Title: Best Laid Plans

Author: ZombieJazz

Fandom: SVU

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Law&Order: Special Victims Unit and its characters belong to Dick Wolf. The character of Jack, Benji and Emmy have been created and developed for the sake of this AU series.

Summary: Olivia Benson and Brian Cassidy continue to work at regrouping from the trauma and challenges of their year by taking some time away from New York City. They take their kids on a family vacation to visit Cragen and Eileen in Florida. The story is set in the Hello Goodbye, Welcome Home and Facing Forward AU.

***TWO CHAPTERS WERE POSTED TODAY. CHECK TO MAKE SURE YOU DIDN'T MISS CHAPTER 11***

Brian seriously felt like sometimes Liv's parenting just put him to shame. She just went about it all differently than him. Connected with the kids in a different way than him. Sometimes she was way stricter and way more uptight than him. And other times she was just … a fucking goofball with the kids.

But Cassidy loved that about her. Or about her as a mom. It was this other side of her that he'd got to meet and learn about in this time around of their attempt at a relationship. Their very official, committed relationship now. Still surreal.

He'd had guys tell him that dating a woman with kids was a shitty idea. Other guys who said that kids killed the relationship with your woman. Other guys that said he was fucking nuts to date a lady cop. That pretty much he was going to have his balls crushed and in a vice for as long as he attempted any of that. Then he'd had the other whispers – about him being with Liv. Like her being a cop – especially an SVU cop – said something about the kind of woman she was. About her sexuality. That she must be a lesbian. Or at least a man hater. The added whispers since some of his shit made it to the rumor mill that year. Queer. Faggot. He'd heard it. Like he'd made some kind of decision as an eleven year old kid – acted in some way like he wanted to be molested, touched, sucked off by an adult man. The suggestion that him and Liv were always just covering for each other with the job and political correctness the way it was. Each other's beards and queers.

Had had to deal with a whole lot of anger about all that. But he'd also just … called bullshit on any of it. All of it.

Liv was the love of his life. These kids were the best thing that had ever happened to him. About the best thing he'd ever done. He didn't care that sometimes he played second – or even third – fiddle in Liv's priorities. Fuck that. Sometimes he had shit going on at work or shit going on with the kids that had him placing other needs before her too. Though, that was something they were working at getting way more in sync on. They'd made progress. And he wouldn't trade all the missteps and fucking gut punches they'd had.

It was funny. Sometimes it got confusing for him. He knew who and what Liv was as a cop. He knew her as a friend and as a lover. And he got treated differently depending on the side he was getting there too. And he also saw her as just a mom. Sometimes he didn't think the kids fully got to see the other sides of her. Sure there was Good Cop Mom and Bad Cop Mom. Mom could be strict and could be scary. But she also kissed boo-boos and tucked them in at night and danced with Em in the aisles at the fucking Guardians of the Galaxy Awesome Mix Tape show. She fucking shimmy and shaked – that ass – and worked at getting him and Ben to dance too.

"There are two types of beings in the universe," Ben had quoted in complete Drax deadpan to her. "Those who dance, and those who do not dance."

And, fucking Liv, she'd known exactly what scene he was quoting. Liv who just watched fucking artsy, artsy crap and artsy, artsy music and went to artsy, artsy galleries before the kids. But she'd said, "Come be pathetic with me." And pulled up their kiddo from the bench and pulled his arms in movements with the music of Hooked on a Feeling. And Big Man couldn't help but smile. He smiled enough that Brian had let himself stand up and offered his arm for Liv and Em to do a twirl around in during Come and Get Your Love – Liv teasingly beaconing at Cassidy while she managed some pretty bad dance moves that betrayed just how many times she'd seen the opening sequence of Star Lord doing his shimmy and shake too. She had the dance down. And the shared silliness – had been enough that Ben had let himself lean against the bench in front of them and complete belt out the Queen song that came on – including some little boy head-banging. How Freddie Mercury equated to head-banging in their kid, he didn't know. But Ben still pulled it off. And shared the hair whips (that he didn't remotely have these days) with his Mom next to him.

Liv's Mom-ness when she let her hair down with the kids. Brian liked seeing it. Loved it. Love the way she griped at both the kids – an arm around each of them on either side of her, pulled tight against her – as they left that show. And then after all the Mom-son teasing between her and Ben, she'd huddled just as closely with Bg Man as she watched his concentrated efforts in the Cartoonist's Academy. Encouraging him and being amazed by him. That was just every day with kids. Brian did that a lot too. Just staring too at the family they'd created. These kids they got – through good times and bad. But who were absolutely, undeniably theirs.

