A/N: Part 2 of today's year anniversary double feature! Thank you for all the love!
"Okay I'm gonna need both of you to stay inside till we get back," Liv said, a hand on her two growing granddaughters while her daughter and daughter in law laughed.
"Sarah might have better luck than me on that," Mo laughed.
"I don't know… Second kid," Sarah chuckled. "We'll be okay mama… my parents are coming into town tomorrow."
"They'll still be here till she comes right? I wanna make sure we don't miss them," El asked hopefully.
"Absolutely," Sarah nodded.
"One way ticket," Dickie said through a forced smile that made Beau and Carl burst into laughter.
"Noah, Em… we're leaving," El called, laughing when they scampered down the stairs of Mo and Carl's with Teddy in tow.
"We'll be good," Noah promised.
"Oh that's convincing," Eli winked and Sam laughed.
"Mom we'll be fine, don't worry," Emma said, hugging her mom tight and making sure she grazed her bump that had popped even more in the previous weeks.
She glance down at her daughter who gave her a cheesy smile that made Liz snicker.
"Okay we're 6 hours ahead of if you need anything at all-" Elliot began, only to be cut off by Noah.
"Call or text or FaceTime or pigeon blah, blah, blah," Noah drawled in a deep voice, imitating his dad.
"Come here, boy!" El laughed, picking his son up and tossing him over his shoulder as he laughed hysterically.
"Gonna miss you daddy," he smiled when he finally caught his breath.
"Gonna miss you, buddy," he said, kissing his cheek and setting him down
Liv got a little misty when she took hold of her baby boy, smooching his cheek repeatedly and letting a tear fall when he snuggled into her.
"Oh man," she sighed softly, patting his back gently. "Gonna miss you."
"He'll be okay, mom," Mo smiled encouragingly.
"Yeah we should go before this gets harder," Eli, who was driving them to the airport, laughed softly, and Liv nodded, passing Ted over and then hugging the littles again.
"Alright," El smiled, waving and ushering her to the door and laughing when she playfully leaned around them to blow several more kisses before finally heading to the car behind Eli.
The flight to Venice was just about 10 hours, and by hour 8, Olivia was praising Elliot for convincing her to upgrade their seats to first class.
"Back okay?" He asked softly, leaning across to kiss her.
"Hm, been better," she smiled small, looking down at her prominent bump that was on display for all to see. She'd gotten hot an hour before, and had taken off her oversized sweater to reveal a skin tight tank top that showed off their growing daughter.
"I wanna tell the kids so bad," he whispered, moving the small barrier between them and inching closer to her.
"I know," she chuckled softly. "One more week and we'll be in the clear but.. I still wanna wait."
"I just like having that baby I put inside you on display for everyone to see," he whispered in her ear, reaching his hand under the blanket to cup her belly.
"I feel so massive," she exhaled with a small laugh. "But that giant mitt of yours makes me feel like I'm still tiny."
"You are," he said, kissing gently along her jaw, smiling at the soft rumbling in her throat.
"You're just trying to get in my pants," she breathed out, and he smirked.
"Honey I don't have to try," he reminded her.
"Shhhh," she winked. "Save it for the hotel."
"Ohhhh," he whined playfully knowledge of their accommodations hit him. "That's right… an entire suit with no children!"
She giggled softly and shushed him, burying her head in his chest. "We have to site see at some point," she reminded him.
"Don't worry?" He promised with a hint of mischief in his voice.
"Elliot Joseph… what am I gonna do with you?" She asked, laughing softly.
"Spend the rest of your life trying to figure it out?" He asked and she grinned. "Sounds good to me."
The pair fell into bed the moment they walked through the door, and after a couple of mind blowing orgasms, they collapsed together as the sun shined through the many windows of their hotel suit.
The weather was unseasonably warm for February, and they had the balcony doors open to cool the room of the heat brought on by both their sex and Olivia's pregnancy hormones.
Elliot's head was rested on a pillow down beside her belly, kissing it softly while his right hand teased her core that was dripping with him.
She hummed a gentle sigh of relief, and spread her legs a little further for him.
"God… being back inside you for the first time after 10 years was a feeling I'll never forget," he muttered against the gentle swell of her belly, slipping a finger in her.
"I'd almost forgotten how connected we were…" she admitted, rolling her hips gently to encourage his hand's slow, dragging movements.
"Me too," he grunted softly, adding a second finger, then a third.
