Title: Mysterious Beauty
Author: SVUFanatic611
Rating: PG-13, for some language
Summary: "She smiled back at me and I could tell now why Mom brought her into some of the arguments she and Dad had. She was beautiful." Kathleen muses on Olivia - her beauty, her standing as a woman, and the role she plays not only in her life, but in her father's.
Disclaimer: SVU and its associated characters are not mine.
Kathleen Stabler's POV
Uh oh. We were down by three, and we had three minutes left in the game. Not good.
Dad had showed up, right on time, like promised, with Olivia. I had a feeling that was more prodding on Olivia's part than anything. My dad didn't exactly have a good sense of time. I knew that that was one of the numerous topics that my mom and dad fought about. Dad never seemed to come anywhere on time, especially home. And even when he was there, he never really was. His thoughts and energy seemed to be always on work. Was I the only one that didn't have a problem with that? Was I the only one that didn't mind that he was spending his time helping people?
Must've been.
They were both dressed in jeans and casual shirts. It was then that I realized how gorgeous Olivia was, even if it was in the most casual of clothes. She still seemed to carry this persona that let the people around her know that she could be diverse – funny, smart, competent, and compassionate. But, yet, you didn't know which one she'd be. I guess she had this mysterious beauty about her. Something told me that she was one of the elite few that men wanted to be with and women wanted to be…without having just air for brains.
Liz and Dickie came trailing behind them and they all sat together. But, after the first half of the game, the twins sat with Mom. Maureen was there, too…with her new boyfriend. Boy, were Mom and Dad in for a treat. He was nice, but there's no need to express my dad's protectiveness over his first-born. They sat somewhere central, playing smitten kitten the entire game.
But, the conversation before the game had given me food for thought during the game.
It was my turn to go get water for our team. The vendor gives the home team unlimited water throughout the game and they get some huge sign out on the field and they become "the official water supplier of our Lady Mustangs". Whatever made 'em happy.
So, I was walking down toward the vendor to pick up the order, when Dad and Olivia came strolling in. My grandfather was there, picking up some food before the game started. I had invited him so Mom didn't feel left out or alone. Part of me still blamed her for everything, but nobody should have to sit alone. I didn't know how Grandpa would react to Dad, so I backed behind some bleachers when I saw them come within ten feet of each other, but I could hear them perfectly. They had just practically run into each other.
"Oh, I'm sorry, it's my faul…" started my grandfather, until he realized who it was.
My father stared for a minute. "Mike, it's good to see you again," Dad tried to amend.
Grandpa stuck out his hand and my father shook it. "It's good to see you, too, Elliot." I saw Grandpa eyeing Olivia. Oh God. He'd never understand. I mean, why would he? Olivia was this divine, young woman. Would else could he assume? "Listen, Elliot, I just want to get one thing straight here. Just because all this is happening between you and Kathy doesn't mean I want to beat you to a bloody pulp," he said, and my father avoided his eyes. "Mary and I just want the best for those kids of yours. They really are terrific."
Olivia seemed to keep her distance, but looked empathetic to Dad. "They are, aren't they? Listen, Mike, thanks for being understanding about this."
"Just do this amicably. I don't want to see any of the kids affected in a negative way. And don't think I won't stick up for my daughter when the time calls for it."
"I don't expect you not to."
"Want to introduce me to your new little lady?" Oh God. He had to ask.
Olivia gave a nervous laugh and shook Grandpa's hand. "Oh, no, sir, I'm just Elliot's colleague…and a fan of Kathleen's," she said, trying not to sound like she was covering up anything.
Oh my God. It had just dawned on me. Was she covering up anything? Were Dad and Olivia in a relationship? Did they start something? Were they getting closer than need be? Oh God. I didn't want to think about it. It couldn't be. They were just friends. They were best friends and they loved each other, sure, but…it was a platonic sort of love – not a romantic one.
I decided to end it there. "Daddy!" I called out to him, running and knowing he'd catch me. "You made it!"
"Told you I would," he said, scooping me up. Olivia looked on us and smiled. I don't know how long the hug lasted, but I had to savor it.
