Prompt #61: Elliot and Olivia go to Noah's 'meet the teacher' appointment together
Learning Curves
~oOo~
Captain Olivia Benson and the now Sergeant Elliot Stabler had moved beyond the 'friends for now' stage and we're exploring the possibility of something more. There was no denying that the two former partners cared for each other deeply, but there was too much else at stake for either of them to jump into a serious relationship with each other.
The Stabler kids, especially Eli, were still reeling from the loss of their mother. Elliot had just taken his new position as a sergeant and Noah hadn't had any other parental figure in his life other than his mom since he was two. The Bensons had gotten together with the Stabler family several times in the past few months, and Noah got along great with all of them. He had enjoyed going to Baseball games with Elliot and his grandsons. He had played video games with Eli, and he had baked cookies with Bernie.
The older kids were bonding with Noah as well. Maureen had recently gotten a job at Noah's school and Noah was excited to learn that she would be one of his teachers this coming school year. Kathleen had taken him to the movies with her nephews a couple of times and Richard was teaching him karate. Lizzie was always so nice to him when they visited and he enjoyed playing board games with her.
Olivia was a bit concerned that her son was bonding so quickly. Other than her squad, it had just been the two of them for years. What if Noah got too attached only for Elliot to leave again and the rest of the family to go their own ways. What if she did?
Before they knew it, it was the night before Noah's meet the teacher event. Olivia knew Elliot was coming by to pick up his grandsons. They were going to the school with their mom because their dad, Carl O'Brien, was gone on a business trip this week.
"So, Noah, are you excited about meeting with your new teachers tomorrow?" Olivia asked him as she was tucking him in that night.
Noah grinned. "Yeah. I'm glad Maureen is one of my teachers this year."
Olivia gave her son a small smile. "I'm glad you are excited about that, but you know at school you'll have to call her—"
"I know. Mrs. O'Brien," Noah interrupted. Then he looked at his mom apprehensively. "Mom? You're gonna be there tomorrow, right? You won't have to work, will you?"
Olivia sighed and stroked through her son's hair. "Sweetie, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Uncle Fin's covering for me. I promise you, I'm coming. Ok?"
Noah nodded. "Ok."
Olivia kissed his forehead. "Good night, Sweet Boy. I love you."
"Love you, too," replied Noah.
The next morning, Noah and Olivia walked into the school building and to the fifth-grade wing of Noah's school. On the way to the classroom, they saw a familiar face.
"Hi, Elliot!" Noah called out.
"Noah! Liv! What are you two doing here?" Elliot asked in surprise.
"I could ask you the same thing," Olivia said with a smile.
"I'm here to pick up Seamus and Keiran. Carl's out of town and Maureen is going to be here all day. She didn't want the boys to be stuck here and I'm off today, so…" Elliot explained.
"We're here for Noah's meet the teacher. Actually, Maureen is one of his teachers this year," Olivia told him.
Elliot nodded. "She told me, but I didn't know when your appointment was."
By then, they had reached Noah's pod and Maureen and her teaching partner, Mr. Sikes were waiting for them.
"You must be Noah, I'm looking forward to having you in class this year."
Noah shook his hand and replied, "That's me. This is my mom."
Olivia extended her hand. "Captain Olivia Benson. Nice to meet you."
"Hi, Liv. Hello, Noah," Maureen spoke up.
"Hey, Mo…I mean, Mrs. O'Brien."
"Good to see you, Maureen. Noah is really excited to have you as a teacher this year."
"I'm excited to be one of his teachers this year."
Noah then shocked his mom, Elliot and Maureen by turning to Elliot and blurting out, "Oh, this is my dad."
Mr. Sikes looked very confused by the reactions of the other adults. Noah turned bright red as he realized he may have done something seriously stupid and wrong.
Elliot recovered first and said, "Hey, Noah, Kieran and Seamus are in Maureen's classroom playing Nintendo. Why don't you join them while you're mom talks to your teachers? Noah nodded and went to join his friends.
For the next few minutes, Olivia and Elliot and Maury explained to Mr. Sikes Elliot's relationship with Noah and Olivia. Well, not totally. Just that he wasn't, in reality, Noah's father.
Then, Elliot went to join the boys while Olivia discussed the school curriculum and agenda with the teachers.
Noah avoided making eye contact with Elliot for the rest of the time they were at the school. After the appointment, he was dropped off with Lucy. Elliot hadn't invited him to join him and the twins because they had their own appointments that day.
Because it was an important conversation, Olivia held off confronting Noah about his introduction until after she got home from work that night. When she came through the door, Lucy pulled her aside and informed her that Noah had been unusually quiet all day.
"When I tried to ask him about it he just told me it was nothing and went to his room."
Olivia sighed before placing a hand on the nanny's shoulder.
"I'm pretty sure I know what's going on. I'll talk to him. Thanks, Lucy."
"No problem. I was just worried about him. It's not like him to be so withdrawn," Lucy observed.
