Part 6

Kathleen was still asleep.

Kathy had checked on her that morning, but didn't bother to wake her up. When Maureen had witnessed the end of a horrible crime, she couldn't' wait to get out of the house the next morning, no matter how traumatized she was. That was Maureen, though. Her oldest daughter was loathe admitting to her friends that something like that got to her. She couldn't hide it from Elliot, though.

But Kathleen was entirely different. She always tried to hide her feelings, but when she couldn't, she withdrew. Kathy didn't know if she would have chosen to go to school that day had she woken her up, but she needed the rest. God knows she wasn't going to be concentrating any had she gone to school.

"This is probably the only time she's felt safe all weekend," Elliot said. They were both looking in her room.

Kathy nodded, and then very quietly closed the door. "I heard Kevin was arrested on drug possession," she said as they walked down the stairs.

"He'll do some time, more than he would for attempted rape," he said.

She took the information in stride. This weekend had made her understand why Elliot never wanted to talk to her about the world he saw. She was already having nightmares that caused her to wonder how safe her children were. Elliot had faced it for years; no wonder he was so protective of them.

They sat down on the couch together. "How do you do it?' she asked. "There's so much evil."

"Because I have to," he said simply. She hated simple answers, but he was prone to them. She was about to say something, but he went on. "Because every perp we put away is one person who won't get the chance to hurt this family."

"Is that all?"

He sighed. "There are other reasons. But that's the main one."

She sat there, unsure of what else to say. He had tried to tell her before, but she never got it. There were times that she thought he did the job to get away from her and the kids. Sometimes she asked herself if he thought that his friendship with Olivia was more important than their family.

"You're still wearing your wedding ring," she observed.

He pointed at her left hand. "You're still wearing yours."

She nodded. Elliot wasn't the first one to notice. Her mother had reminded her everyday since Kathy filed the divorce papers. She never had liked Elliot; she even told Kathy to change her name, as well as the kids'. She couldn't do that. Even if they were no longer legally married, they would still share four children, and a last name. Kathy couldn't let that go.

A long silence came between them. Kathy could tell, by the way he was staring into space, that he had a lot on his mind. A few years ago, he might have never talked about it. Now, she knew that he didn't have a choice.

"I'm responsible," he said finally. "It's my fault."

She immediately jumped in to interject. "What happened to Kathleen – "

"Not Kathleen," he corrected her. "Us. I pushed you away."

Kathy closed her eyes. That was exactly what she'd been telling herself for the past two years, but now that he actually said, she didn't even believe it. He had made mistakes, yes, and sometimes he wasn't around enough. But he wasn't the one who left, and he wasn't the one who said that they were beyond help.

Now, when everything seemed wrong, she could try to make this one thing right. She wasn't going to be responsible for the further destruction of her family.

"We can fix it," she said.

Her words had surprised even her. Elliot looked at her, and she could swear she could see him smile for just a split second – the same smile he had when the kids were born, and when they were married. And then he laughed. It wasn't the hard and cynical laugh that she had heard so many times.

"It would be you to say that," he said. "I've been trying to get to guts to say it ever since you served the papers."

"I was wrong," she said. "About so many things, El. I should have tried harder.

"Maybe if I hadn't left, Kathleen would have listened to us about Kevin."

He turned his entire body toward her. "That isn't your fault. You can't blame yourself for that."

"I feel guilty," she said. "When you told me, I couldn't stop crying after that call. I asked myself how I could let that happen to her."

"You couldn't have done anything," came a voice from the stairs. They both looked over to their daughter. "Hi, Dad."

Kathy stood up and Kathleen hugged her first. She sat down next to her father, who squeezed her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "How are you doing, Sweetheart?" he asked, his arm still around her.

"Better now," she answered. "Are you getting back together?"

The question caught Kathy off-guard. She looked over to him, looking for some confirmation. He nodded to her, urging her to speak. "We've decided…to try," she said, hoping that Elliot wasn't about to correct her on the spot.

Kathleen, who had apparently heard almost their entire conversation, turned to Elliot. "Dad?"

He smiled down at her, and Kathy remembered why she had fallen in love with him in the first place. "Only if you're okay with having your father in the house again," he said.

Kathleen returned the smile. "I've missed you, Dad."

As Kathy watched the two of them, she realized how badly her kids had wanted him there; how much she had wanted him. They had a second chance, and she wasn't about to throw it away again.

"Welcome home."