Benson Residence
203 W. 89th Street Apt 4D
Sunday, November 21
The weekend seemed to fly by a lot faster than Olivia wanted it to. After a very eventful Friday night of naked company, she and Elliot spent all of Saturday at home watching movies and enjoying their day of laziness together. Today was Elliot's day to spend with Eli so he left early that morning for Queens. Olivia decided to get together with Alex, Casey, Amanda, and Melinda for lunch at her apartment. After everything that has happened so far ever since Elliot came back into her life, she figured a day with the girls was something she truly needed to somewhat unwind from the craziness.
Olivia was in the process of putting on her make up when she heard the doorbell ring. She quickly finished applying her mascara and rushed to the door to let in her guests.
"Well damn, Liv. I thought we would be stuck out here forever!" Casey said as she hugged her friend.
"There's no way I would let that happen." Olivia smiled. Casey walked in as Alex walked up and gave Liv a hug.
"I brought some wine, just in case." Alex said with a wink.
"Wine is always good, Alex." Melinda replied, as she was the next guest to arrive.
"Agreed. Put it in the freezer, Alex." Olivia added. "How are you, Melinda?"
"I'm great. How are you? Where's Elliot?" Melinda asked as she gave Olivia a quick hug.
"Today is his day with Eli." Olivia responded as she closed the door. "He left pretty early this morning to go to Queens."
"How is the little guy doing?" Casey asked as the four women sat in the living room.
"How are the other kids? Do they know about you and Elliot yet?" Alex asked next.
"We haven't had the chance to talk to his kids, except for Kathleen. She surprisingly took the news very well." Olivia said.
"Well that's awesome, considering what was going on with her and her friend." Casey replied.
"Yeah, this is why we were very hesitant in telling her. But it went so much better than we expected. When it comes to the twins and Eli, Elliot wanted to break the news to them with Kathy…when they feel ready to."
"Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later. It will be less stress on you guys." Alex said.
"Oh believe me, the sooner they know, the better. I can't help but feel like they will hate me." Olivia said.
"There is no way that they could hate you, Olivia. Elliot's children adore you." Melinda responded.
"Exactly, you have nothing to worry about, Liv." Casey agreed.
Olivia smiled sheepishly at her friends. The doorbell rang again.
"Oooh, is that our lunch?" Casey asked excitedly. "I'm starving, Liv!"
"I sure hope so. I thought the food would have been here before you guys got here." Olivia walked over to the door and opened it, only to find Amanda standing there with food in her hands.
"Anyone order Chinese?" Amanda said with a smile.
"Oh my god, YES!" Casey shouted as she and Alex grabbed the bags of food from the detective.
"Where's the delivery guy?" Olivia asked as she looked into the hallway.
"I ran into him downstairs and just paid for it there. No need for him to come up when I was."
"Oh Amanda, you didn't have to do that. I'm the one that invited you over for lunch." Olivia laughed as she motioned Amanda to come inside the apartment.
"Don't worry about it, Liv. I don't mind."
"That was very kind of you, detective." Melinda chimed in.
"Well with me being the youngest around here, I feel like this would be a nice thing to do. It's not a problem at all."
"Well you're definitely good in my book, Rollins." Casey said as she bit into an eggroll.
"I think we should finally get some of this food before Novak decides to eat it all." Alex laughed. The women gathered in the kitchen, following Casey's lead in getting their lunch.
About an hour into lunch, everyone was fed and the women decided to sit back and relax with the bottle of wine Alex brought over. They talked about random things that have been going on in the world. Majority of the conversation was about the new season of "America's Got Talent". They went back and forth about their favorite performances from the season premiere episode.
"It was really nice of you to invite us over for lunch, Olivia." Melinda said.
"Yeah Liv, I don't think we have ever hung out much outside of the precinct. This was really nice." Amanda added.
"Well with everything that has been going on lately, it has been a little crazy. I just wanted to spend the day with you all." Olivia smiled.
"How is everything going though, Liv?" Alex asked sincerely.
Olivia took a sip of her wine and sighed softly. "Honestly, it has been insane." She laughed.
"Well what else did you expect once Elliot came back?" Casey asked.
"He seems like a great guy." Amanda said quietly.
"He's a sweetheart, but-" Olivia started.
