Chapter Ten
When he got home later that evening, Olivia was asleep on the couch. He had thought long and hard about what Fin had suggested. He still wasn't sure what they should do. He wasn't sure that there was anything they could do, 'cause it's not like they could find Rook without going to the theater. They didn't even know where he was. He didn't want to wake her up, but he knew it was a good idea, the twins would be coming home any minute, and they were never quiet when they entered anywhere.
He knelt beside the couch and kissed her softly on the lips. ''Liv, hon, wake up. You and I have to eat something. We haven't eaten all day. I'm going to go make some sandwiches.''
Olivia yawned and stirred. She had changed into a pair of his boxers and an Aerosmith tee. She smiled at him. ''Are you finished painting already?'' She asked, as she sat up.
Elliot nodded. ''Yeah, the first two coats are up. I'm going to make us some sandwiches. What do you say to that? I know you haven't eaten all day.''
Olivia knew she hadn't. She'd been too nervous before the service. She'd been worried that one of Kathy's family members was going to try and start a fight with her. ''I guess that sounds good, I am really hungry. Make mine peanut butter.'' She yawned again. She was exhausted. Baby Benson-Stabler was really tiring her out.
Elliot headed into the kitchen to get out some turkey and ham. Olivia joined him, rubbing her stomach. It was finally grumbling. He grinned at her, and then remembered he had to tell her about Fin's plan. ''Um, there's something that I have to tell you about. I am opposed to the idea, but they wanted me to run it by you.''
Olivia sat down at the table, wanting to help him, but feeling too drained. ''Go ahead and tell me. It must be something that I'm not going to want to hear.''
Elliot nodded. ''You're right. Fin called while I was painting, and told me that Rook made a ransom demand for Casey. I told you he kidnapped her, right?'' He knew he hadn't, but he figured the best approach was to pretend he thought he had. He was glad that she hadn't watched the news.
Olivia narrowed her eyes at him. She knew he hadn't, but she wasn't going to fight about it. It was just lucky for him that she hadn't seen the press conference. ''No, you didn't. So, what did Rook demand? Lots of money? What does it have to do with us?''
Elliot smiled sheepishly at her, then turned serious again. ''Well, the deal is, he wants us to deliver 500 thousand dollars to this abandoned theater in a couple of days at noon. He wants to talk to us. I don't know why. Fin wants to send in a lot of backup and put a bulletproof vest on you. I am opposed to it, but they don't know where Rook is and they have no way of finding him.''
Olivia knew she shouldn't want to do this, but she wouldn't be herself if she didn't want to. She was pregnant now, if something went wrong, she'd be taking Baby Benson-Stabler with her. ''I think you should think about it. I'll go, but I'm not going in that theater. I'll stay with the captain.'' She stopped as he looked at her. ''I won't be able to just sit here, wondering what's happening. I'll drive myself crazy. I'll see if one of the kids will watch Eli.''
Elliot handed her a peanut butter sandwhich, just as she'd requested. ''I want to do it, for Casey. I'll wear the bullet proof vest. It'll be fine. I've done this before. Plus, there'll be plenty of backup.''
Before there could be any more talk about it, the twins came home. They had taken Eli with them, so Kathy's family could see him. Liz was holding him and the diaper bag. ''Liv, he's getting fussy. I think he wants his mommy to give him some dinner.'' She ignored the look from her twin as she handed her brother off to Liv.
Elliot put all the food away, and got himself and Olivia something to drink. ''Did you both get enough to eat at the restaurant?'' He asked, smiling to himself at what Lizzie had said.
Lizzie nodded as she got herself a water from the fridge. ''Daddy, can I ask you something?'' She wanted to know what his intentions towards Olivia were. She had had to endure two hours of her aunts talking badly about Olivia, and wondering if Elliot was going to marry her.
Elliot was wary of this. Lately, whenever Liz asked him this, it was never something that he wanted to answer. ''Um, I guess so. Am I going to get mad at you for whatever you're planning on asking me?''
Liz shrugged. ''Maybe. You can take it however you want, I just want to know when you're planning on making an honest woman out of Livvy. So are Aunt Lucy and Aunt Debbie. I don't think they want to know as much as I do, though. Well, they want to know for different reasons.'' Her blonde hair hung over her shoulder, and Elliot could see the streaks of pink. They were definitely going to have a discussion about those at a later date. He didn't want to upset her, since she had just lost her mother, so it could wait. Not for long, though.
Elliot took a deep breath, to stave off the anger, and then said, very calmly, ''How is that anyone's business? Liv and I are really happy right now, let's keep everyone else out of it.'' He was proud of himself for not losing his temper.
His daughter just shook her head and took her brother in the living room. Olivia finished feeding Eli and said, ''I'm going to take him to bed. Then I'm going to bed myself. You coming in a little bit?''
