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They got to the lake house late that night and Olivia helped Elliot and the kids unpack the car. Lizzie refused to wake up so Elliot carried her in as Bernie introduced Olivia to her sister Lucy.

"It is so good to finally meet you." Lucy said shaking Olivia's hand. "I've heard so much about you over the years I feel like I know you already!"

Olivia blushed. "All good things I hope. Thank you for having me here. Your house is beautiful!"

Lucy smiled at her. "Thank you. My husband built it from the ground up when we first got married God Rest his soul…"

Elliot walked in with Lizzie in his arms and smiled at his Mom and Aunt. "I'm going to put Lizzie to bed. I'll be back down in a minute."

Olivia watched him walk up the stairs with Lizzie as the rest of the kids followed before she turned back to Bernie and Lucy. "I can show you to your room if you'd like." Lucy said to her. "You and Elliot will be staying in the two bedrooms down here."

Olivia sighed with relief when she realized there was enough rooms for everyone. On the way here her mind had begun to wonder about their sleeping arrangements.

"That would be great. Thanks." Olivia said as she picked up her bag from the floor.

"I'll go help Elliot and make sure the kids are all settled in." Bernie said walking towards the stairs. "It's good to see you again Olivia." She said as she threw her a smile.

"You too Mrs. Stabler." Olivia said smiling back.

Bernie stopped at the bottom of the stairs and chuckled. "Oh please! Call me Bernie!"

When she walked up the stairs, Lucy led Olivia towards the hallway where her bedroom would be. "My husband John wanted to make sure there would be room for all of our friends and family." She chuckled as she opened the door to Olivia's room. "There's six bedrooms so Lizzie and Dickie will share a room and so will Kathleen and Maureen. Such sweet kids."

Olivia walked into the room behind her and looked around the quaint room. "They really are. Do you have any kids of your own?"

Lucy smiled sadly and shook her head. "Unfortunately that wasn't in the cards for me and my husband…" She said closing one of the windows to ward off the breeze coming off of the lake.

Olivia swallowed the lump in her throat and put her bag on her bed. "Oh. I'm sorry I didn't mean too-"

Lucy shook her head and walked closer to Olivia, reaching out to grab her hand she just smiled "Oh it's okay. Don't you apologize sweetie. Besides…I had Elliot he was like my son. He spent two weeks here every summer and it was the best weeks of the year for John and me. We loved him to pieces…"

Olivia smiled at her. "He seems very fond of you as well."

Lucy smiled and patted Olivia's hand gently. "I'll tell you what…it sure is good to see him smiling again. After the divorce I was afraid he'd never be happy again but he seems to be getting back into the swing of things with you around…"

Olivia's cheek blushed again and she looked away from Lucy. "Oh…I…I mean Elliot is a great friend of mine and I-"

Lucy chuckled. "Relax Olivia…I know you two are only friends. I only meant that it's good to know that he has someone he can count on like you."

Olivia smiled at him. "He's always been there for me…I've tried to do the same for him."

"Well he appreciates it and so do Bernie and I." Lucy said leaning into hug Olivia. "But you must be exhausted after that long ride…I'll leave you to get ready for bed. We're having waffles in the morning but everyone usually sleeps in so don't think you need to get up to early!"

Olivia watched her walk to the door as she sat down on her bed. "Thank you Lucy. I'm looking forward to it!"

Lucy just winked at her as she shut the door to let Olivia get ready for bed. When she was alone, Olivia took a deep breath and reached into her bag to find something comfortable to wear.

Elliot climbed back down the stairs after all his kids were asleep and he smiled at his Aunt. She was cleaning up the teacups that her and Bernie had used as he walked into the kitchen to see her.

"The troops are fast asleep…" He said putting a gentle hand on her back.

Lucy smiled. "Good. They'll need their energy this week."

Elliot smiled and leaned against the counter. "Where's Olivia?"

"Oh I showed her to her room. She must be getting ready for bed by now." Lucy dried her hands off and leaned against the sink before turning to her nephew. "She seems even more amazing then you've led me to believe…"

His smile grew wider just thinking about her as he looked down at the floor. "Yeah…she's pretty special."

"So when are you two tying the knot?" She teased making Elliot laugh. "You can get married in the backyard if you're up for it."

He laughed again and shook his head. "You always were one step ahead of me." He looked back at her. "Is it that obvious that there is something going on between us?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "I may be old Elliot…but I'm not stupid."

He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "You know I love you Auntie Lu but…do me a favor and just keep it quiet okay? Our relationship is complicated to say the least and Olivia is going through some things at the moment. I don't want to make her uncomfortable and I don't want the kids to get the wrong idea in case it doesn't work out."

