So...I can't EVEN begin to tell yall how much I suck for not updating for MONTHS. But...imagine all the "I'm sorry's" in the world and multiply them by 839 and that's how sorry I am. I graduated from college (woop woop!), got an adult job (boooo), and I've been getting settled into the job, working with crazy hyper misbehaving kids all day long. However...
Here's the 4th chapter! We get to follow Elliot, Olivia, and the girls as they head to Elliot's apartment for a night of...well, a night of awkwardness, really. But after so many years apart, what are the chances it wouldn't be at least somewhat awkward?
Oh, and I don't have any plans for this weekend for the first time in MONTHS, so I'm hoping to get some majorly needed writing done! :) Enjoy!
**Don't own them...saaadness!**
Packing up the things that had accumulated in the couple of days Elliot was in the hospital, Olivia smiled as she looked over and saw Emma laughing at something Elliot had done. All three of them looked up when the door opened, the two adults smiling as they saw Maureen and Kathleen. "Hey, girls," Olivia greeted, folding Emma's blanket.
Both smiling, the girls approached Elliot's bed. They hadn't been officially introduced to Emma yet, so they didn't want to scare her off.
With big eyes, Emma looked up at Elliot. "Who's dey?"
"They," he told her, "are your big sisters." Kissing the top of her head, he smiled at his two oldest daughters.
"I gots sisters?" she asked, nearly squealing.
Laughing, Elliot nodded. "Yep. That's Maureen and Kathleen."
Looking at the older girls bashfully with a confused look, Emma's eyes pinched together. "Dat's who?" she asked.
"You can call me Mo," Maureen told her with a smile.
"And you can call me Katie," Kathleen added, sitting at the foot of Elliot's bed.
"Is mommy your mommy, too?" she asked, still unsure of the situation. Giggling, Maureen and Kathleen shook their heads.
"No, baby," Olivia told her as she chuckled. "They have a different mommy." As Emma made an "oh" face as she began to understand, Elliot kissed the top of her head. Olivia zipped up the last bag and turned around, smiling. "Ready to go?" she asked everybody.
Earning three answers of just "Yeah," Emma cheerfully, but carefully, remembering her daddy being hurt, yelled "Let's go, momma!" Standing up on the bed with Elliot's help, she grinned coyly at the two older girls.
"Emma, you want to go with Mo and Katie out to the vehicle?" Olivia asked, handing each of the girls a bag, leaving two for herself. Emma wasn't so sure about going with the two unknown girls, no matter how excited she was about having sisters.
"Come on, Em, we don't bite!" Maureen told her, reaching out a hand.
Kathleen reached out a hand, too, and smiled. "We'll stay where you can see your mommy," she offered the toddler.
Reluctantly, Emma reached out both hands and placed them in the two bigger hands waiting for her. Smiling and nodded, Olivia picked up the two bags left. "Go on, baby," she encouraged. As the girls went out the door, she turned back to Elliot. "You ready?"
Grinning, he stood up on his crutches. "More than you know, Liv."
After three flights of stairs, Elliot was about ready to fall over dead. He had used crutches before, but he never had to climb stairs with them. "My key is in my pocket, Liv," he told her as he reached in his pocket.
Smiling bashfully, she held up her keys. "I still have mine," she admitted as the girls finally reached the top of the stairs. Elliot grinned as she twisted the key in the lock and pushed the door open. "After you, gimpy," she and the girls chuckled.
"Ha…haha…" Elliot 'laughed' back as he rolled his eyes and hopped into the apartment on one foot.
As she flipped on the lights, Olivia sat the two bags down beside the door and laid her keys on the small table as if they belonged there. As the girls came in the door, Maureen shut it and locked it. "Momma, up," Emma asked, holding her arms in the air.
Giving in, Olivia reached over and pulled the girl onto her hip, kissing her cheek when she got in reach. "Is dis daddy's house?" Emma asked, looking around with wide eyes.
