51. Christmas Pt 2

Olivia hadn't spent that many nights in Elliot's bed, but every night that she did were the nights that she felt she slept best. She didn't know what it was about sleeping next to Elliot, whether it was the extra safety she felt by knowing he was lying right next to her or the way that he held her close as they both slept, giving her that extra sense of safety. But she definitely liked sleeping in bed with him like this, even when they hadn't done anything in terms of activities before sleep. Olivia was glad that she had agreed to stay over, and she was glad that on this special morning, she was the first one to wake up. It was like her internal body clock had purposely woken her earlier than she knew Chloe would be awake, to have a private moment or two with Elliot. He was still fast asleep, she could feel his breathing even and slow, with his arms around her waist, still holding her. Olivia slowly rolled over on her side to face him, she admired how calm and at ease he looked when he was asleep. She didn't want to wake him when he looked like that but she one the minute she got out of bed, he would wake up and she kind of wanted a proper moment with him before they had to get up for the children.

Olivia thought she could wake him with a kiss, as she knew that was the way he chose to wake her when they had been away at the cabin. But she didn't want to end up getting too carried away kissing Elliot, even if she did wake him up as they likely wouldn't be able to follow through. That would then lead to frustration for both people involved. Instead, she decided she'd go for the option of gently caressing Elliot's face, waking him to her touch and affection in a different way. She slowly started to caress her hand over Elliot's cheek, tracing the shape of his face and she watched as a smile erupted on Elliot's face before he placed a hand over hers. He was in a good mood and her caressing of his cheek did exactly what she wanted.
"Good morning" Olivia whispered as Elliot opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Good morning. It's always a good morning when I wake up with you" Elliot replied
"Nowhere else I'd rather wake up" Olivia smiled, she really was thankful of being here with him this morning.
"Merry Christmas baby" Elliot said as he leant over Olivia and kissed her passionate. This would likely be one of the only moments today that they were alone and he could seize the moment to do what he wanted. Right now, that was to start the morning off right with kissing his beautiful girlfriend and enjoying the moment of just the two of them.

"MOMMA!" A call came through the baby monitor on the nightstand and Elliot had to pull back from Olivia. Chloe had the worst timing, or possibly the best timing depending on how one was to look at the situation. The kiss had ignited that passion these two had for each other and Chloe had put a stop to anything they may have proceeded to do with calling out for Olivia. But in a way, it was a good thing as it meant they wouldn't be caught by the twins in an awkward situation.
"And Chloe's awake" Elliot groaned as he fell back onto the bed, causing Olivia to laugh. She could tell that he was frustrated that they had been interrupted. But this was her life, this was the way that things were when you had an 18-month-old and if they were going to last, he had to accept that.
"I'll go, you...get dressed and put a shirt on. Will the twins come in here or meet us downstairs?" Olivia asked, hinting that she was giving Elliot time to do whatever he needed to relieve himself from their actions. She grabbed her dressing robe from by the bed and slipped it on before pressing another kiss to Elliot's lips and heading towards the bedroom door.
"They know not to come out of their rooms till at least 8am, even if they are awake beforehand. But I'll go check on them and meet you downstairs in a minute" Elliot explained as he watched Olivia walk out of the room. The moment alone had been nice whilst it lasted but now was a time to be with the kids and Elliot could tell Olivia had really been looking forward to being with Chloe this morning. Still, he had to admit that waking up to Olivia was always nice and he much preferred sleeping in bed with her than sleeping without.

Elliot had checked on the twins before heading downstairs to find Chloe and Olivia. Surprisingly, both the twins were still asleep. But it was uncommon for them to be awake before 8am anyway, as they had both slept really late last night considering they'd been allowed to stay up later than usual and yesterday had been such a big day. Chloe on the other hand seemed to keep up with the sun and it had been a while since Elliot had to be up this early too, as it'd been a while since he'd had a child that young. But if Chloe was awake then it really didn't seem fair to Elliot, that he got to stay in bed whilst Olivia got up with Chloe. In his mind, they were in a relationship and he was taking a role in raising Chloe with Olivia, so they would get up together when Chloe was up. Just like, in his mind, when they had more children in the future, they would share the night feeds or wake ups. They were a team and they would work together as one.

