AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you all for being so patient. I know it has been a very, very long time since I have updated ANYTHING. I started a factory job during the summer and I work a lot of 12 hour shifts and work 6 days a week most of the time. I don't have a lot of time to update, but I do try to work on chapter ideas when I can. I have gotten several reviews asking for updates for other stories and I promise I have not forgotten about any of them. I do have chapters for a few other stories in the works, but sometimes it takes a while to get them completed.

As for the reviews asking me to remove my stories if I am not going to bother finishing them….I am NOT going to do that. I am sorry if my not having the time to update every story every day is frustrating for you (the person who sent that message & you know who you are), but it is frustrating for me as well. I would love nothing more than to be able to quit my job and stay home updating and writing new stories every day. Unfortunately, this is NOT the way life works. (Not MY life anyway.) So until I find a way to pay the bills with my writing, I will have to continue working. If you choose not to read my work anymore, I understand. But I am not going to take the stories down and keep other people from reading them simply because you are tired of seeing them unfinished.

Thank you to all who have followed my stories and waited so patiently for updates. I will try to get more out as soon as I can.

~ Detective_Olivia_Stabler ~

Forever Love

(Chapter Six: The Best Thing)

"I think this was a great idea," Olivia said shifting a grocery bag to her hip and rifling through her keys.

"Are you sure it isn't too soon? What if Emma isn't feeling up to company?"

Elliot watched as Olivia whipped her head around and smiled at him.

"Elliot, things have been pretty crazy around here the last few days. But it's starting to settle down now. And Emma's been kind of depressed. With good reason, I know."

"Yea, maybe this was a bad idea."

"She spends most of her time in her room. Or camped out on the couch with her nose stuck in a book. I haven't let her go back to school yet, because I feel that it is too early. She's not taking calls from any of her friends….the one or two who have even bothered to call and check on her. She barely talks to me and when she does, it is usually meaningless small talk. But she's starting to come around. And I think seeing you would definitely put a smile on her face."

"You don't think hanging out with me right now would be too hard on her?"

"Absolutely not. Elliot, Emma adores you. She always has. The two of you have always been close. You're family. It will be nice to have a dinner guest."

"I just feel like maybe we should have run this by her before I just showed up."

"Don't be silly, you are always welcome here. Besides, you didn't just show up, you showed up with food."

"Well, I was thinking I could cook for you guys. Or if she is feeling up to it, we could all make dinner together."

"Well, lasagna is her absolute favorite! So you did good there."

"That is exactly why I picked it," he said with a grin.

"And I was supposed to bring home lunch several hours ago and got tied up at work. I called home and Em said she'd find something around here, but with everything that had been going on I have been severely lacking in the grocery shopping department. So I am pretty sure she'll be hungry."

"That's good, because I brought enough food to feed half the neighborhood. I even grabbed a bottle of wine for those of us who are of age," he said as Olivia pushed the door open.

"We can just sit these on the table. I've got a couple more bags in the car."

"That was one serious shopping trip," Elliot replied staring at the sea of brown paper bags in the trunk of her car.

"I wasn't kidding, we were out of practically everything."

Elliot helped her carry the bags inside and put away the groceries.

"Em, I'm home," Olivia called out as she folded up the last of the empty bags and put it in the recycling bin.

"Maybe she went for a walk or something," Elliot suggested.

"She knows I'd be worried if I came home and she wasn't here. She would have called me or at least left a note."

It wasn't until that moment that Olivia noticed the crumbled pile of paper on the counter.

"Oh no," she said picking up the opened envelope to inspect it. "No, no, no…."

"You forget to pay the power bill?" Elliot joked trying to pull a smile from her.

"Worse," she replied running her fingers through her hair as she flipped through the pages from the medical report. "These are the results of Emma's paternity test. They were supposed to have delivered them later this afternoon. I fully intended on finding out and telling her, myself. I was gonna sit her down and talk it all over with her. Emma was never actually supposed to see these."

"Olivia, what does it say?" Elliot interrupted.

He stood as patiently as possible watching as she skimmed through the pages. She exhaled softly, then handed the papers off to him.

"It's all there in the last paragraph," she whispered moving to the sink for a glass of water.

Elliot reread the paragraph about six times before the words finally sunk into his brain. He stood there for a moment, waiting for Olivia to turn and face him, but she didn't. Finally he drew a deep breath and cleared his throat.

"I guess, now we know," he choked out.