Lucy nodded her head and walked over to him, she leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek gently. "Whatever you say Elliot. My lips are sealed." She started to walk towards the stairs before she turned back to him. "I expect you to be up to help me with the waffles tomorrow Mister." She said pointing a finger at him. "Don't sleep in to late."

He chuckled. "Waffle making is our thing Auntie Lu…of course I'll be up!"

She winked at him and nodded. "See you in the morning sweetie. Love you."

"Love you too." He said as he watched her walk upstairs before he made his way down the hallway.

He threw his bag in his own room before walking to Olivia's bedroom to check in on her. He knocked on the door gently waiting for an answer; Olivia opened the door wearing a pair of baggy sweat pants and a tank top. There was nothing fancy about she looked as beautiful as ever to him.

She smiled gently. "Hey…"

He cleared his throat to try and snap him out of his daze before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Hey…just wanted to check in and see that you were all settled in."

Olivia pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded. "Yeah. I'm good. Are the kids all asleep?"

Elliot nodded. "Lizzie never woke up and the other three practically fell right to sleep with their heads hit the pillow."

She smiled. "Good."

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked back at the door to his room, which was right across the hall. "Well…I'm pretty beat too so I think I'll head to bed. But if you need anything I'll just be right across the hall."

She looked over at his door and then back at him. "Okay…thanks."

He stared at her for a moment before whispering. "I'm really glad you're here…"

He gripped the doorframe tighter and smiled up at him. "I'm glad I'm here too El…"

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek gently before turning around and walking across the hall to his own room. Olivia shut the door behind her and then leaned up against it, trying to control the rapid beating of her heart.

It was going to be one long week…

The next morning, Olivia woke up feeling more well rested then she ever had. She rolled over in her large bed and looked out the window to see the sun shining over the clear blue lake. She smiled and stretched, feeling ready to face the day no matter what it held.

She slipped out of bed, threw on a bra and slipped her feet into some sandals before opening her door. She walked towards the bathroom that she and Elliot would be sharing and stopped dead when she saw Elliot standing in the doorway, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, dripping wet.

"Oh…h-h-hi…" She stuttered feeling extremely flustered by the situation.

He smirked at her and took another towel to rub the top of his head, which only made the muscles in his arms bulge more. "Morning Liv…"

She tried to look away but her eyes kept turning back to his bare chest and she knew her face was probably bright red. "G-good morning."

He leaned against the doorframe. "Did you sleep well?"

She wanted to scream at him because it was obvious he was milking the moment, to try and get her to admit she had feelings for him. "I did."

He inhaled deeply and looked out the window at the end of the hallway. "Me too. There's something about the crisp lake air that really soothes you. Washed all the stress of work away…"

She smiled awkwardly at him and rubbed her hands together. "Yeah…"

He stepped aside and smiled at her again. "Well I'll let you get in there…I promised my Aunt I'd help her make breakfast. See you in a bit." He said winking at her.

She blushed again and ducked into the bathroom, shutting the door quickly. Elliot chuckled to himself as he made his way towards his bedroom realizing he had her right where he wanted her.

After breakfast, everyone went to sit by the lake. Olivia was sitting on a towel and watching Elliot's kids jumping off the dock into the water as they laughed and screamed. She was wearing her bathing suit but had a pair of jean shorts and a white t-shirt on over it not sure if she wanted to risk taking her clothes off just yet. Olivia laughed as Dickie pushed Kathleen and Maureen off the dock and Elliot sat down beside her.

"That kid is a piece of work…" He said referring to his son.

Olivia looked over at him and laughed, she was extremely thankful that he still had his shirt on. "Like father like son."

He smirked at her. "Ha. Ha."

She smiled and looked back at the water. "So your Aunt said you came here a lot as a kid."

Elliot nodded and smiled at his kids. "Yeah. It was always my favorite part of the summer. Auntie Lu and Uncle John were like a second set of parents to me…and when things were rough with my parents they were always there for me."

She smiled and reached for her water bottle that was beside her. "It's nice that you had them. Your Aunt seems really sweet…"

Elliot knew that besides her mother, Olivia had no other family. Growing up she had never had anyone to lean on before which was part of the problem right now. She didn't know how to let people in, but he hoped he would be able to change that for her.

"She's the best…by the end of the week you'll be one of her surrogate kids too." He said nudging her.

