AN: I have always struggled with the lack of contact between Benson and Stabler after the William Lewis ordeal. Given the reveal of what was in the letter, during this week's episode of OC, this came to my mind as a possible explination.
The Stablers had been living in Italy for about six months. It was the first time, in a long time, that Kathy Stabler wasn't competing for her husband's attention. His relationship with his partner, Olivia Benson, despite his constant reassurances that it was platonic, was always a point of contention for Kathy. It had been an underlying issue that had led to so many fights and even separation.
Kathy had believed him for the most part. Believed that Elliot and Olivia had never taken that step, never gotten physical. In some ways that worried her more. She had never asked Elliot to choose. She was afraid of who he would choose. Kathy didn't doubt that her husband loved his kids, or that he loved her. She knew that he valued family and his marriage. That was why they had reconciled after their separation, to raise Eli together as a family. Kathy Stabler also knew that had she told Elliot to choose, demanded that he pick between Olivia and her, she likely wouldn't like the outcome.
He would have deflected and said it was about the job, that he was choosing the victims that needed him. He would have denied that it had anything to do with Olivia and told Kathy she was being ridiculous. She also knew that if Elliot had chosen "the job" over her, he and Olivia would eventually realize what everyone else had known for years. That the two of them shared a connection so much deeper than their partnership.
The past two years had felt different. When Elliot had come home after his last day at SVU, he was unrecognizable. He refused to talk about it, that part was nothing new, but the night terrors, those were. Elliot would wake up in the middle of the night, screaming, crying, shaking uncontrollably. He wasn't sleeping, he only left the house for his mandatory IAB interviews. His night terrors were always worse after these meetings. Kathy became so desperate to get her husband back, she even asked him if he wanted her to call Liv. To her surprise, he declined.
It went on for months. Elliot was on leave from the NYPD, but with the looming IAB investigation and his jacket review, Kathy wasn't sure how much more he could take, how much more her family could take. He was the first one to bring up retirement. She encouraged him to move forward with it. She knew it would break his heart, but this way he could leave the NYPD on his own terms. She was afraid of what would happen if he had his shield taken, what it would do to him. She was afraid he would never come back from it.
When it was over, after he had retired, it took about six months for Elliot to adjust to his new normal. He still had night terrors but they were becoming more spread out. He was sleeping and he was acting more normal. He was even looking for jobs. They still had 3 kids in college and another in grad school. There weren't many job prospects for a former marine or cop. She knew he would never descend himself to become a mall cop or security guard somewhere. When the opportunity arose for him to work for a private security firm, he jumped at it. The opportunity to move overseas was just a cherry on top. Things moved quickly, they sold their house in Queens, packed up their entire lives into boxes, and shipped them across the Atlantic.
Their older children stayed back in New York. Dickie, Lizzie, and Kathleen were still in college at Hudson. Maureen had graduated and was getting her MBA at Columbia. Kathy was excited about the opportunity to live in Rome. She knew being away from her children would be difficult, but she hoped that the space would be what Elliot needed to fully heal. She hoped the distance would help him to accept the real relationship in his life and focus on what was important. Mostly she hoped the distance would help him to see what his relationship with Olivia really was, a partnership and nothing more.
On this particular morning, Kathy got a call from Kathleen. The two talked frequently, though given their time difference it usually happened at night. It was almost 8:00 AM in Rome, meaning Kathleen was calling her at 2:00 AM New York time. This scared Kathy, Kathleen could clearly hear the panic in her voice as she answered the phone,
"Kathleen, Are you okay?"
"Yes, Mom. I'm fine. Maureen is fine. The twins are fine. I am not calling about us." Kathy breathed an audible sigh of relief.
"Sweetie, It's almost 2:00 AM in New York. What is so important that you couldn't wait a few hours to call?"
"Mom, It's Olivia." Kathy was taken aback. Elliot hadn't mentioned Olivia since they moved to Rome and she certainly wasn't going to be the one to bring her up. However, Kathy feared the worst.
"What about Olivia sweetie?" Kathy asked, afraid to hear the answer.
"Mom, she was kidnapped by a really bad guy. He had her for four days. God knows what he did to her. It's all over the news. I'm worried about Dad. Mom, you need to tell him. If he finds out from someone else, I don't think he will be able to take it. I am afraid it will break him. He is just getting back to normal."
"He already left for work this morning. I will talk to him when he gets home. Keep me posted okay. And Kathleen, get some sleep"
"I love you," Kathleen said.
"I love you too," Kathy replied, disconnecting the call.
Kathy opened her phone and pulled up the NBC 4 website. There on the front page, she saw it. A video of Olivia, bloody and bruised, being escorted out of a cabin by a dark-haired man, with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She looked sad, she looked defeated, she looked like a victim.
Kathy scrolled through the article, seeing an image of the man who had done this. A man named William Lewis. He had broken into her apartment and abducted her when she returned home. He had held her captive in her home for two days. Olivia was on leave and lived alone. It took the NYPD two days to realize something was wrong. By the time they had, Lewis had taken her to Long Island, where the police had found her two days later.
