Author's Note: There are some time jumps in the story, but they will be noted "6 months later" or "1 year later" etc. This is kind of a sad chapter to write and I'm doing it at 4am when I should be sleeping so I hope it is still quality work! This story is going to have some twists and turns so don't be too discouraged yet. I'm trying to keep everyone in character but everyone gets some OOC-ness every once in a while. :-P and of course I own no one except for Sarah and Jenna and my made-up Elliot's sister Susan. Thanks so much for your reviews so far, it's what motivates me to write... especially at 4am! I hope this chapter leaves you thinking "WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED." Also, Olivia's letter is mainly from Rascal Flatts "My Wish". Enjoy!
--------------------------
The sun was shining down on everyone that morning; there wasn't a cloud in sight. It was a bit ironic that such a sad day would be joined together with gorgeous weather. Cragen had arranged a small funeral for Olivia; he knew she wouldn't want a bunch of people who hardly knew her to be there, pretending to be sorry for the loss of someone they didn't even know. No, this was a funeral dedicated to Olivia. He spoke of her stubbornness, her great detective work and most of all, her love for her co-workers. Munch and Fin both told humorous stories involving Olivia, hoping to lighten the mood of the small group that even included Elliot's ex-wife and children. Everyone besides Elliot laughed, each remembering their own memory of Olivia. Elliot just sat in the uncomfortable folding chair, his hands in his lap and his head down. He had a piece of paper open in his hands, but nobody dared ask what the paper contained.
And one year later, he sat in a similar way. The grass was warm beneath him; the flowers he had planted that spring had bloomed beautifully. He never had lucky with plants, but he knew that if he planted flowers on her grave, they would grow. This was his spot, his relaxation center. He came here after hard cases, easy cases, fights with his children, fights with Dani… any time he felt like he had something to say to her. In his hand was that same piece of paper that he held at her funeral. It was a letter he had received a day before. He didn't know that one piece of paper could throw his world around so much until the moment he opened his mailbox and saw the handwriting on the envelope, her handwriting. The envelope was postmarked a month prior, and he loudly cursed the post office and their unreliability as he ripped open the envelope. The letter was his connection to her, and he kept it with him wherever he went. As he sat at her grave site on the anniversary of her death, he quietly read the letter aloud to himself.
Dear Elliot,
Please don't show this to anyone else. I am not supposed to be writing to you or anyone but I haven't forgiven myself yet for not saying goodbye to you, but I hope you have forgiven me. There just wasn't enough time. They took me away rather quickly; you know how that goes. I think about you everyday. I also think about your poor new partner, I hope he or she has survived being with you! I hope the best for you, El, and I hope that I will get to come back to you soon. If not ... I want you to keep these words in mind, because I wish the best for you. I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slowly and each road leads you where you want to go. If you're faced with the choice and you have to choose, I hope you choose the one that means the most to you. And if one door opens to another door closed, I hope you keep on walking until you find the window…If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile. And while you are out there, fighting crime in this violent world, I hope you know that someone out there loves you… Don't forget about me Elliot, because no matter what happens, I won't forget you.
Love,
Olivia
The tears flowed freely down his cheeks as he folded the letter back and placed it in his pocket. It figures, the first time she hints at loving him is in a letter he received after she died. Life just didn't seem fair to him anymore. He sat in silence until his phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey Elliot, are you at work?"
"No, no. Hey sis, what's going on?"
"Oh, not much at all really. I just wanted to make sure that you were still planning on coming down here tomorrow? Sarah can't stop talking about seeing you again."
Elliot smiled; he hadn't seen his sister or niece, Sarah, in over five years. So when Sarah called like she did every year, begging him to come down and visit, he finally took the vacation time to do so. "Yes, my flight lands in Chicago at 4pm. Are you going to pick me up or is Sarah?"
"Sarah will be working until about 6, so I'll be picking you up. I really can't believe you're actually coming to visit. It just has been so long."
"I know … that's what happens when we both work full-time jobs."
"I work a full-time job, you work a full-life job," Susan laughed, "Okay well Sarah just got home so I am going to let you go. I will see you tomorrow at 4! Love you."
