Elliot pulled into Bernadette's driveway with a heavy sigh "is she still out Lizzie?" he asked while turning off the truck.
"Yeah she is dad she's still breathing but she hasn't moved at all."
Elliot sighed and nodded "okay I need you to check her pockets for her key to the house then when you find it hold on to it. I'm gonna need you to unlock the house and let us in."
Lizzie nodded "I can do that daddy, I don't think I can carry her in though she's to heavy."
He nodded "I know honey either me or Carl will have to do that," he said as he looked to Olivia "can you get inside by yourself? If not Lizzie can have Carl come over here and get her, that or Maureen can help you."
"I think I can do it El," Olivia said with a small smile "take care of your mother, I'll stay behind Lizzie."
He nodded slightly "alright if your sure.."
She smiled some "I am I promise," she said as she got out of the truck and Elliot sighed, then hoisted Bernadette into his arms.
"I take it she passed out?" Maureen asked Olivia as they walked into the now unlocked home.
Olivia nodded "yepp as soon as we drove off."
She frowned slightly and shook her head "I hope dad was serious in red Lobster when he said he would talk to her."
Olivia nodded "he was Mo I'm just afraid the conversation might get ugly whenever it happens."
She nodded "just tell us when it's gonna go down and we'll get Izzabella out of the house."
She nodded "will do thanks sweetheart," she said as Elliot walked into the room "she's tucked into bed in her room, she should be good for the night."
Olivia nodded slightly "good," she said as Elliot stood beside her "you seen Kathleen and Izzabella?"
Maureen smiled "I think they were gonna walk down to the beach, Izzabella wanted to build 1 more sandcastle before it got dark."
Elliot smiled and nodded "ahh you wanna join them?" he asked Olivia.
She smiled "sure we can for a few minutes I always like watching the sunset."
He nodded "sounds good it's close to Izzabella's bedtime anyway so I figured we could look at what she's built then get her to start winding down."
She smiled "sounds like a plan," she said as they intertwined their hands then started to make the trek to the beach.
"It's so beautiful out here," Olivia commented with a smile.
Elliot nodded "yeah I agree it is I see why she moved out here."
Liv nodded "yeah me too," she said as they walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence, just enjoying the light cool breeze and the view of the sunset, moon and stars as when they got to where Kathleen and Izzabella were they saw them hard at work building "that looks nice you two," Elliot said with a smile.
"Thanks daddy! You wanna help us?" Izzabella asked hopefully.
"You know I would but I don't have my swimsuit on and don't wanna get my clothes all dirty, I'll watch you though. You build better sandcastles than I could ever dream of."
Izzabella nodded at him slightly "mommy? Will you help us?"
Olivia gave her a small smile "I don't wanna get my clothes dirty either sweetheart but I'll build 1 with you tomorrow I promise."
She smiled big and held out her pinky finger as Olivia linked their pinky's together for a moment then walked back over to Elliot "does your mom keep any lounge chairs out here?"
He nodded "yeah they're just not to where you can see them unless you look hard," he said as he pulled them out onto the sand.
Olivia slightly smiled and nodded as she sat down and he did as well as they held hands and gazed between the girls happily building and the sky and waves as after a little while Elliot looked at his watch Liv had given him "it's 8 o'clock how long do you wanna give her?"
She smiled "maybe give her a 10 minute warning to wrap it up? She'll need a shower she's got sand all over her."
Elliot chuckled and smiled "yeah she does, sounds like a plan," he said as he then looked back towards the beach "Izzabella you have 10 minutes to finish up then it's a shower then bedtime."
"But I wanna keep building daddy... Please let me keep building...?"
He nodded and gave her a small smile "you can keep building honey, for 10 more minutes and the clock's ticking."
"But 10 minutes isn't that long..."
Elliot sighed slightly "you've already been out here for 30 minutes and your usually asleep by now, you have 9 minutes left tonight to build then you can build more tomorrow."
Izzabella just nodded her head slightly and got back to it as Olivia smiled at Elliot "your a good dad El, firm but fair and that's how you should be."
He smiled some "I'm working on it, I never meant to spoil her like I did I just knew I was to strict with my older ones so i figured I'd try it the other way."
She smiled some "that makes sense, if I've learned anything it's about balance and consistency, I think we're on the right track."
He smiled and nodded "I agree how are you feeling pain wise?"
