New Year's Day [A Bensler Fan Fic]

[Twenty-Two]

Even though Bernie really helped Kathleen out, the little girl still needed some distance from the place where everything had really gone downhill. 

"I'm surprised you agreed to a stay at the cabin." Elliot spoke softly as he glanced over at his wife. Olivia was sitting next to him in the passenger seat, as she texted Maureen to make sure their ride was going smoothly.

"Why wouldn't I agree?" Olivia asked, as she lifted her eyes from her phone and turned towards her husband.

"We have a month before Jonah is going to be here, and you didn't leave the house this close to your due date with Nora unless it was for an appointment. Aren't you feeling anxious about being hours away from your doctor and over an hour away from a hospital?" Elliot questioned as he slowed down.

"I wasn't, but now I am." Olivia sighed.

"I'm sorry, baby." Elliot chuckled weakly.

"What's funny?" Lizzie asked from the backseat of the van.

"Daddy is just being a pain in my butt, as usual. You can go back to your movie." Olivia replied. Lizzie giggled before pulling her headphones back on. 

Olivia turned to her husband before sighing softly.

"Please don't jinx me, El. I really don't want Jonah to be born a month early, in a strange hospital, and without us being completely prepared for him."

"I'll try not to, baby. Now, did my mother and the girls stop somewhere or are they still behind us?"

"Kathleen had a panic attack, so they pulled over to help her relax. Maureen said that they will probably be arriving an hour later than us."

///

Just like Maureen said, the rest of the family arrived about an hour later than everyone else. By the time they showed up, Elliot was outside cleaning the grill while Olivia got Nora and Eli down for naps.

"When did you decide to get a cabin?" Bernie smiled as she carried her bag up the stairs and to where her son stood.

"When Liv and I started to get serious. We came up here a few times when we were just renting it, and then when the owner decided to sell I snatched it up. It has plenty of space or our kids, and all that will join us in the future." Elliot smiled. He turned to his mother before looking her over.

"Just ask, El." Bernie sighed.

"Ma, how are you doing in regards to staying on your pills and helping out with Katie?" Elliot asked. 

Bernie gave her son a smile before sitting down at the table.

"I'm staying on my meds, Elliot. Kathleen needs me to be in a good place to help her, so that is my plan. Now, how are you doing? Do you enjoy having me around?" Bernie smiled.

Elliot laughed as he sank down across from her. 

"It's nice to have you around, Ma. You are really going to come in handy when Jonah decides that he is ready to join us. I am worried about some stuff though."

"What stuff?" Bernie breathed.

"What if Katie isn't the only one of my kids that end up with the same diagnosis as you?"

///

The first night was pretty uneventful. The kids were exhausted from the ride, so they didn't do much more than relax after dinner. The next day was a different story though. The kids were full of energy, even Kathleen, and they wanted to spend all day out by the water.

"Nora is going to want to learn to swim soon." Elliot smiled as he came and joined his wife on their towel.

"I wouldn't be surprised. She hates those water wings." Olivia replied.

"Gonna go swimming with the kids?" Elliot questioned, and Olivia shook her head.

"Nah, I'm good just watching. I'll probably head up to the house soon anyway, since your mother hasn't joined us yet."

"We kinda got into it last night." Elliot frowned.

"What? You two have been doing so good." Olivia whispered, as she looked away from her husband and to where Lizzie and Dickie were helping Eli and Nora build a very bad sandcastle.

"Yeah, well we aren't at the moment. I was asking her about her pills, and if she was getting overwhelmed with taking care of herself and Kathleen. But then she asked about other things I was worrying about, and I had to tell her about my other fears."

"Fears that you haven't told me about? Because-"

"Liv, you have so much to deal with lately. Especially with the kids being off from school and you are preparing for Jonah... let me worry about what I'm worrying about." Elliot sighed.

"Tell me, Elliot Stabler. Now." Olivia demanded, as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Liv, trying to figure out exactly what to do with Katie is hard. Like I'm too worried that I might say or do something wrong that would hurt her and make things worse for her... and then I started thinking about if our younger kids could end up being bipolar too. Like Jonah or Nora. What if they end up having it as hard as Katie does?" Elliot frowned. He laid back against the blanket as Olivia closed her eyes tightly.

"It could happen, El. All of the kids, even Mo... they all have a chance of being diagnosed. But there is nothing we can do about it, we just have to accept what happens and help them to the best of our ability. Now, go in and apologize to your mother."

"I can't apologize to her for stating how I feel-"

"Go and apologize! Before I start to get very angry!" Olivia huffed. Elliot scrambled to his feet before sighing and heading back to the house.

Once Elliot made it to the cabin, he heard a door shut loudly. He picked up the pace and made it to the bottom of the stairs as his mother walked out with one of her bags.

"Ma?" Elliot asked, and Bernie frowned as she looked at her son.

"I'm crazy and you hate me for being crazy... for being the reason why your kids could be bipolar too. So I'm going to leave. Figure things out for yourself."