"Noh can you set the table real quick?" Elliot's voice carried from the other side of the island.
"Yep!" He shut his book, and tossed it onto the couch behind him after he jumped up.
Rich scooted closer and dropped a hand onto her knee. "Are you doing okay?"
"Yeah," she hesitated, thinking it was probably not the time, but the curiosity was eating her alive. "You never told me you had a brother this young." Her eyes darted up to where Noah obediently set the table.
Rich raised an eyebrow, as if he didn't understand what she was talking about. "Noah?" He finally asked.
"Of course Noah." She almost rolled her eyes. "I mean I get it. If he's some sort of family secret…."
"What are you talking about?" He laughed.
She was about to explain herself when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Come on guys." Liv's brown eyes hovered above her. "Sit next to me?" She asked.
"Okay," Sarah agreed. She suddenly felt nervous. Initially Sarah thought she would be meeting Elliot's potential girlfriend. It seemed a little weird to consider she might be sitting next to the mistress or something.
Elliot settled at the head of the table as expected. Liv led the way, sitting next to Elliot. Sarah pulled the chair out next to Olivia, and Richard sat next to her on the other end of the table. Noah giggled and stretched his arms out wide. "I get this wholeeeeee side to myself."
"Looks like it," Elliot's voice rumbled affectionately. It was more than obvious that he loved that boy dearly.
Forks clinked against plates and after a few moments Olivia turned her attention towards Sarah. "Elliot told me you work for early intervention services?"
"Yeah. It's a tough gig, and the pay sucks," Sarah shrugged. "But at least I feel like I'm making a difference somehow."
Olivia smiled sweetly. "You are. Some days it feels like we are swimming against the current, and it feels like our efforts don't matter…but they matter."
Holy shit. How in the world did this woman just make her feel so seen and understood? Those damn dime sized pupils nearly bled with empathy, and Sarah wondered if Olivia understood because she too dedicated her life to an uphill battle.
"Thanks," Sarah finally said, "it's tough, and a lot of people question why I bother, but I feel like someone has to do it, and i can." She shrugged again.
Sarah watched as Olivia gave Elliot some sort of meaningful look, and Elliot seemed to understand her. There were no words spoken, but some sort of communication had taken place. It seemed uncanny really.
The conversation sort of hit a lull, and Richard's eyes met hers. It was time to make their announcement. She felt a little nervous when Richard cleared his throat, and looked his father in the eye. "I have some news"
Elliot quirked an eyebrow, "what's up?"
"They're getting married!" Noah exclaimed from his side of the table.
At first Elliot's face remained serious, and it left her heart pounding furiously, but then a uncontrollable smile crept across his face. "Yeah?"
Rich reached for her hand. "Yeah. We wanted to tell you first but," he rolled his eyes over to Noah. "Someone figured it out first."
"Sorry." Noah said sheepishly.
"Nah. You did good." Richard encouraged.
Olivia glowed with excitement and a sort of pride for the man whom she could almost claim as her son. "Have you set a date?"
"We think next year sometime. We aren't in a huge rush." They were almost the opposite of rushed. Her relationship with Richard moved pretty slow, and after she got to know him, she realized his parents teen pregnancy, and nearly arranged marriage made him almost overly cautious when it came to the idea of marriage. He wanted to be sure, and the more she understood about the family dynamic, and Elliot's relationship with Olivia, she began to see why he hesitated to take that step forward.
"I feel like we should have planned a better celebration or something," Elliot admitted.
"This is perfect Dad, really. We wanted to talk to you first before…"
"Kathleen ran away with the whole thing?"
"Exactly."
Sarah watched as Elliot's eyes sort of glistened, and she thought she saw a sense of pride wash over the him. The words remained unspoken, but she knew that Richard's desire to tell his dad first meant everything to him. She wondered if this could be the beginning of something more, something better for the two of them. Maybe they could crest the final summit of Everest, and mend the relationship broken so long ago.
-000-
"I think that went well," his bright blue eyes caught hers. "How are you feeling about everything?" He sounded a little hesitant, like he was worried over her response.
"It was good," she kept her voice neutral. As the evening wore on she began to worry about why Rich hadn't told her about Noah, and she began to spiral over what other things she didn't know. What else didn't she know about the man she meant to marry?
