More Adventures With an Unbiological Family: An NCIS Fanfic (Book Three)

Seven

Four months later

Liv POV

It was about four months after the surgery that I was really back to normal, and just in time, too. We had been assigned to handle security at a ball that SecNav was hosting. I was getting dressed and putting my earwig in. As I walked out of my bedroom, Sean was walking past, but stopped in his tracks.

"You look amazing." he said. "Absolutely stunning."

"Oh, you're making me blush." I said. I was in an emerald green floor length gown. It had a fitted bodice, and the skirt was chiffon and the top bit had short sleeves and it was lacy. And the best part? Pockets. The dress had pockets, which meant I could still have my phone on me. Plus, since the skirt was so flowy, I had plenty of room for my thigh holster.

"You don't look too shabby yourself, you know." I told Sean. He looked handsome as ever in his tux and perfectly polished shoes. I was wearing simple flat sandals, because I had been pretty bad at walking in heels even before the accident. I tried heels with my prosthetic once and vowed never to do it again. My usual shoes of choice were sneakers and combat boots.

"I do have one question." Sean said. I looked at him expectantly. "How are you gonna run in that if we end up having to chase someone down?" I grinned.

"Don't you know?" I asked. Sean looked at me strangely. "We military chicks can run in anything. Besides, I'm wearing flat sandals." I said.

"You are full of surprises, Olivia Reynolds." Sean said.

"I try my hardest, Sean O'Sullivan." I said. Then I sighed. "I can't wait to be Olivia Reynolds-O'Sullivan."

"Quite a mouthful." Sean said.

"I know." I said, laughing. "The thought of not sharing a last name with my brothers is too strange. Besides, I've never been one for alliteration, and Olivia O'Sullivan is a prime example of too much alliteration."

"Can't say I disagree." Sean said. "Now, shall we get going?" he asked, holding his arm out to me. I took his elbow.

"We shall." I said. "Let's go."

When we got to the ball, Tony, Ziva, McGee, and Gibbs were all waiting outside. Ziva was in a dress similar to mine, but strapless, and a beautiful navy blue instead of emerald green.

"Liv, your hair is beautiful!" Ziva exclaimed as Sean and I walked up.

"Oh, thank you!" I said. I had left most of it down, but I had taken a few bits from either side and braided them, then wound the braids into a sort of updo, with the braids winding and twisting through themselves. "You look absolutely amazing!" I told Ziva. "And you boys clean up pretty nice." I said.

"Well don't you all look lovely." came SecNav's voice from behind us. "Come in, I want you all in here before guests start arriving."

We followed SecNav through his home into a grand ballroom.

"Wow." I breathed. "It's gorgeous."

"It's nice, isn't it?" said SecNav.

I nodded.

"Nothing better explode. Nobody better shoot us. I want an injury-free job for once." Tony said.

"Yeah." I said. I couldn't help but think of what one more major injury would do to me. Gibbs must have read my mind.

"You watch out for yourself, Liv." he said. "I don't think any of us can take you getting injured again."

I walked over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Don't worry." I told him, squeezing his elbow. "I'll be fine."

I went back over to Sean and pushed a stray hair off his forehead.

"You really need to get control over this hair of yours." I told him.

"Oh, you mean like you?" Sean asked, smirking.

"Hey, at least I try to do things with my hair! I get it up and out of my face every day, don't I?" I protested.

"You guys done?" Tony asked. "Guests are starting to arrive."

"For now." Sean said, smirking. I just rolled my eyes.

Tony's wish came true, and the rest of the night was pretty calm. We did have to send Tony to check out a sketchy dude who spent forever in the bathroom, but it turned out he just needed a nap. I narrowly avoided a panic attack when a crowd started to close in as a large group of people arrived, but I pushed my way to the bathroom and calmed myself down just in time.

When we got home, Sean closed the door, then turned around slowly. When he looked at me, his eyes were full of concern.

"You had another panic attack tonight, didn't you?" I nodded.

"But I handled it." I assured him.

"You've been having more lately. I can tell." Sean said. "I'm worried."

"I knew you would be." I said. "Which is why I had an idea." Sean looked at me quizzically. "I know we already have three dogs, but what would you think about me getting a service dog? I could get one that could do some of the work of a K-9 officer, but also one that helps me cope with my PTSD and minor anxiety."

"I think that's a fantastic idea." Sean said. "So much so, that I actually already applied for one a couple weeks ago. They emailed me and said they have the perfect dog. He's a Pitbull-Australian Shepherd mix, and he's done training in a few days. They had been training him for someone else who needed a K-9 officer and a support dog, but she passed away in the line of duty about a month ago. So now, he's yours!" Sean told me.

"My slight annoyance that you did that without telling me is incredibly outweighed by how excited I am to get such a perfect service dog!" I said. "Although, that's so terrible that the officer died. What was her name?" I asked.

"Detective Louise Shelton." Sean said. I made a mental note to find out where she was buried.

Sean was silent for a moment.

"I know what'll really make you happy." he said.

"What?" I asked, looking expectantly at him.

"The woman that I emailed back and forth with said you can go meet the dog tomorrow."

"Really?" I asked. "That's great! When?"

"At noon. I already let Gibbs know, he's letting us leave early to go meet the dog." Sean said.

"Wow. You really think of everything." I said, kissing Sean. "Now let's get to bed. It's late and I'm exhausted. My prosthetic is starting to rub." Sean promptly lifted me up and carried me bridal style to the bedroom. 

"Thank you very much." I said, laughing, as Sean set me down on our bed. "Now unzip me please?" I asked. 

The next fifteen minutes were spent getting pajamas on and teeth brushed and climbing into bed. 

As we got comfortable and snuggled up to each other, Sean brought up the wedding. 

"We should really get to planning our wedding." he said. I nodded. 

"It really shouldn't be too hard. Just friends and family, maybe a beach wedding- no, I don't do well on sand with my prosthetic here. Let's stick to indoors. How about-" 

"Hey, I didn't mean right now." Sean interrupted. "Now is the time for snuggling until we fall asleep." So snuggle we did, but it didn't take long for both of us to pass out. 

The last thing I thought about before I went to bed was the service dog I would get, and how I ought to take him to visit Detective Shelton and tell her how her dog was doing.