"Liv! How are things in Philadelphia?"

Olivia smiled as soon as she recognized the young woman's voice. "Things are good here. How are things back home?"

Maureen sighed. "They're still hectic. The whole lot of us just moved back into mom's place to take care of Eli and the twins. Kathleen is moving her stuff tomorrow. She wants to be with the rest of us for the time being. The commute to school will be tougher for the both of us but it'll be good on the family. The twins are doing a lot to help out so it's going better than we expected."

Olivia let out a sigh. It was horrible, having to watch the kids go through all of this. And Maureen. The young woman had such a big heart that she put her needs behind everyone else's. Her family meant so much, but Olivia regretted having to see her give up herself to take care of the others.

"You know that I'm here for you for anything, anything at all. New York is only a thirteen minute flight away after all."

Maureen laughed. "So I've heard. And I know that Liv. I've always been able to count on you."

Olivia smiled as she set down her phone and hit speaker. She was reviewing some paperwork and needed both of her hands. "So how's your mother doing?"

Maureen shrugged, although Olivia couldn't actually see her. "Indifferent, or so I've been told."

"Have you not gone to visit her?" Olivia asked, a little stunned by Maureen's response.

Maureen sighed. "Not since that first day. We talked about it, Kathleen, the twins and me. It wasn't worth the pain. We are still having a hard time to forgive her, and we see what dad is going through, so we don't want to be going through the same thing. Everyone is coping just fine, and having had Dad around this past week has been the best medicine of all."

Olivia let out her own sigh. "I know you guys are having a hard time accepting what your mother did, but you have to remember she is still your mother. I don't want to hash things out, but what happens if she doesn't make it? You're old enough to know that the possibility of her not making it is there, Maureen. I don't want you to regret having locked her out and not having had the chance to tell her what's on your mind."

Maureen let out a breath. "We've tried to tell her everything that's been bothering us! I've tried so hard… Ever since we found out the truth about Eli though, she's been like this impenetrable wall that reflects everything you throw at it. She doesn't hear what we've been trying to say, or at least she doesn't try to hear us out. And when she does react, it's always to tell us that we're wrong or to make it seem like things are our fault. Or dads. And you saw Dickie's reaction at the hospital. We've lost all of our respect for her, long before the accident. She's not the same person anymore. She hasn't been for a while…"

"I don't think I'm the person you need to be telling all of this to. Maybe her being unable to reply could give you a chance to hash out everything that's been bothering you without having the fear or the worry that she will toss everything you say away. If she's conscious enough to remember what you said, then at least you have a chance to think about everything you said and come back to it. If she doesn't remember, it's the same. She won't be able to attack you, so what have you got to lose?"

Maureen couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "You know, it's hard to hate you and your stupid ideas when they make sense."

Olivia couldn't help but smile. "All I ask is that you think about it."

Maureen nodded. "I'll talk to the others and maybe we can go visit tomorrow."

"Sounds like a good idea. After all, I'm sure she'd appreciate it too. And so would your father. He's been through a lot too and…" Olivia trailed off, not sure how to end that thought.

Maureen couldn't help but smile. "He's doing alright, now that you ask."

Olivia scoffed. "I never asked thank you very much."

"Yeah, but I know that's what you're thinking about," Maureen snickered.

Olivia sighed. "Okay, you're right. I do worry about him."

Maureen smiled. "Of course you do. He's honestly doing alright. I don't think I've seen him as happy in a long time. Not because of my mother, but I think that spending time with us kids without having to worry about what Kathy has to say helps. A week without having to work helps too."

Olivia smiled. "Yeah, he didn't miss much here."

"Sure he didn't."

Olivia didn't know what Maureen meant by that, but she chose to ignore it.

"Anyway, he's actually on his way to Philly right now. So the two of you should be reunited any minute now."

Olivia laughed. "Oh Maureen, the girl with the crazy imagination. You've always been the dreamer, haven't you?"

Maureen shrugged. "Dreams are what make reality a little more interesting. I just wish you'd give in to your dreams. Both of you. And all of them. It's only a matter of time…"

Olivia rolled her eyes. "As much as you may try, you'll never succeed, because there's nothing going on between me and your father got it?"

