THE RETURN

Chapter 34

Getting the kids ready and dropping them off to school the next day was one that both adults figured out quickly, was a routine they were going to have to work on. Elliot had to almost pry both boys out of bed and then they took forever trying to pick which outfit they wanted to wear that day. By the time the four of them made it to the car, it was already fifteen minutes later than the time they were supposed to leave. Making both of them almost late to school. Luckily they weren't too late for Noah's and both adults were able to walk him to his class.

Before they headed back to the apartment, Elliot asked her if it was okay if he stopped at the courthouse to pick up custody papers for Eli. He hadn't heard from Kathy yet and was really praying that court wouldn't have to happen but he wanted to be prepared. The look of guilt that once again flashed across her face, had him pulling over in New York morning traffic to lean over and kiss her lips. The "Don't" that escaped his lips quickly after, had her nodding her head and kissing him once more.

Although, he told her it was just going to be a quick run in, she insisted on getting out anyways. "It's never a quick run in, in this courthouse Elliot." He agreed and helped her conquer the stairs leading up to the door, with his body behind hers and his hands placed firmly on her ribcage. "I'm never going to take my unbattered torso for granted again, once I'm healed. I swear I feel like I'm about to break in half," she told him when they reached the last step.

"See, you should have stayed in the car babe. Do you want to sit down?" He was already leading her to a vacant bench that was across the way from the door.

"I really don't want to." All she wanted at that moment was to be back to normal. Not only was her torso hurting, her whole body was aching. Which probably had a lot to do with her lack of exercise over the last week. She was used to continuously moving at the job and now if she was moving, she was having to take breaks to give her ribs a rest. She found it funny how the human mind worked. One minute she was thankful that she was at least doing a hell of a lot better than she was last week and another minute she was resenting the fact that it was taking to long. When her eyes connected with Elliot's, the plead in his eyes, had her huffing out a small breath. "Fine, I'll sit but only because I'm trying to heal sooner, rather than later."

He smiled at her, guided her to a bench that was just inside the doors and leaned down to kiss her. "That's our goal Liv." Their lips lingered together for a few seconds. When he pulled away, he whispered, "I'll be right back. Call me if you need anything."

She laughed lightly, "Yeah, like I'm going to need anything sitting on a bench in the courthouse."

"You never know, might see someone you don't want to see and I'll have to swoop in and hide you." With her snort, he winked at her and walked off. She watched his backside, until he turned left down the hallway towards the family court section. The fact that the man had the nicest ass she had ever seen was enough for her panties to moisten a little. The night before he had offered to take care of her again but their events of the day had her more than ready to close her eyes for the night. She was definitely not passing up that offer tonight. To pass the time as she waited, she pulled out her phone and began looking at houses once again. Her and Elliot had still not only discussed a budget, they hadn't even discusses their income. Which was always the first step to moving in together. She had no idea what his pensions were when he left both the force and the bureau but since he had mentioned that the FBI paid him more since they had to kill him, she guessed he had a hefty amount saved up in the bank. Her income combined with her mother's inheritance, that she had also hardly touched, had her thinking that maybe they could afford one of the townhouses she was currently looking at. She was looking at the square footage of a good priced town house, when she heard a faint "Liv" come from in front of her. Before she even looked up, she already knew that it wasn't Elliot. When her eyes connected with the man coming towards her, she almost stood up to whack her head against the wall. Luckily her ribcage hurt to much to stand and she was not about to make herself look like an idiot, she plastered a smile on her face as he came closer. "Hey Brian."