![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Title: July 5th
Fandom: Guiding Light
Characters: Olivia Spencer, Natalia Rivera, Emma Spencer, Rafe Rivera, Blake Marler, Frank Cooper
Category: Angst, Romance, Drama
Rating: NC-17 eventually, with mostly PG-13 stuff for now.
Word count: 36,471 (total)
Summary: It's the fifth of July. What will Natalia do?
Spoilers/Timeline Spoilers for everything through July 9th. Goes off canon after that.
Disclaimer: All characters (Olivia Spencer, Natalia Rivera, blah blah etc.) and situations belong to Guiding Light, Telenext, Proctor & Gamble, etc. I'm not them.
Author's Note: A quick clarification about the timeline. I was in a hurry when I posted the dates and I goofed. I should have said that it goes off canon as of the July 6th shows, which as close as I can figure is actually the fifth of July because stuff is taking place the morning after the barbecue. Which might give a clue as to the title.
Beta: Many thanks to aimlessla for looking over this massive thing for me, pointing out plot holes and my constant comma issues.
Part One || Part Two || Part Three
Part Four
If Natalia thought about what she was going to say to Olivia for too long, panic clutched at her, sending her heart racing and leaving her palms clammy. Not to mention feeling sick to her stomach. Either morning sickness or dread. Maybe both.
The food hadn’t helped with that. Or maybe it was the long wait for the cab to get to the retreat that had left her with nothing but time on her hands, time with nothing to do but think and pace and worry, about Olivia, about Rafe and about her baby.
The long ride back to Springfield hadn’t been much better, but at least then she was moving toward something instead of standing still. Natalia hated that most of the day had already slipped by. She had felt even worse when she had retrieved her cell phone and heard Olivia’s imploring messages. Her first instinct had been to call Olivia back immediately, but then she had reconsidered. She didn’t know what the best way to tell Olivia would be, but calling her would only lead to Olivia wanting to know why she left and Natalia just couldn’t tell her over the phone.
So here she was, standing in front of the door to Olivia’s suite, as scared as she had ever been in her life.
Natalia took a deep breath and then knocked. It felt presumptuous to use her keycard now, not until she knew how Olivia would feel about her news. Everything had changed; Olivia just didn’t know it yet.
Jane opened the door with a puzzled smile. “Natalia?”
Jane wasn’t the person she had been expecting and it flustered Natalia. “Jane, I-” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “Is Olivia here?” A stupid question. Olivia rarely had Jane stay when she was home.
“No, I haven’t seen Ms. Spencer since this morning.”
“Natalia!” Emma’s cry from inside the suite brought a smile to Natalia’s face.
“Emma!” Natalia dropped to her knees as Emma ran toward her and wrapped her in a tight embrace. She stroked Emma’s hair and couldn’t believe she had ever thought running away was the answer to anything. “I’m so glad to see you!”
Emma’s little arms squeezed her back with surprising strength. “You didn’t come to the barbecue yesterday. Mommy said something must have happened if you didn’t come, but she didn’t know what. I think she was sad. I missed you for the three-legged race. James and Daddy won, but I think we could have beaten them. Don’t you think so?”
“Of course, we could have,” Natalia said staunchly. She took a deep breath and pressed a kiss to the top of Emma’s head. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come to the barbecue, Emma. Do you think you can forgive me for missing it?”
“Of course,” Emma said with a bright smile that dimmed a little bit in the next moment. “I wish you’d been there though. We had to leave early and we missed the fireworks.”
“I’m sorry, Em,” Natalia said softly, biting her lip, hating that she had ruined Emma’s holiday on top of everything else. She knew how much the little girl had been looking forward to the festivities.
Emma shrugged, brushing it off with her natural resilience. “It’s okay. I had fun anyway.” Her grin turned mischievous. “We had the best water fight. I hit Bill and James, but then James got all mad because I got him wet.”
Natalia laughed softly. She could imagine the young Spaulding’s offended sensibilities. It probably hadn’t helped that it was his little sister who had nailed him with the water balloon. Her laughter faded. Despite how much she was enjoying talking to Emma, the need to find Olivia hadn’t faded.
“I want you to tell me all about it, Emma, but I need to find your mommy. I have to tell her something.” Natalia looked up at Jane. “Do you know where she is today?”
“No. I haven’t seen Ms. Spencer since she left this morning. Although she did ask if I would mind staying late.”
“Okay,” Natalia said, brushing a few stray hairs behind Emma’s ear. “Thank you, Jane. I’ll just keep looking. Will you call me if she comes back?”
“Of course,” Jane said.
*** *** ***
Finding Olivia was not that easy, Natalia realized. She had gone to Towers first, running into Josh on the way and asking him if he had seen Olivia since the barbecue, but he hadn’t. Natalia had tried the grocery store, gas station, dry cleaners and any other place she could think of.
