Waking up the next morning, Elliot sighed heavily. His mind was going a mile a minute and he wished it would stop. Stepping into the shower, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes as the water poured over him. He couldn't stop thinking about the night before. It was running on a continuous loop in his head. Over and over again.
Once he was done showering, he dried off and got dressed. Walking into the kitchen, he made himself some eggs and toast as the events of last night ran through his mind once again.
Flashback...
"Sheila Porter?" Elliot asked.
"Who are you?" The woman responded, taking a seat in the chair.
"I'm Elliot Stabler. You don't know me but I know you and I have some questions." He replied, crossing his arms.
"About what?" Sheila asked.
"Noah Porter-Benson. You kidnapped him two years ago." Elliot stated matter-of-factly.
Sheila flinched as she heard his name. "His name is Noah Porter." She snarled.
Elliot furrowed his brow. "Olivia Benson adopted him. His name is Noah Porter-Benson. She's his mother." He replied, his brow furrowing.
"Why? 'Cause a judge signed a piece of paper? That doesn't make her his mother." Sheila seethed through gritted teeth.
"Actually, it does." Elliot responded, trying to stay calm.
"He's MY blood. He's MY family." Sheila spat, clenching her fists, remembering having a similar conversation with Olivia two years ago.
"Just because he's your blood doesn't mean Olivia isn't his family. She's been raising him since he was a baby. She's his mother." Elliot stated, starting to walk around the small jail cell. Feeling like he was trying to explain something to a child.
Sheila sighed, dropping it. "What about him?" She asked.
"Why did you kidnap him?" Elliot asked, still pacing back and forth.
"That boy is MY grandchild. He doesn't belong with that woman. He belonged with me." Sheila spat harshly.
"Why doesn't he belong with her? No living family claimed him. She stepped up." Elliot countered back, trying not to strangle this woman.
"I didn't even know he existed! If I had, I would've taken him in! Ellie and I hadn't spoken in years so I had no idea where she was, let alone the fact that she was pregnant. If I did, I would've helped her! That child belongs with his family!" Sheila yelled. One of the guards stepped up to restrain her but Elliot waved him off.
"Noah IS with family. Even if she didn't give birth to him, Olivia is his mother now. I know that's hard for you to hear but that doesn't give you the right to kidnap him!" Elliot shouted, losing his temper slightly.
"You love her." Sheila said softly, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the chair.
Elliot took a breath, not answering her. "What I don't love is four year olds being kidnapped." He seethed.
Sheila scoffed. "She's lucky I'm in here." She muttered, shaking her head.
Elliot raised an eyebrow, hearing her. Was this woman really that far gone? He placed his hands on the table, leaning over to get close to her face. "No, you're lucky you're in here. If you ever so much as make another threat against her or Noah, if you so much as dream about him, I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life in solitary confinement." He threatened.
"You can't do that!" She yelled, shooting up out of the chair as Elliot walked toward the cell door.
"Watch me." Elliot replied, smirking evilly as he waited for the guard to open the door and he walked out as Sheila watched him, her eyes wide.
End of flashback...
Getting into his SUV, he sighed again. How could someone become that psychotic? To steal a child from the only stable home he knows? Then again, he understood it in a way. He would do anything for his children. He would walk through fire for them. Crawl over broken glass for them. Whatever it took to make sure they were safe.
His thoughts were interrupted when his cell phone rang. "Captain Stabler." He answered, stopping at a red light. "Hey, Marshall. Actually, I'm not coming in today. I was just gonna call you. Yeah, I'm taking a personal day so you're in charge. Thanks, bye." He said, hanging up.
After about twenty minutes, he arrived at the hospital and went to the gift shop. He knew Kathleen was all grown up now but she was still his baby girl; she always would be, as well as Maureen and Elizabeth. He bought her a stuffed teddy bear and a bouquet of flowers, then made his way to her hospital room.
Once he made it to her room, he noticed that she was sleeping so he opened the door quietly and sat the flowers and teddy bear on the tray next to the bed. Then, he took out his cell phone and sent Olivia a text as he came up with an idea.
Hey, Liv. I'm gonna be spending the day with Kathleen so I won't see you for lunch but maybe for dinner? I'll be taking Kathleen to my mom's and the other kids will be there, too. You're more than welcome to join. Don't worry if you come late, we'll eat whenever you get to the house. Have a good day. I love you. -El
After sending the text, he put his phone back in his pocket and picked up the newspaper that was sitting on the edge of the tray. Just as he got engrossed in a story, his phone buzzed, signaling that he received a text message. He smiled as he read it.
