Title: Saving Christmas
Author: ZombieJazz
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Law and Order SVU and its characters belong to Dick Wolf. The characters of Jack and Benji have been created and developed for the sake of this AU series.
Summary: Olivia takes her adopted son on a Christmas outing, giving her the opportunity to reflect on the season, the growth of her family and all the changes in her life in the past year. A short holiday story in the Olivia/Jack/Benji AU.
Author's Notes: This AU series is for SVU fans and readers who want Olivia to have something that resembles a more normal life outside of work and a family of her own - hopefully somewhat realistically within the canon of SVU. Most of the chapters will ultimately take place outside of the work environment, so there aren't going to be too many references to cases from the show. But this story would generally be starting in about Season 15 of the show. Please let me know what you think and if you distribute elsewhere.
WARNING: THIS STORY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR READERS OF "WELCOME HOME". NOTHING HUGE OR UNEXPECTED BUT IT IS A FLASH FORWARD FROM WHERE THE STORY IS CURRENTLY AT. IF YOU ARE CONCERNED, YOU MIGHT JUST WANT TO WAIT UNTIL THAT STORY REACHES ITS CHRISTMAS CHAPTERS.
Olivia juggled Benji on her hip, bouncing him a bit as she readjusted her tired arm under his butt and attempted to keep him from falling. She loved her one-on-one time with her Little Fox but there were certain times that having Jack or Brian with her was more than just an added bonus. And times where her little boy got clingy and nervous in a crowd and wanted to be held and carried was one of them. She liked cuddling with her son but keeping a hold of him while he was in his winter gear and squirming and grabbing at her neck and ramming his dirty boots and pointy knees into her was another thing.
Olivia was sure since having Benji in her life her upper body strength had improved ten-fold. She suspected it might even better than in her younger days when getting to the gym near daily after shift had been part of her routine. Toting around a little boy did that to you. And it wasn't like he was getting any smaller – even if he was still underweight and shorter than most boys his age. She was borderline getting to the point that she thought she should be telling him that he was too big for her to be holding him. But he was nervous and she was trying to calm him so he could enjoy the experience that he didn't even know was coming.
"There lots of people here to see the firetruck," Benji told her, giving her a squinty look.
She gave him a smile and rubbed at his back a bit. "There sure are, Benj," she agreed.
His eyes shifted back to the big red ladder truck that was parked in the middle of the cordoned off street. "He not even the real Heatwave and people come see," he said.
"Maybe it is the real Heatwave," Olivia suggested.
Benji shook his head hard and looked at her again. "Mommy, Heatwave live at firefighter Joe-in's fire station. He is number four three. Dat not Heatwave. Dat number one two," he said and pointed at the truck.
Olivia smiled more as she looked and spotted the ladder number he'd found all on his own accord. Her son could be so bright and observant about the things he wanted to be. But she supposed that was true of most people.
"Heatwave is Ladder forty-three," she corrected gently for him, "and this firetruck is ladder twelve."
"Yeah!" Benji said more loudly. "It tell-ve! It not Heatwave!" He squinted at the family standing next to them, eyeing the little girl who was also being held by her Daddy, more likely to be able to see through the growing crowd than for any reason similar to why Olivia was holding her little boy. "Dat not Heatwave!" Benji informed the girl. "You can go see Heatwave. He live near me. He better than dis firetruck."
The little girl gazed at him and then gripped her Daddy's neck tightly and made a small sound, looking away from Benji's serious face. The man glanced over at them and rubbed his daughter's back. Olivia gave him an apologetic smile.
"Sorry," she allowed. "He's excited about the firetruck."
"IT JUST A FIRETRUCK! IT NOT HEATWAVE!" Benji provided even more loudly, though now he was clinging to her with a similar intensity to the nervous little girl next to them.
The man just wordlessly nodded and looked away, talking quietly to his daughter and trying to distract her from the apparent freaks that they'd been relegated to in Benji's little outburst. Few things could compare to Heatwave. Olivia understood that. Most of the rest of the world did not. She was sure that most of the rest of the world didn't even know who or what Heatwave was. She was definitely learning with Benji in kindergarten now that not all little boys were quite as in love with Rescue Bots as he was. She wasn't even sure if they were on the list of popular TV characters. She'd instead started hearing about things like Skylanders, and Octonauts, and Ben 10, and Max Steel, and Spiderman, and Power Rangers. Most of them were things she'd never heard of. But some internet searching had allowed her to determine that she didn't think Rescue Bots, Transformers, Ninja Turtles and Thomas the Tank Engine were that awful after all.
