What if Liv and Elliot had one steamy night together before he left SVU, changing his number and dropping off the face of the earth. Liv has no way to tell him that they have a child together, so she just doesn't.
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The Tuscan sun, pale and new, hangs low in the sky, casting long shadows across the Bensler Orchards. A crispness lingers in the air, the kind that promises a gradual thaw from winter's grip. The silence is broken only by the distant cawing of crows and the sigh of the wind through the boughs of the citrus trees.
Fat, emerald globes, heavy with fruit, hang low on the branches. The air carries a faint, sweet tang, a promise of the citrus bounty to come. A lone tractor sits abandoned in the field, its engine cooled, its red paint gleaming faintly in the weak winter sun. A basket, half-filled with plump oranges, rests beside it, a silent testament to the day's harvest.
On a nearby weathered wooden table, a chipped porcelain cup sits forgotten, a single, cold dregs of espresso clinging to the bottom. A stray olive branch, cast aside, its silvery leaves dusted with the morning's frost, completes the tableau. The scene speaks of a peaceful pause, a stolen moment in the quiet transition between the old year and the new. Here, amidst the slumbering orchard, a sense of anticipation hangs heavy in the air, a promise of renewed life and growth, waiting to burst forth with the coming spring.
"We're going to miss you so much," Olivia says, hugging Maureen as they say goodbye in the doorway of the old stone house. "You're welcome here anytime, remember. Next time, bring Carl with you. We'd love to meet him," she says, squeezing her eldest step-daughter.
"I will," Maureen smiles, stepping aside so that Kathleen can sneak a hug in next. Dickie and Eli are waiting by the taxi, their suitcases already loaded.
"Where's Lizzie? We can't miss our flight," Dickie says, looking at his father.
"Oh, she told me she's going to stay for a bit longer," Elliot smiles, waving at his sons as they get into the car.
"Be safe," Olivia tells Kathleen, hugging her as well and watching as they all get into the taxi. All except Lizzie Stabler, who has decided she might stick around for a while.
Bernie has found some local contractors and is paying to have the old barn converted into a small two bedroom cottage for herself, to give the family some space. She has told Lizzie that if she wants to, she can live there with her once it is done. Lizzie has always been an artist, always been very creative– like Ivy. Being in Italy has got her creative juices flowing, and she isn't sure she wants to give that up yet. She has been struggling to find inspiration for so long.
Having said goodbye to her siblings already, Ivy decided to take Lizzie on a walk. They walked to the top of a hill and that is where they have been since sunrise, painting the gorgeous landscapes before them.
"Where is Lizzie?" Elliot asks, his arm around Liv as they wave off the kids.
"She and Ivy went for a sunrise walk, to paint," she smiles, turning around when she hears shuffling.
"Mama, I hungy," Isabella says, her chubby fist tangled in her blonde curls.
"Okay," Liv smiles, scooping Izzy into her arms. "Let's get you some food."