Can't wait to see you and everyone later. I love you, too. -Liv
He put his phone back down and finished reading the article. A few minutes later, Kathleen started to stir in the bed, slowly waking up. When she opened her eyes, she smiled when she saw her father. "Hey, Dad." She whispered.
"Hey, honey." Elliot whispered back, gently squeezing her hand and smiling softly. "How do you feel?" He asked.
"A lot better, actually." Kathleen said, relieved. "I wanna go home."
"Okay, well, let's call the doctor in here and see what we can do about that." Elliot replied with a smile as he picked up the call light on Kathleen's bed and handed it to her so she could press the button.
A few moments later, a nurse walked in with a soft smile on her face. "Everything okay?" She asked.
"I was just wondering if we could get my doctor in here to see if I could go home." Kathleen said, smiling lightly.
"No problem, I'll page him right now." The nurse said, smiling back and leaving the room to go back to the nurse's station to page the doctor.
Kathleen relaxed back into the bed and was about to ask her father something when she saw what he had gotten for her. "What is that?" She asked, laughing softly.
Elliot looked at the items and smiled as he handed her the teddy bear. "I just thought it would make you smile." He replied, shrugging.
"Dad, I'm gonna be thirty-two this year." She said with a smile, not trying to hurt his feelings.
"I know but you're still my baby girl." Elliot replied, smiling and gently brushing her hair back.
Kathleen rolled her eyes playfully. "I love you, Daddy." She said softly.
"I love you, too, honey." Elliot responded, leaning over to kiss her forehead gently.
A few minutes later, Kathleen's doctor and the same nurse from before came into the room. "How are we doing in here?" The doctor asked, smiling gently.
"Good. Ready to go home." Kathleen replied, chuckling softly.
"Let me just check you over and then get your discharge papers, okay?" The doctor asked, smiling. Once Kathleen nodded, the nurse checked her vitals and blood pressure and the doctor did another vision test because of her black eyes. "Everything is looking okay, considering what you've been through. Just take it easy for a while and if you start bleeding again, come back. Also, the swelling in your eyes should go down. Every once in a while, you could put a cold compress or ice on them; that should help the swelling go down. I'm going to write you a prescription for Hydrocodone that you'll take if you have any pain. Just a warning, it can be highly addictive, so only take it if you absolutely need it."
"Okay." Kathleen said, taking the discharge papers and the prescription slip from the doctor. She signed the discharge papers and handed them to the nurse.
"Don't take this the wrong way but I hope I don't see you back here anytime soon. Good luck." The doctor said, smiling lightly.
"Thanks, Doc." Elliot said, standing up and shaking the doctor's hand.
"No problem." The doctor replied, returning Elliot's handshake.
"I'm gonna go change." Kathleen said softly to Elliot and he nodded as she grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom.
A few minutes later, she came back out and Elliot helped her sit in the wheelchair that the nurse brought in. "Ready?" Elliot asked softly.
"Ready." Kathleen said as she held the teddy bear and flowers in her arms and the nurse wheeled her out to the front of the hospital with Elliot walking next to Kathleen.
"I'm gonna pull up front here so you don't have to walk the whole way. I'll be right back." Elliot said as he kissed her head gently and went to find his car. A few minutes later, Elliot pulled up to the front of the hospital and the nurse and Elliot helped Kathleen into the passenger seat, then the nurse went back inside as Elliot drove away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Cap?" Amanda called, standing in Olivia's office doorway.
"What's up, Rollins?" Olivia asked, looking up from her computer and taking her glasses off.
"A call just came in about a dead body on Eighty-Sixth and Lexington Street, want me to take Kat?" Amanda asked.
"Yeah, go." Olivia ordered, watching Amanda go back to her desk and grab her jacket as Kat followed her. After they left, she went back to writing more emails and finishing more paperwork. It seemed to never end these days.
Fin walked in a few minutes later, tapping lightly on her door. "Cap, you got a minute? There's someone here who asked to see you." He said.
"Sure." Olivia replied, wondering who it was. After a few seconds, an older man walked in and Olivia's eyes widened. "Cap?" She asked, getting out of the chair and walking over to him, smiling brightly as she hugged him.
"Hey, Liv." Cragen greeted, smiling and returning her hug. "It's not Captain anymore, just Don, got it?" He asked teasingly, pulling back from the hug.
"Understood." Olivia replied, laughing softly. "What brings you here? Shouldn't you be on a cruise or something with Eileen, traveling the world?" She asked, sitting on the edge of her desk.
Cragen smiled softly. "We did all of that, actually. Time flies by way too quickly these days." He said, chuckling softly. "I wanted to come by and see how everyone's doing. Especially you."