"Sex, I mean… I'd had good sex when you were gone but… nothing with a connection like ours. The second you filled me up again? It felt like coming home."
"Olivia you have no idea," he said, removing his fingers and crawling back up her body, finding her lips with ease and rocking his hips against her. The hot and velvet skin of his cock made goosebumps prickle on her belly as it bobbed between them, desperate for any type of sensation.
"And," he continued after breaking their lips apart, "and… you have no idea what those words are doing to me," he muttered against the sweet spot on her neck, just below her ear.
"Should I keep going, Mr. Stabler?" She husked, her hips eagerly meeting his as he found purchase on her collar bone and began sucking the thin skin there.
"God yes," he growled, reaching down to hike a leg up over his hips and slide into her wet and waiting pussy.
"You have no idea how much I fantasized about you," she gasped, eyes and head rolling to the side as his thrusts nudged her still swollen and sensitive clit on every thrust.
"You fucking me… making love to me or waking me with your mouth on my cunt."
"Oliviaaa…"
Her name was a prayer on his lips, one of both desire for her to continue and need to hold back the seed that was building in his heavy balls and threatening to burst.
"Sometimes I'd get so sad," she admitted, "especially when I was pregnant with Emma and horny all the time. I'd lay in your sweatshirt and cry, and then I'd take out that little toy you hated so much… fuck myself until I was screaming your name and felt better."
"Nothing compared to me," he growled, lifting his head so their eyes could meet, words reminiscent of a life time ago.
"Nothing," she smirked, drawing her other leg up the backs of his, applying pressure to his ass with her feet in hopes he would take her hint.
"Keep going," he instructed, speeding up.
Her breath was ragged now, but she continued through pauses of moans and whines.
"I always pictured you when I fucked anyone else… but no one ever satisfied me the way you did… still do," she corrected.
When her eyes fell shut and her walls began to clamp down around him, he moved a large hand to her jaw, encouraging her to look at him.
"You're all I thought about," he finished for her, hiding the proud smirk of how close she already was. "Every fucking time."
"El," she warned, clenching down so hard that he had to used all of his strength to fight her walls, sending her over the edge and filling her swollen cunt with her cum, followed shortly by his.
Collapsing beside her again, she whined at the loss of contact and rolled to face him, snuggling into his muscular chest.
As she came down from her high, she felt his breathing begin to even and grow steady, the sure indication he was about to fall fast asleep.
"Hey… El?" She whispered.
"Hm?" He asked, forcing his eyes open to look down at her.
"When… when you saw Emma for the first time? Did you know? Like, aside from the fact that she looked like Liz..."
"You mean, did I know as in did I immediately feel overwhelmed with love for not just her, but Noah too? Like I did during the birth of any of my kids? Yeah… yeah I knew."
"Stop you're gonna make me cry," she whined cutely and he smiled, pulling her close again.
"Let's take a nap and then we'll get some food, okay? Can baby girl wait that long?"
"Baby girl is gonna need to cause mama is exhausted," she teased softly, making him laugh.
Just a few hours later, they'd taken a gondola ride to a small restaurant, snuggling up on the couch that was in place of chairs at their table that faced the water.
Liv wore a brightly colored sundress, sneakers, and a denim jacket she'd stolen from Lizzie, while Elliot sported jeans and a casual button up.
As she looked through the menu, Elliot couldn't help but admire her and their surroundings.
The soft glow of the now afternoon sun that bounced off the water made her absolutely shine.
Her long, tanned legs that were crossed at the knee looked good enough to eat, and he felt himself twitch at the causal way she rubbed her belly while she glanced over the menu, talking half to him and half to herself about the things she was reading- all in perfect Italian of course.
"Amore mio, smettila... sai che non ho autocontrollo."
My love, stop that you know I have no self control.
Her smooth and buttery voice broke up his thoughts, and he chuckled softly, letting his eyes fall to the table in front of him, stopping on the table number.
"Dieci," he said softly.
She looked up to him, and smiled small. "What?" She chuckled.
"Dieci," he repeated, nodding to the table number. "Always thought Ten was our lucky number."
"Oh?" She asked, setting her menu down and resting her arm along the length of his light that was closest to her.
"Mhm… 10 years apart. Knew after 10 years that I had to be with you… I had to stop lying to myself," he said with a nod. "10 reasons I came up with to leave Kathy," he said, a little more softly.
"10 times I saved your life," she added, making him laugh.
"Hey… way more than that," he smiled, hugging her a little closer. "Almost 10 kids," he teased.
