Thank you so much for all the love on this. I hope the ending does the fic justice. I know I said this the other day but feel free to follow me on twitter chriskaxo.

The wait for Saturday had dragged. She was equally nervous and excited for their day out together but finally it was here. She had spoken to Noah later that evening over dinner about visiting Coney Island and it seems Elliot was right, you never were too old for rides and arcades because Noah had been well up for the idea.

It was getting slightly colder out now and so Olivia had opted for some vertical striped blue and white trouser, a white sleeveless blouse and a pair of strappy sandals that were normally saved for the beach but she knew she had to dress appropriately in flats as she had a feeling these two would do anything in their power to get her on death defying rides.

"Noah" she calls out as she leaves her bedroom throwing her shades on her head. "It's time to go"

For once she didn't have to wait around for him and just after she called he came bounding out of his room with a grin on his face.

"I've been waiting for you" he says walking straight past her and to the door. "Come on then". He turns his head back to face her and nods towards the door.

Olivia grins at his eagerness and follows him out picking up her denim jacket hanging on the coat rack on the way.

Her and Elliot had agreed to drive separately to meet each other. They didn't want the first meeting to be an awkward car ride where they couldn't talk properly but it made the drive long and her nerves were starting to get the better of her.

She'd checked her phone before she set off and she'd had a message from Elliot reading "don't worry. It'll all be ok" and it did reassure her slightly for a moment to know he knew her that well to know she wouldn't be okay right now. Maybe he would get Noah just as quick.

They'd agreed to meet on the pier and as she and Noah approached she could see him already standing there watching them walk over to him with a smile on his face. Her heart stopped beating when she saw him. This was really the moment her life changed forever and the smile on his face already told her he was really all in. it didn't matter so much if he was or she was though, this all depended on if Noah was okay with that.

"Hey" she says quietly as she gets within talking distance.

"Hey" he says back smiling between her and Noah.

"Noah this is…"

"Yea Elliot I know"

Elliot holds out his hand and she's relieved when Noah takes it and shakes it.

"Nice to meet you Noah"

"Nice to meet you too"

It really was nice to meet the person who was putting a smile on his mothers face. The woman he left wasn't the one he returned to and he was mature enough to understand his father was never going to be the one to make her feel this way.

Their hands drop back to their side and Elliot nods a thanks before turning to Liv.

"You look great"

She blushes under his gaze and the embarrassment of being complimented in front of Noah.

"I uh.." she turns to Noah to talk to him because she couldn't seem to form sentences when looking at Elliot. "So what do you wanna do first?"

"Donuts"

"Excellent choice" Elliot agrees. "Over there do the best ones"

He points behind them and Olivia and Noah turn around to follow a gaze.

"Follow me"

He walks the other side of Olivia and grabs her hand as he passes to give it a reassuring squeeze. He wanted to hold her hand but he knew no teenager would be okay with that sort of PDA so he let go almost as fast as he had grabbed it to make sure Noah didn't notice and she flashes him a quick smile.

There's a long line for the donuts but they talk easily enough about the best rides coney island has to offer and Elliot tells stories of how he used to come here all the time as a kid.

"Any sauces?" Elliot asks as they take a step closer in the queue.

"Chocolate" Noah answers and Elliot turns to Liv.

"Liv?"

"I'm good"

He nods and orders three packets of donuts and a bagful of different sauces and Liv rolls her eyes.

"Who on earth is going to eat 12 donuts El?"

The three of them walk away from the donut stand and Elliot hands a packet to Noah and opens the bag for him to pick out his sauces.

"Don't you want any?"

"One"

"Nice one. More for us" Noah says, taking a bite of his first donut.

Olivia shakes her head as Elliot follows suit practically eating a whole donut in one.

"You two are disgusting"

Elliot and Noah look at each other and laugh and she rolls her eyes but inside she is smiling to herself.