She sighed "my ribs are a little sore but that's probably expected considering my little tumble, I'm a little tired too but all in all I feel okay."
He nodded slightly "I'm glad to hear that, I figure your morphine will help with the pain in your ribs, I hope walking down here wasn't to much."
She shook her head "it wasn't El it actually made me feel a little normal again and I've been craving that since you found me."
He nodded slightly "I know you have sweetheart you know though that none of this has changed how strong, brave and independent I know you are right?"
She nodded slightly "I know I guess it's just changed how I feel about myself."
He nodded slightly and rubbed her back "well for what it's worth I think you've done exceptionally well, you've been eating, you've done things, gotten fresh air, spent time with cap, the kids... That's more than most people in your situation would have already done."
Olivia nodded slightly, conceding to his point as she then leaned further into him and started to shiver feeling cold "El I think we should all get inside."
Elliot nodded slightly but frowned in worry at the fact that she was shivering in fifty degree weather "Izzabella! It's time to head inside sweetheart!" he called.
"Five more minutes daddy... Please?..."
Elliot shook his head slightly remaining firm in his decision "no sweetheart it's starting to get dark out here and your already 10 minutes past your normal bedtime."
"But daddy..."
Elliot sighed and shook his head "no buts, it's time for your shower, story then bed your gonna have a long day tomorrow."
Izzabella looked to Kathleen for help but she shook her head "I can't overrule your daddy girly cuz he's mine too," she ruffled her hair "go on and we'll build more sandcastles tomorrow."
Izzabella just nodded slightly and trudged up the beach to where her parents were "what's with the frown kiddo?" Olivia asked.
Izzabella sighed "I wanted to keep building..."
Olivia nodded slightly "well the better you rest tonight the more energy you'll have to build them tomorrow right?"
She nodded slightly "I guess so..."
Olivia just nodded "mmhmm come on then, take your dad's hand," she said as they all walked back to the house, 1 of Elliot's arms wrapped around Olivia, the other holding Izzabella's hand "looks like someone rolled around in the sand for a while," Maureen commented with a smile once they made it back to the house.
Izzabella just shook her head as Lizzie frowned "someone looks sad."
Elliot sighed "she wasn't ready to leave the beach and go to bed."
"Ahhh," she said knowingly "you want me to clean her up for you guys?"
"Only if you want to I can do it," Elliot said.
Lizzie smiled "I don't mind dad really," she said as she took her and they headed to the guest bathroom to get her cleaned up.
"You wanna have a seat on the couch for a few? I don't know where we're all sleeping yet," Elliot said.
Olivia nodded "sounds good to me El," she said as he slightly smiled and ripped a page out of 1 of Bernadette's notebooks "does anyone have a pin?" he asked while helping Liv sit.
"I have a lead pencil will that work?" Maureen asked.
Elliot nodded "yeah thanks honey," he said as once he had it he started quickly scribbling down a list "whatcha writing there El?" Olivia asked curiously.
He sighed "a grocery list which brings me back to why I seemed pissed off earlier. Mama in her infinite wisdom has decided to plan Izzabella's birthday party here for tomorrow at 3 o'clock, expects me to make the stew for it. Does she not realize how much fucking time goes into preparing that? How much stuff we're gonna need for it? Ugh I love her honey I really do but sometimes I really, really don't like her that much."
Olivia nodded slightly recognizing his anger and his need to vent as she kept her eyes on him "and you wanna know what's worse?"
"What?" she asked attentively and calmly.
He sighed "she invited all her elderly friends. People that Izzabella doesn't know, hasn't even met before. I just don't get it Olivia, I don't get how this could even be fun for her, she's not gonna know anybody, well anybody besides us and the kids of course and we don't even have a cake, dammit we don't even have the money right now for a store bought cake!" he said as his voice steadily rose in volume and he punched the end table with his fist angrily.
Olivia just sat still, calm, neutral faced and quiet as Carl walked over hearing what he misunderstood as confrontation "are you alright Olivia?" he asked.
She nodded her head and waved him away as he shook his head.
Olivia nodded again and Carl shook his head again "I'm not going anywhere while he's hitting things your to fragile."
Olivia glared slightly "I'm not fragile."
Carl shook his head disagreeing with that and stood in front of her as Elliot's rage started to dissipate "y-you okay Liv? G-God did I trigger you?"
