Hi everyone! Thanks so much for all of your great reviews. I used to be better at replying to people's reviews, and I'm trying to do it again, but I know I haven't gotten back to everyone. And some of you are listed as guests, so I can't reply. But if I haven't, I'm sorry but I want to say THANK YOU for sticking with the story and for all of your great comments!
EOEOEOEO
The first thing Elliot registered when he woke up was pain. All over his body, but particularly around his eye. When he opened his eyes, he saw Elise standing next to the bed, her hand right in front of his face. She touched the bruised skin under his left eye again. "What happened Daddy?" she whispered, a look of awe on her face. "Did a bad guy get you?"
Elliot grabbed her little hand in his to keep her from poking at the sensitive bruise. "Yeah, I got in a fight with a bad guy." He squeezed her hand gently with his. "But I'm OK."
"Mommy says when she was an off'cer and you ran into bad guys you had to fight sometimes but she said you always won."
Elliot was always surprised to hear these little tidbits of information as they were revealed. It always reminded him that Olivia had made sure Elise knew about her father, even if he wasn't a part of her life for the first four years.
Elise cocked her head slightly. "So did you win?"
Elliot thought about Manning lying in the morgue with a tag tied around his toe. "Yeah baby. I won."
Elise pulled her hand out from Elliot's. "Your hand looks ouchy." She trailed her little fingers lightly over the cuts and bruises on his knuckles. "You shouldn't fight Daddy." She admonished.
"I try not to." He said. He wasn't sure if that was true, but he certainly got physical a lot less these days than in the days he had been partners with Olivia. He was sure that some psychologist could analyze the hell out of that, but it didn't really matter anymore.
"Where's Mommy?" Elise asked.
Elliot sat up in bed, surprised that he hadn't realized Olivia wasn't lying next to him. He'd become really used to having her there, and usually if she got up, he would wake up too. He must have really been knocked out. "I don't know."
He heard water running, and he looked over to see the bathroom door was closed. He swung his legs off the bed. "Hey El, why don't you go out in the living room and turn on some cartoons and I'll be out in a minute."
Elise grinned. "Is this one of the breakin' the rules times?"
Elliot smiled, knowing Olivia really liked to limit the amount of time Elise was plugged in. But he wasn't sure what was going on with Olivia, especially since she hadn't emerged from the bathroom yet and he needed a distraction for his daughter.
He put a finger to his lips. "It'll be a secret." He whispered.
Elise knew better than to wait around for someone to change their mind, so she tore out of the bedroom and Elliot could hear her little footsteps pounding down the hall. A few seconds later, he heard sound from the TV filtering back.
He got up, groaning as his sore muscles complained, and walked over to the bathroom door. He knocked lightly, putting his ear close to the door. "Liv?" he said softly. "Everything OK?"
"Yeah." She said. "Don't come in."
Elliot didn't like the sound of that. He grabbed the door and opened it a crack; just enough for him to be able to see Liv sitting on the cold tile in front of the toilet, her arms resting on the seat as she held her head in her hands.
She looked up quickly when she heard the door open. "Why do you always do that?" she said, annoyance in her voice. "I said don't come in." She dropped her head in her hands again.
Elliot ignored her and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He knelt down on the tile next to her, stifling back another groan at the stiffness in his body. "You're sick?"
Olivia lifted her head and glared at him. "Thanks for stating the obvious."
Elliot wasn't swayed by her tone or her words. "Have you been sick before?" he asked, wondering if she'd been keeping it from him. He ran his hand lightly up and down her back.
Olivia put her head in her hands again. She was trying to be as still as possible to keep the nausea at bay. She knew what Elliot was asking, but he was annoying the hell out of her. "Of course I've been sick before."
Elliot let it slide; it didn't really matter. "Were you sick with Elise?"
"No." Olivia said quietly. She shrugged her shoulders, wanting his hand off her back.
Elliot dropped his hand, and sat down on his butt, leaning his back against the cabinet so that he was sitting next to the toilet, facing her. "You know what that means, right?"
Olivia lifted her head again, giving him another annoyed look. She knew he'd been through multiple pregnancies and knew a lot more than she did, but she really wasn't in the mood to hear his expert opinion right now. He was probably going to tell her she wasn't eating right or getting enough rest or some other piece of overbearing advice. "Enlighten me."
"It means it's a boy." He said with a grin on his face.
Olivia hadn't been expecting that and despite how horrible she was feeling, she let out a small laugh. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, another wave of nausea hit and she was back up on her knees over the toilet.
Elliot scrambled back on his knees and swept her hair back, holding it at the nape of her neck. He hated to see her feeling like this. They sat like that for a minute, but Olivia sat back on her heels again when nothing came up. She let out a heavy sigh.
"Do you want to go back to bed?" Elliot asked, letting go of her hair as he stood up.
"Maybe just for a few minutes." She said. She held out her hand and Elliot helped her out. She dropped his hand when she was standing, but Elliot kept his hand on the small of her back, ushering her into the bedroom.
