GL - Movie Night - Part 68 A
Title: Movie Night
Author: critic2000
Pairing: Olivia/Natalia
Rating: PG-13 to start, for violence (non-sexual) and language. I am not any kind of a medical expert so if there are some glaring errors, please forgive me.
Disclaimer: I don’t own the Guiding Light characters, they belong to CBS and Proctor and Gamble.
Summary: This is set in the spring of 2009. I’ve taking some liberties with the storyline, mainly Natalia never slept with Frank, hence no engagement etc. So our girls have been just continuing forward raising Emma and getting closer to each other though they are still technically just friends, but that will change… This is a hurt/comfort story so they are headed on a rough ride.
Author’s Note: This is my first fan fiction so please be gentle. This would not have been possible if not for the persistent nudging and awesome editing of my beta/great friend croftlara. Comments are welcome.
( Part 1 ) ( Parts 2 & 3 ) ( Part 4 ) ( Parts 5 & 6 ) ( Part 7 ) ( Part 8 ) ( Part 9 ) ( Part 10 ) ( Part 11 ) ( Part 12 ) ( Part 13 ) ( Parts 14 & 15 ) ( Part 16 ) ( Part 17 ) ( Part 18 ) ( Part 19 ) ( Part 20 ) ( Part 21 ) ( Part 22 ) ( Part 23 ) ( Part 24 ) ( Part 25 ) ( Part 26 ) ( Part 27 ) ( Part 28 ) ( Part 29 ) ( Part 30 ) ( Part 31 ) ( Part 32 ) ( Part 33 ) ( Chapter 34 ) ( Part 35 ) ( Part 36 ) ( Part 37 ) ( Part 38 ) ( Part 39 ) ( Part 40 ) ( Part 41 ) ( Part 42 ) ( Part 43 ) ( Part 44 ) ( Part 45 ) ( Part 46 ) ( Part 47 ) ( Part 48 ) ( Part 49 ) ( Part 50 ) ( Chapter51)( Chapter52) ( Part 53 ) ( Chapter 54 ) ( Part 55 )( Part 56 )( Part 57 ) ( Part 58 ) ( Part 59 ) ( Part 60 A )( Part 60 B ) ( Part 61 ) ( Part 62 ) ( Part 63 )(Part 64 ) Part 65 A )( Part 65 B ) ( Part 66 )( Part 67 )
Chapter 68 A
“Really?” Olivia said to the retreating figure. Maybe less late night eating for me then.
Olivia’s eyes closed as she considered the previous day. Remembering seeing Natalia huddled on the floor sent a shiver through Olivia’s body. She had never seen Natalia so unglued, it was discombobulating to say the least. Natalia was always so rock sure of herself and the knowledge she considered herself a murderer for protecting her family was truly unsettling and a little sad.
What a hell of a day. I hope it’s not just the beginning. They would get themselves together and go collect Emma. Olivia worried her daughter might have a similar reaction to the ones she and Natalia had. Butterflies in her stomach emphasized her fear of bringing Emma home. She wanted to protect Emma from all of the scary images and memories that could hurt her. It made her question whether she should bring her home at all.
Olivia inhaled deeply and grinned at the pleasant memory of mornings past here at the farmhouse, waking up to the smell of bacon and coffee. It took a brief moment to realize it wasn’t just a memory; Natalia was calling her to breakfast via delicious morning scents. In response, Olivia pulled herself from bed, made a stop in the bathroom to freshen up then descended the stairs, drawn by the pleasant smells emanating from the kitchen.
“Morning honey,” Natalia turned from the stove as she heard Olivia enter the kitchen. “Coffee is on the table, bacon and eggs will be up in a sec.”
“Thank you.” Olivia slid in next to Natalia and gave her a kiss on the cheek while she snuck her fingers into the pan to steal a piece of bacon. “You didn’t have go to this trouble.”
“Hey!” Natalia swatted Olivia’s hand away. “You’ll burn your fingers; I’ll bring it to you in a minute. Sit.”
Olivia did as she was told and moved to sit at the table. “Did you sleep okay?” Olivia herself had slept like a rock surprisingly.
Natalia finished dabbing the bacon with paper towel to remove excess grease, turned with the plate of meat and placed it on the table and admitted, “I had some bad dreams.”
Olivia stopped settling in her chair, surprised to hear Natalia say she had had bad dreams. How did I not know? “Are you okay? I guess I was so tired I didn’t even hear you. You should have woken me.” Damn it, I should have heard you.
