Wars Will Rage (SVU Fanfic)

42

All of the kids were out, except Nicole. Laura was on her way to pick her up, but for the time being, she was finishing her makeup while watching Arron get up on his feet, walk a little, the plop down, over and over. His new ability intrigued him greatly, and every time he would fall, he'd roll onto his back so he could grab his feet. While applying her blush, Nicole had to stop and video it because it was so cute to her.

They were in Nicole's room, door closed so Arron couldn't get too far away. She made sure to baby-proof her room a while back, so she knew he couldn't hurt himself.

After finishing her makeup, Nicole turned off her lamp and plopped onto the floor. She was just about to grab her brother's feet when she heard commotion upstairs.

"Really Elliot?! She needs you!"

"Does she?"

"Yes, she does. As much as Lizzie needs you!"

"And how?"

"She needs a man in her life to show her-"

"Isn't that what that old partner of yours is for?"

"Elliot, seriously?"

Upstairs, Olivia rolled her eyes, hands on her hips. "For the millionth time, nothing went on between me and Rick!" Her voice raised to yelling once she reached the end of her sentence. She took a breath before continuing. "Don't you trust me on that?"

"It's hard to," Elliot admitted. "You guys are partners for a long time. And I know he's engaged. I know he's got a baby on the way but I can't help but feel like you two...even if it was years ago-"

"Elliot, I promise. He may have been a like an extra parent to the kids, even just a best friend, but we were never together in any form of the word. My kids trusted him greatly, even if they didn't want to because it was his job to keep me alive. But they trusted the whole squad like that. Every person in there was someone they knew they could count on and trust. Whenever Nicole fought with me when she was little she said Jamie would be a better mommy and start packing a bag to go live with her. That made he cry so hard, El. I almost stopped letting Nicole come to the precinct in fear she'd favor them over me. I've always felt inadequate as a mom. They helped but it wasn't like that. Trust me. I have no more room to fight with you anymore."

It was true. All of it. But nothing more than the last sentence. She knew her and Elliot fought too much. She didn't have the will to do it anymore. She felt like she was going down the same road as she did with Peter and it terrified her. There was something different about Elliot, a sense that he could hurt her the worst of all but would never lay a hand on her. He wouldn't cause her mental trauma like Peter did. Only tremendous heartbreak. So while they sat at that kitchen table, heads in their hands, Olivia knew she had to be careful of what was said. She didn't want to lose her fiancé. She loved him to absolute death. She'd do anything for him and couldn't bear the thought of splitting up their new family.

"I'm just not her father. Nicole can't be fixed by me being in her life," Elliot said.

"She needs a father figure to show her she can trust men again. Don't quit on her while she tries to get close to you. Show her you won't leave."

"What if she wants me to leave?"

"Nobody wants you to leave. Can't you see that? We all came together to be a family."

Before Elliot could reply, there was the sound of a car horn, which signaled to everyone that Nicole was now leaving. Nicole told her parents that Arron was in his play pen in the living room, starting to fall asleep on her way out.

"Okay honey, have fun," Olivia said, pulling Nicole close to kiss the top of her head.

Nicole smiled before walking away, but she knew she entered and exited an environment with air so thick with tension you could cut it with a knife. Her parents were not in a good place and it scared her immensely. She couldn't handle being the one that brought this on them. She wasn't, but didn't realize that. Just because they argued over her health and how to help her didn't mean that it was her fault.

The couple turned back to each other as the door closed.

"You know, El," Olivia said, looking down towards the surface she was standing by. She ran her fingers along the wood of their kitchen table then spoke, "if this is what our lives are gonna be like everyday, fighting and being pissed all the time, then maybe this won't work out."

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Short chapter, but don't worry, next chapter will be longer and better!