Fall to Pieces

Chapter Twenty Three

Disclaimer: Nah, the show doesn't belong to me. I wish it did, though. And my birthday is only a few months away... I wouldn't mind an early gift- it is my sweet 16, ya know.

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It had been a Tuesday when Elliot decided to move in with Olivia. Instead of staying at her apartment that night, like he normally would have, he went to his own one-bedroom apartment and began to pack his things up. He would sell the old sofa, bedroom set- sans one dresser- as well as all of his appliances. He wouldn't need them anymore, and Olivia's were far better than his anyway. So, the first thing he did was packed all of his clothes into a couple of boxes- the next day after work he brought them over to her apartment.

So, Wednesday night he opted to stay at his apartment again. The quicker he could get everything packed and out of his place the quicker he could officially move into hers. That night he packed all the things from his living room, his DVD's and CD's, along with his books and throw-blankets. Since he got done earlier than he intended he started packing up the bathroom. That only required a small box, all he really needed to bring with him was his razor and shave gel, toothbrush, and the other things he used to groom himself with- Olivia had all the other things he would require.

Thursday, he sold the bed and the dressers he wouldn't be needing. On that same day he sold the couch and love seat, to the same person. Also, he sold the entertainment center on Thursday- which was something that he had been hesitant to part with. But, at the same time, Olivia's was the same size as his was, so it didn't really matter.

Friday, John kept inquiring about what secret they had talked about on Tuesday. He had done so the whole week, but both Olivia and Elliot had successfully managed to ignore him- which was extremely hard. It was Munch they were dealing with, he had a way with interrogating people, he was a cop, for longer than either of them had been. But, by Friday they were both tired of keeping it a secret, there was no real reason for not telling them, anyway. They had been together for a long time, moving in together was just the next step in their relationship. And, Munch was their friend, why not tell him? Yes, he would tease them, but with him that was a given.

So, when the four of them went out for lunch that day and Munch continued to inquire about their secret, Olivia broke. Or, not so much as broke as gave up. "Fine, Munch. Do you really want to know?" she asked, taking a bite of her salad.

He looked at her confused, he hadn't expected her to tell him that easily. "Yeah, why not?"

"Elliot's moving in with me," she told him nonchalantly. "Now... was that worth all the fussing?"

Munch shrugged, "You could have just told me Tuesday and prevented all of my nagging."

"True," Elliot agreed. "But, that wouldn't be any fun for us. Watching you get annoyed for no reason is very entertaining."

"Yeah, yeah." he sighed. "So, you moved in already, or when are you going to?"

"I've been moving in since Tuesday... all I've got to do is finish getting rid of all my things I won't need and we're done. All of my clothes are at her house already. So is everything else I'll need."

"What all do you still need to sell?" Fin asked, speaking for the first time during the whole conversation.

"Appliances and my washer and dryer." Olivia had her own, he had no need for them anymore. Plus, they were fairly old anyway.

Fin nodded, apparently he didn't need either so Elliot was still stuck with things to get rid of. Although, selling an old washer and dryer set in New York City for cheep wouldn't be that hard- somebody was already coming to look at it later that night. As for the appliances, well, he didn't really care if he had to throw away a microwave oven.

They finished eating and went back to the station house, whereupon Munch and Elliot were assigned to a case and Olivia and Fin were left to finish the mountains of paperwork in both of their 'in' stacks. It was going to be a long, long day for both sets of partners.

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Since Elliot was still off with Munch working on their new case Olivia had to bring the girls over to Elliot's apartment for the appointment. The woman was scheduled to come at 7:30 to look at the washer and dryer and as of far it was fifteen after. The girls were becoming impatient, his apartment no longer had a TV to watch or a couch, not even a bed!, to sit on. He had long since gotten rid of the dinning room table, so they were stuck standing up. Except for Becca, who wormed her way into her mother's arms. Olivia knew she was being tricked into holding the girl so she wouldn't have to stand, but she didn't mind.

And, Cassie was a smart cookie, so it didn't take her long to figure out a way to sit down without having to sit on the floor. She simply hopped onto the washing machine. Olivia didn't protest, it was an old and bulky machine so it could no doubt hold the child's small amount of weight. Besides, there wasn't that much time to wait. The woman would be there in ten minutes.

Or five. The buzzer went off at 7:24, and Olivia greeted the woman at the other end. First, though, she made sure it was the right lady and not some psycho off the streets (she was hoping that the woman herself did not fit into that category). A minute later there was a knock at Elliot's door and Olivia let the woman in, balancing Becca on her hip as she used her right hand to open the door.

