She flopped into the bed, absolutely exhausted both physically and emotionally. It was sinking in now; the room next to her was baby girl pink with a little girl in it, hopefully sleeping. There was a crib along the wall by her bed and a playpen center stage in her living room.

In the eyes of the law these kids were hers, soon to be as much as if she had delivered them herself. This wasn't helping one of her coworkers' kids out of a bind or holding a young victim; it was parenting all day every day.

There was no regret in her heart; she would do it all over again to protect them from that house and the people who had created them. Yet a twinge of fear had crept into her, along with the weight of responsibility.

The baby sharing her room was sweet, innocent and trusting but the little girl next door had seen the side of human nature no child should. It had taken time to win her trust and still Olivia guarded her movements; not wanting to scare the child.

As she grew up Julia would have to work through the scars of her past, some that would remain visible forever. Maggie would eventually have questions, and should there be delays in the criminal court case both girls would be dragged through the court house again.

Not to mention there was a new job for her to start in four days, one that no one else had done before; it was entirely new for the NYPD. She along with a couple other detectives had been reassigned as guinea pigs.

She got to dig through SVU case files looking for mistakes she would no doubt find and then confront people about them and open closed cases and old wounds. Olivia knew it would be trying but it allowed her much more freedom to build a home life than the squad did.

Closing her eyes she thought of the relaxing vacation she had planned, a smirk crossed her face; it had become something entirely different. Maybe in a few years she would try for another, out of state and away from her phone; Disneyland or something once both girls were old enough to appreciate it.

Pushing the worries from her mind Olivia tried to sleep; she had a full day to come tomorrow. She had a busy little girl and a baby who needed her attention, not to mention things to set up for her home office; the new job started just the other side of the weekend.

It was hours later that a small girl crawled into her bed and snuggled into the brunette's body to sleep. Having Julia next to her was no longer a strange thing, she simply excepted the little body into her arms, cradling her close; knowing it made her feel safe to rest. A hand found her heartbeat and the child nuzzled closer.

Olivia woke to feed Maggie and Julia hardly woke but immediately snuggled back when she returned. She wanted to know why the little girl didn't sleep in her own room but left it for morning when she sat both kids up to the breakfast bar, finally in appropriate chairs.

Still as the little girl nibbled her toast Olivia realized she didn't need to ask; she understood. Julia felt safe, safe enough to seek out her own comfort and that was exactly what she wanted. Between feeding Maggie bites of mashed banana she tried to lay a day out for Julia.

"I need to do some things in my room today. Will you play with Maggie this morning?" She knew she would need to focus for the morning, laying out an office as one side of her room; there was no question in her mind that Julia would watch her sister.

" Uhuh." The little girl mumbled with her mouth full.

"We can go to the park this afternoon, alright hon?" It was strange, she had been aware of the parks in her neighborhood; now she had been out to them. Julia was shy but she loved the swings as long as Olivia stayed close; the little girl wasn't used to freedom.

She got a nod and smiled as the girl slipped from her booster seat, scooping up Maggie and the dishes. Julia fetched her new coloring books and she set Maggie next to her, the baby immediately settled against her sister and snatched up a crayon.

Feeling a little relaxed she set to work, pleased to set to work. In a way she was looking forward to getting back to work it was new, a change that she needed. Both with her family life and work, the rookies had made her feel old; it just wasn't right without her old partner.

It was two hours later that her office was set up and she was ready for Monday to come. The girls had played quietly all morning and Maggie was now curled in her sister's lap for a nap; the two were adorable to watch. Julia took care of her little sister and no matter how many times she looked at the girl she still saw the child who had been afraid of being sent back home.

Smiling she greeted Julia who looked up from her sister. " Should we get some lunch before the park?"

The little blonde nodded and shifted the baby in her arms; Olivia knelt and lifted her up. Settling the sleeping child into the bend of her arm she headed into the kitchen to find something for Julia. It was an hour later that the girl was fed and Maggie had some mush with formula.

Julia bounced along beside her as they walked down the block towards the park. Julia dive bombed the swing, Olivia followed along dutifully and pushed the little girl as she swung back and forth. Maggie cooed contentedly watching everything from her baby seat.

It was midafternoon by the time they got back to the apartment, an unexpected visitor was coming down the stairs. Julia swung back to her knees but didn't hide.

" Judge Donnelly?" Olivia was taken aback, she was not expecting to hear from her for a while; not until the adoption was finalized.

" Its Elizabeth please. Do you have a moment or two? I need to talk to you, we may have a glitch." There was stress written all over the woman's face.

" Of course, let's go inside; Julia can play in her room. " Something didn't feel right but she didn't want to tip off Julia; the girl sensed moods very quickly.

A moment later the girls were in Julia's room and they were one the couch; Elizabeth was cracking. "We have a problem, well I know I do and I am going to assume it is going to affect you soon enough. Judge Ronse has gone missing; never came back from lunch. A friend's husband works around different places, volunteering at half way houses and such.

Well they are still on the outside, the case isn't solid yet and SVU is being cautious but he heard that there was a hit taken out against her and me. They claim they are going to get their kids back one way or another.

No offence but that man has one or two cops on his payroll and I've learned from threats. You have the girls and I wanted you to have a heads up but I want advice too; this isn't my comfort zone. I know you've had a hit taken out against you before and dealt with it all."

Olivia watched the older blonde, the woman was struggling and nervous; something cold settled over her. In a way she knew this was coming, from the moment Cragen told her to keep her gun close. She remembered replying that if she got her shot she would take it; now it was coming closer.

" Stay here, you are more than welcome to crash here for a few days; take my room. I have my back up piece and this is not a place you regularly are. They will come here for me, to kill me and take the girls; not looking for you. " This was something she had hoped to avoid and yet she resigned herself to it; these creeps wanted their punching bags and revenge.

" Are, are you sure?" Elizabeth stuttered, the woman didn't look relieve, Olivia understood. This was the side of the law the judge never really dealt with, she saw it and heard about it but didn't have to face.

"Yes." She nodded, moving silently to her lock box, the woman watched as she loaded the weapon and cocked the safety; motioning Elizabeth closer. " To use this all you need to do is flip this off the safety, if you do not need it leave it; if there weren't kids in the house I wouldn't feel bad about leaving it off. It will stay here."

" Thank you Olivia, I appreciate this." The woman hardly touched the gun but Olivia let it drop. She understood Elizabeth's fear.