Disclaimer: Okay, this is my last chance and I'm determined to make it a good one. I spent the weekend on Skull Island and have captured this giant ape, which I plan on setting loose in New York right where Dick Wolf resides. This has never been tried before so I'm hoping...ah look, he's climbing the Empire State Building. This is good news...
Now onto the Meat and Potatoes
Lizzie
Welcome Home
Don Cragen glanced at his watch. The hour was getting late and there was still no sign of Benson and Stabler. He, Novak, Huang, Munch and Fin had returned from their breakfast hours ago (in fact it was almost lunch time) and Cragen hoped that their long absence would show good results. Everyone was starting to get a bit antsy but they were trying to relax. Novak and Munch were playing a game of chess while Huang and Fin were both pretending to read. Everyone jumped to their feet, Novak knocking over the chess board in her hurry, when they heard the door buzz as a key was inserted. Seconds later the door opened and first Benson and than Stabler walked in. Cragen looked at both his detectives. They were smiling and there were no signs of tears.
In truth, Stabler nor Benson had wanted to return to the hotel with their eyes red and puffy. Stabler had agreed to treat to ice cream in order for them to gain composure.
"You'll have to treat because I have no money. Yaburov refused to pay me after he found out who I was. Wonder if I should add that to his charges?"
This had made both of them laugh and their conversation in the ice cream parlor was much more enjoyable than the one at the greasy spoon. Indeed, they laughed and joked just like they would have done back in New York. Around eleven the parlor had stopped serving breakfast and was preparing for lunch so both Benson and Stabler decided to head back.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Cragen sent everyone out looking for us."
Cragen attempted to catch Stabler's eye as the detective came in, hoping for a clue. Novak wasn't as subtle.
"You two okay now?"
Stabler and Benson exchanged looks and smiles.
"When were we not okay," had been the simple response. Cragen muttered a silent prayer of thanks to whoever was listening. His two best detectives had been able to work out whatever kinks had developed. The smiles on their faces were genuine, Cragen could tell. Deciding to improve their mood even more, he reached into his pocket and called out for Benson and Stabler.
"Liv, Elliot, I had seven tickets back to New York. Five of 'em have already been claimed but I thought I'd give you two first dibs on the last ones. You want 'em?"
Benson's face had split into a grin and she grabbed both of them, handing one to Stabler. "When, Cap?"
Cragen looked at his ticket. "Six tomorrow evening. We can sleep in and all that jazz. You in?"
Benson nodded quickly. She couldn't wait to get home and sleep in her own bed.
"Bet my fish is dead," she voiced quietly. "Elliot was supposed to feed it but that's been a while."
Stabler gave her a less than apologetic stare. "You couldn't keep the damn things alive for more than a week anyway. Don't know why I bothered in the first place."
Benson fought to keep her face straight, biting on her lip to do so. "That's beside the point. Well that's Munch down so I guess Fin'll be the name of the next."
Fin chuckled and sat down on the bed. "If I named my fish Munch, I'd flush it down the toilet first thing, dead or alive."
Munch rolled his eyes but no one saw because they were hidden behind his dark sunglasses. "Bet the Fin fish whines about everything, including the size of his bowl."
"Maybe you should name it Casey and get these two to shut up," Stabler whispered, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
Benson crashed on the bed beside Fin. "Actually because they're always dying, I never name 'em. I just wanted to see how Munch would react."
Munch glowered at her from across the room. "Just hope you don't sit beside me on the plane tomorrow. Speaking of planes, which class are we flying in?"
Cragen snorted his response. "Coach, John. I had to buy three tickets on the Concord to get here in time to save your asses so that's all we can afford."
"Hey, Cap," Fin had pulled out his ticket and was looking at it. "Didn't you buy one ticket in the baggage area? Why don't we put John there so none of us have to hear him whine?"
Cragen nodded and handed his ticket to Munch. "I was gonna take that one, but Fin's got a point, John."
Munch took Cragen's ticket, which was just another seat in coach. "Haha, that one made me laugh."
Cragen took his ticket back and grabbed the phone. "I should probably give Captain Ulmer a call and tell him our plans. He'll probably wanna see us off."
Munch couldn't hide his snide comments anymore. "Maybe Liv should call him?"
Benson, who had been taking off her shoes, threw one at Munch.
"Grow up would you."
Munch caught the shoe and threw it back, which Benson also caught.
"You know you wanna."
Cragen held out the phone to Benson and gestured to the receiver. "It's ringing."
"Son of a bitch," Benson muttered as she grabbed the phone.
"Randy, it's Liv…yeah…flying out tomorrow round six…you do…why didn't you tell me…this is great…I hate wearing El's clothes…today…I know you've got a lot on your plate and I don't wanna inconvenience you…thank you…yeah…okay…bye."
