Chapter Text
On their last full day at the beach, everyone had their own agendas. Kathleen, Lizzie, and Richard took Eli with them to ride jet skis. Maureen and Carl took the boys to the cute little pirate show they’d seen advertising for earlier in the week. And Olivia and Elliot surprised Caroline with a trip to the local theme park.
They’d been there a few hours now and Caroline’s smile still hadn’t left her face as she took turns holding one of her parents’ hands. They also reveled in swinging her between them as they walked along too.
The three of them had stopped at any attraction that caught the girl’s eyes and had ridden so many rides together so far. They were now inside a cute little restaurant within the park and Caroline was dutifully trailing along beside Olivia as they looked at artwork while Elliot ordered for them on the other side of the little building.
They’d both clocked the meltdown another child around Caroline’s age was having and Olivia had squeezed her daughter’s hand when she noticed that the girl had zeroed in on it too.
The child was making a scene, sure, but the parents were causing a bigger one. Olivia continuously pulled Caroline into conversations about the art as they passed it to keep her occupied.
After a while, the father took the child out of the building and Olivia watched as the mother scrubbed a hand over her face. Elliot approached them then and she smiled at him as Caroline greeted him with a, “Hi, daddy. You were gone for ages.” Her little giggle made him laugh as well and the three of them found seats in a booth.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” All three looked up to find the mother who’d been part of the scene earlier, “But...” She hesitated and Olivia raised her eyebrows in question, “How do you get her to behave in public?” She asked bluntly.
“Uh, well,” Olivia scrunched her face up and opened her mouth to continue only for Caroline’s voice to cut her off.
“They treat me like a human being,” The girl told her simply. “They talk to me like a person and not like an animal. It goes a long way, ma’am.”
“Caroline!” Olivia whispered in shock, though her eyes shone with mirth and humor as she stared at her daughter. Elliot snorted across from them and Olivia shot him an incredulous look.
“Sorry, mama,” Caroline apologized dutifully. “But you do,” She added on. Elliot held his fist out to her and Caroline beamed at him before fist-bumping her father. “Thanks, daddy,” She chirped.
Olivia sighed but smirked and then turned back to the woman now staring at the three of them in disgust. “Gentle parenting? That’s your answer,” She rolled her eyes, “Sure.”
“No, not really. Mutual respect does go quite a long way. But Caroline is right. I ask her for her opinions. I give her options. She has input in decisions that involve her when she can. Small things that go a long way in building relationships and respect.”
The woman rolled her eyes and stormed off. Olivia blinked in shock.
“Don’t worry about it, Livvie,” Elliot told her as he offered his fries to their daughter and smiled when she took several of them, “Not everyone can be super-mom. That’s for you.”
Caroline nodded around the bite of fry she’d just taken, “Agreed.”
0~0~0
By the time they left, Elliot was carrying an exhausted Caroline while Olivia carried the plush ladybug that Elliot had won for her. They’d all thoroughly enjoyed themselves and Caroline had thanked them both several times throughout the day.
As he placed her into her booster seat and reached for her seatbelt, Olivia handed her the stuffed animal and the girl smiled sleepily as she accepted it. Elliot got her settled and then kissed her forehead. He asked if she needed anything and if anything was uncomfortable. She let him know she was okay and he gently closed the door and rounded the car to climb into the driver’s seat.
Olivia’s hand found his over the center console the moment he was backed out of the parking spot and driving toward the exit. He brought their hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles softly. “I love you, gorgeous,” He murmured against her skin. She smiled widely at him and squeezed his hand. A glance at the rearview mirror let him know that Caroline was soundly asleep. “Move in with me,” He said suddenly.
Olivia blinked in surprise. “What?” She asked in shock as she stared at him.
“Move in with me,” He said again. “Or I’ll move in with you. Or we can find somewhere else altogether,” He paused, “I love you, Livvie. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I love that little girl back there,” He glanced at their daughter once more, “I never want to miss another moment of her life. Move in with me,” He finished.
She fought a smile off of her face, “Yeah?” She asked.
“Yeah,” He nodded, “Is that an agreement?” He asked her, his smile nearly splitting his face.
“It might be.”
0~0~0
Several weeks later, Olivia brought Caroline to Elliot’s apartment for lunch. The two of them had been working out the logistics of moving in together but had not informed Caroline of their plan yet.
She smiled as she watched on as Caroline knocked. Elliot opened the door and immediately scooped the girl up into his arms, just as he always did. She giggled as she hugged him tightly, already babbling about her day and asking him questions.
He grinned over the girl’s head at her and Olivia raised her eyebrows in question. He nodded and gestured with his head. She nodded as well and moved to follow him. “We have a surprise for you, baby bug,” Elliot told Caroline and the girl beamed.
“For me?” She asked excitedly, “What is it, daddy?” She asked him curiously.
“Let’s go see,” He murmured as he kissed the side of her head. He tucked Olivia into his side as she fell into step beside him and she smiled up at him as well. He pushed the guest bedroom door open and then sat Caroline to her feet as she gasped.
They watched the girl walk into the middle of the adorable bedroom. Elliot had painted it a perfect shade of light purple with white trim. There were little black silhouettes of insects painted all over the walls as well. On one side he’d hung full-length mirrors and also attached a ballet bar. Olivia had told him it was overkill, but he’d insisted that he wanted to do this for her. The biggest bookshelf he could get in the room spanned another wall and was full to the brim with new books that the two of them had picked out together. A little white desk held the microscope she’d been asking for for months now as well as several notebooks and pencils. A matching little white twin-sized bed was also situated in the room with a cute little pink bed set already on it. He’d taken care in putting hundreds of glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling in the perfect placement of the actual constellations.
Caroline took it all in slowly as she spun in several circles to see everything. “For me?” She asked, tears in her eyes as she finally stopped and faced them both. Olivia nodded as she squatted down and held her arms out. Caroline moved into them and hugged her mother tightly. “Why?”
“Because daddy and I love you so much,” Olivia whispered, “And,” She paused and looked up at Elliot who squatted down next to them then, “We thought, maybe, that all three of us could live here,” She finished gently.
Caroline pulled back and they both watched a smile spread over her lips, “Really?” She asked, trying hard to mask her clear excitement. Olivia laughed and nodded.
“Would you like that, sweet girl?” She asked as she brushed a lock of hair behind Caroline’s ear.
Caroline nodded eagerly, “I would. Can we, mama?”
Olivia smiled and glanced at Elliot, “Can we?” She asked him.
He looked at both of his girls and felt like he was little more than a puddle on the floor of Caroline’s new room. “I’d love nothing more.”