Prompt #64: Elliot shows Olivia that frolicking in a pile of fallen leaves isn't just fun for kids
Falling In Love by Inches
~oOo~
1998 – Glen Oaks, Queens
She's been his partner for a little over two months when the leaves begin to fall.
Honestly, she'd avoided leaving the city to disturb him and his family, but she was curious what kind of a father and husband he was. Because if he was anything like he was at work, he was a great partner. Even though he was self-deprecating and often told her that he was a "shitty" husband, she found that extremely hard to believe. Extremely.
So, when she'd gone crazy looking for the folder on one of the cases they were working and couldn't find it, she'd had no choice but dial his home number, the receiver pressed to her ear as it rang. When his oldest daughter picked up the phone, she yelled for her father and had a million and one questions. The fourteen-year-old obviously interested in this partner of her father's who they had yet to meet. Olivia had laughed, answering her questions one after the other until finally Elliot had picked up the phone, apologizing for the interrogation. He had the file.
So, here she was, coming to get it from him, at his house, in Queens. Where she'd meet his family for the first time. As soon as she turns down the street, she takes note of how the leaves line the streets, falling on the cars parked beneath them. It feels so suburban, compared to everywhere else she's ever been. Glancing out her windshield, she turns down Castleside Street, looking for the address she'd scribbled on the notepad.
72-12 Castleside Street, Glen Oaks, Queens.
She knew how it would look, her showing up dressed in a soft blue sweater, pair of blue jeans and on her feet, she was wearing a pair of sneakers, a leather jacket over the blue sweater. When the house comes in view, she pulls over to the curb, killing the ignition. There's a little face pressed to the glass, and she laughs, because it looked like Elliot's son, Richard… Dickie, she recalls him mentioning.
She knows without a doubt that one day he'll probably prefer to be called Rick or Rich or something similar, outgrowing the childish nickname. It's what happened to Dickie Johnson when they turned 14.
With a deep breath, she opens the door and steps out, walking up the walk and studying the house. Suburbia never called to her.
As soon as she steps on the porch, the door opens and his wife, Kathy, opens the door, a kind smile on her face and wiping her hands on a dish towel. She can only imagine what the woman was probably doing prior to opening the door, but she's got a warm smile on her face and welcomes Olivia into the house, and as she sticks her hands in her pockets, she feels the woman sizing her up.
"El's in the backyard with the twins, I don't know where he put the file you need, but you're welcome to go ask him for it." She smiles kindly. "Maybe stay for dinner?"
Olivia feels slightly breathless, it's a little much, honestly, being asked to stay for dinner.
"Thanks. I'll just, through there?" she asks, pointing at the backdoor with the screen that's open,
Kathy nods. "Yeah, it's just through there."
Olivia puts her head down, walking through the door and when she steps back onto the back porch, she laughs because there's a huge pile of leaves in the middle of the yard and his youngest daughter, Lizzie, if she remembers correctly is running around it with a bubble wand in her hand, the rambunctious youth and life of a six-year-old bringing a smile to her face.
She's never really wanted kids, but the joy is there. She smiles, watching as Elliot comes from the garage, holding his arm out and scooping the young girl up, her smile across her face, laughter filling the air. It's this moment that the back door slams and Olivia turns just in time to see his middle child, Kathleen flying off the porch and diving into the pile of leaves, Elliot turning Lizzie upside down and then flipping her over effortlessly.
He's a good dad, and it kills her that he thinks he's not.
"Hey, partner!" He looks up at the porch, smiling when he catches her eye. She waves, almost unnoticeable. "C'mere."
She steps down off the porch, glancing behind her to look at the kitchen window, watching as Kathy watches them all, a smile on her face while reaching in the sink for more dishes. It's obvious Saturdays are housework and yardwork days when he's off. She bites the corner of her lip.
"Lizzie, this is Olivia Benson, she's my partner."
The little girl waves, shyly. "You're a cop?"
