Disclaimer: wow, horray for me! Two chapters in two days! It's amazing how much a person can get done when they actually have some free time! Dick said that he'll give Elliot and Olivia two Emmys each if they stay with him instead of working for me. So they're not mine.

After walking for about 45 minutes, Elliot sat down on a large rock, and watched the water wash up onto the beach, taking away some sand every time it returned to the sea. Right now, Kathy was his sea, taking a piece of him every time she washed over. She had slowly eroded him to a skeleton of who he used to be. He had missed his family and she had taken advantage of him. Now he was that sand-worn skeleton without a family, without Olivia, without anything that mattered to him. He knew that he'd return to New York, how could he not? As much as he loved his kids, he couldn't bear to stick around for the Kenneth and Kathy reunion. His mind slowly drifted to Olivia. What was she doing right then? Was she sitting in the squad room drinking coffee with Munch and Fin? Did she even still work at SVU? In the few times that he had talked to Cragen, he had not asked about Olivia, and she was never mentioned, it was just too hard to think about.

"Shit, Liv," he whispered to himself, "I'm so sorry," he admitted, silently apologizing for everything he had put her through over the past months.

After his legs had started to fall asleep from sitting on the hard surface for such a long period of time, he trudged back up the beach, toward the second house, he would no longer share with his kids.

The sun had begun to set over the ocean, painting everything in its orange glow. Out behind the house, stood Dickie, throwing his baseball into the air and catching it again and again.

"Dad, umm...hey, why don't you stay out here with me, you know...um...," he stuttered around, doing anything to stall his father from going in the house where Kenneth was sitting on the couch, like he had never left.

"It's ok, Dickie, I already know about Kenneth, but I appreciate it."

"Are you mad that you and mom are having a baby, but she's hanging out with him?"

"No, actually Mom and I need to talk to you and your sisters, can you come inside?"

"Sure, what about?"

Elliot just shook his head, as if to say, you'll find out in a minute, and headed into the kitchen.

"Elliot, you're back," Kathy responded as she finished pouring herself a glass of juice, and set the bottle back in the refrigerator.

"Yeah, can we all go in the living room and talk?"

"Sure," she said putting her hand on his arm, "did you decide what you wanted to do?"

"Not all of me wants to do it, but I've decided what's best, I think."

Kathy, Elliot, and Dickie went into the living room were the girls were watching tv and Kenneth was uncomfortably shifting in his seat, nervous at the whole situation.

"Girls, could you turn that off for a second," Kathy asked sitting down by Kenneth.

A silence fell over the room as Maureen, Kathleen, and Elizabeth looked from their mom, to Kenneth, to their dad, at each other, and back to their mom and Kenneth again.

"It's ok," Dickie broke the silence, "Dad already knows."

"Actually that's what your mother and I want to talk to you guys about. See there was a...," he stole a glance at Kathy, "...a misunderstanding about the baby, and the baby is actually Kenneth's. I was shocked at first, but now I think that its best for everyone involved that Kenneth is the father."

"Are you serious?" Kathleen sat, wide-eyed, "that's not your baby in there?"

"I'm really sorry guys, but your father is right, and I agree that Kenneth should be a part of this family, and a father to this baby."

"So will you still live here too?" Lizzie asked.

"No," he sighed, letting out the breath of air that he had been holding, waiting for that question to arise, "you guys are old enough that you don't need me every day, like a baby would. I think I'm going to move back to New York, but like before you all have an open invitation to stay with me whenever you want to."

"You miss Liv," Dickie replied; not really a question or a statement.

"I do. I'm so torn because I don't want you to think that she means more to me than you all, because nothing is more important than you guys, nothing. I guess in my mind, this is the best way to have it all. I'll still get to see you when you come to visit, I'll be able to have my friends and job back, and hopefully, I can get Liv back. I don't know though, just say the word and I'll stay here. I'll get a smaller house on the other side of town or something, so I'll be nearby..."

"...Dad, you're rambling," Maureen interrupted, "we know that you love us ,and that you're just trying to do something that works for everyone."

"So when are you planning on flying back?" Kathy asked the question that was on all of her children's minds.

"In a couple of days, I need to talk to Cragen and try to get all the details figured out first. You know what, this has been a long night, why don't we wait and talk about it some more tomorrow, when I have more concrete answers...so anyone up for ice cream?" he grinned.

Back in Maine, Olivia was spending another long night finishing paperwork at her desk, willing her mind to avoid the ever present subject of Elliot. She finally lost the battle, and gave in to thinking about what he was doing at that moment. She stole a glance at the clock, 11:18. He was probably going to bed. He'd be in his boxers, no shirt, his muscular frame sprawling across the sheets. He'd have the look of sex, regardless of whether he and Kathy had done it that day, because Elliot Stabler and sex were synonyms, very pleasurable synonyms. She felt a tingle between her legs as she thought of the nights that he was hers, and that this brooding synonym of sex would pleasure her for hours at a time, his firm hands running up and down her body, as if it was a foreign landscape. Feeling guilty for those thoughts, she pushed them to the back of her mind, and began to think about the guys at the 1-6. Fin's birthday would be coming up soon and everyone would go out drinking together, like they had for the past 5 years. She wondered if Munch had threatened to retire again. She wondered if they had heard from Elliot. Although she spoke to her former captain occasionally, it was unspoken agreement that Elliot was never mentioned. It was just too hard to think about. Her memories of her former life were interrupted by the sound of her current partner's voice.

"Go home Olivia."

"I will, I just need to finish up these files,"she replied, rubbing her eyes.

"No, I mean home, as in New York. I know that's what you're thinking about. Every time you start thinking about your home, you get this certain look in your eyes."

"Maybe it's the look of sleep deprivation."

He gave her a knowing glance, "you think you can lie to me after 5 months and I don't know, try again."

She sighed, "I don't think I'm ready to go back yet, it's just not the right time."

"Maybe," he shrugged, "maybe not, just think about it. I'll see you on Monday."

"Night." Maybe it was time to start thinking about going home.