Chapter Text
Elliot Stabler was proud to have somehow managed to put his five children into college. But he was even prouder that his youngest—Eli—was still enjoying hanging out with his old dad any chance he got. The other four were old. Hell, Maureen had twins on her own!
But Eli still called Elliot’s loft ‘home’ and often spent the weekends there instead of staying on campus. Of course, perhaps it was out of pity, and being the youngest, he felt it was his duty to take care of Dad in the name of his siblings. Elliot didn’t mind. Whatever the reason, he was determined to enjoy his son’s company as much as possible.
Not always easy with his job. His job was unpredictable. Always had been. When he started with the Marines at seventeen, he spent most of his time overseas, in need of making a life for his new wife and baby back at home. Until the day he signed up for the Police Academy. He became a cop, like his dad. That was a decent living. From travelling abroad, he got to spend all his time walking up and down the streets of Manhattan alongside Liv.
He remembered the day he met his partner—soon-to-be best friend—like it was yesterday. Pouring rain drenched them over the mutilated body of the victim of the first case they tackled together. They clicked immediately, falling into sync. For years they reigned over the Special Victims Unit, closing cases like it was nothing at all. But it was not nothing. Day after day, year after year, the job consumed them. They held on for a long time, because of the victims that needed justice, and because they had each other.
But one day everything changed. One day he killed. Not for the first time, but one time too many. For once Liv couldn’t save him. He was inapt, useless, dangerous. That’s what Tucker from the Internal Affairs Bureau had said. That was what he was. On the verge of insanity, a ticking bomb for the victims, his own squad, his little boy. For Liv.
So, he left. And he didn’t look back.
In retrospect, he saw how stupid that was. But, hey, he was a madman then, wasn’t he?
He came back four years ago, making amends with Liv as his only goal. No matter the distance or the years, he never stopped thinking about her, about the despicable way he abandoned her, and he lit more than a few candles in churches to pray for her forgiveness.
So, he came back four years ago.
Kathy died four years ago.
His life exploded with the bomb in the car that was meant for him. The irony was that they were on their way to see Liv when it happened. There was a ceremony to honor her. She deserved the celebration, the recognition from her peers. But in a cruel twist of faith, he spoiled that too. She didn’t know he was coming, and they crossed paths for the first time in almost a decade under the harsh lights of the ambulance taking his wife away.
He lived; Kathy died. Eli was only sixteen.
The following couple of years were not at all how he had pictured it. True, he and Kathy had grown widely apart, their marriage being held up only by a thread. But he never imagined being a widower. A divorced man, sure. Kathy, a widow, yeah, it came close several times, he could see it. But him? A widower? No.
But he lived.
Has Liv forgiven him? He wasn’t sure. At least they were friends again. Not exactly like before, but he liked to think it was because they were not partners anymore. All these years and she still worked at SVU, Commanding Officer no less. He was so proud of her. And he was thrilled to work for the NYPD once more. Organized Crime was very different from sex crimes, but he enjoyed the adrenaline that came with it, and the fulfilling sense of being useful again.
So that Sunday, Elliot was not surprised when Eli texted him to ask if he could come by for a late brunch. That probably meant he was tired of fast food and hungry for a real, comforting, homemade meal.
“Hi, son,” he greeted, as he gave Eli a hug. The twenty-year-old was freshly out of the shower, the tip of his long hair still a bit damp despite the travel time from his dorm. “Late night?” Elliot guessed.
He knew better than to try to prevent his son from partying; he just hoped that Eli was being reasonable and didn’t forget to study. Elliot didn’t go to college himself and trusted his son to stay safe. That was the lesson he learned from his other kids. Especially the two oldest, Maureen and Kathleen. At the time all the experience he had with college was the cases brought to SVU—in other words the worst than can happen—which did not give him an accurate picture of what to expect for his beloved daughters. It took a lot of reasoning from Kathy for him to relax and trust them to gain their independence safely.
Eli pushed his hands in his jeans’ pockets, shrugging. Was he going to deny there was a party? No. He tried that before, but his dad was a good damn cop. But needless to say, that was a hell of a party at one of the most popular frat houses on campus.
“Yeah,” he said nonchalantly, “that was fun.”
Elliot looked at him with a sideways glance. He was on the tip of his tongue to push the subject of underage drinking, but trust, he said to himself.
That didn’t mean he could not take interest in his son’s life, though. “Fun? Met some girl, over there?” he asked.
He tried keeping his tone light, but even to his own ears he sounded like he was fishing for gossip. Eli’s scrawny figure was hovering over the pot of fresh coffee; he rolled his eyes. “Dad—I wouldn’t tell you if I just met someone.”
A small laugh escaped Elliot’s lips. Fair enough.
Leaning over the kitchen island, he watched his son moving around as he retrieved clean plates for them both from the dishwasher which ended its cycle, before he dived into the fridge. Five minutes later, they comfortably sat outside, enjoying their food under the sweet rays of the late summer sun. His mouth full of cheese, Eli seemed more alive than when he arrived. “You know,” he started, chewing loudly, “I did meet an interesting girl, last night.”
Elliot eyebrows raised immediately on his forehead. Eli snorted, his dad was such a helpless romantic. He believed in marriage, and soulmates, and love at first sight.
“Not like that,” he said.
“No?” Elliot wasn’t really disappointed. Yes, he wanted Eli—and all his children, for that matter—to be happy in love. But his youngest had so much time to figure it out. Not like himself. A thousand years would not be enough for him to make up his mind about that. Kathy was so young when he met her. He was, too. And he loved her, so much. Still do. She made him so happy. Gave him beautiful, wonderful children. He wouldn’t change that for anything in the world. Even Eli, who popped up late in their life, when Kathy and he had trouble figuring out how they still fit together, had been a blessing. But was Kathy his soulmate? Their minds, their bodies intertwined well enough, they knew each other by heart. But their souls? Have their souls even met?
With a shake of his head, Elliot focused back on Eli’s recount of the party he attended. “—anyway, when I returned to the living room, Liam was—”
“Liam is your new roommate, right?” Elliot asked, trying to keep track. He somewhat remembered something about his previous roommate dropping out of college mid-term, a few weeks ago.
Eli nodded. “He was with a girl I never met before, and I swear she looks just like Liv!”
Elliot stopped mid-bite, he wasn’t expecting that. “Liv? My Liv?”
“Yeah! Younger, obviously, and she’s a tad shorter, I think, but she resembles her sooo much. But wait! That’s not the best part! Guess what her name is?”
Elliot chuckled. How on earth could he guess? He shrugged.
Eli drank the last drop of his coffee, leaving a thin line of foam over his upper lip. “Olivia!” he said playfully.