"But he is such a hot head." Melinda finished with a laugh. The rest of the women laughed as well.
"He surely is. Working on some cases with him was always difficult because of his stubbornness." Alex said.
"And the attitude." Casey added.
"And the—"
"OKAY, I get the picture!" Olivia laughed.
"Either way, we're just happy to see you happy again." Casey said.
"I feel incredibly happy, Case. Of course there's so much to still hash out with him and I can't help but feel like I might screw this up. I'm never good with relationships."
"Only because you had a hot headed partner literally breathing down your neck when it came to every guy you came across." Casey said to her friend.
"Only difference now is that the guy you're dating is Elliot. So why worry?" Alex asked.
"I don't know. I feel like it's just too good to be true, ya know?" She said.
"Well Liv, I don't think you need to worry." Amanda chimed in.
"How will this affect work? Is Elliot going to come back?" Melinda asked next.
"Well, he did put in his papers nine months ago… we never really had the chance to talk about him and work." Olivia said.
"Do you think he will come back?" Alex asked.
"Honestly, I don't know. I mean I would love to have him as my partner again, but I don't think he could handle it anymore after what happened with Jenna. It took a lot out of him."
"You should probably talk to him soon about it. If this is something you both truly want, then certain things like this are very important to know." Alex said.
"Besides, if you're going to become a sergeant, that means more work for you." Casey added.
"Wait, sergeant?!" the other females said as they glanced over at Olivia.
"Thanks for spilling the news, Case." Olivia sighed. "But yes, Cragen talked to me about taking the sergeant's exam."
"Wow Olivia, that's a big step! You will nail it, of course." Melinda said.
"It will be nice, especially with Munch retiring soon." Amanda added.
"Cragen will be retiring soon too." Olivia said quietly. "I just don't know…everything is moving and changing so fast. I don't think I handle so much at one time."
"Liv, give me a break. The biggest obstacle you were afraid of facing over the last nine months finally happened, and look where you are now: you're all in love with Elliot." Casey pointed out.
"Not to mention, you've adapted pretty well to Nick and I being around, despite your mood swings in the beginning." Amanda added as the rest of the group laughed.
"I see this as the next step in your amazing career at SVU. You've been so invested in the department for so long, doing and fighting for what you love, so it's only right that you finally have the chance to be in charge for once. You know they'll give you the unit after Cragen leaves." Alex said.
"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure about that, Alex?" Olivia asked. "I'm far from being in 1PP's good graces. Probably a little better than Elliot ever was, but still."
"You don't give yourself enough credit, Liv! You'd be amazing as commanding officer of SVU!" Casey said.
The rest of the group began chiming in with their opinions until Olivia waved her arms back and forth to quiet them down. "I really do appreciate your thoughts and everything, but this is something I have to really think about on my own. Can we talk about something else other than work or Elliot, please?"
Melinda, Amanda, Casey, and Alex nodded their heads as Olivia sighed with relief, allowing their lunch to continue on.
Elliot finally made his way back to Olivia's apartment close to midnight that night. He walked in and saw that the livingroom and kitchen lights were on, but Olivia was nowhere to be found. He cleaned up the coffee table and threw the dishes into the dish washer before turning off all the lights and locking up. He walked into the bedroom and found Olivia fast asleep on the bed. He couldn't help but smile at the woman in front of him. Even passed out, she was still the most beautiful human being on Earth.
He walked over to the bed and placed his phone on the charger.
"You're finally home…" a quiet voice said.
"Go back to sleep, Liv. We can talk in the morning." Elliot said as he kissed her forehead.
"I've waited all day to see you." She sat up and kissed him tenderly on the lips. "I missed those."
"Likewise, Benson." Elliot said with a sly smirk on his face. He sat on the bed and began removing his shoes and clothes.
"So how was your day with Eli? You guys must have done a lot today since you're back so late."
"That doesn't even begin to describe today." Elliot laughed.
"How come? Did something happen?" Olivia asked as she sat up.
"Man, where do I even begin…" Elliot said quietly. He adjusted his body so he was now facing Olivia on the bed.
"You told them, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"It went badly?"
"Well…it wasn't great." Elliot shrugged.
