The first two days of the new year had been spent packing up the rest of the apartment and today was finally moving day.
Olivia stood in her nearly empty apartment with Noah on her hip and a lot on her mind. "Well little man, are you excited to move our new house?"
"House," Noah repeated, looking up at her.
She smiled and kissed his cheek, "It's going to be really great, Noah...there's a big backyard that you can run around in when it's nice out, you have a big new room, and there's a huge play room for all of your toys." Cuddling Noah close, she wondered through her apartment, the memories flooding back to her.
The night she brought Noah home, the day Elliot came back, Elliot proposing and finding out she was pregnant...so many incredible things had happened in this place. It was strange to know that it was going to be the last time she was going to be here, it almost felt like she was leaving it behind her.
"Everything okay?" Elliot finally asked softly after watching her walk through the apartment, a faraway look gracing her face and her eyes seeming distant.
She turned to face him slowly, a small smile forming, "I think so."
"It was hard when I left the house," he confided, moving next to her and squeezing her hand. "I felt like I would forget things...the memories."
She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, her hand clutching his, "There's just so many things that happened here...good and bad."
He kissed the top of her head, "We're taking the good with us... me, you, Noah...this baby," he spoke softly, running his hand over her belly, "That's all we need. You have your memories up here," he said kissing her temple, "They aren't going anywhere. Leave all of the bad here behind us... the best is yet to come."
"I love you," she said softly, kissing his lips.
"I love you too," he replied, stroking his fingers through her hair. "Are you ready to go? Everything's packed."
Olivia took one last sweeping look around, trying to ingrain every last memory into her brain. Taking Elliot's hand in hers they made their way to the door. She kissed Noah's forehead, "Can you say bye-bye?"
"Bye-bye," Noah mumbled against her chest.
"Let's go," Olivia smiled at Elliot, closing the door behind them.
They pulled into the drive way of their new house, the moving truck on the street along with all of the cars from the people who were called into help with the move, also known as their friends and family who they owed big time.
Elliot put the car in park, looking back at Noah who was sucking on his pacifier and had his blanket tucked under the side of his face that rested against his car seat. He reached over to Olivia, resting his hand on her belly, "Please take it easy today? You don't need to be overdoing it...let me handle things."
"I'll take it easy," Olivia agreed, gently squeezing his hand before resting it on top of his on her bump. "Me, the little one, and Noah are just gonna sit back and relax while everyone else does all the heavy lifting."
He chuckled and kissed her softly, "You're gonna milk this now aren't you?"
"Mhm," she smirked, cupping his cheek in her hand and kissing him again.
In the midst of what was quickly becoming more passionate, Fin pounded on the window. Olivia and Elliot startled apart and she accidentally bit down on his lip.
"Damn it!" Elliot yelled, holding his hand to his mouth, pulling it back to see some blood dripping onto his palm.
"Oh my God, are you okay?" She asked worried, reaching over to him and pulling his hand away so and could see his lip. "Baby, I'm so sorry," she whispered softly, rubbing her thumb on his cheek.
"If you guys could hurry it up in there...this is your house and all," Fin hollered before walking away.
"It's fine, just give me a napkin," he said, trying to stop the bleeding.
She grabbed a few napkins from the glove box and gently pressed it to his lips, "Does it hurt?"
"Not bad," he sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head back against the head rest of his seat.
Olivia dabbed at his lip a few times until the bleeding stopped and checked the small cut on his bottom lip, "It doesn't look too bad... I feel so bad, I'm so sorry."
"It was an accident," Elliot replied, giving her a small smile, wincing slightly at the pain and giving her a very soft kiss on her lips.
"We better get out there before he comes back," she chuckled and kissed his forehead.
"Get ready for the craziness," he laughed, pulling on his gloves and hat before opening his door to the cold weather.
"Daddy is a little dramatic don't you think, Noah?" Olivia joked once the door was shut.
"Dada go?" Noah asked, craning his neck so he could look around his car seat and out the window.
"Don't worry, we're going too," she told him, zippering her jacket and adjusting her beanie before sliding out of the car. "You ready to see your new house?" She cooed, unclipping Noah from his car seat and bundling him up before pulling him out of the car and settling him on her hip.
"Hey, Liv," Kathleen called, bounding down the front steps to meet her. "Be careful it's kind of icy," she warned, giving her a hug and kissing Noah on the cheek.
