A/N: I don't own any of the characters except my own.
Several hours had past and Diana had just gotten out of surgery. The surgeon came out and told Ed that things had gone well but she would have a long recovery. He went to be with her in recovery and Olivia's squad went home for the night except for Jeff. Erin had stayed and Jay had joined them. Jay took both Erins to get Olivia and Diana's SUVs. Dan was meeting Erin at the Pub to get Brandon's seat and Erin wanted to grab dinner for everyone, who was still at the hospital before she headed back. Erin and Jay had gone home and sent Lucy home.
Erin arrived back at the hospital and got Patty to meet her outside.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"Did you call Shauna?"
"Jeff did. He is such an amazing guy."
"He seems like it. I hope it works out for them."
"I do too. He said they got closer when they were in Florida. Jack and I really like him."
"Good. Eddie's reaction to Travis sitting by Kara was hilarious. It reminds me of how Dad was with us."
"Yeah, it was. Jack was the same way with our girls. Kelly's friends really welcomed her into their group."
"They did with Travis too."
"How is Dan handling this thing with Kelly and Jeremy?"
"He's fine with it. She and Jeremy have known each other forever just like I have known Monica forever. She's hoping Connor will eventually ask Kristy out. He's just at an awkward age right now. Should I be worried that Kelly has become interested in boys before he became interested in girls?"
"No. Like you said, he's at an awkward age. Dylan was 15 by the time he started being more interested in girls. Speaking of which, Dylan told us that Hailey is pregnant but they're in no hurry to get married even though they did get engaged for Christmas. I told him that he needs to assume responsibility for his child though. He knows that."
"They were both working when I got there."
"Good."
Erin and Patty took the food upstairs to the waiting room.
"Thank you for this, Erin."
"No problem."
Colleen ate and then went to find Ed, so he could eat.
"Has Diana woken up yet?"
"She woke up but went back to sleep. She's still pretty out of it."
Then someone from Internal Affairs had come in.
"Ed, how's Diana?"
"She's still pretty out of it. She'll probably be out for 4-6 weeks. I'll tell her you stopped by and need to speak with her."
"We'll be fine and thanks. Lieutenant, can you stop by IAB before you head to the Precinct in the morning?"
"I'll be there."
"Bring both Detective Halsteads with you and the rest of your squad as well."
"Yep."
The person from IAB left.
"How is that going to look when IAB has to investigate one of their own?"
"Been there, done that. They investigated me after that thing with Eugene. It's a pain in the ass to have to be investigated by a subordinate."
"The same person that just left?"
"Yep."
"I'm surprised he didn't want to take over after you left."
"He didn't want to head the unit and didn't want to take the Lieutenant's exam. Diana said they butt heads all the time. He and I used to butt heads all the time too."
"Who didn't you butt heads with?"
"I guess that's a fair question. I don't miss any of this."
"Me neither.
"Same."
"You doin' ok?"
"Yes and no. Liv, how are you?"
"I'm still blaming myself."
"She would have gone in whether you were there or not and she would have taken that bullet for anyone. I told you not to blame yourself."
"How can I not? She's my sister."
"Babe, I agree with Ed. The Diana I know would take a bullet for anyone no matter who they were. If it was the victim in the line of fire, she still would have done it. I would have loved to have had Diana in Internal Affairs in Chicago."
"Would she have put up with your crap?"
"Probably not but she trusts me to do my job. I wouldn't feel like I'd have someone breathing down my neck and watching every move I make."
"Man, that would have been great."
"Compared to who I've had to deal with in the past in Internal Affairs, I clearly would much rather deal with Diana. Now that I know that her predecessor has a heart, I understand why he was the way he was."
"He changed after his first marriage. She really hurt him. To us, he was always the same big brother but outside our family, he didn't trust anyone. None of us liked her but he went with his heart and got burned big time. We were the ones there to pick up the pieces after she had cheated on him. After that he went to Internal Affairs and pretty much threw himself into his job. The family for the most part told him they'd support him no matter what. Eugene was the only one that blamed Ed for what had happened during his first marriage."
