A/N: Alright Alright…I know it's been a LONG time since I've updated and for that, I'm deeply sorry. But to be completely honest with you, the situation in the world right now has truly thrown a spanner in the works and I lost all motivation to write and edit. I sat down at the computer numerous times to try write and edit and get something out to you all but nothing was coming out right. However, I have managed to find some part of my mojo back, and have a new chapter for you all…To make up for my long absence, this chapter is a LONG chapter, and I suspect the new few will be too. So buckle in!
Chapter 36: Family Play Date
Saturday was an early morning in the Stabler household. Elizabeth and Richard had gone to bed early last night under the supervision of Bernie. But Elliot had not got home till late and gone to bed even later, after his evening with Olivia. He had to admit, he was feeling it now though, as he sat in the lounge room with Elizabeth and Richard, watching cartoons on the TV whilst Richard was also playing with Lego on the floor. The twins may have been up at 7:30am this morning and Elliot felt like this was too early. Elliot also hated to think how early Chloe might have been up this morning and what time Olivia was up from. Thoughts like this made Elliot wonder what could be in store for the future. It gave him hope to think about what mornings with Olivia and Chloe as well as the twins would be like. Elliot really enjoyed the thought of spending lazy mornings in the penthouse, with all three children playing together, as well as any other they may or may not have in the future. He would be snuggled up with Olivia on the couch, just watching over it all.
Elliot and Olivia had agreed that they wouldn't rush to go out this morning, due to getting home late last night. But they would touch base when everyone was awake and in the process of getting ready to go out. Elliot hadn't told the twins about the plans just yet but he planned to. He also hadn't told his mother of the day's plans, but she was yet to even surface.
"Daddy..." Elizabeth spoke up, drawing her father away from his thoughts about the future and what he hoped that would entail.
"Yes princess?" Elliot replied, looking down at his daughter who was currently snuggled into his side.
"What are we doing today? Do you have to work?" Elizabeth asked. It was as if she'd been reading her father's mind as he'd just been thinking about telling them what the plan for today was.
"It's the weekend, so no I don't have to work today. But I was thinking we could go out and do something fun all together" Elliot explained.
"Like what?"
"Well, I was thinking that sine it's cold out today, it's not really the playing outside kind of weather. But there is this play centre that I know you both like – what do you say to us going there today?"
"Cosmic Playland?" Richard asked, joining the conversation.
"No, not cosmic. This is the one just north of the city, the forest one we've been to before" Elliot corrected.
"Ooohh, I know that one! Lizzie, that's the one that we went to with Dani that time when Daddy was away on business, and you had Sally come too" Richard tried to explain. Elliot could have sworn he'd been to this playcentre with the twins too but maybe they'd gone other times without him.
"I don't want to go there with Dani" Elizabeth replied, a look of terror on her face, it was clear that woman had caused some very deep scars to emerge.
"No no, don't worry, you won't be. It'll be just you, me and Dickie today – with possibly another friend but I'm pretty sure you'll like them" Elliot comforted.
"No nanny?" Richard asked.
"Nope, nanny is not coming today. I think after looking after you two so well, she deserves a day away from you and besides, I want a day with you two and just me" Elliot remarked as he tickled Elizabeth from her spot next to him. He continued to tickle to the point that Elizabeth was squealing in laughter on the couch and wriggling to get away but not wanting to. Elliot just loved the sound of his children's laughter and them having fun, especially when he was the cause of this laughter.
"Ok but if we're going to go, then we need to get dressed and ready and make sure that we've had breakfast too, ok?" Elliot asked as they started to get themselves together.
"Ok Daddy" Twins echoed in response
"Your clothes are already laid out on your beds Lizzie and Dickie" Bertie, the housekeeper remarked as she entered the room in response to all the laughter. Both children thanked her and ran off to get ready whilst Elliot thanked Bertie too and made his way to the kitchen.
