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The rain and sleet had started to come down in buckets during the course of Noah's second hour of rehearsals, turning what should've been a pleasant walk home into a slog.
"Okay, Bud, I've ordered an Uber. It'll be here in 10 minutes." Elliot squeezed Noah's shoulder. "You looked really good up there."
"I messed up my tour jeté into my fouetté," he grumbled. "The Rat King needs to be more nimble."
It was sometimes hard to believe the boy wasn't Olivia's biological son, they were so much alike--including in their perfectionism and drive. "Hey," he assured him. "You've got two weeks to nail it, and I know you will. Now let's get outside and look for the car. And then we'll cook a frozen pizza and watch Squid Games on Netflix as long as you promise not to tell your mom, deal?"
"Deal!" Noah grinned and Elliot was once again transported to a place he hadn't thought possible just a few years prior. He'd do anything for this kid just as he would for his mother.
The Uber moved slowly towards Olivia's apartment, the winter weather adding a layer of complexity to the already slow evening traffic, and Elliot tried to ignore the gnaw of hunger in his stomach, knowing that Noah's had to be even worse given his age and the two hours of grueling rehearsal.
And then he saw the truck coming at them.
NOAH.
There was no time, no warning, no way to brace. The brunt of the impact was on Noah's side of the car and he felt his world slow as he saw it crumble inward toward him. He reached for his phone to call 9-1-1 identifying himself as an officer and Noah as a Captain's kid. "Saint Anthony, help me," he whispered. Noah was unconscious, but at least he had a pulse.
"Sir," the paramedics ordered, "I need you to stand back and let us work."
Numbly, he stood by as Noah was fitted into a neck brace and loaded onto a stretcher. “You need to be checked out too.” Another paramedic approached him, but Elliot quickly waved him off.
“I’m fine.” Instead, he watched the shot of blood as they added an IV to Noah, and loaded him into the back of the waiting ambulance. He climbed in behind, with a single look, daring the paramedics to say anything.
It was at the hospital, however, where he had less luck. “What’s his name?” an admitting nurse asked.
“Noah,” he answered in a rush. “Noah Porter Benson.”
The nurse nodded. “And are you the next of kin?”
He froze, swallowed; was a knife to his heart. “I’m his . . . he’s my. His mother is my—“ He didn’t know what to say—girlfriend, lover, woman without which he could not live. He finally finished with, “partner.”
The nurse held out a hand as though to block him in place. “But you have no legal relationship with Noah?”
The knife in his heart twisted. “No,” Elliot said sadly.
“You’ll have to stay in the waiting room.” Her tone brokered no room for negotiation.
Still he tried one last tack, reaching into his jacket and flashing his badge. “I’m an NYPD Detective.”
The nurse raised an eyebrow. “Are you working this case?”
He wasn’t going to lie. “No.”
“Then you need to stay in the waiting room.”
He felt like a caged animal, unable to sit still. But the first thing he had to do was reach Olivia.
“Elliot, I’m sorry, things are still tied up here. It’s gonna be—“
“There’s been an accident,” he interrupted her. “We need you. We’re at Mercy.”
He could hear her breath hitch, and then she said “I’ll be right there.”
It wasn’t seven minutes later that she came running through the doors and into his arms. “Where is he?”
Elliot shook his head. “I don’t know. They won’t tell me anything. I don’t have any legal status to him.”
He saw her blanche, and then she grabbed his hand, dragging him to the desk with her. “Noah Porter Benson?” she asked. “I’m his mother.” Olivia slid her ID across the desk to prove her identity.
“Of course,” the nurse said. “He’s just coming back from the CT now, but I’ll show you to his bay.
Olivia laced her fingers through his, making it clear to everyone in the hospital that they were together.
Once in the bay, he enveloped her in his arms. “Olivia, I’m so sorry.”
“I know how much you love him,” Olivia said. “This was not your fault.” She was shaking. “And I’m sorry, too,” she said, “I should have thought about that.”
He closed his eyes, and nodded. “We can talk about that later. Let’s just worry about Noah now.”
She nodded in agreement, leaning against him, letting him hold her. She sighed quietly against the silence. “The waiting is always the worst.”
As if on cue, orderlies arrived with Noah on a gurney. He was conscious, but groggy. “Mom,” he croaked. “Elliot.”
