Hey guys!

I'm here with a new one-shot. Based from the part in Caretaker where Olivia says "sometimes we just need a little pretty". Her family is her source of 'pretty'. A little cute EO thing.

Enjoy xoxo

Comfort [ONESHOT]

She barely remembered leaving the courthouse or driving back to the precinct or stepping off the elevator on the floor for the Special Victims Unit. Everything seemed foggy. This case was draining her.

How could a mother kill her own children? How could she just slaughter them? Those were the questions that had been floating through Olivia Benson's mind in the days since gathering the confession from Anne, the woman currently on trial for slaughtering her entire family. She claimed she had to do it to save them from the darkness of the world, to save them from being sucked in and disappointed and tained by the ugliness that was the world they lived in. Olivia could understand wanting to protect kids from the harsh realities of life, but to murder your own family – your babies? She just couldn't understand.

She shook her head and walked back into the squad room, only to freeze when a flash of red and white was seen in her peripheral vision. She turned and saw the beautiful bouquet of red roses on Amanda's desk, and she gave the blonde a raised eyebrow.

"Those are pretty." She remarked. Amanda rolled her eyes, laughing a bit as she stood up.

"I said not at the office and he said they're not for me."

"Who are they for?" Olivia wondered. Amanda gestured to her stomach and Olivia let out a laugh; "Ah…smooth."

She then headed into her office. Amanda trailed behind her as she spoke again; "How was court?"

"God," Olivia shook her head as she tossed her jacket onto the chair, "How do you think?"

"I couldn't even step into that building," Amanda shook her head as she stood in the doorway, looking up as Olivia turned to face her again; "I don't care if she's crazy; that woman should be taken from the earth."

Olivia nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. She had been struggling to keep her emotions in tact throughout this whole case, and each day it was becoming increasingly difficult to do so.

"You know, last night," she sighed, composing herself; "I…I put Noah to bed, kissed him goodnight, turned out the light, and then…then I just stood there, watching him sleep…for two hours." She shook her head, blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall.

Amanda nodded, blinking back her own tears that had welled up in her bright blue eyes; "I did the same thing."

Olivia stepped forward and pulled the younger woman into a hug, clinging to her. She and Amanda had struggled the most with his case due to their intense maternal instincts; neither of them could understand how this woman had done this to her children when all they ever did was fight like hell to protect their own children. In Olivia's case, she fought like hell to protect her adopted son and all five of her stepchildren.

"Sometimes life just sucks." She mumbled. Amanda nodded, a soft whimpering sound escaping her lips. She couldn't even say anything else as she was so overcome with emotion, and Olivia knew that. She rubbed her back then pulled away, holding her arm; "Amanda."

"Yeah?" Amanda asked, wiping her eyes with her finger. Olivia rubbed her arm gently, giving her a small smile.

"You should keep those flowers."

Amanda gave her a funny look as a couple more tears slipped down her cheeks; "Why?"

"Because," Olivia breathed out, wiping her own eyes; "Sometimes…sometimes we just need a little pretty."

"Right…" Amanda gave her a smile and nodded her head, before gesturing to her desk; "You need some pretty flowers too."

"I do, but that's okay – your flowers are enough pretty for the whole squad room." Olivia pointed out. Amanda laughed, giving the Lieutenant's shoulder squeeze.

"I'm gonna get out of here and you should too," Amanda told her; "Go home to Elliot and Noah."

She was referring to Olivia's husband of almost a year, her former partner, Elliot Stabler, and their adopted son, Noah. The three of them shared a spacious four bedroom home on the outskirts of the city; she and Elliot had been together for about eight years now - since shortly after he left the job and his divorce was final - and had been living together since he officially retired from the Marines about four and a half years earlier. Noah came into the picture some years earlier as well; Olivia found him when he was only a few months old. After a lengthy discussion, she and Elliot agreed to foster him shortly before his first birthday, and by the time he was two years old, they were officially allowed to adopt him. They were Olivia's source of stability outside of the darkness that was her work; they helped to keep her sane and stopped her frown drowning in the chaos of this job.