"Hey, Olivia. Thanks for coming," I said, getting the stupid thoughts out of my head and giving her a hug. She hugged me back.
"No problem. Thanks for inviting me." I looked up at her, and I could see why anyone would fall in love with her smile at first sight.
Anyway, like I said, we were down by three and we had three minutes left. This really wasn't good.
We started out pretty well. We got the points on the board first and we were keeping a steady stride. Until they brought in their best defense. It kind of went downhill from there. At the beginning of the game, I promised Coach Lyman that I would score at least three points. I had three minutes left to get the one more I needed.
Every now and then, I looked up to the fans and spotted Dad and Olivia. You know, Olivia always came across to me as such a quiet woman. I mean, she was strong when she had to be, I knew that, but she never came across to me as a loud woman.
Well, I guess she could be loud when she wanted to be, because every time I looked up, she was right along with everyone, heckling away. Thank God it was for my team.
Okay, we just scored another goal. Down by two.
We played a couple more plays and, well, we worked our "Mustang magic". We were finally tied with thirty seconds left of the game. Coach called us in for a time out.
"Alright, girls," he said, all of us getting into a huddle. "We're going to do play number four."
We all looked at him in disbelief. Play four had never worked before. We always tried it at the end of every game, but it always backfired. Now, of all the games, we shouldn't have been doing it.
"Coach, that play has never worked," I spoke up.
"If we have to go down, we're doing it fighting. Plus, I have a feeling it'll work," he said, staring right at me, smiling. "Now, girls, let's do this." We put our hands in the center and yelled, "Lady Mustangs!"
I wasn't so loud in my approach. I wanted to win this game, and I didn't think we could do it with this play. I wanted so much for Dad to come out to one of my winning games, not the biggest game where we lost by one. I wanted him to be proud of me. So he could see how hard I had really worked.
We got out there and the ref gave me the ball to throw in. God, I hoped this was going to work. If it did, we would win. If it didn't, we'd go into overtime and most likely lose the game. See, the play was this: I throw it to Sarah and get over by the goal as fast as I can, Sarah dribbles it to Courtney, then Courtney kicks it high enough over to Josie so that she can head-butt it back to me, and I run fast enough to kick it in, sliding like I was trying to get to a base in baseball.
But most times, it went like this: I throw the ball slantingly to Sarah and run to the goal, Sarah tries her best to dribble it to Courtney, Courtney kicks it not-so-high, Josie head-butts it and a member of the other team gets it and it ends up giving them possession. That's not good.
So, anyway, I threw the ball and Sarah got it, dribbling fairly well, knocking off any defenders. She kicked it over to Courtney, who hesitated only for a moment before arcing the ball over to Josie. Josie head-butt it to me without nervousness, and it landed right where it was supposed to. I ran to it and slid, hitting the ground hard and causing the ball to bounce off the insides of the meshed net…
"Oh! That's a wipeout for Kathleen Stabler, number twenty-seven, but boy, does she give us a heck of an ending!" I could hear the announcer yell. I wanted to get up from the mud I was lying in, but I couldn't. My head was so heavy and my muscles hurt too much.
"Wait a minute, folks. This may not be good for…"
His voice faded, and as my head flopped to the side, not being able to hold onto the weight, the last thing I saw was Dad jumping over the partition and Mom, Olivia, Maureen, the twins, and Coach Lyman running out onto the field before darkness overcame my eyes.
"Kathleen? Kathleen? Kathleen?" they all asked at once. God, they seemed so distant, but when I opened my eyes, the blurred vision of all of them staring right at me, about a foot from my face, came into view. I coughed and groaned.
"I'm right here, calm down," I managed to mumble. I blinked my eyes a couple times and let their figures clear up.
"Kathleen, I'm right here," Dad said, stroking my forehead and the top of my head. The fact that he is so protective and was probably yelling at everyone the entire time I was unconscious made me thankful that I wasn't awake to hear it.
"I'm fine, really," I again mumbled, pushing myself up, causing every muscle and bone in my body to contract in pain. I could only sit up, my legs outstretched and my wrists holding me up. My vision was still a little blurry and I tried to blink the fog away. "What happened?" I asked.
"You passed out," Coach said.
