Chapter 12- Progress
"Dad, can you make Jacob's bottle?" Liz asks her father with her little brother settled on her hip.
"That time already?"
"Just about."
"It's my turn to feed him," Dickie says as he reaches for the baby.
"Nuh uh, you did it last time."
"But you've been hogging him all day."
"Guys, no fighting over the baby," Elliot calls over his shoulder.
"Yea," Kathleen agrees. "Besides, you're both right, which means I get to feed him."
Elliot reaches into the fridge for one of the prepared bottles Olivia left and places it in a pot of boiling water to heat on the stove.
"Hey Dad," Maureen greets as she reaches in the fridge for a bottle of water.
"Hey," Elliot hugs his oldest. "When did you get here?"
"Couple minutes ago."
"They still arguing out there?"
"No, neither of them wants to take on Katie. Though it's a fight I'd like to see," Maureen smirks.
"Not funny."
"It's a little funny. How've you been Dad? Since the divorce and everything."
"I'm good."
"Good enough to start dating?"
Elliot eyes his daughter skeptically. "Why? Got someone in mind?"
"Yes, Liv!"
"Olivia Liv?"
"Yes."
"No," Elliot shakes his head emphatically. "Olivia and I are in a good space. No need to mess with that."
"Oh c'mon dad. You're single. She's single. You have a kid. I don't see why not."
"By that logic me and your mom should get back together."
"I think you have a better chance with Olivia. Plus, I think she may be getting serious with someone."
"What makes you think that?" Elliot asks as he checks the milk's temperature and places it back in the water.
"She's always busy. Almost every time I ask her if it's a good time to stop by, she's never home."
"Well, Maur, we work a lot. You know that."
"Yea, but I thought Cragen was giving her a break since she had Jacob. I mean you guys can't always be at work. Someone has to stay with Jake."
"Someone is. Me."
"Please dad. You're just as busy as she is. Unless… Are you seeing someone too?"
Elliot eyes his daughter. If there's one thing he knows it's the mischief in his daughter's blue eyes. He recognized it the first time he saw it when she was two years old with a black Sharpie in her hand and markings all over baby Kathleen's face. She still had the same smirk too and the fake inflection in her voice wasn't fooling anybody.
"You know, don't you?"
"Know what?" Maureen feigns ignorance.
"Guess you don't," he shrugs and takes the bottle out of the water.
"Dad!" Maureen gives. "Yes, I know you and Olivia have been seeing each other."
"How?"
"Dad, you both can't be busy at the same time. Every night. Not with an eight-month-old."
"You know, sometimes we are actually at work."
"Sometimes, but not every time. Why are you guys hiding it?"
"I didn't want to hurt you guys. You know, after everything happened. I didn't want it to seem like I was rubbing it in your faces. Plus, we're happy with how things are. It's simple and it's just us. I don't want anything to change that."
"But we're your kids, Dad."
"I would have told you all eventually. I just wanted to make sure the time was right."
"Well how about right now?"
"Maur…"
"Dad, waiting isn't going to change anything. If you're together, then you're together and we should know."
Elliot sighs. This is not going to go well.
xXx
Olivia walks through the door to Elliot's apartment and follows the alluring aroma to the kitchen.
"Hi Monkey!" she exclaims when she spots Jacob sitting on the counter in his Bumbo chair. He waves his arms and legs excitedly until he is lifted into his mother's arms. She kisses Elliot on the cheek, "What smells so good?"
"Stir fry."
"Mmmm sounds good."
"Should be ready in about ten minutes."
"Alright, I'm going to put him to bed then hop in the shower. Say night to Dada," she says to Jacob. Elliot leans over and kisses Jacob's head and then her.
"See you in a few," he calls to her retreating form.
xXx
Olivia steps out the shower and wraps a towel around her before she walks into Elliot's bedroom to find him sitting on the bed.
"You waiting for me?" she asks jokingly.
"I told my kids about us."
"What?"
"Maur figured it out. Apparently, we're not allowed to both be busy at the same time."
"How did they take it?"
"Not well, but a lot better than I thought they would."
"What does that mean?"
"Well they weren't happy about it, but they didn't say anything discouraging either. They were just quiet for the rest of the weekend."
"Oh. Are you ok?"
"Yea. You know this means we're in a relationship) right?"
"So because you finally got the balls to tell your children about us now all of a sudden we're in a relationship?"
"Yes," he says seriously, his eyes unwavering.
She eyes him for a moment. "Ok, then."
xXx
Olivia eyes the board covered with information from their latest case. "Have we gotten any DNA back?" she asks.