She nodded "I'm fine El I promise Carl just heard you hit the table and grew concerned."
He nodded slightly "I'm sorry honey, m-my anger got away from me I-I'm sorry."
She shook her head "you have nothing to be sorry for Elliot you didn't break the table every things good."
He sighed slightly "that table is the least of my worries," he said as he hesitantly put his arm on the back of the couch behind her and she leaned into it with out hesitation.
"You guys good here?" Carl asked still standing in front of Olivia.
Olivia nodded "every thing's fine Carl you never had anything to worry about we weren't arguing he was just venting."
Carl glanced at Olivia's face closely, looking for signs that she wasn't being truthful as when he saw none he nodded slightly and stepped away as Elliot then pulled her into his arms "sweetheart I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said as he rubbed her back gently.
Olivia shook her head slightly "Elliot you did nothing wrong honey, nothing at all you don't have to apologize for someone walking in in the middle and getting the wrong idea."
He sighed "b-but what if... What if I had..." He left the rest unspoken as he started to grow emotional.
Olivia shook her head "you wouldn't have, Elliot you knew exactly what you were hitting."
He nodded slightly conceding to her point as he continued to rub her back "when we make your first therapy appointment I'm gonna see someone too, get this rage under control."
Olivia nodded her head slightly "I support you El, whatever you need to do, I have an idea though that I think would really help you."
He nodded "what's that? I'm open to anything."
She smiled some "it's called a rage room, you go in, pay for an hour and they let you throw things, hit things, destroy things with no consequences."
He nodded slightly "I like the sound of that, it sounds to good to be true though."
She nodded slightly "I'll look it up tomorrow, see if there are any catches we should know about and exactly how much it costs to do it."
He nodded "sounds good sweetheart, umm," he sighed "if I'm not in there with you when you wake up in the morning I don't want you to worry. With the unwanted guests planned to get here at 3 I'll have to start prepping to cook around 8:30. Although I guess I shouldn't say they're all unwanted 2 of them are gonna decorate."
She nodded slightly "I understand El really I don't expect you to be in there with me every minute at night it's unreasonable, I'm glad her friends are gonna help too, also about the cake why don't you just add a box of chocolate cake badder and a can of chocolate icing to the list? I'm sure Izzabella will like a cake baked from home just as much as a store bought one."
He sighed "I doubt that she's gotten a store bought cake for her birthday every year."
Olivia sighed softly and rubbed his back gently "El honey she's only 3 if we decorate it enough with food coloring she probably won't even notice the difference."
He nodded slightly "I hope your right," he said as every one started to sit down somewhere in the living room as Izzabella had been all cleaned up "okay we all need to figure out where we're all gonna sleep," Elliot announced.
"I can stay in with grandma B, make sure she's okay during the night her bed's big enough for the both of us," Kathleen said.
"I can take the couch I don't need much room," Lizzie said.
Elliot nodded "thank you girls, that leaves the love seat and 2 bedrooms to choose from."
Maureen nodded "how much space do you and Liv need at night?" she asked.
"Not much," Elliot said.
She nodded "you and Liv could take the twin sized bed then and me and Carl could sleep in the full sized one, we don't sleep in each others arms at night."
Elliot nodded and looked to Olivia "you good with that honey?"
She nodded "yeah that works for me, Lizzie are you alright with Izzabella taking the love seat?"
She nodded "yeah of course me and you have become friends right sweetie?"
Izzabella nodded with a bright smile as Elliot smiled "alright that's settled then," he said as he got up and taped the grocery list to the fridge "I need whoever wakes up first in the morning to go to the grocery store and buy all the items on the list," he said as he taped Bernadette's debit card to the list.
"Whose card is that?" Lizzie asked.
Elliot slightly smiled "it's your grandmother's card, she planned the party with out mine and Liv's input and she expects me to do all the cooking so she can buy what I need for it."
"Shouldn't you ask her first though dad?" Lizzie asked warily.
He shook his head "she's the one who chose to drink to much and pass out in the truck so no I'm not waking her up to get her input. Does anyone else have any other questions?"
Kathleen nodded "what if you wake up first?"
He sighed "then I'll go get the stuff on the list."
She nodded slightly as every one started to head to their sleeping spots "good night sweetheart, sleep well," Elliot said to Izzabella as he kissed her head and tucked her in on the love seat.
