"Hey… Noah, what the heck happened?"
The boy looked up at his mom's young detective with a sigh. His eye was swollen, his lip was busted and bloody, and in his hand was a wash cloth he was using to dab away dried blood from his nose.
"They must be really mad if they sent you," he said, looking down.
Joe laughed a little. "Ouch," he winced playfully. "No. I mean, they're upset, but dad's on a case with your Aunt Amanda and your mom and Uncle Fin are kicking butt in an interrogation."
Noah smiled small, looking down. "Dad mad?"
"Jet said he 'beamed with fatherly pride until The Captain called and he had to snap into disappointed dad mode.'"
"Sounds like Jet," Noah laughed, and Joe smiled.
"Yeah… she's a tough nut to crack."
"She's a big softy," Noah said, walking up up to the counter so Joe could sign him out.
"Noah," his principal smiled warmly. "This one of your brothers?"
The school was still getting used to all the new faces from the Stabler clan.
Noah laughed. "Nah. I mean, kinda. He's one of my mom's detectives," he shrugged, "their all kinda her kids."
"Guilty," Joe nodded, holding up his shield and passing over his ID.
"Ah. Detective Velasco, pleasure to meet you," she nodded. "So, Noah's suspended for the rest of the day. His teacher gave him all of his work and he's welcome back tomorrow."
"And the other kid?" Joe questioned, looking up after he signed his name.
"He instigated it and will be out for the rest of the week. Please let Captain Benson and Detective Stabler know their presence is requested for a Monday morning meeting with him, his parents, and Noah."
"Will do. Thank you," he nodded. "Alright. Come on kid, let's go," Joe said, patting Noah on the back and leading him out.
"Where's your new girlfriend?" Noah jabbed as they walked out the front door.
"Ha-ha little Benson. Ha. Ha," he deadpanned as Noah cackled.
"Where we going?" Noah asked him.
"OCCB. I'm working on a case and you're working on homework."
"Great," Noah groaned.
"Noah," Ayanna said, arms crossed and brow raised.
"Hey Sarge," he sighed, sauntering in and popping down in his dad's chair beside where she was standing.
"Face looks bad, kid," she said, sitting against the edge of the desk and tilting his head upwards by his chin. "And you've got blood on your sweater."
"Yeah," he frowned, looking down. "Really liked this one, too."
"I know how to get blood out," Jet blurted out from behind them, making them both then slowly to look at her.
"What." She sighed. "Someone has to help the boomer so his girl doesn't kick his ass."
Noah, Joe, and Bell all burst into laughter, and Jet cracked a small smile.
"Alright, Noah. Dad says get to work okay? He wants everything done by the time he gets back here."
"Alright Sarg," he nodded, turning around in his chair and smiling small when his eye caught the framed photo of the whole family from El's medal ceremony.
Noticing his falter, Bell placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and smiled small when he looked up at her. "He's proud of you. And I know you're proud of him," she said, sinking down to his level. "And I know you're gonna get this lecture 100 more times but…"
"No Stabler temper, I know," Noah said with a blush.
"It doesn't get your dad very far, either," she winked.
"Yes, Sarge…"
"Get to work."
"El.. you alright?" Amanda asked when they walked out of the hospital room. "Noah's fine," she reassured.
"Yeah… yeah I know, I just… I hate that my actions made my kid so upset. Feel like all I ever did was disappoint my older kids when they were little and I'm repeating the trend with Noah and with Eli."
"Elliot, he didn't get into a fight cause he was disappointed… he got into a fight cause he was protecting you. The kid is his mother in every way, and he's a boarder-line teenager… the hormones and testosterone are raging and it's not one's fault."
"Yeah I guess," Eli said, smiling small. "I mean… I just don't want Liv to be mad at me cause…"
"Cause you're proud of your boy kicking ass," Amanda asked knowingly and with a smirk.
Elliot looked down to hide his smirk. "Maybe…"
"Just go easy on him… Liv's gonna go hard."
"I know you're not my biggest fan but don't feed me to the wolves like that," he teased and she laughed.
"If I've learned anything from Sonny it's that sometimes it's okay to have their dad in their corner," she winked, walking away.
"Thanks, Rollins," he laughed softly.
"By the way… you're growing on me," she called over her shoulder.
Fin had just left the interrogation room with Liv when his phone buzzed.
N: How mad is she?
F: Eh… she's distracted right now.
"Sergeant are you texting my son?" Liv asked, looking up over glasses from where she was seated at her desk.
"Possibly," he said with a brow raised.
"He freaking out?"
"Possibly," he repeated, now trying to hide his smirk.
Liv sighed, slouching back. "Barely a year of having Elliot Stabler fully in his world and he's punching people."
"Other kid punched first… and called his dad a rat. He's either got the best of both worlds or drew the short stick with all of that Benson and Stabler loyalty he's neck deep in every day… depending on how ya look at it.."
