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Otalia - Heroes and Friends, 7/?
Oct. 5th, 2009 11:38 pmTitle: Heroes and Friends
Fandom: Otalia
Rating: Mostly PG-13, eventual NC-17 for sex and violence (Not between our girls though…the violence that is…promise. The other? Well…teehee).
Disclaimer: These wonderful ladies and the rest of the town belong to CBS, Telenext, and P&G. I’m just having some fun with them.
Spoilers: I don’t think so. This story picks up at the “no more waiting” gazebo scene and goes off canon.
Summary: Nat gets the shock of her life and it turns Liv’s world upside down.
Warning: Not beta’d so if it sucks, there’s only me to blame.
Chapter 7
Emma had safely been tucked away in bed for about an hour when Olivia went to the closet to pull out the maps. Josh sat on the couch as he watched her hover over them in deep thought.
“Any ideas on where she could be?”
She tapped a pencil against her lip and put a hand on her hip, “Possibly. There were three main entrances to the castle. One of them was badly damaged by the earthquake.”
“I remember that.”
She nodded her head, “Yeah, who could forget it? Anyway, we don’t want a primary entrance. We need to sneak in. There were some underground tunnels, catacombs, used in the event of attacks to hide the family. They weren’t used much while I was there. No need. Until you guys showed up.”
She looked up and smiled at him, and he smirked back. “The dashing prince racing in to save his princess.”
He laughed, “And look, history’s repeating itself.”
“Hey, are you saying I’m the prince in this scenario?”
“Well, you are dashing!”
Olivia actually blushed, “Of course, I am! Hopefully, Natalia will think so.”
“She’ll swoon, I’m sure.”
Her smile turned serious, “I just hope we get to her in time.”
He stood and came over to her side. Everything between them was left unspoken. Just the look in their eyes was enough to say it all. Josh got it. He had been there and loved that deeply. He knew what Olivia was feeling at that moment so he simply ran a comforting hand over her shoulders and looked down at the map, pointing.
“There. That’s where we’ll come in.”
“How do you know?”
“It’s a drainage tunnel that leads to the ocean. It has to lead to the castle somehow.”
“That just means we have to get there.”
He slipped his phone out of his pocket, “I’ll make a couple of calls. Get a chopper and boat reserved for us. Tomorrow?”
She took a deep breath, and nodded, “Tomorrow.”
Olivia went to find her own phone and call Ava. It was time to tie up loose ends. Tomorrow she’d drop Emma off at Phillip’s, go back to the farmhouse to get some things, then head out to meet Josh. But tonight, she needed to talk to Ava about custody since it wouldn’t be long before Mel showed up. She wanted to make sure Ava would agree before going further.
“Hey, Ava. It’s mom. You got a minute? I have something important to talk to you about.”
“Sure, mom. What’s up?” Olivia could hear noises that sounded like Ava was in the kitchen. A pot was banged here, water was running there, and she couldn’t help but think of Natalia when she heard those sounds. When she thought of home, she always thought of Natalia.
“Well, it’s kind of awkward so I’m just going to blurt it out. How would you feel about being put down as Emma’s legal guardian if something happened to me or Phillip?” She winced a little internally. Nobody liked to talk about these things with their kids, and honestly, it’s something she should have done a long time ago.
“Um, okay, where did this come from?”
Olivia ran fingers through her hair and scratched at the back of her head. She opted for the partial truth instead of worrying Ava too much, “Well, I had a chat with Phillip earlier, and it seems he’s very ill…actually, he’s terminal. No cure. I, um…I haven’t told Emma yet, but you know, after my transplant and now this, it just makes sense to think ahead. We never know what will happen so it’s good to be covered, you know?”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“So, what do you say?”
“Well, yes, of course. I love Emma, you know I do. But mom, what about Natalia? I thought you’d want her to have custody.” Olivia stopped in her tracks. She didn’t see this coming.
“Why, why would you say that, honey?”
There was an extended silence, “Mom…I know.”
“Know?”
Then Ava chuckled, “Yes, about you and Natalia.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t hard to figure out. Every other word out of your mouth when you visited me last was about Natalia.” Both were silent then. Olivia wasn’t sure what to say and she couldn’t read how Ava felt about it. “It’s okay. I’m happy for you.”
