They stumbled into his apartment, the door bursting open with the force of their bodies. Their giggles echoed through the quietness as the alcohol was affecting them. It was their first time seeing each other in a few weeks, cases taking up their time that they only had enough time to send a few texts or calls. They managed to sneak in one instant of him slipping into her apartment late at night but the exhaustion took over that the only thing they did was end up sleeping. Still was the best sleep either one of them had gotten, but they would love to have seen each other. That's what tonight was for. It was the weekend and with the freedom of the no jobs approaching, they decided to indulge in each other.
This relationship was still bordering on new. It's been a few months since she showed up at his place after his crucifixion. Her face was wet from a mix of rain and tears and her clothes were no better. He stood there as she chewed him out for having to hear about his abduction from his sergeant and not him. While her words hurt, the look on her face pierced his heart further. He knew it was much deeper than the speech she was giving. It was the fact it was another undercover assignment, another missed call, another time he failed to communicate just like with Rome. No amount of sorrys could fix it, he's been saying that since he got back to New York.
So he was taking this time to make up for that. His tongue pushed past her lips pulling her deeper into the kiss. A moan escaped her as he took control of the kiss.
"Well well well" Startled, Elliot jumped back slightly, his hand reaching for his weapon on his hip as a precaution. He was off balance as he jumped, nearly crashing him and Liv into the wall. Looking behind her he saw the object of his demise "What do we have here?" Randall was standing by the bar in the kitchen.
Elliot's head hit the wall with a groan slipping past his lips. There was absolutely no reason for his brother to be here tonight.
"Randall, what are you doing here?" The words came out somewhat slurred and jumbled, his body still on a haywire from the woman pressed against him. He could feel each one of her breaths against his neck sending shivers down his spine. Between months of pent-up frustration, drinks, the thirty-minute makeout session in the cab, and this he was about to bust at the seams. He shifted a little to make sure his body was fully behind her, he did NOT need Randall seeing him like this.
"Big bro, you didn't tell me he had a girlfriend" A voice spoke up from deeper in the kitchen. Finally showing himself, Joe came to stand beside Randall. Another groan left Elliot's lips.
"Hell I didn't know he had a girlfriend" came Randall. There was a smug look on his face and Elliot knew he was about to be a pain in his ass.
"That's his partner Olivia" Bernie spoke as she made her way into the living room. Elliot thought he couldn't catch a break. Opening his eyes, he looks down when he feels her begin to shake against his chest. At a time when he felt the need for the ground to open up and swallow him, she was laughing. He couldn't help but smile along with her as his family of three stood in the kitchen before them.
"Well nice to meet you Oli-via" Randall dragged her name out when a flirty undertone.
"If I knew captains looked like this I would've just got arrested instead of going to rehab" That brings a laugh out of Randall as Elliot's just shot half-open daggers at him. While he may have been drunk, Elliot wasn't stupid. He knew his partner was beautiful and could see the way his brothers had looked her up and down when she was pressed against him. She was still laughing at the banter his brothers were giving and it got even harder at Joe's statement.
"If I'm arresting you, you're gonna need something a lot stronger than rehab," Liv spoke as she looked up from Elliot's chest, finally making eye contact with the other occupants of the room.
He sees his brothers look on in shock at Liv and he couldn't help but laugh at the site. Of course, Olivia would make a joke like that and it made him chuckle harder at her deadpan delivery. Bernie was laughing as she walked around the living room. "Yeah she's not in that department honey," Bernie said to Joe, her voice still laced with laughter as she moved around the space.
"What are you even doin' out anyway?" Elliot looked at Joe growing more annoyed by the minute. He was supposed to be at the rehab facility the last time he checked, it was their families on demand for him after finding out he was using. Well, Elliot only gave him that option or he was going to arrest him right along with members of the bee farm. Joe must've known how serious he was cause he didn't hesitate to take the offer. An offer that also came with rules and one of them being him staying at the facility.
"Weekend visitation and man am I happy about it too" Joe couldn't help but annoy his brother like Randall. Being the younger one this never happened to him and he was about to milk it. Stepping forward he started to walk to them with an outstretched hand to do a proper greeting.
"Nuh huh don't even think about it" Elliot instantly got into protection mode for his partner. Drunk or not, no man was putting their hands on his Liv. Joe's hands went up in a move of surrender but as he retreated, Randall decided to follow his steps.
