Two weeks later:
"Why is it so hot," Liv whined softly, pulling one of Elliot's old crew necks on to hide her belly.
"I mean… it's spring in New York," El laughed softly, coming up behind her in the mirror. "Take this thing off and tell them," El whispered into her ear.
"Tomorrow, after the christenings, I promise," she sighed, unsure if she would even be able to make it though the day.
"Whatever you say baby," he chuckled, kissing her and pulling back when their baby called his name.
"Love you," he whispered, winking and leaving her and her almost 5 month pregnant belly alone.
"Fuck me," she muttered, wiping the sweat from her brow and walking out of their room to greet her kiddos.
"Mom, I'm kinda sad," Noah said from his perch on the counter.
The movers had packed up half of their stuff the day before and would be arriving for the rest any minute.
"I know," she smiled, waddling over to hug him to her chest. "Buuuuut we'll be right next to Eli and Kate," she reminded him, and he broke into a grin.
"You're right… it's just we brought Teddy home here! This place is special!"
"I know," she laughed. "But we're gonna bring baby home to the new place."
He nodded, resting against her chest again before giggling. "Man I really thought I was gonna get you to crack on that," he sighed.
"You'll know when baby gets here," Liv laughed, ruffling his hair, "but nice try."
"Mama!" Teddy yelled from his high chair, making everyone turn to look at him.
He was fine, sans the pancake and syrup all over his entire face and bare chest, and just wanted her attention.
"Yes?" She asked with a raised brow and smile.
He paused for a moment, now that all eyes were on him, and crinkled his nose before reaching for her. "Mama!"
She exhaled a laugh and walked over, dropping a kiss to his mohawked hair. "You're sticky."
He giggled, reaching for her face with his maple syrup hands, and she moved away quickly before pretending to bite them, sending him into a fit of giggles.
"Baby, who did your hair this morning?" She asked, taking out her phone for a photo to send to the big kids.
"Buhbee," Teddy smiled, pointing to Liv's belly and repeating what his mom had endearingly called him.
"I diiiiid," Emma sang proudly. "Now if only Noah would let me do his."
"Nope," he said, mouthful of food. "Not gonna happen."
"Memma," Teddy said, pointing to his sister.
"Smart boy, Emma did you hair," El said, scooping him up from behind the chair. "Alright. Let's get you cleaned up and dressed okay?"
"Dada," he giggled, looking back to try and reach for his face.
Liv had snagged another photo of his messy self before Elliot picked him up, and sent it off to the family chat.
O: Baby brother is fueled up and ready for an exciting day!
M: HAIR!!!!
K: Lolololol my baby!!!! Look at him!
L: I'm stealing him.
D: I want his hair
Eli: You have nice hair
D: Scared I'm gonna bald
S: Omg it was two hairs that fell out
D: Starts with one
E: Hey!
Em: L o lllllllllll daddy has hair he just shaves it
C: Not much
B: LOL
Sam: Carl that was BRAVE
Eli: Wait does he have product in his hair?
Em: Just a little gel
N: She wants to do mine next
Eli: Yes
D: I wanna cut yours
N: Nooooooo
O: He does need a haircut…. Boys, work on that today!
N: Mooooooooooooooooooom
O: Noooooooaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh
S: Speeeaking of! Look whose hair is finally long enough for cute French braids!!!!
Sarah sent the text along with a smiling picture of AK and then one of her braids.
D: No offense to my nieces but she is the tied for first most beautiful girl in the whole world
Eli: You're biased and I understand- she is pretty damn beautiful though!!
M: Thank GOD she looks like her mommy!
D: The little one too!
K: A girl Dickie would be tragic
S: LOL
Sam: This chat is savage this morning
N: Keep your savage away from my hair
D: I'm bringing the clippers
N: Mom make him stop!
O: On your own, kid, you need a haircut
"Mooooom," Noah whined playfully, putting his phone down.
She laughed and sipped her coffee. "Just let daddy take you for a hair cut."
"Fiiiiiine," he groaned. "Daaaad."
"Noaaaaaah," El called, walking out behind a crawling Teddy.
"Dad will you take me to get my haircut after therapy Monday?"