"It our turn!" Em cheered from her excited little dance as they finally got called up to meet Spiderman. She was over to the guy like a shot but Big Man still hung back – still clutching that drawing that he'd just brought from their Cartoonist's Academy session in the hopes of getting Spiderman to sign.

Em looked back at her brother, measuring him. "Ben-gee. It our turn."

Ben just took a shy step forward. Brian gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"Are you going to get your picture taken and ask him to sign your drawing, Benj?" Liv asked.

He gave her a timid look and inched forward a bit more.

And that was enough for Em. That was the … magic of siblings, Brian thought. To Em, Ben was just Ben. All these labels her brother had – it didn't mean shit. Ben was just Ben. It's the way she always knew him. No better or worse. No more or lesser. Just her big brother and her own hero. Someone she so wanted to keep up with. Someone she wanted to be just like. But as much his advocate and protector as Ben was to his Little Duck.

"'PID-ER-MAN, I Emmy. Dat Ben-gee," Em provided introductions on both their behalves. "He my bubba. Some time he shy. But he just like you. Almost. He more like Miles doh. 'Cuz he a good draw-er too. And he goin' to Math and Science school too. 'Cuz he the smart-ist. He WON FIRST PLACE in da science fair! And we live in BOOK-LYN too! We a-dot-it kinda like you. But not by our auntie. Just by Mommy and Daddy," she added and pointed their way. "Dat more like you. But Mommy and Daddy poll-ease like Miles dad."

"Whoa!" Spiderman provided her after that spiel. "Brooklyn and Science School and cops for parents?" He crouched down and whispered closer to Em's ear, "Are you guys actually Spider Girl and Arachn-Kid? Did Tony send you?"

Em shook her head. "Noooo," she sighed. "We just Emmy and Ben-gee. But you our fav-it super hero always EVER! Ben-gee want your auto-gah-fft."

Em looked back at him and made a huge gesture with her head like he was supposed to come over.

"Hey, man," Spiderman said. "Is that one of your drawings? I'd love to see it."

Ben still hesitated but then crept forward. He held out the sketch for the Spiderman.

"Whoa, man," Spidey said taking it and admiring the sketch of his head. It was another thing Benji had become even better at that summer – art camp had really brought into focus how much talent was under the surface in that kid. Some coaching and training and the right tools – and it wasn't just going to be hockey that this kid was killer at. "Did you spot your friendly neighborhood Spiderman around here or something?"

"It's you," Ben said quietly, a little nervously.

"Wait! No way?" Spiderman said teasingly and looked at it again. "Are you submitting this to the Daily Bugle or something?"

Ben shook his head and wrung at his hands. "No," he said again. "I'm just gonna take it home. But … can you sign it?"

"Can I ever," Spiderman said. A worker brought a Sharpie over for him and Spiderman nudged Ben around – scrawling his name across the paper, using Ben's shoulder as an easel. "Amazing," Spidey said as he handed the piece of paper back to Ben. Big Man just glowed at it.

"OK," Spiderman said. "You know, I try to like avoid getting too many pictures taken. You know like not wanting fame to go to my head. Or you know like my secret identity to leak out."

"You Peter Parker," Em stated way too confidently.

"Shhhhhh!" Spiderman slapped his finger up to around where his mouth would be. "I don't go telling people you're Spider Girl and Arachn-Kid, do I?"

"We still just Emmy and Ben-gee."

Spiderman gave them both a little wink. "Right, right," he agreed and nudged them around to face the camera. "So like I was saying, going to make an exception with the whole no photos thing. But you know, even though you're just Emmy and Benji – you know, let's like shoot those webs for the camera."

He demonstrated the hand and finger gesture for them and the kids matched it. Matched it and glowed like about a thousand incandescent light bulbs.

And Liv leaned into him. "We're getting that photo," she said.

And, yea, fucking right they were – of their Super Kids. He fucking loved his family. He fucking loved this day. This moment. This life he'd somehow fucking got. Blew his mind. And really fucking blew up his heart – every day of his life. Seven years and counting.

AUTHOR NOTE:

A chapter was posted earlier today. You might want to go back and make sure you didn't miss CHAPTER 11.

That's it for Brian's POV. I'm going to do a couple from Liv's POV now, including some reference to alone time and moments between her and Brian and Brian's birthday. Depending on how I feel about the story and the readership numbers, etc. I might do a few chapters of them at Cragen and Eileen's after that.

Thanks for reading. Your review and comments are appreciated.