—

They started their day properly in the arcades after their donuts. Olivia was trying to put off going on these insane death trap rides for as long as she could and so far it was going well. Elliot and Noah were just as competitive and she stood on the sidelines watching as they placed car racing games shouting and screaming like a pair of kids.

She couldn't remember a time she'd seen Noah like this with Trevor. She wasn't sure he knew how to have fun. Elliot was acting like a big kid but it seemed sometimes it was good to act like that, it certainly seemed to get him on her son's good side.

They've just finished a best of 3 of the virtual car races and they hopped off the chairs to find Olivia. Elliot grinned the second he turned to face her and he smiled back at him, the look on her face full of adoration.

"Go on then. What's your secret skill?"

"I used to be good at air hockey"

"Fancy a match"

Liv looks towards Noah and he nods, pulling out his phone to have a check in on his social media while he knew his mom wouldn't shout at him to get off it. So Liv nods to Elliot and they walk over the air hockey table and he drops a coin into the machine.

"Come on then Benson. Show me what you've got"

She smirks and prays she's as good as she used to be in her college days. She was the unbeaten champ in her friends group back when she used to have fun before she met Trevor.

"It's on Stabler"

He grins and whacks the puc towards her and she hits it right back. They go back and forth for a while before eventually he scores and he punches the air and she can see he thinks he's going to win which only makes her more determined than ever to win as she shoots the puc back down. This time she scores but she's much more calm in her celebration, only smiling smugly at him.

Three points later and Noah had even put his phone back in his pocket to cheer his mother on who was now beating Elliot 4-1. He was practically sweating not having expected Liv to be quite this good, she had been so against arcades he assumed she'd never entered one in her life.

When she scores against him again he holds his hands up in defeat and Liv turns to Noah to high five him.

"Get in mum"

"Ok I admit you are quite the dark horse" Elliot admits walking around the table towards Liv.

"I've got to keep you on your toes" she flirts back and she can see by the look in his eyes he wants to kiss her. He's grabbing the side of the table so hard his knuckles are turning white where he wants to at least hug her but he refrains for Noah's sake. Noah isn't blind though and the gagging sound that leaves his mouth makes them snap out of the daze and stop eye fucking each other.

They both laugh a little feeling awkward that Noah had just witnessed that and turn to face him.

"What next?" Elliot asks, looking between them both. "A game of bowling before the rides?"

"Yes!" "No!" Noah and Olivia shout at the same time.

"Believe me. You don't want to challenge her in bowling" Noah says letting out a slow breath. He hated how competitive his mother got at that game when she didn't need to at all because she was a million times better than anyone else they'd ever played with.

Olivia looks cockily towards Elliot daring him to put her skills to the test again and now his interest is piqued. He was already admitting she was going to beat him but he had to see what made Noah so certain this was a bad move.

"Let's go. I love a challenge"

Noah rolls his eyes as Olivia cheers and leads them off towards the bowling alley.

Of course she had slaughtered them both in the game but Elliot had found her sexier than ever. He'd never seen her so cocky about anything before and he couldn't help but get turned on by it. She wasn't shy in the bedroom but he hoped one day she'd have that type of attitude there as well. She could see the way he was watching her and the effect it was having on him and it only egged her on more.

He was ready to wipe that cocky attitude away when they left the bowling hall and walked out to the rides though. He saw her bravado disappear as she looked up and the towering ride in front of her.

"I hope neither of you are insane enough to even think about going on that!"

"Course we are right?" Noah asks Elliot, moving his head around his mothers body so he could see him better.

"Of course. Come on Liv"

He takes a step forward but Olivia crosses her hands across her chest refusing to move.

"No way in hell!"

Elliot laughs at her and takes a step back to stand next to her again.

"Not afraid of heights are you?"

"No but I am afraid of rickety death traps than can kill me and the people I love"

He never got sick of hearing her say those words and a cocky grin crossed his own face.