Olivia smiled and looked back out at the dock. "We'll see…" They sat in silence enjoying the beautiful day for a few moments before Olivia spoke again. "You know I was pretty impressed by your waffle making skills. I had no idea you knew how to cook…"

He smirked and pulled his t-shirt over his head, enjoying the fact that her face was flushed with color again at the sight of his bare chest for the second time in one day. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me…"

She swallowed hard and put her sunglasses on to try and hide the fact that she was enjoying the view of his naked torso. "You'd think after being partners for seven years we'd know everything about each other…"

He shrugged. "I do know a lot about you…but you've also always been a bit of a mystery."

She looked back at him, surprised by his statement. "Really?

He nodded. "You only share as much as you want to share Olivia which usually isn't a lot…"

She bit her lip and looked back at the lake just as Dickie dived into the water. "I guess I just like to keep my personal life to myself…"

He nodded slowly. "I understand that. But it's okay to rely on other people sometimes you know…"

She chuckled as she shook her head. "That's only something you've learned very recently Elliot. You've never really been an open book yourself…"

He smirked. "Fair enough. But I'm willing to talk now…so what do you want to know?"

She was both confused and intrigued by what he was saying. But there were questions she wanted answered and she figured now that she had the chance to get her answers she better not mess it up.

"Fine. How do you really feel about your divorce?" She asked turning her body to stare him head on.

He was surprised that she had gone for such a hard-hitting question right off the bat but he wasn't about to back down. "It was hard. And I hate that it had to affect the kids the way it did but I know now that it was the right decision. Kathy and I weren't in love anymore and we couldn't pretend otherwise anymore. It wasn't healthy. Next question." He finished with s smirk.

She was impressed by the honesty in his answer. "Okay…what were you thinking when Gitano had the gun pressed to your head?" She asked in a tiny whisper.

Elliot let out a shaky breath and looked back at his kids and smiled sadly. "First I thought about my kids…about how they were going to grow up without a father. I worried that they wouldn't really know how much I loved them. And then I thought about all the chances I never took…the things I never said to them and to you…"

She squinted at him as she felt her heart begin to race faster in her chest. "To me?"

Elliot nodded and turned away from his kids to face her. "Yeah. I was afraid I was going to die without every getting the chance to tell you how much you really do mean to me."

She swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat and she looked down at her hands, which were shaking slightly. "Elliot I-"

"And I was afraid of what would happen to you if I died…" He whispered.

She took a deep breath as she sat up straight to try and show that she was strong. "I've taken care of myself pretty much my entire life Elliot. I would have been okay…"

He pouted to pretend she had hurt him. "So you wouldn't have missed me at all?"

She couldn't help but laugh as she shook her head. "Of course I would have missed you…"

He nodded and reached out to touch her leg gently. "What I meant was that I was worried that you would never realize that you deserve to be loved. I was worried that you would continue to pretend to be okay when deep down we both know that all you've ever wanted was somewhere to belong."

The lump in her throat was growing larger and her eyes were beginning to burn with tears. "Why did you say I was still a mystery to you? It seems you know me better than I even know myself…"

He smiled sadly at her. "Maybe…"

She lifted her sunglasses off of her face and rested them on top of her head. "I wish that I could give you what you want Elliot but I just don't think I can…"

"Why not?" He asked leaning into her a little. "Don't you think I could make you happy?"

She smiled sadly at him. "I know you could make me happy Elliot. You already do. But I don't think that I could make you happy…"

He sighed and shook his head; he turned his body back towards the lake. "That's insane."

She felt the spell of the moment break and her heart ached. "Maybe to you Elliot…but to me it's not. I've never had anyone in my life that I've had to depend on or consider when making my own decisions. I've just done things for myself…but if we were together then everything would change for me and I don't know if I would be able to deal with it. Not to mention how it would change us…"

"But wouldn't it change us for the better?" He asked turning back to her quickly. "I mean I'm not saying it would be easy…or that it would be perfect all the time but what are we supposed to do Olivia? Do we just go back to the way it was before and pretend that we don't have these feelings for each other?"

She saw the pleading in his eyes and heard it in his voice and she wished she had a better answer for him. "I don't know Elliot…I just don't know…"

He sighed and ran a hand over the top of his head. "I can't go back to that Olivia. I'll be here for you like I promised but I'll never pretend that my feelings for you are anything less then they are."

She watched him as he stared out at the lake, watching his children so as to avoid her gaze. She knew he loved her. She could feel it, and yet everything she had ever known or believed about her life was keeping her from him. She knew he deserved some sort of answer…

He looked so sad and it broke her heart. "When I was younger my Mom reminded me almost everyday what I was…where I came from. I've tried to hard to believe otherwise but no matter what I do I can't let that part of my past go."