"Now we know," Olivia whispered nodding her head.

"Liv?"

He reached up and gently squeezed her left shoulder. When Olivia finally did turn around to face him she had tears streaming down her face.

"Elliot…." she said between short breaths. "I am so sorry. I made such a mess of things."

"It wasn't just you. I was there, too."

He watched as she wiped the tears from her face and tried to collect herself.

"I should go up there and talk to her," she whispered softly.

"Let me do it," Elliot said as Olivia raised her eyes to meet his.

"Okay. I can get dinner started."

Elliot moved toward the stairwell, then paused for a moment turning to look back at her.

"Liv?" He watched as she looked up at him and forced a smile. "Thanks," he said, then continued up the stairs.

Elliot leaned against the wall outside Emma's bedroom trying to think of what to say to the girl. He placed his palm against the door and could hear the soft heartbreaking sobs she made.

"Emma?" he asked knocking gently.

The crying quieted for a moment, but she didn't answer.

"Em, sweetheart, can I come in so we can talk?"

"Sure," she said softly.

Elliot opened the door slowly to find Emma laying across the bed on her stomach crying into a pillow. She raised her head just a bit as he entered the room and focused her attention out the bedroom window.

"It's stupid, I know," she said and Elliot took a seat on the corner of the bed to just listen to her talk. "I know how lame it is to be upset. My dad is crap, he always has been. And it's not like I thought a piece of paper would somehow change that."

Elliot slid his hand across the bed and closed it tight around Emma's as tears began to stream down her face once more.

"And I know that you being my father would have been the absolute worst thing that could've happened for this baby," she sobbed as she looked up at him.

"But that didn't keep me from wanting it to be true either," Elliot replied with tears in his eyes.

Emma sat up and leaned in against his chest to hug him tight.

"It was selfish," she sobbed. "I know that. But I just….I just wanted…."

"So did I," Elliot confessed as she looked up at him. "But you are right. Biologically, that would have been the absolute worst thing for this baby. As much as we are both disappointed, this is for the best. And I am not going to stop loving you over something as simple as having different DNA. Emma, I love you. Just the same as if you were my daughter and that will never change. I will always be here for you. And for your mom. We may not have the same blood in our veins…." He paused for a moment getting choked up once more.

"Elliot," she said softly, "you might not be my father….but you have always been my dad."

Hearing her say this made him smile.

"You taught me how to ride a bike. And play baseball…."

"You were better than any of the boys on your little league team."

Emma smiled.

"You built my tree house for me. And you were my very first date."

"The daddy daughter dance when you were in second grade," Elliot remembered.

"My dad promised me for weeks that he would be there. Mom let me pick out my own dress and she did my hair. I was so excited and I really wanted to go. I remember her arguing with him on the phone about it and I knew he wasn't coming. Half an hour late you knocked on my bedroom door with a rose and asked if you could be my date to the dance."

"I dropped by somewhere in the middle of her phone conversation with your dad. I knew how excited you were about that dance and there was no way I was gonna let you miss out on it."

Emma smiled.

"Even then, at only seven years old, I knew you were a better dad to me than my own father. I never forgot that. I never will."

"Neither will I," Elliot said with a smile. "We spent the evening eating cupcakes…."

"And I stood on your feet while we danced. I don't know if I ever thanked you."

"You gave me a great big hug and a kiss on the cheek."

"Things were so much easier when I was little."

"It's tough right now, honey. But you'll make it through it. We all will. And you know your mother and I are always here for you, no matter what."

Emma nodded.

"And you can talk to me, you know? About anything."

"I know," she whispered. "It is just so hard to talk about all of this right now. I don't really even know what to say. I know you guys have all of these questions and want to know about things with me and Eli and this pregnancy. I just don't know that I can talk about it just yet," she said beginning to cry once more. "I loved him. And he loved me. Not like teenaged romance, you'll meet someone else after college kind of love, either. It was real. We wanted to get married."

"Married?"

"Not now. We're both too young. We knew that. But after college someday. Graduate, then get married and have a family together. We wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. None of this was supposed to happen like this. But it did. I messed things up so badly. And now Eli is gone. And I don't have a father. And I am having a baby….at seventeen."

Emma caught herself beginning to break down once more and stopped to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be. Honey, if you need to talk we are here to listen. I'm here. Or your mother. Or if there are things you need to talk about that you don't feel you can share with us maybe we can find someone for you to talk to."

"You think I should see a shrink?"

