Undercover

Chapter 47

When they arrive at the airport they head inside and head towards the nearest bathroom. Olivia waits outside while Noah uses the bathroom and tries to think of the best way to use the bathroom herself without leaving Noah unattended in a crowded airport. She asks an attendant to watch him for a minute and hurries to the restroom. She hates leaving him with someone else even for a minute but she doesn't have too many other viable options.

She quickly uses the restroom, washes her hands, and hurries back to the lobby where Noah is waiting. As soon as he comes into her line of vision her heart rate returns to normal. She knows that he's old enough to know not to talk to strangers and that if anyone touched him he knows to call for help but the world is a scary place sometimes.

They make their way to check in and have their luggage checked, then they take a seat on a bench and try to pass the time until they need to board their flight. After a while Noah's boredom becomes evident and he props his feet up on Olivia's carry on, being the dedicated and thoughtful mom she is, She did however come prepared for such events. She reaches into a small compartment of her bag and grabs something out as Noah looks around the airport. "Here." She gently grabs his feet and sets them on the floor. He grabs his Gameboy from her hands and quickly opens up a game.

She had gotten him a Nintendo switch forever ago but she didn't allow him to play it too often because she was worried he'd quickly get lost in the mobile gaming world. She still found herself relying on it more than she would like sometimes because it was just an easy distraction to occupy him.

She pulls her phone out and texts Elliot. "I can't wait to see you. Noah and I seriously miss you. Sorry I couldn't be by your side today." She doesn't even realize what time it is until the lady announces their flight and they head over and make their way to the line. A few minutes pass and when it's their turn she hands the lady their boarding pass and passports and the lady checks that everything's in order before handing them back and motioning for them to walk through.

They head down the walkway and find their seats and Noah eagerly looks around at everything going on around him. He's like a sponge just soaking it all in as the attendants go through all the rules and regulations,dos and don'ts, safety precautions in case of emergency and what they can all be expecting for their flight. When the attendants are finally done they begin making their rounds asking if anyone would like any beverages or snacks and Olivia orders herself and Noah a drink.

It's just before takeoff and they've turned on the fasten seatbelt signs and Noah grows anxious as he looks out the window. "It's okay baby." She wraps an arm around him to comfort him as she sees the panic wash over his face. She pulls out her phone to send one last text to Elliot in hopes to not worry him with not having service for the remainder of the flight. "Service is acting kind of spotty. I think I'm going to have to go to the phone store at some point so message me on Facebook instead." She thinks about Elliot's sweet letters and little notes and how he always puts love always Elliot at the end. "Love always, Liv." She adds before hitting send.

She grabs Noah and holds him as the plane begins taking off. When the cabin rocks a little the look on Noah's face would give the impression that a wild animal had just tried to attack them or something. "It's okay sweetheart. Take off is always a little rocky but it's nothing to worry about it's completely normal. He clenches her hand tightly in his fist as the plane slowly stops rocking. "There. See?" She tries to reassure him and he slowly releases the grip on her hand.

Olivia had been worried that he would spend the majority of the flight anxious or excited and bouncing up and down but he ended up passing out about an hour in and she was incredibly grateful for it. A few hours passed by and she found herself dozing off as well.

The attendants made their way around asking people what they would like for their meal and Olivia ordered for her and Noah. Noah was still passed out but she figured he should eat something seeing as it would be kinda late by the time that they arrived. The rest of the flight goes pretty well, they enjoy their meal and watch a movie on Liv's phone to pass the time.

When the plane finally touches down Noah gets scared again at the landing but Olivia is able to calm him with reminders that he gets to see Elliot and promises of ice cream and exploring. As all the passengers begin departing their seats the panic suddenly sets in and she wonders what she was thinking. She's ecstatic to be in Italy and unbelievably excited to see Elliot but what if he's not as excited to see them? What if he wanted time and space to process his emotions? What if he passed out after their last contact where she lied and said she was cooking Noah's dinner? What if she couldn't get through to him and gets stranded in the middle of a country she's never been in with Noah.

