I don't own anything associated with Law and Order: SVU…I just enjoy the show.

Elliot unlocked his front door quietly, the smell of dinner still hung in the air. He glanced at his watch. 8:28. It wasn't that late, he reasoned with himself. He'd meant to call Kathy and tell her he'd be late for dinner, but he got caught up with Olivia. He had only wanted to make sure she was okay before he left her alone.

He sat his keys down, stepping in the living room. "Hey Dad," Kathleen glanced up from a magazine she was engrossed in, meeting her father's gaze. "Hey honey. How was your day?" he leaned over the edge of the couch, kissing her forehead.

He took his coat off, holding it on his arm. "Okay. How's Olivia doing?" Kathleen sat up in her seat.

"Um…she's doing a little better. It's hard, on her you know? It's hard on all of us." Elliot rubbed his neck. Still stiff from the accident. "Yeah. I can't even imagine. Well, make sure she knows she has the support of your children too."

Elliot grinned slightly, touched by his daughter's concern "I know how fond you guys are of Liv. You can tell her yourself. I'll take you all over there in a couple of days. I'm sure that'll lift her spirits."

"Cool…sounds good."

He sighed, glancing around. "Where's your mother?"

"Oh…um…She's upstairs in the bedroom." She replied, staring at him intently.

"Why you looking at me like that? She's mad at me or something?" Elliot raised an eyebrow expectantly. Kathy had really been nagging him lately…normally about really small things. Sometimes he thought she liked arguing.

"Well…yeah. Kinda. I think she's just under some stress or something. She'll get over it," Kathleen nodded, looking as if she was trying to convince herself more than Elliot.

"Hmm. Right…okay kiddo, I'm gonna head upstairs. Don't read that magazine for too long, it's all garbage," he smirked at her as she rolled her eyes at him, opening the magazine again.

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He entered their bedroom, hearing the shower running. Elliot kicked his shoes off and collapsed on his side of the bed. He let out a large sigh and gazed up at the ceiling, as he had numerous nights in the past when he couldn't sleep. Thoughts of the criminals they dealt with everyday would invade his thoughts, and then he'd immediately think of his children. He'd get up, sometimes two or three times to make sure they were okay. They always were, but even that didn't put his mind at ease.

The only person he could talk to about it was his partner. Olivia was the only one who saw exactly what he saw day in and day out and she was the one who understood what was going through his head. She'd have trouble sleeping too, and often he'd call her. Not to talk about a case, but anything other than that. After he talked to her, somehow it was easier for him to fall asleep. He didn't know why. Kathy surely didn't understand it.

"How was your day?" she asked him.

"Okay," he glanced up her briefly, sipping his beer.

"It's always just okay."

He shrugged, "I don't really wanna talk about it, Kathy." Elliot met her gaze.

She let out a sigh. "You gonna talk to Olivia about it?"

"She's my partner."

Lately she'd been making all these accusations…saying the real reason he'd been at work so long lately was because of Olivia. But she was wrong…Olivia didn't have anything to do with it. They'd had some difficult cases lately…he didn't want Olivia to have to pick up his slack because he couldn't stay a couple hours longer.

Things were going to be different though. He didn't even know if Olivia wanted to come back to SVU to work with him…but that was the last thing he should've been worried about. He just wanted his best friend back. His eyes started getting heavy, as he starting to think about a time when things were much better…

"Elliot." His eyes popped open seconds after he closed them. He sat up, watching Kathy sit on the bed. "Hey babe," Elliot leaned over kissing her lips quickly. She looked him over, as if trying to think of what to say.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you. It slipped my mind…I needed to make sure Olivia was alright before I left," he explained. She stood, combing her hair in front of her dresser mirror.

"How is she doing?" Kathy wondered, turning to face him.

"It's gonna take some time. We'll get through it though," he pulled his shirt over his head. He missed her facial expression. "We?"

Elliot searched her hazel eyes, wondering why she'd asked that. "What do you mean? Yeah…we. We being Munch, Cragen, Fin, Casey, myself…and I'd like to think you."

"Elliot, look. I know how much you want to help Olivia through this terrible time. But she's not the only one who needs you…your kids need you too. So do I."

He immediately felt guilty when he saw her eyes water. "Honey, I'm sorry. I've been neglecting you guys. But put yourself in her position for a second. She doesn't have any family…the closest she's got to that is me," Elliot stepped close to her, rubbing her arms.

She pulled away slightly, arms crossed. "Why do you always have to be the one to save her, Elliot? Why can't someone else be there for her?"

He frowned at his wife, a dull headache starting to form in his temples. "It's not like that, Kath and you know it. She's my partner…she's got my back and I've got hers. That's how it works," he turned away from her, wanting to calm his voice.

Kathy rolled her eyes. "You use that 'she's my partner' line a lot. That's just an excuse!" she yelled back.

"Don't start with that, please. Why do you keep bringing this up?"

"Because it's always an issue with you, Elliot! It probably always will be!"

"I don't wanna argue with you," he said, "I'm tired…let's just drop it okay? I'm sorry."

"Whatever…" she was interrupted by the creaking of their bedroom door. A blonde head appeared on the other side, blue eyes filled with worry. "Is everything okay? Why are you guys arguing?" Elizabeth Stabler wondered, glancing back and forth between her parents faces. "We're just having a disagreement that's all. Right Elliot?"

He quickly looked at Kathy, then back at his youngest daughter. "Right. It's okay honey. Were you studying?" he wondered. She had a pencil in her hand. "Yeah. I was coming to ask for your help, daddy. It's math."

He grinned. "No problem, sweetheart. I'll be right there." Elliot watched her take one more look at them and reluctantly go back to her bedroom. He looked back at his wife.

"Kathy, listen…" She held her hand up, shaking her head. "Don't El. Just forget I said anything," she walked past him angrily. He opened a pill bottle and found a couple of Tylenol to take for later. His headache wasn't getting any better.

He stepped in the doorway of Lizzie's room. She was at her desk, staring intently at her algebra book. He wasn't fooled…he knew she'd probably heard their entire conversation. The twins had grown up so fast…time was escaping him. "Daddy are you just gonna stand there or come in?" Lizzie smirked at him. He moved around her desk, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"So what're you having trouble with, sweetie?" Elliot leaned closer to her, getting a better look at her worksheet. She gave him a sideways glance and turned in her chair to face him.

"What?" he was confused by her change in posture. "What were you and mom arguing about?" Lizzie crossed her arms, the way her mother had done only minutes earlier.

Elliot shrugged, shaking his head slightly. "We were just having a discussion, that's all," he met his daughter's skeptical gaze.

"Right. You guys seem to be having a lot of those lately," she turned back toward her book indignantly.

"Lizzie…your mother and I are seeing a few things differently right now. But we'll work through it…it's nothing to worry about, alright?" she continued to focus on her book. "Elizabeth…look at me," he turned her small shoulders toward him. She did so reluctantly. "Don't worry okay? We always work through our problems."

"What if this time is different, Dad?" Elliot gazed at his daughter in awe. She was growing up…he couldn't hide things from her anymore. He sighed, running his hands over his face. How did he answer that question? "It won't be."