Title: Hello, Goodbye

Author: ZombieJazz

Fandom: Law & Order: SVU

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Law and Order SVU and its characters belong to Dick Wolf. The characters of Jack (and his family) have been created and developed for the sake of this AU series.

Summary: A shadow from Olivia's past shows up on her doorstep and offers the opportunity for her to take a very different direction in her life. This story exists outside of the universe that my other stories are happening in.

Author's Notes: This AU series is for SVU fans and readers who want Olivia to have something that resembles a more normal life outside of work and a family of her own - hopefully somewhat realistically within the canon of SVU. Most of the chapters will ultimately take place outside of the work environment, so there aren't going to be too many references to cases from the show. But this story would generally be starting in about Season 13/14 of the show. Please let me know what you think and if you distribute elsewhere.

Benji was talking about a million-miles per hour in his efforts to get Jack up-to-date on his nursery school adventures.

Olivia had had some second thoughts about the whole nursery school thing when she'd taken him over that first morning. His initial enthusiasm when they'd gone on the tour had completely disappeared when he realized she was leaving him there. There'd be tears and screeching far too loud. She'd been a little embarrassed actually. It'd reached the point where the staff had told her it was normal and for her to just go, that'd he'd be fine. She'd been really reluctant to do that. He was throwing an all-out fit and it was pretty clear to her that he had attachment and abandonment issues. She wasn't sure leaving him in a place full of strangers was going to help that at all. But she was already running late and knew she'd be arriving at the courthouse to find an overly-bitchy Casey Novak on her about her tardiness and her level of preparation for the trial. So she had hesitantly left him blubbering and fighting against the arms of the staff member who was trying to calm him as she left, repeatedly promising him she'd be back at the end of the day. It'd been hard to do. But by the time she got back to pick him up, he'd apparently forgotten the trauma of the morning.

He'd seem content to be dropped off the next day and now just three days into his nursery school career, he was starting to seem like an old pro. His biggest complaint to her had been that nap was too long. She had to partially agree with him on that based on the energy he still had when she picked him up in the evenings. She was sort of hoping that nursery school would run him into the ground enough that he wouldn't be too much of a handful at night. It hadn't quite worked out that way.

Benji was all go-go-go. It was a bit of a different experience from Calvin, at least in that for the most-part, he would tend to entertain himself. He would still seek her out and still want her to play but it was different than with Benji. Benji was at her and on top of her and handing toys to her and asking her constant questions and babbling at her. He expected her to be his entertainment co-ordinator, in addition to providing just about everything else in his life at the moment.

She had certainly appreciated how difficult having a little boy to raise would be for Jack before – but now with Benji so in her face and with trying to balance her work and her exhaustion too with caring for him, she appreciated it that much more. Completing school, working part-time and balancing a four-year-old would be a difficult endeavour for anyone. It was no wonder Jack seemed so overwhelmed.

She was having moments where she was wanting to throw up her hands about it. But then Benji would say or do something that would melt her heart. Hell, every time he called her 'Livia in his awkward little voice and pronunciation just about did it. And, she'd received her first sloppy little kiss from him, as he wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her face closer to his and planted his lips on her cheek the night before as she'd tucked him in for the night. She'd sat on the couch for a long time after that knowing she was likely done for now.

"I made a very good turk-ee," Benji informed Jack, holding up his hand and pointing to each finger. "So I make his tail red, yell-oo, or-in, green, brown. Becuz it almost Thanksgiving. You eat turk-ee at Thanksgiving. But some don't. Jamie say he eat ham. That is a pig. Some time you can eat chick-in if you don't like turk-ee. Becuz 'Livia don't know how to make turk-ee. So she make chick-in. But that O-K. Becuz chick-in like turk-ee. But it not turk-ee.

"They give us cant-e-loop for sn-zacks sometimes and it not very good. It like eating octi-puss."

Jack snorted at him. "How do you know what eating octopus is like?"

"Becuz it or-in and slime. But sometimes we get goal-fish crack-ers. Today we get goal-fish crackers. That much better from cant-ee-loop."

"But still from the ocean," Jack commented and Benji looked at him questioningly. But then carried on …

"Some time kidz get to go sw-himm-ing. But 'Livia tell them I can't go sw-himm-ing. So some kidz went sw-himm-ing. But I go danc-ze. I teach 'Livia. But I can teach you cho Jee-Peedg. But I get to go sw-himm-ing cho when my arm better."

The waitress came over and looked at them over. It was the same girl who'd served them when Olivia and Jack had met there what seemed like eons ago at this point.

"You ready to order?" she asked, again eyeing Jack more than the rest of the table.

Benji didn't seem to care that someone else was there and continued to blabber.

"Shh," Olivia said to him quietly and he glanced at her with big eyes but silenced momentarily. So she looked back at the waitress. "The kiddie mac, does it have the vegetables in it like the one on the dinner menu?"

The waitress finally looked at her from where she was examining the top of Jack's head as he took a look at the menu in the break from Benji's chatter.

"No, but we can do that for you two bucks extra."

She nodded. "OK. He'll have that. Put the veggies in for him. Not the bacon."