"He basically said a wife only cheats when she isn't satisfied by her husband. He basically said I'd end up in hell for getting divorced. What was I supposed to do, stay married to her and have her cheat on me the entire time? I was already living in hell being married to that woman. All she wanted was to have a house full of kids and I wanted to concentrate on my career. At the time, that wasn't what I wanted. I have always loved my nieces and nephews but I never realized what I was missing until Olivia and I got together and I got to know Noah better. I started learning to trust people again and quit IAB. I met Diana and Kara and my life changed for the better. I really do love this dad stuff more than I ever thought possible. I fell in love with Kara the moment I met her and a part of me hopes Brandon can become our son. It's kind of an unconventional way of having a family but it works for me."
"That's the way I see it. Noah and Rachel may not be mine biologically but I love them as much as I would if I had had one of my own. It almost happened for me but it wasn't meant to be. Erin is Hank's daughter and she and I have had a special bond from the moment we met. I don't love her any less because she isn't mine. I'm sure I would have loved Justin if we had met. I love Daniel, Justin, Nicole and Camille even though they're not my grandchildren biologically. Olive and Trevor's baby has nothing to do with us but they want us to be another set of grandparents. Blood isn't what makes a family. Love is."
"Our family sees it that way too. Other than Ed's first wife, our parents have loved all of our significant others and they even love their grandchildren's significant others as well. Dylan, my youngest, recently told us that he and his fiancée are expecting a baby but are in no hurry to get married. All we care about is that he supports his child. I have not had the best relationship with Shauna but her ex sounds a lot like Ed's ex. I really admire her for raising her son on her own. Jeff, our family adores you and your family. Your girls are absolutely amazing."
"Thanks. They really like your family too. Like I told you, Shauna and I got close in Florida, which we weren't expecting to happen but I do love her and Eddie. The girls do too and so do my parents. A part of me will always miss my wife but we both told each other that we'd want the other to be happy if something happened to either of us. I just figured that the one killed would have been me because of my job."
"I get that. It took me 6 years before I decided to move on but she didn't want me to be a lone for the rest of my life. Justin also wanted that for Olive. I like Trevor for her. I think she sometimes feels guilty for moving on though."
"I know that feeling. My girls deserve to have a mom."
"And Eddie deserves to have a dad."
"My grandkids deserve to have a dad too."
"If things work out for Shauna and me, I'm glad to be part of such a large family. My parents are all we have."
"What happened to your wife's parents?"
"She never had much of a relationship with her family, so the girls don't even know her family. She left home at 18 and never saw them again. It was her choice. The girls, my parents and I were all she had."
"That sounds familiar but at least Shauna and I have worked out our differences and she has decided to come home. How'd your wife die?"
"Multi-vehicle accident. Our youngest was only a few months old. I'm just grateful that the girls were not with her. It was hard enough being the first police officer on the scene and finding out that one of the victims was my wife but it was even harder telling my two oldest that Mommy would never be coming home."
"I think I remember hearing about that. I think my husband and brother-in-law were there."
"Come to think of it, I do remember them being there. I just remember being very angry at the person who caused it because they walked away and my wife didn't. She was gone before the paramedics even got there."
"I am so sorry."
"Thanks. I actually found the person who caused it and nearly put a bullet in his head. My partner stopped me but I ended up needing to deal with Internal Affairs. I had heard horror stories about dealing with them but Captain Tucker really seemed to be sympathetic of my situation."
"That's unusual. You must have gotten him on a good day."
"Ha, ha!"
"I never had a problem with him after we talked and I didn't think he was guilty of any wrongdoing with that Catholic Church scandal."
