A/N: This is the second part to the last chapter 'Overworked - Part 1' and there will probably be a third part as well. I don't own any of the characters except my own.
Overworked - Part 2
The next morning, everyone got up and got ready. Everyone had finished packing before they went to bed. Hank was ready first, so he took Sadie over to Al and Meredith's. He came back and started taking the bags out to the SUV. As soon as Noah, Sarah and Harper were ready, they went downstairs and got into the SUV. Olivia was still trying to get Liam's shoes on.
"Liam Sweetie, we need to go."
"K, Mama. Teddy go too?"
"You can take your teddy. Put him in your bag and you can hold him on the plane, ok?"
"K."
Hank came upstairs.
"Everything ok?"
"Yeah. He doesn't want to put his shoes on and he wants to take his teddy."
Hank shook his head and Olivia finished putting Liam's shoes on, while Hank but the bear in Liam's bag. Hank helped Olivia up and then he took Liam down to the SUV. They put him in his car seat and got in. Hank then drove to the airport. Erin and Chris were meeting them there. When they arrived, Hank parked the SUV and then Chris and Erin got there. They parked by them and then everyone got out of their SUVs.
"Hey."
"Hey."
They walked to the terminal and went to check in before going through security. After they got through security, they went to have breakfast and then they went to the gate.
"Dad, where are we going this summer besides Chicago?"
"I don't know yet. It probably depends on how much time your mom can get off."
"I don't think anyone is planning on anything at least yet. I know Phoebe wants Fin to go somewhere for a few days and I don't think Rollins and Carisi are planning to do anything, since they're going to Atlanta now. Depending on Lucy's schedule, the kids may spend time with Dominick and Serafina when they're off for the summer. No one else really goes anywhere."
"Are Uncle Fin and Aunt Phoebe ever gonna get married?"
"It's hard to say. I think she wants to but he's happy with the way things are."
"I hope they don't break up."
"I don't think they will."
They waited for the flight to board and then once it did, they waited for it to take off. Several hours later, they arrived in Nassau. They went to get their bags and met Olive, Dean and the kids in Baggage Claim.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Hey, Cuz."
"Hey, yourself. Glad you could join us."
"Yeah, me too."
"Papa! Grandma! Auntie Erin!"
"Hey, you!"
Daniel hugged everyone and then Travis and Crystal did too.
"Guess what?"
"What?"
"Mommy and Dean are engaged."
"That's great! Congratulations!"
"Thanks. I heard he had a talk with you first."
"Yeah, he did."
Hank, Olivia, Erin and Chris hugged Olive and Dean. After they got their luggage, they went to get the shuttle to the resort. When they arrived, they went to check in.
"This place looks awesome!"
"I agree."
They went up to their respective suites and went to check out their amazing views.
"Hank, this is amazing!"
Everyone changed and went to find something for lunch. After lunch they walked around to see what there was to do. Noah and Crystal noticed they had smaller slides and other stuff.
"I think those are more our speed."
"Definitely."
"We were talking about doing Great America again this summer."
"That would be awesome!"
"When are you going to California?"
"Right after we get out of school."
"My dad has tickets to one of the baseball games and I think it was the end of June or something."
"If that's when you're planning to go to Great America, then we should be able to go."
"Is Daniel going too?"
"Yeah, he is. Kelly has been really good about including him when she takes the kids somewhere and it's not like he doesn't know her because he does. He just doesn't stay with them all the time."
"I still get along with Kelly's parents and she still gets along with mine. Her parents love Olive and they are crazy about Daniel too. My parents are crazy about him too."
"We love your two as much as we love Daniel."
"And I appreciate that. I think the kids like having all these grandparents."
"Who wouldn't?"
"I have one biological grandparent but she's in jail."
"Why is she in jail?"
"She kidnapped me. Mom told me about my biological parents and honestly, I'm glad they're both dead. I'm glad I have the parents I do."
Noah told Crystal about Ellie and Johnny D.
"Yikes! You have no grandparents? Now I feel bad for having 4 sets of grandparents when you don't have any."
"Don't feel bad. We have Grandpa Don, who has always been like a dad to Mom. He lets us call him Grandpa. He was my mom's Captain for 15 years and he walked Mom down the aisle when she and Dad got married."
"He's not shy about talking about them now that he knows about it."
"No, he's not. He said he suspected Sheila was in jail and for the longest time, he would still ask about her. He handled finding out about Johnny D and Ellie better than I thought he would. I expected him to be mad at me for keeping it from him but when I told him, I explained that I felt he needed to be old enough to understand everything. He was starting to become a little more curious about where he came from, so I sat down with him and we talked about it. I would have rather he heard it from me than somewhere else."
"That's true. Erin, have you met Chris' parents?"
"Not yet."
"They'll like you."
"I think they were heading back next weekend."
"That sounds about right."
"They're in Arizona for the winter?"
"Yep. We're originally from New Jersey but Dean's parents moved to Arizona and raised their family out there. Our moms are sisters and our dads are brothers. Our parents grew up together, so that's how they ended up together."
"Any twins?"
"Nope. I'm the youngest of 3 and so is Dean. Dean and I were born on the same day. Our sisters are all close as well."
"Are your sisters in the same area?"
"Gina is in Connecticut with her family and Jessica is in Baltimore with hers."
"Renee is in Sedona with her family and Claire is in Flagstaff with hers."
"I see my sisters really only for holidays and sometimes during the summer."
