Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers. Posting for those of you who need a little reading break from all the family and festivities. My anxiety kicks up with all the crazy shenanigans so I gotta take a writing break now and again. Lots of EO in this one- and a super protective OLIVIA. Enjoy!

"El," she breathed. The sight of him there, eyes blazing, watching her like she was his only salvation, was almost too much. Her hand remained on her door knob, but she slowly shut the door behind her after she stepped in the hall. She leaned against the now shut door, letting it support her exhausted frame. She was too tired for this shit.

"Where is she?" He repeated.

She felt a headache coming on. "What are you doing here?" She tried to deflect. "Does Bell know you're here?"

He groaned in frustration. "I'm not worried about Bell," his voice became desperate and lightly angry.. "Where's Lizzie?"

Olivia sighed, and held her position in front of the door. "She's sleeping Elliot."

He reached around her for the door handle but she pushed her body in front of him. She knew standing between him and his child meant a fight, but she held her ground.

He stepped back abruptly with another frustrated groan. "Damn it Liv. I need to see her."

She took a slow breath and answered, "No." she folded her arms. "She's had a hell of a day and I'm not letting you storm into my home, guns blazing." There was no way she would let him inside and destroy the trust that Lizzie had laid in her hands. She was doing what Elliot always did. She was protecting his kids even if it was at his expense.

Those blue eyes flashed from fear to anger. She could almost feel the storm raging behind those volatile blue eyes. She sucked in a breath and braced herself for an outburst.

"I busted my ass to get here and I need to see her! I don't even know what the hell happened! All I know is Katie called me in tears and said that my daughter needed me!" He threw his hands up and she knew he was feeling exasperated and out of control. Unfortunately, she couldn't give him the control he sought.

He began to pace out his nervous energy like a caged animal, and she treaded carefully. She didn't want him to bite. "She's okay," Olivia said slowly. She closed her eyes. He could always read her so damn well and she prayed that just this once he wouldn't yank the truth from her.

Her reassurance did little to dissuade his building tension. "Liv," his voice quivered, and if we're anyone else but Elliot she would be scared. But it was Elliot, and he might lash out, but he would never hurt her. "Just tell me what's going on."

She sighed, and lowered her voice, "I can't talk about it El." She took a chance, and lifted her warm eyes to his. "She asked me…" she bit her lip, and hope she could give him enough without giving him everything. "She asked me not to talk about it, and I have to respect that."

He gritted his teeth."No. No you don't get to use that on me Olivia. You don't get to pull rank or confidentiality on me!" He was pacing again. "I'm her father."

"And she's an adult! She's not a baby anymore El!" Her pitch matched his, but she managed keep her volume lower. She really didn't need nosy neighbors poking their heads out to inspect the commotion. "Being her father doesn't mean you get a free pass to do whatever the hell you want." Her voice cracked at the last word and she swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He snapped. .

He was hurting and scared, she knew that. She knew him. But he wasn't her priority right now. He might hate her, but she knew exactly what she was doing as she stood between Elliot and one of his children.

"You can't plow your way through this one," Liv's voice softened but remained firm. "You…" she felt her emotions taking over and she worked on remembering to breathe. "What was she supposed to do Elliot? She couldn't call you, and you know Liz…" Olivia's eyes flicked to his. "She doesn't want to be a bother. She really didn't want to make this a big deal." She tried to skirt around the details and stick to the emotions at play. "She's scared and hurt, and I will not let you make this worse." She sighed, "Just…" she stepped into his space, and was almost taken aback by the anxiety and tension rolling off of him. That's all it ever was. Fear masked as anger. She took a chance, and laid a hand on his chest, just above his racing heart. She half expected him to jump backwards, but he leaned into her instead.

His head dropped, as if her simple touch was all he needed to calm his rage. He lifted his hand to cover hers. Hume wouldn't meet her eyes and kept his focus on the floor beneath them. "I don't want to be on the outside of whatever is happening." He admitted roughly. "I have a million scenarios running through my head and they're all terrifying… I just need to see her. I need to see her breathing." His hand squeezed hers, and his glistening eyes finally met hers. "That's all I want, Liv. That's all."

He leaned into her, and she knew he was silently asking for comfort only she could provide. She allowed him closer, wrapping her arms around his wide chest. His head dropped to her shoulder, and she felt tears beginning to wet his shirt. Without a thought, one of her hands drifted to the back of his head in an attempt to hold him tighter. Her heart broke watching him like this. His family was everything to him, and one of them being hurt? This was one of his worst nightmares.

She hesitated, trying to figure out what she wanted to do. She trusted him, mostly, and she knew him. If he promised her he wouldn't push, then he wouldn't push.