Flashback to earlier that afternoon…
"Listen Kathy, are you sure today is the day to break the news to the rest of the kids? I still feel like—"Elliot began as he paced back and forth on the front porch.
"El, we HAVE to do it now. Otherwise it will only hurt them more if we wait longer." Kathy answered.
"No, no, you're absolutely right. I wish there was an easier way to do this."
"Unfortunately there isn't. We were positive that Kathleen would take the news horribly, but that wasn't the case."
"Good point. I was sure that telling her with Olivia would be nothing but terrible for her, given the state she was in. But she did take it well."
"And that's the only thing we can hope for as we tell the rest of them."
"Something tells me Dickie or Eli might not take it well."
"Elliot, we can't go into this with negative thoughts. Otherwise it will be hell."
"The last nine months were hell. This wouldn't be any different…" Elliot said quietly.
"Go inside and wait in the living room, I'll call the kids to come downstairs."
"Okay. Make sure you give Maureen a call to see where she is." Elliot said as he started walking to the living room. Kathy sighed and went into the kitchen to grab her phone.
"Lizzie, Dickie, come downstairs please. Dad is here. And grab Eli too." Kathy shouted up the staircase.
"Is Kathleen and Maur here yet? Lizzie asked as she appeared in the kitchen.
"Katie isn't coming. She has a therapy appointment. I'm going to call Maureen now."
"Are you okay, mom? You seem a little off. More than usual." Dickie said as he walked in with Eli.
"Just go into the living room, you three. I want to call Maureen." Kathy said as she dialed her daughter's phone number.
"No need to, I'm here, mom." Maureen said as she walked in through the kitchen door.
"Hi sweetie." Kathy greeted her daughter. Kathy motioned her children into the living room, where Elliot sat impatiently and quietly.
"Hi daddy." Lizzie said as she gave her dad a kiss on the cheek.
"Hi hunny. Hey little man, ready for an exciting day with your old man?" Elliot said as he grabbed Eli and hugged him tightly.
"Yeeeeaaaahhh, daddy. Let me go! You're going to squeeze the guts out of me!" Eli laughed into his dad's chest.
"Okay everyone, take a seat." Kathy said as she sat next to Elliot on the small sofa. Their children sat down and looked at their parents anxiously.
"Sooo… what's up? Why are we all sitting here?" Dickie asked boldy.
"Your father and I have something very important to talk to you all about." Kathy began.
"So where is Kathleen then? Shouldn't we wait for her to get here?" Maureen asked.
"She has a therapy appointment today so she won't be able to make it here before your dad has to go."
"Okay so, what is it? What do you need to talk to us about?" Lizzie asked.
"Well, first things first," Elliot began.
"The divorce papers were finally approved. Your dad and I are officially getting divorced." Kathy said solemnly.
"That's it?" Dickie asked quickly.
"No, not quite." Elliot took a deep breath before continuing. "I know you all are aware that mom is in a new relationship. So it's only fair that I tell you all the same: I'm in a new relationship myself."
"With Liv?" Maureen asked.
Elliot was dumbfounded at Maureen's response. "What makes you say that?"
"Sorry dad, but mom already spilled the news to me already."
Elliot glanced right at Kathy as she started to move uncomfortably in her seat. "So much for telling them all together, huh?"
"Sorry El. I couldn't contain myself. I HAD to tell someone."
"Okay so enough of that. Is she the reason why you two are getting divorced?" Dickie asked. Maureen gasped as Lizzie smacked her brother's arm. "What? I know I'm not the only one thinking it."
"Now guys, I want to make something very clear." Elliot began in his stern cop-like voice. "The relationship between your mother and I changed a long time ago. Before me leaving SVU, before the shooting, before anything drastic that has changed within the past year or so." He stopped and glanced over at his soon-to-be ex-wife. She nodded her head and he continued on.
"I can't exactly pinpoint the time where it did change, but it has. This had nothing to do with Liv, or with your mom's new boyfriend, or you kids."
"We just drifted apart as husband and wife." Kathy chimed in.
"Exactly. Now we still care for each other and will always love each other, but just in a different way."
"And just to make it clear, we still love all of you very much and that will never change." Kathy said.
"Your mom is in a happier place in her life now, and I'm working on rebuilding mine to where I want it to be. Everything happens with time, but it definitely takes some adjusting."