"Lab's still working on it," Elliot answers.
"Hey Liv, you got company," Fin nods towards the double doors and she turns to see who he is referring to.
"Michael," she says and her voice is a mix of surprise and shock. Elliot whips around quickly and sure enough, much to his dismay, it is the Michael he was hoping it wasn't.
"Hey," he smiles and his blue eyes shine from across the room.
Olivia walks over to him and Elliot's heart sinks when he watches her wrap her arms around him. They hug for a moment, then step out of the squad room.
"I wouldn't worry about it," Fin says, but his words do nothing to calm Elliot's nerves.
A few minutes later Olivia returns to the group and she avoids all contact with Elliot. Cragen makes a plan and sets each pair of partners on different tasks. It's not until they break apart to go their separate ways that Olivia finally makes eye contact with him.
"Michael asked me out to dinner. Do you think you can keep Jacob tonight?"
Elliot's heart sinks even further. Those are not the words he was hoping to hear. "Yea, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Thanks."
xXx
"You look gorgeous," Michael says as he stands to greet Olivia as she approaches their table.
She wears a midnight blue strapless dress and accentuates it with silver jewelry and heels. The sparkly silver bracelet shimmers in the romantic lighting as she walks towards him. "Thank you," she says.
"I went ahead and ordered some wine. Is that ok?"
"Yea, I'll pump and dump later." He nods and stares at her. Olivia looks up from her menu and catches his eye. "What?"
"Nothing, it's just…I forgot how beautiful you are."
Olivia tempers down the blush that rushes up her neck. "Thank you. How's Baltimore?"
"Great. I only know how to get from my condo to the hospital and the grocery store and that's about it. I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to explore."
"Oh, I'm sure you will eventually."
"I've missed you though. I think about you and Jacob every day."
"Michael…"
"Come back with me."
"Michael…Elliot and…I are together now," she says slowly.
"What? When? How? I thought you hated each other."
"We never hated each other. It started about a month after you left. Very casual at first, and it kind of blossomed into something more. We've been taking it slow and kind of going along with what feels best. We just made it official a couple weeks ago."
"Wow. So you mean to tell me two weeks ago I still had a chance?"
"No…I love him and we're happy together."
Michael sighs and leans back in his chair. "I shouldn't have left," he says as he blinks away tears.
"No, Michael, you had to. If you had stayed you would always wonder what if. An opportunity like that only comes around so often; you had to take it."
"But you mean more to me than any job. I should have-I should have tried harder to make it work."
"Michael, you did nothing wrong. You did what was best for all of us in that moment."
"No, I didn't. I've been miserable since I left."
"You've been miserable because you haven't allowed yourself to move on."
"Did you love me? Like at all?"
"Michael. You know I loved you."
"Would you have married me?"
It's Olivia's turn to blink away tears. "Michael, no answer I give you will make this any easier."
"Tell me."
"Yes," she answers honestly. "But we weren't meant to be."
"We'll never know now, will we?"
"I can't-I should go," she says and begins to stand.
"Wait! No!" He grabs her hand. "Stay. I still want to catch up."
"Michael, this conversation's too hard."
"Then we'll talk about something else. Plus I hear the food here is great. So we'll sit, and drink, and eat and dance and then at the end of the night we'll go our separate ways."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
She sits and uses her napkin to dab at her eyes. "Is my mascara running?"
"No, you're fine. Just as beautiful as ever." She smiles wanly. "So tell me about Jacob. How's he been?"
"Great."
xXx
Olivia opens the door to her apartment and tosses her keys on the counter before kicking off her shoes. Her coat follows. She heads down the hall to her bedroom and stops at the nursery to kiss Jacob goodnight. She's surprised to find the room empty, along with hers as well. She walks back out and puts her coat back on and slips her feet back into her heels. She grabs her keys before head out the door and down the two blocks to Elliot's apartment. She lets herself in and once again kicks off her heels and takes off her coat. She tosses her keys onto the kitchen counter then heads down the hall to Elliot's room. Jacob is fast asleep in his crib against the wall and she kisses him goodnight before climbing into bed beside Elliot. He rolls over to face her and she kisses him on the lips. "I thought we were staying at my place tonight?"
"I wanted give you your space tonight."
"You really thought that I was going to sleep with him?"
"I didn't want to assume anything. Just wanted to keep your options open."
"You're my only option."
He kisses her then, tasting the wine that lingers on her lips. "How was dinner?" he asks when they pull away. His hand slides up the side of her body and between the slit of her dress to caress the smooth skin that lurks beneath its fibers.