Olivia let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she had been holding, “Oh good.”
“But that still doesn’t answer my question, why not Natalia? Why me?”
Olivia rubbed at the bridge of her nose. Here goes another half truth, “She left. We were going to go to the Bauer barbeque together but she never showed, and I haven’t seen her since. I think she got cold feet.”
“Oh, mom…I’m, I’m so sorry!”
“Thanks, but it’s okay. I’ll be okay. I just wanted to cover my bases and make sure Emma was protected so…you’ll do it?”
“Of course!”
“Great! Look, honey, I’m going to have to go. The lawyer is actually bringing over some paperwork in a little while. I’ll have to sign it and then take it to Phillip for him to sign. It’ll then be sent it to you and when you’re done, you can mail it back to the lawyer. How’s that?”
“Sure, I’ll take care of it. And mom?”
“Yeah, baby.”
“I love you.”
Olivia squeezed her eyes closed and swallowed around the lump in her throat, “I love you too…always.”
When she hung up, she let the tears finally fall. She hated lying to her children. She feared she’d never come back from this and they’d only know that she kept it from them. She couldn’t worry them though. She knew they’d try to stop her and she couldn’t allow it. Not now. Now it was time to get Natalia back so they could finally start their life together.
******************
She was up early in the morning and had a duffle bag filled with comfortable clothes and her heavy hiking boots. She called room service and had them bring up breakfast with a little bit of everything on it. If this was the last morning she’d spend with Emma…ever, then she’d make it the best she could. She packed Emma’s small suitcase with a few outfits, gathered her camp supplies, and wrote out Ava’s contact information for Phillip just in case.
She waited until the last possible minute to wake Emma, partly because Emma was very much like her mother and didn’t like waking early but also because the longer she put it off, the longer she’d have with her. Even though Emma was asleep, it calmed Olivia to know she was safe and protected for even a few more minutes.
They sat and had a slow, comfortable breakfast. Emma told her about a silly dream she had, something about a frog who was secretly a prince and the antics he went through to rescue his true love in an abandoned castle. Olivia laughed at her animated retelling of the story, soaking it all in, enjoying every minute of normalcy with her daughter.
When she couldn’t put it off any longer, they gathered everything and headed to the car. Emma was so excited to spend time with her dad that she barely let the car slip into park before jumping out. Olivia followed at a more subdued pace.
Seeing Phillip and Emma laughing and playing did her heart good. If she never came back at least she knew that Phillip would care for Emma as best he could in the time he had left. This was good for them. That was her story and she was sticking to it.
When Hilda came to take Emma’s bags, Olivia convinced her to go help Hilda get her settled in and that she’d come up to say goodbye before she left. It took a little encouragement, but eventually Emma gave in leaving her parents alone.
“I have the papers Mel drew up,” Olivia pulled them from her purse and handed them over to Phillip. “It has the little tabs on it to show you where to sign.”
He immediately took them and went to his desk. He didn’t even look them over, just took a pen and signed his name wherever it was required.
“Here you go,” he stood and walked around the desk, handing the papers to Olivia. “Oh, and this.” He reached back to his desk for an envelope. “If she makes it back with you, I want her to have my parental rights. I’ve seen her with Emma and I’ve seen her stand up for both of you. She’s the one, Olivia.”
She cleared her throat and tried to hide her tears, “I know. Thank you.”
She took the papers and rummaged through her pockets to find the small piece of paper with Ava’s contact information on it, “If you don’t hear from either me, Natalia, or Josh in two weeks, assume the worst.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
She shrugged, “I don’t have a choice. She’s everything to me, and I have to get her back.”
He shook his head, “You love her that much.”
She quirked a half smile at him, “She’s the love of my life.”
In less than ten minutes, she had gone upstairs to Emma’s room and said her goodbyes. She managed to hold onto her tears until she walked out the doors of the Spaulding mansion, but by the time she got to her car, she couldn’t see enough to even recognize objects in front of her. She slumped into the front seat and finally let herself give out completely. When the last of the tears fell, she pulled herself together, drove to the post office, dropped the legal papers in the mail to Ava with clear instructions on sending them back, and then she headed out to the farmhouse.
