A/N: You've shown me the meaning of life (Meaning of Life - Kelly Clarkson)

DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. This story belongs to TStabler©

November 30, 2007

"That's everything," Olivia sighed as she kicked an empty bin into the crawl space under the stairs. She turned, looked around, and smiled. The house looked like something out of a Hallmark movie. There were perfectly chosen decorations on the shelves and tables, elegant wreaths and hangings on walls and doors, and above the fireplace hung six stockings each with a name in silver glitter. "It looks…"

"Perfect," Elliot strode up behind her and wrapped her in his arms. He was staring over her, at the beautifully decorated tree. "Everything is perfect." He kisses her cheek and then her neck, and then he grabbed her chin gently and twisted her toward him. He kissed her lips softly at first, but it deepened fast. Light moans and gasps, whispered cries of each other's name, and groping hands made more of the kiss than intended.

Elliot swiveled and pressed Olivia into the wall behind them. He worked one hand under her shirt as he kissed her harder, deeper. The ringing doorbell broke them apart, just as they'd started to pull at each other's clothes. "Shit," he spat. He took a breath, cleared his throat, kissed her once, and pulled his tee shirt down to conceal his quite obvious arousal as he headed for the door.

"What are you doing?" Trevor chuckled, lifting and dropping the articles of clothing scattered across the bed. He eyed Alex for a moment, his gaze softening. "Seriously, Al, what…"

Alex stood in front of the mirror, holding a red dress in front of her by the hanger. "This thing is in three days and it's important," she interrupted him, then threw the dress onto the bed. "Very important. And I don't have anything in this closet that says I deserve to be there, that I deserve to be there with you."

Trevor laughed softly and walked over to her. "You could walk in wearing a full-on clown costume, complete with red nose and orange wig, and you'd still knock everyone else there on their asses." He kissed her cheek. "Wear something comfortable, babe. It's a legalistic dinner not the Academy Awards. You don't need to try so hard with me, anything you wear...you'll look beautiful." He kisses her sweetly and then turned back to head out into the hallway.

Alex sighed, picking a blue dress out of her closet and holding it up to her body. It wasn't Trevor she wanted to impress.

"Hey, beautiful," Cassidy leaned over and kissed his fiancée softly from behind the couch. He ran his hands down around her and rested them on her stomach. "Everything okay in there?"

Nicole chuckled and laid her hands over his. "Everything is perfect," she said, and then she shrugged. "Well, expect my mother and, um, new stepdad are a little peeved that we're doing this backwards."

Brian scoffed. "You're not the first Stabler to get knocked up before tying the knot." He chuckled and kissed her again. "How are you handling that, uh, while thing?"

Nicole's shrugged. "At least I know the guy, and he and my mom have history." She dropped her head back and looked up at Brian. "And two kids. Seven grandkids."

Brain bent forward and kissed her forehead. "They were cute together," he said, "On Thanksgiving, I mean."

"Your boss is gonna be your stepfather-in-law," she said with a grin.

He groaned and rolled his eyes, but kissed her again as he said, "Don't remind me."

"Not that this isn't a thrilling conversation," Porter checked his watch and then looked up at Casey Novak. "If you have a point you have five minutes to make it, I have a flight to catch."

"I didn't tell them," Casey said, pulling the clothes out of Dean's suitcase as fast as he was putting them in. "I have been keeping this from literally every friend I have, at your behest, so you are not leaving until you tell me…" she grabbed his collar and turned him to face her. "I'm some big secret, so what, you're ashamed of me? This?"

Porter smirked and pulled her hands off of him, and he said, "Of course not, but our worlds shouldn't exactly collide like this. You know, this is a casual thing, right?"

"Casual," Casey spat. She shook her head and crossed her arms. "How many other women are you sleeping with?"

He grabbed the tossed clothes and folded them into his luggage. "Three," he said, "Not that it's really any of your…" He didn't get a chance to finish talking.

Casey slapped him, hard, and walked out of his hotel room, with no intention of ever speaking to him again.

