"E!" Noah squealed when Elliot opened the door for his kids.
"Noah!" Eli said with equal enthusiasm as he hopped into the apartment. "Bring him over here," he instructed Elliot.
"Are you forgetting something?" Elliot asked, smirking with a raised eyebrow.
Eli put his hands on his hips while he thought for a moment before his eyes went wide and he ran to his Dad, wrapping his arms around his legs, "Sorry ... Hi Daddy, where's Livvie?"
Elliot hugged his son tight, "In the kitchen." He watched Eli run into the kitchen and hug Olivia, almost knocking her over.
"Livvie! I missed you," he smiled and she rubbed his back, running her fingers through his curly locks.
"I missed you too buddy. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your game last weekend," she said kissing his head.
"It's okay. We lost," he told her.
"I know," she replied sadly, "But I heard you scored a goal."
His smile brightened, "Yup, it was a tough one too."
She chuckled, "I'm sure it was but you're just too fast they can't stop you!"
He giggled and ran off but turned back around after only a few feet and ran back to her, stopping right in front of her. "Hi baby," he said gently tapping her belly before running into the living room.
She stood there ... completely awed. The love and affection her unborn child was already receiving was something she never experienced, it took her breath away. Her eyes welled with tears and her hand came to rest upon her child, hoping all of the love she felt her baby could also fee it. She took a deep breath and looked up to see Elliot standing near her, his eyes fixed on her. She gave him a small smile, comforting his concern.
The rest of the kids filed in and they all gathered in the living room.
"I ordered the pizza. Is there anything else you guys want?" Elliot asked coming into the living room.
"Can I have a beer?" Dickie asked, looking up from the carpet where he was playing with Eli and Noah.
"Are you going to stay here?" Olivia asked walking in with a bottle of wine and a case of beer.
Dickie shrugged, "Sure, I'm off tomorrow."
She set the case down and handed him a bottle, "I was just kidding. You're 21 ... just be smart about it."
He chuckled, "I promise I am. I'm gonna stay anyway though, hangout with the boys tomorrow."
"That would actually work perfectly. Your Dad and I have an appointment with the realtor so if you could watch them we could get it done quicker?" She asked, taking a seat next to Elliot.
"That's fine with me," Dickie answered, twisting the cap off his beer and taking a swig.
"Thanks Dickie," Elliot said, wrapping an arm around Olivia.
The pizza came and they put in Spider-Man since that was all Eli could talk about and the rest of the group didn't care.
"Who wants popcorn?" Olivia asked the group as the opening credits started.
"Do you want me to make it?" Maureen said taking a sip of her wine.
"I'll help her," Elliot said, pushing himself off of the couch.
"Do you have any Jell-O?" Eli asked, rolling onto his back and looking up at her.
She smiled, "I think so. What color?"
He furrowed his brow and took a second as if it was the most important decision, "Red."
"Anything else?" Elliot asked his kids and Olivia made her way into the kitchen.
"Chocolate. If you have some," Kathleen said looking up from her phone.
"I'll look," he said turning and following in behind Olivia.
Olivia was waiting at the microwave as the first bag of popcorn started to pop when Elliot came in and wrapped his arms around her.
"Are you having a good time?" She asked him, turning in his arms to look at him.
"Always," he replied, kissing her sweetly. He rested his forehead against hers and he enjoyed their alone time. He kissed her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair, "Are you sure you're okay with Dickie and Eli spending the night?"
"Of course. Hell, they could all spend the night. It's nice having a full house ... something I never used to have," she said honestly. "I'm happy that Noah is surrounded by people who love and care about him. How cute was Eli today?"
"He's a lover," Elliot said smiling.
"He's just like you though, in so many ways," she smiled, holding him tight.
"Sometimes I think if I wouldn't have went to see Kathy that one night ... I wouldn't have Eli and ... I can't even imagine my life without him," he murmured into her hair.
She moved back when she heard the tears in his voice as he spoke, "Don't think like that."
"I got so lucky with him ... I don't deserve him," he sighed and took a shaky breath. "I was so pathetic ... weak. I used Kathy because I was lonely and sad and ... I got Eli," he breathed and the tears were streaming down his face now. "He's smart and caring, he's the sweetest and most loving little boy ... he's beautiful and I don't deserve him."
She took his face in her hands and wiped at some of the tears, "Elliot, you're a good man and a good father. You deserve Eli just as much as he deserves you. He might not have been planned and everything was an accident but he didn't get stuck with you ... he was blessed to have a father like you ... and you were blessed with that little boy sitting in there waiting for his Jell-O." She swiped her thumbs under his eyes and kissed each cheek before finding his lips. "Take a couple deep breaths ... I'm here ... I'm not going anywhere," she murmured against his cheek.
He rested his face in the crook of her neck as he took a couple deep breaths, her arms cradling his body against hers. "I love you," he whispered against her neck, dropping a few kisses against her skin.
"I love you too baby," she replied, kissing his head and rubbing his back. The microwave beeped again and she ran her fingers through his hair, "Are you gonna be alright?"
He nodded against her before pulling back and wiping away any sign of moisture left on his face, "I'm okay."
She nodded and brought his face to hers and gave him a sweet lingering kiss, "I love you."
"I love you too," he gave her a small smile and kissed her forehead. "Okay I got the popcorn you get the Jell-O and Kathleen wants chocolate."
Olivia dumped the popcorn into a large bowl and handed it to him, "You take this in I'll get the rest."
