Olivia groaned as she took a look at the clock beside her bed. It was only seven thirty, she wasn't working and she was exhausted. Why the hell had her body forced her to wake up so frigging early?

She took a deep breath, and that's when she realized why. Bacon. She could smell it. And that wasn't something she was used to.

People always said waking up to the smell of bacon was one of the best things to love. Olivia had never had the chance to experience that since she had lived alone most of her life. The last time she lived with someone was when she was still a teen living under her mother's roof. And she definitely didn't make bacon for breakfast.

But Olivia knew, undeniably that that was the smell of bacon, and her stomach told her quite the same.

It was then that she realized who was making it, who had stayed the night.

And that that person really needed a friend right now.

She got up quickly and pulled on a shirt over her tank top before heading out of her room.

"Good morning," he called out without even having lifted his gaze. "How was your night?"

Olivia made her way towards the kitchen, hands in her back pockets. "It was good. How… how about yours?"

Elliot shrugged. "It… I didn't sleep much," he admitted.

Olivia rested a reassuring hand on his bare shoulder. "Do… do you want to talk?"

Elliot thought about it. He did. Just… he didn't want to drag Olivia into his problems. As much as he wished he could tell her everything, he didn't want her to be burdened with his issues. "Not… not yet," he lied.

She nodded. "I'm here El, if you need to get it off your chest."

Elliot nodded and let a small smile slip. "I know, and I'm thankful to you for that. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Olivia smiled as she gave him a pat on the shoulder and went around to take a seat across from where was cooking, elbows propped up on the island. "That smells really good."

Elliot laughed. "Of course it does. I'm a terrific chef. It's my hidden talent."

"I'll be the judge of that," she said with a laugh as he passed her a plate of bacon and eggs.

"You'll have plenty of time to judge," he said with a smile as he took a seat beside her with his own plate. "We won't be as busy with work in the next little while. I'll be able to show you just how good it gets."

Olivia smiled as she took a bite. "Mmm... so far you're doing a good job."

Elliot let out a laugh as he too took a bite. Conversation was casual, and Olivia didn't find it the least bit awkward or odd to have him in her apartment cooking her breakfast. The friendship thing getting stronger definitely looked to be promising.

"I'm going to... umm... do a little bit of running around," he said as he got up and put his plate in the dishwasher. He then headed for the living room, where all of his stuff was and started picking things up and shoving them back into his bag. Olivia watched him hesitate before taking the envelope and placing it beside his bag. She felt her heart clench at the thought of the pain he was suffering.

And then she saw the tattoo again. She still couldn't figure out how she hadn't discovered it until just the day before. It looked to be slightly wearing, as if it had been there for at least a half a dozen to a dozen years. And its meaning also caught her curiosity. It was something personal, she figured. That's why it was put in a way no one would understand it at first sight. She'd figure it out, she told herself.

He headed into the bathroom with his bag and came out just moments later, fully dressed now so Olivia pushed the tattoo out of her mind. He went over grabbed his jacket then the envelope.

"El, you can leave your bag here. We're only heading back to Philadelphia tomorrow. The couch is still yours."

Elliot hesitated. "You... are you sure? I mean, I don't want to be intruding..."

Olivia laughed. "If we were in Philadelphia we'd be sharing an apartment anyway. Don't worry about it. Besides, I'm liking the whole having breakfast in the morning," she added with a smile.

Elliot let out a smile. "It's my way of repaying you."

"It's nice to have you around," she admitted as he pulled on his shoes.

"It's nice to be around you," he replied with an Elliot smirk. "Thank you Liv, for being you."

Olivia smiled. "I do my best."

Elliot laughed. "I'll be back around lunch. What do you say we eat here? I can pick up some stuff on my way back."

Olivia nodded. "Sounds good. And you can teach me how to cook."

Elliot smiled as he opened the door. "Sounds like a plan."

And with that, he was gone. But not without leaving her with a goodbye smile.

And Olivia knew he'd be back.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was a little after ten when there was a knock at the door. Olivia had been flipping through channels, not too sure what to do with herself. She wasn't used to having much time off. She didn't really have hobbies or anything, so TV seemed like her best option. But it wasn't as great as she had hoped it would be. A guest could be a distraction.

It was then that she realized she never got guests. Elliot had a key, so it wasn't him. It was Sunday, so it wouldn't be a delivery person or politicians or people trying to sell something. Maybe one of those church people who sometimes came around preaching.