"It might help, you know? To have someone to talk to. Someone you don't feel you have to hold back around."

"You think I am crazy?"

"Not at all. Sometimes people go to talk to a therapist to help them keep from feeling like they are gonna go crazy. It just gives you someone to talk to who isn't right there in the middle of it all too. I know there is a lot of this you are probably not comfortable talking to your mother and me about. There are a lot of things we want to know…."

Emma just stared into his eyes.

"And some day when you are feeling a little better we will all sit down and have that conversation. We need some answers, Emma. I need answers. He was my son," Elliot paused for a moment feeling a knot rising in his throat. "But now isn't the time. I'm not going to try to force it out of you or bombard you with all of the questions that are on my mind. I'll make you a deal…"

"What kind of deal?"

"I promise I won't ask you all of the questions that I have about all of this….if you promise that someday soon, when you feel like you are ready, you will come to me and explain to me what happened that night."

He watched as Emma began to tear up again.

"Okay," she said with a nod. "Deal," she replied placing her hand in his as they shook on it.

"You need time, I know that. And I think that right now we should all just be here for each other while we all begin to heal. And I don't want you to worry about anything those stupid papers said, because those do not change a single thing between you and I."

Emma smiled.

"Thanks for coming up here to talk to me. You really did make me feel a lot better."

Elliot smiled back at her.

"Well, good. But you know what I think would help us all feel even better?"

"What?" she asked.

"If you come downstairs to help your mom and I make the lasagna for dinner."

"Lasagna is my favorite," she said with a smile.

"I think you might have told me that once."

Downstairs in the kitchen Olivia stood at the counter cutting up vegetables for a salad.

"Hey baby," she said softly as Emma entered the room.

Emma hugged her mother tight.

"How are you feeling?" Olivia asked sweetly as she held her little girl in her arms.

"I'll be okay."

"Sweetheart, I know you were disappointed and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you about this from the beginning and I am sorry you got hurt."

"Mom, all you have ever done is try to protect me. I know that. And I appreciate that. You were disappointed, too," Emma said staring into her mother's dark eyes as she climbed up on a barstool across the counter and took over making the salad.

"I…um…" Olivia wasn't exactly sure how to respond.

"You have tear stains, mom. You've been crying."

"I think we were all a little disappointed. But as cruddy as this feels, it really is the best thing."

"I know. I don't want you to feel bad. Elliot may not be my father, but thanks to the two of you, I have never been without a dad."

Olivia smiled a bit teary eyed.

"I'm glad you feel that way. I know he cares a lot about you."

"Why do I get the feeling I was just being talked about?" Elliot asked entering the room.

"Probably because you were," Emma replied. "All good though, I promise."

"That's comforting to know. I thought we could use a little mood music," Elliot explained. "Now that I've got that taken care of…let's see here. It looks like your mom has the lasagna ready to go in the oven. And the salad looks great."

"Thank you," Olivia replied.

"Why don't you start on desert and I will work on the garlic bread?" Elliot said handing Emma a box of cake mix.

"I think I can handle that," she replied with a smile.

An hour later, Emma set the last place setting as Olivia lit two candles in the center of the table.

"Really, mom? You don't think those are a little bit much?"

"I thought it would be nice. We have a dinner guest and with just a few little details we were able to make a regular old dinner into something special."

"What's so special about today?"

"Well, we are all here. And we're together. It has been a tough day, Em, but it doesn't have to be a bad one."

"You're right," Emma agreed placing wind classes next to two of the plates and pouring a glass of milk to sit next to the third. "We never eat in the dining room. And we've never used grandmas good china or lit candles for dinner," she replied. "It's kind of like a holiday dinner."

"We could, you know?" Elliot said sitting the main dish on the counter.

Emma looked confused as Elliot looked over at Olivia.

"Start having dinners together as a family," he clarified. "I mean, I know, it turned out I'm not your father. And your mom and I haven't been together as anything more than friends in a long time."

"Sex isn't what makes a family," Emma said and Olivia nearly choked on her sip of wine. "Well, it isn't. As long as we care about each other, we are family. And it has always been that way. You guys don't have to be together to be family."

Olivia shifted uncomfortably in her chair then looked over at Elliot.

"Well, I'm sure Elliot is happy to hear that seeing how he is married and all," Olivia replied giving Emma a look as she cleared her throat.

"Oh, I just thought that…" she looked at Elliot in a bit of confusion. "I'm sorry."