There was only one last item she needed for this trip. She mumbled an apology to Natalia for even considering taking it with her. This was an exception to the rule, and she was pretty sure that Natalia would understand given her circumstances.
***************
She tettered at the top of the small step ladder, trying to stretch into the far back corner of the shelf in her old closet at the farmhouse. When she nearly lost her balance, she gave up and climbed down.
“Damn it!” Looking around she tried to think of a way to get the box down. Eventually, she ran to the hall closet by the bathroom and pulled out a broom. Climbing back up, she used the handle to locate the box and nudged it forward the mere inch needed for Olivia to finally get a hold of it.
Carefully, holding the heavy wooden box in her hands, she climbed down and placed it on the bed. She made one last climb up the ladder and used the broom to slide out three smaller boxes. When she finished, she put everything down and sat on the bed. She needed to check to make sure everything was still in working order. She unlocked the box and smiled.
“Oh yeah.” She weighed the heavy revolver in her hand before gripping it by the hilt and faking an aim at an inanimate object. She opened a small box and pulled out six bullets, inserting each carefully into the cylinder then flipping it closed. She ensured it was set to safety, slid it back in the box, and grabbed the extra bullets, along with the box, and left the bedroom.
When she got outside and turned the corner for her car, she wasn’t looking up as she scrambled in her purse for her sunglasses and nearly ran over Rafe in her haste to leave.
“Jesus, Rafe! You scared the shit out of me.”
“Where’s my mother?” She really wasn’t in the mood for his tantrum right now so she bought time and patience by slipping on her glasses.
“I don’t know.”
“Man, don’t lie to me! Frank told me that you think she’s been kidnapped. Now either that’s really true or you’ve finally just lost your mind, and unless you can tell me differently, I’m just gonna believe you’re crazy. Not much of a stretch.”
“Fine, Rafe. Believe whatever you want. But right now, I really don’t have time for your special version of ‘kick the queer’, okay?” She tried to push by him, but he spied the wooden box clutched under her arm and spun her around.
“What’s that?” He pointed at it.
“It’s none of your business what it is.” He reached for it but she slapped his hand away.
She could tell he was getting angry and he got in her face, “That came out of my mother’s house so I have a right to know what you’re taking out of her house while she’s not here.”
“It’s mine, Rafe. I’m not stealing anything from your mother.”
“I don’t believe it.” He reached for the box and got a decent hold on it, making Olivia have to struggle, and in the altercation both of them fell to the ground. Rafe stood first and when he did, he saw the sunlight glint off of something shiny by Olivia. He picked up the bullet and then looked at her.
“That’s a gun! You’ve got a gun.”
Olivia stood and brushed herself off, shaking her head, “Gee, that’s a brilliant deduction there. Yes, I have a gun.”
“Why?”
She gave him a look that would have withered anyone else, but since Rafe wasn’t particularly paying attention to her, it had little effect, “Protection?”
“I mean, now. Why do you have it now? Why did you come get it?”
Finally, she sighed and rubbed between her eyes at her now aching head, “Because I’m going to find your mother.”
“Excuse me? What the hell do you mean you’re going to her, with a gun? I don’t think so!” She realized by his look that he completely misunderstood her. It seemed to be a common occurrence between them.
“No! God, because she has been kidnapped Rafe, and I’m going to find her and bring her home.”
She started walking to her car and he followed, “By yourself?”
“No.” She opened the door and tossed the box and bullets on the passenger seat, then turned back to him.
“Who’s helping?”
“Josh Lewis.”
“Just Josh?”
“Yeah, so? He knows the area almost as well as I do. It makes sense that he helps. Besides, he’s a friend and he offered.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, “Well, I’m her son and I’m offering too.”
“What? No…just no.”
“Why not?” His anger almost sounded like a whine and for a second, Olivia could imagine what he must have been like as a little boy.
“I think that’s pretty obvious. You could get hurt…or worse, and I can’t take that chance. Besides, if you did go and got hurt or worse, your mom would definitely kill me, and I sure as hell am not taking that chance.”
“Olivia, come on! I’m not a kid. I can take care of myself, and I want to help.” They stared at each other for a moment, and a flicker of understanding passed between them.
