Stay.
Two months had passed and the Christmas and New Year's hype was over, and the family were just settling back into their everyday lives. Alex had decided to stay for a few more weeks, wanting to spend as much time with her girlfriend and friends as possible.
Trevor walked into the kitchen and smirked when he saw Olivia leaned up against one of the counters, her seven month bump getting bigger with each passing day. She was glowing, her olive toned skin, more vibrant than ever before and she looked like an absolute goddess. He walked up behind her and gently placed his hands on her bump, pressing a soft kiss to her wavy hair.
A smile tugged at her lips as she leaned back in his embrace, her eyes closing as both of them felt their little ones flutter inside of her. She let out a soft breath "this is my favourite feeling ever, it's their way of letting me know that they are awake."
"so sit down and enjoy that feeling for a bit more while I prepare some breakfast for us... Thomas said he found a place and would like to call us about that a bit later." he explained while moving over to the stove.
"please do me a favour and add some bacon to whatever you are making." she said before walking out of the kitchen.
He furrowed his brow before continuing with the breakfast, humming softly as his mind wondered. He could not believe how lucky he was, he married the love of his life and now they were close to welcoming both of their little ones into the world.
Olivia walked back into the kitchen and pursed her lips "honey you do know that we have a doctor's appointment today right?"
"Yeah, at 2" he answered with a small smile "are you ready to find out?"
She shrugged "I am... Although I'm a bit nervous. What do you want the genders to be?"
"I haven't really thought about it, like I would want a little girl so that you could dress her up and she would look like a princess. Then again, I also want a little boy, who I can teach all kind of things to, but either way, I will love both of them so damn much." he said with a small smile.
They finished their breakfast in a comfortable silence, feeding each other and laughing at the little corny jokes they shared. It was the first time they got to spend a morning together, without any playful bickering from Alex and Casey, or complaints from Eva who missed Thomas.
They adored their friends but they needed their time alone every now and then, just sharing each others company and being together. Olivia sat back and admired Trevor as he cleaned up their dishes, she was certain that she would never tire of seeing him. Having him close by was her favourite feelings, and she knew then, that everything in her life had led her to this moment.
She felt a sense of relief wash over her when she realised that this was not just one of those normal relationships, she was not going to lose him, she never had to fear that he would wake up and change his mind one day. She had the certainty that he adored her and loved her with all of his heart, she just knew, they were meant to be.
This was nothing like her past relationships, where she would be blissfully in love one minute and waiting for the other shoe to drop the next. Her mind wondered back to her longest relationship, three years, with Ed Tucker. She loved him, she thought he was the one she would settle down with, but life had other plans for her. He wanted something she could never see herself doing, he wanted her to walk out on her job, her life and start over with him. She was not ready at that time, because she was still in love with her job and her partner, but all of that had changed.
Her life, her focus and her thoughts had changed so much over the last year, suddenly being away from the precinct felt normal, and having someone to love felt right. Letting go was not easy, and she was certain that she would never have done it without this whole witness protection business, she would have stayed in her bubble, her lonely bubble.
Now she was happy that this entire thing took place, that she was forced out of her comfort zone and pushed into a new environment with someone different by her side. She was raw when they arrived and somehow Trevor found a way to heal her wounds, to make her feel alive, more alive than she ever felt before. Her whole life shifted, it went from being job orientated to being filled with love and family. She had a family in New York yes, but they were nothing like what she had here, in Oregon. Her life was better here, she was happier.
"What if we stay?" she asked suddenly.
Trevor turned to her with a confused look "what do you mean?"
"What if we stay here in Oregon, we can go and visit our families any time. But like, what if we live here, forever?"
A smirk tugged at his lips "Do you want to stay here?"
She shrugged "I'm not sure... I just know that I've been happier here, we are happier here. This is where our life together started and I feel that we would grow so much more here."
He nodded, a thoughtful look on his face "What about your job? Would you be okay not doing it?"
"I am a certified rape counselor, I can still help survivors here, we could figure out how to go about getting a SVU precinct to be opened here. I have enough experience to run it and you can be an ADA, extend the firm. Let Henshall run the one in New York, fly over when necessary."
He walked over to her and pressed a kiss to the side of her head "you've got this whole thing figured out... I like it."
"So does that mean you want to stay too?" she asked almost nervously.
He shrugged "Olivia I just want to be where you are. I don't care where we live as long as we are together we can make it work. If you feel Oregon is the place for us then we can stay, we can visit New York and take the kids to see the city. We can get the firm to extend and I'm sure we can get a precinct opened up this side. It really is needed here, and you will be the perfect person for the job."
She wrapped her arms around his neck "then it's settled, we're staying."
He gave her a soft kiss "yes we are... But we're still getting the place in the city, for when we decide to go over... You know so that we can have our space."