"Thought what?" Olivia asked looking at her daughter and then over at Elliot.

"Nothing, mom. I made a mistake."

"It's okay, Emma," Elliot assured her. "You're not mistaken."

"It's true?"

Elliot nodded and took a drink of wine.

"We just haven't really told anyone yet. Things were just getting started when all of this happened. I'm guessing Eli must have told you."

Emma was quiet for a moment as she stirred her food around on her plate with a fork.

"Yes."

"Anyone care to fill me in here?" Olivia asked feeling really lost as to what was going on.

Elliot took a deep breath and picked up his wine glass.

"Kathy and I are separated. The divorce papers have already been signed and filed, we're just waiting for a court date. We hadn't really told anyone yet, the last anyone knew we were trying to work it out. Then this all happened and….Liv, I'm sorry. You are my best friend and the first person I should have shared this news with."

"Elliot, I'm sorry. I knew things had been rocky between the two of you for a while. I'm your best friend, I should have talked to you more about this. I don't know how I could have possibly missed that things were that bad for you."

"We weren't exactly advertising it. And the actual decision to divorce had only been made a couple of days before…." He looked up at Emma as his words trailed off. "We filed the papers that morning."

"You seemed so close at the hospital," Olivia whispered, unsure what the polite response was.

"We're trying to remain friends. We have a family together, we will always be a part of each other's lives. We will always be his parents."

Elliot looked up at Liv with tears in his eyes as she forced a soft smile.

"You know, Emma, that cake smells wonderful," Elliot said changing to a happier subject.

Emma smiled.

"It should be just about cool enough to frost," she said excusing herself from the table as she moved into the kitchen.

"She shouldn't have said anything, Elliot. This was your personal business….I'm sorry."

"She didn't mean to spill the beans. And you were the only one she told, really it's no big deal. She just assumed I had already told you. And I should have."

"Things have been so crazy lately. For us all," Olivia added. "I couldn't imagine dealing with this on top of everything else that you are going through."

"The worst part is that I think Kathy somehow thought that because of the Eli deal, things between us were gonna change. She never came out and said it, but when I showed up the other day to get some more of my things….I think she was expecting me to move back home."

"Maybe that means she is open to giving it another try. I mean, if that is what you want."

"I don't know…." Elliot groaned smoothing his hand over his face as Olivia poured them both another glass of wine. "I don't really think it's a good idea. Things really seemed final this time, you know? I care about her….she is the mother of my children. I just don't think I love her anymore. Not the way I used to love her. She doesn't love me like that anymore either. All we ever do is fight anymore."

"About the past?" Olivia asked.

Elliot laid his hand over the top of hers on the table.

"Over the past. Over money. We had a big fight that night when she realized that the house was paid off and Eli was old enough that she wouldn't be getting any child support from me for him. I told her I would pay for his college. He had a small fund, but not nearly enough. Even after this sports scholarship he was waiting to hear about there were going to be a lot of expenses. I told her I would pay for that and I was going to provide extra money each month, in place of child support, to help cover clothes and food and all of the other things he would need."

"That sounds reasonable."

"She thought so too, until she realized none of this money would be going to her. I was going to give it directly to him. He's a pretty responsible young man, nothing I am sure he can handle budgeting his own expenses. Could have," Elliot corrected himself.

"Cake is ready," Emma announced re-entering the room.

"Maybe the real reason I want so badly to do family things with the two of you has to do with the fact that I screwed up things so badly with my own family."

"Elliot, don't be ridiculous. Emma is right, you don't have to be blood to be family. You just have to care."

"And you have been a part of our family since before I was even born," Emma added. "I don't want that to change."

Elliot smiled.

"Neither do I," he replied.

"Good," Olivia added cutting a slice of chocolate cake and handing him the plate. "Then I expect to see you both right here next Friday night for our family dinner."

"You know," Emma said sitting back in her chair and inspecting a bite of cake on the end of her fork, "what I said before….that you guys don't have to be together…."

"Yea?" Elliot asked stepping right into her trap.

"You don't. But I really wouldn't mind at all….if you….I don't know….decided to give things another shot."

"Emma…." Olivia responded.

"Where did that come from?" Elliot asked.

"I don't mean right now. And I'm not trying to push you guys together. But I know that there was a time….however long ago that you cared a lot for each other. And I just thought I would let you guys know that if that was something that you ever did consider or think seriously about, I am all for it."

