kitchen, rubbing his knuckles into one eye, dark brown curls tousled with sleep. Liv crouched down in front of him, "good morning, sweet boy, did you sleep well?" She asked, sweeping him into a hug.
"Hello Mommy. Where Manna and Fwannie? Dey still sleep?" The boy looked around as if hoping to spot the blonde woman or her dog. "Sorry my love," Liv replied, "they had to go real early this morning so Amanda could get to work. She told me to say goodbye to you though and to do this…" She planted a big noisy kiss on her son's cheek, causing him to squirm and giggle.
"Ok sweet boy, time for breakfast. Go sit at the table, I'll bring your food. We have to eat quick today Noah; Lucy will be here soon and mommy has to go to work early." Liv could see the disappointment in her son's face as she said this and immediately felt guilty. "I'm sorry baby, I know I've been busy, but I promise the next two days will be just you and me. We can play all day, or watch movies with ice cream. How about that?"
The little boy seemed to consider for a moment. "We have chockut pan-case for beffust?" he asked.
Liv chuckled, "yes, tomorrow we can have chocolate pancakes for breakfast, but right now you need to eat your oatmeal, deal?" Noah nodded and tucked into his breakfast with enthusiasm. By the time he had finished, he was wearing almost as much as he had eaten, and Liv set about cleaning up the sticky mess. As she was attempting to remove a blob of oatmeal from his hair, Liv heard keys in the door. She looked up to see Lucy walk through the front door. "Hey Lucy, thanks for coming early, I have to get down to 1PP this morning."
"You-see! Me and Mommy had beffust." Noah called out to the new comer. "And Manna came wid Fwannie and Fwannie did sleep in my bed wid me." Lucy smiled at his little explanation, "Wow, sounds like you've been having fun without me. Hey Noah, what do you say we go get you a bath so Mommy can go to work?" She had noticed his rather sticky situation and it seemed the easiest way to clean him up. Liv smiled gratefully at the younger woman.
"Okay, You-see. Bye Mommy." He leaned up to kiss Liv then hopped off his chair and scurried off towards the bathroom shouting about putting the bubbles in, with Lucy in hot pursuit. Liv finished cleaning up the dining table and the kitchen, downed the last of her (now almost cold) coffee and went to her bedroom to finish getting ready.
It took her ten minutes to tame her long silky brown hair into a neat bun low on the back of her head. The hairstyle accepted as part of the dress code. As she was going to be appearing in front of top members of the Brass, she wanted to make a good impression. She quickly shined her dress-shoes before putting them on and donned the blazer of her Dress Blues.
When she was ready, she went to the bathroom where Noah was thoroughly enjoying a bubble bath. She avoided the splash zone but called to her son, "mommy's gotta go now, Noah. You be a good boy for Lucy today, okay?" The boy just giggled and blew another handful of bubbles into the air. Liv turned to the nanny, "I shouldn't be too late tonight," she surreptitiously reached for the wooden door frame beside her, "barring any major cases showing up, I should be home for around six."
Lucy nodded, "You're looking pretty sharp Liv, but you might wanna lose the oatmeal." She tapped her left cheek to indicate that Liv should check her own. Glancing in the mirror over the sink, she wiped the offending cereal from her face, a parting gift from her son at breakfast. "Thanks Lucy, that could have been embarrassing." She grinned as she walked out of the bathroom. "Have a good day you two," she called over her shoulder.
"Bye, Liv."
"Bye, mommy."
She put on her long navy trench coat, grabbed her laptop bag and her purse, and headed out the door.
-x-
Amanda felt sick. At least now she knew why. She had been feeling nauseous off and on for a couple of weeks now, but she had just put it down to the heavy case load they'd had since Nick left, that and not eating regular meals. She had arrived at work on time for once that morning, having escaped earlier from Liv's apartment than was strictly necessary. She had avoided seeing Liv because she needed to get her head around the fact that she was pregnant before talking to her boss.
Luckily it was a quiet day at the 1-6. Liv was at the CompStat meeting this morning, and there had been no new cases, so the team were wading through the sea of paperwork that covered all three of their desks. None of them felt much like talking. It seemed that the boys had decided to celebrate closing the case yesterday with a few drinks, which had turned into a few too many drinks, and now the boys were feeling a little worse for wear.
This left Amanda with time to think. She had always wanted kids, but she wasn't sure she could handle it right now. She knew exactly when this had happened and who the father was and that he was highly unlikely to want to play the role of 'doting daddy'. She didn't even really like him like that, it had just been a drunken hook up, a one-night stand. She sure as hell wasn't in love with him, or willing to settle down with him to raise the baby, as her mamma was bound to try and persuade her to do. She groaned at the thought of telling her mother. They had a somewhat complicated relationship, and this was unlikely to make it any easier.