“Baby . . .” Olivia smoothed his hair. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“The doctors are looking at the results and will be back soon.” The orderly stepped on the brake on the gurney and looked at each of them sympathetically.
“Mom,” he croaked again. “They wouldn’t let Elliot see me. They said he’s not family.”
She brushed the curls back from his head again. “They’re wrong, and we’re all here now.” She kissed his forehead and then squeezed Elliot’s hand.
“That’s right,” Elliot spoke around the lump in his throat. “You don’t think any hospital red tape would keep me from my best bud.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Benson—“ A young intern came in and addressed them. “Noah is going to be okay. He’s got a pretty bad concussion, and we’d like to keep him here overnight for observation, but if he does okay, he can go home tomorrow.”
“You hear that, bud?” Elliot asked. “You can go home tomorrow.” He met Olivia’s eyes and there was no doubt, they would be spending the night together in Noah’s room.
The armchair was cramped for both of them, but they made it work, with Olivia settling on his lap and hanging her legs over the edge. “He’s gonna be okay,” Elliot repeated, as much for his own sake as Olivia’s.
“I don’t want to let him out of my sight,” Olivia whispered, looking over at Noah.
Elliot nodded. The young boy in the bed only hours ago had been so vibrant and was now so fragile. “He was so worried about landing his jumps, but I couldn’t even tell.”
Olivia smiled. “He’s so hard on himself sometimes.”
“I can’t imagine where he gets that from.” Elliot pulled her in close. “C’mon, Get some rest.”
* * * * *
“I’m booooooooored.” It was day four of Noah’s recovery. Elliot and Olivia had been taking turns staying with him. Four days of rest. Four days without dance. Four days without school. Four days without screens. He was going stir crazy. Tomorrow he was going to be able to resume normal activities, and Elliot was ready to give him his reprieve a little early.
“You wanna go out for a bit?” he asked. “I’ve got an errand to run, and I could use your help.”
Noah’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yes!!”
From a vast array of rings in the jewelry store, he and Noah, had quickly narrowed the selection to three. “This one,” Noah said pointing to a diamond flanked by two sapphires. “Mom likes blue.”
“I agree,” he said.
Noah’s eyes glinted. “Are you really going to ask her to marry you?”
“You’d better believe it,” Elliot handed over his credit card while the clerk packaged the ring.
Noah watched the process closely. “Do you think she’s gonna say ‘yes’?”
Elliot nodded. “I sure hope so.”
“And when you get married, you’ll be my dad?” Noah asked, there was a level of eagerness in Noah that surprised Elliot.
“If that’s what you want,” he said, taking the bag and his credit card back from the clerk and wrapping an arm around Noah’s shoulders. “Then yes, there’s nothing I would love more.”
* * * * *
“That’s the last present!” Noah took off his Santa hat and sat back down on the sofa.
Elliot had to hand it to him; the kid had played it cool the entire day. Until this point. He was nearly vibrating on the sofa next to him, and Olivia had to know something was up.
“No.” Elliot reached into the pocket of his robe. “It’s not.” He handed the ring box to Olivia. “Noah helped me pick it out.”
She opened the box, and looked up at him with shining eyes. “Elliot . . .”
He slid off the sofa and down on one knee in front of her. “Olivia, I love you, and I want us to be a family. Please say you’ll be my wife.”
“Yes,” she answered. “Yes,” I will marry you. She pulled the ring from the box. “Noah helped pick it out?”
Noah nodded excitedly as Elliot got up to put the ring on her finger and then pull her into a deep kiss. Had Noah not been right there, he likely wouldn’t have stopped at a kiss. As it was, he gripped her ass pulling her in tight. “D’you think Noah would notice if we disappeared for a few hours?”
“We’ve gotta get to Mo’s for dinner.” She drew his lips deeply into his. “But we’ll definitely celebrate later.”
She fidgeted with the ring. “Will your kids be okay with this.”
“They’re dying to welcome you and Noah into the family,” he said with a smile, and she leaned back to look up at him.
“They know?” she asked.
“They know,” he confirmed, “and I mean it, they couldn’t be happier.”
She kissed him again. “Is there anyone that doesn’t know?” she asked.
“Well,” he said with a smirk. “I didn’t talk to McGrath yet.”
She smacked him. “I just for that, I might have to ask him to perform the ceremony.”
“I love you,” he said. “Now, let me go show off my fiancee and my future son.”
*END*