"You too...thank you for coming out and helping," Olivia said, grateful that everyone volunteered to help them. "I'm sure you probably have better things you could be doing with your Saturday."
"Trust me," Aaron interrupted, coming up to them, "She didn't have anything to do except go shopping and spend money."
"Shut up," Kathleen chuckled, swatting his arm.
Aaron pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her, "You know it's true."
Olivia smiled at the exchange, "Well you two sound like a married couple already."
"Sorry, Liv," Kathleen chuckled and Aaron squeezed her waist.
"Better get the little guy inside," Aaron added, rubbing his hand against Noah's rosy cheeks, "He must be cold."
Olivia kissed Noah's cheek and held him closer, "Sounds like a good idea. I'll see if I can make some hot chocolate or coffee for everyone."
"I'd kill for some coffee," Nick said, walking past her with a large box in his hands.
"I didn't know you were here," Olivia smiled, following him up the stairs and into the house.
He put the box down on the kitchen counter and pulled off his gloves, "Fin recruited me...been here since his morning."
"Well, thank you," she smiled, pulling him into a hug.
"You got it, Liv," he replied, pulling back and taking Noah. "How are you doing? It's been a while," Nick cooed.
"When did the furniture get here?" Olivia asked slightly stunned. Looking around she saw that all of the living room furniture was already in place and set up, minus the plastic wrap that kept it clean until it got to the house.
"It was here when I got here," Nick replied, taking off all of Noah's winter gear.
She walked through the room, admiring the oversized sectional that had matching ottomans and the giant wooden coffee table that sat at the bottom, "What else got delivered?"
"I think whatever else you ordered is probably here," he said, settling Noah on his hip, "The new bedroom furniture is here and most of its already set up so we'll probably just need to move it to where you want it."
"Wow, this might actually turn out to be easier than I was anticipating," she chuckled, looking through the stack of boxes that were lining her kitchen, hoping to find the one that held the coffee maker. Locating the box, she went to pull the box on top of it off so she could get to the one she needed.
"I'll get it," Nick intervened, resting a light hand on her shoulder, "Take Noah and I'll move the box."
"I'm not going to break," she rebutted, taking Noah from him.
Easily moving the box and pulling out the Keurig, "I know that but you're what? Seven months pregnant. Why would I sit here and let you do all the heavy lifting when I'm standing right here?"
Olivia sighed, sitting down with Noah at one of the stools along the bar, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Do you want me to make the coffee first or hot chocolate?" He asked, looking through the box.
"Look through the one labeled Kitchen Shit," she chuckled, "Elliot did that one this morning at five and I guess that kind of just summed it up."
Nick laughed, finding the clearly labeled box and opening it to find the coffee and hot chocolate mix inside, "I should have just done that when I moved...It tells you everything you need to know."
"I thought so," Elliot laughed, overhearing the conversation as he came in with a box.
Olivia rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress the smile, "Men."
"I resent that," Elliot smirked, putting down the box and going to her, kissing her softly.
"How much is left outside?" She asked as he sat next to her.
He shrugged and took Noah, tickling his belly, "Maybe a dozen boxes and some furniture. Moving from a smaller place to a bigger place usually works better, not as much stuff to move."
"It helps that we left most of our old stuff," she added.
"Do you want to go look through the house and see what all is here?" He asked after seeing that their new furniture was already in the living room.
"Sure," she nodded, "Nick, you don't have to do that...I'll make coffee in a couple minutes."
"I don't mind and it gets me out of being out in the cold," he added with a sly smile.
"Then by all means, make the coffee," she chuckled, taking Elliot's hand in hers as they made their way through the house.
"This is your new room, little man," Elliot told Noah softly as they walked into the room, a few pieces of furniture already there. The walls were white and plain still but Olivia had big plans to make his room something he could grow with. Noah's head was resting against Elliot's shoulder, his eyes drooping slightly as he held his blanky against his cheek.
Olivia rubbed Noah's back and kissed his cheek, "We better get his crib up here soon...he's exhausted."
"Why don't you take him and I'll get someone to help me bring it up here?" He said softly and she nodded. Gently transferring Noah into Olivia's arms he kissed her forehead, "I'll be back."
