Elliot felt like these women were discussing the terms of a custody agreement. Once his life was planned for him over the next week they were all ready to go.
He winced as he scooted towards the edge of the bed. Both women grabbed an arm to steady him into the chair he obviously didn't need. Kathleen set a bag on his lap. It contained all the folders of discharge instructions, his clothes, and miscellaneous items like Noah's get well card.
Kathleen pushed the chair and Olivia walked beside them. "Where are you parked?" Kathleen asked.
"The main parking garage," Olivia answered.
"Do you mind driving him? Your SUV has a little more space than my car." Elliot knew what Kathleen was doing here, but he was powerless to stop her. He damn well could fit in her car, but she was manufacturing an excuse for him to spend more time with Liv. He suspected Kathleen purposefully scheduled nights for work so Olivia could stay the next few nights. Her meddling irked him slightly, but she did it out of love, and her desire for him and Liv to be happy together.
"Of course." They made it to the parking structure, and found Olivia's SUV. Kathleen took the bag off Elliot's lap and dropped it in the backseat.
Both women reached for his arms to help him into the car, but this was getting ridiculous. He wasn't a decrepit old man who needed to be lifted into the damn car. He swatted their hands away, "I can get in myself."
Liv and Kathleen rolled their eyes simultaneously. "Sure Dad. Whatever." Olivia backed off, but Kathleen stood behind him, making sure he didn't need to be steadied. Sure enough he got himself in, but he felt exhausted from the effort and he felt a deep ache at his wound site which made him groan.
Kathleen rolled her eyes again, "Was it worth it?"
Elliot tried to smile through his gritted teeth. "Yes."
She waved him off. "Meet you at his place, Liv? I need to stop and grab a few things from the pharmacy, and I'm pretty sure there aren't any groceries in his fridge so I'll pick up some basics."
Liv glanced at her watch, "See you in an hour and a half or so?"
"Yep." Kathleen smiled and waved as she walked to her car.
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Olivia tried to focus on driving and not the man sitting next to her. They sat in comfortable silence for the first part of the drive. The sound of the radio floated throughout her SUV. Elliot looked over at her one of the times she was trying to steal a glance. He smiled that slightly smug smile. She resisted shooting him an exaggerated eye roll.
Elliot finally broke the silence, "So," he was purposely making this awkward. "How was your weekend?"
Those damn blue eyes were going to be the death of her. "Long," she admitted. "It pains me to admit but," she shot him a flirtatious smile, "I missed you."
"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Don't let it go to your head or anything." She let him have that exaggerated eye roll.
"Too late."
That damn smile. She tried to remember to breathe. And drive. She needed to remember to drive. It didn't help that he reached over to grab her free hand when they stopped at the next light.
"Liv?"
She focused on the road now that the light switched to green. "Hm?"
"I missed you too."
Her stomach fluttered and her heart warmed. He was insufferable, but she loved him.
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Olivia parked as close as possible to his door because she knew he would insist on walking without help, and with her luck he would split a stitch trying to prove he wasn't an invalid.
She parked and reached into the backseat for his bag. By the time she turned back around Elliot had already opened the passenger side door. "Damn it Elliot."
She jumped out the driver side, trying to get to him before the idiot hurt himself. She got to his side just as his feet touched the ground. He gave her a sarcastic side eye, "And I didn't even die."
She groaned, and grabbed his hand knowing he wouldn't miss the opportunity to hold her hand. At least she could feel like she was helping.
They made it inside the apartment easy enough. He started walking towards the kitchen, but she stopped him.
"Sit your ass down Stabler. Bed or couch, I don't care, but you will sit down."
"Is that an order…captain?" His eyes danced.
She tried not to smile, "Yeah. It is." She couldn't hold back the smile.
"Couch then." He sat down and groaned as he lifted his legs to the couch. Any core movement felt like someone stabbed him. He grabbed a throw pillow for his head.
"You okay over there?" Liv was laying out his discharge forms, looking for the page with wound care.
"Totally fine," he winced a little.
Olivia walked over to the fridge and opened the door. "God El, do you even live here? There's no food anywhere."
