Chapter 6

About an hour later, Olivia was back downstairs, wrapped up in afghan with a cup of coffee steaming beside her and her nose buried in a book. She had wandered down from the upstairs and did a bit of nosing around on her own. Finding a small library nook tucked at the back of one of the wings, she made her selection and headed for the great room. She detoured through the kitchen to pour another cup of coffee and made the decision to get the fireplace going.

A nice fire was going a few minutes later, and that brought an extra warmth and glow to the good sized room. She glanced out the window, saw the snow still falling, and hoped that it would eventually stop; because finding those skis and going for a time did sound like fun, and because it would get Elliot out of the house and his mind on something else.

Olivia was pretty worried about him. She knew that what Kathy must have said to him had pretty much knocked his feet out from under him and at this point he was pretty unsteady. That's why she had kissed his cheek earlier, to let him know that she was there. Liar, the little devil's advocate in her said. You've wanted to kiss him for a long time. Admit it. Sighing, she had to begrudgingly admit that was true, too. That was a thought that usually lived in one of the tiny back corners of her mind. Unfortunately, it tried to make an appearance at least once a week, usually when they were at the office and Elliot was being Elliot – meaning, cute and sexy as all get out. The pen chewing, the eyes following her around the office, and yes, even the over-protectiveness all combined to make him almost irresistible. Thinking about that irresistibility, she grinned to herself as she wondered why he and Kathy only had four kids. God knows, if he was hers, she'd probably just leave him tied to the bed. The heat rose in her cheeks at that thought, and she knew it was all due to that little devil's advocate so she beat it back with a mental stick.

"Is the book that good that you are grinning like a fool?" whispered a husky voice in her ear. Startled, she turned her head and was staring straight into the eyes of the subject of her previous musing. Uh oh, she thought. Busted. Elliot was crouched behind the couch looking at her with one of those shit-eating grins that were a specialty in his repertoire of smiles.

"Just thinking about something," she answered him nonchalantly.

"Hmm. Must have been really something to create that blush," he said as he reached out a finger and traced it down her cheek. "What was it? The sex scene in that bodice-ripper you're hiding in your lap?"

Olivia's eyes lit up in amusement. "Elliot Stabler, you brat. I do not read 'bodice-rippers.'"

"Oh please, Liv. I've seen the stash on your bottom bookshelf at home. Give it up. You like reading smut. Which, with our jobs, proves that you haven't lost your humanity." Elliot stood and walked into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

"Well, for your information, I do not read bodice-rippers. I read modern romance novels. Matter of fact, this one is a mystery."

"Hmm. A romance novel with a mystery. Probably some petite little thing just waiting for the big strong guy to come along and sweep her off her feet," he said.

"Hah! I'll have you know this one is about a female police officer who falls for..." She trailed off, finally realizing what she was about to say and that he was baiting her...and succeeding. Can't say that...Can't say that...Can't say that...

"Falls for who, Liv?" said Elliot innocently, breaking through her mental rant.

"Um...well...her...a...a lawyer. That's who. A tall, dark, devastatingly handsome lawyer that gets involved in one of her cases." Phew. That was close, she thought.

"Hmm. Conflict of interest. That'd cause major problems. What's her partner think about that?" By that time, Elliot had scooted her feet out of the way and taken over the other end of the couch. Sipping his coffee, he looked at her and then reached to the floor and picked up one of the sports magazines he'd found in the same library area.

"Her partner? Well, he...oh, give it a rest, Elliot. It's just a book." She snapped her eyes back down to the book to read some more but didn't miss that same grin appearing on his face again. "Cut it out," she said as she gave him a mild kick in the side of the leg.

He just snickered but continued to read. All was quiet for the next hour or so. Elliot had read through three of the magazines from his little stack. Glancing up at his partner at the other end of the couch, he saw that she was sound asleep with her head tipped slightly to the side against the back of the couch, her book lax in her hand. Leaning forward, he slowly reached out and gently removed the book from her loose grasp. Curiosity got the better of him as he remembered Olivia's blush as she had read from the book earlier. Flipping it over to the read the back, a slow, almost evil grin appeared. Lawyer, my ass, he thought gleefully. The heroine fell for her partner. Hmmm. Looking up at her once again, it was almost as if he'd slipped on a pair of sunglasses as he now saw her in a slightly different light. Beautiful, as always, but now surrounded by other possibilities. Frowning slightly, he leaned forward again and set the now closed book in her lap.