“I know you want to help, Rafe, but I can’t risk your life. You mean too much to her, and I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”
She moved to get in her car, “What if something happens to you?” The words stopped her in her tracks.
“What?”
He shuffled his feet uncomfortably, unsure how to really say what he thought, “It’s just that she cares about you, you know? She’d be really upset if something happened to you too, and then there’s Emma. What about her?”
She shook her head, “That must be a patented Rivera move or something because both of you are really good at it. She’s said those same exact words several times to me.”
“She has a point. Come on, let me help.”
She ran her fingers through her hair and looked back at him, “I know you mean well, and your heart’s in the right place with this, but I can’t allow it, Rafe. I just can’t take that chance. I’m sorry.”
She slipped into her car before he could protest anymore, but he stood in the way of her car so she couldn’t back up. She rolled down the window and yelled at him, “Get out of the way!”
“No!”
She revved the engine, “Damn it, Rafe! Get out of the way!”
“No!”
She slammed the car back into park and jumped out of the car, sliding off her glasses and coming toe-to-toe with him, “Get out of the way! Don’t try to stop me, Rafe.”
“You won’t hurt me. You said so yourself that it would kill my mom if anything happened to me, so I could stand out here all day and all night if I have to.”
She pointed at him then, clearly frustrated, “You, you are as stubborn as your mother!”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
She closed her eyes, the tears starting to come again. She didn’t have time for this. She had to get to the helicopter and get to the boat docks. “Please, Rafe. Get out of my way.”
He looked at her then, really looked at her. The fear, apprehension, even anger flickered in her bright green eyes, but there was something else, right there, mixed in and shimmering at the surface.
“Why are you doing this?”
The tears came down faster, the pain in her voice shooting through him like lightening, “Because I love her, and I won’t live without her. I refuse to. Now, please…move.”
Stunned by the intensity of her words, the certainty of it all, he stepped aside and watched her leave. He stood there for a few minutes, caught up in his own whirlwind of emotions. Looking at the farmhouse, at the home his mom was trying to make for him, and realizing for the first time that Olivia was a part of that home. Even now, it felt cold and empty here without her fire, a fire that may never come back. He wasn’t so sure he could live with that either.
He pulled out his phone and made a call.
Fandom: Otalia
Rating: Mostly PG-13, eventual NC-17 for sex and violence (Not between our girls though…the violence that is…promise. The other? Well…teehee).
Disclaimer: These wonderful ladies and the rest of the town belong to CBS, Telenext, and P&G. I’m just having some fun with them.
Spoilers: I don’t think so. This story picks up at the “no more waiting” gazebo scene and goes off canon.
Summary: Nat gets the shock of her life and it turns Liv’s world upside down.
Warning: Not beta’d so if it sucks, there’s only me to blame.
Chapter 7
Emma had safely been tucked away in bed for about an hour when Olivia went to the closet to pull out the maps. Josh sat on the couch as he watched her hover over them in deep thought.
“Any ideas on where she could be?”
She tapped a pencil against her lip and put a hand on her hip, “Possibly. There were three main entrances to the castle. One of them was badly damaged by the earthquake.”
“I remember that.”
She nodded her head, “Yeah, who could forget it? Anyway, we don’t want a primary entrance. We need to sneak in. There were some underground tunnels, catacombs, used in the event of attacks to hide the family. They weren’t used much while I was there. No need. Until you guys showed up.”
She looked up and smiled at him, and he smirked back. “The dashing prince racing in to save his princess.”
He laughed, “And look, history’s repeating itself.”
“Hey, are you saying I’m the prince in this scenario?”
“Well, you are dashing!”
Olivia actually blushed, “Of course, I am! Hopefully, Natalia will think so.”
“She’ll swoon, I’m sure.”
Her smile turned serious, “I just hope we get to her in time.”
He stood and came over to her side. Everything between them was left unspoken. Just the look in their eyes was enough to say it all. Josh got it. He had been there and loved that deeply. He knew what Olivia was feeling at that moment so he simply ran a comforting hand over her shoulders and looked down at the map, pointing.
“There. That’s where we’ll come in.”
“How do you know?”
“It’s a drainage tunnel that leads to the ocean. It has to lead to the castle somehow.”
“That just means we have to get there.”
