A Waiting Game

An Announcement and A Violent Night for the Stabler's

A/N: Maureen is 17, Kathleen is 12, Lizzie and Dickie are 8.

Olivia's POV

I stared at Elliot with wide eyes.

"Liv..." he says, "Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm not okay." I snap at him

"Sorry, I just---" he says before I cut him off.

"No I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm just really surprised is all, and terrified." I say with tears in my eyes, "How could I be even a little bit okay?"

"I really don't know." he says.

"What are we gunna do?" I say.

"Well, I'm gunna call Cragen right now, and we're both going to take the week off, spend the week in bed together." he says pulling me into a hug.

"El what about your kids?" I ask softly.

"Shit..." he says, "I'll go over to Kathy's today."

"You mean we." I say.

"You want to come?" he says surprised.

"My only family is leaving for 10 months to fight in a war, I want them to know that I'm here if they need anything, but I also can't spend
that much time alone in our apartment just thinking about you." I say.

"Okay, then let's get this over with." he says.

The drive to Queens is almost silent.

When Kathy opens the door she looks very surprised to see me.

"We need to talk Kathy." Elliot says.

"All of us?" she says.

"Well, yeah." I say awkwardly.

10 minutes later Elliot and I are sitting in Kathy's kitchen with coffee shooting looks back and forth, hoping someone will talk first.

"Is someone going to say something?" Kathy asks.

"I'm being deployed next week." Elliot says blankly. "And Olivia and I are together."

"Okay..." Kathy says, "Why is she here, this is family business, it doesn't involve her."

"Olivia is my family." he says, "Of course this involves her."

"I don't even know what to say to that Elliot." Kathy says harshly.

"I don't need you to say anything." Elliot says. "We came to talk to you out of respect, not because we needed to, I think it would be better if Olivia and I told the kids, and then we left."

"Don't you think their parents should tell them together?" she says.

"No actually I don't, I think they have a right to know what's going on without you censoring it, and I think that they should get to react to the news of their fathers engagement however they want, they shouldn't have to not be excited because your standing their." Elliot says.

"Engagement?!" Kathy yells, "Your engaged?!"

"I'm pretty sure that's what he just said." I say annoyed.