"I see mine quite a bit. They're over two hours away from us but we try to get together once a month or more and we alternate. We'll take Mom and Dad to see them one month and they'll come see Mom and Dad the next. They see each other all the time."
"Other than summers and holidays, Gina and Jessie don't see each other all that often. I think they went to Arizona to see Mom and Dad when their kids were on break."
"They did. We got to see them. Do any of them know about Erin?"
"Nope. You're the only one in the family that knows. If Mom and Dad were around, they would have met her already."
"Did they expect you to visit them?"
"I usually go out there every other year but I went last year. That's usually because I want to see this guy."
"You two are more like brothers than cousins."
"That's a good way of putting it."
"Are you planning on having a big wedding?"
"Not really but we haven't really thought about it yet."
They continued walking around and then they went back to their suites to put their swimsuits on, so they could go to the pool for a while. They decided what to do for dinner. They went back to their rooms and got ready for bed. The kids went to bed and the adults were sitting outside on their adjoining terraces.
"This is absolutely amazing."
"Yeah, it is."
"I'm not going to want to go back."
"Me neither."
The 6 of them talked for a while longer and then they went to bed. Early the next morning, Dean had gotten a call from his former in-laws that Kelly and Mike had been killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. Olive had woken up, so he told her about it. They decided to wait until Crystal and Travis got up to tell them. Olive texted Olivia and Erin to ask them if they could talk. Olivia and Hank were both awake anyway and so were Erin and Chris. They met out on the terrace.
"What's goin' on?"
"I got a call from Kelly's parents. She and Mike were killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. How do I tell my kids? Olive suggested we wait until they wake up."
"That's usually better."
"We're most likely going to have to cut this trip short."
"That's understandable."
"I just don't want to do this to Daniel though. He was looking forward to spending time with all of you."
"We could keep him and I can take the other 4 back to New York, while Hank gets him back to Phoenix."
"That works."
"I could take him with me too. I'm sure I'd go for whatever services, since Kelly was a part of the family for all those years. I'm always here for you. You know that."
"Yeah, I know. I'll see what happens in the mean time."
"Did she have any kids with her second husband?"
"No and this is the first marriage for him but he loved Crystal and Travis a lot. I think they were talking about having a baby though."
"Does she have a big family?"
"She has two brothers but neither of them is in the area. One is around Denver and the other one is around Pittsburgh."
Then Crystal came outside.
"Daddy, what's wrong?"
"Sit. We need to talk."
Crystal sat down next to Olive.
"I got a call from Grandma Alice and Grandpa Bill. Your mom and Mike were killed in a car accident."
Crystal leaned into Olive and broke down, so Olive wrapped her arms around her.
"It's ok, Sweetie. Let it out."
Olivia and Erin couldn't help but wipe their eyes. Noah came out and asked what was going on, so Olivia told him. He gave Crystal a hug.
"I am so sorry."
"Thank you."
The boys got up and Dean told Travis. Like his sister, he wanted to be comforted by Olive. They all got dressed for breakfast and then Crystal and Travis wanted to call their grandparents. Hank, Olivia, Erin and Chris took Daniel and the rest of the Voight kids to check out the water parks and Olive and Dean said they would meet up with them in a little while.
The kids were all in the pool and the adults were talking.
"Olive is taking this future step mom stuff so seriously."
"She sure is. They both wanted her when Dean told them what had happened."
"My aunt and uncle adore her and my parents think she's pretty great too."
"I'm no Olive though."
"That's perfectly fine. You don't need to be and honestly, I don't really care what they think of you."
"You don't?"
"Nope."
Chris decided to go into the water with the kids.
"He's definitely a keeper."
"I know he is and I know he's the one. I think I'm finally ready to settle down. I also haven't had a period since late January. I'm pretty sure it happened around Valentine's Day. Obviously we haven't had it confirmed yet, since it's only 6 weeks but I thought I would mention it to both of you. We've only been together about 3 months but we love each other."
"I can't be upset about that. I was married to Camille after 6 months. You obviously get that from me."
"I'm happy for you too."
"Thanks."
"I'm fine if he wants to make an honest woman out of you."
"Hank!"
"What?"
"Honestly, I don't know about you sometimes."
Olivia and Erin both rolled their eyes and then they joined Chris and the kids in the pool. A little while later, Olive, Dean, Crystal and Travis joined them and said the 4 of them were leaving on Tuesday but if Daniel wanted to stay, he could. Daniel said he wanted to stay. Dean and Chris decided to do one of the big slides and then they did some of the smaller ones with Noah and Crystal and then with Daniel and Travis. They all tried having fun considering the circumstances. They swam with the dolphins and everyone enjoyed that.
By the time Tuesday arrived, Olive, Dean, Crystal and Travis said goodbye to everyone and headed to the airport for their flight to Phoenix. Daniel was now in Hank and Olivia's suite and most of the kids except for Noah were taking a nap after lunch.
"I'm almost thinking we should make an appearance at the services. Not that I want to cut our vacation short but we are practically another set of grandparents to Crystal and Travis."
"I'd be going anyway, since they are my family."
"Noah, what do you think?"
"I agree with you."
"I do too."
"Dean told me he would let me know when the services are. I'm guessing Thursday and Friday but I could be wrong."
"I got the impression that Crystal doesn't want to be in Arizona any more."
"I got that too."
"I'm not surprised. She loves New York and it's not like they don't know anyone out there. I do know that one maybe two of the PE teachers in the District I'm in is retiring after this school year is over."
