Author's Note:
Deep breath... and here we go! Diving in, head first, no messing. Hope you enjoy it!
Copyright credit to Oprah Winfrey and her 2013 Harvard Commencement speech which was beautiful and deeply inspiring and I have borrowed. It is in italics to show that is not mine, I did not write it, let this be noted.
Also to the reviewer, and sorry I forget your name, who said not to put this as an Elliot/Olivia story: I'm not quite sure what else to put it as. I mean Fin is here too, Nick will be playing a bigger role, I can't specify the original characters. Plus despite the E/O moments only being a portion of each update, they are still undoubtedly the absolute core, corner stone, foundation of everything going on. Therefore, with my apologies, it is going to go down as those characters for want of a better idea!
Edit: Apparently you can now have more than 2 characters, so I added in Fin and Calvin. Not sure if this improves matters or not but hey! :)
"I know that you all might have a little anxiety now and hesitation about leaving the comfort of college and putting those Brown credentials to the test. But no matter what challenges or setbacks or disappointments you may encounter along the way, you will find true success and happiness if you have only one goal, there really is only one, and that is this: to fulfill the highest most truthful expression of yourself as a human being…..."
"Babe?"
"Shh…" insisted Olivia Stabler, reaching a gentle, quieting hand to her husband's thigh and patting it lightly.
"Liv?"
"What?" giving in to him she turned her head. Still, after all these years, she took his breath away. Her face had aged, but only slightly. There were more laughter lines around the tan skin of her warm brown eyes, and her hair once long was now cut short in a style that elegantly defied her years.
"Look, look at her, look at that incredible young woman….." sliding one hand into hers Elliot lifted his spare one in a subtle greeting across the rows of white chairs, "… that's our daughter."
"Hi Momma!" giving a furtive little wave Eve beamed at her proud parents. Wrinkling her nose, deliriously happy, she grinned at her mother and blew a kiss. Elliot was so funny, she thought to herself, with butterflies in her stomach. He was such a guy; such a man's man in so many ways and yet a complete puddle of love for his kids and especially his daughters. Beyond the sense of achievement, beyond the doors to her future her degree would open up by far the best part of this day was the pride she could see on her parents' faces. That was what truly made it all worth it.
"We did that. You and me, Liv. She's the very best of both of us."
"Mom, Dad, shut up!" came Sam's deep, honey toned voice as he leant out of his wheelchair to fix them both with a warning glare, holding a finger to his lips and silencing them.
"You want to max out your humanity by using your energy to lift yourself up, your family and the people around you. Theologian Howard Thurman said it best. He said, "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.""
"This thing is like a freakin' straight jacket." Tugging at the collar of his shirt, so unused now was he to wearing a suit Fin snarled uncomfortably. At his side, the ever immaculately turned out Melinda Tutuola turned her head, narrowed her eyes, and spoke under her breath.
"I swear Fin if you do not stop complaining I will leave you here. I will make you walk the whole way back to New York and when you finally arrive I will divorce you."
"You're mean."
"And you are supremely irritating. Now hush, hush up and watch your girl graduate."
"Yes ma'am….." he grinned, reaching to her knee and giving it a gentle squeeze, "… yes m'am."
"From time to time you may stumble, fall, you will for sure, count on this, no doubt, you will have questions and you will have doubts about your path….." as the commencement speech continued Eve shifted in her seat, lifting her eyes to the crowd and searching it for her brother.
The soother of doubts, the source of strength and the heart hope she could only aspire to: Sam. As the words resounded she met his waiting gaze. They smiled at one another. It had been a long road, but together they had walked it and the top of the mountain was in sight. They were stood on the edge of a yawning precipice with a hundred thousand question marks floating. Where will they go? What will they do? Who will they become?
"But I know this, if you're willing to listen to, be guided by, that still small voice that is the G.P.S. within yourself, to find out what makes you come alive, you will be more than okay. You will be happy, you will be successful, and you will make a difference in the world. Congratulations Graduating Class!"
"How is it even possible that I am old enough to be mother of a college graduate? When did that happen? Where the hell did all the time go, Elliot?"
"You don't look old enough to be mother of a college graduate…." smiled Elliot, knowing just how many brownie points it had just accrued him as Olivia rolled her eyes gratefully. Still holding hands they turned their attention back to the stage where the graduates' names were proceeding to be called.
"Hannah Louise Wilson."
Applause ensued.
"David Michael Marshall."
"Where is she? I don't see her?" said Elliot, as another boy's name was called and he craned his neck to see where Eve stood in the lineup at the side of the stage.
