Elliot was a nervous wreck when Liv left to go next door and get Chelsea. He went over to the menu drawer and pulled out options for pizza, burgers, and Mexican because he remembered Chelsea being excited about tacos once before.
Olivia was pretty sure Chelsea was going to be happy to find out Elliot was her real dad. But what if she wasn't? What if she hated him? What was he going to do? She was his peanut and he loved her, and he didn't know if he could take it if her opinion of him changed before she even hit her moody teenager stage.
"What's the surprise, what's the surprise?" Elliot heard Chelsea whisper shouting in the hallway.
"I don't know," Olivia said. "You're just going to have to go in and find out."
He heard Chelsea push the door open and bound into the living room.
"Elliot!" she yelled, hurtling toward the couch and hopping into his arms.
"Hey Peanut," he said.
"It's been so long since I saw you at Kathleen's party," Chelsea said. "Did she have fun at bowling? Did she finish her Lizzie McGuire books yet? Did Maureen have fun at her science camp?"
"Wow," Elliot said. "You've been taking detective lessons from Mom haven't you?"
"I've been reading Nancy Drew this summer since I finished the American Girl books," Chelsea said. "And Nancy says it's important to ask questions."
"Yes, I get interrogated like a perp pretty much every day," Olivia said, kicking off her sandals and joining them.
"Are you going to hang out with us tonight?" Chelsea asked.
"I thought I could stay for dinner if that's okay with you?" Elliot asked.
"Yes, that's so great," Chelsea said. "Mommy can we get take out?"
"Elliot was supposed to pick some menus while I was picking you up," Olivia said.
"I did," he said, pulling them off the table and handing them to Chelsea.
"Ooh, Mommy I want chicken tacos and chips and salsa and guacamole," Chelsea said.
"You're going to turn into a taco," Olivia said. "You always pick Casa Diablo."
"But it's my favorite," Chelsea said.
"Yeah, Mom, it's my favorite too," Elliot said.
"Your favorite is Chinese, don't even start," Olivia said, and he stuck out his tongue at her which caused Chelsea to laugh. "Fine fine, Mexican it is."
Olivia ordered and Chelsea spent most of the time waiting for delivery by telling Elliot all about the books she'd been reading over the summer, and the fact that she and Olivia had been watching Who's the Boss most nights on Nick and Nite before bed.
"And my favorite episode so far is this one where they all have to go get Jonathan from camp," Chelsea said. "And while they're driving up there, they find out that Tony and Angela may have gone to camp at the same time as kids, and they may have kissed at kissing rock. So they go to kissing rock because Tony carved the name of the girl he kissed into the rock. And it wasn't Angela it was Ingrid. But then it starts to rain, just like today, and the camp road gets flooded and they have to go to this motel and they have to wear bedsheets and towels because their clothes are too wet to wear, and then they find out that Angela is really Ingrid and they did kiss at kissing rock all those years ago but they don't tell anybody they keep it a secret from Mona and Sam and Jonathan."
Elliot's head was spinning a little as he looked at Liv over Chelsea's head.
"Really good episode," Olivia said. "Feels like something that could happen in real life."
Of course, he thought, Chelsea would fixate on an episode that may as well have been written about her conception and not even know it.
The food came and they ate on the floor around the coffee table.
"And this is why we don't put our bare feet on the coffee table," Olivia said. "Right, Elliot?"
"Ewww you put your feet on the table?" Chelsea squealed.
"Well Mom was hogging the other end of the couch," Elliot said. "I couldn't stretch out. Plus she sat there too. What's more gross, a butt or feet?"
That earned Elliot a throw pillow to the side of the head, courtesy of Olivia.
When they were done, he offered to clean up while the girls snuggled on the couch.
"Baby, there are a few things Elliot and I want to talk to you about," Olivia said.
Elliot was just putting their leftovers in the fridge and washing his hands. He wanted to find some way to stall. He didn't know if he really wanted to be part of the conversation after all.
"Did something bad happen?" Chelsea asked. "Like what happened to Grandma?"
"Not quite that bad," Olivia said, which Elliot thought was underselling it a bit given that Mark could possibly go to jail for rape, but true, nobody died.
"Do you know what divorce is Chelsea?" Olivia asked.
"When two people who are married decide not to be married anymore," Chelsea said, tilting her head at Olivia. "Are you and Daddy getting divorced?"
"We are sweetheart," Olivia said. "Daddy hasn't been on a business trip. He's been staying somewhere else for a while, but he's going to be away for even longer."
Again, Elliot thought this was underselling it a bit, but he didn't want to rush Liv, so he sat back on the couch and waited his turn.
"When Doug Platt's parents got divorced he had to go back and forth between living at his Mom's house and his Dad's house," Chelsea said. "I don't want to do that."
"I know it's going to be hard not having Mommy and Daddy in the same house anymore," Olivia said. "You might miss him."
"No," Chelsea said. "I don't want to go to his house."
Elliot and Olivia looked at each other again and both were wide-eyed. He was afraid she was going to say Mark hurt her, and he knew for sure he would commit murder if those words came out of her mouth.
"Why not?" Olivia asked. "Did Daddy do something to hurt you or make you afraid to be with him?"
"No," Chelsea said. "I've just been so much happier since Daddy hasn't been here. You don't yell at me unless I do something actually bad, and we listen to music and watch fun TV shows. And you let me pick what we eat and help me pick out outfits and do my hair. Daddy doesn't do any of that and I don't want to live with him. I want to live with you."
