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Nick closed the door behind John. He felt somewhat better after talking to him, but still sad that he couldn't be with Olivia. He set about turning the lights off before he went upstairs. He stared at the bed before he slid under the covers and rolled to face where Olivia had slept.
Olivia's awoke before the alarm went off.
"Why me?" she asked as she turned the alarm off. She felt a little rested, but still had to make herself get out of bed. She shuffled into the bathroom and started the shower. She caught her reflection in the mirror and wasn't pleased.
"Good God....I get sleep and I still look like death." she sighed as she entered the shower. Olivia was slipping her shoes on when the phone rang.
"Hello?" she asked.
"'Ello, luv!" Yasmin squealed.
"Yas! It's so good to hear from you!"
"Well, I couldn't wait for you to call, now could I?"
"I'm sorry, Yas. It's just been hell since I got back."
"You ok, luv?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just one huge emotional wreck."
"Oh, Liv...I'm sorry."
"It's ok, Yas. I knew I'd be sad, but I feel like I'm either sad or crying every few minutes."
"You miss him, don't you?"
"More than you know. I don't think I can put how much I miss Nick into words."
"He misses you too."
"Have you talked to him lately?"
"No, I haven't heard from him, but Simon told me he was in a very bad mood at the studio on Sunday."
"God....I know this is hard on him too."
"Yeah, I called and left a message for him. I'll probably call him today, but not now.....it's too early and he'd kill me." Yas laughed.
"I'm so glad you called, Yas. I miss you."
"I miss you too, Liv. You'd best be off to work now."
"I'll call you, ok?"
"See that you do." Yas chuckled.
Olivia smiled as she laid the handset down. Hearing Yasmin's voice made her feel good.. Olivia grabbed her briefcase and headed out the door to begin another grueling day at the office.
"Good morning, Miss Montgomery." Lynn said with a smile as Olivia entered.
"Good morning, Lynn." Olivia replied as she walked into her office.
She laid her briefcase down and smelled the flowers Nick sent her.
"Miss Montgomery, Mr. Rhodes is on line 1 for you."
"Thank you, Lynn."
"Shall I hold calls again today?"
"Yes, please. I'll be in with Mr. Adkins again today."
"Here's Mr. Rhodes."
"Hello, Mr. Rhodes." she purred.
"I love you, Miss Montgomery."
"Do you now?" she teased.
"I do...very much."
"Good...I love you too."
"Are you having a better day today?"
"So far I am."
"I'm glad, sweetheart."
"Me too." she sighed.
"You sure you're alright, luv?"
"I'm just on an emotional rollercoaster."
"I can relate, my dear."
"Nick, when am I going to see you again?"
"You'll see me soon, I promise."
"I can't wait to see you."
"Mmm....I can't wait to hold you close to me."
"Oh shit...." Olivia sighed as she looked at her watch.
"What's wrong, Liv?"
"I'm about 2 minutes away from metting with Mr. Adkins."
"Go sweetheart, I understand."
"I love you, Nick."
"I love you too. Have a good day."
"Thank you." she whispered.
"Bye, luv."
Olivia hung up the phone and took a deep breath as she collected her briefcase and files.
Nick's smile lingered after his call to Olivia. He was in the kitchen enjoying a cup of tea when John walked in.
"G'morning, mate." John said.
"Remind me to start locking the door after I go out and collect the morning paper." Nick laughed.
"You seem to be quite chipper this morning."
"I don't know if I'd say chipper, but I'm in a better mood, yes."
"I'm glad, cos your mood couldn't have gotten any worse."
"Of course it could've gotten worse, John."
"How's that?"
"I could've had several empty wine bottles lying about."
"Ah, touche'." John laughed. "How's Olivia today?" "She's better, thanks. She says she's on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster."
"She misses you."
"I miss her too." Nick sighed "I can't wait to see her."
"When's that gonna be?"
"I dunno yet. We're in the studio and she just got started on this case. We'll just have to see."
"Make it soon, ok mate?"
