Author's Note:

I would like to clear up a few things that seem to have everyone a bit confused. This story IS infact an AU/EO story. There WILL eventually be EO romance and/or smut, lol. Also, Elliot is NOT married in this story and has no other children. I guess I should have mentioned that earlier, but I got wrapped up in writing the story. (And the summary box does not allow enough letters to let me write all of what I want to say.) I hope this clarifies things and I am sorry for the confusion. Thank you guys for all of the reviews! Everyone have a SAFE and HAPPY HOLIDAY!

~Detective Olivia Stabler ~

Now, On With The Story….

Nobody's Child

(Chapter Two: Little Girl Lost)

Olivia set the bottle on the table and raised the little girl to her shoulder, as she did the baby burped.

"My goodness," she said looking down into the soft blue eyes of the infant as she smiled. "But you feel better now, don't you?"

The baby blinked her heavy eyes and stirred a little as she fell back to sleep.

"I guess congratulations are in order," Olivia said looking up at Elliot as he read through the papers once again. "She is beautiful, daddy."

"Don't call me that."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to strike a chord. You are the one who just said this was your child."

"That is what the letter says."

"Does it say who her mother was?"

"Kathy."

Olivia looked up at him.

"As in….your ex-wife Kathy?"

"Yes."

"Kathy's dead," Olivia said looking down at the baby girl.

"According to the birth certificate the baby is just over a month old."

"You and Kathy have been divorced for almost a year. You were only married a few months."

"Six months," he corrected her. "She couldn't handle the job. The hours and the silence."

"Silence?"

"I couldn't come home after a day like we have every day and talk about it with her. I guess I was trying to shelter her from the horrible things we see."

"I can't say that I blame you."

"And after one too many nights of sleeping alone, she left me. After the divorce….we didn't really keep in touch. She wanted to go off to nursing school."

"Still, you have been divorced over a year. If she was pregnant, wouldn't you have known?"

"I was hardly ever around. She is four and a half weeks old," he said nodding in the direction of the sleeping infant, "she could still be mine. If Kathy found out she was pregnant after the divorce…."

"And she never told you?"

"Maybe she was scared. I don't know."

"Maybe she was," Olivia agreed.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Elliot, is there any way she would have said you were the father of her child….even if you weren't?"

"No. If Kathy said she is mine…. I have a daughter."

"What is her name?" Olivia asked.

Elliot flipped through the papers and studied the birth certificate for a moment.

"Maureen Allison Stabler," he read aloud. "She gave her my name."

"Maureen sounds kind of old for a newborn."

"I don't really care much for it, myself. But her mother named her."

"You could change it. Or give her a nickname," Olivia said offering him the baby.

"Liv, I can't."

"She is your daughter, Elliot. And until this moment, you have barely even touched her. She doesn't bite. And she is sound asleep, so maybe now is the best time to get comfortable holding her."

"I guess so," he said as she laid the baby in his arms.

"See now, that isn't so bad."

Elliot smiled.

"She is awfully cute. God, what am I saying Olivia? I can't care for a kid. I can't even keep a wife."

"Well, no matter what you decide to do, she is your's for tonight. And no matter what you decide, she still needs a name."

"Nickname?"

Olivia smiled as she sat down on the couch and looked over the stack of papers.

"Maureen Allison….maybe you could call her Allison. Or Allie."

"Allie?"

"It's cute."

"Allie," Elliot repeated looking down at the sleeping baby in his arms. "I think I like that. So, now what?"

"It is almost five," Olivia replied checking her watch.

She laid back on the couch and closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Catching a nap before work. I suggest you do the same."

"Sleep? Now?"

"Babies don't sleep all night, Elliot. Allie will be awake soon wanting to be fed or changed or something and she can't be reasoned with."

"Olivia, what am I supposed to go with a baby?"

She raised up onto her elbow to look at him.

"Put her back in the basket for now and let her sleep. You should get some rest, too. We'll figure it all out. Right now I think we all need some sleep. The alarm on my phone is set, when she wakes up make her another bottle and check to see if she is wet. We will call Cragen later and work something out."

"I don't even know the first step to take to fix this."

"Fix what exactly? Someone placed your child into your care. Someone wanted you to know that you have a daughter."