"You know you're always welcome," Elliot said. He scooted forward on the sofa, grabbed a glass of water from the group of them on the coffee table, and looked at him mom with a smile. "But you never usually show up unannounced." He sipped his water and leaned back, instinctively wrapping one arm around Olivia.

The move made Cragen smile and he cleared his throat. "We, uh, wanted to see…" he paused. "Thanksgiving was wonderful, thank you for letting us be a part of it."

Elliot narrowed his eyes. "You're my parents," he said. "It wasn't…"

"What Donny is trying to say," Bernie interrupted with a smile, "Is that we would like to be the ones to host Christmas dinner. We have the extra room. The house in Jersey, it's got plenty of space for you and the kids, Eddie and Vickie, Nicky and Brian, Joey and the girls." She held one of Cragen's hands in both of hers. "All of us. Together."

"Mom, that…" he took a breath and pulled Olivia closer. He kissed her temple and moved to whisper something in her ear. He laughed and when she nodded against his lips, he turned back. "Okay, uh, yeah. That...sounds really nice, Mom."

Olivia took his water from him, sipped it, and tried to calm down after the question he'd whispered into her ear. He knew how to push every button she had, tap every nerve. "Christmas at the Jersey Shore," she said, handing the glass back to Elliot. "Sounds absolutely perfect." She dropped her head to Elliot's shoulder, worked her fingers between his, and let her mind wander away from the conversation Bernie, Cragen, and Elliot were having.

She lost focus, her vision blurring as she stared at a blank spot on the wall. Thoughts of her own childhood, her mother, her sophomore and junior years of high school when her life changed, the way she had grown up without a family. She smiled, then, realizing she'd gone from not having anyone but Elliot to having a bigger family than she'd ever even imagined.

Mia's cry snapped Olivia out of her trance and without even looking at each other, she and Elliot rose together to tend to their infant daughter.

Watching them go, Cragen sighed. "Not quite Norman Rockwell," he said, and he turned to Bernie. "But we're getting there."

"Explain," Munch began, holding up a bony finger, "Why we are the only ones here."

"Because it's Sunday," Fin answered, his fingers typing diligently. "We get Thursdays off, Benson and Stabler get Sundays."

"What's Cassidy's excuse?" Munch whipped, scoffing. "He left over an hour ago! And where the hell is Cragen? He's been at the helm less than a week and already playing hookie?"

"I'm right here," Cragen spat, taking his coat off as he headed toward his office. "Cassidy's on his way back in, too. You do realize we get lunch breaks, yeah?" He stopped and turned before opening his door. "You two, you have plans for Christmas?"

Munch narrowed his eyes. "I'm Jewish, so no."

Fin chuckled and leaned back. "Supposed to take Mel and my kid to some ski lodge but the only cabin that isn't booked is privately owned." He tilted his head. "Why?"

Cragen smiled. "You're having dinner with us," he said, "And I won't take no for an answer." He nodded firmly at them and then walked into his office.

Munch and Fin shared a look, one that was a mix of surprised confusion and slight excitement. "I tell ya," Munch started, "If I was that happy after getting married, I wouldn't have gotten divorced."

"That's probably why Benson and Stabler are still going strong," Cassidy chirped as he walked into the room. "Wow, uh, they've had four kids in seven years. No signs of stopping, either. Told me this morning as soon as Mia's walking and talking…" he blinked. "Why are you staring at me?"

"You're takin' the leap," Fin said as he jutted his head forward. "Havin' a kid. Munch and me are gonna be the only single people in this unit."

Cassidy sat at his desk and kicked back. "Yeah, until you smarten your ass up and ask Warner to marry you."

Fin grumbled. "Man, I am tired of everyone jumpin' on me about that! Can't two people just live happily together with a kid without havin' a damn wedding?" He shook his head. "I'm not the marryin' type, I have fully fucked up every relationship I ever had. That includes three times with Mel." He looked down at his computer screen again, oblivious to Melinda standing by the door.

She had heard everything.

A/N: Do the intricate ties at the department cause problems? Does family Christmas go smoothly? And someone goes into labor the day after Christmas!