Chapter Three

"Wait, what?" Fin asks.

"I don't know, I just...Kathy left me a letter and said to take care of her kids. She said to go get a box in her house and it had all the kids' important documents in there including legal guardianship papers. I met her kids at the hospital and then they all came to stay with me!"

"And you just think you can do that?" Tucker asks.

"Yes! I do! I love them and I'm not putting them in the system!"

"What about their next of kin?"

"She left me in charge of them and I'm going to take care of them. I talked to all the kids and they want to stay! You can't take them away from me!" I exclaim.

"Were you planning on telling their grandparents or aunts or uncles?"

"We planned on worrying about that when the time came. These kids have lost both their parents within 2 months. Eli won't ever know his parents! Everything can only be handled one day at a time," I tell him. I have everyone's attention though.

"Fine. How do you plan on getting them through school?"

"I only have to worry about two of them for now. They're already getting support through Elliot's death. They're sure to get more now."

"Child Services will be by your home tomorrow morning," Tucker declares.

"Can you leave the poor woman alone?" Fin says suddenly. "What the hell would you do?"

"I'd do what's best for the kids." With that, he leaves.

I sit at my desk and rest my head in my hands. I feel a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, baby girl. You got nothing to worry about," Fin tells me.

"I have everything to worry about."

"Maureen is gonna be helping you out even if you say no. The twins have their tuition paid for the year. Eli doesn't need anything besides diapers, food, and attention. It's gonna be fine," Munch tells me.

"But their parents are both dead! They need to keep up their work while coping! I don't even think I can handle that," I admit.

"We're gonna help you, Liv. You're not doing this alone." I'm not even paying attention to who is talking now. I think it's Cragen this time, though.

"What about when Child Services comes to my house and four siblings are split between two rooms and I'm sleeping on a couch with a baby in a crib in the same room? Or they see 6 people are living in one apartment? Or they say my salary can't support 3 kids?"

"You tell them they can shove it and you're doing what you can." Fin's comments don't even help.

"They can take them and separate them! Lizzie and Dickie could not handle that!"

"They would put them with their grandparents, worst case scenario, Liv."

"I don't want that!" I look up, even though I'm on the verge of tears.

"Need a couple days? You've got plenty of time," Cragen asks.

"No, that won't help me. Yet."

Work is slow; no cases, just paperwork. Not like I get any done. I call both Maureen and Kathleen at least twice. Each. They say the baby is fine, but I don't believe it.

I'm probably worrying more than Kathy does - did.

"Okay, everyone, go home. I'll call if there's a case," Cragen announces. I don't argue.

When I get to my front door, I can hear crying. Immediately, I begin to rush in.

What I see when I enter is not what I expect. The twins are doing homework at the island and Maureen is bouncing the baby in her arms, trying to calm him. While closing the door and taking off my coat, Kathleen comes out of her bedroom. She says, "Gimme him," then tries to calm Eli.

"Hey, I'm home," I announce.

Everyone replies but isn't paying attention.

"Take a break, guys," I tell the older girls. "I got him."

"He's been crying for like ever," Maureen tells me.

"Oh, why?" I ask Eli as I take him in my arms. I make my voice quieter and softer. "What's wrong, my baby boy?"

I put his head on my shoulder and rub his back. He's quiet in minutes.

"What the hell?" Kathleen asks me in amazement.

"She did cut the cord," Maureen says in passing. "Special connection."

"You actually believe that stuff?" I ask.

"Hell yeah. My parents were able to predict the gender of the baby by when my mom had morning sickness."

"What about when she had the twins?"

"She knew it was twins. But she either was sick all day or not at all. They guessed both as a joke and it was actually true."

"I remember that," Kathleen says.

"I remember neither of you wanted a brother," I say.

The two look at each other and smile. "Now we've got two," Maureen says.

I look around at all these kids and half smile. How could I let Child Services take my kids?

"Liv, you okay?"

"I've gotta talk to you two. Before tomorrow morning, that would be perfect."

