Olivia returned to the station to find Elliot seated at his desk. When she entered he looked up through eyes ablaze with curiosity.
"Lunch was good?" he asked.
"Yeah," she acknowledged, taking off her coat. "It went well."
He smirked at her reluctance to reveal more. "Okay," he said, resigning himself.
"So …," she began, redirecting the conversation. "When's your big dinner? When do you meet the boyfriend?"
"Tonight," he answered with an eye roll. "Apparently I've been summoned."
"See now, if you go into it with that kind of attitude …"
"Funny, that's what Kathy said."
Olivia shrugged her shoulders and eyebrows in the same motion. "Imagine that - Kathy and I thinking alike."
"So what are you doing tonight?"
"Apparently not what I did last night," she said flirtatiously.
"You never know," he countered. "So I was thinking …"
"Oh here we go …" she said, dropping her pen and waiting to hear whatever he was scheming.
"You should come with me."
Olivia laughed out loud. "That's funny, El."
"Seriously, come with me," he persisted. "Guy might have a better shot if I'm distracted."
"Elliot." She stared him down. "You can't be serious." She said it because something told her he was.
"Mixed company might make the whole thing go better," he argued. "Take the pressure off a little."
"Don't you think that might raise some eyebrows with your family?"
"Gonna have to rattle that cage eventually."
"Tonight?" she questioned. He nodded in reply. "Let me think about it."
As they worked side by side the rest of the day, Olivia weighed his invitation in her head. She knew where she stood with Kathy, but she feared the response from his children. He was either making a huge mistake by asking her, or it was an ingenius way to break the ice and broach the subject of her new role in his life. She decided to trust him. She trusted him with everything else. Why not this?
"So where is this thing?" she asked as he drove through the darkness toward Queens.
"Kathy picked it, a little Italian place. Everybody likes Italian, right?"
"How do you want to play this?"
He shot her a serious look. "First of all, I'm not playing."
"Alright."
"You know everyone there, except Mark of course. It's not the first time you've eaten with my family."
"As your partner."
"You're still my partner, right?" he persisted. "I promise you I will not tell a lie tonight. Just go with it … and trust me," he said, squeezing her hand on the seat between them.
She couldn't argue with that, so she choked down the butterflies in her stomach and walked confidently into the restaurant a half pace behind him.
"Hi Daddy," Kathleen said as she saw him approach. She stood up and hugged him, meeting Olivia's eyes over his shoulder. "Hi Liv." Olivia smiled hopefully. "Hey guys," she said, waving nervously at the Stabler family plus one seated at a large corner table.
"Daddy, this is Mark," Kathleen said proudly, tugging her boyfriend out of his chair to shake hands with Elliot.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Stabler."
Elliot grasped the young man's hand and looked him in the eye with a small smile. "Likewise. I've heard a lot about you." Then he motioned to Olivia, placing his hand on the small of her back, a silent gesture of reassurance. "This is my partner, Olivia Benson."
Olivia shook Mark's hand too and turned toward the rest of the table.
Kathy spoke then. "Hey Olivia. I didn't know you'd be joining us. The more the merrier."
"We were on a call nearby. Elliot invited me. I hope I'm not intruding."
"Not at all," Kathy said, giving the other woman in her husband's life a loaded look.
Olivia greeted the other Stabler children then. Some of them she hadn't seen in quite some time. Dickie was a man now, having clearly inherited his father's blue eyes and strong jaw. Maureen was a stunning blonde, and Elizabeth a mature version of the little girl Olivia remembered.
"You're all so … grown up now," Olivia said with wonder, looking around the table.
"Hi Livia!" Eli said. "You sit by me?"
"Hi buddy," she smiled as she tossled his curly hair. "I sure will."
Dinner went well. Maureen and Kathleen managed to communicate silently with each other their apparent but pleasant surprise that their father had not arrived alone. Mark took his share of sideways looks and impromptu interrogations from Elliot. Both Kathy and Olivia silently scolded him when he went too far. In the end, Mark survived and Kathleen was relieved.