Having known Eddie forever, he's always been overprotective of his family but in his first marriage, he was the only one that made the sacrifices. She never wanted to be a part of the family. The Pub has been a part of our lives from the moment we were born but there was always some family member there to watch us when Mom and Dad were at work. Even when we were young kids though, we'd help out in the kitchen by washing dishes. When we got older, we waited tables and tended bar. Of the 6 of us, Eddie was the only one that didn't want to completely devote his life to working there. Even once we started getting married and having families, most of the spouses work there. All 3 of my brothers went to college and had other jobs. Our husbands have all had jobs but help out when they can but Eddie's first wife never wanted to be bothered with anything. Shauna has always been more liked Eddie than anyone else in the family. Jack and I knew what we were doing when we asked him to be her godfather. Mom and Dad handled him telling them that he didn't want to work at the Pub better than I did with her. I'm not surprised that's who she named her son after."
"I'm protective of most of the family. Eugene brought all that on himself and could have cost me my pension. I could have lost everything I worked for."
Then Colleen came back.
"Junior, she's awake and asking for you."
"Thanks, Ma."
Ed kissed Colleen on the cheek and went to see Diana. Then Dan came in with the boys.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"How's Diana?"
"She's doing fine."
Brandon went over to Olivia and gave her a hug.
"Hey, Buddy."
"Hi. Is Diana going to die?"
"No, Sweetie, she's not."
"Good. I want her to be my new mommy."
"I think she wants that too. You know what?"
"What?"
"You have a whole big family now. You have me and my family and you have Ed's family. He's got a pretty big family, huh?"
"Yeah. I like that there's a grandma, a grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins. I never had those before."
That brought tears to Colleen, Patty and Erin's eyes as well as Olivia's.
"If Diana becomes your new mommy, that makes me your aunt, Hank your uncle, Erin, Noah and Rachel your cousins. Even Daniel, Justin, Nicole and Camille are your cousins. Most importantly, you will have two parents and a big sister, who love you. All of us will make sure that no one ever hurts you again."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Kara came over and hugged Brandon. Brandon sat on Olivia's lap, while Kara sat next to Hank. Hank put his arm around her and kissed her head. A little while later, Diana was moved to a room, so once Olivia, Hank, Kara, Colleen, Patty, Erin and Dan saw her, everyone left and headed home. Dan and Erin took the kids home with them. By the time Hank and Olivia got home, Erin and Jay were still up but the kids were already in bed.
"We're home."
"Hey. How's Diana?"
"She's doing fine."
"Good."
"How were things here?"
"Fine. Lucy had them make pictures for Diana, so whoever goes can take them to her."
"Ok. Good. IAB wants us to stop in tomorrow before we go in."
"Figures."
"Did you two eat?"
"We did. Ed's sister went to pick up food from the Pub for all of us."
"Good. How are you doing after today?"
"I'm not going to lie. I was scared. I really thought he was going to kill me. I owe my life to her."
"I was scared that he was going to shoot you. You're my mom now and you've been more of a mother figure to me than Bunny ever was."
"Now you know why I showed up."
"For the same reason Ed wouldn't leave. Jay, thank you for your part in this."
"I'd like to say I was just doing my job but because Erin is my wife and the mother of my daughter, you're the only mother I have and I've known Diana for years, I knew I had to be the one to do it. My boss new how bad I wanted to take the shot because that was my family in there."
"I appreciate that."
"I do too."
"You know I do too. Do you think he would have died from the shot Diana put into his stomach?"
"It's possible. It was very similar to when Munson shot Dodds. Everyone is different though. I don't think Diana cared that she was Internal Affairs at all today."
"That's the Diana I've known for years. Her biggest fear was something happening to her and there being no one to take care of Kara. At one point, she had Al and Meredith and me down as guardians."
"I think they have us down as guardians and they've added Erin and Dan too."
"We have you two down first because you're here and then Will and Natalie."
"We have the two of you first, Ed and Diana next and then Al and Meredith."
Then the doorbell rang, so Hank got up to get it. It was Olive.
"Hey."
"Hey. Is everything ok?"
"Yeah. I know it's late but I wanted to know how Diana was."