"Really? I would've never guessed," I answered sarcastically. "I meant, how did I pass out?"
"Exhaustion," Mom said, feeling my head, and giving me a bottle of water. "You've been playing pretty hard out here, and I guess your body couldn't handle it anymore when you came crashing down."
I nodded and my vision just wouldn't straighten out. I tried blinking it away furiously, but my dad noticed it and said, "Honey, your vision okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine," I lied.
"Kiddo, how many Olivia-s to do you see?" he asked, pointing to the person who was crouched by my feet.
I blinked again and her features came clear. Maybe it was getting better because I actually had something to focus on. Four eyes became two; two noses became one; two lips became one; four ears became two; and the two strands that hung just above her eyes became one. When the puzzle of her face had been pieced together correctly, I saw her smile. "One," I replied.
My Dad sighed, and he helped me up.
"Well, did I get the right answer? One Olivia, right?" I asked, more for sarcasm than anything.
He smiled and brushed me off. "Yeah, kiddo, that's the right answer."
"You're one of a kind, Olivia," I said, smiling. She smiled back at me and I could tell now why Mom brought her into some of the arguments she and Dad had. She was beautiful. Her eyes were a nice kind of mysterious, her posture was one of stature and importance and her smile would've made anyone want to know what she was thinking.
The crowd around me gently dispersed and the once silent crowd erupted into cheers for me. I gave a gentle wave of my hand to acknowledge them and smiled. My team attacked me, cheering for the win, and my mom and dad, knowing that I wanted a minute to celebrate the win with my team, backed off for a moment. They hugged me and lifted me on their shoulders. God, this felt so good.
They let me down and my dad was there. He had this presence about him that made me feel like I was alone with him, even if we had a million people around; even if we were in the middle of rush hour traffic on a busy New York street.
"You did really great out there, kiddo," he said to me, as he brought me into a hug.
"Thanks, Daddy. Proud?" I said with hopeful eyes.
"Sweetheart, I'm always proud of you," he said, as he cupped my cheek with his strong hand. I averted my eyes and saw Olivia inching closer to us.
"You did great, Kathleen. Congratulations," she said, giving me that smile that seemed to be etched in my brain.
"Thanks, Olivia," I said, as I took her into a hug. "Daddy, I'm gonna go see Mom," I said as flashed him a smile and ran off. Things may still have been tense between us, but she cheered just as hard as the other fans and I needed to respect that. I needed to suck it up and thank her. I ran toward her. She was still on the field and meeting Maureen's boyfriend, Joey…or was it John…maybe Jake?
"Hey Mom!" I said as I snuck behind her. She turned around and gave me a hug, congratulating me. She seemed happy that I actually saw her after the game, let alone thank and hug her. What can I say? I was trying to build good karma. I also gave Maureen a hug, and she formally introduced me to Aiden. Go figure. It was Aiden. Either way, Dad would never like him.
The excitement died down after we shook hands with the other team, received the school trophy and our individual trophies, and celebrated once again. I headed to the locker room to pack up my stuff and get ready to go home. I gave high-fives to everyone as I walked out, wishing them a good weekend, and headed outside.
I found Olivia and the twins, waiting. Maureen and…Aiden, Aiden…I'd have to come up with something to help me remember his name…must've left already. Mom and Dad were a few feet away, talking. No bloodshed, no flying hair, no obscene hand motions, and no loud voices. Things were looking good. I approached the three of them.
"Hey, guys. Who knows how long they're gonna be. How about you guys go kick around the ball for awhile," I said, tossing the ball in my hand to Dickie. They went off.
"Figured I'd give you a break," I said, smiling to Olivia.
"They weren't trouble. Good kids," she said, as we both leaned on the gate that surrounded the field, staring at whatever.
"Two minutes of them…anyone would need a break." She gave a soft laugh, and then things fell silent. "How long have they been talking?" I asked.
"Not long. Maybe a few minutes. I highly doubt there's going to be a brawl."
"Well, not in a public place, it won't. They're careful about witnesses and stuff like that," I joked. The silence came back, but after a few moments, I saw her glance at me.