Her heart races incredibly fast as they make their way off the plane. She swallows hard and tries to quiet her thoughts that are spinning out of control and making her feel dizzy. "Mom is everything okay." He asks when he sees the look on her face. "Ye-yeah." She stutters and his worry is still very apparent. "Are you sure? You don't look so good." She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and tries to steady her heart rate for a second. "I'm okay sweetheart just give me a second." Her heart is thumping in her chest and she feels like she might pass out but she takes a seat on a bench outside the departure line and wraps an arm around Noah. She attempts to ground herself and think about how happy Elliot always is to see them. She tries to reassure herself that she's just being ridiculous.

Jesus. You're having a fucking panic attack for nothing. Get it together you're scaring Noah. Her heart finally begins to slow down and she takes her phone out of her pocket. Her phone battery is alarmingly low but she knows she has a charger in her bag if need be. She takes the phone out and dials Elliot's number.

His name and face flash on the screen in unison with each ring of the call. When he answers she can hear the excitement in his voice. "Hey." The word pours out of him with such force you would have thought he had wanted to say it for a lifetime. "Everything okay?" "Yeah. Everything's great. I just miss you. I've been anxiously awaiting your call" She chuckles and tries to swallow around the lump in her throat.

"Well good news." She nervously looks down at Noah who is looking at her in anticipation. "Oh yeah. What's that?" Before she can answer he starts again. "Are we going to have round 2 again tonight?" He jokes and she leans away so that Noah can't  hear. "Uh not really an option."

"Oh come on. You know you enjoyed it." Her eyes widen. "I did but I don't want to do that again tonight." She can hear the sadness in his voice when he offers nothing but a quiet okay. "I don't think you want to do that against tonight either." He scratches his head and looks down at his groin. "I'd have to disagree with you." She rolls her eyes both flustered and annoyed by his persistence. "I need you to come to the airport." She blurts out in hopes of getting him to simmer down. "The airport? Who are you talking to Liv?"

"I'm talking to you." "What do you mean you need me to--" he stops as the realization sets in. "Are you saying what I think you're saying??" Her silence on the other end of the line helps fill in the blanks. "Is this why you said your phone didn't have service?" Before she can answer he's asking another question. "You're not playing with me." He excitedly shoots off question after question before she can get a word in edge wise. "You're really here?" He sits up in bed and immediately begins sliding on his boots that he had kicked off beside the bed. "How long have you been here?" He asks as he holds the phone between his head and cheek so that he can draw the strings of his boots.

"Am I allowed to answer that one?" She jokes when he goes silent for more than 2 seconds. "Ha. Ha." He mocks her and she can hear the playfulness in his voice. "We just landed." He scatters around the room looking for his keys and wallet as he slides on a shirt and scans the room for his jacket. His mind is racing a mile a minute and suddenly he can't remember where he placed anything when he walked into his hotel room earlier.

"I'll be there soon. Don't move!" He orders and hits the end call button. He suddenly realizes he never said he loved her or goodbye and types a quick text to send to her. "Sorry. I love you. I'll see you soon!" He knows he'll have to answer for it later but he doesn't care, he can't fight the overwhelming excitement nor the urge to move warp speed to get to them. He grabs his keys off the counter and hurries out the door. He makes his way down through the lobby and hurries to his rental car. He doesn't give it a single second to warm up before backing away from the car in front of him to give himself enough distance to pull out.

His heart is racing in his chest in an exhilarating way. He's so excited and eager to see them that he almost can't believe it. However, what he almost can't believe more though is that she came to Italy just to be with him. Olivia Benson who he struggled to even get to open up to him at all just a month and a half ago, the woman who was trying her damndest to keep him at arms length, is now flying to different countries just to see him? Surely he was the luckiest man in the whole damn world.