"Come on in."
"Thanks."
Olive came in and they joined Olivia, Erin and Jay.
"Hey, Olive. Is everything ok?"
"Yeah. I just wanted to see how Diana was. The kids are at my parents' and Trevor is still at work. It gets lonely in that big condo when no one is there. Noelle sleeps on Daniel's bed most of the time anyway."
"You're welcome here anytime."
"Good. I had dinner with my aunt and parents, so at least I wasn't by myself all night. We were supposed to go over there anyway. My aunt took me home and then I got the kids before I headed over to my parents'. They had already asked if the kids could stay over."
"That's good. Diana is doing fine. Erin and Dan have the kids and we have Lola."
"How are the kids handling this?"
"Kara is strong just like her mother. She's the one that called 9-1-1 and did exactly as Diana taught her. Brandon has become so attached to her already. He loves the fact that he has grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins now. I promised him that none of us will ever let him get hurt again. I still want to blame myself for what happened to Diana though but she told me she would have done it anyway."
"Kind of like someone else we know."
"Exactly. She'll hopefully be in her office once she's back to work but she'll be off for a while. My squad and Jay all need to stop by IAB in the morning before we head in."
"This is already my second kill since joining the NYPD."
"It sure is and both times it was a case involving SVU."
"Yep."
"How's Ed?"
"He's scared for her. He told me that when he heard about the Munson situation, he was scared for me too."
"When we saw all of you go inside, we were both scared. It bothers me that I could be the one to get a phone call from someone in your squad or Diana telling me that something happened to you."
"I think I am actually going to cut back on going to scenes especially once Shauna transfers here. There will be 7 including me and 2 Sergeants. I just have to make sure that Amanda and Sonny aren't working together and the same with Shauna and Jeff."
"I'll work with anyone."
"Ok. For the most part, Fin and Amanda work together and Sonny and Jeff have been working together leaving you with me. I could leave it that way and have you and Shauna together."
"We already know each other pretty well, so that works."
The doorbell rang again.
"Busy place."
"No kidding."
"I got it."
Olivia got up and went to answer the door. It was Al and Meredith with Trudy and Mouch.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Mouch and I decided to come see Diana."
"Good. Come on in."
The 4 of them came in and they went into the family room, where everyone else was.
"Look who's here."
"Trudy, Mouch."
"Hey. Everyone sends their love."
"Ok. Good. Have a seat."
Everyone sat down.
"How are you, Olive?"
"I'm great. We're having a girl. We found that out this morning."
"That's great. Congratulations!"
"Thanks."
"How did Trevor handle that?"
"He's excited."
"Where is he?"
"He's still at work. They have something they are working on and yes, I trust him."
"Has he talked to his mother yet?"
"Not that I know of. We were supposed to be having dinner with them tomorrow but they went to Chicago. He wants to video chat with everyone though."
"Why are they headed to Chicago?"
"We were at a call with the Firehouse that Rick is at and he had an accident."
"He fell and messed up his leg from what we heard."
"More like he broke it in several places."
"How'd the surgery go?"
"It went well but he is still in a lot of pain. At least that's what I heard from Boden."
"Katie couldn't get off from work, so Colleen came in from Boston and then she and Denise headed to Chicago. I haven't heard from them and I don't know if Trevor has or not. Thank you for telling me."
"No problem."
"Trevor is talking about wanting to go Chicago this weekend. My parents are heading to Indiana for my niece's birthday and Adrienne is leaving to go out of town, so if we go, the kids may have to stay here."
"Not a problem."
"Is Kara staying here?"
"No. She and Brandon are staying with Ed's sister and brother-in-law."
"Shauna is here too."
"Good."
"She said she was heading to her parents. Mouch and I are staying with Al and Meredith. We'll stick around for a few days anyway."
"That's good."
The puppies needed to go out, so Hank let the 3 of them out, while Olivia told Mouch and Trudy everything that had happened.