"Fin, when have I ever been a proponent for violence?"
He all but laughed in her face.
"Olivia Benson, I've known you since you were the 31 year old, spiked-hair, badass that willingly was Elliot Stabler, the poster child for rage's, side kick. Just cause you're the Captain now does mean you need to forget your roots."
Liv bit her lip to hide her smile and sighed lightly to cover it. "But shouldn't we be teaching our children to be better than us?"
"Yeah… but I think we also need to be more understanding than our parents were with us… or than our parents were with our older siblings," he added the later part after a short pause and just as Elliot walked through the door.
"Is everyone Team Noah?" He asked, holding his hands out.
"Yep," Amanda nodded, patting his back. "Cap, Velasco is running through some stuff at OCCB for this case with Jet. I'm going to go look over it with him and grab some stuff she's running for mine."
"Thanks, Rollins. Take Muncy with you," she said, standing. "She looks like a lost puppy dog without Joe. Fin and I have to go back into this interrogation so I'll let you know when we get out."
"Sounds good, Cap," Rollins nodded, making her way out of the office.
"I gotta go back out to interview some people with Bell- she's coming to get me from here. I don't know how long I'm gonna be, so do you want me to call Lucy or one of the kids?"
Liv thought for a minute, looking between two of the four most important guys in her life before giving them both a little smirk.
"No… let him stay at OCCB, do his homework, and sweat it out."
Fin laughed, shaking his head. "I'll be waiting for you outside the room Cap," he said, exiting her office and shutting the door.
Elliot hung his head when the door shut, and Liv slowly rounded her desk, sitting up against it with her arms crossed.
"At ease, detective. C'mere," she said with a warm smile.
He raised his head and slowly made his way over to her, putting his hands low on her hips.
Even in her heels and her Captain's garb, he still towered over her, both in a physical and non-physical sense.
Craning her head back slightly, she looked up at him, taking note of the way he surveyed the status of her office blinds before slipping one leg between her's and meeting her eyes.
"Hi…" he whispered.
"Hi… 's'not your fault…"
"I know," he nodded, dropping his forehead to her's.
"Dickie's childhood lunacy might have been," she said making him snort a laugh. "But this instance is just a boy who really loves his daddy."
"And his momma. And the profession we do."
"That's right," she nodded. "But…"
"I know, I know… I'll talk to him."
"Thank you."
"And I'll wait for you, don't worry," he half teased.
She thought about it for a moment, the enormity of the situation striking her. Being a single mother meant being both the good cop and the bad cop, but mostly the bad cop. She'd never even given anyone else the opportunity to discipline her son the way she would.
The way she thought a father should.
"Amanda said I should be good cop," he added, breaking her flow of thoughts.
"I think I want you to be bad cop," she said shyly, casting her eyes downward.
"Oh?" He asked, his lips curling up into a smile. His hand trailed to her chin and he tilted it upwards.
"Yeah…" she said, biting her lip.
"That's a big step," he commented, pressing a chaste kiss to her pouted mouth and driving his knee upwards, just enough to make her inhale sharply.
"Well… I think you've more than proven that you're here for the long run with us… that you're here to be his dad and my partner and I need to start… loosening my reins a little."
He slipped his remaining hand from her hip around to cradle the dip in her back that sat just above her plump ass, pulling her impossibly closer.
"I can't tell you how much that means to me, Olivia," he said finally. "And I know that took a lot and was a huge step… so I wanna promise you I'm not gonna fuck this up or be too hard on him and break your trust."
"I know where you sleep," she jousted lightly back, before pushing up on her tip toes to capture his lips. "Thank you, baby," she whispered.
"Anything for you… and for him."
There was a knock on her door, and he leaned in to kiss her a few more times quickly before stepping back and adjusting his suit.
"Come in," she called.
Bell poked her head in and smiled. "Ready, detective?"
"Yes, Sarge," he nodded before reaching out and gently grasping Liv's bicep. "See you tonight. Keep me posted."
"I will. Be safe, I love you," she said without thinking.
Elliot's smile was blinding and he moved to pull her in for another kiss. "Uh uh," she laughed, pecking his lips anyways. "Don't overdo it Stabler."
"I love you," he said, winking and following his laughing boss out.
"Noah Porter Benson," came Elliot's booming voice, echoing off the brick walls of the OCCB.
Jet stood protectively with her arms crossed in front of Noah, who she was helping with a computer science project.
Elliot stopped, raising a brow. "What is this? I have another daughter to stress me out?"
"Is that why you're bald," she said, emotionless, as Joe, Muncy, and Whelan snickered at the table behind her.
"Yes, and I'd like to keep the remaining hair I have on my eyebrows and face, so if you wouldn't mind not stressing me out like you're my fourth daughter that would be great."
"Elliot, you literally almost had a heart attack when we sent her undercover last night," Bell said, coming up behind him.
"Well…I…" he tried.
