AN: Thanks for the reviews, the requests the comments. I'm glad you guys continue to enjoy the content and pacing of this story. Again, it's something I've never done before, writing to go along with what's going on with the show. I appreciate the warm reception. So without further ado, here's the next chapter.

~Three months later~

She's gotten a rhythm down with Noah. The day after he was placed with her, she went shopping and got a little crazy with her credit cards. She bought a crib, a better car seat, clothes, diapers and a host of other things. Of course it also looks like a tornado ripped through a Toys R Us and dropped the contents in her living room, but that's neither here nor there.

It's okay, she's a sergeant now, and she can afford it.

The young lady from the agency Alex recommended has been a God send. Lucy comes early and stays as late as Olivia needs her to. She doesn't complain about her long hours, last minute explanations of how late she'll be and she's very professional.

She's never smelled a hint of cigarette smoke in her apartment after Lucy leaves. Olivia hasn't caught her hiding a boyfriend, and she's certified in infant First Aid and CPR, which is great because the little guy hasn't been feeling well lately. He spiked a fever last night, nearly scaring Olivia to death.

Thank God for Elliot.

He calmed her down on the phone before driving over the bridge from Brooklyn to make sure they were okay. He brought the grape flavored Tylenol that no child can resist, managing to bring down Noah's fever, then recommended that she make a doctor's appointment for him as soon as she could get him in.

"Thanks El," she'd said. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"No problem," he'd told her. "I remember what being a new parent is like, worrying that you'll do something wrong or that you're gonna break 'em," he'd added with a smile. "You're doing great Liv, trust that."

He assured her that she was doing everything right, gave her a comforting hug and left her feeling like she just may be able to handle the single parenting thing. It's good because she made Noah a promise not to stop looking until she caught those responsible for his mother's death.

So it's both good and bad that Nick's in uniform again and patrolling the streets in Queens. Because he and his rookie partner are the ones that arrested Luna Garcia, an underage prostitute that witnessed what happened to Ellie Porter. Fin and Amanda got shot at picking her up from the precinct.

It's a hint and a half to Olivia that they're on the right track.

Luna offers no information to them about the trafficking ring. She refuses to cooperate so they hold her on the prostitution charge and watch the house she's being pimped out of. Amaro comes up with Joaquin Menendez, a small time pimp who Nick leads to believe that he's dirty.

Meanwhile, the car service used by Luna and the other trafficking victims, points them back to Angel Perez who points the finger right back at Tino Aguillar. When Liv and Barba visit him in prison, they don't bother trying to sweet talk him first.

"Who. Ordered. Ellie. Killed?" Asks Liv, leaning in to his personal space.

"Why you so worried about that dead whore? It worked pretty good for you," says Tino.

"Excuse me?"

"You got a baby out of it."

"Where'd you get that?" Asks Barba

"You love that little baby?" Tina asks, directing his attention to the sergeant again.

She has to take a breath to keep from reaching across the table and knocking his teeth down his throat.

"Are you stupid enough to threaten the sergeant's family in front of the D.A. when he's offering you a deal?" Asks Barba.

"All I'm saying is, if I was you, I'd leave this alone. Some of your own guys are working against you."

Olivia doesn't want to admit it but it rattles her. Other than her mother, she's never really had to worry about another person. She was concerned about her coworkers from time to time because they're like family. But they also all happen to be cops and they can take care of themselves.

Noah's just a baby. He's vulnerable, helpless.

The fact that whoever is pulling the strings has started targeting people who can bring him down, doesn't make matters any better. He starts with another under aged prostitute from the house in Queens and adds a small time pimp to the body count, giving him a lethal shot while he was in the hospital. Tino gets shanked nine times while he's in prison, nearly dying in the process.

Once Olivia hears about Tino, she gets on the phone.

"Lucy, I'm coming home right now, do not let anyone in."

"Oh we're not home."

"What?"

"He's been cooped up inside all day, so I thought we could go to the park."

Suddenly Olivia hears gunshots in the background. She calls it in from the precinct as she runs out the squad room to check on Lucy and Noah.

She arrives to the park calling frantically for Lucy, panicking when she sees the overturned stroller and the playground equipment riddled with bullet holes. Lucy hears the panic in her voice and calls out to her. Olivia's never been so relieved in her life to find out someone was okay.

