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"You know, you can sit closer." It was more than obvious that Maureen was uncomfortable.

Maureen bit her lower lip, and kept her arms folded as she inched a little closer to the hospital bed.

Olivia hadn't seen Maureen since their failed intervention years ago. Even then, she wasn't sure she actually said anything to Maureen. Like now, she seemed uncomfortable and a little standoffish. Olivia knew Maureen and her mother were close, and she wondered if that had anything to do with her hesitance.

Rather than sit through more excruciating silence, Olivia opted to ask about the one thing they had in common. "How's your dad?" Damn her voice felt raspy. She glanced around the room for her water bottle but didn't see it.

"Uh," she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "He's okay. Memory and stuff seems fuzzy though."

"That's pretty normal after a traumatic experience." Olivia offered.

"I guess," Maureen's eyes remained focused on her feet.

Olivia sensed there was something Maureen wanted to talk about, but was avoiding. She wasn't sure she had the mental energy to tackle whatever was bothering her. She dove in anyway. "Was there something you wanted to talk about, Maureen?" Olivia asked gently.

Maureen's blue eyes flicked to Olivia. Maureen was like her mother in almost every way. From the way she walked to the color of her hair, there was no question she was Kathy's daughter. But those eyes. The shape, and color were exactly like Elliot's. As Olivia watched her now, she noted the stormy blue color, a color she was well familiar with. A color that indicated a turbulent Stabler.

"He wasn't all the way with it when I saw him earlier. He kept…." Maureen hesitated. "He kept calling me Kathy." Maureen stared intently at her hands. "I know I look like mom, but it was weird." She glanced back at Olivia, "He kept talking to me like I was mom."

Olivia wasn't sure what Elliot admitted to "Kathy", but whatever they talked about bothered Maureen. "He was probably just disoriented. I'm sure they have him on a lot of pain killers."

Maureen moved towards the chair next to the hospital bed, finally opting to sit. "I know that." She sighed.

"Did he say something that worried you?" Olivia knew that Maureen was hesitant to share, and hoped a little push would help her open up. "Or something that bothered you?"

Those familiar blue eyes moved between Olivia's eyes and her own hands. "He told me, or I guess Mom, that she needed to stop coming back. That it was time to move on, like they should have…like they should have done a long time ago," she finally spit the words out.

Olivia wasn't exactly sure how to respond, but she had to at least try to help Elliot out on that one. "Honey, I think…I think he was a little cloudy from the drugs, and I know he's been struggling to find a way to make his own life again without you kids and your mom."

"I know that, but…" her eyes were on Olivia, "I'm not stupid. My parents only got married because I came along, and they didn't have a perfect marriage. I guess no one really does, but they had their problems, I mean they almost got divorced." Olivia wondered what exactly Maureen was getting at. "Look. I loved my mom. She was one of my very best friends, and I love my Dad too. I know he wasn't talking about moving on right now. I think he was talking about trying to move in back when they were separated."

"It's a possibility, but we can't really know." Olivia began to sense that there was more to the conversation that Maureen hadn't revealed yet. She was increasing in discomfort.

"You're the reason he left and took Mom and Eli away with him aren't you?"

Olivia's stomach sank, and her heart pounded. Maureen really wasn't trying to be malicious. It seemed to be a genuine question and a genuine concern over a situation she obviously still felt hurt over.

Olivia sighed, "You would have to ask him that. It's…complicated." Her eyes held Maureen's, and she had to remind herself that Maureen wasn't a little girl. She was a grown woman who likely understood the complicated twists a life can take. "But yeah… I think that I was a big reason."

Maureen chewed on the information for a moment before asking, "Did you sleep together? I'm really not trying to dig up past grievances or anything, but after talking with my Dad, I don't know, the questions I always had started nagging at me again."

"Can I ask you a question first?" Olivia asked gently. "I promise I'll answer your question, but there is something I've always wondered, and I think you might know the answer…and would actually tell me the truth." She was certain Elliot would rose color the answer so she never bothered asking him.

Maureen nodded. Her hand had drifted to her stomach and Olivia suspected this conversation stressed her out just as much.

"Did your mom think I slept with your dad?"

"That's going to be a complicated answer," Maureen said, using Olivia's explanation. She thought for a moment, considering her words carefully before speaking. "The short answer? Yeah she thought that sometimes, but I don't think she ever truly believed that you guys…you know…crossed that line." Maureen sighed, "I think it was harder for her to know that he had someone he connected with on a deeper level than she could ever hope for. I think it hurt that he had that person, and was able to spend most of his days with that person, and she had no one. She was just home. With us. Her life at that time had a pretty limited scope and a small circle of people, and I don't think she worried that you two were sleeping together. I think it hurt her more that he wanted you, and he preferred you to her."

