Semper Fi

In the Quiet Chaos

The following weeks after Charlotte's birth were hectic at the Stabler household. Due to the C-section, Olivia couldn't climb stairs so she, Elliot and the baby settled in the guest bedroom downstairs. She felt guilty having Noah upstairs away from her even though either Lizzie or Lucy was sleeping up there. They tried to have Noah in the room with them for a few days but he kept waking up cranky when the baby would cry so that plan was quickly halted.

Eli wanted to spend more time at their house because he wanted to be near his baby sister and although she suspected that Kathy had a problem with it, nothing was ever said. He spent one full week there before it was Elliot who decided they needed to go back to the regular schedule. He said that it was for Eli's sake that his routine shouldn't be broken up but she suspected that he did it for Kathy's sake as well.

All of the kids were a huge help, including Eli who took his job of being a big brother very seriously. He comforted Noah when he would cry for Olivia's attention when she was nursing Charlotte and did a great job distracting him with toys or games. He also helped with throwing away diapers and grabbing anything Olivia or Elliot needed when they were tending to the baby.

They had a little trouble finding their groove in the beginning. Olivia had never had a newborn before and although she was used to sleeping light because of the nature of her job, she found herself frustrated at not being able to move around as much as she would like because she was still sore from her surgery. When Charlotte would cry in the middle of the night because she was hungry, Elliot would jump to get her from the bassinet and bring her to Olivia to nurse. It was a big help to her but she also knew that it was his way of getting another chance to hold her.

As she suspected, Charlotte was a total daddy's girl. She caught Elliot on several occasions watching her while she slept and even though she warned him not to get her too spoiled, there were very few times that Charlotte was awake that she was not in her daddy's arms.

Their home had become a revolving door of people, especially the kids. Maureen was in the last leg of her pregnancy and since Jason worked long hours she was going back and forth between Olivia and Elliot's and Kathy's house. Lizzie's last semester had started and although she had an apartment she was at their house more often than not helping with the kids and just hanging out. Everyone had come by to visit including the squad, Alex, Casey and Melinda. When they had to take Charlotte for her first doctor's visit, Munch offered to stay home with Noah and Eli. She and Elliot were both in tears laughing when they returned home two hours later after grabbing lunch to see that he had both boys on the couch next to him talking about the importance of privacy and that big brother was always watching. They arrived just in time to stop him from lecturing them on why monogamy was a farce and the disaster of marriage although he had been married four times.

Olivia was starting to be more mobile, in less pain and required less assistance than she did in the beginning. In the quiet chaos of their household, she was beginning to feel like everything was getting back to normal. Their house was still frequented by visitors but they had gotten into a routine. Her time with the baby was mostly spent in the mornings. Once they relocated back to their master bedroom upstairs, she would get up bright and early before everyone was awake and nurse. She reveled in the feeling of breastfeeding and the connection it made her feel to her child. Charlotte would hold on tightly to her finger while she nursed and would watch her mom with those same curious blue eyes as her dad until she started to doze off again towards the end of her feeding. That's when Olivia would examine almost every part of her. Touching her little fingers and toes, rubbing her hands gently through her mop of brown hair and caressing her cheek with her index finger. She was utterly amazed by the tiny human being that she and Elliot created. Elliot would wake up and eventually catch her in the act and could do nothing but smile and laugh to himself.