"Elliot." She said, still annoyed by his inability to just leave her alone. When she was sick, she didn't want someone hovering over her. "I can walk by myself."
"I just want to make sure you don't pass out and fall." He said. He resisted the urge to simply scoop her up and put her in bed. He knew that when she felt better, she'd kick his ass for pulling a stunt like that.
"I'm not going to pass out." She said, biting off her words. She paused before she got to the bed, turning her attention towards the bedroom door. "What's that sound?" she asked, turning to Elliot. "Is that the TV?"
"Yeah."
"Is Elise up?" she asked.
"Yeah, she got up a few minutes ago."
"Elliot. You know I don't like to put her in front of the TV first thing in the morning." She knew she was being bitchy, but lately it seemed like Elliot was bending all the boundaries she'd developed with Elise.
"C'mon Liv." Elliot said with a little bit of exasperation in his voice. She was going to bitch about a few minutes of television now? "I didn't know what was going on with you, so I wanted to distract her."
Olivia started to respond when she felt her stomach clutch again. Her hand went to her stomach and she groaned. She turned back towards the bathroom and rushed into the room. "Don't follow me!" she said, slamming the door behind her.
Elliot walked up to the closed door and grabbed the doorknob. He didn't open the door, but he could hear her getting sick inside. He debated about ignoring her instructions, but thought better of it. Instead, he would got get some water and crackers for her.
EOEOEOEOEO
Olivia woke up and glanced over at the clock. She saw it was almost ten. She couldn't believe she had slept so long once she'd gotten back in bed. She was lying on her stomach, and she propped herself up on her elbows, moving slowly so she could assess if the nausea was going to return. She waited a full minute, and decided she was feeling better. She started to sit up, and noticed crackers and water on the nightstand. Her stomach roiled again at the thought of any kind of food and she climbed out of bed leaving the crackers behind.
She pulled on the hem of her t-shirt, tugging it down over the tops of her thighs. She opened one of Elliot's dresser drawers and pulled out a pair of his sweat pants. She pulled them on, happy that they were loose on her. She tied the string around the waistband loosely, and they fell down to rest on her hips.
She walked out of the bedroom and could hear Elliot and Elise talking at the table. She stopped as soon as they came into sight, and smiled when she saw Elliot playing a card game with her. Elise was kneeling on her chair and her back was to her, but Elliot was facing her. She could see the dark bruise around his eye and his lip was swollen as well. She knew it must hurt like hell. Her eyes moved down to his hand that were holding the cards, and saw all of the damage there too. But those hands had seen their share of damage; he would have scars on top of scars now.
Elliot must have caught movement, and he looked up and saw her standing there. She walked towards them, leaning over and kissing Elise on top of her head.
Elise tilted her head back, looking up at her mother. "Hi Mama." She said, smiling up at her. "Are you done being sick?"
Olivia smiled down at her. "I am."
"We're playing Go Fish." Elliot said. "Do you want to play?"
Elise shook her head. "Mommy tried to play yesterday but she doesn't play it right."
Olivia furrowed her brow and laughed. "El, I've played Go Fish with you tons of times. I only messed up one time." Her little drama queen liked to exaggerate everything.
"Well…" Elise said, as if she was considering Olivia's capability to play the game.
"You know what?" Olivia said. "I'm just going to watch." She knew Elise was enjoying the game with Elliot and she didn't see any need to insert herself. She saw Elliot watching her as she sat down in the chair next to Elise.
"Did you eat those crackers?" he asked.
Olivia shook her head. "I'm not hungry."
"You have to eat something." He said. "What can I make for you?"
"El…" she said, a warning in her voice. She didn't need this right now. "I'll eat in a little while." She saw the objection on his lips, but before he could say anything else, she changed the subject. "What are you doing home?"
Elliot raised an eyebrow. "Cragen thought it would be a good idea if Fin and I took a couple of days off. I guess I forgot to mention that last night."
"I guess." Olivia picked up the empty box from the card game and twirled it around in her hands. "Maybe we could go look at the apartment I found." She was thinking about whether or not she still wanted to live there but she knew it was stupid to give up the perfect spot. All of this drama with Manning was over, and the memory of what had happened would fade in a few days. Elliot and Fin were cleared; there wasn't going to be any residual damage.
Elliot looked at Elise. "Do you have any tens?" he asked. "Why don't you tell me about it?" he said, flicking his eyes over to Olivia.
"Go Fish." Elise said.
Olivia proceeded to describe the apartment and the neighborhood, while Elliot multitasked, playing Go Fish while peppering Olivia with questions.
"I won!" Elise said, jumping up on the chair. Olivia grabbed her quickly before she toppled off and Elliot hushed her.
"Liz is still sleeping." He said.
"I won." Elise said, in a loud whisper. "I won!" She clambered onto to Olivia's lap and wrapped her arms around her neck. "I won." She whispered into Olivia's ear.
"You're the champion." Olivia said, reminding herself to talk to her daughter about good sportsmanship at some later date.
