A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews, i'm really glad to see so many of you are enjoying this story because i'm honestly really enjoying writing it and taking two of our beloved characters and changing their roles up. I apologise for the delay in updating, i've been rather sick, which has affected the enthusiasm to write and i also decided the other night that i didn't like where this story was going and changed it up. Don't worry, it didn't affect the chapters which are just waiting to be published, but as i like ot be a few chapters ahead of what i'm publishing, it did put a hold on releasing more. Hopefully though, the changes are for the best. Anyway, here is our next chapter and please let me know what you think by leaving a review at the end.
Until Next Time ;)
Discussions
Toddlers are unpredictable and it's one of the reasons they are one of the harder phases in parenting. They have good days and they have bad days, neither more predictable than the other. Olivia knew this well and was adamant that this stage was going to never end, this would be her with Chloe for the rest of their days. Olivia had days with Chloe that were the absolute highlight of her life and she wished she could relive all the time. But then there would be days where Chloe wouldn't sleep and so the little girl kept her up all night and was super clingy, which meant that Olivia then moved through a school day with heavy sleep deprivation. Today, was one of those days. Chloe had been unsettled as she went to bed last night and had not slept well, waking up several times across the night, which meant Olivia was awake numerous times across the night too. But the difference was, Chloe would have the chance to take a nap later today whilst Olivia had to work all day, she did however say a silent prayer that her students were well behaved today. Olivia was in for a long day but she thankfully, managed to get everything ready in time for Lucy to be with Chloe and do the daycare drop off, so she could get to work.
Olivia had planning and reporting work that she needed to get done for different support purposes and so she had made a specific plan to get to school early and work on this. However, she never expected to be interrupted from doing this, by a parent without a schedule meeting. She also didn't expect that the parent would be Elizabeth's father, Elliot Stabler.
"Good morning" Olivia greeted as she walked past Elliot into the classroom, from getting a fresh coffee from the staffroom.
"Good morning, I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I just wanted to see if you had time to talk?" Elliot asked. Oh, only all the paperwork I came in early to do, but it's fine Olivia sarcastically thought to herself.
"No, you're ok, it's just paperwork. Come and take a seat" Olivia encouraged as Elliot came into the classroom and took a seat at one of the student's desks. Olivia grabbed her notepad from her desk and sat down opposite him. She brought the notepad to be able to write down anything they discussed or needed to be followed up with.
"So, what's up?" Olivia asked, trying to start the conversation and work out why Elliot was here right now.
"It's Elizabeth. I'm concerned and I don't quite know what to do to help her" Elliot confessed, and Olivia wondered if this would be the case.
"What's going on?" Olivia replied, she would do anything to help that little girl if she could.
"She really admires you, she values everything that you do for her in a large way and you're a huge support for her. But I can tell something is going on with her, yesterday was a big trigger for me and I don't know how to help my little girl or what is really going on. But I know she's not happy" Elliot asked, Olivia felt touched by this. She knew that she had a big influence over the little girl but she didn't realise quite how much and that it was so evident to the people around her. Olivia took a deep breath and centered her thoughts a little working out the best way to explain this.
"You probably don't realise it, but you have just as much influence on Elizabeth if not more. You are the one that she will come and tell me stories about you, or she will always write about you and the things you've done together. So, don't doubt how important you are to her or how much she loves you. She has missed you incredibly much though. Can I be honest?" Olivia asked, not wanting to overstep her mark with this discussion.
"Of course" Elliot encouraged, he really wanted her to hear what Olivia had to say, he wanted to get to the bottom of the issue around whatever was going on with Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth has serious issues with your nanny, Dani. I know it's not really my place to say but I have serious concerns with you leaving Lizzie with her at the moment" Olivia tried to explain, though she felt a little bit scared that she had gone too far. Elliot was grateful for the insight though.
"In you email, you mentioned some concerning things and frankly I'm not happy with hearing that my daughter is getting upset at school. The twins are with the housekeeper at the moment and she's going to bring them to school for me this morning. I have given Dani a break for now, until I can hopefully talk to her later today" Elliot explained.
"I'm really glad to hear they aren't with Dani right now as I hate to say it but I think things have got worse since my last email. Lizzie came to school yesterday and asked me what a 'lost cause' was. Apparently, she'd heard Dani call her a lost cause to Bertie? Now Lizzie is incredibly bright and with the right support she has already made significant improvement with her learning and reading. She is in no way a lost cause and no child should be called that, it can be detrimental to their education and learning" Olivia explained, Elliot just nodded. She had a strong feeling that Elliot knew exactly where she was coming from at the moment.
