Life is an awful lot like baseball, or so Olivia thought. She had been married for 12 years to the man of her dreams, Detective Elliot Stabler. No marriage is perfect but theirs was pretty damn close. A house, 1 dog, 1 cat, 2 goldfish, and 3 kids later, Olivia was playing the game, bottom of the 9th, full count.
2 weeks before Olivia's wedding she decided she was going to do it. She sat in her car, outside the house she had ran away from all those years ago, contemplating facing the woman who she hadn't seen in almost 10 years.
Once she gained the courage she walked up and rang the doorbell. When the door open she came face to face with Serena Benson.
Serena welcomed her daughter in with open arms. 3 cups of tea, 4 hours, hundreds of apologies, and a million laughs, cries, and hugs later Olivia walked out of her mothers home, leaving with a smile from ear to ear. Her mother had graciously accepted the wedding invitation and Olivia couldn't wait to see what was in store for the future relationship between them.
3 days before the wedding Olivia was at her desk at work thinking of nothing other than marrying her man. She hadnt't accomplished a thing all day. She was pulled out of a deep thought when she heard Cragen calling her name and waving her into his office.
"Nice knowing ya" Munch chuckled.
She walked in and shut the door behind her, taking a seat infront of Cragen's desk. "Olivia, it's you're mother. She had an accident. I am so sorry"
"What's up Cap?"
Ball one, was during their 2nd year of marriage. Olivia had just given birth to a beautiful little girl, Madison Grace Stabler, brown hair, brown eyes, her mother's twin. The baby, wrapped in pink, laying safe in her mother's arms, Elliot and Olivia watched their 1 hour old new born cry out, letting the world know she had arrived when the coupled watched their baby girl stop breathing.
A screaming Olivia got the attention of the doctors that were thankfully close by. They scooped the baby from her mother, trying to find the source of the problem. Olivia cried and yelled into Elliot's arms. Elliot kept strong for his 2 girls but was dying on the inside.
Thankfully three hours later the doctors returned with promising news. The newborns lungs were not completely developed, making the baby not prepared for independent breathing. 3 weeks later a very happy Elliot and Olivia brought home their baby girl.
3 years later, Elliot and Olivia had been working on a case for about 46 hours. Going insane. Neither had selpt or seen their daughter in 2 days. The rapist was good, Olivia was beginning to think he was too good. She began to doubt the squad and their ability to catch him.
a full 52 hours later they finally got a lead. Olivia, Elliot, and the rest of the squad heading to the abandon ware house on 42nd street. They busted in going in all directions, Olivia was the first to spot the rapist. There he stood, in all his glory, with his arm around blind folded, 8 year old, Vanessa Santos, with a gun to her head.
"put the gun down Detective" Olivia does what she is told. "Who should I kill first, you or her?" He asks Olivia "You can still walk out of her. Let Vanessa go and I'll pretend I didn't even see you" She pleas.
Olivia shrieks as she looks up and sees Elliot's gun pointed and the rapist, who now lays on the ground dead. Ball two.
6 years later, It was 1:42am, a screaming, 1 year old, Brady James Stabler awoke Olivia from her deep sleep. She reached over hoping to find her husband laying beside her but her dreams were crushed when she felt cold sheets. After cutting her hours due to another baby Olivia often found herself sleeping alone. Elliot had taken place when Cragen retierd, leaving them with little time together.
Pulling herself from her thoughts Olivia got out of bed and headed down the hall to her baby boy.
"oh my Brady bug, it's okay love." Olivia picked up the little boy whose chubby hands reached for her and headed to the rocking chair where she started to soothing her obviously upset son.
Olivia had fallen asleep with Brady on her chest in the rocking chair and was woken by the slamming shut of her front door. Assuming it was Elliot she layed her son down and went to go find her husband. She gasped when she saw him covered in blood. Sitting at the kitchen table crying. She ran over and held his head close to her chest. After a while he looked up at her and tried giving her a reason for his current behavior.
"There was an accident" Strike 2.
Olivia was at home, making dinner while Maddy & Brady did homework at the table, and little Ella Marie colored a work of art. She watched her kids in awe. She was a mom. She just couldn't believe it, 3 kids and a perfect husband.