"I think Olive is pregnant too. She was getting pretty worn out."
"What do you mean by too? Who else is pregnant? Wait, Mom, are you?"
"I'm 56 years old. There is no way in hell I'm pregnant!"
"It was a joke, Mom. Chill out!"
"That would be me."
"Erin, you're pregnant?"
"We're pretty sure."
"That is so awesome! What are your intentions with my sister anyway?"
"Noah! You sound like your dad."
"I told Erin I was fine if he wanted to make an honest woman out of her."
"This is my crazy family."
"I was the same way with my brothers-in-law and so was my dad. Both my sisters were pregnant when they got married and I was the protective baby brother. Your family is great."
"I think so too. Are you ok if we only have one kid?"
"I'm perfectly fine with only one. I would have also been fine if we didn't have kids at all. I'm ready to make it official whenever you are."
"Maybe I should at least meet your parents first."
"My opinion is the only one that matters anyway."
"I'm glad both girls are happy."
"I am too."
"I'm happy."
"Me too."
Hank kissed Olivia and Chris kissed Erin.
"I think I'm gonna be sick."
"Stop it!"
A little later, the younger kids woke up and then they went down to the beach. They had dinner and stayed at the beach for a while longer. Before bedtime, they checked in with Olive and Dean and then all the kids went to bed. Hank and Olivia made love before they went to sleep as did Erin and Chris.
Noah spent quite a bit of time with Chris doing more water slides. Olive had called Erin and said the arrangements were for Thursday and Friday just as Chris had predicted. Hank made arrangements for all of them to fly to Phoenix on Wednesday and got rentals and a couple hotel rooms. They also let Olive know they were coming. The kids were all sad to be cutting their vacation short but they understood. It was an afternoon flight, so they were able to spend a little more time before they had to leave. They headed to the airport and got checked in.
"Unfortunately, there were no nonstop flights, so we have a layover in Dallas. There was one flight where the layover was in Newark."
"We might as well go home."
"Yeah, no kidding. This was one of the shorter flights."
"We did that coming here too."
They talked for a while and boarded the flight. They waited for it to take off. A few hours later, they arrived in Dallas for the layover. A little while later, the flight left for Phoenix. After another couple hours, they arrived in Phoenix. They got off the plane and went to get the luggage before getting their rentals. Chris, Erin, Olivia and the kids checked in at the hotel, while Hank took Daniel home. By the time he arrived, Daniel was asleep. He got him out of the car and carried him to the door. He rang the bell and Olive answered it.
"Hey."
"You did not have to come."
"Yeah, we did. We're practically another set of grandparents to Crystal and Travis."
"That's true."
Hank came in and then he carried Daniel upstairs to put him in his bed. Olive took his shoes off and covered him. Then they went back downstairs and sat down.
"Where's Dean?"
"He's over at his parents' and the kids are spending time at Kelly's parents'. He should be back soon. They've been at their mom's seeing if there was anything of hers they wanted. He talked to Chris and found out there are a couple of openings in the District he's in. Crystal doesn't want to be here anymore and honestly, I don't blame her. A part of him does want to relocate, so he can be closer to Chris and I wouldn't mind being closer to all of you. I'm sure Daniel would love that too. The company I work for has an office in New York, so I can ask for a transfer. We're both probably going to have to work to pay our rent or mortgage or whatever. Dean should be on the same schedule as them for days off but if he decides to coach, that'll be another thing."
"If that's what you decide, we'll do what we can to help. I'm sure Noah and Crystal would love bein' in the same school."
"No doubt and hopefully the other two would be in the same school with Sarah and Harper."
"How's Travis handling it?"
"About as good as can be expected. I appreciate you, Olivia and Erin spending some time with Daniel."
"We love spendin' time with him."
"Good. Did he ask you anything about Justin?"
"Yeah, he did. He wanted to know what he was like at his age."
"Now that he's older, he's been asking more questions about Justin. Some of it was stuff you and Erin would know more than I would. He asked me if I still love Justin and I said I will always love him because he was his dad but that doesn't mean that I can't love someone else. Now that we're engaged, he's already asking if he can call Dean 'Dad' and I told him that he needs to have that talk with Dean. Travis asked if I'm going to be their mom now and Dean told him that maybe in time, I will but right now, it's way too soon. They know I love them and Daniel knows Dean loves him."
"I still love Camille and remember her on Mother's Day, our anniversary and her birthday. Olivia encourages that."
"I do that with Justin all the time too. Dean still cared for Kelly even though they were divorced and they have always tried to maintain a civilized relationship for the kids. She was a friend of mine too, so this has been hard on all of us."
Then Dean came in.
"Hey, Hank."
"Hey."
Dean kissed Olive.
"Thanks for bringing Daniel back and for being here."
Like Olivia said, we're practically another set of grandparents to your two, so we felt we needed to be here."
"And you definitely are. I need to work on my resume and then send it to that email address Chris gave me."
"Did you talk to your parents?"
"Yeah, I did and I talked to Alice and Bill about it too. They just want a relationship with them but they're fine if you eventually want to officially become their mom. Mom and Dad said they'd consider moving back east and keeping their house here for the winter months like Aunt Donna and Uncle Charles do."
"I would love to be their mom more than anything but it's too soon. If they never knew their mom, that would be different but she was very much a part of their lives up until the very end."
"I know it's too soon but I think that's the route both kids are headed though. You were the one they both turned to for comfort after I told them."
