Showdown

Chapter 4:

A/N: I promised I'd have another chapter of this soon and here it is. I don't know how good this chapter is though because I've found myself focusing more on what's happening in the present than what's happened already. I may decide to just write in the present and have characters have flashbacks from now on. We'll see. In the meantime, enjoy.

Olivia's jaw dropped when the realization of what she had just said hit her. Elliot and Dean were both staring at her intently. Silence filled the small space. She took a deep breath and tried to say something, anything to break the silence but no words came out of her mouth. Even if she had managed to find her voice, the words probably would have been a jumbled mess of nonsensical babbling.

Elliot coughed "It's not like we haven't done it before," he said and Olivia was glad that he had been the one to speak. Elliot shifted in his seat; he knew he wouldn't be able to take it if she left and he would give anything to go with her, to make sure she was safe; he didn't trust Dean.

"Don't you have a family to think of?" Dean asked, elbowing Elliot in the ribs.

"Yeah," Elliot nodded "But me helping to put this guy out of business is helping to make the world that my children grow up in safer," and for once in his life he wasn't as committed to those words as he was committed to helping Olivia through this. He could see it in her eyes; she needed him and she wasn't about to say it in so many words. That slip of the tongue she had made earlier was the closest she was going to get to telling him.

"Elliot," Olivia began "This assignment could take you away from them for who knows how long."

"That's right," Dean jumped in eagerly.

It was true and it was all the more reason that Elliot didn't want Olivia to go alone. He took a deep breath "I want to help out on this one," he wanted to steal a few minutes away with Olivia without having Dean there to add his two cents every other sentence.

Dean shrugged. These two people were so damned stubborn; he knew he would be the one to give in so he did "I'll drop by and see both of you later tonight," he got up and flashed Elliot a dirty look "You should be packed and ready to leave."

And just like that, he was gone.

Elliot and Olivia sat in silence for a few minutes. Their waitress brought Dean's glass of water and left it on the table and still they said nothing. Olivia was the one to speak first "Elliot, I can't let you do this," she wasn't about to have him following her to God only knew where because of something she had blurted out in a moment of weakness.

Elliot reached across the table and touched her hand "I can't let you do this alone," he said firmly.

"I'm not gonna be alone," she protested even though part of her, a none too small part, wanted to concede and let him come. "What about Kathy?" she questioned.

"She'll understand," he said quietly, knowing that that would probably not be the case "Look," he told her "I'm not about to let you disappear again. What if…?" he trailed off; he had almost admitted his deepest fear to her.

"'What if,' what?" she asked, leaning forward.

"Nothing," Elliot said hastily, tossing some money on the table before standing up "I'd better get home and pack," he turned and walked out into the night air.

Olivia ran to catch up with him, completely confused. She came up beside him and matched his strides perfectly "You should stay here," she told him "I'll be fine with Dean."

Elliot turned to her, breaking stride and stopping beneath a street light "I don't trust him," he said honestly "I'm not gonna let you do this without me."

Olivia was momentarily floored by his words "Thank you," she murmured; she had been terrified of being forced away from her life again but still she couldn't let him do this "I promise, I'll be fine."

He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder "I'm going and that's final," he smiled softly at her.

She couldn't help herself and she returned his smile "Okay," she acquiesced "I guess you'd better get home and grab your stuff. Dean didn't specify what time he'd be 'dropping by' tonight."

Elliot nodded "I'll swing by your place when I'm ready."

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"Well, look who decided to come home after all," Kathy's mother looked up from the kitchen table when she heard Elliot come in.

"Good to see you too Martha," Elliot replied dryly, heading for the stairs "Where's Kathy?"

"In bed," Martha responded "Pregnancy takes a huge strain on the body but what would you know about that?"

"Nothing," Elliot conceded, starting to walk up the stairs.

"Don't wake her up," Martha warned.

"I have to tell her something," Elliot didn't know why he felt the need to explain himself to his mother-in-law but he did anyway. It probably had something to do with Martha's imposing presence and accusing stare. Elliot sometimes thought that she'd do well in an interrogation; perps would burst into flames in front of her.

"What about?" Martha asked, standing up and moving to where Elliot stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm gonna be leaving for a while," Elliot explained.

"Big surprise," Martha snorted "I wonder," she added in a more hostile than usual tone "Would this have anything to do with your partner?"

"That's not any of your business," Elliot said, taking a stand.

"Oh my dear it is," Martha said coldly "I don't see how you're planning on keeping your family together when you're never here. I don't know how you managed to worm your way back into this house but you should be damned glad that you're here. When are you planning on leaving?"

"Tonight," Elliot replied.

"If you leave tonight, I'll make sure that your family isn't here when you get back," Martha stated.

"Is that a threat?" Elliot glared at her.

"I suppose it is," Martha laughed "Now go do whatever it is you have to do and I'll do whatever it is I have to do."

Elliot nodded and climbed the stairs. He found Kathy sitting up in bed. She scowled at him "So, you're leaving?" she inquired.

"Yeah," Elliot replied as he opened drawers and took out his clothes, packing them in a bag.

"Did you knock her up too?" Kathy asked, sounding defeated.

"No," Elliot responded "It's complicated," he finished packing the bag and turned to leave.

"Mon's right you know," Kathy said quietly "If you leave tonight, don't bother coming back. Is she really worth it Elliot? Is she really worth losing us?"

"You're gonna make me choose," he said bitterly.

"You can't have both," Kathy replied "It's not fair to this family."

Elliot nodded and stared at her for a long time "I wish you could understand why I have to do this," he said softly.

Kathy turned away from him "Expect to hear from my lawyer when you get back from wherever you're going," she said with an air of finality.

Elliot nodded and left the room, stopping by each of his children's rooms to take one last look before he headed back downstairs. Martha was standing by the door, waiting for him.

"So, you're really leaving?" she asked and he could swear he heard sadness in her voice though it was covered with a lot of resentment and bitterness.

"I have to do this," he told her as he tried to push past her "It's complicated."

"She must be one hell of a woman," Martha observed "I hope she's worth it."

"Yeah," Elliot said as he stepped out of the house, leaving his family behind him "She is."

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Dean rang the buzzer for Olivia's apartment around 12:30am. He waited, shifting from foot to foot. He didn't like the idea of Elliot coming along but he could tell how apprehensive Olivia was about this whole thing and if Elliot's presence made her feel more at ease then he was willing to put up with the arrogant SOB for a while.

"Come on up," Olivia's voice came over the intercom; she and Elliot had both figured it couldn't be anyone else at that hour.

Dean climbed the stairs and walked up to Olivia's apartment door. When she opened it, he could see past her to where Elliot sat on the couch with a cup of coffee in his hand. Elliot looked so at home and Dean couldn't help but feel jealous. He walked past Olivia and set a folder on the table "It took me some doing but I've secured three new identities," he explained "We'll have to make a stop off at the federal building for the photos to go with them though."

Elliot pulled a piece of paper out of the folder and read it over "Jody Starling," he said out loud. He smiled and handed the paper to Olivia "I think this is yours."

Elliot hadn't told her about what had happened when he'd gone home to pack, only responding in the vaguest of terms when she posed questions about it. He had come straight to her apartment after he'd left his house and the two of them had been talking for a few hours about practically everything in the world except his home life.

"We'd better get going," Dean said after a few minutes. Elliot and Olivia nodded and, grabbing their bags, they followed Dean out of the apartment and to his car.

A/N: Kind of a short chapter I know but I was in a hurry to get it up. Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna be late for therapy if I don't get my ass in gear. LOL