Company was last on her list. She didn’t think Olivia would want to see any Coopers today. In her desperation, she was even going by Doris’ office. It was more or less on her way to Company from the dry cleaners. She hadn’t thought much beyond seeing Olivia when she got back into town, so she’d had the driver drop her off directly at the Beacon. Unfortunately Olivia hadn’t been there and her search was taking much longer on foot.
Natalia stuck her head in the door. It was open and Doris’ secretary had sent her on back; it wasn’t like she was intruding. She knocked lightly on the door frame to get Doris’ attention.
“Ms. Rivera,” Doris leaned back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest. “What can I do for you?”
The last time Natalia had been in this office, she and Olivia had blackmailed Doris into getting Phillip’s trial date moved up. How things had changed. Things with Phillip were almost friendly; she and Olivia had admitted how they felt about each other; and she was carrying Frank’s baby. If anyone had told her where her life would be the last time she stood in this office, she would never have believed them.
“I was wondering if you’d seen Olivia?”
Doris snorted. “You let her slip away so soon? I thought you’d have her chained to the bed in that big old farmhouse of yours today.”
Natalia winced. “Um, I... There was... I mean...” She fumbled to a stop. “So you haven’t seen her?”
“No,” Doris said slowly, as she straightened and rose from behind her desk. “Trouble in paradise? Olivia was practically glowing in Company the other day.” For reasons Doris couldn’t explain, Natalia roused a protective instinct in her where Olivia was concerned.
“It’s nothing,” Natalia said quickly. “I just need to find her.”
“Have you tried calling her? I mean, before you came to my office and interrupted my busy day?”
“No,” Natalia shook her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I just thought she might have... It doesn’t matter. I’ll go.”
Doris watched her leave, thumping her pen contemplatively against her desk. It was true that she did have work waiting on her, but it was nothing that couldn’t wait a few more minutes. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Olivia’s number.
There was no answer and eventually Doris was kicked over to Olivia’s voicemail. She contemplated just hanging up for a moment and then decided against it. “Spencer. Your girlfriend just paid me a very strange visit. Everything, all right?”
Doris hung up without another word. She wasn’t usually a meddler. People tended to take it as an invitation to get involved in her private life in return, which was really the last thing that she wanted. But in for a penny, in for a pound. She had already stalled a wedding to give Olivia a chance with Natalia. A little phone call had to be harmless compared to that.
Anyway, that was Doris’ story and she was sticking to it.
Fandom: Guiding Light
Characters: Olivia Spencer, Natalia Rivera, Emma Spencer, Rafe Rivera, Blake Marler, Frank Cooper
Category: Angst, Romance, Drama
Rating: NC-17 eventually, with mostly PG-13 stuff for now.
Word count: 36,471 (total)
Summary: It's the fifth of July. What will Natalia do?
Spoilers/Timeline Spoilers for everything through July 9th. Goes off canon after that.
Disclaimer: All characters (Olivia Spencer, Natalia Rivera, blah blah etc.) and situations belong to Guiding Light, Telenext, Proctor & Gamble, etc. I'm not them.
Author's Note: A quick clarification about the timeline. I was in a hurry when I posted the dates and I goofed. I should have said that it goes off canon as of the July 6th shows, which as close as I can figure is actually the fifth of July because stuff is taking place the morning after the barbecue. Which might give a clue as to the title.
Beta: Many thanks to aimlessla for looking over this massive thing for me, pointing out plot holes and my constant comma issues.
Part One || Part Two || Part Three
Part Four
If Natalia thought about what she was going to say to Olivia for too long, panic clutched at her, sending her heart racing and leaving her palms clammy. Not to mention feeling sick to her stomach. Either morning sickness or dread. Maybe both.
The food hadn’t helped with that. Or maybe it was the long wait for the cab to get to the retreat that had left her with nothing but time on her hands, time with nothing to do but think and pace and worry, about Olivia, about Rafe and about her baby.
The long ride back to Springfield hadn’t been much better, but at least then she was moving toward something instead of standing still. Natalia hated that most of the day had already slipped by. She had felt even worse when she had retrieved her cell phone and heard Olivia’s imploring messages. Her first instinct had been to call Olivia back immediately, but then she had reconsidered. She didn’t know what the best way to tell Olivia would be, but calling her would only lead to Olivia wanting to know why she left and Natalia just couldn’t tell her over the phone.
So here she was, standing in front of the door to Olivia’s suite, as scared as she had ever been in her life.
Natalia took a deep breath and then knocked. It felt presumptuous to use her keycard now, not until she knew how Olivia would feel about her news. Everything had changed; Olivia just didn’t know it yet.
Jane opened the door with a puzzled smile. “Natalia?”
Jane wasn’t the person she had been expecting and it flustered Natalia. “Jane, I-” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “Is Olivia here?” A stupid question. Olivia rarely had Jane stay when she was home.
“No, I haven’t seen Ms. Spencer since this morning.”
“Natalia!” Emma’s cry from inside the suite brought a smile to Natalia’s face.
