A/N: Depending on which side of the Kathy debate you're on, this chapter might not be for everyone. But I think one villain per story is enough and we all know who that is. Your Mark hate in the comments makes me chuckle. But I think I've puzzled out why the man is such a jerk and all will reveal itself in due time. Until then, enjoy the party from yet another perspective.
Kathy didn't know why she felt so nervous as she arranged the chip and pretzel bowls out on the patio waiting for the party to start. It would be just like every other family party they'd ever had. The women would sit in a circle and drink their wine coolers, the men would play lawn games with the boys, and the girls would go off and do their own thing. They'd done it a million times before.
But never with Elliot's partner and her family in attendance. And what's worse, she was the one who told him to invite them. What had she been thinking? Oh, right. She'd gone to her parish priest to ask what to do about feeling so distant from Elliot lately, she'd even been contemplating a trial separation, and he told her to try to make more of an effort to get to know him, not just as her husband, but as a whole person. Husband, father, cop, man. And with that, came learning more about the people he spent his time with, which these days was basically Olivia, and only Olivia, outside of their house.
Kathy really didn't know why she was so jealous of Olivia. Maybe it was because the woman could look gorgeous not only with a pixie cut (something Kathy could never pull off) but also standing in the middle of a funeral home, a place where you generally cry all your makeup off, and look puffy and exhausted. But not her.
Maybe it was the way Elliot always had to stay late to work cases with her, or the way they looked at each other, or that he'd felt comfortable enough to call her to sit with their children when they all had the stomach flu. Maybe it was the way she looked in Elliot's clothes or the way she'd come into the kitchen like she owned the place.
And the problem with it all was that as jealous as Kathy felt of her, she couldn't hate her. Not completely anyway. Olivia was just so nice.
Because how many people would drop everything to come sit with somebody's sick kids, and stay so that they didn't have to fend for themselves with one parent out of the house and the other out of commission? She still hadn't completely forgiven her mother and sister for insisting on that weekend away when she told them the whole family had been sick. But Courtney, always the drama queen, pulled a Jan Brady act about how no one ever paid attention to her big moments and it was always "Kathy, Kathy, Kathy." What was she really supposed to do?
She calmed down a little as her family started filing in. Charlotte had everyone in a big circle trash talking Denny's mistress. Dave was bothering her about finding him a "hot girl to bring to these things," and the girls had run off to play on the swingset. She'd almost completely relaxed when she heard the gate squeak and saw Olivia and her family step into the backyard.
The jealousy was back. Olivia looked beautiful. She was Kathy's complete opposite. Curvy where Kathy was thin. Brunette where she was blonde. Exotic where Kathy was plain. Olivia was the kind of woman men wanted, and Kathy didn't want to entertain the thought that her husband was one of them.
Kathy could at least take solace in the fact that Olivia's husband looked like he'd prefer to be anywhere else but at this party. She'd gotten the impression he and Elliot didn't get along, maybe for some of the same reasons she was wary of Olivia. Because out of the two men, Elliot was definitely more attractive, and he had a better personality.
Kathy tried not to be too obvious watching them as they made their way to the patio, no doubt to talk to Elliot. Olivia's daughter was cute. Kathy knew Elliot knew her, just by the fact that he made an effort to talk to her at the funeral home, but by the looks of how fast she was pulling Olivia in his direction, she seemed to be pretty excited to see him. But Kathy wasn't surprised. He had that effect on children. It was one of the things that made him so good at his job.
She watched her mother-in-law intercept the trio and thought she better step in. They didn't need to get roped into some kind of crazy story. Bernie had been better since she'd been living with them and following her treatment plan, but you don't saddle the new people with the family eccentric when you're trying to make a peace offering.
Bernie left them to go inside, but Kathy was already partway to meeting them in the grass, so she continued.
"Oh Olivia, I'm glad you could come," Kathy said, reaching out and touching Olivia's elbow to stop her.
"Well, thank you for inviting us, Kathy," Olivia said. "Everybody looks like they're having fun."
Fun, by most of her family's definition, was to have a safe place for their kids to go off on their own so they could drink and gossip. Sometimes it was fun, but a lot of times it was exhausting. Her family wasn't upper class per say, but they had a lot of expectations. Getting pregnant at 19 by a man in the military who didn't really know what he wanted to do with his life, sinning against her religion, struggling her way through college because she was too tired to focus on her schoolwork, well, none of that really fit the family plan.
