So...here you go. An update and it hasn't even been 6 months. LOL

Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one. I'm looking forward to your thoughts.

July 4, 2015 8:30AM

He heard the soft moan and immediately jumped to his feet, staring as she struggled to open her eyes. When they finally fluttered open, the blank look in her deep brown eyes scared him a bit, but he forced a sad smile, "Hey…you're awake…" he whispered.

She started to sit up, but he put his hand on her shoulder, "Don't try to move," he insisted. "You need to be careful with your stitches."

"El…" her voice was raspy and weak. "What happened? I feel so much pain…"

"There were some complications with the c-section," he said sadly. "But you're gonna be okay. I promise…"

Her eyes widened with fear as the events came back to her, "The twins?" she asked. "Where are they?" her voice was frantic. "Are they okay? Where are my boys?"

"They are all right," Elliot promised. "They're in the NICU."

"I want to see them," she tried to sit up again, but the pain was unbearable and she was forced to lay back tearfully. "I want them…" she cried.

"I know," he said gently, stroking her cheek and kissing her on the forehead. "The doctor said we can take you up in a while. As soon as he can come down and check on you, make sure you're up to it."

"Are you sure they're okay?" she asked. "Are they sick? They were so little…"

"Hudson is fine," Elliot promised. "He's five pounds already and breathing on his own." His voice cracked a little, "Benson is a fighter, Liv…I promise you…"

"You named them?" she asked. "Without me?"

"We picked their names already," he reminded her. "The nurses were asking…so they could label the incubator for Benny and so I just…he reminds me of you…he has your fighting spirit, so I chose Benson for him…" he sighed. "I hope you don't mind."

She nodded, "How bad is it?" she asked and he didn't answer. "El…tell me…"

"He's smaller…barely four pounds," Elliot told her. "He has machines breathing for him…"

"Oh my God," she cried. "My poor baby…I want to go to the NICU. I want to see them."

"Here," Elliot pulled out his phone. "I took some pictures for you…so you can see them." She scrolled through and held it up. "This is Hudson…they let me hold him. He's so sweet, Liv…really calm and just this adorable little bundle."

She stared at the picture of her son, overwhelmed by the experience of seeing him for the first time in a photo instead of holding him, "He's beautiful…" her voice was barely a whisper. "Is his hair blonde?" she asked confused.

Elliot laughed, "Yeah…I was surprised…but all my kids are blondes, Liv. Even Dickie was blonde when he was little."

"I thought they got that from Kathy," she said with a slight grin.

"My hair was lighter when I was a kid," he insisted.

"He's so perfect," she said again, almost in disbelief. "And he's healthy?"

"They're monitoring him…just to make sure," Elliot told her. "He's still premature."

"Let me see Benny," she said and Elliot scrolled to the next picture. "Oh..." her voice quivered.

"I know the tubes make him look worse," Elliot tried to comfort her. "He's really tiny and sweet. He has the biggest blue eyes, Liv. He's sort of bald now, but I think he might end up with blonde hair too."

"He's so small," she cried. "El…all the tubes…are they hurting him?"

"I don't think so," he tried to assure her. "They're helping him."

"Did you hold him?" she asked.

"They wouldn't let me," he answered. "He needs to stay in the incubator. It keeps him warm enough…he doesn't have enough fat under his skin yet…and the tubes need to stay in place."

She nodded, "Can we touch him?" she asked.

"Yeah," he smiled sadly. "There's a little opening for your hand and you can reach through and touch him."

"He's probably scared," she cried. "He's all alone and he's had his brother with him all this time before now…"

"They're still together," Elliot reminded her.

She shook her head, "It's not the same," she sighed. "He's alone in the incubator…I need to go there…I need to be with him." She cried. "He needs to hear my voice…"

"Okay," Elliot agreed. "I'll go get the nurse and see if she can get the doctor to approve it."

July 4, 2015 9:45AM

Elliot pushed her wheelchair down the hall and stopped outside the door. He stood in front of his wife, looking at her face, obviously pained, and spoke softly. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. "I don't want you overdoing things."

