Fall to Pieces

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Not mine...there, that's done.

It had been nearly two weeks since Olivia had left; Chris had tried to call her on her cell phone many times, even a few times on Elliot's home phone. He finally stopped calling when Elliot had managed to get a hold of the phone while he was calling and told him what he thought of him. Elliot had also told Chris that if he called his house one more time the consequences wouldn't be desirable. Well, something along the line of that, with a few profane words added into the mix. Things that Olivia was glad her children weren't around to hear.

She had filed for divorce by then, she figured that's why he was calling more frequently. That was around the end of week one. Week two had been surprisingly quiet, she thanked God for that. The girls had questioned her about where their daddy was, but she just told them he had to go out of town for business. He did that sometimes, for seminars, they never lasted as long, though. But, the girls didn't doubt that daddy was just away for a couple days, in their minds he would be coming back. With lots of toys and clothes from a far off state like usual. Olivia wasn't looking forward to telling them that that wouldn't be happening this time.

Mary had come to the station house one day in the beginning of week two, or at least, that's how Fin tells it. Apparently she and Elliot had just left on a new case; Munch and Fin had just finished one and were busy slaving away over mounds of paperwork. She'd come in raising hell, demanding to see Olivia. Fin says that Munch told her she wasn't there, and Mary had accused him of lying to her, calling him (and Olivia) all sorts of names. Mary's a couple of years Munch's senior, but according to Fin that didn't deter him from telling her just what he thought of her. Worse than a sailor's, that mouth of his.

By then the whole department knew about the divorce. Everyone was telling her how sorry they were, or how she deserved much better. It annoyed her, she wished that they would just keep their noses out of her business, and mind their own. Though, it didn't seem too likely.

So, with week two coming to a close, and week three hovering in the distance, Olivia was starting to wonder. Was she doing the right thing keeping her children from her father? Was she even doing the right thing by divorcing Chris? Of course, she knew the answer to both questions was "yes", no "if, ands, or buts" about it. But, she still wondered.

Elliot had been a godsend. She was thankful that he treated the girls like they were his own, she knew that without him the whole process she was going through would be impossible. She wouldn't be able to do it without somebody to fall back on. And that's what Elliot was, her support, her rock to lean on. She wasn't sure how good of an idea that was. It scared her, how close they had gotten in only two weeks time.

Shaking the idea out of her head she glared down at her paperwork, fighting to keep her eyes open. She was thinking too much and it was making her tired. What she wouldn't give for an hour or two in the crib. But, she mused; work would be over in half an hour. She only had thirty more minutes.

Elliot must have noticed her internal struggle not to fall asleep, because the next thing she knew he was questioning her about it. "You tired, Liv?"

She looked up at him, "no."

He flashed her one of those magnetic smiles of his, "liar."

Gasping, as if offended, she looked at him sternly. "I am not."

Though she didn't think it possible, his smile grew. "Yeah, whatever."

Instead of answering him she threw a crumpled piece of paper at his head, he dunked and it hit the floor behind him. He didn't see the second one coming though and it hit him square in the forehead. He looked up at her, shock dancing in his eyes, his mouth hanging open.

"You keep your mouth open like that who knows what'll fly in it."

He closed it and sent a dirty look her way. One that said that this wasn't over. She just shrugged at him and went back to her paperwork. Forty minutes later, while on the way to his car, Elliot got her back. Whoever told her that she was extremely ticklish on her sides was in trouble, and she only had two suspects. She had a 50/50 chance of getting it right on the first guess.

They picked the "suspects" up from their new babysitters house and took them back to Elliot's apartment, where they ordered takeout. While the girls took a shower together Olivia and Elliot waited for their Chinese to arrive.

"What happened?" She asked him, out of the blue, while flipping through the channels on his TV set.

"With what?"

"You said that you had been engaged before, but broke it off. What did your fiancée do that was bad enough for you to call it quits?"

He sighed, it must've been something big, she mused. "Her name was Kathy. We were young, only 18. She got pregnant, we got engaged. But, one day, she wasn't pregnant anymore. She went behind my back and got an abortion. I called it off right then. She killed my child; I wanted nothing to do with her. I left, joined the marines, and never spoke with her again."

Olivia was shocked, to say the least. "That's horrible."

He didn't reply.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but the girls came bounding into the living room, pajamas on and hair dripping water.

"Oh, girls! You're getting water everywhere," Olivia called getting off the couch. She scooped Becca up in her arms and took Cassie by the hand. "Come on, let's go dry your hair."

Elliot got up too; "you need help?"

She turned to look at him, "are you sure?"

He nodded and picked Cassie up, "yeah."

They packed into Elliot's guest bathroom, and while Olivia was towel drying Becca's short blonde hair, Elliot was blow-drying Cassie's longer, darker hair. As soon as they finished his doorbell rang and the aroma of Chinese food filled the apartment, coming from past the door. Elliot paid for the food and they ate, Cassie jabbering on about her day, Becca occasionally cutting in to say something she viewed as important.

An hour later the two younger girls were tucked into bed, drifting off into sleep. Olivia and Elliot sat in the living room, all the lights off and the TV on mute, talking.

"Did she ever tell you why?"

"She never told me. From what I heard from her and all of her friends, while I had been away one weekend, she had lost her footing and fallen down a flight of stairs, loosing the baby in the process. But, I guess she didn't expect me to be suspicious. I found the bill in her car; it was right there where I could see it. I told her to keep the ring, but it was over."

"I'm so sorry, Elliot. I could never imagine doing that, I love my girls too much. If I hadn't had them, my life would be so boring."

"They're great girls. You're lucky to have them."

In the darkness her hand found his and she gave it a squeeze. "Elliot, I don't know what I would do without you. You don't know how much you mean to me and the girls adore you. I really don't know where I would be if I had never met you." She pulled on his hand, bringing him closer to her. She hugged him, though her mind was screaming at her not too. His arms wrapped around her as well, hugging her just as tightly as she was hugging him.

"I know, Liv. Trust me, I know." He whispered into her hair.

Her mind was still screaming at her to pull back from the embrace, but for awhile she ignored it and just took in the feeling of being held. It had been such a long time since somebody had held her, with such tenderness. Chris surely never had, his embrace had always been stiff, and the only time he had ever showed her any emotion was when he wanted sex. She knew that that was the last thing on Elliot's mind, or at least, she hoped. When he began to trace imaginary objects on her back her mind finally won the battle, she pulled back. He suddenly stiffened, like maybe he was as embarrassed as she was.

"We should...I should probably go to bed."

He nodded, "yeah. G'night Liv."

"Goodnight, El. I'll see you in the morning."

He nodded again, almost solemnly. "Right. In the morning."

She quickly scampered off into the guest bedroom, and then to the bathroom it was connected with. She splashed some cold water on her face, trying to hide the flush in her cheeks. Who from? She wasn't sure. Herself, she guessed. But, though the color in her face returned to its norm, she could still feel her cheeks burning. With what? That was another unknown. While she stared at her reflection in the mirror a thought popped into her mind. She quickly shook it off. There was no way she could be falling in love, or anything else, with her partner. No way...no way. Not at all. No way. She turned the water back on, splashing herself with the freezing liquid. There was no way...no way she was falling for her partner. She couldn't. There was no way.

Right?
A/n: for those who were screaming EO!, EO!, EO!, at me, I dedicate this chapter to you. It's not much, but remember she's just now in the process of a divorce! You know, I think I'll do the next chapter from Elliot's POV. Tell me what you think, all right?