Ms. Benson

Chapter Three

  Elliot Stabler walked down the dark hallway of Trinity Elementary. There was one door open in this hall, so he was pretty sure that's where he would find his daughter. As he reached the door, he could hear Kathleen talking away. Sometimes she talked a little too much, but he loved that about her. When he peeked in the classroom, he saw Kathleen sitting on Ms. Benson's lap looking at a picture book in what looked like the 'library' of the 3rd grade classroom.
    He couldn't help but smile at the way this woman read to his daughter. She would read in cute little voices and paused to let Kathleen give her thoughts on the pictures. While she was reading, Kathleen seemed completely engrossed in the book, until his step made the floor creak. That's when she noticed him, and came barreling toward him with her arms wide open and a sweet little smile on her face. He picked up his little girl and hugged her tight while he looked over her shoulder at Ms. Benson. She was putting the book away on its proper shelf.
    Kathleen pulled back in his arms to look him in the face. "Daddy, guess what?" She didn't give him time to guess before she jumped into her story. "Ms. Benson has a kitty cat! She showed me a picture! He's sooooo cute! I want a kitty, daddy, please! Please can we have a kitty!" He chuckled at her rambling and sat her down on the ground, turning to Ms. Benson.
    "Well, thank you Ms. Benson for keeping my daughter company and giving her the bright idea that we need a cat." They both chuckled.
   "It's really no problem." She smirked.
"Well, I've got to get back to work. Thank you again Ms. Benson."
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At work, Elliot could not stop thinking about Ms. Benson. She was absolutely gorgeous! And she was great with Kathleen. He had tried dating over the past few years, but it always ended once the woman found out he had a daughter. Ms. Benson already knew Kathleen and seemed to like her. He wanted to ask her out, but she probably already had a boyfriend or husband. Maybe he would ask next time he saw her at Kathleen's school. He was supposed to attend and father/daughter pancake breakfast there next week and if he was lucky, Ms. Benson would already be at schools