"I think I'm going to start the dishes," Olivia said excusing herself from the table.

"I'll clear the table," Elliot said standing.

"Let me," Emma said shaking her head. "I should talk to her. I didn't mean to ruin the night or make things weird for everyone."

"I know that."

"I embarrassed her."

"Honey, your mom and I are just friends, you know that right?"

"Yes. And I know that you are not even divorced yet and dating probably isn't your first priority right now."

"No, it isn't."

"But hypothetically, it could happen. Right?"

"Hypothetically….anything could happen."

"You know what I mean," Emma said stacking the plates together on the table. "You used to be together. At least, partially together."

"As together as you can be with someone while you are married to someone else. Yes. We were together."

"And you cared about mom?"

"Of course. I still do."

"Maybe even loved her at one time?"

"Emma, it this something that you want to happen?"

"You're alone. And she's been alone for quite some time now. And you are way nicer to her than all of those jerks she's dated in the past. Look, all I am saying is that if you should ever feel like you might want to ask my mother out on a real date, I am cool with that."

"Like you said, dating isn't really something that I am focusing on right now. But I will keep that in mind."

"Assuming of course that you will be a gentleman and treat her like a lady. You know, pick her up and bring her flowers. White roses are her favorite. Take her out for dinner and a little dancing. Have her home at a decent hour and kiss her goodnight. A sweet, tender kiss. Not one of those gross sucky face make out sessions on the front porch…."

"Should I be writing this down?"

Emma smiled.

"Just respect her. And I think you'll be just fine. I know you guys say what went on between the two of you was over a long time ago. And maybe you honestly thought it was. But I'm not blind. A soft smile here, a flip of the hair there. You flirt with each other and you don't even realize it. I have seen it go on for years. I know you have a lot of other things going on right now. But when you do decide to date again….if you should decide to ask my mom out….I just don't want you guys to feel like you have to sneak around or hide your feelings for each other because of me."

"Emma, I would never even consider dating your mother if you weren't on board with it."

"It's hard, to be so happy and not be able to share that happiness with the people you love. Keeping a relationship a secret is a lot of work. Things get complicated and little white lies snowball until everything is out of control. And I have learned the hard way that it isn't good for anyone involved. That was pretty much the only thing Eli and I ever fought about. Secrets and lies put a lot of strain on a relationship."

"I could imagine."

"I want more than that for my mother. She loved you before and had to keep it a secret. Then she got pregnant and had me….more secrets. She deserves better than that."

"You both do. Emma, I will be straight with you, I do care very much for your mother. And after my divorce has finalized and things have settled down a bit, I could possibly see myself asking her out. To be completely honest, the thought hadn't crossed my mind until you brought up the subject. But I do like her. And if she were interested and the time was right, I wouldn't mind trying things with her again. Honestly, this time. Not cheating on someone else with her, not lying to other people about being out with her or lying to her about the feelings that I have for her. She does deserve better."

"So do you," Emma replied picking up the stack of dishes and moving into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry," she said softly sitting the stack on the counter beside the sink. "I didn't mean to embarrass you. I just have a feeling that this could be heading somewhere and I don't want you guys to feel like you have to sneak around or hide it from me if it does."

"You think I would hide my relationship from you?" Olivia asked.

"If you thought you were protecting me….I know you would do anything. Even sacrifice your own happiness. I know that because you have done it before. I just wanted you to know that it doesn't have to be that way. That's all. And I know he is still married and if anything would happen it wouldn't be until later down the road. We promised that we would be open with each other and we wouldn't keep secrets. I just wanted you both to know, that you wouldn't have to. I love you mom. And I want you to be happy. I have seen the way Elliot makes you smile. You haven't smiled like that in years."

"I smile."

"Not that smile. And the last guy who made you smile like that broke your heart. Now you have finally found someone who makes you feel like that again. I just want you to know that I fully support that."

"You think I still have feelings for Elliot?"

"Mom, I know you do. It isn't as obvious to him just yet. But I know you better than anyone else in the world. And I can tell that there is still at least a tiny little spark of interest for him."

"You don't think it would be weird?" Olivia asked.

"There is only one way to find out," Emma said with a smile. "But hey, I'm not pushing."

"Right," Olivia replied with a grin.

"Everything alright in here?" Elliot asked stepping through the door with the last of the dinner dishes.

"Yea," Olivia answered with a soft smile as he stared deep into her eyes for the first time in a long time. "Everything is fine."