Chapter 6 – Dad's Back
Olivia had sat through meetings all morning before the start of school, she'd been in meetings with parents or other teachers or even other school staff. She'd been in meetings since 7:45am this morning and already felt tired from the day, which hadn't really properly started yet. Due to these meetings and the need to be at school early for these meetings, Olivia had to leave Chloe in Lucy's hands before the little girl even woke up. Olivia just hoped that this afternoon would come quickly and she could leave earlier than usual to be the one to pick Chloe up from daycare. Olivia had made the promise to Chloe that when they moved to New York, when Chloe was only 3 months old, she would be a better mother for her and always be there when Chloe woke up. Of course, Chloe was too young to remember this but Olivia remembered and felt guilty whenever she wasn't there. However, Olivia did feel completely comfortable leaving Chloe with Lucy and knew that her little girl would be perfectly fine, especially considering Lucy would send her updates when Chloe woke up and when she'd been dropped off to day-care.
But by the time the morning bell actually did ring, Olivia already felt like it should be nearly home time. Now she wasn't a huge coffee drinker and she tried to minimise her intake where possible, but after how busy her morning had already been, Olivia knew today was going to be one of those days where coffee would be the only thing getting her through the day. Now despite how Olivia might be feeling about today, she really did love her class and enjoyed teaching each and every one of her students. But the look on Clara's face as she walked into the classroom before the students, had Olivia slightly concerned. Something clearly had happened before the morning bell, whilst Olivia was in all of her meetings.
"Elizabeth wants to talk to you" Clara mentioned in passing as she moved past Olivia's desk. If Elizabeth was wanting to talk to her this early, then something had to have gone on last night at home, as Olivia had mentioned when Elizabeth left yesterday, that if she ever needed someone to talk to whilst her father was away or even when he was home, Elizabeth could always talk to her. Olivia went over to where Elizabeth was currently sitting at her desk and bent down beside her, but the little girl just looked at her.
"Hi Miss Benson" Elizabeth greeted.
"Hey Lizzie, Miss Anderson told me that you wanted to talk to me? Is everything ok?" Olivia queried, concerned what the little girl wanted to ask her.
"What does lost cause mean?" Elizabeth asked which took Olivia by surprise with such a enquiry.
"Well, can you give me a little more information on how you heard it as it may have a couple of meanings"
"I was doing my spelling homework last night with Bertie, she's our house lady, but Dani came down and said Bertie had to leave me as I was a lost cause…But I don't know what that means?" Elizabeth explained and Olivia almost didn't want to answer her. Olivia couldn't believe such a cruel thing had been said to such a sweet little girl like Elizabeth. She wasn't a lost cause at all, Olivia completely believed that she would be one incredibly smart little girl with just the right kind of assistance.
"Honey, that really wasn't a very nice thing for Dani to say to you. But I want you to know that you are a very smart and beautiful little girl. I know you can achieve anything that you want to and I'm going to be here to help you do that ok?" Olivia stated, trying to divert the little girl's attention to something else. She didn't really know how to explain what a 'lost cause' was in a way that wouldn't hurt Elizabeth. Olivia just couldn't believe what she was hearing that was going on at home and prayed Elliot would be home soon to work it all out.
Elliot strolled into the school playground, standing near the entrance to the school but in clear vision of the exit of the school building where his children would come out. He had given Dani the afternoon off and told her not to worry about dropping the twins to school tomorrow morning either. Elliot planned to spend the rest of today and tomorrow morning away from work and with his sole focus on his children as he felt they needed him most right now. He also wanted to check in with both of their teachers to make sure that in the time he'd been away for business, his kids were still improving in their learning and not going the opposite way. He wanted to talk to Elizabeth's teacher the most, especially after the email which she'd sent him the other day. It had only been a week or so since they had put together a new plan to support Elizabeth's learning and he wanted to get more information on her progress or anything else they could be doing. He also wanted to say thank you to her for looking out for Elizabeth at school, he really appreciated the extra mile Olivia seemed to be going for his daughter. He appreciated the way Elizabeth felt comfortable enough to talk to Olivia and tell her about things going on that Elizabeth might not want to tell him or feel like she can't tell him.
The final bell of the day rang out loud and clear, Elliot watched as the children started to filter out of the entrance doors and teachers stood around observing all the kids being picked up. The older children came out by themselves, but Elizabeth and Richard's classes still came out with a teacher, just like the children who appeared to be in years below them. It only took mere seconds for Richard to spot his father and come sprinting over, whilst Elliot could see Elizabeth didn't want to leave Olivia's side and clearly hadn't spotted him yet. If she was being like this because she thought it would be Dani here collecting them today, that was a big warning sign to Elliot. Elliot hugged Richard close and listened as the boy tried to tell his father everything about his day in the space of a few minutes but continued to keep an eye on Elizabeth with her teacher.
"Daddy look! I got all my spelling list right!" Richard exclaimed, trying to get his father's true attention when he could see that his father was looking elsewhere to him.
"Wow, that's great buddy" Elliot replied, high fiving the boy.
"Yeah, Dani really helped me with my practice this week and Mrs Hawke says I've gone up 3 whole reading levels this week too. My teacher says that she's going to give me a special award this week for trying so hard. But I want to give it to Dani, cause she helped me so much" Richard continued as Elliot nodded, concerned slightly that Elizabeth didn't appear to want to come over here.