Slipping out from under the other afghan, he made his way over to the kitchen to get another cup of coffee. With Kathy's actions back home, he knew he was going to have to come to a decision. That meant talking with his children. It wasn't that he didn't love his wife, but he was finally realizing that sometimes the song was right; love just wasn't enough. Trying to stay quiet so Olivia could sleep, he opened the refrigerator and rummaged quietly. He knew he wanted to grill those steaks for dinner that evening, so to keep himself busy for a while before calling Maureen, he decided to at least make up the marinade so that the steaks would be ready after they went skiing. Looking out the great room windows, he saw that the snow was finally beginning to slow. Maybe they could go in a couple of hours. Minutes passed as he put the marinade ingredients into a zipped bag and mixed them up. Adding the steaks, he placed everything back into the refrigerator and cleaned up his little mess. A glance over at the couch told him that Olivia was still napping. If this little jaunt has done nothing else, at least we've gotten caught up on our sleep. Setting the towel back down, he grabbed his coffee mug and headed for the stairs. He'd rather use the phone in his room to talk to Maureen so that he wouldn't disturb Olivia.

After a stop in the bathroom, Elliot grabbed the phone and propped his back against the pillows at the headboard. Taking a sip of the coffee, he quickly dialed his daughter's cell.

"Hi, Dad," came Maureen's immediate greeting.

"Hey, baby girl. How'd you know it was me? I'm not on my cell."

"I'm a daughter of a detective," she laughed. "Vermont area code, Pops."

Elliot chuckled dryly, "That's my girl."

"Dad, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Maureen. Still stuck in snow country."

"No, that's not what I meant."

He sighed. "So, Mom talked to you?"

"No. The twins called me in a panic because she was storming around the house throwing your clothes in boxes last night. This is it, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry, Maureen," said Elliot quietly as he scrubbed a hand down his face in exasperation.

"Don't be sorry, Dad. This has been coming and I think you know it. Guess the counseling wasn't much help, huh?"

"Guess not. I'm sorry to disappoint you kids by failing at this."

"Daddy," she said reproachfully. "You haven't failed. I may only be 19, but I know it takes two to make a marriage work. You've been doing your part by financially supporting a family of six. Mom? Well, Mom has felt saddled, I think. You get the exciting life away from home and that bothers her." She was silent for a moment. "But I think you can guess her biggest beef, can't you?"

Elliot sighed. He knew his daughter was an adult, but it was still slightly odd to be having such a conversation with her. But thinking about it, he was proud to actually see how level-headed his eldest child had become. He spoke up, "I'm assuming you mean the fact that my daily work partner is a woman?"

"Yeah, and a gorgeous one at that. It's simple. Mom's jealous. She sees Olivia as if she's the one taking you away from the family and not your job in general."

"Is that how you kids see it?"

"Nope. Not even close, Dad. Olivia's always been a major part of our lives as far as the twins are concerned since they were so young when you partnered with her. I think they tend to treat her as if she were their aunt. Kathleen looks up to her as a woman who has survived and made her own space by working in a typically male job. When we've talked, she's mentioned that she's most impressed by the respect Olivia holds within the squad. She's paid attention the times she's been in to see you. I wouldn't be surprised if after college she decides to apply to the Academy. I could easily see her following in Olivia's footsteps. That's how much respect she has for her."

"As impressed as I am with your application of your psychology courses, Maureen, I have to ask what your thoughts are." He held his breath, beginning to really realize how much his daughter's opinion meant to him.

"Well, I like her for all the reasons the other kids do, plus the fact that she protects your back and sends you home safe to us when she can." Back in New York, Maureen took a deep breath and tried to decide if she should continue, knowing that what she said next would be a complete surprise to her father. "But most of all, I like her because my Dad loves her." Complete silence sat on the phone line. "Dad?"

"What did you just say?" asked Elliot as the breath literally hissed out of him and he slumped back against the headboard.