"Whatever you say," Maureen replied with a laugh before hanging up.

Olivia couldn't help but laugh as she hung up too.

"You know, I raised a pretty smart girl."

Olivia jumped at the sound of the voice coming from behind her.

"El! You scared me half to death!"

Elliot smiled as he set down his bags and crossed the short distance between them. He took a seat at the end of the couch where Olivia was seated, leaving enough space so that she wouldn't feel trapped. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want to interrupt the heartwarming conversation you were having with my daughter."

Olivia laughed. "How much of it did you hear?"

Elliot shrugged. "Enough to know that my daughter has an awful lot of me in her."

Olivia gave Elliot a questioning look. "Why do you say that?"

Elliot couldn't help but move a little closer to Olivia as he replied. "She's as persistent as me when it comes to you."

As much as Olivia wanted to push him away, to tell him it had been a mistake that couldn't happen again, she couldn't help but smirk.

"All this time with your kids has sure put you in a good mood." She decided that changing the topic was the safest route to take at this point.

Elliot stretched out across the couch, pulling off his shoes as he distanced himself from her. He propped his feet up so that their legs overlapped in the middle. "It really has done wonders on me. I hadn't seen very much of them these past few months. Maureen is so grown up; taking everyone under her wing like she did. And Kathleen has become such a delight. She's not the same troubled girl she was the last time I had had the chance to sit down and talk to her. And the twins, they've matured so much. Graduating. It's crazy to think that they're already graduating. Dickie was telling me about the girl he's been dating and he reminds me so much of him at that age. More cautious, of course, but dedicated and very respectable. Enough to make a father proud. And Lizzie, she reminds me more and more of her sisters every day. She's much more sensitive, but that makes her much more aware of everyone else's pain. And Eli... God, I realized this week how much it doesn't matter than I'm not his biological father. He's my son, no matter what. Just in the way he acts and the way he says certain things... He'll always be my little man and I regret having shut him out. He's so little and he barely understands what's going on and I just made it worse but Liv, having gotten the chance to spend an entire week, with no interruptions, with my kids was the most amazing thing in the world."

Olivia smiled. "I'm glad to hear that El. They really love you, no matter what. When they were younger, they might not have understood why you worked all the time like you do, but they really see it now. They admire all your accomplishments and they appreciate all the things you've done to make sure they are safe and sound."

Elliot nodded. "I got the chance to have some real serious talks with all of them. Even Eli. We talked about everything, negatives and positives and I've never felt closer to my kids than I do right now. The divorce, rather than being tough on everyone, made all of us a little happier and eliminated a lot of stress and bad feelings. I feel like a whole new man. Who would have guessed?"

Olivia studied Elliot's expression and noted that the man had never looked happier in the 12 years they had been together. She was so happy that he was this happy, but even more she was relieved that the man was able to finally be himself. If this was the new Elliot, she was glad she stuck around long enough to see him become who he was today. "I'm really happy that you're happy El. You know I worry about you, right?"

Elliot winked. "Of course I do."

Olivia couldn't help but laugh. His new attitude towards life had made her a happier person too. Too many years together had made them one in the same person. When one of them was hurt, the other was hurting too. When one of them was rejoicing, the other joined in on the happiness. They were the perfect team.

"So how were things here?"

Olivia shrugged. "Not to exciting really. I went to the three group sessions alone this week and I had another private session." Elliot tensed up at this. "Nothing suspicious at all. They were all very regular and I'm starting to like the guy. Mind you, I'm not going to let my guard down so don't worry too much."

Elliot nodded, but still had some concerns. "Any closer to solving the case then?"

Olivia shook her head. "Until Carlos screws up or another couple comes forward about an incident, there isn't much to be investigating. Every other trail has been exhausted and at this point, the team is about ready to just take Carlos in and question him. They won't, because that wouldn't be nearly as productive as the undercover work we're doing, especially in the position I'm in but it's very time consuming and exhausting to work so hard on a case that doesn't seem to be going anywhere, you know?"

Elliot nodded. "Oh I definitely know. I guess we'll just keep doing what we're doing, right?"