"I will, I just need to finish some paperwork first before my weekend can actually start." She replied as she moved to sit at her desk.

"Well at least call them." Amanda told her. Olivia nodded, picking up her iPhone to do so when a knock at the door and a familiar voice interrupted her;

"I don't have flowers but I have a hug."

Both women looked up; Elliot was standing in the doorway with a soft smile on his face. He looked handsome; salt and pepper hair that had been freshly cut, the salt and pepper beard that was shaved, a plain grey t-shirt and jeans along with a grey hoodie, black rimmed glasses on his eyes. The diamond wedding band on his finger was glistening in the squad room lights, matching the diamond band and princess cut ring combo that was on Olivia's wedding finger.

Olivia's eyes filled up and she jumped up, rushing towards him as he stepped further into the room. She wrapped her arms around him straight away, squeezing him tightly. Not wanting to interrupt the tender moment, Amanda silently slipped from the room to get her things so that she could go home to her own child.

Olivia and Elliot were still wrapped up in each other's arms, holding each other tight. Elliot had both of his arms locked around her so that he could squeeze her tightly. He rubbed her back, quietly soothing her as he could feel her shaking.

"It's alright, Liv; I'm here." He kissed the side of her head, whispering to her to keep her calm.

She squeezed him tighter, nodding her head as she spoke; "I love you so much, El…I probably don't tell you as much as I should but God baby, I just…I love you."

He held her tighter. He knew how much this was getting to her. She had tried to skate around the details to spare him the horrors and images that he had walked away from a long time ago, but he refused to let her do this and told her to just let him in considering he knew exactly how she was feeling. When she'd finally told him everything a few nights ago, he had been shocked at the details, yet a sense of déjà vu washed over him. It reminded him of a case he had lost his cool on so many ears earlier, around the time their partnership was strained as they kept dancing around the obvious that was brewing between him. The only difference was, Olivia didn't push the perp against the wall and nearly choke the life out of her in the process.

But he knew exactly how she was feeling, and he was going to hold her.

"Shh…I know," he kissed her head again, his breath ghosting over her face as he whispered; "I love you too, I love you so much."

She nodded, squeezing him even more before her eyes suddenly popped open. Noah suddenly flashed into her mind and she stood up properly, looking at him; "Noah…where's Noah? Who's watching Noah?" Her hands gripped his arms as she began to panic a bit. She knew that Elliot wouldn't have left him alone or with just anyone, but this case at the moment had her a little on edge. Their babysitter, Lucy, was currently sick with a case of the flu, so she just wanted to know who was watching their youngest child at the moment.

Elliot soothingly stroked her waist with one hand while pressing a finger to her lips with the other hand; "Relax baby, he's fine, he's at home; the older kids are all at ours, so he's with all of them, Eli included."

"What are the kids-"

"You need your family tonight," Elliot interrupted, picking up her jacket and holding it open, "And right now – unless that paperwork absolutely can't wait until Monday – you need to be coming home."

"Did you come all the way here to rush me along to come home?" she wondered, slipping her arms into the jacket.

"Maybe." he smirked, watching as she stuffed some files into her bag. She laughed a bit and slipped her bag onto her shoulder before grabbing her car keys. She had to admit, she was grateful that he had shown up because if it was up to her, she would have wallowed in her own thoughts until the late night hours had he not shown up.

She flicked off the lights of her office before walking out with him, keeping a tight hold of his hand as they made their way out of the squad room. He was right. She didn't need to think about work tonight.

She needed her family.

As soon as she and Elliot crossed the threshold into their house on the outskirts of the city, Noah came running full speed and crashed straight into Olivia's legs. She groaned and hugged him tightly, before walking with him through to the lounge area where the others were. The older kids all greeted her with a wave and Eli gave her a huge hug as he always did. Olivia could already feel the negativity of this case leaving her as she stood there holding him. The fact that her husband and stepchildren and her son were all together for her tonight; it was something beautiful and something she needed. Her family.

"All my kiddos are all together." She spoke up as she stepped further into the living room. She greeted Dickie with a fist bump and kiss on the cheek, then greeted all the girls with kisses on the cheek as well.