"I'm fine," she insisted. "I'm not moving…I'm in the chair like the doctor insisted. I won't overdo anything, but I need to see my babies." She motioned toward the door, "Open the door, El…"

"It's not easy in there," he said seriously. "I don't want you to be shocked…"

"El…open the door," she argued. "Please…"

He nodded, and pushed the door open, wheeling her inside. There were six babies in the room and almost as many nurses bustling about. It was a quiet room, other than the beeping from various machines. It made him sad to be there, because he knew some of those little babies wouldn't make it, and he prayed it wouldn't be his son. "They're over here," he motioned to the far right corner and wheeled her in the direction.

"Hello," a young nurse with a cheerful smile came up to them. "Good to see you again, Elliot…" she said and she glanced down at Olivia, "I'm Cecelia," she smiled. "You must be Hudson and Benson's mommy. I met your husband early this morning when they brought the boys up from delivery." She reached her hand out and Olivia shook it weakly.

"Olivia…" she said, her voice quivering. "How are they doing?"

The nurse smiled, "They're doing well," she assured her. "Would you like to hold Hudson?"

Olivia nodded, anxiously and Elliot wheeled her over to the area where their sons were sleeping. The nurse picked up the baby, dressed in a white cotton onesie and a small blue cap and handed him to his mother. Olivia looked at him as she cradled him in her arms, "He so sweet…" she cried. "Hi there…" she stroked his cheek and he fidgeted in her arms and opened his eyes. "Hi baby…" she looked up at Elliot and tears streamed down her cheeks, "Oh God…he's so perfect…"

"Yeah, he is," Elliot agreed.

"What's this tube for?" she asked, noticing the thin, clear plastic tub taped to the side of her son's face and slipped into his mouth.

"That's how we're feeding him for now," the nurse explained. "It runs down to his stomach."

"Did you feed him?" she asked the nurse. "Is he hungry?"

"We gave him a little formula," the nurse explained. "He has some trouble suckling, so we had to use the tube, but he's going to pick it up. You can try feeding him in a while. He's not ready for breastfeeding, but you can pump for him and we can see how he does with the bottle and then feed the rest through the tube."

Olivia nodded, "What about Benson?" she asked.

The nurse gave a gentle smile, "He's here," she let her hand rest on the clear box and Olivia shifted to see her son, wincing a little at the pain, so Elliot moved the wheelchair so she could see him better. "He's really doing okay. I know all the tubes are frightening…"

"He wasn't breathing," Olivia said in a whisper. "At delivery…he wasn't breathing…" she looked at the nurse anxiously.

"He's getting some help with that now," she explained. "But they were able to get him breathing on his own before they brought him up here. Unfortunately it didn't last. We're using the respirator to help him…That's the tube going through his nose. It pumps warm, humidified air directly into his lungs and we're giving him medicine to help his lungs develop and heal. The tube in his hand is for feedings and medication…we're giving him nutrients intravenously. The round stickers on his chest are monitoring his heartrate and blood pressure…"

"He's so small…" she said sadly. "How can he survive all of this?"

"Our babies are tougher than you think," the nurse said gently. "Do you want to touch him?"

"Will it hurt him?" she asked with worry. "His skin looks so painful…"

"It's not," the nurse assured her. "He just doesn't have the fat underneath that most babies are born with. He'll benefit from his mommy's touch. Just put your hand through here…"

Olivia reached her hand slowly through the opening in the side of the incubator and let her finger rest on her son's soft arm. "Do you want me to take Hudson?" Elliot asked, but she shook her head.

"No, I can hold him," Olivia answered. "I want them together." She stroked the tiny baby's arm, "Hi Benny…" she whispered tearfully. "It's Mommy…I'm right here with you…you're my strong boy…"

Elliot's eyes filled with tears as he watched his wife with their premature babies. She was being so strong, and he knew her heart was breaking. His heart was breaking for her. Hudson started to cry, and Olivia struggled to soothe him and keep her other hand on Benson, so she finally gave in and let Elliot take him. Elliot knelt down with the baby, rocking him close to his body and keeping him within arms-length of his mother so Olivia could touch both of her boys at the same time, and the baby stopped crying.