A couple of hours later Olivia looked around the room to find all of the Stabler's sound asleep. Elliot had fallen asleep on the floor with Eli laying on his chest, Dickie was next to them with Noah tucked into his arm, and the girls were up on the couch each resting on the others shoulder.
She moved off of the couch, cleaning up some of the glasses and the food that was still on the table. She grabbed her phone and snapped a couple pictures of all of them, who knew how long it would be before they'd have another family sleepover. She wanted Elliot to always remember how much his kids loved him. She flipped off the TV and heard the couch squeaking.
"Do you need any help?" Lizzie mumbled and her eyes blinked heavily a couple times.
"No honey, go back to sleep," Olivia whispered, running her fingers through Lizzie's long curls.
"Okay, love you," she said turning back into her pillow.
"Love you too," Olivia replied doing her best not to let the tears fall. She knew they loved and cared for her the same way she did for them but they had never said it and neither had she. She didn't want to force anything and she didn't need words to reinforce what she already felt and knew in her heart.
She grabbed a couple of blankets from the hall closet and covered them all up, dropping a kiss to each one of their heads before laying back down on the couch to spend the night with her family.
The next morning Elliot made pancakes and Olivia cut some fruit, helping with the eggs. The kids were all huddled around the table chatting away and they all ate breakfast together, enjoying the family time. Maureen and Lizzie offered to clean off the table with the rest all agreeing so Olivia and Elliot could go change.
He was throwing on his shirt when she came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her.
"Have you thought about anything you'd like for the new place?" She asked him as she towel dried her hair before putting it back up in the towel.
He stared at her, looking her up and down before settling on her face, "All I can think about right now ... is you."
She rolled her eyes but moved to stand in front of where he was sitting on the edge of the bed, "Focus."
"I am," he said seductively, running his hands up her thighs and under the towel, pulling her closer.
"Seriously El," she scolded but let out a chuckle. "I don't have a clue. I've lived in two apartments for most of my adult life."
"We'll figure it out. The realtor will be able to find us some different houses and you can get a feel for what you like the most and we'll go from there," he said, helping to put some of her worries at ease.
"I know," she sighed and allowed Elliot's arms to wrap around her. "I just want to find the perfect house so everyone can fit and be comfortable. We all have to squish in here now and I don't want that."
"We will, just take it one day at a time," he said.
They finished getting ready, talked to the kids, and they were on their way.
They were currently following their realtor back to her office. "Jeanine helped me find my apartment and sell it," Elliot told Olivia as they took their seats in Jeanine's office.
"Good to know we're in good hands," Olivia smiled.
Jeanine chuckled and took her seat, "You flatter me. Let's get down to business shall we?" Elliot and Olivia both nodded, "So what is it you two are looking for?"
Elliot looked at Olivia and she shrugged so he started, "Definitely a single family home with some type of yard."
"At least four bedroom and a finished basement would be nice," Olivia chimed in.
"Four bedroom?" He asked looking at her.
"Eli needs his own room too, so actually more like five bedroom but if we get a finished basement then we can use that as another area," she replied looking between Elliot and Jeanine.
It shouldn't surprise him but knowing she wanted his children to be a part of their new home was a gesture that he would always be grateful to her for. "Under an hour to both of our works," Elliot added and Olivia nodded.
Jeanine jotted some things down before speaking again, "Floor plan or square footage?"
"We have six kids with one on the way so whatever is going to allow us to sit in living room at the same time is what we're looking for," Elliot said.
"Anything else?" She asked the pair.
"I think we're pretty open to ideas," Olivia answered.
Jeanine nodded and looked over her notes, "Let me go do some digging and I'll be back with some listings you can look at. Also, do you have a price range you'd like to stay around?"
"We haven't talked about it but we'll have an answer when you get back," Elliot replied and Jeanine walked out of the office. "Have you given any thought to what you'd want to spend?"
"I'm sure it'll be a lot more than I've spent before," she chuckled.
"Probably," he sighed and scrubbed his hands down his face.
Olivia reached out and pulled his hands away from his face, "Look at me." He sighed but did as she asked and looked up into her eyes. "We're going to be fine ... I have money saved. The money from my mom, I've never touched it. With the money from your apartment and mine, we'll be okay." She ran her fingers through his hair and rested her other hand on his cheek, "We can do this together ... I love you."
He moved off of the chair and let his lips meet hers, resting his forehead against hers. "We'll be okay," he murmured and she nodded her head, "I love you."
"Okay, so I have a couple of listings for you to look over," Jeanine said as she entered the office. She handed them each a stack of papers, "Most of them are in Queens and the surrounding areas out that way and a few are in Hoboken, New Jers..."
"No," Elliot and Olivia said at the same time.
"I was born and raised in New York. I would rather stay in my tiny apartment than move to New Jersey," Olivia said, flipping through the listings and immediately taking out any that were outside of New York.
"What she said," Elliot chuckled.
"Alright well that narrowed the field. Go through those and put aside any of the listings you like and we'll go over what you like about them and what you don't," Jeanine told them and she watched as they went through the papers.
"This one's out. Not enough yard," Olivia voiced, dropping the paper on the desk.
The group went through this process for an hour until they narrowed down the contenders to just five houses.
Jeanine took the listings they liked which were covered in notes and put them in a file, "I can have appointments made so you can see each house within a week or two if that works for you?"
"That should work for us," Olivia replied.
Elliot stood up and shook Jeanine's outstretched hand, "Thank you for all you're doing."
"My pleasure," She replied. "It was great meeting you, Olivia. I am certain that we will find your dream home."
Olivia smiled, "If anyone can do it, you seem like that person."