8. Hormones
"I'm terrified that he'll try to take my baby away from me."
Her fear is real and Olivia can tell that the younger woman is picking up on it. But Maureen is still confused and asks her,
"But if this baby isn't his, why has dad moved in with you?"
Olivia focuses on Maureen again, trying to shake off the unrest she is feeling about Miguel possibly taking her child away from her. It does make some sense that the kids would think Elliot had something to do with her pregnancy if they think he's promptly moving in with her.
"He hasn't exactly moved in with me," she explains. "He'd been sleeping at the office for weeks before he even told me he had moved out of the family house. I offered him my couch because he can't spend all his time at work. It's not healthy."
Maureen is taking in everything Olivia is telling her, and Olivia counts it as a win.
"So he's not staying with you indefinitely?" Maureen asks.
Olivia wonders how honest she can be with Elliot and Kathy's daughter, but when Maureen asks whether her father is looking for another place to stay, she decides that complete honesty is the way to go.
"Well, to be honest, it won't be easy for him to find an affordable place as long as he's still paying for the house in Queens as well."
Maureen bites her lip and thinks about what Olivia has just told her. She's a smart young woman, and after a few moments she states,
"So they will need to sell the house."
"It would be fair," Olivia agrees. "Your dad will still be paying child support but at least both your parents can find somewhere cheaper to live. I assume part of the mortgage has already been paid off so they'd both have some money to start over."
"Mom won't want to sell it," Maureen says with certainty.
"Then maybe she needs to talk to your father."
Maureen scoffs.
"She won't. You know, she never even questioned her own version of things. She just announced one day that dad was leaving all of us because he'd decided to start a new family with you. He didn't need his old family anymore. None of us wanted to believe it at first but …"
Maureen bows her head, shaking it lightly.
"We never even bothered to ask dad about it. I guess we all didn't really think it was that unbelievable."
Olivia shakes her head too, realizing that even Elliot's children seemed to think there had been something brewing between them. Before she could respond to Maureen's words, Maureen added,
"I'm sorry Olivia. I guess that's pretty bad. I mean … we love dad. We should have trusted him, or at least talked to him. But mom was so final about it. The twins are only ten so I guess they believe whatever mom says. Kathleen was furious but I think she misses dad more than anyone."
"And you?"
Maureen sighs.
"Part of the reason I'm now living on campus has to do with the tensions at home. I try to keep my distance. I do miss my family and I go home every weekend. It's not the same since dad left but to be honest, he was away a lot before, too."
"Well, if you want to see him, you're always welcome at my place Maureen. I know it would mean a lot to your father to talk to you and your brother and sisters."
Maureen studies Olivia's face and Olivia doesn't look away. She has nothing to hide. She's here for Elliot.
"His birthday is coming up in two weeks," Maureen says quietly.
"I know."
The young woman bites her lip and then tells Olivia,
"I'll talk to Kathleen."
…
Elliot hadn't asked her where she'd been when Olivia had returned to the station. They've been going out separately more these days, since Olivia can't come along when a suspect or perp is involved. Elliot was on a stakeout with Fin most of the day so she managed to get away undetected. She's content with her talk with Maureen and knows she's gotten through to the eldest of the Stabler girls.
A week goes by without any further contact with Maureen. When Elliot wraps up his paperwork for the day, they look at each other, and a warm feeling spreads throughout Olivia's body when she realizes they are going to be going home together again. Since they work separately more they've come home at different hours, but when they leave work together, it's almost as if it's the most normal thing in the world for them. As if they're supposed to be together like this.
"We uhm … I was thinking of getting some groceries on the way," Elliot starts hesitantly and she wonders if he's been thinking the same thing.
Olivia gives him a wide smile and they both stand up to get their coats.
"Sounds good. Do I get a say in what we're getting?" Olivia asks.
"Of course," Elliot says, now smiling as well.
"I think I'd like some Chinese," Olivia says.
She surprises both of them, because she hadn't been able to stand the smell of Chinese food for a while. But she is now in the beginning of her second trimester, so maybe her taste and appetite are changing. She certainly hopes they are because she hadn't exactly planned to be losing weight like she has.