Benson hung up and turned to face her colleagues, giving them go to hell looks.
"When I left for Latvia I could only take my new outfits and I left everything else I had, except my passport, behind. Ulmer picked 'em up later and kept 'em. He's bringing 'em by."
Munch leaned over and whispered something to Huang, who rolled his eyes.
"No secrets, gents." Benson knew nothing Munch would whisper would be kind but she wanted to know nonetheless.
Huang glared at Munch resentfully. "I'll tell her if you won't."
Munch's eyes were watering in his attempt to keep from laughing out loud. "Be my guest."
Huang went over and whispered something in Benson's ear. She glared at Munch and threw her pillow at him. At this, Munch just let out one loud laugh.
"Maybe he'll buy this from me."
"What'd he say?" Novak was looking from one to the other.
"He said that Randy probably curled up with my clothes as night, you bastard."
Cragen glanced at the door not knowing how long it would take Ulmer to get from his office to the hotel. His gestured for them to keep it down.
"C'mon guys, be polite."
"Thanks, Cap," Benson muttered. "After all, John, he did save your life."
Munch shrugged and examined the pillow carefully. "I'll say thirty for the case, fifty for the whole thing. Since the bill for this place's under his name, he'll be charged for the missing pillow as well."
"John," Cragen was trying hard not to laugh as well. Even Cragen had noticed the look that went on the London PD Captain's face whenever Olivia Benson was in the room. He had seemed almost more concerned than Cragen himself when it came to Benson's safety. Still, Ulmer had saved his detectives last night and didn't want him to hear his squad mock him. "That's enough."
Randy Ulmer's visit had gone well enough. Munch had excused himself after Benson had given him her death glare. He'd gone down to the pool and read until Benson had come down.
"I'm sure you've never had a crush on a girl who you knew you'd never get."
Munch tried to look apologetic and gestured to the seat next to him. "If you aren't too pissed off to be around me that is."
It was Benson's turn to roll her eyes and she took a seat next to him.
"If Randy didn't live an ocean away, I'd consider at least going out with him. He's a cop so he'd understand my life, most men don't. He's nice enough though I don't really dig the mustache.
Munch passed her the coke he'd been sipping.
"Thirsty?" Benson nodded and she quickly drained the entire can and gave it back to Munch.
"You owe me a dollar. That damn thing was almost full."
"Bite me and don't say anything else. I just wanted to let you know that your banishment is over and you're free to come back up."
Munch accepted her offer and they both headed back up to the room for the first peaceful night of sleep any of them had gotten in a long time.
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The seven Americans spent the next day roaming the city. There was little to be packed as Cragen, Huang, and Novak hadn't brought anything with them, having left in such a hurry. Munch and Fin only had two small suitcases between them, Stabler had his one change of clothes back now that Benson had her suitcase. Ulmer joined them for lunch and Munch, to Benson's relief, was polite and only once had to turn a laugh into a cough.
To Stabler's happiness, he was able to find Ally Gall again at the Leisure Inn Hotel. He'd taken Benson with him and introduced them formally. The three of them had a pleasant conversation and Ally's boss gave her the first part of the evening off so she and her three children could see Stabler and his party off to the airport. At the airport, Stabler had given Ally his home phone number and address.
"Write to me, all four of you. Hopefully I'll see you again." They'd hugged and Stabler had bought small presents for each one of the kids.
"As a thank you," he told Ally when she muttered that Stabler shouldn't have bothered. "I might still be wondering the streets of London looking for clues without Jake, Tommy and Katie's help."
Ally had nodded in agreement especially when Jake's eyes had gotten wide when he had met Benson.
"So I really did help, didn't I?"
Stabler had given the boy a high five and nodded. "Yep, you're a real hero, Jake." Seeing Tommy's obvious want to be called a hero as well, Stabler added that all three of them were heros.
Katie had been very taken with Benson and rarely let her out of her sight for one minute while at the airport. She kept naming all of her dolls and the various tea parties they were having. It took Ally prying her hand out of Benson's to get the little girl to let go. She than spent the next five minutes throwing a tantrum until Stabler presented her with the present, a very cheap doll, he had bought. She stopped crying and Benson even played a quick game before their flight began boarding.
Munch, despite his overwhelming hatred for riding in coach, had been the first of the seven on the plane. Randy Ulmer had shown up and, blushing furiously, had given Benson his phone number and address and asked for her to call sometime.
Benson, throwing Munch her darkest look as the detective handed his ticket to the stewardess and boarded to avoid her wrath, had thanked Ulmer and returned the favor with her phone number.
"Just don't forget the time difference."