Elliot turned back to her, he seemed surprised that she was beginning to open up to him and she knew she had to keep going before she lost the nerve. "Even now when I look in the mirror sometimes I wonder if I look like my father…if I'm anything like him."

Elliot stared at her for a moment before speaking. "There is not one evil bone in your body Olivia. You are the most selfless person I know…you couldn't be like him. You aren't like him."

She smiled and shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. The truth is I'll never know because I don't know who he is or where he is…he could be dead for all I know. But he could also be alive…and he could have raped other women. What if I have brothers and sisters? What if there are other people out there like me?"

Elliot didn't know what to say in response to that. "Olivia-"

"I joined SVU because I thought if I could help other victims it would make me feel less guilty about what my Mom went through. But it hasn't helped…" She whispered sadly.

"Do you regret deciding to work there?" He asked curiously.

She smiled and shook her head. "It's not always easy. And sometimes seeing the victims makes me feel worse about what happened to my Mom. But for the most part it makes me feel good because I get to help people start a new life. I just wish I could do the same thing for myself…"

"Maybe you can…" He said with a hopeful smile.

"The point is…I've never seen myself as a someone who deserves happiness because I brought so much pain to my Mom." Olivia said hoping that he would understand. "And we both know it isn't easy to change the way we think overnight…"

He inhaled quickly and turned back to the water. "I suppose you're right…"

She turned back to watch Elliot's kids again afraid to meet his eyes. "So now what?"

He didn't turn to look at her when he spoke but she knew he was being sincere. "Now we try and figure out how to make you realize that you do deserve to be loved."

She couldn't help but smile as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You're not giving up on me?"

His face broke out in that favorite smile of hers and she knew he meant what he said next. "Never."

She opened her mouth to say something back to him but was interrupted by a stream of cold water hitting her in the back of the head. She jumped as the water continued to spray at her and noticed that Elliot was getting wet too. He spun around and glared at his son who was spraying one of his water guns at them.

"Dickie!" Elliot yelled, he tried to sound angry but he couldn't hold back the laughter in his voice.

Dickie started to run when his father ran after him and Olivia got up and watched Elliot chase his son. She was laughing as Elliot scooped the young boy up, swung him around and took the water gun from him as he began to soak his son in return. Dickie was laughing as he ran towards Olivia and went to hide behind her to protect himself.

"You won't spray me when Olivia's in the way!" Dickie yelled triumphantly as his sisters watched from the dock.

"Are you sure about that? He asked pulling back the handle that would release the stream of water.

Olivia raised an eyebrow at him. "You better not…"

Dickie peeked his head around the side of Olivia with a nervous glance. "Uh oh…I know that look."

Elliot was smirking and Olivia recognized it too. "Elliot Stabler…don't you da-"

She screeched as the cold water hit her square in the face. Elliot's girls all gasped, surprised that he had dared attack Olivia like that but when they saw her wipe the water from her face, they knew she would get her revenge.

Olivia ran at Elliot before he could even have time to react, she pulled the water gun from his hands and started to squirt him back. Dickie yelled in excitement and went to go fill up another water gun to join in on the fun.

He didn't have time to catch up with them though because Elliot had run towards the dock where his girls squealed and jumped in the water to avoid the chase. Elliot stopped at the very edge of the dock and threw his hand sup in defeat.

"I surrender!" He said laughing as his face dripped with water.

Olivia smiled triumphantly and lowered her weapon. "You've seen me handle a gun before Elliot…you should have known I'd win."

He sighed and took a small step towards her. "You're right…I should have known better."

Olivia smiled and looked at his three daughters who were wading in the water. "See girls…your Dad isn't as tough as he'd like you to believe."

"Yeah Dad! You were beat by a girl!" Lizzie yelled laughing at her father.

Dickie was at the top of the dock now watching anxiously, waiting for the right moment to strike again as Elliot stepped closer to Olivia. She was laughing along with the girls and didn't seem to notice just how close he was too her. Elliot stared longingly at the way her wet white shirt clung to her toned body perfectly. He could see the blue bikini top underneath and remembered what she had looked like in his bed…naked and in his arms.

He smirked and shook the image out of his mind before he grabbed Olivia's arm, he lifted her up easily much to her dismay. He could hear her yelling at him to stop but he jumped in the lake with her in his arms while his kids watched in shock.

When Olivia broke the surface, she gasped for air and spun around when she heard Elliot laughing behind her. "You little-"

He glanced over at his kids. "Don't say anything that would be inappropriate in front of my kids Detective Benson…"

She smirked at him before lunging to put her hands on his head. He held his breath as she dunked him under the water and he pulled her down deep with him. They could hear Elliot's kids laughing and the sound of someone jumping in the water, probably Dickie.