"Why me, especially?" Olivia asked, confused.
Cragen sighed gently. "Liv, I know Elliot's back." He paused, watching Olivia's eyes widen slightly. "After everything happened with Lewis, he, uh, he called me. He didn't want anyone to know that he called. He was really worried about you." He said softly, sadly.
"Why didn't he call me, then, if he was so worried about me?" Olivia asked, getting slightly angry.
"He thought too much time had passed to reach out and he didn't want to remind you of how he left things with you when you were dealing with something traumatic." Cragen explained. "He wanted to check on you but I said no. You needed time to heal and I knew seeing him would be putting too much on your plate."
Olivia was shocked. She didn't know if Elliot even knew she was kidnapped before she told him about it but how could he not know when it was all over the news? She had no idea he had called Cragen and was slightly hurt when he didn't just call her directly. She sighed, taking a breath. "I see." She whispered, not wanting to explode in front of her former captain.
"He could've and should've handled things better but...he just didn't know how to." Cragen tried to explain, shrugging slightly.
"I know. Doesn't mean it still didn't hurt." Olivia whispered, looking away from Cragen.
"I'm sorry, Liv." Cragen whispered, gently resting his hand on top of hers on the desk. There was a pause before he spoke again, smiling softly. "Ya know, I knew from the beginning that you two would catch feelings for each other. We could all see it. We just had to wait for you guys to realize it. That's why I was so hard on you at times because even if you couldn't help it, you put each other first."
"Who's 'we'?" Olivia asked, shocked that everyone knew she and Elliot were in love when they, themselves, didn't know. Or, at least, couldn't and wouldn't admit it.
"Everyone." Cragen confessed, chuckling softly. "Me, Fin, Munch, Cabot, Novak, even Tucker. We all had bets going. When he and Kathy would get divorced, when you guys would say "I love you,' when you would get married, have kids."
Olivia laughed in shock. "Wow, that kind of makes us sound bad." She cringed slightly, a little embarrassed. "Tucker was in on it, too?" She asked quietly, shocked.
"Yeah, even him. That's why I was shocked to learn you two dated." Cragen said, treading lightly. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable.
"Elliot wasn't there to stop me, so..." she replied quietly, trailing off and shrugging. "Wait, how did you know?" She asked.
Cragen smirked lightly. "I may be retired but I still have friends in the force. I know things."
"Wow." Olivia said, chuckling softly, still in shock. "I don't know what to say."
"Liv," Cragen sighed, turning serious. "The only thing that matters is your happiness. You deserve to be happy after everything you've been through." He said, smiling softly.
"Cap, I...I'm in shock, here. I never thought you would care about something like that." Olivia admitted softly.
"Liv, I've known you for over twenty years. I like to think I know some things about you and one of those things is that you've always loved Elliot. You couldn't help it. The heart wants what the heart wants. I know you respected his marriage and that's a hard thing to do for some people. I'm proud of you for that." Cragen said softly.
"Well, I'm not sure if this will shock you or not but after he came back, we talked everything over and...we're kind of...together now." Olivia confessed, starting to blush, smiling lightly. "I couldn't be mad at him for leaving after he explained why. I wished he had said goodbye but he had some personal issues going on. I can't be mad about that." She shrugged.
Cragen smiled, nodding slightly. "Fin owes me two hundred bucks." He said, his voice cracking slightly as he chuckled.
"What?" Olivia asked, confused.
"We made a bet that you guys would get together when Elliot came back. Fin said it would take a year, I said it would take less than a month. I won." Cragen mused, smiling proudly.
Olivia scoffed, chuckling again. "Wow, Cap, you're making me sound kinda bad over here."
Cragen softened. "Liv, it doesn't make you sound bad. It sounds like you finally got what you wanted and you're happy. You're happy, right?" He asked.
Olivia smiled softly. "Very happy." She whispered, slight tears forming in her eyes.
"I'm happy for you, Liv. You know I've always thought of you as a daughter and to know that you finally got the family you've always wanted, makes me feel like...a proud father." He replied, his voice cracking slightly at the end.
"Damn it, Dad, don't make me cry." Olivia joked, gently wiping under her eyes.
"'Dad'?" Cragen asked, his eyes widening slightly and his heart filling up with warmth and love.
"Come on, you know you loved us like we were your kids. It's only fitting that I get to call you 'Dad'." Olivia teased, smiling.
"Does that mean I get to meet my grandson?" Cragen asked, smirking slightly.
Olivia's eyes widened. "How did you know..." she started to ask but Cragen cut her off before she could finish.
