A/N: I don't own any of the characters except my own.
Olivia arrived at the restaurant and didn't see anyone yet. She went in to see if anyone else was there. She told the Host that she was the first one there for their group, so he said to let them know when most of them were there. She went back outside to wait and sat down. The next person to arrive was Ed.
"Hey."
"Hey, Ed."
Ed sat down next to her.
"Did Fin invite you?"
"Yeah but he did it with a purpose. He doesn't trust Stabler around you, so he asked if I'd be here to keep an eye on you."
"Fin is always the big brother. Did you drive here?"
"Yeah."
"Can I get a ride back to the hotel? It's not that far away but Hank wants to make sure I get back safely. I allowed Lisa, Sarah and Pauline to use the SUV to go to your place. Something tells me you still don't trust Elliot either."
"I said we could be in the same room without wanting to kill each other but I never said I trusted him. Yeah, I'll take you back."
"Thanks. Hank didn't seem to be too bothered by it when I told him Elliot was going to be here. I did tell him that you were going to be here."
Fin, Amanda and Sonny arrived.
"Hey, Liv."
"Hey."
"Hey, Tucker."
"Hey."
Ed got up.
"Have a seat, Rollins."
"Thanks."
Amanda sat down next to Olivia and then Olivia rubbed Amanda's belly. Then the baby kicked.
"Sonny, the baby just kicked for Liv."
"Good."
"That was the most amazing thing about being pregnant. That's when it started to become so real. What's going on with Declan?"
"I've tried to get a hold of him but he doesn't return my calls. Sonny wants to adopt her but can't."
"How long has it been since you heard from him?"
"A few months maybe. I've lost track."
"Is he working undercover for the NYPD?"
"I'm not sure anymore."
"Let me make a few calls and see if I can find out a status. Give me a couple days."
"Take your time. Thanks, Tucker."
"No problem."
"How are things at home?"
"Fine. Hank took the kids to the Zoo and everything went ok. I'm ready for another vacation."
"Have you told him that?"
"Actually, no. I would really love to go somewhere without the kids. It's so hard to be romantic with the kids around, especially when we're on vacation."
"You'll figure something out, I'm sure."
"We always do."
Don, John and Melinda arrived. Melinda kissed Fin.
"Hey, Liv."
"Hey."
"No Lexie?"
"I had to bring too much stuff for the amount of time I'd be here, so I decided against it. She gets to spend the weekend with her daddy, her big brother and her nephew. If she was a bit older, I know who would be in charge."
Then Lucy arrived with Jesse.
"Hey."
"Hey, Lucy."
Jesse saw Olivia and reached for her, so Olivia picked her up.
"You are getting to be such a big girl. Does it seem like she's almost two?"
"Not really but she into everything. Does it seem like you have an almost 1-year old?"
"No, it really doesn't. She is such a good baby though and I'm glad I got to experience it once. I'm also glad that Hank was the one I got to experience it with."
"You're a great mom, Liv."
"Thank you, John. When are you coming for a visit? Lisa and I have been talking about celebrating the girls' birthday the weekend before their actual birthday. We just haven't talked to Hank and Trevor about it yet but they're pretty agreeable."
"I'll see what I can arrange either then or sooner."
"I'll talk to Eileen and see what is going on around that time. I would love to be there for Lexie's first birthday."
"Thanks for the warning. I'll make sure Maggie and I don't plan any trips at that time."
Elliot arrived and then they were taken to their table. They had their drink order taken and then their order was taken.
"So, is my buddy Noah looking forward to starting Preschool?"
"Sort of. It'll only be for a few hours a couple days a week. Daniel starts too."
"Wow!"
"Alyssa's mom runs the Preschool and was able to get him in. Hank and I are paying for that. Lexie will have Alyssa all to herself when her big brother and nephew are in school. That is until her nieces or nephews are born in February. Olive finally gave up on wanting to move out before the baby comes. Matt Casey is coming over to start making another room for them, so when Justin and Olive come back, they will be upstairs until it is done. Daniel is sharing a room with Noah, which they both love anyway."
"Where did Justin and Olive go?"
"They left this morning for a week in Washington DC. A buddy of his from the Army lives there, so they went to visit him and his family. They decided not to take Daniel."
They talked and then the food arrived. After everyone ate, they left and headed wherever they were going. Ed took Olivia back to the hotel and headed home. Olivia went up to the room and Sarah and Pauline were there.
"How was dinner?"
"Fine. How about you?"
"Great. We did some planning for Ed's retirement party and the trip to Ireland."
"When are you going to Ireland?"
"We leave the 8th of October for 2 weeks. Lisa had mentioned that you two were thinking about celebrating the girls' birthday the weekend before their actual, which is what we kind of thought might happen."
"Thank you for taking that into consideration. Your husband will take off that long?"
"He said he would. We'll see what happens by then. Did someone bring you back?"
"Yeah. Ed did. I should call Hank to tell him I'm back."
Olivia took her shoes off, sat down and called Hank.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself."