He shrugged. "That's why they invented DoorDash."
"Well we might be DoorDash-ing it because there isn't anything edible here."
Elliot pulled his phone from his pocket. "I got this. Gotta be useful at something."
Liv got everything out of his bag and organized before joining him in the couch. He stared at her.
"What?" She started to feel a little exasperated.
That smile lit his face again, "You can sit closer you know." He scoot his back flush with the couch back, creating space for her.
"I don't want to hurt you," she admitted.
He reached for her, "I'll live. Come here."
She complied, still feeling cautious. She sat in the space he created, but he tugged her down, and she tucked her legs against his. She snuggled back into him, careful not to put too much weight against his abdomen. Apparently that wasn't close enough because he threw his arm over hip pushing her back flush with his chest.
"You okay?" She asked, "I'm not pushing too much against that massive hole in your abdomen am I?"
He brushed her hair away from her ear before saying, "You're not nearly close enough." He placed a kiss into her hair, and she felt him relax against her. Not even two minutes later, his breathing evened out and she knew he fell asleep. She laced her fingers through his, bringing his arm around her more tightly. She sighed, and relaxed into him. She had barely slept since Fin bursted into her office on the day El was shot. She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep next to him.
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Kathleen unlocked the door and brought in groceries, multiple bags draped on each arm. She wasn't particularly quiet as she lumbered down the hall, but she stopped when she found her dad and Olivia spooning on the couch, completely zonked out. She tried to minimize the rustling of the bags before setting them on the counter. It took all her self control to refrain from snapping a cute picture and sending it to her siblings. She would respect her dad's request for discretion for now, knowing she would never ruin this for him. He'd waited for this for a long time, and he deserved to be happy. Liv too.
She started quietly putting things away in the fridge and cupboards. To her surprise, Olivia sleepily opened her eyes. Kathleen wasn't sure what she should do, so she ducked behind the counter. She felt stupid. Of course Olivia saw her already. She just looked like an idiot.
Olivia kept her voice low, obviously trying not to wake her dad, "Kathleen it's fine."
She stood back up slowly, feeling sheepish. She quietly toed over to the couch. "Sorry, I was trying to be quiet, and Dad told me to not make a big deal over this," she motioned toward the snuggling, "and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, because I'm really happy about this and I don't want to be the person to ruin it." She knew her words were starting to sound like brain vomit, so she just stopped talking.
Olivia chuckled softly. "It's okay. I figured you probably knew."
"I really haven't said anything to anyone. I wouldn't. I know how bad he wants this, oh god I need to stop talking."
"Thanks."
Kathleen raised an eyebrow, "For what?"
"For keeping things quiet for now." Elliot snored softly behind her. "I'm just," Olivia struggled for words. "I'm usually a private person, and letting someone," she tilted her head back towards Elliot, "into my life fully," she sighed, "is hard. I need a little time to adjust is all."
Kathlee grasped Liv's free hand. "I get it. Take your time." She looked over at her sleeping father, "He needs you. Just," she paused, "try not to freeze him out. If you need time or whatever, just tell him." Kathleen pushed a little further. "He loves you. You know that. It would kill him to lose you and I won't be responsible for that."
Tears welled in Olivia's eyes and she blinked them back. "Thank you Katie." She rubbed her thumb over Elliot's fingers. "Honestly, it would kill me to lose him again, and that's some of the problem, but I'm trying."
"I know," Kathleen smiled.
Elliot shifted, and both women seemed to decide they said enough for now.
"I'll get these things put away. Do you want to call me when he's up and we can figure out schedule or do you want me to hang out?"
"Actually, he fell asleep before he ordered us some food." She shook her head mocking, "He said he could handle that." Olivia chuckled, "can you pick up something for us, and when you get back he can eat and we can go over the plan for the next few days."
Kathleen pulled her keys from her pocket. "Anything in particular?"
"Nah, get whatever. I'm not picky."
"K." Kathleen caught Olivia's eyes. "Thanks Liv. Really. Thanks for being here."
"I'm happy to be here."
Kathleen smiled and turned towards the door, quickly waving as she slipped out the door.