AN: Hey everyone! So here it is as promised. This is the sequel to Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. It can be read without reading the first story but if you want a clear understanding of who all the characters are (especially Rae) and/or Olivia's relationship with Rae, I would suggest reading Age Ain't Nothing but a Number first. Elliot will not be in this story. I will be introducing Nick, Amanda and Barba and will possibly include Munch's retirement. Please review! I love knowing what readers think but please keep it constructive. Also feel free to leave your suggestions and if they fit with the direction of the story, I will try my best to work them in.

This will be my one and only DISCLAIMER for this story: I do not own SVU or any of it's character. They are owned by Dick Wolf and NBC. I claim ownership of original characters and storyline.

Enjoy!

The Road to Happy

Chapter 1: Another Try

Rae drove Simone home after the cook out and then went to her place to pack a bag for Liv's. On the drive over, she couldn't stop smiling. She and Olivia were back together. Everything in her life already felt a little more perfect. She parked outside the building and went up to the door. It felt weird to have to push the buzzer to be let in after being able to let herself in for a while when she had a key. After a few buzzers, someone let her in and she went up the stairs to Olivia's apartment and knocked on the door. Olivia had decided that their first night back together would be romantic. She stopped by the market on her way home and bought some of Rae's favorite fruits, a bottle of her favorite wine, and some candles. She found some candles that weren't too strong, remembering that anything with too pungent a scent gave Rae a headache. She went home and set up her bedroom and ran a hot bubble bath. She undressed and changed into the robe that Rae bought for her on their vacation. There was a knock at the door and she hurried over to answer it.

"Hey" she said opening the door to Rae standing there with her overnight bag.

"Hey" she said back. Olivia took her hand and pulled her into the apartment. She shut and locked the door behind her and took her bag. "It smells good in here" she said as she walked further into the apartment.

"I have candles burning". She walked her into the bedroom and the sweet aroma of the candles Olivia had lit fully enveloped her. She closed her eyes and inhaled the light scent of spring time. It was perfect; not too faint, not too heavy but just right. Olivia set Rae's bag by the closet and came over to stand in front of her. She wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Araeyah wrapped her arms around Olivia's neck and she leaned down, resting their foreheads together. "I've missed you...so much" she said softly.

"I've missed you too". She leaned up slightly and brought their lips together. Olivia gathered the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up, breaking their kiss momentarily to pull it over her head. She moved her hands around her back and unclasped her bra, pulling it off and discarding it with her shirt. Her hands moved down and found the waist band of her shorts. Her shorts and underwear were removed in no time at all. Olivia finally broke the kiss and took Rae's hand, leading her to the bathroom. She walked in to see more candles burning, along with her favorite wine and a bowl of her favorite fruits. She walked over to the bubble bath that Olivia made for them and climbed into, settling into the relaxing warmth of the water. Olivia took off her robe and got in the tub behind her. Rae positioned herself between Olivia's legs and laid back against her chest. This position was so familiar to them that it didn't take any thought for them to settle into it. It sort of just happened.

"Don't be mad at her, Araeyah" Olivia said abruptly. Rae knew the "her" she was talking about was her mother. She didn't understand why Olivia was defending her. She was part of the reason they'd both been so miserable the past three months. "She loves you. She thought she was doing the right thing".

"I can't believe you're defending her" she said. "She told you to dump me. She sat and listened to me talk about how devastated I was and how stupid I felt. She saw how much I was hurting and she didn't do anything to fix it. I'm sorry but nothing you say is gonna change how pissed off I am at her".

"Ok, well at least hear her out when you talk to her?" Olivia really didn't want Rae fighting with her mother. She loved their relationship and didn't want to see it fall apart.

"I really feel like you're taking her side on this" Rae said a little annoyed with how much Olivia was sticking up for her mother. "She broke us up" she said angrily.

"No, I broke us up" Olivia corrected.

"Because she asked you to. If she wouldn't have interfered in our relationship then this never would have happened".

"Ok but...I just...I don't want you to be fighting with your mother. She loves you and she wants what's best for you. That's what she thought she was doing when she talked to me. Just promise me that you won't flip out when you talk to her. Promise me that you'll listen to what she has to say".