When dinner was done, Elliot and Dickie walked Eli to the bathroom and stood outside the door waiting for him.
"So seriously, Dad, never?" Dickie questioned with a huge grin. "Not even once?"
"What are you talking about?" Elliot was confused momentarily, then followed Dickie's eyes to see that he was scouring Olivia, who stood about 20 feet away with Kathy and Kathleen.
Elliot playfully smacked Dickie in the back of the head. "You're seriously asking me this right now? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"No disrespect to Mom, and I'm totally not into the whole cougar thing, but c'mon man," Dickie said, pushing his luck. "She is hot … for an old chick anyway."
"Dickie, enough," Elliot said through clenched teeth.
Then the younger Stabler slapped his dad on the back and said, "You're a better man than me, Pops."
"Pops? Pops?" Elliot shook his head and mumbled as the women approached. "I'll pop you."
He forced a smile back onto his face and shook Mark's hand again. Eli reappeared from the men's room and everyone said their polite goodbyes. Elliot got hugs from all of his children, as did Olivia. She got an especially warm embrace from Eli. The gesture wasn't lost on Kathy.
She took Olivia's hand in a polite handshake and pulled her into a friendly hug. "He really does think the world of you, Liv," she said of her youngest son.
Olivia spoke quietly in return. "Look, I'm sorry about tonight, showing up like this, but he insisted."
"We all have to start adjusting, getting used to each other in a different way," Kathy said. "Come to think of it, I'd like for you to be there when I introduce my 'friend.'"
Olivia met her eyes. "I can do that."
"You guys about ready?" Elliot interjected, the lengthy exchange between the two women lingering beyond his comfort.
Everyone parted ways, and Olivia followed him out of the restaurant to the car. As they pulled out of the parking lot, Elliot shook his head, his thoughts still resonating on Dickie's words.
Olivia saw his wheels turning. "What is it? I thought it went well."
"It did. It's just … I'm gonna kill my kid."
"Dickie?"
"Yeah. All of a sudden he's an expert in women."
"He is 21 now, El."
"Yeah, well, that doesn't give him … just forget it." Elliot shook it off and changed gears. "You had a nice time?"
"Yeah actually. It went much better than I thought. It was nice."
"I guess I don't have to threaten Mark's life or anything … yet."
"You're such a tough guy, Stabler," she said, mocking him.
"Hey, I know how guys are."
"Really?" She was smiling flirtatiously at him. "How are they?"
"They want things." He gave her a crooked smile. "Like I want you."
"Are you saying your intentions are less than honorable?"
"Come home with me tonight, Liv."
"I knew it," she said laughing.
"It's late. We're already in Queens. I'll take you back early tomorrow so you can dress for work."
She negotiated with a suggestive smile. "Throw in breakfast and you've got a deal."
"Done."
They entered his small apartment and removed their coats. "Make yourself at home. I can get us a drink. You're welcome to shower or whatever. I might even have an extra toothbrush in there."
"And why would you have an extra toothbrush?" she asked seductively as she wrapped her hands around his neck. "Get a lot of overnight guests, do you?"
"You're the second," he said. She froze, but he qualified his statement before her mind wandered. "Don't be ridiculous, Liv. I mean other than Eli. But he uses a Spiderman toothbrush."
"I think I could go for a shower. Alone," she smiled, remembering what happened the last time they'd showered together. "But I do have a little problem."
"What's that?"
"I have nothing to sleep in."
"I really don't see that as a problem," he said, grinding his hips against hers and pecking her lips. "But I think I can muster up a T-shirt or something."
"That'll do. Gimme 15 minutes?"
"Take as long as you need. I'm a patient man."
His son was right. He had shown an incredible amount of restraint over the years with Olivia. He could wait 15 minutes. After all, he'd waited 14 years.