An Unexpected Alliance
Olivia was a nervous wreck about the upcoming dinner at the Stabler's. For all of the years that she'd been partnered with Elliot, there'd been a certain amount of tension between her and Kathy. She could understand it to an extent. She and Elliot spent many hours a day together, and understood each other in ways that no one else could. Still, she had never once crossed the line romantically or sexually with Elliot and had always been friendly to his wife. Elliot was a handsome guy and if circumstances were different, she might have been interested in more. But, he was married, and her partner. A personal relationship would jeopardize their ability to have each other's backs in an emergency. They'd both seen it happen to other cops and knew better than to cross that line.
It was hard to explain the partner relationship to outsiders. No one thought twice of the bond between two men when they'd been working together for years, but add a woman to the mix and there was constant speculation. Partners got close out of necessity. Even if you didn't like the person you were assigned with, you knew them better than anyone else. Part of it was the endless hours spent together, often on boring tasks like stakeouts, waiting to testify in court and filling out paperwork. Partners saw each other in the best and worst of times—in their strongest and weakest moments. It was important to know your partner well so you'd know how they'd reaction in a tough situation. With her and Elliot, being of different genders mixed it up a little, in the sense that he treated her like he was her big brother and she tended to mother him. Elliot knew all of her hot spots and she his.
Olivia followed Elliot home in her car that night. She didn't want him to have to go out again to take her home, plus she wanted the option of an early exit if things got too uncomfortable. It was hard to know what to expect. Kathy calling her out of the blue and asking her to write a reference was a big surprise.
Elliot thought she was crazy when she insisted on stopping at the florist to pick up a bouquet of fall flowers, but her mother had always taught her to never arrive empty-handed. She'd dressed carefully that morning in a sweater and black pants, not too dressy, not too casual.
They arrived at the Stabler house at 6:30. Elliot waited for her while she parked her car on the street.
"You look like you're about to walk down death row," he teased her. "Honestly, my kids aren't THAT bad!"
He always knew how to make her relax. She elbowed him in the side and followed him through the garage and in the side door.
They were greeted by an assault of wonderful smells. Lizzie was at the kitchen table playing with the baby in his highchair. Kathy was at the stove and turned to greet them, her face slightly flushed but wearing a welcoming smile.
"Olivia! I'm so glad you could come on such short notice." Lizzie added her own shy hello. She'd always been a bit intimidated by her father's partner, mostly because she was so totally different from any of the other adult woman she knew. She carried a gun!
Olivia handed Kathy the flowers. "Thanks for the invitation. Everything smells wonderful."
There was an awkward pause, and then everyone sprang into action. Kathy thanked Olivia for the flowers and went to the cupboard for a vase. Elliot poured a glass of wine for him and Olivia and topped off Kathy's. Lizzzie went to call Dickie for dinner.
Olivia sat down in the chair next to Eli and tapped on his high chair try with her long nails. "Hi, little guy, how are you? You're getting so big!" Eli looked at her solemnly and turned to look at his father for reassurance. At nine months, he wasn't sure about strangers. Elliot laughed and scooped him out of his high chair.
"She won't bite," he promised his son. "Or at least, not too hard."
Without giving her a chance to object, he passed his son over to Olivia. "Here, hold him while I take his high chair in the other room."
Kathy tried not to laugh at the look of panic on Olivia's face. She adjusted Eli on her hip so they were looking at each other face to face. Eli stared for a moment, then reached out to grab at one of her dangly earrings. Olivia grabbed his hand just in time. Kathy stifled a chuckle. "Here," she said, handing Olivia one of his toys. "Maybe this will keep him from mutilating your ear lobes, but no guarantees. I haven't been able to wear anything but posts since he turned four months old."
Dickie came thundering down the stairs. "Hi, Ms Benson, he said cheerfully. Kathy put him and his twin to work, carrying dishes out to the dining room. Elliot came back to help. "I hope you don't mind eating so early." Kathy said to Olivia. "The kids will revolt if we wait any longer."