Elliot breathed a sigh of relief and he thought he saw Olivia do the same.
"Well, you shouldn't have to go live with Daddy or even visit him," Olivia said.
Elliot could see her biting the inside of her cheek trying to figure out how to tell Chelsea the real reason she'd never be seeing Mark again.
"Daddy did something bad sweetie, and he might be going to jail," Olivia said.
"Jail like where you and Elliot put the bad guys?" Chelsea asked.
"Yes," Olivia said. "And because Daddy did something bad I'm going to get him to sign a piece of paper that says he's not your father anymore and that you don't have to see him ever again if we get divorced. Is that okay with you?"
Elliot saw Chelsea tilt her head from side to side as if considering it thoroughly.
"So if I don't ever see him again and he signs that paper, does that mean I just don't have a Dad anymore?" Chelsea asked. "Like you, Mommy?"
"Not exactly," Olivia said. "You know how your friend Audrey has a step-father. He married her mom but they weren't related by blood or genes?"
"Yeah," Chelsea said. "Are you going to get me a step-father so I'll have a dad after you divorce Daddy?"
"Again, not exactly," Olivia said. "See, Daddy is actually your step-father. You don't share any of the same blood or genes."
Elliot saw Chelsea tilt her head, like she did when she was contemplating something. Like Olivia did when she was contemplating something too.
"Is that why he hated me so much?" Chelsea asked. "Because he knew that? It's like Cinderella and the wicked stepmother. Lady Tremaine didn't like Cinderella because she wasn't her real kid."
"That could be why Daddy wasn't as nice to you as he should have been, yes," Olivia said.
"So does that mean I have a real father somewhere?" Chelsea asked. "Or did he leave because he didn't like me either?"
"You do have a biological father somewhere, and no he didn't leave because he didn't like you," Olivia said. "I never told him that I was going to have you, and then I got married to Daddy, so your real father didn't know about you."
"Can we not call him Daddy anymore since he's not actually my dad?" Chelsea asked. "He never felt much like a dad anyway."
"Sure, we can call him Mark," Olivia said. "But your real father didn't know about you until after I had already married Mark."
"So if he knows about me now, can I meet him?" Chelsea asked. "But what if he doesn't like me? What did he say or do when he found out about me?"
"Why don't you turn around and ask him?" Olivia said, with a smile.
Elliot saw Chelsea turn her head around to look at him. She scrunched her eyebrows together and blinked a few times, then her mouth dropped open and she turned back to Olivia.
"Wait, you're not actually saying that…" Chelsea trailed off.
"Elliot is your real father, baby," Olivia said.
Chelsea turned back to him with the biggest smile on her face, and then she scrambled up and crawled over to him on the couch, throwing her arms around his neck.
"I wanted you to be my Dad so bad," Chelsea said, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Since that day you and Mommy dropped me off at school. I never thought that wish would be true."
Elliot wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm so proud to be your father, Chelsea," Elliot said.
"But wait," Chelsea said, pulling back but sitting in Elliot's lap so she could look at both of them. "Why didn't you tell me this when we met Elliot at your work years ago? Is it because he's married to Aunt Kathy?"
"Sort of," Elliot said. "There's some grown up stuff that makes this all complicated."
"What's so complicated about it?" Chelsea asked. "I want to know."
"A couple more years and we'll explain it a little better," Olivia said. "But for right now, some grown up stuff kept us from telling you right away. But we're telling you now."
"Mommy, if you have to share me with somebody, please don't make it Mark," Chelsea said. "If I have to go to somebody else's house because you're divorced, I'd rather go to Elliot's. Then I could play with Kathleen, Maureen, Lizzie, and Dickie."
"I'm not getting divorced from Elliot, silly," Olivia said. "So you don't have to go live at his house."
"Wait, but Elliot isn't divorced from Aunt Kathy," Chelsea said. "So you guys can't get married."
"Let's not jump too many steps ahead," Olivia said. "Elliot and I don't have to be married to be your parents and to love you. And remember those kids of his you like so much, and remember how you kept asking me for brothers and sisters? Well congratulations, because they're yours now."
"Oh my gosh," Chelsea said. "Kathleen and I really are sisters! And Maureen really is my big sister! Do they know? Can I call them? Is that why they were so nice to me at the party?"
"They don't know yet," Elliot said. "But I'm going to tell them tomorrow."
He hoped they took it well. Chelsea was excited to have the new siblings, but Kathleen and Maureen might not be as happy to hear their parents are getting divorced and it's because they gained a new sister.
"This is literally the best night ever," Chelsea said, hugging Elliot around the neck again.
"Pretty great one for me too, Peanut," Elliot said. "I'm so glad I get to call you my daughter."
"Do you think I can call you Daddy now?" Chelsea asked. "I secretly wanted to for a long time."
Elliot felt his heart beat faster. He didn't expect her to take to this all quite so fast. It was a lot of change at once, but the very best kind.
"If that's something you want to do, I'd love it," Elliot said.
"I love you, Daddy," Chelsea said, planting a kiss against his cheek.
"I love you more, Peanut," Elliot said, kissing her back on the top of the head.
"Mommy it's almost time for Who's the Boss," Chelsea said. "Can Daddy stay and watch with us tonight?"
"I don't see why not," Olivia said, for once not asking him if he had plans or if he had to run home. She knew just as well as he did that he was exactly where he wanted and needed to be tonight.
A/N: Guys, there are only 5 more after this! I kind of can't believe it. Comments and plot holes are always appreciated.
