A Friday Night
Olivia had received the court's reply the Friday before. They had granted her full custody of the girls, who had changed their names to Sophia Ann Benson, and Isabella Rose Benson.
Sophia had moved into the house, and Olivia was happy. She missed New York, but she wouldn't trade her this family for anything in the world. She had just kicked Sophia off the phone and kissed her good night. Ella had been asleep for a little while, and Olivia decided to give Casey a call. She had some news to share.
She crawled under her covers with the phone and dialed the familiar number.
"Hello?" Casey answered.
"Hey Casey, it's Olivia," she said.
"Hey!" Casey said happily. "How's everything going?"
"Great, it's great," Olivia said honestly. "Since I've legally adopted the girls, they changed their last names, and Sophia moved in," Olivia told her.
"Are you happy?" Casey asked.
"Yes," Olivia said. "I miss everyone…but I wouldn't give the girls up for anything. I just wish…" she trailed off.
"You wish what?" Casey pushed.
"I wish that I could have this family up there. So I could be with you guys," Olivia said.
"Yeah," Casey said. "You could always move back up here when you sort things out," she advised.
"I would love to, but I don't think I could," Olivia said sadly.
"Why not?" Casey asked curiously.
"Casey…I went to the doctor two days ago," she said softly.
"You're not sick are you?" Casey asked worriedly.
"No, no. I'm pregnant Casey," Olivia said as she started to cry.
"Oh. God." Casey said, stunned.
They sat there for a moment, not saying anything.
"It's Elliot's?" Casey asked.
"Yeah," Olivia said. "Yeah, it is."
"Well, what are you going to do?" Casey asked.
"I'm due in late September, so I can still work for the time being. I'll keep the baby of course, and I'm going to love it and give it a good life," Olivia said decisively.
"Are you going to tell him?" Casey asked.
Olivia hesitated. "Yes. I'm not sure when though, and I definitely don't know how."
"Olivia, promise me that you and the girls will come up here in August when the girls are out of school. You can stay with me and have the baby up here," Casey offered. "You can't do it alone."
Olivia thought for a moment. "Okay. Okay, I promise, I'll come."
"Good. Well, I've got to go. It's been a long day, and I think we both need the sleep," Casey decided.
"Yeah, okay. I'll talk to you later," Olivia said.
"Take care Olivia, and call if you need anything," Casey said before hanging up.
Olivia put the phone on her bedside table and turned out her light. She rolled over in bed and wiped a tear from her eye.
A few minutes later her bedroom door opened and Sophia crawled up onto Olivia's bed and snuggled under the covers with her. "Mom, are you okay?" She asked worriedly.
Olivia nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said as she wrapped her arms around Sophia.
"I heard you talking to Casey," Sophia said honestly, "But I didn't hear what you were saying."
Olivia turned so she was facing Sophia. "I'm having a baby," she said softly. "I'm due in late September," she told her.
Sophia blinked. She just looked at Olivia. "A baby?" She asked. She put her hand on Olivia's stomach. "A baby."
Olivia nodded. "Yeah. A baby."
Sophia thought for a moment. "Was it the man that broke your heart?" She asked.
Olivia nodded again.
"Tell me about him, please," Sophia asked gently.
Olivia sighed. "Okay. His name is Elliot Richard Stabler. He lives in New York City. I've known him for about 7 years. He was my partner when I worked for SVU. After my boyfriend Clay hurt me, Elliot took care of me. We lived together for a little while. He was my best friend. He was my everything. He had dark hair, and pale blue eyes, like yours. He was tough, but he was such a good man; the best. I loved him," she said honestly.
"Why did you leave him?" Sophia asked as she rubbed Olivia's back.
"I'm not really sure. I knew I had loved him for a very long time. But he had been married; he has four kids from a previous marriage. So we were always best friends, nothing more. But he got divorced a few months ago, when Clay started hurting me. When he took me in and took care of me, that's when I realized that I had fallen in love with him, and that since he wasn't married anymore, maybe he could love me too," she explained. "But I left because I didn't think he loved me too, not like I loved him. And I couldn't work with him every day, not being reminded of what I couldn't have," Olivia told her.
Sophia nodded. "But you still love him?" She asked.
Olivia sighed. "With all of my heart," she said without hesitation.
Sophia snuggled with her. "Then don't worry. You'll get him back," she decided before they both fell asleep.
New York CityElliot's Apartment
Elliot tossed and turned in his bed, not able to sleep. He reached over and grabbed the pillow next to him on the bed and buried his face in it. It smelled like Olivia. He missed her. God, it hurt more than any pain he had ever felt before. Why hadn't he told her that he loved her? Because he certainly loved her more than anyone, or anything else in the world. He closed his eyes and let Olivia's scent lull him to sleep.