"ELLOT!" Chloe squealed as she spotted Elliot walking down the stairs and Olivia instantly encouraged the girl not to be quite so loud even when she was excited. Whilst Elliot was not really that much of a morning person, Chloe clearly was.
"Good morning Chloe" Elliot greeted the little girl.
"Chlo, can you say merry christmas Elliot?" Olivia encouraged to Chloe.
"Me'y kis'mas Ellot!" Chloe attempted to say which Elliot found simply adorable. He walked over to the pair on the couch and gave them both a kiss. There was something about having them here, and especially having Olivia so close in the privacy of his home that made him want to be overly romantic today. It could also be the fact it's christmas and the christmas spirit did things to people.
"Yucky Ellot!" Chloe exclaimed when she saw Elliot kissing her mother. This was a new thing that Chloe had started to do. Every time she saw Elliot and Olivia kissing, she would call out that it was disgusting and try to intervene. She had done it after they returned from thanksgiving but it was only over the last week or so that she'd started doing it even more. Elliot and Olivia found it adorable though and shared a laugh or a smile everytime she did it.

"We really need to find out who taught her that" Elliot remarked as he stood opposite Olivia and Chloe.
"She really doesn't like it when you kiss me" Olivia replied with a smile, she knew that her daughter's remark wasn't going to change anything though.
"Well, she's going to have to learn to accept it because I'm not stopping that anytime soon. Coffee?" Elliot asked.
"Yes please" Olivia replied before focusing once more on the toy in her hand and the child who placed it there to show her, after taking it out of her stocking. Elliot watched the two interact for a moment before walking into the kitchen to organise some coffee.

A couple of minutes later, Elliot reappeared with 2 coffees in hand and set them down on the coffee table infront of Olivia and Chloe. He knew that Olivia wouldn't be able to have hers whilst Chloe was sitting on her lap.
"Chloe, do you think you could sit next to mommy now, just here, so I can have my coffee please?" Olivia asked the little girl politely and she moved to sit next to Olivia, in the space that was left between Elliot and Olivia.
"Were the twins awake?" Olivia asked as she reached for her coffee and Elliot just handed it to her from the coffee table.
"Both out like a light still but since they've been on holidays they haven't been waking up early and they were up later than usual last night. Did she like Santa's gifts?" Elliot asked in regards to Chloe's reaction to the presents that they had found.
"She loves the farm animals from her stocking at the moment and I'm not going to give her the sack just yet. Otherwise she won't have much to open when the twins are opening things and I also don't want to overwhelm her too much with everything" Olivia defended her decision.
"That's honestly a good idea. Now what time is everyone coming?"
"Uhh, Dad said last night that he would come up about 9:30 but I doubt Alex and Micah will appear till lunch. I told her about midday for that last night, and I'd imagine Edward and Maria will be here around then too"
"Sounds like a plan! Yeah Ed is going to text me when they're on the way" Elliot replied as the pair both watched Chloe continuing to play with her farm animal toys she had. They were the type of toys that were safe for toddlers, as they weren't too small and they had been the perfect gift as her grandfather lives on a farm. Elliot had his arm around the back of the couch, reaching over and squeezing Olivia's shoulder. It was a simple romantic gesture but hide able and perfect for the moment now, when they weren't alone but Chloe wasn't paying any attention to them.

A couple of hours later, the twins were awake and had rushed downstairs with their stockings to show everyone their new surprises. They had unwrapped the presents within the stockings with excitement as Olivia and Elliot watched on. Chloe hadn't understood that those presents weren't hers as well, trying to join in with the twins but Olivia had managed to distract her with another toy from her own stocking. Olivia enjoyed watching the older kids open their presents and work out what the different gifts were. She had also been impressed by the choice of gifts that 'Santa' had brought for them.
Following the morning excitement, it had been time for everyone to get dressed and ready for the day. The kids could do the sacks after breakfast but the majority of gift giving would wait till everyone was around later. Olivia wanted to make sure to wait till Don had appeared before Chloe could unwrap more presents from 'Santa' so that he didn't miss the excitement of presents from the little girl. However when her father had made his appearance, Olivia managed to get a few great photos of the two of them on her phone whilst unwrapping the presents. Chloe was his only grandchild and Olivia wanted her father to be involved in all important holidays or occasions with her where possible.