"I saw him on the news when you busted that sex trafficking ring and I just...knew you would take him in. I was right." Cragen said, smiling softly.
Olivia shook her head, smiling back. "Like you said, you know me." She replied softly. "I'll tell Fin he's in charge so we can have the day with Noah, how 'bout that?" She asked, standing up.
"Sounds good to me." Cragen said, smiling and getting up from the chair.
They both walked out of the office, Olivia closing the door behind them, then Cragen shouted to Fin. "Hey, Sarge, you owe me two hundred bucks!"
Fin'a head shot up in the air. "Cap, what're you talking...wait, what?!" He asked, his eyes widening in realization.
"You heard me." Cragen quipped, smirking as Olivia stood next to him, smiling softly and chuckling, trying not to blush. She still couldn't believe her closest coworkers were betting on her and Elliot's relationship. She was glad, however, that Fin and Cragen weren't giving away what they were talking about. She didn't need the entire squad knowing her personal business since no one knew about them.
"Are you serious?" Fin asked, shocked. Then, he turned to Olivia who nodded with a smile and he ran up to her, wrapping her in his arms in a big hug. "I'm happy for you, Baby-Girl." He whispered, using his nickname for her from when they first started working together. He hadn't used it in years.
"Hey, it's 'Captain,' Sergeant Tutuola." Olivia scolded jokingly. They smiled at each other, knowing Olivia wasn't mad. Then, Olivia laughed as Fin frowned and handed Cragen two hundred dollars.
"Thanks, Fin." Cragen said smugly.
Olivia smiled. "I'm gonna be taking the day off to be with Cap and Noah but I'll be back tomorrow. You're in charge. Keep everyone in line, got it?" She joked, smirking.
"Got it, Cap." Fin said, smiling softly as he gave her a mock salute.
"Let's get out of here." Olivia said, smiling and walking out of the station with Cragen following behind her.
"All right, everyone, get back to work!" Fin ordered, watching everyone bow their heads back down to their desks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Olivia and Cragen drove to Noah's daycare and smiled when they saw him playing with the other kids.
"Wow, he's so big." Cragen commented softly, smiling, in awe of the boy.
"I know, I still can't believe it." Olivia said, smiling back. "Noah, come here, honey." She called to Noah.
Noah turned around, hearing his mother's voice, and smiled as he ran to her. "Hi, Mama." He greeted, hugging her.
"Did you have fun today?" She asked, hugging him back, still smiling.
"Yeah, I made some more friends, too." Noah said excitedly.
"That's great, honey!" Olivia beamed, smiling brightly.
Noah smiled, then turned to Cragen. "Who's he?" He whispered, turning back to Olivia.
Olivia smiled. "Noah, this is...my father, Don. Your grandpa. Can you say 'hi, Grandpa'?" She asked, picking Noah up and setting him on her hip as Cragen smiled with tears in his eyes. His heart swelled when Olivia said he was her father and Noah's grandfather.
"Hi, Grandpa." Noah greeted, smiling shyly and waving at Cragen.
"Hi, Noah. It's nice to meet you." Cragen said, smiling and trying not to let his voice crack as he waved back at the boy.
"You, too!" Noah said, smiling.
Olivia smiled, watching the exchange. "So, I was thinking, how about we grab some lunch and then go to the park. Sound good?" She asked, looking between Cragen and Noah.
"Sounds good to me." Cragen replied, smiling as Noah nodded excitedly.
"Let's go." Olivia said with a smile as they got into her car and headed to a restaurant across the street from Central Park.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After lunch, the trio made their way to the park, smiles never leaving their faces. Cragen couldn't get enough of the little boy. He never got the chance to have children of his own so he never got the chance to have grandchildren, either. He felt blessed that Olivia was giving him that opportunity, now.
"So, how's Eileen?" Olivia asked as they watched Noah play with the other kids in the park.
Cragen smiled. "She's good. She started painting as a hobby and now she's thinking about opening a small gallery." He said proudly, smiling.
"Wow, that's great." Olivia replied, smiling back. "I'd love to see her paintings some time."
"Well, whenever you're not busy which I know is rare," Cragen paused to chuckle softly. "Feel free to come by and definitely bring Noah. Eileen would love to meet him."
Olivia smiled. "Of course. He'd love to meet his Grandma Eileen." She said softly.
Cragen smiled warmly. "Thank you for allowing Eileen and I into Noah's life. I couldn't be happier." He said, gently grabbing her hand.