“Emma!” Natalia dropped to her knees as Emma ran toward her and wrapped her in a tight embrace. She stroked Emma’s hair and couldn’t believe she had ever thought running away was the answer to anything. “I’m so glad to see you!”
Emma’s little arms squeezed her back with surprising strength. “You didn’t come to the barbecue yesterday. Mommy said something must have happened if you didn’t come, but she didn’t know what. I think she was sad. I missed you for the three-legged race. James and Daddy won, but I think we could have beaten them. Don’t you think so?”
“Of course, we could have,” Natalia said staunchly. She took a deep breath and pressed a kiss to the top of Emma’s head. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come to the barbecue, Emma. Do you think you can forgive me for missing it?”
“Of course,” Emma said with a bright smile that dimmed a little bit in the next moment. “I wish you’d been there though. We had to leave early and we missed the fireworks.”
“I’m sorry, Em,” Natalia said softly, biting her lip, hating that she had ruined Emma’s holiday on top of everything else. She knew how much the little girl had been looking forward to the festivities.
Emma shrugged, brushing it off with her natural resilience. “It’s okay. I had fun anyway.” Her grin turned mischievous. “We had the best water fight. I hit Bill and James, but then James got all mad because I got him wet.”
Natalia laughed softly. She could imagine the young Spaulding’s offended sensibilities. It probably hadn’t helped that it was his little sister who had nailed him with the water balloon. Her laughter faded. Despite how much she was enjoying talking to Emma, the need to find Olivia hadn’t faded.
“I want you to tell me all about it, Emma, but I need to find your mommy. I have to tell her something.” Natalia looked up at Jane. “Do you know where she is today?”
“No. I haven’t seen Ms. Spencer since she left this morning. Although she did ask if I would mind staying late.”
“Okay,” Natalia said, brushing a few stray hairs behind Emma’s ear. “Thank you, Jane. I’ll just keep looking. Will you call me if she comes back?”
“Of course,” Jane said.
*** *** ***
Finding Olivia was not that easy, Natalia realized. She had gone to Towers first, running into Josh on the way and asking him if he had seen Olivia since the barbecue, but he hadn’t. Natalia had tried the grocery store, gas station, dry cleaners and any other place she could think of.
Company was last on her list. She didn’t think Olivia would want to see any Coopers today. In her desperation, she was even going by Doris’ office. It was more or less on her way to Company from the dry cleaners. She hadn’t thought much beyond seeing Olivia when she got back into town, so she’d had the driver drop her off directly at the Beacon. Unfortunately Olivia hadn’t been there and her search was taking much longer on foot.
Natalia stuck her head in the door. It was open and Doris’ secretary had sent her on back; it wasn’t like she was intruding. She knocked lightly on the door frame to get Doris’ attention.
“Ms. Rivera,” Doris leaned back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest. “What can I do for you?”
The last time Natalia had been in this office, she and Olivia had blackmailed Doris into getting Phillip’s trial date moved up. How things had changed. Things with Phillip were almost friendly; she and Olivia had admitted how they felt about each other; and she was carrying Frank’s baby. If anyone had told her where her life would be the last time she stood in this office, she would never have believed them.
“I was wondering if you’d seen Olivia?”
Doris snorted. “You let her slip away so soon? I thought you’d have her chained to the bed in that big old farmhouse of yours today.”
Natalia winced. “Um, I... There was... I mean...” She fumbled to a stop. “So you haven’t seen her?”
“No,” Doris said slowly, as she straightened and rose from behind her desk. “Trouble in paradise? Olivia was practically glowing in Company the other day.” For reasons Doris couldn’t explain, Natalia roused a protective instinct in her where Olivia was concerned.
“It’s nothing,” Natalia said quickly. “I just need to find her.”
“Have you tried calling her? I mean, before you came to my office and interrupted my busy day?”
“No,” Natalia shook her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I just thought she might have... It doesn’t matter. I’ll go.”
Doris watched her leave, thumping her pen contemplatively against her desk. It was true that she did have work waiting on her, but it was nothing that couldn’t wait a few more minutes. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Olivia’s number.
There was no answer and eventually Doris was kicked over to Olivia’s voicemail. She contemplated just hanging up for a moment and then decided against it. “Spencer. Your girlfriend just paid me a very strange visit. Everything, all right?”
Doris hung up without another word. She wasn’t usually a meddler. People tended to take it as an invitation to get involved in her private life in return, which was really the last thing that she wanted. But in for a penny, in for a pound. She had already stalled a wedding to give Olivia a chance with Natalia. A little phone call had to be harmless compared to that.
Anyway, that was Doris’ story and she was sticking to it.
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From:
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Natalia definitely has her work cut out for her when she finds Olivia.
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Natalia, trust your instincts, that will lead you to Olivia...hint....hint....try the farmhouse! She's probably there out in the field someplace balling and raging to the Gods!
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Well, that is ominous sounding. hee! This is me, eagerly awaiting the next installment. :D
From:
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Natalia, head home to the farmhouse. There you shall find Olivia.