Olivia nodded. "We'll go to our sessions as if we weren't cops and had no idea of what was happening and we'll keep smiling like the happy engaged couple we are when we're in that room together." She glanced up at Elliot when she said this and couldn't help but notice the unreadable expression on his face. "Speaking of which," she continued, needing to distract him - and herself - from whatever thoughts were running wild through his head, "we have our Saturday morning session tomorrow and I know I'm already tired so you must be extremely exhausted. Get a good night sleep El. It'll be show time again soon."

Elliot nodded and both of them got up to go their respective ways. Olivia was almost to her bedroom door when she heard Elliot stop moving from across the room and take a deep breath.

"Liv... we still need to talk about-"

She cut him off before he was able to finish the thought she was still not ready to discuss. She didn't turn around when she spoke, too afraid to see the hurt she knew she'd see in her partners eyes. "Elliot..." she said with a sigh, "there's still too much going on with everything and neither one of us are ready to have this conversation, not in our frame of minds..."

"Liv..."

She turned around and regretted it as soon as she took in the look she was dreading to see. He looked like a lost child, not sure where he was supposed to be and who to trust. It killed her, but she knew it was in both of their best interest. "Not tonight, not right now..."

He nodded slowly, before turning back to his door. He had his hand on the doorknob, but before he turned it, she heard him whisper, nearly to himself.

"I wouldn't change a thing Olivia about what happened that night. Just remember that."

She nodded and she could feel her heart being torn apart by the sadness and doubt in his voice. "I know Elliot." She wanted to add me neither, but she knew all to well what that would turn into. She hated leaving him in doubt over them, but she knew what the results were if she confessed that she wanted them to be more as much as he did.

They weren't ready for that. Not right now with everything that was happening.

He wasn't ready.

But she promised herself that she wouldn't leave him hanging there forever.

She just hoped it wouldn't be too late when she finally decided the timing was right.

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"Sean! It's good to see you back among us!"

Elliot couldn't help but smile at Carlos's care free spirit as he greeted them as usual when they walked in and took their seats. He saw what Olivia saw every time they were here and he too had a hard time believing that Carlos was their guy, but he needed to do the research in order to clear the man's name anyway. It was better looking at it that way now anyway. They were there to clear his name instead of proving he was guilty. It made this undercover job a little easier to swallow considering the feelings they now had for this guy.

Elliot and Olivia took their usual seats and sat in silence for a few moments. It was then that Elliot realized this was their first session together since their night of love making and how it was clear on Olivia's face that she was thinking the same thing.

Elliot decided to come up with a distraction. "I think I'm probably going to head back home after the session, you know, for the weekend..."

Olivia nodded. "Of course," she said, knowing what he meant by that. He needed to check up on the kids and was probably looking for as many excuses to spend time with them anyway so their weekends, being mostly off anyway, were an excellent opportunity to do so.

He was going to mention that he wanted her to come with him this time around, about to insist that the kids would love to have her with them again, but Carlos started the class, and he decided he'd ask her once they were out of here.

"It's great to see all of you this morning," Carlos started with a smile. "I figured this beautiful May weather would have chased a few of you from the class but I'm glad to see that nearly everyone is here!"

He continued with his usual beginning of class recap and told a few stories about his son as became the tradition at the beginning of each class.

"So when my son asked me what it was about his mommy that I loved so much, it got me really thinking. So today, I want you to talk about what it is that makes you love the person you are with."

Olivia had trouble hiding her discomfort and Elliot knew that this was probably the worse exercise for the two of them right now. The bickering would have been easy for them to pull off like during their first class, but this, this was going to be tough after what was still so recent in their changing relationship.

So he started.

"Your ambition," he said with a sincere smile. "You always crave to do better, whatever is best for the customer and you never let anyone down."

Olivia smiled and nodded, deciding to follow his lead. "You never give up. When it comes to a business proposal that most people would toss to the curb, you don't let even the smallest of dreams and potential fall through the cracks. You treat everyone with the respect they deserve."

"Your smile," Elliot continued, making Olivia's heart flutter just a little bit. "It lights up a room, even when everything around seems dark and sorrowful. You smile and it makes everything okay."