"Randall NO! She's off limits" His grip around Liv's waist tightened. His body was practically guarding her, his body a shield to his brother's eyes. Olivia found this situation quite comical. The big brooding man she'd always known was acting like a child who didn't want anyone to touch his favorite stuffed animal. Even she could tell they were joking but who was she to stop them from riling him up? Her thoughts about his aggression being used in the bedroom came to a halt as she heard a motherly tone.
Shaking her head, Bernie laughs at her son's nonsense " Hello Olivia" she says as she walks up to the pair.
The other two stablers stood still as they watched the scene before them. Their mother's memory hasn't been the best but she seems to remember this woman before them like she's family. The two shared a glance with a questioning look before turning back to the people before them.
"Hey, mama Bernie" Liv said with a smile on her face mirroring Bernie's as they stood in their little bubble. She definitely was familiar with her, Randall thought, as he watched her reach up and run a soothing hand down the woman's back. Randall tucked that into the back of his mind as something he'd go back to later when it was just the three of them.
"I just had to stop by and get some things I figured you were at work when you didn't answer our call but now I see why" Bernie had always known her son's partner was more than just that. While they worked together, yes, the two of them seemed to have a deeper connection than just coworkers. Hell, she even was instantly drawn to the woman when she first met her. It was hard not to see why Kathy was threatened by the woman. Even through his son's loyalty she could see the love he had for his partner and she couldn't lie, she felt a motherly love for the woman too. "I'm happier with this option" which caused a giggle to leave the two and the two Stabler brother's eyebrows to jump. Since when has their brother giggled?
Joe was a little confused by it all honestly. It's been barely thirty minutes and he felt like he stepped into a universe with a happier brother. He was happy for his brother in the end and felt that he deserved whatever was making him happy.
Randall was still standing beside him, his thoughts following a similar path of his brothers except with his happiness came some suspicion. He never saw him like this, not even with Kathy did his smile get that big. Randall couldn't help but wonder just how new this was. His brother was love-struck, an emotion anyone could see a mile away. That one look told him that his brother's feelings ran deep and probably had been for a long time.
"Now come on boys let's get out of these twos way" The two Stablers in the kitchen snapped out of their inner monologues and watched as their mother made her way back to them. Gathering what she came here for, Bernie made her way to the door with Randall and Joe at her heels.
Elliot moved over to the door as his mother approached giving Liv and him a hug before he opened the door for them. Joe was next just to give Elliot a shit-eating grin and wink as he left.
Walking out the door, Randall stopped for a moment before turning around towards Elliot. He lifted his hand and placed it on his shoulder before saying in a low voice "Lucky sonofabitch." Stepping back with a chuckle he turned around as Elliot closed the door behind him.
Locking the door, Elliot turned back to his partner with a look that made her whimper "Now where were we"
—-
As the trio made their way to the car Randall couldn't seem to shake the sight of his brother's friend Olivia out of his head. The Elliot he had known had only ever had eyes for one woman and that was his late wife Kathy. Even with the years since her passing, it didn't seem like his younger brother to be that cozy with a woman. The man could hold onto things harder than a stripper to a pole and from experience Randall knew they held a mean grip. So he was slightly amused at how quickly, in Elliot Stabler's terms, he fell deep.
As they climbed into the car, Randall's thoughts continued to run and he decided to see if his mom knew more about his brother's new love interest. "Ma you know El's friend pretty well huh" comes Randall as soon as they back out of the space.
" Well yes that's his partner"
"I know his romantic partner but.."
" No, I mean his work partner from way back at SVU"
" You mean the Benson person" came Joe from the backseat. He had been quiet the whole situation but he knew what Randall was hinting at.
"Yeah the one Kathy was so chicken shit scared of," Bernie laughed at her statement. "Probably didn't help that Oliva was the only one that seemed to be able to tame your brother. But she was always in their corner for their marriage, pushing your brother to fix things even during the separation." Randall stood on alert at that piece of information as his mom continued. "She was gorgeous and a saint, I fear that a scary mix."
The two Stabler boys were listening intently to this new insight into their brother's life and marriage.
Bernie continued to speak as they drove along the road making their way to Randall's place. "It didn't help that she helped save Kathy's life when she was pregnant with Eli. Kathy was sort of losing a battle within herself, her whole family loved Olivia except for Richard."
"What do you mean?" Joe asked from the backseat, getting more drawn into a glimpse of his brother and his partner's life.
"Well Richard loved his mom dearly and I fear he may have taken on some of her distrust. There was an incident where he was being questioned because of a friend and he accused them of sleeping together." Randall was lucky they were at a red light because he wouldn't slam on breaks at this new piece of the puzzle.