She sends a detail to her apartment to protect Noah and Lucy and an officer to escort her home after Olivia makes it back. Elliot of course hears about it and is waiting for her in the hallway when she gets there.

"How's he doin'?" He asks from the sofa after Lucy's gone.

He watches as she bends over the crib, patting Noah's back. She realizes that he's too young to know what's going on so she does it to reassure herself more than him. Elliot watches how close she's gotten to the young boy and hopes that the end of the probation period allows for a swift and permanent adoption.

"He seems fine," she answers, sitting next to him. "It's me that's the wreck."

"You must be getting close if this guy is trying to tie up loose ends and is ballsy enough to try and take out a cop's kid."

Olivia leans forward, rests her elbows on her knees and plants her face in her hands. Elliot scoots closer, placing his hand on her back to give her a short consoling rub.

"I've never been so terrified in my life El," she tells him. "If anything…

Elliot reaches for her and to his surprise it doesn't take much for her to hold on. She buries her face in his shoulder and he can feel a slight tremor in her body as she cries.

"Hey, hey," he says, threading a hand through her hair. "He's fine and we're not gonna let anything happen to him."

Olivia tries not to dwell on the fact that he said "we". More than likely it's just some residual platitude left over from when he was married to Kathy. But she does feel better with him there. And even though Elliot's become more and more of a constant over the last seven months, she's kept him in the 'friend zone'.

He's been patient with her, unhurried because she knows he's relying on the natural chemistry they share to prevail. And it would have, but thanks to work and spending as much time as her schedule allows with Noah, Olivia's been able to resist that particular temptation.

But right now…

"Thanks for checking on us," she tells him, leaning away. "I know you've been just as busy as I have so-

"Noah and Lucy were shot at today Liv," Elliot reminds her, not letting her go. "I'm never gonna be that busy."

Olivia places a hand against his chest, feeling his heart beat as erratically as she imagines hers is at the moment. He reaches a hand up, tenderly wiping a stray tear from her cheek. Aside from ruined make-up and blotchy skin from crying, it doesn't stop him from looking at her like that.

"You're beautiful," he whispers.

Then, he leans in ever so slowly, before touching his lips to hers just once.

"I uh…I've been meaning to tell you something for a while now," she says, laying a hand to her lips, feeling the sensation from his kiss. "I forgive you El."

"Besides Noah and Lucy not being harmed," he begins with a smile. "That's the best news I've heard all day," he adds. "Thanks for not giving up on me…giving me a second chance," he continues. "I know it wasn't easy so I appreciate it."

She looks back and forth between his eyes, sees his sincerity, the desire and well…the last thing is too much to ignore. So she leans back in, planting her own kiss. Olivia lingers and Elliot takes the opportunity to move his lips against hers, taking her face into his palms.

He seeks to deepen the kiss, running his tongue along the seam of her lips to get her to open up to him and this time, she lets him in. He tickles the roof of her mouth, suckles at her bottom lip until she has to stifle a moan.

For her part Olivia wraps her arms around his shoulders, effectively closing the distance between them. And this time, it's her pushing him to lie down. She's kissing from his chin down his neck when the overwhelming desire to yawn hits her.

At first she hides it, but then it happens again. And this time he hears it.

"I'm so sorry," she tells him, resting her forehead against his shoulder. "I guess I was more tired than I realized."

"It's okay," Elliot says. "Today's been rough on you."

Olivia surprises him again by turning her head to rest on his chest. He encourages her by rubbing her back and moving so that she can comfortably lay half on him and half against the back of the sofa.

"If you have to be somewhere," she says sleepily. "Now would be a great time to leave before the sandman claims me."

Elliot responds by using one hand to massage her scalp and the other to rub her back in small slow circles.

"Hmm," she manages. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were purposely trying to put me to sleep."

Olivia can hear and feel the low rumble of his short laugh and can't deny that she loves the sound. She never would have foreseen a year ago, that she'd not only have a child to love and care for, but that Elliot would be back in her life. Or, that she'd be here with him in this way.

"Sounds like I wouldn't have to try too hard," he tells her. "But all I'm really trying to do is let you know that I'll be here…for whatever you need."

She doesn't know how to respond to that and maybe she shouldn't. With all that's going on with trying to catch Ellie Porter's killer and Noah almost being hurt, she's liable to say something she may later regret like, 'just keep holding me and making me feel safe'.

