A little later than I had planned but in all fairness, my other running story deserved some attention too. Without further ado, here's chapter 56 for you!

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56. We need to talk

Elizabeth hadn't quite known what to make of her father's mood now that he seemed to at least recognize his connection to her. She was very relieved that he accepted her relationship with Jessie so easily and Elliot had assured her that the whole family would be okay with it, as long as she was happy. Some might need some more time to get used to the idea - like mom, Elizabeth had interjected, but it would be alright. She would always be family, just like she'd always been. Jessie didn't show much emotion in front of Elliot and Olivia but they could tell she was relieved that her girlfriend had finally come out.

Olivia offered to go with Elizabeth and Jessie to get their things and take them to Elliot's place, because they didn't have a car and also to make sure the boys would let them go without any argument. They got Elliot settled in Olivia's bedroom first. He was very tired and told them he'd probably be practically unconscious the whole time Olivia was away. Olivia trusted him to make it to the bathroom in time if nature called, and he thanked her for being so kind to his daughter.

For Olivia, it was only natural to look out for Elizabeth, not just because she was Elliot's daughter, but also because she had been living in unhealthy circumstances. She felt protective of both girls and wanted to make sure that the three boys knew this wasn't the way they should treat women. She took her badge and gun with her and smiled when she saw Jessie's eyes widen ever so slightly when she holstered her Glock. The girl didn't say anything to her, but when they got ready to leave, she thought she heard her whisper to Elizabeth that she thought Olivia was 'a cool chick'.

Only two of the three boys were home working on a programming project when they arrived at the loft, and they were very meek, clearly impressed with the presence of an NYPD Lieutenant. Olivia made sure they understood that the girls would not be paying any rent from now on and that their little sex contract would not stand up in court. Just the mention of court was enough to stun the young men into silence. She advised them to just invite male students to share the rent with from now on and ignored them after that. When they were all packed and ready to leave, Mandy, the third girl, came home and asked the girls what was going on. After Jessie had explained to her that they were moving out, Olivia asked Mandy,

"If you want out of that contract with the boys, I can help you too, Mandy. Just say the word."

Mandy assured them she would be fine, although she would miss her friends.

"So you're okay with living with three guys and having sex with all of them?" Olivia asked bluntly, to make sure Mandy knew what she was in for.

Mandy bit her lip and admitted that she had started dating someone who had already graduated and had his own place, and she hoped to move in with him as soon as possible.

"Well, if things don't work out with him, here's my card," Olivia said, handing the girl her business card. "And if you're serious about this guy, tell your roommates you won't sleep with them anymore, okay? If they give you any trouble, call me. They can't force you to do anything you're not comfortable with."

Mandy nodded and Olivia hoped she'd gotten through to her. Once they were on their way to Elliot's apartment, Elizabeth told her they'd keep in touch with Mandy. After they'd hauled what little possessions the girls had up to Elliot's third floor apartment, Olivia checked out the place, making sure they girls wouldn't stumble across things Elliot wouldn't want them to see. He hadn't said anything about it, but she decided to check anyway. It also gave her an idea about how he'd lived there over the past thee years. She found nothing at all that would suggest he'd had female company staying over and she scolded herself mentally for even wondering about it. His apartment was modest and practical, but with personal touches too, the most prominent ones being the pictures of Eli on the wall. There was a family portrait as well, but most pictures were of Eli, or Eli and Elliot together. Olivia bit her lip when she spotted one picture of them that was all to familiar to her. It was the same one that had been on his desk.

She heard the girls laughing while they changed the bedding on Elliot's Queen sized bed. She could imagine that the girls would be looking forward to finally being alone, and she decided that she would grab some more of Elliot's clothes and toiletries and then be out of there. She and the girls exchanged phone numbers and Elizabeth and Jessie thanked her once again for her help. She hugged both girls before heading for the door with a duffel bag and a shopping bag full of Elliot's stuff. Elizabeth had her own key to her dad's place so they were all set, and they waved happily at her from behind the living room window when she looked up before getting into her car. She smiled and waved back at them. They would be alright now and she was suddenly eager to get back home to Elliot. She checked the time and decided to pick up Noah early before heading home.

