A/N: Thank you all for the support! I'm so happy you all seemed to really enjoy the last chapter because I was so nervous about it and I didn't want to let anyone down. Please leave me any thoughts you have, they're greatly appreciated. Enjoy!
"Congratulations you two," Dr. Childs said with a smile.
"Thank you so much...for everything throughout this pregnancy," Olivia told her, genuinely grateful to have such a wonderful doctor in her corner.
"It was truly a pleasure," Dr. Childs smiled, giving Olivia's shoulder a squeeze. "Take care and please let me know if there's anything you need. I'll see you for your six week postpartum check up."
"Thank you again, Kim," Olivia smiled, stroking her son's cheek as he slept in her arms.
Elliot followed the doctor out, "I just wanted to say thank you for getting them both through this safely... I don't think I will ever be able to repay you."
"Seeing a happy family is all I need. Take good care of them," Dr. Childs smiled, patting him on the arm and walking away.
Elliot walked back into the room, going to his wife's side and kissing her temple, "I love you so much it's crazy."
"I love you too," Olivia smiled, looking up at him and kissing his lips softly.
"I told you he was going to look just like you," he smiled, looking down at his son who was fast asleep, snuggled in his blanket with one arm sticking out and resting against Olivia's chest. "He got the curly hair gene," he said, gently pulling the little cap off so they could see the curly brown tufts that were mostly dry now so you could see the actual curl to it.
"He has your eyes though...the famous Stabler baby blues," she smiled, stroking her finger against the baby's until it opened to her and gripped hers. "I can't believe we made him...that he's half you and half me," she said quietly getting choked up and gently kissing his curls.
"I know," he murmured, kissing her forehead. "It's incredible."
"It feels so surreal...he's who's been kicking me all these months," she smiled, completely in awe of her baby boy. He was this whole new person she had just met but already loved more than she could even comprehend.
Elliot ran his fingers through her hair, relaxing against the bed next to her, "He's ours."
"Did you want to try breastfeeding?" Asked one of the nurses a few minutes after the room had pretty much cleared out and it had calmed down.
Olivia and Elliot had been starring down at their son but she looked up, "I'd like to try, if I'm able...I might need some help."
"Of course, that's what I'm here for," the woman smiled, coming to the side opposite of Elliot.
"Since he's sleeping, you're going to want to take him out of his blanket so he wakes up. If he's really cozy, he's not going to be motivated to nurse."
Olivia set him down against her legs, unwrapping the tight swaddle he had been in for the last several minutes, watching as he stretched his legs out and yawned, then curled up again on his side.
"Someone's not gonna wake up for Mommy is he?" Olivia cooed, running her finger along the bottom of his foot.
"Let's give it a try, most babies will wake up to the stimulation of the nipple against their lips. You want to position him chest to chest, across your body so he's cradled in the crook of the arm on the side you're going to nurse on," the woman said, showing Olivia how to hold him against her.
Olivia undid the gown, pulling apart the fabric in the front and taking her arm out of the slot so it could fall down in front of her. Being completely exposed like that was never really something she was comfortable with but that didn't matter now, all she wanted to do was feed her son.
Elliot watched the process, completely taken by his wife. Their son hadn't even been alive for thirty minutes yet and she was already trying to find a rhythm and provide for him.
She settled him next to her breast, waiting for her next instruction.
"Now, cup your breast to give it support, kind of make a c-shape with your hand...run your finger along the side of his cheek and it should get him to open his mouth." Olivia did as she was told and he opened his mouth wide and his eyes followed, starring up at her. "Now, bring him to your breast and you want to make sure he gets a good firm latch, the more tissue he can get in his mouth the better so the nipple hits towards the back of his tongue."
The instant connection she felt as her son latched on for the first time was of sheer love and joy. She leaned down, kissing the baby's forehead and watching in complete awe as his cheeks moved rapidly, sucking and swallowing, making greedy hungry noises at her breast.
"How's it feel?" Elliot asked softly, resting his chin on her shoulder so he could watch his wife and son bond.
Olivia turned her head to look at him, kissing his forehead, "Strange...but completely incredible. I feel really close to him." She looked down and into her son's eyes, "Like he knows I'm his Mom and that I'll take care of him." Elliot kissed her temple and gently rubbed the back of her neck.