She smiled slightly and yawned "night daddy," she said as once Olivia hugged and kissed her goodnight she fell asleep.
"Wow this room's tiny," Olivia said as she laid down on the small bed knowing it was time for her burn care.
Elliot nodded in agreement "it sure is. Is it to small? If you think you'll be claustrophobic we can move somewhere else or leave the door open."
"I should be fine El really, honey I know this is a lot to ask but please, please stop worrying so much about me I'm getting stronger."
He nodded slightly and kissed her head "I know you are love I can't help that I worry though, I'm not trying to be patronizing I promise it's just..."-
"You love me and you care, I know El and I'm not upset about that I don't want you to misunderstand I just want you to know that I'm getting stronger every day and I'm gonna be the Liv you know again soon, not the fragile woman I've been the past few days, I don't like that woman and I'm trying El, I'm really trying to be strong again."
He nodded and kissed her forehead "I know you are honey and I'm proud of you for it, I love your resilience just please don't push yourself to far and hurt your recovery? That's all I ask."
She nodded slightly "I promise to try not to."
Elliot nodded slightly and accepted that as an answer as once all her burns had been treated and her meds had been taken they laid down together and fell asleep holding each other close.
Around 3 AM Olivia began growing restless as she was going into a nightmare "n-no," she whimpered in her sleep.
Elliot woke slightly hearing her distress "shhh, shhh your safe honey," he whispered as he ran his fingers through her hair.
Olivia began to relax as her subconscious recognized his presence as her dream became pleasant instead of terrifying "mmmmhmm," she moaned in approval at the soothing motion as that took over her dream like state.
Elliot smiled slightly "there we go sweetheart, that's it your safe," he whispered softly as he continued the motion until she was sleeping deeply again then fell back asleep himself.
The rest of the night was uneventful as he woke up for good around 15 till 8 as he heard a car pull into the drive — good someone else went to the store, I can lie here with Liv for a while longer— he thought to himself as he did just that.
Time passed though as he sighed quietly to himself when the time reached 8:25 "ugh I don't wanna move..." he whisper mumbled to himself as he was worried that Liv might have another nightmare and need him as he kept holding her close while he thought.
After a few more minutes of laying there he finally thought of an idea as he grabbed a napkin from off the nightstand and scribbled a note onto it for her as he then gently laid her down, tucked her underneath the blanket, laid her phone near by then grabbed his and quietly crept out of the room.
"Morning dad, what's with the weird silent walk?" Kathleen asked.
Elliot chuckled slightly "didn't wanna wake Olivia up."
"Ahh," Kathleen said with a knowing nod "I got all the stuff you needed."
He smiled slightly "thanks honey how did mom do last night?"
She smiled slightly "she didn't wake up once, she's still sleeping now I guess."
Of course she is, she did all the planning but expects me to do all the work, he thought to himself as he just nodded slightly "alright then I'm gonna go out on to the patio where she keeps dad's grill and get started, do me a favor though would you?"
She nodded "of course dad what do you need?"
He sighed slightly "peak into the room where Liv is for me every little while until she wakes up and if she seems scared or is moving around a lot in her sleep send me a text."
Kathleen nodded slightly "alright I can do that."
He smiled some "thanks, also when Carl wakes up ask him to head outside and start getting the tables set up."
She nodded slightly "will do dad love you."
He smiled slightly "I love you too honey," he said as he then headed outside to get started.
In the bedroom Olivia slept deeply until around 9:30 as she then went into a nightmare as in her head they were in the beach house and she had just subdued Lewis "one move lights out," she said.
Lewis remained dossal for a few minutes as the next thing she knew Elliot was in the room with them as in her moment of distraction Lewis managed to take the gun from her hand and shoot Elliot 3 times killing him instantly as the shots hit his temple, neck and heart "Elliot!!!! Elliot no don't die!!!" she cried in the dream as his blood was every where and Lewis began torturing her all over again.
Olivia shot awake in a cold sweat "E-Elliot? Elliot? W-Where are you?" she asked while looking around franticly as in her current emotional state she had forgotten about their discussion from the night before.
Not seeing him she began to grow more worried as just before she was about to cry out or go searching for him she found the napkin where his head would normally lay as she unfolded it and read the writing inside.