"Of course." Olivia responded, smiling and squeezing his hand in return. "I'm pretty much all Noah has regarding family, except for Elliot. Noah's already fallen in love with him." She laughed softly for a moment then she continued. "He needs grandparents and I can't imagine anyone else who would be better than you." She whispered tearfully.
Cragen smiled softly and brought her into his arms for a hug that she returned as a tear ran down her cheek. "I've always loved you like a daughter." He whispered, repeating his words from earlier in her office.
"Love you, too, Dad." Olivia whispered with a smile, wiping her tears away.
"Hey, I want a hug, too!" Noah said, almost whining, as he approached the adults.
"Get in here, kid!" Cragen said with a smile as they joined in a group hug. They pulled back, laughing, as they tickled Noah.
"I can't breathe!" Noah squealed, giggling hysterically. Olivia and Cragen stopped tickling him as they laughed. "Mama, can Grandpa push me on the swings, please?" He asked excitedly.
"It's up to you." Olivia said to Cragen, smiling softly.
"I'd love to. C'mon, Noah." Cragen said, smiling and grabbing the boy's hand gently as they walked over toward the swings.
Olivia smiled as she watched them laughing and having a great time. Life couldn't get any better.
"Olivia?" She heard her name being called. She looked over and didn't recognize the preteen at first. "It's me, Eli." The boy said, moving closer to her.
Olivia's eyes widened. "Oh, my...I didn't even recognize you. Hey, Eli!" She said, smiling brightly, as he reached over and hugged her. "How are you?" She asked as he sat next to her on the bench.
"I'm good. Sixth grade is a little hard, but I'm getting through it." He laughed lightly.
"Yeah, sixth grade was hard for me, too, but you'll make it through. Don't worry." Olivia assured him, smiling. "What brings you here?" She asked.
"I was gonna have a sleepover with my friend, Caleb and we decided to come here first 'cause it's really nice out." Eli explained, gesturing to his friend and his friend's mother who waved, smiling politely. Olivia smiled and waved back. "How are you? I heard you and my dad were working together again."
Olivia smiled softly. "We're not in the same unit but, yes, we worked together on a case a couple weeks ago." She explained, smiling lightly.
"Ya know, we all missed you a lot. I'm really glad you're back in each other's lives." Eli said, smiling softly.
"Me, too." Olivia replied, smiling back.
"Who are you?" Noah asked as he and Cragen walked back over to the bench.
"Noah, this is Elliot's youngest son, Eli. Can you say 'hi'?" Olivia asked, gesturing to Eli.
"Hi." Noah greeted, waving and smiling lightly.
"Hi, Noah. Nice to meet you." Eli greeted back, waving back and smiling.
"Wanna go play?" Noah asked innocently, gesturing to the playground.
Olivia bit her lip nervously. She didn't think Eli would want to play with an almost-six-year-old since he was twelve now.
"Sure." Eli said, smiling. "Is that okay?" He asked, turning to Olivia.
"Of course." Olivia replied, smiling. She watched them walk onto the playground, then she turned to Cragen. "You okay?" She asked, watching him trying to catch his breath.
"Grandpa got tired." He replied, his breathing finally steadying as Olivia laughed softly.
"Thank you for playing with him." Olivia said, smiling.
"I have to play with my grandson as much as I can before I get too old." Cragen replied, smiling softly.
"Well, I appreciate it and I think Noah does, too. He loves you." Olivia commented, smiling and watching Noah and Eli play.
"I can't believe that was Eli." Cragen said, shaking his head slightly. "How old is he now?" He asked.
"About twelve, I would say. He's gotten so big. I can't believe it." She replied, chuckling softly.
"Ya know, I can still remember the day he was born and you and Kathy were in that car accident." Cragen recalled in a soft tone. "Elliot was terrified that you, Kathy and Eli were hurt."
"That was the first time we hugged." Olivia whispered, remembering that day as well, all too clearly. "I could've sworn he whispered 'you're okay' as if he were trying to convince himself of it." She whispered.
"We were all worried. I'm really glad you guys were okay." Cragen said, smiling lightly.
"Me, too." Olivia replied, smiling back. Then, she checked her watch. "Oh, wow, I can't believe it's almost four o'clock." She said, her eyes widening slightly.
"Need to be somewhere?" Cragen asked, almost sadly. He didn't want his time with Olivia and Noah to end.
"Actually, Elliot invited Noah and I to his mom's beach house for dinner tonight. You can come, if you want. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. You can bring Eileen, too. She can meet her grandson." Olivia offered, smiling.
Cragen hesitated for a moment before agreeing. "Sure, that sounds nice." He replied, taking out his cell phone to call his wife.