Good-byes had been short and sweet and the flight home was uneventful. Huang, who had more patience than anyone, had volunteered to ride beside Munch and spent most of the flight listening to conspiracy theories about girl scout cookies and the crown jewels. Benson dozed beside Stabler most of the way while he pretended to watched movies. In truth, he was mostly worried about confronting his wife. Did he still have any family, besides his partner of course, back in the States? Stabler hoped the seven hour flight would feel that long but it passed quickly and by the time they claimed luggage, it was almost nine o'clock New York time.
"I want everyone to take Monday and Tuesday off. I'll see everyone at nine sharp on Wednesday."
Shouldering her bag, Benson turned to Cragen. "By everyone you're including yourself right, Cap?"
Cragen looked at the ground and muttered something about paperwork.
"Oh no," Benson snapped. "I'm not takin' any more time off if you aren't either."
Cragen looked at the others and found no back up. He raised his hands in defeat and sighed.
"You win, I'm off till Wednesday as well."
Benson gave her victorious smile and turned to her partner.
"Mind of I bum a ride home, Stabler?"
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Their ride home had been made partially in silence. Truth be known, Stabler's stomach was doing somersaults and he didn't trust himself to open his mouth. The time had finally come and he would soon find out what was left of his marriage and his family.
"Hey, Liv," Stabler broke the silence, deciding that if the night went the way he feared it might, he didn't want to crash in the crib. "If something were to happen tonight, could I crash on your couch?"
Knowing the worries going through her partner's head, Benson tried her best to be reassuring. After all, Stabler had done everything he could to reassure her that she was safe now and there was no way Yaburov could get to her.
"Elliot, I'm sure everything's gonna be fine. Kathy'll understand why you did this. But, you know you're always welcome on my couch."
Stabler quickly berated himself for jumping to his problems so soon. What about Benson? This was her first night in New York. Would she be okay by herself?
"Liv, I could always sleep on the couch tonight and go see Kathy tomorrow."
Everything in Benson was begging Stabler to stay, just because she wasn't sure how things would go. Would she see Yaburov with every creak in her apartment? She'd had strange nightmares last night and when she had slept on the plane. When she had been in the hotel, Stabler, Cragen and Novak had been there and the same had been true on the plane. While she hadn't told any of them about these dreams, she still felt comforted by their presence. Still, Stabler needed to get home.
"It's my apartment and I'll be fine. Plus, if I wanted someone, I could have asked Casey or John or Fin. They don't have a lot of family and I'm sure they woulda crashed but I'm fine."
Stabler hadn't believed her for a second but he knew that when dealing with victims, it was best to give them as many choices as possible. Benson's ability to choose had been taken away by Yaburov and she needed to know that no one was controlling her anymore.
"Just don't hesitate to call, Liv. I'll be here in seconds if I have to."
When Stabler had stopped in front of Benson's apartment, the two of them had just stared at if for several minutes.
"Well, here I am." Benson had opened the door when Stabler had called her back.
"Liv, I'm not goin' anywhere until you get upstairs and turn on your light. I wanna make sure you get up there just fine."
"What if I don't turn my light on?" Benson was joking but Stabler didn't find it humorous at all. He'd already discussed this with Cragen and his captain knew he might be on call.
"I'm givin' you ten minutes to get upstairs and turn your light on. After ten, you'll find half of NYPD breakin' down your door."
"El, that's not…"
"It's necessary, Liv, and if you think I'm jokin' I don't dare you to test me. Cragen, Munch and Fin won't be happy to drag themselves outta bed and down here for no reason."
"Elliot," Benson's calm voice helped bring down Stabler's temper. "I wouldn't do anything stupid like that and you know it."
"I know," Stabler answered, calm again.
"See you Wednesday?"
Stabler shrugged. "You might see me sooner than that. You wouldn't mind a late night call?"
Benson shook her head. "I don't want you sleeping in your car or even in the crib. You deserve a real bed tonight, even if it's just my couch."
Stabler stuck his fist out, which she knocked with her own.
"Hope I'll see you Wednesday."
"Liv," Benson turned around to face her partner.
"What's up, El?"
"Just know, if you need anything, at any time, day or night, I don't care, call. I'm never putting my cell phone on silent, even during church and confession."
"If God doesn't like it, He can cope, right?"
Stabler nodded but allowed himself to smile. "Right."
Stabler watched Benson retreat into her apartment and turned his eyes to the window he knew was hers. They had used this light plan before and while Stabler knew everything would be all right but he just wanted to make sure. Not even four minutes later, Benson's light came on and she waved to him from her window. Waving back, Stabler put the car in drive and pulled out, taking the familiar path home.