Olivia nodded as she watched Elliot sit down on the couch. "Yeah, baby."
"If it's daddy's house, why is dere so many pictuhs of you, momma?"
As she looked around, she realized her daughter was right. Looking away from the pictures on the wall, she saw Elliot watching her out of the corner of her eye. "I don't know, baby," Olivia answered honestly with a shrug. Kissing her forehead, she put Emma down.
"Hey, Emma, come look at our room!" Kathleen called from down the hallway. Without a second thought, the toddler took off running down the hall and into the girls' room.
Chuckling, Olivia walked to the couch and plopped down beside Elliot. "How are you feeling?" she asked, her brown eyes finding his.
"I'm good, Liv," he told her with a light laugh, reaching for a pen on the coffee table.
"Are you really good, or just the "I'm good" that the old Stabler used to tell me after he got shot?"
Grinning, Elliot rolled his eyes. "I'm really good. This cast, however…" he mumbled, and shifted his leg allowing the pen inside the cast.
"Quit fiddling with it," she warned him, taking the pen from him and putting it out of reach. "And you are not allowed to take it off for any reason."
"I would never do such a thing." His tone was thick with sarcasm.
"Elliot Stabler," she scolded. "Do NOT take that thing off."
Rolling his eyes, he quit pulling at the cast. "Yes, mom," he groaned.
Once dinner and bath time were over, Olivia smiled as she watched Emma "play" Candyland with Maureen and Kathleen. It was more of an "Emma just moves pieces around and points out colors" type game, though. Elliot was in his bedroom resting as she finished cleaning up the kitchen. "Hey, Liv," Kathleen called.
Poking her head around the corner, Olivia's eyebrows raised. "Yeah, Katie?"
"Can Emma watch a movie with us?"
"Sure," she replied, drying her hands with a kitchen towel. "What movie?"
"NEMO!" she heard Emma yell.
Chuckling, Olivia walked to her daughter and squatted down in front of her. "You can watch a movie with Mo and Katie, but as soon as it's over, you have to go to bed, okay?"
As Emma nodded furiously with a grin on her face, she reached up and hugged her mom's neck. "Fanks, mommy!"
Olivia smiled, kissing Emma's cheek, and stood up. "I'm going to check on Gimpy," she told the other girls. Looking down at her daughter, she smiled. "You do whatever Katie and Mo tell you, okay?"
"Yes ma'am," Emma replied, settling into the space between her older sisters.
Knocking on the door lightly as she got to the bedroom, Olivia cracked it open. "El?"
"Hey," he smiled as he saw her. "Come on," he told her, moving a pillow out of the spot beside him on the bed.
"What are you watching?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, not sure if she needed to be any further than that.
"There's not much on," he chuckled, tossing the remote to her. "I think this is Deadliest Catch or something like that." Leaning back against the headboard, Olivia left the remote beside her.
After watching a few minutes of the show, Elliot noticed how she was sitting, narrowing his eyes. "What's wrong, Liv?"
"Huh?" she asked, turning her head towards him. "I'm fine," she tried to smile.
"Liar," he quipped with a chuckle as he reached over and hit the mute button on the remote. Looking up into her brown eyes, he smiled and put his hand on top of hers. "Tell me what's wrong, Liv."
Taking a deep breath, Olivia sighed. "The last time I was in here was when…" she trailed off with a shrug. "It's just bringing back some memories."
"I never apologized to you," he spoke quietly.
Catching her attention, Olivia looked over at him with a confused look. "You shouldn't be the one apologizing, El," she sighed. "I'm the one that left without saying goodbye."
"But I'm the one that gave you a reason to leave," he whispered, reaching his hand over and cupping her cheek. He saw the tears building back up in her eyes. "I shouldn't have done that, Liv. And while I'm ecstatic about the results," he smiled at the thought of Emma, "I still shouldn't have done that."
As a tear slipped down her cheek, she tried to smile. "It takes two people to make a baby, El," she chuckled. "I was just as guilty as you."
