You and I [A Bensler Fanfiction]

Three

The moment her alarm when off, she felt a sharp kick to her hip. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled when she saw her sons laying beside her in bed. As usual, they took up more than half of her bed. Yet as the years went on and they got older, she knew these moments were the most important. These were the moments she prayed that she'd never forget.

Olivia got ready as quickly as possible, only stopping a few times to respond to a text and unlock the front door for when Keith arrived for breakfast.

"Morning, babe," Keith smiled, as he came in through the front door as Olivia placed a folder into her eldest's bag.

"I'm not your babe anymore, Keith," Olivia grumbled.

"Hey-"

"I have told you that a million times, Keith! The last thing I want is to be back with you. So please, stop calling me that."

Keith held his hands up and sighed as Olivia continued to gather items and place them in Jackson's bag.

"Were the boys good last night?" Keith questioned, since the room had filled with awkward silence.

"They were little monsters as usual, but that's because you are their father," Olivia smiled. Keith rolled his eyes as Olivia walked towards the kitchen.

"Can't you at least pretend that you like me? We used to be in love, Liv! Clearly you felt something for me before, since you and I made two of the cutest little boys! I was there when they were born and-"

"And fucking Janet once they were toddling around?" Olivia snapped, as she turned around quickly and eyed Keith. His face grew red as he avoided her eyes.

The silence settled heavily around them, as each waited for the other to speak. Olivia kept staring at her ex-husband, but he would not respond. He knew what he did, and he knew he ruined their marriage because of it. 

"I'm going to make breakfast and lunch for Jackson and Landon. Can you get them up, help them both use the potty, and get them dressed?" Olivia sighed.

"Yeah, I can do that," Keith spoke.

///

Once the boys had eaten, Olivia left them with Keith. He was usually the one to get them to school in the morning, then the sitter picked them up after school. On the way to the precinct, Olivia stopped to get herself a well deserve coffee. It was her reward for not kicking her ex-husband in the balls and absolutely ruining what half-ass co-parenting thing they had going.

"Detective, the usual?" A younger barista asked from where she stood behind the cash register.

"Yes please, Kassie. And can I have one of those really good cinnamon muffins?" Olivia asked as she pulled her card from her wallet.

"A cinnamon muffin? Last time you ordered that you were pregnant," Kassie grinned, and Olivia quickly shook her head.

"I can promise you that it isn't the case. I have enough on my plate right now," Olivia spoke awkwardly. She paid and added a tip to the jar before moving down the counter and to where other people were lined up and waiting for their orders.

"Yes, sweetie. I'll be home before you get home from school. I just wanted to see Gran and Papa," a man's voice spoke from behind Olivia. She tried to pay attention to her phone, but something just kept her interest.

Olivia's name was called, and she stepped forward. Her hand was just grabbing the bag with her muffin when someone said her nickname. She turned around slowly and felt so many emotions the moment she saw him.

"El," Olivia breathed.

Elliot bridged the gap between them and reached out and caressed her cheek without thinking twice. Olivia felt like her body was on fire from his touch and was too overwhelmed to speak.

"You are so beautiful, Liv," Elliot smiled.

"W-what are you doing here?"

"I came into town to visit my parents. Uh, I never expected to see you again," Elliot spoke, the smile on his lips growing.

Olivia swallowed hard before stepping away from him. She looked him over for a moment, before turning and walking out of the cafe without saying another word to him.

///

Olivia raced down the sidewalk and toward her precinct. She was wishing that she had parked at the cafe, so she could escape Elliot a lot easier. Tears blurred her vision, and she stumbled over her own feet. 

"Olivia!" Elliot called after her, as he raced towards her.

"Elliot, I gotta get to work! Please-" Olivia whimpered, but stopped the moment Elliot grabbed her arm and spun her towards him.

They locked eyes once more, and the tears finally slipped down Olivia's cheeks.

"Honey, please don't cry. I don't know what is going on in your head right now, but you look like you saw a ghost... but I didn't mean to scare you at all. I just heard your name called, and I looked up and saw you. I know that Olivia is a popular name, but I could pick you out of an entire crowd of Olivias," Elliot rambled.

"I haven't seen you for seventeen years, Elliot... I haven't even seen your parents or any of your siblings. So I just assumed no one lived in the city anymore," Olivia hiccupped.

"Hey, take a breath. It's okay," Elliot cooed.

"It doesn't feel okay, Elliot. My life has been far from okay, and seeing you makes me all the more confused and anxious. So please, let me go. I have to get to work," Olivia breathed.

"How about I give you my number? You can text me when you are ready to talk, and I'll be waiting for that call, okay?!" Elliot exclaimed, after dropping Olivia's arm and letting her walk away.

"Elliot-"

"Please, Liv! I'm based in Virginia, so I'm not that far away. If you don't want to call, text, or video chat with me, then that is fine. But if you want to any of those, I will wait to catch up. Waiting to find out how amazing your life is!" he exclaimed.

Olivia swallowed hard before grabbing her wallet from her purse. She pulled out her card and scrawled her cell number on it. Olivia passed it to Elliot and walked away without saying another word.