Elliot eyes her curiously for a moment but he's still smiling.
"We could give it a go," he says as they start walking out of the squad room, and she can tell he's looking forward to the food already.
"Maybe I'll let you have your own egg rolls this time," Olivia quips and they're still smiling when they reach the elevator.
"Let's pick up some yogurt too, just in case," Elliot suggests, and Olivia finds it endearing how he's always trying to make sure she eats.
"Okay. And some lemon syrup," she adds.
"Sour stuff it is," Elliot declares as they enter the elevator.
…
Olivia is very happy to announce that the Chinese food tastes absolutely delicious.
"I think I'm going to be putting on some serious weight from now on," she states. "It's all gone and I'm still hungry."
Elliot leans back against the couch and smiles at her contently. They're both sitting cross-legged in front of the couch, with their food cartons scattered on the coffee table.
"If you eat any more, you're gonna puke," he tells her, and he's probably right.
Hungry isn't the right word. This must be what all those women call a craving. She feels like she could just eat and never stop.
"How about dessert?" Elliot suggests, and before she can begin to get up from the floor, he stands up quickly and holds out his hand.
"You're going to have to start watching how you move, Liv," he tells her by way of explanation.
Olivia huffs and swats his hand away. She is still perfectly capable of getting up from the floor and scrambles to her feel quickly. Elliot just laughs softly as he walks off to get their dessert from the fridge.
"What is it?" Olivia asks, following him and leaning on the breakfast bar.
"Just something me and Fin picked up earlier."
"You and Fin? I've been meaning to ask you how that's going but I guess you're finally bonding a bit?"
Elliot wiggles his head and glances at her while he puts two cups in front of her on the bar.
"We've decided that we can get along, since we have one thing in common."
"One thing? What's that?" Olivia asks, her curiosity piqued.
"You," Elliot tells her and she looks at him with wide eyes.
"Me?"
Elliot nods and hands her a spoon.
"Yep. We both want you to be safe and sound, and happy with your little pea. Turns out that's enough for us to bond over."
Olivia suddenly feels a little emotional and curses her pregnancy hormones. But it's so sweet that her coworkers, who are also her best friends, care about her so much. They're like the family she never had and it moves her deeply.
Elliot dips his head to make her look at him.
"You okay?" he asks softly.
Olivia nods and shrugs.
"Stupid hormones. They make me cry over everything and nothing."
Elliot reaches for her hand that's not holding the spoon and covers it with his.
"It's okay. You don't have to bottle everything up when you're pregnant. It's the perfect excuse."
Olivia chuckles and swallows hard, trying to swallow the lump in her throat as well as shake off her reaction to Elliot's warm hand covering hers.
"Excuse?" she mumbles.
Elliot retracts his hand and somehow her hand suddenly feels a little colder. She wraps it around her dessert and looks at Elliot, waiting for his response to her mumbled question.
"Yeah," Elliot says very seriously while tearing off the lid of his dessert. "We're so used to keeping it all inside because of what we do but … maybe we shouldn't. And you get to blame your hormones for the time being."
He glances up at her to gauge her reaction but she's at a loss for words.
"You goin' soft on me Stabler?" she manages to push past her lips and he grins as if understanding that she's not exactly ready to let it all out.
"Maybe your pink baby cloud is rubbing off on me a bit," he jokes.
She smiles and shakes her head, grateful that he's lightening the mood, and finally looks at her dessert more attentively.
"What is it?" she asks Elliot.
"Lemon cheesecake ice cream."
Olivia tears off the lid and scoops some ice cream up with her spoon. Elliot watches expectantly for her reaction. When the cold, sweet and sour substance hits her senses, Olivia can't suppress a low moan. She takes another scoop and closes her eyes, moaning softly again while letting her taste buds enjoy the delicious combination of sweet and sour.
"That good huh?" Elliot asks and when she looks at him, he looks away quickly. He almost seems a little flustered but before she can wonder about it, he quips,
"If that's your reaction to this stuff, I think I'm buying more tomorrow!"
…
Ah, a little fluff goes a long way. And we still have a long way to go … Reviews are life!