“I’m okay.” Natalia noticed the bruise on the side of Olivia’s head but chose not to bring it up. I’m not surprised you slept so soundly. You must have been exhausted.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t wake up.” Olivia felt like she had failed Natalia once again.
“Hey.” Seeing regret in Olivia’s eyes, Natalia put her hand on Olivia’s shoulder and squeezed it for support. “It was nothing I couldn’t handle. I’m okay, really.” Natalia continued to carry the pan over to the table and served scrambled eggs to both of their plates.
“Thank you.” Olivia absently picked up her fork and poked at her eggs and remembered the lesson she had been learning. If we don’t deal with it I can’t help make it better. “Do you want to talk about the dreams?”
Natalia put the pan back down on the stove, her back facing Olivia. She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched either side of the stove for support against the memories of the horrible nightmares she faced. Part of her wanted to tell Olivia everything, to purge herself of the dark images but she knew Olivia would take them on as her own and suffer for it so Natalia pushed the thoughts from her mind and when she turned back to Olivia, she had a grin on her face, “Nope, I’m fine. How are your eggs?”
Olivia looked down at the untouched plate then back to Natalia, “They look great.” She had noticed Natalia pause when asked about her dreams and she considered questioning further but if Natalia wasn’t ready to talk about it yet maybe it wasn’t a good idea to push her any more than she would want to push Emma into coming home if she’s not ready.
“Eat up.” Natalia ordered as she took her seat across from Olivia. She needed to move on to something lighter to get away from the dream and potential questions Olivia might ask.
Again Olivia did as she was told but not before noticing the shadows under Natalia’s eyes. More than just a bad dream, I’m thinking. Olivia swallowed her first bite of egg. “Mmm these are so good. I really missed your cooking.” Olivia reached out a hand across the table to take Natalia’s.
“I missed cooking. I missed my kitchen.” Natalia squeezed Olivia’s hand and managed a smile, “But now we’re home, so I guess I’m back on duty. Maybe I’ll make cookies later with Emma. Do you think she’d like that?”
Olivia pulled her hand back and resumed eating. “I’m sure she would.”
“What’s wrong?” Natalia could tell by Olivia’s curt response and the slight change in her expression, something wasn’t right. “Did I say something wrong?”
Olivia put down her fork and sighed, “No. I just… Am I doing the right thing, bringing Emma back?”
Natalia’s eyebrows knit, “What do you mean? I thought you decided last night it was time?”
Olivia nodded and tried to remain under control as anxiety started to build while thinking about yesterday and their own struggles to come to terms with their feelings. How the hell is Emma supposed to deal with this?
Her appetite disappeared and suddenly feeling very trapped, she needed to pace. Olivia pushed away from the table and stood. Her hand came up and she rubbed her face as she moved between the fridge and the stove. Is there a right answer here? What am I supposed to do? Olivia’s hand came down and she noticed Natalia silently watching, her own breakfast having been pushed away from her. Now I’m ruining this. Olivia stopped and leaned her back against the counter and tipped her head back. I bet you wanted to make me a nice breakfast and I fucked that up. I can’t do anything right these days, can I?
She watched Olivia pace and could tell she was trying to sort something out in her head. Natalia looked over the table, their forgotten plates sitting with heaping portions of cooling food. Was it too soon to appear ‘back to normal’ and have a regular breakfast? I just wanted to make you something special. What is going on in your head? Is your head bothering you? When the older woman finally stopped Natalia waited for a moment for Olivia to say something. When it appeared she wasn’t going to, Natalia asked confused, “What? What is it? What’s wrong?”
“It’s just… I was laying there in bed thinking, shouldn’t I be trying to protect her? I mean think about it, you and I have had a hell of a time dealing with this. She’s just a little girl, she doesn’t have the ability to cope with things like we do.”
“Or maybe she does, more than we give her credit for.” Natalia got up and walked over to Olivia and put her hand on her back, rubbing gently. “Kids are far more resilient than we think they are. As long as we support her and make sure she keeps getting the help she needs I think it’s important we show her you can’t run from things that are scary. Believe me, I don’t want her to endure any more than she already is but ultimately she’s got to face this too.”
Through her pained expression Olivia opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Natalia, “Rafe grew up with diabetes, he never once complained, never once cried, ‘poor me’.” Natalia’s voice caught in her throat remembering her son as a child enduring insulin shots and doctors appointments like a trooper.
In an effort to provide comfort, Olivia gently placed her hand against Natalia’s cheek and held it there as the Latina continued.
“He just dealt with it while I was the basket case. Emma’s a little girl but she’s a strong little girl.”
Olivia lowered her hand to her side and turned away, “She’s had to be, I haven’t made her life very easy.”
