Author's note: Heyy everybody! The comments have been really great, thank you all! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as the others. So without further the delay, here you go...

Disclaimer: I don't own L&O:SVU :(

CHAPTER NINE

"Livvie Livvie! We had pizza for dinner tonight!" Eli yelled into the phone.

"Eli, that isn't that exciting. You had pizza for dinner last week." I heard one of his sisters in the background.

"Is too!" I heard him yell back, knowing that he was probably sticking his tongue out right about now.

"Eli! You're on the phone, stop talking to us while you're on the phone!" What sounded like Lizzie yelled.

"Lizzie! You're getting water everywhere!" I could hear Kathleen yelled towards her sister.

"Sorry!" She yelled back.

"Swimming!" I heard Eli yell excitedly.

"Eli, you can't go swimming in a puddle in the middle of the kitchen floor." Dickie stated, sounding like he was annoyed.

I sat on my bed laughing as I heard the kids fighting. "How do you all even fit into that kitchen?" I asked into the phone.

"What?" Eli responded to me.

"Eli, can you hand the phone to one of you siblings please?" I asked him, still smiling at the commotion.

"Maurie!" I heard him yell to his oldest sister. "Maurie! Livvie wants you!"

"Okay, hold on." I could hear her yelling. "Dickie mop up the water, would you please? Kathleen, can you give Eli a bath and get him ready for bed please? Lizzie, finish the dishes up and go finish whatever you were doing on the computer, I need to finish my English paper." She ordered her siblings around. "Hey Olivia, what's up?"

"Who are you and what have you done with my crazy Maureen Stabler?" I said into the phone, referring to her handling of her siblings.

"Haha you're very funny." She replied. "How's everything?" She repeated.

"It's…it's complicated to say the least sweetie. How's everything with you all?" I asked her.

"It's fine, Dickie just loves sharing the pullout couch with Eli, and Lizzie is ecstatic about sharing Kathleen's bed." She explained.

"How did you end up not having to share a bed?" I asked.

"Well, nobody wanted to share the bed with me and my boy-" She froze when she realized what she was about to say. "I just lucked out." She quickly said.

"Maureen, I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that, just don't do anything stupid." I told her. "Are Dickie and Lizzie getting to school on time? Is Eli being good?" I asked, knowing I sounded more like a mother than I ever have before.

"Yea, they've made it on time both mornings, and Eli is just fine. But you still haven't answered me fully Olivia, how is everything. Where are you even?" She responded.

I heard a knock on my door and got up as I started to answer her. "I told you already Maureen, the captain needed me to go get something for him." As I opened the door I was shocked.

"Hi Liv." He said as he stood in front of me.

"Olivia? Who's that?" I heard Maureen ask on the phone.

"I'll...I'll call you tomorrow honey." I said as I stared at him and hung up the phone. "What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"Can I come in?" He asked, pushing his way in a little.

"Why should I let you?" I asked him, knowing that eventually I would let him in.

"Because you owe me since you yelled at me earlier today." He responded.

"How did you even know where I was staying?" I asked him.

"I'm a cop." He replied "It wasn't hard to find you. Now can we talk?" He asked me.

"About what Elliot?" I asked him, not trying to hide the attitude bleeding from my voice.

"You know exactly what Olivia." He answered, mocking my tone.

"Fine," I said, stepping aside and let him in. "Talk." I commanded as I shut the door.

"How are they? My kids, how are they?" He asked me as he sat down in the desk chair.

"They're doing well, Maureen and Kathleen share an apartment and are both going to college. Dickie and Lizzie are both doing well in school, and Eli is starting preschool in the fall. They are all doing perfectly fine, no thanks to their father." I answered.

"I couldn't do it Olivia." He told me. "I thought I was doing what was best."

"How could you have thought that was best Elliot?" I asked him. "You left your five children, one being only days old, with your partner, who never had kids nor knew how to raise them. How could you think that was best El?" I continued, feeling the tears starting to well.

"I thought it was best because I knew you would be there for them Liv, just like you always have been for me. I knew you wouldn't let them down." He said, standing and walking over to envelope me in a hug. "I knew you would take care of them."

I pulled away after a moment. "Don't think you're forgiven Elliot. Do you know what I've been through since you've been gone?" I said to him. "Do you know how hard it was to tell your kids that their father left them? How hard it was trying to explain to Eli when he started to talk and would say 'momma', that I wasn't his mother, how hard it was when he asked 'mommy where daddy?' Explaining to the captain and the squad that I couldn't do overtime anymore, that I had to be out on time. How hard it was to get time off for their sports and school events. Do you know how hard it is to take care of five children who aren't even your own. I mean, I love your kids and I would have taken them in again in a heartbeat, don't get me wrong, but Elliot, they are your kids. I love them but they are your kids, and they need you."

"I know that Olivia, and I'm sorry, but I needed to get away. I couldn't handle it." He replied.

"You couldn't handle it Elliot, I watched Kathy die, and I held Eli while she took her last breaths. I didn't get to run away when life got hard for me, why did you?" I spoke.

"I know, I'm sorry Olivia." He said, pulling me in for another hug as he saw the tears over flowing in my eyes.

I stood in his arms for a little while, silently thinking. "Elliot?" His name stumbled out of my mouth finally.

"Yes?" He answered.

"Please come back." I all but begged of him. "Please, your kids need you." I said, before adding quietly, "I need you."


"Ready to go?" I asked when Elliot opened his front door?

He nodded as he pulled his suitcase out into the hall and turned to shut and lock his door. "Let's go." He said to me as we walked down the hall.

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Note: This story is coming to an end soon, so...yea... :)