a/n: thanks for the reviews! so glad you guys are enjoying this :D
a/n: and hope this clears some things up for you, nem :) (i figured she'd be acting a little out of character, her secret's been discovered, elliot would never have let it go in the long run (loves her too much, can see she's hurting more than normal) so i just skipped the angst a bit. besides, i'm not too good with angst :)

and now, on with the show:

Elliot gaped at her. Olivia reached up and softly pushed his mouth shut.

"Her name's Katherine Parsons, she's 21. I never told you about her because I really don't like to talk about that time of my life. I had her when I was 17; I put her up for adoption. I went back to school and pretended she didn't exist." Liv admitted. Elliot held her tighter.

"What about her father?" he asked tentatively. Just the idea that Liv had been raped put a whole new spin on her drive with her work.

"No Elliot, stop thinking that way." She knew him too well, "I wasn't raped. I was actually very happy. I was 16 and engaged, everything was going great. Peter and I were going to wait until I finished high school. He would be finished his degree then-"

"His degree? How old was this guy, Liv?"

"He was 21. He was a student in my mother's class, that's how we met." She wandered off into memories, "we were both sitting outside her office, waiting. He thought I was another student in her English class and he started asking me about the book they were reading. I had read it too, found it on my mother's shelf, so we got to talking. On the spur of the moment, he asked me to meet him for coffee the next afternoon. I, of course, agreed. He was really cute. When he left, he gave me this shy little smile. I couldn't wait for tomorrow.
"I decided not to mention him to my mother. The next day I met him for coffee, and then we went to a movie. We went on a few more dates before things got a little serious. Then he noticed I wasn't actually in his English class, and eventually he found out how old I was. I calmed him down and he was very gallant and told me he loved me, and that he would wait for me. We kept on dating, and a few months later he showed up at my apartment one day and asked me to marry him." Liv stopped, just smiling. "He showed up with a bunch of roses, got down on one knee and proposed. I was so happy. I said yes and burst into tears as he slipped the ring on my finger." Elliot couldn't help but smile at her memory. "Then my mother came home. She walked in on us kissing. She just exploded." Fresh tears welled in Olivia's eyes. "She couldn't stop yelling. She recognized him and forbid him from seeing me. She'd get him dumped out of school, she said, he was not allowed to be near her daughter. Peter was…well, he was scared of her, and so was I. He gave me one last kiss before she ran him out of the apartment. I screamed at her that she ruined everything and stormed into my room. Last I saw she was grabbing a bottle of vodka.

"Later that night I tried to sneak out. She caught me. I told her I was going to visit my fiancé. She didn't understand.

"Fiancé, as in 'future husband.' You may not be aware of the term." That made her mother even angrier.
"You cannot marry that man, I forbid it!" she slurred.
"You don't have any say anymore, I'm 16! I can marry whomever I like! And I choose Peter."
"He can't have you!" her bottle fell to the floor, breaking
"You don't have any say!" Olivia was now yelling at the top of her lungs
"No man can have you!" Serena rose, a piece of the bottle in her hand. Olivia backed away.
"Calm down, Mom." Olivia eyed the door.
"Don't you even think of leaving me!" And she lunged. Olivia deflected her, but Serena came at her again. This time she kicked her. Serena backed up into the wall and slid down it. Olivia knocked the glass away and checked for a pulse. It was steady, she was just asleep. Olivia took her leave as quietly as possible.

"I went straight to Peter's, and we made love. For the first and last time. From then on my mother made his life hell. He tried to complain, but there wasn't much anyone could do. I couldn't bring myself to leave my mother either. He was a starving student, and I just had a little after school job, we had no way of supporting ourselves. By the end of the semester he couldn't take it anymore and transferred out of the state. I haven't seen him since. I was so upset. I didn't realize I was pregnant until it was too late. I left a message on his machine that I was pregnant and that I was giving the baby up. He never called me back." She dissolved again into tears. Elliot held her tight.

Elliot woke first in the morning. They'd stretched out on the couch during the night, and Olivia was practically lying on top of him. 'Best blanket ever,' he thought, and then the memories of last night came back to him. He examined her sleeping face closely. She seemed to have aged overnight, but she also had a calmness about her that he'd never felt before.

"Well?" Her voice startled him.

"Well what?"

"Do I pass inspection?"

"Yes, with flying colours."

"Good," she gave him a quick kiss as she climbed off him, "I call the shower." She paused on her way out. "Thank you for listening to me last night."

"Do you want-"

"Breakfast first, then the rest of my life, k?" She smiled at him and left.