"'Livia no veg-tab-bulls," Benji protested.

She looked at him. "Yes, vegetables, Benji. It will be good. It's macaroni and cheese."

"Nuggets!" he demanded.

"Nuggets aren't an option here, Benj," she told him again for about the fourth time. "Mac and cheese."

He made a growling noise at her that had appeared in his repertoire over the past couple days. It had started with him holding Flame out at her and growling when he was unimpressed with something she'd said to him. But it had apparently evolved. She was trying to take it as a sign of his comfort level with her. Still, she didn't much like it.

"That's very rude, Benji," she told him, making sure to catch his eyes. She saw Jack glance up at her as she chastised his nephew but he made no comment and she ignored it. He was in her care for the moment – she'd deal with the moments of minor discipline the way she thought was appropriate.

Benji's face softened when she said it and he looked a little scared. "Don't be mad, 'Livia," he protested again.

"What do you say?"

He looked at her and gave a small pout but then softly said, "Swore-eey."

She nodded and looked at the menu again. "I'm going to have the baked penne," she said and then passed her and Benji's menus to the girl, who was now eyeing Jack again, tapping her pen on her little notepad.

"So what about you, Plate-of-Fries?" she nodded at him.

Jack glanced up at her questioningly.

She flipped her pen around and tapped its opposite end on the pad a couple times. "I served you last time," she clarified for him. "You ordered just fries until your mom told you off."

"She not Mama, she 'Livia," Benji interjected on Jack's behalf who just kind of looked at the girl.

"Ah, yeah, OK," he said, with a lack of recognition in his voice.

"So you eating this time?" she asked, glancing back at Olivia and Benji - looking like she might be measuring what their situation was.

"Umm, yeah, I'm going to have the beef burger …"

"Swiss, fries. Mayo on the side and bottle of ketchup at the table," the girl said.

Jack examined her again for a moment. "Umm, yeah, thanks," he said and handed her the menu.

"Same as last time," she commented and gave him a thin smile and tapped her pen some more. She looked like she was about to go, starting to turn, but then turned back to the table. "You go to City, don't you?"

Jack looked back up at her again. He shrugged. "Yeah."

She nodded. "I've seen you around. You're always pissing off security outside Spitzer, aren't you?"

Jack snorted and looked at the table. "Ah, yeah," he offered. "I guess."

She nodded. "Thought so. You know the ramps and stairs outside the Academic Centre are a better ride, right? Diamondz?"

He grinned up at her at that. "Yeah. But the donut shop team there is pretty on the hook."

"Make your run quick, Nus," she said kind of teasingly. "You live down around here?"

He shifted his eyes to Olivia, who was trying not to watch the interaction too closely, but also was definitely eavesdropping. The girl followed his eyes and then looked back at him.

"Living at home?" she asked after gazing at them for a second.

Jack shook his head hard at that. "Ah, no. I've got my own place."

The waitress nodded again. "That's cool. So where do you get in your sessions then? Never see you around."

Jack looked at the table and played with the rim on his cap a bit. "The pier mostly."

"Not L.E.S.?"

He shrugged.

"You're pretty smooth. You should skate L.E.S.," she told him.

"Jee-Peedg's sick," Benji interjected again. "He does the trick-shin-ary the best."

The girl laughed at the boy and smiled at Jack. "The Hamster fetus is cute," she commented. "So hitting BUB tomorrow?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know."

"Scared?" the girl teased.

"Jee-Peedg not scared," Benji almost yelled at her. "He die-man-z."

"Oh yeah?" the girl asked. "He's that sick then he should come and battle. Or you just a pusher?"

Jack just looked at her. "I just have a big assignment due soon," there was a touch of anger in his voice at whatever that insult was, Olivia thought. In her world pusher was drug-related. She got the impression that in his, the girl had just hit him below the belt, though.

She nodded. "Ahhhh. OK. I feel ya there. I've got this 'dag assignment due in mutli-design course. I'm so stoked for when this semester is going to be over, right?"

"You're an ED-Ma?"

She nodded enthusiastically at that. "Yeah. What about you?"

"Ah, urban design," he said a little quietly.

"Well, aren't you fancy-pants Plate-of-Fries?"

"Jack," he offered even more quietly.

She gave him a smile and brought the menus up against her chest. "Gwen," she said.

Jack eyed her again for a second and then went back to looking at his glass of soda, clearly a little uncomfortable with the exchange and acting about the shyest Olivia had seen him, excluding his moments of silence at the hospital.

"OK, well, I'll get your guys orders put in," she turned to leave again but then turned back suddenly again. "Hey, you know about Slappy, though, right?"

Jack nodded.

"I've never seen ya at those sessions either."

He shrugged. She examined him for a moment. "You know, if you aren't coming out to Battle tomorrow, if you're down, you should come out to Slappy's tonight – before you like bury yourself in your assignment."

Jack shrugged again. "Maybe," he offered.

She looked at him but then shrugged too. "OK. Should have your meals for you guys in like 20," she said and disappeared back over towards the bar area.

