A/N: I don't own any of the characters except my own.
Once Hank went home from the hospital, Olivia had taken that week off, since Pauline was watching her grandkids with Trevor's parents out of town. The week had gone pretty fast and Hank's therapy had been going well. He spent most of the day in the family room and only went upstairs at night. After lunch, Olivia had just gotten the 3 kids down for their afternoon nap. She went to join Hank in the family room and they had just started kissing when the doorbell rang.
"Damn it! It better be important."
"We'll continue this later."
She kissed Hank again and then she went to get the door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see Mike and Chief Dodds.
"Mike, Chief, what brings you here?"
"We seem to keep missing each other you when you're in New York, so we decided to visit you for a few days."
"Yeah, I know we do. Come on in."
"Thanks."
Mike and his dad came in.
"Lieutenant, this is a very nice house you have here."
"Thanks, Chief."
"I do have a name, you know. You can call me Bill."
"Then you can call me Olivia."
"Liv, how's your husband? I stopped in to visit SVU the other day and Fin said he had been shot."
"He's doing much better. Thanks. I ended up taking this week off, since our nanny is recovering from hip surgery after a car accident a month ago and my Sergeant's mother has been watching them but Lisa's in-laws are out of town this week, so her mom was already committed to watching their kids."
"I can't wait to see the kids."
"I just got them down for their afternoon naps. Hank is in the family room."
They walked to the family room.
"Look who's here."
"Hey, Mike, Chief."
"Good to see you, Hank."
"Sergeant."
"Actually, it's Lieutenant now. He passed his exam."
"That's great."
"Congratulations."
"Thanks. At least I can now spend less time in the field even after I'm cleared for full duty."
The doorbell rang again, so Olivia went to answer it. This time it was Elliot, Kathy, Eli and Olivia.
"Kathy, it's so nice to see you."
"You too."
"How's Liz?"
"She's doing better."
"Please, come in."
"Thank you. How's Hank?"
"He's doing better."
Olivia took everyone to the family room and introduced them to Mike and his dad and then the doorbell rang again. Olivia went to get the door again. This time it was Ed, Maggie, Jenna, Dickie and the boys.
"I see Fin got to you too."
"He mentioned something when I stopped into take my daughter to lunch. Jenna and Richard wanted to come see his sister."
"Well, his parents just got here."
"I think they're supposed to be heading home today."
"This is the first I have seen them. I had enough to deal with this week with Hank. Mike and his dad are here too."
"Ok."
Everyone went into the family room.
"Hi Sweetie."
"Hey, Mom. Hey, you two."
"Hi Dickie."
"Olivia, where are the kids?"
"Sleeping. I just got them down for their naps."
"Are you going to say hi to me, Son?"
"Hey, Dad."
"Dickie, how's the leg?"
"It's doing much better."
"How was London?"
"It was beautiful. We had a great time."
Jenna got out her phone and showed Kathy her pictures.
"So, Ed, did Fin tell you that Hank got the results of his Lieutenant's exam back?"
"He did not."
"He passed and had one of the highest scores."
"That's great. Congratulations."
"Thanks."
"Can I get anyone anything?"
Everyone told Olivia what they wanted and then she and Maggie went to get it.
"Jenna, these pictures are great."
"Thanks."
Olivia and Maggie came back.
"How's your eye?"
"It's better."
"What happened?"
Hank, the kids and I were in New York last week and we had gone out to dinner with Cragen and Munch. I went into the washroom and heard someone come in. When I came out, this guy was in there and must have been hiding in one of the other stalls. He had the door locked and had blocked it. He came up behind me, put his hand over my mouth and put his gun to my head. He took me into the handicapped stall and slapped me several times. He threatened to rape and kill me and he'd deal with Alex and Trevor later. I knew that Hank was really my only way out of there at that point but I defended myself because there was no way I was going to allow him to take me from my children. I kicked him, punched him and slammed him into the wall. His gun came loose from his hand and I heard someone trying to open the door. I called Fin and then I opened the door. Fin, Carisi and Ed were there. Fin told me that the guy died in custody when I saw him a week ago.
"Was this that Bradshaw thing again?"
"Yep and Bradshaw died in custody as well. I can't say I'm too upset by that. The guy in New York wanted to file charges against me but IAB there cleared me of any wrongdoing. I would have hated to see what condition that guy would have been in if Hank had gotten a hold of him."
"I've been better."
