"God, Olivia, you should really find a hobby," he grumbled.

"It's nice to see you, too," she replied. Olivia stood up and sat next to Elliot on his bed. She reached for his glassed off the bedside table. "Better to see me with."

"I've seen enough of you lately," he said, and she was glad his sense of humor was still in tact. "What're you working on?" he asked, nodding at her files.

"The Maguire case," she said quietly, hoping he couldn't hear her and he wouldn't ask questions.

"Come on, Liv, we worked day and night on that for the last week, there's nothing there," he said, his voice tired again.

"I just know there's something we're missing. Now we're done talking about it."

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Maureen poked her head in, and Olivia saw Elliot's face light up immediately.

"Hey kiddo, what're you doing here?" he asked, and Olivia could tell he was trying his best to make his voice sound normal.

"I was upstairs getting a pregnancy test and I thought I'd stop by on my way out," she said in a serious tone. It was all Olivia could do not to fall off Elliot's bed laughing.

"Are you trying to kill me? It's a good thing I'm already in a hospital," Elliot sounded relieved.

"Mom's outside with the twins, can they come in?"

"Yeah, sure," Elliot smiled and Olivia knew he was excited to see his kids, even if he lying in a hospital bed.

"I'm gonna go, I'll let you hang out with your family," Olivia whispered, tiptoeing to the door.

"No, stay. You just got here. Besides, Lizzie hasn't seen you in forever, you know she'll love to play with your hair," Elliot said, his smile still in tact. He was right, she hadn't seen the kids in a while, and Lizzie liked Olivia's hair because it was shorter than all her sisters' and she liked the way it stuck out when she put it in a ponytail.

"Okay," she agreed, retreating to the opposite side of the room, hoping she would become invisible. The door opened and in barreled Elizabeth and Dickie, Maureen and Kathy following right behind.

"Hi Daddy!" Lizzie squealed, jumping up onto the bed next to Elliot. He buried his face in her hair, squeezing her tight. "Mom says you're sick and we're not supposed to give you a kiss, but I'm going to anyway," she whispered quietly enough for everyone in the entire east wing of the hospital to hear. Lizzie planted a giant kiss on Elliot's forehead and he couldn't stop smiling.

"Daddy, you're hot," she said, climbing off. Maureen let out a little laugh, as did Olivia, whom they all noticed for the first time. "Olivia!" Lizzie giggled as she ran into Olivia's arms. "You're hair's getting long. Guess what? Mom taught me how to braid, want me to braid your hair?"

"I wouldn't trust anyone else to do it," Olivia said, obediently sitting on the floor where Lizzie had instructed her to.

"Elizabeth, it's not nice to ask Olivia to sit on the floor," Kathy said as Lizzie pulled a chair behind Olivia and began running her little fingers through her soft brown hair.

"I don't mind, really," Olivia said smiling politely at Kathy.

It was Dickie's turn to climb up next to Elliot on his bed. He leaned back against Elliot's pillow, and Elliot wrapped a protective arm around Dickie's shoulders.

"How'd you guys know I was here?" Elliot asked, looking in Kathy's direction. All eyes turned to Olivia.

"I was getting sick of listening to you whine and moan, so I called for back up," Olivia said, reaching behind her and tickling Lizzie's leg.

"Well, I'm glad you did," Elliot said, smiling warmly at Olivia. She felt a wave of relief wash over her; she was hoping he wouldn't be angry.

Kathy walked over and sat at the foot of the bed, in the same spot Olivia had occupied only a few minutes ago. She looked at Kathy's face. It seemed paler than usual, and her eyes were dark, they didn't light up like they used to when she was in the presence of her husband. Her hair was shorter, and she looked older than Olivia remembered. The divorce wasn't wearing well on her, either. Olivia liked Kathy, she really did. She was a great mom and she loved Elliot so much.

But somehow, Olivia always felt that Kathy resented her. She knew that Elliot was faithful, but she was jealous of the time he spent with Olivia. Kathy knew Elliot, but not like Olivia did. Olivia knew that unless Elliot ate breakfast in the morning, he'd get sick at the sight of blood. She knew that his first coffee in the morning had two sugars and creamer, and as the day wore on, he took it black. She knew he could go all day without eating, and he claimed he was fine. But she knew that after three hours he got cranky. She knew he liked the taste of pickle on his turkey on rye, but not the actual pickle. She knew that he claimed to hate chocolate, but he secretly ate all of the brown M&M's from Olivia's stash. She knew that he could go only four hours before loosening his tie. He rubbed the bridge of his nose when he felt a sneeze coming on. Or when he was at a crime scene and the victim was a child and he was thinking about his own kids. She knew he rubbed his forehead when he needed caffeine. She knew that he rubbed the back of his neck when he was lying to a perp in the interrogation room. She knew the difference between his work smile and his home smile. He wrinkled his nose just a little bit when talking about Kathy or his kids. And lately, Olivia. But that's where her knowledge of Elliot ended. Kathy knew the rest. She knew just the right words to whisper in his ear after a long day. She knew his left foot, not his right, was his ticklish one. She knew where his secret tattoo was. She knew what Elliot's chest felt like under the sheets. She knew the intimate things about him, things that Olivia could never know.

Olivia was startled out of her trance by a tug on her hair.

"Ouch," she said, instinctively putting her hand up to the back of her head.

"Quit being such a baby," Lizzie said, playfully pulling her hair tighter. Olivia erupted in giggles. She missed these kids. They had such big hearts and were so full of love, always forgiving their father for spending his time helping other people. They had their dad's sense of humor, and Kathy's kindness. Olivia knew that Maureen had her dad's intensity, and he hated that. They fought – a lot.

