I don't own anything
When they get out from the bathroom Olivia sees that the Stabler's had sat down in the closet booth there is to their table. She walks back to her chair and while she tries to ignore them. She doesn't want to do this to his kids, all she wants to do is go over and hug them all, but she doesn't want to talk to him.
"My round," Amanda stands up and walks to the bar, getting new drinks for them all. The light banter between all the friends starts again and Olivia tries to enjoy it, but she can't. She can feel him looking at her. She doesn't want to look back at him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction and give him a reason to talk to her.
"Here we are", Amanda has a smirk on her face while putting down the shots. "Tequila," she says loudly and just laughs at her friends' shocked faces. Olivia is already regretting this evening, she thinks to herself.
"Let's do it," Casey says with a laugh. "They are bought so we have to take them."
"Ready, Liv?" Barba says bumping his shoulder against hers, and she just smiles knowing they won't get out of her hair if she doesn't take the shot. "Cheers," she says, and they all down their shots. "Omg it tastes so bad," Olivia says laughing while they all sit and grimaces.
"Why don't you go over to her, dad?" Lizzie asks her father who hasn't stopped staring at Olivia since they got to the bar.
"I can't. She is with her friends and I don't want to ruin her night out." He lets his gaze slip away from Olivia and it lands on his daughter, and she can see the pain in her father's eyes.
"It's your friends too, you know? Well some of them are, some of them must be new cause I've never seen them before." Maureen tells her dad while looking at the big group. She only recognizes Fin, Melinda, Casey and Alex, she has never seen the others before. "Where are you going?" She asks when her dad starts to get out of the booth.
"Just getting another beer, anyone else needs one?" He isn't happy about them drinking but as they told him before, they are old enough and he can't stop them now. He needs to get away from his children, not liking that they are seeing him like this, so miserable.
"No, we're fine," Dickie tells his dad, and watch him walk to the bar and ordering a new beer. "What are we going to do about dad, he's too afraid of going over to Liv." He shakes his head and curses under his breath for his dad being so damn stubborn sometimes.
"Well maybe this will help, look who's walking to the bar now," Kathleen tells them quietly. They all turn their heads and sees Fin is making his way over to Elliot.
"Hey man," Fin pats Elliot on the shoulder, and Elliot turns around.
"Hey Fin, nice to see you," They shake each other's hands and turns around, so they are both leaning against the bar with their elbows on the bar counter. "What's up?" Elliot asks Fin, knowing he is angry at him for leaving them, for leaving Liv. A few months after he left the precinct Fin had left a voicemail on his phone, Fin telling, well more like yelling at him about how he could leave them, and that Olivia was acting all weird and that she was moody. He knew she would, the same thing had happened when she left some years ago first for computer crimes and then Oregon, but he knew this was different because he didn't come back like she did.
"Nothing I just wanted to let you know that even if I'm angry at you and all I want is to punch you right now, I think you should try and talk to Liv. Don't ever tell Liv this, but she needs you right now, even if she doesn't know. Hell, I didn't even know she still needs you before after Sunday after she saw you." Elliot's ears perk up at little, he didn't know that she had seen him too. "She had been doing very well these last couple of years, well besides everything that has happened to her, and I think it's all coming back to her after she saw you. She isn't even angry anymore she just stares out into space a little like she in another world. I think she is confused, so stop thinking about how your ego will be bruised if she turns you down, just try and give her some closure."
"I know, man, I let her down. But I shot a teenage girl, she could've been my daughter. I just needed time, and if I talked to Liv she would have talked me into keeping the job, and I just couldn't deal with it." Elliot tells Fin, trying to make him understand that he didn't want to leave her, he just needed to get away.
"I know and I'm sorry for everything, but you should be telling this to Liv, not me." Fin again pats Elliot on the back, leaving him behind at the bar. Elliot walks back to the booth and sits down, thinking about what Fin had just told him.
The kids look at one another, a small smile on their faces, knowing that Fin had said something to make their dad look so lost in thought. He didn't acknowledge them but they were fine with it, having known even before they left the house to go to the bar that he would be spaced out all night and maybe Saturday morning, but if it meant that he and Liv got to see each other again and maybe reconnect then they wouldn't care about it for the night.
"What was that about?" Olivia had seen the interaction between Elliot and Fin, and she was not happy about it. She was sure that Fin was on her side, him also being mad at him after all these years for just leaving without a word. But now she had her doubts.
