Chapter 10
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Law & Order: SVU, I am just using them for a little while.
A/N: Thanks again to all who have reviewed and I hope you guys like it! Thanks to kukrae (my wonderful and overworked beta!)!
Olivia sat back and watched the girls as they were goofing off in the kitchen dancing to a song on the radio as they put the finishing touches on dinner. "Are you sure that there is nothing that I can help with?" Olivia inquired.
Kathleen looked up and laughed, "For the last time, Olivia, sit back, relax and watch us work our magic." This was accompanied by a body wiggle that had Lizzie and Maureen falling over laughing.
"What was that?" Lizzie asked between giggles as she mimicked the move, which had Maureen holding her sides and laughing even harder.
"That was my attitude, baby." Again accompanied by the wiggle before she joined in with the laughter.
Olivia just sat there shaking her head and taking it all in, she couldn't believe how far they had come in the last month. Telling the kids about the divorce didn't go as bad as Elliot had thought it would. Just as Maureen had predicted, the twins had been expecting it and even though they were upset, they knew it was for the best. Kathleen on the other hand had gone off on her mother, so Elliot had been really glad that they had taken Maureen's advice and told her separately from the other kids. After quite a bit of yelling, they finally got Kathleen to promise not to tell the twins about what she had walked in on, but she also declared that she was NOT going to live under the same roof as her mother. Luckily for them all, Olivia said it was cool for her to stay at her apartment until Elliot found a new place. That arrangement had lasted for about a week and a half when the twins had come home from school early and walked in on their mother and Doug arguing about the new baby and when Kathy was going to tell the kids about them both, and they didn't take the news well at all! They called Kathleen, who in turn had picked them up and all of them were waiting for Olivia and Elliot when they got home.
That is when things got really hard. The kids wanted nothing to do with Kathy and the younger three wanted to stay with Elliot. He was having a really hard time finding an apartment and things were just getting too crowded at Olivia's. About five days before Christmas Kathy actually came through with the perfect solution; she would move out with Doug, who had really been pushing her to move out of the home that she had shared with Elliot, and let Elliot move back into their home with the kids. So, Elliot and the kids moved back into their family home just in time to celebrate Christmas. It was a quiet holiday this year, but they invited Olivia and she spent the day with them and the kids saw their mother for a couple of hours in the evening, but they really hadn't forgiven their mom any so it was tense while she was there.
Looking at the girls now she couldn't believe how upset they had all been just a few weeks ago. It really was amazing how resilient kids could be. If only that was the case with Elliot. She turned in her chair and glanced over at Elliot and Dickie who were currently in the process of cleaning up their paint ball guns. She chuckled to herself as she remembered back to Elliot's reaction to the joint gift that she had gotten for him and Dickie. Just look at them now, bonding over a game that they both seem to enjoy. They had been to play paintball every weekend that Elliot and Olivia had had off since Christmas and while they were playing, Olivia usually did something with the girls. Right now he looked happy and content, and she had to admit that it definitely did seem like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, but she knew he wasn't happy. He kept blaming himself for the downfall of his marriage. The few times that she had been able to get him to open up about the divorce and Kathy's pregnancy, he kept saying that if he had only been home more, or if he hadn't shut her out, then his family would be whole right now. It's almost as if he were more upset about failing at his marriage then actually losing Kathy.
Elliot looked up and caught Olivia's eye and a smile broke out across his face. "What are you looking at, Olivia? See something you like?" he teased to get her to smile.
"Yep," Olivia replied, and then took a drink in response to Elliot's raised eyebrow at her answer. "I was just thinking how great it must have felt for Dickie to beat the pants off you today at paintball." The girls burst into laughter behind her and Elliot just rolled his eyes.
"How did you know that I beat Dad today Olivia?" Dickie asked excitedly turning to look at her with a big smile.
"I'm a detective remember? I'm taught to be observant, and I noticed that your Dad's overalls were covered in paint today and you only had a few spots and since I knew you were playing each other, I just put two and two together." Olivia loved the proud look that came into Dickie's eyes at her statement.
He jumped up and ran up to give her a quick hug, "You are dead on, Olivia! I kicked his butt!" He turned and looked back at his dad, "I don't mean to rub it in too much Dad, but I did kick your butt today." He turned and whispered to Olivia, "Thank you so much for this gift, I haven't gotten to spend this much one on one time with my dad in a long time."
Olivia had to fight to keep the tears back that were threatening to fall at his statement. "You are so welcome, Dickie," she whispered back while returning his hug.
"Hey Dickie!" Lizzie called from behind them, "Could you come and help us out in the kitchen?"
"Oh, Lizzie, I can help," Olivia offered as she started to get off the stool and head into the kitchen.
"NO!" The three girls cried at once, causing Elliot, Dickie and Olivia to all stop what they were doing and look at the girls sharply.
"Uh, uh, you can go with Dad and set the table," Kathleen covered quickly to allay any suspicions.