"Yes of course," El smiled, walking over and kissing his head. "Hey? I'm proud of you."
"For getting my hair cut?" Noah asked, confused, and Elliot laughed.
"No. For talking so openly about therapy. I'm proud of you. I mean, I'm always proud of you but especially on this."
"Oh," he said, looking down and blushing. "Thanks."
"Seriously," El said, squatting down to meet his eye level.
"Thanks, dad," Noah smiled small, meeting his, shyly.
"Alright," he smiled, ruffling his hair. "Go get your shoes on."
"Okay!" He smiled, hopping down from the counter and running off.
Emma was already by the door putting Teddy's little sneakers on and Liv came from behind to hug Elliot. "I love you," she whispered, kissing his shoulder.
He turned and covered her forehead with multiple kisses. "I love you more."
"Okay, we keep him distracted all day and hopefully he just doesn't say 'baby,'" Liv instructed from the front seat when they parked outside of the new brownstone.
"Buhbee," Teddy smiled and Noah snickered while Emma rolled her eyes.
"Mama you're gonna die of heat in that shirt," she said, crossing her arms.
"I'll be inside, sitting and unpacking. I'll be fine."
"Like Olivia Benson ever stands still," Noah said, raising a brow.
Liv went to retort before laughing. "Come on, people, let's get a move on."
"Oh Teddy, look whose coming," El said with a smile just before his oldest son pulled open his youngest's side door.
Teddy gasped when he saw Dickie, and started giggling.
"Hi little man!" He smiled, unbuckling him and pulling him into his arms while Noah climbed out and ran around to hug him.
"Hi other little man!" Dickie laughed, putting a free arm around Noah. "You doing okay?"
"Yeah," he smiled small, nodding.
"Good. How about you and me get dinner this week? We haven't had a bro date in a while," he said, ruffling his mop of curls.
"Really?" He asked, his eyes lighting up.
"Yes really! It's been so crazy with Lilly added to the mix but she's finally sleeping more, so we have more time and are less exhausted."
Noah beamed and hugged his brothers waist. "That would be awesome."
"Alright," Dickie smiled, leaning over to kiss his head. "I'll coordinate with mom and dad okay?"
"Okay!" He exclaimed, bouncing off inside, followed closely by Emma after she gave Dickie a hug.
"He alright?" He asked his parents, a little nervously.
"He's… he's struggling a little still but we're working on it and," El sighed, "I think he enjoys therapy."
"Me too," Liv agreed, smiling when her baby boy laid his head against her oldest boy's chest and yawned. "He talks openly about it which is good."
"Good… feel bad I haven't been around a lot just… new baby is a lot. I knew Eli feels the same."
"You both have two kids and are busy. He knows you love him."
"I know," Dickie said, scrubbing his face and looking so much like his dad. "Just wanna be there for him more. Don't wanna regress."
"That boy thinks the world of you, don't worry," Liv said earnestly, rubbing his arm. "And we do too."
"Thanks momma," he smiled small, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
"You think anymore about inviting Kath tomorrow?" El asked his son cautiously.
It had been a point of contention in family therapy and amongst the siblings, and they'd fully left it up to Dickie to decide.
"I don't know… I thought maybe at least to Mass… don't know," he sighed. "Carl said I should decide by this afternoon so he can text her."
"You should," Liv nodded, rubbing his arm. "Just think on it a little longer and go with your gut, okay? Dad and I support you all regardless."
"I don't know what I'd do without ya, mom," he sighed, rubbing Teddy's back as he drifted off.
"Be a grumpy Stabler man with your dad and brother," she teased, and he laughed as Elliot held his chest in mock offense.
"You're probably right," he laughed, heading inside with them. "Do you want me to get him down for nap?" He asked once they got through the door.
No sooner had he asked did Anna Kate see Teddy and gasp, jumping up. "Tedddeeeee!!!!"
"Well that answers that," Liv laughed, watching Teddy sit up quickly and shoot a big grin to his best friend before trying to slide down his brother.
"He's gonna sleep good tonight," El mused. "Alright, boys," he called. "Movers are here."
Liv and Sarah got the pair settled in a little play area in the living room with Joey and EJ in their bumbos watching and smiling.