"The way you are with your nieces." Olivia sent him a smile that made him know she was actually talking about his kids, but in Sean's profile, his brother Travis had three daughters, so it was a safer play in case someone around them was listening. Elliot understood, and that was what mattered. "You treat them as if they were your own kids and care so much for them. They love you so much and anyone who has a chance to spend any time with you when you're around them would quickly see that."

"Me? Oh Kate, when you're with the kids... You treat any kid you meet as if they were your own children and you take them all under your wing, expecting nothing in return. You're so caring and I know you would make the greatest mother to any child who was lucky enough to call you mom."

He took her hand and Olivia could feel the wave of emotions flying between the two of them. Maybe they would need to talk about everything that happened between them in order to make it through this case, because at this point, Olivia didn't know if she'd survive.

Luckily, Carlos had instructed the class to bring their attention back to him and he showed a video of a couple who were living certain things in their relationship. It then became a small group discussion, rather than a one-on-one between partners and this allowed them not only move off from the subject, but to make a few new friends too.

"It was really great to really have the chance to meet you guys," Lindsey said as they all went to leave.

"I'm in the same boat as you bro," Zach said to Sean. "Dragged here from away by the woman I fell in love with."

"What can we do?" Elliot stated, earning a laugh from the other man.

"Oh!" Lindsey suddenly exclaimed. "I'm a chef at this fancy little restaurant downtown that's opening up next week. What do you guys say about coming to the opening? It's not going to be huge, but it still is going to be quite spectacular and the food is really good if I do say so myself," she added with a wink. "So...?"

"It's Wednesday," Zach added. "She seems to have trouble with details."

Lindsey gave him a little tap on his shoulder. "I do not! I'm just too excited."

Olivia looked to Elliot. "What do you think?"

Elliot smiled. "I would love to."

Olivia looked back to Lindsey. "I guess that's a yes."

Lindsey smiled. "Great! I'll give you guys the details on Tuesday. See ya's!"

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"Miss us already dad, huh?"

Lizzie quickly wrapped her arms around her father as he entered. They were staying at the house with Maureen since they came to the conclusion that her apartment just wasn't big enough for all of them. The house was otherwise empty, so it just seemed more logic to stay there. Elliot had found it weird, staying there again after several weeks of being out, but he settled himself into Kathleen's old room. Maureen and Kathleen now shared Maureen's room whenever they were home. This allowed for a spare room.

"You know I did!" He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I brought someone with me," he whispered in her ear.

Lizzie didn't need to even look up to know who that someone was. But she did anyway, a smile quickly building on her face. "Liv!"

The young girl threw herself into her father's partner's arms and Olivia laughed.

"It's good to see you too," she said as she returned the action.

Soon, four more Stabler's greeted them in the porch, everyone glad to see Elliot was able to convince Olivia to join them. Every one of the Stabler kids had grown closer to Olivia, especially with recent events, and not one of them was opposed to the thought of having Liv stay with them for a few days.

"I'm just finishing up supper, actually, so you guys are just in time," Maureen said as she greeted her father and Liv.

Soon, the seven of them were sitting around the dinner table, simply chatting.

"Jeremy asked me to prom yesterday," Lizzie exclaimed excitedly. "He's this really sweet guy in my theater class and he got the rest of the boys in the class to help him out. They sang and danced and it was hilarious, but totally perfect."

Olivia couldn't help but smile at the dreamy look the girl had on her face as she reminisced. "That's really great to hear, Lizzie. He sounds great."

Her smile got even brighter. "He really is."

"When will I get to meet him?" Elliot asked, in a typical protective dad way.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Dad..." she complained. "Seriously?"

Maureen cut in. "I've met him dad and he really is great. I approve."

"He's a good friend of mine and he's totally not a douche bag, I promise," Dickie added.

Lizzie mouthed quick thank you's to her siblings while Elliot put down the guns. "Okay, I guess I trust your judgement."

The young girl's smile returned. "You're the best dad! And I guess if you really want to meet him, we're supposed to go out for coffee tomorrow so-"

Elliot cut her off. "Give me a time and a place and I'll be there."