"I am." Olivia crouches down, smiling at the little girl with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. "You must be Lizzie. I've heard so much about you." Lizzie looks up at her father and then back to Olivia.
"Have you ever played in the leaves, Olivia?"
Elliot watches, his hand on Kathleen's shoulder, smiling watching his partner interact with his youngest daughter. Honestly, Liz reminds him a lot of Olivia. They both love reading and listening to music, and she's sassy when you get to know her. He's curious of the answer here, because what he does know about his partner is that she's not had the best childhood growing up. She probably didn't get to experience a lot of the fun things that his kids get to experience. A lot of the things he experienced.
"I have not," she answers, her dark eyes watching Liz carefully. It's something she's good at, great at, listening to other people talk. Connecting with them, especially kids. "But it looks like fun."
"It is. You wanna play in the leaves with me Olivia?" Liz holds onto Olivia's hand, her small fingers dwarfed by Olivia's. Olivia tucks her bottom lip between her teeth, taking a deep breath as she looks up into the blue eyes of her partner. She trusts him, and obviously, his kids trust her. She smiles, but Elliot knows what's coming before she says what she says.
"Maybe next time, okay?" She holds her hand out, placing her palm on the little girl's cheek. It's this moment that Elliot decides to take matters into his own hands and looks down at Kathleen who looks up at him and winks. Together, they move around, since Olivia's focused completely on Liz and their conversation, making promises that she's going to play in the leaves next time, both he and Kathleen gather the leaves in their hands and before Olivia can stand up, he's standing behind her, leaves in a large pile in his hands and Kathleen is slowly standing up behind Liz, a pile in her own hands.
He lets them fall on Olivia's head. She loses her balance, falling over into the leaves and then, the air is full of joyful screams as all the Stablers in the yard are covering her with leaves and her laughter is heard beneath the pile of oranges, yellows, reds and browns. When she hears him call off the assault of leaves, she's still laughing, her hand over her stomach as she looks up at the sky, the sunlight breaking through the branches of the tree in the backyard.
Her eyes meet his, and then flicker over to the blues of his kids. She thinks about the things he's done in the last two months, made her feel at ease, now, he's provided her with a small measure of stress relief, and his kids seem to have taken to her as well. She takes a deep breath, she might be falling in love with him by inches. She prays it doesn't keep going.
She's always wanted the things she can't have.
~oOo~
2023 – October 28th, Lake George
She's watching as her son jumps into a pile of leaves, a thing she'd taught him to do a few years ago, when he'd just gotten steady on his feet, when his laughter filled her heart with absolute joy, and she'd remembered how playing in the leaves had felt the very first time. There's a difference now, because the people he's playing in the leaves with – she's feeling all sorts of ways about it. The past has a way of coming back to her.
She can't believe they're here, that they've made it here. After all this time. She brings her mug to her lips, blowing on her tea as she stands on the back porch of the rental cabin they've managed to secure. She wanted to take Noah out of the city, to see all the leaves, to experience fresh air and a change of pace for a week. So, she'd taken him out of school (so uncharacteristic of her, but…she had other reasons too), and packed them up. Brought him here.
It's as she swallows the mouthful of warm cider that she feels a pair of arms slide around her stomach, she sets the mug on the railing in front of her, her hands covering the arms that hold her from behind as she sinks into the embrace. His breath is warm against her ear as he whispers something she'd been thinking about a lot lately.
"Remember the first time you played in the leaves?" he asks, thumb making small circles against her sweater. She smiles, closing her eyes, listening to the familiar warm tone and steady cadence of his voice. "I had to toss them on your head, but you had fun, right?"
She takes a deep breath in, and when she opens her eyes she glances down at the way his right hand's fingers intertwine with her left hand, where the metal bands rest on her ring finger.
"I fell a little bit in love with you that day," she confesses.
"Me too," he admits. "Like the leaves."
"Like the leaves," she echoes.
Note: The author of this SVU: Fall in Love story will be revealed in November