"Mom aren't you hot in that," Mo laughed, pulling at her sweatshirt and kissing her cheek.
"Yes but," she sighed, looking around to make sure no one was listening. "Tomorrow."
"Mommmmmm," Mo whined playfully, as little Livy fell milk drunk asleep against her.
"Shhhh," she hushed with a small smile. "You talk to your brother?"
"Yes," she rolled her eyes, "He's being so annoying about it."
"Daddy and I told him to make a decision by lunch."
"Good idea," she nodded, patting Livy's back gently.
"Alright," Liv sighed, wiping her brow. "Let's get this place unpacked."
Teddy was so distracted all morning, playing with his best friends and all of his toys, that he hadn't been talking much or focused on his buhbee.
Liv had been anxiously waiting for the shoe to drop, and it did when everyone joined in the living room for lunch and Dickie said the magic word.
"Come on, baby, time to eat," he said, holding his hand out to Anna Kate.
"Oh no," Noah whispered to Emma, freezing dramatically in his tracks as Teddy turned around quickly from where he was in El's arms and laughed.
"Buhbee!" He exclaimed proudly.
Dickie froze, too, before breaking into a huge smile. "Did you just say baby??" He exclaimed, and Teddy giggled, tossing his whole body at his brother when he got close enough.
"Buhbee," he said again proudly, nose crinkled like his mommy's.
El's eyes were on Olivia, who suddenly looked relaxed and had a smile on her face.
Noah could barely contain himself as he watched her set her plate down and call for Teddy's attention.
"Teddy…" she cooed sweetly, and he turned back to look at her with a grin. "Teddy, where is baby?"
Crinkling his nose, he pointed one short and chubby arm right to his mom's belly while the other held tight around his brother's neck. "Mama. Buhbee," he said through a nose crinkle.
Everyone went silent and wide eyed, breaths held while Teddy, nearly one and fully oblivious, continued chattering away in sync with his pointing.
"Dadaaa, Nooooo nooo, Memma," he listed in a sing song voice as he looked around the room. "Djaaay, Doeeeee," he said with a crinkle of his nose. "Mama, buhbee," he finished proudly.
Dumbfounded, Dickie let him slide down and watched as he power crawled over to Liv who lifted him to sit on the back of the couch, just about eye level with her belly.
"Buhbee," he smiled, laying his head against her belly as all the kids began to laugh gleefully.
"That's right," Liv said with a smile, acting completely normal. "You're gonna be a big brother huh?" She asked softly, looking down at his crinkled and thrilled face, giggling right along with his siblings.
"I knew it!!!!" Liz finally cried.
"We all did," Dickie laughed, making the first move over to hug his mom and baby brother.
"This is amazing," Katie said, already in tears and wrapping her arms around them from the other side.
"How far along are you?! Is it a boy or is a girl? We have to shop!!!!" Liz cried, pulling Peter up while Mo and Carl laughed.
Sarah turned towards them, pointing. "You knew!!"
"Of course they knew!" Beau laughed, moving to shake Elliot's hand.
"Finally can take this sweatshirt off," Liv laughed softly once the kids pulled back. "I'm on fire," she laughed, pulling it over her head to reveal a camisole and her already massive-feeling belly.
"So!!!!" Liz cried impatiently, pointing to her belly.
"We know but it's gonna be surprise for all of you," El winked, wrapping his arms around Liv from behind and whispering a quick "proud of you" into her ear.
"No, no, no! No. You can't do that!" She claimed, exasperatedly. "You can't do that, cause what will it wear? What about its room!"
"Neutral and we have plenty of clothes between all the grandkids," Liv smiled.
"What matters is that baby is healthy, mom is healthy, and everything is fine," El said with a smile, putting his hand on Liv's lower back and kissing her temple. "We're just thankful for this miracle."
"Does baby at least have a name??" Liz asked, making her way over to hug her mom and hold her belly.
Liv laughed and wrapped her free around around her oldest youngest, looking to El.
"I think we can give them that?" He asked and Liv smiled, nodding. "Finley is very healthy and growing just like they should."
The room exploded into enthusiastic chatter again, and Liz hugged Olivia even tighter. "Congratulations… this is the best news!"
