Slowly, he dragged his finger tips up her arms, and to her face. He cupped her cheeks gently and pressed his lips softly to hers. She didn't respond right away; instead, she spent a few seconds reveling in the pressure of his lips against hers. When she opened her mouth in invitation, he accepted quickly and fiercely.
Maureen and Kathleen walked out of Olivia's bedroom the next morning around 8 a.m. having already showered and changed clothes. Their moods were significantly improved by a restful night's sleep and both had gotten at least some of their appetite back so they went straight to Olivia's refrigerator. Chatting amongst themselves, the girls were sullen yet hopeful.
"I bet dad's already left for the precinct." Maureen said, opening the fridge and removing the orange juice. She passed it to Kathleen who dropped it on the counter almost immediately. She squeaked and threw her hands over her mouth, barely containing her smile.
Olivia and their father were contentedly curled up on the couch. Olivia's head was hidden in the crook of Elliot's neck and her legs were entangled with his. He held her close with both arms around her back and shoulders. The both looked so peaceful.
"Oh my god." Maureen whispered. "I wonder how long they've been like that?" She turned to Kathleen who still had her hands over her mouth. She just shook her head and giggled.
"Should we wake them?" Maureen asked.
"No!" Kathleen answered vehemently. "Let them sleep. Dad had a terrible day yesterday. We all did. He and Liv need this. It's been a long time coming."
Maureen nodded and motioned for Kathleen to follow her back to the bedroom with her glass of orange juice. She stopped and turned back towards her father once she had again reached the bedroom door. "Thank god." She whispered. Maureen adored Olivia and knew that her father did too. Seeing them snuggled into each other gave Maureen the hope that no matter how this situation ended, he would be okay because Olivia would be with him.
A smile crossed Elliot's mouth as he heard the bedroom door shut behind them. "Well, that's taken care of." He whispered to Olivia.
She giggled in response and hit him gently in the chest, eyes still closed. "Shut up. We really should have been more careful."
Elliot tilted her head gently to look up at him. "Liv, they're happy. You heard Maureen, she's relieved! They love you. It's all good."
"Yeah, I guess so. We should get up. You need to get to the precinct."
They stretched their cramped limbs and stood up slowly. Olivia made her way to the bathroom while Elliot set to making breakfast for the four of them.
When she opened the door to her room, Olivia found Maureen and Kathleen sitting with their heads together on Olivia's bed, whispering excitedly. They hadn't heard Olivia come in.
"What's up, you two?" The girls jerked their heads up, Katie smiling sheepishly while Maureen turned a bright shade of pink.
"Nothing." They said simultaneously.
"Girls," Olivia said, sitting on the edge of the bed and turning to face them. "I know you probably saw your father and me out on the couch and I know that it may seem that things have moved at a very fast pace for him since he and your mom separated." The girls shook their heads in protest to Olivia's words but she continued. "I want you to know that your family is everything to me. I love you all so much, your father included. That being said, if you two are at all uncomfortable with your father and I being together, I need you to tell me so we can talk about it and figure something out, okay?"
"Olivia," Maureen piped up, finally able to get a word in. "Do you know how many times Katie, Lizzie, Dickie, and I have wished that you were our mom instead? I mean, we love our mom. Really, we do. But she and dad fought so much and every time we came to the precinct or you came over for dinner, you and dad always got along."
Kathleen nodded furiously along with her sister. "Mom always said that dad was 'impossible.' She would walk around the house after a fight muttering 'He's just impossible' over and over again but you never seemed to think so and that means a lot to us. Besides, you're amazing, Liv. Dad's lucky to have landed a woman like you."
Olivia had tears in her eyes now and she leaned over to hug each of Elliot's daughters. "I'm really glad to hear that, girls. I love your dad a lot."
"We know, Liv." The girls said in unison, smiling infectiously.
Olivia stood up and wiped her eyes as she walked to the bathroom, shaking her head at the fullness in her heart.
Elliot, Kathleen, and Maureen were seated at Olivia's dining table when she finished showering. Elliot dropped a stack of pancakes and sausage onto her plate as Olivia settled in next to Kathleen.
"Elliot, pancakes? Shouldn't you be at the precinct?" Olivia asked, slightly worried.
"Called Munch after we got up. He said there's nothing I can do right now. Nothing's changed since last night. He put me through to Cragen who said to spend time with my girls." He smiled and winked at Olivia. "Actually, he ordered me to stay home for a few more hours. I'm going in at 11:00."
"I'm sorry to hear that, El. I was really hoping for some good news this morning. Wait, speaking of children, where is Eli?" Olivia said with a suddenly concerned.
"Mom took him to stay with grandma for a while a few days ago. She said 'he was causing too many problems at home'" Maureen replied, dejectedly. Neither of the girls knew about the paternity battle so Elliot only gave Olivia a knowing look and didn't comment after that.
Suddenly, the air in the apartment had changed and the little bubble of joy that had existed around the four of them for the past few hours burst, leaving reality to settle down on them like a wet blanket. Everyone picked at their food just enough so it looked like they ate. Even though it smelled wonderful, no one could stomach the thought of eating anything while Lizzie and Dickie were still out there.
"El, I want to go in with you today." Olivia piped up suddenly, breaking the morose silence.