She nodded "yeah that will be perfect, the last thing I want is to be forced to live with other people. We'll have no privacy"
"Yeah and that would mean that I won't be able to ravish you every night, or just kiss you whenever I want to." He said before leaning down and brushing his lips against hers.
She giggled softly against his lips "you can kiss me whenever you want darling, I'll never say no to you."
...
"hey..." she trailed off smiling down at her phone.
Cragen's entire face lit up at the sight of her, it had been forever since he had heard her voice "Olivia..." he got slightly choked up "I miss you."
She sniffled softly, seeing his tears drop "I miss you too... Very much."
"When are you coming back, there's a lot we need to speak about" he whispered, wiping his tears "A lot of changes"
"Can I get a few examples?" she questioned, running her hand over her bump.
"Well for starters Cassidy returned to the precinct, also we have two new detectives, Amanda Rollins and Nick Amaro." he explained.
She smirked "what are they like?"
He shrugged "they are still fresh, trying to find their way around the cases. They are good cops though, always trying their best to keep on top of the game. Amanda actually reminds me of you, a real go-getter, Amaro on the other hand has a bit of anger issues."
She nodded "A younger version of Elliot then" she chuckled.
Cragen laughed softly "definitely... But you'll like them, they are a breath of fresh air."
A bitter sweet smile covered her lips "I may not be coming back... Anytime soon... Cause like, I'm happy here, happier."
"I don't blame you" he said with a smile, shocking her "I took some time away, traveled a bit. It was the best thing I could do, I enjoyed it and definitely needed it. Sometimes getting away is a good thing."
"I thought you would be more sad" she admitted with a soft laugh.
He shook his head, giving her a sweet and supportive smile "I could never be sad about you doing what is best for you... I will miss you yeah, but I would never stop you from being happy. You're glowing."
She let out a bashful laugh "I am so happy out here... With Trevor."
"Ah, there it is" he said with a chuckle "I knew something had to be brewing there because you haven't killed him yet. So are you two dating?"
She pursed her lips "I would never have the heart to kill him... I uhm... I love him."
He let out a happy sigh, a massive smile tugging at his lips "That is great kiddo, I'm glad you found someone and I trust that he is treating you well."
"he is" she nodded "we are actually going to come by soon, but in a few months time. We are trying to figure a few things out first, then we're going to fly in with a surprise or two."
He raised an eyebrow "I look forward to seeing both of you, I have to talk to Trevor for a bit. Thank him for taking care of you through all of this... Also how are you doing now? After the surgery, how is the healing coming along?"
She let out a heavy breath and felt her eyes well up "I'm better. It took time, a lot of time but I have gotten through it... Trevor was my rock through it all, after the procedure he just held me and allowed me to go through it."
"What happened?" he asked almost nervously "I know it was not just an injury because seeing you break down and cry like that told me that it was so much deeper than an injury." he explained, hoping that she would open up.
She sniffled, her eyes brimming with tears and she gently rested one of her hands on her bump "it wasn't just an injury. I was pregnant, I had a surgery to remove the embryo, because it was an ectopic pregnancy..."
Cragen blinked a bit, trying to ward off his tears, but he failed. His tears dropped instantly and his lower lip shook violently "I'm so sorry Livia, that must have been so difficult."
She nodded, wiping her tears gently with her free hand "yeah, but we have gotten through it... It was a hard time but it's much better now. I have healed and although I will always have that reminder, I look forward to what the future holds... You should come visit"
"I will, but I may only be able to come around May time... I just returned to the precinct, it's my home. Having you back made me realise that svu is where I belong, and I can't wait to come out and see you. So tell me, what have you been up to for Christmas, I loved the gift you shipped through by the way." he said with a chuckle.
Olivia shrugged "you're welcome and I loved your gift too... I didn't do much for Christmas, Trevor and I had a cute little intimate moment the morning, stealing kisses and he gave me this locket. His family came by, his mom and his brother, that was a bit hectic but we got through it."
"So you met his mother, what was that like?"
"the first few days were horrible, she hated me and she brought his ex-fiancé along, so it was hell. We eventually cleared everything up and managed to make peace, I'm just glad everything is okay now."
He chuckled "well kiddo, I have to go now, we caught a case. I'll call you later if I catch a break, it was great catching up with you again, you look beautiful by the way."
"Thanks dad" she said with a blush "you look good too, next time I want more updates on your life... Find out about lady loves" she teased.
He chuckled "you are bad, and you know for a fact that I don't date."
"Ah but things change, and you could do with a little joy."
He shrugged "my joy is sitting in Oregon, glowing and creating a great life for herself. When you walked into that precinct all those years ago I knew you were spectacular, I was hard on you because I knew you could be the best. I was right, and I have never been more proud of anyone in my life, I'm glad to have you as my daughter, you mean the world to me Olivia Benson. I love you."
She sniffled once again "I love you too dad."