"You heard me, Daddy. And if you think about it, you'll know I'm right."

"Maureen, I love your mother. I know we've been going through problems, but that doesn't mean that I've lost my love for her."

"No, you're right. But taking those classes of mine into account, I think that over the long years of your marriage that that love has changed. Barring the psychobabble, isn't there a line of a book or a song that basically says that it's your heart and not your head that chooses whom you love? Your head tells you that you can only love Mom when at the same time your heart is committing mutiny and falling for Olivia. And all this without your head knowing it."

Elliot sat stunned and silent. He was pretty much incapable of even speaking to his daughter because his head was just spinning around. He knew he found Olivia attractive, as did nearly all breathing males in the precinct. But was Maureen right? Was it possible that he could be in love with her? His eyebrows dipped and he eyes turned steely as if he was staring at a suspect that he knew was lying. He was going to have to do some serious thinking on this. Realizing that he'd been ignoring his daughter, he spoke up, "I'm sorry, Maureen. You've really thrown me for a loop."

"I know. I debated on whether or not to say anything, but decided that it was only right for you to know what I thought. And just so you don't think you're alone, I'm pretty sure those feelings would be reciprocated, Dad."

"When did you get so smart, young lady?" he jested, trying to bring a bit of levity back into the conversation.

"Always have been. After all, I am my father's daughter."

Elliot laughed heartily. "There is also much of your mother in you, baby girl. Your compassion and your temper come to mind first."

"Don't change the subject, Dad. One last thing. I will tell you that I spoke to Mom this morning and she told me that she's already contacted her lawyer to draw up papers. I don't think she's going to be very willing to look at any reconciliation."

"That doesn't really surprise me, Maureen."

"I didn't think it would. I then called Kathleen since I knew she was going to take the twins to the library this morning from when I spoke to them last night. If it comes down to custody, Kathleen definitely wants to be with you, but the twins are split right now; Dickie wants to be with you and Lizzie with Mom, but Lizzie will soon change her tune as she always does. So be prepared for Mom to really be pissed off when that comes out."

"Guess I better start apartment hunting."

"Well, you could probably stay with Olivia for a bit, Dad. You've crashed there during cases before."

"Oh, that'd go over wonderfully, Maureen. Mom's suggestion last night was that she would just forward my clothes to her apartment. No, not a good idea. I will probably take Captain Cragen up on his offer and stay at his house."

"Whatever you decide is best, Dad. But whatever you do, talk to Olivia about everything. Don't leave her out of the loop or you will hurt her, too. Since you're still stuck up in Vermont and won't be bothered, may I suggest talking to her while you're up there? And don't forget about what I've said. It's okay to look towards the future. After all, the future is always just one second ahead."

A soft sigh left his chest as he said, "You're joining the FBI, aren't you? With all this psychology and philosophy, I just know they're going to be trying to recruit you."

Maureen's laugh merrily moved through the phone. "How did you know I've been talking with Dr. Huang, Dad? I'm finding it very interesting and I've already chosen my subjects for my finals. They just don't know it yet."

Hearing the sneaky amusement in her voice he couldn't resist asking, "And who might that be? A couple of people in your class? Maybe a professor?"

"Nope, not even close. I intend to rope Munch and Fin into this. Can you think of any better two to make the subject of a paper? I will succeed."

Elliot began laughing loudly. He just had to watch this when she came to the office. "I have no doubt that you will, Maureen. Just let me know when you want to ask them because Liv and I are going to want front row seats for the show."

"I will. I'm glad to hear you laugh, Dad. On that note, I've got to go. Don't worry about everything. It will work out. All of us love you very much and will support anything you choose. Enjoy the snow. And talk to Olivia! Bye! Love you."

"Love you, too, baby girl. I'll talk to you when I get back in the city. Be careful." With that, they both hung up.

He sat back with the phone sitting in his lap. He had a lot of thinking to do and being around Olivia was going to hamper that thinking. First he needed to see if she was still sleeping. If she was he'd leave a note. He had to get out of the house. Glancing out the window he saw that the snow had finally tapered off to a minor flurry activity. Perfect. He grabbed another t-shirt, slipped on a sweatshirt and headed downstairs.

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