The Butterfly Effect

9. Unspoken Shorthand

YA'LL I just moved out to the mountains and what not so here's another late update. Enjooooooy..

Friday, May 13

Olivia Benson had spent the past twelve years being seen as nothing more than Elliot Stabler's partner. She had come to a few family dinners, a birthday party every now and then, and had even been there for the birth of Eli. Was that planned? Not exactly, but she had always just filled the shoes of a family friend- their father's partner.

It was only 6 months ago when Olivia had come over for their New Year's party, and around 3 months since Elliot had told her about his impending divorce. Now she found herself filling a different set of shoes over the past 5 weeks- Elliot's girlfriend.

She hated the term more than anything, but that's what she was. His girl, the woman he was seeing, E) all of the above.

In less than an hour she would be having dinner with his eldest daughter, Maureen. And she had been thinking about it ever since that night he had asked her to come over. Maureen had always been sweet, respectful, and wise beyond her years, but the fear of rejection still sat at the back of her mind.

She remembered a few years ago when Dickie had accused her of sleeping with Elliot right in front of not only him, but their captain too. She remembered how disgusted she felt with herself. How she wondered if Elliot's own son questioned the depths of their partnership, did everyone else around them too? Every now and then she had heard the rumors, but had always brushed them off. But after being accused by her own partners son, she had doubted everything. Including Maureen's approval of their relationship.

"Mo will be here in-" Elliot had entered into his room where Olivia had been finishing getting dressed, with Cecilia laid across his shoulder after having finished burping her. "You look.."

"Don't-" she stood in front of the full length mirror on the wall of his room, putting the finishing touches on her hair.

"Insanely beautiful," ignoring her request, he walked over to where she stood, leaning down slightly to place a kiss on her temple. "It's just something about this color on your skin," he turned to face the mirror, drinking in how great she looked in white. The long sleeved shift dress that she wore hung loosely to her curves. The soft fabric hardly clutching to her, and cutting slightly low in the front. She wore a pair of dark brown wedges that brought her up to eye level with him, and her hair had been tucked back into a loose bun, only a few tendrils of hair hanging loose.

"Maureen should be here soon," she reached over and gently took the baby from his arms, deflecting each comment he made. Olivia appreciated his effort to make her feel special, but didn't need him fawning over her.

"Are you ever gonna let me just give you a compliment?"

"Probably not.." She looked over her shoulder as she walked out, a sly smile creeping upon her face.

~

"That was Mo. She's on her way up," Elliot had ended the call after emerging from the kitchen, a beer in hand. Olivia sat across the room on the end of the sectional with her feet tucked under her, nursing a glass of wine. She took a deep breath and stood up, anxiously waiting for that knock on the door.

In just that short 30 seconds before Maureen had arrived outside the apartment door, she had begun to weigh out her options in her head. Contemplating if running would have been easier than dealing with the possibility of rejection. Olivia loved Elliot, she had realized that years beforehand, and had been willing to deal with whatever obstacle came with moving forward with him. But his children had been a touchy subject for her. She had seen them grow up over the past decade, and had developed a small amount of love each of them. The last thing that she wanted was to destroy whatever ounce of a relationship with them that she had.