North Star [A Bensler FanFiction]

{17}

Olivia woke to the sound of Elliot and Maureen arguing. Between rude comments from Elliot's eldest, Olivia heard Kathleen try to get them to stop. She slowly climbed out of bed and hesitantly opened the bedroom door. 

"I hate you!" Maureen screamed, before storming to her bedroom and slamming the door. Elliot scrubbed a hand down his face as Kathleen sighed deeply.

"Dad, I'm sorry about her," Kathleen spoke.

"It's not your fault, Katie. Maureen needs to calm down and everything will be okay..." Elliot trailed off before turning slowly towards his bedroom. He frowned deeply when he saw Olivia standing there, her eyes full of tears.

"This is all my fault, El. I'm sorry," Olivia sniffled.

"No, it isn't. Kathy blamed the divorce on me, and I still haven't been able to fix that damage. C'mere," Elliot breathed, as he reached his hand out to Olivia. She looked at it for a moment before taking it and allowing herself to be pulled into a tight hug.

"You can't live without your kids, El. I don't want to be the reason Maureen never comes around anymore... I'll see if I can stay in Fin's spare room until I find somewhere else to stay. Maybe Casey or Alex would put me up for a while," Olivia replied softly.

"I'll go talk to her," Kathleen spoke awkwardly, as she looked at her father and his best friend.

"No, I'll talk to her," Olivia replied bravely as she stepped out of Elliot's embrace.

"You?" Kathleen and Elliot said in unison.

"Yes, me. I'm the reason she's so angry, so I should be the one to fix this. I'll be fine," Olivia replied as she walked towards Maureen's closed door. She took a shaky breath before opening it without knocking.

///

Olivia didn't get a chance to talk to Maureen because she had snuck out of her bedroom and down the fire escape. Elliot left to find his daughter while Olivia and Kathleen started to prepare dinner. They kept to themselves as Kathleen cut up vegetables for the salad and Olivia prepped the chicken.

"Who were you married to?" Kathleen asked as Olivia dried her hands off on a dish towel.

"Brian Cassidy," Olivia replied.

"I think I met him before..." Kathleen trailed off, and Olivia nodded.

"You met him a few times. He and I left the city because once we disclosed our relationship, we'd be shipped to other precincts and would get in trouble," Olivia sighed.

"You should have told my father where you were going because then he wouldn't have been so scared. He searched for you for years and only stopped more recently."

"I know, and I hate myself for not dealing with this in a better way. All I could think about was wanting to start a relationship with Brian and becoming a mom." Olivia frowned deeply. She felt so bad for causing so much trouble in her wake. 

"Dad is in love with you," Kathleen spoke, as she scraped the tomatoes into the salad bowl. Olivia looked at Kathleen with wide eyes.

"Like in what way? We've told each other that we love one another, but like friends. At least on my side, it was friends," Olivia spoke, her cheeks growing red.

"Like he used to love my mom," Kathleen replied.

By the time Elliot got back, dinner was ready. Maureen and Kathy were with him, and Kathy wasn't too happy to see Olivia. She knew that with Olivia back in town, what she and Elliot had been doing was going to come to an end. There wouldn't be any more sneaking around to have sex.

"It doesn't look like we have enough room at the table," Kathy spoke, as she took her spot at the opposite end of the table from Elliot. 

"It's okay. I have a chair in my bedroom. Just gotta toss all my clothes off of it," Elliot smiled, as he looked at Olivia. She felt very uncomfortable at the moment, especially since she knew this arrangement wouldn't work for long. Elliot would get tired of fighting with his children and decide that his relationship with his children needed to be his top priority, and Olivia would completely understand that.

"El, it's okay. I think that I'll go get some air, and I'll be back later. Enjoy dinner," Olivia spoke, before turning and walking from the kitchen. The moment that the front door closed, Elliot stood and looked at those sitting around his kitchen table.

"I'm going to make something clear to all of you. Olivia is not going away anytime soon, and you need to get used to that. I was unhappy for so long, and I'm going to enjoy having my best friend back. And Kathy, stop looking so happy that Olivia left. You look ridiculous."

///

Olivia drove around the city for a while before stopping outside of the courthouse. She slowly climbed out of her car and walked inside. She hadn't been inside this building in so long, and she missed watching Alex and Casey putting suspects away for good. 

"I'm sorry, we are using this room," Casey's voice spoke as Olivia opened a door. 

"Can I sit and watch the magic that is Alex Cabot and Casey Novak?" Olivia asked, as she stepped deeper into the room and let the door close behind her. Casey and Alex quickly turned to look at Olivia, their eyes wide when they saw her for the first time in years.

"Oh, my god. Olivia?!" Alex asked, her voice shaking.

"Hey," Olivia spoke as tears welled in her eyes. Her friends quickly dropped their folders on the tables and rushed down the aisle to where Olivia stood. Once they reached her, they wrapped their arms around her in a tight hug.

"Where the fuck did you go?" Casey asked, as she leaned back and looked at Olivia. 

"That is a long story, and I was wondering if you two would join me for dinner? I'm starving and I think you two might want to drink something when I tell you," Olivia replied slowly.

"Did Brian kidnap you?" Alex questioned.

"No, Brian didn't kidnap me. He's dead though."