SVU One shots

Punishment

The house was quiet, like usual. The four oldest were off doing their own things, which involved hanging out with their friends or studying. That left the house alone to just Elliot, Eli, and Olivia.

Olivia was upstairs, changing out of her uniform from the long day working on a tough case while Elliot was downstairs with his four year old son. Elliot mostly just worked from home, which he planned on doing until Eli was old enough to go to school.

He wanted his child to grow up with a parent constantly in the household and since it was impossible for Kathy to fulfill this request, Elliot took it to himself to be the stay at home dad.

Elliot watched his son, who was currently playing with some of Dickie's old toys, and all he could think about was his deceased wife. Kathy had passed away moments after giving birth to Eli. It was unexpected, since they figured they had her stabilized once they got to the hospital.

That whole day was really a blur to Elliot. He didn't really like to relive it, but sometimes it would just stumble into his mind, especially when it was quiet. That was usually when her memory would work its way into his heart.

Eli's birth was both a joyous moment, and yet, a tragic one. Elliot welcomed home a new bouncing, baby boy, but lost the love of his life. Olivia and Kathy had gotten in a terrible crash, causing her to go into labor. After delivering the baby, she drifted into unconsciousness, and actually died for a moment.

When Elliot finally arrived to the hospital, he saw his wife happily holding their baby boy. To give Elliot even more pride, she wanted to name their baby after him. He took Elliot Jr. from her hands, only to watch her drift off again, this time leaving for good.

Olivia had married Elliot about two years later, both of them agreeing that Eli needed a motherly figure in his life. Besides that, Elliot had fallen head over heels for her. They were once partners in crime and now they were parents in crime.

A soft crash brought Elliot back to reality. He looked at his son, who was holding onto the last family picture they took before Kathy passed away. Elliot leaned forward on the couch, carefully holding the picture with one of his hands. "There's me, Dickie, Lizzie, Maureen, Kathleen..." Elliot trailed as he pointed to all of the family members.

"And Momma." Eli finished gently touching Kathy. He looked up into his father's eyes, hoping he was right. His dad had told him many stories about his mother, but he didn't remember her.

"Yeah. And Momma." Elliot softly repeated, gently smiling. Eli looked down and began to walk away. Elliot let out a soft sigh and leaned back into the couch. What was he supposed to tell Eli when he was older? Would he think he was the cause of his mothers death?

A loud crash echoed around the room. Elliot snapped his head to look at his son. He looked at the picture now smashed on the floor. He looked back into his son's face, which was frozen in fear.

He quickly snatched his wrist, pulling Eli towards his body, anger now coursing through his veins. He flipped Eli onto his stomach, raising his hand to give him a spanking. He couldn't believe Eli just broke their last photo. That photo meant everything to him, to their family.

Suddenly, flashbacks fled through Elliot's memory as he looked into Eli's blue eyes. Soon, the child on his lap was no longer Eli, but Maureen. His heart rate began to rise as he watched himself slap his daughter on the face. He could hear her cries as he listened to his hand connect with her face. She was only three.

He blinked, looking back down at Eli, who was crying, begging for forgiveness. Elliot quickly stood up, hugging Eli as tight as he could. What was he thinking? It was only a picture. Eli didn't deserve a punishment. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He repeated, over and over again as he cuddled Eli close to his chest.

Eli sobbed into Elliot's shoulder, terror present in his cries. Elliot held down his head with one hand as he softly bounced his son. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Elliot continued, trying to make Eli stop crying and calm himself down.

Eventually, he quieted down, cuddling into Elliot's arms. "What happened?" Olivia asked, entering the room. Tears were streaming down both of their faces and shattered pieces of glass were on the floor.

"I'm sorry. I-I didn't meant it. I don't know what I was thinking. I-I was just so angry an-and-" Elliot stuttered as Olivia walked towards them.

"Shush, Elliot. It's okay," she comforted, gently rubbing her hand up and down his shoulder. "It's okay. Nobody's hurt." She softly added, looking into his blue eyes.

"I-I almost hit him like I did Maureen." He blubbered, spitting out the first things that would come to his mind. Why? What was going through his head? Sure, Maureen's was an accident. He didn't mean to hit her face, but after that moment, he never felt comfort punishing his children like that.

"It's okay. Everyone's okay." Olivia replied, trying to calm him down, but the waterworks weren't showing any signs of stopping.

"I almost killed her over nothing. I could have killed him over nothing." Elliot continued, shaking his head. Olivia wiped away the tears from his cheeks, making his blue eyes look into her brown ones.

"But you didn't. You stopped yourself, and everyone is okay. It's okay, Elliot." She answered. He nodded his head as she hugged him, knowing he needed it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly, it felt like the world was right again.

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