"Uh huh," she laughed. "You big softy."
He made eye contact with Jet who cracked a small smile before stepping aside to reveal Noah.
Elliot winced lightly at the state of his son, and Noah winced back. "Worse than it looks?"
"Doubt that," he sighed, crossing his arms and widening his stance.
"You should see the other guy?" Noah tried.
Cracking a slight smile, El laughed a little. "That I don't doubt. That my shirt?" He asked, noticing finally that Noah was wearing an oversized, blue button up with the sleeves rolled up multiple times.
"Yeah… my sweater got blood on it."
Elliot looked to Jet who shrugged. "Someone has to protect you from the Captain."
"That's fair," he shrugged. "Come here, bud," he said, uncrossing his arms to hold one out to him.
He bounced up, sprinting towards him and jumping into his arms. "You good cop or bad cop?" He asked, burying his head in the crook of his neck.
"Bad. But your brothers have softened me. Come on," he nodded, bring him into Bell's office and shutting the door.
"He drives me crazy, but he's a good dad," Jet said, looking to Bell who nodded. "The best."
"What did we learn today," Elliot asked, sitting across from his boy and leaning forward, forearms resting in his knees.
"No violence," Noah nodded. "But he did hit first…"
"I know… and I'm so proud that you defended yourself but…"
"I went overboard…"
"You did.. and that's what's making me nervous I guess."
"Yeah… I'm sorry, dad, I just… I got so angry you know? Cause I know how upset you were with everything and…" he trailed off in thought. "I guess it just makes me mad that people don't know the whole story."
"Unfortunately they won't… that's the hard thing about stuff like this… mine and mom's job… the media sucks and the average Joe isn't gonna know the whole story. But meeting them with the same ugliness they're throwing out? It's not beneficial; not to anyone. The only thing we can do the what we know in our heart is right."
"I know… I'm sorry, dad," he said, hanging his head.
"I forgive you… mom does, too."
"Am I grounded?" He asked, looking up slightly.
El laughed a bit. "Definitely. For the rest of the week at least," he said, holding his hand out for his phone.
Noah groaned lightly but handed it over with no issue.
"Hey," El said, slipping it into his breast pocket. "I'm still proud of you and I appreciate you."
"Thanks," Noah smiled small, finally relaxing a bit.
"And," Elliot added, "I love you like crazy, son."
"I love you too, daddy," Noah nodded, tossing himself into his chest for another big bear hug.
"Alright… we'll be here a while. Mom is still in interrogation but I'm gonna get dinner for everyone."
"We should let Jet pick," Noah said, standing up. "She helped me a lot today."
"Jets gonna want Thai," he groaned playfully.
"I like Thai food!"
"I know… so does your mom."
"More reason to get it," Noah nodded with a smile.
"Suck up," he nudged playfully.
Liv picked her boys up around 6:30, walking in on lots of laughter and walrus faces made with the help chop sticks.
"My boy," she smiled sadly. "Oh..." she sighed, pulling him to her chest.
"I'm okay, mom," he smiled small, hugging her waist.
"You wearing daddy's shirt?" She asked with a laugh, pulling back.
"Yeah," he smiled shyly, looking down. "My sweater got blood on it, but Jet got it out!"
"Jet...a lady of many talents," Liv smiled knowingly, the pieces flying together in her mind.
"Yeah well... someone's gotta protect your boys from their own questionable choices," she shrugged as everyone laughed.
"Come eat, Captain," El said, holding out a take-out container to her. "Then we'll get going."
"Don't mind if I do."
That night, after dinner and once he'd been tucked in, Noah waited until he heard his dad leave the living room for his shower.
When the door to their bedroom shut, Noah scampered quietly out to the living room, popping beside Liv who was reading.
"Hi," she laughed softly, wrapping an arm around her boy after setting her book down.
He turned to face her slightly, sliding his feet under her legs and looking up at her with a knowing grin.
"What, sweet boy?" She asked, pulling her glasses to stop her head and raising a brow at him.
"You didn't yell at me today..."
"Noah, I very rarely yell at you ever!" Liv exclaimed.
"Yeah but... I mean you didn't scold me for the fight. You let dad do it..."
Sucking her bottom lip between her teeth, Liv nodded very slowly, amazed as always by her little detective.
"That's right," she finally answered.
"And... and you didn't even pick the punishment, did you?" Noah asked, glee in his voice.
Laughing a little, Liv nodded. "That's... that's right, Noh."
"Cause you would have taken my phone till like next weekend but daddy only took it till Sunday."
"Noah," Liv warned playfully, making himself smile.
"I'm just... I'm glad he's here. And that he's not going anywhere."
Blinking quickly to quell the rush of emotions that hit her, Liv sucked in a deep breath.
"Yeah... yeah, me too."
Satisfied, the little boy jumped up, hugged her tightly, and jogged back to his room with a final "I love you" over his shoulder.