After her conversation with Olivia, Amanda returned to her desk, not in a bad mood per se; but a little subdued. She knew that Liv was only looking out for her, and she appreciated that, but no interrogations? That was one of her favourite parts of the job. Profiling a perp, getting into their heads, then using the knowledge she gained to break them enough to confess their crimes. That was one of the most rewarding things she did, and she had a particular talent for it.
She caught a movement from the corner of her eye and looked up as the lieutenant left her office, striding towards the break room with her empty cup in hand, no doubt ready for a refill. The blonde watched appreciatively as Liv crossed the room, with her graceful purposeful gait, definitely a woman on a mission for more caffeine.
Once the brunette was out of her eyeline, Amanda reverted her attention to her situation. She dropped her gaze to her subtly distended abdomen, absently stroking a hand over the material of her shirt there. Liv was right, the incidents with both Turner and Handley had been scary, and both times she felt she had been lucky to not get seriously injured. Did she really want to tempt fate a third time, given that luck was so rarely on her side? No, she had to start thinking like a mom now as well as a cop.
She felt a little guilty about her ungracious acceptance of Liv's new rules. Afterall, had she not pretty much imposed pretty much the same rules on herself already, since her scare with Handley? Olivia was just making it official. Biting her lower lip, she decided perhaps she should make it up to her girlfriend, to prove there were no hard feelings. A plan forming in her mind, she reached for her cell phone to text Lucy.
-x-
As Olivia entered the break room, she bumped into Fin leaving it. She grasped the darker man's arm and held him back, "Fin, a word?" she muttered to him as she glanced around the kitchenette, making sure they were alone.
Fin looked expectantly at the lieutenant. "You're not pregnant too, are you?" he asked jokingly, trying to ease the tension he could sense in his old friend.
Liv gave him a serious stare, "Look after her." Fin knew she was talking about Amanda, Liv continued to speak quickly and quietly to him, "She still wants to be involved but I don't want her in any dangerous situations. I don't mind her talking to witnesses or victims and their families. But no perps, no suspects. I'm not making here ride the desk yet but you know how she is. Help me to look after her?"
Liv seemed to have grown very fond of the blonde detective, he wondered if… nah, they're just good friends, right? "Don't worry Liv," he reassured the brunette, "she's like my baby sister, I'm not gonna let anything happen to her. And if I think she is being reckless I'll call her on it, you know that."
She squeezed his shoulder and smiled, a look of relief on her kind face, "thanks Fin."
"You know, it would be a lot easier if we had another detective," Fin said casually, his voice returning to a normal volume as he moved to the vending machine, punching the buttons for a soda. "Any word on when they are gonna replace Amaro?"
Liv folded her arms leaning against the door jamb, "No," she sighed, "last I heard they were looking to bring in a sergeant as second in command, but no news on when that's supposed to happen."
Fin wrinkled his nose with distaste, "why do they need to do that? You and I have more than enough experience between us to keep these guys in line." He griped.
"After the headache I caused the brass over that child endangerment case, I think they want someone to keep me in line." Liv grimaced. At the look of shared disapproval on her old friend's face, she added, "Fin, I asked you to take the sergeant's exam. You told me that you want no part of it, okay, so here's where we are."
Fin shrugged in acceptance, and left the room returning to his desk, while the lieutenant turned her attention to the coffee machine.
-x-
By some miracle, they managed to leave the precinct at a reasonable hour that night. It was just after 5.30pm when they decided to head home. Amanda was quiet as she navigated her truck through the busy Manhattan streets. Olivia, in the passenger seat, assumed that the blonde was still upset with her over her modified duties, and so did not push her to talk, not wanting it to turn into an argument.
In truth, Amanda was nervous. She had spent the afternoon making plans for the evening, and now she was hoping that would all go smoothly. She parked her truck in the underground structure beneath Olivia's building, and they got out, still not saying a word to one another. As they rode the elevator up to the fourth floor, Amanda avoided eye contact with her companion.
Olivia stole sidelong glances at the blonde. Does she seem… nervous? She shook off the idea, leading the way to the front door, "what do you fancy for dinner?" she asked softly, breaking the silence between them at last. She did not look at Amanda as she spoke, focusing instead on unlocking and opening the door. The brunette was about to turn and look at her still silent girlfriend, when a flash of colour caught her eye.
There on the console table, directly across from the front door was the largest bunch of flowers she had ever seen. A sea of pinks, whites, purples and lilacs. She forgot her unanswered question as she moved closer to the table. She could see roses, lilies, irises, chrysanthemums and tulips among others. "What the…?" Olivia muttered to herself.