Rae sighed heavily, "I'll think about it".

"Are those like your new favorite four words together in a sentence?" she asked. She'd heard "I'll think about it" a lot from Rae over the last three months.

"Whatever" Rae said back.

"Another new favorite word?" Olivia asked teasingly. Rae was annoyed now and tried to get out of the tub. Olivia grabbed her by the waist and tried to stop her, "Ok, ok, ok. I'm sorry". Rae sat back down and leaned into her. "I don't want to fight. Let's just relax and drink wine and eat fruit and chocolate and talk..." she moved Rae's hair and nibbled on her favorite spot on her neck, causing her quietly moan, "and not talk". Rae turned her head and met Olivia's lips with her own. Olivia's hand moved down her body, messaging her breasts and caressing her skin and finally reaching their goal between Rae's legs. Rae moaned into their kiss at the feeling of Olivia's hands on her body. It'd been a long three months and they were finally where they wanted to be. They finished the entire bottle of wine and half the bowl of fruit Olivia bought. They made love in the bath tub and then moved to the bedroom. They made up for all the time they lost over their time apart. They fell asleep, exhausted, at three in the morning and had the best sleep either of them had enjoyed since the breakup.

The sun streaming through Olivia's bedroom window woke her at six thirty am. She rolled over and saw Rae sleeping peacefully beside her. She smiled happily to herself as stared at her sleeping girlfriend. She finally had everything she wanted; her job, her friends, the love of her life. Everything was perfect. She moved the hair out of her face to get a better look at her and Rae started to stir next to her. She turned over on her side to face Olivia and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hi" she said softly. Olivia smiled and stroked her hair. She loved how full and soft Rae's hair was underneath her fingers.

"Hi" she said back. They silently stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Rae spoke again.

"You have to work today?" she asked. She hoped the answer would be no but she knew it wouldn't be.

"Yeah" she said sadly. "Hopefully it'll be a very, very slow day and I can get out of there on time. Maybe early".

"Yeah, I won't hold my breath" she said laughing. She turned over on her back and stared up at the ceiling. She couldn't shake the feeling that she and Olivia were rushing back into things. They hadn't talked about anything outside of Olivia not wanting Rae to be upset with her mother. She felt like she'd missed so much of Liv's life over the last three months and Liv had missed so much of hers.

"Hey" Olivia said getting her attention. She turned her head to look at her again, "What are you thinking about?" she asked moving hair that had fallen over her face. She shook her head side to side.

"Nothing" she said. She leaned over and kissed her sweetly on the lips. "You should start getting ready for work" she said when she pulled away.

"I have plenty of time before I need to start getting ready" she said continuing to play with Rae's hair. "Now, what were you thinking about?"

"Did you see anyone?" she asked. Olivia looked confused by the question. "When we were apart, did you see anyone else?" she clarified. Olivia shook her head.

"No, I didn't" she answered. Rae looked unconvinced by her answer. "After a while, I tried to move on but I couldn't. I was still in love with you. I swear" she assured her, "I didn't see anyone else".

"I did" she confessed. "I mean I went on a couple dates but it never went anywhere. And Simone; I tried to but...we kissed but all I could think about was you. I was still in love with you too" she said softly. Olivia moved closer to Rae and brought their lips together. She pulled away and looked into Rae's eyes. "You're not upset?" she asked. Olivia smiled and shook her head.

"Of course not" she said before kissing her again. "Are you gonna be here tonight when I come home?" she asked hopeful.

"You mean, if you come home" she corrected. She kissed her again, "Yes, I will be here". Olivia smiled and kissed her one more time then got up from the bed and went to the bathroom. She showered and brushed her teeth then got dressed. She left her apartment at eight, leaving Rae to enjoy her Sunday alone. She forced herself to get out of bed, shower and put clothes on. She called Simone and asked if she wanted to go out with her for breakfast and of course she said yes. Rae was interested to see how things would continue between them. She still felt like Simone had feelings for her and she couldn't deny that they had chemistry. But she was in love with Olivia. She hoped that, like Ashley, Simone would continue accept and respect her relationship with Olivia despite her feelings.

