THE RETURN

Chapter 5

In the next two weeks, the three of them developed a small routine. Olivia would come home from work each night and allow Noah to call Elliot. The two of them would speak anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour, depending on how late Olivia would arrive home. Their conversations were usually full of Noah telling Elliot about his day or him asking him questions about his life. Elliot was always more than happy to indulge in any conversation the young boy wanted.

On Saturdays, they met Elliot at the park next to his house. He had offered to go to one close to their apartment, but Olivia had told him no. She wasn't ready for him to know where they lived quite yet. The times they met in person, were one hundred percent focused on Noah. Olivia didn't allow Elliot to have any chance to speak to her except for a simple hello and goodbye.

It was now Friday afternoon and Olivia was getting ready to leave for the day. The next day she had reluctantly agreed to meet Elliot at a mini golf course. It was an activity that Noah had been continuously asking to do over the last few weeks. When he had brought it up to Elliot the day before, the man was more than willing to satisfy the request.

Since Elliot had popped back up in her life a month and half ago, Olivia hadn't mentioned his presence to anybody. There wasn't a single person, besides Noah, that knew. She debated with herself about telling Fin, but she knew it would just stir up issues. The two head strong men had never gotten along and when Elliot left the way he did, Fin had made it known that if he ever laid eyes on the selfish man again, it wasn't going to be pretty.

"You want to tell me what you're thinking?" She heard Fin ask.

When she looked up from her desk, he was standing in her doorway to her office, leaning against the frame. "How long have you been watching me?"

"Long enough to know you're thinking of something." Fin made his way to her desk and sat down in the chair across from her. He watched Olivia take a deep breath. He knew something was going on with her. She was different the last few weeks. She was more happy than he ever remembered her being and it was if she couldn't wipe the smile off her face. Additionally, she looked more relax. Like she was actually getting a full nights sleep at night, something that Lieutenant Benson never did. "Who is he?"

Olivia gasped, "Who is who Fin?" There was absolutely no way he could know about Elliot. She hadn't mentioned him and he hadn't seen Noah in a while, so there was no way.

Fin laughed slightly, "Don't lie to me Liv. You're totally seeing someone. It's written all over your face."

"What? Wait...you...I am not..." She inwardly cursed herself. She had barely spoken any words to Elliot over the last two weeks but she had to admit that him being back was doing positive things to her. She couldn't stop smiling and she was actually able to almost get a full night's rest. If she noticed her change of demeanor, of course her squad of qualified detectives was going to notice it as well. Not prepared to have the conversation about Elliot yet, she decided to take a safe course. "Mind your business Fin. You know I'll tell you when I'm ready."

Fin nodded and smiled, "As long as you're happy baby, I'm happy." He stood up and walked out of the office.

She huffed and dropped her head in her hands, if he only knew.

"Hey mom?" Noah asked from the backseat of the car.

"Yes baby?" It was Saturday morning and they were on their way to the mini golf course. Elliot had chosen which one to go to and because she still wouldn't tell him where she lived, he had picked the one that looked the most fun, not the one that was closest to her apartment. Because of Noah having to finish his gift that he made for Elliot, they had left the house 30 minutes later than she wanted to. Which led to the horrible traffic jam they were now stuck in.