"Mom!"

They had just pulled into the driveway at Dickie's house and got out of the car when her son came running toward her. Elliot watched as she scooped him up in her arms, planting a kiss on top of his curly hair. She was destined to be a mother. He had known all along she would be wonderful at it. But seeing it happen in front of him always took his breath away. It was another thing he had missed out on...another moment in time he could never get back. He imagined her the way she was when he left, cradling a baby boy against her chest, soothing his cries with her soft voice, and his heart broke a little.

"Oh, I missed you my boy," she said as she squeezed him tight. "Did you have a good time with Dickie and Eli?" "It was THE BEST, Mom!" he exclaimed, diving into a detailed account of the weekend. "Did you have a good time with Elliot?" She smiled. "Yeah, buddy. I had a wonderful time with Elliot."

While she and Noah caught up, he nodded toward the house, letting her know he was heading inside to see his own sons. Eli was sitting on the couch watching TV. "Hey kid, did you have a good time with your brother and Noah?" Eli, turned off the TV and stood to meet his dad in the kitchen. "We did. Dickie can actually be a responsible adult when he needs to be." Eli winked at his dad, then added, "I hope you don't mind, but I told him about the ring. I didn't mention it to Noah though...didn't think it was my place." "Thank you. That's definitely something Liv will want to do," he told his son. "So...I assume she said yes?" Elliot smiled. "Yeah...yeah, she said yes."

Dickie came into the kitchen just as Liv and Noah were coming in from outside. "How was the trip?" the older Stabler son asked. He looked at his dad and nodded, a silent acknowledgment that he knew. Then he looked at Liv, "Did you have a nice time?" She smiled at him, taking in the man in front of her. Underneath the bravado and beard, he was still the same boy that had always wondered if there was anything between her and his father. It hurt back then, but she understood. And she understood now. "We did. Thank you for watching the boys. Noah said it was the best camping trip ever." Dickie glanced at her hand, then looked back into her eyes. Elliot bristled, silently praying his son wouldn't say anything, but Olivia met his gaze head on. Then Dickie smiled, a small but genuine smile. "I had fun with them, too," he responded.

"We should probably get going. I'll call you when we get home?" he said to his oldest son as Eli, Noah, and Olivia headed out to the car. "Yeah, sounds good." For a second he stood looking at his son before he walked over and pulled him into a hug. "I love you, you know that? You are a good man, Richard Stabler." Dickie hugged him back before breaking away. Nodding, he said, "Thanks dad. You better get going. Call me later."

The drive to her apartment from Dickie's place took about 30 minutes. Glancing at Elliot as he climbed into the car, she signaled to him by the look in her eyes that they might as well get this conversation started. Turning around to face both boys, she snuck a wink at Eli before turning to look at Noah. "I'm so glad you had such a good time this weekend, buddy," she started. "Me too, Mom. And I'm glad you and Elliot had a good time, too! What kind of things did you do?" She could see Elliot's smirk out of the corner of her eye. Obviously she would not be telling him about the things Elliot was thinking about. "Well, we had lunch at this little cafe near the water. Then we spent some time on the beach, just relaxing on the sand. Elliot had scheduled a boat tour around the island for us, and the captain was very nice. He told us all about the history of the island and the different buildings." "Sounds like adult stuff, but I'm glad you had fun," Noah replied with a grin, which caused Eli to giggle. Then he asked, "What was your favorite part?"

She turned to look at Elliot and he took her hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze, a silent reminder that he was there. From here on out, we do things together, she thought. "Well, my favorite part was at dinner. We had just finished our meal, when Elliot took a ring out of his pocket." She stopped, waiting for her son to catch up. His eyes remained locked on hers as she continued. "Baby, Elliot asked me to marry him." Noah sat quietly, processing what he'd just been told. He looked to Eli first. "How do you feel about it?" Eli looked up at Olivia, then at her son. "I'm happy that my dad is happy. I'll always miss my mom, but being together seems to make them better...so I'm good with it." Noah thought about that for a while, too.

The way her son silently contemplated news reminded him so much of the woman next to him. Soon, Noah turned the questions on him. "Elliot...you'll take care of her, right? And always promise to make her happy?" He wished he could turn around and look the boy in the eye, man to man. For now, he settled with meeting his stare through the rearview mirror. "You have my word, Noah. I will always put the three of you first." Another round of silence. He was taking his cues from Liv, who seemed to know that the boy was not quite done yet. She was right. "I've never had brothers or sisters before. Eli, do you think Dickie and the girls will be ok with another brother?" Elliot looked over at her and could see the pain on her face. She had given Noah a loving home and everything he had ever needed, but there were things they both wanted that until now had seemed out of their reach. Eli gently and playfully punched Noah in the shoulder, just like a big brother would. "Are you kidding? There are already five of us! What's one more? And besides, they all love you." That made Noah and Liv smile. She turned back around in her seat, satisfied that the question portion of the ride was over, but there was one more...and it hit them both like a truck.

