I would again, love to thank all of you who read and review this story. it means so much when you guys do. it helps keep this story going, so thank you SO much:LivElLittle, SVUCHICA48, mstang.gurl, KaydenceRei, Rexy07, Neela149, liviafan1, tamasit1, Svu Cutie, LivElRocks a lot.

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Chapter 6- Time for some questions

A few weeks passed since the incident and Elliot and Olivia managed to hide their relationship from the precinct. The kids handled the news of Elliot's new living situation very well. They all viewed Olivia as a second mother. There wasn't any doubt in Maureen's mind that her father would find his way to his partner after the divorce. She was just surprised in how long it took them to get there.

When Elliot returned to work, he was put on desk duty for a week. He found himself staying in the crib or the workout room. He found himself praying more than he did and was thankful for the blessings in his life.

He and Olivia's relationship was amazing. They still hadn't made love, but that was her doing, not his. He always saw fear in her eyes when they would reach a certain point... the thin line of control. He knew her fear wasn't for herself, but for him. It was one of the many things he loved about her. He would try and kiss away her fear with understanding long kisses, but knew neither of them wanted to be coddled. He was happiest when he held her in his arms with their breathing in time with one another.

Elliot and Olivia were driving down to the precinct when Elliot's phone rang off. He answered it and smiled into the phone. Olivia stared at him curiously and he laughed at the face she was making. "See you soon," he said ending the phone conversation.

"Who was that?" Olivia asked.

"No one. Im going to drop you off at the precinct and I'll be in soon. Cragen knows."

"Wait, why?" she asked frustrated from her lack of information.

"I... uh..." he had to think fast. "I have an appointment."

"What, with treatments?" she said giving him wide eyes.

"No, no. A dentist appointment," he said trying to cover it up.

"I thought you had a dentist appointment last week?" she asked suspicious of his statement.

"I did, I have a cavity. Nothing to worry about," he said pulling up to the precinct. "I will see you soon." He leaned in and kissed her deeply. "I love you," he said taking in her deep brown eyes.

She smiled at him and gave him another long deep kiss as her fingers had her hands go through his hair. "I love you too, but we cannot do this here. We'll get caught."

"Who cares?" he grinned at her playfully kissing behind her ear down her neck.

She moaned in pleasure and stopped him and found herself looking into his lustrous blue eyes. "If you don't stop, I won't be able to."

"Is that a promise," he said with a wink. She smirked at him and got out of the car. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye," she said heading up for the precinct. She was met with Fin paying Munch a wad of money and grinned. "What bet is it this time, John?"

John smirked at her and laughed, "Um, it was how long it was going to take for you and Stabler to hook up."

She went wide and began to stammer, trying to come up with an excuse before Fin cut her off. "Don't try and deny it, Benson. We saw you with your tongue down his throat in the car just now."

"And you are kind of flushed," Munch said in a teasing tone.

"Shut up," Olivia said moving passed her two laughing coworkers. She moved to her desk and stared at the picture of her and Elliot on her desk. They were at the Annual Police Christmas Formal and he was giving her a hug. He must have known even then she thought to herself.

She was in a daze when she heard her boss say, "Benson! Where the hell is Stabler?"

She shot her head up in surprise and looked at him with suspicion. "He had a dentist appointment. He told me you knew."

His eyes went wide and then turned away from her saying , "Oh... that's right. Um... Benson! You, Munch and Fin go to the scene and then meet with Warner about any physical evidence at the scene."

She gave him a suspicious look and then walked out with the other two detectives to the crime scene.

Elliot entered the coffee shop and saw his oldest daughter sitting at their usual both. He smiled and made his way to her. She stood up and gave him a hug before returning to her seat. "Daddy, I ordered you a espresso roasted coffee. I know you hate creamer, so I put it in mine." He took in his oldest's mature nature and grabbed her hand to quiet her. She stared at him with matching blue eyes and spoke softly. "How are you, daddy?"

"Okay, baby. Okay."

"How is it living with Olivia now?" She said with a smile.

"Wonderful. The transition has been so easy for us. We actually arrive to the precinct earlier."

She laughed at that thought and took a big gulp of her beverage. "Are treatments going okay for you? Are you able to relax?"

"Baby girl, on days that I have treatments, I just want to throw every person I know out the window because they badger me with questions on the lines of how Im doing and such."

"Well, who exactly knows, Daddy?" she asked with a curious stare.

"Okay, lets see. There is Liv, you, your mother, your brother and sisters, Grandma Stabler and the Captain. Not too many baby." He saw her find her strength in her movements and saw himself in her. As she got older, her emotions were bottled up, but he remember recent years where it only took one comment to make her sob the night away. He smiled looking at his brave daughter now and squeezed her hand tighter.

"Daddy, when are you leaving SVU?" she asked taking a deep sip of her drink.