"I am not fit to raise a daughter, Olivia. Look at her, she is so perfect. I know nothing about babies or kids or little girls….I will only screw her up. My child or not, she deserves so much more than what I have to offer," he said tucking the tiny baby back into the basket and pulling the blanket up around her.

"You are not giving yourself enough credit. You should get some rest," she said softly.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Liv, why don't you take the bed. And I'll sleep in here with the baby."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I think we will be okay for a few hours."

"Alright then," she said with a soft smile. "Good night, El."

"Good night, Olivia."

"Good night Allie," she whispered peering down at the little bundle in the basket once more.

Olivia yawned as she stood up and headed toward the bedroom.

Olivia stretched as she reached across the bed and shut off the alarm on her cell phone. She looked at the window across the room as the sun began to peek between the blinds.

"Ugg," she said aloud as she dialed work.

Minutes later she tiptoed down the hallway and into the living room. Elliot was passed out on the couch with little Allie in her basket on the coffee table beside him.

"Good morning angel," Olivia whispered as the prettiest pair of blue eyes stared up at her. "Why don't you come in the kitchen and help me make us all some breakfast?" she asked the little girl.

Olivia picked up the basket and carried it in to the kitchen. She sat it on the counter and started a pot of coffee.

"Now your turn," she said washing out the baby bottle and filling it with warm water.

She put the water into the microwave to warm it while she read the instructions on the back of the formula can.

"It doesn't sound that hard," Olivia said as the little girl stared up at her. "Okay, kiddo. Here we go."

Olivia picked up the baby cradling her in one arm as she offered her the bottle. Allie, willingly accepted it.

"Huh," Olivia noted. "My cooking skills suck, but apparently I make a mean bottle. You are so cute," she said smoothing her finger over the little girl's soft cheek.

"Hey," Elliot said from the other room.

"Hey," Olivia replied.

"We must have over slept."

"No, I decided to let you sleep in. Allie and I made breakfast," she said pointing to the pot of fresh coffee.

"Olivia, don't get too attached."

"I'm not. I'm just feeding her. She had to eat, Elliot."

"I can't keep her, Liv."

"I know."

"Alright. I just don't think it is a good idea to get too emotionally attached to her."

"So, you have for sure decided you aren't going to keep her?"

"It isn't as if it were ever really an option. I live in a tiny apartment, I work all hours and I don't know the first thing about taking care of a baby."

"You know how to make a bottle. And you can….kind of change a diaper."

"Where would she sleep? There is only one bedroom."

"I get it. I understand."

"We should get ready for work."

"I called Cragen and told him…."

"You told him?" he interrupted.

"I told him there was a family emergency and we would be coming in a little late today."

"Liv, you don't have any family."

She stared at him for a moment.

"You are my family. And you are the one who called this an emergency."

"What else would you call it?"

Olivia looked down at Allie, then back up at Elliot.

"What are you gonna do?" she asked.

"Call someone to take her back. Leaving a baby with me was a huge mistake. I just have to figure out who to call."

"Kathy didn't have any family at all?"

"Her parents died years ago. She had a brother, but they didn't get along."

"Do you think he would take her?"

"He would be a worse parent than I would."

"There has to be someone."

"The only person Kathy was close to was her friend Julie. They had known each other since they were kids and was the maid of honor at our wedding. If you call signing a few papers in front of a judge a wedding. I even managed to screw that up."

"Focus, El. How can we find Julie?"

"My guess is Julie is the one who left Allie in front of my door."

"She would do that? Just dump her dead friend's newborn?"

"Kathy wouldn't have left the baby with anyone else. It had to be Julie."

"So Julie is out and you can't keep her. You could call child services and tell them someone left a baby on your doorstep."

"I don't want to just dump her in the system, Liv. She's my daughter."

"I guess I didn't think that one through. That pretty much just leaves adoption. We could call an agency and make arrangements through them."

"I just want to make sure she is well taken care of."

"You can talk to them and they can help you pick a family for her."

Elliot exhaled as he took the baby from Olivia.

"I hate that it has come to this. I kind of feel like I am just dumping her. How do I know what's right?"

"You really don't. Maybe you should just think about it for a little while."

"Think about what? This is really the only option."

Olivia pulled the phone book from the desk drawer across the room and began to flip through pages.

