Camo and Navy Blue [A Bensler Fan Fic]

Twenty-Two

Olivia and Elliot drove out to Queens to drop Lillian off with Elliot's ex. Olivia didn't want her daughter spending time with Ashley, but she didn't have any other choice. There was no one in the city to watch her daughter on such short notice.

"Why did you divorce Ashley?" Olivia whispered, since Lillian was sleeping in the back of Olivia's car.

"We weren't meant to be... I didn't want to stay with her after you walked in on us, but then she got pregnant and I would not let her raise the kid alone."

"You just weren't meant to be? Elliot, there had to have been something else." Olivia sighed, as she turned her blinker on and turned slowly into Elliot's neighborhood.

Elliot kept his mouth shut as they made it to his house. He got out of the passenger seat and left Olivia by the car so he could talk to Ashley.

"I hate you! You are the worse thing to happen to us!" Maureen screamed, as Elliot swung open the front door.

"You are a disrespectful fucking brat!" Ashley yelled back, as she prepared herself to smack her former step-daughter.

"Hey! Don't you dare hit my kid!" Elliot exclaimed as he jumped in and pulled Ashley back.

"I am tired of her acting out! So either make her respect me, or Jacob and I are gone." Ashley growled, before pulling herself from Elliot's grip and running up the stairs.

Elliot let out a sigh before turning to look at his daughter. Maureen's face was streaked with tears and she looked beyond angry.

"Go wash your face, please." Elliot spoke.

"Daddy-"

"Please go. I need you to be on your best behavior today, since we are helping out one of my friends."

"One of your friends? What, are you going to marry some other jerk and give us yet another spoiled rotten sibling?!" Maureen spat.

///

Elliot struggled to get his family under control, so Olivia was outside with Lillian for a while. But once Ashley was done with her tantrum, and Elliot's kids were relaxing in their bedrooms, it was deemed safe for Olivia to come in.

"Oh." Ashley sighed when Olivia came into the house.

"Oh?" Olivia asked.

"You are the one that Elliot was holding out hope for... thanks for ruining my marriage." Ashley said, as she rolled her eyes.

"If I remember correctly, I was the one in a relationship with Elliot when you slept with him. Now, why don't you stop acting like a child? You agreed to watch my baby while I was working. Do you want to still do that, or should I find someone else to watch her?" Olivia snapped. She wasn't going to take any crap from the woman that ruined her relationship.

If Elliot and Ashley hadn't hooked up, maybe Olivia would have married him. Maybe Lillian would have been their baby together. 

"Geez, don't be a bitch. I'll watch her, but only for today. Figure out something for tomorrow." Ashley spoke before turning and walking away.

Olivia looked over at Elliot, and he gave her a nervous smile.

"Okay, so she isn't exactly happy to help, but this is your only option."

"My only option is a bitter bitch, El." Olivia mumbled.

Olivia and Elliot got Lillian settled before moving to leave. But as soon as the front door opened, and Olivia was ready to step out, her name was breathed.

"Yeah?" Olivia asked, turning around slowly. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at Maureen.

"Liv?"

"Hey, Mo." Olivia smiled.

"Liv!" Maureen sobbed. She ran to Olivia and attacked her with a tight hug.

"I guess we may be here longer than expected."

///

Elliot called Cragen and informed him that there were a few problems that needed to be dealt with before they came back into the office. Cragen was confused, but didn't ask questions because he didn't want to hear any excuses.

"Where did you go, Liv?" Maureen whispered, as she and Kathleen sat on Olivia's lap.

"I moved to DC." Olivia replied softly, as she smoothed two sets of blonde curls.

"Why? You should have stayed." Kathleen frowned as she pouted.

"I know, and I wish that I could have stayed. But I needed to get out of New York for a bit."

"Why are you back? Are you staying?" Maureen asked rapidly, as she looked up at one of her favorite people.

When Olivia and Elliot broke up and Olivia left, it threw off the lives of so many people. Elliot walked around in an angry fog, especially since he hated himself for hurting her and causing her to run. Maureen and Kathleen had lost another woman that loved them the way a mother loves her children. Olivia had been scared and confused when she left herself, but she wasn't nearly as bad off as the Stabler family had been.

"Slow down, my love. I'm not going anywhere... but I came back to work here. I'm a detective now, and I wanted to come home."

"Home here?!" Kathleen squealed, and Olivia frowned as she shook her head.

"No, not here. This isn't my home. I have an apartment that my baby and I live in."

"Where's her Daddy? Did he come with you?" Maureen asked, and Olivia let out a nervous laugh before shaking her head.

"She doesn't have one. But girls, can I ask questions? Or do I have to continue getting interrogated?" Olivia teased.

"I guess." The girls sighed in unison.

Olivia got up and grabbed Lillian from her carrier before turning back to the girls.

"Do you two have a problem with Ashley?" Olivia asked softly. Kathleen's and Maureen's face grew red with anger, and their tiny hands balled into fists.

"She's so mean." Maureen growled through clinched teeth.

"She's new to this mom thing, girls. Especially to three kids."

"Ashley isn't a mom to us, Liv. You are more of a mother to us when you haven't been around us in years! All she cares about it Jacob! He's her favorite, and he's spoiled rotten. Daddy won't make her stop, and he lets her be mean to us! I wish they never got married or had Jacob!"