APARTMENT OF OLIVIA BENSON
706 WEST 92nd STREET
MANHATTAN
7:10 PM
To Sophia's relief, she and Olivia didn't have to stay at the hospital for too long, because from what she gathered, not much had happened, and she would know if Gunner had been caught. Olivia also told her that as far as Elizabeth went, there was nothing that could be done at the hospital, and even when she did come to, it was going to be quite awhile before she would be sociable.
So it was with relief that she and Olivia left the hospital to spend the rest of the night with the family.
After they collected the things that Sophia had wanted to get from her place for her and Melissa, they headed over to Olivia's apartment.
"Are you nervous?" Olivia asked her as she unlocked the door.
"Yeah." Sophia admitted. "I'm nervous to meet Lucy and Noah."
"There's nothing to worry about—they're both happy and gentle."
"Okay," was all Sophia said, although it sounded like it was more for her own peace of mind than anything else.
"Come on, kid." Olivia opened the door and motioned for Sophia to enter the dwelling first. "You'll be alright."
Upon entering, they immediately smelled something delicious in the air, which meant that Alex was cooking. After Olivia and Sophia put their things away, they found Alex in the kitchen, tending to a salad at the counter.
"Hey, you." Olivia greeted her girlfriend and they kissed briefly. "Since when can you cook?"
"I've always been able to, but I've never had anyone to cook for." sassed Alex. "I thought I'd surprise you two—I made baked spaghetti with sausage, and there is the Caesar salad I'm making, here. There's also breadsticks baking, and a pitcher of lemonade in the refrigerator."
"And here, I thought you lived exclusively on Chinese takeout." Olivia joked. "I'm impressed, though, Alex—it smells good."
Beside Olivia, Sophia coughed, "Married!" in a pointed tone.
"One day, kid," Olivia chuckled. "But not yet."
"Although we both know you've got a crush on Casey."
Promptly, Sophia turned red and changed subjects. "Alex, where are Lucy, Melissa, and Noah?"
"In the nursery—come on."
Alex wiped her hands on a clean dishcloth, turned the temperature down on the oven and beckoned to the Bensons to follow her.
Melissa saw them first and over from a block tower that she'd just finished making for Noah.
"Mama, she cried, hugging Sophia around the waist. "Today was the best! I'm so happy!"
Sophia turned to mush as she hugged her. "That's wonderful, and I'm so happy for you!"
"Come see Lucy and Noah! I love them!"
Sophia let Melissa lead her by the hand to just across the room, where Noah was sitting, absorbed in his blocks and perched on Lucy's lap. She sat across from them and introduced herself to Lucy. The two of them got along well, and when it came to Noah, it took a few moments to realize that Sophia was there.
Olivia watched from the doorway with Alex from the doorway as Lucy stood Noah on his legs.
"Come on, buddy." Lucy cooed. "Will you do say hi to Sophia?"
Bashful all of a sudden, Noah took a few tentative steps towards his big sister.
"Hi." he said shyly.
Remembering how on the way over, Olivia had informed her that Noah wasn't much of a talker, Sophia felt proud that he'd spoken to her at their first meeting.
"Hey, little man. I'm Sophia." she pointed to herself in indication and then gently held a hand to Noah's chest. "I'm your sister."
Noah knew this because Olivia had shown him Sophia's picture, but it was blowing his mind that she was actually there.
In a sign of sincere affection, he giggled, and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek before throwing his arms around her neck in a hug. Olivia felt herself turning into mush as she watched her children interact with each other; she never thought that this would happen, and now that it was, it was beginning to make her feel more emotional than she'd been expecting.
Thinking quickly, Alex reached in Olivia's pocket and pulled out her phone, taking pictures of the scene for minute.
"Lucy," Alex called out as she put Olivia's phone back. "Are you sure you can't stay for dinner?"
Lucy glanced at her watch. "Yeah, I'm sure. It's my nana's eightieth birthday, and we're having birthday party for her, so I should get going."
"Alright. Then we'll see you tomorrow."
Olivia beckoned to her. "Come on, and I'll pay you."
Sophia made to follow Lucy when she got up, so she could pay her for watching Melissa, but Olivia intervened.
"We'll take care of this for you until you're back on your feet, Sophia. Don't worry."
"Okay, mom. Thanks."
She watched as Olivia, Alex, and left the room, and she watched also as Melissa hurried along in their wake, wanting to see Lucy off. That just left Sophia and Noah.
The pregnant woman got to her feet and held a hand out to her brother. "Come on, baby boy."
He took her hand and smiled up at her. "Love you!"
Sophia returned the smile and gave Noah's fingers a gentle squeeze. "I love you, too."
Dinner went by in a blur, and before she knew it, it was time to get Melissa ready for bed.
After she was completely ready, she took Melissa into the spare bedroom down the hall. It was an office Olivia kept for herself, but it had a rocking chair in it, which would definitely aid in the next part of getting Melissa to fall asleep.
