That evening turned out to be absolute chaos. Noah had forgotten about a science project that was due the next day. Normally, Olivia was better about giving him reminders, but in dividing her attention between work, El, Liz, and Noah, she dropped the ball.

Luckily Elliot had been home when Noah got home and was able to start the project. By the time she made it home, most of the project was done. She had been completely relieved until after dinner she squeezed between Elliot and her kitchen counter with tea for Liz in her hands. Elliot leaned over to wipe the counter at exactly the wrong time, bumping her off center and sending hot tea all over Noah's project.

Half a roll of paper towels and a few choice swear words later, she and Elliot found themselves speaking in hushed tones behind her bedroom door.

"It's not working, Liv. We can't encroach on your space forever." He leaned one shoulder against the door with his arms folded in front of him.

She sighed. "It's not forever, Elliot. It's been less than a week. She needs this stability right now." Olivia said while removing one of her earrings and dropping into her jewelry box.

"Noah is sleeping on the couch. He can't do that indefinitely. My place is bigger, and she would have more space to breathe." He eyed her nervously. "Plus, I don't think you planned on me moving in right as we were figuring things out, you know, between us."

She removed the back from her other earring and considered his words. He wasn't wrong. When they finally decided to take this step, she anticipated it to be full throttle from the start, but she hadn't anticipated practically living with one another within days of taking steps forward.

Still, she hesitated to push Lizzie out of the apartment. Olivia knew that she would be fine at Elliot's place, but in this case it didn't matter if Olivia thought Liz would be safe. Liz needed to feel safe, and right now her safe space was Olivia's apartment.

"I don't think she's ready, and I don't want her to feel like I'm kicking her out. It's not convenient, but I'm not worried about that. We can work around it until she's ready."

Elliot's blue eyes remained fixated on her face, reading her microexpressions. "Remember, earlier? When you told me I needed to take care of myself too?"

Olivia knew exactly where he was going with his train of thought, but that was different. Her emotional health wasn't tied to her space, and she could sacrifice that for the security of a woman she considered to be her daughter. "I'm fine. This isn't... this isn't making things hard for me." Her eyes dropped to the floor, and she wasn't sure she believed the words she spoke.

Needing to busy her hands, she moved over to the bed, where a pile of clean socks had magically appeared. She suspected Elliot kept himself busy with her almost embarrassing overflow of laundry. She stood near the edge of her bed and began matching socks.

She felt his movement more than she saw it. His large hands settled on her hips while he stood behind her. She kept her focus on the socks, balling the matching pairs together.

"Liv," his voice rumbled near her ear, sending a warm shiver through her body. One hand slid away from her hip and towards the curve of her waist. "I'm worried about her, but I'm worried about you too." His other hand brushed her hair over her shoulder. "I know you. You need people, but I also know you need space to process things." He placed a wisp of a kiss on her neck. "Everything changed so fast. I don't want to overwhelm you from the start. I don't want you to regret letting me, letting us, into your life." She felt herself swaying back into his firm chest. One hand snaked around her middle, so he held her tightly against him. "Let me see if I can convince her to stay with me for a couple of days. Let you have some space for a bit. If she can't handle it, then she comes straight back here. Promise."

She turned in his arms, clasping her hands behind his neck. "Okay, but if she pushes back..."

He leaned in and pecked her lips. "Let me worry about it, okay?" His arms tightened around her waist. "I got this, Benson."

She couldn't quell her nerves, but she nodded anyway. "Okay."

-000-

Lizzie could sense by the way he knocked that he was trying to ease her into something. The knock was too soft to be made by her bulldog of a father. It was too soft. He was handling her with kid gloves, and that would normally be infuriating, but she was too tired to get offended.

"Come in," she called.

The door clicked open, and Elliot stepped inside. "Can I talk to you about somethin'?"

She eyed him warily but patted the spot next to her on the bed.

He sat down next to her and leaned forward on his knees. For a moment Liz thought he might try to beat around the bush with some small talk, but he bit the bullet and dove right in. "How would you feel about staying at my place? I mean, it could just be for a couple days, but I thought…"

She didn't let him finish. "Liv is getting overwhelmed." She guessed.

He nodded. "I think so. She fought me on it because she wants what's best for you, but I think she could use some breathing room. It's not you. It's the apartment. It's just too small to accommodate…"

"All of us," she finished.

"Yeah," he breathed out. Lizzie felt how nervous he was about shaking things up, but she had been worried about closing in on Olivia's space since the first night she stayed in the apartment. A wave of anxiety flowed through her body at the thought of leaving what had become a safe space, but she was also stressed about overwhelming a person who had been incomprehensibly kind.

"I think," her heart pounded. "I think I can stay at your place. I probably need to figure out some stuff anyway, and staying here is just delaying the inevitable." She shrugged the whole thing off as if it weren't a big deal. "Gotta start living again sometime."

"True," he agreed carefully. "Are you sure? I don't want to push you, and I know Liv is beside herself worrying about letting you out of her sight."

