Bruised, Battered, and In Tears [ A Benson Fan Fic]

Thirty-One

The morning after the adoption, Olivia woke up and barely got out of bed before remembering how amazing the day before had been. How her daughters no longer shared the last name of her abusive ex, and how she finally got engaged to the absolute love of her life. She was so thankful for Elliot and his family because they took care of her and her little ones. Michaela, Julia, and Cleo were finally safe. They were in danger even after Chris had died thanks to Bonnie, but now they were safe and happy.

"Did you forget what you were doing?" Elliot yawned from the bed. He was flipping over in bed but stopped when he saw his fiancee standing in the middle of their bedroom.

"Uh, I just got caught up on thinking about yesterday. I got sidetracked and just hadn't moved yet." Olivia smiled. Elliot climbed out of bed before moving to Olivia. He placed his hands to her waist before holding her close.

"I never expected to have so many kids, but I'm so thankful for every single one of them."

"I am too," Olivia whispered. She snaked her arms around Elliot's neck before placing several soft kisses to his lips.

"Speaking of the kids-"

"Our seven-month-old will need to be fed and changed soon. That's why I woke up." Olivia sighed. She hugged Elliot tightly before hearing Cleo cry out from her room.

"I'll get her changed and bring her in here. You do what you need to do." Elliot smiled.

"You are an amazing father, Elliot!" Olivia exclaimed as Elliot moved to the door.

"Tell me something I don't know." Elliot smiled.

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Later that morning, the kids woke up and unfortunately had to go to school. Olivia was going to call them in, but they wanted to go to school because this morning they would be getting their names changed in everything. Their parents just needed to turn in the paperwork.

"So, how does it feel to be a Stabler?" Kathleen asked, as they sat together at the kitchen table and finished up breakfast. She had gotten a hold of Cleo and hadn't let her go yet.

"It feels good!" Michaela smiled.

"Now we just need to wait until your Mom finally becomes a Stabler." Maureen spoke, as she stood and moved to put the dirty dishes in the sink.

"Speaking of that..." Elliot trailed off with a smile.

"What's happening?" Dickie yawned.

"Liv and I are engaged." Elliot smiled. All of the kids quickly turned to look at Olivia, because they wanted to see if she'd confirm what their father said.

"Liv?" Lizzie breathed.

"He proposed last night before bed and I accepted faster than I have done anything before." Olivia blushed.

Julia slipped from the room after finding out her mother and father were engaged. Olivia noticed, and once she had been congratulated by all the other kids, she went to find her daughter.

"Jules?" Olivia asked quietly, as she opened the door to the storage area underneath the stairs. Julia hid there often when she was scared, overwhelmed, or anxious. And that's exactly where Olivia found her middle daughter.

"Hi, Mama." Julia whispered.

"Hey, pumpkin. How are you doing?" Olivia asked weakly.

"I like having Daddy's last name... but I'm still thinking about my Dad." Julia frowned.

"Do you know why, love?" Olivia asked, as she moved in and sat awkwardly across from her daughter. She shut the door before pulling her legs up to her chest.

"He'd be so angry if he saw us now."

"Jul-"

"He'd be angry that we are happy... that you are happy, Mama. If he was still alive and you two weren't together, he'd probably be here hurting you." Julia whispered.

"If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be here so I can't tell you to stop thinking about him... but he isn't here anymore. I don't know where he is... but he isn't on Earth anymore. He can't hurt you or me anymore. So I'd like you to stop worrying about him if possible. Stop thinking about how bad of a man he was, because you have a good Daddy now. One who loves you for exactly who you are. One that will be there for you through everything. Okay?"

"He's just always in my head." Julia whimpered.

"I know, and he's always in mine too. Always telling me how bad I am... but I know that I'm not because Elliot has told me that. Now, do you want to go to-"

"Today I get to write Julia Stabler on my papers. Of course I wanna go to school."

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Summer came slowly, and along with that came Maureen's graduation. She graduated in the top ten of her class, and was accepted into UCLA. She was going to be leaving a few weeks after her graduation and open house, and no one was ready to let her go.

"I feel like everything is going to be a mess without Maureen around... all of the kids love her and I don't know how having her on the other side of the country is going to work." Olivia sighed, as she carried a bunch of chairs into the backyard. At the house she and Elliot lived in, the back yard was bigger so the open house was being held there. It was also easier for Olivia to be able to put Cleo down in the middle of the party if she needed too.

"I know that I'm going to miss her like crazy." Kathy frowned. They sat the chairs down before turning to look at each other.

"I wish she would have stayed on this coast. It would have made it easier on everyone... but then again I feel like she wants to get away from us."

"She said that she wants to experience life without us being able to run to her if she needs us."

"I get that. I wanted to run as far away as I could, but I never got far." Olivia sighed. She started to set the chairs up as Kathy did the same. They were silent for awhile before Kathy spoke again.

"I didn't want you to be apart of our family after what happened between you and Elliot and then with Maureen... but I'm very thankful that we have you." Kathy breathed. Olivia looked up at her and smiled softly before nodding slowly.

"I'm glad I have you all too."