A/N: Better late than never I suppose, sorry for the delay folks, it's very fluffy!
As it turned out, it only took Olivia an hour to do what she needed to do, and she managed to get home just after 7.30pm. She had taken a cab in the hope that if she hurried, she would make it home in time to read Noah his bed time story.
There was no one in the living room when she entered the apartment, but from the sounds of splashing and giggling she could hear through the open bathroom door, she deduced it was Noah's bath time. She smiled to herself as she removed her coat and shoes, listening to the conversation between Amanda and her son.
"…don't splash too much, buddy, I don't wanna get wet!"
"Da duts go swim, Manna?"
"Sure, the ducks can swim. Can you count how many ducks there are, Noah?"
"One. Two. Fwee. Fwee duts, Manna."
"Good job buddy, high five!" Liv heard a small wet smack.
"Frannie what are ya doin'?" Came the blonde's voice, in a warning tone. "Don't even think about it, girl… FRANNIE NO!"
There was an almighty splash, followed by a peal of childish giggles and a frustrated groan. Liv ran to the door of the bathroom, throwing it open to find the most hilarious scene she'd ever come across.
An annoyed looking Amanda stood by the tub, dripping from head to foot, with bubbles in her hair. She held a giggling Noah, swaddled in a fluffy green towel against her chest, and both of them were looking down into the tub. Following their gaze, Liv saw the pit bull in the bath, wagging her tail and sending clouds of bubbles everywhere. She looked very proud of herself as she sat there with a rubber duck in her mouth.
"What's going on in here?" Liv asked, trying her hardest not to laugh as Amanda turned her murderous glare to the brunette instead of the dog.
"That doofus," she pointed at Frannie, "decided that rubber ducks make excellent chew toys." She deadpanned. "Why is it that I end up with the only dog in the world that likes baths? Any normal dog would run for the hills if they thought they had to have a bath, but Frannie? No. She jumps in the bath." She let out a frustrated sigh, shaking her head.
She strode over to Olivia, passing her the giggling toddler. "I'm sorry, Liv. I'll clean it up, I promise."
Liv chuckled alongside her son. "It's fine Manda," she said, brushing bubbles from her blonde hair, "Are you okay?"
"Apart from being drenched?" The blonde held her arms wide to showcase the evidence. "Peachy." She grouched. Then she turned to Noah, "and you'll get laughing at me mister," she smiled at him, putting on a silly voice and pointing an accusing finger at him, "you are still under investigation as a co-conspirator in this little plot." She used her pointing finger to tickle his belly, until he squirmed and squealed with laughter, which in turn made both women laugh. Frannie gave a bark, muffled by the duck in her mouth, just to add to the cacophony.
"Alright, alright," Liv grinned at the blonde, "You get her, I'll sort him. There are some old towels I use for cleaning in the bottom of the airing cupboard, you can use those to dry her off." Amanda murmured a word of thanks before turning to her mischievous canine, and letting the water out of the tub, throwing an old towel over the dog before she could shake and spray water over the entire bathroom.
Chuckling to herself, Liv made her way down the hall to Noah's room, the damp toddler still cradled in her arms.
"Mommy, Fwannie jumped in da baff wid me!" The little boy told her with a toothy grin. "She make Manna all wet!"
"I can see that sweetie," Liv said, smiling back at him. "How about we put your jammies on then you can choose a story for us to read?"
"Okay, mommy, can I has fi chucks?" Noah asked.
"You want your fire truck jammies? Hmmm, I think they are in here somewhere," Liv routed through his pyjama drawer, finally coming up with the desired garment, "Aha! Here we are, sweet boy."
She dried him off, put him in a fresh diaper and got him into his favourite sleep suit, which took a while because they decided to have a tickle fight as they did. Eventually, he was ready and Liv helped him onto the floor, he toddled across to the bookshelf to look for a book, just as a considerably less wet Frannie barged through the door, followed by Amanda, who had changed into faded jeans and an old APD hoodie, her hair, which was still slightly damp, was pulled back in a messy bun.
"Liv, I'm gonna go get dinner started," Amanda said from the doorway.
"No, Manna," Noah looked up at the blonde with his big blue eyes, "It's stowwy time, you stay for da stowwy?"
"Noah, buddy, your mommy is gonna read you a story today," she said, glancing at Liv as she crouched down to his level.
He grabbed her hand pulling her towards the bed, "you sit here wid Fwannie, for da stowwy, we all stay!" He pushed her to sit on his bed next to Frannie, who had already made herself comfortable, then ran to where Olivia sat in the rocking chair, holding his arms out to his mother to be picked up.
She hoisted him into her lap, taking the book he offered her, all the while smirking at Amanda, eyes sparkling with amusement as she watched the blonde spitfire getting pushed around by her two-year-old. As Noah snuggled into her, she asked, "Are we ready?" When the little boy nodded, she looked over at the blonde, "Manda you ready?"
"Yes, Mommy, I'm ready," she answered with a smirk. Frannie had laid her head in Amanda's lap and she began stroking the pit bull's silky ears.
Liv opened the front page of the book and began reading, "oh, the places you will go…"
Amanda wasn't really paying attention to the words being spoken, but rather the speaker herself. This was the version of Olivia she loved the most, the childish, less inhibited side she only saw when she interacted with Noah. She found herself focused on the movement of the brunette's mouth as she put on silly voices, her eyebrows as she pulled funny faces and the way she had to push her glasses back up her nose every time she laughed.