"It was tough. We talked about a lot. I told him about us and about Jacob."
"How'd he take it?"
"I broke his heart, and I hated every minute of it, but he took it well."
"Was he upset?"
"Yea, with himself though. Not with me or you. I guess he saw us as inevitable once he left."
"We are inevitable," he says as he pulls the down the zipper of her dress. He pushes down the satin material and unhooks her half bra before taking a beaded nipple into his mouth.
Olivia hisses. "Yea, but it was still hard for him to hear."
"What else?"
"We ate. I had chicken Marsala and he had the Salmon. We drank wine. We danced a little bit and at the end of the night we hugged and he kissed me goodbye."
"Where?" Elliot pauses.
Olivia smiles with mirth in her eyes, "Why does it matter?"
"Because I want to know."
"No."
"Tell me."
"No."
"Tell me."
"No."
He tickles her causing her to laugh out loud. "Tell me," he grins.
"No," she laughs. "You're going to wake up Jacob."
"No, you're going to wake up Jacob. And you're going to have to put him back to bed, too. Because he's going to want nothing to do with me once he knows you're here."
"You jealous he's a momma's boy?"
"So jealous," he dead pans. "Tell me," he demands and tickles her harder.
"Fine!" she concedes and he pauses his ministrations. "He kissed me right…Here..." she leans up kisses his cheek. "Or was it here," she kisses the corner of his mouth. "Or here," his neck. "Or here," his collar bone. "Here," she kisses him squarely on the lips and deepens it by sliding her tongue inside his mouth.
He kisses her back with equal fervor while he pushes her dress down and tosses it to the side. He then settles into the cradle of her hips. He thrusts into her, causing her to moan out loud. "Shhhh," he croons and slides a finger between her wet folds. She arches against his hand and bites her lip to keep from crying out. The sight of her is intoxicating and he kisses her bruised lips as he lowers his boxers low enough to free himself. He pushes her thong to the side and enters her with ease. He swallows her moans of pleasure as moves inside her. He fills her with firm, powerful strokes, his body unrelenting as he drives into her over and over again. She digs her fingers into his back. Sweat beads on his forehead and he attaches his lips to the column of her neck as he slides a hand down between their bodies and touches her sensitive nub.
"Elliot," she whimpers and he can tell from the sound of her voice that she's close. "I'm gonna come," she pants.
"Come," he commands and continues to rub her clit. She comes seconds later and her mouth finds his neck where she cries out her release. He buries his face in the pillow beneath her head and white knuckles the sheets as he waits for her body to calm, but it's of no use. The feel of her. The warmth and the wetness of her pulsing around him forces him to release inside her. When he feels her relax he withdraws from her and motions for to turn over. She does as he asks and he enters her from behind. She cranes her head around to meet his kiss and holds him to her. She lets go when he begins to move harder, causing his body to slap against hers. He shows no restraint as his body slams into hers. She fists the sheets as he pushes into her from behind, giving her a new appreciation for his size. He moves faster as he feels the tension begin build in his balls, his thrusts unrelenting as he fucks into her with firm, powerful strokes. He lays his body on top of hers and thrusts even harder. She'll be sore in the morning, but she doesn't care. She moans and enjoys the feel of him deep inside her.
"God, you're so wet," he pants into her ear. "So wet."
He kisses her neck and he hears when her breath hitches. Feels when she squeezes him tighter. He slides a hand down her body and finds her clitoris once again and rubs his fingers over it as he begins to empty himself inside of her. His other hand covers hers and they link fingers as they white knuckle the edge of the mattress together. The feel of him in the midst of orgasm. The way his abs tighten and his muscles clench. The warmth of his body and his heated breath on her neck, along with the way his callused fingers slide over her bundle of nerves, causes her to come. Hard. He groans when he feels her grip him causing him to push even deeper inside of her. She cries out as well and he covers her mouth as his hips continue to arch into her. Both freeze when they hear rustling come from the crib. Neither dares to look in the direction of their son. He settles on his own and soon his soft snores can be heard along with his parents' soft laughter. Elliot rolls off of her and tries to catch his breath.
"From now on we're having sex at my place," Olivia announces as she pants against the pillow.
Elliot smiles. "He barely even budged."
"He's going to wake up one night and we're going to scar our child for life."
"He's not even going to know what's going on."
"You don't know that."
"Four kids, Liv."
"Whatever."
