This is one of the prompts from @monthlywritingchallenges list for winter, « Frozen fingers, warm hearts » for Law and Order SVU, in the pre-show years, hopefully showcasing Elliot Stabler’s parenting skills and how he is navigating his eldest child, Maureen, who has just entered her teenage years.
« Maureen, honey, you’re going to freeze! It’s barely 20 degrees out there », Elliot admonished his eldest child, who had recently entered adolescence and was making it known to everyone.
She humphed dramatically, already grumpy at having to accompany her family to her sister’s soccer game.
« Can’t I just stay home, Daddy? I can make myself a sandwich for lunch and all I’m going to do is read, I promise », Maureen implored, adjusting her denim jacket with embroidered flowers and leaves and badges that proclaimed her to be a bookworm, that reading is her cardio, and that she read banned books. She did so in order to display her new sweater, which was a lightweight knit in a pretty shade of periwinkle, purchased with her first ever earnings from her babysitting the next door neighbour’s children.
« Sure, you can stay home, sweetheart » Elliot replied, making her eyes light up at first, before her father added, with a teasing grin on his face, « Just as soon as it stops being illegal ».
« And wear a scarf, Maureen, please », Kathy added, as she came downstairs with Dickie and Lizzie.
Maureen complied, muttering under her breath something that sounded suspiciously like « Moooom, I’m thirteen, not three! », selecting a thin, silky scarf that bore a floral print that picked out the same colours as the ones on her jacket, as the twins put on their fleece-lined coats and warm jackets.
Kathleen arrived from upstairs, wearing her soccer uniform, and began admonishing her family that she really couldn’t afford to be late for her first proper match as she might not be allowed to play otherwise.
Kathy picked up a bag full of blankets, toys, books and thermoses of hot chocolate and coffee from the hall, in order to keep her youngest two entertained and everyone warm as they watched the match.
Maureen grabbed her own, much smaller but bulging tote bag that had a picture of Van Gogh’s irises on it. It contained her copy of the novel that was assigned reading for school, a book for pleasure and some writing materials.
Everyone was finally ready and piled into Kathy’s car to go to the soccer pitch.
Once they had arrived, Kathleen had run off to join her teammates and the rest of the Stablers headed for the bleachers. On the way up, they bumped into Dickie’s classmates, Ben and Jack, and their parents who also had a child on the team. Dickie dug through his mother’s bag for his police cars and Kathy started chatting to Anne and Susan, Ben and Jack’s mothers.
« Mom, it’s so noisy down here! Can’t we go further up, please? » Maureen implored. « Yeah, this is not peace and quiet, I really don’t like it! », Lizzie added.
Elliot and Kathy exchanged a look, he picked up the bag of supplies, handed his wife the flask of hot chocolate, then grabbed Lizeie’s hand as the made their way up the bleachers, with Maureen following behind.
Satisfied that she’d found a good spot, Lizzie sat down and her father joined her. She then crawled up into his lap and he pressed his lips to her red-gold hair as she snuggled into him. Maureen positioned herself a little further away, tucking her fingers under her armpits as she visibly shivered.
Elliot got out a book and began reading to his youngest child, asking her questions and explaining words she didn’t know, punctuated with her kissing his cheek or asking him questions.
Maureen regained enough feeling in her numb digits to get out one of her books and do some reading. She pulled her thin jacket around her, attempting to keep out the chill that was most definitely present in the air. She almost dropped the book as her still frozen fingers shook from the cold. She sneaked a glance at her father and her youngest sibling, who seemed not only so happy cuddled up together but also warm. But Lizzie was little and cute, and she was a grumpy teen and her father had told her several times in the last week that she wasn’t yo come running to him to complain or expecting sympathy when she decided not to heed his advice or warnings. So she was going to have to tough it out.
She began reading, having to take breaks to put her hands in her pockets ( that should have contained her gloves, which she had also neglected to bring with her) or unattractively shoving them under her armpits. At least there weren’t any cute high school boys around to see her, which was a relief.
The cold also made it hard to concentrate on the words on the page, as well as causing her to drop her novel repeatedly.
She glanced over at the other two members of her family again. Lizzie was playing with her Calico Critters, and seemed to be telling their dad all about them and the adventures they were having. Her father was holding the coffee flask and was sipping from it. Maureen hated the smell and the taste of coffee, especially black coffee, which was how her dad usually drank it. She’d begged to taste some a few months ago, claiming that now she was 13, she was grown-up enough to drink it. She’d had to doctor it with so much cream and sugar to make it palatable that she may as well just have hot cocoa instead. Still, coffee would warm her up. But that would mean she’d have to go and admit to her dad that he was right and she was wrong, and she just couldn’t let herself do that. Her mom and teachers said she was tenacious and determined, but her dad and paternal grandparents called it the Stabler stubbornness gene. Only Lizzie seemed to not have inherited it.
She looked over at her father and Lizzie, who was still chattering away animatedly, and her dad was listening intently to her.
« Poor Mo, she looks so cold. And sad, Daddy » Lizzie declared
« She sure does, honey. Let’s give her a minute and see if she comes over on her own, OK? », Elliot replied, knowing full well that the chances of his eldest doing so were close to zero.
He began rooting in the big tote bag by his feet, until he found what he needed. Brandishing the blanket, he shook it out and made his way over to his visibly frozen teenager. He silently and gently draped the thick blanket over her shoulders. She immediately wrapped it around herself tightly , getting it to cover her head too, for extra protection from the chilly temperatures.
Elliot made his way back to his other daughter, biding his time until she came to sit with them.
He did not have to wait long, as Maureen gathered her belongings together, picking up her book from where it had fallen on the ground for the millionth time.
She came to sit next to him soon after, leaning into his side, immediately comforted by the familiar scent of his aftershave and his warmth.
Elliot placed his arm around her, pulling her closer. Her head came to rest on his shoulder, and he tugged back the blanket slightly to be able to deposit a kiss to the top of her forehead, close to her hairline.
Wordlessly, he handed her the flask, the heat emanating from it warming her hands. She braced herself before taking a sip of the strong, black beverage. Her face screwed up as the liquid passed her lips, but the warmth it spread through her body was most welcome.
« Thank you, Daddy » she said quietly, feeling not only safe, but a lot less chilly than she had been.