"You know I love them and Kelly knew that too."
"I know Mike loved them too. I honestly think if something had happened to me first, I'd be ok with Mike officially becoming their dad. Kelly said to me multiple times that she was glad we got together and there is no one else she would want to have as a second mom to our kids."
"I know Justin wanted me to move on."
"He did. He told me to make sure whoever you were with was good to both of you. He didn't want just anyone bein' a dad to his son. I can understand that. Camille said the same thing to me and I think she would have been ok with Olivia if we had gotten our acts together before Justin died."
"I think he would have loved Olivia."
"I think he would have too. One of the last things he said to me was to not give up on with being with the woman I truly loved. It obviously took her longer than it took me but I wouldn't change my life now for anything. I think he would have loved Noah too. He always wanted to be a big brother."
"He wanted a big family too. He told me once that he wanted 4 kids. I'd be happy with that. We actually found out just before we left for The Bahamas that we're expecting. I'm 15 weeks."
"We were figuring you were because you were gettin' worn out so quickly."
"You're the first person we've told and now may not be the best time to tell the kids. Our next appointment we'll find out what we're having. I really want a daughter. Although I wouldn't mind having another one, so this one could have someone closer in age."
"It doesn't matter to me."
"I'm happy for you."
"Thanks."
"I should get goin'."
"Ok. Thanks for bringing Daniel home and for being here."
"You're welcome."
Hank said goodnight to Olive and Dean and then he left. Olivia had texted him with the room number, so once he got to the hotel, he went up to their room and knocked on the door. Olivia answered it.
"Hello."
"Hey."
Hank walked in and then they shut and locked the door.
"Thanks for getting a separate room for the kids."
"I figured we still needed time alone. Is Noah ok with bein' in charge of his younger siblings?"
"Oh yeah."
Olivia started kissing Hank. They got on the bed, undressed each other and made love. Afterwards Hank had his arms wrapped around her and she had her head on his chest.
"I love you."
"I love you too. I'm sorry this trip didn't turn out like I had hoped it would."
"Just the fact that I was away from my job for a week made it worth it. I don't even care that we ended up here to attend the services for Dean's ex wife. Just the fact that we're together with our family is all that matters."
"The kids aren't disappointed?"
"I asked them and they said no. If Noah is upset about something, he usually gives us an attitude about it. He and Crystal have gotten to be pretty close, so I think he just wants to be here for her."
"It sounds like Dean is interested in that job Chris told him about. He said he needs to work on his resume and send it to the email address Chris gave him. He has already talked to his parents and Kelly's parents about it. His parents might consider movin' back east and keep their place here, so they can come here in the winter. Her parents just want to have a relationship with the kids but they're also fine if Olive wants to eventually make things official with them. Olive said it's too soon."
"You can't blame her for feeling that way."
"No, you can't."
Hank kissed Olivia again and then he got out of bed to head into the bathroom. Once Hank finished getting ready for bed, Olivia went in. They got into bed, kissed each other again and fell asleep in each other's arms.
The next morning, they all got up and got ready before they all met for breakfast. After breakfast, Hank, Olivia and the kids found something to do, while Chris took Erin to meet his parents. Things had gone well and they both seemed to like her a lot. They both said they looked forward to getting to know her better when they came back to the east coast.
Dean and the kids were at the funeral home with both Mike's parents and Kelly's parents before the visitation started. Olive and Daniel were there right when it started and then Hank, Olivia, Erin, Chris and the kids arrived a little later with Dean's parents and Chris' parents. Chris introduced Hank, Olivia and the kids to his parents. They obviously already knew Dean's parents. They all walked in together and then Dean's sisters came in with their husbands Todd and Jason. After everyone paid their respects, Chris got caught up with his other cousins and introduced them to Erin. Hank and Olivia had met Dean's sisters but not their husbands. They were both in law enforcement, so they had a lot in common with Hank and Olivia. They had both heard about the William Lewis case, so they had heard of Olivia. They said they had been talking about visiting the family on the east coast when the kids were out of school for the summer and they would love to meet her squad. Olivia had her card with her, so she gave one to both of them. They gave her theirs as well. Sarah was starting to become uncomfortable because of what had happened to their parents and Harper and Liam wanted to leave but Noah said he'd stay with Erin. Hank and Olivia said goodbye to everyone they knew and headed back to the hotel. When they got back, they changed and went down to the pool.
"Mom."
"What's going on, Sweetie?"
"I'm sorry we had to leave. I was starting to become very uncomfortable because of what happened to our mom and dad."
"You don't ever have to be sorry about that. If you don't want to go tomorrow, we don't have to. If Noah wants to go, he can go with Erin and Chris. If Daddy wants to go, he can go."
"I don't really want to go. I feel bad for Crystal and Travis though but at least they still have their dad. We didn't have anyone."
"I understand. Olive loves them too."
Hank came over with the other two.
"Sarah doesn't want to go tomorrow. She was very uncomfortable with being there because of what happened to their parents. If Noah wants to go, you can take him if you want to go or he could go with Erin and Chris. To be honest, I don't particularly want to go either."
"I don't really want to either and I'm sure they'll understand if we're not there but maybe one of us could text Olive later and let her know, so they aren't lookin' for us. Noah could decide he wants to go or he could say he's fine with just bein' there tonight."
"I'm thinking maybe we could drive to the Grand Canyon tomorrow. Every time we've been out here, Noah has been asking to go and we haven't been able to schedule it in."