A statement like that could lead to no end of the type of conversation she's been adeptly avoiding for months.

"Thanks El," she goes with. "You just being here is enough."

"I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else," he tells her. "Now rest," he concludes, continuing to rub her back.

"I'm just gonna close my eyes for a few minutes," she assures him.

A few minutes turn into the whole night and the next thing they know, the early morning sun is creating an orange glow in her living room. When she goes to push herself up and off of her human body pillow, he stops her.

"Whoa," he says, with a hand on her back. "Where you goin'?"

"As much as I'd love to stay on this sofa with you all day," she tells him. "We both have to work and the baby will be up soon."

Cue Noah's whimpers and a new day has begun.

"Told ya," she digs, moving to get up. And this time he lets her.

She stretches her arms up over her head, massaging the kinks in her neck. A bit of flesh from her middle shows from her shirt rising up and she notices that Elliot is watching in appreciation.

Though she doesn't try to hide from him, Olivia ignores his quiet perusal and moves to the crib to attend to the baby.

"Hey Noah," she says, bending to pick him up. "How are you this morning my big boy?"

The baby immediately stops crying and lights up being in Olivia's arms. Elliot smiles as he watches them interact.

"You're great with him," he comments.

Olivia just smiles back and enters her bedroom to ready the baby for the day. She gets out of her clothes, takes the baby's diaper and sleep clothes off and hopes he doesn't pee or poop on her while they're in the shower.

Elliot begins straightening up, folding the blanket he covered them with last night. He puts his shoes back on before moving into the guest bathroom to wash his face. He's thankful when he finds some mouthwash to gargle with and a fresh towel on a nearby shelf.

When he's exiting the bathroom he hears keys in the door and rushes to his gun, left on the end table next to Olivia's. He nearly scares Lucy to death when she walks in.

"Sorry," he says.

"No, no, it's okay," she assures him. "I thought the guy from my detail called to say I was coming up."

"He did," Olivia says, coming out the bedroom in her bathrobe with Noah on her hip. "I forgot to tell Elliot though, sorry."

"It's fine," Lucy tells her. "After yesterday we're all understandably a little on edge," she adds advancing towards Olivia. "How is he this morning?"

"He seems okay," she says, handing the baby over. "I think I was more shaken up than he was."

Olivia and Elliot trade knowing glances.

"I uh," she continues. "I changed him and washed him up already," she adds. "He just needs breakfast."

"I think I can handle that," says Lucy.

Olivia meets Elliot by the door as he opens it.

"Thanks for last night," she whispers. "You didn't have to stay."

"If I hadn't I would've just been at home worrying about you and Noah," he reveals with a shrug of his shoulders. "I do wish you didn't snore though,"

She gasps, before playfully punching him in the arm.

"I do not snore," she asserts.

He gets the smile he was hoping for and doesn't hesitate in returning it.

They both look in Lucy's direction as she's feeding the baby. It's as if Olivia's trying to end a date with her mother watching. She feels silly doing it since it's her apartment and she's a grown woman, but never the less she steps out into the hall with Elliot to say their goodbyes.

Because Olivia was kissing him quite uninhibitedly just last night, she has no problem standing on the tips of her toes in her slippers to give him a little farewell smooch.

"Are you wearing something beneath that robe?" He asks afterwards, with his hands at her waist.

She raises an eyebrow at him before giving him a devilish grin.

"Maybe. But if I'm not?"

He releases her, promptly takes a step back and crosses his arms over his chest.

"I don't know if you've noticed," Elliot says, "But we're working on our friendship so I've been trying really hard to behave myself," he adds. "And that," he goes on, gesturing at her robe. "Is not helping."

Good to know.

"And I don't know if you've noticed," she says, stepping over and encircling his neck with her arms. "But I think we've worked on our friendship long enough."

Olivia rubs her nose next to his, smiling against his mouth, daring him to kiss her again. Elliot doesn't disappoint, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. He slides his lips against hers and she ends up pressed against her front door. He seeks to taste her and when she lets him in, he steals her very breath.

But as much as she loves kissing Elliot, she has neighbors and they both need to get their days started. She can't pull back because she has nowhere to go, so she places both hands against his chest to give him a little push.

"You should get going," she manages, catching her breath.

Elliot gets in one more kiss, before backing away.