"Three whole days?" Dickie was asking, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Yeah, you can do whatever you want and Daddy can't yell," Lizzie said matter-of-factly.

"I don't know about that," Elliot said, laughing.

"There, all done, Olivia," Lizzie said, patting her shoulders. Olivia stood up, her bottom sore from the cold, hard linoleum.

"How do I look?" she asked, whipping her head around for everyone to see her new hairdo. By the looks on everyone's faces, she already knew the answer. Elliot was the first to recover.

"Like you're ready for a runway show," he said, nodding at the others. "You did a great job, Lizzie."

Olivia caught Maureen in a yawn, and she realized she had probably had a long day. After all, Olivia had called and woken her up this morning.

"I was thinking of running to grab a cup of coffee. Wanna come, Maureen?" Olivia asked, grabbing her purse off the back of Lizzie's chair.

"Yeah, sure," she said, following Olivia to the door. "Be back in a little bit, Dad."

They were quiet as the rode the elevator downstairs to the coffee cart.

"What can I get for you? I owe you for waking you up this morning," Olivia said.

"Coffee's fine. One cream, two sugars."

"Just like your dad," Olivia said smiling. She ordered and handed the barista correct change and headed to the sofa where Maureen was curled up. She handed one of the steaming cups to her, and Maureen inhaled the rich aroma. Her face instantly lit up, and Olivia knew this truly was her partner's daughter.

"Did you at least have fun last night?" Olivia asked, her eyes peering over the top of her coffee cup.

Maureen's cheeks turned bright pink. "It was my roommate's birthday, so we went out. Our friend is a bouncer at one of the campus bars, so he lets us in." She smiled, and Olivia was glad that Maureen opened up a little bit to her. She knew it was hard for her to talk to her dad. God, Olivia would be scared if Elliot were her father. So she always made a point to check in with the girls, make sure they were making smart choices. Then when Elliot would worry, Olivia could calm his fears somewhat.

"How are your classes going?" Olivia asked.

"Pretty good. I have a test in Western Political Theory Tuesday, so I'll be studying a lot. It's a really great class. That and Short Stories," Maureen answered.

"Reading or writing?"

"Both. We turn in our character analyses and plot next week for our own original stories. I'm kind of nervous, but it's really fun. Dad always said I have a wild imagination."

Olivia knew this to be true. Elliot was really proud of his kids, and he was always happy when they found something to be passionate about. Maureen loved stories. She used to read to the kids before bed every night until she started college last year. She'd tell Elliot these wild stories and Elliot would just shake his head and worry she would turn out like Munch.

"How've you been, Olivia? I haven't seen you in forever."

"Okay, it's been a long couple of weeks, but things are good."

"Are you seeing anyone?"

"Who has the time?" Olivia replied, laughing.

"Tell me about it," Maureen joined in Olivia's laughter. After a few moments, the laughter subsided and Maureen turned serious. "How's dad been? I mean, I know he's sick, but other than that. He seems really distant lately."

"He misses you guys a lot, I know that much. He hasn't really been himself since your mom left." Olivia knew that maybe she was crossing a line, telling Elliot's daughter about his problems. But if anyone could help pull him out of his downward spiral, it would be the blonde haired, blue-eyed beauty in front of her.

"He gets mad a lot. We've been fighting a lot more. I mean, we used to disagree. But now when we do, he pushes and pushes. He doesn't know when to let up. He's hurting. You can see it in his eyes, in his smile."

"Does he sleep?" Maureen asked. But before Liv could answer, she said," Mom doesn't sleep. She cries, yells more. She never used to yell. I know she misses him, but they were so unhappy. They couldn't figure out how to make it work."

Olivia saw the hurt in Maureen's eyes, and she wondered if her life was harder, having two parents who loved her, but couldn't figure out how to love each other. Olivia couldn't tell which pain was worse, Maureen's or growing up without a dad and having a mom who resented her.

"This is when you're supposed to say things are going to get better," Maureen said, looking into Olivia's eyes.

"I don't know if they do," Olivia replied honestly.

"What were your parents like?" Maureen asked quietly. She couldn't possibly know what Olivia's childhood was like. Of course, Olivia had given Elliot the okay to tell Kathy, but she was sure they wouldn't tell the children. She looked into Maureen's eyes and knew that if she told her, Maureen would feel better about her parents' situation. But this was something so intimate, so personal, for Olivia. Olivia had let very few people close to her, and she had only told those people she trusted immensely.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before answering. "I never met my father. He raped my mother when she was in college, and she had me." Olivia looked up from her coffee cup to see the look of sadness in Maureen's eyes. But she didn't speak. She didn't immediately rush over to Olivia and apologize for something that clearly she had no control over. She bowed her head slightly, and Olivia continued.

"For the most part, my mom blamed me for everything that went wrong with her life. I was a constant reminder of the worst day of her life. She drank a lot, she died a few years ago."

"And I thought my parents' divorce was bad," Maureen attempted to lighten the mood.

"Well, if all you know is happiness and love, and something comes along to upset that balance, it can be hard," Olivia explained.

"Do you think he'll be happy again?" Maureen asked. Olivia could tell that she was desperately trying to keep her family from falling apart. A divorce is hard, Olivia could tell from Elliot's behavior. On top of that, this teenager was trying to assure her brother and sisters that their parents were going to be okay.

"I don't think he's unhappy, honey. He's just really sad that he doesn't get to see his babies as much as he wants to," Olivia tried to reassure her.

"He likes you, you know," Maureen said slyly.