"I didn't realize there were so many listings under adoption," she said as she ran her finger down the third of five pages. "Any idea who you want to use?"

"I don't think it matters as long as they are legit."

"Here, this place has a full page add," she said turning the book so he could see it.

"Pregnant and scared?" Elliot read the bold lettering across the top of the add. "No and no. I'm not sure if this is really what we are looking for, Liv."

"It is an adoption agency. And if they can't help, maybe they can refer us to someone who can," she said as she dialed the number and handed him the phone.

Olivia sat at the counter biting her nail bits nervously as Elliot paced the room with his sleeping daughter in one arm and the phone against his shoulder. He spoke to the woman on the other end of the line for over forty minutes as he told her the peculiar detail of his situation and hoped that somehow this woman could assist him.

Finally Elliot hung up the phone and laid the baby back into her basket.

"Well, what did she say?"

"She said that if I am the birth father and the mother is dead, as long as my name is on the birth certificate I can choose to sign her over for adoption."

"That's good."

"She said they have dozens of couples wanting to adopt. Most people want little babies, so it shouldn't take long to find someone for her."

"Did she say when to bring her in?"

"I have to have an appointment. And the earliest one is tomorrow afternoon."

"Tomorrow afternoon?"

"What am I going to do with her for the next," Elliot tipped his arm to study his watch, "twenty nine and a half hours?"

"Take care of her, I guess. And my first suggestion would be a trip to the store."

"What for? I am turning her over to them tomorrow."

"For one, there isn't enough formula left in that can to make another bottle. When she wakes up and realizes there is no food you are going to be in trouble. And we only have one more diaper."

"Right," he agreed.

"And she needs a few things."

"Like what?"

"Well, she has been wearing the same sleeper since yesterday. And she can't keep sleeping in that basket."

"It is one more night."

"At least get her a car seat. She is going to need that anyway. And wipes would be good, too."

"I should write this down."

After Elliot made his list they picked up the baby and headed to the store. Elliot held his baby girl protectively in his arms the entire cab ride to the children's store across town. When they arrived, Olivia jumped out of the car and went around to open Elliot's door. He handed the baby off to her to climb out of the car and they went inside.

"I never realized how much stuff they sold for babies," he said as they walked through aisle after aisle of infant supplies. "How do we know what to get?"

"Excuse me," Olivia said catching the attention of a sales clerk.

"How can I help you?" the young man asked.

"We need baby formula," she said nervously.

"Aisle five. This way," he said as they followed him into an aisle full of nothing but baby food and formula.

"There must be a hundred different kinds," Elliot said as he stared at the shelf.

"How do we know what to get?" Olivia asked the boy.

"We have formulas with DHA and ARA."

Elliot and Olivia looked at each other confused.

"They are supplements for brain development and stuff like that."

"We want her to be smart," Elliot said. "We'll take that."

"Sir, all of these brands right here have that. What kind of formula has the baby been on?"

"It's a blue can," he said. "With a bear."

"A bear?" this way.

"El, it is a bunny."

"Was it a bunny or a bear?" the kid asked looking at Olivia.

Elliot shrugged his shoulders.

"What is the difference?" he asked.

"They are two different brands. With a baby this little changing formula brands can cause all kinds of tummy issues."

"It was a bunny," Olivia insisted.

"Are you sure?" Elliot asked her.

"I'm sure. It was definitely a bunny."

"Enfamil," the clerk said. "Did it look like this?"

"Yes! That is it," Olivia said handing the can to Elliot to put in the basket. "Now we need diapers."

"What size?"

"This size," she said holding up the last diaper from her purse.

The kid smiled.

"How old is the baby, ma'am?"

"Four and a half weeks," Elliot announced happy they guy had finally asked a question he could answer.

"Do you have any idea about how much he weighs?"

"She weighs about seven and a half pounds," Elliot replied.

"She would be a size one. And with diapers, the brand is really up to you. If you don't like what you have it is alright to change the brand to something else. These are pretty popular. They are moderately priced and protect against leaks."

"That sounds good. We want the ones that don't leak," Elliot said and Olivia laughed. "What size wipes do we need?"

"Elliot, wipes don't have sizes."

"Oh. These say sensitive. She looks like she probably has sensitive skin," Elliot replied putting the wipes in the basket as well. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

"Baby wash," Olivia said picking up a bottle and tossing it in. "And lotion. We need to give her a bath."

