Saving Zola

4

Two weeks had gone by and Olivia and her daughter hadn't spoken much about the incidents. Honestly they both were trying to forget they even happened. Zola had been acting pretty good, but the eldest brunette just figured that it was all apart of the cycle. Zola did good for a while, then fell back into her old ways. It was the weekend so Olivia decided to take some personal time off with her daughter.

She knocked on Zola's door. "You ready?"

"Yeah!" Zola called, putting her boots on. "Be out in a sec." She grabbed her jacket and went to meet her mother who stood by the door.

"Ready for the day?" Olivia smiled.

Zola rolled her eyes. "Yeah, just as long as you don't get called in to work."

The comment caused Olivia to sigh. Sure she'd been busy and rarely had time to spend with her daughter, but she was not about to deal with a nasty attitude. Olivia was really trying her best. "Look, we're not doing this today. I am trying, okay? We're gonna go and be a nice happy mother and daughter. I want to make this a nice day so if you could drop the attitude, that would be great."

Zola felt kind of bad. She could tell her mom wanted to make it a good day. "Okay, I'm sorry."

Olivia opened the door and motioned for her daughter to walk out. She decided that since everything was nearby, they'd just walk instead of taking the car. She and Zola stopped as they waited for the crosswalk signal to change and Olivia looked down at her daughter. Zola could feel her mom staring at her so in return she looked up as well. Brown on brown. Zola was the spitting image of Olivia, same brown eyes, same olive skin, they were nearly the same height, but the youngest Benson had a couple more inches to grow. The main difference were the personalities. The two were like night and day, but Olivia was sure it was because of the age difference.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"You're staring and were in the middle of the sidewalk."

"Oh, sorry."

As the two walked against the crisp wind, Zola grabbed Olivia's hand, feeling the need to physically connect. Olivia embraced it and gave her hand a slight squeeze. "Where are we going?" asked Zola.

"Well, where do you wanna go? I had dinner and a movie in mind. If you want to do something else-"

"Actually I was just thinking we could cook at home and watch movies there."

"Well babe, why didn't you just say so? We could have stayed home."

Zola giggled at her moms obliviousness. "Easy for you to say. There's no food in the fridge. I knew we had to come out anyway."

Olivia smirked. "Smarty pants." She pulled her daughter closer to her and wrapped an arm around her. "So what's for dinner, Chef Zo? You know I'm not much of a cook."

Zola looked up at her mom and grinned, holding her free hand out. "Just give me your card."

*

"Dinner's ready!" Zola rounded the corner with a plate. Olivia knew that between the two, Zola was the better cook so when she took it, she dived right in, not wanting to be distracted from the crime show she watched so attentively. She stuffed two spoonfuls of the gooey mess into her mouth and then the taste hit her like a truck.

Much to her amusement, the youngest Benson watched as Olivia gagged on the mushy pasta that tasted too salty and too.... nasty. She knew it wasn't her best work. She burned the shrimp and overcooked the broccoli. She accidentally boiled the pasta to a mush, and read the ingredients wrong, accidentally putting in a cup of salt instead of a cup of sauce.

"Oh babe, I'm sorry," Olivia sighed after spitting out the rest of the food.  She looked up at Zola, whose lips were quivering with amusement, laughter threatening to burst from every fiber of her being. "You knew?!" she gasped. Olivia sat the plate down and charged at her daughter, playfully throwing her on the couch. She tickled her sides as she watched Zola squeal under her.

"Mom, I'm soooorryy!"

"You." Laughs. "Little." Laughs. "Rascal."

"Mommy!" Zola laughed, dragging out the last syllable. Olivia's heart melted. She hadn't been called mommy in a long time. Zola only called her that when she was either really happy, or really sad. Olivia rolled off the youngest brunette and sat next to her, the both of them panting. They relished in the fact that neither one of them were fighting. Just good laughter like old times. The duo laughed harder than they had laughed in a long time. They missed this. Olivia reached over and tucked a couple stray strands of hair behind Zola's ear then cupped her cheek. "I love you, Zo."

Zola leaned into the gesture. "I love you."

The two fell silent, taking in each other's presence. "So what's for dinner?" they asked simultaneously, resulting in them bursting in another fit of laughter. Although their differences, they were one the same.

"I dunno. Take out?"

"Yeah," Olivia sighed. "I can't cook, you can't cook. Take out is the only option, I guess."

Zola grabbed the phone and placed the order. Olivia stood up to take her dish to the kitchen. "Oh, and by the way mom, I can cook. I was just... off my game."

Olivia chuckled. "Yeah, sure."

*

A finishing her wine Olivia sat her glass down on the table. She nudged Zola who had fallen asleep with her arms around her waist. "Honey, wake up." Zola clung tighter and let out a small groan.

"Let's just lay here."

"Unless you want the tickle monster to come back out-"

Zola shot up and ran to her mother's room, plopping on the bed and throwing the covers over her head. Olivia bounced in right after, surprised that Zola went to her room instead of her own. It had been awhile since the two laid together or even got along to do anything of the like so Olivia didn't give it a second thought. "Mama, I surrender!" she yelled groggily.

"Mama, I surrender!" Olivia mocked in the same voice. Olivia threw the covers off her daughter playfully. She wanted to attack her again with tickles, but as soon as their eyes met, the eldest brunette could tell that sleep hadn't fully evaded her little one. Olivia scooped Zola up, and sat her on her lap, covering the both of them with blankets.

"Mom-"

"Shhh, honey," Olivia cooed. She pressed Zola's head against her chest, rubbing her head. "Now go back to sleep, my love."

"On-on your lap?"

"On my lap."

Zola sunk into Olivia's embrace. She wanted- no, she needed this just as much as her mom did. She loved the warmth her mother provided, the security, the affection that she had been craving for such a long time. She sat there relaxed under Olivia's touch, feeling her run her fingers through her hair. Sleep started to over take her body, but she fought it for as long as she could. It was too good to be true. The phone would ring any minute and Olivia would be gone just like she had so many times before.

"Mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"You're-you're not gonna leave tonight, are you?"

"No, I'm here with you."

"Even if the phone rings?"

Olivia pressed a kiss to Zola's forehead allowing it to linger for awhile. "Even if the phone rings." She reached over and turned the lamp light off after sliding into a more comfortable position. "I love you."

"I love you, mom."