"You okay, Kathleen?" she asked with genuine concern. I knew she wasn't asking about my vision or my muscles, but the problems at home.
"I'm okay," I replied. "Sometimes, it's hard, but…I don't know…I'll get through it," I said, still not looking at her.
She wrung her hands a little and then put a hand on my shoulder. "You know, Kathleen, things might get tough, but I want you to know that you can always come to me for whatever. If you wanna talk, or vent, or…"
She seemed nervous to offer her support, so I let her know I took it to heart. "Thanks, Olivia. I appreciate the offer."
"Your welcome," she said. "I know that sometimes, things can be easier when it's somebody who's not involved – someone's who's not on a side," she said, and it caught my attention.
"You're not on my dad's side?" I asked softly and in disbelief.
"Sweetheart, I support your dad. He's my partner and my best friend, and, God knows I'll back his play in whatever he chooses, but I've never been in your mother's position. I don't understand any of the things she's going through. I couldn't possibly have an opinion when I don't have both sides of the story…at least not a fair one," she ended.
I nodded. "I might take you up on that offer. None of my friends have ever been through this, and I just don't…I don't know…I just don't know what's gonna happen next," I said, finally meeting her chocolate eyes. Anybody could get lost in them, and I'm glad she finally blinked.
"Anyplace, anytime, don't be afraid to call," she said, as she palmed her card to me. "Really. Your dad's really worried about you guys and I know he was really glad to come today."
"Me too," I agreed. "He doesn't get to come to any of my games all that often."
"Really?" she asked, looking at me.
"Yeah. I always tell him the times, but he just never seems to make it down. I guess it's the job."
She gave a nod and said, "Tell ya what. You let me know some of the game times, and I'll make sure he makes it down…even if I have to drag him out of the building, and drive him down here."
"You'd do that?"
"Absolutely. It not only gives him something to look forward at the end of the day, but it gets him outta my hair for awhile," she said, and we both gave a soft laugh.
"Well, you know, you're always welcome to come," I said, giving her a gentle smile.
"Thanks. I might take you up on that offer," she said, imitating my words.
"Don't think I didn't see you yelling at that bad call the ref made. Nice tension reliever?" I teased.
She laughed, and even that was enchanting. I was always taught that nobody was perfect, but she sure was close. "I guess, yeah."
"Guys, let's go!" I heard my dad yell to the twins, and Olivia and I stood up.
"Well, Mom, ready to go?" I asked her.
"Actually, Kathleen, you guys are going to spend the weekend with your dad. I'll drop some stuff off for you guys to last you through the weekend later."
"Really?" we all asked at once, and I saw my Dad's eyes light up.
"Really. Let's give your mom a hug good-bye, shall we?" said Dad.
We all gave her a hug and I gave her a smile, letting her know that things were still okay between us and, in that smile, I thanked her for the time with Dad.
We headed to the car, and before I could get in, Dad took me by the elbow and led me to the side while everyone got in the car.
"Kathleen, you okay?" he asked, and it reminded me of the concern Olivia had shown me.
"Yeah, Dad, I'm fine. Really," I said, giving him, yet again, another smile.
"You'd tell me if something was really bothering you, wouldn't you?"
"Yeah, Dad, I would. Don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine," I said.
He nodded, smiled, and got into the driver's seat. I saw Mom pull out before I got in, and I waved and smiled to her.
This was how it was going to be from now on. Splitting my time between Mom and Dad, having two different homes. This was my new life. I'd have to get used to it, but something told me that I'd be okay. Liz and Dickie would be okay, as well as Maureen. My family would be okay. We'd get though this. Olivia was right, it would be tough. But what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, right? God knows I could use some strength. And something told me the upcoming midnight calls with Olivia were going to help, too.
Maybe some of that mysterious beauty would rub off on me. And it wouldn't hurt having some of that, either. Especially from her.
A/n – I don't know how good this is, but I kinda wrote myself into a hole with the ending of the last one. I don't know if this had much of a plot, but I've promised you guys this, and I wanted to get it out, and I don't know if I could write it any better. Hope this isn't bad.
Oh, and my penname is back to SVUFanatic611. Until next post, adios! –Jessica