"I get you want to be happy, dad. I really do. But Olivia? It had to be her?" Dickie asked.
"Richard! That is no way to speak to your father." Kathy scolded.
"Kath, it's okay." Elliot said. "To be honest, Olivia makes me really happy. Now there is still a lot we both have to talk about, given what has happened over the past nine months, but we are working our way through it. While I could have dated someone else, she's the one my heart is connected to. She has been nothing but amazing to this family from the moment we met thirteen years ago. She cares so much about you guys. And she wants nothing but to be accepted by a family that loves her the same way. Remember guys, she's been alone for just about her whole life. She didn't have the greatest relationship with her mother, her father wasn't in the picture, and she didn't have any siblings. Well, expect for her half-brother, but even that relationship is funky. Point is, she's the one I want to be with. This is where we are now and being the adults that most of you are, I hope you are mature enough to accept this in your own way and allow your mother and I to live our lives the way we wish so it doesn't continue to hurt this family."
Moments passed as the family sat quietly, taking in what Elliot said. Maureen and Lizzie looked at each other before speaking.
"Dad, we want nothing but happiness for you and mom. If this is what makes you happy now, then I'm okay with it." Lizzie said.
"Yeah dad, I've always loved Liv. She is great. Honestly, I thought this would have happened sooner, but nonetheless, you found your way to her in the way you needed. And I'm happy to see mom in a better mood as well with this new guy she's been seeing. I just want you both to be happy." Maureen said with a smile.
"Richard?" Kathy said quietly as she looked at her oldest son. He sat there with his arms crossed and an unpleasant expression on his face. He looked at his mom, then at Elliot, back to Kathy. He took in a deep breath and sat up, uncrossing his arms. "I guess it is what it is. If you both say that you're happy with what's going on now, then so be it. I don't want to be the one to destroy anything, especially since Katie seems to be pleasantly okay with all of this. I was sure that she'd be in a mood about it."
"Really Dick?" Maureen said as she rolled her eyes.
"I'm just saying."
"You're only saying that because you had a huge crush on Liv." Lizzie laughed.
"Piss off!" Dickie said as he punched Lizzie in the arm.
Kathy and Elliot couldn't help but laugh as the tension finally broke.
"All jokes aside, I just hope that from this day on, we can continue to be supportive of each other and be the crazy family that we are. Only difference now is that we may have some new additions to the family." Elliot said.
Kathy glanced over to Eli, who sat quietly the entire time and didn't say a word.
"Okay so are we done been all 'touchy-feeling' with each other now? I'm meeting up with Brad and Jake for pool and pizza." Dickie asked as he stood up from the sofa.
"Yeah sure, you can carry on with your lives now." Kathy laughed.
"Awesome! C'mon Maur, we're going to be late for the movie!" Lizzie said as she ran upstairs to grab her jacket and purse.
"What are you guys going to see?" Kathy asked.
"That stupid Twilight movie. She's been harassing me to see it for weeks. I can't believe I'm going to see that dreaded thing." Maureen said as she rolled her eyes.
"Okay I'm ready, let's go! Bye daddy!" Lizzie said as she grabbed her sister's arm and headed for the door.
"I'll catch you later, dad. Bye mom." Dickie said as he followed his sisters out to the car.
"Let me go grab Eli's bag so you guys can make down to the batting cages in time. Kathy said quietly.
"Sounds good. I'm going to go start the car." Elliot smiled sheepishly.
"I told you, nothing to worry about." Kathy assured him.
After getting settled with dad, Elliot and Eli left for the day and headed to the Bronx. They arrived at the sporting arena in a timely manner, right before the rush of high school boys that came often to play lacrosse and football. They checked in to use the batting cages—it was something new Eli wanted to try out. He suddenly got into baseball after watching a Yankees game with Dickie. It was all he could talk about ever since.
"So the point of this is to hit the ball once it shoots out of those cannons on the opposite side. Just… like… this…" Elliot said as pressed his foot down on the pedal and waited for a ball to be pitched. The cannon went off and shot a ball in Elliot's direction. As the ball was approaching him, he swung the bat as fast as he could. Unfortunately, he missed the ball and it smacked the back fence.
