A/N: "Mothers are the world's best secret-keepers."

DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. TStabler© owns this story.

"And it says that one child alone can cause major tearing," Maureen said, reading from a book as she curled on the couch beside Olivia. "Imagine what two are gonna do to you!"

Olivia, swallowing hard, looked at Elliot in the recliner. "I am having a C-section. No way is any of that happening to me. I am gonna need drugs, El. No, better. Knock me the hell out."

Elliot laughed, lifting his beer to his lips. "Maur, why are you torturing your mother?"

Maureen shrugged. "She shouldn't go into this unprepared. Besides, she's the one who always needs facts and figures and specifics, isn't she? She's the one who demands a 'why' when the 'who' and 'how' are enough. She should know!"

Elliot looked at his daughter, then at his wife. He rose, pulled Olivia up and led her to the easy-chair, then sat in it with her on his lap. He eased back, reclining it, and pulled her close to him. "Kathy had twins, and three kids before that, and she was fine. Baby, this is nothing to be…"

"Got you to cuddle with me," she said with a smirk. She kissed his lips, frozen in shocked amusement, and said, "I know what's gonna happen, and I was serious when I said I needed drugs, lots of them, but I can't wait to have these babies."

He chuckled as he ran his hand over her body and rubbed her belly. "Neither can I." He grazed her forehead with his lips and dropped light kisses along her brow and cheek bones. "I am so in love with you, Liv. The three of you."

"Hey!" Kathleen yelled from the kitchen table. "Don't forget us older kids from your first failed attempt at marriage."

Elliot scoffed. "Katie, you know I love you. More than anything. Liv and I…these babies aren't gonna change anything."

Kathleen smirked. "I know," she said. "We love you, too, Dad." She smiled at her father and stepmother before turning her attention back to her laptop, writing her paper.

Olivia chuckled and nestled closer to him, feeling his arms wrap tighter around her. "Are you okay?" she asked, peering up at him.

Elliot nodded, taking a breath. "Perfect," he said. "Nothing in my life has ever felt so right, Liv." He kissed her forehead, and he heard his mother humming in the kitchen. "She really loves you," he whispered.

"Who, Katie?" Olivia asked with a scrunched up face.

Elliot chuckled and kissed her nose. "No, my mother. You don't see her hanging out at my brother's house, fussing over his wife and kids, do you? She hasn't seen my sisters in months, but she's been here, everyday, cooking and cleaning because she knows you hate it." He kissed her and toyed with her hair, and he said, "She told me I'm the only one of her kids who got it right. Well, the second time."

She took a deep breath, sighed, and closed her eyes. "In a way, El, I think she's trying to give me what she knows I'm missing. She always says I gave her her son back, maybe this is all her way of giving me…"

"A mother," Elliot whispered. "Maybe." He said with a knowing glimmer in his eyes.

At that moment, the humming filtered from the kitchen to the living room, getting louder as Bernie walked closer. "Dinner's ready," she said. "Richard, set the table, please?"

Dickie rolled his eyes. "Richard? Grandma, really?"

"I could always use what I used to call you when you were little." Bernie folded her arms and smirked at the teenager.

"No, no," Dickie said, shaking his head. "Richard's fine. Really. In fact, from now on, everyone calls me Richard."

Olivia, with help from Elliot, sat up and got off of the chair. She looked at Elliot. "What did she call him?"

Elliot smirked. "Dick-Dick," he said shaking his head. He and Olivia shared a laugh, and Bernie looked on with a smile, hoping what she knew now would not get to them. She'd erased Kathy's message, but she wasn't sure if the woman would call back, or if anyone else knew.

Dinner, home cooked and traditional, was wonderful. The kids ate eagerly, trying not to roll their eyes as every so often they would catch their father feeding Olivia, and vice versa.

They all laughed when the babies began causing a ruckus, taking turns feeling them kick and roll around. Regardless of how much discomfort it was causing Olivia, she loved it. Bernie loved seeing everyone happy and together, it felt so natural to her.

"All right," Bernie said with a laugh. "Leave the little ones alone, stop rubbing her belly, she isn't Buddha." She shooed the older kids away from Olivia and Elliot, then turned to her son. "I'll stay down here with the kids, you go up and run your wife a hot bath and try to get those sweet things to calm down."

Elliot raised his eyebrow, but he smiled and said, "Thanks, Mom." He kissed her cheek and got Olivia out of her chair and up the stairs, planning to do exactly as his mother told him.

Watching them go with a smile, Bernie said, over her shoulder, "The four of you, come here, please."

The kids looked at each other, and then at their grandmother. "What did we do?" Maureen asked, sitting.

Lizzie sat beside her and asked, "Are we in trouble?"

Bernie laughed as she sat across from them. "No, dear, not at all. I just wanted to talk to you. See how you're handling all of this."