“Hey.” Natalia moved in front of Olivia so she could look into her eyes. “Honey, she doesn’t seem to have suffered very much. She’s smart, funny, sociable, independent...”
Olivia closed her eyes briefly, lowered and shook her head, “I just want to know I’m doing what’s right for her for once.”
Natalia put her hands around Olivia’s waist, “We can play it by ear; if she’s struggling we’ll make changes.”
Olivia nodded at the suggestion and unconsciously brought her fingers up to the bridge of her nose.
Natalia stepped back and eyed Olivia stating, “You still have a headache. Please sit down; I’ll get you some Tylenol.”
Without argument, Olivia slumped back down into her seat, an act that surprised and concerned Natalia who quickly set two pills and a glass of water on the table in front of her.
Olivia picked up the tablets and sighed, “Thanks.” Then, feeling as though she was conceding a battle, swallowed the pills and hoped they relieved more than just her headache.
Natalia sat back down in front of her cooling food, “Why don’t you finish breakfast then call Dr. Bauer. I really want you to be checked out after the car incident yesterday.”
Incident… Well I guess it can’t exactly be classified as an accident. But God, I don’t want to get into the whole going to the hospital and sitting around for hours routine just to find that I’m okay… relatively speaking.
After a few bites, Olivia pushed away her half eaten plate of food. “Listen Natalia. I’d rather go home to Emma and get packed rather than waste my time at the hospital. I’m fine.” Olivia stood, took her plate, emptied the remnants into the garbage and put the plate into the sink then turned to Natalia. The look of concern in the younger woman’s eyes had Olivia relenting before she realized it. “I promise if I don’t feel well later I’ll call Rick.”
The unconvinced look on Natalia’s face nearly had Olivia giving in but more than anything at that moment she just wanted to have her family together so again she pleaded, “I promise Natalia but right now, I’m going to get my daughter.”
Natalia watched Olivia’s actions in silence, torn between the image in her nightmares, her memory and the very real determined woman in front of her she was unsure if it was worth the fight. “I just want to know you’re okay.”
Olivia nodded, “I know you do.” She walked over and knelt in front of the worried woman and placed her hands on Natalia’s knees both for stability and her need for connection. “I don’t know how much of this headache is because of the car and how much of it is stress but I do know I need to take care of Emma. Do you understand?”
Natalia nodded, leaned forward and kissed Olivia’s forehead before resting their foreheads together. She did understand what Olivia was saying though she couldn’t help but be concerned. “But do you understand?” Natalia pulled back and caressed the side of Olivia’s head, gently tucking her hair behind her ear accidentally catching the bruise causing Olivia to wince and back away. “We are going to stop by the hospital on the way back to the hotel.”
When Olivia started to look like she was about to argue again Natalia pressed two of her fingers to Olivia’s lips and added, “I’ll call Rick so he’s ready for you, it won’t take long and it’ll make me feel better.”
Never one to be able to deny Natalia anything, Olivia pouted and petulantly stood. “Fine but I don’t want to be long. I’m going to go get dressed.”
“Don’t forget to stomp your feet and fold your arms in front of you. I want to see a better pout than that when I come up to get dressed.” Natalia called teasingly to Olivia’s retreating form.
Natalia knew Olivia wasn’t kidding; she wouldn’t wait long at the hospital so before cleaning up the breakfast dishes she went over to the phone and dialed a number most people wouldn’t have memorized. “Hi this is Natalia Rivera, is Dr. Bauer available?”
***
“Natalia this is a waste of our time.” Olivia marched down the hallway of Cedars with Natalia in tow.
Natalia ramped up to a jog to fall in next to Olivia, “Well Rick didn’t think it was when I talked to him.”
“Oh he just wants to run a bunch of tests and make a few thousand more… I think he wants to buy a boat.”
Natalia stopped Olivia with a hand to her arm, “Olivia, Rick is worried about you and so am I.”
“Well then where the hell is he?” Olivia countered, her arms outstretched, eyes searching the busy hallway.
“His assistant said he had an emergency.” Natalia pulled Olivia by the elbow, “Come on, let’s just sit and wait like we were asked to.”
“Ya know what? I’ll come back when it’s less busy for him; we’ve got things to do.” Olivia turned away from Natalia and right into Rick.
“Hello Olivia, how are you?”
“And where the hell have you been?”
“I’m great thanks for asking and yes my patient will live. Thank you so much for your patience.” Rick leaned around Olivia and asked, “How are you Natalia?”
Natalia smiled genuinely, “I’m okay Rick, thanks for seeing us.”
