A/N: "People often make themselves lonely just to see if people will care. But finding out they don't just adds to the loneliness."

DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. This story belongs to TStabler©

"Good morning," Elliot mumbled, yawning as he rolled over and draped his body over Olivia's.

She smiled and sighed. "Morning," she said.

"We did it again," he said, nuzzling into her neck. "Passed the fuck out."

She chuckled. "I guess we're doing it right," she said, kissing the top of his head as he nestled further into her neck. "Maybe a little too right."

"Oh, I'm not complaining, but I would like to stay awake long enough to cuddle with you," he said with a smirk. "We just need to practice."

She laughed. "Practice makes perfect," she said, kissing him as he popped his head up. She made a face and chuckled. "We can practice after you brush your teeth," she teased.

"Right," he said, "Like you just woke up with minty fresh breath." He nudged her and they both laughed, then rolled out of the bed, smiling and chuckling their way into the bathroom.

He stood behind her, in front of the sink, and they both grabbed their toothbrushes. They kept laughing and poking each other as they brushed, Elliot would press forward into Olivia, she would splash water over her shoulder at him, and they made the most mundane activity playful and romantic.

The house phone rang just as they were starting to rinse, and Elliot spat into the sink. "I'll get it," he said, kissing her shoulder and neck quickly.

He ran into the hallway, grabbing the receiver. "Stabler residence. Ken who? Oh, Kenny! Hi. What…Kathleen? No she isn't awake yet, why? About what? Oh. No, she…she didn't tell me anything. Does your father know?"

Olivia walked out, her robe tied tightly around her, and she folded her arms as she listened to the conversation.

"Ken, I…I wouldn't have had a problem with it. But you know that your father is…oh, wow, okay. Yeah, um, why don't you come over. We'll talk about this. How about noon, maybe a little after. We'll talk about it. Bye, kid."

"Who was that?" Olivia asked, watching Elliot hang up the phone.

Elliot ran a hand down his face. "Ken Randall."

"Fin's son?" Olivia asked, confused. "Does he need our help again? Because…"

"He was dating Kathleen," Elliot interrupted. "For a long time, and then he found out his father was sleeping with Kathy, and…and he freaked out. He broke up with her, said it was way too weird."

Olivia looked up at the ceiling. "That's why she's taking this so hard."

Elliot nodded. "I told him to come over, we'll all sit down and talk about this. Why didn't she tell me?"

"Maybe she thought you'd think…I don't know, El," she said, shrugging. "Maybe she thought you didn't want her dating your best friend's son. Or maybe she thought you'd disapprove of the age difference, or the fact that we've had to get him out of trouble a few times."

He looked at her and sighed. "Maybe, but she would have known if she just told me. I'm not…I'm not…"

"Okay," she said, running a hand through his hair. "Breathe. She didn't tell you, but she's a teenage girl. There's a lot of stuff she didn't tell you."

He sighed and nodded. "I just hate that because of Fin and Kathy, she has to go through this. Ken's a good kid, and he would have been great to her." He bit his lip. "They just didn't think."

"Kathy probably didn't know either," Olivia said, taking Elliot's hand. "Neither did Fin, so don't blame…"

"Mom knew," Kathleen said, coming further down the stairs. "Mom knew and she still…how could she…"

"Your mother knew?" Elliot asked, interrupting. "I think I get it now. I have to make a phone call." He headed into the bedroom, closed the door, and dialed Kathy's number from his cell phone. He sighed, hating that he had to confront her about something so awful.

It was almost quarter after twelve when the doorbell rang. Olivia got off of the couch, thankful for the interruption. She couldn't take listening to Elliot and Kathy fight, or Elliot and Fin bicker. She walked to the door and opened it, welcoming Ken into the house. They walked into the living room, and the young man's eyes widened. "Dad?"

Fin smiled a bit at his son. "Why didn't you tell me about this?" he asked.

Ken plopped into the seat beside Kathleen, gave her an apologetic look, and shrugged. "She's Elliot's daughter. I thought you'd think it was weird. But nothing is weirder than this is gonna be."

"He's gonna be my stepbrother," Kathleen said. "You knew I was seeing him, Mom, and you still…"

Kathy looked at her daughter. "You would have been making a mistake, Kat. He's older than you, and he's…"

"He's what?" Fin asked, folding his arms. "Not good enough for her? Black? What?"

