I'm so sorry this is taking so long. I didn't mean to make you all wait this long, but I'm still struggling with writers block for this story. I'm wrapping it up in my head but I want to do it meticulously on paper (well, screen). I hope this 70th chapter will meet your approval. I'm not completely happy with it myself but I hope it will do Richard and Elliot justice.

...

70. Poetic Justice

Duty and responsibility were words that resonated with the young Marine. Elliot watched his son digest his words and as he looked at the younger version of himself, he suddenly remembered holding him. Very tight. Were they crying?

You can hate me all you want.

You're my son.

You're my son.

Those words echoed in his mind and Elliot took a deep breath. Olivia put her hand on his knee, sensing that something was happening. Then Elliot repeated out loud the words that kept repeating in his head.

"You're my son."

...

Olivia knew what was happening and she looked at Elizabeth. Father and son were staring at each other and Elizabeth was looking from one to the other. There was a lot of emotion in Elliot's face and Richard swallowed hard.

"Dad?" he said softly, and he suddenly seemed years younger.

Richard looked at his father expectantly. It was as if the young boy that had missed his father for years, was on the edge of his seat, hoping his dad would come walking through the door.

"Dickie," Elliot said, and for once, Richard didn't correct him.

He looked at Olivia in stead and asked her,

"Is he remembering something?"

Olivia just nodded, blinking away a few tears. She kept rubbing Elliot's knee, and felt his hand close over hers, holding it as if he needed her to find his bearings again.

"You were so angry with me," Elliot told his son.

"When?" Richard asked, scooting a little closer to his father.

Elliot made a helpless gesture with his free hand.

"You tell me. You ... you wanted me to do someting. To ... sign something maybe?"

Richard's face lit up and it dawned on Olivia as well what Elliot was referring to. She remembered that case during which Richard's best friend Shane had died. Both boys had wanted to join the army and Richard had tried to force Elliot to sign consent forms so he could enlist before turning eighteen. Olivia didn't know exactly what had transpired between father and son, but she did know Elliot had refused to sign the papers.

"I ... I wanted to join the army. You remember now? How?"

The younger Stabler was excited as well as confused, and Elizabeth, who knew her twin brother better than anyone, jumped up and squeezed next to him on the couch, making him scoot closer to their father in the process.

"I told you, he's getting more and more of his memory back," Elizabeth said, "and it's all because of Olivia. It started with her. You should thank her."

Richard looked at Olivia hesitantly, and then back at his father, the question whether his father was really remembering still in his eyes.

"Son ..." Elliot said, but Olivia could tell that Elliot's head was hurting badly. Apparently he wasn't done processing the new memories yet. She knelt down in front of him and took both his hands in hers. Elliot looked at her and leaned forward a little.

"Just relax," she whispered, bringing one hand up to his face and cupping his cheek. "It's alright. You remember Richard now, right? Or one memory of him."

Elliot hummed and closed his eyes, leaning into her touch.

"Just breathe through it. You know how it works."

Elliot took a few deep breaths, ignoring the pain his ribs were causing him, and tried to relax. Elizabeth and Richard watched in silence how their father's partner calmed him down, until he nodded slightly.

"Okay?" Olivia asked softly, and he answered her with an equally soft "okay".

When Elliot sat up and looked at his son again, his mind was clearer and his headache was subsiding. It was never really gone, not since he'd started remembering his life, but it was bearable to the point where he could focus again. And right now, the memory of him holding his son - his crying son - was very clear. And he started remembering the circumstances. Dickie, Richard - his son - had been devastated by the loss of his best friend but as his father, he'd just been angry with him for leaving the house and staying away all night. He'd been a very tough father for Richard.

Sign 'em! Make me wait till I'm 18, you'll never see me again!

He could hear his boy yelling at him, but what he heard wasn't just anger. It was a deep pain and it was somehow strikingly familiar to him, as if it was something he'd felt himself. He looked at his son beside him on the couch and saw the faces of his twins, both hopeful and a little scared. He reached for his son and daughter, and they each grabbed one of his hands.

"I'm sorry," he choked out but Richard was already shaking his head.

"No. No dad," he was quick to say. "You were right. I didn't see it at the time but ... I know you just wanted to protect me because ..."

Both men pursed their lips and swallowed simultaneously and Elizabeth bit her lip. The three of them were so in sync that it was amazing to watch. Olivia couldn't help biting her lip as well when the older Stabler finally said out loud what they were all thinking.

"Because I loved you."

Richard let out a ragged breath and his sister rubbed his back while squeezing her father's hand.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for you when you did turn eighteen," Elliot said sadly.

He'd lost his memory by then, and Richard had indeed left home to join the armed forces.

"I was angry with you then," Richard admitted, "but not for the same reasons. I was just so mad that you didn't remember us."

"I wanted to, Dickie. You gotta believe that. I didn't block you out by choice."

