Kathy let out a sigh as she looked at her husband. Three months ago, he left his job, a job he loved. He promised he would find something somewhere else, but he hadn't moved from his chair in weeks.

She hadn't seen Elliot this depressed ever, even back when she filed for divorce, even when she filed for sole custody of the kids. Elliot was a strong man, but something, something big was eating away at him.

She heard tiny feet pattering behind her, quickly zooming past. "Eli! Stop!" She whispered as she reached out for the kid, but missed. Before she could chase after him, he had already jumped into Elliot's lap.

He let out a groan as his son adjusted himself, leaning closer to Elliot. "Hi Dad." Eli grinned. Elliot gently smiled, running his fingers though Eli's hair as he took a deep breath.

"Hey, champ. Whatcha up to?" He replied, raising his eyebrows as he took long, slow blinks. He was asleep until his youngest son decided to have a nice chat with his dad.

"Well, I was playing with Dickie," he answered, nodding his head. Elliot awed, smiling at him. "But I wanted to play with you." He explained, placing his hands on his lap. Elliot chuckled, sitting up.

"Well, I would love to play with you," he started, making Eli grin. He rubbed his chin, which hadn't been shaved in weeks. "But Daddy, well, he just needs to finish a few things, okay?"

"But-"

"Don't worry, I'll play in a half hour," he added, trying to fix his son's frown. "Go play with Dickie." He encouraged, placing Eli on the floor. Eli nodded his head as Elliot gave him a quick tap on the butt, making Eli giggle.

Kathy walked into the living room, her arms crossed across her chest as she bit her lower lip. Slowly, she walked towards Elliot, unsure what to say. "Your beer belly is showing." She teased, pointing to his stomach.

He softly smiled back at her. "Funny."

She shrugged her shoulders. "You're getting a dad bod as Elizabeth would say."

He chuckled, shaking his head. Kathy slowly picked up a few of his beer cans. This time, it was more than usual. She let out a little sigh, fighting her conscience about what to say to him. "So, are you sleeping well out here?" She asked.

He shrugged his shoulders, both of them feeling tension rising. "As best I can." He answered, his face stern, his eyes glossing over as he stared forward. His lips slightly twitched as he concentrated on something in the distance. His eyebrows began to furrow as he sunk deeper into his thoughts.

Kathy gently touched his shoulder, making him jump. "Ya know, if you want to talk about something, I'm here, Elliot." She comforted, looking into his blue eyes.

"I know, Kathy, I know," he replied, nodding his head. "But this is different." He softly mumbled.

"Elliot, you can tell me anything." She fired back, concern growing on her face. Her heart began to fill with fear. Was he cheating on her? Was someone threatening him? What was going on inside his head?

He shook his head, his face dropping. "We decided that work was never going to be discussed at home." He answered. Kathy furrowed her eyebrows, wanting to know. He was in pain. She wanted to be the one to help him.

"Why not? If that's what's bugging you, then tell me," she demanded, leaning closer to him. He opened his mouth, about to protest. "I want to help you. I love you." She added, cutting him off.

"I don't want to bring that world here. This is our home. This is the only place left that keeps me sane," He answered, his blue eyes pleading with her. She took a deep breath, unsure what to do. "Please, Kathy. Don't make me fill your head with those images. I love you too much." He softly added.

She gently planted a kiss on his cheek, smelling the alcohol on him. She softly rubbed her fingers on his face, wishing there was some thing she could do for him. "Okay, Elliot. Okay." She whispered, standing up and walking away from him. She closed her eyes, trying to keep her emotions inside. She hated seeing him like this.

xxx

There was a knock on the door. Richard ran down the stairs with Eli chasing after him. As much as Richard used to beg for a little brother, he somewhat regretted it at times. Richard peeked through the peephole and quickly opened the door. "Hey, Olivia." He smiled.

She quickly enveloped him in a hug, which he gladly returned. "Hi, Dickie. Long time no see." She grinned.

"Uh, actually I go by Richard now." He awkwardly chuckled as they pulled apart. Olivia chuckled, gently punching his shoulder.

"You'll always be Dickie to me," She answered, making him laugh. Immediately, she recognized the little boy standing close to Dickie. She chuckled, squatting down to the floor. "Hi, Eli. Remember me?" Olivia asked.

Eli nodded his head, though it wasn't convincing for Dickie or Olivia. She stood up, picking him up. "You are so big now," she groaned, making small talk. "Where's your daddy?" She asked as she propped him on her hip.

"He's sleeping. Shush." Eli replied, placing a finger to his lips. She smiled, looking into the Stabler blue eyes she grew to know. Whenever she looked into them, they just gave her a sense of comfort and safety.

"Do you mind if I talk to him?" She questioned, knowing she was going to talk to him either way. Eli shook his head, stopped, then nodded it. He slipped down her leg, running towards the living room.

"Eli! No!" Dickie called, chasing after his brother. Before he could stop him, Eli had already jumped into Elliot's lap. He woke up, groaning again.

"Two times in one day?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes as Eli tugged on his arm.

"Daddy, Daddy." He begged, trying to get his attention.

"I'm listening." Elliot replied, now looking at Eli. Eli turned and pointed towards the kitchen.

"There's a girl here." He answered. Elliot stood up, furrowing his eyebrows. He sat Eli in his chair, telling him to stay put, which Eli obeyed, not wanting to anger his father. Elliot slowly walked towards the kitchen, planning a way to attack.

When he entered, he quickly spotted a familiar face. "Liv?" He questioned, tilting his head. She turned around, getting a good look at Elliot. She quickly took in the bags under his eyes, how much weight he gained, and his lack of personal hygiene.

"Elliot." She replied, biting her lower lip. They slowly walked towards each other, neither one knowing what to say. As she looked at him, she felt terrible. Here she was, blaming him for leaving her behind when he was here on the verge of cracking.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned, cocking his eyebrow as they stood face to face.

"I came to check on you. You left us without a reason, without a goodbye." She answered. Elliot looked down, biting his lips. He felt terrible for leaving Olivia and the others without a trace, but he couldn't even step a foot back there.

"Sorry." He apologized, looking back up into her brown eyes. Kathy peeked around the corner, hoping Elliot would finally talk and let everything out. She had called Olivia, hoping she could maybe make her husband better. After all, Olivia was his partner. They could talk about work.

Olivia bit her lower lip. She knew how to deal with rape victims, not shooting victims. She decided to go with her gut. She knew Elliot. She knew what would close him off or open him up. "Would you like to talk about it?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No," he answered. "I don't even like thinking about it."

She nodded her head, understanding. She took a seat at the kitchen table, letting out a long sigh. Elliot followed suit, sitting across from her. She gently smiled, thinking about all of their cases as partners. "Do you remember how every time we met Dana you would always get hurt?" She softly laughed.

"I don't think that woman will be happy until I'm dead. I've been shot twice and blown up just being around her." He chuckled back. Olivia nodded her head. Somehow, Elliot always got hurt around her.

"So, how have the kids been?" She continued, seeing him opening up.

"Perfect." He smiled. The room became deadly quiet. You couldn't even hear Eli running upstairs as they stared at each other. They could hardly hear each other breathing.

"Elliot," she started, looking into his blue eyes. "Would you like to talk another that day? I know it's eating away at you. You know you can tell me anything." She softly added.

Elliot let out a long sigh, stretching his arms as he thought about. He nodded his head, wanting to talk now that his family wasn't listening. He was ready to let it out to Olivia. She deserved to know.

~~~~~~~~~~