"Well look at it this way. If something does happen you can stand here and watch us die or you can be on there with us and we can all die together"

"You cannot seriously think that is going to get me on there?!"

Elliot shrugs and leaves her to think on the point. He takes a step forward again and motions to Noah to follow him and only a few seconds pass before Olivia is calling for them to wait for her as she quickly walks to catch up with them.

"This is such a bad idea. Why did I agree to this? Elliot help!" Olivia is almost crying by the time they reach the top of the steep incline. Dying with them had actually sounded like the better idea when her feet were on the ground but now she wasn't so sure.

She turns and wraps both hands around Elliots arm giving a quick glance to Noah who was sitting behind them having insisted he wanted to sit on his own.

"If we die you'll never hear the end of it. Either of you!"

"Liv we are going to be fine! Just enjoy yourself"

"Enjoy myself?! How can I-aaahhhhHHHHH!

Ranting at Elliot had distracted her from just how close they were to the drop and now here she was plummeting to her death. Just as she starts to get her heart beating again she realises they're heading upwards for another drop and she starts to mutter nononono which again only results in more laughter from the other two who were having the time of their lives.

"Ahhhh" she lets out again but this time she is less scared. In fact for the next drop she was actually kind of looking forward to it and the next scream was one of enjoyment over terror.

When the rollercoaster pulls in for them to get out her heart is beating through her chest and she can't feel her legs but she had to admit that was much more fun than she had expected.

"Never again" she tells them though as they all climb out. Surviving death was thrilling but a thrill she only needed to feel one time.

She can't help but cling to Elliot as they walk off the ride towards the photo centre that Noah was dragging them to. Her legs were still like jelly and she tells him how she only wants to feel that again if it's from a mind blowing orgasm which only makes him laugh.

"Oh my god mom, look at your face!" Noah calls from a few steps ahead and she moves to stand behind him to look at the screen horrified.

"Oh lord. We are not buying that!"

Before she can finish her sentence Elliot is pulling out his wallet and handing the staff member the cash.

"Oh yes we are" he assures her. "It's getting pride of place on the fridge"

"Who's fridge?"

"I'll save it. For the day it's our fridge"

She gives in then and reaches over to kiss him quickly on the lips. Glad that he still saw that kind of future for them.

A few hours later they were all exhausted. They'd managed to fit in all the rides they had wanted to and she was so thankful she had worn flat shoes because even in these her feet were killing. She was holding Elliots hand as they walked back to the parking lot as Noah was walking ahead his hand in his phone and she enjoyed the moment she had left with him.

"So how was today?" she asks nervously.

"Do you really need to ask?" He turns his face towards her and kisses the top of her head to reassure her. "I had the most amazing time, Liv. I thought that was clear"

It was clear but she needed to hear it. Needed to hear he was still up for this.

"I just wanted to check"

"Well I promise you I had a great time and I hope the pair of you did as well because i'd love to do it again"

"We did. Well I did and I'm pretty sure he did though can we do something a little less dangerous next time?"

"Next time you can choose"

"Good"

She saw her car up ahead and Noah had already reached it, he lifted his head up from his phone to shout back at his mum.

"We're getting take out tonight right? I really fancy pizza"

"Sure"

It was going to be late by the time they got in and not one part of her fancied cooking at that time.

"Cool. You coming as well El?"

Olivia and Elliot had caught up now and were standing just in front of Noah. They'd spent all day together but suddenly they both felt nervous at Elliot being asked to spend the evening with them. Elliot looked at Liv first with a questioning look on his face, he didn't want to overstep any boundaries so he looked at her for an answer.

"I'd love you to but if you want to get h-"

"No. I'd love to as well" he answers her excitedly.

"Cool" Noah says casually and goes back to his phone.

Olivia gets her keys out and opens the door for Noah to sit inside so she can say goodbye.

"Are you sure? You don't have to you know"

"I want to. When will you listen to me?"

She looks away feeling guilty for always being so paranoid that this isn't what he wants.