"I will." Nick promised "Hey, did you go to Kate's last night?"
"I did." John said.
"And?"
"She was surprised to see me, since she thought I'd be with you. I explained that it was your idea and now, she thinks you're the sweetest person in the world."
"I like Kate, she's good for you."
"Ya think?"
"I know." Nick said with a smile.
"You do, do you?" John asked.
"Umm-hmm......Hey, why aren't you in the studio?" "Ah, Charley and I decided to take a day off. He's gonna spend it with Yas and you get to spend your day with me." John smiled.
"Oh God." Nick groaned.
"Hey, I'm not that bloody bad." John whined.
"Only joking, Johnny." Nick laughed.
"Bastard!" John laughed.
"C'mon, let's go out for lunch." Nick said as he led John out of the kitchen.
Nick arrived home from his lunch with John to a ringing phone. He dashed in just in time to answer.
" 'Ello?"
"Nick it's Yas. Are you ok?"
"Yeah. I just ran to answer the phone."
"Ah." she said with a laugh. "How are you?"
"I'm good Yas. You?"
"Pretty good. I talked to Liv this morning."
"I'm glad. I would hate to see you guys loose touch."
"Oh, no chance of that. But, Nick, I'm worried about her."
"Why is that Yas?"
"I dunno really...just this odd feeling I got. Maybe it's nothing. She probably just misses you."
"I miss her too." Nick said as he let out a sigh.
"When are you going to get her back here?" Yas asked.
"Soon, I hope. She just began working on this case, which I'm hoping doesn't take too long."
"I hope to see her soon. I miss her."
"Me too, Yas. You sure she was ok when you spoke to her? She was fine when I called her at the office, save for being an emotional wreck. She was in a much better mood."
"She sounded fine, Nick. She just told me she was very emotional right now. She said she's sad or crying every few minutes."
"This has been so hard on her.....I hate there's nothing I can do to fix it."
"Nick, you've both had a rough time. She knows you miss her and she knows you love her."
"I do." he sighed.
"I'd better go....Simon's calling me. I'll call you later, but if you need anything, or you need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to call me."
"Thanks, Yas."
"Bye Nick."
"Bye."
Nick laid the handset down, sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Nick, what's wrong?" John asked.
"Just something Yas said."
"Which was?"
"She said she was worried about Olivia. She said she got an odd feeling when she spoke to her this morning."
"Did you sense anything when you spoke to her?" John questioned.
"No, but Yas, like most women can pick these things up."
"Yeah." John groaned "Like our mum's picking up those signals that you and I were into mischief."
"Yes, like that." Nick replied.
"Do you think Liv's ok? I mean outside of missing you?"
"I hope so. Yas said it was probably nothing."
"If it's nothing, then why do you look so worried?"
"Because we're talking about Olivia and because I love her, John. I care about her."
"I know, mate. Just call her later."
"I plan on it."
"You gonna be alright?" John asked.
"I'm fine. I'll just call her."
"I'm gonna head home then. I'm meeting Kate later."
"Ah, how goes it with you and Kate?"
"It's going just fine, thanks."
"I'm glad to see you happy, John."
"Thanks, mate."
Nick closed the door and looked around the living room. His house seemed too quiet. He missed hearing Olivia's voice and missed her laughter. Nick laid back on the sofa to relax. The thoughts of Olivia and his conversation with Yas ran through his mind.....
"Hello?" Olivia asked as she kicked her shoes off.
"'Ello, luv." Yas replied.
"Wow, 2 calls from you in 1 day."
"What can I say, I miss ya."
"I miss you too, Yas."
"You ok, Liv?"
"I'm fine.....Just a long day at the office and I'm tired."
"I'm sorry."
"Hey, today was better than yesterday. I only cried several times." she laughed.
"Oh Liv...I hate that you and Nick are going through this."
"Me too, Yas. It's breaking my heart to be away from him."
"I know. I just wanted to call and make sure you're alright."
"Thanks, Yas. I'm fine, just really tired."
"Get some rest then and I'll talk to you later."
"Good night."