"Maureen I tried…" Olivia tried to explain.

"No it's okay Liv. I know you sent him back to us. I know you were the reason he remembered birthdays and other things. And that's okay. I just…I guess I just feel like I need to know…"

Maureen seemed a little embarrassed by her question, and truly Olivia was well within her rights to tell her it wasn't any of her business, but she also felt like Maureen was asking this deeply personal question to help herself sort out the complicated narrative of her parents' relationship.

"No. He didn't leave because we slept together. That didn't happen back then." She held Maureen's gaze, "not once."

Maureen nodded, seemingly accepting Olivia's answer. "I didn't think so," Maureen said. She shrugged, "it was one possible explanation for things."

"Your dad never talked to you about any of it?" Honestly, Olivia wasn't even a little surprised. Elliot wasn't exactly known to embrace difficult discussion. She fully realized she sucked at that too.

Maureen laughed ironically. "Yeah right."

"Yeah I didn't think so," Olivia admitted.

"But you think it was because of you?"

"Maybe not all of it. Some of it was the job. He was just…" she let out a tense breath, "burned out."

"I think Mom made them leave," Maureen provided out of nowhere.

"What makes you think that," Olivia wondered aloud.

Maureen shrugged. "Mom never really thought he was cheating, but she was done being second place. And the way he was talking earlier…" her eyes returned to her hands, "I never actually asked her…or him… but I think she gave him an ultimatum, and he had to make a choice."

Olivia always wondered if Kathy made the final push that eventually led to Elliot's abandonment. She took a breath and tried to push away the guilt. She worked hard to make Elliot prioritize his family, but it didn't matter to them. She would always be the woman he wanted more. "I didn't mean for it to be that way, and I don't think your dad did either."

"Yeah. I know." Maureen said with a little apathy. Olivia might not have meant for things to happen like they did, but they happened that way all the same. "And then they come home you know? And Mom gets killed, and suddenly it's all about you."

Olivia jumped in to defend herself on that comment. "Wait. Your dad literally made himself sick trying to get justice for your mom."

"Yeah, sure, but I think that was for him more than it ever was for her." Olivia couldn't believe what she was hearing. "And then he randomly dropped in that he loved you during that awful intervention Kathleen put together…"

"That wasn't exactly directed at just me," Olivia tried, even though she knew it wasn't true.

Maureen rolled her eyes. She wasn't buying that bull shit. "He was looking right at you, and honest to god, none of us were surprised. Except Eli I guess."

"He was a mess then, and you know it." Olivia's voice came out a little more defensive than she intended. "You can't hold the things he said or did against him." Truth be told Olivia had only recently worked through the things he said or did during that time.

Maureen backed off a little. "Sorry," she said a little noncommittally. "I'm just." She pinched her eyes shut. "I didn't want to go into all of this honestly. He caught me off guard, and being in this damn hospital again." Tears started to well in Maureen's eyes. "I guess all of this brings up a lot, and maybe I just haven't really resolved any of this for myself."

Clearly. "Maureen," Olivia said carefully, her voice laced with empathy for the woman she watched grow up. Maureen's eyes lifted and her cheeks glistened with tears. "You need to talk to your father. I can talk to you, and I'm happy to answer any questions you have, but I really don't think it's me you are mad at."

Maureen's tears began to flow freely. "I know," she whispered. "It's just easier to…to.."

"Blame me?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah," she said, suddenly looking ashamed. Her eyes lifted to Olivia's. Her eyes looked bluer with her glistening tears. "I'm sorry Liv. I may not have said or done anything in the past to hurt you, but…I blamed you for everything and that wasn't fair."

Olivia reached out her hand, but couldn't reach Maureen. She wanted to scoot closer, but she knew that would inevitably end in excruciating pain. Luckily, Maureen shifted closer and reached her hand back for Olivia's.

"It's okay. I just want you to be happy, and to work through all of this." She watched as Maureen wiped at her eyes with her free hand. "You need to find a way to let go of the hurt or it's going to keep weighing you down."

"I know," she whispered. "I just…" she sighed. "I don't want him to have to hurt more than he already has. I don't want to be just another problem he has to deal with.

Olivia knew exactly how she felt. She kept her abduction under wraps for the same reason. She didn't want to cause him more pain. The thing was, none of them could heal without a little pain, and a lot of discomfort. "You could never be a problem. He loves you so think even if you doubt everything else, you can at least acknowledge that." Olivia squeezed Maureen's hand. "Talk to him. I think you might be surprised. He's changed a lot over the years."

"I know." She sniffled. "I'll talk to him, but," she paused. "Can you make sure he's okay after? I know you guys are talking again, and I'm not exactly sure what's going on between the two of you, but I know that he…he still needs you."

"I can do that."