Elliot nodded, and figured that would be the right time. He waited until Olivia had gone into Eli's room and then went to get the ring out of his jacket pocket. Thank God no one had found it. He took a glance at the twins. They were too busy being absorbed in Hogan Knows Best to pay attention to him. He put it in his pocket, and then actually paid attention to the screen. ''Is that Hulk Hogan?'' He asked incredulously.
Lizzie looked over at him. ''Yeah, Dad. It's like The Osbournes, only it's the Hogans. You know Hulk Hogan, he's a famous wrestler.'' She stopped at the stymied look on her father's face. ''It's a reality show, Dad. You know, where there's no "script"?'' She said, using air quotes for the word script. She and Dickie watched it all the time, and since it wasn't too serious, it gave them something to focus on, so they didn't have to think about Kathy.
Elliot rolled his eyes at her. ''I know what a reality show is, Elizabeth Stabler. You can cut the sarcasm. Just make sure you don't stay up too late, we're getting ready for the garage sale tomorrow.'' He told them, and then headed into the bedroom.
Liv wasn't there yet, so he hid the ring in the nightstand drawer, and then grabbed a pair of pajamma bottoms out of the dresser. Then he got on the bed to wait for Liv.
She came in a few minutes later, looking happy. ''I sung our son to sleep. It was the most amazing feeling.'' She told him, as she joined him on the bed. She snuggled up next to him.
Elliot told her to close her eyes and reached into the drawer, pulling out the ring. He held it behind him and then said, ''Livvy, I want to say something to you. I know there's a lot going on right now, and this is probably incredibly selfish of me, but I want to say that I love you more than I have ever loved anyone else in my entire life. I don't want to waste another minute. Will you please make me even happier than you already have and marry me?'' He pulled the ring out from behind him, as Olivia turned pink.
She had opened her eyes when he had started speaking, and her eyes had filled with tears. She looked at the ring, admiring it. It was so beautiful. ''Elliot Stabler, I can't believe you expect me to say anything but yes!'' She managed to say, and then smiled through her tears as he slipped it on her finger.
Elliot, whose own eyes had filled with tears, smiled at her. ''I knocked you up, I may as well make you my wife.'' He said, laughing. She laughed, too, as she captured his mouth in a kiss.
The next morning, they awoke to find the apartment bright. It was seven-thirty, and they heard the kids making noise in the kitchen. Elliot groaned, and rolled out from underneath Olivia. He got his cell and headed into the bathroom. He'd forgotten to call Fin and let him know what he and Liv had decided to do.
Fin answered on the third ring, sounding harried. ''Tutuola.'' He said, and Elliot wondered what he was doing.
Elliot yawned and wet his hair. ''It's Elliot. I wanted to tell you that we'll be there. Livvy's going to stay with Cragen, and it'll be me talking to Rook. Is that cool? I still want Livvy in a vest and all the backup we can spare. I'm going to wear one, too. Just in case. I don't want anything to happen, especially now that Kathy's gone.''
Fin could hear the catch in his friend's voice. ''Cool, El, I'll let Cragen know. Meet us here at the precinct, so we can go over the plan one more time.''
Elliot told him that they would, and then hung up the phone. He got in the shower really quick, and then got out, wrapping a towel around his waist. He could hear his kids and his fiancee in the kitchen, talking about the garage sale. He shook his head. The twins were really taking Kathy's death way too well. Maybe he'd ask Huang to talk to them.
He dressed in his oldest pair of jeans and blue tank top. It was really starting to warm up. It was only just May. He didn't want to get anything nicer real dirty, just in case someone bought some of the furniture they were selling. He wasn't going to make them lift it themselves.
When he got to the kitchen, Olivia was just finishing up feeding Eli. ''Morning, baby.'' She said, giving him a kiss. She then kissed Eli on the forehead and passed him off to Lizzie. ''I've got to go get ready. I'm going to wear one of your tanks.'' She told him, and smiled at the way his eyes widened. He liked her in his clothes.
Elliot smiled his lazy Stabler smile. ''I like that.'' He gave her a kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist. He couldn't believe how happy he was. He hadn't been this happy in a very long time.
Olivia gave him another long kiss and extracted herself. ''I have to get ready, baby. We both know I never will unless you let go.'' She laughed as he made a pouty face at her and took off for the bedroom.
Dickie watched this display with displeasure. His father left the room, too, saying he was going to go call their sisters. He wasn't so sure that his father should be macking on his new girlfriend like that in front of himself and his twin. He looked at his sister. She didn't seem a bit bothered by it at all. ''Liz, Dad was just macking on Liv right in front of us.'' He told her. He didn't care if his dad was with Liv, he didn't even care that they were engaged, he just didn't need to see it just yet.