"Thank you baby," she smiled, handing Teddy back to El so she could properly hug her daughter.
She did so tightly, and Liz melted into her embrace and laughed when Dickie joined them.
"Thanks for not giving up on your black sheep," he whispered.
"You guys are my first babies," she said, pulling back to look between them.
Suddenly they were no longer 28 years old with significant others and kids and successful careers, they were four again, hanging all over her at the precinct.
"I'll never give up on you," she whispered through misty eyes. "Ever."
Dickie blinked quickly and hugged her again, burying his head in her shoulder while Liz did the same on the other.
"Wait so is Finley after uncle Fin?" Noah asked, always knowing when to provide a moment's levity.
"Yeah we liked it better than Ofadin," El cracked and Noah giggled.
"Did you tell him yet?!"
"No but I guess we should tonight when you guys make your sacraments," he laughed and Liv nodded.
"Guess we should."
Noah and Emma received their sacraments later that night, officially becoming Catholic to an emotional Elliot's joy and pride.
Just the siblings came, plus the work family, choosing to leave their spouses at home with the kids so they could have a family moment to celebrate the youngsters.
"So everyone knows I take it?" Carisi smiled, pointing Liv's belly.
"Yes," Noah answered. "Wait do you guys know if it's a boy or a girl?"
Everyone laughed and he shook his head. "Nope! They're keeping that a secret."
"Same here buuut," he said, looking to his dad for approval before grinning. "We know the name!"
"Oh yeah?" Fin asked, crossing his arms and looking expectantly at his old friends.
"Finley," Elliot said with a smile as emotion flooded Liv and Fin's eyes immediately.
"Oh man," Amanda laughed softly, patting Fin's back while Phoebe hugged him. "You made a grown man cry."
"Guys I uh..." he couldn't get the words out, and tears just fell down his face as he embraced Olivia and the best friends exchanged a moment.
"So you didn't like Odafin?" He asked when he pulled back, sending everyone into a roaring fit of laughter.
Once everything had finished and the work family had gone, Dickie came up behind Liv and put his arm around her. "Okay if Liz and I drove you home?" He asked softly.
"Of course," she said, looking up to him. "Is everything okay?"
"It's okay," he promised with a nod, rubbing her arm. "Just wanted a minute with you."
"Of course, honey," she nodded.
They all said their goodbyes, Elliot taking the kids, Eli, and Kate, and Liv followed the twins to Dickie's car.
"Guys… it's okay if she comes tomorrow," Liv said carefully once they'd both gotten in.
"I told Carl no… but…" Dickie began slowly.
With a gentle hand and loving smile, Liv stopped him.
"Invite her. You know," she said slowly, "I've grown super confident in my relationships with all of you… there's room for both of us, if that's what you two want eventually. I never want to do to you guys what she did. You've gotta start this healing process somehow."
"We don't want you to be upset," Liz said with rare vulnerability. "Especially now…" she said, eyes dropping to her belly.
Liv chuckled, placing a hand on top of her growing bump. "Truth?" She asked, lips curled up into a smile that the twins matched.
"Truth," Dickie agreed.
"I really wanna see her face when she sees I'm pregnant again," Liv said, unable to get the sentence out before the car was overtaken with laughter.
"I love you, mom," Lizzie said through her laughter, reaching up from the back to hug her.
"Seriously," Dickie grinned, taking her hand.
"I love you guys… be as confident in my love for you as I am in yours for me. I'm your mom, for better or worse. I'll never forsake you," she smiled, looking between them. "You're stuck with me."
"I'll take it," Dickie husked out, clearing the emotion from his throat.
"Dickie insult me, there's been so much kindness tonight," Liz teased, wiping her eyes as they all began to laugh again and Dickie drove off.
"Ohhhhhhh my gosh," Maureen exclaimed as her parents walked up to the older siblings who were waiting in the church courtyard the following morning.
Teddy grinned, waving excitedly to his big sister. He and EJ were in matching outfits: little white satin shorts with suspenders over a matching white button up and suspenders. Both had page boy hats and were wearing crosses that matched all of the other Stabler men's.