"Other than the blonde hair, I think Hudson looks just like you Liv," Elliot smiled down at his son. "He has your eyes, your nose…he's beautiful."

She smiled at him, "Benny looks like you," she said and he nodded in agreement.

"But he's strong like you," Elliot added.

"And you…" she added. "He has your stubbornness," she smiled sadly. "You're gonna be okay, aren't you?" she asked the baby.

"He will," Elliot promised. "We named him Benson Stabler…" he laughed a little. "He has no choice but to be a fighter."

"Both of our boys are perfect," Olivia said, stroking Hudson's cheek.

"They were born on the 4th of July," Elliot said with a wink. "Our little firecrackers."

"Thank you…" she whispered and Elliot looked at her confused. "For giving them to me…" she added. He leaned forward, and kissed her softly on the lips.

July 4, 2015 5:30PM

Olivia picked at her food, knowing she needed to eat if she wanted to pump milk for her babies, but not really feeling well enough. The c-section had left her in pain, and she was avoiding painkillers to keep her milk supply safe for the twins, so she was achy and tired and sick. The last thing she wanted to think about was eating hospital food.

Elliot had left a few hours earlier, at her insistence. He needed to check on Noah, and Eli had called and asked him to come and take him to see the fireworks. She knew he didn't want to go, but she'd made him, mostly because she wanted a few minutes to herself…time to process all that had happened, but now she was regretting the decision. She felt lonely and overwhelmed. She missed her babies, and her husband, and she felt empty and alone.

She flipped through the channels on the TV, finding nothing to occupy her mind and she was about to buzz the nurse and ask for them to take her to the NICU, even though she'd been told they wanted her to rest and she was sure they'd say no, when a doctor she didn't recognize walked into the room and surprised her.

"Olivia Benson?" he asked, and he walked over to her bed.

"Yes…" she answered. "Who are you?" She'd already met the pediatrician and neonatologist for her boys, and she couldn't think of why another doctor other than her own would be there.

"I'm Dr. Peltro," he extended his hand and she shook it. "I work in the lab."

"The lab?" she asked. "I'm sorry…is something wrong…I don't know why you're here…"

He smiled, "At delivery, they sent cord blood to the lab for testing…" he lifted the file, "Against your step-son, Elliot Stabler, Jr. Is that correct?"

She nodded nervously, "Uhm…yes, but they told me before my c-section that they didn't think they'd be able to get enough cord blood. My twins were too early." Her eyes filled with tears. "If you're here to tell me they don't match…" she cried. "My husband isn't here right now…and I can't…I don't know how to tell him…"

"Ms. Benson…" his voice was kind and steady. "I know you are dealing with a lot right now," he explained. "But I'm not here with bad news…"

"What?" she asked, unsure if she'd heard him correctly. "You mean…"

"One of the samples has similar markers to your step-son," he smiled. "It should be a good match."

"You mean…we can save Eli?" she gasped. "Oh God…I wish Elliot was here…"

"The sample from your son, Hudson Stabler is a very close match to his older half-brother," the doctor smiled. "And we were lucky. It was a good sample. The one from your other son wasn't as good, due to his placenta issues."

"Hudson matches Eli?" she asked, bursting into tears.

"Not exactly…but the markers are close enough that they'll be able to do the transplant. I think you can expect good results."

"Oh my God…" she sputtered. "I don't know what to say…"

"I'm glad I could give you some good news," he reached out and shook her hand. "Congratulations…on the twins and on this new prognosis for your step-son." He smiled, "His doctor will be in touch regarding the transplant and therapy."

He walked toward the door and Olivia called after him, "Thank you…" she said and he nodded with a genuine smile before walking out the door. At that point all Olivia could do was cry…tears of joy…pain…fear…relief…everything all at once. She knew she needed to call Elliot, but she couldn't stop her tears long enough to do it, and eventually she let herself succumb to the sobs and didn't even try to stop.