All In the Family (A Law And Order SVU fanfiction)

Chapter 12 Change

"That's right," Linda said, giving Adam a genuine smile. "Gabriel. I'll finally get to meet little Gabriel."

Linda paused for a second to look at Adam, really look at him. Suddenly, she went right over to him and hugged him tight. He didn't hug her back really, but he didn't move away, either. It was a start.

When Linda finally released Adam from her arms, he seemed a little less uncomfortable. Olivia could tell it would be a while before he really trusted her again. She could tell eventually he would. It would take time, but he would.

"Alright, so do you want to get going?" Adam asked.

Linda smiled, and for the first time Olivia could see it in her eyes as well. There was no mistaking that happiness.. "Yeah. Let's go."

Right before they left, Linda went off to the side where Olivia and Nick were standing. Her eyes were wild with excitement and nervous energy.

"Thank you, detectives," she said quietly. "Thank you for everything. You've given me my family back. And that means everything. "

"We're just happy you're doing better," Olivia said, giving Linda a warm smile.

"Really, I mean it," Linda continued. "I know I've hurt a lot of people and made a thousand mistakes, but...I can never thank you enough. You've given me a second chance with my son. I think that's all I ever really wanted."

Olivia gave her another sincere smile. "You did the right thing, Linda," Olivia said. "You deserve this. This is your chance to start over. I know you'll do the right thing this time around."

"I will," she said. "You have my word."

"Take care of yourself," Olivia said as Linda and Adam headed out the door.

"You too, Olivia," Linda replied. "Thanks again, for everything."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

As Rollins was about to leave for the night, she decided to check if Nick was still there. Sure enough, he was sitting at his desk, looking over some paper work.

"Nice job on the case, Amaro," Rollins said with a flirty smile. " Olivia told me you basically solved it yourself."

Nick laughed. "I didn't have half as much to do with it as Elliot and Olivia. She gives me too much credit," he said. "They make a good team."

"They do, don't they?" Amanda said thoughtfully.

Nick just smiled. "I think we make a pretty good team too, you know, in my humble opinon..."

"Fin's my partner, Amaro, in case you've forgotten..."

"Oh, okay, I see how it is," Amaro said playfully.

Just then, Amanda heard a phone ringing.

Nick took his cellphone out of his pocket and sighed.

"I should probably take this," he said. "It's Maria."

Rollins nodded and backed away to give him some privacy. She tried not too listen in on his conversation, but it was too tempting to ignore.

"Hello, Maria...yes, I do have plans, as a matter of fact...really? Thisweekend?....you could've at least given me a heads up, you know...no, it's not that...of course I'd love to see her, it's just...okay, alright. Fine...Yeah, you're welcome. I'll talk to you later."

Amanda heard the phone snap shut and looked over to see Amaro scowling.

"Everything okay?" Amanda asked.