"Good night, Liv."
Olivia disconnected the call and slowly began to undress. Right now a hot bath sounded great to her. She laid back and let the hot water surround her. Her nerves were frazzled and she wanted nothing more than a good night's sleep. Olivia got out of the tub and was in the middle of buttoning up the shirt that belonged to Nick when the hot tears began to slide down her cheeks.
"Why now?" she sighed as she slipped into bed.
The ringing of the phone startled her out of her thoughts.
"Hello?" she asked softly.
"Olivia....are you alright?" Nick asked.
"I'm fine." she cried.
"Why are you crying, luv?"
"I don't know. It just happened when I was buttoning up the shirt I took from you. I just miss you."
"I miss you too, sweetheart. Please don't cry."
"I can't help it. It just happens."
"Is there anything I can do? It hurts me to know you're upset."
"The only thing that's going to make me feel better is to see you, Nick."
"I want to see you too, Liv. But, we might have to wait a couple of weeks at the least. I promise, I will see you soon."
"The sooner the better."
"Liv, I love you very much." he said as he choked back his tears.
"I love you too, Nick. I miss you so much."
"I miss you too, sweetheart. Please try to get some sleep."
"I will." she promised.
"G'night, luv."
"Good night."
Olivia hung up. She looked at her wrist and looked at the bracelet for a long time as she cried harder. She curled up in her bed and slowly drifted into sleep.
Nick stared at the handset for a long time as the tears rolled down his cheeks. He felt helpless, he didn't want Olivia to be sad.
"Nick?" John asked softly.
"What are you doing here?" Nick mumbled.
"I came by to check on you......what happened?"
"I just hung up with Olivia." Nick said as the tears continued to coarse down his cheeks.
"Is she ok?"
"She's upset, dammit. She was crying and there's nothing I can do about it."
"I'm sorry Nick. I know this must be hard."
"How the hell would you know how hard this is?" he hissed.
"I don't Nick....I was only." John said as Nick cut him off.
"You're right, you don't know what this is like!" Nick yelled "You're here, Kate's here, but Olivia is thousands of miles away from me."
"I'm sorry, Nick. I don't know what to say."
"There's nothing you can say. I just want to be alone." Nick said as he put his head in his hands.
CHAPTER 32
The days passed and Olivia found it hard to believe that she had been home for nearly two weeks.
She noticed that everyday she felt a bit worse, instead of better. She sat up to get out of bed and was hit with a wave of nausea. She made it to the bathroom just in time to be very ill.
"Great...all I need is the flu..." she said as she walked back to her bed.
She grabbed her appointment book and scanned the days itinerary. "Nothing I can't reschedule." she said as she picked up the phone to call the office.
"Olivia Montgomery's office. This is Lynn speaking. How may I help you?"
"Lynn, This is Olivia. I need you to reschedule my 10:30 for today til tomorrow. I feel terrible and I am just going to work from home today."
"Are you ok Ms. Montgomery?" Lynn asked with concern in her voice. "I'm fine...just some silly stomach bug."
Olivia hung up and laid back against her pillows and closed her eyes as the waves of nausea continued.
"'Ello?" Nick asked still half asleep.
"Nick, it's Yas."
"Are you ok?" he asked, hearing the urgency in her voice.
"I'm fine....have you spoken to Olivia this morning?"
"No, why?"
"She's really sick, she sounds awful."
"What?" Nick asked, now fully awake.
"She's at home sick. She said she's feeling really weak, tired and nauseated."
"Thanks, Yas.....I'm going to call her and see how she's doing."
"Give her my love."
"I will.....Thanks again."
Nick disconnected the call with Yasmin and dialed Olivia's number.
"Hello?" she whispered.
"Olivia.....are you alright?" he asked.
"I think I'm going to die, but other than that, I'm ok."
"What's wrong, luv?"
"Just the flu, sweetie...nothing to worry about. Hey what are you doing up so early?"
"Yas called and told me you weren't feeling well." "Oh Nick, I'm sorry she woke you. I'm fine, really." "Promise me you'll see a doctor if you don't start feeling better in the next day or so."
