Operation Heart

Winner Takes It All

Olivia opened the door to her apartment, and was immediately welcomed by the sound of laughter, and the smell of burgers. She poked her head around the corner and found Noah playing cards with two ladies and a man, Kathleen, Lizzie, and Dickie Stabler. She watched them for a minute before she was spotted by her son. "Can Katie, Lizzie, and Dickie stay for dinner, mom?" He asked, alerting the other three to Olivia's presence. It was the first time she had seen either Lizzie or Dickie since she found out that Elliot was alive, and that they had known for a year beforehand.

Both of the younger Stabler's waited for Olivia to throw them out of her apartment, so her words were surprising, as was the smile on her face. "Sure, what card game are you guys playing?" Dickie got up, giving Olivia his seat, like a gentleman, as he went to check on the burgers.

"All sorts. Uno, Rummy, Blackjack, Speed," Noah continued with his list of card games the four of them had played while Olivia turned to the two Stabler girls, an amused smirk playing at the corners of her mouth.

"You three taught my son how to play Poker?" She raised her eyebrow, still half paying attention to the card games her son named, though her attention turned to Kathleen when she spoke.

"No, no, no, no, no, Dickie taught Noah how to play Poker. We just happened to play the game with them," Kathleen defended herself and Lizzie immediately as she shuffled the deck of cards in her hands.

"It was Liz's idea!" Dickie called from the kitchen, which made Olivia chuckle. The two Stabler girls rolled their eyes and exchanged a look briefly, which Olivia noticed before Lizzie turned her body toward the kitchen.

"Katie's the one who had a deck of playing cards when we got here!" Lizzie argued with her twin brother, not wanting to screw up her friendship with Olivia more than she already had.

"Because Noah and I were going to play Go Fish, like we always do, until you two showed up and decided to teach him Poker! Neither of you are blameless in this," Kathleen shot back.

"Next, we should play Cards Against Humanity!" Noah stated happily.

"No!" The four adults shouted in unison, making the young boy laugh. "At least the four of us finally agree on something," Dickie said with a laugh. Olivia raised her eyebrow, and Kathleen sighed.

"My two younger siblings are convinced you hate them because of everything that went down with dad," she explained with a shrug as she continued shuffling the cards.

Olivia cracked a small smile as Dickie returned, and she looked at both him and his twin sister. "I don't hate anyone, especially not you three. My trust in all of you is shaken, but I don't hate anyone."

"Except dad," the three Stabler's said, which made Olivia laugh.

"Not even your dad." That surprised the three of them.

Dickie went back into the kitchen to make plates, and Lizzie went to help him. "Hey, Liv, can I talk to you in private for a sec? It's really important," Kathleen said sheepishly.

Olivia nodded and stood up before looking at her son. "We'll be back in a few minutes, and then I'm going to wipe the floor with you four at Blackjack," she teased playfully before following Kathleen into her bedroom. Her expression turning serious the instant the door was closed. "What's wrong?" It was clear she was protective of the younger woman.

"Well, I've been wracking my brain, trying to figure out why out of all my siblings, and everyone else that knew dad was alive, I'm the one you got the maddest at, not dad, not Cragen, hell, you weren't even that mad at Mo, Dickie, and Lizzie, and I figured it out. When I showed up at his work the day you found out he was alive, and he found out my siblings knew, even though he begged me not to tell them, or you, I had a sense of deja vu, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I know you may not believe it, but when I promised all those years ago that I wouldn't tell anyone about that one secret I unintentionally discovered, I meant it. That secret is going to the grave with me, I swear to God." There were tears in her eyes as she spoke. Olivia hugged the blonde tightly, feeling relief flood her body. "I promised you I would never tell dad or anyone else, and I plan on keeping that promise forever, Liv."

Neither of them let go of the other for a minute, tears rolling down their cheeks. "Thank you, and I believe you, Kathleen. I would have been yelled at tenfold if you had revealed that. Let's go eat, and kick these kid's asses." Kathleen laughed a watery laugh as she wiped her eyes and looked up at Olivia, who was also wiping her eyes.

"Love you, Liv."

"Love you too, Katie." The two of them went back into the living room to eat dinner with the other three and play Blackjack.

After a few hours, and many wins for Olivia, Noah had fallen asleep on the couch. "I'm gonna go put him in bed," Olivia whispered to the Stabler's as she got up to pick up her son, but Dickie beat her to it.

"I've got him, Liv," he said with a smile, and she knew better than to argue with him. Olivia sat on the couch with the two girls, talking, and just catching up. They were young enough to be her daughters, and in some ways they were, and she loved them, just as much as she loved Noah.

When Dickie returned he looked at his sisters. "Did you guys mention Saturday to Liv yet?" The two younger women shook their heads.

"Okay, so, the weather is supposed to be amazing this weekend and the Stabler family is taking a day trip to the beach, and you are coming with us," Lizzie stated matter-of-factly.

"But I'm not a Stabler, Lizzie." She didn't want to add that while she didn't hate Elliot, she didn't want to be around him. It was too painful when she remembered thinking he was dead.

"If we add up the amount of time you've spent with us, how much we all love you and Noah, and how much you two love all of us, you are definitely both Stabler's. Plus, Noah knows, and wants to come with us. Therefore, you can't back out," Lizzie told her.

Olivia opened her mouth to argue, but instead momentarily frowned. "Fine, but that was underhanded and sneaky. You're starting to turn into Mo and Katie," Olivia teased affectionately.

"At least I never got a DUI," Lizzie argued, looking pointedly at Kathleen, who rolled her eyes.

With that, the three Stabler's left, and Olivia was alone. Her mind was in a dozen places at once, but it kept pulling at a single thread of a memory, one she didn't want to look at because she knew she'd end up crying and calling her dad if she did. She laid in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. Her relationship with her former partner, and his kids, was complicated at best. There were things about her that all five knew, things only Elliot knew, and things only Kathleen knew. For example, only Elliot knew what it was like to kiss her. And only Kathleen knew why she went undercover right after she and Elliot broke up because Kathy was pregnant with Eli. Other people outside the Stabler's knew those things as well, but they were the only two Stabler's with that knowledge.

Katie: If you don't want to come to the beach with us I can bring Noah and just claim you're sick or something, Liv. I can't say I know how you feel, but I know being around dad after everything must suck. <3

Olivia: It does, but I'm not going to let the past stop me from enjoying time with you and your siblings. I haven't seen Mo since before I found out Elliot was alive. I miss her.

Katie: Okay, see you then. Goodnight, Liv.

Her mind drifting away from the past Olivia fell into a dreamless sleep for the first time in quite awhile.