Elliot looked up from pushing the food around on his plate and caught Olivia's eyes. "I know, Liv. I know it's killing you to stay cooped up here but you're not 100% yet physically and I need someone I trust to be with Katie and Maureen. I'm so sorry."
Olivia felt like arguing, protesting, yelling and screaming but she stayed silent. Throwing a fit when Elliot was so obviously correct would simply further complicate things for him. She smiled sadly at him and nodded her acceptance.
"Thank you, Liv. I don't know what I would do without you." Elliot said sadly. He got up from the table, picked up his plate of food that he had hardly touched and kissed each of his daughters on the forehead. When he got to Olivia, she shot him a warning look but he ignored her and placed a delicate kiss on her cheek, just close enough to her lips to make her stomach flip. Olivia blushed a deep shade of pink while Katie and Maureen struggled to hide their giggles.
"You girls behave today." Elliot said, gathering his badge and gun from the drawer by the front door where Olivia also kept hers. "Stay inside and do what Olivia asks."
Olivia and Katie ran to their dad to give him one last hug. "You'll call us if you hear anything, won't you?" Katie asked, nervously.
"Of course, Katie-Bug." Elliot said, grasping her shoulders confidently. "It's going to be a good day today. I just know it."
Elliot opened the door and gave Olivia one last loving, trademark Stabler smile before closing it behind him.
Olivia had just finished showering and changing into a pair of jeans and a white v-neck t-shirt. She was carefully applying her usual make up when Kathleen and Maureen knocked on the partially open bathroom door.
"Olivia?" Maureen called. "Do you mind if we come in?"
"Sure, girls. C'mon in." She opened the door further for them and watched them through the mirror as they sat on the edge of the tub, facing her. They looked concerned. "What's up?" Olivia asked, now slightly worried.
Kathleen, though, had become totally distracted in the five seconds they had been in the bathroom and was watching Olivia with a slack jaw as she flawlessly applied her eyeliner. "How do you get it so straight? I can never get mine to look good! I always look like a raccoon!" Kathleen blurted just before Maureen elbowed her in the side.
Olivia burst out laughing. "Years of practice. Here, c'mere. Let me show you." Kathleen popped up from the side of the tub and sat on the edge of the counter that Olivia had cleared off for her. Taking her favorite eye shadow, she brushed a light color onto Kathleen's eye lids. Maureen, now interested, hopped up on the counter too, on the other side of Olivia, who grabbed another make up brush and handed it to Maureen along with her eye shadow palette. "Pick your favorite and I'll give you a make over too." Olivia said, smiling and happy for the distraction. She carefully applied each girls eye make up as they asked her questions and begged for make up advice. She happily obliged and for a brief moment, felt like a mom. She relished every moment.
The girls spent the better part of the morning chatting, laughing, and trying every color and make up brush that Olivia owned. They moved onto hair next and by the time noon rolled around, Kathleen and Maureen had forgotten all about their real reason for interrupting Olivia's morning routine. Olivia had ordered pizza for them and as they sat around the coffee table, watching corny soap operas, Maureen finally remembered what she had wanted to ask Olivia.
"Liv," the teenager began cautiously. "Are you and dad...together together or are you just together because our family is going through a tough time?"
Olivia stopped eating and put her piece of pizza back on her plate. She looked each of the girls in the eyes and took a deep breath. "Your father and I love one another very much. We have for a long time but neither of us knew how the other person felt. It took all of this craziness to get your dad to admit his feelings for me but when he did, I think we both felt...well, what's the best way to describe it? You know when you walk in your front door after having been on a long vacation? That feeling of peacefulness and wholeness? That's the best way to describe how we feel about each other. When we're together, it's like being home for the first time in a long time." Olivia paused, giving the girls time to process her words. "But, if you or Katie, or Lizzie, or Dickie, or Eli ever had a problem with your dad and I being together, I would want you to talk to me about it. You all are like family to me and I love you as much as I love your dad. I care about how you feel too." Olivia stopped, feeling very heavy-hearted as being able to finally acknowledge her feelings was still so new to her, and took a deep breath. She waited for Maureen and Kathleen to say something.
Kathleen chimed in first. "Do you and dad ever fight?"
Olivia laughed. "Oh, yeah. We are both very stubborn people but, we also talk about things that are bothering us too. They only times we have ever fought are at work when we disagree about a case but we always solve our disagreement by talking about it. Believe it or not, I've gotten your dad to share his feelings!" Olivia said with a giggle, trying to lighten the mood.
Kathleen looked relieved as she glanced at Maureen who spoke up next. "When you and dad get married, would we have to go live with mom?"
"Oh, honey! No!" Olivia said, emphatically. "Only if you wanted to. My home is always your home too. ...Wait, what makes you think that your father and I are going to get married?"
Kathleen smirked. "I love how she didn't even notice you said that." she said, grinning at Maureen.
Maureen laughed. "Olivia, seriously. Dad was cuddling with you this morning. I don't think I've ever seen him hug mom, let alone sleep in the same bed with her, let aloooone cuddle with her."
The girls burst out laughing while Olivia remained pensively silent. It was sad to her just how bad Elliot's marriage had gotten but even worse was how much the kids had witnessed. She smiled to herself though, knowing for sure now that things would be better for the Stabler kids once they found Lizzie and Dickie...if they found Lizzie and Dickie.