Operation Christmas Mom
Chapter One
Zebraboymom
Disclaimer: Not mine. Sigh...
Author Notes: I know it's spring and Christmas is far away, but this story has been niggling at my brain for awhile. If Kathy had died during Eli's birth from complications due to the accident, I think the whole show could have gone a different way and done more with the relationship between Elliot and Olivia. This story is based on that premise. Elliot has been raising his five kids for the last two years with help from his best friend. He has decided it's time to put himself out there again, but his kids know better. There's only one woman their dad really wants, Olivia. They make a Christmas plan.
Olivia watched out the window as Elliot's huge Suv climbed higher and higher into the Adirondack Mountains. Liv had seen snow in New York her whole life, but somehow the dirt of the city always marred it and turned it black and ugly. The view now was nothing but white everywhere. She had never seen snow hanging on the trees except in Central Park. It was beautiful. Liv was on her way to spend her first Christmas in the mountains. The best part about it was she was spending it with Elliot's family. Excited chatter was going on in the back of the huge seven-passenger sport vehicle and she just sat and soaked it up. The Stablers had wanted her to spend Christmas with them in a cabin Elliot's mom had given to him just recently. He said it was her way of apologizing for the time she took him driving in the snow and crashed the car breaking his arm. She wanted to hug Bernie at that moment. Liv hardly ever left the city. Work was her whole world, but the next week and a half life was going to be void of the ugliness of their work. It was going to be heaven on earth. She could hardly contain her excitement. She must look like a little kid the way she was wiggling in the seat.
She could feel Elliot's eyes on her from time to time and when she turned to look at him he gave her that heart-stopping smile she loved so much.
"It's pretty huh?"
"No, it's gorgeous."
Elliot thought it was nowhere close to being as beautiful as Liv looked at that moment. He was so excited for this weekend. He had recently found that he had some pretty strong feelings for a certain brunette, but he was pretty sure she only thought of him as her best friend. One way or another he was going to find a way to tell her how he felt. He just prayed she felt the same way. He was pretty sure she had feelings for him too. They could read each other pretty well and lately well…
When they arrived at the cabin Olivia couldn't believe her eyes. It was a huge A Frame with windows all across in front of a huge deck. It gave a panoramic view of the snow-covered mountains. It sat on a hill and she knew there would be lots of fun sledding and tubing right below the deck. It was in a word…perfect. When Elliot opened the front door she gasped at how beautiful it was. They stepped into a huge two story high great room. There was a massive stone fireplace with a carved wood mantle flanked on each side by two story high windows. The kitchen faced out into the room and a bar ran the length of the workspace. It was amazing. A family would all be in the same room while dinner was being made. Liv could stay here forever. It was her dream home. Elliot and Dickie unloaded the car while the girls showed her around. There were two rooms downstairs. There was a master bedroom with a huge king size bed. Across from it was a smaller bedroom with a queen size bed and a bunk.
"This will be your room Liv."
"Oh, there's room for some of you guys as well."
"Oh, no, we all stay upstairs together. You know, the whole brother sister bonding thing. Come on."
Upstairs was the cutest dormer Liv had every seen. There were seven beautiful wooden twin beds lined up just like the seven dwarves. It was like something out of Snow White.
"Why seven beds?"
"Well, Liv, Grams thought Dad might be adding a couple more kids before it's all said and done. That's what she told him after Mom died. She said he still had time to find the love of his life."
"Oh."
Olivia shut her eyes. She didn't want to think of losing Elliot to another woman, especially if it was going to be that kind of love. Just the thought made her stomach clinch.
They walked out on the landing and looked down at Eli. He was standing by the windows. He looked so adorable. Olivia loved him with all her heart. She had taken care of him since birth. He had stayed with her for a while when Elliot was grieving. He just couldn't manage it and Liv had volunteered eagerly to take him. He turned and looked up at the woman that was really the only mother he had ever known. His language was still pretty limited at two and a half.
"Livvy, Livvy, snow!"
"That's right Baby Boy and lots of it."
