August 4th

6 a.m.

St. Vincent's Midtown Hospital

Olivia had given birth to Benson Tyler Stabler about 15 minutes ago, and she was resting comfortably in her fiancé's arms.

A knock on the door startled them out of their passionate embrace. "Come in," Olivia called.

Sophia and Ella dashed in and smothered Olivia in a big hug. Casey was right behind them. Olivia hugged and kissed them all and smiled at Elliot. "Quiet down, quiet down," she said happily.

"Girls, I'd like you to meet Elliot. Elliot, these are my daughters, Sophia, and you remember her sister Ella," she said.

Elliot nodded and smiled at them. "I'm very pleased to meet you," he said.

"Oh hush!" Sophia said as she gave him a hug, careful not to hurt him. "You're going to be our Dad, so you don't have to be so formal," Sophia joked.

Olivia laughed and squeezed her daughter's hand. "That's right," she said as she showed everyone her hand. "He is going to be your dad!"

Ella climbed into Elliot's lap and kissed him on the cheek. "I missed you Elliot…I mean Daddy…and Mommy did too. She cried a lot…I'm glad you came back, because now Mommy will be happy again," the little girl said innocently.

Elliot kissed the top of Elliot's head. "Well now I can be happy again too Ella. I love you and your Mommy very much," he said, smiling at Olivia.

Ella pouted. "What about 'Fia and the baby?"

Elliot laughed. "I love them very much too, of course I do!"

Everyone hugged the happy couple, before another knock at the door startled the happy family.

Olivia's doctor walked back into the room. "Ms. Benson, Mr. Stabler," he said nodding at them. He pulled up a chair. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Everyone's faces drained of color, including Ella's, who could sense that something was wrong.

Elliot spoke first. "What is it?" He asked slowly.

"I'm afraid your son's lungs aren't fully developed, and he can't breathe on his own yet," the doctor told them quietly.

"He's going to be okay though, isn't he?" Olivia asked, squeezing Elliot's hand.

"Since he was two months pre-mature, it's not as bad as it could have been. Luckily his other organs are functioning fine. He's up in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, and he has an IV and he's being given oxygen," the doctor told them. "He may be there for at least a month," the doctor told them. "I'm sorry," he said to the family.

They were all shocked. Casey coughed. "It's a boy?" She asked.

Olivia nodded. "Benson Tyler Stabler," she said quietly before she dissolved into tears.

Elliot wrapped his arms around Olivia tightly and pulled her to her chest. "Shh…" he said quietly, running his hands gently through her hair, trying to calm her. "He's going to be fine…" he reassured her.

Sophia sat next to them on the bed, and pulled Ella into her lap. She rubbed Olivia's back, and wiped the tears from her own eyes. Casey left the room to give the family some time alone.

"Why did this happen to him?" Sophia asked quietly.

The doctor sighed. "Ms. Benson's blood pressure rose considerably, and probably due to that and the large amounts of stress she was under forced her to go into pre-mature labor," he explained. "And because he was born two months prematurely, there was a chance that his organs wouldn't be fully developed," the doctor explained.

"Are there any long-term effects?" Elliot asked.

The doctor shook his head. "95 percent of the time, there aren't any long-term effects at all."

"And the other 5 percent?" Elliot questioned quietly.

"It's possible for the child to suffer brain damage, causing some sort of mental retardation. Other effects are asthma, heart trouble, and weakened immune system…" the doctor told them. "But your son is a fighter. He's coping fine with the respirator, and he's moving around which is promising."

"Can we see him?" Olivia asked as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"You can see him for 15 minutes every other hour.

"I want to see him now," she told the doctor.

The doctor nodded. "I'll have a nurse bring you a wheelchair and she can show the four of you up to the Neo-Natal ICU," he told them. "Mr. Stabler, will you be fine without a chair?"

Elliot nodded. "I'll be fine, we just want to see our son," he told the doctor, who then left.

Olivia lay back in her bed. "It was all my fault," she said quietly, to no one in particular.

Elliot lay his fingers softly on her mouth. "Don't say things like that. You couldn't have done anything to stop him from coming early. It's not your fault you were under stress. You couldn't help it. You're the perfect mother Olivia, and it wasn't your fault, I promise you that," he scolded her gently.

Olivia lay her head on his chest. "I know, but I just can't help but thinking that…"

"Mom," Sophia interrupted her. "We all love Benson, and we all know that no one could have done anything. If anything, you kept him healthy. You ate right and followed doctors orders all through your pregnancy. Don't worry Mom, he'll be alright," she reassured her mother.

Olivia kissed her forehead. "Thanks sweetie."

"Mommy?" Ella asked, looking up at Olivia with big eyes.

"Yes honey?" Olivia asked, running her hand through Ella's long blond curls.

"Can we go see baby Benson now?" She asked innocently. "I want to see my brother."

Olivia nodded. "As soon as the nurse comes," she told Ella, who nodded too.

Cragen, Munch, and Fin entered the room, with Casey right behind them. They all gave Olivia hugs and kisses on the cheek before they sat down in chairs around her bed.

"So I heard there's a baby Benson," Munch said.

"Well, technically he's a baby Stabler," Elliot said, kissing Olivia lightly on the lips.

Everyone smiled in understanding.

"But you may call him baby Benson," Olivia added, "Because his name is Benson Tyler Stabler."

Cragen smiled. "So you two worked everything out?"

Olivia showed them her hand. "Yes, we did."

"Congratulations," Fin said happily.

"It's about time you two got your heads out of your sixes and realized how sickeningly in love you were," Munch said dryly, but with a genuine smile playing at his lips.

Fin rolled his eyes. "You're only saying that because you're jealous you don't have a woman."

Munch shrugged. "After three wives, you sort of give up. I think they've got me on the "America's Most Un-Wanted Men," he joked.

"Where's your son?" Cragen asked, changing the subject.

Casey shot him a glare.

Elliot coughed, and wrapped his arms tighter around Olivia. "He's in the ICU. His lungs aren't fully developed, so he's on a respirator and an IV," he explained.

The men nodded, not sure what to say.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. If he's anything like his parents, he'll put up a big fight. You two are incredibly stubborn, and you never let anything go without giving it all you've got. I'm sure he'll be fine," Cragen said, lightening the mood.

A nurse walked in with Olivia's wheelchair. "He already is stubborn," she said smiling. "The four of you may accompany the family, but I'm afraid you'll have to watch from behind the glass," she told them.

Munch cracked a smile. "Well that's unusual. We'll be on the other side of the mirror," he said, referring to them interrogating the suspects on the opposite side of the one-way mirror.

Everyone laughed.