"Nothing, just went up to say hello and give him a piece of my mind," He sees the look on her face when he tells her this, knowing that she is thinking that he threatened Elliot and he decided to continue before she could say anything, "don't worry, I didn't do anything stupid, alright?" After he said that he tries to plead with his eyes for her not to question the conversation between them, not knowing what he would tell her if she asked, but she just nodded letting him know that she would let it be, but he knew his best friend and she will ask him about it later, so he needed to come up with a lie, fast.
They turn their attention back to the rest of their friends and gets back into the conversation again. A few minutes she is done with her beer and instead of taking one of the new ones Carisi have just gotten for the group, she decides that she could use a glass of red wine.
"A glass of merlot, please," Olivia tells the bartender, leaning up against the bar with her back to the two groups, not noticing someone walk up to her.
"Liv?" Olivia jumps having no idea someone is standing behind her, usually, she could feel when someone was creeping up on her, but with all her emotions flying all over her place, her body wasn't on alert.
She turns around and when she sees who is standing behind her, she gets a big smile on her face.
"Maureen? Oh my God, I haven't seen you in years," They give each other a hug and Olivia asks Maureen what she is doing now.
"Well I'm working as a teacher now at Central Park East High School and I just love it. I live a few blocks from dad with my boyfriend Rick, who I have been with for 5 years now," Maureen said with a happy smile, showing Liv how content she is with her life, and Olivia can't help but smile. "That's great, Maureen, I'm happy for you."
"Thanks, Liv. How are you doing?" Maureen hadn't seen Olivia in years but she still sees her as a friend, and Maureen hopes that Olivia feels the same way. Olivia had been just like a best friend for all of the Stabler kids, she would always hang out with them when they were young, taking them to the mall or beach, and they would always get ice-cream and never tell their parents.
"I'm doing fine. I got a kid, Noah, he is 4 years old. And I'm still at SVU as you probably know by now," Olivia smiles at the younger woman while telling her this, and Maureen could see how her smile got even bigger when she mentioned Noah.
"How nice, and yeah, I figured, but where is Munch or Cragen?" Having thought of it when she first stepped into the bar.
"They retired, but we still see them often," Olivia tells Maureen.
"Oh, who is running the squad then?" Maureen asks surprised even though she should have known, no one is getting any younger these days.
"I am actually, I'm a lieutenant now," Olivia tells the girl with a proud smile on her face.
"Oh my God, Liv, I'm so happy for you," Maureen always knew that Olivia would be working the job forever, and she isn't the only one. She gives Olivia a hug again happy for her, "Good for you."
"Thanks," Olivia takes a sip of her wine, the bartender had placed the glass a few minutes ago.
"Well Liv, I really want to talk to you about something. It's about dad," Maureen tells Olivia with a nervous smile, hoping the Lieutenant would hear her out.
"What about him?" Olivia asks and her smile fades a little, she really doesn't want to talk about him right now, with him sitting a few feet away.
"If he was to ask you if you two can talk, can you give him a chance? I know you don't want to and I understand, I do, but he has been through some tough times these couple of years," Maureen can see that Olivia isn't thrilled about the idea but she decides to continue anyway. "He and mom got a divorce, he took it pretty hard, even though he saw it coming, we all did. And he couldn't get over the shooting accident at the precinct, he even went to a therapist, and we all know that is so unlike dad. He needed to get away, not just from the precinct, from all of us. We didn't see him for a few months, but he came back, and he is just the same, you know?" Maureen really wants them talk thinks trough, for all their sakes.
"Yeah, he came back to you, not me, that has to mean something," Olivia tells Maureen, now she just wants to go home and not be at the bar anymore. She takes a big sip before continuing, "And you shouldn't be doing this for him, even if he doesn't know that you are up here talking to me about him, he should be doing this himself, but he isn't, and that just shows that he isn't interested."
"He is interested, Liv, he is just afraid that you won't allow him to talk to you. Even if he left the squad, he misses you all, especially you. He still has pictures of you, one of them is even on his nightstand, well he puts it away at day when we are at his apartment, but when he is going to bed he puts it back up at the table. He hasn't been as happy as he was when he was with you, you two were best friends, and then he saw you and he has been all weird. Will you please give him a chance if he tries to contact you?" Maureen is now pleading, but she doesn't care, she want her daddy to be happy again.
"I don't know Maur, I really don't. Now I have to get back to the table before Fin or Barba comes up to check on me. It was nice seeing you again, it shouldn't be years before we do again." She winks at the younger woman before heading back to her table, and Maureen watch her for a bit before she does the same.