"Good morning." Elliot said, and Olivia turned to see Elizabeth walking towards them.
"It's too early to be up." She said, grumbling as she slumped down into the chair next to Elliot.
"Sorry." Said Olivia. "Did Elise wake you?"
Elise slid down from her perch on Olivia's lap and ran over to where Elizabeth was sitting. She leaned on her legs. "Guess what? I'm the Go Fish champ'in. Do you want to play me? I can beat you too."
Elliot stood up and scooped up Elise. "I think it's a little early for a challenge sweetie. Lizzie just woke up. Let's give her a break." He threw her over her shoulder and she let out a loud giggle, kicking her legs and waving her arms.
"Let me go!" she shrieked.
Olivia and Liz put their hands over their ears.
Elliot swung her down and set her back on the ground. He kept his hands on her shoulders as she pressed back against his legs. She dropped her head back to look up at him. "Let's go get dressed and then we're going to go look at a new house. How does that sound?"
Elise rolled her eyes. "That sounds bor-ing." She said, clearly emphasizing the two syllables to make her point.
"It'll be fun." He said. "Your mom likes the house so I know we're going to love it."
"Can I stay here with Liz?" she asked.
"I think you should come along." Elliot said. "And maybe Liz wants to come too." He wanted all of his children to feel comfortable with their new home too.
"Can I stay with Papa Don?" Elise asked.
"El." Olivia said. She knew she had to cut this off or Elise would list everyone she possibly knew. "We're all going together. Now go get dressed."
Elise scowled at Olivia. She tilted her head back again to look up at Elliot. Elliot shrugged his shoulders. "Do what your Mom says." He said. Elise must have decided it was a losing battle because she started walking down the hall. "I'm going to wear my red dress and my sparkly shoes." She said, and Olivia smiled at her daughter's effort to exert some kind of control, not matter how small.
EOEOEOEO
Olivia had reached the leasing agent, and arranged for an appointment right after lunch. She was pleased that Elliot seemed to like the place as much as she did. She got a nod of approval from Elizabeth as well, and even Elise liked the large, open family room. She was busy trying (and failing) to do cartwheels at that very moment.
Elliot and Olivia had decided to lease a space rather than buy it, since they didn't really know where they were going to end up in a few years. Liz wandered off towards Elise, busy texting on her phone, while Elliot and Olivia talked over the terms of the lease. When they had reached agreement, they picked a date to come into his office to sign all the paperwork. They got him to agree to give the place a fresh coat of paint and to give the fireplace and chimney a good cleaning. It was nice that there wasn't a current tenant, so they could move in whenever the work was done, and he agreed to have it all completed so they could move in the weekend after next. That was mid-month, so that would give them some time in Elliot's old apartment to move some things over gradually as well. He had already talked to his current apartment manager, giving him a heads up that he would be moving soon. They had a waiting list to get into the building, so he wasn't requiring his normal 3 months' notice.
They snagged Elise and Liz and left the apartment. As they walked towards the elevator, Elliot wrapped his arm around Olivia's shoulders. "Happy?"
Olivia turned her head to look at him. "Happy."
"Thanks for all your work in finding a place for us. I know I wasn't much help."
"Glad you recognize that." She teased. She wasn't going to give him credit where none was due, or let him off the hook easily.
"Hey, you may have done all the work to find the place, but I'm going to do more than my fair share when it comes to actually moving."
"Yeah, it's going to be really tough to dial up Dickie and his friends. That's a lot of work." She bumped her hip against his.
"Watch it Benson." He said. He was glad to see her in such a good mood, and he was happy that they were finally moving into a place they could call theirs. Not hers or his. Theirs. "This calls for a celebration!" he said as they walked into the elevator.
"Yay! A cel'bration!" said Elise, clapping her hands. "I'm all dressed up." She said, lifting one foot to show off her sparkly shoe. "Can we go to McDonalds?" she asked excitedly.
Olivia groaned but Elliot chimed in. "I was thinking of something a little fancier."
"I have an idea." Liz piped in. "How about you take Olivia out for a nice dinner tonight and Elise and I will have McDonalds. You can celebrate your new place and the b-a-b-y." she said, spelling it out so Elise wouldn't know what she was saying. She needn't have bothered because Elise was focused on the fact that she'd get to go to the Golden Arches.
Elise nodded vigorously. "I like that plan."
Elliot looked over at Olivia. "What d'ya think? You want to go out on a date with me?" He realized when he said it that he hadn't actually taken Olivia out that much at all since they'd been back together. Everything had revolved around Elise at first and then it was quick meals here and there. Suddenly, he really wanted to go; to take her someplace special.
"We just got a new place. We have to buy new furniture…" she started rattling off reasons why they shouldn't spend the money.
"Liv." Elliot said, stopping her litany. "C'mon. Will you go out with me?" He said softly, looking directly into her eyes.
Olivia smiled broadly, realizing she'd really enjoy going out. It seems like it had been ages. "I'd like that." She said. "It's a date."