"But besides Richard being a momma's boy, she was loved by everyone. She still is, I would even say Richard has come around also. Eli may be a little hesitant but he was just a young one when they went off to Rome. It may help that her son is pretty sweet too."
"So she has a kid you would say" He was never one to be that good at math but adding up the years of his brother leaving to Rome and the age of Olivia's boy was starting to prove him wrong.
"Yeah preteen, a cute little boy very artistic and loves dance but if he wanted to he could probably take after his mom and be a cop" She laughs before finishing "That boy can ask a lot of questions, and those blue eyes of his just pierce right into your heart you can't help but cave in. Reminds me of you boys when you were younger and would play cops around the house" She laughs remembering their bonding time a while back as he sat beside watching her crochet.
If Randall had a hairline his eyebrows would be there. That statement alone heightened his curiosity about the woman in his brother's life. He knows his brother's marriage wasn't one for the books, it was two kids forced into being adults because of their religion. It was always a choice he didn't seem to agree with and even told Elliot several times before the wedding, but his brother was stubborn. He was set on 'doing the right thing' and it pained Randal that the right thing in his mind seemed to not involve what he wanted at all. Although the marriage wasn't ideal, he just couldn't see his brother damning his morals and having an affair.
Pulling up to his place the trio got out of the car and made their way inside.
"So Elliot and his girlfriend" came Randall as soon as his mother went off to bed.
"Yeah gotta say I'm proud of him, didn't think he could aim that high" Joe came to sit on the couch as he turned the TV on.
"Yeah I'm shocked on that one too, I mean to go from Kathy to her, the man deserves an award" Randall let out a laugh as he thought about the stark differences in the two women he had met in his brother's life. Total opposites just from what he could see.
"I can't believe she's a cop"
"That and she worked with Elliot, I can see why he worked so hard at that damn job." Randall wanted to bring up the topic of conversation from the car and his thoughts but knew with Joe he was going to have to ease into his suspicions.
"She probably made it easier but you know Elliot the man stayed dedicated till something ran him dry." It was one of the things Joe admired in his brother. It's why he looked up to him. The man devoted his life to something and went full force giving all he could of himself until he couldn't anymore. It was another reason he took so long to tell him about his discharge and felt ashamed when he discovered his addiction. Elliot was more of a father to him than his own and it wasn't the anger he was saddened about it was the disappointment.
He knew where Randall was trying to go with this and couldn't even think of Elliot doing such a thing. The man was sure he was on the right moral path ever since his fuck up as a teen that lead him into becoming a man. It was almost as if he was making up to God for that one instance and even tried to make sure his family never strayed from their morals also. That's why Joe couldn't see where Randall was coming from. No man like his brother couldn't do something like this in his mind.
"Look all I'm saying is 12 years as partners and then when he just suddenly leaves and boom his old partner his wife complained about has a kid the same age as the amount of time from his sudden retirement and move to Rome." Joe rolled his eyes as Randall kept on.
"On this note, I'm going to bed." Joe walked away shaking his head with a laugh
Left alone with his thoughts Randall couldn't let his suspicions escape him. What other reason could a man's wife hate his female partner and that said man just up and leave after years of a good partnership? Randall thought he may have not been the brightest but he wasn't dumb and if his brother's partner looked anything like she did now back then, his suspicions were highly valid. His brother's morals may be high but he was still a man. A man who only had one partner and was pushed to marriage cause of a common fuck up.
He had heard in passing with a few calls here and there with his mom over the years about his brother's partner. He was also confused on the subject when it came to Kathy but hell he could see why now. Imagine a woman like that being around your husband constantly and then being a saint towards you that you can't even find anything to hate about her. It was the perfect person and that itself was scary.
Deciding to settle his thoughts, he pulled out his phone with a plan in action. He wanted to meet the people that were soon to become family and from his brother's actions tonight, he knew that could be anytime soon. While he could simply ask his brother, he needed more people on his side to help get information out of his brother. But this was a delicate task. If he went about it the same way they did with Joe's mini intervention this could blow up in his face. No, he didn't need to be pissing off two cops, he loved his life.
He searched for two numbers with Florida area codes and took a deep breath before typing them out into a group text. "Hey, how about a family dinner" he thought about the request for the family dinner last time and how it ended up being only the Stabler men. Not wanting to be turned down this time he added, "It's urgent, call me when possible." After sending the message her sighed and decided to head to bed, mentally preparing himself for the chaos he may be stirring up.
