sweet honey | aaron hotchner

35 - the big question

Olivia felt a surge of happiness run through her. "We aren't even-"

"In a relationship?" He shifted to face her.

She nodded with a shy smile and he grinned.

"I wanted to do this somewhere else, some time else and under different circumstances." He muttered as he glanced around the hospital room. "But well, you've made me feel more alive than I've ever felt. Forget that we catch bad guys for a living." She let out a small laugh at that. "Because when I'm with you, I feel different. I feel as if I could take on the world and move mountains and stop time. When I'm with you, I don't want to be anywhere else, or see anyone else or feel anything but content and happiness when you're in the same room. They say that we don't know what the future holds, but I know mine has you in it." He was barely speaking above a whisper but she could hear every word clearly. "Be my girlfriend? We can see what the future holds for us together." He asked.

The silence was deafening in the few seconds it took for Olivia to process what he had just said. "Yes." She said softly. "Of course yes!" She said more loudly and excitedly. He smiled and she went to kiss his cheek when he turned his head. Their lips met in a chaste but sweet kiss and she smiled against his. She felt like they were in their own little bubble.

"I missed you." She said sadly.

He smiled and leaned up to kiss her on her cheek. "You still miss me?"

She laughed, "maybe just a little." She said and he leaned back and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Three hours later, Aaron was asleep and Spencer was currently trying to get Olivia out of his hospital room.

"We'll come back in the morning," he pleaded, "that's only four hours away. The hospital will call if he wakes up."

After much convincing, an attempt at bribery and trying to haul her out of the room, she relented and was now sitting quietly in the car with Spencer.

"Can we get ice cream?" She asked softly.

"Yeah! Let's go." He said as if she was driving.

She snorted and he drove to the nearest ice cream parlour.

"What can I get for you?" A young man asked from behind the counter as they approached it.

She surveyed her choices, "One scoop of vanilla and one scoop of cookie dough with gummy bears and fruit loops?" She asked shyly. "In a bowl."

The man grinned. "Coming right up. And you sir?" He asked Spencer.

"Mint chocolate chip please. One scoop in a cone." He ordered and then turned to speak to Olivia. "What is that order." He laughed.

She smiled as she remembered that time her and Aaron revisited the ice cream shop with Jack.

"Jack!" Victoria said excitedly as she saw the little boy running towards her.

"Hello Mrs Victoria." He said cutely and gave her a hug.

"Aaron, so good to see you and Jack." The warm old lady smiled at him and then saw Olivia. "And the beautiful Olivia. It's lovely to see you as well." She said jovially.

"And you." Olivia replied.

They ate their ice cream in between questions Jack was firing at the two of them.

"You work with my dad?"

"Yes."

"So you also catch the bad guys!" He said excitedly.

"That I do," she smiled.

"Cool." He paused to eat a spoonful of that weird combination Aaron had ordered when she first came to this ice cream parlour.

After they finished their ice cream, Jack shot up from his seat and bounced to the door.

"Bet you can't catch me." He said loudly and bolted out the door. The ice cream parlor was near a large patch of grass and she and Jack headed there with Aaron following behind them.

He watched as Olivia chased his son around and smiled. She caught up to him and scooped him up in her arms and started tickling him. Jack started screaming with laughter as Olivia tickled him.

"No!" He squeaked loudly and carried on laughing.

She put him down after a while and he ran to his dad.

"Daddy?" He hugged him.

"Yeah buddy."

"Is she your girlfriend?" He asked with wide eyes.

"Not yet." Aaron replied with a smile.

Jack paused. "Can you hurry up and ask her to be." He said stubbornly.

"Okay buddy." He laughed and Olivia joined them.

"Livia." Jack grabbed her hand. "Let's go." He pulled her towards the car and they got in. She sat in the back with Jack and Aaron couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness every time he heard squeals and laughs and little whispers from Jack and Olivia in the back.

"It's special." She smiled.