This is a series of drabbles that take place after the story "In Your Arms" and are set in that same universe; just little snippets of the romantic and family moments that happen within the Benson/Rollins household. Each chapter will be in chronological order. There might be more explicit chapters in the future if the plotline centers on a romantic encounter between Liv and Amanda, so I will put an M-rating on those updates.

Unlike what ended up happening with my "Short & Sweet" fic, I'm trying as hard as I can to keep these chapters closer to an actual drabble-length instead of longer one-shots, so I'm aiming to keep them at around 1,000 words or less (obviously this author's note is driving up the word count, though, lol). I think this will be a good challenge to myself to keep the plotine of each chapter very condensed instead of rambling on and on, like I tend to do.

I hope you enjoy! :)

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Title: Welcome Home

Genre: Family/humor

Rating: K

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The first thing Olivia hears when she opens the door to her apartment is the muffled giggling of children and the sharp bark of a dog. She squints into the darkness when she sees that most of the lights have been turned off, cursing under her breath when she stumbles over a tiny pair of toddler shoes that are lying haphazardly just inside the door. Her arms are full of groceries as she struggles into the kitchen and tries not to trip over anything, nearly dropping one of the bags before setting them down onto the counter as carefully as possible.

"I could use a little help here!" Olivia calls out with a mixture of annoyance and mirth, rolling her eyes when all she gets is a stifled snort in response and aware that no one in the home is actually intending on providing her with any kind of assistance.

This has become a ritual of sorts every time she leaves the apartment to run any kind of errand by herself; returning more often than not to find the lights off and all of the other occupants hiding somewhere, necessitating the need to search room by room to locate everyone. Olivia plays along with this little game of hide-and-seek each and every time, as she knows the kids get a huge kick out of it, but privately acknowledges that Amanda is most likely using this activity as an excuse to get out of helping her put the groceries away.

"Hmm, it's awfully quiet in here. I wonder where everyone could be?" Olivia says loudly as she creeps out of the kitchen, a note of mystery in her tone.

"Right here, Mama!" Noah answers promptly, startling Olivia by leaping out from behind the couch and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Uh, Noah, I think you're missing the point of the game there, buddy," she hears Amanda chuckle dryly from the nearby darkness as she swings her son up into her arms and smothers him with kisses, eliciting a squeal from the little boy in return. "You're not supposed to answer when she asks where everyone is. You gave your spot away."

"Well, he's not the only one who just gave away his hiding spot," Olivia laughs as she holds Noah firmly with one arm and reaches down blindly beside the couch with the other, seizing a well-defined bicep with her fingers and hauling her girlfriend swiftly to her feet.

"Damn," she hears Amanda mutter in chagrin, feeling the small form of Jesse dancing amidst her legs now and whining to be picked up as well, Frannie joining in the fray as she prances around them in an excited circle.

"Language, Amanda," Olivia warns under her breath as she leans down to scoop a wiggling blonde toddler into her embrace, Jesse instantly squeezing her so tightly around the neck in a welcome-home hug that she finds it hard to draw in a deep breath.

"Yeah, 'Manda, language," Noah mimics in a snarky voice, Olivia chastising him when she notices the tongue poking out of his mouth in a derisive gesture that is directed at Amanda, the blonde detective just snickering and ruffling his hair in response as she turns on the light.

Her son and girlfriend enjoy teasing one another and riling each other up on a regular basis, Amanda seeming to devolve in maturity whenever they are together and competing to see who can be more annoying. Her girlfriend is often just a big kid herself when they are away from the precinct, usually instigating the majority of the shenanigans that take place in their shared home and taking great joy in the games they play with Noah and Jesse.

Olivia just shakes her head in amusement when she observes Amanda sticking her tongue out right back at the little boy and giving him a mischievous poke in the ribs. "You could have helped me out with the groceries, you know," she grumbles good-naturedly as she shifts slightly with both Noah and Jesse in her arms to give Amanda a quick peck on the lips.

"Well, I was busy with the kids, Liv," Amanda argues with an angelic expression now plastered across her face, blinking innocently at her with those big blue eyes. "Someone has to watch the children while you're off galavanting all over town."

"Excuse me?" Olivia sputters in disbelief, inclining her head toward the kitchen where multiple plastic bags are stacked precariously over every available counter space. "I would hardly call picking up something for dinner and getting Frannie's dog food 'galavanting all over town'. This kind of thing isn't exactly entertaining for me, you know."

Amanda just grins cheekily at her, Olivia rolling her eyes as she stifles a grin of her own and ducks playfully away from the smaller woman's attempt to give her a conciliatory hug; Amanda seeming to take far too much pleasure in getting under her skin at every available opportunity. It has been a nearly a month since they had moved in together, deciding that the five of them would live at Olivia's place due to the much bigger space, and her girlfriend's silly and charming antics never fail to bring a smile to her face. Even though there is a still a lot to sort out within their new relationship and family unit, Olivia has never been happier in her life; an indescribable joy filling her whenever they are all together and finding it hard to believe that she had ever been so reluctant in taking the next step with Amanda.

"Livvy, play!" Jesse suddenly commands, squishing Olivia's cheeks with her chubby little hands.

"Yeah, Mama, stop talking to 'Manda and play with us!" Noah chimes in enthusiastically, both kids bouncing up and down with excitement in Olivia's arms.

"Sometimes the grown ups have to talk, buddy" she chides gently, glancing over at Amanda and smirking when she sees that the younger woman has begun jumping up and down as well. "And I use the term 'grown up' very loosely," she mutters dryly under her breath, earning herself a playful shove from Amanda.

"Okay, Liv, we're going to hide while you sit on the couch and count to ten, and you better not peek," Amanda instructs, swooping both kids from Olivia's embrace and setting them on the floor to sprint away with pleased laughter.

As Olivia takes a seat on the cushions and covers her eyes with her hands, Frannie immediately draping her furry body across her lap, she smiles in contentment and thinks how lucky she is to be welcomed home to such a whirlwind of chaotic happiness.