"We don't really like Alan," Dickie said, "But other than that, this is all…we're okay."

Bernie nodded. "Are you all right, knowing there's going to be two more of you running around?"

Kathleen laughed. "Oh, yeah," she said. "I think…well, I know I wouldn't be if this was Mom and Dad having more kids, but it's Liv. Ya know? She's always wanted to be a mother, and we have always wanted to see her raise her kids."

Lizzie smiled. "I remember telling Dad once, how I wished she could be my mother, because she was so cool, and understanding. And now…"

"We love Mom," Maureen said quickly. "Don't think we don't."

Bernie shook her head. "Oh, I know you love your mother," she said. "But Olivia is your mother, too, now. And she is going to need a lot of help from the four of you. Twins are a lot of work, and she's going to be a new mom dealing with it all. Don't give her a hard time, stay out of trouble, and give her a hand around here, huh?"

Dickie nodded. "We help now, Grandma, so we know…"

"Let her sleep later, don't nag her, clean your own rooms, do the laundry," Bernie said, looking them in the eyes. "Don't get into trouble at school, or at least don't tell her you have, she doesn't need the stress."

"Grandma!" Kathleen laughed. "We know!" She looked at her brother and sisters and said, "We know, and we're all gonna do our best to make this easy for her, right, guys?"

There were nods and murmurs of agreement, and then Dickie said, "So I shouldn't tell her that I got into a fight at school yesterday?"

"Probably not, no," Bernie chuckled. "Tell your father, though."

Dickie rolled his eyes. "Grandma, come on, can't you just…"

"Tell him, Richard, or I will," Bernie threatened. "And you don't want me to do that; you'll be in even more trouble if he doesn't hear it from you."

Kathleen narrowed her eyes. "Grandma, you didn't give us this speech when Mom had twins."

Bernie held in a laugh. "I thought your mother deserved to deal with you little hellions." She brushed Dickie's hair back. "After the hell she put your father through…and you know that she wasn't supposed to be able to have any more kids after Katie."

"What?" Lizzie asked. "We weren't planned?"

Bernie shook her head. "Your mother told your father she couldn't, and wouldn't, have any more kids. He didn't talk to her for weeks after she told him she was pregnant with the two of you, although he desperately wanted you. See, one thing I can say about your father is how much he loves you kids. All of you, and the little ones we have yet to meet."

Dickie furrowed his brow. "Mom lied to him? Even then?" He scoffed and said, "And he forgave her?"

Bernie sighed. "Your father, despite what you may think, loved Kathy with all of his heart. It wasn't anything like what he feels for Olivia, but he wanted to stay with her, make things work. He wanted to keep her."

"Until he met Liv," Maureen said, smirking.

Bernie laughed. "It took a while after they met, but she did bring out the best in him. You all know that. She made him feel things he hadn't felt in years, if ever." She dropped her hand from Dickie's head and said, "She made him realize what he was missing, what he had already missed, and he wanted it all back. He let himself fall in love with her, no one expected it, no one predicted it, and no one could stop it."

Kathleen sighed. "He's having twins, again, and he's getting what he wanted. He isn't pissed about it this time; he can really enjoy it all."

"Exactly," Bernie said. "Which is why I don't want you kids giving them a hard time. Let them both enjoy this, and have fun with it yourselves. This is a new little brother and sister for you all, and…"

"What?" Dickie and Lizzie asked, together.

Bernie's eyes widened. "Oh, don't…don't tell them that! They're not supposed to know that!"

Dickie looked at his grandmother and his smile grew. "I'm getting a little brother?"

"Another girl?" Lizzie asked, happy. "I get to have a little sister?"

"Shh!" Bernie hushed, scolding them. "Do not even utter a single…"

"How did you know?" Maureen asked, smirking.

Kathleen leaned forward. "Yeah, I mean, I thought they didn't want…"

"Your mother," Bernie hissed quietly, annoyed. "She found the sonograms in Olivia's file when she went back to work, she called and left messages, trying very hard to tell your father." She looked at her grandchildren. "Please, don't say anything to them. Give them this."

Dickie grinned, looking just like his father. "I won't tell them if you don't tell Dad I…"

"Fine," Bernie said, rolling her eyes. "I will sign your detention slip, just…"

"Thank you!" Dickie said, hugging his grandmother.

Bernie was a bit stunned. It had been a while since he'd hugged her like this. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, forgetting about Kathy and spoiled surprises and detention and school fights. All that mattered to her, now, was this. She took a breath and smiled as she let it out, feeling like part of the family, really, at last.

Her eyes rose toward the ceiling, and she wondered how long it would take for it all to crash down.

A/N: Olivia's day at work gets frustrating, Kathy makes a final attempt at wrecking the surprise but someone comes to the rescue, and Elliot meets his temporary partner, and it makes him make a drastic decision. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212