DISCLAIMER: Guiding Light and its characters are the property of Proctor & Gamble. No infringement intended.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Five Moments Olivia Spencer Will Never Forget
By still_nina
One
It was late and she couldn't sleep. The house was too quiet with only one occupant. Emma was at a friend's house and Natalia was on a date with Frank. It was almost midnight. None of their little dates had lasted that long and Olivia had trouble telling herself that it was none of her business what they were doing. She was sure that she shouldn't be losing sleep over it and she wasn't.
"Just because you kiss her once, doesn't mean that you have the right to feel jealous." Her voice filled the silence of her empty room and with sudden clarity, Olivia sat up in bed.
"I'm jealous." Oh. My. God.
Two
"I don't love him. I love you."
Three
"I can't move."
"That's okay. We're never leaving this bed again."
Olivia smiled against the sweaty skin of Natalia belly. "Okay."
Four
"It hurts!" A pain-distorted version of Rafe's voice carried along the hospital hallways and Olivia had to fight tears as she watched him on the hospital bed, surrounded by doctors and nurses. She frantically pushed the buttons on her cell, trying to reach his mother, but once more, Natalia's phone sent her directly to voicemail.
Rafe had been helping the Coopers repair the leaky roof at Company when he'd slipped, resulting in a fall that was responsible for the open fracture of the femur. It was a bad break and Rafe had screamed during the whole ride in Buzz's car. Olivia had arrived at the hospital at the same time they did, alerted by Buzz when he couldn't reach Natalia. They should feel lucky. It was a small miracle that, apart from a few scrapes, Rafe had only suffered one broken bone. It could have been so much worse. As she watched Rafe's face distort in pain as tears were streaming down his face, Olivia couldn't appreciate their luck, though. She also couldn't help but wish that Natalia was with them.
Impatient with the doctor's response, Olivia grabbed the least useful looking nurse to get closer to Rafe. She stared at the doctor on his other side, willing him to work faster as he ordered the people around him to start an IV with pain medication. "It's alright, Rafe. It'll all be better soon." She gently put her hand on his arm, afraid that he wouldn't even feel it. Apparently he did because suddenly he grabbed her hand so hard that she wouldn't have been surprised had she heard the bones snap. She squeezed back. He looked right at her through his tears.
"Please, Mom.... Make it stop."
Five
Olivia loathed Parents' Night. She actually liked Emma's teacher well enough and Emma really got along with him as well as with all her classmates. Her little girl had no problems at school and Olivia didn't foresee any uncomfortable conversations about her Jellybean. She also liked most of the parents. At least the ones she'd met when their children had play dates. Somehow, though, during these conferences, those seemingly normal people always turned into idiots. The questions they were asking were as inane as they were unnecessary and everything took hours because every conversation had to be repeated at least once. It seemed as if these people's attention spans were worse than their children's. She looked to her left at Natalia's patient expression. It was only the slightly furrowed brows that told her that her partner's patience was rapidly growing thin.
"If we ran the Beacon like this, the guests would all run away screaming before they even reached their rooms." She watched as Natalia's lips twitched, even as she tried to convey her disapproval for Olivia's whispered commentary. She was about to respond when her phone vibrated in her hand. They'd been waiting to hear from a contractor in Indianapolis. Anxiously, Olivia waited for Natalia to let her know what the text message was about.
"I have to go." Was what Olivia got instead of an explanation. The quick whisper confused Olivia and she let her eyebrows communicate her confusion. "Everything is fine, but they want to go over the details one more time before they sent out orders. If we get this done tonight, they can start working tomorrow."
Olivia wanted to protest and go herself, but she already knew what Natalia would say and that she would lose the argument they'd have. With a sigh, she nodded. She waved at Natalia as the other woman grabbed her bag and jacket from the back of her chair. However, before she could turn towards the rest of the group and give her full attention to the animated discussion on backpack weight, Natalia leaned forward and quickly brushed her lips against Olivia's.
"I'll see you at home."
Olivia hoped her astonishment wasn't too obvious as she watched her lover walk to the door. Before Natalia vanished through the door, she smiled and actually winked at Olivia.
Only when the door fell shut behind the other woman did Olivia realize that the room had gone silent. People were either openly staring or trying so hard to look as if they weren't that it was almost comical. Olivia only raised an eyebrow.
When the teacher cleared his throat, Olivia grinned at him. He looked at everyone else for a second, daring them to speak, before he continued, "So, about those backpacks…"
The End