Fin looked up when he heard her groan, "You okay baby girl?"
Cringing internally at the word 'baby', Amanda replied, "uh yeah, just got a headache is all."
By the time Olivia made it home that night, it was almost 2am and she was exhausted. When she walked into the apartment, all was quiet, and there was only a small lamp on the table next to the sofa as a source of light, she smiled at how thoughtful Amanda could be. Locking the front door behind her, she moved towards the sofa to drop her bag down and shrug her coat off. Hearing a rhythmic clicking against the floor she looked around, then jumped slightly as something cold and wet touched the back of her hand. She let out a sigh of relief, realising that it was only Frannie coming to greet her. "Hey Frannie girl, sorry I woke you up." She petted the dog's neck lightly, then watched her wander off back to Noah's room.
Olivia flipped off the lamp and followed, she stood in the doorway, observing as the pit bull hopped back onto her son's bed and settled herself in to guard him for the rest of the night. Noah was sprawled on his back snoring softly, the sight tugged at Olivia's heart and she smiled, lovingly. "Goodnight, baby boy," She whispered under her breath. Happy that her son was sleeping soundly, she made her way to her own bedroom. She barely had the energy to change for bed. All she did was strip down to her panties, threw on an old t shirt and crawled under the covers, almost instantly asleep.
It was only four short hours later when the alarm clock blared angrily at her from the bedside table. Reaching out blindly she hit it until it shut up, she groaned and shoved her face harder into the pillow, as if by burying herself in it she could avoid getting up. She knew she couldn't avoid it though, and after a few seconds she rolled onto her back and rubbed her hands hard over her face. "Let's get this day over with," she sighed to herself, threw back the bed covers and got up, heading to her en-suite bathroom for a shower.
Fifteen minutes later she was headed to the kitchen in her dress blues, minus shoes and blazer. She felt a little more awake after her shower but still made a beeline for the coffee machine. It was on and the coffee had just finished brewing. Liv spied a bright orange sticky note stuck to a mug in front of it.
Hey Lieu,
Thought you would need coffee first this morning. I took off early so I could get Frannie walked and home before work. Good luck with CompStat. I'll catch up with you later at the precinct. Thanks for letting me stay the night. Give my love to Noah.
Rollins
Again, Liv smiled at Amanda's thoughtfulness. The blonde sure acted tough, like one of the guys, but underneath it all she was kind and considerate. Always thinking of others. It was part of what made her such a good Special Victims detective. Pouring herself a cup of the dark bitter liquid, Liv set about making breakfast for her and Noah, who no doubt would be awake soon.
Sure enough, just as she turned off the stove and moved the pan of oatmeal off the heat, she heard little footsteps padding down the hall. Noah rounded the corner into the kitchen, rubbing his knuckles into one eye, dark brown curls tousled with sleep. Liv crouched down in front of him, "good morning, sweet boy, did you sleep well?" She asked, sweeping him into a hug.
"Hello Mommy. Where Manna and Fwannie? Dey still sleep?" The boy looked around as if hoping to spot the blonde woman or her dog. "Sorry my love," Liv replied, "they had to go real early this morning so Amanda could get to work. She told me to say goodbye to you though and to do this…" She planted a big noisy kiss on her son's cheek, causing him to squirm and giggle.
"Ok sweet boy, time for breakfast. Go sit at the table, I'll bring your food. We have to eat quick today Noah; Lucy will be here soon and mommy has to go to work early." Liv could see the disappointment in her son's face as she said this and immediately felt guilty. "I'm sorry baby, I know I've been busy, but I promise the next two days will be just you and me. We can play all day, or watch movies with ice cream. How about that?"
The little boy seemed to consider for a moment. "We have chockut pan-case for beffust?" he asked.
Liv chuckled, "yes, tomorrow we can have chocolate pancakes for breakfast, but right now you need to eat your oatmeal, deal?" Noah nodded and tucked into his breakfast with enthusiasm. By the time he had finished, he was wearing almost as much as he had eaten, and Liv set about cleaning up the sticky mess. As she was attempting to remove a blob of oatmeal from his hair, Liv heard keys in the door. She looked up to see Lucy walk through the front door. "Hey Lucy, thanks for coming early, I have to get down to 1PP this morning."