"Oh, my family could have fun anywhere as long as there's wine coolers and a place for them to sit and talk," Kathy said. "Nice to see you again Mark, for better circumstances."
"Yes, definitely better than a funeral home," Mark said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Kathy wanted to roll her eyes at him. She'd assumed the blunt bad attitude at the funeral home had been grief over his mother-in-law's passing, but it was somehow worse today and she didn't like it. She could tell Olivia didn't either by the grimace that crossed her features when he spoke.
"So is this your daughter I've heard so much about?" Kathy asked. "Elliot's been insistent for months that she'd get along well with the girls, so I'm glad they can finally meet."
It was true. As the weather started to get warmer and the kids started to get involved in their spring and summer activities, he kept bringing up Olivia's daughter and how she liked certain things the girls liked, or maybe she'd like to join the softball team with them. He'd wanted them to meet so badly, but Kathy had been resistant. She didn't want Olivia in their personal lives and his work life. But maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
"Me too," Olivia said. "Chelsea, this is Elliot's wife, Mrs. Stabler."
"Hi," Chelsea said, not really looking up.
Kathy realized she must be in a shy stage. Maureen went through one of those around the same age. Kathleen never had a problem with strangers though, despite her dad's best effort at stranger danger talks over the years.
"It's nice to meet you, honey," Kathy said. "Most of the girls are playing on the swingset right now but we're going to have games and even a pinata later so hopefully you'll have a lot of fun."
Olivia squeezed her daughter's hand and looked at Kathy with a soft smile on her face.
"This was really nice of you, Kathy," Olivia said. "I'm glad you asked us to come."
Just another reason she couldn't hate this woman. Why did she have to be so nice, so genuine? Maybe she deserved a little bit of the truth.
"Elliot doesn't really have much family besides me, the kids, and his mom," Kathy said. "I know these parties can sometimes be a little much for him without anybody of his own around."
"Well, I'm very glad we could make it then," Olivia said, meaning it.
"Well, stay, enjoy," Kathy said. "I have to go get the cold stuff out before Elliot's done with the food. But maybe we can talk later?"
She didn't know what they'd talk about. Maybe their kids, maybe the weather. But she wanted to get to know Olivia better. There had to be something about her that Elliot found so interesting, especially if he was always insistent that they were just partners and became friends from the job.
"I'd like that," Olivia said.
Kathy smiled at her and headed for the house. She grabbed the pasta and potato salads and the vegetables for the burgers, cheese, condiments, everything and got them set up outside. She noticed when she made it back to the patio that Olivia and Elliot had her daughter over at the swingset introducing her to the other girls, and that Mark had retreated to the corner of the lawn alone. But not for long, Bernie was coming up fast and she wasn't in the mood to intervene again. If Olivia's husband wanted to be a jerk, he could listen to Bernie ramble for a bit. Maybe it would encourage him to grow a personality.
When Elliot called for everyone to eat she made sure Kathleen and Lizzie got their plates and then helped serve the side dishes.
"Mom I want pasta salad and potato salad with mine," Maureen said, holding out her plate.
Kathy noticed Maureen was helping Olivia's daughter get her food and that Olivia was further down the line with Bernie.
"Sure honey," Kathy said, scoping some of the food onto her plate. "Chelsea, what would you like for a side?"
"Can I have pasta salad please?" she asked, and looked up at Kathy and smiled.
It was the first time she was able to see Chelsea's face, and she was struck by how pretty the little girl was. She was practically all her mother, and thank goodness because her father wasn't much to look at. Kathy did find it funny that the little girl had blue eyes though when neither of her parents did. But then again, she remembered those countless high school science lessons about punnett squares. She'd always been the class example of a "walking recessive gene," being blonde haired and blue eyed.
Kathy scooped some pasta salad onto her plate that Maureen was holding, while Chelsea carried their napkins and silverware.
"You girls all get situated on the picnic blanket and I'll bring you some drinks, okay?" Kathy said.
"Sure, Mom," Maureen said and she slid their plates further down the line.
Kathy passed her serving duties off to one of her cousins and grabbed a box of Capri Suns to take over to the girls. They were in the middle of a very heated discussion about NSYNC versus the Backstreet Boys and which band had cuter members.
"No WAY Maureen," Kathleen said as she'd done many times before. "It's NSYNC forever and Justin is the cutest."
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Maureen asked. "Nick is way cuter than Justin and his hair doesn't look like cooked spaghetti."
"Chelsea, who's your favorite?" Kathleen asked as Kathy approached with the drinks.
"I like JC from NSYNC," she said.