But it wasn't one of those either. Her visitor gave her quite the shock.

"Maureen," she said as she opened the door. "I... come on in. I wasn't... wow. You've grown up."

Elliot's oldest daughter came in, not too sure what to do. She had wanted to see Olivia, wanted to talk to her, but she didn't want to go into her work, knowing her father would be around, curious as to why she would be looking for Olivia.

"Come, sit down," she led her to the living room. "Are you looking for your dad?"

Maureen gave her a questioning look. That's when she noticed the duffel bag beside the couch. "Oh... I didn't realize he was staying here. I-"

Olivia cut her off. "We got in late last night from Philadelphia. He didn't know where else to go, so I offered him my couch. That's all."

Maureen nodded. "Is... is he here right now?"

She sort of looked around, as if looking for him.

"No, he told me he had some running around to do and that he'd be back around lunch time. What's wrong Maureen?"

She looked back up at Olivia. "What? Oh... nothing really. It's just that I wanted to talk to you."

"Me?" Olivia seemed shocked. "Why –" she tried figuring out why Maureen would want to talk to her and not tell her father. Something came to mind. "Did someone hurt you Maureen?"

Maureen looked at her incredulously, then let out a laugh. "You're just like dad. Always a cop. No... no that's not it."

Olivia rested a reassuring hand on her lap as if telling her to go on.

"Dad... as you probably already know, him and mom... well things have been tough lately... tough is an understatement. It's been hell. He's gone through hell. And I know that the two of you are partners and all, but I really just wanted to tell you that as much as he may try to hide everything, he needs you right now. He needs you by his side. And I know he wants it to be you by his side. Be patient with him and don't give up on him right now. He needs you."

Olivia knew all of this already, but it really meant a lot to hear it come from Maureen. That meant something stronger than just knowing.

"Maureen, I assure you that your dad has plenty of people watching out for him. And I'll help him through this. But I'm sure he'd love to have you guys around him during these times. I mean, you're his children. He needs you guys."

Maureen nodded. "Trust us, we know how much he needs to have us around. It's... I've been staying at the house for a few weeks now and Lizzie and Dickie are starting to be miserable too. They need to get away from everything. Spend some time with dad."

Olivia nodded. "Why don't you get them to come here for lunch? And bring Eli along too. I'm sure Elliot wouldn't mind making lunch for a few extra mouths."

Maureen nodded slowly. "I... I think maybe Eli should stay with mom... but I'll definitely see if the twins want to come by. I... thank you for being there for him."

Olivia smiled. "It makes me more than happy to help him out."

Maureen's attention was suddenly caught by a very specific object. "Olivia! Is that an engagement ring? I didn't know! Umm... congrats!? I mean, who's the lucky guy?"

Olivia could feel herself going red once again. Maureen noticed this too.

"Can you keep a big secret? I mean, this is really important you keep this a secret."

Maureen smirked. "Of course I can. I'm the family secret keeper."

Olivia nodded. "In that case, the lucky guy doesn't really exist. But he is being portrayed by your dad."

Maureen was puzzled. "Wha... what?"

"The reason we're in Philadelphia is because we're undercover," she explained. They all knew Elliot was spending some time in Philadelphia for the next little while, but they didn't know why. "We're an engaged couple. That's all I can really tell you. The rest is strictly confidential."

Maureen nodded as she got up from her seat and headed for the door. "Oh okay then. Well, I'm going to head out before dad gets back. Let him know though that we'll be by for lunch."

Olivia nodded as Maureen slipped her shoes back on.

"Oh and Olivia?"

Olivia looked at her. "Yeah?"

"I've got to say I'm almost actually glad it's not a real engagement ring."

Olivia was caught by surprise. "What... why?"

She had the door opened and was just moments away from disappearing down the hall, but she answered anyway. "Because it means that there's still a chance."

Olivia didn't follow. "A chance? What kind of chance?"

Maureen laughed as she headed down the hall. But she turned around to call out an answer. "I think you'd make a pretty cool step mom."

With that she disappeared, leaving Olivia to her utter shock and surprise by the young girls final few words.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Olivia was still thinking about her little talk with Maureen, especially the end of it, when she heard the key turn in the door knob and Elliot came in... whistling? Nah...

But as Olivia got up to meet him, she realized he was in fact whistling.

Olivia giggled.

Elliot looked up at the sweet sound. He smirked. "What?"

Olivia smiled. "You're whistling."

