Chapter Nine – Alis volat propriis (She Flies with Her Own Wings)

A/N: In light of the Henry episode of SVU – I feel like we were given tiny crumbs. I'm using my artistic license here.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. As always. [Insert typical disclaimer about how I make no money from any of this (unfortunately) and despite that fact, I still choose to play with these characters and use my words…)

Saturday Morning

All day Friday, Kathleen Stabler had been struggling with what she should do about a case that had fallen in her lap.

She could typically find the right words to say to victims and their families, she could usually help them file criminal reports, and she could usually help them with the judicial process…However, when a friend had come to see her on Friday – about a situation that they'd discovered, she couldn't find the right words or even advice to give.

She could ask her father, who had been a Special Victims' officer for years, but he'd declined the dinner invitation – not that she'd ask him this question over dinner or even broach the topic with him due to his current state of mind. She decided she would get Olivia's opinion instead. She'd only spoken to Olivia a few times since they'd started going to therapy together. In all honesty, Kathleen believed this was the best course of action not only for her dad, but for the two of them as former partners and friends. The things they could work through in therapy; it could only help them both. She was a huge proponent of therapy.

Kathleen decided she would bring her dad a cup of coffee and check on him since he had said he had plans the night before.

However, when she went to her father's apartment Saturday morning, there was no answer.

So, she called his phone and it went to voicemail, letting herself into the apartment with her key she was surprised to find it empty and the blankets and pillows stacked neatly on the edge of the couch as if he'd not been there at all. So, shot a text to the person who could usually get her father to answer or find him when he didn't want to be found while he was in New York.

ME:
Olivia, have you heard from dad?

OLIVIA B.
Yeah honey, why?

ME:
Is he okay?

OLIVIA B.
Yes.

ME:
Do you know WHERE he is?
He's not answering home or answering his phone.
He didn't want to go out 2 eat with Liz & Me last night.

OLIVIA B.
Yes.
Hang on a second.
He says give him a minute.
He's sorry.

ME:
Is he screening my calls again?

OLIVIA B.
Again? He does that?
Wait, that's a joke.
Of course he does. Otherwise he would've answered my texts a decade ago.
He said and I quote: "Why the hell would I do that".

Kathleen suddenly stopped what she was doing and stared at the words on the screen, not completely comprehending. She thought she knew what she just read, but was unsure. It was exactly 7:45 in the morning. Her father forgot to plug in his phone. Unless Olivia was messaging him through e-mail or something from his computer at work, which she doubted since he had this Saturday off... But her curiosity was at a peak and she honestly was amused with the whole situation at the moment when a funny thought popped into her mind.

Funny, because if it had been any of her siblings – they'd have flown off the deep end. Funny to her, because she knew them both pretty well and knew deep down that nothing had transpired between the two of them just yet.

ME:
Where r u at the moment?

OLIVIA B.
Home

ME:
Mhm.
And Liv…

OLIVIA B.
Yes?

ME:
My dad is with you…isn't he?

OLIVIA B.

Shit.
It's not what you think. Call me.

Kathleen could exhibit a stone-cold expression on her face when she had to. It was her gift; the poker face that she'd learned in order to deal with her job was going to come in handy here, because if there was something funny here, it was the fact that she knew now, without a doubt, where her father was and with whom he had plans the night before.

"Katie!" Olivia's face popped up on her screen. "It's not what you're thinking, I swear. "

"Uh huh." Kathleen spoke slowly, and deliberately her left eyebrow arched elegantly as she tilted her head down, angling her chin so that light was a little more flattering, and allowing her blue eyes to dance mischievously in the light. "So…hi dad. What are you doing?" Kathleen wasn't going to hold back.

"Kathleen Louise Stabler." Elliot's voice came from one side of Olivia, his tone one of warning. Olivia's eyes darted to the left. It was at this point that the phone must've been grabbed away from Olivia because the next thing she saw was both of them from a different angle. "Nothing happened."

"Dad, relax." Kathleen's voice dropped the teasing tone. "I trust Olivia."

"That's reassuring, you don't trust your father?" He asked.

"Thanks Katie." Olivia's smirk was nice to see. Her brown eyes were shining, she looked lighter than she had the last time Kathleen has spoken to her. She looked like she had slept well. Hell, her father looked like he had slept better than he had in a few months. Whatever had made them both look more relaxed and well-rested, she was all for. She cared about them both too much to see them miserable any longer.