El: So, the twins are on board, they don't exactly know it's you coming with us today but they want to go to the playground regardless Elliot texted as Olivia came out of the bathroom after getting ready to head out for the day. She had been up for hours with Chloe. They'd already had breakfast and Chloe was dressed, so all Olivia had to do was finish getting herself ready for the day. She was looking forward to taking Chloe to this indoor playcentre with Elliot and the would be the perfect day out for everyone, as Olivia knew this place would surely have activities for all ages with the children, as well as being somewhere that, according to Elliot, wasn't close to where they may run into people they know. Olivia still had her concerns about this, but she knew that she had to start relaxing a little about being spotted out with Elliot and the children. There was no way this relationship could work successfully if it was a secret forever, Olivia didn't want it to be. Olivia wanted to be able to go out and do things with Elliot and the twins, without worrying about any possible backlash or boundaries being crossed. Of course things would be a lot easier for them if she wasn't Elizabeth's teacher, but Olivia didn't want to change that just yet.
Liv: Sounds good! We're pretty much ready to go whenever you are. Chloe has been bouncing off the walls since the early hours this morning Olivia quickly responded, which was true as Chloe had been up since about 6am. Even thought it was a saturday and they could sleep in, Chloe never did and thus no matter what time Olivia went to bed, she always knew she would be up early the following day. The joys of a toddler Olivia thought to herself as she watched her little girl playing with the toys on the floor.
El: Alright well we'll pick you up in about – half an hour? Elliot replied and Olivia didn't know how that was going to work. She was hesitant to accept his offer, but she knew this was just Elliot trying to be a gentleman. However, she did worry about how they were all going to fit in a single car. 3 Stabler's, herself and Chloe plus the driver meant there was 6 people, which wouldn't fit in one standard car. Olivia decided this conversation would be easier to have by calling Elliot rather than texting back and forth.
"Hey baby" Elliot greeted as he answered her call.
"So you're really sticking with baby then? I see how it is" Olivia teased.
"You said that I could call you whatever I wanted as long as it was clean" Elliot reminded and Olivia knew he had a point, as she had said that.
"Ok fair point. Now, I wanted to say that you don't need to pick Chloe and I up, we can meet you there today" Olivia got straight to the point.
"But...I want to" Elliot protested.
"We wont all fit in one car safely, especially with Chloe's carseat"
"Yes we will"
"El, no we wont. There is 3 of you and 2 of us plus your driver, which makes 6 and your car only fits 5" Olivia explained her thinking.
"My town car does, my SUC fits up to 7 or maybe 8 with a squeeze. Or alternatively, I just won't bring my driver? My mother will likely need him more today and the town car suits her. So I'll drive, bring the SUV and pick you, Chloe and her carseat up" Elliot explained and Olivia knew she couldn't refuse this offer or come up with a good excuse to refuse again.
"Alright you win, you've clearly thought this through"
"That I have. Now Lizzie, Dickie and I will see you outside your place in about half an hour. I'll buzz when we're there" Elliot replied to which Olivia agreed before the pair ended the call, they would see each other soon enough.
Olivia had packed a bag for Chloe, remembering everything this little girl would need for a day out and made sure to get her carseat out of the closet. As she didn't have a car, there were very few occasions where Olivia actually needed Chloe's carseat but today would be one of those occasions.
"Where going mommy?" Chloe asked as she looked at all the things which Olivia had ready by the door. There was a bag and carseat for Chloe, their coats and Olivia's bag with a few extra things that they might need today.
"We're going to a playground with lots of new and cool things to play on" Olivia answered.
"Yayyyy" Chloe squealed with delight.
"I thought you might like that and we're going with some friends. Do you remember my friend Elliot? Who we saw at the park when we were feeding the ducks? And his children Lizzie and Dickie"
"Izzzie!" Chloe echoed, she was still getting the hang of her l sound so Olivia smiled at the miss pronunciation of Lizzie's name.
