Chapter Text
“What are you doing here?” Olivia demanded, as she shut the door of her office behind her with more force than was really necessary.
“My job?” Natalia suggested dryly. “You know, that thing you pay me for doing?”
“You’re thirty-nine weeks pregnant,” Olivia said through clenched teeth. “I gave you the rest of the time until the baby’s born off from work. It’s called maternity leave.”
“So I’m choosing to spend my maternity leave here with you. It’d be nice if you paid me for it,” Natalia added, flashing Olivia a bright, dimpled smile.
“I’m already paying you for it,” Olivia murmured. “And don’t try those dimples on me, Rivera. Batting those big brown eyes might work on Frank, but not on me!”
Natalia shot her a look that begged to differ and then smiled at her sweetly. No matter how many times that smile was directed at her, Olivia never got used to it.
“Maybe I just wanted to be here.”
And that was worse. What was Natalia trying to do? Kill her? She was Olivia Freaking Spencer - she didn’t do sweet and nice. To Olivia’s horror she smiled back at Natalia. She had intended to be gruff and remark on Natalia’s idiocy for coming in when she didn’t have to - maybe cast aspersions on Natalia’s intelligence while she was at it. But none of that came out. Just that smile, the one that felt a little bit awkward on Olivia’s face.
“You should sit down,” Olivia said, trying desperately to recapture some of the irritation that she had felt just seconds before.
“I-” Whatever Natalia had been about to say was cut off by the way she gasped and grabbed her stomach. There was a splashing sound and then Natalia was turning startled brown eyes up at Olivia. “My water broke.”
Olivia swallowed hard. “I can see that, Sweetheart.” She shook herself out of her momentary stupor and grabbed the phone off her desk, dialing out quickly.
It was answered instantly. “Springfield Emergency services. Please state the nature of your emergency.”
“I need an ambulance at the Beacon - the penthouse suite. My assistant just went into labor.”
“Okay, Ma’am, we’ll have one there right away-”
Olivia’s knuckles whitened on the phone. “Faster.”
“We’ll be there as soon as we can,” the woman said soothingly.
“And I said get here faster than ‘as soon as you can’,” Olivia ground out. She heard the woman start to protest and slammed the phone down. “Damned incompetents.”
Natalia was looking at her like she was crazy. “It’s okay, Olivia.” She waddled forward to touch Olivia’s hand. “You didn’t have to do that. It’ll be hours before anything happens. I could have gotten someone to drive me - Greg or something.”
“I am not leaving you in Greg’s incompetent hands,” Olivia said tersely, clearly choking back things that she would have preferred to call him. “Where’s Frank?”
“Ah,” Natalia winced, knowing Olivia wasn’t going to like what she was about to say - and now that she had thought about it, not all that happy about it herself. “He had to go undercover today to finish gathering evidence for a big bust that they’ve been putting together for months.”
“And Frank was the only one who could do it? When his wife is about to go into labor any minute? I’ll shove my stiletto so far up his-”
“Olivia!” Natalia sounded scandalized. “Can you help me sit, please?” She faked a faint trembling in her knees and held a hand out to Olivia. “Just until the ambulance gets here.”
Olivia took her arm immediately, and wrapped her other arm around Natalia’s waist. Natalia concentrated on leaning enough of her weight against Olivia to make her distraction convincing and keep enough it away from Olivia that it didn’t put undue stress on her borrowed heart.
Natalia let Olivia easy her down into the chair and then smiled up at Olivia. “Thank you.” She glanced down at her lap. “I’m such a mess.”
Olivia crouched down beside her and pushed a lock of hair behind Natalia’s ear. “Are you sure there isn’t a way to contact Frank?”
Natalia shrugged, “Maybe Mallet could get a hold of him?” She looked worried and sad and Olivia hated it. It only redoubled her desire to kick Frank’s ass.
Or shove her-
Natalia’s hand tightened painfully around hers. Almost simultaneously there was a loud knock on the door. Olivia pushed to her feet, wincing at the stiffness in her knees even as she hobbled for the door. She yanked it open without bothering to look, waving the EMT’s in urgently.
“She’s over there,” Olivia said, pointing to Natalia. “Her water just broke and I’m coming with her.”
“Olivia,” Natalia protested. “You don’t have to. You have an entire hotel here to run and-”
“And you’re my best friend,” Olivia said firmly. “I can’t find fucking Frank and I’m not letting you go alone. No arguments.”
“Actually, Ma’am, it’s against policy to let anyone else in the-”
Without a word Olivia turned her glare on him too. He withered visibly.
“Admit it,” Natalia said, when Olivia had returned to her side, kneeling down next to her again. “You had fun with that.”
Olivia snorted, but met Natalia’s gaze easily. “Maybe. Just a little. But you didn’t hate watching me do it.”
Natalia shook her head, but her smile never faded. She covered Olivia’s hand with her own. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I didn’t want to be alone.”
“You won’t,” Olivia said, without a doubt. “I’ll get Frank there. Somehow. But until he gets there, I’ll be with you every step of the way. Promise.”
And after that there was no more arguing, only Natalia clinging to her hand and refusing to let go.