"I promise. I just want to stay in bed right now." "Then stay in bed and rest and don't go into work until you're feeling better."
"But I have so much to do."
"Promise me, Liv. No work until you feel better." "Ok...I promise."
"Good. Now is there anything I can do for you?" "Umm-hmm..."
"What, luv?"
"Come see me.....that would make me feel better and you could keep your eye on me and make sure I stay in bed."
"Hmmm....I could, couldn't I?"
"I'm dying to see you. I miss you so much."
"I miss you too, sweetheart."
"Come see me soon, ok?"
"I will, I promise. But, right now you get some rest, ok? I'll check on you a little later."
"Ok."
"I love you, Liv."
"I love you too."
Nick laid the handset down and forced himself out of bed. He was in the studio doing some work when John and Simon came in.
"Why are you here so early?" John asked.
"Ah...I was awakened by a phone call from Simon's lovely wife concerning Olivia." he replied.
"How is Olivia?" John asked.
"She's sick with the flu."
"She's at home I take it?" John questioned.
"She is and she's resting."
"When are you going to see her?" Simon asked. "Yeah." John said.
"Soon....and why are you both ganging up on me?"
"We're not ganging up on you, Nick." John defended.
"It certainly seems that way." he chuckled.
"Nick." John began "We're not that busy right now and it's been 2 weeks since you last saw Olivia. You miss each other and now she's sick. What better time than now to go to Chicago?"
"Definitely something to think about." Nick said. "What's there to think about Rhodes?" Simon asked.
"Whether to tell her I'm coming or just surprise her." Nick laughed.
Olivia awoke from a short lived nap with waves of nausea wracking her body. She picked up the phone and called her office.
"Olivia Montgomery's office. May I help you?" Lynn asked.
"Lynn, it's Olivia."
"How are you feeling?"
"Worse, actually. I need you to cancel my day tomorrow, I'm going to the doctor."
"I'll get right on it." Lynn said.
"Thank you, Lynn. I really appreciate it."
"Not a problem. I hope you feel better soon." "Thanks, Lynn. Bye."
Olivia threw the handset and ran to the bathroom. "Why me?" she asked as she knelt on the bathroom floor.
She was a bit wobbly as she shuffled back to her bed. She picked up the phone and made an appointment with Dr. Morgan for first thing in the morning.
It was dark out when the phone woke her. "Hello?" she asked.
"How are you feeling?" Nick asked.
"Just tired."
"I'm sorry I woke you. I just got home from the studio."
"It's ok....what time is it?"
"It's late, luv."
"You had a long day, huh?"
"Yeah....we had a 12 hour day today. Trying to finish up as much as we
can."
"Don't work too hard, Nick."
"Don't worry about me, sweetheart. You concentrate on getting better, ok?"
"Ok."
"Are you feeling any better?"
"Not yet. I'm going to the doctor first thing in the morning."
"Good. So you'll be staying home tomorrow?" "Ummm-hmmm."
"Will you call me when you get home from the Dr's office?"
"Of course I will."
"I miss you, sweetheart."
"I miss you too."
"Go back to sleep and call me in the morning." "Ok, I will."
"I love you, Liv."
"I love you too."
"Olivia Montgomery" the nurse called.
Olivia followed the nurse back to a room. Dr. Morgan came in shortly after.
"Hello, Olivia. How are you?" he asked.
"I'd like to say I'm fine, but I'd be lying." she said. "Tell me what's going on."
"Just the flu or a stomach bug. I'm just exhausted and sick a lot." "You look pale, are you eating and resting?" "Eating is next to impossible right now....I'm resting, but I'm still tired."
"I'm going to order some labs to be done, then you can go home and rest." "Alright."
"And Olivia, no work for a few days, ok? You need some rest."
"'Ello?" Nick asked.
"Good morning." Olivia purred.
"Mmmmm....good morning, luv."
"Sorry to wake you, but I just got home from seeing the doctor."
"What did he say?"