"Can you watch the kids for a minute? I'll be right back." Olivia said, gesturing to the boys while she walked over to Caleb and his mother. Cragen nodded as Eileen answered his call. Once Olivia reached Caleb and his mother, she smiled politely. "Hi, I'm friends with Eli's dad and I was wondering if I could take him with me. I'm gonna bring him to his grandma's house." She explained.
"What's your name?" The woman asked skeptically.
"Olivia Benson. You don't have to worry. I'm a police officer. He's safe with me." She replied, showing the woman her badge and then she took out her phone and showed the woman some pictures of herself and Elliot together so the woman wouldn't be worried.
"Oh, okay." The woman said, smiling. "No problem. Have a good night."
"Thanks. You, too." Olivia responded, smiling back as she walked toward the playground where the boys were. "Hey, guys! So, there's been a slight change of plans. Eli, we're gonna go to your grandma's house and see your dad and your brother and sisters. How does that sound?" She asked, smiling.
"Awesome!" Eli said excitedly. "Are you guys coming, too?" He asked, looking between Olivia and Noah.
"Yes, we are." Olivia replied, smiling. She laughed as the boys high-fived each other, then they all walked back over to Cragen. "Ready?" She asked her surrogate father.
"Yep. Eileen said she'll meet us there. I gave her the address. I hope Elliot and his mother won't mind." Cragen said tentatively.
"I'll call him and let him know." Olivia responded, taking out her phone and pressing the first speed dial, Elliot. "Hey." She said, smiling as he answered almost immediately. "I miss you, too." She whispered so the boys wouldn't hear her. "We're about to leave but I was wondering if I could bring some people? You know them so, don't worry." She said, hoping he would agree. "Okay, great." She replied, smiling. "I'll see you soon. I love you, too." She hung up and walked back over to the boys, smiling brightly. "Okay, boys, let's go!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About an hour later, Olivia arrived at Bernie's beach house. It was the perfect day to be outside and she smiled as she saw Elliot's kids on the beach, laughing and acting like they were children again. She took Noah out of the car and rested him on her hip as Cragen and Eileen got out and Cragen rested his hand on Eli's shoulder so he wouldn't wander. He was twelve and with his family but Cragen didn't care. He truly was a father and grandfather at heart.
"Hey, look who's here!" Elliot shouted, smiling as he watched his girlfriend and her son walk into the house. He took Noah out of her arms gently and kissed her sweetly.
"Ew, Elliot, that's gross!" Noah said and they laughed as Elliot tickled him and the boy started giggling.
"I missed you, too, buddy." Elliot said with a smile as he set the boy on the ground and hugged Olivia. "Hi, gorgeous." He whispered sweetly.
"Hey, El." She whispered back, smiling. "Wanna see who I brought with me?" She asked teasingly.
"Lead the way." Elliot said with a smile. They walked outside and Elliot's eyes widened when he saw his former captain and Eileen. "Cap?" He asked softly.
"Hey, Elliot. Long time, no see, huh?" He asked. It was like they moved in slow motion. They walked toward each other and embraced in a tight hug. After a minute, they pulled away, then Cragen gestured to Eileen. "Elliot, I'd like you to meet my wife, Eileen Cragen. Eileen, this is one of my former detectives, Elliot Stabler." He said, making introductions.
"Very nice to meet you, Eileen." Elliot greeted, smiling and shaking the woman's hand.
"It's very nice to meet you, too, Elliot. Don talks a lot about you and Olivia." Eileen replied, smiling back.
"Oh, does he?" Elliot and Olivia asked in unison, smirking, as Cragen cleared his throat.
"Well, of course I'm gonna talk about my kids." Cragen said nonchalantly, shrugging it off.
"Your kids?" Elliot asked, his eyes widening slightly.
"I've always thought of you guys as my kids." Cragen said, smiling lightly.
Before Elliot could respond, they heard shouting coming from the beach. They all snapped their heads toward the commotion and saw the kids hugging Eli and running around, chasing each other.
"How...?" Elliot started to ask but Olivia cut him off.
"We saw him at the park with a friend so I brought him, too." Olivia said nonchalantly, smiling.
"I love you." Elliot whispered, wrapping his arm around her waist.
"I love you, too." Olivia responded, smiling. Then, they remembered that Cragen was next to them. They both looked at him sheepishly.
Cragen rolled his eyes playfully. "Go ahead and kiss her already. It's not like I haven't known you've been in love for two decades." He teased.
"Seriously?" Elliot asked, shocked.