...

Elliot had been sleeping but woke up when he heard a persistent buzzing near his ear. When he opened his eyes, he needed a moment to realize where he was. The buzzing continued, and just when he finally understood it was his phone, that he'd tucked under his pillow before falling asleep, it stopped. He reached for the device and checked his missed calls. Kathy. He knew he should call her back and he had mixed feelings about talking to her. Part of him wanted to have it out with her once and for all, but another part still couldn't believe how she could have kept so much important information from him deliberately. Even her mentioning an NYPD detective that had gotten into some trouble with a rapist seemed suspicious to him now.

He still didn't want to meet with Kathy at Olivia's apartment, and he didn't want to hash it all out with her over the phone. He took a deep breath and then hit the call back button. He wasn't nervous about calling her, just worried that he wouldn't be able to contain his anger. He was also aware that his body hadn't recovered from all the extra exercise of the day yet, getting a new cast and walking on crutches further than he'd had so far. He thought it would be wise to plan a meeting for the next day. He didn't know this part of Manhattan well though and he was still wondering about a suitable location when Kathy answered her phone.

"Hi," she said neutrally.

"Hi," Elliot replied.

"Maureen told me that you were getting released today, is that true?"

"Yeah. I'm at Olivia's now."

"Oh."

An awkward silence hung between them for a few seconds and once Elliot realized that Kathy wasn't going to say anything else, he asked her,

"Did Maureen tell you what she told me about our fight?"

"Yes."

"We need to talk about that Kathy, but I don't want to do it over the phone."

Kathy was silent once again, and Elliot decided to simply wait for her to speak again. He knew that once he started asking her questions, he wouldn't be able to stop. He wanted to know about his letter to Olivia and about Eli and he wanted to understand why Kathy had believed they could start over when it hadn't worked the first time - or even the first several times they had tried - and why she had kept everyone of the NYPD out of his life. He could understand his kids' loyalty to their mother but he would never understand why she would lie to him and why she had never bothered to tell him about Olivia, even after their marriage had collapsed. He had so many questions that he felt dizzy, and the rage that he felt bubbling beneath the surface about the injustice of it all, felt dangerous. Explosive. Like something he couldn't unleash, because it would consume him and everyone that got in his way. It was such a far cry from the peace he'd found over the past four years, learning to live with the white screen of his wiped-out life, that it unnerved him. He didn't know himself like this and he realized he was squeezing his phone so hard that it started to crack a little.

"What do you want to know Elliot," Kathy finally asked him and he couldn't help laughing coldly.

"You're seriously asking me this Kathy?" he said harshly. "I want to know everything you've kept from me these past four years! Everything you've stolen from me by not telling me about it."

"I can't talk to you when you're yelling at me like that Elliot," Kathy said, and he could hear her voice shaking.

"You can't very well blame me for being angry, can you?" he spat, sitting up a little but then wrapping his free arm around his sore chest.

"Maybe not," Kathy admitted, "but there's no reason we can't be civil around each other, even if we are divorced."

"It's not about that and you know it!" Elliot yelled. "You lied to me Kathy. Over and over again. And you got everyone to play along with your game. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you for that! So I expect to see you tomorrow, and I want you to bring the letter and I want a paternity test for Eli!"

"Wh ... what?!" Kathy gasped.

"You heard me," Elliot said, trying to control his breathing because he was overexerting himself, yelling at his ex-wife like this.

"Eli is yours," Kathy said softly, and he could tell that she had started crying. "He can't be anyone else's, I swear. I can't believe you're even suggesting ..."

"Well, I'm sorry but right now I'm having a rather hard time believing anything you say or have said to me in the past."

He heard Kathy sniffling and he waited for a few moments so she could calm down before he told her,

"I want to meet you in Manhattan tomorrow at ten. I'll text you the address later. Okay?"

"Okay," Kathy whispered.

"Alright. See you tomorrow."

And with that, he ended the call.

...

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