"Mo Mo Mo," he whispered, reaching over for her.
"Hi sweetie," she chuckled, kissing his nose. "So handsome!"
El and Noah were matching in their navy suits, ties, and brown shoes, and Liv and Emma both were flowery and flowy dresses.
Liv's bump was evident and she subconsciously held onto it as she fawned all over her name sake, the only baby currently awake.
The girls were all in similar satin and lace dresses with matching crosses and bonnets.
She was just about to take Livy when her oldest granddaughter came running ahead of her mom in a white dress of her own.
"Caaaaap," she called excitedly, and Liv turned with a big smile, scooping AK up.
"Hi baby…. Oh you look so beautiful," she said, leaning back to admire her dress and taking note of the cross from Kathy around her neck.
"Cap havin baby wike mama?" She asked, oblivious to the enormity of the step her father had taken and focused on the belly her leg was wrapped around.
"Caps having a baby like mama, yes… are you excited?"
"Yeah!!" She squealed, putting her hand on it and leaning in to kiss Liv's cheek.
"Wove yew cap."
"Love you more princess," she smiled, kissing her cheek several times before setting her down when she noticed Kathy approaching from behind the kids.
They all took note of their mom's face, bracing themselves and turning to face Kathy.
"Hi," the blonde said softly as the Stabler brood took note of the tall, graying man behind her.
El opened his mouth to speak, but Anna Kate beat him to it.
"Hi!" She said excitedly.
The SVU Captain in Olivia held her hand to her heart, nervously, and Dickie, feeling the same way, knelt down to AK's level.
"Baby… remember we wait for adults to talk to people we don't know first okay?" He whispered, and she nodded, leaning into him.
"Soweee daddy," she said shyly.
"It's okay," he paused, kissing her head to steady himself. "Baby, this is Kathy. Can you introduce yourself?"
His eyes were on her, refusing to look up at his birth mother.
AK perked up again and grinned. "Hi! I AKay," she smiled, waving.
"Hi AK," Kathy said, emotion in her voice and tears in her eyes. She dropped down to her level and blinked away the tears. "It's so nice to meet you," she whispered, as her eyes fell down to the cross on her chest. "I love your necklace," she added.
"Tanks! My daddy," she smiled proudly, swinging her dress and then holding out her arm to show the small bracelet Sarah's brother, her godfather, got for her. "My Bandon," she smiled, pointing up to him as he, his wife, and his parents stood beside Liv and Elliot and watched the interaction nervously.
"It's beautiful, too," Kathy said, discreetly wiping her eyes.
"Tanks!" Anna Kate sighed happily before turning to Dickie and noticing the tears in his eyes.
"Daddy? Tay?" She asked, putting her hands on his beard and squeezing his cheeks.
Her sweetness broke his hard stare and he laughed softly. "I'm okay," he promised, scooping her up and standing tall, chest puffed and looking just like his father.
"I'm Dickie," he said to the man behind her, holding his hand out.
"It's nice to meet you, Dickie. I'm Paul," the man said with a smile, extending his hand to shake his.
"Good to meet you," he said with a nod, choosing to not ask any further questions in the moment. "This is my daughter, Anna Kate, my baby daughter Lilly," he pointed to the carrier where she was nestled, asleep, "and my fiancé Sarah."
"Pleasure to meet you all," he said with a small smile.
"Uh the rest of them, I'll go fast cause we gotta get inside so try to keep up," he laughed dryly before pointing everyone out and going through their names.
"And then this is the youngest sibling, Teddy, for about…" he paused pointing to Teddy and looking to Liv.
"About 4 more months," she said, hand on her belly.
"Bubbee," Teddy said proudly, pointing at Liv's belly.
"Wow," Kathy whispered, finally noticing the bump.
"That's wonderful, congratulations," Paul said, placing a calming hand on Kathy's back.
"And then yeah these are our parents, Olivia and Elliot," Dickie finished as the pair stepped up to shake Paul's hand.
"Pleasure to meet you guys," he smiled. "Thank you so much for having us."
"Course," El nodded, giving Kathy a warning look that made her nod slowly.
"Thank you… seriously," she said slowly.