"That would work and hopefully he'll go with us."
Then Erin came in with Noah. They were both in their swimsuits.
"You're not stayin' the entire time?"
"No. I probably should have left when you did. I guess I'm more tired than I realized. Chris dropped us off and went back."
"Sarah was very uncomfortable being there because of what happened to their parents. None of us really want to go tomorrow."
"Olive said she didn't really expect us to be here in the first place. I seemed to get along ok with Chris' parents but it seemed like the only ones I had anything in common with were Dean's brothers-in-law."
"That's for sure. They said they want to visit SVU when they come to see the family on the east coast when their kids are out of school for the summer."
"That probably means Chris and his parents. I'm not even sure I want to go tomorrow."
"Noah, what do you want to do?"
"I'm good with just tonight."
"Dad and I were talking before you got here about possibly going to the Grand Canyon tomorrow."
"If we can do it, that'll be great."
"We may have to get up and out early though."
"I just don't want Dean upset with us if we don't go."
"Like Olive said, they never expected us to be here at all. They were expecting Chris to come in with Daniel, stay for the services and go back to New York."
"I told Olive last night that Crystal and Travis are practically our grandchildren. We wanted to be here for them."
"That's true. I love them as much as Daniel."
"I do too."
They all swam for a while longer and then they ordered a pizza for dinner. Hank went to get it and brought it back to his and Olivia's room. Everyone had changed into their pajamas. The visitation was over by 8, so Dean, Olive, Chris and the kids headed to the hotel. Chris checked his and Erin's room and she wasn't there, so they went to Hank and Olivia's room. They knocked on the door. Hank went to answer it.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Come on in and have some pizza."
"Thanks."
They all came in and helped themselves to pizza. Chris kissed Erin.
"Sarah was becoming very uncomfortable because of what happened to their parents."
"Don't worry about it. It's all good. The kids don't even want to go tomorrow and if this wasn't someone they were close to, they wouldn't have to."
"Daniel doesn't want to go either. I told him that being there tonight was enough as far as I'm concerned. Can you take him for a while tomorrow?"
"We were talkin' about goin' to the Grand Canyon."
"If you can wait until Saturday, then we can all go. This is the time of year when the weather is perfect here. There's miniature golf, the Children's Museum and the Zoo."
"I'd say the Zoo. We'd be at the miniature golf place all day with Liam and Noah wouldn't be to thrilled being at the Children's Museum."
"Maybe after dinner tomorrow we can take the older kids miniature golfing."
"I like that idea. The Zoo is fine with me."
"That works for us. Do you recommend leavin' early for the Grand Canyon?"
"It's doable in a day but it's over 6 hours of driving round trip. When we visit Claire in Flagstaff, we'll stay overnight nearby and spend several hours at the Grand Canyon before heading home. What time is your flight on Sunday?"
"8-something in the mornin'. It gets in at 3. I figured that would be easier than leavin' here in the early afternoon and gettin' home after 8:30. They won't want to go to bed. That also gives us time for delays with the weather or whatever."
"Kind of early but yeah, I don't want to have to try to put them to bed as soon as we get home. I pity Noah's teacher in his first class because he won't want to get up if he's too wound up from traveling."
"That's actually me, so I'd understand. I still need to work on my lesson plans for this coming week."
"That's the good thing about being a PE teacher is that there isn't much to do with lesson plans. Why don't we do this, we can all go after we get back from the funeral tomorrow. We can leave between noon and 1 and have sometime to take in the scenery. We'll stay the night up there and come back Saturday morning. We can then do the stuff around here on Saturday. I'll make the reservations."
"That sounds like a plan."
"The funeral is at 10?"
"Yeah. It's at the church at 10 for probably an hour and then at the cemetery."
"They're not having a dinner afterwards?"
"They are but we don't have to stay for it. They stayed with their mom's parents last night and all the families went out to lunch before we had to be at the funeral home."
Everyone talked for a while longer and then Dean left to get some stuff for Daniel and made the reservations for the hotel in Flagstaff. He came back and then after they said goodnight to everyone, he, Olive, Crystal and Travis headed home. Daniel got ready for bed and then they all went to sleep.
The next morning, whoever was going to the funeral went. Afterwards they changed and then they headed to Flagstaff after they all grabbed a bite to eat. When they arrived, they got checked in and then they went to the Grand Canyon. Olivia and Erin took pictures. They stayed there a while and then they went to have dinner before they went to the hotel. The relaxed for a while and then they all went to bed.
The next morning, they had breakfast before they headed back to Phoenix. When they got back, they had lunch and went to the Zoo. Dean, Olive, Chris and Erin took all the kids out to dinner and to play miniature golf, so Hank and Olivia could have some time to themselves. The two of them went to dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse and then they spent the rest of the night making love and just being in each other's arms. Everyone got back to the hotel and went to bed, since they had to get an early start in the morning.
Everyone had gotten up to get ready to head to the airport. Olive, Dean and the kids came to the hotel before they left to say goodbye to them and they had hoped to see everyone soon. They went home, while the others headed to the airport. They got checked in and grabbed something for breakfast before they headed to the gate. The flight boarded and then it took off. Everyone pretty much slept on the flight home.
The flight landed right on schedule and once they got their stuff, they went to their vehicles to head home. Once they arrived at home, they unpacked and then Olivia threw the clothes in the washer, while the kids went to watch a movie in Noah's room and Hank started going through the mail.