"I know. It's ok," Olivia assured her. After getting paid, Lucy left.
After locking up her gun and putting away her badge, Olivia knocked on her son's door.
Upon hearing a muffled, "Come in," Olivia opened the door.
"Noah, I think we need to talk."
Noah silently got up and allowed his mom to lead him to the sofa. They sat down and Olivia took his hands in hers.
"Honey, why did you tell your new teacher that Elliot was your dad?"
Noah surprised his mom by bursting into tears.
"Oh, Noah, Sweetheart!" exclaimed Olivia, taking the boy into her arms.
"I'm sorry! I don't know why I said that! Please don't be mad at me!"
"Oh, Sweet Boy. I promise. Nobody is mad at you."
"Elliot is. He probably hates me now. And Maureen. And the others will be when they find out. They won't come over anymore and it's all my fault!" Noah sobbed. Olivia pulled back a bit.
"Noah, look at me."
Noah looked up at his mom and she continued.
"They aren't mad at you. I promise. They are just confused. Like I am."
"I've always wanted a dad. And brothers and sisters. Now I've messed that up." Olivia now realized what had made Noah blurt out the impulsive statement.
"Honey. Elliot loves you. He loves both of us. His family loves us. But you can't just say something that isn't true and expect it to suddenly happen."
"I know. But I really want Elliot to be my dad. He treats me like a dad would. Like my friends' dads act with them. Mom, I know you love Elliot. And he loves you. It's obvious. Why can't you just get married and he can adopt me," Noah pleaded.
"Honey, it's not that simple. Elliot and I are finally at a good place, but marriage is a huge step. Both people have to be ready. Can you understand that?" Olivia tried to explain.
Noah just shrugged. At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Olivia answered it and was surprised to see Elliot on the other side.
"El? What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to check on Noah. Tell him in person that I'm not upset and he's a great kid."
Olivia smiled, her eyes suddenly bright with tears. "Well, you've got perfect timing because he really needs to hear that from you right now."
Elliot squeezed her shoulder as she stepped aside to allow him to enter. Noah turned red when he saw the visitor and averted his eyes.
Elliot knelt down in front of the boy. " Hey, Buddy. Can you look at me?"
Noah shook his head.
"Please," Elliot tried again.
This time, Noah looked up and murmured, "I'm sorry I said what I said. Please don't hate me!"
"I could never hate you, Noah. I love you. I wish I had known you from the beginning and could have helped your mom raise you. I left and I can't take that back, but I'm here now and I'm not leaving. I'm here for good. I want to be here in whatever way your mom will let me. That's for her and I to work out together, but I promise you no matter what happens, I will always be there for you. I won't abandon either of you ever again."
Noah's eyes filled up with tears once more and he threw himself into Elliot's arms.
"Love you!"
Elliot held him tightly, rocking them back and forth. Olivia couldn't hold back her own tears as she witnessed the sight before her, so she allowed them to roll down her cheeks.
Eventually, Noah pulled back, and Elliot held him by the shoulders. Noticing Olivia's tears, he requested.
"Can you go give your mom a big hug and then let me talk to her for a bit?" Noah nodded and ran over and hugged his mom tight.
"I love you, Mom."
"Oh, my Sweet Boy, I love you so much!"
After a full minute, Noah let go and smiled at Elliot before heading back to his room. Once the door was closed, Elliot slowly walked towards Olivia and pulled her into his arms.
She cried into his shoulder for several moments before pulling back to look into his eyes.
"Thank you. For loving my son so much." Elliot wiped away her tears with his thumbs.
"He's a part of you, Liv, even though he is adopted. You raised him and he's a part of you. Of course, I love him. I love you so much, Liv. I know you are still working on believing that, but I want the chance to prove to you how much I love you. How much you deserve to be loved. You deserve the world and I want to give it to you. I want to give Noah what my father never gave me. I want us to be together in every sense of the word. I want to put in the work and someday, with your permission, I want something permanent. I want to adopt Noah and be his real dad, but only if you're ok with it."
"El…" Olivia began.
Elliot held up a hand. "I'm not going to rush you. We go at your pace. I will wait as long as it takes, and in the meantime, I will be here for you and Noah however you allow. I mean it, Liv. I love you."
Olivia teared up again. "Oh, El. I love you, too. I always have and I always will. I'm still scared, but I'm ready to take the next step. Let's take it slow, but I want to move forward."
Elliot smiled softly and leaned in towards her, his eyes asking silent permission to kiss her.
Olivia nodded, and her lips met his as they both closed their eyes.
They were still in a learning process. More mistakes would certainly be made, but now they knew they would face them together. Their love was strong enough to withstand whatever came their way. After all, it may have taken a decade, but they had found each other again. Nothing could separate them forever.
Lost in each other, neither one noticed the small figure watching them from his doorway.
Noah had a smile a mile wide. He was finally on his way to getting the big family he had always dreamed of.
Note: The author of this SVU: Fall in Love story will be revealed in November