Everyone laughed, Lizzie included and supper continued on the light side.

"I just got excepted for an exchange," Kathleen announced, her own excitement showing. "I get to go study in Barcelona in September."

"That's amazing."

"Wow."

"Jealous."

"Behave."

Everyone laughed again at their father and Elliot was just glad that everyone was in such a good humor. He knew that things had been tough on them and that they worried about their mother, but he was glad to see it wasn't controlling their lives.

"So what's it been liked, being engaged to our dad?"

Olivia was caught off guard by Lizzie's sudden question that she coughed a little bit into her glass of water. They had told the kids about their assignment, or as much as they could, but that had been the end of that conversation. Nobody had brought it up since then.

Luckily, she recovered quickly and nobody had time to notice her reaction. "Oh, you know, typical domestic life. He leaves his clothes lying around, he nags me about food and he snores like a monster." When she noticed the look on the kids faces about the snoring, she added. "It's so loud I can hear him from my room all the way at the opposite end of the apartment."

Elliot rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to her. I'm the perfect fiancé."

Olivia laughed. "Okay, so he's not that bad. But he does snore."

The kids smirked. "That, we know."

"He farts in his sleep too," Dickie added with a laugh.

"Stinky daddy!" Eli exclaimed with a laugh.

"I think Liv gets the point," Elliot added with a laugh of his own.

Kathleen smirked. "Just warning her about what she's getting into."

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"You were pretty quiet at supper."

Olivia lay in Kathleen's usual bed, just a few feet away from the oldest Stabler. After a lot of pleases, Olivia had given into the kid's proposal that she stay the night with them. Kathleen volunteered her bed, insisting she was planning on spending a night with her little sister anyway. Everyone had gone to bed after watching Finding Nemo, and Olivia was glad to have a little bit of down time to grill Maureen on her sudden lack of chattiness.

Maureen hesitated before turning towards Olivia. "Always the detective, huh?"

Olivia smiled. "You know me too well."

Maureen smiled, but her smile was soon gone and after a deep breathe, she turned back to Olivia. "I took your advice."

Olivia knew exactly what the girl meant. "How... How did it go?"

Maureen nodded. "Good. You were right. It felt really good, telling her everything that has been upsetting me. Letting it all out. I... I don't know whether I want her to remember it or not though."

Olivia leaned forwards and rested a hand on her lap. "You don't have to deal with that right now."

Maureen shook her head. "Not right now no, but eventually. The doctors say that her waking up is looking very likely. Probably within a week or so. They can't be sure, but... I haven't told the others yet though. You're the first person I told about my visit."

Olivia was slightly surprised. "The others didn't go with you?"

Maureen shook her head. "I wanted to do this on my own. Kathleen and Lizzie still aren't sure if their ready and Dickie refuses. Eli, well, we don't want to put him through that. So I went alone. Told them I had some things to take care of with school. I... I didn't want them to change my mind."

Olivia nodded. "We'll I'm glad it went alright. And I'm glad to see you're comfortable confiding in me."

Maureen smiled again, a real genuine smile. "I'm glad we have you." She paused, almost as if not sure to continue. But she did. "And you know, we're here for you too Liv. I know, we're young and maybe you don't want to talk to us about things, but you'd be surprised how much talking helps. And I know that you're hiding something," she added with knowing glare. "But only if you're comfortable. I'll listen."

Olivia nodded, knowing that the young girl was probably right, and she knew that Maureen was a good choice when it came to confiding things.

"I..." she started, not sure how to approach it. "I will talk to you Maureen, just not today. You might have been strong enough, but I'm not quite there. When I'm ready though, you'll be the first to know."

Maureen nodded, with a knowing smile. The two women said their goodnights and curled into their sleeping positions.

Olivia was sure Maureen had fallen asleep, but the young girls voice told her otherwise.

"You know he's more than just your partner Liv, you just need to accept it."

And a little while later, before falling asleep, a nearly unconscious Olivia finally replied, not really aware she had said it out loud.

"I know."

It's for scenes like this one that I added Maureen in the list of main characters. I hope you guys enjoyed!