"That's right little girl, Lizzie! Well, Lizzie and Dickie are going to come to the playground with us too. Elliot is going to come and pick us up soon and we'll all go in his car"
"Broom Broom" Chloe echoed, making the sound of the car but before Olivia had a chance to respond, she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. She expected that it was Elliot telling her they were here, though she thought he said 'buzz' as in her front door system. Instead, when Olivia pulled out her phone, she saw the caller ID read 'Lewis - Lawyer", this couldn't be good.
"Hello, Olivia speaking" Olivia greeted as she picked up the phone and turned away from watching Chloe briefly.
"Hi Olivia, it's Lewis. Do you have a few spare minutes to talk?" Lewis asked, Olivia was surprised that he was working on a Saturday.
"Well, I'm about to head out shortly but sure, I can talk for a few minutes. What's up?" Olivia replied, looking over to Chloe again.
"I just wanted to call and give you a heads up that we've set the date for your custody court date. It will be on November 19th" Lewis explained, and Olivia checked her calendar on the wall by the fridge, where she kept all the important dates.
"That's…a week on Thursday"
"Yes. Now I'm still working out this deal about Brian meeting Chloe before the case but if that's to go ahead, it'll be on the Tuesday before and then on the actual court date, Chloe needs to be there but she won't be in the room. She will go with a social worker whilst it's in session. Do you have time to meet this week to discuss everything further? There are more things I need to discuss too" Lewis asked, and Olivia had to think about it for a minute.
"Uhh, I can do Wednesday afternoon? After school?" Olivia suggested and Lewis made the booking in his system for their meeting, just as the door buzzer went. Elliot was here.
"Alright, I'll see you on Wednesday Olivia and I'll call again if I have updates before then" Lewis confirmed.
"Thank you for the call Lewis, have a good weekend" Olivia said before disconnecting the call and felt like her legs were going to give out. She had a court date now; things were finally going to be moving forward. She didn't like the sound of Chloe still having to meet with Brian though, but she trusted Lewis would get that dealt with too. Now was not the time to be worrying about everything like that though, as she had a day with Elliot planned.
By the time the group got to the play centre, everyone was ready to get out of the car. Elizabeth and Richard had been excited that they were going out today with Oliva and her daughter. Elizabeth had even wanted Olivia to sit in the back with them on the way to the playcentre. But Elliot was very quick to intervene to that idea, stating that not only was he not a chauffer and that they wouldn't all fit in the back, he needed a passenger next to him. Olivia had smiled at this intervention as she knew that Elliot just wanted her next to him up front. Elizabeth wasn't happy but Olivia managed to resolve this conflict by giving Elizabeth the very important task of sitting next to Chloe and keeping her entertained. By the end of the drive to the playcentre – the two were as close as anything. Richard had been a little withdrawn from everyone, as he was focused on the book he was reading.
Due to the traffic on the roads, the drive was a little longer than expected but thankfully it ended before everyone got too fussy. Elliot had noticed that Olivia was a little quiet on the drive to the play centre today and he knew something was on her mind. He couldn't quite explain how he knew this, but he just knew that from her demeanour when she came out of her apartment building to greet him and head out, something was up with her. He trusted that she'd tell him what was going on and he hoped that it was nothing to serious.
Once inside the playcentre, Elizabeth and Richard were quick to rush off and play. Chloe had tried to rush off after them but Olivia quickly scooped her up and put a stop to that. She was too little at the moment to play on the same kinds of things that the Stabler twins were going to. But Olivia had to admit it was cute that Chloe so easily wanted to follow the other two.
"Aren't you worried about your two?" Olivia asked, not against the fact that Elliot was coming with her, but she'd thought he would want to keep an eye on the twins and not come to the toddler area with her and Chloe.
"They are pretty good at looking after each other and checking in with me at regular intervals, to know where I am. Besides, I told them before we picked you up, that when we got here they could go play but had to make sure to check in with me every half an hour and Dickie set a timer on his watch" Elliot explained and Olivia had to admit, she was impressed with their organisation of everything. He gave his kids the space and freedom to play but still kept a cautious eye on them.
