The days pass quickly. She's only seen Elliot once more this week at pick up. Her nanny, Caroline, was gracious as always and grabbed Ophelia for her when work was busy as ever. That's the thing with being a nurse, work was unpredictable. They confirmed their plans once again in person yesterday and soon enough this morning had come. Her daughter was bouncing off the walls. Just excited to see her new friend outside of school.
She would be lying if she said she wasn't excited to see her new friend too.
They walked hand and hand like always as they headed the 20 minutes walk towards the park. The weather was warm but not as insufferable as it had been the entire summer. The heat was finally letting up as the city prepared for fall. Ophelia had picked out a pair of denim shorts with daisys embroidered on them because Katie said "she was wearing them too".
She wonders if this is the beginning of a lifelong friendship for her daughter. The kind you watch written out in movies, the one she wished she had gotten during her own childhood. Granted their only five years old and it's the first week of school, but the girls were already inseparable.
"Ophelia!" Her daughters name was called by a familiar voice and they turned around to see Katie and Elliot walking several feet behind them.
"Katie!" She was quick to turn around and run towards her friend, completely forgetting about her mother. The girls hugged as if they hadn't seen one another in weeks. She looked on with a satisfied smile as they became a giggling mess almost tumbling to the ground.
She had been so distracted she hadn't noticed Elliot staring right at her with that familiar boyish grin she's getting a little too used to.
"You guys are coming from the same direction as us. You live close by?" Olivia met up with him.
"Right over there in the tall dark building," he points.
"You won't believe this but we're on the fourth floor there," she points in the same direction.
"You're kidding me. We're on the ground level. Play dates just got a whole lot easier," they start their walk just a foot or so behind the girls.
"It did," she laughs and they walk a few blocks in silence just listening to the girl's nonsense.
The neighborhood park is just as busy as expected. Kids of all ages run around chasing one another, tackling the large slides, and compete to see who can go the highest on the swing set. Olivia and Elliot hung back on the park bench watching for their two littles, making sure they stayed in sight.
"So…" Elliot leads as he fiddles with the iced coffee he had grabbed from a cart near the park. Olivia perked up a bit and looked over at him for a moment making sure not to keep her eyes off the girls for too long.
"I was thinking that since we live in the same building we could order in for lunch and give the girls a little more play time," he looks at the girls a moment longer before looking over at her. It's not lost on her that it's become more than about playdates and surprisingly she's okay with it. She wants her daughter to make friends of course but she's willing to get to know Elliot a little more along the way.
"That sounds perfect actually," the corners of her mouth upturned just the slightest. "I can't tell if it's a blessing or a curse you're just a few floors up."
"As long as work lets me and you're okay with it, I think making this a weekly thing will be a good thing. For all parties involved," he adds on the last part with another look over at her and the message is heard loud and clear. The problem was she hadn't flirted nor dated in almost a decade. Rusty was an understatement.
"The girls will love this. I think I will too," she tries her best to reciprocate the energy. The arch in his eyebrow tells her he's picked up on it perfectly fine. "So work…I noticed the badge. You a cop that wears fancy three piece suits?"
"Something like that. I'm a Captain at the special victims unit in Manhattan, so I'm not really chasing down perps anymore. Hence the investment on the nice suits," he shrugs his shoulders and takes a sip of his coffee. "What about you? I see you in scrubs everyday. Are you a doctor?"
"No," she shakes her head and laughs lightly at his assumption. "Maybe some day but for now I'm a nurse examiner for sexual assault survivors. I'm sure we've crossed paths before."
"Maybe so," another sip and he looks on at their girls make a run for the two swings that have freed up. "What made you want to specialize in that?"
"Oh um," this question always comes and it never gets less uncomfortable to answer. She blows out a breath and her hands rub against her thighs out of nervousness. Elliot works sex crimes, she's sure he would be the most understanding out of anyone she's told. But she's not sure she's ready for the look of pity from him just yet. "It's a long story I don't want to bore you with just yet," she avoids eye contact with her answer and looks on at the girls swinging next to one another. He picks up on the change in her demeanor and figures it'll be a conversation for another time.
"You?"
"I was rotated here and I just never left. Something about having my own little girl made me wanna stay and protect as many as I could," his answer is simple and God she wishes she could say the same for herself. "Never thought I'd be able to be a captain and raise Katie, but we're making it work," and with that she smiles as she looks over at him. Something about a man being a good father.
"You and her mother?" He shifts and leans his head back to stare up at the blazing sky before looking over at her.
"No actually we lost her to a hemorrhage after she gave birth," well shit.