"Aw, and I thought you were on my side," Maureen said with a fake pout.
"Obviously NOT," Kathleen said, smiling. "That's why she's my new best friend."
"Kicking Julia to the curb are you," Kathy said, standing next to their blanket and opening the box.
"She's my school best friend," Kathleen explained. "But Chelsea is going to be my out of school best friend. Mommy, she likes everything that I do. NSYNC, Lizzie McGuire, drawing, Barbies. She has to come over for a sleepover some day. Or maybe I can go to her house because she doesn't have a hundred brothers and sisters everywhere and has her own room."
"Well, we'll have to talk to Chelsea's parents about all that," Kathy said. "But we can probably make something happen."
"Who do you think is the cutest boy band member, Mom?" Maureen asked.
"Definitely Howie from the Backstreet Boys," Kathy said, "He looks like your Dad did when we were kids."
That got a laugh from Maureen and Kathleen and an "ew" from Lizzie. Kathy passed the drinks around, earning "thanks Mom's" and "thanks Aunt Kathy's" from the kids.
"Thank you Mrs. Stabler," Chelsea said as she handed her a juice pouch.
"You can call me Kathy," she said.
"Mommy said it's polite to call grown ups Mr. and Mrs. instead of their first names," Chelsea said. "Except I'm allowed to call Elliot by his name because he's Mommy's friend."
"Well, how about Aunt Kathy then," she said. "When you call me Mrs. Stabler, I feel like an old lady."
That caused all the girls to giggle and her bossy cousin Ashley to say "Well you are, like, in your 30s."
"I think I can call you Aunt Kathy," Chelsea said with a smile.
"Sounds great," Kathy said, closing up the Capri Sun box. "Now, enjoy your food and in a little bit we'll do games, presents, and cake."
That got a cheer out of them all, and when she walked away they'd moved onto which Disney princess they'd want to be if they could be one for a day. She passed out drinks to the boys, noting how much fun Dickie was having with other guys around. It made her think maybe she and Elliot should try for a fifth kid, maybe just to see if they could give Dickie a brother. But five kids sure would be a handful.
As she was walking around checking on everyone she noticed Bernie and Olivia take their plates inside. She scanned the yard for Mark, who was still sitting sullen under a tree, no food, just a beer, looking like his head was going to explode.
"Are you having an okay time, Mark?" Kathy asked, approaching him and perching on the end of the chair Bernie had abandoned earlier.
"Just fine," he said.
"If you'd like I can introduce you to my cousins and brothers-in-law so you can hang out with some of the men," Kathy said. "Or you could always go spend some time with Elliot."
Mark let out a bitter laugh.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "Hopefully we won't be here too much longer. But I doubt your husband wants to spend any time with me. Not that I'm jumping for joy to spend time with him either."
Now Kathy was irritated. It was one thing to be bored, maybe even backward in a group of new people. But to come into her home and say things about her husband? Nope. Not going to happen.
"What's your problem with Elliot?" Kathy asked.
"No doubt the same problem you have with my wife," Mark shot back. "Or if you don't, the one that you should. That they're way too close for platonic partners. I mean shit, Olivia has had all male partners in the past and not one of them has ever stepped foot in our apartment, let alone invited us to their kid's birthday party. You don't find that a little strange?"
Maybe she did. Kathy had always been wary of Elliot's old partner Jo Marlowe too, just because she was a woman. But Jo could have steamrolled them all, Elliot included. Kathy had felt the jealousy of him being around someone like Olivia, but she trusted him. She had to trust him, or she'd end up bitter and rude like Mark. In fact, she'd already been there the night everyone had the stomach flu and she didn't like that look on herself. And she wasn't going to let this jerk bring her back down to that level.
"I'm the one who invited you all here," Kathy said. "Because I trust my husband, and while I don't really know your wife, she hasn't given me a reason not to trust her either. Would it be so bad if our families became friends? If our children spent time together?"
"You might want to take a harder look at things before you jump into that boat," Mark said, taking another sip of his beer.
Kathy didn't even know how to respond to that. She did not like this man at all and she wanted him out of her house. But she wasn't going to cause a scene.
"Fine," Kathy said. "You go ahead and be that way. But I think your daughter is actually having a pretty good time so maybe try not to ruin it for her."
She got up without saying anything else and headed back towards the house where she saw Olivia and Bernie emerging. She had told Olivia earlier she wanted to talk and now she wanted to even more. She had to know what this woman saw in her husband because Kathy could not find one redeeming quality about him. She wondered if this was sometimes how people saw Elliot, the angry, gruff exterior. Maybe there was something she was missing.