"Anything important?"
"Mostly junk."
"I'm glad to be home but I'm not looking forward to going back to work. I'm guessing they don't want to go back to school either."
"It's hard to get back into a normal routine sometimes."
The doorbell rang, so Olivia went to get it. It was Fin, Phoebe, Elliot and the Olinskys with Sadie.
"Hey. Come on in."
"Thanks."
Everyone came in and went into the kitchen.
"How was it?"
"Well, we had to make an unexpected trip to Phoenix. Dean's ex wife and her husband were killed in a car accident last weekend, so we went to support Dean and the kids. We only ended up going to the visitation though. Sarah had become uncomfortable being at the funeral home because of what had happened to their parents. Olive left Daniel with us and they weren't expecting us to bring him home. Chris would have gone anyway. Olive, Dean, Crystal and Travis left Tuesday and we left Wednesday. We had a layover in Dallas. Hank said one of the flights from Nassau to Phoenix had a layover at Newark Liberty airport."
"What would the point of that be when you're just about home?"
"Exactly."
"How was Nassau though?"
"We had a great time. The highlight was swimming with the dolphins. That was so amazing! We did get to the Grand Canyon and that ended up being the highlight of the trip to Arizona. So gorgeous!"
Olivia got her phone and went to the beginning of the pictures from their trip, so they could all look at them.
"Oh, wow!"
"We ended up staying in Flagstaff for the night, since it's 3+ hours both ways. Dean got us rooms at a nearby hotel that he has stayed at before. One of his sisters lives in Flagstaff and the other one is in Sedona. Both of his brothers-in-law are cops. They both want to visit SVU when they visit over the summer."
"The whole group went?"
"Yep. We left Friday after Dean, Olive, Crystal, Travis and Chris went to the funeral. Daniel decided he didn't want to go to the funeral, so he stayed with us. Crystal and Travis didn't even want to go but since it was their mom and step dad, they didn't have a choice. We just didn't want them to be upset with us and they weren't. We wanted to be there because we love Crystal and Travis as much as we do Daniel. Noah and Crystal are pretty close and he stayed as long as Erin did. They left not long after we did. Chris dropped them off and then went back. Erin did get to meet Chris' parents and that went pretty well."
"Liv, your pics are great."
"Thanks. Erin has a lot too. She had her camera with her. I have a few that I plan on printing out and putting in my office."
"I would love to see the Grand Canyon if I could get someone to take a vacation."
"He takes days off here and there but usually nothing major."
"I don't ever remember him takin' time off unless they made him take it because of some case that affected all of us."
"We definitely had a lot of those. Still do. You were probably given more time off than most of us."
"You think?"
The doorbell rang again, so Olivia went to answer it. It was Ed and Patty.
"You're back."
"So are you."
They came in and joined everyone else in the kitchen.
"Speakin' of people who used to give me time off."
"Nice to see you too, Stabler."
"Liv, does Hank know about the time you were charged with murder?"
"Yeah, he does. Did Kathy ever find out what you did?"
"I did finally tell her and she said she would have been fine with it if I had told her at the time."
"You were charged with murder? Who's the idiot that did that?"
Olivia, Fin and Elliot all pointed at Ed and then they told everyone else what had happened. Patty looked at Ed and shook her head.
"I'm beginning understand why no one liked you."
"I wasn't there to be liked."
"You got better and you turned out to be a pretty good guy after all."
"Thank you."
"I know I was most of the reason why you were so hard on SVU but even I can see you're not the guy you used to be."
"Thanks."
"Nick Amaro, who was my partner after you disappeared, was pretty much a younger version of you. He was a hot head and had marital problems. Ed wasn't a fan of his either."
"Nope. We're civilized now though."
"I was such a bitch to Amaro and Rollins when they first started with SVU though but like I told Nick when he told me he was leaving, I grew more with him in the 4 years we were partners than I did with Elliot."
"Do you really think I held you back?"
"In a way because I think we had become too dependent on each other. Fin knows this because he's seen me at my lowest and I've told Hank this too but during my ordeal with William Lewis, I wondered what would have happened if you had still been around."
"You know what I would have done and I'd probably be in jail right now."
"I've told her if I had known her then, I would have ended that son of a bitch. I've gotten away with more than I probably should have especially with the Bingham thing. I know I should have listened to Erin in the first place but that bastard deserved it for what he did to my son. Erin has covered my ass many times and so has Al."
"And I still would."
"Thanks, Al. You know I appreciate that."
"I know you do."
"Even though I've done it, I always try to convince people not to be like me. When Trudy's dad was murdered, she wanted to go after the person responsible and I told her she wasn't me. Al wanted to go after the person responsible for what happened to his daughter and I talked him out of it. You were the same way with Wheatley and I talked you out of it."
"Right. How do you release your anger? That seems to be what I have the hardest time with sometimes?"
"I walk a lot and sometimes that calms me down. I'll take Sadie for a walk or sometimes I just need to relax.
"I know what you like and I know how to relax you."
"I know what you like too but let's not get into that."
"I'll say you do. I have no complaints in that department whatsoever."
"Why do you think our bedroom is separate from the rest of them? You're not quiet."
"Which means you're doing something right."
Olivia winked at Hank and had a smirk on her face. Fin just shook his head.
"Damn, Liv! We don't need to hear this!"