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Stabler sat in his car for several minutes, his eyes on the front door. It was after eleven on a school night so Stabler was sure Kathy, Elizabeth and Dickie were all asleep. He almost considered returning to Benson's when he thought better of it. He wouldn't get much sleep tonight not knowing what Kathy would say in the morning. The time was now, no matter how late. He quickly turned off the ignition and made his way up the stairs. He hesitated once more before knocking.
At first there was no response but finally the porch light came on. Stabler took a deep breath. It was now or never.
The door opened and Stabler saw that he had been right. Kathy was wearing her bathrobe over pajamas, her hair completely eschew. Her eyes widened when she saw who was standing on her doorstep.
"Elliot…"
"Kathy," Stabler knew he should start explaining before he even tried to enter his home.
"Please understand that I didn't do this outta spite. I wanted to call you so badly but…"
"Elliot..." Kathy hadn't finished her sentence but walked back into the house and Stabler had taken this as his cue to leave when she returned, a postcard in hand.
"Elliot, we got your postcard and…"
Guilt began to fill Stabler. He should have found a more personal way to communicate with his family. He should have called. Then maybe Cragen would have found out sooner what was going on and spared him, Benson and the others a lot of pain. Again, this was all his fault. He decided that Kathy deserved to hear everything.
"I know, I know, I should have called but I just couldn't. Kathy, I…"
"Elliot, would you let me finish?" Her voice, while fatigued, was firm.
Stabler hadn't let her do so until now because he was afraid of what she would say. However, he couldn't dodge her reply forever. Deciding to bite the bullet, he muttered an apology and let her continue.
"Elliot, like I was saying…" Her voice trailed off. Stabler was sure bad news wasn't far off but found himself very much mistaken.
"Elliot, why does a man knock to enter his own home?"
Stabler looked at Kathy, who was smiling, albeit in a very exhausted way, at him. He smiled at her as well.
"Welcome home, El. How's Olivia?"
Stabler pulled his wife into a hug and he knew she had started to cry.
"She'll be fine. I dropped her off before coming home."
"Dad!"
Stabler and Kathy turned to see Elizabeth and Dickie come hurrying to the front door. His daughter jumped into his arms but it took a little prodding for his high school age son to hug him.
"We've missed you, Dad!"
Stabler kissed Elizabeth on the forehead but settled with a high five with Dickie. He didn't want to embarrass his son anymore than he already did.
"I've missed you guys too. What've you done lately?"
Kathy gave a small cough and Stabler turned to her. "El, it's a school night."
Both of his kids moaned loudly. "Come on, Mom," Dickie didn't seem as embarrassed by his old man right now. "We're in high school. We'll sleep through chemistry."
That argument didn't seem to convince Kathy Stabler.
"Tomorrow," Stabler decided not to make his wife play the villain. "I can't go back to work until Wednesday so I'm all yours until then. I'll tell you everything tomorrow."
While obviously not the decision they were wanting, both Elizabeth and Dickie agreed. Stabler gave both of them one last kiss before they headed up for bed. He than began to make his usual bed on the sofa.
"Elliot," Kathy had come back down with an extra pillow and blanket. "You might wanna call Maureen and Kathleen tomorrow. They've both been worried about you, too."
Stabler hadn't forgotten about his older two daughters. "I could do it now."
Kathy shook her head. "It's a school night, El."
Stabler thought back to his college days. Had there been a time when he had ever gone to bed for midnight? That answer was simply enough. Deciding to point this out to Kathy, mostly because he wanted to talk with his daughters and make sure they were doing fine.
"And they're in college. They won't be in bed for several more hours."
Kathy smiled at that comment and handed Stabler his blankets. "Still, wait until tomorrow so we can think that they're asleep right now."
Stabler had conceded defeat and bid Kathy goodnight before curling up on the couch.
Considering how horrid the situation had started and how costly the results might have been, Stabler felt all was nearly right with the world. He'd been given the chance to continue reconciling with his family, Benson was safe and, hopefully, asleep, and he would soon learn if he got to keep his job. The next few months would take work to repair all of the damage negated during his time in Europe but, as he fell into the first peacefully sleep he'd had since Benson didn't emerge from the plane, he decided that it would be worth every second.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails"
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
Author's notes: Last chapter will be posted tomorrow night. I hope you've enjoyed this story. It was so much fun to write. For those of you who were hoping I'd ship it, I'm sorry. I'll read a romance from time to time but I personally couldn't write one to save my life.
The Epilogue will be posted tomorrow and I think it'll wrap everything up nicely. Also, if anyone has any fanfics that they think I'd like, I'm always looking for a good story. I like a strong plot and it can be a ship or know. Besides SVU, I read CI, Farscape, Star Trek (TNG or Voyager), Harry Potter every now and again, and Star Wars.
I'll see you tomorrow for the last time:)