Kathy sat transfixed by the clip. She had never felt any ill will towards Olivia, she certainly never wanted her to go through something like this. Kathy wasn't sure how she was going to be able to tell Elliot about this. She knew how he would react.
He would blame himself. Insist that if he had still been Olivia's partner, he would have known something was wrong. The two of them were in constant contact back then. In the past when she was on leave or sick, he would stop by her apartment. He never told Kathy this, but she could surmise. He would come home later than normal, often having already eaten dinner. She wasn't a detective, but it wasn't hard for her to piece together where he had been.
Finding out about this incident would set Elliot back months. It would undo months of counseling. He would either lock himself in their room, spiraling through guilt and self-pity, or he would hop on a plane and fly back to New York. Neither option was ideal or even acceptable in her mind. Ultimately, it didn't take much for her to decide that she wasn't going to tell him. She needed to put her family first, Eli first, and nothing good would come from Elliot knowing what had happened.
She justified her decision by telling herself that Olivia was okay. She was hurt, yes, but she was alive. Elliot couldn't change the past. His finding out would do nothing to help Olivia heal, it would do nothing to help Elliot heal. His finding out would drag up past trauma, it would bring more pain into their already painful lives. She told herself that both of them, Elliot and Olivia, needed to learn to overcome such obstacles on their own, depending on those around them instead of leaning on each other. She found her arguments pretty convincing, she didn't give her decision a second thought.
Six more months passed. It had been almost three years since Elliot had left the NYPD. Their marriage was the best it had been in almost twenty years. They weren't fighting, Elliot was home for dinner almost every night and in time to tuck Eli in every night. For the first time in twenty years, Kathy had the marriage she had longed for.
It wasn't unusual for Kathleen to call in the evening. She would usually call after 9:00, once Eli was in bed. On this particular evening, she called a little earlier than normal.
"Kathleen. Hi sweetie, how are you?"
"Hi, mom. Are you with Dad?" Kathleen asked, getting straight to the point.
"He's putting Eli to bed. Why sweetie?"
"Mom, it's Olivia again. That guy, the one who took her before. He escaped. He took her...again."
"That's terrible. Is she okay?"
She's alive. She's been rescued. But Mom I have a question for you."
"What is it, honey?"
"Did you ever tell Dad about the kidnapping the last time? I brought it up when I was talking to him a few weeks ago. I didn't say anything directly but I alluded to it. He had no idea what I was talking about."
"I didn't sweetie. I was afraid it would be too much for him to handle. We had just got him back to acting like his old self. I didn't want to send him on another downward spiral."
"Are you going to tell him this time?" Kathleen asked accusingly.
"Honestly, probably not Kathleen. I just don't see how it will help anything. Your father is still so fragile."
"Mom, I don't think that is fair. Olivia is important to him. He would want to know."
"Kathleen, it has been three years. He is good, he is almost back to normal, there is no need to send him spiraling back to that place he was in when we left New York."
"Is Dad good or are you? I think you are being incredibly selfish right now Mom. He deserves to know."
"Well, Kathleen, that is not your decision," as Kathy finished speaking, Elliot walked into the room.
"You talking to Kathleen. Tell her I say 'hi'," Elliot said, placing a kiss on his wife's forehead before walking into their kitchen.
"I want to speak to dad," Kathleen said on the other side of the phone.
"I am sorry sweetie now really isn't a good time. I love you. Stay safe." Kathy said, hanging up her phone. Elliot walked back into the living room.
"Everything good in New York?" he asked.
"Yeah, she was just checking in," Kathy replied.
"It's been a long day. I am going to head to bed." He kissed Kathy and made his way back to their bedroom.
Once he had left, Kathy unlocked her phone and once again went to the NBC 4 website. She again saw Olivia's face on the homepage. A video of her being escorted away from the scene. She was again wrapped in a blanket. Blood was splattered across her face. The same dark-haired man from the last time, had his arm around her escorting her to a car. This must be her new partner Kathy thought to herself.
Kathy scrolled through the article. Lewis had induced a heart attack in order to be transferred out of the prison. He was declared dead, and when he was no longer in custody he seemingly "resurrected" himself and escaped. He raped a sixteen-year-old girl and took her twelve-year-old sister hostage. Sergeant Benson complied with Lewis' demands to meet her, in an effort to free the girl. Sergeant Benson, good for her Kathy thought. Lewis died on the scene, the cause of death is currently under investigation.
Kathy closed the article and put her phone away. She stood up and made her way to her bedroom. She felt terrible for Olivia, she truly did, but when it came down to it, Olivia was okay, she was still alive, and telling Elliot would do more harm than good. Kathy walked into the dark bedroom, climbed in bed next to her husband, kissed him on the cheek, before laying her head down and drifting off to sleep. She was doing the right thing she told herself. This was what was best for Elliot, for her family, for her.