"Anyway, we do have a membership at the Y, so I'll go work out or swim. I think a lot of my problem was when I was workin', so I needed to release my anger more frequently. When I was in Chicago, one of my Detectives had a gym, so he taught me how to box. On the days when Liam doesn't have school, we'll go to the Y and go swimming together."
"The other 3 like to swim too but they are in gymnastics, which helps with the dancing."
"At least that keeps them active. I used to punch holes in the walls of our house or punch the lockers at the Precinct."
"I remember the locker thing."
"Me too."
"Been there, done that. When I first found out Camille had cancer, I punched several holes in the walls of the basement that I had to eventually had to patch and paint."
"I had to do that before we sold the house. I punched a brick wall once too."
"I put my fist through one of my car windows when I was drunk. At the time, I felt nothing but it hurt like hell when the alcohol wore off."
"I remember that. I was the one that took you to the hospital."
"I remember that too."
"That was right after Camille died."
"Yep."
"I've been running more lately. I take Sadie more than I don't and sometimes we meet Rollins and Frannie at the park. How was she when we were gone?"
"She was really good."
"That's great. Thank you so much for taking her."
"No problem."
"You and Liv seem like you have a good marriage. Kathy and me, not so much."
"We've worked hard at it and sometimes it was hard for us to work together. She wants things done her way and it's been that way since we first met. She obviously didn't like my interrogation methods and compared me to you but she threatened to leave me alone with the person we were interrogating, while she went to get coffee. She threatened to arrest me if I ever pulled that crap here again and this was when we were both Sergeants. She's one of the few people who can put me in my place and actually get away with it. When I tell her she has my word, I mean it and we're good."
"He's good about that. When his former unit in Chicago and SVU were working together on a case involving his unit's administrative person, I was out there first and then they ended up here. I asked him to play things by the book and he did. When our suspect was on trial, he was saying all this stuff about Hank and it was really pissing me off. We had already slept together a few times by then and I knew he wouldn't do the things he was being accused of. We had a friends with benefits relationship and at the time, neither of us wanted more."
"Yates had escaped from prison and ended up back in Chicago. He was messin' with Erin this time. I appreciated Olivia goin' out there and I knew she was with Ed, since we talked all the time. That was the first time we worked together that we didn't end up gettin' close afterward because I was tryin' to let her figure things out with him. I think I realized I loved her enough to let her go because there was so much against us bein' together anyway. It hurt because she was the first woman I had developed feelings for since Camille passed but I wanted her to be happy."
"After Hank lost his son, I had thought about going to Chicago for the funeral. That was right around the time Chief Dodds' son, who was my Sergeant at the time, died and I was feeling sorry for myself. I wanted to be there for Hank. We talked and I told him I wanted to be there for him and he basically said no because he knew what would happen if I did. Ed wanted to take Noah and me to Paris and Hank said to go."
"As soon as I hung up, I regretted it. I think she was pissed at me after that but I didn't want to be the other person in her relationship. I didn't hear from her until over a year later when she showed up at my house with Noah and confessed that it had been me all along. I said I loved her too and had since the case when Yates had gone back to Chicago. I said it wasn't that I didn't want her there for Justin's funeral but if we had gotten close again, I probably wouldn't have been so willing to let her go. She said she knew why and that was actually when she realize she loved me but understood why I wanted her to give her relationship with Ed a chance. We were both willing to try to navigate a long distance relationship."
"It's not that I didn't love Ed because I did but not the same way I loved Hank. I didn't feel like I had the physical and emotional connection with Ed that I did with Hank."
"You had said you wanted more time for Noah and I was good with that. I also had a feelin' that it had a lot to do with Hank. I wanted you to be happy and I'm glad you are."
"I'm glad you are too and I'm also glad we're still friends."
"Me too. You're not the only one that had mixed feelings about our relationship. It was wrong for us to not disclose the relationship and then have it come out the way it did."
"My relationship with Hank was the first one I actually voluntarily disclosed. I had asked around about any openings when he made the decision to transfer here.
"Liv, would you have cheated?"
"Honestly, El, I don't know. I think I wanted to be with Hank more than I realized but I had started seeing Ed differently and I understood why Hank didn't want to come between us. Pretty much the same reason I never admitted that I felt something for you. I didn't want to be the reason your marriage broke up. I cared about Kathy and the kids too."
"I know you did and I get it. Kathy and I worked on a lot after I left SVU. I basically had to choose between whatever it was I was feelin' for you and my marriage. At the time, I needed to choose Kathy."
"As you should have. Even if I hadn't been with Hank, I still don't think there could have been anything between us. If something were to happen to Hank, I don't know that I'd want to go through all this again. It took me this long to find the love of my life and now, it's not just Noah I have to consider. I've had relationships where we have parted ways and the other person says they'll always be a part of my life. The only person who said that and actually meant it was Ed. You have no idea what you put me through for those 10 years you were gone. The only person in this room who does know what I went through is Fin."
"I get it now. I pretty much took the easy way out because honestly, I didn't want to have to deal with Tucker and an investigation. I thought if I quit, I wouldn't have to face what I did. As a dad, what I did to Jenna haunted me for a long time and still does sometimes."
"I think what you did was justified. She had already killed several people in the Squadroom and your first instinct was to prevent more deaths from occurring, which included your partner and co-workers."
"Would you have felt that way after it had happened though?"
"Yeah. I talked with Cragen after everything had happened and I felt that way then. When I heard you were comin' back, I admit I had mixed feelings about it though."
"I think most people did."
"I know I did. I didn't want you to try to mess up the best relationship I've had."