He slipped his phone out of his pocket, “I’ll make a couple of calls. Get a chopper and boat reserved for us. Tomorrow?”
She took a deep breath, and nodded, “Tomorrow.”
Olivia went to find her own phone and call Ava. It was time to tie up loose ends. Tomorrow she’d drop Emma off at Phillip’s, go back to the farmhouse to get some things, then head out to meet Josh. But tonight, she needed to talk to Ava about custody since it wouldn’t be long before Mel showed up. She wanted to make sure Ava would agree before going further.
“Hey, Ava. It’s mom. You got a minute? I have something important to talk to you about.”
“Sure, mom. What’s up?” Olivia could hear noises that sounded like Ava was in the kitchen. A pot was banged here, water was running there, and she couldn’t help but think of Natalia when she heard those sounds. When she thought of home, she always thought of Natalia.
“Well, it’s kind of awkward so I’m just going to blurt it out. How would you feel about being put down as Emma’s legal guardian if something happened to me or Phillip?” She winced a little internally. Nobody liked to talk about these things with their kids, and honestly, it’s something she should have done a long time ago.
“Um, okay, where did this come from?”
Olivia ran fingers through her hair and scratched at the back of her head. She opted for the partial truth instead of worrying Ava too much, “Well, I had a chat with Phillip earlier, and it seems he’s very ill…actually, he’s terminal. No cure. I, um…I haven’t told Emma yet, but you know, after my transplant and now this, it just makes sense to think ahead. We never know what will happen so it’s good to be covered, you know?”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“So, what do you say?”
“Well, yes, of course. I love Emma, you know I do. But mom, what about Natalia? I thought you’d want her to have custody.” Olivia stopped in her tracks. She didn’t see this coming.
“Why, why would you say that, honey?”
There was an extended silence, “Mom…I know.”
“Know?”
Then Ava chuckled, “Yes, about you and Natalia.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t hard to figure out. Every other word out of your mouth when you visited me last was about Natalia.” Both were silent then. Olivia wasn’t sure what to say and she couldn’t read how Ava felt about it. “It’s okay. I’m happy for you.”
Olivia let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she had been holding, “Oh good.”
“But that still doesn’t answer my question, why not Natalia? Why me?”
Olivia rubbed at the bridge of her nose. Here goes another half truth, “She left. We were going to go to the Bauer barbeque together but she never showed, and I haven’t seen her since. I think she got cold feet.”
“Oh, mom…I’m, I’m so sorry!”
“Thanks, but it’s okay. I’ll be okay. I just wanted to cover my bases and make sure Emma was protected so…you’ll do it?”
“Of course!”
“Great! Look, honey, I’m going to have to go. The lawyer is actually bringing over some paperwork in a little while. I’ll have to sign it and then take it to Phillip for him to sign. It’ll then be sent it to you and when you’re done, you can mail it back to the lawyer. How’s that?”
“Sure, I’ll take care of it. And mom?”
“Yeah, baby.”
“I love you.”
Olivia squeezed her eyes closed and swallowed around the lump in her throat, “I love you too…always.”
When she hung up, she let the tears finally fall. She hated lying to her children. She feared she’d never come back from this and they’d only know that she kept it from them. She couldn’t worry them though. She knew they’d try to stop her and she couldn’t allow it. Not now. Now it was time to get Natalia back so they could finally start their life together.
******************
She was up early in the morning and had a duffle bag filled with comfortable clothes and her heavy hiking boots. She called room service and had them bring up breakfast with a little bit of everything on it. If this was the last morning she’d spend with Emma…ever, then she’d make it the best she could. She packed Emma’s small suitcase with a few outfits, gathered her camp supplies, and wrote out Ava’s contact information for Phillip just in case.
She waited until the last possible minute to wake Emma, partly because Emma was very much like her mother and didn’t like waking early but also because the longer she put it off, the longer she’d have with her. Even though Emma was asleep, it calmed Olivia to know she was safe and protected for even a few more minutes.
They sat and had a slow, comfortable breakfast. Emma told her about a silly dream she had, something about a frog who was secretly a prince and the antics he went through to rescue his true love in an abandoned castle. Olivia laughed at her animated retelling of the story, soaking it all in, enjoying every minute of normalcy with her daughter.