Elliot looked at her curiously. "And is there a rule against whistling in your presence Detective?"

Olivia shook her head as she took two of the three grocery bags Elliot had brought in with him and brought them out to the kitchen. Elliot followed.

"No, no rule. It's just… you're whistling. Are you sure you're okay?"

Elliot let out a sigh. "I… I've dealt with the fact that Kathy and I are over. I've been out of the house for over a week. Yesterday, having those papers made it just come back in a rush of things. But now that the papers are no longer in my possession, I'm breathing again. Whistling, actually."

Olivia nodded slowly as she started taking the groceries out of the bag. "Looks like you got enough stuff to feed a few guests."

Elliot looked at her suspiciously. "Why say that?"

Olivia smiled. "Because we're going to have lunch guests."

"Oh really?" Elliot asked, a little confused as to who would be joining them for lunch.

Olivia nodded as she put the milk and the juice he had bought in the fridge so it wouldn't spoil.

"Are you going to tell me who?"

She made an expression as if she was thinking about it, than shook her head. "Nope."

Elliot let out a laugh as he shook his head. "Then I'm not cooking."

"Oh yes you are," Olivia said. "Our guests won't be too happy if they get here and there's nothing to eat."

Elliot glanced at her with an arched eyebrow. "Our guests?"

Just then there was a knock at the door and Olivia smiled. "I'll get that. You, get lunch started."

"Yes sir!" Elliot called out with a laugh as Olivia stuck her tongue out.

She quickly answered the door and hadn't even had the chance to greet her visitors when she was attacked by the young, well not so young anymore, seventeen year old.

"Liv!" she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Elliot's partner. "It's been way too long since we saw you."

Olivia laughed as she returned the hug. "I agree."

As soon as Elliot had heard the exclamation from the familiar voice, he rushed out to make sure his ears weren't playing tricks on him. That's when he found Olivia and Lizzie wrapped in each other's arms, Maureen chuckling at the sight, and Dickie smirking in the background.

"Dad," Dickie was the first to notice Elliot's appearance and immediately rushed to give him a man hug. He didn't care if it wasn't what a seventeen year old should do. He hadn't seen his father in nearly two weeks, and he missed him.

"Hey," Elliot said as the bright smile found his face when Dickie was in his arms. "What… what are you guys doing here?"

"Can't we come see our dad once in a while, especially considering he's in New York for the weekend during a time where he might not be in New York too often?" Maureen said as she went and gave her father a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Of… of course you can… I mean, it's… I love having you guys here… but… how did you find me?" Elliot didn't understand.

"Come on dad?" Lizzie said as she let go of Olivia to give her father a hug. "Seriously? Where else would you be other than with Livia?"

Elliot looked at his daughter in bewilderment as Olivia tried to hide the light blush that appeared on her cheeks. "I… I could have been anywhere! How did you guys even know we were in New York, and not in Philadelphia?"

Maureen laughed and decided she'd explain. "Relax dad. I was over here this morning, to talk to Liv. That's when we found out you were crashing here," she said as she motioned to the bag she knew was his.

Elliot still didn't understand. He understood how his kids knew where he was. What he didn't understand was why Maureen had visited Olivia that morning.

Olivia read his mind. "We had some girl talk El," she said, shrugging. "I figured you weren't seeing much of them lately, so I decided to invite them over for lunch."

Maureen nodded and smiled. "Kathleen wanted to come too, but she had some other obligations."

Elliot understood. His kids were busy kids. He was just glad he'd get a few hours with them.

"You guys hungry?" he asked.

"Always," Dickie grinned.

"Want to come help me with lunch son?" he asked as he gave him a good pat on the back.

Olivia watched, amazed as Dickie nodded and followed his dad into the small kitchen. Most boys his age would have made some snide remark about how only women belonged in the kitchen. But not a Stabler. They were too mature for that. And Elliot's pride of that was always apparent in the way he spoke of his children.

"Why don't we go sit out in the living room and let the boys do all the work?" Olivia asked with a smirk. Maureen and Lizzie exchanged a glance before Lizzie spoke up slightly hesitant.

"We… umm… actually had another idea."

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" she asked.

Maureen and Lizzie both nodded, and Olivia couldn't say no when Lizzie grabbed her hand to drag her out.

"The girls are… well kidnapping me!" Olivia called to Elliot so he would know where she was.

Elliot laughed. "Okay, see you guys later."

"We'll be back soon," Maureen promised.