"I know you have and I really appreciate that. I think I would have been willing to make an exception for this."
"We hate to drink and run but we're going to go see Lizzie."
"Go ahead and take the SUV. We'll stay here for a while, since Pauline took the kids to the museum or something. Meet us at Trevor and Lisa's later."
"Ok. Thanks. Guys, do you want to come with us or do you want to stay here with Nana and Papa?"
"Go too."
"Ok. Give Nana and Papa a kiss."
Josh and Jordan gave Ed and Maggie a hug and a kiss and then they gave Kathy and Elliot a hug as well. Dickie and Jenna hugged both sets of parents and Eli and little Olivia before they left.
"What's Kevin up to with you two gone?"
"Actually Rafael took a few days off and so did Michelle. They bought a place in the Hamptons, so the 4 of them went there for a few days. Lucia has now moved in with them."
"He has changed so much in the time that I've been here. He used to be so uneasy with Noah and now he's Kevin's dad. He seems so excited about his daughter's birth."
"They all are. A couple more months and the baby will be here."
"Fin and Carisi are doing a great job. I just found out about Detective Rollins and Detective Carisi expecting a baby."
"I'm expecting Jenna to get pregnant before long."
"We're thinking the same thing. Has he started the adoption yet?"
"Yeah."
"Did she not list the father on the birth certificates?"
"She did not. She never told him and she doesn't want him to know about them."
"That was smart."
"El, do you want to put her down somewhere?"
"Nah. She's fine. Thanks for the offer though."
"Sure."
"Have they started looking for a place yet?"
"Yeah. They've been looking online. I've told them we'd give them money."
"Both of us will too."
"Absolutely."
"They do have money saved. We're not charging them rent to live with us. They help out where they can."
"She obviously gets paid more as a Detective than he does as a Patrolman."
"That doesn't seem to bother him."
"It never bothered Hank that I got paid more than him."
"Nope."
"Jenna has already enrolled the boys in Preschool for Fall, so that of course costs quite a bit."
"You helping with that?"
"Some of it."
"We'll be happy to help if you want us to help. Once the adoption is final, they're our grandsons too."
"Yeah, true."
"We would also like to have them come visit us in Seattle sometime. You and your family too, Liv."
"That might actually be able to be arranged. Maggie and I want to take a cruise to Alaska and I'm sure it's going to have to be when they're out of school, so maybe we could drop the boys off with you, while we go on the cruise."
"Absolutely."
"Of course this all depends on when the cruise is."
"Oh yeah, we understand."
"Olivia, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Yeah, sure. Kitchen?"
"How about the living room?"
"Sure."
Olivia kissed Hank and then she and Kathy went to the living room to talk.
"What's going on?"
"Elliot wants to get back together?"
"How do you feel?"
"I'm still in love with him but we seem to be getting along much better now that we're divorced. To complicate things even more, we've recently started sleeping together again. We've had a good relationship for Eli and Olivia since the divorce. He lives nearby, so it's not like we don't see each other all the time."
"You should talk to your kids about it. They're the ones whose opinions really matter in all this."
"What would you do?"
"I've been there before. Do you remember Brian Cassidy?"
"Yeah. If I remember right, he wasn't with SVU for very long."
"Right. Well, he and I had a one night stand 18 years ago. At the time, neither of us wanted anything out of it. I got involved with other guys and not that many years ago, he was working undercover on a case that SVU was investigating. He ended up getting shot and I realized that the feelings were still there. We were together for a while and after I was abducted and assaulted by William Lewis, we moved in together. I wanted marriage and a family but he didn't, so we parted ways not too long before Noah came into my life. Not too long after that I met Hank and started to develop feelings for him, so I was trying to figure things out there. I started getting along with Ed more than ever before and I know a lot of us not getting along was because of Elliot."
"I tried telling Elliot that he and Ed need to learn to get along if we want to be a part of our son, daughter-in-law and soon-to-be grandsons' lives. This is the best I've seen them get along in a very long time."
"Try forever. They're both very stubborn. Hank said he's willing to try with Elliot if I want him in my life again, which a part of me does."
"We had heard about Hank from Kyle but Elliot has been trying to give you some space. He does realize what he did in Hawaii was wrong and he should not have expected you to be able to forgive him right away because of the way he left things. He wants to be in your life again and he does regret a lot from the last several years."
"I can understand that. Did either of you try dating again?"
We both did a couple times. He was over with the kids and I sensed he was a bit jealous. Of course when he said he had a date, I was a little jealous."