"I'll call you," she promises.

They're smiling at one another like a couple of idiots.

"I'll uh…I'll see you later," he says, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he turns to leave.

Olivia nods in agreement and steps back in and to close the door. When she looks over at Lucy feeding Noah in his high chair, the young girl meets her eyes with a grin. Apparently she hasn't managed to get that "someone just kissed the hell outta me" look off her face yet.

"What?" She asks, curiously.

"You," Lucy tells her. "You're a lot better than you were when I left here yesterday," she points out.

"Yeah," she admits. "I got some rest."

"I thought…never mind," she says, continuing to feed Noah.

"No, what were you gonna say?"

"It's uh…well, you seem happier when Elliot's around," she points out. "I figured he's the reason."

Olivia can feel herself blushing.

"We're friends," she reasons. "He was just checking on Noah and…we fell asleep…so-

Lucy's the sitter. There's no reason for her to know exactly what they were doing before they fell asleep or in the hallway just now either for that matter.

"Liv, you don't owe me an explanation," she says, with a short laugh. "It's okay, really."

There's that thing again where she feels like she has to explain being caught with a boy on her mom's sofa. It's weird but mildly amusing.

"I'm gonna go get ready," she tells Lucy, excusing herself to shower and get dressed.

She arrives to the station to find that Selena is no more helpful than she was when initially arrested. And the so called "bottom" is even more terrified when her lawyer shows up. The man obviously works for the head boss and his presence alone assures that the woman won't be talking.

Fortunately Luna is more helpful. They show her Selena's picture and the young girl lays out how she ended up in the United States as well the older trafficking victim turned pimp's, tragic story.

But as much as Rollins wants to feel sorry for her, Olivia advises her that, sad though her story may be, she's no better than whoever green lit Ellie Porter.

Luna's account leads them to the poor city in Mexico where all these young girls' nightmares began. And D.A. Barba arrives to explain the connection and how it all works.

When he brings up the pictures of the three bosses, one stands out. A Theodore Juarez who is revealed to be Angel Perez, the QuickRide owner who they now know torched his own offices to throw them off track.

Olivia comes up with a plan to use Selena's son to get her to testify against Angel starting with how he was the one who marked Ellie for death. After she began to talk, Tino soon followed as well as five of the trafficked girls.

The warrant for Angel Perez's arrest comes easy after the snitching begins and they bust him attempting to flee along with his wife.

"You know this is stupid right?" Asks Angel. "I know where you live."

Fin has him pinned against the sex trafficker's Range Rover, preparing to pat search him and place him under arrest.

"I know about that baby," he continues, with Olivia holding her weapon on him. "But one parent to another, you don't wanna do this."

"You threatening my sergeant's kid?" Asks Fin.

His wife begins to yell in Spanish, distracting everyone including Olivia. If it wasn't for Fin been quicker on the draw, Angel would've shot her but he falls to the ground, dead.

"Get him outta here," says Olivia.

She and her squad spend the rest of the weekend tightening up witness statements for Barba, making arrangements with the feds to bring Selena's son to the states, and filing what seems to be a massive amount of paperwork.

Olivia gets home each night just in time to see Noah falling to sleep but she doesn't get to see Elliot at all.

When Monday rolls around, she keeps her promise to Selena, reuniting him with her son Miguel. The life the younger woman was forced into as a teenager was over and she's now able to begin a new one.

And Olivia's free not only to remove the detail from Lucy and her son, but to also tell Noah that she finally caught the bad man that took his mom from him.

"I love you," she whispers, holding tight to the brown haired little boy.

After getting home she showered and changed into a well-worn t-shirt and yoga pants before letting Lucy go for the night. She's snuggling with Noah when she hears the rhythmic familiar raps against her front door. If it's who she thinks it is, seeing him will be a great end to an emotional rollercoaster of a day. Moving to the door with the baby on her hip, she looks through the peep hole first.

"Look who it is Noah," she tells the baby, opening the door to her smiling friend. "It's Elliot."

"Hi buddy," he says as Olivia moves to let him in.

He hangs his things on the coatrack near the door before settling on the sofa with her and the baby. Noah's in Olivia's lap and Elliot's arm is along the back of the couch behind them.

"One of these days I'm gonna stop hearing news about you that damn near kills me," he begins as he plays with the baby's pudgy little fingers. "Fin told me about Angel Perez."

