A/N: Thank you all for your reviews, I really appreciate all the feedback which is given. Please don't be afraid to question something or explain something that I may do that you don't like or thing reads weird. I spend so long writing and editing that I don't always pick up on things that might not work or things which could change for the future. So please, if you feel a particular way about the story, let me know or if you think I should change something then let me know. I would much rather know and you continue to enjoy the story than not. So please feel free to tell me whether it is you put it in the review or if you would like to msg me privately about it, my inbox is always open.
Now, in this chapter we get a bit of a look into the background Olivia has come from and gives you an insight into certain things. However, I feel like there should be a trigger warning now, as there is mentions of domestic violence and abuse, which are going to recur in this story. I understand this is a sensitive issue and please feel if you at any stage feel upset or distressed over this, then I urge you to reach out to the relevant support networks wherever you live. I also want you to know, if this makes you uncomfortable and you have to skip this chapter or this story all together, then I completely understand.
Chapter 3 - Feeling Blue
Before Olivia fell pregnant with Chloe, moved to New York and started a whole new life, she lived in Northern Nebraska, in a small town with her then fiance Brian Cassidy. They had moved to this small town from Omaha where her father lived, so that Brian could pursue what was then going to be a promising career opportunity. However, things hadn't exactly gone the way that they may have planned it all to go when they had planned the move. Whilst Brian had promised Olivia that this move would be the perfect start to their life together, it turned out to be a perfect start for him but not for Olivia. She was working as a teacher's aide, trying to study online and not really enjoying the so called 'small town life'. Brian was hardly home, and he'd started to mix with a few friends whom she was less than fond of. Looking back on it all now, Brian's friends that he had connected with in this same small town, had been the ones that lead Brian to developing a serious drug and alcohol problem which had led to him being so aggressive.
FLASHBACK
Olivia stood, dressed in her typical work clothes, by the stove making dinner. She knew Brian would be home any minute, he'd been out for drinks with his work colleagues but would expect that there be dinner on the table when he got home. Olivia knew that if he'd been out with his friends and she didn't have food ready for him by the time that he got home, she was going to experience the result of this frustration, and she really didn't want that. Olivia couldn't take another beating like last time, her bruising on her face had only just done down enough that she didn't have to wear excessive make up to hide it. She really didn't want to go backwards and have to continue to act like nothing was wrong with everyone at school.
"Honey, I'm ho-ome" Brian slurred as he came in through the front door. He stumbled through the front door, almost banging into the wall numerous times as he made his way to the kitchen. Olivia could smell the cigarette smoke on him before he even entered the room, she knew that he had been smoking tonight as well as drinking. She didn't have to look up when he came into the kitchen to know that he was coming closer to her, she could simply hear his footsteps behind her.
"Mmm, something smells great" Brian said as he leant in from behind her.
"Well I've made your favourite, so why don't you go clean up whilst I finish it off" Olivia suggested but Brian had other ideas, his hands were on her waist, heading in the direction of her skirt and his lips were devouring her neck.
"I wasn't talking about the food"
"Brian, not now. You're drunk" Olivia tried to squirm out of Brian's arms, the alcohol was strong on his breath.
"And with an hot woman" He continued to try and seduce her, his arms tightening around her waist and Olivia knew she couldn't overpower him. Olivia also knew she didn't want it to go any further, but if she rejected him then it would be her face that went through the door.
"Bri" Olivia said as she placed her hands on his arms, trying to get him to loosen up.
"Come on baby, turn down the stove and we'll come back to dinner. I want to see what you are hiding underneath all this" Brian whispered as he continued to attack her neck, he wasn't in the mood for food he just wanted his wife and he wanted her now.
END FLASHBACK
Olivia shot up, turned on the lamp and looked around the room whilst she tried to get her breath back. It was just a dream, he's not here, he can't hurt you Olivia tried to remind herself and lower her racing heartbeat. She'd had another nightmare about Brian. Tonight, was the third one this week, they had occurred almost every night sine she'd had the meeting with Elliot. Olivia didn't understand the reasoning behind the reoccurring nightmares or what Elliot had even done to cause them but she deeply wished they would stop. She'd left Brian as soon as she found out she was pregnant with Chloe and never looked back. She'd got out right after one final beating, which resulted in two broken ribs for her. You left for Chloe and he's never coming near you Olivia continued to think to herself. Brian was in prison and he would be there for at least another year before he was eligible to appeal. She'd been the one to put him there after her father had been so passionate about getting him arrested for what he'd done. Brian had absolutely no parental rights to Chloe, she didn't even think he knew about her and Olivia would do everything in her power to keep it that way. She took a couple of deep breaths, climbed out of bed and headed towards Chloe's room. She did this after every nightmare, it brought her comfort and re-affirmed her dedication to putting Chloe first.
Olivia found Chloe fast asleep in her bed, which was a half crib half toddler style bed that was perfect for Chloe. She took a seat on the floor right by the bed and just sat, watching the little girl sleep. She needed to do this to calm down, redirect her thoughts and get everything back under control. Chloe was her little miracle and the little girl meant the entire world to Olivia, especially after everything that she'd been through to get to this point. He's never coming anywhere near you, I won't let him Olivia whispered as she placed a soft kiss on the little girl's forehead.
Despite the bad night sleep, Olivia still managed to get up and be functioning enough to get Chloe ready for another day at daycare. She managed to shower and get dressed before Chloe was up and then they had breakfast together before Olivia got Chloe dressed and packed for the day. Olivia was planning to stop and grab a coffee after dropping Chloe at daycare, on her way to school. Today would be a day that she clearly needed the extra caffeine to be able to teach her students well and manage all the extra things she had to get done today. Clara would be teaching a few of the lessons today which would give Olivia extra time, whilst still being in the classroom. But Olivia could still feel that today was going to be a long day without caffeine, so the coffee stop would be an important step on her way to school.