"How does Eli feel about all this, since he's the one most directly impacted by the two of you getting back together or not? Depending on what you decide to do."
"I don't think it bothers him either way. Elliot sees them everyday anyway. He's over every night to help put Olivia to bed."
"I take it she's more of a Daddy's girl?"
"Oh, definitely!"
"Lexie is definitely a Daddy's girl. I thought she was going to have a fit when he was in the hospital. I stayed with him the first night, so Justin moved them downstairs with him and Olive. She was fine for her big brother. I was with her the other nights and she was fine. Hank came home on Monday. He can still give her a bottle. He is so good with her."
Then Maggie joined them.
"Mind if I join you? They're talking about cop stuff."
"That figures."
"I think Edward and Elliot are getting along pretty well for the most part."
"It seems like it to me. I'm really hoping they can call some kind of truce to get along for the boys anyway. Be honest, do you think Dickie and Jenna are ready for a place of their own?"
"Not really. They can live with us as long as they want. That doesn't bother me and neither does watching the boys. I'm glad they decided they wanted to go with Jenna because she doesn't see them a whole lot some days. I'm actually hoping they have a baby sooner rather than later because she'll be on desk duty and be able to be with them more. Sometimes Dickie picks up extra shifts whenever he can for more money, so neither of them are home much. It's easier to have us right there. When she was living in Ed's apartment after he moved in with me and before we moved into the townhouse, she would call or text him if she had to leave in the middle of the night for a case. Now if she has to go, she just goes. They've even talked about finding something in one of the other Boroughs, which makes it even harder if he's at work and she gets a call especially if they're already in bed."
"I know that feeling. I had a nanny for Noah and I'd have to call her at all hours of the night. There have been times when both Hank and I get calls in the middle of the night and quite often, they are connected. Luckily, we have Olive. Justin usually goes with, so then Olive has all 3 kids. Sometimes we leave them upstairs and sometimes we'll take them downstairs. They eventually want to get their own place but we keep telling them there's really no hurry. They've been trying to have another baby ever since Lexie was born, so we're hoping it happens soon. We're also kind of expecting Erin and Jay to have one before long too."
Kathy looked at her watch.
"We need to get going."
They headed back to the family room.
"Elliot, we need to go. We have to get to the airport."
"Oh yeah. We do."
Kathy took little Olivia from Elliot, so he could get up. He took her back, she put her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Don't forget, if you need any money from us for anything with them, let us know."
"Yeah, we will. Thanks."
Elliot shook hands with Ed, Hank, Mike and Chief Dodds and then he went over to Olivia.
"Take care of yourself, Liv."
"I will. You too, El. Have a safe flight."
"We will"
Elliot kissed Olivia's cheek and then Kathy and Eli hugged her before they left to head to the airport. As soon as they left, Lexie and the boys woke up from their naps. The boys were coming down just as Olivia was heading upstairs to get Lexie.
"Noah, go see who's here."
"Ok."
Noah and Daniel went into the family room.
"Uncle Mike!"
"Hey, Noah. How are you?"
"I'm good. Hi Chief Dodds."
"Hey, Noah. Good to see you."
"You too. Did you take a nap, Daddy?"
"A little bit."
"Did Josh and Jordan come too?"
"They did. They're with their mom right now."
"Ok."
Daniel climbed up on Hank's lap just as Olivia came back into the room with Lexie.
"Hey, Buddy. What's wrong?"
"Want Mama."
"Will I do?"
Daniel nodded his head and then once Olivia handed Lexie to Hank, she sat down and Daniel climbed up on her lap.
"How old is he?"
"He just turned 2 about a month ago. That was an interesting visit."
"Yeah, it was."
Lexie put her entire fist in her mouth.
"Does that taste good? Can Daddy taste it too?"
Lexie took her fist out of her mouth and gave Hank the raspberries. Olivia tried not to laugh but she couldn't help it.
"Obviously you fine this amusing."
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do."
Olivia continued laughing about it and then she leaned over to kiss Hank.
"Mike, did you want to hold her?'
"Sure."
Mike got up and took Lexie from Hank and then he sat down again. Pauline texted Maggie when they got back, so she and Ed left and went over to Trevor and Lisa's. Olivia invited Mike and his dad to dinner. They accepted the invitation and left for a while. Olivia had to figure out what they were having for dinner by the time Justin, Olive, Erin and Jay got there.
To be continued…
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