"How was dinner?"
"Fine. Is everyone behaving themselves?"
"Sure."
"I miss you."
"I miss you too."
"Did everyone go down ok?"
"Yep. Alexandra was a bit fussy though but she calmed down and went to sleep."
"That's unusual. It's usually when you're not home when she gets fussy."
"It's hard to say with her but I think she's getting another tooth in."
"That'll do it."
"Did someone bring you back to the hotel?"
"Yeah. Ed did."
"Good. I was hoping it wasn't going to be Stabler. I still don't trust that guy."
"I love when you get jealous."
"Oh, you do, huh?"
"Yep."
"Should I be?"
"No. My heart belongs to you and only you."
"And mine only belongs to you. You wish you were here, don't you?"
"Of course I do. I wish we could have gotten away for the weekend without the kids. I know this wouldn't have been the best weekend with Justin and Olive gone though."
"We could have had Erin and Jay stay with them. I'll figure something out, even if it means spending the weekend at a hotel."
"You're too much."
"And that's why you love me."
"It sure is."
Olivia started yawning.
"You sound tired."
"I am. It's been a long day."
"I'll let you go then."
"Ok. I love you."
"I love you too."
Olivia hung up the phone.
"You sound as bad as I did with Trevor. We didn't mean to eavesdrop."
"That's ok."
"Trevor and I could use some time away from the kids too."
"How are his brother and sister-in-law?"
"He said he talked to his mom today. She could be coming home next weekend."
"That's good. Is he surviving on his own?"
"Yeah. It sounded like it. I wish I had time to go visit Dave and Amy while I'm here."
"Maybe you could make an appearance at the party and then head out there."
"I don't even know where they live or how to get there."
"You could ask Jenna."
"True. I'll have to think about it."
"If you decide to go, I'll go with you."
"That sounds like a plan."
"We should go. We will see you two in the morning."
"Ok. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Sarah and Pauline hugged Lisa and then they went back to their room. Olivia got ready for bed and then everyone went to sleep. The next morning, everyone got up and got ready for the day. They went down for breakfast and then they just decided to stay in their rooms until they went over to the Barba's for the shower. When they arrived, they rang the doorbell. Lucia answered.
"Olivia, it is so good to see you."
"You too, Lucia."
"Pauline, Lisa and Sarah, right?"
"Yes."
"Please come in."
"Thank you."
The 4 of them walked in and Rafael came to see who it was.
"Liv!"
"Hey. This place is gorgeous."
"Thanks. Let me show you around."
Rafael hugged Olivia and then he took the 4 of them to show them around.
"This is amazing and the nursery is even more adorable in person."
"I'm glad you like it."
They went back down to the living room where Michelle was.
"Hey, ladies."
"Hey. How are you doing?"
"I'm hanging in there but I'm ready for her to be born. Thank you so much for the gifts and for coming. It means a lot to us. I also appreciate you letting Kevin stay with you. He had a great time."
"We enjoyed having him. I like the new girlfriend."
"Is she going to be here?"
"No. He went there to see her for the day, so Rafael will have to go get him later."
"Uncle Ed, where's Jenna?"
"She went to Hartford. Her grandpa fell and broke his hip, so she and Richard left for Hartford this morning. Why?"
"I was thinking about going to visit Dave and Amy while I'm out here and I wanted to know how to get there and how to find them."
"Maggie and I were going to take the boys out there to see their Great Grandma and Great Grandpa. We had dinner with her grandparents not that long ago and sorted everything out between us. Why don't you come with us?"
"Are you sure?"
"I know where Dave and Amy are anyway."
"That would be great. Thanks. Sarah is coming with though."
"No problem."
"These are my parents, Gary and Linda Douglas. This is Olivia Voight, who I replaced in SVU and Rafael's best friend. This is Maggie's sister, Pauline Anderson and Maggie's nieces, Sarah Hayes and Lisa Langan. Lisa works with Olivia in Chicago."
"Nice to meet all of you."
"You too."
"Olivia, I thought you were bringing Lexie. I really wanted to see her."
"It was a last minute decision not to. If I was going to be here more than a couple of days or if Hank was coming, I would have. There was just way too much stuff to bring for her. Hank was the one that suggested it."
"What did he have planned while you were gone?"
"Yesterday he took Lexie and the boys to the Zoo and today they were heading to the beach."
"I think Trevor was taking our brood to the beach too."
"How many kids do you have, Olivia?"
"We have 4. My husband has 2 adult children, who call me Mom. His oldest, Erin, is the result of a one night stand and he just found out a few months ago that she was his. She moved in with him and his first wife when she was 15. Her mother killed herself but they were never that close, so I am Mom to her now. Erin got married in May and she and Jay are expecting their first child around Valentine's Day. Justin decided on his own to call me Mom. He was very close to his mother, Hank's first wife but he and I hit it off from the moment we met. He and Olive have a 2-year old son, Daniel and they are expecting Baby #2 around the same time Erin and Jay are. I adopted my son, Noah, who will be 4 in a few months and Hank adopted him before I left New York to go to Chicago. We have a 9 almost 10-month old daughter, Alexandra. I'm glad I got to experience it once and that she was healthy."
