Chapter 1
Elliot walked into the squad room holding three-year-old Eli. It was his weekend, and Kathy dropped him off early because she got called into work before her shift. It was early in the afternoon, so he was hoping that they would not get any new cases, or that he could slip out early.
"What is mini Stabler doing here?" Fin asked.
"Kathy was called into work early," Elliot replied. "Hopefully it will be a slow afternoon. He is missing nap time, so he will probably get cranky soon."
"Lib want my Lib," Eli yelled looking around the room for her.
"Here we go," Elliot grimaced.
"Lib, Lib, Lib. Where my Lib at," Eli continued.
"She's out right now, but she should be back soon," Elliot tried to placate him.
"Is he asking for Liv?" John questioned. "I didn't realize they were that close."
Elliot attempted to explain why his son was begging to see his partner… "Kathy told him that he would be seeing her to bribe him to come here quietly. She tells him that Liv helped deliver him all of the time," Elliot attempted. "He remembers her."
Just then Captain Cragen walked out of his office to over hear the conversation. "El, I will do my best to get you out of here early. For now, do you think he would take a nap in my office or the cribs?" Cragen offered as Eli continued to quietly call for "his Lib," and started to cry.
"Yeah, I can try that," Elliot said as he walked towards the office.
"Lib! My Lib!" Eli happily yelled as Elliot turned to see Olivia, Alex and Casey walking into the squad. Eli attempted to get out of Elliot's hold to run to her. Elliot sat him down, and Eli ran across the room and into Liv's arms. "I misted you, Lib!" Eli cried as a wrapped his arms around her neck. Olivia picked him up and hugged him to her. "I missed you, too, handsome" Olivia replied as she kissed him on the head.
"Wow, this is quite the reunion," Alex smiled slyly. She shot a glance at Casey who had a suspicious look in her eye. "Yeah, wow," Casey added. "You would think that he sees you all of the time or something." Casey and Alex knew that there was more going on between Olivia and Elliot then they let on. Her closeness to Elliot's son seemed to give them more proof to their suspicions.
"You comin' to Chuck Cheese wif us, Lib? Pleeeseee?!" Eli said as he smiled at her. "I'll share my pizza wif you agin'"
Casey and Alex started to laugh as Elliot attempted to change the topic of the conversation before too many people realized that Olivia and Eli spend a lot of time together.
"So, what do we need to get you on the Freemont case, Alex, so that you are ready for court next week?"
"We should be all set since I have your statements, just make sure that you are at the hearing on Wednesday and hopefully it will be an open and shut case." Alex replied.
"Let's hope so," Captain replied.
As Olivia walked over to her desk with Eli still in her arms, the rest of the squad discussed weekend plans and other open cases. She stood with him reviewing a file as he laid with his head on her shoulder. Cragen observed the scene with a smile on his face. Olivia rocked Eli and whispered in his ear to put him to sleep and she reviewed some of her work. Captain knew that there was much more to that relationship than they were letting on. He was happy for both of them and would help them to deal with the consequences when they finally disclosed their relationship to him.
"Elliot, you may as well take Eli and get out of here before we get a reason for you to stay," Cragen nodded towards him. The group looked at Olivia holding Eli, and they all smiled. She looked so peaceful holding Elliot's son in her arms, and he was content to hold right back on to her.
"Thanks, Cap," Elliot smiled as he grabbed the diaper bag that Kathy sent with him, and walked over to get Eli from Olivia. As Elliot reached for his son, Eli started to cry. "No, stay with my Lib. Please Daddy. I misted Lib."
Olivia kissed his forehead and whispered to him that she would see him later tonight, and Eli smiled. Elliot took his son in his arms, and told the group that he would see everyone on Monday as he walked to the elevators.
"Look how comfortable he gets in your arms," Alex said with a grin on her face. "Yeah," Casey replied. "It's like he is there quite often if you ask me."
"Shut up you two," Olivia rolled her eyes. She smiled to herself as she went back to her work. She knew that her relationship with Elliot was apparently obvious to everyone, but it was something that they wanted to keep to themselves for a while longer before they had to let the rest of the world in.