Olivia rubbed at Benji's back too and tried to get him to calm a bit too. He was on a bit of an information overload between the people around them and the firetruck on display. Normally he'd likely decide for them that he'd had enough of the crowd and wanted to be on their way but the firetruck seemed to be holding him in place for the moment. Olivia glanced at her watch. It just needed to hold him a few more minutes and they'd get to the surprise that she'd brought him there for.
But apparently her military precision watch – or that of the fire department – was slightly behind (or ahead, if it was them) schedule. Suddenly there was a loud CRASHING sound blaring out of the loud speakers set up on the street.
Benji jerked upright against her and glanced around, squinted as he looked at the street.
"What dat sound, Mommy?" he asked.
She smiled and placed a light kiss against his cheek. "I don't know, sweetheart."
Benji gazed around him as the crowd began to murmur – other children asking the same as him. Wondering what the sudden crash and commotion was. But he didn't have to wait long for the answer.
A "Ho, ho, ho," came across the speakers, followed by, "Ooooh, no! My sleigh."
Benji gazed around him as he processed that and then looked at her with his mouth gaping and his eyes going big.
"What is it, Benj?" she asked innocently.
He blinked at her a couple times and then turned back toward the street, pushing himself up her body farther, his little heels digging into her as he clamored to try to get a better view. And, he got it.
Adults and children started pointing to the roof of the building directly in front of them, and Olivia jointed with the point too, extending her arm and guiding her little boy's eyes to the figure coming to the edge.
Benji gripped at her more. "Santa," he whispered in near shock.
Olivia smiled and against adjusted her arm around him, trying to help him sit a bit higher and positioning herself a bit more to try to get him a clear sightline, while glancing around to make sure they weren't blocking the view of any other little people or families.
The man in the bright red suit and big white beard came to the edge, holding his belly and chortling.
"Oh, dear, my sleigh seems to have taken a bit of a crash landing," came out of the loud speakers.
Benji's eyes shifted back to Olivia – growing bigger by the second. "Santa's slay-eh CRASHED?"
She rubbed at his back a bit. "That's what he said, Little Fox."
Benji looked back up to the roof. "Dat bad!" he said.
The Santa was out by the edge now, glancing around at the onlookers. "Oh, my, look at all these people," he said. "So many children and families!"
At that point sirens went off, the cherry-tops on the firetruck lighting up and wailing to the point that several of the smaller kids and babies let out cries. Others smacked their hands over their ears. But not Olivia's son – he gazed in even more admiration at the truck.
Several firefighters – in full gear – came running out of the Fire Museum and ran into the middle of the street, looking up at Santa too.
"Santa, be careful!" one of the firemen yelled through a bullhorn.
"YEAH! BE CAREFUL!" Benji yelled too, loud enough to attract some laughs and smiles from the other families near them. "YOU HIGH!"
"I think he's used to being high up, Benj," Olivia said. "He flies all around the world on Christmas Eve and is on tops of lots of apartment buildings and houses delivering presents."
"NOT WHEN HIS SAY-EH CRASHED, MOMMY!" Benji protested, his eyes staying fixed on the actor on the roof.
"Don't worry, Santa! We'll get you down!" the firemen called out and started scrambling toward the truck.
Benji looked at Olivia again with a slack jaw. "The firefighters rescue Santa?"
She nodded. "Looks like it."
Benji looked back to the scene as the ladder on the truck began to rise, a firefighter in the basket. Christmas music started to blare over the speakers while the fighters on the ground attempted to get the crowd involved in singing a round of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." But Benji was far too transfixed to participate, though Olivia bounced him a bit in a sway to the music and sung along quietly into his ear.
He finally looked back at her as the ladder got to the top of the building and Santa go into the basket and it began its slow trek down while the Jolly Elf gazed gleefully to the crowd.
"Mommy, firemen have the bestest job ever," Benji told her dead seriously.
But a smile just pulled at her cheeks more until it hurt. "You think so?"
He nodded hard. "Mommy, they just save Santa. They save Christmas! It the bestest ever."
She hugged him tight. "I'm glad you think so, Little Fox."