Amanda moved inside, closing the door quietly behind herself. Her stomach was doing somersaults as she observed her awestruck girlfriend taking in her gift. She silently thanked Lucy for her perfect placement of the bouquet.
Seeing the name 'Olivia' written in neat cursive across the small envelope nestled into the top of the arrangement, the brunette reached for it, a slight tremor in her hand as she did. After studying it for a moment, she flipped it over and pulled the card from inside. It read:
I don't know what kind of flowers say 'sorry for being a brat',
but I thought these were beautiful, just like you.
Allow me to make it up to you by taking you to dinner tonight?
A x
Olivia read the card through twice, her smile getting wider and wider, until she turned to her girlfriend with a grin that could light up Manhattan. She scooped up the petite blonde, pulling her into a tight hug. Amanda chuckled in her ear, "I take that as a yes?" she asked playfully, winding her arms around Olivia's waist.
"Yes!" Olivia replied at once. All the commotion between the two of them got the attention of the other occupants of the apartment. Footsteps belonging to a toddler and his trusty canine sidekick were heard and as the women broke apart, the little duo rounded the corner with a loud cry of "Mommy! Manna!" from Noah, and a deep "woof!" from Frannie. After their greeting hugs and kisses (and licks on Frannie's part, much to Amanda and Liv's amused disgust) the four moved further into the apartment, calling out hello to Lucy, who stood in the small kitchen smiling at the newcomers.
As the noise and excitement died down a little, Olivia placed her flower arrangement on the window sill in the living room where she could see it. Stepping back she admired it for a few moments before a sudden thought brought her up short. She turned to Amanda; her expression worried. "Manda, what about Noah?"
"Don't worry, Liv," Amanda soothed the older woman. "Lucy has very kindly agreed to stay late tonight." She turned to the younger brunette in the room. "Thank you for doing this, Lucy. I know it was really short notice for you."
"It's no problem, Amanda." The nanny smiled as she dried her hands on a dish towel. "I have to study tonight anyway and it's quieter here, once Noah is in bed, than it is at home with my housemates partying."
Both detectives laughed at the younger woman's statement, then Amanda turned to Olivia. "Okay, reservation is at 8pm so you have," she checked her watch, "a little over an hour and a half to get dolled up." She grinned at the panic in Olivia's eyes. "Meet you back here at 7.30pm sharp, Lieutenant." Amanda smirked, only the slightest hint of flirtation in her tone. With that, she pecked Olivia on the cheek, then turned and sashayed in the direction of her bedroom, leaving the older brunette speechless, watching with appreciation until the door snapped shut behind Amanda.
Olivia stayed frozen staring at the door for a few more seconds, then a giggle brought her out of her reverie. She turned to see Lucy trying to stifle a laugh. "You might wanna close you mouth there, Olivia," Lucy said, attempting to keep a straight face, "you'll catch flies."
Sure enough, Liv realised she had been stood with her mouth hanging open in surprise at the blonde's brazen display of affection in front of the nanny. Amanda was not big into PDA, so the whole thing had shocked her.
They had, inadvertently, informed Lucy of the change in their relationship status earlier that week. On Tuesday morning, Liv had dashed into the kitchen, running slightly late, and greeted the blonde with a more than friendly kiss. She had not noticed, in her rush, that Lucy had been stood on the opposite side of the kitchen counter, and had seen the whole exchange. The younger woman had merely smirked, one eyebrow raised and said, "well it's about time," before turning to tend to Noah and his breakfast. With pink cheeks, the two cops had traded sheepish grins at one another before Olivia shrugged and carried on getting ready.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" prompted Lucy, when Olivia made no move other than to finally close her mouth. This seemed to jerk Olivia out of whatever thought she was lost in, and the lieutenant jumped to action, hurrying away towards her bedroom, mentally going through her wardrobe as she went.
Lucy shook her head, smiling to herself as she made her way over to were Noah was playing in the living room, closely watched by Frannie. Over the past few months, even before Amanda had moved in, Lucy had noticed her boss's growing affection for the blonde in the other room. Since Lucy started working for the lieutenant, then sergeant, over 18 months ago, she had come to regard Olivia as a mixture of big sister and favourite aunt. As such, she cared a great deal about the older brunette, and it was nice to see her happy.
Hearing a door open she looked up, spotting Amanda in her robe, padding barefoot from her bedroom to the guest bathroom, carrying her towel. A few moments later, she heard the shower start. She did not know Amanda well, but she could tell the blonde was smitten with both Olivia and Noah.
