Olivia and Mollie were released from the hospital a few days later. Elliot started an extended leave from work to be there for the both of them as they adjusted to this new chapter in life, having more than enough personal days built up. It was a rough adjustment at first; life with a newborn was exhausting for any parent but Mollie developed colic and Olivia still had lingering anxiety about being in the apartment after her abduction.

Cragen, Munch, and Fin had chipped in and had new windows installed for the ones Jerry had busted out, along with an interior camera system that could be checked from their cell phones.

Jerry had been arrested and pleaded guilty to abduction of a NYPD officer among other charges, resulting in several years in prison. Knowing he was behind bars gave Elliot and Olivia some peace of mind, knowing there was one less monster out on the streets.

They resumed their work schedules, adding a baby to their work-life balance. They hired a babysitter for help when they needed it - a lovely young woman named Lucy, who was always flexible and available at the drop of a hat. It truly does take a village and they were beyond grateful she was part of theirs. The older Stabler kids flew out to visit from where they resided in California with Kathy whenever they could and loved spending time with their youngest sibling, father, and stepmother.

It was late one autumn night a few years later when Olivia knew their world was about to change again.

She'd been working with Amanda, the new detective brought in to expand the unit, showing her the ropes of SVU the night they got the call. It was an all hands on deck kind of situation, as a prostitution ring had been busted and there were many a girl to take care of and place in a safe environment.

Amanda and Olivia were doing one last sweep of the building when they heard a muffled cry from the dresser in the room they were standing in. They glanced at each other before Olivia walked over to it and carefully opened it, revealing a brown haired, blue eyed little boy.

"Oh my God," she whispered as she lifted him out, wrapping in a thin sheet.

The little boy nuzzled himself into the crook of her neck as Amanda's mouth dropped open before the two exited the room and joined the rest of the squad outside on the lawn. Olivia wrapped her police jacket around the baby in her arms, just as she'd learned Elliot had done to Mollie when she'd been born. She swallowed back tears she felt her heartstrings be tugged on; this poor, innocent life already set up for a hard road ahead. She felt the pivotal shift in her that she'd felt when she'd first laid eyes on Mollie that handful of years ago.

In the end, they discovered the little boy's name was Noah and that he was the product of the prostitution ring. His biological mother deceased and his "father" in jail for his heinous crimes, leaving him alone and abandoned at only a few months old. It had taken all of two minutes after Judge Linden suggested that Olivia and Elliot foster the infant that they both agreed, feeling as if the final piece of their family had fallen into place. They spent months together as a family of four, enjoying every moment together.

Olivia was tucking Mollie, now four, into bed one evening; Elliot with Noah, after a long week at work.

"Mommy?" She asked as she looked at Olivia with wide, innocent, dark brown eyes. She was the spitting image of her and had Elliot wrapped around her finger since the day she was born. "Is Noah going to stay with us?"

Olivia smiled as she looked at her daughter, already beginning to show the same compassion, braveness, and fearlessness that resided in her mother. "I don't know, sweetie," she said as she tucked the covers up close to her daughter. "It's complicated. But we'd like him to. Would that be okay with you?"

Mollie nodded enthusiastically, loving having a younger brother to play with and boss around. "He's the best little brother there is!"

She smiled again before kissing her forehead. "It's pretty complicated adult stuff, but your daddy and I are going to do everything we can to make sure he does get to stay with us."

Mollie nodded repeatedly as she cuddled her favorite stuffed animal, a bear Elliot had brought her home after a work conference trip. "'Night, Mommy."

"'Night, baby. I love you."

"I love you, too!"

Olivia walked to the doorway and flipped the light to Mollie's room off. She glanced at her daughter over her shoulder once more before pulling the door closed and walking down the hallway to her own bedroom.

She slid under the covers and snuggled up beside Elliot, laying her head on his chest, grateful to be ending another day.

"Did he go down okay?" She asked as she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in as he rubbed lazy circles on her arm.

"Yeah, out like a light," he said as he smiled.

"Good." She shifted and ran her palm along his chest, toying with a few strands of hair on it. "Mollie asked if he's going to stay with us."

The circles on her arm stopped and then he spoke. "What did you say?"

She shrugged against him. "Said I'd like for him to but I didn't know. Said it was complicated adult stuff she didn't need to worry about; that we'd do everything we could to make it happen. Asked her if she would be okay with it and she said yes."

Elliot smiled and untangled himself from her embrace, sliding out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Olivia asked as she frowned.

"I'll be right back," he said as he exited the room. He returned a few moments later with a slim, wrapped package from underneath the Christmas tree. "I was going to wait," he said as he sat back down on the bed, "until Christmas Day but I can't."

She propped herself up as she took the package from him, unwrapping it carefully. She revealed a Manila envelope beneath the holiday paper and she opened it to see a stack of court documents - for the legal adoption of Noah Porter Benson-Stabler.

"Judge Linden talked to me the other day and gave me these. I said I wanted to surprise you for Christmas but I can't wait that long."

Her eyes lit up brighter than the Christmas tree in the next room as they filled with tears. "He's really going to be ours?" She asked as she flipped through the paperwork.

"Yeah, Liv, he's really going to be ours," Elliot repeated. "All we have to do is call her, sign the papers with her, and file them and he's officially ours."

Olivia threw her arms around his neck as she crawled into his lap and kissed him, tears streaming down her face. "Oh my God!" She said excitedly, "we have a son, we have another baby!"

He laughed at her excitement, tears filling his own eyes. "Merry Christmas, Liv," he said before kissing her again.

The holiday season came in a blur. They'd hosted Christmas with all of their children this year; even as the other Stabler kids grew older it never failed to make both Elliot and Olivia's hearts soar with everyone together again. They'd celebrated Noah's adoption and his first Christmas, and now it was New Year's Eve.

Mollie was still wide awake, having taken a nap earlier in the day, determined to watch the spectacle live. Even at such a young age, she was a firecracker just like her mom.

The television in the living room had the rocking new year's special on and the announcer began the countdown to midnight. Mollie shot up in Elliot's lap, her eyes glued to the screen.

"We have to be quiet," he whispered as he glanced at Olivia and Noah. "We don't want to wake Mommy or Noah up."

Mollie nodded and looked at her father as the five final seconds until the new year began.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One!

Elliot and Mollie cheered together as quietly as they could as the city erupted into celebration in front of their eyes on the TV and below them in the streets of Manhattan. He smiled as he pulled his youngest daughter closer and kissed the top of her head, watching as Olivia stirred and slowly woke up.

Mollie leapt out of Elliot's lap and yawned. "Party's over people!" She declared, putting her hands on her hips. "Time for bed."

"As you wish, Princess." He stood up and scooped her into his arms, carrying her to her bedroom as Olivia stayed on the couch with Noah. She kissed the top of his head and breathed in his scent, finally feeling calm and at peace with her life. How long she had waited for a moment like this - surrounded by her family, the people that loved her, enjoying the simplicity of just being together.

Elliot tucked Mollie into bed and had just shut the door to her bedroom when his cell phone rang. He retrieved it from his pocket and saw it was Fin calling.

"Hey, man," he said as he answered, "Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year to you, too," Fin repeated but the tone in his voice suggested that was not why he was calling.

"What's up? Everything okay?"

"Look, I don't want to ruin your night but I just wanted to give you and Liv a heads up."

"About what?" Elliot asked as he glanced in the direction of the living room.

"Jerry Craig has escaped from prison."

A/N: thanks for the love on this little tale. Your tweets, reviews, shares, etc., mean the world to me. Thank you for reading. Find me on twitter at @lssswift