Olivia could see the pride on her father's face from being there for Christmas with Chloe and how much more engaged with the whole idea of presents she was this year. Olivia admired the scene before her and wondered what this holiday would turn into in future years. She hoped that there would be more children to come in the future, and that this day would continue to be so family focused like it was now. She hoped that in the years to come, they would be able to unit Elliot's family for the holiday, she really didn't want to think that the year she met him, was the year he lost touch with his family.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Elliot asked as he walked up behind where Olivia was standing, watching her father and Chloe play a new memory game with Elizabeth and Richard.
"You can have them for free. I was thinking you should call your mom" Olivia replied as she turned to face Elliot.
"Liv.." Elliot tried to warn, he did not want to talk about his mother today.
"No, I'm serious. Christmas is a holiday about family and even though I really appreciate you taking the step to spend Christmas here with us and not your family, you need to at least call and talk with them. Lunch is still a couple of hours away and they are probably thinking about you today, just like I know deep down you're thinking about them" Olivia explained her reasoning in hope it would encourage Elliot to call his mother.
"If I call them, then mom is going to try and make us feel guilty about not being there. I am loving being here with you and I don't want to feel guilty at Christmas"
"Just do it? For me? Please? And let the twins speak with their grandmother today"
"Ok, I'll make you a deal. I'll call to talk to my mother and family when Edward gets here. We'll handle this together as I doubt he's spoken with her yet either" Elliot tried to bargain, he was only going to make the phone call because Olivia asked him to and he would do anything for her.
"Alright but you know I'm going to check that you actually do it" Olivia remarked, looking him in the eye with an eyebrow raised.
"I know you will and I promise, when Edward gets here, we'll call them" Elliot agreed as he looked Olivia directly in the eye before leaning in to steal a kiss.
"YUCKY ELLOT!" Chloe called out across the room causing both adults to laugh, yet again Chloe had caught them but this time there was the added pressure of that meant Olivia's father had caught them too and they were trying to keep the affection away from him.
"It's always me" Elliot remarked as Olivia laughed again before the couple moved back to join everyone else.

Elliot stuck to his promise that he made to Olivia, he called his mother almost the moment after Edward, Maria and Arthur arrived at the penthouse. Elliot wanted Olivia and Chloe to join her in the call but Olivia knew that was not going to go down well so she hung back in the living room. Maria was going to also avoid the call in solidarity with Olivia, she may have married into the Stabler family but she technically wasn't family, so she didn't need to be in the call.
Olivia and Maria sat on the couch watching Chloe play with some of her new toys whilst everyone else was in the study on the call with Bernie, when Alex and Micah turned up. Chloe had been so excited to see them again even though it had only been a night since she had seen them last. But the minute they turned up, Olivia already noticed there was a new grin on Alex's face and some new jewellery on her finger. Alexandra Cabot is that a new piece of jewellery that I see on your finger?" Olivia asked as she walked over to her friend and hugged her in proper greeting.
"Maybe" Alex teased, unable to hide the grin.
"Do you have news to share?" Olivia continued to dig.
"Micah and I are getting married!" Alex exclaimed as she held her hand up to show off her ring.
"He proposed?! Congratulations!
"First thing this morning, he did it with breakfast" Alex explained as both of the woman squealed in delight and Olivia hugged Alex again before repeating it with Micah.
"That's fantastic news! Congratulations again you two" Olivia remarked before she took it upon herself to introduce Alex and Micah to everyone else. The group who had been in the study had emerged back into the living room once they heard the squealing and more congratulations were passed around. Olivia honestly felt so happy right now for her friend and knew these two would honestly be the perfect couple.