"Olivia," Kathy said, approaching her on the patio. "Do you have time to sit and talk now?"
"Sure," Olivia said, seeming a bit nervous. Bernie patted her on the arm and walked off to see Elliot hanging out with the boys on the lawn.
"Would you like to sit?" Kathy asked, gesturing to the picnic table."
"Yeah," Olivia said, sliding onto the bench.
"Sorry you've gotten stuck with Bernie most of the day," Kathy said. "She never really meshed with my family. I'm sure she's just excited to have somebody new to talk to."
"It's okay, really," Olivia said. "I was actually with Elliot on a call the day he picked her up from her incident. I'm glad to see she's doing better."
"She's made a lot of progress," Kathy said. "I think she's enjoyed being here with the kids. And they like having her around too."
"Chelsea adored my mother too," Olivia said. "There's just something about being a grandma that seems special."
"Well, hopefully we'll both get to find out someday," Kathy said.
She didn't really know where to take the conversation next, but luckily Olivia kept it going.
"You and Elliot were young when you had Maureen and Kathleen," Olivia said, sounding more like a statement than a question. "One was so much for me, how were you able to do it with two?"
"How old were you when you had Chelsea?" Kathy asked.
"I was 19," Olivia said. "Still in college."
"That's how old I was with Maureen, and then Kathleen about three years later," Kathy said. "Honestly, I almost didn't make it. Elliot and I almost didn't make it. I even broke our engagement because he worked so much. He went straight from the Marines to the force and then tried to fast-track being a detective. I felt like a single mother."
Olivia nodded but didn't say anything else.
"Did Mark help you out with your pregnancy and when Chelsea was a baby?" Kathy asked.
"Not much," Olivia said. "He was working on his MBA at the time and working as a teaching assistant. I felt like a single mother too."
So she didn't stay with Mark because he was some stellar partner when she was pregnant, Kathy mused. She looked out across the lawn and saw the girls playing again, thinking back on those harder days. She was glad they'd endured them, glad they'd gotten to a place where this kind of thing was possible. She turned back to Olivia who was also watching the scene.
"I'm so glad she's happy," Olivia said. "Chelsea doesn't get to go on too many play dates because of my work schedule, and Mark doesn't really want to be responsible for watching other girls at our house. And I'm a little paranoid about letting her go to other people's houses after what Elliot and I see at work every day."
"Well, Kathleen is already trying to plan their first sleepover," Kathy said. "She's welcome here anytime."
Olivia smiled and Kathy swore she saw the other woman's eyes get a little misty.
"Thank you for that," Olivia said. "I'd trust nothing would happen to her here."
Kathy was just about to make a joke about nobody messing with the house because they knew Elliot was a cop when Mark stalked up to the table.
"Let's go," Mark said, and Olivia looked confused.
"They haven't even played games yet or done presents," Olivia said. "Why don't you go make some friends?"
"I'm ready to leave," Mark said again. It wasn't threatening exactly, but surely wasn't done in a calm voice.
"Mark, Kathy and I are getting to know one another and Chelsea is having fun," Olivia said.
Mark gave Kathy a little sneer.
"I'm leaving now," Mark said. "You and Chelsea can either be in the car or not."
Kathy saw Olivia glance in her direction, embarrassment on her face.
"Please don't cause a scene," Olivia said, dropping her voice a little. "I'll get her. Just, I don't know why you're acting like this today."
"Really?" Mark said, smiling that sick smile again. "Are you sure about that?"
Olivia was about to say something else but Kathy cut in. She'd had enough of this guy, and maybe Olivia wasn't her favorite person, and maybe she didn't really know anything about either of them or their marriage, but this was supposed to be a nice day and this douche bag wasn't going to ruin it.
"Just leave, Mark," Kathy said. "Just go home if you're not having a good time. Olivia and Chelsea can stay. We'll make sure they make it home later when the party's over."
Mark and Olivia both looked at her, surprised. Kathy was honestly a little surprised herself.
"You two are pals now?" Mark asked. "This conversation is between me and my wife."
"Yeah, but it's happening at my house at my daughter's birthday party," Kathy said. "And you're not going to upset any of the people here, whether you drove here with them or not. So if you don't want to be here, just go. Olivia and I are still talking, your daughter is still playing, and everyone else around here is having a good time. If you're not willing to try to do the same, nothing is stopping you from leaving."