"Hi," she greeted. "I'm Olivia. Elliot was working so he couldn't be here."

"Oh," the woman, Meghan Bradbury, said. "Alright."

She was young, maybe mid twenties, maybe even early. Her blonde hair fell just below her shoulders and her green eyes were soft. Olivia felt relieved instantly, she half expected some nut to respond to the ad that Elliot had put in the paper. They surely had seen enough cases where somebody did just that.

"The washer and dryer are this way," Olivia informed her as she walked off to the pantry. Thankfully, Cassie was no longer sitting on the washer when they made it in, and Becca was itching to get down and play with her sister. The two ran off to Elliot's empty bedroom and loud giggles followed them.

"Your daughters are beautiful," Meghan complimented. "Are you Elliot's wife?"

Not at the moment. "No, I'm just the girlfriend." she smiled. "I'm divorced...."

"Oh," she said. "Ok. So, for both of them it was how much? 100?"

"$75," Olivia corrected. "There's nothing wrong with them, they've just seen a couple more years than the average washer and dryer. But, he doesn't need them anymore...."

"Oh? Why's that?" Olivia didn't blame the woman for asking. 75 dollars is cheep for a washer and dryer set, even if they were older.

"He's moving into my place, I've already got a set."

She nodded, opening the washer to look inside, then doing the same with the dryer. "I see. Well, I guess I'll take them, then."

"You need help getting them outside?" she asked, they were fairly large, it would take a lot of pushing to get them to the elevator.

"If you don't mind," Meghan said thankfully.

So, for the next half hour, Olivia and Meghan pushed the dryer and the washer through the hallway and to the elevator, and then once they got to the main-floor, out the front door and (after convincing a couple of men passing by to help) getting them into the bed of her boyfriends truck. During that time, Cassandra and Rebecca stayed with Elliot's next door neighbor. An older woman who had watched them once or twice before when Olivia and Elliot had gone out.

It was almost 8:15 by the time they finally left his nearly empty apartment. The only things that were still in it were the fridge (which, had come with the apartment, so would stay there) and a few kitchen appliances that he would take to the pawn shop the next day.

After stopping by a pizza place and getting something to eat they went back to their home, where Olivia put the girls favorite movie, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, on. For the next hour and a half, or so, they would be glued to the TV and thus she would have some time to relax. First thing she did, though, was call Elliot.

He answered on the fourth ring, just as she was about to hang up. "Stabler."

"Hey, El." she greeted. "It's me... that woman bought the washer and dryer."

"Good," he said, sighing with relief. "You at home, already?"

"Yep," she replied. "I've got the girls watching a movie, by the time it's over they'll both be passed out asleep." She opened the pizza box and took out a piece, "What time do you think you'll be home?" Home- their home. It was still so new to her, she smiled to herself.

"I'm not sure, but probably soon. There's not much else we can get done tonight...."

"Well, I'll wait up for you- then." Pulling open the fridge she grabbed a diet coke and then sat down at the table, "I'm going to let you go, now. See you soon?"

"Hopefully," he answered. "Bye."

She said goodbye and hung up the phone, taking a bite of her pizza. He hadn't stayed at her house in days, which was funny since now they actually lived together. Having grown accustomed to having somebody else in the bed beside her the previous nights she hadn't actually slept much. Tonight she would, though. And every night from then on.

Laughter from the living room caught her attention. The girls knew that Elliot was moving in, although Becca was only three and didn't really know the difference, since for the past couple of months he had been there nearly ever night. Cassie understood though, and she was happy. Which was important to Olivia, Cassie was almost nine, and with Chris gone she would need some kind of father figure in her life. Elliot was perfect for the job.

It worried her a bit though, the rate at which her relationship with Elliot was moving. At first, she had wanted to take things slowly- ease into the relationship. That way they wouldn't end up like she and Chris did. But instead of taking it slower than normal it was moving many times faster than she had expected. It had only been a couple of months and they were already living together! But, she guessed that since they had been best friends for nearly 6 years prior to dating there was no need for the first few stages. They already knew everything about each other, so instead of taking a month or so to find out they just skipped on to the next level and keep going at that speed.

And, who knew where their relationship would be heading next?

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A/N: Ok, so I'm thinking that this has maybe one or two more chapters in it. Let me know what you think about this one, please! Has anybody else noticed that all my continuing stories end up lasting like at or around 25 chapters? I don't intend on doing that when I start out with my stories- I just thought it was strange.