"Okay." Her voice remained quiet and gentle. "But if you barrel in there recklessly, I swear to God Elliot, I have no problem physically throwing your ass outside." The comment was very tongue in cheek. They both knew she wouldn't be able to move him anywhere he didn't want to go.

"Okay," he said heavily, but he didn't move, not yet. He took a moment to regain control of his emotions. He seemed to find some strength in her embrace. He lifted his head, and let his cheek brush hers. "Thank you." His voice tumbled out as a rumbling whisper. "Thank you for being there for her. Thank you for always being there." She felt him swallow deeply, and she felt hesitation float off of him. She could almost feel the words he wanted to say, but he held them back. The words he eventually spoke were much more benign than the ones she knew were in his head. "I don't deserve you in my life. I don't. But I hope you know how much I…" she felt his emotion rising again, and she strengthened her grip on the back of his skull. When he gathered himself he squeezed her tight and another soft "thank you" left his lips.

She nodded against him. His face was so close that she could feel his warm breath on her skin. It took all her strength to step away from his warmth and reach for the door handle behind her.

She heard the faucet running from her bathroom and she knew Noah was finishing his bedtime routine.

Just as they approached Noah's room, she heard the padding of footsteps and then Noah bounced out the door to investigate the strange events of the evening.

When he saw Elliot, his face lit up with excitement."Oh hey Elliot!" He said joyfully.

Elliot did his best to greet Noah with some level of enthusiasm, but his forced smile looked pained.

"Hey bud," Elliot returned the greeting and Olivia knew he didn't have much left in him for anything else.

She stepped away from Elliot and ushered Noah back towards her bedroom. "Let's get you to bed Noah. It's getting late."

She placed a hand on his back to scoot him along, and he lifted his face towards hers. "But can't I stay up to see Elliot?"

She gave him a smile and tousled his hair. "He's only going to be here a few more minutes," she gave Elliot a knowing sort of look. "But maybe we will see him sometime soon."

"Fine," he huffed as she herded him into her bedroom. She gave Elliot one more glance, both a reassurance and a warning, as his hand turned the door handle.

-000-

Once Noah settled she shut the door quietly behind her, and went on the hunt for Elliot. She didn't have to go too far. She found him sitting on her couch. His head laid heavy in his hands, and her heart split as she felt his sheer anguish.

She kept her steps light as she approached the couch. He jumped when she placed a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Why didn't you call me?"

She shied away from the hurt in his eyes. She tried to focus on her professional obligations over the personal implications. "I couldn't and you know that." She expected the flash of anger in his eyes, but he remained silent. She tried not to let bitterness enter her voice. "She didn't want you to get hurt." The implications weren't lost on her. Liz was only doing what she knew how to do, what she watched her father do. She was protecting the ones she loved. She was protecting him in the way he always protected the ones he loved. It would be sweet if it wasn't so damn devastating.

A strange sense of Deja vu overcame her, and she was suddenly standing in her kitchen, those same blue eyes imploring her just as they were now. And all these months later, the answer was almost the same. "She….I think she didn't want you to protect her…I think she thought if you tried then…" she leaned back into her couch cushions, suddenly feeling crushed by the weight of it all. "You would throw yourself in front of a runaway train for the people you love." Her heart pounded wildly as she reached for his hand. "I don't think you realize how much we," she carefully included herself in the statement, "don't want you to be hurt." Somehow she felt like the conversation was becoming more and more about them. "I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for my sake. I don't call, we don't call," she corrected herself, because we know you will kill yourself trying to protect us. We all watched you after Kathy, El. None of us want you to go through that again, and we will do anything to keep you from going there again."

Tears freely flowed from his eyes. "She's…I know that injury pattern Liv. I've seen it…" he pulled his hand away to catch his head in his hands again. "I've seen it thousands of times." He swallowed. "What exactly happened?"

She sighed. He was always so damn persistent. Fin described him well. Like a dog with a bone. "You know I can't tell you that."

He groaned. "That in itself confirms what I suspect I guess." His eyes met hers hesitantly. "How do I do this?" He studied his hands intensely. "I'm gonna screw this up. I know I'm gonna screw this up."

"I don't know." Little did he know, she had the same conversation with Fin earlier in the day. She didn't know how to do this, and she sure as hell didn't know how to do it with him watching her every move. "I've been sick for every minute since I got that call." Her eyes focused on the ceiling above her. "Just.." she leaned forward, mimicking his position. "Just keep your head. Don't…" she hesitated to drop the honesty she knew he needed to hear. "Don't make this about you when this is about her."

"I…" he didn't finish the thought though because they were interrupted by a voice that made her stomach drop to her feet.

"Liv…DAD!?"