"You get home and I'll follow on. I know the best pizza place just text me what you two want"

"Ok" she leans in and kisses him and he kisses her back, both certain that Noah wasn't going to be looking up from his phone any time soon. "Drive safe"

"And you. I love you"

"Love you too"

Olivia and Noah had arrived back home nearly an hour before Elliot and they were now starving. Liv had taken a quick shower and got changed into a loungewear set and Noah had laid himself across the sofa watching the TV.

When Elliot eventually walked into the building he nodded to her doorman who had become quite warm towards him in the time he had spent here when Noah was away. As he headed up to her apartment he was walking very slow, careful not to fall over himself and land in a pile of pizzas.

Liv opens the door to him when she hears him knock, well a thump with his elbow as his hands were too full of pizza. She stands back to let him walk in and straight through to the kitchen to drop the pizzas on the counter. She closes the door behind him and follows him through to get some plates out for them and when she stands next to him he wraps his one hand around her, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

While Liv starts to place the pizza on their plates he walks over to the fridge and takes out three cans of cola from them all and an array of sauces not knowing what Noah would have with his pizza and carries them all over to the island in the middle of her kitchen.

"Noah" she calls out to inform him his food is ready and she hears him practically run through to the kitchen.

"Fiiiiinally!"

It's worth the wait kid" Elliot reassures him as Noah takes a bite.

"Mmmitsgood" he says through a mouthful of food and Liv pulls a face.

"Noah that's disgusting don't speak with your mouth full"

"Sorry" he says before scooping up his plate and his can of coke and walking back into the living room.

Elliot and Liv pick up their own drinks and plates of pizza and follow him into the room. Noah had moved from the sofa to the armchair so they took a seat next to each other on the sofa, keeping a respectable distance as they turned their attention to the show Noah was watching.

They'd both got hooked quickly to 'The Office' the show that Noah had on. They hadn't even taken their plates out; they'd just piled them up on the coffee table due to not wanting to miss anything. Olivia had made herself comfortable after food, picking up her legs and pulling her feet under herself automatically moving closer to Elliot who had now flung his arm across the back of the sofa.

When Liv readjusts herself and moves herself over to close the gap between them so that their legs are touching, Elliot drops his arm around her shoulder and hugs her into his side. He glances at her and she's still looking at the tv laughing at some joke he'd missed and he feels like this is the happiest moment of his life.

He'd never regretted not having kids before. He knew if he was to ever have any it would be with the right woman but as it turns out he'd only just met her and now they were both a bit too old to go down that road. Her already having a son made him feel like he was winning though. While he would never try to take over his father's role he hoped he could help mould him into a perfect gentleman and maybe he could be an honorary grandfather.

Life seemed pretty great to him at this moment and he said a silent prayer asking God to make this his life going forward. The three of them sat on the sofa eating pizza, Olivia snuggled into his side and one day soon he hoped they'd go to their bedroom afterwards. He knew now she'd let him meet Noah and let him be in her home with him, that she trusted him wholly and he would never let her down. He wouldn't let either of them down.

Six months later

"Noah come on" Elliot calls, straightening up his tie in the hallways mirror as he waits for Olivia and Noah to join him. They were dressed up to go out to celebrate Olivia's birthday but he had something planned that he wanted to check over with Noah first.

"Geesh im here what's the rush? Mums still getting ready" Noah says, taking his time walking out of his room and Elliot meets him halfway pulling him into the living room.

"Are you sure about this? She's not going to hate it is she?"

"I don't know"

"Thanks for the encouragement"

Elliot wipes a hand over his current beard free face trying to douse the fire of panic taking over his body.

"Look, she wants to marry you. I don't think she cares how you propose"

"I hope you're right"

An hour later the three of them are seated at Olivia's favourite restaurant not far from their apartment. Elliot had moved in a few months ago after realising he was just throwing money away on his apartment when he had barely gone home since that first night Noah had invited him over for pizza.