"Sing, mama." Melissa said around a yawn. "Please?"
"Okay, baby girl." Sophia began to rock back and forth, even rubbing Melissa's back in soothing circles. "You just get comfy."
Melissa nodded and relaxed into her mother's hold as she relaxed into her hold as she began to sing a lullaby to her.
I remember tears streaming down your face
When I said, "I'll never let you go."
When all those shadows almost killed your light
I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone,"
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Don't you dare look at window, darling
Everything's on fire
The war outside our door keeps raging on
Hold on to this lullaby
Even when the music's gone
Gone
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound…
Unbeknownst to Sophia, Olivia was watching from the doorway. Noah was already down for the count, and she just wanted to see how Sophia and Melissa were at the end of the day. She didn't expect to see Sophia singing a lullaby to Melissa, much less one about better days. Olivia recognized the song from The Hunger Games, but she'd never heard it anywhere else. She was also dazzled because as it turned out, Sophia had a very beautiful singing voice.
Olivia left quietly and found Alex on one of the sofas in the living room. She had her laptop out on and made to show Olivia what she was looking at, but she didn't get far.
"Hey, babe! I—"
Alex's words ended in a moan when Olivia gave her a smoldering kiss on the lips.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" Alex wanted to know when they drew apart.
"I just heard Sophia singing a lullaby to Melissa, and it was a very nice one. They both looked so content, Allie. Noah was even talking earlier—I think Sophia is his Kryptonite. They already adore each other."
"And Noah isn't much of a talker, is he?" Alex mused. "What are you saying?"
"The family has grown in leaps and bounds, and I'm just so glad that I can share all of it with you and that you're part of it."
"There's nobody else I'd rather have a family or a future with than you."
The second the words were out of her mouth, Alex burst into giggles and set her laptop on the table in front of the sofa. A smile graced her lips as she rested her hands on her baby belly and began moving them around in a methodical manner.
"Oh, I wish you could feel this, Via—the baby woke up when we kissed, and now she won't stop wiggling!"
Olivia's heart skipped a beat. "We're getting another daughter?"
Alex shrugged. "I don't know yet, but it feels like it."
"Baby girls are fun." came a new voice.
They looked up to see that Sophia had returned and was easing herself onto the couch, stretching out and propping herself up with pillows.
"But I imagine toilet training a boy would be easier."
"We've got awhile yet before we have to tackle that with your brother." shuddered Olivia. "Hey, where did you go earlier when Captain Danforth showed up?"
"How did that go?" Alex asked, having only heard in a text that it had happened. "How did things go with Elliot?"
"Ooo! I want to know, too!" Sophia said quickly. "Tell us your thing, and I'll tell you mine!"
"Sounds fair." Alex agreed.
Olivia rolled her eyes: if Alex and Sophia were already playing off each other like this, then she was going to be in trouble when they figured out how to gang up on her.
"Long story short: Elliot and I have decided to be grown-ups while we work on the case because there is no way that our squads won't cross now. We're going to work on mending our bridges because after a long talk, during which he let me vent a lot of my emotions, we apologized to each other. As far as Captain Danforth goes, it's going to be a 'grin and bear it' because she's on her way out of the unit and on her way to the homicide unit in Birmingham."
"This is going to be fun…" Alex muttered.
"Why?" Sophia said.
"It probably has something to do with the 'job shuffling' she mentioned to me earlier but hasn't elaborated on yet." Olivia told her.
Both Bensons looked looked expectantly at Alex, who immediately protested, "Hey! Wasn't Sophia supposed to share a thing?"
"But we're having family sharing time." Sophia said coyly. "Whatever you have to say sounds like it goes first in the chronological order before mine."
Speaking mostly to Olivia, Alex answered, "Rafael will be around for this case, but Casey and I are going to tag-teaming with running point."
Olivia's heart sank a little. "He's moving, huh?"
"To Iowa, so he can look after his sister and her family because they're seriously struggling right now."
"If he's leaving, then where exactly does this put you and Casey?"
At this, Alex beamed. "She's coming back from the arson unit, and I'm coming back from the homicide unit: she's going to be the lead SVU prosecutor again, and I'm going to resume the role of the SVU bureau chief."
Olivia hugged her girlfriend and kissed her. "Oh, that's wonderful, Alex! I'm so happy for you, and for Casey!"
From the couch, Sophia said, "We're happy, too."
Olivia and Alex looked over at Sophia to see that she had pulled a pair of tiny Velcro baby shoes decorated with elephants from a bag beside the couch and set them atop her bump.
"Well, thanks." Alex chirped before motioning towards the shoes. "Where did those come from?"
"This is what I did when Captain Danforth showed up—I went to the hospital gift shop. Leaving at the same time as her arrival is just a coincidence."
"Then are the shoes for your baby, or for Casey's?"