"Okay so not exactly like that, but you get the idea, right bud?" Elliot turned to face his son, who looked absolutely miserable. He sat the bat down and walked over to Eli, kneeling to be at his level. "What's wrong? You haven't said a word since we left the house."
"Is Livia going to be my new mommy now?" he asked quietly.
"Wait what? Eli, where would you even get that idea from?"
"Well, you said you and mommy won't be together anymore. And now you're with Livia. So does that mean mommy won't be my mommy and Livia will take her place?"
"Oh nooo. Sweetie, not at all." Elliot picked up Eli and walked out the cage to sit on a bench nearby.
"Mommy will always be your mom, okay? Nothing will ever change that, I promise." Elliot told Eli sincerely.
"What about Livia?"
"Olivia is my girlfriend, bud. Maybe one day we will get married, but if that were to happen, she would not replace your mom. If anything, she will be like a second mom to you—you're stepmom."
"Stepmom? What is that?"
"Let's see how I can put it… a 'stepmom' is someone that does the same things as a regular mom, like cook and clean, and takes care of the kids. But she doesn't replace your original mom. If I were to have more children, she would be their mom. And you would have a younger brother or sister."
"Oh wow, really? I could be a big brother like Dickie?" Eli asked excitedly.
"Yes you can," Elliot laughed, "But not any time soon. We haven't gotten that far, bud."
"Oh. Okay. Are you sure she won't replace mommy?"
"I promise you she won't. Is this why you've been so quiet?"
"Yeah… I like Livia, but I like mommy too. I didn't want her to leave forever."
"Mommy is never going to leave, bud. And Olivia loves you so much too. You know, she was the one that helped mommy give birth to you."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah! When mommy was pregnant with you, she got into a really bad car accident with Olivia. She helped the paramedics get mommy out of the car since she was stuck and she was in labor, meaning she was ready to bring you into this world."
"Wow. What else happened?" Eli asked with amazement.
"Well, once they got mommy out of the car, they put her in an ambulance with Olivia to take her to the hospital. But you were such an impatient little baby that they had to deliver you right there in the ambulance. Once you were born, something happened to mommy. She passed out and things were looking scary, so Olivia was the one to hold you and keep you warm and safe as the paramedic took care of mommy. Once they got you guys to the hospital, they took good care of you and mommy and when I got there, I was able to see you both."
"Wow. Livia is awesome, dad."
"Ha-ha, yes she is, pal. She's more than awesome."
"Is that why you like her so much?"
"It's one of the many reasons why I do." Elliot said with a smile. "So are you okay now? Can we continue to fail at hitting these stupid baseballs?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. And I can do so much better than you, dad! Watch!" Eli laughed as he ran back into the batting cage and picked up his bat.
Elliot laughed to himself and sighed in relief as he watched his son in the batting cage.
End flashback...
Olivia sat back as she processed everything Elliot told her. She grabbed his hand and rubbed the back of it with her thumb. "That didn't seem so bad, El."
"No, I guess not. But I couldn't help but worry."
"I understand. They're your kids. You want them to be okay. I get it."
"I just hope that this doesn't confuse Eli anymore. I don't want him to get to a point where he feels uncomfortable, you know? I don't want him to end up like Dickie."
"El, don't compare the boys like that. Eli was merely confused about the whole situation. Dickie is just jealous that you got me and he didn't." Olivia laughed.
"Aw man, he's never going to live that down." Elliot chuckled.
"He will find his own 'Olivia' one day. I'm all yours." Olivia kissed Elliot's cheek and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Elliot assured her.
"Come on, get changed and come to bed. I'm sleepy." Olivia yawned.
"That sounds good to me, baby." Elliot kissed Olivia softly before he continued to change his clothes for bed.
Hello everyone! Happy new year to you all! I hope you enjoyed this new chapter! I can't say this enough; I'm so sorry for the incredibly long hiatus. It gets hard to sit down and do some writing when life gets in the way. However, it's a new year and I plan on finishing up these stories I have going on! Special shout out to those that have read and left reviews and continued to show their appreciation for this story! All the positive comments are greatly appreciated! You have no idea... anyhoo, I'm ready to get things rolling with this story again. So please leave any comments/thoughts/whatever you like in the review section, and stay tuned for the next update! :)