He looked down into his coffee and subconsciously whirled the liquid around the mug with his spoon. He looked up at matching blue eyes once again and smiled sadly, "Im going to talk to Cragen today after this to see about my leave in three months. I want to spend as much time with you, your siblings and Olivia as I can before..." He looked into her eyes which were beginning to well up with tears. He spoke with tears evident in his voice. "Can you get away for about a week sometime in the near future? I was thinking that you and your brother and sisters, Olivia and I should go to Disneyland. You know, I have never been to California Adventure." He smiled sadly at her and held her hand. "We'd have a good time, baby girl."

Her tears escaped her and she sobbed silently. He moved to her and held her close quieting her with comforting words. A waitress saw the scene before her and quickly turned around not to invade their space. When Maureen stopped crying, she looked up into her father's eyes and she smiled at him. "Im sorry," she whispered, wiping her eyes.

"Don't be." He kissed her forehead and moved back to his seat. "It is okay to cry once in a while, Maureen."

"It's a sign of weakness," she whispered to herself.

"No, its a sign of love and humanity," he said holding onto her hand.

She looked into his eyes and remembered one of the reasons for their meeting. "I have it for you."

She dug into her purse and handed him the velvet box. He didn't need to look inside he and he stuck it into his pocket. "When did you get this?"

"Grandma Stabler sent it to me when I graduated. She said to use it in the right time. No time or purpose is better than this, Dad." She moved and squeezed his hand when she felt her cell phone vibrate against her hip. "Hold on Daddy."

"No its okay. Im going to head to the precinct."

"Okay," she said getting up and hugging him goodbye. "Ask Liv if you guys are free tomorrow night. We should have dinner."

"I think we'd like that baby. Good luck. I love you." He turned and headed toward the door.

"I love you too," she whispered to him as he left her. When she knew he was gone, she went to her car and cried heavy sobs. The greatest man she had ever known was dying in front of her and found herself hopeless.

Elliot walked into the empty precinct and smiled at the cold cup of coffee on Olivia's desk. He rested his coat on the coat rack by the door and moved to his desk. He saw a picture of him and Olivia on his desk and smiled at it. It was a halloween party and she came as Snow White. He was Prince Charming. They never even planned it. The picture showed him picking her up in his arms and they both laughing. It was a silly picture and he was happy to have it on his desk.

Cragen saw the silent man at his desk and moved next to him. "Elliot." He looked up with a pair of sad eyes and Cragen nodded his head. "Lets go to my office." He led the way and Elliot followed him.

"Have a seat," he said motioning the chair in front of his desk. They sat in silence and had an understanding. "When will you be gone?" Cragen asked in a dark tone.

"Probably three months, give and take a few days when it comes to a case."

Cragen nodded and stared at his detective once again. "How is Benson handling all of this?"

"Olivia is doing okay. She and I have become closer. She's been very supportive through this." He didn't want to ruin her reputation in the department by revealing that they had a romantic relationship outside work. Though he couldn't care less what people thought of him, he knew Olivia did. So he kept their love a secret from their boss and coworkers.

"Does she know you're here with me right now."

"No, no she doesn't" he said in reply. Cragen nodded and they stayed silent for minutes.

"You know, I can remember all the great police work you have done for the department throughout the years. I can preach to you about how invaluable you are to his precinct. I can tell you that I have been blessed to see you grow has a human being throughout the years that I have known you. But, I won't do that, though. You deserve the truth. You deserve the best." He made his way around the desk and stared at a pair of crystal blue eyes. "You have lived your life to be a fierce protector. I have learned lessons from you these past years that you do not get from school or the academy. You are a good man and it has been an honor to have known you."

Elliot stood up and shook his hand. "Thank you sir. It has been an honor and a privilage."

"Well you aren't off the hook, yet Stabler. Get back to work."

Elliot smiled and exited his office to see Olivia sitting at her desk with her head in her hands. He moved to her and kneeled in front of her. "Liv, you okay?" She looked up and took him up to the roof. When the door closed, she pulled him into her arms and held him. "Liv, what's wrong?"

"When I came back and you weren't here, I got scared. And when I saw you in Cragen's office, my heart stopped. I was so afraid about what you were talking about. If something were to happen to you too soon, I don't know what I'd do." She squeezed him tightly as he soothed her with his touch.

"Im right here. Cragen and I were discussing when Im going to leave SVU. Its not going to be another few months. Don't worry, baby. Its okay."

"Im sorry. I was worried about you."

"It's okay."

"Where were you this morning? Don't say you were at the dentist, because I know perfectly well that you didn't."

"Maureen and I met for coffee before work. I also went back to the apartment and started dinner for us tonight."

"You did what?" she asked with a smile.

"Its cooking in the crock pot in the kitchen."

"You are amazing," She said leaning into him. Before their lips touched, she backed away and walked toward the door. "We gotta get to work, Detective Stabler. Now lets hustle." She winked at him and walked through the door.

He laughed in the air and said to the air, "God I love that woman." With that he walked back into the precinct and prepared for their newest case.