Olivia watches as the baby's eyes are getting heavy so she lays him against her shoulder and begins rubbing his back.

"Between him threatening Noah and his wife's screaming," she explains. "I was distracted," she admits. "Luckily Fin wasn't or else…well…you know."

Elliot leans over to rest his mouth on the side of her head, closing his eyes at the thought of what could've happened.

"Yeah," he whispers against her temple. "I do know," he adds, placing a kiss there before pulling back.

Olivia feels his hand move beneath her hair as he begins to massage the back of her neck. It relaxes her almost instantly so she takes a breath and closes her eyes, reveling in the sensation of his fingertips on her skin. She could sit that way with Noah's soft breaths in her ear and Elliot at her side all night.

"I'm gonna put him down," she whispers after a while, trying not to wake the baby.

Elliot stops his ministrations at her neck to allow her to get up. She moves gingerly to his crib, puts him on his back, and covers him with his blanket patterned in little yellow ducks and green frogs, a gift from Alex.

When she returns from putting him down, Olivia doesn't hesitate to resume her spot alongside Elliot.

"It's been a hell of day," she says, dropping her head against his shoulder. "But this is a nice end."

When Elliot places his hand on her thigh, she doesn't hesitate to intertwine her fingers with his, pressing their palms together.

"I know you can take care of yourself," he begins, talking in a low tone. "But how would you feel about me re-retiring, and you and Noah coming to my house so I can watch you 24-7?"

Olivia laughs immediately and it's great because she could definitely use a good one. She raises her head to catch his eyes after she's composed herself.

"And what about work?" She asks, humoring him. "I can't really supervise SVU from your house El."

"Well I haven't actually thought that far ahead," he admits. "I didn't get past the locking you in and keeping you guys safe part."

She shakes her head and moves to get up from the sofa. When she enters the kitchen she opens the refrigerator, realizes she forgot to go to the grocery store, and rubs her forehead in frustration.

"I'd offer to make you dinner," she begins, resting her palms against the counter top as she looks out over the space at him. "But apparently I forgot to go shopping."

Elliot just gives her an understanding smile.

"More than likely you just wanted to rush home and hug Noah," he suggests. "I had that same urge when I'd have a rough day on the job."

She can't deny that that's exactly how she forgot. Getting there was her only thought after she wrapped up the case. Having him to come home to, has given her renewed purpose when it comes to doing her job. Yet as much as she feels that SVU is part of who she is, her priorities have shifted and rightly so, to her son.

"It's only...just now 7pm," he tells her, looking at his watch. "Why don't we just order in?"

Elliot comes over at least four times a week. They eat together, watch movies, he plays with Noah and sometimes he stays over until the next day. He sleeps on the sofa but Olivia likes having him there and that scares her. She's gotten used to his presence in her life again and while she's hesitant to even think the "f" word, it comes to her anyway.

Family.

Olivia knows it's something she has now because of Noah. And, though there is potential for a relationship with Elliot, she doesn't know if he'd want to be a part of her new littlefamily. He already has a one, a large one at that.

She's kissed him, passionately so and would've gone further if it not been for the fact that she was so exhausted. Still, an intimate relationship is one thing, creating a life with him would be quite something else.

Whatever ends up happening, Olivia promises not to expect the other shoe to drop or that he'll leave again without a word. (Her abandonment issues are real.) She vows not to anticipate failure, to simply enjoy each moment with him and to happily follow wherever it may lead.

"Sounds good," she tells him, rummaging through her kitchen drawers for take-out menus.

Elliot gets up to join her in the kitchen. But he doesn't sit on one of the bar stools, he joins her on the other side of the counter, immediately invading her personal space. In bare feet he's nearly four inches taller.

"Did you have a taste for anything in particular?" She asks as she peruses the different colored flyers.

He moves to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Yeah," he says, leaning down to close in on her neck. "I do," he adds just before placing a warm open mouthed kiss to her skin. She lowers the menus to the counter with one hand while using the other to cover Elliot's.

Olivia has instant goose bumps, her pulse quickens and she has suddenly lost her appetite for anything other than him.

AN: Well, well, well. Things are heating up between the two former partners. Bow-chica-wow-wow…lol. Will they or won't they? We'll see people, we'll see. Now do what you do and por favor review!