"I just wanna be a part of your life in anyway I can. I appreciate the support you've both given me though. I started realizin' that I'm not gonna be able to just get over her overnight. I'm still tryin' to get used to this single parent stuff."
"I know you do."
"If anyone gets that, I do. I had a shitty relationship with Justin after Camille died and it wasn't until after he became a dad and spent time in the Army that he grew up. We both started respectin' each other a lot more than we used to. At least you seem like you have a pretty good relationship with your kids."
"It's better now than it used to be. Sometimes I wonder about my relationship with Eli though. I think in a way he blames me for what happened to Kathy."
"Sometimes I think Justin blamed himself for Camille's death. He told me once that maybe if he wasn't born then she wouldn't have gotten ovarian cancer. I told him not to say that. She loved him more than life itself. Camille and I went through a lot when he was born, since his twin sister was a stillborn. Camille blamed herself and that was pretty much when the holes in the basement walls started. That was my way of dealin' with it. My mom was still around, so she came and helped take care of Justin until Camille was ready to deal with it on her own. I had no clue was I was doin'. It took her a while before she would hold him or even nurse him. I know she blamed herself for what had happened and I tried being as supportive as I could."
"Did Liv ever tell you the story about Eli's birth?"
"She did."
Elliot told mostly everyone else about it. Fin already knew about it.
"Oh, wow!"
"Kathy was so grateful for that and I was too, since I could have lost both of them. A part of me was glad I got to be around more for him growin' up than I had been for the other 4."
"I was a shit father to Ken too but I'm glad to be a part of his life and my grandson's life now. Ken really likes Phoebe and just wants me to be happy. I have no complaints."
"Neither do I most days. I just wish we could go away once in a while."
"I never realized what I missed out on by never bein' a father until I started seein' Liv and spendin' more time with Noah. I love Ryan and Tyler like they were my own."
"They know you do. You have at least made an effort with them and act more like a father to them than my poor excuse for an ex ever did."
"Did he give up his rights?"
"He did because he never wanted to be financially responsible for them, so I had to do a lot to support them on my own. I was lucky enough to find someone who wanted to be a father figure to them."
"I see that with Rollins too. She has 3 kids with 3 different men and besides Carisi, only one of the fathers is active in his child's life. Carisi loves the girls as much as he does Nicky. Billie loves the extra attention she gets from Carisi when Jesse is with her dad. Now that he's around more often, he spends more time with her. For a while there, he was undercover for such a long time."
"Who's this?"
"Captain Declan Murphy, who's now with Hate Crimes. He was with Vice and undercover a lot but he was also acting Commander of SVU when Lewis escaped. He was working undercover to investigate Johnny D at the same time we were and after Johnny D was arrested was when he and Rollins apparently hooked up. He was undercover in Serbia
but had come back long enough to find out that Rollins was pregnant with his kid. He supported her financially and now that he came back to New York, he's been active in Jesse's life. I think Jesse was the reason he came back and wanted something more stable."
"I think I know who he is. What's the story with her other kid's dad?"
"She had started seeing this doctor and he wasn't necessarily faithful when they were together. He cheated on her with a prostitute and flirting with other women while she was in the washroom. She said he wanted her to terminate the pregnancy but she said she was keeping the baby whether he was around or not. He changed his tune about it and eventually invited her and Jesse to move in with him. She had mixed feelings about it. Not too long before Billie was born, he proposed. When she went into labor, she told him she couldn't marry him because she didn't love him. Carisi had been at the hospital with her until Al got there and he has asked her if she wanted him to leave. She said no. Carisi became more protective of her when she was pregnant with Jesse, so I think the feelings were there longer for him than her. They may have started for her around the time Billie was born but I think it was more after he left SVU to go to the DA's office. She was yelling at him in the Squadroom about leaving her. At one point she said she never falls for good men. After they got together, I told her she finally fell for a good man. Her mom likes him and she and her mom finally have a better relationship. His parents and sisters love her and the girls. Nicky is the first grandson in his family."
"His parents seem nice."
"They are."
"How was The Bahamas?"
Hank and Olivia told Ed and Patty about their trip.
"That stinks."
"Yeah but we just didn't feel right not making an appearance."
"Did you bring the kids home?"
"They're upstairs watching a movie."
"How are Crystal and Travis?"
"They're doing ok considering. They have asked if Olive is going to be their new mom but Dean said he thinks it's too soon. She loves those kids as much as she loves Daniel. They both wanted her after Dean told them about their mother. What's really sad about it is their mom was pregnant. They found that when they did the autopsy."
"That is sad."
"Chris told Dean about an opening for a PE teacher out here, so he's planning to send his resume. Olive is fine with it if he gets the job and the kids would be fine with it too.
"How was DC?"
"It was great. The boys had a good time and we were able to see a lot."
"Good."
Olivia showed Ed and Patty the pictures. Everyone talked a while longer and then they invited everyone to stay for pizza. Hank ordered the pizzas and went to pick them up. When he got back, Olivia went up to get the kids, so they could all eat together. After a while, everyone who was leaving left. The kids went to get ready bed, while Hank took Sadie out. Olivia said goodnight to the kids and went to get ready for bed. Once Hank came back, he went to say goodnight to the kids and then he joined Olivia in their bedroom. He got ready for bed and got into bed with Olivia. They made love before falling asleep in each other's arms.
Tomorrow it was back to work and school for mostly everyone.
Stay tuned for more...
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