"Right now he has a very tiny tummy so he'll be feeding every couple hours, if he's sleeping but is going longer than two hours during the day and four hours at night definitely wake him up and get him to nurse."
Olivia nodded, trying to take in all of the information that was coming at her but was more focused on her son, trying to stay calm so he could nurse comfortably.
She switched sides and nursed a while longer until the baby had gotten enough for the moment, "Do you want to burp him?"
Elliot nodded, "Only if you don't mind?"
"Not at all," Olivia smiled, handing him the baby and fixing up her top as Elliot went to situating the new born high on his shoulder and gently patting his back, coaxing a tiny release of air and settling him back down in his arms.
"Seems like you guys are doing well, I'll leave you to it and if you have any questions or concerns just give me a buzz," the woman smiled, leaving her card behind.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" Elliot said softly as she gingerly turned on her side to face them.
"I'm sure the kids want to meet him though," she replied, failing miserably at staying awake as her eye lids drooped.
"Liv," he murmured, kissing into her hair, "You just gave birth after seven hours of labor and delivery and no sleep since the other night, they'll understand if you can't handle visitors right now, plus visiting hours haven't even started yet." He slipped off the bed so she could have more room to get comfortable.
She cuddled in against the pillow, wincing slightly while trying to get comfortable, "Please check on Noah and let the kids know they can come visit in an hour or two. I need to shower and he'll need to nurse again once or twice before everyone gets here. Maybe Dickie should be the first one to come...I hope he found us a good name."
"Just get some sleep, me and little man will handle everything...I love you," he said, kissing her forehead and sitting in the chair next to her bed, cradling their son in his arms.
"I love you too," Olivia mumbled, pulling the cover around her shoulders and closing her eyes.
Elliot relaxed and starred down at his son, his own blue eyes staring back at him, "Hi little man, I don't think we've officially met yet but I'm your Daddy." His little boy blinked dark spidery lashes at him, his tiny hand coming to rest against his cheek, "I have thought about this moment for as long as I've been in love with your Mommy, but I never thought that dream would come true...that you'd be the most incredible little person." He propped his feet up against the bed and kissed his son on the forehead, settling him against his knees so he could just look at him. "I love you so much little man," he cooed, the true enormity of all that happened this last day and a half hitting him.
Olivia, his wife, the love of his life and the mother of their first child had given him the greatest gift in the world...life. Together they had created this tiny little human and he was theirs, his and hers. Thinking back to a time where he was living without her...well, not even really living but getting by and thinking that the day he walked away from her that he had lost his one chance at getting happiness again, all his hopes and dreams had come crashing down around him...they were the hardest days of his life, but everything had changed. In just under a year's time he was living again, thriving and loving his life. He had the woman of his dreams, an amazing toddler that lit up his world in so many ways, and this precious new little baby boy that he already couldn't imagine his life without.
He kissed his son's head, grabbing the corner of the blanket and wrapping him up snuggly, "God, little one...you'll never truly understand what you mean to me and your Mommy, what you represent." He used his knuckle to wipe at the tear that was making its way down his cheek, kissing his sons head, "Get some sleep little man, there's a long list of people who can't wait to meet you."
Olivia had woken up an hour later, looking around the room to find Elliot asleep in the chair with their son tucked safely in the crook of his arm and it melted her heart. One image that she had been holding onto for the last months, aside from what their son would look like, was seeing her husband hold their baby. Watching them together she could see all of the features their son got from his father, the jaw line, his little ears...she couldn't wait to learn his personality, his mannerisms.
"Hey," Elliot smiled, his voice still thick with sleep, adjusting in the chair and switching the baby to the other arm. "How are you feeling? Did you get any sleep?"
"I'm okay, really sore but it's worth it," she replied with a small smile. "I slept, just woke up a few minutes ago. Did you talk to the kids?"
"I did," he started, situating the baby in his arm before going to her, transferring their son to her arms and sitting next to them. "They're gonna come by in about an hour if you're up for it?"
"Yeah, of course," she nodded, stroking a finger down the baby's cheek, watching his eyes flicker and his lips curl into a reflexive smile. "He's amazing."