"Do you need a baby bath tub?" the kid asked.

"She can't just use the regular one?" Elliot asked.

"Some people use the sink. And some people get the baby bath tub. You can set it down inside the regular bath tub or on the counter and put water in it."

Elliot looked at Olivia for approval.

"We are only giving her one bath. I think we can just use the sink."

"Good call. But we do need outfits and a car seat."

By the time they returned to Elliot's apartment, they had purchased not only formula, diapers and a little pink car seat, but four outfits, a package of sleepers, a couple more blankets, more bottles, bibs, a pink polka dot diaper bag and a little pink puppy dog that played music.

"I think maybe we went a little overboard," Olivia said as Elliot laid the last of the baby clothes into a pile.

"But it is all stuff she needs. We can sent it with her when she goes to her new home."

"And this?" Olivia asked holding up the one item Elliot picked out all by himself.

"I got her the puppy so she won't be lonely," he said taking it from Olivia and winding it to start the music as he placed it in the seat beside the baby. "And this way she will have something from her daddy to take with her."

Olivia smiled choking back tears.

"That's sweet, El."

"I'm not completely heartless."

"I never thought for a second that you were," she said patting his shoulder.

"I'm going to run a little warm water in the sink for her bath. You grab a couple of towels."

Olivia got out the baby wash and lotion, while Elliot grabbed a wash cloth and a few towels to dry Allie with.

"Okay, baby doll. Here we go," Olivia said as she lowered the naked infant into the sink.

"No peeing in the bath water," Elliot said to his daughter.

The baby made a pouty face, but she didn't cry. They quickly washed and dried her off. After putting on a fresh diaper, Elliot moved to make up a bottle while Olivia smoothed baby lotion over the little girl and put her into one of her new outfits.

"There," Olivia cooed to Allie as she finished buttoning her little pink dress. "Oh, Elliot, look how sweet this is," she said turning the little girl around for him to see.

Elliot smiled and screwed the lid on the baby bottle.

"Do you want to feed her?"

"Sure."

"Then we can try to lay her down for a nap and fix us some lunch."

"What are we going to do with her this afternoon while we're at work?"

"I'm hoping if we feed her and change her before we go, she will just sleep in the carrier the whole time we're there."

"I wonder what Cragen is going to say when you walk in there with a baby."

"It is only a few hours. And after tomorrow, he won't have to worry about it anymore."

After lunch Olivia packed the new diaper bag and loaded up baby Allie as they headed in to work. Everyone looked up and stared as they walked in and she sat the carrier on the edge of her desk.

"You babysitting?" Munch asked venturing over to look down at the sleeping infant.

"Something like that," Olivia replied pulling the blanket back away from Allie's little face.

"She's cute."

"Who's kid?" Fin asked as he joined the small crowd gathering around Olivia's desk.

"Umm," she looked up at Elliot and decided some things were better left unsaid. "She belongs to a friend of mine. They had an emergency and I've got the baby for a little while."

"She's a doll," Fin said smiling down at her. "What's her name?"

"Allie."

"Allie, that's sweet," Munch said.

"I hope Cragen thinks so too," Fin said as their boss walked over and looked down into the carrier. "Can I see the two of you in my office, please?" he asked looking at Elliot and Olivia.

"Go ahead," Fin said. "I can keep an eye on her."

Olivia grabbed the file off her desk and they headed for Cragen's office. Inside, Elliot seated himself on the sofa while Olivia took a seat in the chair across from their boss.

"Do you have the report on this case?"

"Right here," Olivia said handing him the file. "I finished it last night. And the two of you will be ready for court the day after tomorrow?"

"We will," Elliot agreed.

"What is this family emergency?" he asked Olivia. "Is everything alright."

"We're working it out."

"Oh, you're involved as well?" he asked Elliot.

"Actually, it is my emergency."

Cragen stood up and walked to the office window opening the blinds to look out at Fin watching over the sleeping baby.

"That is your emergency?"

"Yes."

"Has Kathy come back, too?"

"No. Actually, she was killed in an accident and I was left with the baby."

"You never mentioned you had a kid."

"I never knew I had a kid. Not until about two thirty this morning when someone left her in a basket in the hallway in front of my apartment."