The girls lead Olivia down to Maureen's car and they drove off, Olivia not too sure what they were doing, or where they were going.

"What's up with the two of you?" Olivia asked, when they stayed silent. Olivia was confused, and she was at a point where she was slightly worried.

"We just missed you Livia," Lizzie said as she leaned forward from her seat in the back. "We don't see you often enough, so when we get the chance, we take advantage."

Olivia looked at both girls, before shaking her head. "Girls, I'm a detective. I read people for a living. If you're trying to hide something from me, you've got to do a better job," she finished with a laugh.

"We need someone to talk to," Maureen admitted.

Olivia looked at the twenty five year old. God, she's grown up. "About…?"

Lizzie sighed. "Everything. Anything."

"What about your parents? I mean, don't you guys talk to them?"

Maureen and Lizzie laughed. "Things we don't necessarily feel comfortable talking to dad about just yet Liv. Girl things."

"What about your mom? Wouldn't she want to talk to you guys about … well whatever you guys want to tell someone?" Kathy was really going to hate her now. Not only did Kathy already think she had stolen Elliot, now her kids were coming to her. Instead of their mother.

Lizzie let out a dry laugh. "I can't even tell mom about my day without her spacing out or freaking out at me. She's been out of it for a while now."

Olivia sighed, knowing she needed to stand up for Kathy, even though she didn't really want to. "Girls, I can only imagine what she's going through right now. She's probably grieving. I know I would be if my husband of twenty some years divorced me. You need to let her heal."

Lizzie scowled. "She's been like this for months Liv. Not just since Dad filed for divorce. And it's her fault he's gone anyway, she knew it was going to happen, so she had the chance to prepare herself. None of the rest of us did. Including Dad. He's the victim here, not her."

Olivia was slightly shocked to hear from Lizzie that it was Kathy's fault. She had come to the conclusion that Elliot had just been fed up, or figured it would be better for all of them if he and Kathy weren't fighting all the time. But the girls knew something, something Elliot wasn't telling her. "It's her fault?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes and was about to say something when something in Maureen's mind clicked. "Oh crap. Shut up Lizzie."

Lizzie gave her sister a glare, not understanding the sudden outburst. "What?"

Maureen pulled over into a pharmacy parking lot, feeling safer out of the way of traffic. She looked at her sister than straight into Olivia's eyes. "He… he didn't tell you, did he?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"How's school son?" Elliot asked as him and his son picked at the food that had been ready for nearly ten minutes. The girls weren't back yet, and it worried him slightly. What had his daughters done to Olivia?

"It's crap. The thought of only having to deal with it for another three months makes the days easier though."

Elliot shook his head. "Wow. Graduating. I… I still can't believe it. You and Lizzie… It just doesn't seem real."

Dickie smiled. "I know, right? I'm still not used to the idea."

"Things change so fast…"

Dickie nodded. "Speaking of things changing fast…"

Elliot looked at the smirk on his son's face. "What?"

Dickie laughed. "How is Olivia's couch treating you?"

Elliot saw the evil gleam in his son's eye. "I only spent one night on it. I didn't get much chance to form an opinion on it."

Dickie looked at his father in shock. "Oh crap dad! I didn't think you had actually… woah, okay. I didn't need to know that."

Elliot looked at his in bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"

Dickie looked back up at his father. "Dad, you've been out of the house for two weeks. You only spent one night in Philadelphia. And you just admitted you only spent one night on the couch. What about that other dozen of nights?" he arched an eye brow.

Elliot finally understood. He was mortified that his son could have thought… "Richard! I only spent the night here last night! I've been staying in the cribs at the precinct for the past two weeks. Not here on the couch, or anywhere else for that matter."

Dickie let out a breath. But it still confused him. "Liv didn't let you stay here last weeks? I mean, she'd take anybody in… why not you?"

Elliot sighed. "Because up until last night she thought I was still at home. I… I just told her about the divorce last night."

Dickie seemed slightly shocked at this newly gathered information. "Wow dad… I mean… I figured you would have told Liv right away…"

Elliot sighed. "Yeah, well she's got enough to worry about in her life. She doesn't need to worry about my problems too. She knows your mom and I are divorcing and that's all she needs to know right now."

Dickie understood what his father was telling her. "She doesn't know…"

Elliot didn't need to hear the end of that sentence. "No, she doesn't."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

There was an awkward silence in the car. Maureen had a look of fear on her face and Lizzie's had turned into shock. Olivia was more confused than she had been the entire time in the car.