She came down the stairs and he bounced into her arms throwing his arms around her neck and giving her a huge hug. She looked up to see Elliot standing in the doorway with tons of luggage. He had a look in his eyes that made her stomach flip.
Elliot watched the interaction between his youngest son and Olivia. It was obvious to him that she had become his mother. Elliot wanted her to be his wife. He knew without a doubt that she was the one, the love of his life his mother had talked about. Fear kept him from embracing the two in a hug. What if she didn't feel the same way? Loving his kids was not the same as loving him. He had to know one way or another before the holiday was over.
"Come on Dad move out of the way. These are heavy. The girls have tons of crap in these things."
Elliot realized he'd been frozen. Liv laughed softly at the sight of Dickie with about six duffle bags draped over his shoulders and hanging from his hands. Elliot laughed with her, giving her a wink. The girls came bounding down the stairs then.
"Oh poor Dickie, he might hurt his back."
"Oh yes, let us help you little fella."
They made a dramatic display as they lifted their assorted bags off his shoulders and out of his hands.
"Ha ha, very funny."
"You know girls, I didn't see him complaining once when he was carrying Jennifer's book bag all the way from the bus to her house the other day. Hmmm."
Lizzie loved to tease her twin.
"You'll pay for that."
And they were off running up the stairs as Dickie tackled her on the landing tickling her mercilessly until she said uncle. Liv loved being part of this family.
Everyone unpacked and the girls made grill cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch. They all lined up at the bar on stools eating and talking about the afternoon adventure they were all going on. Elliot had gotten a permit to cut their own tree and they were going to bundle up and go after one. While the girls cleaned up, the "men" got out the sled they would haul it back on. Liv looked out the window to see Elliot pulling it around by the side door. Eli was riding on it and clapping his hands with glee. She loved to watch the boy enjoying new experiences. There was nothing like seeing things through the eyes of a child. Everyone pulled on their boots and bundled up. Elliot looked up as they came out of the house. Liv had on a gorgeous blue parka with a fur hat, scarf and gloves. She looked so pretty. He swallowed hard and grabbed the rope to the sled with one hand. She walked beside him for a while as the kids ran forward into the woods in the almost knee deep snow. It was slow going and after a bit Elliot reached for Olivia's hand to help her through a small drift. Once she was through it he held on to her hand. She looked down at their clasped hands and the back up into his eyes and smiled. So far so good. It felt so right having her there with their hands entwined, the kids laughing and Eli riding on the sled. It was so perfect he wanted to freeze the moment in time.
It had been fun at first, but after an hour of finding trees that were too tall to fit into the great room, everyone was getting cold and weary.
"Dad, maybe they're all too big. What are we gonna do without a Christmas tree?"
Elliot stopped the sled to confer with the group. The six of them were so lost in the conversation that no one realized they were missing a pint sized cutie. Liv was the first one to notice.
"Elliot, where's Eli?"
"He's on the sled."
"No. No he isn't."
The entire group started to call for him.
"Eli! Eli where are you?"
Just as they all started to panic, Liv spotted his tracks leading off in the snow. They followed them into a meadow where a tree sat all alone in the middle. Eli was standing and looking up at the tree with a smile on his face. He pointed with his pudgy little finger.
"Daddy! Lookie!"
Elliot rushed forward and scooped up the little boy.
"Eli, Buddy, don't run off like that anymore, okay? You scared Daddy."
"Daddy scared?"
"Yes, Buddy."
"Livvy scared?"
"Yes, Sweetie."
"Okay, no run. Tree pretty."
The entire group was in agreement. They walked all the way around the tree. It was perfect from all sides and would fit in the faulted ceiling of the cabin without having to trim it down. They all stood staring at it. Elliot, who was standing behind Olivia set Eli down and slipped both his arms around her shoulders and hugged her back to him. She reached up and grabbed his forearms. It felt so comfortable and natural. She sighed in absolute bliss.
"Well, guys, I think this is the one. Dickie, you want to do the honors?"
"Really Dad?"
"Absolutely."