Laughing softly, she nodded. "Probably 10 grandkids before the end of the next few years!"
"Ain't that the truth," he smiled.
She smiled small, and they were interrupted by their waiter, with whom they placed orders with.
They returned to a comfortable silence, enjoying the setting sun over the water and the cool air around them.
In no rush, the picked sparingly at the bread and appetizers in front of them, having requested for their main dish to come out later.
It was after thirty or so minutes of silence that Liv spoke again.
"Can I tell you something? Something I've never told anyone?"
"You can tell me anything," came the deep timber of his response.
Nestling a little further against him, she nodded slowly, smiling when he sensed the change in her body language and chose to hold her tighter.
"I uh… I didn't go to the doctors till I was about 3 months with Emma. When I had my ultrasound," Liv shrugged softly, "Jenny uh… she said that it was twins, but that one had passed and… yeah," she trailed off, pausing to collect her thoughts and lean into his lips that were against her temple.
"You know I was so stressed about being a single mother that… I guess it was a relief, until Emma came and I finally had time to think about it. Process the loss, I guess," she sighed softly. "Jen said that it was more common than people think, and that whether or not I came in right away or when I did, it probably would have happened still. Never told anyone, not even Emma, cause life just got so busy but… I still think of her," she finished in a whisper as a single tear drop rolled down her cheek.
Beside her, Elliot sniffled once, twice, and she pulled her leg up to face him when she felt his tears dampen her cheeks.
"When good things happen… she's the first one I think of. It's almost like she is sending me… us... all the good vibes and blessings. I just… have not doubt she send you home to us."
"Liv," he whispered, voice cracking as he moved his hand protectively to her belly.
"I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you…"
"Don't be sorry," he whispered, shaking his head. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."
"Don't be," she countered, tilting her head up to kiss him. "You were where you needed to be, when you needed to be there… our angel baby made sure of that."
"So we do have 10 kids," he whispered after a moment, making her giggle softly as his eyes sparkled with wonder.
"We do… and I have no doubt that, not only did she send you home, but she sent us Teddy and Finley, too. Maybe even Noah."
Exhaling a rush of tears, he moved his head to bury his face in her neck as they had a long-overdue emotional moment that lifted a silent burden from her shoulders.
He finally pulled back, wiping his eyes, when the waiter came back with food. Thanking him, he remained facing his wife, hand still in place, and whispered a soft question.
"Did you name her?"
Liv shook her head. "No… I always thought you may want to," she whispered back, tears stinging the corners of her eyes at the look of honor on his face.
"Liv…" he tried, but she silenced him with two fingers to his lips.
"She's yours too," she reminded him. "Come on… let's eat right now."
El chuckled softly and pressed his lips to the pads of her two fingers. "Finley commands?"
"She's already bossy," she said with a soft laugh that made him smile brightly.
"Already like her sisters. If I had hair it would be gray," El mused, and Liv's laughter filled the space around them.
Elliot thought long and hard over the following days about a name for their angel baby.
The pair had decided to give him until Sunday, their second to last day, when they'd be going to mass in Rome.
They'd had a fun and relaxing vacation, and this was their last big excursion before a final day in Venice on the water.
"I came up with a name," he said, smiling at her in the mirror was she walked in as he fixed his tie.
"Oh?" She asked, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "What is it?"
"Can't tell you yet," he laughed, sticking his tongue out.
"Bad boy," she scolded playfully, dropping her hands to cup him through his slacks.
"You can punish me later," he said reluctantly as he began to swell beneath her touch.
"We don't have to leave for another 30 minutes… how about I punish you now?" She asked softly, hands moving on their own accord to his belt and zipper.
"Liv," he growled, turning in a trance and watching her sink to her knees in the modest but form fitting dress she wore. "Before we go to the Vatican to possibly meet the Pope?!"
"Repent," she winked, pulling him out through just his fly and grinning devilishly as his eyes rolled back the minute she swallowed him.
"Still got it," she thought.
After mass, they stood quietly, in the sanctity of the old chapel, hand in hand, in front of a rows and rows of candles, some lit and some not.
Her eyes were closed, and she was leaned against his arm, letting him work through the emotions plaguing him and trying to suppress her guilt of not telling him sooner.
A young woman with a veil covering her head, stepped beside them, and glanced over.
"Posso pregare per te?"
Can I pray for you?
The couple looked over at the blonde with sparkling blue eyes who was now facing them, and Liv's breath caught in her throat.
