A/N- This is chapter three, sorry for the long wait! And even sorrier, because I went away for a week without warning. My apologies, but I was on vacation! Yay!
Disclaimer- The people in the white coats think they're not mine. I want a second opinion!
Pretty Please?- Reviews? I don't know how this will be received. Drop me a line!
Story Summary- It was as if his life had become a game, and he was playing for keeps. Sequel to Possessions. EO.
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"Casey Novak, either you tell me why I'm here this instant or…" Munch threatened darkly, being the first one to be ushered into the backroom of Maloney's.
"There's a surprise soon, relax," retorted Casey. "Everyone from the squad has to get here and then, maybe, I'll tell you what's going on. Now where's Cragen? He said he'd be here by now…"
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"You got her a car seat?" Olivia asked, surprised to see one sitting in the back of Elliot's car.
"She can't exactly be in a car without one, so yes, I did." His answer was short and she instantly felt a little pang of regret. She should've known better, he would look after Adelaide now with all the protectiveness he could muster.
"Thank you," she whispered softly before bending down to fasten the little girl in.
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"You're late," Casey scolded, eyeing Cragen warily. "Two of your detectives, a shrink, and a medical examiner have all tried to interrogate me. I've seen suspects crack under less pressure."
A soft chuckle escaped the truly sorry captain, his smile ruining any apology he might've tried.
"Liv's not here yet, then?" he asked.
"No… and neither is Elliot. It's almost seven, I thought he would be interested in coming, if not for his sake then for his—" she stopped suddenly, shaking her head. "Never mind."
"You thought I didn't know," he stated, astonishment lacing his words.
"Just forget I even said anything," Casey mumbled. Damn.
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"I want to get to know her first," Elliot mumbled, carefully keeping his eyes focused on the road in front of him. Olivia, sitting in the passenger seat, turned and treated him to a confused look.
"Adelaide. I want to have a relationship with her and then I'll tell her. I'd like to remember my relationship with her mother, too." He gave her one of his trademark smirks, one she had frequently seen on their daughter, and she felt herself falling.
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"Captain, Novak over there wouldn't tell me anything. She's assembled the whole squad here and we haven't done that since…before. What's going on?" Munch asked. 'Before' was understood to be the time before Elliot had taken off, before Olivia had disappeared. Back when everything was as normal as it could've been.
Cragen opened his mouth to give the detective a dismissive answer when the door to the backroom opened and Elliot stepped in. The mood in the room, which had been part happiness and part irritability, darkened as each of the people there lowered their eyes. Surprisingly, the man standing there wasn't the lost and angry man they had come to know over the past five years. In fact, he was smiling.
Elliot walked over to Casey and quickly muttered something into her ear, which caused the attorney to smile and nod emphatically.
"Okay," she began, talking to the room in general. "Everyone here is probably wondering why I asked you all to come tonight. Well, I've got a surprise for all of you. Would the surprise please come in?"
All of the people waited with mild curiosity as the door opened again. Elliot rushed to hold the door and a collective gasp was heard as Olivia Benson, long-lost detective and friend, walked into the room with a child resting on her hip.
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Listening to Casey's little introduction made Olivia even more nervous then before. This was it, no going back. Once everyone saw her, there'd be no leaving again.
She almost turned around right then. She almost took her daughter, packed up a bag, and ran back to Winapoint. She almost did those things, but she couldn't. She owed it to Addie to give her this family. She owed it to Elliot to give him the chance to be a father. And, although the idea seemed slightly far-fetched, she owed it to herself to try this.
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"C'mere, girl." Fin reacted first, stepping forward and enveloping Olivia in a very uncharacteristic hug.
"And who's this?" Munch asked, following suit and peering at the little girl with a kindly expression.
"Addie, sweetheart, don't be shy," Olivia encouraged, rubbing a small circle on the child's back.
"I'm Addie," she mumbled shyly before burying her head in her mother's shoulder.
"Addie, will you let Elliot hold you for a moment, so that I can say hi to my friends? Then I'll introduce you to everyone, if you like."
Addie nodded and Elliot opened his arms to take her. Once she was engaged in a conversation with him, Olivia turned to everyone and greeted them in earnest.
"I missed you all so much," she whispered, tears forming as Huang and Melinda hugged her and Munch and Fin shook their heads in disbelief a few feet away. She hugged them, too, and offered them a shy smile.
"Liv, you wanna…?" Elliot asked, motioning with the little girl in his arms. She nodded, going back over to him and taking her from him with ease.
"Sweetheart, do you want to introduce yourself to everyone? Then you can meet everyone and learn their names, okay?" Addie nodded at her mother and each person watched her with a curious smile.
"I'm Adelaide Claire Benson. You're Mama's friends!" she squeaked out before hiding once more.
"Well, Miss Adelaide Claire Benson, all of us are very excited to meet you," Munch announced, and the others quickly agreed.