"Dad," Kathleen spoke evenly, "No offense, and I mean this with absolute love and respect, but you confessed 'I love you' when Olivia told you to tell us what you needed…in front of everyone in the room. So, yeah, I trust Olivia more at the moment." She heard a soft laugh through the audio on the phone. "So, anyways, do you guys have any plans for breakfast, or are you just going to skip the most important meal of the day? I actually texted Olivia because I wanted to ask her opinion on something that came across my desk yesterday."

"We could do that, El." Olivia whispered. It wasn't as light as she thought it was, because she'd heard the nickname her father had been given by his partner. A nickname that she hadn't heard in ten years, and it felt nice to hear it again. It was at that moment she realized Olivia had decided to let her dad back into her life. "Let's go get breakfast with your daughter."

"You told him, didn't you?" Kathleen asked. Her father's brow furrowed and Olivia took the phone again, because now she was centered on the screen.

"Yes." Olivia said quietly. "That's why he was here last night."

"I'm glad. It was hard not saying anything about it to him." Kathleen sighed and Olivia turned around and shook her head at Elliot as though she was telling him it wasn't the right time to discuss that Kathleen had known and hadn't said anything about it to him.

"Did you want to meet anywhere specific?" Elliot's voice came from somewhere behind Olivia.

"The usual place you guys used to frequent. I'll meet you there at 8:30? Don't forget my dad." she looked into the camera with a smile on her face.

"That's fine. I won't forget to bring him; we'll see you then." Olivia pressed the end button.

Kathleen couldn't help but shake her head at the two of them. Whatever they were working through in therapy was obviously doing some good if Olivia was calling her father 'El' again.

When the two former partners were finally ready to leave the apartment, they made their way to the small diner that had been once central in the early morning routines. It didn't escape either of their notice that Kathleen had known about this specific place because a few times she had managed to find them there in the mornings, sharing a plate between the two of them.

At first, it had been a surprise to see them sharing food back then, because Kathy Stabler and Elliot Stabler had never once shared a plate or a drink. It just went to show the stark differences between the dynamics of each pair. Kathy and Elliot ordered separate things, her mother being slightly picky about the things she would and wouldn't eat.

However, the few times she came across Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler sharing a plate, they would split everything. She'd reach over, grab the bacon and he would stab the piece of ham and cut it in half. They'd have a singular large glass of orange juice between the two of them and thought nothing of picking it up off the table, taking a swig and setting it down – the other repeating the process immediately after.

Kathleen had chalked it up to the fact that they were cops and they'd have to be ready to run at a moment's notice so it was just easier.

Then, there was one time she had come across the two of them and it had been after a shift, they weren't expected to get a call at all, this time. They were sharing a hamburger and a large plate of French fries. So, she realized at that moment that the two of them were just that comfortable with one another that they didn't worry about asking what the other wanted to eat, they just were happy to share everything. It was kind of endearing.

She wondered whether after all this time apart if they would still share a plate, or if they would order their own individual platters.

When they walked into the diner they were shoulder-to-shoulder, just like old times. Kathleen was sitting with her cup of coffee in front of her, she hadn't ordered yet, but she had asked for the cup of coffee to at least occupy her while waiting on them.

Olivia slid into the booth opposite of her and her father had elected to sit next to Olivia rather than next to his own daughter.

Kathleen's smile spread over her face almost immediately with the comfort of seeing the two of them sitting next to one another.

"Katie." Elliot's voice was low as he gave her a warning look.

"Dad, shut up. This is nice." Katie placed her chin on the palm of her left hand. "Seeing you two together again, it's just like old times."

Olivia's expression had a peculiar ghost about it for a split-second that Kathleen hadn't ignored. Elliot had rubbed his right eye with his fist and reached for the menu. Olivia turned to look at him, as he reached over her arms.

"Seriously, you need that menu? You don't have the offerings here memorized?" She inquired, shaking her head. "Just order the usual."

Kathleen had guessed correctly. They were going to just share a plate.

"Where's Noah?" Katie asked, looking at Olivia.

"With Lucy. He'll be back tomorrow morning." She answered, her thumbs spinning around one another. "You said you wanted to talk about something that came across your desk?"

"Yes. But, can we please order first and then we'll discuss that at the end? Or during breakfast?" Katie asked, taking a sip of her coffee, her mask was folded and placed in her bag next to a manila folder.

The waitress came over and took their order and then deposited the glass of Orange Juice on the table. Olivia's eyes darted between the young woman in front of her and the man next to her. Kathleen Stabler, as she had decided a long time ago, was the favorite of one of her former partner's children. She was also undoubtedly beautiful, with her blonde hair, fair skin, and bright blue eyes that could rival Noah's. It was ironic to her that the child the universe had decided to bestow upon her had the same blue eyes that her partner and partner's children – sans Eli – had.