"We support our kids in all their decisions," Liv said, loud enough just for the blonde to hear.
"Let's get in there, shall we?" El said, breaking the tension and long stare between the pair.
"Daaaada," Teddy called, reaching for him.
"Coming buddy," he chuckled, and they all headed inside.
Everyone met outside for professional family photos, leaving Kathy out of all of them until Liv, ever gracious, spoke up.
"Kathy, why don't you and Paul join us for a group photo."
"I… no I… I don't want to intrude," she stammered, but Liv shook her head. "Come on."
Looking up to Paul, who gave an encouraging smile and nod, the pair joined for a final group photo.
When it was done and they dispersed, the kids watched Liv look up to Elliot, who nodded and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
Teddy was knocking out against his chest, face squished and hat starting to fall off.
"Kath," El said carefully. "How about you join us for Easter lunch at ours."
She glanced around at all the kids, who nodded encouragingly with a hint of hopefulness.
"I… I don't want to intrude. You guys have been so kind letting me come today," she said genuinely, looking between her kids and their parents.
"Oh just come," Noah said. "Mom made me peel like 90 pounds of potatoes last night," he whined playfully. "We have enough food to feed an army."
"Well we literally are an army so," Emma deadpanned and Noah laughed, nudging her.
"Oh wait Kathy we also have ham and turkey! Cause daddy likes turkey but I like ham so mom just made both cause she didn't wanna listen to us."
"Well I think that's decided," Eli spoke up, offering a small smile that his older siblings echoed.
"That's… this is very kind of you. You're sure we can't bring anything?" She asked softly.
"Just yourselves," Liv smiled small, rubbing her belly.
"I also made an apple pie," Emma added as they all walked to the car.
"And I made cookies," Noah bounced up and down.
"We just moved into our new place yesterday," Liv said to Kathy and Paul. "Carl can text you the address, but just fair warning it's a little messy."
"It's not messy at all," Katie piped up laughed. "It's perfect."
"Uhhhh my rooms a little messy," Noah admitted, wincing
El laughed. "Let's make sure that it's cleaned before we give a tour then, huh?" He asked his boy who nodded and smiled.
In the car, the older kid's chat with their parents started to explode.
L: Mom, we love you so much.
D: Agreed. Thank you momma
M: You're the best ever
K: We are SO lucky. Thank you so much momma. You've made this entire thing so much easier.
D: You always know what we need.
M: Seriously!
L: That's cause she's a real mom. Nothing and no one will ever change how important you are to us mom!!!
K: We love you!
D: The most
M: Like the most the most
L: Even more than the most
Liv finally read the messages when she went upstairs to change, allowing herself to become a little emotional about how much her kids loved her.
She was wiping her eyes, wearing a less formal dress that hugged her curves and belly just right, when Elliot walked in and wrapped her into a big hug.
She allowed herself to break down against his chest, sucking in several stuttered breaths while he soothed her and rubbed her back slowly.
"You're so strong," he remarked. "No one loves you more than our kids, 'cept me."
Laughing softly, she sniffled and pulled back to wipe her eyes. "Just want them to be happy."
"They are. We all are, and we owe that to you," he whispered, cupping her cheeks and pecking her lips repeatedly.
It was her that deepened the kiss and let her hands fall to his ass first, squeezing the firm muscle there and pulling him flush to her body.
"We should get back downstairs," she whispered breathlessly, when she came to her senses and pulled back.
"Orrrr," he smirked, inching the soft material of her dress up slowly. "You let me fuck you really quickly while she sits in our living room."
"Dirty," she scolded, backing herself into the wall. With a quick wink, she turned and braced herself against it, wiggling her ass a little while he stalked up behind her.
"Just the way you like it," he winked, and she giggled.
Teddy, who was now changed with styled hair, was carefully playing on the floor with EJ and Joey.
The older siblings has gone home to change and feed the infants and would be arriving back within the hour. Eli and Sam, however, made quick work of their changing and come over in an effort to show Kathy some mercy.
Eli was laying on the floor with the twins and Teddy when Liv and El came down.
Their faces were flushed and Elliot's cum dripped deliciously from her still aching pussy.
