Chapter 1-Hello Again

*Olivia's POV*

I hung up the phone and it fell to
the ground. After picking it up, I grabbed my jacket off the back of my chair
and ran out of my office. I only stopped to tell Fin he was in charge. I
sprinted out the door and down the stairs, not wanting to wait for an elevator.
I finally got outside after what seemed like forever and got into the squad car,
turned on the siren, and proceeded to speed through the streets of NYC, headed
for Mercy General Hospital. I bursted through the hospital doors, bound for the
front desk. A woman greeted me.

"Good morning, mam. How may I help you?"

After catching my breath I responded,

"I received a call that my son,
Noah Benson, was brought here."

She smiled and said, "Room 232. Just take
those stairs up then hang a left around the corner. It'll be the 3rd room on
your right."

"Thank you," I replied.

When I arrived in his room, he was
asleep. He slept so peacefully. The room was just quiet enough for me to hear
his tiny breaths as he steadily inhaled and exhaled. Tubes and wires were hooked
up all over his body. I've never felt as helpless as I did in that moment.
Caught up in my thoughts, I failed to notice when a nurse entered the room.

"Ms. Benson," she said and I snapped back to reality.

I turned around and
both of our faces dropped simultaneously. The nurse was Maureen Stabler. Boy had
she grown up.

"Liv!", she said, proceeding to embrace me. I hugged her back,
amazed by the beautiful woman she'd become.

"How are you, sweetie?", I
asked.

"I'm well. Thanks for asking! I'm working here for my second year as
an RN and life is great. I recently got engaged to the love of my life, Dominic,
and we're planning for a wedding next June. I moved into an apartment on the
lower west side and just got a dog named Sadie."

Oh my God. Little Maureen
Stabler is getting married, living on her own and working. I am old.

"Wow,
Maureen! I'm so happy for you! Congratulations on all of your
accomplishments!"

"Thanks!", she replied. "How are you, Liv?", she asked.

"I'm great! I mean despite the fact that my son is in the hospital, life is
going well. I couldn't be happier to be honest."

"Congratulations on him, by
the way. My dad told me all about you adopting him. I'm so happy for you.", she
replied.

"Your dad?", I asked. How the hell did he know?

"Yea! I guess
he had lunch with Captain Cragen a few months back."

"Oh", I replied.

"Well," she said "I better get back to work. Noah is doing well, better than
we expected, so my work here is done. Bye, Liv!"

"Bye, Maureen."

It was
now noon and, having skipped breakfast, the word starving didn't even come close
to explaining the pain in the pit of my stomach. I kissed Noah's forehead,
inhaling his sweet scent, and told him I'd be right back. I walked out of the
room and down the hall toward the doors. At this point, drywall sounded
appetizing. Luckily, there was a Subway across the street. I walked over,
ordered a turkey footlong, and sat down to eat. Ten minutes later, I was half
done with my sandwich and Maureen walked in, followed by Elliot. Holy crap.
What am I going to say to him? How am I supposed to socialize with him? Of all
the places I could have gone for lunch, I picked this one. I nonchalantly
continued to eat, acting as though I had no idea they were there. I overheard
them order their food and receive it. They sat down. Maybe they didn't notice
me. Score one for Olivia.

Once again, I was brought back to reality by the
voice of a Stabler saying, "Hey, stranger."

"Hi", I replied, smiling back at
him.

Damn those eyes were captivating. A few seconds later, I found myself
lost in his gaze. This would be a lot less awkward if his daughter wasn't there.
But then again, he is married. That one little detail always happened to slip my
mind.

"How are you?", He asked.

"Fine, thanks. Yourself?"

"I'm
great, Liv, thanks."

Suddenly, Maureen was paged. My heart dropped, thinking
it could be Noah. Elliot sensed my nervousness, as he always had, and grabbed my
hand. I let him. I wasn't mad at him for leaving anymore. He had his reasons and
I can't say they were bad ones. In all honestly, I probably would have left if I
were in that situation as well. My mind snapped back to Noah until Maureen
assured me it wasn't him. However, she did have to go. She kissed her father on
the cheek and said "good bye" to us both. She then departed the restaurant.
Elliot moved himself and his food to my table and said "And then there were
two." He smiled and again, I was lost in his deep blue eyes.

"You look good,
Liv.", he said, trying to make small talk.

I couldn't control the blushing
that overcame my face. All I could do was smile.

"Liv," he said, "I'm
sorr-"

"Stop," I interrupted him. "I forgave you in my heart a long time
ago. You did what you had to do. I would have done the same thing in that
situation. I'm just glad to see you again and to know you're doing well."

A
single tear rolled down his face and he grabbed my hands across the table,
squeezing them tightly. "God I missed you.", he whispered.

There was
something different between us now. It was new. It was unexpected. It was sweet.

We finished eating and I told him that I had to get back to Noah. "Do you
mind if I tag along? I'm dying to meet him.", he pleaded.

If he were any
other guy, I'd say no. But he was Elliot. If it weren't for him, I probably
wouldn't still be in SVU and most likely wouldn't have Noah. He's also great
with kids, I watched him raise his own. Noah would love him and if this is
headed in the direction I think it is, he's going to be a big part of Noah's
life.

"Sure," I replied. "He'll love you," I said, smiling.