"You can't keep her here. This isn't a daycare center."

"I have an appointment with an agency tomorrow. It was the earliest they could get me in. I just brought her in for the few hours we need to get our paperwork finished and organize things for court."

"So you need tomorrow off to take care of this?"

"That would be nice."

"Take it. But I want you back in here and ready to go for court on Thursday morning."

"I will be."

Cragen opened the door as Elliot stood up and walked back out to check on his daughter.

"Olivia?"

"Yes?"

Cragen paused for a moment watching Elliot with the baby.

"Why don't you take tomorrow off as well? I'm sure he could use a little support."

"Thank you," she said softly, then turned to leave the office.

After work Elliot and Olivia sat around his apartment eating Chinese food. Olivia finished giving Allie her bottle and got her ready for bed.

"There we go," she cooed to the baby holding her up to look into her tired eyes, "a full tummy and a fresh diaper. Now you are ready for some sleep. Aren't you?" she asked lowering Allie and kissing her little forehead.

"I saw that," Elliot said shooting her a look from across the room.

"One little kiss isn't going to ruin her. Babies need affection, it's part of human nature."

"I warned you about this. You are getting attached to her," he said in a scolding tone as he took another bite from his paper carton.

Olivia shook her head in disagreement and he watched as she walked around the room gently patting Allie on the back until she had fallen asleep. She laid the baby gently into her carrier and tucked the little pink blanket around her.

"Have you ever thought about it?" Olivia asked sitting beside him at the bar and taking a sip from her beer.

"Eating Chinese food? At least twice a day, every day," he joked. "They have the best chicken lo mein."

"Not eating Chinese food. I'm being serious."

"What then?"

"Having kids? Have you ever considered it?"

"Kathy and I talked about it when we were first married. But after we split up…. I guess I figured some day when I met someone and married again I might have a couple of kids. I never thought it would be like this. I'm just not prepared now, Liv. She's just a baby and she deserves so much more. She needs a family, a mother and a father to love her."

Olivia smiled.

"I think you're a good father," she said rubbing his shoulder.

"I'm a joke."

"El, you have handled this the best way you knew how. Most people would have just got rid of her the quickest way they could, dumped her off at a hospital and been fine with that. But you have taken care of her."

"She's my baby. I am her father. And I owe it to her to make this right."

"I know this is difficult for you. This entire situation has been difficult on you. You may not have planned on having this baby, but that doesn't make giving her away any easier."

"Are you trying to talk me into keeping her? This little girl is barely a month old and she has already lost her mother. I'm unfit. Look around you, this place it a dump."

"No. I'm just saying that it is understandable to be torn about the decision. Or be curious about the way things would turn out."

"What makes you think that I have even considered keeping her?"

"Because I know you. You may be all tough guy on the outside Elliot, but inside you have a heart. A big heart and this whole time you have been warning me about getting attached to Allie…."

"It wasn't you I was worried about. How do I do this, Olivia? Just hand my kid over to complete strangers to raise. How can I just pass her off and never look back?"

"You are doing it because you love her. I know that."

"Yeah, I just hope that some day she can understand that, too."

"Well, I'm here if you need to talk or however I can help. It's late, we should try to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow. Do you want me to take the night shift tonight?"

"No, I've got her. I should probably spend as much time as I can with her now. After tomorrow, I won't be her father anymore."

"Goodnight, El."

"Good night, Liv."

Elliot watched as she headed down the hall toward the bedroom. He finished his beer and put away the leftover food, then turned to look at his sleeping daughter in her little pink carrier.

He exhaled softly as he carried the seat across the room to the coffee table beside the sofa and sat her down. He pulled back her blanket and buckled her into the seat before tucking the blanket securely back around the little girl. He watched her sleep for a few moments as he felt the knot in his throat and tears rising in his eyes.

"Please forgive me, sweetheart. I'm not doing this because I don't love you, God knows I do. But I can't give you the life you deserve. You need a mommy and a daddy to take care of you. And they will love you and take really good care of you. I just don't know what else to do, honey."

He exhaled and wiped away a tear as he leaned forward and kissed his baby girl's forehead.

"Sleep tight little angel. Daddy loves you," he whispered as he turned off the light and laid back on the couch.