"Love you too, see you tomorrow. Bye."
Elliot closed his phone and placed it back inside his pocket. He kissed his index and middle finger and ran his them over Olivia's name carved on her tombstone. Afterwards, he stood, brushed himself off and began the slow, sad walk to his car.
--------------------------
"Come ON, Jenna! You have to come to meet my uncle. It's perfect. He's single, you're hot... It's a win-win!"
Jenna laughed nervously, playing with the ends of her long, blonde hair, "I don't know, Sarah. I'm really not looking for a relationship."
"I'm not asking you to marry him. Just show him around Chicago. You didn't give me the days off and my mom works. Can you at least show him around?"
"I didn't give you all of the days off because you didn't request them off in the eighteen-day notice that I need. Besides, I did give you two of the days off."
"Well, that's still two days that he needs to be shown around. Please? You have those days off!"
Jenna sighed. She moved from Minnesota to Chicago six months ago to be an Operations Manager at Best Buy and Sarah was her right-hand girl and very much her best friend in the city. They got along pretty well for being fifteen years apart, except for the fact that Sarah was just as stubborn as she was, "Okay fine, I'll show him around for one day but if we don't get along – that's it!"
Sarah smiled; she knew that Jenna would cave in eventually, "Yes! I win. Now come on, let's go back to your place so you can change."
"What? Why?"
"Because my mom picked him up from the airport two hours ago and you're coming to have dinner with us."
"No, No I can't... I have to work-"
"-until six, just like me." Sarah grabbed onto Jenna's arm, practically dragging her to the employee room so they could get their purses, "Listen, if you two really don't get along tonight, I promise I won't push the issue any further."
"You're lying."
"I know… but I already told my mom you were coming, and you can't let her down. Come on, we just picked out that cute black blouse and black and white striped skirt, now you have a reason to wear it! You did look amazing in it."
Jenna just shook her head as she gathered her things and headed out for a night she knew she probably wasn't going to be able to get out of anytime soon.
--------------------------
Sarah was right; Jenna did look amazing in the outfit that she mentioned earlier. It accented all of her curves just right and she felt great wearing it. It had been a while since she felt great, and she felt a little silly being nervous about meeting a guy. After all, it's not like the guy was going to be in town for more than a week. Even if they did get along, she knew nothing would happen. That was a little disappointing to her, but she tried to convince herself that she didn't need a guy in her life. Secretly, there was only one guy she would consider getting into a relationship with, and that guy was way out of her reach.
"We're here!"
Sarah's excited scream knocked Jenna back into reality and also knocked the butterflies back into her stomach. She bit down on her lip and tried not to seem nervous as she climbed out of Sarah's car and followed her to the doorstep. She had been to Sarah's house many times; this time shouldn't be any different.
"Here goes nothing," Jenna whispered to herself as she stepped inside the house behind Sarah.
Susan greeted Jenna with a hug, but didn't even get a chance to say hello to her daughter, "Where's Uncle Elliot?"
"Elliot? Your uncle's name is Elliot?" Elliot. The name itself sent shivers down Jenna's spine.
"Yeah, I didn't tell you?"
"No… you said his name was Lou."
Susan laughed, "Sarah, he's in the kitchen. And Jenna, when Sarah was little, she couldn't say Elliot. So she called my brother Uncle Lo, not Lou."
Sarah had already run into the kitchen by the time Susan finished explaining the name exchange to Jenna. Jenna heard Sarah squeal as she said hello to her uncle, and the voice that she heard respond back almost made her loose her lunch right there on the hardwood floor. She tried to think of a way to leave right at that moment, but didn't have a chance as the swinging door of the kitchen flung open and there was Sarah with Elliot in tow behind her. Jenna turned her head down to the side, hiding her face behind her long blonde hair from Sarah and Elliot.
"Oh Jenna, stop!" Sarah laughed, "Uncle Elliot, I'd like you to meet my hot, single, available boss Jenna..."
"I'd say nice to meet you, if I could see you."
Jenna bit down on her lip, knowing she had no way out of this. Slowly she pulled her blonde hair out of her face, bringing her head back up to face him. She heard him gasp the moment she moved her hair.
"Olivia?"