"Well little man," she spoke softly, gently rocking him around the room. "I can't wait to start making memories here... I just can't wait to watch you grow here. I love you so much, Noah...don't you ever forget it."
Once they had Noah's crib set up with his new sheets they settled him in and went to work on unpacking. The men went downstairs to start while the women started in the kitchen.
"Are you happy to finally be moving in?" Maureen asked, taking a sip from her cup while she removed all of the plastic coverings from the furniture.
"Definitely," Olivia said, pulling out some of the dishes from a box, "It's so nice to be here and be able to get everything ready for the baby...not having to worry about having enough space for all of you is such a relief. Your Dad and I want you kids to have space here and we want to have you over as much as you want so having all the room downstairs and throughout here is such a godsend."
"The house is beautiful," Kathleen said, coming back in from the dining room.
"Yeah, Liv. It's pretty perfect," Lizzie chimed in.
"We thought so too," Olivia smiled. "You don't even know how hard it is to find a house big enough for all of us," she said and they all chuckled, "But when we saw this house we just knew this would be it."
"How's Liv been doing?" Fin asked Elliot as they moved around the furniture in the basement.
"Good," Elliot answered, "I've been making her relax more, she's been stressed with the move and the baby so I'm hoping once we get settled in things will calm down."
"I just talked to Mom," Dickie called from the play room, "She's gonna bring Eli over in a little bit...he wants to see his new room."
"Do you want to go get started on it? The furniture is already in there it might just need moved around and his bedding probably needs put on," Elliot said, pushing the coffee table towards the center of the room.
"I'll grab Liz and we'll go set it up," Dickie nodded before he bound up the stairs in search of his twin.
"Dad, Livvie," Eli yelled as he came in through the front door a while later.
"In here," Olivia called from the kitchen and Eli dropped his back pack, running through the entry way and giving Olivia a big hug.
"How are you doing, Eli?" She smiled, hugging him tightly.
"Good," he mumbled against her sweater.
"Hey Liv," Kathy said, coming in with a couple of Eli's bags, "The house is great."
"Thank you," Olivia smiled, giving her a gentle hug, "Would you like something to drink? Coffee or water?"
"Thanks but I have to get going. Jeff's waiting for me in the car, we're going to see his family for a couple of days," she replied.
Dickie came back down, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek, "Hey, mom."
"You giving them a hand with everything?" Kathy asked her kids.
"I've had them slaving all day," Elliot joked, coming in behind her.
"I bet you have," Kathy chuckled. "Okay, well I love you guys and I'll see you in a couple of days," she said and her kids all chorused back as she walked out the door.
"Where's my room, Dad?" Eli asked as Elliot hoisted him up.
"Right upstairs...you wanna go see it?" Elliot said and Eli smiled, nodding his head.
"C'mon, Livvie," Eli called as he ran up the stairs.
"I'm coming," Olivia chuckled, following Eli up the stairs. "I hope he likes it," she said softly to Elliot who was right behind her.
"He will...hell, even I love his room," he chuckled, taking her hand once they reached the top.
"This is so cool!" Eli yelled, jumping up and down on his bed.
His room wasn't painted yet but he had all white furniture and a big bed in the middle with a comforter that had different sized soccer balls on it. There was an open hanging closet on the one side, a giant metal locker next to the door, and a hanging tent chair in the corner.
"I feel like this was you when you were a kid," Olivia smiled, giving his hand a squeeze.
"Probably," he chuckled, kissing her temple. "I'm just happy that he's happy."
"Me too," she agreed, wrapping her arms around his middle.
"Did you see your locker?" Elliot asked Eli and he stopped jumping. Elliot pointed to it, "You can keep your book bag in it."
"You could probably even fit in it," Olivia laughed, coming up behind Eli and tickling him.
"Livvie," he squealed as she tickled him.
She stop tickled him and ran her fingers through his curly hair, "So you like your room?"
"It's awesome," he replied, nodding his head, "Where's Noah's room?"
"Right there, but there's some of his boxes in there still...I have to unpack his clothes," she told him.
"Can I help?" He asked, smiling up at her.
"You can do whatever you want, we just have to be quiet because Noah's sleeping" Olivia smiled and he took her hand, dragging her over to Noah's room.
"Is Dad allowed?" Elliot asked as they left him behind.