Olivia watched the quick exchange and rolled her eyes, “Can we get this show on the road please? I have things to do today.”
“Oh no we wouldn’t want to keep her Majesty waiting, now would we? Want to follow me ladies?”
Before Natalia could respond Olivia huffed, “Can’t wait.”
Rick led the women into an exam room, “Okay, hop up on the table and tell me what happened.”
Olivia rolled her eyes but a stern look from the brown-eyed woman standing next to the exam table had her doing as she was told without the snide comment she had on the tip of her tongue.
Rick shone a light into each of Olivia’s eyes, “Okay so what exactly happened? Natalia said you had a car ‘incident’.”
Olivia blinked away the afterimage from the light, “That rain last night… I spun my car out and hit my head.” Olivia glanced toward Natalia and added, “Not a big deal, I’m fine.”
“Uh huh.” Rick responded absently, “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?” Rick held up one finger to check Olivia’s vision, “Follow my finger with your eyes.”
“What a fun game Rick. I’m really enjoying this.”
“I know, it’s good times, isn’t it? Okay now how many fingers am I holding up?”
Olivia answered, “Three, two, four and a thumb… Are we done?”
“Almost.” Dr. Bauer examined the bump on the side of her head. “Didn’t bother to ice this, did you?”
“Ouch!” Olivia pulled away when he pressed the bump. “Jesus Rick.” She covered it with her own hand.
Natalia looked on concerned, “Oh honey, are you okay?”
Olivia nodded and took Natalia’s hand.
The gesture didn’t go unnoticed by Rick. Finally. “How’s the headache?”
Frustrated to have to acknowledge the pain was too uncomfortable to bear, Olivia admitted, “I could use more Tylenol.”
“Okay, we’ll get you some.” Rick nodded as she jotted down an order on her chart. “Now despite your hard head, I’d like to get a CT scan to make sure we’re not dealing with another concussion… or I suppose more damage to your previous concussion... Ya know, I know of a good sporting goods store if you’re interested in acquiring a helmet.”
Olivia looked up at the doctor perturbed he considered this a joke, “Are you finding this funny?”
“No actually, not in the least.” Rick shot back and crossed his arms. “And not just because you’re a crappy patient, I care about you and I’m tired of seeing you in here. I just want to see you happy and healthy and thriving with your family.”
Olivia bit back the sarcastic retort that sprang to her lips, she hadn’t expected Rick to express such honest concern and if she were true to herself she would have to admit it had thrown her off a little but she also couldn’t allow herself to be drawn into that kind of emotion, especially at the moment, so she cleared her throat and without the usual venom asked, “How long is this gonna take?”
“It shouldn’t be too long, why don’t you rest for a bit and I’ll be back in a few minutes? Lay down, relax…”
“Thank you.” Natalia sincerely responded witnessing their exchange. Rick nodded and exited the room.
“Honey why don’t you lay down like Rick suggested?”
“No,” Fully recovered from her bout of emotional instability, and with her facade of aggravated patient firmly back in place, Olivia shook her head, hopped off the table and began to pace the room like a caged animal, “I just want to get this done and get out of here.”
Natalia ran her hand through her hair, sighed and reined in her frustration so it wouldn’t show when she spoke, “I know you do. I don’t want to be here any more than you do but I need to make sure you’re okay.” Oh for God’s sake Olivia, for once just do as you’re asked because you’re starting to drive me insane with worry. I wouldn’t think giving me a little peace of mind would be that difficult for you.
“It’s just the more I wait…” Olivia sighed.
Noting the concern in Olivia’s voice Natalia urged, “What honey?”
Exasperated, Olivia ran her hands over her face, “The more I question if this is the right time to take Emma home. God, I hate this need I’m feeling to be so overprotective. I want to shield her not shelter her… I just can’t stop worrying about it and it’s frustrating the hell out of me because I don’t know what to do.” Olivia groaned, irritated with herself.
Natalia walked over to where Olivia was pacing and put her hand on her back to calm and guide her to a chair, “It doesn’t matter how long we wait, we’ll always worry.”
Olivia seemed to think about that for a moment, “I know you’re right. I know you are, I just hate I haven’t been doing a very good job of protecting…”
“Stop.” Natalia put her hands on either side of Olivia’s face taking care to steer clear of the bruise, “Just stop. You can’t keep going over this. It’s time to move forward. You and me…” Natalia kissed Olivia lightly on the lips, “and Emma back home living our lives. Emma needs this… We all need this.”
Olivia searched Natalia’s eyes and as if or the first time, realized it wasn’t about making the right choice only for Emma, Natalia needed their family home too.