"He told me no work for a few days so I can rest and he ordered a bunch of lab work."
"Are you ok?"
"I'm going to live, according to Dr. Morgan. He's going to call me with the lab results."
"When will that be?"
"Ummm...later today. This stomach thing could be gone by then. I just wanted to let you know I was back."
"I'm glad you called."
"Go back to sleep, it's too early for you yet."
"I love you, Liv."
"Love you too."
Olivia laid back on her bed, waiting for the nausea to pass. She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.
"So you're not going to tell Olivia that you're flying to Chicago?" John asked.
"No...it's a surprise. I want her to be completely surprised when she sees me." Nick replied. as he closed a suitcase.
"She had no idea when you spoke to her this morning? John questioned.
"No. She thought I was still in bed."
"How long will you be gone?"
"Hmmm...haven't thought about that yet. I don't really know." Nick replied.
"You ready, mate?" John asked.
"Ready." Nick said.
"I'll load the boot and you make sure you've got everything."
Nick and John entered the car and headed to the airport. They got Nick's luggage checked in and went to his gate.
"Give Olivia my love." John said.
"I will." Nick replied.
"Enjoy your holiday."
"Oh, I plan on it......Thanks, John."
"For what?"
"For everything. I know I was unbearable at times after Olivia went home."
"S'alright. You'd do the same for me." John said as he hugged his best friend before he headed to his plane.
Olivia woke from a long nap, feeling a little rested, but her stomach was still turning. She sat up and found a message on her machine. "Hi sweetheart, I love you." was all he said. He'd called her hours ago and she'd slept though the phone ringing. She'd missed Nick's call.
"Dammit." she mumbled as the tears flooded her eyes.
A smile came to her lips as the phone began to ring. "Hello?"
"Ms. Montgomery?"
"Yes."
"This is Emily from Dr. Morgan's office."
"Alright."
"Dr. Morgan has your labs if you can hold for a moment."
"Sure." Olivia replied.
Olivia held and waited for Dr. Morgan anxiously.
"Olivia."
"Hi Dr. Morgan."
"How are you?"
"I'm still alive, I think."
"You're going to live, dear. I promise." he laughed. "So, what did the labs say?"
"Well, Olivia, everything was fine, but you don't have a virus."
"I don't? Then why am I so sick?" she asked. "You're pregnant, dear."
"What???"
"You're going to have a baby."
"Are you sure?"
"100% positive. You'll want to make an appointment soon so we can see how far along you are and get you started on vitamins."
"Ok." she replied, half hearing what he'd said. "Take care of yourself, Olivia. I'll see you soon." "Bye." Olivia whispered before she hung up and a wave of nausea hit, sending her running for the bathroom.
"A baby......."she whispered as she knelt on her tile floor. Olivia was ripped out of her sleep by the doorbell. She got out of
bed, made her way downstairs and opened the door to find Nick standing in front of her.
"Nick!" she squealed as he embraced her.
"I've missed you, Olivia." he purred in her ear.
Nick held on for dear life, but under his touch he felt her body stiffen. Suddenly she pushed him away.
"I'm sorry Nick...but I don't want you here. Can you please go?" Olivia asked as she stepped away from him.
"Liv you can't be serious?"
"I am....please...leave."
"Have you gone mad? Liv.....it's me Nick."
"Please don't ask....just go." Olivia said as she started to sob.
"Talk to me, luv."
"Leave ....NOW." she screamed
Nick looked at Olivia with pain and confusion in his eyes. "Ok....I'll go." he said as he picked up his suit cases and walked away. He heard the slamming of the door at his back as he reached the street. Olivia slammed the door and slid down it, sobbing.
Nick made his way to a hotel. In a daze he checked in and made his way to the room.Once inside he made his way to the bed side table and picked up the phone.
"Ello?" a sleepy voice answered.
"John...it's Nick.I...." Nicks' voice trailed off in a loss for words. "Nick? Is everything ok?" John asked with concern.
"Um...no....I don't think it is." Nick said as he sat down on the bed.
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