But Kathleen was worried. This was not like Olivia. She kissed her dad on the cheek and went upstairs to talk to Maureen. They had to fix this.
Three weeks had passed.
Three weeks of ordering one coffee to go and walking to the precinct without her cup of tea burning in his other hand.
Three weeks of staring at a blank computer screen in self-inflicted exile.
Three weeks of unanswered phone calls from two of the most tenacious teenage girls she had ever encountered.
Three weeks of hearing her voicemail message over and over again.
Three weeks had passed and everyone was miserable.
Everyone except for Kathy.
Elliot had been showing up at the house in Queens every evening in the last three weeks to spend time with his children. Usually, he and Kathy completely ignored one another but Elliot seemed to have softened over the past few weeks. His rough edges were no where to be seen. Yes, to Kathy he seemed tired, exhausted even, but it made him kind. She hadn't asked what had happened to Olivia. She figured it was none of her business anyway but something had definitely changed in their relationship and because of it, she was beginning to experience the family environment she had always wanted. Though he never came inside, he and Kathy could at least carry a civilized conversation now.
Three weeks to the day after the police had found Kathy and the twins in Albany, Elliot arrived at the house in Queens looking more disheveled than she had seen him in a long time. His five o'clock shadow could possibly be considered a beard now, his eyes were red-rimmed and his clothes were wrinkled.
The twins were playing outside when Elliot pulled up in his jeep and as usual, they ran over to him and jumped into his arms. Kathy, holding Eli, watched from the living room window as he scooped them up and swung them around. Maureen and Kathleen bounded down the front porch stairs where they had been sitting and hugged him as well. After a few moments of quiet conversation with his two oldest girls, Elliot turned and walked up the porch steps. Taken aback, Kathy quickly stepped away from the window and sat down on the couch with Eli.
"Kathy" A very hoarse Elliot called into the house before stepping completely into the foyer.
"In here, Elliot." Kathy called from the living room. Elliot walked in, carrying a wrinkled business envelope and she knew.
Elliot walked into the room and looked at her with dead, swollen eyes. He gently set the envelope on her lap in silence and waited for her to respond.
Kathy set Eli down on the floor and he immediately ran to Elliot who scooped him up and kissed his forehead as fresh tears began to run down his cheeks once again.
Kathy opened the envelope with shaking hands and pulled out the water stained lab report inside.
Olivia sat in the computer lab, alone once again. Her colleagues had long since gone home for the day but her insatiable work ethic had kept her there for the past few days trying to find a way to break into an online kiddie porn ring called "Teddy's Treehouse." So far she had not had any luck but she was getting closer.
Realizing she was out of tea again, she took a moment to stretch her back and arms and stood up slowly. Making her way over to the hot water kettle, she stopped when she heard voices from the hallway. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she instinctively brushed her finger tips over her gun, making sure it was still clipped to her hip holster.
Olivia pushed the door that led to the hallway open and almost ran straight into two very frantic teenage girls.
"Liv!" Kathleen cried, throwing her arms around the detective tightly.
"Kathleen, Maureen, what is going on? What are you doing here?" Olivia asked, thoroughly surprised.
"Olivia, you have to come to the house. Mom and dad...just come, please?" Maureen choked back tears.
"What happened?!" Olivia asked, blood pressure rising with impending panic. She grabbed the girls and ran back into the lab to grab her purse without hesitation.
"They got the paternity test for Eli back. It's not good, Liv." Kathleen said, walking quickly to keep up with her.
Olivia stopped in her tracks and looked her ex-partner's children. They're eyes were scared and sad. Suddenly, nothing else mattered but helping them.
Olivia led them through the hallways and into the parking garage. They piled into her car and took off towards Queens.
Elliot had yet to say a word. He wanted nothing more than to run back to the solitude of his Manhattan apartment but his gut told him to stay with his children. Kathy was alternating between screaming and ranting into the phone at her attorney about a botched paternity test and screaming at Elliot that this was all his fault.
He was quiet honestly becoming afraid for the safety of his kids and Kathy if she kept this up. She had all but worked herself into a frenzy of anger and self-loathing.
Headlights in the driveway startled Elliot from his thoughts and he looked out the living room window to see who had picked this opportune time to make a house call.
He recognized her silhouette immediately.
Kathleen and Maureen were either the bravest teenagers or the stupidest, he thought to himself.
He picked Eli up in his arms, (the twins had long since retired to their bedrooms) and walked out the front door. He was met with three pairs of very concerned eyes.
"Girls, go inside please and keep an eye on your mother."
Kathleen and Maureen nodded and glanced at Olivia, who smiled at them, and walked into the house.
Eli squirmed in Elliot's arms trying desperately to get to Olivia but Elliot held him firm.
"I'm sorry my girls dragged you into this, Liv." Elliot said, glancing down at his feet as he spoke, afraid to meet her in the eye.
"They didn't. Kathy did."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're holding my nephew, Elliot. I'm involved whether I want to be or not."
She reached out for Eli and scooped him in her arms. He buried his head in her neck and began to suck his thumb, perfectly content.
