10

"What did the vase and plate do to you?" Elliot teased, as he helped Olivia clean up the shards. She looked into the sink and sighed deeply before turning to face him.

"I'm just so angry at everything and took it out on that stupid vase and this plate... Thank you for helping me clean it all up," Olivia replied softly.

"It's not a problem, Liv. I get to spend more time with you," Elliot replied as he unwound the cord on the vacuum.

"Do you honestly like me?"

"I think that kissing on the front porch proved that, Olivia. I have feelings for you, intense ones to be completely honest," Elliot replied. Olivia blushed deeply as she turned around to face the sink again. She expected to hear the vacuum come to life, but instead, she felt Elliot wrap his arms around her and hold her against his chest.

"I might even love you one day in the near future," Elliot whispered, before kissing the back of her head. Olivia felt as tears burned her eyes since love was a very rare thing in her marriage. As she stood there, she was wondering if she could legally marry Elliot without Hugo finding out.

"We should probably get back to work. I'm pretty tired and should get some sleep soon."

///

Olivia didn't return to work the next week, so Elliot went to see her every night after work. He made sure to send her a text to notify her he was on her way because the last thing he wanted was to scare her once again.

Every night they spent together, Olivia felt safer than ever before. She knew it would be hard to trust another man after what Hugo did to her, but she was going to try her hardest for the sake of her own happiness.

"You really are scarred up," Elliot spoke, as he lay beside Olivia and traced his finger over her hip. It had been a month since the shooting, and Olivia was doing much better. She was still a little sore but was allowed to do normal activities once again.

"Did you think I lied about that to make you think I'm mysterious?" Olivia asked, and her boyfriend laughed loudly as he tugged her closer.

"I already thought you were mysterious," Elliot grinned before leaning down and placing soft kisses on her exposed breasts. He slowly climbed onto Olivia once more but stopped when he heard the front door opening. Olivia looked confused as well, before quickly shoving Elliot off and grabbing a shirt from the floor. 

Olivia grabbed a bat from beside the door and stepped out, only to find Agent Ford standing at the front door. She quickly leaned back and looked at Elliot as she struggled to figure out what to tell him.

"Liv-"

"It's my neighbor. I'll be okay, just chill here for a few," Olivia lied, before shutting the door tightly and walking to the agent.

"I didn't realize you had a guest," He whispered, as he looked at the large t-shirt she was wearing.

"It's my boyfriend, Ford. What are you doing here?" Olivia asked.

"I wanted to update you on the case, but it can wait," He replied, before stepping back and reaching behind him for the door handle.

"No, wait!" Olivia exclaimed, before quickly stepping closer to Ford.

"Outside?" He asked, and Olivia nodded.

They quickly went outside and Olivia crossed her arms over her chest as she shivered against the cold November breeze.

"What's the update?"

"Hugo's second in command was arrested and we are trying to break him as we speak."

"Second in command?"

"Uh, Lewis Blue. He's-"

"Lewis? He's my girls' godfather," Olivia spoke, her eyes growing wide.

"Oh... Well, he's in on it. I don't know if he'll give Hugo up, but we will see."

"What about the girls? How are they?"

"Hugo's mother moved into the house and is taking care of them. They seem happy, but we did overhear them asking about you. Sounds like they assume you are dead," Ford frowned. Olivia took a shaky breath as she looked back at the house and saw Elliot watching them from the living room window.

"Olivia Wilson is dead, so I guess they are right. Uh, thank you for the update... but please contact me before coming over again. Elliot and I were obviously in the middle of something, and I'm worried he'll figure out what's happening," Olivia frowned.

"Yeah, I'll try to remember," Ford replied, before turning to head back to his car.

"Wait! Can you pull into one of the really long driveways and pretend to be my neighbor? Just for like five minutes until I can get him back to my room," Olivia spoke awkwardly.

"Of course. Have a good night, Olivia."

///

Elliot didn't question Olivia until after they made love once again. They lay snuggled up under the sheets as Olivia dozed off. 

"Liv?" Elliot asked softly.

"Yeah?"

"Was that man really your neighbor?"

"Yes, he was," Olivia yawned, as she opened her eyes slowly and stared at the portion of Elliot's arm tattoo she could see.

"Why did he have a key?" Elliot asked. Olivia swallowed hard as she sat up and reached for her water bottle. She took a few gulps before turning back to her boyfriend. She was in love with Elliot and everything he was but hated how he was too curious sometimes.

"He used to own the house before I bought it, and I forgot I asked him to look at the crawlspace since I think I heard something under the house the other night," Olivia lied. She hated how often she had to lie, especially because she cared about Elliot and saw a future with him.

"I'm your boyfriend, babe. Call me and I'll fix things and crawl under your house to check things out. I don't have a problem with that," Elliot smiled softly, as he believed the lie. Or tried to believe the lie since he was just as far gone on Olivia as she was on him.

"But you are too pretty. I don't want you to get hurt fixing up my house," Olivia said quickly, before forcing a kiss to his lips before he could respond.