In the bathroom, Amanda stepped under the warm spray. She was feeling equal parts nervous and excited, as she began rinsing the day's grime from her body. This was her first real date with Olivia. Yes, they had been out for meals in the past, with the squad, with Noah, even just the two of them, but it had never been a 'date'. She reached for her wash cloth, adding some sweet-smelling body wash to it and started to rub it across her skin, starting with her throat, arms and chest. She moved down to her breasts carefully; they were very tender at the moment. They had also grown bigger and heavier. She had always been on the border of a B/C cup but now even her C cup bras were struggling to keep her boobs in check! She made a mental note to go underwear shopping soon.
She moved on, soaping up her abdomen. Normally, she had very defined musculature here – maybe not quite a six pack but heading that way. These days, she was definitely softer around her midriff. Her movements slowed to a stop as she covered her lower belly, there was a subtle but defined bump now pressing upwards from between her hips. So far during her pregnancy she had managed to cover up any changes with baggy or loose-fitting tops. She smiled to herself as she thought about the dress she planned to wear tonight. It should show off all her newly enhanced assets, and hopefully drive Olivia wild!
In the walk-in closet of the master bedroom, Olivia was almost knee deep in discarded outfits. Clothes that for one reason or another she had discounted for this evening. Many were far too revealing around the neckline since–
She cut the thought off before she could finish it. Tonight was a happy occasion, exciting. Her first official date with Amanda. She did not want to taint it with unwanted memories. She continued to rummage through the hangers until… "A-ha! Perfect." She smiled at her victory. Now that she knew what she was going to wear, she could get on with getting ready. She laid the dress out at the bottom of her bed, then made her way to her en-suite bathroom.
The next hour or so passed by in a flurry of activity for both women, showering, applying make-up, styling their hair and choosing accessories. Meanwhile, Lucy had fed, bathed and gotten Noah ready for bed. She knocked on Olivia's bedroom door at 7.20pm, calling through the wood, "Liv? I'm putting Noah to bed now; would you like to say goodnight?"
The door swung open revealing an almost ready and absolutely stunning Olivia Benson. She was just securing the back to one of her sapphire stud earrings, as she opened the door.
"Wow, Liv!" Lucy exclaimed as she looked the older brunette up and down. "You look amazing!"
"You pwitty mommy!" Noah agreed from where he was perched in Lucy's arms.
Olivia smiled warmly at her son and his nanny, her face flushing ever so slightly at the praise. "You think it's okay?" she asked, shyly, peering quickly over Lucy's shoulder making sure Amanda wasn't out there yet.
"Amanda will love it!" Lucy assured her, kindly, before turning to the boy in her arms. "Noah are you going to say goodnight to your mommy?"
Olivia held her arms out to the boy and he leaned into them willingly. Careful not to ruin her outfit she pulled him in close for a kiss and a cuddle. "Goodnight my little love," she murmured to him under her breath. "You be a good boy for Lucy, okay?"
"Nigh-night mommy, I be good," Noah answered, solemnly. He pressed a sloppy open-mouthed kiss to her lips. Liv thanked goodness she hadn't applied her lipstick yet! Olivia passed the boy back to Lucy, blowing him a kiss as he waved at her over Lucy's shoulder while the nanny carried him into his room, followed by his furry companion.
Olivia retreated to her dresser, wiping the toddler drool from her face, before applying a subtle berry shade of lipstick, complimenting her skin tone nicely. Glancing at her alarm clock, she saw she had less than 5 minutes to go. Double checking her hair was still up in the elegant French twist she had put it in, just a little hair left hanging either side of her face. Her make-up, a light smoky eye and neutral lip, looked perfect.
She straightened up and adjusted her dress. She had chosen a navy dress with a boat neckline and three-quarter sleeve. The material, though plain, had a subtle sheen to it, cinched at the waist and the skirt falling just below the knee, flaring out slightly. She was fidgeting really, but her nerves were kicking in big time. It was so long since she had been on a date and she couldn't remember ever going on a date that she cared about as much as this one. She took a couple of calming breaths, picked up her navy clutch, slipped into her 3-inch navy pumps and made her way out to the living room.
Amanda wasn't there yet, so Olivia made her way over to the window sill, admiring the flowers that the blonde had bought for her. She smiled as she traced the petals delicately with her fingertip. She bent forward to inhale the scent and as she did, she heard a small gasp behind her.