She met up with her for breakfast and talked to her about her anxiety about her getting back together with Olivia. She felt like they rushing back into things. They'd barely talked about anything that had happened in their three months apart. The same thing happened that always seemed to happen, they ended up in bed. At some point in their relationship the talking became more and more scarce and the relationship became more and more about sex. That was scary to Rae. She didn't want physical chemistry to be all they had. She really liked that Simone, unlike Ashley and Maureen, could just listen to her and not bombard her with questions or advice. She waited until Rae asked to give her thoughts. She told her the only way to fix the problem of not enough talking was to start talking. Simone always had the simplest solutions to problems. Another thing Rae really liked about her. They finished their breakfast and then parted ways for the day.

Rae decided to go home and have that talk with her mother. She walked in and Jimmy was on the couch watching tv. He'd moved back in with them after he'd gotten out of rehab. He'd fallen behind on his school work and would have to take summer school but he'd done well in rehab. He was keeping the promise he'd made to do better and be more responsible. He'd gotten a job after school as a cashier at a market and was still going to meetings on the weekends. Rae couldn't be more proud of him and how well he was doing.

"Hey" she said walking over to the couch. "How ya doin'?" she asked flopping down next to him.

"Good. Just hanging out. Figured I'd have a nice, relaxing Sunday at home" he said looking over at her.

"You can relax in this house?" she asked. Jimmy laughed and nodded his head. "You're a strange kid".

"How are you doing?" he asked. It'd been a couple of weeks since she'd been home to visit. He noticed something a little different about her but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"I'm good. You know, I...I'm good. Ummm, Olivia and I are back together" she said slightly blushing.

"Get out" he said surprised. "Good for you" he said lovingly squeezing her shoulder.

"Hey, is, uh, is mom here?" she asked. She was dreading this conversation but it needed to happen. She needed to know what the hell her mother was thinking interfering in her relationship and then lying to her about it for three months.

"Yeah, she's upstairs". Rae ruffled her brother's hair and then got up and headed for the stairs. She went up and stopped outside her mother's door. She hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath and then knocked on the door. She heard her mother call for her to come in. She opened the door and went inside, closing it behind her. Soraya was shorting and folding laundry.

"Salam. Kheili vaghte ke too ra nadidam" she said looking over her shoulder to see her daughter enter the room.

"Yeah. I've been a little busy" she said going over and sitting on the bed. She decided to try to give her mother a chance to tell her the truth on her own. "I got back together with Olivia" she said. Soraya paused her movements when the words registered with her and then continued her task of folding laundry.

"Wow, that's...that's wonderful". The tone of her voice didn't match her words. Rae could tell that it wasn't something she wanted to hear.

"Yeah, we worked things out and decided to give us another try" she said waiting for more of a reaction from her mother. "Are you happy for me?" she asked. Soraya just kept folding laundry as if Rae hadn't asked her anything. "Mom" Rae said getting her attention. Soraya put down the shirt she was folding and looked at her daughter. "Do you have something you want to tell me?" she asked.

"Bebakhshid" she said sadly.

"Chera?" Rae asked. Soraya wasn't sure if she was asking her why she was sorry or why she'd done what she was sorry for. Rae obviously knew what she'd done so she went with the latter. She put the clothes she'd already folded in the laundry basket and moved it out of the way so she could sit down next to her daughter.

"I was just trying to help you. I wanted...I wanted you to slow down. You grew up so fast and it was my fault. I ruined your childhood and it hurts me. Inja dard mokinad" she said placing her hand over her heart. "I just thought that if I talked to her that she would understand. You wouldn't listen to me. I didn't know what else to do". A few tears escaped her eyes as she spoke. "I'm sorry if I hurt you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth".

"You did hurt me, mom. You sabotaged my relationship. I came to you after the break up. You saw how unhappy I was, how much I was hurting and you never said anything. You just let me go on thinking that I'd done something wrong, that Olivia didn't want me because I wasn't good enough and the whole time it was your fault! How could you do that to me?" she asked sadly.