He turns to her and pulls her into his arms. She curls her body around him, arching her leg over his and holding him close as they lay chest to chest. He watches her as she drifts off to sleep. He listens as her breath evens out and feels her heart slow to beat in sync with his own. Being with her is even better than he had ever imagined. There's a comfortability and a peace that he's found with her. He can be himself in a way that he couldn't be with Kathy. Sure, after years of marriage they had come to know each other inside and out, but Kathy knew him as the boy. The 18-year-old thrusted into marriage and fatherhood before he even had a chance to figure out who he was as a man. There was pressure to be a good husband and father before he knew what either of them was, and Kathy had been by his side while he figured it out and loved him through it all and he had done the same for her. He watched her become the woman that would be his wife and the woman he would always know and love as the mother of his children. She stood by his side through his stint with the Marines and the awkwardness when he returned from Dessert Storm and tried to adjust to a life outside of the military. Through four kids and the tests of time she was with him and she loved him and she fought with him and fought for him until it was just hard. Every day was harder than the last and it wasn't that either of them was wrong. They were just different people. They were fighting for a marriage for the sake of staying in a marriage. She had been the stronger one. Strong enough to call it quits and end an era of love and friendship and parenthood and everything in between. He had called her weak then for saying enough when he couldn't. When he couldn't summon the strength to do what they both needed. It hurt, and he hated her for it, but he eventually learned to live without her, and when he was finally ok, there she was, ready to try again, and baby or no baby he would have stayed and stuck by her side and loved her until she said enough. But then there was Olivia.
Olivia
She had entered his life like a breath of fresh air. She was smart and pretty and had a personality that matched with his own. She was his equal in every way and, unlike Kathy, she only knew him as the man. She knew him for him, and just like that, they clicked. She was his partner and he was hers. She knew him as his worst and she stood by his side and fought for him while he did everything in his power to push her away until finally, she, too, said enough. He had called her weak then, too, but only because he didn't know how to apologize. He didn't know how to admit to her that he wasn't as strong as she once thought he was. He didn't know how to admit that he was hurting and he was sorry and needed her and before he had the chance, she'd been gone in the blink of an eye. He hated her for not saying goodbye or giving him the chance to apologize and admit his faults, but just as easy as she had disappeared, she had returned and just like that she was his partner again. By his side and ready to fight crime like nothing had happened. She had returned to him and as the days went by he saw her then as more than his partner and best friend. He saw her as a woman. Suddenly he was aware of the curves of her body. How her butt looked bigger in the black slacks from Calvin Kline and how good she looked in red. All of a sudden he noticed when she changed her shampoo and how the Chanel perfume lasted longer than the Marc Jacobs. He wanted her in every way, but he was insecure. This was new to him. Suddenly he was vulnerable. Afraid of her rejection, and lost his chance with her as he took the time to build his courage. Or so he thought. That night at the bar he was even more aware of her as a woman. That night his eyes had traced every curve of her body and the scent of her had been intoxicating to his senses. There was something different in her that night. He had sensed it and it made him want her more than he had ever wanted her before and, more importantly, he had sensed that she had wanted him back. So he took a chance and he hadn't been disappointed.
Now she lays here before him with her naked form secured around his own. Now he knows new things about her. Things he could only know as her lover. Like how she likes to hog the covers. He knows her hair isn't naturally straight or curly, but wavy, and he loves it, especially now that her hair is longer. He knows she is ticklish only on her ribs and behind her knees. He knows she likes sex rough, but is insecure about it. Even though he reminds her that it's not wrong to like rough sex. He likes it as well and he saves her the awkwardness of having to ask for it by doing it on his own. He knows she hates milk except for in her cereal, but she drinks an extra glass because she knows it's good for Jacob. He knows her favorite cereal is Captain Crunch. He knows she loves strawberry ice cream. He knows MTV is her guilty pleasure. He knows that it it's not her shampoo that makes her hair smell so good, but her conditioner.
It is tantalizing his senses now. He slides his fingers through her hair, brushing the damp strands away from her forehead. He likes to play with her hair while she sleeps. It's curled and tangled from their love making. She would blame him for it in the morning. The thought of it makes him smile. She made him happy in a way he had never been before. He leans down and kisses her forehead.
"I love you," he whispers to her sleeping form.
"Love you too," she mumbles back and he freezes.
He pulls away and sure enough she's still sleeping. "Yea?" he questions.
She grins. "Yea." He rolls them to the edge of the bed and stands with her still cinched around his body. "Elliot!" she exclaims as he walks towards the door. "Where are you going?"
"The living room. No way this round is gonna be quiet."
Her laughter could be heard echoing down the hall.
