Better Circumstances

Chapter Two

It was nearing ten when Olivia Benson crossed the threshold into her Manhattan apartment. There was a giddy smile on her face, and her skin was tingling from just the simple touch of his hand two hours ago, when he first approached her in the bar.

They had treated this meeting as a new start – a reintroduction to one another – this time under much better circumstances. It was tonight that she got to know a little more about the man that was Edgar Pierce – he was a family man: no kids himself but two nieces that he adored as if they were his own, a sister in Connecticut that was his best friend, and his beloved parents whom lived in a luxurious senior village in Florida. She learned that he was funny; his light jokes and wit that matched hers lightened the mood and extinguished nerves. She learned that he was interesting and very insightful, seeing aspects of the world from a different perspective that made her think deeper. The lawyer and police officer were gone tonight; they had just been two patrons in a bar, talking for two hours about any and everything until they finally decided that they should part ways for the evening.

Edgar had boldly asked for her phone number tonight as well; "I would like to call you sometime, if that's okay with you of course" were his exact words. She tried not to seem so eager, but she knew he probably saw the way her hands were shaking slightly as she typed her number into his phone, but if he did see it, he didn't acknowledge such. He simply smiled at her and told her he would call her or text her, and after walking her to her car, he disappeared to his own car.

She had thought about him the whole ride home and was still thinking about him now.

So much more she longed to know about Edgar Pierce, but she wouldn't rush this. They were just going with the flow. Tonight, was one night in a bar. He hadn't even properly asked her out and who even knew if that was crossing his mind? For once, she actually just wanted to see what could happen.

But it damn sure bothered her that she couldn't have control over this or see what in the world was to come.

"Just go with the flow, Olivia." She thought to herself.

Within the next hour, she had showered and changed into some leggings and a t-shirt to wear to bed. She quickly shot a text to Lucy, only to be told that Noah had been enjoying his sleepover with Lucy's little brother and that they were sleeping now. Olivia thanked the young girl again and told her she'd come get Noah tomorrow after work, then put her phone aside before climbing into bed. She mentally thought about the paperwork that awaited her the following day, and she shuddered at the thought. Perhaps Friday wouldn't be horrible and perhaps she would get a good weekend without the thought of a case looming over her head.

She had just turned onto her side and closed her eyes to attempt to sleep, when her phone buzzed on the table. She rolled over and grabbed it, and her eyebrow arched in curiosity when she saw an unsaved number was now texting her. She had a feeling about who it was, leading her to swipe her finger across the screen to fully open the message;

'11:03pm – Olivia Benson...still just as stunning as Lamai said you were.'

She giggled, feeling this warm giddy feeling consume her as she read the message. She knew exactly who this was; she should've known he would waste no time in texting her. She locked his number in – Edgar P – then rapidly text back;

'11:04pm – Glad to have met you again tonight under much better circumstances, counselor.'

Beep beep.

'11:05pm – Me too'

'11:05pm – Had a wonderful time with you tonight, Captain'

She could not stop smiling right now. She hadn't smiled like this in a long time and after the shit show few months – well, the shit show year, or the shit show few years – it was a welcome change to be smiling like this.

'11:06pm – I had a wonderful time with you as well, counselor.'

'11:07pm – Perhaps this won't be the last time?'

Olivia's heart pretty much leapt into her throat at this point. Edgar had pretty much just opened the door for another chance to see each other again, and while that made her nervous beyond measures, it also made her feel extremely giddy. She didn't have any red flags going up about him – especially after he went through the trouble to come and apologize for his stance on the case and so much – so she just wondered if maybe, just maybe, this was something she had been waiting for.

She took a deep breath, then tapped away at her screen as she replied;

11:08pm - Perhaps not.'

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The next few days passed in an uneventful blur; Olivia was able to get through Friday without incident and the weekend was pretty uneventful as well. After she collected Noah from Lucy's house on Friday, she and him pretty much spent the whole weekend doing next to nothing other than a trip to the grocery store, to the park, to the basketball court as Noah had been on about playing basketball, and then finally they spontaneously went to the movies on Sunday as Noah had been on about wanting to go to the movies too. Olivia cherished these moments with her son. He was growing up too fast and growing more independent with each passing day it seemed, so she cherished the moments where he wanted nothing more than to hang out with the woman he deemed as his favorite person – his mother.

In addition to hanging out with Noah, Olivia had also been speaking with Edgar off and on throughout the weekend. They were still learning about each other and finding things they had in common, which was great of course. It felt strangely easy to just talk to him about various topics and it was nice for once to not be engaged in a one-sided boring ass conversation that didn't make her think so deeply. Edgar was a nice change from her normal hustle and bustle of life that simply involved work and her son; she found herself more and more eager to talk to him with each message they exchanged and honestly, she just couldn't wait to be in his presence again.

Monday rolled in again and started off pretty slow yet again. A couple small things here and there rolled in but nothing that required extensive investigation, which meant the day wasn't as irritating as a normal Monday would be. By late morning, Olivia was in the midst of sending emails to folks down at One Police Plaza, when she was suddenly distracted by her phone buzzing to life. She glanced at the screen as it lit up, and she instantly smiled when she saw his name come across her screen;

Edgar P.

'11:53am – Captain, are you free to go to lunch?'

She softly bit her lip. So here it was; he was wanting to see her again. An innocent lunch wouldn't hurt of course, but perhaps she wouldn't give in so easily.

'11:54am – I might be.'

'11:55am- What does that mean?'

'11:56am – Well Counselor, it simply means that I might be free. I am a very busy person you know.'

'11:57am – Yet you are responding rapidly to these messages, so are you really busy or are you toying with me?'

'11:58am – Touché. But in my defense, I have tons of paperwork to do.'

'11:59am – Could it possibly wait until later?'

'12:00pm – Perhaps'

'12:01pm – Captain Benson...'

'12:02pm – Yes Counselor?'

'12:03pm – Don't make me beg. I just want to take you to lunch, please?'

Olivia let out a little laugh and shook her head. She loved this little game of course, but she did have to admit that she was hungry. Besides, it would be nice to see Edgar again, and an innocent lunch never hurt anyone.

So, what the hell?

She closed her laptop with one hand while texting back with the other;

'12:04pm – Text me the address; I'll meet you in ten minutes'