"Wow! Good for Kara."
"We're really proud of her and so is the Principal. Diana said she drilled situations like that into her head and told her to remain calm, since panic causes chaos."
"That's true. It's her choice but she would make a great cop."
"She has said that she wouldn't be a cop for anything."
"That'll do it."
"It's hard some days."
"It is."
"I'm glad I retired. I love this dad stuff. I never really wanted to be bothered when Justin was young but now, I wouldn't change it for anything. Camille made it look so easy. So did Meredith. It was different for Diana as a single parent. Olivia did an amazing job with Noah too."
"Thank you, Honey. You're doing an amazing job with them now."
"No kidding. I agree with all of this. I was the same way Hank was."
"You two have always been like two peas in a pod, so it isn't surprising."
"Now that they're close to Ed, they're the three musketeers. I never expected Hank and Ed to get along as well as they do."
"Ed's family is so amazing though."
"They are. He never introduced Noah and me to them though. I met his cousin Eugene and I wasn't impressed. I do know that if I hadn't gotten in the middle, Ed probably would have punched him."
Olive put her hand on her belly because the baby was kicking.
"She kicking?"
"Oh yeah."
"Does your daughter have a name yet?"
"She does. We're planning to name her Margaret Grace."
"That's a pretty name."
"Thanks."
"Did you both pick it?"
"I did but Trevor said he liked it. Margaret is Olivia's middle name and Grace is mine. I'm done after this one. I'm 1 of 4 and even though they are his stepsiblings, his mom is now their mom, so he's also 1 of 4. I'm going to have 4 kids under the age of 5, which is beyond crazy but our nanny is ready to take on another one. Daniel starts Preschool in the fall."
"When is the baby due?"
"About the middle of September. We're focusing on the wedding right now and then once we're married, we're going to work on the nursery. I'll be right back."
Olive got up and went to the bathroom.
"Dan and I, along with Ed and Al, are planning to work on the nursery and Denise, Dan, Nicole, Olivia and I are getting most of the furniture for it. They just don't know it yet."
"You're Grandpa to this one too?"
"Yep. They decided that since Denise becomes their grandma once Trevor adopts them, they wanted us to be grandparents to the new baby."
"That is so sweet."
"Olive did say that since Daniel and the twins will still stay with us, so the baby might as well too."
Then Olive came back.
"I need to see your ring."
Olive showed Trudy her engagement ring.
"Damn! That's gorgeous!"
"Thank you. He actually proposed for my birthday, which was when I found out I was pregnant but I wore the ring on a chain around my neck until he talked to both my dad and Hank. We told them about the baby before anyone else. I'm happy that Hank has been so supportive. I just hope Rick can still walk Denise down the aisle at the wedding."
"When is the wedding?"
"June 16th. I think we're inviting more people than we originally planned but we got the invitations out over the weekend."
"How many people are you having in the wedding?"
"My Aunt Adrienne is my Maid of Honor, Trevor's best friend Mark is the Best Man, Daniel is the Ring Bearer and I asked Mark and Vicky's oldest daughter Becca to be the Flower Girl. She's the same age as Daniel. I didn't want any of the kids from either family because there is just so many to pick from and that also includes Noah and Rachel."
"Are your other aunts coming in or you don't know yet."
"I called them both and they said maybe. It's hard to say. I know my siblings won't be there but then again, they weren't even invited."
"You don't get along with them?"
"Nope, especially my sister. We were all a lot closer when we were younger though. My sister thinks I'm only with Trevor because he has money. Her husband is a lawyer and she has never worked a day in her life. I'm not like that. She also thought Justin was a loser. Whatever."
"Are you planning to quit working after the baby comes?"
"Right now, no. I still plan on taking my 6 weeks of maternity leave. Trevor is planning on taking 2 weeks off. He gets a week off but then he'll use a week of vacation. He's taking 2 weeks off for the wedding. He's off the week of the wedding and then for the honeymoon. I'm planning to do the same thing."