"Daisy come?" Chloe asked as she walked over to her bag that was sitting on the couch from where she had been sitting playing. Daisy, was her toy dog and Chloe was obsessed with this toy. She rarely left the house without it and if she did leave the house without daisy, she would have a meltdown when she realized she had done so. Daisy was the first toy that Chloe had ever received and so Olivia was hesitant to let the little girl take such a special toy to daycare. She hated the thought that something could happen with Daisy at daycare and then Chloe would get upset. However, she wasn't prepared for a huge fight today.
"Are you sure you want to take her? What if the other kids play with her?" Olivia tried to coax the little girl into leaving Daisy at home.
"Daisy mine" Chloe argued, hugging the toy close.
"But if you take her to daycare then other kids might want to play with her too. Are you sure you would want that? You'd have to share her" Olivia tried to explain, and Chloe shook her head. Olivia knew that her little girl wasn't great at sharing and as Daisy was really special, there was a severe risk something could happen.
"Daisy stay home" Chloe agreed, half ordering the dog around and half explaining that she wasn't going to take the toy with her. She placed the dog on the couch and went over to her mother.
"She'll be here waiting for you when you get back. You can tell her all the stories about what you did today" Olivia continued to coax the little girl, placing a few extra things in her backpack so she was ready for the day. They had minutes to spare before they had to leave if Olivia was going to manage to get to school before the bell rang.
Elizabeth Stabler was usually one of the first children into the classroom every morning, she was usually quite the little ray of light in Olivia's class. But this morning that was simply not the case, in fact Olivia hadn't even laid eyes on the little girl before the morning bell, which was unusual. She knew that Elizabeth's father, Elliot had been away from business and she believed that he hadn't returned yet. Olivia knew that maybe this was the reason for Elizabeth being out of sorts, or maybe there was something else going on. Olivia decided that the best way to get to the bottom of it was simply to conference with Elizabeth and discuss what she was feeling right now. A part of Olivia's teaching philosophy was that feelings were important, and she wanted the kind of relationship with her students where they felt they could trust her with their feelings. She also had the strong belief that if they shared with her what was going on, then together they would be able to able to work out a solution to the problem and resolve issues which may be happening.
Olivia didn't have a proper chance to talk with Elizabeth one on one during the morning session, but she could tell that something with the little girl was wrong. The personality that the little girl usually showed, wasn't there today and she was very disengaged from everything in the classroom. Clara was going to do some teaching after recess and whilst Olivia had planned to get some other work done during that time as Clara didn't really need her, she now had the plan to see if Elizabeth was ok during this time.
"What's up with Lizzie today?" Clara asked, as she grabbed her things for recess.
"I'm not sure" Olivia replied.
"But there is definitely something different today? Like you can see it too?" Clara asked to which Olivia nodded. She had spotted it and it showed good observation skills and knowledge of her students if Clara had spotted it too.
"When I had the meeting with her father recently, he had mentioned that he was going away from home for a bit on a business trip. He didn't say how long he would be gone for though and it makes me wonder if her behaviour today has something to do with his absence. I wonder if her brother, Richard is the same?" Olivia tried questioning. She made a mental note to check in with Mandy during this break to see if Richard was displaying any of the same behaviour that Elizabeth was.
During recess, Olivia checked with Mandy about Richard and she had explained that he was a perfectly happy kid today. He had even given a presentation about what they did on the weekend and he hadn't said anything that should raise a particular concern or explain Elizabeth's behaviour today. As the class was coming into the classroom at the end of recess, Olivia took Elizabeth aside and discussed that they were going to have a little chat. They took a seat up the back of the classroom, in the designated quiet corner and allowed the other children to keep learning with Clara.
"Why are we sitting here?" Elizabeth asked, wanting to know what was going to be different for her now that she had been taken aside from her peers.
"We're just going to have a little chat" Olivia explained.
"Why?"
"Because I'm worried about you, are you feeling ok today?" Olivia asked and Elizabeth just shrugged, clearly trying to avoid the questions.
"What's going on Lizzie? You seem a little blue today?" Olivia coaxed again, hoping that this was the best way to get the information out of the little girl about what was going on. Elizabeth remained silent.
"I miss daddy" Elizabeth finally spoke up and Olivia felt her heart ache a little, she had figured this was the case and the little girl was simply blue because she was feeling sad about her dad being away.
"He's still away isn't he?" Olivia clarified
"He was 'sposed to be back tomorrow but Dani said dis morning that he won't be back till next weekend" Elizabeth explained. Olivia knew personally that sometimes businesses required a longer trip than expected but she was a little confused by this news coming from the nanny to Elizabeth and not Elliot. It was Wednesday now and so that meant instead of there only being one more day before she would see her father, Elizabeth now had to wait 3-4 more days depending when on the weekend he got back.
"Have you spoken with your daddy whilst he's been away?" Olivia asked but Elizabeth just shook her head. Parents had a huge influence over their children's lives and so Olivia wasn't the least bit surprised that the little girl was feeling a little blue now that her father had been gone a while and they hadn't even spoken with him.
"Dani let Dickie speak with daddy but she said I'd not been good enough, so I couldn't speak with him till I was good again. But I don't know what I did wrong? Dani wouldn't let me come with them on the weekend either when they went out, I had to stay at home with Bertie" Elizabeth explained, Olivia really didn't like what she was hearing.
A/N: Thoughts? Looks like things in the Stabler household aren't all as they seem and maybe it's to do with the nanny? Next chapter we look more into this. But for now, please let me know what you thought of this chapter by leaving a review? Until next time ;D