"I was just trying to help" she said again. "Ayaan eshtabah ast?"

"No, mom, but that's not how you help. You help by listening to me when I say I'm happy and that school and work is what I want to do. You help by supporting me and who I love, not by telling her to dump me. I don't need you to take care of me. I'm not a little girl anymore and I will never be a little girl again. I know that's what you wanted but mom...that's never going to happen".

"Aya moteneyam hasitd?" she asked. "Maybe if you were more open to it..." Rae shook her head from side to side.

"Aya motevajeh shodid?!" she asked annoyed. "It's not going to happen. And yes, maybe it is your fault and I understand that that's hard for you to accept but that has nothing to do with me, mom. That's your guilt. Stop trying to make me who you want me to be!" she yelled angrily.

"Ok, ok" Soraya said trying to calm her daughter. "I'm sorry. I just want to make up for everything I did wrong when you were growing up".

"Well, you could start by leaving Charles" she said seriously.

"Araeyah"

"I'm serious, mom. I don't understand how you can stand to be with him. He's a jerk. He abandoned his son. He couldn't care less if Jimmy was found in a ditch and you know it. How do you go from dad to...him?" she asked disgusted.

"He wasn't always like that. When we first met, he was kind and loving".

"Well he's not like that now and he's not going to change because you allow him to act the way he does" she said. "Whenever Olivia is being an as...jerk" she corrected, "I give her an ultimatum. Change it or else".

"Or else what?" Soraya asked amused.

"Well it depends but it has to be something that you know he'll respond to". Soraya chuckled at her daughter's advice. She really is all grown up. There really was nothing she could do about it. She figured it was time she started to accept it. Rae stayed at home for lunch with her mother and Jimmy. They ate then watched a couple of movies before Rae decided to head back to Olivia's apartment. She walked through the door to see a young boy sitting on the couch. She walked over to him to introduce herself.

"Hi" she said nicely.

"Hi" he said back. She could tell that he was kind of shy and a little uneasy about being there. She sat down on the couch next to him.

"I'm Rae. What's your name?" she asked.

"Calvin" he said softly. Olivia walked out of the bedroom with blankets and pillows and put them on the couch next to Calvin.

"Hey babe" she said going over and giving Rae a light kiss. "Uh, Calvin this is who I was telling you about. Araeyah. You remember?" she asked. He nodded his head. "Ok, well dinner will be ready in a bit. You want to watch tv while I finish cooking?" He nodded his head again. Olivia let him pick a movie and then put it on for him before she and Rae went into the kitchen to finish up dinner. She was making baked chicken, roasted vegetables, and mashed potatoes. Olivia checked on the chicken while Rae finished mashing the potatoes.

"You brought a kid home?" she asked in a whisper. She mashed the potatoes a little harder than necessary. Olivia could tell she was angry.

"No, I didn't..."

"No? Because he looks a kid to me" she whispered as she continued to mash. She couldn't believe that Olivia had brought a child home without even so much as a phone call.

"Ok, yes, I did but it was very unexpected" she said trying to keep her voice down.

"Too unexpected for a phone call?" Rae asked. She continued to angrily mash the potatoes until Olivia pulled the bowl away from her. If she mashed the potatoes anymore they would be soup.

"Can we just...please talk about this after he's gone to bed?" she said looking over her shoulder into the living room. Calvin was watching his movie, laughing at the screen.

"Ok, fine" she said with a sigh. "I'm gonna go shower and change before dinner". She went into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. She showered, washed her hair and put on yoga pants and a t shirt before going back out just as Olivia was putting dinner on the table.

"Calvin" she said getting his attention, "dinner's ready. You wanna turn off the movie and come to the table?" she asked. He stared at her for a minute before nodding his head and turning off the tv. Rae stifled a laugh that was threatening to come out at the way that he'd look at her. Olivia saw it from the kitchen. Apparently she'd have to watch out for Calvin taking glances at her girlfriend. She got a bottle of wine out of the fridge and two glasses down from the cabinet.

"Calvin, what would you like to drink? We have juice, milk, strawberry pop" Olivia asked standing in front of the open refrigerator door.

