Coming Home [A Bensler Fan Fic]

Thirty-Six

Elliot and Bernie kept going at it for about an hour, and after a few choice words from his mother, Elliot packed up his daughters and headed back to Olivia's house. He wouldn't let his mother ruin their day, so he got his girls dressed up in snow clothes and took them outside to play. They played for nearly two hours before wanting to eat lunch, then crashing in their beds.

"El?" Olivia asked, confused, when she answered a call from her husband in the middle of the day.

"Hi, baby." Elliot sighed. He was angry, but he was determined to not let his fight with his mother fuck things up.

"Is everything okay? I didn't expect to hear from you until later." Olivia replied nervously. 

"My mom and I got into a fight today."

"About?"

"About the fact I spent all weekend with you and the girls. She wasn't happy because I didn't run it by her first, and because sleepovers weren't part of the plan." Elliot said with a weak sigh.

"Love, I don't think she meant any harm. She was just worried about you." Olivia replied. 

Elliot sat silently as he just to think about what his wife had just said. 

"El?"

"I'm doing good, Liv. Do you think I could move in? Just so I don't have to deal with her policing my life?" Elliot whispered.

"Let me think, okay? They asked me to work an overnight shift, so you need to watch the girls. We can discuss this in the morning when I get home. Okay?"

"Sure... I love you, Olivia."

"I love you too, El. No matter what we decide, I will never stop loving you."

///

Olivia finished her shift and went straight home. Elliot was already up when she got there, and he had breakfast and coffee waiting for her.

"How was work?" Elliot asked, after he and his wife kissed for several long moments.

"It was okay. We may have gotten a break on the serial case." 

"I hope you did. I hate thinking that some monster is wandering the same streets that we all walk on." Elliot sighed.

The couple settled down to eat as Olivia tried to figure out what to say to her husband.

"You don't want me living here, huh?" Elliot frowned.

"I want you here, babe." Olivia replied quickly.

"Now or later?"

"I guess now would be fine. But we can't do this in a way that makes us lose your parents. Our girls, they love them too much to lose them. I do too."

"We should talk to them then and explain why we want this to happen. Also, Liv... I have something also on my mind."

"Okay?"

"I want a baby." Elliot spoke quickly. Olivia's eyes went wide.

"B-baby?"

"Yes, a baby. I'd like to expand our family, and soon, if possible."

"El, I'm all for that. But I can't promise that it'll happen right away. If you remember, I have been pregnant four times and lost two of my babies. If I get pregnant, I may not stay pregnant." Olivia spoke softly, hoping her daughters wouldn't wake up and hear this.

Elliot swallowed hard as tears welled in his eyes. He hated to think about the times that Olivia lost her babies, and how alone she must have felt. Brad was far from comforting, so he was no help when it came to Olivia's suffering.

"No matter what happens, I will never leave your side. You won't be alone and if we go through a loss, then I will hold your hand through it all. I promise."

Olivia started to cry quietly, as she reached over and grabbed her husband's hand.

"Thank you, El... and you never know, the last few days we spent together might lead to us having a baby. I sure as hell know we used zero protection." Olivia laughed weakly as tears trickled down her cheeks.

///

The thought of their long weekend leading to a baby was exciting, and Elliot wanted to be there with Olivia the moment the test came back positive. So he went over to his parents' house to pack up and explain what was happening.

"Son, what the hell are you doing?" Joseph asked when he got home. He had caught Elliot carrying a box to his truck, and he did not know why that was happening.

"I'm glad you are home, Dad. We gotta talk."

"About?"

"I'm moving in with Liv."

"Excuse me?" Joseph questioned.

"I'm ready to be a father and husband again, so I'm moving in with her."

"That wasn't the agreement. You were going to stay here until you got used to being home again, then you'd take baby steps towards moving in with Olivia. So no, you aren't moving in with her."

"We want this, Dad!" Elliot exclaimed.

"So it's Olivia's idea? Because she knows better." Joseph snapped.

"It was my idea, Dad! Geez! I know what the agreement was, but I'm a grown man. I need to be with my family." Elliot replied, stubbornly.

"If you leave, we won't be here to help you out. I won't pay for additional hospital bills."

"Don't worry, you won't need to. And for your information, if you still want anything to do with Lou and Letty, then you won't make a big deal about this. Those girls love you and Ma."

"It won't be our fault, son. It will be yours. If you have a manic episode again and hurt yourself or your girls, it won't be blood on my hands. It will be on yours. So take those boxes back inside and wait another month before deciding. Do you understand?" Joseph warned. He had scared Elliot when he brought up hurting the girls, and Elliot couldn't stand the idea of that actually happening.

"Yes, sir." Elliot whispered.

///

"Where are you?" Olivia asked, her voice shaking. Elliot promised to be home before the girls went to bed, but the kids went down an hour ago and he had yet to show up.

"I'm at home with my parents."

"Why? I thought you wanted to move in tonight. El-"

"We gotta wait, Liv. My father thinks I'll have an episode and hurt you and the girls, so we need to wait everything out. I can't hurt you, Lou, or Letty. If I did, I couldn't live with myself... I love you, and I'll see you tomorrow when you drop the girls off."