"He didn't tell me what…?" Olivia asked, a little unsure of what was going on.

Maureen mumbled a couple of curses under her breath. Lizzie looked at her big sister, before looking outside, and then at Olivia. "I need… I need to go grab some stuff inside… Liv? You want to come with me?"

Olivia couldn't say no. She knew this was some made up on the spot plan to give Maureen a chance to get everything straight. And the look Lizzie gave her sister as they got out confirmed it.

They walked into the store silently, and Lizzie went straight for where she could find some Tylenol. Olivia looked at her questioningly.

"Trust me, I think we're all going to need some."

Olivia knew she wasn't going to say anything else. So she changed the subject.

"How… how is school?"

Lizzie shrugged. "It's okay. Glad it's coming to an end. You're coming to the graduation, right?"

Olivia smiled. "I'll try my best."

Lizzie finally let a smile escape. "Good. You better."

Olivia laughed. "How's Kathleen doing?"

Lizzie nodded. "She's doing better. School keeps her distracted."

"That's good."

"She misses you too," Lizzie said as she paid for her Tylenol and her tampons. "Hopefully she'll come visit next time we come by."

"I'm sure your dad would love to see her."

Lizzie laughed. "Yeah, he's a big softy, isn't he?"

Olivia joined her in laughter as they headed back for the car. "That he is."

When she looked up towards the car, the first thing she saw was Maureen quickly pulling her phone away from her ear and hanging up on whoever she had been talking to. What were these girls up to?

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Elliot glanced at his watch again. Forty five minutes. They had been gone for forty five minutes. What the hell was going on?

"Dad, they're girls," Dickie reminded him. "They're always late."

Elliot let out a quick laugh.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Just then, he felt his phone vibrate, and when he looked at his caller, ID, he sighed in relief.

"Maureen, where are you guys?"

There was a short silence, followed by frantic babbling. Elliot couldn't understand a word of it.

"Are you guys alright? Where are you? Do you need me to get you? Are you hurt?"

He could hear her take a few deep breaths. Before she spoke up. "No, we're at the pharmacy. Lizzie and Liv went in. I'm just sitting in the car… I…"

"Okay, so you're okay?"

"Yeah, yeah… I'm fine. We're all fine."

Elliot nodded. "So what's wrong sweetie?"

"I… I think I might have made a terrible mistake. And I can't tell you how sorry I am. I mean, I didn't know better, and we were just chatting and I didn't know what had happened until it was too late and…" Maureen continued to ramble on.

Elliot needed to cut her off. He still didn't understand. It wasn't leading them anywhere.

"Maureen, what are you trying to tell me?"

She was about to tell him everything. Elliot could hear it in the way she started. "Lizzie was telling her –" But that had been it. The next words that had left his daughters mouth were; "Crap, Liv and Lizzie are back. I got to go."

Elliot didn't get the chance to react. She had already hung up.

He slowly did the same, and Dickie didn't miss a beat. "What was that about?"

Elliot looked at his son. "I… I don't know… I honestly don't know…"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The girls had gotten back very shortly after that, and Elliot could see how odd and out of place each of them seemed. Dickie and Elliot just did their best at starting casual conversations, not wanting them to have an awkwardly silent lunch. Olivia didn't say much. Lizzie tossed in a few comments here and there. Maureen had said maximum four words. Something big had happened.

"I'm… I'm going to go down to the precinct," Olivia said when she had finished her lunch. "Give you guys some time to… umm, talk."

Elliot got up and went after her. "Liv, it's you apartment. You stay here, we'll go talk somewhere else."

Olivia gave him a friendly smile. "Elliot, it's easier for me to leave than have the four of you go. Besides, I promised Finn and Munch I'd slip by anyway. Don't worry about it."

"You sure Liv?" he asked, not wanting her to feel like she had to leave.

"Of course I am. By the way, lunch was delicious."

Elliot let out a small smirk. "Thanks."

Elliot had gone back out to the living room where his kids were sitting silently.

"Bye you guys," Olivia called out and they all called back with their own goodbyes.

As soon as the door had shut behind her, both Maureen and Lizzie started back up with the same ramble as Maureen had earlier.

"Woah! I can't understand a word you're saying," Elliot said and they both stopped. "Maureen, explain to me what the hell is going on!"

Maureen took a deep breath. "We thought she knew dad…"

... knew what?

.Enjoy!