"Hey El?" he said, sounding just like his mother. "Yeah buddy?" Noah paused for a second. "When you and mom get married...should I call you Dad?" Her eyes shot over to Elliot, who stared straight ahead at the road. Of all the questions he had thought Noah might ask him, he hadn't considered this one. He caught a glimpse of her watching him, then looked back in the rearview mirror to find Noah staring at him hopefully. "Noah, I'm fine with you calling me Elliot or El for as long as you want to. But if at any point you decide you want to call me dad...I'd be honored."

Satisfied with the answers he'd been given, Noah again looked at her. "Mom, I'm ok with it."

He pulled up in front of their apartment a few minutes later. Noah said goodbye to Eli and he and Elliot went to the trunk to get the bags. She turned to Eli. "Thank you, Eli, for being so great to Noah. And thanks for helping your dad. The ring is beautiful." "It reminded me of you," he said quietly. She turned to exit the car when he spoke again. "Wait...Olivia? Thank you." "For what?" she asked. "For not giving up on us. For making my dad so happy. He's a lot easier to live with when he's in a good mood." They both grinned at that. "And for making it ok for us to miss her." She reached out her hand, hoping he would take it. He did. "Sweetheart, I don't expect any of you to stop missing her...including your dad." Just then, Noah ran up to the door with her bag, smiling broadly. "I'll see you soon," she said to Eli before opening the door and grabbing her bag.

They walked up the stairs to her apartment. She turned the key, opening the door and handing Noah his bag. "Go on in and start unpacking, buddy. I'll be inside in a second." "Ok. Goodnight, Elliot," he said as he headed inside. She closed the door, giving them some privacy. "That went well," he said to her. She sat her bag down and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Yes it did." She pressed her ear to his chest and listened to his heart beat, just as she had done hours before in bed. "I wish I didn't have to go," he said, running his hand up and down her back gently. "Soon you won't have to," she reminded him. He nodded and turned to leave when she pulled him back toward her, pressing her lips firmly against his. "Text me when you get home?" she said as she pulled away. He brought her left hand up to his lips, kissed her ring finger, and smiled. "Of course," he said simply.

When he and Eli reached their apartment, the first thing he did was text her that they had made it safely. Then he sat down to call his children. He started with Maureen, who was happy as long as he was happy. Then he called Elizabeth, who suspected it was coming and gave him her blessing. Next was Kathleen, who was of course excited. The bond she had formed with Olivia years ago had only strengthened since Kathy's death, and he was grateful he could always count on her to be on Liv's side. Finally he called Dickie.

"Hey son. Thank you again for watching the boys this weekend."

"No problem. It was fun. How did your weekend go?"

"It went well. It was nice to get away for a day. Eli mentioned he told you about the ring."

"Yeah, he mentioned it."

"I just wanted you to know that he was the only one who knew. I...I just wanted to make sure she was in the same place before I brought it up. I didn't want to potentially upset you and your sisters just for her to say no."

"Dad, she was never going to say no. She loves you. But I understand. I'm not upset."

"Are you sure? Because as much as I love her, you and your siblings come first."

The other end of the phone got quiet. His son was thinking, and he owed it to him to let him process what was happening. Soon, he heard Dickie's voice again.

"Dad, For a long time I wondered if there was something going on between you and Olivia. Even after that weekend at the lake house, I thought maybe I had been right back then. And then one night I called Maureen, and she said that on one of the last days she visited mom, she told her to make sure you were happy. She said, 'Mom said dad had always put the six of us first, and it was time for him to put himself first for a change.' If mom gave her blessing, then so do I."

Maureen had never told him about the conversation she had had with her mother. He wiped a tear from his eye and said, "Thank you son. That means more than you know. I need to get to bed, but I'll talk to you again soon. Goodnight."

He ended the call and opened the photos on his phone. First he pulled up a picture of Kathy and him in Rome. He really had loved her, and hearing that she knew it...that she realized what he had done to prove his love for her...made his heart ache. Then he pulled up a picture from the weekend - he and Liv on Captain Russell's boat at sunset. He didn't deserve either of them. How could two women as perfect as them fall for him? Both deserved someone who could give them everything they had ever dreamed of. Instead, he felt like he had failed them both over and over again.

One thing was for certain though. He couldn't change the past, but he had some control over the future. For the rest of his days, he would make sure Olivia Benson knew she was loved.