"How did your mother take the fact you were going out today with the kids and not her?" Olivia asked, changing the topic to another hard topic. Elliot really didn't want to talk about this, he just wanted to talk about Olivia and Chloe as that was a much better topic.
"I left her a note" Elliot stated rather bluntly.
"What?" Olivia was confused.
"She wasn't up before we had to leave and I wasn't going to go and wake her to start World War 3. So I left her a note, explaining where we were, when we'd be back and that the car was hers for the day, with the driver"
"And what time did you say you'd be back?"
"I said that we'd be back probably around late afternoon/ early evening. But if we're not then it's ok, she'll survive" Elliot remarked as they walked around behind Chloe who was heading for the equipment for her age.
"You really are playing with fire, aren't you?" Olivia smiled, she couldn't believe what Elliot was doing just to spend time with her and Chloe"
"Maybe, but you're worth it" Elliot smiled which made Olivia roll her eyes and smile – this man really was one of a kind.
As the hours passed, Chloe grew more tired and ready for an afternoon nap but the older 2 weren't showing any interest in leaving. Elliot had spent time playing with the twins for a little while, upon Olivia's encouragement as she'd tried to get Chloe into the pram to go to sleep. It had been quite a while since there had really been an occasion for Chloe to take a nap in the pram, but the little girl easily fell asleep to Olivia's rocking. She quite easily stayed asleep for the next hour or so too. This allowed for Olivia to easily get a coffee and by the time Elliot returned to find her, she had already ordered and paid for a coffee for him too. Olivia had also got the twins milkshakes – Chocolate was a big favourite with the Stablers.
"How did you know my coffee order?" Elliot asked, as he sat down next to Olivia.
"I've got a good memory, we've been for coffee a couple of times now and that's enough for me to know" Olivia remarked as Elliot took a sip of his coffee.
"You definitely got it right, so well done. Now how much do I owe you?" Elliot asked, taking out his wallet from his pocket to give the change to Olivia.
"Nothing" Olivia replied, with a smile.
"Liv…" Elliot tried to bargain but Olivia was not having it.
"No, I said today was my treat"
"Well you still deserve some kind of repayment"
"Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?" Olivia teased, leaning that little bit closer to Elliot, knowing exactly what he was thinking.
"Well…Seeing as the twins are off playing and Chloe's out cold…" Elliot said as he placed a soft kiss on Olivia's lips. Elliot had been wanting to do that since he saw her outside her apartment building this morning. But he knew there was no way she'd let him with the twins around.
"Consider your debt payed" Olivia smiled as they pulled back.
"So, I heard from my lawyer this morning" Olivia spoke up, after a few minutes of silence, just enjoying each other's company and taking in the atmosphere.
"Oh yeah?' Elliot was intrigued as to what the lawyer had been calling about
"My court date has been set with Brian…19th of November"
"That's…a week on Thursday…I'll make sure to take the day off" Elliot remarked, he knew the date as he had an important conference the beginning of that week"
"You don-" Olivia tried to argue but Elliot just shook his head.
"We said that we'd get through this together and I meant it, I'm coming with you" Elliot explained, placing a hand on Olivia's knee and looking her straight in the eye. Olivia had to admit, his hand on her knee gave her a nice feeling, especially to go with the message he was giving her – he wasn't going anywhere, they would do this together.
"Alright, thank you"
"Of course! I'm not letting that man anywhere near you or Chloe. I'm also not just going to sit by and let someone, who did all those horrible things, try and get custody for a child he never wanted" Elliot replied as Olivia just smiled, she was really glad to have someone like this by her side. Whilst everything between them may have started in the worst scenario, she wouldn't change anything for what she had with Elliot now.
A/N: What did you think? Let me know by leaving a review!
Until Next Time ;)
