Loud voices filled the air, and she wondered if this family had any other volume. Her eyes drifted to Noah, and thankfully he was blissfully ignorant to the loud discussion taking place at the adult table. Noise wasn't really a thing at their house, but he seemed perfectly content talking to Maureen's boys.
She listened to the loud conversation for a moment. She needed to know what the hell the problem was before she put an end to all this nonsense.
Elliot and Dickie were now in each other's faces. She winced when she heard her name fly out of Dickie's mouth. Elliot's face turned a livid shade of red, and she thought he might actually kill him at this dinner table.
Katie sat in the corner crying, and as far as she could tell it had something to do with not being able to take care of Bernie, and Eli guilting her.
"I mean come on Katie! It's grandma! She needs to stay with family. You know her memory will only get worse at "home"."
Katie sniffled, "I want to do it, but I can't. My job is too crazy, and I'm always worried she is going to leave the apartment when I'm gone! She would be safer somewhere where she could be supervised!"
Eli wasn't giving her any slack. "I'm pretty sure one of my textbooks said old people die faster in care centers. Their families stop visiting and they just die!"
"God, Eli! Last year you were sneaking grandma's pills!! I think that's a hundred times worse than Katie needing to move her to a home!!" Liz interjected.
That accusation hit below the belt and he suddenly fell silent.
How many times had she been labeled as Elliot's handler? It seemed she had somehow become the handler of the entire Stabler family. After letting out a long breath, she decided to intervene on the argument that had the most potential to actually end in physical violence.
Elliot and Dickie were nearly nose to nose, making it a tight squeeze to get between them. Elliot was easy. It didn't take much for her to get him calm. She'd start there. "Enough El." His eyes burned hot, and she knew that look. It was the look he got when she was threatened or hurt. Keeping her eyes continually on his, she gripped his elbow firmly. "I'm okay. It's okay," She soothed. She felt the tension melting from his body as focused moved off of Dickie and on to her. He seemed to be calm…well calm enough…so she turned to Dickie.
Again, she kept her voice calm, but firm. Dickie liked a good argument, and she had no desire to reward him by engaging in one. "Look. You can't blame anyone for your choices but yourself." He opened his mouth, but she lifted her hand to stop him, "It's pretty simple really. If you don't want everyone to think you're an ass then don't be an ass." She heard Elliot snicker behind her, and she shot him a glare. "And if you are still worried about when your father and I began a sexual relationship you should probably just ask me about it," she tried not to smile because Dickie had suddenly become speechless. She couldn't help herself, "I'm pretty sure we had this conversation over 15 years ago, but in case you forgot, I never slept with your father while we were partners. And if you are dying for details about your father's sex life, I can fill you in if you'd like." She turned toward Elliot because she couldn't hide her smile. The easiest way to get a Stabler to shut up was to bring up sex. Honestly, she had no idea how Elliot worked sex crimes for so long.
Once she got her smile under control, she watched Dickie mouth, "I'm sorry," in Elliot's direction. She figured she effectively put out that dumpster fire so she moved on to the next blaze. Eli shrunk in his chair, bracing himself.
"Eli." His eyes dropped to the table. Eli's nature was much less confrontational than Dickie's and she knew he was a people pleaser. She approached him with a more gentle hand. "Why are you so worried about where Bernie lives?"
Eli shifted uncomfortably, and refused to make eye contact. "I guess I'm just worried she is going to forget us. I mean, I know she will remember Dad and stuff, but if she isn't living with one of us, I think she will lose us as she gets more foggy. I don't know."
Kathleen reached out for her brother's arm, "I worry about that too, but Eli, she needs more care than I can give now. More than anything I want her to be safe. Can you understand that?"
He blinked back the tears that began to fill his eyes. "I understand, but I feel like she will always remember you. You are her "Katie Bug" and I'm just some kid that came to our family super late. I'm pretty sure I will be the first one forgotten when her memory gets worse."
Olivia smiled at the exchange. It seemed like her skills at mediating disagreements might be quite useful in this family. "Eli, have you asked Bernie what she wants? I know for a fact she has discussed her options with both Kathleen and your father."
His eyes finally lifted to Liv's, "I didn't know that."
Olivia kept her voice soft, but her face stayed serious, "You never asked."
Eli dropped his head, and looked a little guilty. She hoped she had been gentle enough. She felt more comfortable handling Dickie. He held a fiery temper she was extremely accustomed to. She could work with that, but Eli was more tender.
He seemed to spend a moment considering what she said before asking, "Is that what she wants, Dad?"
Elliot's eyes were firmly on Olivia so he startled at Eli's question. "Um, yeah. We talked about it, and she thinks it's best too. We talked about doing a visitation schedule or something so everyone still gets the opportunity to spend time with her. You would probably have to FaceTime or something."
"Sorry Katie. I didn't know. I'm an idiot." His eyes oozed contrition.
"Well at least you're not an ass…" Dickie muttered, and everyone laughed at his perfectly timed quip.
"It's okay." Katie grinned wryly, "Sooooo…tell us about this girl you can't seem to stop texting."
Eli's cheeks pinked up, but the conversation cooled into more benign topics and friendly banter. She felt the tension finally release from the room, and she finally settled back into the chair next to Elliot.
He reached for her hand, and squeezed it. "Thank you." He whispered.
"I'll always have your back, Stabler."
This family dinner needs one more scene I think...