Trevor and Olivia's divorce had come through not long after. They had both been very civil about it so thankfully it wasn't a hard or long process. They had agreed to let Noah decide where he stayed and while he spent most of the time with Olivia he saw his father more now than he had ever before. It was a much better situation for everyone.

When the divorce had been finalised Elliot had known he didn't want to waste another moment of her being a single woman. While he took joy in calling her Benson now that she had decided to change her name back (for that reason only if truth be told) he really wanted to call her Mrs Stabler.

While Olivia was busy getting ready one morning he had sat down with Noah and asked for his permission to ask his mother to marry him. He wasn't sure what he had expected, he had hoped he would say yes but he had just shrugged and said "sure" and Elliot had to hold back a laugh at how worried he had been to ask only for Noah to not even care.

Elliot had warned him that he was going to propose tonight in case he had wanted to change his answer and tell Elliot he didn't actually want him as a step father but it seemed he was still on board with the decision. Elliot was nervous though, his leg was shaking and Olivia could tell now that there was something up.

"Elliot what is it you're making me nervous. You haven't organised a surprise party have you?"

She looks around warily expecting her friends to pop up from behind the other customers. She hoped not. She hates surprise parties.

"No. but there is something"

"I can tell"

Elliot looks to Noah and he nods his head reassuringly and Elliot knows that's the most encouragement he is going to get from a teenage boy.

"I wanted to ask you something"

"What?"

She takes a sip of her drink totally oblivious to what he was getting up until he slipped off the floor and fell onto one knee in front of her and slipped his hand into his inside breast pocket and pulled out a box.

Olivia's mouth falls open and she looks over to Noah who is laughing knowing she was probably hating how public this was and then she looks around the room to check nobody had noticed yet.

"Olivia" he cracks open the box and takes a deep breath. "Will you marry me"

"I'll say yes if you get up off the floor right now"

She tries to sound angry but he knows she doesn't really mean it. Well he hopes she isn't actually just saying yes because she's angry anway. He pushes himself up and sits back on his seat but scoots it towards her and she holds her hand out for him.

He places the box on the table and takes the ring out and he notices now that she's grinning and he can see the tears in her eyes.

"Do you really mean it? That you'll make me the happiest man on this earth?"

"Yes!"

Her voice cracks when she answers him and when she watches him slip the ring onto her finger her lip quivers. He grins down at her hand and holds it in his as they both admire the ring on her finger.

She wasn't sure if she had wanted to get married again. She thought that she was happy enough to be together as they were as she didn't think Elliot was the marrying type and clearly marriage hadn't been a success for her before but the second she had seen that box she knew she was only telling herself that to protect herself. She was over the moon that he had asked this and he had obviously told Noah about it as well as he was still grinning knowingly at them and she appreciated Elliot so much more for talking to him first and checking.

"I love you" she says as she leans forwards, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I love you too. So goddamn much"

She leans back and grabs his face pulling him into a kiss. Normally she'd be more cautious but right now she didn't care if the whole world saw this.

"Gross" she hears Noah say and pulls back laughing. "But you'll be happy to know this is exactly why I asked dad to come and get me after the meal. I don't want to be scarred for life"

Olivia blushes and covers her face with her hand.

Elliot on the other hand plans to buy the boy another game for his xbox because tonight he wanted to make Olivia scream so loud the neighbours six floors up could hear her.

"Let's make a toast"

Elliot raises a glass and the other two follow suit.

"Happy Birthday to you Olivia. You're a great mother, beautiful, funny.." he notices her blush but carries on anyway. "..and I cannot wait to make you my wife. To Olivia Stabler"

She laughs as he winks at her. It seems weird to hear him say that she hadn't thought he would ever let 'Benson' go.

"To me" "To mum" "To Liv" they all say as they clink their glasses together.

Elliot and Olivia look at each other and smile and they both know this is the best life has ever been and that the other isn't going anywhere.