"Wow! It sounds like you have your hands full."
"We do."
"What does your husband do?"
"He is also a cop. We are both Lieutenants. When I was here, I had hired a nanny and when I got the job in Chicago, Lucy, Noah's former nanny, had introduced us to a friend of hers, who is also a nanny but was looking for work at the time. We hired her and she came here to learn Noah's routine. She ended up marrying Hank's tech guy, who is our son-in-law's best friend. He's the one that helped Kevin put his presentation on something more permanent."
"That turned out great. We were really proud of him."
"Ed did a great job too. It's unusual to see you get that choked up."
"Yeah, I know."
Everyone talked for a while and then they started eating. Michelle and Rafael opened the gifts and then everyone had cake. Several hours later, Ed, Maggie, Lisa, Sarah and the boys left and headed to Hartford, while Olivia and Pauline headed back to the hotel and went out to dinner together. They ended up going to Panda Express. They ordered their food and went to sit down once they got it.
"Olivia, I really am sorry about how I overreacted to what happened to Lisa. You've become such a big part of Lisa's life and I probably would have been just as upset had it been you. I don't like seeing anyone get shot, especially since that was how my dad died."
"I understand your concern for Lisa. I really do. I constantly worry about Hank and I have Erin and Jay to worry about too. Not so much Erin right now though. Justin goes out to scenes with Hank's unit and he could get hit. He's not even a cop. I worry about both squads. There are still here people I care about. Before I had Noah, all I had was my squad. If Lisa decides to cut down on the amount of time she spends in the field once she is back on full duty, I'm fine with that. Kyle is perfectly fine with taking the lead on these cases. I told Hank that when he got promoted, I'd consider my options. I'm not ready to retire but I definitely want to cut back on the amount of time I spend in the field. Actually, he does too. Our priorities have changed since Lexie came into our lives. Hank told me that another one of his people wants to come to SVU. I guess we'll see what happens."
"I would love for Lisa to retire but she loves what she does and Trevor seems ok with her working."
"The rest of you just never wanted to work?"
"Basically. Maggie worked only because she had to and that is basically why Lisa did because they were both single parents. Mom and Dad did what they could to help Maggie out with Kevin and they at least wanted her to finish high school, which she did."
"Did Maggie ever get justice for what happened to her?"
"They guy was arrested and he was in jail awaiting trial. His father figured he was going to get off but she was a minor and he was 18, so that didn't help. He went to trial and was found guilty. He was sentenced to the maximum he could get and he was upstate somewhere. His family basically said she should have had an abortion but she wanted to keep him. She never even considered putting him up for adoption. He did not want to be legally responsible for the baby, so he gave up any rights to him, so she couldn't go after him later. She never would have anyway. It was a struggle for her being a 15-year old mother but she loved him with her entire heart. He was released on parole from prison and Dad was informed of that. He couldn't have any contact with her for I think it was 10 years. The family had moved closer to where he was anyway. It turned out, he came back to the city maybe a year after 9/11 and he and Maggie ran into each other. She wasn't sure how to react but they talked and he said he deeply regretted what he did to her. He said he had had a lot counselling in prison and also had a lot of time to think about what he had done. She told him that she could forgive him for what he had done to her but won't ever forget what he had done to her."
"Good for her. What did he say to that?"
"She never gave him time to respond. She walked off and never looked back. She later told us that she felt like there was a weight lifted off her chest. She says now that a part of her wishes she had met Ed a lot sooner."
"I wish I had met Hank a lot sooner. That's for sure."
They continued talking as they finished their dinner and then they headed to their hotel. Once they got up to their rooms, they both called their husbands, got ready for bed and looked to see what was on TV. Ed and Maggie had dropped Lisa and Sarah off around 8:15, so they could get the boys home and put to bed.
"Hey, Olivia."
"Hey. How'd it go?"
"Great. They were so happy to see me."
"That's good."
"Did you and my mom stopped for dinner?"
"Yeah. We went to Panda Express."
"I love that place."
"Did you and Sarah eat?"
"Yeah. We stopped at McDonald's, since that's what the boys wanted to do. I told Dave and Amy that the kids could come stay with us whenever they want."
"Does your brother-in-law need to have back surgery again?"
"Thankfully no. He has bad back spasms. Amy goes back to work after Labor Day and she said she should be able to go back. She's been at the school getting her room ready but the 4 kids have been helping her out. The girls have been running errands whenever they can too."
"Good."
Lisa went to get ready for bed and by the time she came back, Trevor was calling her, so she talked to him for a while. Everyone went to bed. The next morning, they got up and got ready before heading down for breakfast. They got their stuff together and then headed for the airport. They returned the rental and then headed to the terminal. They got checked in, went through security and then went to the gate. They were all anxious to get back to Chicago to their husbands.
Stay tuned for moreā¦
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