When she couldn’t put it off any longer, they gathered everything and headed to the car. Emma was so excited to spend time with her dad that she barely let the car slip into park before jumping out. Olivia followed at a more subdued pace.
Seeing Phillip and Emma laughing and playing did her heart good. If she never came back at least she knew that Phillip would care for Emma as best he could in the time he had left. This was good for them. That was her story and she was sticking to it.
When Hilda came to take Emma’s bags, Olivia convinced her to go help Hilda get her settled in and that she’d come up to say goodbye before she left. It took a little encouragement, but eventually Emma gave in leaving her parents alone.
“I have the papers Mel drew up,” Olivia pulled them from her purse and handed them over to Phillip. “It has the little tabs on it to show you where to sign.”
He immediately took them and went to his desk. He didn’t even look them over, just took a pen and signed his name wherever it was required.
“Here you go,” he stood and walked around the desk, handing the papers to Olivia. “Oh, and this.” He reached back to his desk for an envelope. “If she makes it back with you, I want her to have my parental rights. I’ve seen her with Emma and I’ve seen her stand up for both of you. She’s the one, Olivia.”
She cleared her throat and tried to hide her tears, “I know. Thank you.”
She took the papers and rummaged through her pockets to find the small piece of paper with Ava’s contact information on it, “If you don’t hear from either me, Natalia, or Josh in two weeks, assume the worst.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
She shrugged, “I don’t have a choice. She’s everything to me, and I have to get her back.”
He shook his head, “You love her that much.”
She quirked a half smile at him, “She’s the love of my life.”
In less than ten minutes, she had gone upstairs to Emma’s room and said her goodbyes. She managed to hold onto her tears until she walked out the doors of the Spaulding mansion, but by the time she got to her car, she couldn’t see enough to even recognize objects in front of her. She slumped into the front seat and finally let herself give out completely. When the last of the tears fell, she pulled herself together, drove to the post office, dropped the legal papers in the mail to Ava with clear instructions on sending them back, and then she headed out to the farmhouse.
There was only one last item she needed for this trip. She mumbled an apology to Natalia for even considering taking it with her. This was an exception to the rule, and she was pretty sure that Natalia would understand given her circumstances.
***************
She tettered at the top of the small step ladder, trying to stretch into the far back corner of the shelf in her old closet at the farmhouse. When she nearly lost her balance, she gave up and climbed down.
“Damn it!” Looking around she tried to think of a way to get the box down. Eventually, she ran to the hall closet by the bathroom and pulled out a broom. Climbing back up, she used the handle to locate the box and nudged it forward the mere inch needed for Olivia to finally get a hold of it.
Carefully, holding the heavy wooden box in her hands, she climbed down and placed it on the bed. She made one last climb up the ladder and used the broom to slide out three smaller boxes. When she finished, she put everything down and sat on the bed. She needed to check to make sure everything was still in working order. She unlocked the box and smiled.
“Oh yeah.” She weighed the heavy revolver in her hand before gripping it by the hilt and faking an aim at an inanimate object. She opened a small box and pulled out six bullets, inserting each carefully into the cylinder then flipping it closed. She ensured it was set to safety, slid it back in the box, and grabbed the extra bullets, along with the box, and left the bedroom.
When she got outside and turned the corner for her car, she wasn’t looking up as she scrambled in her purse for her sunglasses and nearly ran over Rafe in her haste to leave.
“Jesus, Rafe! You scared the shit out of me.”
“Where’s my mother?” She really wasn’t in the mood for his tantrum right now so she bought time and patience by slipping on her glasses.
“I don’t know.”
“Man, don’t lie to me! Frank told me that you think she’s been kidnapped. Now either that’s really true or you’ve finally just lost your mind, and unless you can tell me differently, I’m just gonna believe you’re crazy. Not much of a stretch.”
“Fine, Rafe. Believe whatever you want. But right now, I really don’t have time for your special version of ‘kick the queer’, okay?” She tried to push by him, but he spied the wooden box clutched under her arm and spun her around.
“What’s that?” He pointed at it.
“It’s none of your business what it is.” He reached for it but she slapped his hand away.
She could tell he was getting angry and he got in her face, “That came out of my mother’s house so I have a right to know what you’re taking out of her house while she’s not here.”