Olivia had taken the day off, she had her yearly physical that morning and the kids all had dentist appointments. So she pulled them out of school and daycare and had a mommy and kids day with them. After the appointments they went home, watched movies, and ate junk food. She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of the door unlocking. She walked out of the kitchen eager to great her husband.
After cleaning up dinner she rushed to find her ringing cell phone.
"hello" she answered
"Hi this is Dr. Zuck calling from UWM medical office calling, I am looking for Olivia Stabler?" "this is she" "Hi Olivia, I got you're blood test results back today. I was wondering if you could come in tomorrow so we can go over them?" "uh sure, no problem"
"Okay Mrs. Stabler does 11am work for you? And if possiable could you bring a realitive with you. Just in case we have to do more testing" "Sure, we will see you then". "you have cancer."
"we are only at stage 2, I think if we begin Chemo soon, you should beat this."Elliot was talking to the doctor. Olivia just sat there in shock. Silently, freaking out, trying to hold the tears in.
The next few months were tough for the Stablers.
Lot's of crying, chemotherapy, and love.
After 3 months the doctor had told Olivia the chemo was working.
She was going to beat this.
ball three.The oldest Stabler baby was not a baby anymore, 10 year old Maddy was old enough to understand what was happening with her mom. She knew what cancer was, they learned about it in school, cancer makes people sick and then they die. But not her mom, oh no, Olivia Stabler was not going to die and leave her babies. At least that what Maddy thought.
It was a Tuesday, Olivia was getting better. Maddy was in school. Mitchell Austin was also at school that day. Mitchell held the title as '5th grade bully'
Maddy had never had to deal with Mitchell first hand but, that changed.
When Mitchell had made a comment about Maddy's mom dying, she didn't like that. That was Maddy's first swing. Right to the face. Mitchell walked away with a black eye.
That was just the beginning. Olivia didn't realize how hard her illness was for Maddy until she kept getting calls about Madison being put in suspension for punching, hitting, kicking, it was something new every day.
After her daily call from the principals office Olivia sighed "oh boy",
Luckily the principal understood the transitions taking place at the Stabler residence and let Maddy slide on a lot.
Olivia was thankful for that, she wasn't sure how much more she could handle. strike three.
Ball four."they cancer is progressing, it's spreading, and the chemo is no longer working"what.
no. not yet. She had so much more to do. She had so much more love to give. She had her kids. Her husband, her job. This can't be the end.
"I'm so sorry Olivia, but, you only have about 6 months"
10 months later, Elliot Stabler stood at the microphone, looking at his 3 tear stained children infront of him before beginning his speech.
"You know, over the last few days a lot of people have said to me 'at least you knew it was happening' now, I understand they think that it somehow makes it better. Me knowing my wife was dying made nothing better. It made it worse. I pretended it wasn't happening. Now here I am."
He stopped reading from the paper infront of him. Trying to be strong for his kids, for Olivia.
"her laugh, was the most beautiful thing I ever heard, and that smile, her smile is the reason I married her. And her love. She had so much love and she gave it. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen is my wife loving our kids. I have never seen love like that until the day our daughter was born…." Reflecting back on the memory broke Elliot completely. A dear family friend, John Munch came up and helped Elliot carry on with his speech.
6 months later Elliot had finally decided to clear her clothes out of the bedroom and donate them to the Woman's Shelter. He ventured into the dresser drawer she had kept her tshirts in and found 4 letters. One addressed to him, and one for each of the kids.
He held them close for a while. Recognizing her penmanship immediately. A few minutes later he got the courage to open his.
Elliot, If you're reading this that must mean I am no longer alive. And that's okay. I want you to know that I love you with all my heart. I need you to know that it's okay to move on. Find love. Be in love. Live you're life baby, I know you love me, and I will always love you, but don't sit unhappy for ever. Have fun. Go out, date, be with our kids. Don't let work take over you're life because our babies need you. Find them a good stepmom. Find yourself a good wife. It's so hard to say that believe me but I want you all to be happy. And know that I will always love you, no matter what happens, I will always love you. The years I spent married to you were the best years of my life. You and those kids are my world and nothing, no death or life will ever change that. Elliot Stabler I love you more than life itself. Move on. Don't dwell on my passing. I want you to be happy. Kiss the kids for me. I love you baby, always will. All my love,
Liv