"Are you really going to let her fight your battles, Olivia?" Mark asked.
"I wouldn't normally, but she's doing a pretty good job," Olivia said.
"This whole thing," Mark said motioning between Olivia and Kathy and then out to the lawn. "Is such a freaking mess. Stay as late as you want. Hell, stay forever if you want. Because I'm not going to be home when you get there. If you're more willing to fight to stay at some birthday party for your partner's kid than you are for our marriage, then I think I'll just spend some time in a hotel until you come to your senses."
Olivia didn't get to say another word because Mark yanked the keys out of his pocket, walked to the gate and slammed it shut.
Kathy looked across the lawn and caught Elliot's eye and then Bernie's. Both of them made an attempt to get up but Kathy shook her head to let them know she'd handle it.
"I am so sorry you had to see that," Olivia said, clearly embarrassed. "Maybe we should leave."
"Please don't," Kathy said. "Look how much fun the girls are having, and we still have the party activities to do."
"You've all been nothing but nice to us all day and he has to go and act like that," Olivia said. "He knew we were coming for the day. He knew it was more than a few hours."
Kathy bit her lip, unsure of what to say or do next. No wonder Olivia spent so much time with Elliot. No wonder she spent so much time at work when that's what she had to come home to. Here Kathy had been suspicious of something going on between Olivia and Elliot, and yet she was probably just trying to stay away from that jackass as much as possible.
"I'm sorry he brought all that up in front of you," Olivia said, looking down at her hands. "It shouldn't really be public knowledge."
"Olivia, every couple has marriage troubles from time to time," Kathy said. "Elliot and I fight a lot. Especially over how much he works. We always have. I mean is he always like this?"
"He's never loved that I'm a cop," Olivia said. "But this type of behavior has really only come up in the last year or two. We tried therapy but he quit. And I don't know why I'm telling you this. We barely know each other."
Olivia was right. They did barely know each other, and Kathy surmised that maybe that was partially her fault for not taking the time to listen when Elliot talked about work, and not taking the initiative to get to know Olivia better since she'd been in his life.
"You're right," Kathy said. "So maybe this isn't my place, but nobody that loves you should treat you like that in public or in private. I don't really know the details of your relationship, but if Elliot ever talked to me like that or treated me like that, I'd already be on the phone with a divorce lawyer. Please don't take that the wrong way, it's just I don't think you, or any wife, deserves to hear things like that from her husband."
"You're right, Kathy," Olivia said. "It's not your business."
It stung, because Kathy knew her advice was well-intentioned even if it crossed the line.
"But thank you," Olivia said. "I know you mean well."
"I know we're not exactly friends yet," Kathy said. "But if you need someone to talk to…"
Kathy trailed off. She wondered if this was the kind of stuff Elliot and Olivia talked about when they worked. If they bitched about their spouses and that's why Elliot hated Mark and why Olivia hadn't made her own attempts to get to know Kathy better.
"I don't have too many girlfriends," Olivia said with a laugh. "Maybe if our girls start spending time together that'll change."
"Maybe," Kathy said.
She would have liked to talk more, but Kathleen came running over with most of the other girls in tow.
"Mommy, can we start games now?" Kathleen asked.
"Sure," Kathy said. "Do you want to start with pin-the-earrings on Barbie?"
"Yes!" Kathleen cheered.
"Alright, well let's go get everything set up," Kathy said, standing from the picnic table and following the girls to one of the trees where they already had the game set up.
Kathy thought about her conversation with Olivia. Could they ever really be friends? Would she feel better about Elliot and Olivia's working relationships if the two of them made a bond of their own? She didn't really know, but for now, letting Olivia know it was an option would have to be good enough, and if she decided to take Kathy up on the offer, then Kathy was willing to try to make it work.
A/N: So, I never outright hated Kathy, and the whole letter thing just doesn't jive with how they'd developed her in canon up until the drugged-up reveal. I mean, she went to Olivia to get Elliot to sign their divorce papers. She clearly had respect, if not admiration, for Olivia after the accident and Eli's birth. She even called Olivia Elliot's work wife in an episode and genuinely looked happy to see Olivia (or as happy as she could) when she came to the hospital in the return episode. So I don't buy that she ever meant for Olivia to read that letter and it was more her testing Elliot, which he failed in a myriad of ways. So generally from me, you're not going to get Kathy hate. Sorry if that's not your jam. We still got a ways to go here. Trust me, she's going to get mad at a point and if you don't like her, you can get mad at her then lol. Reviews are my fave!