"Yes, Lizzie and I had a big talk last night about everything that happened and about that comment last night. I don't ever want my daughter to hear those types of things in relation to her. She isn't a lost cause and I want her to believe that she can achieve everything that she sets her mind to. However, I also have the belief that there are two sides to every story and I want to get to the bottom of this. Therefore, I've arranged a meeting with Dani later today to discuss this and I will decide from that as to how I move forward on this"
"If you decide after all this that Dani is not right for your daughter or for your family and need some recommendations on someone new, let me know as I can provide you with a few suggestions" Olivia advised, to which Elliot nodded. Olivia wanted to help in anyway that she could because she knew what single parent life was like and she wanted to be able to assist where she could rather than leaving someone out on their own.
The conversation this morning with Olivia provided Elliot with a lot to think about, he was glad that she had been willing to sit down with him and talk about it. Elliot was impressed with how well Olivia really knew his daughter and even thought it was possible she knew his daughter better than he did. He was also glad to hear that there had been so much that Elizabeth had felt comfortable with confiding in Olivia about. Elliot knew that he had to make some changes and the meeting with Dani over lunch would be casual but it would be the perfect time to work out whether she was the right person to be looking after his children. Olivia had provided some really useful suggestions in how to approach the subject with Dani and the things to keep a mental note of. Whilst Elliot wasn't if he should be confiding in Olivia so much about his family life or extra things going on but there was just something about her that made him want to tell her everything. Elliot just really thought that Olivia was very approachable and she could see why Elizabeth thought so highly of this woman. In ways more than just a teacher.
He sat in the back of the car as it made it's way through the busy streets of New York City. He was heading to the hotel where he had a few things to attend to before heading out to his lunch with Dani. He wasn't sure what this afternoon would then hold, whether he would need to get his children, whether someone else would or whether he would be able to rely on Dani with them again. Elizabeth wasn't happy, that was distinctly obvious and the claims that the source of her unhappiness, was the baby sitter and Elliot being away a lot, made Elliot determined to make changes. He was determined to not spend as much of his time travelling or away from home, his business may need him but Elliot was sure his kids needed him more. He was dedicated to his children, he always would be and would place them first from now on.
There was really nothing like being a father, it was the most important job on the planet to Elliot. He may not have seen it before but something about this year was making him start to see the importance of being a father now. The driver looked at Elliot through the rear view mirror, questioning if something was wrong but Elliot just shook him off. Elliot didn't want to talk about it right now, he just wanted to get through everything that was today and work out where to go next. He wanted to work out how best to move forward ensuring his kids were safe and happy when he couldn't be around.
Elliot sat at the coffee shop, waiting for Dani and his coffee, both of whom were yet to actually arrive. He had phone in his usual order before he arrived at the café, to prohibit the long wait in queues or to be served at the table. But Elliot hadn't expected Dani to be late as well. He had already confirmed with her earlier today that they would meet for coffee and lunch to which she had agreed. But it was almost 10 minutes past when they were supposed to meet at the café and Dani was nowhere to be seen. The one thing that Elliot had to admit was his pet hate, was when people were late or simply didn't provide explanation on why this was. He was always the kind of person who, when they had to be somewhere at a set time, would be early or on time. He would never allow himself to be late. Elliot would hate himself if he was late somewhere, even after he had children. Especially when there were other people who were counting on him to be somewhere at a set time. Elliot groaned to himself as he looked at the watch but thankfully at least part of his annoyance was short lived as his coffee arrived, along with his toasted sandwich for lunch.
Elliot continued to wait for Dani as he ate lunch, he even called her a couple of times but got no response. It was like she had just disappeared into thin air, all because he'd wanted to meet up with her. It wasn't looking good for her future prospects in terms of employment with him and he'd expected better from her. Elliot had always thought very highly of Dani and the work she did for him, he thought she was better than this. Elliot wasn't sure what he would do if she was like this when she was supposed to be working for him later today. It was definitely turning into one day which Elliot would rather avoid or forget. He had a million other things that needed to get done and he wasn't happy.
Elliot dialed the number one more time after he finished his lunch, it had now been over an hour since the time they had arranged to meet up and Dani had not contacted him or shown up. Elliot was less than impressed that was for sure. The call rang out to voice mail and Elliot decided he would leave a message this final time.
"Hi Dani, it's Elliot Stabler. You and I were supposed to meet up today for lunch to discuss a few things in regards to your employment. However, you have not shown up to this meeting time and neglected to tell me why this was. So, until you have contacted me with a reason, consider your future employment as pending. I do not appreciate when I arrange to meet with someone, they don't show up or explain why this is. I will wait to hear from you to further discuss this" Elliot stated, maintaining a high professionalism during their call and ensuring to end it promptly. He thanked the waitress who came to clear his table and left a big tip after the bill for the waitress. Now, having waited for Dani for so long, he had to and organise a few final things before going to pick up the kids himself. If there was one positive to this end to the day, it would be that Elliot could get to see another certain teacher again and he really liked the thought of that.
A/N: Uh Oh...This can't be good? What is Elliot going to do now?
