Chapter 11

Olivia had the first hour of the school day off teaching today, so she'd taken that as a sign not to go into school quite so early. Thus, she had taken a little bit longer with Chloe to get ready this morning and do the daily daycare drop off. This week, Olivia was going to be doing things a little bit differently to the way things usually were, considering she'd be looking after Elizabeth and Richard in the afternoon. Olivia had talked this through with Lucy, giving her the opportunity to get extra pay with looking after the Stabler twins. But they'd agreed it would likely be best to keep Chloe's routine the same as much as possible this week, with her looking after Chloe and Olivia looking after the Stabler twins. It was likely the schedule would change a little with Lucy staying back longer in the evening but it wasn't really a change for Chloe or anything. But Lucy had also agreed to help Olivia out by providing a list of more nannies' that she knew who might be looking for new clients. Olivia was insistent on there being all the relevant documentation provided for these women before she would even suggest them to Elliot. Elliot Stabler had quite the high calibre and would only accept the best in those looking after his kids. That was what he thought he'd had with Dani but that clearly just hadn't been the case, and Elliot learnt that the hard way. Due to this though, Olivia wanted to put other steps in place first to minimise the risk of events reoccurring or Elliot and his kids getting hurt.

After the daycare drop off, Olivia took a slight detour on her journey to school, she went past the local café to grab a morning coffee and a bagel for breakfast as she didn't eat before she left. Then as she reached the school, in the remaining time off she had, she held a quick meeting with Clara about what this week was going to consist of and then touched base with a few other staff members about a variety of issues. Olivia was surprised by how quickly her free hour passed when she had a million and one things to do. She was just on her way to pick up her class from their release teacher, when her hip vibrated, signalling she had a new message.

Elliot: I just wanted to say thank you for looking after my kids this afternoon for me. I promise I will try and get the nanny situation sorted so we don't take up too much of your afternoons but I'm really sorry for any inconvinence in the mean time. Also thank you again for looking after Lizzie at the park yesterday :) Olivia read the message and smiled, the text was really sweet and she appreciated the thank you from Elliot. She didn't feel it was really necessary as she didn't mind helping out and she really cared for Elizabeth and Richard, but she appreciated it all the same.

Now that Olivia had come to know more about the backstory for the Stabler family and spent a lot of time with Elizabeth, there really wasn't anything that Olivia wouldn't do to help that family out where she could. Not to mention that she actually really liked helping people in general and Elliot needed her help at the moment.
Olivia: Your most welcome, I'm glad that I can help you out. Your kids are going to be perfectly fine and I will make sure they get everywhere they need to at the time they need to. Lucy is going to compile a list for me of the different nannies that she knows are good and are looking for work, so I'll get that for you when I can. But don't worry, I've told her they need to have relevant paperwork and be legitimate before she gives them to me. I hope you're meetings are going well today! Olivia quickly replied before walking into the classroom.


Elizabeth walked out of the school building with Miss Benson and the rest of her class, quickly scanning her eyes across the playground. She knew her father wasn't going to be there to pick her up today but she still wanted to check anyway. She knew that everything this afternoon would be ok even without her father there, she was going to be with Miss Benson and Miss Benson would look after her. But Elizabeth still had a nervous feeling about it all because it was different to what she was used to. Olivia could tell that the little girl was nervous about everything, as there was a change this afternoon to what they had been used to.
"So, you're a nanny now too?" Mandy asked as she walked over to Olivia with Dickie close by her.
"I'm just helping out for a couple of days whilst Mr Stabler works a few things out for a new nanny" Olivia dismissed, she didn't want there to be the start of any drama.

"Miss Benson, did daddy tell you about dance and basketball practice? It's Monday and we have to go" Dickie asked, drawing the adults out of their discussion whilst the last few of their combined classes were picked up.
"He did, and I know that it's basketball first and then we go to dance after that. But there was one thing that we have to stop to do and I don't think your dad told me about" Olivia commented.
"What's that? I don't think there is anything else today?" Elizabeth asked, they didn't do anything else on Monday afternoons other than dance and basketball.
"Well, I don't know about you two but I'm starving, I think there's a monster growling in my stomach and it needs to be fed. So what do you say we stop and get afternoon tea on the way?" Olivia asked causing both kids to cheer, Olivia was starting to feel more confident this afternoon would go well.
"Alright, well I hope you three have a good afternoon" Mandy farewelled the trio as they made their way inside so Olivia could grab her things from the classroom before they headed out for the afternoon.