When they came up for air again, Olivia was laughing along with Elliot now. "You're such a jerk…" She said laughing again as she splashed water in his face. "You surrendered!"

Elliot chuckled as his kids continue to splash around them. "All's fair in love and war…and this is a bit of both isn't it?"

She laughed and reached to the top of her head. "I lost my sunglasses because of you."

He shrugged. "I'll buy you a new pair…"

She just shook her head and continued to tread in the water, enjoying the way it cooled her off from the intense heat. She looked back at his kids who by now were on to their next game, clearly bored no that the battle between their Dad and her was over.

When she turned back to him, she was surprised by how intense his gaze was. "What are you looking at?"

"You look beautiful…" He whispered feeling caught up in the moment.

She felt her cheeks begin to blush again but she just laughed. "Did you hit your heat on a rock when you fell in the water Elliot?"

He smirked and moved closer to her as if he was going to kiss her. "I'm being serious…"

She swallowed hard and let herself sink a little more into the water so only her head was visible. "Elliot…"

"Don't ruin the moment…" He whispered as his hands grasped her hip underwater gently.

He heard her gasp but she didn't seem to push him away as he pulled her towards him easily in the water. He was about to lean in all the way to kiss her when a shadow flew over their heads and a large splash erupted in the water beside them.

"Dickie!" Elliot screamed as his son came up from under the water after he had jumped over them.

"What?" He asked with a knowing smirk on his face.

Elliot glanced back at Olivia but she was just smiling at his son and he knew now wasn't the time for the kiss he so desperately wanted. So he pulled away from her and swam towards his son as Olivia laughed behind him. Dickie swam as hard and fast as he could but Elliot picked him up easily and tossed his son up in the air and the girls swam up behind them to join.

The girls playfully splashed Olivia who wasn't afraid to splash back as Elliot scooped each one of his kids up one by one and tossed them into the water just like Dickie. As they continued to play and splash around in the water, Lucy and Bernie watched on from the window in the kitchen happily.

"Look at him…" Bernie said sighing happily. "He hasn't smiled like that since he was a teenager."

Lucy nodded in agreement and leaned against the counter. "He loves her…that much is clear."

Bernie looked over at her older and wiser sister. "How long do you think it will take them together?"

Lucy shrugged. "It's hard to say. I think if it were up to Elliot they would be together right now. But Olivia may be more standoffish…she seems to be very heavily guarded."

Bernie nodded and looked back out the window at her family and Olivia. "Elliot's told me a little about her past…she hasn't had the easiest life. I don't know if she will be able to let go of it all and let herself be happy."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see…but I have a feeling that this week will give them the answers they are looking for." Lucy said turning away from the window as she walked to the fridge to figure out what to make for lunch.

Bernie laughed and turned back to watch her sister. "And what makes you so sure of that?"

"Because I've watched many people find what it is they are searching for here on the lake." Lucy said smirking at her sister.

Bernie was quiet for a moment. "You know I always wished that you would move back to New York…especially after John died. I hate that you are all alone here."

Lucy shook her head and took out some meat to make sandwiches for everyone. "I'm not alone Bernie. I have many friends up here, you know that. And besides this is my home. John built it for us…this is where I belong."

"But John is gone now…" Bernie whispered. "What's keeping you here?"

Lucy walked back towards the window with the food on a platter to prepare as she watched Elliot, Olivia and the kids again. "I love this house Bernie. And whenever my family visits I look at all the joy this place brings to them…and I know that I could never leave. And because…even though John may be physically gone he's still here in spirit."

Bernie stared at her sister and thought about how much her sister and brother-in-law had been in love. "I can feel him too…"

Lucy smiled and looked over at her sister. "Don't you worry about me Bernie. I am quite happy here…and I wouldn't worry about your son either." She looked back out the window and laughed as Olivia pushed Elliot into the water after they had crawled up on the dock again. "He looks happy enough to me…"

Bernie sighed and followed her sister's gaze out the window. "He really does…"

"Like I said…" Bernie said as she took out a knife to spread the mustard on the sandwiches. "The lake has a way of helping people find what it is they are searching for…"

Bernie recognized that tone in her sister's voice. It was the way she sounded when she was determined to make something happened. And Bernie realized that even if Elliot and Olivia couldn't figure out a way to make it work, Lucy would find a way to make them get their acts together once and for all…

What did you think? I hope you liked it! I'll try and update soon! :)