"Let's do it now, then."

"The baby's been cooped up inside all day," I say. "Let's go get coffee."

I take them to the coffee shop across the street. The twins will be fine, I know.

"So what's up?" Maureen asks me.

"Well Tucker came into the precinct today and...he already knows I have custody of your siblings. Child Services is coming tomorrow morning."

They both look at each other. "Well...what can we do about it?" Kathleen asks.

"You guys can't really do anything. You're legal adults and don't have any custody of them. If anything, they'll be sent to live with their grandparents."

"They really don't want that," Kathleen says.

"Yeah they're happy here," Maureen chimes in. "Well, as happy as they can be with everything..."

"I'm gonna fight them like hell if they try to take them away from me. My plan right now was for me to tell them you, Kathleen, are staying with a friend from Hudson for now. And Maureen, you're staying with me because you want to help with the baby. Until you can get your old house cleared out and can get another place. Okay. Stick to it. Kathleen, call one of your friends and set it up. Just in case they ask her about it."

Kathleen nods and takes out her phone. When she hits "Call" on her friend's contact name, she gets up and goes outside.

"Are you sure they won't try anything?" Maureen asks. "I-I can't have them in the system. They can't handle being separated. I can't handle-"

"I know. Tucker is an ass. I think he's just trying to scare me."

"You?"

"Yes, me. He's been waiting to cut off someone's head for a looong time."

That only makes Maureen look even more scared. She looks over to her baby brother.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but if anything, bad were to happen - worst case scenario - they would all go to their grandparents. Second worst, Eli would go to your grandparents and the twins would either stay with me or you."

"I can't support-"

"I'll help you." I interrupt. "Don't think you would have to do that by yourself."

"Still. Even if I wanted to, couldn't I tell them I want you to be their guardian?"

"If they deem me unfit, they'd go into the system."

She nods and sips her drink.

"We'll get through this. Tomorrow, we're gonna get your things from the house. After Child Services leaves."

"What if they take the kids?"

"They won't. If I can help it."

Maureen looks nothing but unconvinced.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'll be there," I hear Cragen say through the phone. "Don't worry, Liv."

"What happens if they take my kids?"

I realize after I say it that I said "my kids". I like the sound of it. The possibly temporary sound of it.

No. They are my kids. They always have been. Since the day I met them. They always will be. No matter what. They're mine.

"They won't. I'll make sure of it."

"How?" I ask. Cragen is capable of many things, but this seems impossible.

"I just will. Trust me."

I nod, though he can't see it. "Okay."

I put my phone down and lie back on the couch. After a half hour of staring at the ceiling, I can tell I won't be able to sleep tonight.

I get up and walk over to my old bedroom and check on the older girls. I figured neither would be able to sleep well, but I can tell both are out. Good.

The baby starts to stir so I go to him before checking on the twins.

"What's wrong, bub?" I ask quietly, picking him up out of his crib. She squirms around in my arms and makes noises but doesn't cry. I still know he's upset. "Even you know how bad this is, huh?"

"What's bad?"

I turn to see the younger female Stabler standing in the entryway of the living room.

"I...It...Um...nothing."

"Is it us being here or us being here?" She has that same passive-aggressive look in her eye that her father always got.

"It's who may or may not have a problem with you being here."

"No it isn't."

"Lizzie," I scold.

"Is it true?" she asks with warning in her voice. She is a female version of her father, I swear. She's even wearing one of his old shirts to sleep in. All she has to do now is punch a wall or something.

"Liz, why would I have shown you those guardian papers or even taken you in for the night if I wasn't wanting you to stay with me?!"

She nods and gets quiet, not liking being wrong. Again, like her father. I walk closer to her and she comes to me for a hug. The poor teenaged girl starts to weep in my arms.

In my other arm is the baby, who's babbling has turned to happy baby talk. It gets his sister to laugh a little, after a couple minutes.

How in the world will they handle not being able to stay with me?