He immediately frowned, and she sighed. She hated how he could read her so easily. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head. It was late, and they still needed to drive back to their apartment. She wasn't up for a long discussion, not after they had such a nice evening.
"Come on, Sar." He reached over for her hand, and squeezed it lightly. "I thought the evening went great, and Liv obviously likes you." They stopped at a stoplight. "I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong."
He had a point. She almost laughed at how the tables had turned. At the beginning of their relationship, she had to push him to speak and open up. It took a long time, and a little therapy, but he stopped burying tough conversations.
"Why did you not tell me about Noah?"
That confused look overtook his face, much as it had earlier in the night. "Uh, I mean I didn't think it was a big deal. I really only just started to get to know him. To be honest, I didn't even know he existed until Dad, uh, came home."
"I guess I can't understand why you wouldn't tell me about him. It had to be hard…finding out about him…and you never said anything." She crossed her arms and leaned back into the passenger seat.
The light flicked to green and he began to drive. He remained silent until a look of recognition danced across his face…then he laughed. "Wait. You think Noah," he seemed to be putting the pieces together in his mind. "Noah isn't my half brother or anything like that. He's Liv's, not my Dads."
No way. "You sure? Like absolutely one hundred percent certain?" Maybe Rich hadn't figured out Noah was his brother.
"Uh. Yeah. Noah's adopted. Liv isn't his bio Mom. She adopted him a couple years after my dad, uh, after he bailed for a while."
She was speechless. She could have sworn that kid was a Stabler. She would have bet money on it. "So he's just Olivia's." She tried to clarify.
"Yeah." Richard kept his eyes on the road. "Liv and my dad…" he hesitated, but powered through. "Their relationship was always pretty complicated." He sighed. "My mom struggled with it off and on, you know, how close they were."
"Did they?" She felt herself blush. She felt awkward asking such a personal question about Elliot.
"No. I mean, I'm pretty sure they didn't. I spent a lot of time thinking that they did, you know, cross that line. I always thought my parents left because something happened with her ."
She watched his face. Richard had a pretty solid poker face, but he had a few tells. She knew he felt uncomfortable or vulnerable when he began blinking more. It was like he was willing back tears. Like he could somehow blink away the emotion.
"What made you change your mind?" She asked sincerely. Rich was stubborn. He would fight a position until the death. Something drastic would have had to change his mind.
He nervously chuckled. "Well, I point blank asked Olivia once…"
"You did not." She chuckled in disbelief. Honestly, it sounded exactly like something Richard would do.
"Yeah. I was an asshole."
No argument there. "And she said no?"
"Pretty much. I mean I asked if she ever slept with her partner and she answered, "never". I don't know. I guess the way she said it made me want a to believe her."
"She doesn't seem like the type…you know?" She thought out loud. "She doesn't seem like the kind of woman who would cheat with someone's husband."
Richard shook his head. "That's eventually what I decided." He scrubbed his face with one hand. "The thing I realized was that," he let out a long breath. "I guess I realized Liv loved my dad too much to destroy what was important to him." He squeezed her hand. "Family's everything to him, and Liv…she wouldn't have hurt him by putting him in that sort of position."
"Yeah." Sarah agreed. She had only met the woman once, but she had left a lasting impression. Olivia loved Elliot. That was intensely clear. She felt a flood of respect for the woman who had her soul mate always within arms reach, but she resisted because her love would hurt him in the end. It was tragic, but also awe inspiringly beautiful. "Think they'll get married?" She asked with a smile.
"You know? I'm not sure. I think maybe my dad could talk her into it eventually." He chuckled, "if not my dad, then for sure Noah. She'd do just about anything for that kid."
"I can see why. That kid is basically perfect."
"Yeah. He's a normal kid, I've seen him give Liv trouble, but generally he's pretty good natured." A peaceful sort of smile crossed his face. "I wouldn't mind, you know, having another brother."
"Don't have enough siblings yet?" She teased.
"Nah, there's always room for one more." He smiled that smile that made her stomach fill with butterflies. Richard could be impossible sometimes. He could be frustrating and stubborn, but he loved the ones he claimed as his, and he would protect them at any cost. She would forever feel lucky to have found a man like him. Like his father, Richard was a good man.