Ella would love to meet you for lunch if you are available. I suggested Lafayette in the Village. Plenty of room to eat outdoors. Are you free for lunch at 12:30pm?

Olivia anxiously awaited a response. She didn't get any sleep the night before, and all she wanted was to correct all the hurt she caused everyone. Lying in bed, she heard your phone ping, and was both happy and sad with Elliot's response.

I am free for lunch. I will meet Ella at Lafayette. Alone. I don't want you there.

The tears began flowing again, and Olivia threw the covers over her head, and tried to disconnect her brain from all the pain she was feeling.

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Elliot arrived early to make sure they had a table outside, with a modicum of privacy. He nervously sat at the table, bouncing his leg up and down. He was holding a bouquet of beautiful flowers that he knew would never be as beautiful as his daughter. They hadn't even met, but he knew that she would be the most beautiful girl in the world. Just like Maureen, Kathleen, and Elizabeth. His beautiful daughters…Ella included.

Ella cleared her throat, and brought Elliot out of his thoughts. The vision of her took his breath away. He would know her anywhere. She was all Olivia, with his blue eyes, and she was gorgeous. Just like her mother. Elliot stood and walked to his daughter, and with a look of amazement in his eyes.

"Ella?"

Ella nodded while a grin lit up her face. "Elliot?" In addition to his blue eyes, Elliot noticed a portion of her smile mirrored his own, while the other half was all Olivia. She was an amazing combination of both her birth parents.

"Do you mind if I hug you?" Elliot wanted desperately to hug his daughter, but also wanted to be respectful of her boundaries. Ella nodded enthusiastically, and threw her arms around his neck. Elliot engulfed his daughter with his large frame, and let the tears flow freely. His heart felt complete, even though, until last night, he never knew it wasn't. He had held five of his children from the day they were born, and now his entire body was at peace holding his sixth child. He could feel Ella's tears soaking through his shirt, so he placed one of his strong hands on the back of her head. "Shhhhhh…it's okay. You're here, and I can't believe you are real."

After a few moments, Elliot pulled them apart and motioned for Ella to take a seat. As he pushed her chair in for her, he handed her the flowers he had picked out for her. Father and daughter fell into an easy, comfortable conversation. Elliot wanted to know everything about Ella's life, and even feigned overprotectiveness when Ella told him about her boyfriend. She giggled at Elliot's comment that she wasn't allowed to date until she was 30.

"I'm not kidding. I have 17 years of daddying to make up for." The two couldn't take their eyes off of each other…an instant father/daughter bond. Elliot felt a pang of jealousy when Ella told him about her dad Thomas, and what an amazing father he was. He was a hard worker who did everything to provide for his family. He was engaged in Ella's life, and made sure to attend every dance recital and school play. And although he felt a little jealous, Elliot said a silent prayer for how grateful he was for Thomas. Grateful for protecting and loving his daughter, and one day he would like to thank him in person.

The conversation flowed so easily, and things eventually shifted to Elliot's other children. "Olivia told me you had five children. I have five siblings?" Elliot was thrilled to pull out photos and tell Ella all about her siblings. She looked through all the photos in Elliot's family phone album. She was an only child, so the idea of five siblings…six counting Noah…was beyond her imagination. "Do you think I could meet them?" Elliot was excited by the notion of everyone meeting Ella. "I hope you can…very soon. I just learned about you last night, and I need to carefully tell them about you now. And I only say 'carefully' because I need to explain how all of this happened while I was still technically married to their mother."

Sitting back and digesting Elliot's words carefully, Ella gave him a gentle smile. "I hope they'll accept me." Tears began welling up in Elliot's eyes, and he took Ella's hand in his. "I hope so too. I'm sure they will, but they may need some time to process. But all of you have such good hearts, I just know this is the beginning of something beautiful."

After the entrees were finished, and dessert was at the table, Ella breached the next subject. "Were you in love with my mother…Olivia?" Elliot set down his spoon, rubbed his hand across his face, and turned to face Ella. This was a sensitive subject, and he wanted to make sure his current anger towards Olivia did not temper his feelings from the past. "Yes. I loved Olivia very much. I still do. Unfortunately, there have been many obstacles thrown in our way, and when I left for Rome, I didn't handle my departure from her very well. Although we've been trying to work things out since I returned, I do understand why she has trust issues with me. I pray every day that she will forgive me so we can move forward."

Elliot closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, while letting the words he just said sink in for himself. His heart tightened in his chest. He still loved Olivia, and looking at their daughter brought on a flood of emotions. They had a child together. A beautiful daughter who was a perfect combination of both of them, and was a living embodiment of their love. Yeah…he was still in love with Olivia.