"Ollie! Ollie! Ollie! Olivia! Olivia Bloom!"

    "Evan Buckley." Ollie sing-songed in annoyance from her place in the kitchen, setting down her coffee and looking up just as the man made his way through the threshold, a bag of something greasy in his hand. "Oh, breakfast?"

    He nodded, setting it down on the island. "Yes, but not the reason for me calling your name. Bobby and Athena got engaged. They are also throwing a party for Christmas. I know you don't do anything for Christmas, but I wanted to know if you wanted to go? It'll just be me, you, Hen, Hen's family, Bobby, Athena and their family."

    A soft hum left her lips as she grabbed the bag, unrolling the top and dipping her hand in to pull out one of the breakfast sandwiches. "You know, you just mentioned a lot of people like it wouldn't be that many people." Taking a bite, she let out a soft sigh, leaning her elbows on the counter. "Did Captain Nash even invite me? Or are you just gonna show up with me on your arm and let me lounge awkwardly in the corner?"

    Grabbing his own breakfast, he slid into one of the stools tucked underneath the island. "Come on, Ollie, this is off the clock, he's Bobby. And, yes, actually, he did invite you. He knows I'm staying here and has never heard you talking about family, so he drew conclusions. Plus, he has been on your ass about molding with the station more. Apparently, me, Eddie and Chimney are not enough."

    "Does he know I'm not the King of England and I don't need to wave hands at everyone that is in my presence?" Ollie scoffed, plucking a crumb off of the countertop in front of her and flicking it somewhere on the floor.

    Buck groaned, leaning forward to grip at her forearms. "Olliiiee. Please go with me. I cannot sit there around a bunch of families and do absolutely nothing but smile and chat with people either a decade older or a decade younger than me." He pleaded, eyes widening into a puppy-dog look as he looked up at her.

    She stared back at him coldly for a second before rolling her eyes. "I'm saying yes because I'm assuming there will be alcohol, not because you just gave me the worst puppy eyes I've ever seen. Thank you for the breakfast. Knock on my door when I need to start getting ready." She hummed, turning and walking out of the kitchen.

    Hours later, just before sunset, Ollie stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, hand smoothing along the front of the dress she had chosen. She knew that no one there would be wearing anything quite as professional, but she couldn't fight off the nerves swimming in her stomach. Being around people never frightened her, she didn't care what they thought – but being around people who invited her while barely knowing her was the most intense pressure she ever felt.

    She had spent the past hour trying clothes on, only to toss them onto her bed once she decided they were either too lax or too fancy. With a groan, she decided to just stick with the dress, sliding on some shoes quickly before grabbing her phone and slipping out of her bedroom door.

    "Evan. You ready?" Ollie asked as she stepped into the living room, ignoring the small clack of her shoes against the hardwood floors and the way it spiked her anxiety about how people would see her. She pushed down the nerves in her stomach with the condolence that she'd probably end up taking them off within the first hour, turning the corner to look at the man sitting on her couch.

    Buck seemed to wear the same thing every time he went out. A patterned or pretty jacket, a plain shirt, nice jeans and expensive shoes, usually in the color white. Out loud, she always joked with him that he didn't own anything but cool jackets. In her brain, everything turned to flames and screaming. His words muddled in her brain as he stood up, but she brushed it away by the time he made his way towards the front door, his keys in hand.

    Surprisingly, it didn't take long for them to arrive at Athena's house, even after stopping to grab wine and eggnog. In the car, Ollie picked at her nails until the skin around her cuticles was irritated and red, pulling down her dress even when it sat at a perfect length. Butterflies fluttered in her gut and she didn't know if they were from the nerves of interacting with other people or the fact that Buck kept sneaking glances her way every time the road opened up or they were at a stoplight.

    She hopped out of the Jeep as soon as it stopped, hands smoothing down her dress yet again as she rounded the corner. Her head raised to see Buck staring at her with his hands on his hips, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "What is it?"

    "You really need to start letting me open your door." He deadpanned, his face unfortunately extremely serious.

    "We are not on a date, Evan."

    "I didn't know I had to be on a date to be a gentleman." He retorted, grabbing both of their gifts in his hands before holding out his elbow to her in a dramatic gesture. A bright smile donned his face when her hand curled alongside the inside of his elbow, holding onto him as she let him lead her up to the door.

    Athena opened the door almost right after Buck knocked, her face bright with a smile. "Merry Christmas!" She greeted them.

   If Ollie didn't already know that Nash had proposed to her, she could sense it just based off of the joy radiating off of the woman. Her shoulders were relaxed, her eyes were alight with pure joy, her smile was nothing but genuine – she was a woman in love.

    If Ollie was a horrible person, she'd be jealous. Surprise, surprise - she was jealous.

    "Ah, thanks for inviting us!" Buck immediately responded, stepping inside as Ollie's hands fell from his elbow so that she could follow behind him. "I brought Christmas and I bought congratulations." He held up each of the drinks in his hands in turn.

    Ollie awkwardly hung around until Athena's eyes finally diverted to her, moving forward to wrap her arms around her in a hug. "Oh, Ollie, glad you could make it. Way better to see you in circumstances that don't involve Buck being high." She noted.