Lizzie chuckled, hoping to alleviate the tension, but it felt awkward. "Um, yeah. Let's do it. Do you think we could go by my old place for my stuff? I want to get as much as I can." Her eyes dropped to her hands laying in her lap. "I don't want to come back and forth. I just want to be done with all that drama."

Elliot wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "We can stop by in the morning. If you end up forgetting something, I'll go back. He kissed the top of her head. "You don't have to go back if you don't want to."

That felt like a relief. The drama with Brandon felt like a million years ago, but it still needed to be dealt with. She couldn't hide from it anymore, and she really wanted to stop borrowing all of Liv's things. "Thanks, Dad."

His arm tightened around her. "No problem."

-000-

The next morning Elliot followed Lizzie down the hall to her and Brandon's apartment. Lizzie's hand shook as she lifted her set of keys to the door. She glanced over her shoulder at her dad. "You're sure he isn't here? I just, I can't deal with that drama right now."

"Positive," Elliot responded. "Fin's had someone sitting on the place for a couple days."

Lizzie audibly swallowed. "Why? I seriously doubt Brandon had anything to do with anything." She jammed the key into the knob. "Not like he cares anyway," she said under her breath.

Elliot shrugged. "It's part of the procedure. Brandon might not have anything to do with it, but statistically speaking, violence, more often than not, is perpetuated by the significant other."

Lizzie pushed the door open. "Such a great world to live in." The weight of her sarcasm hung in the air as they both stepped over the threshold.

All the lights were off, and the place was only lit by the light streaming in from the windows. "Has anyone checked Evan's place?" She asked casually as she flipped on every light switch in sight.

Elliot leaned against the counter as she continued to seek every light switch. "Is that where he usually goes when..."

She opened a hall closet and began rummaging around. "Where he goes when we fight?" She finished for him.

"Yeah."

"It would be Evan's place or Jason's. Evan would be his first choice, though. Jason was pretty pissed about everything, I guess."

Elliot pulled his phone out of his pocket to text Fin.

Anyone check Evan's place? Liz said that's where Brandon goes when he needs to lay low.

Lizzie dragged a huge suitcase through the door of the master bedroom, and Elliot followed. "What do you need?" He asked, knowing she planned on shoving every possible item into the oversized suitcase.

She tilted her head toward the dresser. "The top two drawers are mine if you want to clear those out."

Elliot nodded and moved over to the dresser. He slid open the first drawer and began to empty its contents.

"Make sure they check Evan's family vacation home. If he's hiding out somewhere, that would be a good place to check."

Elliot started on the second drawer. "Does he go there often?"

"Often enough. Evan is like a brother to him. His parents love Brandon. I'm sure he has a key to the place," Liz said as she pulled a wad of clothes from her closet—hangers and all.

Elliot's phone pinged.

Checked there. I have a uni checking in periodically, but no one's even seen that Evan guy.

Elliot punched out a quick message.

I promise I'm not pushing the conversation, but Lizzie mentioned Evan's family has a vacation home. Brandon has a key.

Elliot tucked his phone back into his pocket. Fin could run the lead without his help, and he was trying his damnedest to give Liz all the attention he could.

He pointed to a small jewelry box on the dresser. "Yours?" He asked.

She sighed. "Leave it. I don't want it." Elliot knew there was a story there, but he didn't push her. It went against his every instinct. Father. She needed her father. Not a detective.

He passed the jewelry box and picked up a couple family photos, and the photo of Kathy he still kept in his desk drawer.

He tossed both picture frames onto the soft pile of clothing accumulating in the suitcase. Liz stopped what she was doing and picked up the photo of Kathy.

She looked lost in thought, and once the silence became unbearable, he spoke. "I'm sorry she's not here, baby." His voice cracked. "She should be here."

It was a complicated feeling. He had loved Kathy, and he had been faithful, even when it required him to sacrifice everything that mattered to him. He was more than a little aware that the only reason he could be with Olivia now was because of Kathy's absence. He had largely accepted that he would hold some level of guilt that her death gave him the freedom he needed to reach for the one woman he always wanted. It was complicated. More so when the kids' grief threatened to rip his heart from his chest.

She shrugged. "One less person to destroy with this whole thing, I guess." She tossed the photo back into the suitcase.

His heart tightened. He hated that through all of this she continued to worry about how this affected those around her rather than how it affected her.

"Liz," he tried, but she waved him away. "I'm okay, Dad. Really. I miss her, and sometimes it feels like there was so much left unsaid, but I thank God she isn't here for any of this."

He stepped away from the dresser and around the bed to where Liz stood. He lightly grasped her upper arms lightly, and she bit her lip, trying to push back the tears.

"Lizzie, I want you to listen to me, and I know it's hard, but I need you to hear me." Her eyes watered, but she nodded slowly. "I love you. Your mom loved you. You aren't a burden, and I know your mom wouldn't think that either. This happened, and I hate that it happened to you, but I'm not angry at you. I don't blame you. You didn't do anything to deserve this. Nothing." He brushed a tear off her cheek. "You have never been a burden, baby. Never." A choked sob escaped her lips as she leaned her head against his chest. His arms instinctively encircled his youngest daughter. He wished he could fix things, but he couldn't. All he could do was be there, and that's what he planned to do.