Jack was examining his glass of Coke even more, running his fingers down the condensation and slowly twisting the cup around with each movement. Olivia had noticed it seemed to be a nervous restless habit in him. He'd done it with glasses while staying at her apartment too.

He stayed quiet as she watched him. Jack seemed so sad and maybe a little embarrassed by the interaction. She actually thought it had been kind of cute. The girl was obviously interested in him. She'd noticed the waitress eyeing him at the previous visit too. Maybe she'd just been trying to place where she recognized him that time – but this time it was clear that she wanted to get to know him. Olivia may not have known all the skateboarding slang that was getting dropped – but she knew the girl had definitely be outwardly flirting, if not completely inviting Jack out. And, Jack had seemed near oblivious or at least uninterested. She wasn't sure if it was just because her and Benji were sitting there during the interaction or if it was because he wasn't interested or if it was because of his panic about his scholarship.

Olivia rubbed at her eyebrow. "You know what that was?" she finally said to him.

He shrugged.

"What's Bub?"

He glanced at her. "Battle Under the Bridge. It's basically the last big skate event of the season. It's just a … stupid contest to show off your skills. It's a crew skate, though. I don't have a crew."

"You Funky's crew," Benji told him and Jack gave him almost a sad smile at that suggestion.

"It's tomorrow?" Olivia asked.

Jack shrugged again.

"What's Slappy?"

He glanced at her. "Why?"

"Because I'm still learning all your skater lingo."

He snorted at her and looked back at his glass again. "It's just this night ride that happens every Friday. Just a bunch of people hanging around Astor Place. Ripping it up."

She watched him for a moment and then looked at Benji, where he was scribbling madly on the placemat with the few crayons that had been given to him.

"You should go," she said. "To one of them. Or both."

Jack glanced at her. He clearly looked surprised she'd said it.

"Don't make life all about work, Jack," she told him. "Take breaks, have some fun. Act your age. Just manage your time properly."

He looked at her, like he didn't believe her statements or suggestion. But the reality was, she thought that Jack spending sometime with kids his age, doing something he loved might be good for him. She really doubted he'd had much of a chance to do that since arriving back in the city with Benji. She knew he needed to pull his grades up – but he didn't need to break himself mentally in the process. Then, on a more selfish level, if he was going to go out to the skateboard event – it would likely mean she'd get Benji for a little bit long, which she wasn't opposed to.

"But we're supposed to like talk," Jack said, "and, Benj, and stuff."

She shrugged at him. "So we talk on Saturday night – or Sunday. Benji and I have big plans tomorrow anyways. Don't we, Benj?"

Benji looked up from his colouring. "We go-in to the playground, Jee-Peedg – and a movie!"

"If Jack says you're allowed to go to a movie with me," she clarified and looked across the table at him.

"You're going to a movie?"

"I'd like to take him to a movie."

"What movie?" Jack asked with some skepticism.

"I don't know. Whatever kids' flick is playing at Kips Bay. Frankenweenie. Hotel Transylvania."

"Fran-ken-we-nee!" Benji declared.

"How does he even know what that is?" Jack said a bit accusingly.

Olivia looked at him. "Because he's been watching some TV this week – and because we looked at the trailers online."

"Don't you think they're a little … scary for a little kid?" Jack spat.

She rubbed her eyebrow. "I didn't think so. They're both PG."

"I not scared Jee-Peedg," Benji said. "Fran-ken-we-nee a dog like me."

"You are not a dog," Jack rolled his eyes.

"I Benji like a dog," Benji clarified for him. "And Tran-sil-van-nah has MONSTERS! We see both."

"You will not see both," Jack said with more than a touch of frustration in his voice. "You probably won't see either."

Benji's lip quivered and he looked at Olivia. "We go-in to a movie, right, 'Livia?"

She ran her hand through his hair. "We'll see, sweetheart," she told him, not wanting to fight about it more at the table.

"We go-in to a movie?"

She looked at Jack with a silent request in her face. "We could come watch you battle, or whatever, after. Which bridge is it under?"

Jack looked at her. "Manhattan. But it's not really like … a kid-friendly kind of park."

She watched him a moment. "People there get into trouble?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know. Some of the locals maybe. I don't. It's legit. It's just not somewhere I'd take him," he added and nodded towards Benji.

"I do battle, Jee-Peedg," Benji near whined. "I on Funky's crew. Gecko say so."

"You're too little to battle, 'Jamin, and your arm is still broken."

Benji pouted some more. "When it be not broken?"

"A while yet, sweetheart," Olivia told him and stroked his head, not even thinking about it but she saw the look Jack gave her and she dropped her hand.

"Let me watch him on Saturday," she said after watching Jack glare at her for several seconds. "You can do your thing. We'll do ours – and we can talk about what happens next after that – when hopefully we'll be more relaxed and in a bit better moods."

"We go-in to a movie?" Benji asked again.

This time she ignored Jack's glare and didn't wait for an answer either way. She didn't want to hear what he had to say on the matter and didn't want to fight with him. So she ran her hand through Benji's messy little faux-hawk again.

"We're going to a movie, sweetheart."