Protection {A Bensler Fanfiction}

13

Olivia breathed heavily as she gripped onto a fence post. Even if Agent Ford told her it was fine to move on, she didn't know if she was ready. There was a life she was no longer a part of in Miami, and thinking about marrying Elliot and starting a life with him was scary.

"Olivia?" Elliot asked as he stood on the back porch and scanned the darkened backyard.

"Who are you looking for?" Elliot's father asked as he walked away from the bonfire, where he and a few friends sat.

"My girlfriend, Olivia. She came running out here," Elliot frowned.

"That girl?" Joseph asked as he pointed towards the far corner of the backyard. Elliot squinted as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, that's Olivia," Elliot frowned, as he stepped away from his father and walked to Olivia.

When he reached Olivia's side, she was trying to clean tears from her cheeks with quaking hands. 

"Babe," Elliot frowned, his hand moving to the small of Olivia's back.

"I-I didn't think you'd propose tonight," Olivia whimpered.

"Liv-"

"No! You said if we'd been together longer, you'd ask me to get married! A few days aren't much longer than when we talked about it!" Olivia exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Liv... I thought we were on the same page..." Elliot frowned.

"We are far from the same page... We aren't even on the same chapter," Olivia sniffled. Elliot nodded weakly as he reached out to Olivia.

"I'm so sorry, Olivia. Let's go home and we can talk about this."

"N-No... I need space, El. I'm going to call a cab and go home," Olivia sniffled, as she quickly walked from Elliot and back towards the house.

"What happened?" Joseph questioned once his son wandered back to the house.

"I tried to propose, and she said no," Elliot breathed.

///

Olivia opened her front door early the next morning, her eyes still puffy from crying. Agent Ford passed Olivia a bag and a to-go cup without even greeting her.

"What is this for?" She asked, her voice hoarse.

"I saw the texts from Elliot," Ford replied.

"So you know he proposed, and I panicked... Great," Olivia grumbled.

"You were in an abusive relationship, Olivia. Moving on is hard, especially since you have a husband and two kids in Florida," Ford frowned.

"How can I marry someone when I haven't been completely honest with him? What will happen when it comes time to have a baby, and I have to pretend like it's my first time? Or what about moving in together?" 

"It'll be hard, but you are strong and can figure it out," Ford replied. Olivia took a shaky breath as her phone buzzed on the coffee table. She sat her bag and cup beside her phone before grabbing her phone and reading a text from Elliot.

"He wants to come over and talk."

"Say yes," Ford spoke.

"Why? If I get married, do you stop protecting me?"

"No, I will be keeping an eye on you until we arrest Hugo and put him in prison. But I want you to be happy. It's hard to watch you suffering so much," Ford frowned, as Olivia's phone buzzed again. 

"It might take more than talking to Elliot to make me happy."

///

Elliot came over that evening with take-out for dinner. He tried his hardest to avoid touching Olivia, but he was worried that if he went in for a hug, she'd get overwhelmed again.

"I'm sorry for making a scene last night."

"It's my fault, Liv. Not yours. If I hadn't proposed, we wouldn't be in this awkward position," Elliot frowned.

"Why did you propose? I thought you wanted to wait, but obviously I was wrong," Olivia sighed softly, as she played with the pasta on her plate.

"I haven't felt this way before... I'm madly in love with you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Elliot replied.

"We can spend the rest of our lives together as boyfriend and girlfriend," Olivia breathed, and Elliot nodded.

"Yes, we could," Elliot replied plainly. Olivia swallowed hard because she knew Elliot wanted to be more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. He wanted to be her husband and for them to start a family together. She had seen him scrolling through baby items before, but he hadn't asked for them to throw protection out the window and start trying.

"But you don't want that," Olivia frowned.

"Liv-"

"Elliot, I've had a rough year. I was in an abusive relationship, moved to a new place, and got a new job. Life is overwhelming, and I'm not ready to get married yet. I still love you, but I'd understand if you no longer want to be with me," Olivia breathed.

Elliot sat his fork down as he leaned back in his chair.

"I'm not going to throw away what we have built. I rushed too far ahead, and now it's time to relax and just enjoy being the man you love. We can date for a while and then figure out what our next step is," Elliot replied.

"Like babies," Olivia whispered.

"What?"

"I've seen you looking at baby clothes and toys. Your siblings don't have babies," Olivia replied.

"Okay, so yeah, I'd love kids. Yet I don't think we should have any, since you aren't even ready to get married yet," Elliot snapped. 

Olivia looked at him with wide eyes, as she saw regret mask his expression.

"Olivia, I'm sorry," Elliot apologized again.

"I think you should leave," Olivia spoke.

"Liv-"

"Please, just go. We can talk again soon, just not right now. We both need time to cool off, especially since you aren't as okay about this as you try to seem," Olivia interrupted.