"Dickie grabbed the saw and the tarp from the sled. He spread the tarp on the ground and laid down on it placing the saw underneath on the trunk. He began to saw while Lizzie and Kathleen held the tree upright. Liv loved the sound of the saw in the quiet woods muffled by the snow. Elliot still held her in his arms and she turned her face to smile up at him. To her surprise he placed a kiss on her cheek. Maureen turned away so they wouldn't see her smiling at them. She didn't want to spook them. In her mind, Liv and her dad were skittish and could bolt at any moment. She just hoped they could work through their fear of a relationship and find each other this holiday. She had watched them falling in love the last two years and it made her really happy to think about her dad finally being happy again. She knew Liv understood him better than anyone ever had, even better than maybe her mom had.
Dickie and Elliot swung the tree onto the sled and tied it down. Elliot put Eli on his shoulders and they headed back to the cabin. It started to snow about ten minutes before they got back and by the time they had the tree inside and set in the stand everyone was frozen. It was starting to get dark too, so the decision was made to get showers, put on Pajamas and then decorate the tree. Elliot and Dickie let the girls go first. The three girls raced upstairs to see who would get to the bathroom first. Liv took Eli with her to shower. While Elliot and Dickie were putting the lights on the tree, his mind wandered to thoughts of Liv in his shower. His son was lucky enough to share that space with her. He sighed and smiled to himself. Dickie looked at him with curiosity.
"What are you thinking about Dad?"
"Huh? Oh nothing."
"Liv's great isn't she? It's like she's part of the family now."
"Yeah, it does feel that way doesn't it?"
"I like having her here with us Dad. She loves all of us so much. I can see it when she watches us. You know, she looks that way at you too Dad."
"You think?"
"Oh, yeah. I see you looking at her the same way."
"Am I that obvious?"
"Dad, it's okay that you love her. We all think it would be great if you got two got together."
"Really? You don't think it's too soon?"
"Dad, it's going on three years. It's not too soon. Be happy Dad. Don't waste anymore time. Life is short. You never know when someone you love is going to be taken away from you."
"When did you get to be so wise?"
"I don't know. I guess Liv is wearing off on me."
He gave Elliot the Stabler grin and got tackled to the couch.
"Okay, maybe my dad had something to do with it too."
"Good answer."
At that moment Liv came into the room wearing the cutest Christmas pajamas Elliot had ever seen. Eli was wearing bright red long johns. They were too cute. Dickie grabbed the camera.
"Smile Liv."
Elliot knew he was going to cherish that picture. The guys headed off for their showers and the girls made Panini sandwiches. When they were done the tree decorating began. Elliot made a fire in the fireplace and the room was nice and cozy. Liv had never had so much fun. They had never had a tree when she was a child and as an adult she was always working so she had a fiber optic tree that she put up every year. She realized she had never really decorated a tree like this before. Elliot sat on the carpet next to her in lounge pants and a t-shirt. She loved sitting beside him. It was so much fun handing out ornaments to the kids to hang up. As they were nearing the end, they were oblivious to the trap the kids had laid. With a whisper in his ear and a nudge from the girls Eli approached them with his hands behind his back. He came to stand between them and pulled a green cluster out with a red ribbon on it. He held it over their heads and laughed.
"Eli? What have you got kiddo?"
Kathleen spoke up.
"It's mistletoe Liv. You and Daddy have to kiss now."
Olivia looked up at Elliot who was smiling down at her. He shrugged his shoulders and placed a soft chaste kiss on her lips. It was so sweet. She had no idea his lips would be that soft. When they broke apart, Elliot was looking at her fondly and the kids had erupted into cheers. Liv looked down embarrassed. Elliot cleared his throat and swung Eli up in his arms. He grabbed the star for the top of the tree and carried Eli up the ladder to help him place it on the top. Dickie turned off the overhead lights and switched on the tree lights. The kiss was forgotten as everyone looked at the tree in awe. Lizzie said it for everyone. Her words weren't just about the tree however.
"Awesomely perfect!"