"Pretty much," he agreed, kissing her temple. "Do you feel like you want to get shower now?"
She kissed the baby's forehead, nuzzling her nose against his cheek. "That sounds like a good idea, I feel disgusting right now, I need to get some clean clothes on," she said, looking down at the hospital gown she was still wearing that had stains on it.
"You're still beautiful," he told her, kissing her cheek and he could feel her smiling under his lips. "How about we let him go to the nursery for a few minutes so you can get a shower and I'll help you if you need it?"
"Do we have to?" Olivia sighed, holding her son close to her and not wanting to let him out of their sight.
He wrapped his arm around his shoulders and she rested her head against him, "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, but I think for just a half hour so you can shower and take a minute for yourself before we get a ton of people in here would probably be a good thing."
Olivia nodded, kissing the baby's cheeks, "Okay, I'll buzz a nurse to come in...you'll help me in the shower?"
"Of course, baby," he replied kissing her forehead as she let him take the baby and settle him in his little plastic bin, looking at the card on the side that said:
Baby Boy Stabler
Born February 25, 2015 at 5:13 a.m.
7lbs. 5oz. 20in.
The nurse came in and wheeled him away, reassuring Olivia that he would be in good hands and that they would bring him back as soon as she was finished. She wrapped her arm around Elliot's neck and his went around her waist as he helped her to the bathroom.
"You know, I didn't really think too much about after delivery...about the pain," she said wincing as they struggled into the bathroom.
"You're such a trooper though," he said honestly, taking most of her weight and trying to take away some of her pain. "You are the strongest woman I know, you never complain about anything and I know for sure that if I just gave birth not two hours ago that I would be crying like a sissy."
She let out a little chuckle and winced, "I guess it's a good thing you won't have to push out a baby any time soon."
"No kidding," he laughed, pushing open the door to her bathroom and helping her sit down on the pull down bench. "Let me grab your bag, anything in particular you want to put on?"
"No, whatever's fine, I just need a new pair of panties and my nursing bra," she told him, sitting back against the wall.
"Okay," he replied going to their bags and getting her things, returning with her bag of toiletries and clothes, setting them on the vanity and reaching into the shower to turn on the water. He crouched down in front of her, gently picking up each foot and taking off the hospital issue socks, kissing each ankle as he set it back down. He stood back up, kissing her forehead and starring into her eyes with all of love he could give her, taking her hands and helping her stand back up he reached behind her, untying the little ties that held her gown together and started to pull it away from her body when she stopped him.
"I still look five pregnant and not in a good way...things are saggy and not so pretty right now," she sighed, holding his wrist in her hand and looking away from him.
"Liv," Elliot said softly, resting his hand on her cheek to turn her face up to his and finding her eyes. "You just gave birth to our son, you gave life today and there isn't anything about that, about your body, that I wouldn't find absolutely incredible and beautiful."
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears at his words, reaching up to stroke his cheek and bring his face to hers so she could kiss his lips, "I love you very, very much."
"I love you too," he said softly kissing her again and pulling away the gown, throwing it with the pile of other dirty clothes before bending down to help her out of her panties.
"Don't look at the blood," she barely whispered, holding onto his shoulders as she stepped out of them.
"What blood?" He asked with a smile, standing back up and helping her into the shower, stripping off and getting into the shower behind her.
After helping Olivia with the shower and getting a chance to wash himself off, Elliot helped her dry off and get her fresh clothes on, currently combing out her hair and drying the ends with a towel. She had on her all black pajama set, no makeup, wavy wet hair and yet she had never looked more beautiful to him.
He kissed her temple, brushing his fingers through her hair, "You look gorgeous right now, in case you were wondering."
She smiled and met his eyes in the mirror, finding his hand and lacing their fingers together, "Thank you...for being such an amazing man and husband, you're already a great father and I can't wait to see how that grows with the little one."
He kissed her jaw, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder, "I'm just glad I can help and make things easier for you...I love you."
"I love you too," she smiled and he wrapped his arm around her waist and helped her back to the bed, getting her settled and pulling the blanket up for her. She buzzed the nurses for them to bring the baby back down and they wheeled him into her room, leaving the family alone.