Olivia allowed herself a little smile. I want that too.
“Okay Olivia, your chariot awaits.”
The ladies continued to look into each other’s eyes, ignoring Rick as he stood expectantly with the wheelchair. “Did I interrupt?”
Olivia held her gaze a beat longer, “Yes you did.”
“I can leave and come back.”
“No.” Olivia finally looked away from Natalia and stood. “Let’s get this done. We’re moving home today.”
***
“Nothing… after all that nothing.”
Olivia stomped down the hallway of the hospital toward the exit.
“Olivia he’s got to review the scan, you know that.”
“I told him I was in a hurry; I’ve been here for hours.”
“It hasn’t been that long and we’re on our way now.” Natalia held open the door for Olivia.
“Thanks…” Olivia stopped in front of the open door and confessed, “Natalia I’m sorry I know I’m being a big baby.”
“Nothing I haven’t seen before.” Natalia responded with a wink.
“Ha ha, smarty pants.”
Natalia giggled. “Come on, let’s go get our girl.”
***
Emma looked up from her drawing and asked for the umpteenth time since she had woken that morning, “But why can’t I go to school? We were all going to wear our green tops today. And where is mommy and Natalia?”
Jane put down the magazine she was reading, walked over to the desk and put her hand on Emma’s back. “They’ll be here very soon and remember how I told you your mom wanted you to stay home today. You’re playing hooky. It’s a fun thing when your mommy keeps you home.”
“But then where is she?” Emma was growing suspect of this whole ‘playing hooky’ thing. “I want to call mommy.”
“Okay you know you can call her any time you like.” Jane picked up the phone on the desk and started to dial when the door to the room opened.
“Mommy!” Emma jumped off her chair and raced to the door and into Olivia’s waiting arms. “Where have you been? Jane said I couldn’t go to school.”
“Hey sweetie.” Olivia returned the hug for a moment then stood and reached out her hand. “Come on Jellybean let’s sit on the bed.” Olivia led Emma over to the bed and sat her on the edge while Natalia followed in behind and walked over to dismiss Jane.
“Emma, Jane’s going to go home now.”
Always the polite child, Emma responded, “Okay, bye Jane, thank you for taking care of me.”
Jane stopped at Emma on her way to the door, “You’re welcome sweetie, I’ll see you soon.” She kissed Emma on the head and left.
Once the door closed, Natalia sat next to Emma.
“Am I going to the doctor?” Emma asked looking between her mothers.
“Actually honey…” Olivia looked at Natalia for reassurance. She found it in the form of a smile and nod. “Natalia and I think maybe it’s time to move back to the farmhouse.”
“Really?” Emma perked up. “I can see my ducks and ride my bike again?”
“Do you want to do that? Go home?”
“Can we today?” Emma bounced on the edge of the bed excitedly.
Olivia glanced at Natalia, “Yeah, we can pack up a few things and go there right now if you’d like.”
“Yay!” Emma hugged Olivia and Natalia before running off to her room. “I’ll pack my clothes right now.”
When the child was out of the room, Olivia sat on the edge of the bed and blew out a breath. “I’m glad she’s excited but I’m not sure she understands what it could be like.”
Natalia put her hand on Olivia’s back and rested her chin on the older woman’s shoulder, “No, maybe not but right now she’s thrilled. Maybe if we keep up that excitement she won’t have to get upset like we did.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“We just can’t let on there’s anything for her to be worried about.”
Olivia turned her head to look at Natalia, “Okay. I guess we should pack too, eh?”
Natalia lifted her head from Olivia’s shoulder, leaned over and kissed Olivia on the lips. “Yes we should.”
***
The trunk of Olivia’s Nissan was packed with the families’ suitcases full of clothes and the few personal items they had with them.
“Ready to go?” Olivia closed the trunk.
Emma was already opening the door to the backseat, “I am mommy!”
The door slammed shut. Natalia looked at Olivia, “Are you ready?”
“Yeah… Will you drive? I’d like to sit in the back with her in case she gets upset.”
“That won’t look odd to her?”
“I’m a good liar, I’ll come up with something.”
“Okay, I’ll drive. Let’s go.”
Natalia got in the drivers side and Olivia slipped in the back.
“Mommy, why are you sitting back here?”
“Well Natalia wanted to drive and I missed you. Can I sit with you?”
“Can we play punch buggy?”
Olivia could hear Natalia’s chuckle coming from the front seat. “Okay but don’t hit me too hard when we go by the Volkswagen dealership. I got a bruise last time.”
Emma laughed and promised to be gentle while Natalia started the car and pulled out of the owner’s parking spot.