"I think she's up in like, three, maybe four….." leaning in to Olivia's other side Sam squinted against the sun and tried to find his sister through the crowd. "There! There I see her, five from the front."
"Oh my God….."
"You alright?" asked Elliot, his head snapping back around to his wife. "You okay? You feeling light headed again? I can get you a water."
"No, no El honestly I'm fine it's just….." sliding her hand out from his grip he shook his head in confusion as her entire face lit up like a thousand suns and she got up from her seat.
"Hey! Hey where're you going? Mouse is up in like four names!"
"He made it…." she said softly with a teary smile, squeezing her way politely past Sam's and Elliot's knees and excusing herself down the row as they finally saw what she had several moments earlier, "… he actually made it."
"Livia….." breathed a loving sigh and a tight, loving embrace as Olivia dashed the last few steps and hugged her arms around Calvin's waist.
"I can't believe you're really here. You have no idea how good it is to see you home, sweetheart."
"Did I make it in time? Transport was grounded in Germany for eight fucking hours I floored it the whole way here but….."
"No! No you didn't miss it, you didn't miss it she's right….." scanning the crowd she pointed to where Eve stood at the side of the stage as Elliot and Sam smiled warmly at their returning solider.
"I got her, I see her….." he said quietly, holding one arm around Olivia's shoulder and lifting the other hand to wave at Eve and mouth, "… hey."
"Hi….." managed Eve weakly, her eyes filling instantly on seeing his face through the crowd and even more so to have him stood with her family as they prepared to call her name.
"This is it Team Stabler, we ready?" coming to stand on Olivia's other side Elliot squeezed Sam's shoulder as he parked his chair in front of their huddle. Standing gathered, standing together, they all looked to the stage as Eve lifted her foot up onto it.
"Eve Grace Stabler….."
"Whoop! Woohoo! That's my girl! That's our girl….." choked Elliot, his face aching with pride as he clapped and cheered for Eve walking across the stage in her mortar board and gown.
That magic never lessened. Every time felt like the first time with each milestone his children reached. It didn't matter that he had done this before with his other girls. This was his youngest, this was Eve. It would be every bit as magical in a year or twos time when he did it with Sam.
"Mom did you know he was gonna be home early?" asked Sam, looking up from his chair with a faux accusatory tone directed at his mother. "Did you Dad?"
"Hey don't bring me into this!" laughed Elliot warmly, slapping a palm against Calvin's shoulder in a wordless gesture of just how relieved he too was to have him back on American soil.
"Chill, buddy, no one knew except your mom."
"So Evie….." the question was answered in every muscle of Calvin's face, and the way his cheeks dimpled lightly as he smiled. "Oh wow, wow good luck with that one dude. She is gonna kill you."
"Livia I didn't get chance to call Tex yet, she didn't….."
"No, no not yet but if she's not started contracting by close of play today they're gonna induce."
"Good, awesome, I mean not….." rolling his eyes at his own misspeak Calvin slid his mouth to a smile, "… not awesome that she's so late but awesome that I get to be here."
"Gil said he'll call as soon as there's news."
"Great."
"I still can't believe you're stood here talking to me….." marveled Olivia, shaking her head in loving disbelief as she stroked at Calvin's arm and cast her eye over his desert fatigue trousers and cream boots, "…. you do realize Evie is going to lose her mind. She'll be going out her pretty little mind waiting to come over here now she knows you're here."
"I couldn't miss it, I couldn't….." he murmured, taking a long, hard look around at the Brown campus he was visiting for only the second time and adding, "… this is what it's always been about. This is what I've been waiting for."
"How'd you mean?" asked Olivia, knowing him all too well. There was so much more going on behind those enigmatic green blue eyes than Calvin was letting on. "Cal?"
"Nothing, not a thing….." though she didn't notice he moved his hand to the pocket of his combat pants, laying it over a solid square box nestled safely inside it, "… hey, hey look the lady with the crazy hair is trying to say something."
"That's the President of Brown you retard."
"Sammy don't say retard." Admonished Olivia, clipping Sam lightly round the ear.
"Mom you know you gotta stop doing that. Just because I'm down here like a sitting duck doesn't mean you can hit me like some kind of….."
"Hush up, look, Calvin's right she's talking…."
"And so then by the authority vested in me I confer upon you the bachelor's degree and I grant you all rights and privileges pertaining to this degree. Congratulations you may now move your tassel to the left side of your mortar board."
"She did it…" whispered Olivia huskily, looking to Elliot, "…. she graduated from her dream school."