"Yeah, we had a long talk about that today. He won two hundred bucks from Fin because they bet on how long it would take for us to get together." Olivia informed Elliot, rolling her eyes playfully. They laughed as they kissed softly, relieved that they could do that freely now.
"Don!" Eileen chided, playfully hitting him in the arm.
"What?" Cragen asked innocently. "We all knew it would happen, why not benefit from it?" He said, smirking and shrugging lightly.
"Wow. Nice going, Cap." Elliot said, laughing.
"What can I say? I know my daughter." Cragen replied, gently hugging Olivia as she smiled and hugged him back.
"Olivia?" They heard from behind them.
Olivia smiled as she turned around. "Hi, Mrs. Stabler." She greeted, hugging Elliot's mother. "How are you?" She asked.
"Olivia, please, call me Bernie. I haven't been "Mrs." anything for a long time." Bernie said, smiling lightly. "I'm doing well. I have my son back and my grandkids and now you. I couldn't be happier." She beamed, smiling lightly.
"I'm glad to hear it." Olivia replied, smiling back. Then she looked back at Cragen and Eileen. "Oh, I'm sorry. Bernie, this is our former boss, Don Cragen and his wife, Eileen."
As they exchanged pleasantries, Elliot and Olivia heard their names being called from further down the beach. They smiled and walked down to where the kids were, along with Maureen's husband, Luke, and their son, Tyler. "Hey, guys!" Olivia greeted, smiling and hugging each Stabler child.
"Hey, Liv!" They all said as they smiled, then went back to helping Eli, Tyler and Noah build a sandcastle.
"Liv?" Kathleen called, walking up to the brunette.
"Hey, Katie. How are you?" Olivia asked as they started walking down the beach. Elliot watched them go as he helped the rest of the kids with the sandcastle.
"I'm okay. I really needed this time with everyone after...what happened. I know it's gonna take some time but...I think I'm slowly getting there." Kathleen said softly.
Olivia smiled, relieved. "I'm really glad to hear that, honey."
"Was that Captain Cragen with you?" Kathleen asked.
"Yeah, and his wife, Eileen. They wanted to see you guys since it's been a while." Olivia replied, smiling softly.
"Yeah, it has been a while." She said softly. "Liv, I need to tell you something. I've been meaning to say it for a long time."
"What is it, sweetie? You can tell me anything, you know that." Olivia replied softly.
Kathleen took a breath and let it out slowly. "I love you. I've always felt like you've been a second mom to us and I can't thank you enough for always being there when you didn't have to be." She said as she stopped walking.
Olivia stopped walking as well, in shock. "I-I love you, too, Katie. I've always loved you guys." She responded softly as they hugged.
"Hey, Captain Benson!" Cragen teased, shouting from the other side of the beach. "It's time for dinner!"
"I think we'd better get in there before they eat all the food." Olivia quipped, laughing softly and Kathleen laughed with her as they made their way toward the house.
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Everyone ate the hamburgers and hot dogs happily and made light conversation. They couldn't ask for a more perfect day with family. After dinner, Elliot and Olivia told Bernie they would wash the dishes and after some playful arguing, Bernie joined Cragen and Eileen on the front porch as they watched the kids play in the water.
"Liv?" Elliot asked as they finished washing the dishes.
"Yeah?" She replied, smiling lightly.
"Thank you for bringing Eli with you. And, of course, Cragen and Eileen. It's been a little while since I've seen Eli." He whispered sadly.
"What do you mean?" Olivia asked, confused.
"When Kathy and I got divorced, she was awarded sole custody since I was still drinking at the time and was still looking for an apartment. I was only allowed to see him on the weekends." Elliot explained, his eyes filling with tears.
"Oh, my God. El, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I'm sorry if I overstepped, I don't want to get you in trouble with the courts." She rambled slightly, her eyes widening.
"It's okay. Kathy and I agreed that I could see him one day a week aside from the weekends once I found my own place. I'll explain it to her and say you didn't know. It'll be okay. No worries." He said, smiling softly.
"When I first saw him in the park, I didn't even recognize him." She laughed softly. "He's gotten so big."
"Yeah, he has." Elliot agreed, smiling as they watched the kids play on the beach.
Olivia smiled back as she rested her head on his shoulder, taking in the moment and cherishing it.
"I love you." Elliot said softly with a smile, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"You're the third person who's said that to me today." Olivia replied, smiling and wrapping her arms around his neck as she looked up at him.
"Third? Who were the other two?" Elliot asked, confused.
Olivia smiled softly. "First, it was Cragen who said he's always loved me like a daughter and then it was Kathleen right before dinner. She said she's always loved me like I was her second mom." She whispered, tears building in her eyes.
