Disclaimer: Law & Order SVU/OC and its characters don't belong to me. This story has been written for fun only, not for money.

Spoilers: SVU S23 + OC S2

Summary: Elliot goes to Liv's squad gathering at her house.

Feedback: I always love to have feedbacks on my work so I can improve my writing. Any advice, constructive comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Notes: I would say this is set in late SVU S23 / OC S2. As we saw in BTS, Elliot will met Noah on Mother's Day. This story takes place a few weeks after that. For those of you who saw the footage, you'll recognize a line in there...for others, you can easily read without having seen the BTS content!
Will be a few chapters.

Enjoy and please review!

Dinner at Benson's

By musical-Aven

They were wrapping up a 6-week long case, and Olivia had only one meeting to go before the start of the weekend. Fin was briefing her with the last details before she left for 1PP.

"We're still on for tonight?" she asked, closing her computer and rising behind her desk.

"Of course. Phoebe and I will be there at 6pm. Should we bring anything?"

Olivia had extended an invitation for a dinner at her house. The whole squad was going to be there. Amanda was going to bring the girls so that they could play with Noah. It had been a rough few months into the new year and Olivia just wanted to gather everybody for some down time.

"No, I've got everything, thanks."

Fin turned to exit her office.

"Fin…" she hesitated, and he saw it immediately.

"What is it?"

She seemed shy, about to admit something to him.

"I…I invited Stabler." She said quickly, as if she was ripping a bandaid. "I hope that's okay..?"

Fin smiled.

"It's your party, you invite the people you want, Liv." He said reassuringly.

"I know it's just…"she looked to her squad through the glass window.

"They'll be fine with it. It'll be a great way to mix the old and the new squad. Don't worry about it."

Olivia exhaled.

"I'm glad you and Stabler are working it out."

"Yeah…we're talking more now and trying to find that balance, you know how it is..."

"Actually, I really don't. Yours and Stabler's relationship has always been too complicated for me to follow." He joked.

She let out a laugh.

"See you tonight, Captain."

"Thanks. See you tonight."

The party was well underway when Olivia heard two soft knocks at her door. Her heart skipped a beat as she went to answer.

When she opened the door, the noise of the party faded as she looked at Elliot Stabler standing in her doorway. Even though she had mentioned it was casual, he was in a 3-piece Italian suit, looking as handsome as ever. She stared a bit too long and his grin told her he noticed.

"Hi." She found her voice.

"Hi." He smiled back. "Sorry I'm late, my meeting ran longer than expected. I came straight from here." He explained his attire. Not that she minded at all.

"No worries. Dinner should be ready in 30 minutes or so." She stood aside letting him enter her apartment.

"Here." He raised a bottle of red wine.

"Thanks."

He removed the scarf he had around his neck and put it on the coat hanger with everyone else's. Olivia stood close to him, a bit nervous. Elliot sensed it and took a breath, looking past her to her guests.

"Nice party." He tried to settle both of their nerves.

"You know pretty much everyone…" she reassured him.

They looked at each other, knowing this was going to be a bit awkward for him, re-entering her life. They were still on shaky grounds in their friendship, but this was a great way to try and find their balance again.

"Thanks for inviting me. It means a lot." He said softly.

She smiled and led him to the crowd.

They took a few steps but were almost run over by the three kids running around the living room.

"Guys, I said please don't run. I don't want you to get hurt." Olivia got into mom-mode.

Elliot stopped behind her, smiling at the scene. Noah looked up and registered his presence.

"Hi Elliot!" he said out of breath from his playing.

"Hey buddy, nice to see you again." Elliot looked genuinely happy to be in Noah's presence once more.

"You too!" Noah noticed his attire. "Nice suit! Do you dress yourself?"

Stabler laughed, both surprised at the 9-year-old sharp sense of humour but glad their first encounter was fresh on his mind.

"Noah…" Olivia started.

Elliot touched her arm.

"Nah it's okay. It's been a while since a got Benson-burned. I do dress myself, Noah. Not bad, right?"

Noah giggled and went back to his friends. Olivia turned to him.

"What? You didn't seem to disagree when you opened the door." He knew it was risky but couldn't resist teasing her about it.

Her eyes were wide, her cheeks reddened, and she laughed to cover it all up.

"Hey Stabler!" Fin was the first to greet him, and the nerves went away.