When lunch was served, there was plenty of food to go around, the chef had cooked a whole Christmas spread and everyone had absolutely smashed through that. Olivia had sat next to Elliot at one end of the table and he made sure to take hold of her hand throughout the meal where he could. Olivia appreciated him reaching to hold her hand but wondered if there was something else going on. She wondered if him wanting to hold her hand was a sign something had happened on the phone call. Elliot wanting to hold her hand wasn't unusual for him as he was always the one who was making the first gesture in terms of small touches between them. Olivia knew this was one of the ways that Elliot showed affection to her when they were in large groups like this but something about this just now seemed off. She gave his hand a squeeze back in encouragement after he'd reached for it and smiled softly. If there was something going on with him, then she would talk to him privately about it later.

Once lunch was cleared, it was time for presents. Olivia had excused herself with Chloe directly after lunch to make sure the little girl still got her nap today. But Chloe had been overwhelmed from the day and was feeling so tired she was clingy, which meant that Olivia was unable to leave the study for a little while as Chloe just wanted to be held. Olivia had found a seat in Elliot's desk chair and Chloe fell asleep on her chest. This was exactly how Don had found them, when he came looking for Olivia as everyone was waiting for her to do presents.

"You ok sweetheart?" Don asked as he entered the study and closed the door himself.
"Yeah, we're fine. Chloe just needed some private mommy time" Olivia smiled at her father and continued to stroke the little girl's back.
"This is the biggest Christmas she's ever had" Don remarked, admiring the way the little girl was so peacefully asleep.
"It is, but I honestly couldn't want anything more for her" Olivia agreed, she honestly couldn't think of anything she wanted for her daughter than a happy family Christmas like this.
"Or you"
"This Christmas is definitely a change from previous years. But it's a good change and I don't think I could be happier"
"You've found a family and got that magic of Christmas back"
"I always had a family dad, our Christmases when I was growing up, from the year I came to live with you, till now have always been the most special" Olivia smiled, she loved her memories of Christmases from when she started living with Don, especially the year he formally adopted her.
"But you've got your own family now with Elliot. I know he's made some big sacrifices to be here with you this year and even though you won't tell me what happened, I can tell how happy he makes you" Don agreed, Olivia found it really sweet of the way her father was talking about Elliot right now.
"What are you trying to say now dad?" Olivia asked, unsure if she was following along right or not.
"Just...that he has my approval, not that he'd ever really need it. But I know that he has changed your whole world for the better and I know, you two make each other very happy"
"We do. Elliot is the type of man I want Chloe growing up around. He's the kind of father figure, besides you, that I want in her life"
"I think he's the perfect father for her and a perfect man for you. I may not show it or even really know how to say it. But he treats you the way you should be treated and I think the relationship you two have is really special" Don confessed and Olivia really appreciated the things that he was saying right now. He approved of Elliot in more ways than one.
"Thanks Dad" Olivia smiled
"My pleasure, now are you going to come out and join us for presents?" Don asked as he made a move from the chair towards the door.
"I think I'm going to stay here a little longer. But you go and tell the others that they really don't have to wait for me" Olivia expressed as Don nodded and disappeared back through the door. Olivia was on cloud 9, Elliot officially had her father's approval.

Olivia never made it out of the study till after Chloe was awake from her nap. Every time Olivia went to put the little girl down in the cot, she started to fuss and cry, so it was over an hour before anyone else saw them again. Chloe wasn't one who was instantly awake when she did wake from naps either, so Olivia carried her out to the living room and kept her on her lap, watching everyone till Chloe was ready. Olivia sat on the chair around everyone and just smiled when Elliot looked over with a face of concern. She was totally fine, Chloe was just a little extra clingy at the moment from how big the day was and having all of her favourite people around all of the time.
"Hey Chlo, do you think you could help me open a present from grandpa? He's got a really special present but I think I need your help to open it" Olivia tried to coax the little girl with a present, who just nodded against her chest and Don brought the present over. It was a present especially for Chloe and together they slowly unwrapped the present to find 2 gifts inside. One was a wooden paw patrol puzzle and the other was mystery tin.
"Paw-toll" Chloe said looking up at her mother.
"It is a paw patrol puzzle! Wow Chloe, how lucky are you" Olivia remarked, making a big deal about the present for the little girl.
"And... the tin has some special magic trick type pebbles that will change the colour of your bath water. It can make it go red, blue, purple and green" Don explained, showing the pebbles inside to Chloe. Olivia knew this would quickly become one of Chloe's new favourite things. She was always going to want to use them and always want a bath now which was both a blessing and a curse.