"Juice please" he said softly. Rae smiled at how sweet and soft spoken he was. But in the back of her mind she couldn't help thinking that she wasn't ready to be a mom. And to a pre-teen no less. She'd just recently been able to stop worrying about taking care of Jimmy and now she might be in for parenting another kid. She wasn't ready for that. Olivia came over to the table with a cup of juice for Calvin and the bottle of wine for herself and Rae. Once she sat down, they filled their plates and enjoyed dinner. Rae tried to ask Calvin questions to get to know him better but he wasn't very talkative. Olivia thought it was cute that he had a little crush on Rae and that her asking him questions made him nervous. When they finished eating, Olivia made up the couch for Calvin to sleep on and let him finish his movie while she and Rae cleaned up the dishes and put away the left overs. When they finished, the movie had ended and Calvin was fast asleep. She turned off the tv and lamps and then went to the bedroom. Rae took off her pants and got in bed while Olivia changed out her clothes from work into her sleep wear before joining her girlfriend. She gave her kiss, said good night, turned off the lamp on her side of the bed and settled down to go to sleep.

"Ummm, excuse me" Rae said still sitting up against the headboard. Olivia turned over and looked at her. "I thought we were going to talk about your newly acquired child". Olivia sat up and turned her lamp back on.

"He's not my child. He's just staying with me until I can find his father". She said it as if it were no big deal.

"And why is he staying with you, exactly?" she asked.

"His mother is the daughter of a victim in a case that we've been working on. She was a recovering alcoholic and drug addict and she relapsed. I got back to the precinct this evening and Calvin there. She'd dropped him off with a note that said she wanted him to stay with me" she explained.

"She signed over her rights to you?"

"Uhh, yes. She left him with papers transfering her parental rights to me. She made me his legal gaurdian". Olivia watched as Rae closed her eyes and took deep, calming breaths. "Don't be mad ok? It's not forever. I'm working on finding his father". She moved closer to Rae and started placing kisses down her neck.

"Stop" Rae said pushing her away. "Look, Liv, I can't do this with you. It's too hard" she said running her hands through her hair.

"Wha...We just got back together and you're breaking up with me?" she asked nervously.

"What? No, Liv. I don't mean us, I mean I can't do this weird...uh...I don't even know what it is. I just..." she paused and took a deep breath, thinking of the best way to explain her feelings. "We were apart for three months and we got back together and we hardly talked about anything". Olivia opened her mouth to argue but Rae knew what she going to say. "Ok, we talked about why you broke up with me and us seeing other people but we didn't talk about anything else that happened with us in the time we were apart. We gave each other the cliffnotes version. The generic "school, work, friends" but we didn't talk; actually talk. We just had sex. It happened every time we tried to have a conversation. When you came to my apartment and at the cook out and then last night. I mean, I know we didn't actually have sex but if I hadn't stopped things, we would have. And then tonight you bring a kid home and you don't even call me. I don't want us to become this couple where all we have in common is a physical attraction".

"That's not going to happen to us" Olivia said quickly.

"It's already happening, Liv" she said sadly. "We used to be able to talk for hours and then we broke up and talking turned into a battle. We need to start talking again. It should be easy. We have a lot of catching up to do".

"Ok. We will" she said confidently. "And you're right. I'm sorry. I should've called you" she admitted. "It won't happen again".

"Good" She leaned over and gave her firm kiss on the lips. "So, start from the beginning. Tell me about this case you're working on". Olivia told Rae all about Vivian Arliss and how she'd come to leave her son in her care. They talked about what would happen while Olivia looked for Calvin's father and what could happen if she didn't find him. They talked for a couple of hours until they were both yawning, signaling it was time for them to get some rest. They each turned off their lamps and kissed each other good night before settling down to go to sleep.

Persian- English Translations

Salam. Kheili vaghte ke too ra nadidam- Hi. Long time, no see.

Bebakhshid- Sorry

Chera?- Why

Inja dard mokinad- It hurts here

Ayaan eshtabah ast?- Is that wrong?

Aya motmean hasit?- Are you sure?

Aya motevajeh shodid?- Did you hear what I said?