"Sì," Elliot whispered in awe.
"Per cosa dovrei pregare?"
What should I pray for?
"La perdita che ci ha benedetto, quindi."
The loss that blessed us so.
Liv was answering before she could even process the words flowing from her mouth.
The pair watched as the young woman began to recite the Lord's Prayer in Latin, reaching for a match to illuminate a dark candle that was in the center of several lit ones.
"Nel nome di Gesù prego per Olivia ed Elliot. Amen," she finished, giving them a warm smile before beginning to walk away, the click of her heels echoing in against the chapel walls.
In Jesus' name I pray for Olivia and Elliot. Amen.
"Come ti chiami?" Olivia called, turning suddenly, her voice thick with emotion from the entire experience.
"Gabriella Francesca," Elliot and the mystery woman said together, before she disappeared out the heavy wooden doors.
Turning quickly back to her husband, she looked up to him with wide eyes as he intently counted the nine candles that surround the freshly lit tenth.
"I wanted to name her Gabriella Francesca," he said, proudly, breathing out a soft laugh. As he shook his head in disbelief, tears fell from his chin and he looked down at his open-mouthed wife. "Had dreams about her all week… asked for a sign today that those dreams were… true?" He laughed softly, wiping his eyes with the heel of his hand.
"Elliot," Liv breathed out in awe, melting into his embrace and smiling when he pulled back to press their heads together and look down at her belly.
"This life we live? It's a miracle," he said to her softly, and she nodded, speechless.
"Absolutely," she whispered, finally. "Absolutely."
Taking a quick photo of the candles, they walked with their arms linked out of the church.
"What was she like?" Liv asked as they made their way down the aisle. "In your dreams?"
Elliot chuckled softly. "Mo... she was like Mo."
Liv's steps faltered a bit, and El stopped short to look down at her.
"You too?" He whispered, knowingly.
"Me too," she choked out.
"So," Liv said, swinging her husbands hand as they walked along the water that night. "I guess Ten really is our lucky number."
They'd just got off the phone with their kids who were, thankfully, oblivious to their religious awakening and just excited to talk to their favorite people and share even more exciting news.
"Mom, me and Emma AND Eli are all number 10 on our teams this year! Thank isnt that so cool!" Noah had exclaimed via FaceTime.
"I told you," he chuckled, raising their hands to kiss her's, and stopping their walking so they could look up at the huge full moon.
"Where you do you think we'll be in the next ten years?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Ten years from now, or ten since you got home?" She asked, a smirk in her voice.
"Given that questions, I'd say ten since I got home," he chuckled.
"Hmm… well, in five and a half years, I think we'll be strolling down the street, Ted and Finney between us as we take them to school," she mused, closing her eyes.
He closed his too, joining in her daydream and smiling. "Meeting all the kids and grandkids at school too?" He asked.
"Oh of course," she chuckled. "And after we drop them off, me and you will walk down to that little coffee shop across from the 1-6… get breakfast and laugh about whatever insanities happened that morning."
Laughing softly, he kissed her cheek and nodded. "Then to work?"
"Hmm… maybe… or maybe for a walk in Central Park before we go home and live our best retired life?"
Her laughter filled their once quiet surroundings as he spun her quickly, holding her hips tightly in effort to balance her.
"Retire? Captain Olivia Benson Stabler? Retire??"
"Love and an insane celestial experiences will make a woman do crazy things," she giggled, stretching up on her tippy toes to kiss him.
"Love is making me wanna drag you back to our room and have my way with you," he mumbled, dropping his lips against the column of her neck.
"What are you waiting for?"
As magical as their trip was, standing back on the same ground their babies walked on every day was even more so.
Liv has just grabbed two cups of coffee when Eli, on his way to get them, called.
"Hey baby," Liv said cheerfully. "We just got our bags and some coffee so we'll be ready when you get here."
"Great," Eli said over the phone. "I'm pulling around now. Don't get too comfortable though," he said, and she finally sensed the nervousness in her son's voice.
"Eli? Everything okay?"
"Yeah… yeah just uh… Maureen is in labor," he said, stopping when Liv gasped and put the phone on speaker so Eli could hear.
"How far into it? Is she okay? We have to go right there!"
"Mama, mama, mama," came Eli's voice. "She's okay, she's 6 centimeters we have some time for her," he trailed off, and El caught what was happening.
"For her?" He questioned, Liv's eyes widening as realization hit her, too.
"Uh huh. Sarah is pushing as we speak."