Richard nodded, but his eyes flicked back to Olivia, who was sitting on the chair next to the couch again. They all knew what Richard was thinking. Why had Elliot remembered Olivia and not his own children? Elliot reached for Richard again and put a hand on his arm.

"Son ... the whole time I had amnesia, I had this drive inside me, telling me I needed to be somewhere. Only I didn't know where I was supposed to go. I was missing something ..."

He glanced at Olivia, who gave him a weak smile.

"Someone."

When Richard didn't say anything, Elliot continued.

"It couldn't be your guys or your mom, because you were with me. I felt like I was missing an important part of my life and then when I saw Liv at the hospital, something just clicked. Memories started coming back soon after that. We don't know if it's because of my concussion or because of Liv, or both. But by now, I'm sure that she was the one I was missing. We now think that I might even have been on my way to see her when I got mugged that night when I lost my memory."

Richard and Elizabeth spoke simultaneously when they responded,

"You were."

...

"Screw you Kathy. I never want to see your face again!"

The twins had caught the very last bit of their parents' fight and froze. Their father stormed off then, heading in their direction. He was swearing under his breath and Richard heard him mutter,

"I have to see Liv. Right now. God, I hope she can forgive me."

"Dad!"

"Get outta my way!"

"Where are you going?"

"Ask your mother! I'm done here!"

It was the last time they saw their real father. The next time they saw him, he was only a shell of the man he used to be.

"Mom?" Elizabeth asked her mother hesitantly.

Kathy was standing there, frozen but shaking like a leaf. The twins stood next to her on either side of their mother, and wrapped their arms around her.

"Is he leaving you to be with Olivia?" Richard asked his mother.

Kathy didn't respond and when they looked at her, they saw tears streaming down her cheeks. It was all they needed to know.

...

Elliot sighed after hearing his kids' account of that night. It was the final confirmation that he had indeed been on his way to see Olivia. Why hadn't anyone bothered to tell him that? Before he could ask his children about it, Richard spoke again.

"I hated you then, dad. Mom had gone through so much trouble to organize that party for you. Eli was in tears that you'd left, because we hadn't sang happy birthday for you yet, and he'd practiced so hard. And you just took off to be with ... with another woman."

The young man glanced at Olivia again and Elliot reached for her hand.

"It's okay," Olivia whispered. She knew Richard had never liked her because he'd considered her a threat to his parents' marriage.

"And then when you lost your memory and forgot all about her," Richard continued, "I thought it was a weird kind of poetic justice. Liz too. So we never told you about Olivia."

The twins looked at her again, and Elizabeth said,

"I'm so sorry now Olivia. In the end, everyone just got hurt more. Including you."

Olivia gave both young adults a sad smile. She was trying to understand how loyal children were to their parents and she could only hope Noah would be that loyal to her too. Her son would always come first for her, no matter what - or who - happened. She understood so much better now why Elliot had kept fighting to keep his family together all those years, even though his marriage was failing. It was for the kids. It had always been for the kids.

Elliot shook his head and she looked at him more attentively. Another memory seemed to resurface.

"Dickie ... Richard. Did I ... did I ever tell you how proud I was of you? You ... that woman said you'd been a good influence on her son."

Richard's eyes widened a bit.

"That woman? You mean Shane's mom?"

"I guess."

Richard huffed and Elizabeth patted his back again.

"She never wanted to see me again after he died," Richard said, a challenge in his voice.

Elliot glanced at Olivia and she could tell his memories weren't complete yet, but he forged ahead anyway.

"Still. I know I was very proud of you back then, even if we were mostly angry with each other."

Richard looked down at his lap and blinked a few times.

"And I'm very proud of what you're doing with your life now, too. You're actually a Marine!"

His pride as well as his love for his son was audible in his voice and when Richard looked up, there were tears in his eyes. His sister was blinking away a few tears of her own and Olivia remembered how Kathleen had told her that all Richard wanted was for his father to be proud of him. Elliot held out his arm and both men had never looked more alike when Richard moved closer to his father until they could wrap one arm around each other. They were trying but failing to keep their tears at bay and clung to each other as best they could, sitting side by side on the couch.

"I missed you, dad," Richard choked out, and Elizabeth and Olivia let their own tears fall freely.

Elizabeth got up and walked over to Olivia to pull her into a sideways hug, which Olivia gladly reciprocated. She knew how much it would have meant to the 'old' Elliot to connect with his son this way and she was so relieved that Elliot was remembering bits and pieces of their past now, for both of them. She could hear the emotion in Elliot's voice when he told Richard softly,

"I love you, son."

And Elizabeth's shoulders shook when her brother said softly,

"Welcome back, dad."

...

Aaww.

Richard took up more space than I had anticipated, but I feel he deserved it. So now we know that Elliot was really going to visit Olivia that night. Next up, the rest of the family comes over. Will more memories return?