"He's gonna be a good big brother," Kathy smiled small, nodding to Teddy who was mimicking Eli's position and gentleness with the twins.
"Well, he's got some good examples," Liv smiled small, winking at her boy and sitting on the couch beside Sam and Emma.
"Mama," he said with a little pout, reaching up for her.
"Well come here," she chuckled, holding her arms out. "Your nap schedule is all messed up this weekend, I know," she cooed as he sat up with a pout and reached for her.
"Mamaaaa…."
"Come on," she repeated, but not before giving Noah and Emma a look that made everyone laugh. Noah playfully escaped upstairs while Teddy pouted harder.
Eli helped Teddy stand on wobbly legs, and he stood still for a minute before dropping back down and power crawling to Liv who picked him up.
"He would probably be walking by now if he wasn't the littlest sibling," Liv explained and Paul chuckled.
"My youngest did that, too," he smiled small.
"You've got kids?" Eli asked, looking up.
"Uh…" he said slowly. "Had… there was an accident but… anyways," he cleared his throat and shook his head. "That was a long time ago."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Eli frowned, sitting up, and Paul watched as his son's eyes followed his every move intently.
"How did you meet Kathy," Sam asked, trying to change the subject.
"Uh…" Kathy said slowly. "A uh… trauma support group. For people who… yeah."
Eli furrowed his brows, opening his mouth only to be cut off by Paul's hand.
"No one was more angry than me when I found out," he promised, and Kathy nodded quickly. "I lost my three children and she walked away from her five. We exchanged a lot of words but then… then we stopped arguing and started talking. About our lives and our own traumas. Why I wasn't the best father before I lost the kids and why she wasn't the best mother and did what she did."
The room was silent, save for Teddy's tiny snores, and Kathy finally spoke.
"Yeah… he… encouraged me a lot through this. To uh… to respect Maureen's wishes and all of that so…"
Eli softened and nodded slowly, his eyes catching his son's big smile on the downward motion of his nod.
"He loves you," Paul commented with a smile.
"Yeah…" Eli chuckled, lifting up EJ and snuggling him a little tighter. "Yeah, I love him more."
"Thank you for sharing that, Paul," Elliot said, handing him over a glass of water.
"Thank you for inviting me into your home and for giving her a second chance."
"We all need a little grace," Liv said softly, making eye contact with Kathy.
"Keep this… to yourself," Eli said slowly, "Dickie he… he's having a good day. The girls too."
"Of course," Kathy nodded quickly. "Maybe… I would love to get lunch with them one on one sometime…"
"Don't push it okay?" He said, harsher than he intended before rushing out an apology. "I'm sorry I didn't…"
"It's okay, Eli," Kathy smiled sadly. "Taking it day by day."
"All you can do sometimes," Liv offered before their front door opened and AK's sing song voice filled the apartment.
"Paaaapaaaaa! Caaaap! Teeeeeddddeeeeeeee!"
"Oh no," Emma mused as Teddy sat up straight, suddenly wide awake and Noah came bursting down the stairs, scooping her up.
"Noaaaah," she squealed, hanging onto him for dear life and giggling hysterically.
"No no!" Teddy called, holding his arms out excitedly for him.
Noah scooped him up in his other arm and danced back and forth with them as they squealed and giggled while the townhouse filled with the voices of their grown children.
"Momma," Dickie called, forgetting Kathy was there and walking in with his hands on his stomach. "I'm starving!"
"Me too!" Noah called, breaking the awkwardness and making everyone laugh.
"What else is new!" El exclaimed. "Come on people let's eat!"
The rest of the day was peaceful and fun, a pleasant surprise from what they'd expected. Everyone stayed until 5 or 6, and the kids went to bed by 7:30, exhausted from the weekends activities.
Liv and El laid in bed, chatting quietly while Elliot massages her swollen feet and ankles.
"So sensitive," he whispered, finally, when she had to stop talking to moan.
"Everything is," she exhaled, laughing softly.
"I'm still so turned on from earlier," he admitted.
"Hmm... I know I can feel you," she chuckled, using her free foot to massage his obviously hard cock.
He was just making a move to climb up between her legs when Noah's sobbing cries and screams echoed through the halls of the new family home.