Olivia: Afternoon pick up was a success, stopped for an afternoon snack and then we're going to basketball court. Just thought you'd like to know :) Elliot saw his phone light up with a new message, whilst he tried to focus through one of his final meetings for the day. He was relieved that this afternoon had gone well so far for Olivia and the twins. He hoped that when he eventually made it home tonight, he would continue to hear positive stories about this afternoon. Elliot was grateful that Olivia had texted him with an update on this afternoon's pick up, clearly she had known that he would be thinking about it and wanting to know how it was going. Elliot knew that Elizabeth in particular, didn't always take well to many changes, particularly after everything that she had been through with Kathy leaving when she was young and then the whole Dani incident.

Elliot had been concerned about how Elizabeth would handle these changes, which was why he had made specific mention to let her know last night what was going to happen this afternoon. But one of the biggest positives with this change was that Olivia was Elizabeth's classroom teacher and the little girl really trusted Olivia more than she could say. Elliot knew that with Olivia as the one looking after them, Elizabeth would be fine. Elliot was grateful for Olivia's passion towards children and teaching, going above and beyond for his daughter in this way. It was particularly special that she was prepared to spend extra time looking after his kids when he now knew that she had a daughter of her own at home who needed Olivia's attention just as much but Olivia was putting that on hold for his kids.

Elliot: Glad to hear it's going well. I look forward to the stories about what you all get up when I get home tonight. Thank you for looking after them for me, I know it's not really part of your job or what you have to od but I really appreciate it! Elliot quickly responded, he didn't want to look away from the presentation he was watching but he needed to give Olivia a response. Normally, he tried to minimise the distractions from his work, particularly when he was in meetings like this as they had a lot of important things to discuss. However, his children were just as important and keeping in contact with Olivia because of his children, was just as important to Elliot.
Olivia: I really don't mind. A teacher's role doesn't stop the moment a child leaves the classroom at the end of the day. Your children's welfare and happiness is the priority right now and I don't mind helping out where I can. That offer of help extends to you as well you know :) Olivia replied once again, much quicker than Elliot had expected though. He knew he was very lucky to have someone like Olivia around to help out. He knew she wasn't like other teachers out there and there would be other teachers who wouldn't go as far for his children as she did. She was an amazing teacher.

As Elliot continued to try and focus on the presentation in front of him for the designs of the new hotel in Florida, his thoughts drifted away from the board room. His thoughts drifted towards the exact teacher whom he was texting with about his children. There was just something about Olivia that Elliot was really drawn to and finding himself to be more and more interested in. He laid awake for several hours last night just staring at the ceiling in his bedroom and thinking about her, thinking about the afternoon at the park which they shared. He'd had a long chat with Elizabeth about Olivia before and it was clear how much the little girl really adored Olivia and how she had been very excited to see her favourite teacher at the park. However, something within Elliot found himself wanting to spend more time with Olivia, away from the classroom and this genuinely surprised him. He didn't think he should be feeling this way towards a teacher nor did he think that it was appropriate for him to be doing so. But at the end of the day, he was a single man and Olivia was a very attractive lady, so Elliot just couldn't help himself.

However, she had a young daughter, so it was highly likely she had a husband or someone else significant in her life as well. There was simply no way that now he knew what he knew, Olivia would still be on the dating market. He knew that she was really only trying to help him out whilst he needed the help and the feelings or thoughts, he might be having towards her, were in no way reciprocated by her towards him. Elliot knew that if Olivia had a husband and he had been in that man's shoes, he wouldn't want another man to think so strongly about his wife. Olivia and Elliot were just friends, that was all they were ever really going to be. She's a teacher, she's just trying to show love and concern for her students. She has a daughter so there is no way she's available, pull yourself together man Elliot tried to berate himself as he readjusted his sitting position within his chair. He tried to turn his attention from thoughts of Olivia to the presentation once more. The designs for the new hotel were still needing to be finalised before the building team could get started and thus this meeting really had a strong importance. But if she was available, you'd want to be quick as there is no way the woman like her would stay that way for long Elliot gave one last thought as he checked his phone once more to see if there were any new messages from Olivia. He just had to get this meeting and one more out the way and then he could actually go home.

A/N: Thoughts? Let me know in the review. I'm so glad ot see so many of you enjoying this story and eagerly wanting more. Also welcome to all of my new readers, i'm so glad your here, and i hope you continue to be drawn into the story.
Until Next Time ;)