"Elliot I'm- I'm so sorry."
"It's been a long five years but we're doing okay," he looks over at her all of a sudden with a sorrowful smile. "Kathy and I were together 5 years and married for 3 of those years before we had Katie," he looks over at his little girl swinging and giggling loud enough to light up the entire park. "She asks me all the time about her mama. I just wish there was more that I could give her besides narratives of my own memories," there's a brief silence between them. Grief still fills his voice all these years later and she can only imagine the pain he's gone through. Hell, it feels like she's going through it partially after her divorce from David.
"She's an amazing little girl. You've done a beautiful job raising her," she looks over at him and chews on her bottom lip debating on asking her question. "How did you get through doing it all on your own? Because I feel like I'm drowning here trying to be the best mother to Ophelia while trying to get through this divorce," she admits and she hates the tightness forming in her throat. It's been months of doing this on her own. She had a few close friends but her pride keeps her from asking for help.
"Honestly? My family helps me out a ton, especially my mother. If I didn't have her…I don't even want to think about it," he sighs and looks over at those sad brown eyes of hers and takes a chance turning his body to face her directly. "I know we just met and it's probably not the best idea for some stranger to offer help but if you ever need anything, I'm literally just a phone call away. Being a single parent is hard but I've done this the last five years. You're just getting started," he stretched out his hand across the bench with the palm of it facing up. A bold move on his part but for her he's willing to take the risk. There's something different between them and he can't quite pinpoint the line between friendship and something more, but he knows they met this way for a reason.
Her hand slid into his feeling the gentle squeeze of his fingers around hers before he released them all together. "Thank you, Elliot," she manages to choke out before drawing her attention back to the girls who were skipping their way towards them.
"You guys ready for some lunch?" Olivia clears her throat and puts on a brave face for her daughter especially.
"Can you make us peanut butter and banana sandwiches?" Ophelia rests her elbows on her mothers thighs using her as the perfect leaning post.
"I think that sounds perfect. What do you think Katie?" Olivia looked over at her daughter's new friend who stood just as closely but was careful not to lean on her, unlike Ophelia who definitely didn't understand boundaries.
"Mmhm," she nods and looks over at her father for further approval. He rustles her curls a little and stands before scooping her up into his arms. A scream elicits from her as he throws her up further so he can carry her on his shoulders.
"Let's go kiddo!" He rustles Ophelia's chocolate curls just the same as he passed them both.
….
Lunch is easy to make and the girls are quick to get their last hour or so of play time in before Katie has to return home for the night. She keeps a close eye on them with her ears, making sure Ophelia is playing nice and sharing her slew of toys. Growing up an only child didn't make her the best at sharing.
Olivia threw the last few dishes in the dishwasher and joined Elliot at the kitchen island to enjoy the lunch they ordered for themselves. It was a strange feeling. Only knowing this man for barely a week but allowing him so much further in her life than she ever had let David after one week.
"What's going on in that head of yours?" Elliot interrupted her thoughts, reading her face like a book. She hadn't realized her face had given so much away.
"Hmph? Nothing," she tried to shake it off.
"Bullshit," he calls her out easily. It shakes her a little. He's unforgiving with his honesty as if he's known her for years. "It can't be just me thinking about the strange man in your living room right now," that's the comment that makes her laugh. So much that she's covering her mouth full of the fried rice.
"If it makes you uncomfortable I can make a promise to not step foot in here again until I come to pick you up for our first date next week," he throws the last part in and she thinks it should terrify her a lot more but it doesn't. She's thinking about it and it makes that tiny flutter in her belly go a little wild. She's charmed by him and his confidence to go after her. And after being in a dead marriage for the last few years- she likes it.
"Our first date huh?" She eyes him skeptically but he continues to hit her with that same convincing smile that got her to give him her number.
"Only if you want to of course, but I think we would have a lot of fun. My mom could watch the girls if that's okay with you," of course he's already thought this out and she feels like she would be a fool to say no. It's been a year. She deserves to have some fun.
"It's Opie's weekend with her dad. So you just tell me what time to be ready," she agrees. A smirk creeps up onto her face and he's got one on his face to match.
"Well if things change the offer will always be there. I'm sure Katie would love to have a sleepover over with her new BFF."
"Sleepover? What makes you think they need to stay the night?" Her eyebrow arches as her lip upturns trying to make him squirm. Instead he chuckles and looks her dead in the eyes.
"Because their parents are having their own sleepover too," now that makes her laugh. She swears to god if Elliot hadn't been so good looking there's no way she would let him get away with this.
"Ha! In your dreams Stabler! Now pass me and egg roll."