"Where is he taking you?"
"Paris. I'll probably have an appointment the week of the wedding. The doctor didn't seem to think it would a problem, since I'd be in my 6th month by then and right at the end of my second trimester."
"Hopefully there won't be any surprises this time."
"Oh, I hope not. I couldn't deal with another set of twins."
"Olivia and I have been talking about taking everyone on a family vacation to Disney. Noah and Rachel want to go back but we're thinking Orlando this time. It probably won't be until next year though. Would you and Trevor be interested? If not, we'd still like to take Daniel and the twins."
"I'm definitely interested. I'll talk to Trevor. He may insist on paying for ours though."
"Don't worry about that. We're planning to ask Ed, Diana and the kids too. Maybe your parents and both nannies."
"Wow! You are too much. You know that?"
"He is and he knows it. Fin will love being in charge and not having Diana around to help."
"When are you planning to do this?"
"Probably in the spring, even if we have to take the kids out of school to work around Kara and Brandon's Spring Break."
"That makes sense. I should probably head home."
"Just be careful."
"I will."
"We should be going too."
Olive, Trudy, Mouch, Al and Meredith hugged everyone and then they all left. Olivia went to change for bed and then Hank joined her. Erin and Jay went to get ready for bed as well. Hank and Olivia made love before falling asleep in each other's arms and Erin and Jay fell asleep soon after getting into bed.
When Olive arrived at home, Trevor was just getting home. They got out of their respective cars at the same time and kissed each other.
"Are you just getting home?"
"I was here for a while but then I went to Hank and Olivia's. The kids stayed at my parents' tonight."
Trevor took Olive's hand and they headed to the elevator to go upstairs. They unlocked the door and went inside.
"Trudy and Mouch are here to see Diana. Mouch said Rick is doing fine but he's still in pain."
"Mom did call me. I still want to go see him this weekend. Katie said she and Josh are both off this weekend, so they're going too."
"Good. Hank and Olivia said they could take the kids, since my parents are going to my niece's birthday party and Adrienne is going out of town."
"That's great."
"Hank said that he and Olivia want to take the family to Disney World in the spring and wanted to know if we were interested. He said if we're not, they still want to take Daniel and the twins. They plan on asking Ed and Diana and if they have to take the kids out of school to work around Kara and Brandon's Spring Break, they will."
"How soon does he need to know?"
"He didn't say."
"That sounds like fun. Right now though, all I want to do is make love to you."
"I love that idea!"
"I love you so much."
"I love you too."
Olive and Trevor started kissing and then he lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around him as he carried her into their bedroom and she undid his shirt and tie. He set her down on the bed and they undressed each other before they made love. Afterwards Trevor was behind Olive and had his hand on her belly. He felt his daughter kick again.
"That is so amazing."
"It is amazing but I'm not looking forward to peeing all the time because she'll be pressing on my bladder. I just hope you still find me attractive when I start gaining even more weight."
"I will always think you're beautiful."
"You're such a sweet talker, Mr. Langan."
"That's what you love about me, isn't it?"
"Not the only thing."
Olive laced her fingers with Trevor's and then they fell asleep after they kissed.
The next morning, Olivia, her squad and Jay all went to IAB and then IAB went to talk to Diana. The rest of the week went by quickly. Diana started her therapy and rehab before she could be released. Kara's school had remained closed for the remainder of the week, so she and Ed spent some time together, while Brandon was in school whether it was at home or at the Pub with the rest of the family. He also took her to see Diana at the hospital, which was where Hank, Trudy, Mouch and the Olinskys spend a lot of their time. Hank and Olivia had had everyone over for dinner before Trudy and Mouch went back to Chicago. Shauna and Eddie stayed with her parents but spent some time with Jeff and the girls while they were there. Trevor, Olive, Katie and Josh went to Chicago to see Rick, while Dan and Nicole went to Indianapolis for their granddaughter's birthday.
Stay tuned for more…
Reviews are appreciated.