"Yeah, but I was the married one with kids." Feeling her hand tremble under his, he immediately reached over and pulled her into his arms, as she began to cry. He rubbed her back as her tears hit his t-shirt, just letting her cry. "Shhh…" he tried to calm her down. "I'm here, now…we're together…it's okay, sweetheart…"
Hearing the little pet name he let slip, Olivia's heart fluttered amongst all of the sobs. "I missed you so much," she breathed heavily, giving into his embrace even more.
"I've missed you, too," he assured her, running a hand through her hair. He knew this had to be hard for her, and he couldn't even imagine what all was going through her head.
Talking for a while was what Olivia and Elliot both needed. They caught part of the way up on the last three years, telling work stories, kid stories, all of the above. As they leaned against each other's shoulder, Olivia sighed. She didn't know what was going to happen, she just knew that her feelings for him weren't as resolved as she thought they were.
Hearing a light knock on the door, they both sat up as Olivia ran a hand through her hair. "Come in," Elliot called, pulling a pillow against his chest.
Poking her head in, Kathleen smiled. "Liv, the movie's over. I think Emma is starting to fall asleep, but she won't admit it," the girl chuckled.
Smiling, Olivia moved to the edge of the bed. "I'll be in there in a second," she told Kathleen, watching her quietly close the door back. "Are your blankets still in the hall closet?" she asked, slipping her shoes back on.
"Yeah. Emma can sleep in the room with Maureen and Kathleen," he told her, also moving to the edge of the bed.
"I was just going to make us a bed on the couch," she told him with a shrug, walking towards the door.
Catching her hand, Elliot pulled her back to him before she was able to grab the doorknob. "El, what are you doing?" she asked, resisting at first, but eventually giving in to his arms around her waist.
"Don't sleep on the couch, Liv," he whispered as his lips brushed across her forehead, running his hand across her back.
With her arms draped around his neck, Olivia sighed, "El…"
As he pulled his head back, he smiled and reached up to run a hand through her hair. "Not like that, Liv," he assured her, his blue eyes piercing hers. "I've missed you, I don't want to be away from you."
Taking a deep breath, her eyes closed slowly and reopened as he kissed her forehead. She nodded slowly and half-smiled. "I need to go fix Emma's bed then," she told him, reaching for the door.
Elliot smiled as she left despite the fact that he was scared as hell. He just wanted to be close to her. He most definitely didn't want to try anything, but he was scared that that was what Olivia was thinking. Shrugging, he hopped out of the room and into the hallway. "Mo, Katie," he called out as he poked his head around the corner going into the living room.
"Yeah, daddy?" Kathleen asked, her head sticking up from the couch.
"Do you mind Emma staying in your room with you guys?" he asked, propping himself against the wall.
"No, of course not," Maureen chimed in with a grin. Sure, she already had a little sister, but this one was little, little.
"I gets to stay wif Mo and Katie?" Emma asked, running over to Elliot with a giant grin on her face.
Chuckling, Elliot swooped her up into his arms, earning a cackle from the little girl. "Yeah, princess," he kissed her forehead.
"Emma," Olivia called from down the hall, "Time to brush teeth."
As she started to wiggle to get out of his arms, Elliot hung on tight. "Daddy," she scolded, putting her hands on her hips.
"What?" he asked with a laugh at her posture.
"I gotsta get down. I gotsta brush my teef so dey don't fall out." Her auburn curls bounced as she talked. Chuckling as he saw Olivia at the end of the hall with her hands on her hips, Elliot put Emma back on the floor.
After Emma was done with her nightly routine, which included using the bathroom one last time and brushing her teeth, she ran into the bedroom where she was sleeping. Coming down the hall, Olivia laughed as she saw her daughter working so hard at climbing into the pile of blankets on the floor between the older girls' beds.
Before she laid down, Emma held out her arms towards her mom. Olivia wrapped her arms around the girl and kissed her forehead. "If you need me, I'll be across the hall, okay?" she asked. Emma nodded and kissed her mom. "I love you, Emmabug."