“It’s mine, Rafe. I’m not stealing anything from your mother.”
“I don’t believe it.” He reached for the box and got a decent hold on it, making Olivia have to struggle, and in the altercation both of them fell to the ground. Rafe stood first and when he did, he saw the sunlight glint off of something shiny by Olivia. He picked up the bullet and then looked at her.
“That’s a gun! You’ve got a gun.”
Olivia stood and brushed herself off, shaking her head, “Gee, that’s a brilliant deduction there. Yes, I have a gun.”
“Why?”
She gave him a look that would have withered anyone else, but since Rafe wasn’t particularly paying attention to her, it had little effect, “Protection?”
“I mean, now. Why do you have it now? Why did you come get it?”
Finally, she sighed and rubbed between her eyes at her now aching head, “Because I’m going to find your mother.”
“Excuse me? What the hell do you mean you’re going to her, with a gun? I don’t think so!” She realized by his look that he completely misunderstood her. It seemed to be a common occurrence between them.
“No! God, because she has been kidnapped Rafe, and I’m going to find her and bring her home.”
She started walking to her car and he followed, “By yourself?”
“No.” She opened the door and tossed the box and bullets on the passenger seat, then turned back to him.
“Who’s helping?”
“Josh Lewis.”
“Just Josh?”
“Yeah, so? He knows the area almost as well as I do. It makes sense that he helps. Besides, he’s a friend and he offered.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, “Well, I’m her son and I’m offering too.”
“What? No…just no.”
“Why not?” His anger almost sounded like a whine and for a second, Olivia could imagine what he must have been like as a little boy.
“I think that’s pretty obvious. You could get hurt…or worse, and I can’t take that chance. Besides, if you did go and got hurt or worse, your mom would definitely kill me, and I sure as hell am not taking that chance.”
“Olivia, come on! I’m not a kid. I can take care of myself, and I want to help.” They stared at each other for a moment, and a flicker of understanding passed between them.
“I know you want to help, Rafe, but I can’t risk your life. You mean too much to her, and I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”
She moved to get in her car, “What if something happens to you?” The words stopped her in her tracks.
“What?”
He shuffled his feet uncomfortably, unsure how to really say what he thought, “It’s just that she cares about you, you know? She’d be really upset if something happened to you too, and then there’s Emma. What about her?”
She shook her head, “That must be a patented Rivera move or something because both of you are really good at it. She’s said those same exact words several times to me.”
“She has a point. Come on, let me help.”
She ran her fingers through her hair and looked back at him, “I know you mean well, and your heart’s in the right place with this, but I can’t allow it, Rafe. I just can’t take that chance. I’m sorry.”
She slipped into her car before he could protest anymore, but he stood in the way of her car so she couldn’t back up. She rolled down the window and yelled at him, “Get out of the way!”
“No!”
She revved the engine, “Damn it, Rafe! Get out of the way!”
“No!”
She slammed the car back into park and jumped out of the car, sliding off her glasses and coming toe-to-toe with him, “Get out of the way! Don’t try to stop me, Rafe.”
“You won’t hurt me. You said so yourself that it would kill my mom if anything happened to me, so I could stand out here all day and all night if I have to.”
She pointed at him then, clearly frustrated, “You, you are as stubborn as your mother!”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
She closed her eyes, the tears starting to come again. She didn’t have time for this. She had to get to the helicopter and get to the boat docks. “Please, Rafe. Get out of my way.”
He looked at her then, really looked at her. The fear, apprehension, even anger flickered in her bright green eyes, but there was something else, right there, mixed in and shimmering at the surface.
“Why are you doing this?”
The tears came down faster, the pain in her voice shooting through him like lightening, “Because I love her, and I won’t live without her. I refuse to. Now, please…move.”
Stunned by the intensity of her words, the certainty of it all, he stepped aside and watched her leave. He stood there for a few minutes, caught up in his own whirlwind of emotions. Looking at the farmhouse, at the home his mom was trying to make for him, and realizing for the first time that Olivia was a part of that home. Even now, it felt cold and empty here without her fire, a fire that may never come back. He wasn’t so sure he could live with that either.
He pulled out his phone and made a call.