She still was suspicious of the special Stabler child she had been present for the first breath over where his brown eyes had actually come from. She could only guess that someone was a carrier for the gene that resulted in brown eyes and he was the unlucky recipient of that latent dominant gene. It wasn't her place to judge, though.

"So, have a nice sleepover?" Katie asked, teasing the two adults across from her.

Olivia was just smirking as Elliot looked incredulously at his daughter.

"Katie."

"I'm just asking if it was a nice sleepover." She took another sip of her coffee. "I didn't imply anything. Like I said, I trust Olivia."

"See, she trusts me with your honor, El." Olivia nudged him in the ribs.

"Why don't you answer, Liv. She was asking about our sleepover. You were there too, Miss 'I'll sleep in my bed and you can crash on my couch' and then falls asleep on the couch next to me while watching a comedy." Elliot placed his chin on his fist and was looking over at Olivia who had narrowed her eyes at him.

"I didn't see you object. Or wake me up to tell me to go to bed." She retorted.

"Maybe it was because you had flung your leg over mine and I couldn't move." He bounced back. Taking a drink of the orange juice and setting it back down on the table.

"I told you, this morning, I was comfortable. You could've moved me." Now Olivia reached for the glass, taking a sip as well.

"No. I couldn't. You're like a building when you're sleeping. No one can move you. I had to take a piss and I couldn't move."

"So you thought 'what the hell' and pulled me closer?" Olivia's brow had disappeared behind the bangs that were hanging loose around her face from where she had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Kathleen was just watching the exchange, amused beyond belief that they were discussing this so openly in front of her. She wasn't surprised at all.

"I figured if I was going to be stuck there in that position I might as well make the best of it." He answered.

"Okay, now I'm getting slightly disturbed by this conversation." She finally spoke up, and realized that they had completely disregarded the fact that she was present. It really was like old times, they were sharing their orange juice, bantering back and forth, and teasing each other. But there was also a level of flirting in their body language. "So, instead of waiting until the end of breakfast how about I hand this to you, Liv." She pulled the manila folder out of her bag and handed it over.

Olivia reached for the folder and flipped it open. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of glasses, placing them on her face while she read.

Elliot wasn't interested in the case, but he was watching his daughter with a million questions behind his eyes. When had she grown into an adult? It was almost like the first time he was seeing her as a woman with a job that was almost just as important, if not more important, as the woman sitting next to him. It was because of the woman next to him that the younger one across from him was doing well in her life. If she hadn't of intervened in their lives in the way she had, well, it was in that moment, he felt grateful.

Olivia flipped the page over and continued reading, her right hand coming up below her chin as she bit the inside of her lip.

"Wait." She said quietly, "So, this young woman was a victim of domestic violence – almost strangled, and the courts in the state she moved from decided that her child would be better off with the perp than with the mother? Her ex cracked three ribs and pulled muscles in her throat? She lost consciousness for two minutes..."

"Yeah. Keep reading, it gets worse." Kathleen spoke quietly. Elliot was suddenly aware of the type of work his daughter actually did. She was an advocate for victims of heinous crimes. Heinous crimes that he and his former partner used to investigate. The types of crimes that his former partner was still in charge of investigating.

"The asshole did it two more times to two other women and is in prison because the last one pressed charges? And they didn't notify the woman that her ex had gone to prison and her child is god only knows where?"

"Nope. So, she's asking what her options are and if there's a way they'll take into consideration that even though she dropped the charges that her ex is a repeat offender and capable of injuring other women and children, if they'll lock him up for longer so she can explore her options. She wants her child to live with her parents because she feels that environment is better for the child than the current situation. Because, as you see, it's all a mess."

"I don't know, sweetie. If this were our case, in our state, we wouldn't have allowed the child to be separated to begin with. It's rough, she's going to have to contact someone in the state she moved from." Olivia sadly handed the folder back over. "It's unfortunate. It's unfortunate she didn't have someone that advocated for her before she dropped the charges against him back when it happened."

"I mean, you read what she said, he tried to kill her, Liv. And they decided to give her child to that man because she didn't have family here when she moved for a new start. I guess we can't win all the things we come across, can we?" Kathleen asked, sadly.

"No, but you can at least be supportive to her and let her know that if her ex does try to find her and hurt her, she's here now and we'll make sure she's taken care of. Just make sure she gets counseling, therapy, something. That sort of trauma is bound to just build up and explode one day."

By the time their food had finally arrived at the table, Elliot Stabler was looking between the two women. The ease of their conversation and the way they spoke to one another was almost too much to take in. They really did get along, and this was a small miracle that he would be happy about.