"Wow Chloe, what do you say to grandpa?" Olivia encouraged.
"Tank Ganpa" Chloe echoed.
"You're welcome honey" Don smiled before pressing a kiss to the little girl's head, he was glad that she loved the present so much.
"Ellot 'ook ganpa 'ive me paw-toll" Chloe said, desperate to show Elliot what she had just received from across the room.
"He gave you a paw patrol puzzle? Wow who's a lucky girl" Elliot exclaimed as he made his way over to them. Chloe was definitely perking up now and Olivia loved how eager she was to show Elliot her new presents too.
"Momma, bath now?" Chloe asked.
"No honey, it's not bath time yet, but we can try this out when it's bath time later" Olivia tried to bargain with the little girl, hoping that it wouldn't start a fight.
"Ellot bath 'day?"
"Yes, you can try it out in Elliot's bath tonight if he says it's ok. It's polite to always ask though honey" Olivia explained, she was really big on manners and always took every opportunity to try and teach her daughter the best manners.
"Ellot?" Chloe turned to Elliot, asking without words for his permission.
"I'll make you a deal. You can try these out in my bath tonight if you let me see what happens when you do?" Elliot bargained with the girl and she just shrieked with happiness before insisting to be let down from her mother's lap to do the puzzle with Don. Chloe had done a complete 180 degree turn in her emotions now and it was all down to a new puzzle and bath toy.

Edward, Maria and Arthur were the first ones to leave, once they'd had a mid-afternoon snack and hung out with everyone for a while. Edward wanted to make sure he got his family home before it got too dark or too late which Elliot understood. Everyone else was staying in the hotel for the night, so it wasn't like they had far to go. Olivia had originally intended that she, Don and Chloe would head back to her place this evening, but Elliot talked her out of it before she came over yesterday. Don had been the next to leave the group, claiming it had been a long day and he was very tired. Olivia insisted they would send down a plate with some left overs for dinner later if he was hungry. Shortly after he left though, Alex and Micah took it as a hint they wanted to leave too and Olivia told them the same as she had told her father before congratulating them again on their engagement.

The twins were upstairs in their bedrooms playing with all their new toys and gifts from today whilst Chloe was doing the same but on the living room floor. Chloe hadn't opened all her presents yet from today but Olivia didn't want to push her to open more when she had done enough today already. They would open more when the time was right over the next few days. Elliot knew it was now the perfect time to give Olivia her gifts from him though and he went to grab his for her whilst she did the same for him.

"So, ladies first. But you have to open option number 1 first" Elliot explained as he placed the bag of gifts in front of Olivia. She looked up at him and picked up the small box that was labelled 1. Olivia opened the paper to find a box, inside the box she found 2 tickets for an all expense paid trip to Hawaii, staying at the Presidential Chateau in Hawaii for a week.
"So I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that as there are 2 tickets, you're expecting I'll take you?" Olivia teased in appreciation. Surely he would already know that she wouldn't want to go with anyone else but him, she just had to seize the moment to tease him.
"Not if you don't want me there" Elliot replied
"I don't think I'd want to go with anyone else. Thank you. Now you need to open your first one" Olivia requested as Elliot took out the first wrapped present in his bag that he touched. He slowly unwrapped the paper to find a box with a set of 3 new business ties. He had been in the market for new ties so this was perfect.
"One can never have enough ties and I was actually in the need of a few more, thank you baby" Elliot replied and Olivia nodded before grabbing his present from the bag for her. Inside the paper she found a box with a selection of different perfume samples. Some of which Olivia knew where very expensive. She brought a few out of the box and started to smell the different scents which she had to choose from now.
"I wanted to buy you some nice perfume. But I'm a guy and I don't know what kind of perfume you even use, only that it smells good. So, I had help and picked out a gift selection box and then when you find one you like, I'll buy the full bottle for you" Elliot explained which Olivia found very sweet, though she had to guess that Elliot had help from Alex with this gift.
"Are you trying to tell me I smell?" Olivia teased.
"Smell good? Yes, you definitely do" Elliot saved himself.
"Nice save" Olivia remarked as Elliot grabbed another present from Olivia and started to unwrap the paper. These last 2 gifts that she'd bought for him were things that she'd spent lots of time organising and getting personalized. So she really hoped that he would like them.