"Dad told us you had a tough case at work and needed some family around," Maureen replied, smiling at her as she stood up; "Chinese should be here in a bit."

"Well I definitely appreciate you guys; thank you." Olivia told them. She unclipped her badge and her gun as she made her way upstairs and into the bedroom. After putting the items in the locked drawer beside her bed, she headed into the en suite bathroom to shower. The warm water and lavender scented body wash helped to relax her after the day she'd had. She could feel the stresses of the day washing off her body and down the drain. She was at home now with the people that mattered, and that's what gave her some sort of peace.

After her shower, she quickly blasted her hair with the blow dryer and tied it into a ponytail, then got dressed in leggings and one of Elliot's long t-shirts. Once she emerged from the bedroom and made it back downstairs, she found everyone in the dining room, sitting around the table and sorting out all the food!m.

"Liv," Eli burst out when he saw her; "Come sit right here." He patted to the space between him and Noah. Olivia nodded and sat between the two boys, ruffling their curly hair as they sat down.

The family enjoyed their dinner together, passing dishes around as they laughed and talked. For Olivia, this was exactly what she needed to get her head together. The case had been so mentally draining as she was just so complete baffled at how someone could slaughter their whole family. She couldn't imagine such. She couldn't imagine anything happening to Noah, couldn't imagine anything happening to her five stepchildren, and she especially couldn't imagine anything happening to her husband.

Olivia allowed the conversations at the table to occupy her mind and take her away from the stresses of the case. Maureen talked about some finalization she made for her wedding which was in two months time, Kathleen talked about how great things were at the domestic violence shelter she worked at, Lizzie talked about the latest events at the elementary school in Queens where she worked as a kindergarten teacher and Dickie talked about when his next deployment would be, something that no doubt put a slight damper on the happy moods of Noah and Eli who loved to spend time with him when he was at home. Even Eli and Noah talked about their day at school, and Noah mentioned how much his teacher wanted Olivia to come speak to them about her job, which is something she agreed to straight away as there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for him.

The chatter was of such normality, of things that went on outside the walls of that squad room that had been her second home for so long. The chatter eased her mind and helped her to relax. A soft smile was on her lips. She loved everyone in this room so much.

Her family.

The time after dinner was spent watching silly movies and laughing together in the vast living room. Noah and Eli pretty much made sure Olivia remained trapped in between them as they cuddled up to her on either side while Elliot sat on the other side of Eli. Kathleen and the twins were sprawled across the floor while Maureen was curled up on the arm chair. The family laughed together and chatted about parts of the movie; Olivia felt an intense happiness coursing through her. She knew there were more horrors waiting for when she headed back into work on Monday and walked the streets of New York City with her squad, but for now, inside the walls and safety of the apartment, she felt happy due to being with her family.

The older kids ended up staying the night as they wanted to go to breakfast together in the morning with Olivia before they went about their respective Saturday plans. Eli slept in his own room that he had at the house for when he came over, the girls crashed in the extra guest room, and Dickie took over the pull out sofa downstairs. After all of the kids were in bed, Elliot and Olivia retreated to their bedroom. Elliot rubbed his hands over her arms and kissed her; she wound her arms around his waist and slid her tongue against his. He gripped onto her as they sank into bed together.

She needed this. She needed him.

They made love for a couple hours, switching between positions, kissing and letting out soft moans of each other's name. With every touch and every kiss, Olivia felt the tension and stress dropping off of her completely. Her husband helped to kiss and touch away everything she was feeling from the events of the last few days. When she whispered his name with their final release, all she could feel was the love that was washing over them - twenty years worth of feelings between them, sweeping them up into the waves of passion.

She let out a sigh as she relaxed in his arms, lazily curled into his side as he drew patterns on her bare back. They shared a kiss and whispered the sweetest words of love, then she relaxed in his arms again, a soft and contented smile on his face.

Her family had been her source of comfort tonight, and for the first time in days, she was finally drifting off towards a peaceful sleep.

And another one shot is done! I hope you guys enjoyed this! Leave some feedback! Until next time xoxo