"Well I think this calls for a celebration! We do need to get your sister first though" Elliot said as they started to make their way over to where Elizabeth and Olivia were still standing.
Olivia was bending down to be the same height as Elizabeth and talking to her, it was home time and she had seen Elliot was waiting for Elizabeth today rather than their nanny, but Elizabeth wouldn't leave her side. When Olivia had suggested they go see her father together, Elizabeth just wouldn't move, Olivia honestly had no idea what was going on right now. So instead, she decided to just stay in the spot and talk with Elizabeth, knowing sooner or later Elliot would have to come over to her instead.
"Look Lizzie, your daddy's back and he's here to pick you up, it's not Dani" Olivia tried to coax again and the little girl just looked over to where her father was walking towards them with Richard and didn't move.
"I don't want to go"
"But sweetheart, it's home time now and I know daddy has come here especially to see you"
"No he hasn't…he's here with Dickie and I know Dickie is going to say I'm lying about Dani but they aren't lies Miss Benson, I don't tell lies"
"I know honey but come on, how about we talk to him together? I'll make sure you're ok before you go home?" Olivia suggested as she stood up again and Elizabeth reached for her hand as the pair started to walk towards Elliot and Richard who were walking towards them.
The group met in the middle and Elliot bent down to Elizabeth's height, trying to check in with his little girl who would normally be so happy to see him.
"Hey honey" Elliot greeted and Elizabeth just looked at him, he could tell she was being very closed off and he didn't understand why. But after some coaching from Olivia, eventually Lizzie came into his arms and gave him the biggest hug but bursting into tears as Elliot held her. This sight not only broke Elliot's heart but it broke Olivia's too, it was clear this little girl had been feeling so much pain when her father was away. This reaction only made Elliot feel more guilty about it. Olivia continued to watch on as Elliot tried to soothe little girl, whispering softly to her and rubbing his hand up and down her back. He's such a great father Olivia thought as he watched the moment. Olivia could tell Dickie was concerned for his sister now she was crying but also wondering what was going on right now. Elliot gazed up at Olivia and said a silent thank you with his eyes. He wanted to talk with her more but could tell that from Elizabeth's reaction to him now, it wasn't the time. He needed to get his kids home and spend time just the three of them for a while.
"I'll see you tomorrow Elizabeth, ok? Have a good afternoon" Olivia said her farewells and watched as the Stabler family left. They certainly weren't perfect and had ground to fix together, but she could tell that now Elliot was back in New York, the Stabler family were going to try and make it all better.
An hour later, Dickie was upstairs playing in his room with his Lego whilst Elizabeth sat at the dining table, drawing. Elliot knew they both had homework to be done but he wanted to make sure that things were calmer and more settled before he tackled that with them. Bertie had been just as happy to have Elliot home when they all got back this afternoon. She'd had the chef bake cookies and there were currently two plates with them around the penthouse, one with Elizabeth and one with Richard. Elliot currently stood in the doorway of the living and dining room, just watching Elizabeth and thinking about how she had been at school. He hated that she had broken down the minute he was holding her and how she wouldn't let him go until they were home.
"Hi daddy" Elizabeth spoke up, clearly Elliot had been spotted from watching her.
"Hi honey, what are you up to?" Elliot asked as he walked over to behind her
"Drawing, I'm making Miss Benson a card" Elizabeth explained.
"That's a lovely idea, she's going to love it"
"She is my favourite teacher and Bertie said it's important to let people know when he are thanking them for what they do for us" Elizabeth explained and Elliot had to agree. Miss Benson had done a lot not only for Elizabeth but for him too and so maybe he needed to show some appreciation as well.
"Bertie is exactly right, Miss Benson helped you out a lot whilst I was gone didn't she?" Elliot asked as he sat at the table across from Elizabeth and watched her drawing. Elizabeth just nodded in agreement with her father.
"She help me with my school and when explained big things Dani said to me…like I'm a lost cause"
"Dani called you that?"
"Mmhmm, as Bertie…She told Bertie to stop helping me with my homework last night cause I'm a lost cause and only Dickie can be helped. It really hurt me, but Miss Benson told me that it's not true and it's not is it daddy?" Elizabeth tried to explain.
"Of course not and I don't want you ever to think that it is, ok? You are a beautiful, smart, funny little girl who I absolutely adore and don't let anyone else ever tell you differently" Elliot said, he couldn't believe that someone would tell his daughter that she was a lost cause. He never wanted her to believe that, he wanted his children to know that they could achieve anything they wanted to if they tried. Hard work was important to achieving dreams, but he never wanted his children or any children to believe that they couldn't make their dreams come true or anything because they could. Elliot would spend forever trying to prove that to them if he had to.
"Ok Daddy" Elizabeth replied as Elliot pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, snatched a cookie from the plate and then left Elizabeth to her creative work.
A/N: Well it's not like Elizabeth to be hesitant to leave Olivia's side but with everything she must be going through from Dani, can we really blame her? I don't know about you, but i'm so glad Elliot's back, maybe now things with Dani and the kids can be sorted out? I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens next right? But i think there is a special bond growing between Elizabeth and Olivia, so what does that mean for Elliot? Hmm?
Let me know what you thought of this chapter by leaving a review! They are all appreciated and i love reading them all.
Until Next Time ;)