"You-see! Me and Mommy had beffust." Noah called out to the new comer. "And Manna came wid Fwannie and Fwannie did sleep in my bed wid me." Lucy smiled at his little explanation, "Wow, sounds like you've been having fun without me. Hey Noah, what do you say we go get you a bath so Mommy can go to work?" She had noticed his rather sticky situation and it seemed the easiest way to clean him up. Liv smiled gratefully at the younger woman.
"Okay, You-see. Bye Mommy." He leaned up to kiss Liv then hopped off his chair and scurried off towards the bathroom shouting about putting the bubbles in, with Lucy in hot pursuit. Liv finished cleaning up the dining table and the kitchen, downed the last of her (now almost cold) coffee and went to her bedroom to finish getting ready.
It took her ten minutes to tame her long silky brown hair into a neat bun low on the back of her head. The hairstyle accepted as part of the dress code. As she was going to be appearing in front of top members of the Brass, she wanted to make a good impression. She quickly shined her dress-shoes before putting them on and donned the blazer of her Dress Blues.
When she was ready, she went to the bathroom where Noah was thoroughly enjoying a bubble bath. She avoided the splash zone but called to her son, "mommy's gotta go now, Noah. You be a good boy for Lucy today, okay?" The boy just giggled and blew another handful of bubbles into the air. Liv turned to the nanny, "I shouldn't be too late tonight," she surreptitiously reached for the wooden door frame beside her, "barring any major cases showing up, I should be home for around six."
Lucy nodded, "You're looking pretty sharp Liv, but you might wanna lose the oatmeal." She tapped her left cheek to indicate that Liv should check her own. Glancing in the mirror over the sink, she wiped the offending cereal from her face, a parting gift from her son at breakfast. "Thanks Lucy, that could have been embarrassing." She grinned as she walked out of the bathroom. "Have a good day you two," she called over her shoulder.
"Bye, Liv."
"Bye, mommy."
She put on her long navy trench coat, grabbed her laptop bag and her purse, and headed out the door.
Amanda felt sick. At least now she knew why. She had been feeling nauseous off and on for a couple of weeks now, but she had just put it down to the heavy case load they'd had since Nick left, that and not eating regular meals. She had arrived at work on time for once that morning, having escaped earlier from Liv's apartment than was strictly necessary. She had avoided seeing Liv because she needed to get her head around the fact that she was pregnant before talking to her boss.
Luckily it was a quiet day at the 1-6. Liv was at the CompStat meeting this morning, and there had been no new cases, so the team were wading through the sea of paperwork that covered all three of their desks. None of them felt much like talking. It seemed that the boys had decided to celebrate closing the case yesterday with a few drinks, which had turned into a few too many drinks, and now the boys were feeling a little worse for wear.
This left Amanda with time to think. She had always wanted kids, but she wasn't sure she could handle it right now. She knew exactly when this had happened and who the father was and that he was highly unlikely to want to play the role of 'doting daddy'. She didn't even really like him like that, it had just been a drunken hook up, a one-night stand. She sure as hell wasn't in love with him, or willing to settle down with him to raise the baby, as her mamma was bound to try and persuade her to do. She groaned at the thought of telling her mother. They had a somewhat complicated relationship, and this was unlikely to make it any easier.
Fin looked up when he heard her groan, "You okay baby girl?"
Cringing internally at the word 'baby', Amanda replied, "uh yeah, just got a headache is all."
"Join the club," her partner grouched, clearly feeling delicate after a night of tequila shots with the newest member of the squad. "Who knew Carisi could drink so much?"
She smiled tiredly at him, then lowered her eyes to her paperwork. Before she could sink back into her own thoughts however, the phone on Fin's desk rang. After a brief conversation he stood up, "come on Rollins, we got a shout. Student at Hudson University. Carisi," he called to the young Italian detective and all three of them winced at the volume of his voice, "hold down the fort, let Liv know where we're at when she gets back."
"No problem," Carisi nodded, "let me know if you need anything."
Amanda stood up, took her jacket from the back of her chair and followed her partner out the the club," her partner grouched, clearly feeling delicate after a night of tequila shots with the newest member of the squad. "Who knew Carisi could drink so much?"
She smiled tiredly at him, then lowered her eyes to her paperwork. Before she could sink back into her own thoughts however, the phone on Fin's desk rang. After a brief conversation he stood up, "come on Rollins, we got a shout. Student at Hudson University. Carisi," he called to the young Italian detective and all three of them winced at the volume of his voice, "hold down the fort, let Liv know where we're at when she gets back."
"No problem," Carisi nodded, "let me know if you need anything."
Amanda stood up, took her jacket from the back of her chair and followed her partner out the door.