"Not at all," smiled Olivia. She was in the process of removing her earrings and putting them in her pocket. "I'm thrilled to be having a home cooked meal. For me, it's usually take out at midnight."
They sat down at the table in the dining room. Olivia was caught off guard when the family automatically joined hands while Elliot said Grace, but recovered in time to slip her hand into Dickie's on her right. To her left was Eli in his highchair, and he was busy trying to trying to clamber out of it. As soon as Grace was over, Elliot picked him up and sat him in his lap.
"You spoil him," chided Kathy, passing the first dish to Lizzie. "He is perfectly content to sit in that chair when you're not home."
"What's the point of having a baby if you can't spoil him?" asked Elliot, handing his son the heel of the French bread to gnaw on.
Dickie and Lizzie groaned in unison. "You could spoil us instead," suggested Lizzie. Elliot considered this for a moment. "Nah," he said. "Your little brother is cuter."
"See how he is?" Dickie turned to Olivia. "Is he this mean to everyone down at the station?"
Olivia looked at Elliot, a twinkle in her eye. "Pretty much," she admitted to Dickie.
"But Finn puts him in his place now and then."
The twins laughed to think of someone getting the best of their quick-tongued father. Kathy smiled, finally able to relax and enjoy herself. She was drinking more wine that she was eating, but that was ok. She'd earned it.
When the meal was over, the twins helped clear the table and excused themselves to go do homework.
"They're great kids," said Olivia to Kathy. Elliot had gone into the kitchen for coffee. "You and Elliot have done a great job with them."
"Thanks," replied Kathy. Her children were her life's work. Since she and Elliot had married at twenty, already expecting their daughter Maureen, she'd hadn't done much but be a mother but that was mostly fine with her.
"How are the older girls?" asked Olivia. This was a more delicate subject, she knew, but felt it would be like ignoring the elephant in the room to not ask. She was well aware of the problems Elliot and Kathy had had, first with Maureen as a rebellious teen who'd run away from home and then Kathleen, acting out due to an untreated bipolar disorder.
"They're doing okay," said Kathy, accepting a cup of coffee from her husband. He carried the baby on his shoulder, passing out cups and going back for the pot of coffee. "Maureen is working part-time and taking classes. Kathleen, well….she's still struggling, but she's got a job and seems to do better living with Maureen than she did here." Kathy looked up at Elliot with a rueful smile. "She sees Maureen as an ally, where we were always the enemy."
"She'll come around eventually," said Elliot. "As long as she keeps taking her meds, I'm okay with it."
Elliot sat back down, a sleepy Eli leaning against his chest and sucking his thumb. The four older kids were blond and looked like their mother, but the baby looked like a mini-Elliot with fine, dark hair and intense blue eyes. It was already evident that he was going to have his father's short and compact build as well.
Olivia turned to Kathy. "I have to say, I was surprised when you asked me to write your reference letter, Kathy." she said. "But I was pleased to do it. I sent it in this morning and made you a copy." She pulled a folder paper out of her pants pocket and handed it across the table to Kathy.
"Thanks, Olivia," Kathy accepted the paper and slid it under her plate without looking at it. "I really appreciate it." She explained her reasons for not wanting all of her references to come from church personnel, which made both Olivia and Elliot laugh.
"Tell me about your degree plans," urged Olivia. "El says you want to go into counseling."
Kathy flinched inwardly at the use of her husband's nickname, but reached for the course catalog from the bookcase. Elliot stood up. "If you ladies will excuse me for a few minutes," he said, "I'm going to go get this little guy settled in for the night."
"Thanks, hon." Said Kathy, barely taking her eyes off the catalog she was opening to show Olivia, "But would you mind bringing us another bottle of wine before you go up with him?"
Elliot stood in the doorway, sleepy baby in arms and looked at a scene he'd never imagined in his wildest dreams—his wife and his partner, at his dining room table, surrounded by the remains of a dinner cooked by his wife, with their heads bent over a book and engaged in energetic discussion over the merits of various electives. He shook his head, and went, grinning, to get the bottle of wine.