"Aw, but I don't want to help…" Dickie started but then quickly changed his tune when he caught the looks from his sisters. "Oh, ok, no prob. Uh, you guys go and set the table. Yeah."
Maureen saw that Elliot and Olivia were still looking at them, "Go on guys! The table won't set itself." And with that statement, she tossed her dishtowel at Olivia, "Get moving!"
"Ok, ok, we're going." Olivia gave in, and walked over towards the dining room. When she realized that Elliot wasn't following her she turned, "Elliot, are you coming?"
He looked down at their equipment and realized that it was all in order and he didn't have an excuse not to help. "Okay, I'm coming," he said in a resigned tone. "I wonder if I should be scared or not," he confessed to Olivia as they walked to wards the dining room. "I used to say the same thing to the kids that Maureen just said." At her inquisitive glance, he elaborated, "You know, about the table setting itself."
She just nodded. "Do you get the feeling that they wanted us out of the room?" Olivia inquired once they were out of earshot of the kids.
Elliot looked up in surprise, "You think that they wanted us out of the room? Maybe I should go and see what they are cooking up." He started to head back towards the kitchen.
"Elliot stop!" Olivia shook her head and tried to keep from laughing, "It's probably nothing, so stop being such a cop."
"What did you just say to me? Did you just tell me to stop being a cop? Why would you say something like that?" The outraged tone in his voice made it even harder for Olivia to bite back the laughter that was building. "You don't know these children, they could be up to some serious trouble."
She couldn't hold it in anymore and the laughter came pouring out. "Why are you laughing at me?" he asked but her laughter was contagious and they were both soon laughing together while they set the table.
At the sound of their dad and Olivia laughing in the other room, the kids all gave each other knowing smiles. "So what's next on the agenda?" Lizzie asked her sisters, making sure that they could hear her but that her voice wouldn't carry out to the dining room.
Maureen stopped tossing the salad and turned and looked at her siblings. "We need to get them alone together for a while."
Dickie rolled his eyes, "They are alone together all day long. Duh…"
Kathleen was quick to point out that they weren't alone at work, that they were surrounded by co-workers. "We need to get them alone together, AWAY from work, stupid."
"Don't call me stupid!" Dickie exclaimed angrily. "Stupid."
"Guys! Stop it!" Maureen immediately took control, "We need to stop fighting. Remember, we want Dad to be happy and you guys do think that Olivia would make him happy, right?" They all nodded that she was correct. "So we need to make sure that they spend some time together."
"They already spend a lot of time together though," Dickie pointed out. "She is over for dinner almost every other night and we see her every weekend even when they work."
Kathleen sighed as she looked at her little brother, "Alone, Dickie. They need to spend some time with each other alone. We want them to see that they make each other laugh and that they need each other." Then she added in a acidic undertone, "It's bad enough that Mom has moved on with her boyfriend. But it's wrong that Dad just sits here all by himself."
"He has us," Lizzie countered.
Maureen looked at her younger siblings and sighed, "We know that Lizzie. But, don't you guys want Dad to be happy with someone?"
"Of course," they replied in unison.
"And doesn't he seem happier when Olivia is around?" At their quiet yet resounding 'yes' she continued. "Then lets get them some time together, alone, okay? We need to come up with some ideas."
They all started talking at once and they didn't notice Olivia coming into the room. "Hey guys." They all fell silent and Olivia couldn't help but notice the guilty looks on the twin's faces. "Is there something I should know about guys?"
"Nope."
"Na uh"
"No."
"Not at all." Came all their replies, which made Olivia even more suspicious.
"Right." She said sarcastically as she eyed each one of the children. "Well, your Dad wants to know how much longer till dinner." She couldn't shake the feeling that they were up to something but she knew that if they were as stubborn as their father then she wouldn't get anything more out of them.
Kathleen turned and checked the timer, "Tell him about 15 minutes, okay?"
"Thanks guys," Olivia gave them all a long look again, "Should I be worried?" At their answering grins, she knew she should be very worried. She headed back out to the dining room.
"Hey El, dinner will be ready in fifteen." Olivia informed him as she came up behind him.
"Cool, I am going to go hop in the shower and I will be back down in time for dinner." He placed a quick peck on her cheek as he turned and headed up the stairs. Olivia just stood there stunned. She couldn't believe that Elliot had just done that. Upstairs, it didn't hit Elliot that he had kissed her until he was stepping into the shower, and when he thought about it, he wasn't all that surprised, he just smiled.
The girls had seen the quick kiss too and they had all but done the touchdown dance! They hurried back to the kitchen to fill Dickie in and they all had to laugh at the look on Olivia's face. 'Maybe this will be easier than we thought.' Maureen thought to herself with a smile.
Olivia brought her hand up to her cheek and smiled. Then a troubling thought crossed through her mind, 'Could Elliot be thinking of me as a replacement for Kathy? No! He wouldn't do that!' She just wiped the thought right out of her head. 'Elliot isn't looking for a replacement, he is just looking for a friend.' With that thought in her head she went back into the kitchen to see if she could help with dinner.
If only she knew what the kids had in store for them…