Kathy looked at Fin, sighed, and said, "Your son. I didn't want her with your son, Fin, because I wanted you." She shook her head and said, "When she told me, I…I knew I had to tell Elliot and the kids about you. I wanted…"

"You could have just told me as soon as I told you I was seeing him, Mom," Kathleen said. "You didn't have to wait until…"

"Who cares when she told you?" Ken interrupted. "I can't date my stepsister, Kat. It's just…wrong. And they're obviously not breaking up, they're getting married and having a baby, this is like a fucking soap opera. A bad one."

"Is there a such thing as a good one?" Olivia asked, absently, trying to ease the tension.

Elliot chuckled, then said, "We just wanted to give them a chance to explain. To apologize. To realize it wasn't just me they hurt." He glared at Kathy, then shook his head and pulled Olivia closer to him.

"I know I hurt them, Elliot." Kathy shook her head and looked at Fin. "You didn't know, Fin, so don't blame yourself. I was selfish, and I was so scared of losing you the way I lost Elliot, that I panicked and I had to make sure that there was no way that would happen."

"So you made your daughter and my son sacrifice their relationship?" Fin asked. "Kathy, I would have…we could have worked this out some other way."

"No we couldn't have," Ken interjected. "I just came by to tell Kathleen I wanted my sweatshirt back. I called, but her dad picked up the phone and…staged this intervention."

Kathleen looked at Ken and said, "I left it in your car. You already have it back."

Ken got up and said, "Then I guess that's it." He looked at Elliot. "It would have been a lot easier if you would have just let me call her back." He shook his head and walked toward the door. He looked over his shoulder and said, "I'm so sorry, Kat, I just…I can't."

Kathleen nodded. "Neither can I," she said. And she watched him walk out of the house, holding her breath. "But I would have liked to try."

Kathy looked at her daughter, sadly, and tried to grab her shoulder. "Kat, I…"

"Get off of me," she spat. "You're my mother, and you…I hope you and Fin are happy, because being with him cost you everything." She stood up and walked toward the stairs, and she turned back. "Liv never would have done this to me. She would have put my feelings first. She does! She always does, and I'm not even her real daughter. What does that say, Mom?"

Kathy sniffled. "I'm sorry, Katie. I don't know what else you want me to say."

"Say you're happy with Fin, and this is what you want." Kathleen blinked, a tear rolled down her cheek, and she sniffled. "That's the only thing you can say that will make me not hate you for this."

Kathy looked at Olivia, blinked, and looked back at Kathleen. "I am happy with him, Katie, but I never wanted to hurt anyone. Not like this."

"Then I guess neither of us gets what we want," Kathleen said. She glanced at her father and Olivia once, then walked away from them, up the stairs.

Elliot looked at Fin and sighed. "That backfired," he said.

"Ya think?" Fin cracked.

Olivia scoffed and said, "At least it got you two talking."

Elliot titled his head at Fin, chuckled a bit, and said, "Yeah. It did, didn't it."

Fin smiled and nodded. "Guess so," he said. He watched the corners of Elliot's lips curl into the classic smirk he remembered seeing when they would chat. He felt a wave of relief wash over him, and thought that maybe this was a bit closer to friendship.

Elliot looked from Fin to Kathy, and his smile faded. Fin he would eventually forgive, but Kathy was lucky he'd even let her in the house. "You guys can leave," he said, staring at Kathy with daggers in his eyes. "We have things to do."

Kathy nodded, standing, and held her hand out to Fin. "Come on," she said.

Fin rose, sighing, and he said, "Elliot, the offer stands. Munch, Ryan, me, and you, huh? Tomorrow after work?"

Elliot tilted his head.

"Olivia is more than welcome," Fin said. "She's always been like one of the guys."

"I'll let you know tomorrow," Elliot said, shocking everyone. "Get home safe, huh?"

Fin nodded, smiling a bit, and walked toward the door. He left their house feeling a little less lonely, and a little more hopeful that things would be okay.

Hope would be short-lived, though, when the small steps forward turned into a huge leap backward at work in the morning.

A/N: Loneliness catches up to someone in the next chapter, Elliot lets his rage get the best of him, and Kathleen goes on a date with someone else to get over Ken. But who? Review here or on Twitter: TMG212