Elliot picked up their little boy, kissing his forehead and passing him to his mother. Olivia cradled him in her arms, taking in his little face, his wide awake blue eyes and she still couldn't get over the fact he was hers, that she and Elliot had made him.
"Can you hand me that pillow thing we brought?" She asked, pointing to the boppy that was resting on the windowsill.
"Of course," he nodded grabbing the boppy and helping her adjust it around her waist. "Is this to help you nurse?"
"Yeah," she nodded, settling the baby on the one side and unbuttoning a few buttons on her pajama top. "It's supposed to help support him more so I don't have to bend over as much."
"Oh, alright," he said, sitting on the foot of her bed and watching her undo the one side of her nursing bra, helping the baby latch on. "You're a natural," he smiled, enjoying the intimate moment as their son ate from her breast, his little cheeks puffing as he sucked and swallowed.
Olivia smiled, brushing her fingers over his little legs, "I'm glad that we seem to getting the hang of it pretty easily, I read that sometimes it's really hard to get into the swing of things."
"You seem to be doing really great," Elliot encouraged, knowing how much she had wanted to be able to breastfeed and so happy for her that she could.
"I think I just got lucky with an amazing baby," she smiled, kissing her son's head and reaching for Elliot's hand, lacing their fingers together.
She finished nursing and Elliot burped him, changing the first dirty diaper while Olivia couldn't believe that the black tar looking stuff in her son's diaper had actually come out of him. After getting him a new diaper, they got him dressed in an all white onesie and some socks, swaddling him back up in a pale blue baby blanket and watching him drift back off to sleep.
"Dickie's on his way up," Elliot said, reading the txt message he had just gotten.
"Okay," Olivia smiled, sitting up in the bed and adjusting the baby's blanket out of his face.
"Come in," Elliot called upon hearing the tapping on the door and Dickie popped his head in, pushing the door open.
"Hey, guys," Dickie said, walking in with a little blue stuffed bear, hugging his Dad and then going to Olivia's bed side and giving her a kiss on the cheek and a hug, being mindful of his new baby brother in her arms. "I brought him this," he said kind of shyly, holding it the bear.
"Thank you, it's adorable," Olivia smiled. "You can set it in his nursery bin."
Dickie put the bear in the corner of the plastic bin and walked back over, "Can I...can I hold him?"
"Of course," Olivia nodded, gently transferring the baby into his older brothers waiting arms. "Support his head."
Dickie nodded, sitting in the chair and holding his brother securely in his arms, "He looks like Eli when he was born, minus the brown hair."
"I was thinking that too," Elliot added, watching his oldest son holding his youngest. "He has Liv's mouth but his eyes and his forehead are all Stabler." He looked to Olivia and saw she was crying and he went to her side, "What's wrong, baby?"
She sniffled, wiping her nose, "Nothing...I'm happy, I'm gonna be like this when everyone else gets to hold him too. We weren't the only ones excited to meet him." He sat next to her on the bed, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her temple.
"So, do you have a name for us?" Elliot asked, holding Olivia close to him and she rested her head on his chest.
"Well, I have a few on the list," he replied, getting his phone from his pocket and scrolling down. "Caleb, Enzo, and my favorite is Maximus and we could call him Max."
"Maximus," Olivia repeated, testing out how it sounded and looking to Elliot who was doing the same.
He nodded, "I like Maximus...a lot actually."
"Me too," she smiled, looking at Dickie who seemed excited, "Maximus it is."
"Awesome," Dickie smiled, looking at his brother, "Now you have a kick ass name and no one is ever gonna give you a weird nick name."
Elliot chuckled, "Now all we need is a middle name."
"Actually," Olivia started, turning to him, "I was thinking Donald, you know for Don...he's the closest thing I've ever had to an actual father and you know how good he is to us and how much he loves us and the kids...and, I don't know...I just thought it would be a nice gesture."
"I think that's a great idea," he smiled, kissing her softly. "I really don't think we could ever find another name that has a better meaning than that or is after a more loyal and good man."
"Thank you," she smiled, kissing him again. "He finally has a name, Maximus Donald Stabler."