Law and Order: SVU is the intellectual property of Dick Wolf. The use of the characters, settings, and plotlines is not malicious. This is a work of fiction.
"Liv, how do you say, 'My brother ate my homework' in Spanish?" Maureen asked, glaring at her little brother angrily.
Laughing as she worked a wooden spoon around a frying pan, she said, "Mi hermano comió mi tarea." Then, realizing, she turned around sharply and looked at the kids, who were sitting on the stools by the breakfast nook, doing their homework. "What? Why?"
Maureen, her lips pressed together tightly, folded her arms. "Dickie slobbered all over my essay! I can't hand it in like this! Senora Guerro will have a fit!"
Dickie rolled his eyes. "Drama queen," he said. "Liv, I just spilled my water on it, I didn't try to eat it, and look, it's dry already!"
Liv shook her head and chuckled, and then turned back to the sauteing onions and peppers. "We're all good then."
"How do you use 'rapturously' in a sentence?" Kathleen asked, sticking the end of her pen in her mouth and looking reverently at Olivia.
Olivia threw sliced sausage into the pan, stirred a bit, and then turned to the children again. "What is something that you enjoy doing?"
"Opening Christmas presents," Dickie said with a gasp and ecstatic grin. "And collecting bugs!"
Kathleen threw her pen cap at him. "Weirdo," she said snidely. "Um, well...this." She slumped over a bit. "I enjoy this. All of us, together, you...helping us with our homework, and cooking." She sighed and dropped her pen to the counter top. "When do you and Daddy have to go back to working all night?"
Olivia looked at the dejected fifth grader. "Oh, honey," she said, moving over toward the kids. She rested one hand on Maureen's shoulder and looped her other arm around Kathleen. "Soon," she said, "But, I promise, we will all have breakfast together every morning we can, and weekends...weekend are ours. Or, um, yours. Yours and your father's."
Maureen looked up at Olivia. "You were right the first time," she said softly. "We like being with you, too, Liv. It almost...you just sometimes remind me of..." She let her head drop into Olivia's side. "I miss her."
"I know you do, sweetie," Olivia whispered back, bending to kiss the top of her head. "I know." She brushed the twelve year old's hair back and let out a breath. She looked back at Kathleen and said, "You wouldn't do homework rapturously. Think more along the lines of your brother's Christmas present idea." She smiled and winked, reached over and ruffled Dickie's hair. "You guys should wash up for dinner, it won't be long."
"Okay, Liv," Lizzie shouted, piling her school things up and slipping away from the counter with a hop. The other followed her, heading upstairs chattering and chuckling.
Olivia let out yet another sigh as she watched them go, and then went back to the stove to finish the sausage and peppers. She lost herself in thought as she seasoned and stirred, and she didn't hear Elliot stepping up behind her.
"Amazing," he whispered into her ear. He jerked back when she jumped, but he put both of hands on her hips and said, "Easy. It's just me."
One hand over her chest, she nodded. "Christ," she spat, swatting him in the chest. "Make a noise or something, next time."
Elliot ran his hands up and down a few times, sliding over her sides, and he looked into her eyes. "I, uh, I heard that. All of it. You know, you're not missing out on the fun on the weekends."
She laughed and nodded. "I just didn't want them to think...I'm trying to take their mother's place, and I'm not trying to insert myself into their lives if it's not what they want." She let her hands fall, wrapping around his arms. "If they ever need time with you, alone, I'll take a hike."
Elliot kissed the end of her nose, and then her forehead. "No one wants you to take a hike," he said, "Unless we were all taking one with you. That's actually a good idea, we should go hiking this weekend."
Olivia laughed, thinking he was only saying it to make her feel better. "Dinner's almost ready." She turned around, feeling his arms linger.
He moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder as she finished off the meal and turned off the heat. "Smells wonderful," he said, moaning softly and breathing deeply again, his head buried in her neck. "You do, too."
She thwapped him in the head with a potholder and laughed, trying to maneuver around the stove while staying in his arms. She discovered she loved being there, and the longer she could stay, the happier she was. "Back up," she said, slipping her hand into the mitt and grabbing the pan's handle. She set down a trivet and placed the pan on top, and then looked over her shoulder with a quirked eyebrow. "You know, you're making this really..."
He stopped her speaking with a kiss. He tightened his hold on her, spinning her a bit, until she was pressed against him. He let his tongue slide lightly along the seam of her lips, begging for admission to the rest of her mouth. He moaned, half in relief and half in desperation, when she let him in and wrapped her arms around his neck. He could feel his heart hitting against his chest and, for a moment, he wondered if she could feel it against hers. He moaned again, one hand creeping up her back and hooking around the back of her neck, his fingertips extending and pressing against the back of her head, tangling up in her hair. Unsure how, if he even consciously made the choice, he lifted her up a bit, literally sweeping her off of her feet, and he mumbled something against her lips that only made sense in his own head.
She nodded anyway, murmuring his name and something else in return, her fingertips digging into the flesh under his shoulder blades. After another long moment, she had to pull back, but she rested her head against his as she struggled to catch her breath. "The kids are gonna..."
"Yeah, I know," he panted, his lips burning and tingling. He knew they were red now, chapped, but he needed so badly to kiss her again. He flicked his wrist hard, lifting her head and forcing her mouth back against his for another long, searing kiss. He pulled away from her, though, when he head the first instance of creaking on the stairs. He took a deep breath and took a step away from her, but still he stared into her eyes. She couldn't deny it now. No one could.
She licked her own swollen lips and as the kids rushed into the living room she said, "Plates. Forks. The...the bread and...if you want butter." She pointed, though her hand was shaking, to the refrigerator and tried to regain composure. Taking another slow, deep breath, she turned to look down at the pan filled with browned sausage, peppers, and onions, and she tried to recall how she even learned to make it.
Elliot opened a drawer and pulled out a large metal ladle, handing it to Olivia. He held out a plate to her as he bent over and kissed her temple.
A shiver ran up her spine as she scooped a helping onto the plate, and then she picked up two small rolls and set them on the edge of the dish. She laughed as Elliot jabbed a piece of sausage with a fork and she carried the food over to the table, setting it down in front of Lizzie. She and Elliot shared the task of doling out the rest of the meals, and then finally sat down together, both smiling.
"Oh," Elliot said, before taking a single bit of his dinner, "The entire reason I went looking for you in the kitchen..." he leaned closer and lowered his voice, "Besides my constant need to be near you," he said with a wag of his eyebrows, "Your landlord called."
"Did he?" she replied, playing dumb as she tore open her roll to make a sandwich out of her sausage and peppers. She knew the landlord called. And she knew why.
"Yeah," he said, nodding. "He said you can pick up your security deposit return tomorrow, and he told me to thank you for keeping the place in perfect condition." He stared at her for a moment. "You moved out? So you're staying, with me? With us?"
She looked at him, then, her eyes unblinking, still and quiet. It was enough to answer him.
"Thank you," he breathed, smiling, and he winked at her as he finally put his full forkful of food into his mouth. He let out a satisfied moan as he nodded and eagerly went in for another bite, thinking of a way to pay her back for everything she had done, and was still doing. It would take work, but he'd do it.
Peace and Love
Jo
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