A new one? Maybe. It is often the little moments that remind us how truly precious and important life is.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the show or the characters, but, oh, how I wish I did.

She stood in the doorway, watching with crossed arms and a flat smile as her partner tried to wrangle his two year old son. She laughed as he chased the boy around the kitchen island, finally catching him and lifting him up. She closed her eyes and smiled wider as he set him down on the counter and pointed a finger at him.

"Eli," he said, panting, "Do not give your sister a hard time today, please?" He turned his head. "Maureen, come on, would ya? I have to go!"

Fast and loud footsteps carried into the room and a beautiful, blonde girl walked through the arch, stopping briefly to give a one armed hug to the older woman beside her. "I'm here, Dad," she said, reaching for the young boy, still trying to wriggle out of his father's arms. "You and Liv, be careful, okay?"

"Always are," he said, kissing her cheek. He turned to his partner, grinning. "We need coffee," he said to her. He grabbed her arm and pulled, laughing at the way she grinned and waved at his son as they left.

"He has the most infectious laugh," she told him, following him down the front steps of his house. "He's a happy boy, Elliot."

"Yeah," Elliot said with a smile. "I think we, uh, we're all starting to feel happy again." He winked at her and got into the driver's side of his black truck.

She wondered why he winked, what he'd meant, as she settled into the passenger seat.

When he heard the small click of her seatbelt, he turned to look at her. "You just stood there," he said. "You saw that I was having trouble getting him, and you just stood there, laughing." He chuckled. "Look out, Olivia, because payback is a bitch."

She smiled watching his hand move the car's gearshift into reverse. "I love watching you with him." She paused. "Actually, I...I didn't think you knew I was there." She tucked her hair behind her ear and took a slow breath.

"I knew." He blew out of the small gap between his lips. "I always know when you're around." He shifted into drive and hit the gas, heading for the station. "And I am so fucking thankful that you're around."

She smiled as she dug around in her jacket pocket. "Me too," she said. She stilled and held up two five dollar bills. "I think we should spring for the good stuff," she said, giving him a mischievous look.

He chuckled and made a left turn, heading exactly where she wanted him to go. "You really think he was happy this morning?"

"The smile on his face, and that laugh," she let her head fall back and hit her seat as she closed her eyes and let out a content sigh. "He was having the time of his life with you, Daddy." She sat up again, her smile fading. "He's too young to realize what happened, all he knows is that..."

"The blonde woman who fed him in the morning isn't around," he finished gruffly. "You've been doing everything else," he said with a bitter tone. "Besides, you were the first person he saw, the first person who held him. He probably already thinks..."

"He doesn't think I'm his mother," she said with a roll of her eyes, cutting him off.

"Liv," he spoke, a new seriousness in his voice that filled the car with a chill, "I really think he does." He pulled into the drive through lane at the coffee place, turned to her, and said, "He never really bonded with Kathy. He was overly attached to me, and whenever you were in his line of vision, no one else existed at all." He grinned. "Takes after his father, there, huh?"

She laughed but shook her head. "I love him, El." She picked up her head and shrugged. "I love all of your kids, even though...well, I know with some of them, the feeling isn't mutual."

"They all love you," he affirmed. He let the car roll up as the line moved ahead. "It's me they're still pissed off at, they're still trying to make sense of it all, and they know I'm not exactly blameless in this." He glanced over at her and smirked. "Not at all."

She shifted in her seat and pointed. "Order the coffee, Don Juan," she teased.

He rolled up to the window, ordered their coffee, paid, and carefully took them from the attendant. He handed Olivia her cup and watched her take a sip. He laughed loudly when she gave him a thumbs up and took another long sip. "Shit," he hissed, trying to drive with one hand as the phone in his pocket rang. "Can you...uh..."

"Yeah," she said, and she worked her free hand into his pocket. As she grabbed his phone, she couldn't help teasing him a bit. She grinned proudly, hearing him moan, and she licked her lips as she answered the phone and held it up to his ear.

"Stabler," he barked into the phone, glaring at Olivia for make his pants slightly more uncomfortable. "Yeah, we're almost at the...well, we have paperwork so we thought we'd come in early to...okay, okay, what's the address? Yeah. Okay." He nodded at Olivia, telling her to hang up, and he said, "DB at the Meridian Hotel."

She shoved his phone back in his pocket, laughing to herself when he rolled his eyes. "That's where the NYPD always has the New Year's Eve party, isn't it?"

"You know it is," he said, his cocky grin in place. He made a U-turn and hit the gas. As he drove, he realized these were the moments he treasured. From playing with his son in the kitchen, to a moment of flirty relaxation with Olivia, it was the little moments in his day that made him realize how much he truly loved his life. With a turn of the wheel, he decided he owed it to himself, and his family, to make every moment count.

Starting now.

A/N: this could be a one-shot, but I do have more moments planned, let me know?