Chapter Text
Which is why she found herself sitting in the lobby even after he left, waiting not so patiently for him to return.
But thirty minutes turned into an hour, which turned into two, and before she knew it it was almost midnight and he still hadn’t returned.
She was just getting ready to leave when she heard the elevator ding behind her and then her name was being called.
“Olivia?” Turning around she saw none other than Eli Stabler standing before her, dressed in flannel pajama bottoms and an oversized hoodie. “Olivia right?”
“Eli. Hey. Um…” She wasn’t entirely sure how to explain to the kid that she had been sitting here for the past two hours waiting for his father to return from God knows where. “I was waiting for your dad to get back…”
“He’ll probably be a while.” He shoved his hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt as he shook the hair from his eyes. “You can come up if you want.”
She let out a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair.
She really should go home, the last place she needed to be here right now was here.
“That’s okay…” God this was more awkward than she expected. “Just um… I’ll just text him…”
She wasn’t sure what that text was going to say, but surely she’d figure something out.
“Are you sure?” He almost looked like he wasn’t satisfied with her answer, but then again, she didn’t exactly know the kid too well, so he was kind of hard to read.
“Is everything okay Eli?” Better to ask and make sure before she left and then found out something was wrong.
Elliot would never forgive her if something happened to the boy.
“Just uh…” Making her way toward him she sighed when she noticed his eyes were also bloodshot and there were dark circles under them. “I’m worried, about dad.”
Weren’t they all at this point?
“He’s just been… he doesn’t sleep. Talks in his sleep. Screams.” She hadn’t noticed any of that the other night when he stayed over, but then again, he was probably so damn exhausted that he didn’t know any better. “Maureen seems to think it’s normal.”
“And Kathleen? Have you told her?” She knew that out of all of Elliot’s kids Kathleen was the most likely to step in and say something.
She was also probably the one that could help the most after having gone through therapy of her own for almost fifteen years.
“Not yet.” She raised an eyebrow and he sighed. “I guess I was just hoping it was a phase.”
“And now you don’t think it is?” It surely didn’t sound like one, and judging by the way he had been acting earlier, she was becoming concerned herself.
“I… I don’t know.” His head fell forward as he took a deep breath and she couldn’t help but reach out, allowing him to step into her arms, his forehead falling to rest against her shoulder as she hugged him close.
“It’s okay Eli.” The last time she had hugged the boy he had been small enough to sit on her hip and now here he was, taller than her.
And yet, he still seemed so lost and innocent.
They stayed that way for a minute, him letting silent tears fall against her shirt as she rubbed soothing circles on his back.
“Do you want me to walk you back up?” She waited until he had pulled away, wiping at his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie as he nodded his head.
He led the way into the elevator, pressing the button for the sixth floor before leaning back against the wall and sighing.
“Kathleen said you and dad used to be best friends.” The ‘used to’ part was like a dagger to the heart and she swallowed as she willed herself to maintain control.
This wasn’t about her right now, it was about Elliot, and now Eli.
“We did.” There was a small part of her that would always consider him her best friend, regardless of everything that happened over the last decade. “We worked together for a long time.”
“Twelve years right?” He was watching her now and she suddenly felt like she was under a very small microscope.
“Almost thirteen actually.” It felt like eons ago though and she blinked as she tried to keep the memories at bay. “I uh… I was actually there when you were born.”
“Yeah, she uh, she told me that too.” She wondered what else Kathleen had been telling people. “So you and dad really didn’t talk for ten years?”
She found it shocking that everyone in Elliot’s family was so surprised by that fact.
Hadn’t that been the whole point of him leaving?
Wasn’t that pretty much what he was trying to say to her?
That he left because he couldn’t talk to her anymore.
The elevator dinging saved her from having to answer, but she had a feeling he wasn’t going to let her forget.
When they stopped outside of their door he let out a breath before retrieving a key card from his hoodie pocket.
“Are you sure you don’t wanna come in?” She shook her head back and forth, already feeling more than enough awkwardness for one night.
“I appreciate the offer Eli, but uh, I don’t think your dad would be too thrilled about that.” Not that she cared what made Elliot happy right about now.
“Okay.” He almost sounded disappointed and so she reached into her pocket and removed one of her business cards before handing it to him.
“If you need anything Eli, anything at all, you call me okay?” The last thing she wanted was for this poor kid to feel anymore alone.
“Thanks Olivia.” And then he was opening the door and crossing the threshold slowly. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” The door shut quietly, the deadbolt lock on the other side clicking into place, and she sighed.
It was probably a damn good thing that Elliot wasn’t here right now, because she had a few choice words that she would like to have with him right about now.