I stayed as long as I could had to get the stew started. Cooking it on the patio, took my phone out with me, yours is on the table, text me if you need me and I'll come right in or join me if you like, love El.
Olivia sighed in relief as her heart rate started to slow down as once her fingers stopped trembling she grabbed her phone and pulled up his name deciding that texting him would give her the piece of mind that the dream wasn't real Morning El, she sent.
The 3 dots showed up on her phone almost immediately as she smiled in total relief and completely relaxed when she received his response "morning sweetheart, (smiling face with hearts emoji) (face blowing a kiss emoji.)
Olivia sent the emojis back to him you on the patio still? she sent in a second message.
El: Yepp a cooking away, stirring every few minutes you need me?
Liv: no every thing's okay, might walk out in a few.
El: Okay, love you beautiful.
Liv: Love you too handsome.
After that message she put her phone down and slowly made her way out to the patio as she went up to him and hugged him tightly not letting go.
Elliot returned the hug in kind as he held her in his arms as after a couple minutes he began to grow worried "honey what's wrong? What is it?" he asked softly.
Olivia shook her head "nothing's wrong I just wanted a hug."
Elliot nodded slightly "o-okay? Well you know they're always unlimited," he said using humor to try and hide his concern.
She nodded and slightly smiled "I know they are," she said as after another minute or so she pulled back "you need me to do anything?"
He shook his head "I've got every thing covered out here love thank you though."
She nodded "of course if you need anything just text me," she said as she stepped away slightly and watched him stir the food for a moment as she then started to step away.
"Sweetheart what's wrong?" Elliot asked softly, concerned by her behavior but she was already gone as he just sighed slightly and tilted his head in thought.
"Good, I'm not the only one who thought that was totally weird," Carl said.
Elliot sighed "something had her shaken up but I don't know what it could have been maybe I should have stayed with her."
Carl shook his head "she's a grown woman who told me straight up she wasn't fragile last night so I doubt that's it."
Elliot sighed "what could it be then? Could somebody have acted rowdy in the house or something?"
Carl shook his head "nah I doubt that. I bet she's PMSING Maureen acts a little weird during that."
Elliot sighed "that's TMI about my daughter man I don't need to know that stuff and I doubt that's the problem, I think I'm just gonna go inside for a while and sit with her can you keep an eye on this?"
Carl shook his head "no way man this is your recipe and I'm not gonna be the person to mess it up by doing something wrong, you realize how many people would hate me?"
Elliot shook his head "no one will hate you man all the ingredients are already in there all you have to do is stir it every few minutes and add vegetables here and there."
Carl shook his head "I'm not doing it to many people love your stew and I'm a terrible cook."
Elliot just sighed heavily "I don't care if the stew isn't perfect Carl please... Please do this for me. Let me see what's wrong with Liv if I can get her alone she'll tell me what was bothering her."
Carl sighed "Mr. Stabler we probably just both overreacted, she's fine, she looked fine."
Elliot just sighed heavily and hung his head as he went back to stirring and tried to push her weird behavior to the back of his mind but that was more and more difficult every second as he resolved to just keep his hands busy by stirring and that's what he did.
10:30 AM, inside the beach house.
"Mommy I'm hungry," Izzabella said from her seat on the couch as she was watching cartoons "where's daddy?" she added as an afterthought.
Olivia nodded slightly "what would you like to eat kiddo? I'll fix it for you the best I can daddy's busy outside right now."
she nodded slightly "can I have bacon and eggs?"
Olivia nodded "of course kiddo," she said as she headed into the kitchen and managed to get the food on the stove as she then went in search of her morphine since she needed her morning dose as she sighed when she couldn't find it as she then went back to the stove and stirred the eggs through her pain.
As they were cooking she put biscuits in too as she ended up just using both hands to cook the food not caring about the pain as she found it much easier that way as after much hard work and her wrist being burned by the hot ggreace the food was done "Izzabella? Sweetie can you come help mommy?" she called.
Izzabella came running into the kitchen as Olivia slightly smiled and handed her a paper plate with 2 bacon egg biscuits wrapped in napkins "will you take this plate outside to daddy and uncle Carl? Your plate will be on the table waiting for you when you get back."
Izzabella nodded with a bright smile and started to run off "sweetie wait!" Olivia called as she turned back to her "where did your sisters go?"
