Trading Heartbeats

Chapter 11:

Olivia sat behind the steering column of her SUV gripping the wheel to the point her knuckles were turning white. She inhaled deeply looking up at the pretty corner house. She unclenched her hands from the steering wheel and grabbed her things before forcing herself to get out of the car. She trudged her way up the long walkway to the porch and heavy red wooden door. She shut her eyes tightly and knocked on the door. Minutes felt like hours as she waited. The door creaked open to reveal Mrs. Martin. Her eyes were bloodshot and Olivia could tell she had been crying.

"Olivia, thank you so much for stopping by. Mrs. Davis called and said you would be dropping off Spencer's assignments." She smiled weakly pulling her into a brief hug. She nodded stepping into the house offering a sympathetic smile.

"I'm so sorry, Beth." She apologized. They were interrupted by the sound of small feet trotting down the long hallway.

"Ms. Nash! Guess WHAT!?" Spencer said puffing his chest out as he crashed into her side hugging her almost making her drop the bag she had brought with her. She laughed softly ruffling his curly blonde hair with her free hand. She was glad he seemed in good spirits. She smiled down at the boy.

"There's my guy! What's up?" She asked.

"Two real-life FBI agents are here!" He exclaimed excitedly. Before Olivia had time to respond, or make the connection, he grabbed her hand and was dragging her into the kitchen. Her breath hitched at the sight of Dean, dressed in his suit, leaning against the counter with his hands in his pockets. He was laughing at something as Sam cleared his throat and nodded his head in Olivia's direction. He paled slightly as he pushed off the counter, correcting his posture. Their eyes met as she felt a wave of electric current shoot down her spine, stunning her momentarily. The silence was broken by Beth.

"Agents, I am so sorry this Spencer's teacher, Olivia Nash. She's just dropping off some of his assignments." She explained. "I hope that's not a problem."

"No, not at all," Sam said. Olivia blinked shaking her head as she set the bag on the nearest counter and started removing its contents.

"I'm sorry. I brought a pie, too." She said setting it on the counter next to the folder of assignments and the sympathy card she had brought.

"She brought pie," Sam repeated looking at Dean with what she thought was a small smirk on his face.

"Oh, you're so sweet, Olivia." Beth chimed, "Spencer and I can't possibly eat all of this, would you like a piece before you go, agents?" Sam shook his head clearing his throat. Dean began to open his mouth before getting cut off by Sam.

"No, thank you...but I believe my partner actually has a few questions for Ms. Nash." He said looking at Dean. He looked between her and Sam. She watched something unspoken pass between them before he nodded, walking toward her.

"Follow me." He directed softly walking past her through the front door leading to the large porch. She followed him outside taking in a breath of air.

"I'm sorry," She began quickly "I didn't think you'd be here and I didn't see your car." She said leaning over the porch railing to peak around the corner of the house to see his car parked around the corner. "I swear I'm not stalking you..." He chuckled quietly as she turned to face him.

"Liv, it's fine." He smiled. His eyes narrowed slightly as he returned his hands to his pockets. "Anything you can tell me about the kids Dad that Mary Sunshine might have left out?" He asked.

"Oh, um...I guess...Frank was an alcoholic." She started "He treated Beth like garbage and was in and out of Spencer's life." She said, "The only way I ever met him was at Mac's." Dean cocked an eyebrow.

"Mac's? Was he there last night?" He questioned. She shrugged.

"I wasn't really paying attention..." She trailed off a light blush coming to her cheeks. He nodded quietly, deep in thought. She continued. "Do you think this is connected to Mr. Simmons?" He looked up at her through his long eyelashes.

"I'm not supposed to say anything, but yeah. It's looking that way." Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"...So you don't think it was an animal attack, do you?" She said slowly. He shrugged.

"It's a possibility. But hey..." He took a step forward toward her. "Don't worry about this. We'll take care of this wither it's an animal or...something else." She looked up at him her eyes wide and nodded. He grabbed her hand giving it a light squeeze. He began closing the space leaning down to her she could feel his breath, their lips barely touching.

"Ms. Nash is he your boyfriend." Spencer's voice came from behind them. She gasped softly as Dean whipped around, his eyes big. She giggled softly.

"Um, no Spencer. He's a friend." She said simply. The little boy had a scowl on his face and was glaring at Dean. He nodded.

"You know you're my best guy." She said ruffling his hair. "Now go back inside and have a piece of that pie I brought. I have to go. I'll see you soon. Hmm?" He nodded hugging her waist. He glared at Dean once more before shuffling back inside. She looked up at Dean with an apologetic smile.

"He has a little crush..." She stated "He also loves The FBI. After he started watching X-Files. He wrote his "What I Want To Be" essay about being an FBI agent." She laughed looked back at Dean. He smiled.

"Kid's got good taste." He nodded looking at her. Her blush deepened as she wished she could control the effect he seemed to have on her. She swallowed taking out her keys and playing with them.

"I should get going..." She started her way down the walkway.

"Dinner?" She heard him call out from behind her. She paused before turning around slowly.

"What?" She asked. Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Um...dinner? Tonight?" He asked again quieter this time. She looked at him as he walked down the porch steps toward her. She bit her lip.

"I'm...not sure that's a good idea." She said softly as Alexis' earlier words echoed in her mind. He swallowed and nodded in understanding. She sighed biting down even harder on her lip.

"But...if you wanted to come over tonight I could make us dinner and we could watch a movie..." She offered still unsure if it was a good idea. He smiled widely at her.

"That sounds awesome." He beamed, baking up a few steps. "I'll call you when we're wrapping up." She smiled waved at him as she got closer to her car.

She watched him disappear back into the house. She climbed back into her SUV. She gripped the steering wheel resting her forehead on it as she sighed deeply.

"Dumbass." She whispered to herself.