His sister took Eli into the living room, her brother following. ''You know I don't care. I had a problem with it at first, but Daddy's happy, and Liv's been really great. I'm not saying that she replaces Mom by any means, but it's nice having her here.'' She placed her brother in the playpen.
Dickie folded his arms. ''I can't believe you're saying this. What about Mom? Don't you miss her?'' His eyes flashed just like his father's when he was angry. Lizzie always wanted to laugh.
Lizzie sighed. ''Of course I do, Dickie. I just want to make things as easy on Dad and Liv as I can. I know that having five kids thrust on you isn't easy, and I told you, Liv's been great.''
Dickie rolled his eyes. ''I guess so. I just think Dad's making a huge mistake. Plus, now we have to act like we like her. You know Dad won't actually want to know our real feelings.''
Lizzie replied, ''Maureen and Kathleen don't like the sitch, and they aren't going to hide their feelings about it. Just 'cause you're still living at home, doesn't mean that you can't tell him how you really feel. He can't tell you that you're not allowed to feel that way. Besides, he's going to be a little more lenient than he usually is, since he's giving us time to grieve for Mom. I know, 'cause he didn't say anything about my pink streaks yet. They aren't permanent, anyway. But even if he did, I wouldn't use that to my advantage. I really do miss Mom.'' She wiped tears from her eyes.
Dickie put his arm around his sister. ''I'm not going to take advantage of it, either, but I just don't feel right about Dad and Liv.'' He held his sister as she cried on his shoulder.
A few minutes later, Liv was ready for the sale. She pulled out her cell as they herded the twins and Eli out to the car. She was calling Cragen. She was really worried about Casey. She wanted to know if there had been any news. ''Don, it's Liv. I just want to know if we've heard from Rook.''
Cragen was surprised to hear from her. ''I am happy to report that we have. We managed to trace the last call he placed, and we got Casey out when he wasn't there. We're still on the lookout for him. It was really lucky. I'm thinking that he wanted us to find her. It just seemed to easy.''
Liv was happy. ''Well, I'm glad Casey's OK. Did she have to go to the hospital or anything?'' She was going to have to call Casey after she got off the phone with Cragen. She wanted to make sure that Casey was alright.
Cragen replied, ''No, she was cleared at the scene by EMS. She's taking the day off work, though, and she's meeting you at the house in Queens for the garage sale. I think she's still in shock. Take it easy with her and try to get her to talk about it.''
Olivia was surprised, but she told her boss that she would, said bye, and hung up. She decided to wait until they had gotten to the house to tell Elliot what Cragen had told her. She hoped Casey was OK. She didn't want to even think about the possibility that she wasn't.
When they got there, the twins helped their father set up the tables while Olivia settled on the porch with Eli. She could already feel the heat of the day. Elliot was passing by her on the way to the front yard, and grinned appreciatively at her. She smiled back, glad he was enjoying her in his shirt.
Fin's car pulled up, and Casey got out. Fin waved out the window, and then pulled back out of the driveway. Casey walked up, a little slowly. She was very sore. She appeared to be alright, though. She went and sat down next to Olivia, kissing Eli's cheek. ''Hi.'' She said.
Olivia looked at her incredulously. ''You were kidnapped, let go, and all you can say to me is 'hi'?'' She asked, glad that Eli had finally fallen asleep.
Casey shrugged. ''I'm fine. Cragen, Fin, and Munch are going to catch this guy. He may want that audience with you and El, but he's not going to get it until we catch him. He's got nothing to bargain with. I'm not even sure why he let me go. He just did. I took the chance and I left. And I am here to take my mind off it and help you guys with your sale.'' She broke off as she saw the ring on Liv's left hand. ''When did you acquire that?'' She asked, taking Liv's hand to get a better look at it.
Olivia grinned. She spoke a little softer, so she wouldn't wake Eli. She figured she'd put him in his playpen here in a minute. They'd brought it so she wouldn't have to hold him all day. ''Last night. It was so romantic, Casey. I just, I am so happy I could burst.''
Casey said, ''It is a nice ring. I wonder if he picked it out all by himself.'' She let go of her friend's hand and looked at it glinting in the sun. She watched as Olivia put Eli in the playpen.
Olivia nodded. ''Yeah, it is.'' She was going to say something more when Liz walked up to her, looking timid. She turned her gaze to her soon-to-be step-daughter and asked, ''What's up, Liz?''
Lizzie said, ''Daddy wants to know what you want to do with the money. He doesn't have anything to put it in, and he doesn't want to carry all that cash around in his pocket.''
Olivia said, ''Just a minute, I've got a shoebox somewhere in the living room we can use.'' She told Casey to hold on a minute, and headed into the living room.
Elliot was standing in the yard, taking a minute. His entire life with Kathy was sitting on tables all over the yard. He took a deep breath, and when his daughter had returned with the shoebox, he was fine. He could now face the day of selling all these things that they didn't need anymore.