"I luff you, too, momma," Emma promised, her blue eyes staring back at Olivia as she smiled. "Daddy didn't tell me goodnight," the girl frowned.
Kissing the top of her head one last night, Olivia stood up. "I'll go get him. Goodnight, baby," Olivia told her, as she stepped into the hallway. "El," she called out.
"In the kitchen," he responded. Rounding the corner, Olivia smiled as she saw him looking at pictures from Kathleen and Maureen's most recent trip.
"You have an unhappy toddler saying you didn't tell her goodnight," she informed him, sitting next to Maureen.
Chuckling, Elliot got up and hobbled down the hallway. Peeking around the corner, he smiled. "Hey, princess."
"You didn't tell me goodnight, daddy," she informed him, her blue eyes looking up at him from the pallet she was lying on.
"I was letting mommy get you ready for bed then I was going to come in here and tell you goodnight," he promised, sitting on the edge of Kathleen's bed. He watched as she flung the covers back and got up. "What are you doing, Em?"
"I know dat you can't hug me down here 'cuz of dat fing on your leg," she told him, standing in front of him.
Smiling, Elliot pulled her onto his lap. "You're so smart," he brushed her auburn hair back and kissed her forehead. As he squeezed her tight in his arms, he bent his neck down and made loud 'kissing' noises against her neck. Olivia quietly approached the door, but stayed out of sight, smiling as she heard Emma and Elliot both laughing.
Emma squealed as she pushed against his chest to get out of reach. Looking up at him, she smiled and touched his cheek. "Daddy?" she asked, staring back into blue eyes so similar to her own.
"Yeah, princess?"
"Why is dere so many pictuhs of mommy here?"
Smiling, Elliot brushed a curl out of her face. "Because I love your mommy very much," he told the toddler. "And it made me sad when she wasn't here, so pictures of her made me happier."
Making an "oh" face, Emma understood what he was saying. "Is you gonna marry mommy?"
Elliot knew that was coming, so all he could do was chuckle. "Let's not worry about that tonight, huh, princess?" he asked, kissing her forehead one last time. "Get in bed," he shooed her off his lap with a smile, patting her bottom as she turned towards the blankets.
Doing as she was told, Emma crawled back into the pile of blankets and laid her head against the pillow. "Night, daddy," she told him as he walked to the door.
"Goodnight, princess," he smiled and flipped off the light, pulling the door mostly closed. As he turned around, he saw Olivia leaning against the wall. "How…uh…how long you been standing there, Liv?" he asked, trying to conceal a Stabler-smile.
Her brown eyes found his in the dim light of the hallway as she sweetly smiled. "Long enough," she replied, turning around and walking into the living room.
As his heart began racing, he wondered if she had heard what he said. He wondered if she believed it. Shaking his head, he hopped and followed her down the hallway. "Girls, I'm heading to bed," he told them, propping against the wall.
Maureen and Kathleen both looked up with a grin. "Go ahead, daddy," Maureen encouraged, her eyes darting between him and Olivia. Kathleen put a hand over her mouth to hide her giggle.
"Goodnight, daddy," she told him, returning her gaze back to the pictures in front of them before he caught on that they knew what was going on.
"Goodnight, girls," Olivia smiled as she lifted her bag off of the living room floor.
"Night, Liv," they both replied, still hiding chuckles.
Rolling her eyes, she walked back down the hallway, past Elliot, and turned into the bedroom. She dropped the bag on the foot of the bed and began to dig in it as Elliot shut the door behind himself. "Liv," he asked as she began walking towards the bathroom.
"Hmm?" she asked, her brown eyes wide as she smiled and stopped.
"What I said was true," he assured her, knowing she had heard what he told Emma.
Smiling again, she leaned over quickly and pressed her lips to his cheek, setting his skin on fire. "I know, El," she whispered, vanishing into the bathroom.