"Hers—they're a thank you gift for the flowers and the stuffed elephant she gave me at the hospital."
"Aww." Olivia cooed. "That's adorable, and she's going to turn to mush, but it's okay to say—you just want a reason to see her again."
"We know that you have a huge crush on her." Alex tacked on, cheekily.
Sophia turned red immediately. "Well, I'll be seeing a lot more of all of the Novaks, actually."
"What do you mean?" Olivia asked her daughter.
"I stopped by the Novak family flower shop today, and I ran into Violet and Abigail."
"Violet is Casey's mom, and Abigail is the youngest Novak sibling, right?"
Sophia nodded. "Violet told me that Casey called her, and without mentioning the specifics, mentioned that things happened that put me out of a job."
"Does Violet know the specifics now?"
"Yeah, she does, so she offered me a job at The Watering Can… and I said yes. I start on Monday, and I even mention the rest of the Novaks, too, because all of them but Casey do flowers. Violet invited me to stay for tea, and when I did, Senior, Junior, Ellington, Beatrix, Virginia, Tiffany, and Savannah came back from their deliveries within the hour."
"Did they welcome you into the family?"
"Uh-huh, and I love them all very much."
"Call Casey already!" Olivia and Alex cried in unison.
"I will, I will!" Sophia laughed nervously before tilting her head to the side, watching Alex as she stood. "Where are you going?"
Alex crossed the room and gave Sophia a motherly kiss on the crown of her head. "I'm proud of you, too, for getting a better job, and for it being with the Novaks; they're all really good people. This deserves something special—hang on."
Sophia grinned, feeling very light because she adored Alex and they got on very well with each other, but the comment about being proud was the first genuinely maternal thing that Alex had said to her. In Sophia's eyes, Alex had just earned the role of 'second mother' in her book.
Her biological mother's voice jarred her thoughts. "I'm really proud of you, too, Sophia Rose."
"Thanks, mom." she grinned bashfully. "Do you know what Alex is up to?"
"Not a clue.
It became very clear what Alex was up to when she returned with a tray bearing three plates of chocolate cake slices and all the fixings for a very nice post-dinner snack.
Alex arranged everything on the coffee table and said to Sophia, "I remembered that your birthday was this week, and when I was out shopping, I thought I'd get something for you, me, and Olivia to celebrate."
Sophia set the baby shoes aside and sat up, accepting a slice of cake when it was passed to her. "Thanks, Alex. That's one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me."
Alex grinned. "You're quite welcome."
When dessert was finished and everything had been cleared away, Sophia joined her mother in online house hunting.
At one point, Sophia changed the subject, wanting to test out a theory she had.
"Alex, when were you going to tell me that you're pregnant, too?"
Alex's eyes widened in surprise. "It's an IVF baby, and I told Olivia yesterday, but how did you know?"
"Even if you weren't showing, I still know a pregnant belly when I see one." Sophia winked. "When are you due?"
"April first, actually."
"Well, how about that? I'm due on April first, and so is Casey."
Sophia looked over at Olivia with a smirk.
"What do you think?"
Olivia didn't answer, instead commandeering Alex's laptop and looking at the real estate listings again. Clearly, she was avoiding the question, but Sophia and Alex could see that she was blushing.
"Hey, what about this one?" Olivia said suddenly. "There's enough room for all of us, and it's on Seventy-Fifth!"
"No!" Sophia said loudly.
The other two stared.
"Casey lives on Seventy-Fifth." Sophia quickly explained.
Now Alex was the one to smirk. "Now you know where she lives—just how cozy are you two?"
"I—"
Sophia was about to answer when her phone rang.
Olivia grinned like the Cheshire Cat at her daughter. "That's her, huh?"
"Yep."
"Answer her!"
Sophia did, immediately smiles. "Hey, Casey! What's up?"
"I just wanted to see how you are—my mom called and said that you're starting at The Watering Can."
To push Sophia's buttons, Olivia called out, "Sophia, there's a few more places for sale over there—should we keep looking?"
"Oh, my God, mom!" Sophia hissed as she stood. "Really? Could you not?"
On the phone, Casey laughed. "What's Olivia saying?"
"She and Alex are looking for bigger places to move to, and they keep suggesting your specific neighborhood."
"You live with a pair of weird people, Soph."
"Don't I know it, Red."
By this point, Sophia was heading towards the study for privacy. She was was trying to keep her voice down because she didn't want to wake the little kids, but it was hard because Casey had just cracked a very amusing joke.
When the door was shut, Olivia and Alex turned to each other.
"One hundred bucks says that Casey is the first one to say 'I love you' by Christmas Day." said Casey.
Olivia shook Alex's hand to seal the deal. "You're on, but come what will or come what may, though, those two are going to end up married to each other."
"Oh, absolutely."
"I'm glad we can agree on that."
Alex kissed Olivia's heck and pointed to the laptop. "Now how how about we keep looking for new places to live?"
And so they did.