"They went bye bye," she said as she then ran off as Olivia nodded slightly to herself and sat Izzabella's plate out as she then fixed Bernadette a biscuit for when she awoke.
As the morning ticked on Bernadette finally awoke as she had a hangover from hell and she ate her breakfast but did nothing else as Olivia was tasked with making the cake herself as she struggled to open the bottles and cake box but used her perseverance and will power to get the tasks done as thankfully measuring the ingredients was a bit easier to do as once that was done she sighed in relief and sat down, the pain crashing over her body in waves as silent tears fell from the intensity of it as she caught her breath.
After giving herself about 5 minutes of rest she sighed shakily and stood back up, determined to finish what she had started "w-was your food good sweetie?" she asked Izzabella seeing she was through eating.
She smiled brightly and nodded "mmhmm."
Olivia slightly smiled "g-good I'm glad, p-put your paper plate in the garbage for me please," she said as she found the hand held mixer and began mixing the ingredients.
Izzabella nodded slightly and threw her plate away as instructed as she noticed Olivia struggling and ran over to her "can I help mommy?" she asked in a cheery voice.
Olivia shook her head slightly as the cake badder was flying out every where "n-no thank you sweetie this is to dangerous for you to be doing," she said as she stopped the mixer and placed the bowl in the sink.
She just nodded slightly "can daddy help? I can get him."
Olivia shook her head slightly "daddy's busy baby just go on back in there and watch tv okay I'll be in there in a little while."
Izzabella nodded slightly and ran off as after a few more minutes of persistence Olivia managed to finish mixing the cake as once it was in the oven she cleaned the mess she had made on the counter the best she could then went into the living room and sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh.
Izzabella smiled happily when she saw Olivia sit down as she started to play with her hair "I like your hair mommy it's soft."
Olivia smiled some "thank you sweetie," she said as she made herself comfortable but kept her head to where Izzabella could reach it.
Izzabella played with her hair for a few more minutes as she then looked to her "mommy can we build our sandcastle now? You promised."
Olivia sighed slightly as her body strongly protested her moving "a-alright honey let me grab an apple to eat while we walk then we can go okay?" she said as she saw Maureen, Kathleen and Lizzie walk into the house.
Izzabella nodded "okay," she said with a bright smile as a moment later they were heading towards the beach.
Outdoor patio, 11:45 AM.
"How's the stew coming along?" Carl asked as he finished putting plastic coverings on the outdoor tables.
"It's coming along fine every time I go to move though it needs to be stirred again."
Carl nodded "damn man is it usually that difficult to make?"
He nodded "sometimes, that's why I only make it when I wanna invest all my time and energy into it. You seen Liv?"
He shook his head "no man she's probably just in the house chillaxing your mom's awake so she's probably baking I saw her bedroom light on."
He nodded slightly "maybe," he said as he stirred the stew a little more "I'm gonna go inside and throw this plate away I'll be right back."
"There's a dumpster right over there man," Carl said pointing in the general direction.
Elliot nodded "I know I've got eyes man but I'm gonna use the one inside you can watch the stew for 2 minutes I'll be right back."
Carl smiled and nodded knowingly "alright alright you'll see she's fine though, I'm not gonna touch anything."
Elliot nodded "stir it, watch it, try some I don't care," he said as he headed inside and threw his garbage away "morning dad," Lizzie said as she stopped blowing up balloons for a moment to talk to him.
"Morning sweetie I see you guys got decorations who paid for them?"
Lizzie smiled some "Mo did, she bought a piñata too said since they didn't bring a present up here she wanted to make sure the party was nice."
He nodded and slightly smiled "tell her I said thank you, what's cooking in the oven?"
"I don't really know, maybe it's the cake?"
Elliot nodded slightly as he opened the oven and looked "yepp that's what it is do you know whose making it?"
She shook her head "no dad I don't, maybe it's grandma B? She's reading a book on the love seat and the timers on, she could be waiting for it to go off."
He nodded slightly "yeah maybe, you seen Liv and Izzabella?"
She nodded "they were heading down to the beach to build a sandcastle."
He nodded slightly "thank you sweetie," he said as as he was heading outside to go towards the beach Carl called for him as he sighed slightly and jogged to the patio "what do you need?" he asked.
"Can you hold this ladder steady for me? The wends up and I'm trying to hang these streamers."
Elliot sighed and nodded "yeah sure. Where's Maureen?"