Elliot took the wrapped gift out and unwrapped it to find a small, what looked like jewellery box. He was completely blown away by the gift that he found inside. It was a sterling silver pair of cufflinks in the shape of a lock and had an o engraved into the middle. Elliot didn't know what to say in return but he picked up the small note that came with them in the box. The lock on my heart is yours. Now, you'll always have a piece of me with you 3 Olivia Elliot read the note and had no words to respond with how touching this gift was. He just leant forward and closed the gap between them with a soft kiss on Oliva's lips. Thankfully, even though Chloe was in the room, it was a moment that went unnoticed by her.
Olivia pulled out the last present in her small bag from Elliot. It was a small but long box which had Olivia confused at first, she had no idea what this could be. However inside, she found the most beautiful gold necklace, with a pendant that had an E engraved into the middle. It looked like she and Elliot had been on the same wavelength with personalizing these last gifts.
"So I'm always with you. No matter where you go" Elliot explained. He was going to mention a remark about all guys knowing she was taken but decided against it.
"It's beautiful. Thank you so much" Olivia smiled before Elliot moved to help her put it on. Olivia knew this was going to be her new favourite necklace and something she was never going to take off. Every time that she needed to wear a necklace now, or even when she didn't, this was going to be her necklace of choice. Elliot had personalized it and she loved it as much as she loved him.

It was Elliot's turn for his final gift and Olivia watched with anticipation for his reaction. If he loved last gift so much, she couldn't wait to see what he thought of this one. Inside the wrapped box, Elliot found a new black leather wallet. It was the perfect size and he had been needed a new one, as his previous one was starting to have a few tears in the seams. The wallet cover even had his initials ES imprinted into the leather on the front.
"Open it up" Olivia encouraged, wanting him to find the next little addition she'd left inside. Elliot raised an eyebrow at her before opening the wallet like she requested. On the inside of the wallet, in the slot that everyone usually puts pictures of their loved ones in or their license, Elliot found a beautiful picture of the twins. He'd not seen it before, so it had to be a new one and he loved it already.
"Wh-Where did that come from?" Elliot asked, wanting to hear more about Olivia's planning and how he hadn't known there were new photos being taken.
"Remember that day where you had to work but I wanted to look after the twins for the day? I took them to a photo studio then and had some help from Bertie, to make sure they were wearing the right thing" Olivia explained.
"There's only one thing missing from that photo though" Elliot added as Olivia just raised her eyebrow, she was sure that she'd managed to get everything.
"It doesn't have you and Chloe in it. If that slot is for pictures of my family then I need one with all 4 of you" Elliot remarked to which Olivia just smiled. They could easily change that. Elliot was sure that he would be able to get a photo of them at some stage and put it in next to the photo of his kids or he'd get a photo of all 5 of them together. He wanted to have his family in the photo with him at all times, Olivia and Chloe were his family too.

Christmas this year was definitely one for the memory books, it was one that none of them would ever forget. It was their first one as a type of family but it definitely wouldn't be the last. It was a magical day from start to finish and neither Elliot nor Olivia had anything that they could be ungrateful for. They were together, they had their kids and they were happy. There was nothing that could ruin that.

A/N: Awww what a cute day! When I wrote this chapter, I thought the gifts that Elliot and Olivia gave to each other should be special and these ones definitely have meaning behind them. I love how everyone got on today and Don approves of Elliot.
We only have one chapter left in this story and initially I had written this as the end and the next chapter as the epilogue. But the next chapter reads better as the end and so there won't be an epilogue to this story. But there is a sequel coming. I'm so glad to hear that you all have loved this story as much as I have and I apologise for the delay in this chapter, I lost myself in writing the new story as the ideas I have for that one won't leave me alone. Leave me a review, let me know what you thought of Christmas day with everyone and I'll see you with the next chapter.
Next chapter: New Years Eve ;)

Until Next Time ;)