All I Ask [A Bensler Fan Fic]

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The door opened and Olivia squinted a bit since she had been laying in a dark room for over an hour and her eyes needed time to adjust. Once they adjusted, Olivia saw Eli and Lizzie sitting together on the sofa. Lizzie smiled at Olivia, and Eli gave her a shy wave.

"Hi." She breathed.

"Are you doing okay, Liv? You seemed to shut down once things got hectic." Lizzie whispered.

"I needed to calm myself down. I get overwhelmed easier when something happens and I'm with your sister. It's almost like I'm worried someone will hurt her." Olivia frowned.

Things got quiet, and no one knew what to say. Eventually, Elliot took Evie from Olivia and laid her in Eli's arms. He sat beside his son and helped him support Evie's tiny body.

"I don't think I've ever held a baby before. She's so little." Eli spoke, his eyes focused completely on Evie's face.

"You've always been the baby, so this has gotta be an enormous change." Elliot chuckled as he watched his youngest son hold his youngest daughter. 

Elliot never expected this to happen, but he was so glad it was. He was finally back in the same city his kids had been living the entire time he was gone, and he was so happy that Olivia had agreed to join him.

"I'm going to figure out something to make for dinner. I'll leave you four be." Olivia frowned. She quickly made her escape into the kitchen and held on tightly to the counter as tears slipped down her cheeks.

Even if she was hoping everything would go well tonight, all she could think about was how poorly she had been treated in the past. How Maureen tried to knock her down, and everyone knew what she had hoped would happen to Olivia and Evie.

///

Olivia made dinner for Elliot and his kids, and didn't burn it as predicted. They sat in the small kitchen and ate, but Olivia didn't partake in the conversation. It wasn't until she went to put Evie down that Eli finally got up the nerve to speak to her. He had wanted to see her, but didn't realize how nervous it would make him.

"Liv?" Eli asked as he pushed open the door to his sister's room. Olivia looked over her shoulder and gave Eli a weak smile.

"Hey, kid. Are you heading home?"

"No, not yet. Dad is calling Mom to see if we can go out for ice cream before taking me home." Eli smiled. He walked over to the changing table and gently touched Evie's hand as Olivia finished buttoning her jumper.

"I'm sure she'll say yes. It's hard to say no to you." Olivia chuckled weakly.

Eli let out a laugh as Olivia picked up Evie.

"So, we all said some mean things about you."

"Eli, it's okay. I deserved it. I'm not a great person." Olivia frowned.

"You saved me and my mom, Liv. You are a really good person. I'm sorry for what I said... Dad got really upset after you left, and I didn't help. I'm just glad you came home because otherwise I wouldn't be able to spoil my baby sister." Eli grinned.

Olivia looked down at the boy, and she saw a much younger version of Elliot. They had the same smiles and mischievous glint in their eyes, even when they weren't planning something. Olivia settled Evie into the crook of her arm, before reaching out and ruffling Eli's hair.

"Do you think I could come and stay with you and Dad? I used to spend weekends with him, or a weekend with him, before I turned into a giant jerk. But I missed him, and I thought it was all my fault that he left."

"He told you it wasn't, right?"

"Oh yeah! He said it wasn't my fault, but his. I think it might be Mo and Mom's fault, though." Eli sighed.

"They were pretty bad, huh?" Olivia mused, and Eli nodded.

"They said things that no one should ever say... they got you fired." 

"I got transferred, but then quit... but they fueled the fire."

Olivia walked over and went to sit in the rocking chair, but Eli smiled at her.

"Wanna hold her again?" Olivia asked with a genuine smile.

"Yes, please. I can't stop holding my baby sister. It's so cool to be a big brother!"

///

Elliot took Eli back to Kathy's, and Lizzie went to a library close to her father's apartment to work on a project with a few friends. When Elliot got back, Olivia was in bed, but hadn't fallen asleep yet.

"Can't sleep?" Elliot asked as he undressed at the foot of the bed before pulling on a pair of sweats.

"I wanted to talk."

"Good, because I did too. Eli asked me some things on the drive home."

"Like what? Because he asked if he could come and stay the night here. Almost like the old custody agreement." Olivia spoke. Elliot's eyes went wide as he looked over at Olivia.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. I think it's mostly because of Evie, but you can think it's because of you too." Olivia teased. Elliot's face grew bright with a smile, and he quickly pulled Olivia into a hug before leaning down and kissing her deeply.

"Woah..." Olivia trailed off after they had parted.

"Liv, I'm sorry. But tonight was great. I got to spend time with three of my six kids, and the love of my life. I'm like high on life!" Elliot grinned from ear to ear.

"Love of your life? You... you care about me that much?" Olivia whispered, and Elliot nodded slowly. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and smiled softly.

"I want to fix things completely between us... I want you to forgive me and trust me again. The one thing that could make life here even better is if we were dating again and kissing all the time. But I won't force anything on you... " Elliot trailed off. He kissed her lips again, before slipping down under the sheets.

Olivia stared off at the wall before smiling softly to herself.