    The memory brought a laugh out of her lips, shaking her head. "But unfortunately, still with Buck." She noted, her lips slanting as she looked over at the man beside her, his face contorting into one of mock hurt.

    Athena laughed back at her joke, before she turned to Evan again. "Well, you two are always welcome. Maddie didn't want to come celebrate with us?"

    "I think this year she needed a different kind of Christmas." He kindly explained. Ollie admired the way he handled the situation with grace, smiling softly as Athena invited them into the rest of the house, following obediently behind Evan, who definitely had more rapport with everybody in the room than she did.

    Hen and Bobby called out to Ollie when they noticed she had come with, both seeming really excited to have her there and get to know her outside of work. Buck sat down on an armchair, patting the arm of it to direct her to sit beside him before immediately hopping into conversation with Hen, her wife Karen and Athena's ex-husband's boyfriend... which was a very hard thing to say.

    She listened to the conversation, for the most part, laughing at appropriate times and becoming more relaxed as time went on. Every once in a while, she could feel Buck's eyes brush against her cheek, looking down at him just to receive a smile in return. The entire night, she kept refilling the glass in her hand, keeping her on the perfect teetering edge of tipsy and too far gone.

    Dinner was fully cooked by Bobby, meaning that it was absolutely amazing. Afterwards, Ollie offered to help clean up, carrying the dishes to the sink as some people relocated to outside. She felt a presence over her shoulder that caused her to turn around, a friendly grin pulling at her lips as she saw Hen. "Hey."

    "Hey." The other woman responded, placing her own dishes in the sink before leaning against the counter. "How are you enjoying your first Athena and Bobby-hosted dinner?"

    Ollie chuckled softly, rinsing off the dishes before shutting off the tap, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "I'm having fun. A lot to learn about everyone." Her brow raised, grabbing her glass and pulling it to her lips again.

    "Like you're not the most secretive person in the station." Hen shot back good-heartedly, a chuckle pulling itself out of her lips. "Not to alarm you, but there's a bet going around on you and Buck."

    Her eyebrows reached her hairline in surprise, her head whipping around. "What? On what? How long will it take me to kill him?" She snorted, acting as oblivious as she could and taking another healthy sip of her drink.

    Hen shook her head. "There is not much of a difference between hate and love, Bloom." She responded wistfully, a hand reaching out to pat her shoulder as she stepped away.

    Ollie watched her walk out of the house, a heavy sigh exiting her nose. Just as she finished her glass, Buck made his way back through the sliding doors, stepping into the kitchen in a few large steps. "Hey. You okay?" He asked, brow furrowing. "I noticed you haven't joined everyone outside. Is this too much?"

    "No, no." She reassured, raising her hand to brush the statement off. "I've been having fun, Evan. Just taking a quick break."

    His eyes searched hers for a second before he smiled, tilting his head. "Do you want to go home?"

    Her nose scrunched at the idea that he knew her so well, staring sternly at him for a second before letting out a soft sigh, shoulders falling. "Yes, please. I'm exhausted."

    Buck laughed, reaching out to slide a hand across her shoulder blades, squeezing the back of her neck reassuringly. "Let's say goodbye and then we'll head out." He gave her a quick smile and one more squeeze before slipping away, fingers trailing intoxicatingly down her arm as he led the way outside.

    Ollie followed him in somewhat of a trance, plastering a smile on her face the minute he spoke up about them leaving. She mumbled 'nice to meet you's and 'thank you's as she hugged Athena, Hen and Karen goodbye, giving small waves to the rest before hightailing it behind Buck as he made his way out of the house.

    Their car ride was, again, silent. Buck was respecting Ollie's low social battery, humming along quietly to the song playing from his Bluetooth. One hand sat posed on the steering wheel while another lay on the gearshift, although the fingers on both hands thrummed to the beat of the song at the same time.

    She kept sneaking glances his way the entire way home, much to her disdain, admiring the way the sunset coming from the front of the car lit up his entire self, basking him in a golden glow. It was almost criminal, how stunning of a person he was, both inside and out. It was even worse that she knew the opportunities laid out between them and yet couldn't allow herself to indulge.

    Her dream world was pulled away from her by the clunk of the gearshift pulling the car into park, her hand rubbing at her eyes as she unclicked her seatbelt. Her hand moved towards the door handle only for her arm to be grabbed, her head whipping around to see Buck's serious face. "What?"

    "Let me open your door." He stubbornly responded.

    Ollie let out a long groan as he got out of the car, jogging over to her side before she could even fully twist her body. Once he opened the door, she stepped out gracefully, shaking her head as she looked up at him. To her surprise, he was looking right back down at her, a playful smile dancing on his lips. "Stop thinking whatever you're thinking, Buckley."

    "Mm, you don't know what I'm thinking, Bloom."

    "You want to kiss me." She brazenly responded, stepping forward and laying a hand on his chest. "And you are not going to kiss me."

    A small chuckle left his lips, causing his chest to rumble beneath her hand. "You sound so sure about that."

    Rolling her eyes, she stood up taller on her tippy toes, lips brushing against his ear. "That's because I am." She mumbled, grinning as she stepped back, an eyebrow quirking at him mischeviously before she turned around to make her way back into her apartment.