Carl sighed "she's wrapping the presents that Kathleen and Lizzie brought, I swear this whole party idea wasn't thought through enough."
Elliot nodded "yeah you don't have to tell me that, this is the most scattered and unorganized event I've ever been a part of since I moved from home," he said while holding the ladder still.
Carl nodded slightly "I'm sorry man, at least every thing's getting done though right?"
Elliot sighed and nodded "I guess so, as long as Izzabella enjoys it and Liv's alright then I'll consider it a success."
Carl nodded slightly "did you find Olivia?"
Elliot shook his head "no I guess she's down at the beach that's what Lizzie said."
Carl nodded "that's a good thing then, that means she's fine and feeling great," he said as he finished hanging the last streamer and climbed down.
Elliot nodded "maybe your right, your probably right I just need to see for myself that she's okay before I can completely relax."
Carl nodded slightly "look I know I've given you a hard time about how much your worrying today man but deep down I get it if it were Mo I'd be the same way," he sighed "if you promise me I won't mess the stew up I'll keep an eye on it while you walk down to the beach."
"You won't Carl, you won't I promise thank you man, thank you," he said gratefully as he rushed off quickly before he could change his mind.
Elliot was at the beach with in record time as he looked around the area but didn't see Olivia or Izzabella anywhere as he frowned and shook his head then started making his way back up towards the house "Elliot!!" Carl called.
Elliot sighed heavily "what?" he asked as he ran back over.
"The grill stopped working... It just stopped what do I do?"
Elliot sighed "it probably needs charcoal, I-I'll go look for some," he said as he hurried off to look for it and Kathleen walked outside with the full piñata. "How are things going in there?" Carl asked her as they set it up.
She sighed "fine I guess Lizzie almost has all the balloons blown up and Mo just pulled the cake out of the oven."
He nodded "that's good, is Olivia doing alright? Your dad's stressing about it out here so much that it's stressing me out too."
She sighed "I don't really know Carl she looks pale but when I asked her if she was okay she said she was fine so."
He nodded a bit "I doubt she'd lie about it, if she wasn't fine she'd say so, good when your dad gets back I'll tell him she's fine."
Kathleen just nodded slightly "I've gotta get back inside and help decorate the cake, Lizzie'll be out here with the balloons when she's through with them."
Carl nodded slightly "is your grandma helping with anything?"
She sighed "last I saw she was sitting on her ass but she might have put the cake in , somebody fixed breakfast too and it couldn't have possibly been Liv."
Carl nodded slightly "alright, well thanks for helping me set this up," he said as Elliot put more charcoal in the grill and got back to stirring.
Inside the house, 12:45 PM.
"Where are your friends Berni? They were supposed to be decorating and they're almost an hour late," Olivia said.
"I have no idea dear they might be stuck in traffic or they might have found something more exciting to do today."
Olivia sighed in exasperation "You don't say your gonna do something then bail last minute that's not being a good friend and that's not how life works."
Bernadette frowned "somebody has a temper today."
Olivia sighed "well your the one who has done absolutely nothing today so you can talk to me about my temper once you've done every thing I've tried to do today with a broken wrist with out pain meds, I need some air," she said as she stepped out of the room and started to make a cucumber salad for anyone who was hungry before the stew was through.
Once she was gone Bernadette sighed heavily and went outside onto the patio "Elliot! Elliot Olivia yelled at me..."
Elliot looked over at her "Olivia hardly ever yells and she usually has a good reason for it so what did you do?"
She scoffed in disbelief "what did I do? She yelled at your mother and your wondering what I did?"
Elliot nodded "yepp what did you do?"
Bernadette sighed "she asked me where Gladys and Philip are because they were supposed to help and are late, I told her they were probably either stuck in traffic or found something better to do today and she got angry, said they were bad friends and that you couldn't just bail when you said you'd do something because that's not how life works."
Elliot nodded "that's the truth. What else?"
She sighed "I told her she seemed to have a temper today and she said that I was the one who has done nothing all day and that I could speak about her temper once I had done every thing she's done today with a broken wrist, you can't let her speak to me that way Elliot."
Elliot sighed heavily and went to say something but before he could Izzabella came running out onto the patio in tears "daddy! D-Daddy h-help m-mommy f-fell down. S-She fell down and can't get up," she cried in hysterics.