Elliot smiled warmly. "You are loved by many, Olivia Benson." He whispered as he kissed her softly.
Olivia returned the kiss as they swayed back and forth slowly. After a few minutes, they pulled back from the kiss and joined everyone outside. Olivia took in a deep breath as her eyes closed and then exhaled slowly as she opened her eyes again. She couldn't be happier and she truly felt loved.
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After a few more hours of playing on the beach, everyone decided to head home since it was getting late. Olivia offered to drive Cragen and Eileen home but Cragen politely refused, saying they would catch a cab. The Stabler's were all pretty tired from running around on the beach so after saying goodbye to everyone, they all went home and went straight to bed.
Elliot drove Olivia and Noah home and Elliot put Noah to bed, saying "I love you" before Noah fell asleep. After he tucked the boy in, Elliot went back into the living room and joined Olivia on the couch.
"Today was really fun." Olivia commented, smiling as Elliot cuddled her into his side.
"Yeah, it was. Thanks again for coming over and bringing Eli, Cragen, and Eileen. She was really nice. I'm happy for him." Elliot replied, smiling back.
"Me, too. He deserves to be happy." Olivia said, snuggling into him.
"You do, too, ya know." Elliot spoke softly.
"What?" Olivia asked, looking up at him.
"You deserve to be happy." He repeated, looking into her eyes. God, he loved her eyes.
"I am happy, El. For the first time in a long time, I'm happy." She whispered, leaning up to kiss him softly.
"Good." Elliot said, smiling and kissing her again. He looked at the clock and sighed. It was almost eleven and he and Olivia both had to work tomorrow. "I should go." He whispered, slowly getting off of the couch.
"Okay." Olivia responded softly, following him to her front door. She opened it and they stood in the doorway, kissing softly for a moment. Not wanting to part ways.
"I love you." Elliot whispered, brushing her hair back lightly, smiling.
"I love you, too." She whispered back, smiling. "Goodnight, El."
"Goodnight, baby." Elliot whispered, kissing her on the nose before walking away slowly.
Olivia watched him walk away, then she closed the door and locked it. Then, she made her way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. As she changed into her pajamas, the events of the day played in her mind, making her smile. She felt so happy to see Cragen again after such a long time and her talk with Kathleen eased her mind, knowing that the blonde was feeling better after her ordeal. She just hoped Kathleen would be able to face her rapist in court when the case went to trial.
After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she got settled into bed and closed her eyes, sleep overtaking her pretty quickly.
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A few short hours later, her phone started to ring and she grabbed it off of the nightstand. She looked at the caller I.D. and answered. "What's up, Fin?" She asked. "What?!" She almost shouted, shooting up to a sitting position in bed. "I'm gonna call Lucy and I'll be right there. Okay, bye." She said, trying not to let her voice crack. She changed into her work clothes then called Lucy, her nanny. She hoped the young woman would forgive her for calling her in the middle of the night.
After Lucy arrived, Olivia started talking fast. "I'm so sorry to call in the middle of the night but I have a work emergency. You know where everything is, I'll be back as soon as I can." She said, putting on her coat and scarf quickly.
"Olivia, are you okay?" Lucy asked, concerned.
"I'm fine." Olivia replied, even though it wasn't true. Lucy could tell something was wrong but decided to let it go. She watched Olivia leave and locked the door as she sat on the couch then laid down, going back to sleep.
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Arriving at the scene, Olivia couldn't believe her eyes. There was an ambulance waiting in the street as they brought out an unconscious woman on a stretcher with a sobbing blonde following behind them.
"Kathy, what happened?" Olivia asked, her eyes widening as she walked up to the woman.
"I've been checking on Katie every night since she was raped, just to ease my own mind that she was still there and breathing and when I went to check on her this time, she was really still and when I checked her pulse...it wasn't there so I called 9-1-1. Then, when I looked on the floor by the bed, I saw her pills scattered all over the floor. Please, Olivia, she can't die!" Kathy rambled as she sobbed, falling into Olivia's arms.
"It's gonna be okay, Kathy. They're gonna do everything they can to save her. Why don't you go with her, okay?" Olivia suggested, ushering Kathy into the ambulance.
"Liv!" She heard her name being yelled.
"Elliot." She whispered, her eyes widening. Knowing this was not going to be an easy conversation.
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Hi readers! I hope you enjoy this chapter! The end was really hard for me to write :( I haven't seen the new episode yet so this is just based on my dark and twisty thoughts (blame ComeSwim for that lol love you girl!) please leave me a review/comment if you want and I'll be back with another chapter soon! Love you guys!