"Shit. Oh god, Liv. I didn't even...I didn't think of that. I'm sorry. I should have called you."
Elliot sat down on the front steps, head in his hands. His head was spinning with anger, confusion, and exhaustion. Olivia however, was radiating her usual overwhelming calm that came so naturally to her in these situations. Eli was almost asleep on her shoulder.
She sat down on the steps next to Elliot and sighed. "El, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that you're not his father." Her tone was so sincere that he wanted to fall into her arms just like Eli had and find some peace there. Instead, he kept still and waited for her to continue.
"I don't know what to say, Elliot. I don't think I can say anything to make this better. I'm so sorry."
He could tell she was close to tears and he loved her even more for it. The depths of her empathy were incredible.
"Tell me what happened." Olivia whispered, rubbing soothing circles on Eli's back with her fingertips.
"There's not much to say, actually. Liz Donnelly came to the precinct today and called me into Cragen's office. I knew it was bad before I even opened the envelope. I think Liz was almost as upset as I was...which was weird. I'm not used to seeing her lose her cool. I took the rest of the day off and came here. I've been trying to calm Kathy down ever since she read the lab report. She's been on the phone with everyone from her mother to her lawyer, to the head of the laboratory. She even tried to accuse Liz of tampering with the report. Liz ripped her one." Elliot couldn't help but smirk a little at this. Olivia seemed to be having the same trouble because her lips turned upwards into a small smile as well at the thought of Judge Donnelly going toe to toe with an enraged Kathy Stabler.
"How are the kids handling it?" She asked.
"I don't know. Lizzie and Dickie went up to their rooms as soon as she started yelling. It was like they went into survival mode. Kathleen and Maureen left immediately, I guess to get you, and Eli just started crying. The things my kids have heard and seen, Olivia..." Elliot paused, trying to swallow his emotion. "It's not right. They've been through too much." He wanted so desperately to reach out to Olivia, derive comfort from her physical presence, but he kept to himself. He didn't want to scare her off.
Olivia felt sick to her stomach. In her mind, this was her fault too. Every move, mistake, or action Greg had made, she blamed herself for. If he hadn't been so fixated on her, the Stabler family would still be in tact and the kids would not have had to hear and see all of this. She needed to get out of there before she made the situation worse.
Suddenly, the front door burst open to reveal a harried and frantic Kathy, holding a huge kitchen knife.
"How dare you! You have no right to be here!" She screamed at Olivia who immediately stood up and handed Eli to Elliot.
"Kathy, calm down." Olivia said, raising her hands in surrender as Eli started to cry. "Please, you're scaring your kids."
"That's right. MY KIDS, Olivia, not yours. Don't you every touch him again you filthy bitch!" Kathy was hysterical now. Olivia could tell she was on the verge of a huge mental breakdown. Apparently, Elliot sensed the same thing because he suddenly set Eli down on the grass and lunged at the same moment as she lunged for Olivia's neck.
Elliot wrestled Kathy to the ground while Olivia picked up the knife from the brick walkway where it had fallen. She slid the knife safely the back of her pants waist and went to pick Eli up.
"Kathy," Elliot huffed, struggling to hold her down. "Let's get you to the hospital. You're in shock."
Olivia handed Eli to Kathleen, who had run outside when she heard the commotion, and then walked to the kitchen to put the knife away. She came back outside and helped Elliot load Kathy into her car and prepared to drive them to the hospital.
Kathy was all but comatose by the time they pulled up to the emergency room. Elliot had called ahead and since she was one of their own, the other nurses were tripping over each other to get to Kathy as soon as they saw them pull up.
Elliot and Olivia helped get her onto a gurney and she was wheeled away into the fluorescent lights of the emergency room.
As soon as Kathy and the nurses had disappeared, Elliot turned to Olivia.
"Thank you, Olivia." Elliot said, heart bursting with sincerity. "Thank you. I know you didn't want to be here tonight but I appreciate it very much."
Olivia held up a hand in protest. "Elliot..."
"No, let me finish." Elliot said, quickly. "Liv, I know the last few weeks have been really tough on you and I know you need your space, but I want you to know how much it means to me that my girls feel comfortable coming to you when things get bad at home. I hope you don't feel used by them because they truly love you and look up to you, Olivia. I'm really sorry they bothered you."
"I love them too." Olivia said, shivering slightly and crossing her arms in front of her chest for warmth.
"Well, I had better go. Thanks, Olivia. I'll...um...I'll see you." Elliot turned to head into the hospital.
"Elliot." She called. He paused and turned back to face her. "Do you want me to stay with them tonight?"
"No. They're okay. Just go, Liv. Thanks for everything." Elliot's emotions were starting to get the better of him. He wanted her back in his life so badly but she had been so clear about where she stood and what she needed. Her rejection had never hurt worse than it did at this moment for him. He couldn't stand being around her anymore if he couldn't hold her in his arms, stroke her hair, kiss her lips, and nuzzle into her warm embrace. His body was aching with the need to touch her and he needed to walk away.
He turned back towards the hospital again and disappeared inside, leaving Olivia standing in the cold. She got in her car and headed back to Queens. No way would she leave those kids alone tonight.