"Yes," Eli chimed.
Olivia looked back at Elliot with a smirk and raised brow, "Just like you."
"So, how about I fold and you can put them in the drawers," Olivia propositioned, lowering herself down on the carpeted floor.
"Okay," he smiled, helping his Dad drag over a box.
Elliot ripped the tape off of the box and dumped out the clothes, separating a pile for himself and Olivia, "Let's do this."
Olivia handed a small folded pile of shirts to Eli and pointed to one of the drawers on the dresser.
"How much longer until my new brothers here?" Eli asked, coming back to stand in front of Olivia.
"Almost two months buddy," Elliot answered and handed him some socks to put away.
"How many more days is that?" He asked, tapping his foot as he tried to count.
"About fifty or so," Olivia said and Eli's mouth dropped open, "How about we put it on the calendar and you can cross the days off?"
"Okay," Eli nodded, walking back to the dresser and putting the socks in, "What's his name?"
Olivia looked to Elliot who just looked back at her and shrugged his shoulders, "He doesn't have one yet."
"He doesn't have a name? Why not?" Eli asked with wide eyes.
She tried to hold back a chuckle, "Because your Dad and I haven't picked one out yet but his last name will be just like yours."
Eli thought about what she was saying, just for a moment until he was back in the conversation , "Stabler? Like the rest of us?"
"Just like the rest of us," Elliot smiled, giving Olivia's hand a gentle squeeze.
"Well, Eli is out and Noah is snoring away," Elliot chuckled, coming into his and Olivia's new bedroom.
Their new dark wood furniture had been built that day and arranged with their bed that sat in the middle across from the door. Olivia had gotten some pictures set up on their night stands and Elliot just needed the television and cable to be ready as soon as possible. They had gotten an all white comforter set and accents, hoping to keep the room open and light once they got the walls painted grey. Elliot had joked that with a seven year old, a toddler, and a new baby on the way that the white wouldn't last for long but Olivia didn't care and he loved her too much to try to reason with her. If she was happy, he was happy.
"Eli was so tired," Olivia chuckled, coming out of the bathroom in one of Elliot's oversized sweatshirts, "He was such a great little helper today."
Elliot was momentarily stunned while he watched Olivia. She wasn't doing anything particularly amazing, just rubbing some lotion between her hands and down her toned legs, her lace boy shorts just peeking out from the hem of his sweatshirt. While the bagginess of the jacket would have concealed her baby bump a couple of months ago, it didn't do much now and he loved that fact. He loved seeing the changes in her body, to actually know and see that she was carrying his child was like nothing else in the world. There was just something about her and as cliché as it might be, her pregnancy glow made her all the more beautiful.
After a couple beats of silence, Elliot snapped out of his revere and realized that she was looking at him expectantly. "Ugh...yeah, he was."
She chuckled at how poorly he tried to cover up the fact that he was in no way, shape, or form paying attention, "Nice try there, babe."
"Sorry," he chuckled and blushed slightly, still unable to tear his eyes away from her. "You're just very distracting right now."
"What are you talking about?" She asked with a self depreciating laugh and looking down over herself.
"You," he answered quickly, "You're so beautiful right now and you don't even have a clue."
Olivia gave a small smile as she ran her hands over her belly, "Thanks for saying that."
Elliot watched as she made her way to the bed, turning down the comforter and sliding in, "You don't believe me do you?" She met his eyes for a moment, shrugging her shoulders and he knew she didn't. He toed off his shoes, peeling off his shirts until he was down to his low riding sweat pants. "When have I ever lied to you before?" He asked, crawling onto the bed next to her.
"Never," she sighed, turning her head so she could see his face.
"So," he started, moving closer to her until he was hovering over her, "Why would I start now?"
Olivia caressed his cheek, "You wouldn't."
"Exactly," he murmured as he kissed her lips softly, one hand tangling in her hair while the other ran up her leg and to her hip, gently coming to rest on the side of her belly. "You're beautiful...and if I have to tell you that a hundred times a day for the rest of our lives, I will. I loved you years ago, I love you now, and I will love you always."
Some moisture gathered in the corner of her eyes as she listened to his words. While they weren't anything she hasn't heard before it didn't make them any less important...any less meaningful, special. She held his face in her hands and kissed him deeply, " I love you too."