Every so often, their eyes met and Liv would offer her a shy smile. Amanda felt comfortable here, like for the first time in her life, she was where she was meant to be. The thought made her smile contentedly.
By the time Olivia had finished the book, Noah was sound asleep. She stood carefully cradling the limp body to her chest and made her way across to the bed where the blonde sat with her eyes closed, apparently dozing lightly. As Liv approached the bedside, Frannie lifted her head from Amanda's lap to look at the brunette, and this movement was enough to cause the blonde to stir. She looked up at Olivia stood in front of her, she didn't remember closing her eyes.
An amused glint in her eyes once more, Liv held out her free hand to pull her up from the low bed. Amanda took it, but as she regained her feet she stumbled slightly into Olivia's side. Liv caught her with a steadying arm around her waist, smiling at the blonde's clumsiness, which had brought their faces to within inches of each other.
Amanda's breath hitched as she stared into Olivia's eyes. This close up, she could see flecks of gold in the chocolate irises. Her eyes made the tiniest flicker down to Liv's full rosy lips before she cleared her throat and took a quick step back, "Thanks," she breathed, her face going slightly pink.
"No problem," Liv whispered. She moved to tuck Noah into the bed Amanda had just vacated, and Amanda hurried from the room. She had not missed the blonde's gaze momentarily dropping to her mouth, and she wondered if that could possibly mean… surely not?
Retreating to the kitchen, Amanda leaned against the counter and took a deep breath. Get it together Rollins she chastised herself. She had never been that close to Olivia before, but when she fell into her arms, Amanda had had the mad urge to lean in and kiss the older woman. Perhaps it was the pregnancy hormones, messing with her libido. She had always been attracted to Olivia, but as far as she knew, the older woman was as straight as an arrow and did not return those feelings. But Amanda had never come so close to acting on her feelings as she had just then.
Shaking her head as if to clear it, she started getting things out of the fridge to prepare a meal for herself and Olivia, in the hopes of distracting herself from the inappropriate thoughts about her boss. She set about making a warm chicken salad for the pair of them, deciding it was too late for a really heavy meal and it would be quick and easy to make.
When Olivia had tucked Noah in, she decided to go for a quick shower and get ready for bed. She put on her long pyjama pants, a long-sleeved t shirt and a zippered hoodie over the top to keep her warm. By the time she returned to the kitchen twenty minutes later, her long dark hair still damp, but drying in soft waves, Amanda was just serving their meal.
Olivia moved to the cupboard to retrieve some glasses. "Juice?" She asked the younger woman, who was taking their plates to the table.
"Please," Amanda smiled as she returned to the kitchen to pick up cutlery. Liv poured them both a glass of apple juice and the two made their way to the table together and sat down to eat their dinner.
"This looks wonderful, Manda, thank you." Liv smiled as she watched her detective tuck in to the food with gusto. "I take it you're feeling better, after your episode this morning?" She asked, as she speared a forkful of chicken and began to eat.
"Mmm-hmm," Murmured the blonde, her mouth still full of salad. She swallowed and added, "I was fine once the pills kicked in. It wasn't nearly as bad as last Tuesday," she giggled at the memory. "Did I tell you about that?" When the brunette shook her head, Amanda elaborated. "Man, I never moved so fast in my life. Just after you left to go to the courthouse, Fin came back into the squad room from lunch, and he was eating a tuna melt from the deli down the street. As soon as he passed by my desk and I got a whiff of his sandwich, I had to high tail it to the bathroom. Seems like fish is just a big no-no for this little one." She placed her hand lovingly over her stomach.
"What did Fin say when you came back? Was he suspicious?" Pausing in the act of sipping her juice, Liv was concerned that Amanda may have inadvertently outted herself.
"You know Fin, he's always suspicious." The younger woman laughed. "Luckily, seein' as you had only just left, I managed to pass it off as chasin' you to ask you somethin' before you left." She shrugged, as she took another bite of her dinner.
"Quick thinking," Liv said, sounding impressed. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around." She grinned at her blonde detective.
"Thanks a lot, Liv," Manda chuckled, rolling her eyes at the brunette. "Nice to know I'm good for somethin'."
Olivia gave her a playful shove on the arm, "you know that's not the only reason, Manda." She smiled, stood up, and took their empty plates and glasses to the kitchen. Looking over the counter to where Amanda still sat, she smirked, "you're the only one I've found that can put up with Fin."
A second later she had to duck to avoid the balled-up napkin that flew across the counter at her from the direction of the table. Both women were laughing quietly, not wanting to wake Noah.
Amanda came into the kitchen, "I'm gonna make some tea, you want some?" She asked Olivia.
"Sure," Liv smiled, finishing rinsing the last of the dishes, before placing it in the dishwasher, then drying her hands on the dish towel.
Amanda couldn't help but feel Liv was distracted. "You go sit down, Liv, I'll bring it through in a minute," the blonde said as she filled the kettle at the sink. Liv nodded gratefully and went to sit on the sofa, flipping on the TV for some background noise.
The blonde watched her from the corner of her eye. Her lieutenant had seemed preoccupied all day. Whenever she had glimpsed her through her office windows at the precinct that day, she looked as though she was in a world of her own. Amanda wondered if Olivia's nightmare from the previous night was weighing on the older woman's mind. Knowing Liv would talk only if and when she wanted to, Amanda tried to put it from her mind for now.