AN: So yet again twitter has (rightfully) gone bat shit crazy and since I spend all my time either on there or on here, I'm posting this and getting to work on finally writing Chapter 7 so I can stay ahead of myself :) If you haven't already, check out my new fic Hold On. It started off as a oneshot but it looks like there might be a second part coming.

As always, I own absolutely nothing, let me know what you think!

~X~

To say she was nervous was an understatement. No matter how many times Elliot assured her that his kids loved her and their sister already and all would be fine, there was still a part of her that was ready to bolt at a moment's notice. She wasn't even on call and Elliot knew it so there would be no being saved by the bell. She had been stressing over this afternoon since the plans had been loosely made almost a month ago, getting six busy adults in one place at the same time was more of a challenge than they'd expected.

She was sitting in the coffee shop nursing Grace and staring out at the February sunshine when she heard it. Elliot's distinctive laugh. She turned her attention to the door just as Grace finished eating and quickly covered herself up. She had no problems with feeding her baby but she didn't want to expose herself to Elliot's kids if she could avoid it.

"Olivia!" The excitement in Maureen's voice made her smile and eased her nerves a little as the group reached her and she stood to greet them. She beamed as the girls fawned over Grace, exclaiming how beautiful she is and how like both she and Elliot the baby looks.

When the girls had moved to sit around the table she turned to Dickie and raised an eyebrow at him. "You too old for me to give you a hug now?" She smiled again when he shook his head and gave her a hug, careful not to squash his baby sister.

Elliot took the order for the table and disappeared to collect their coffees at the same time as Olivia handed Grace over to Maureen. She took the time alone with the kids to ask them if they really wanted to be there or if they were just trying to make their dad happy. She fought back tears when all four of them told her that they really did want to see her again and to meet their new baby sister. Even Dickie was happy to see her, something she hadn't expected after he'd accused her of sleeping with Elliot one of the last times she had seen him. He apologized profusely and Olivia brushed it off with a laugh as Elliot returned with a full tray.

Watching her baby scrutinizing her older siblings made Olivia's heart feel like it was going to burst. She spent time staring at each of the kids, taking in their faces and grabbing for the girls' hair and necklaces. Dickie took over for Maureen to let her drink her coffee and Olivia jumped in surprise when Elliot let one of his hands fall to rest across her shoulders, pulling her into him slightly. He must've caught fleeting moment of panic and was quick to reassure her by placing a quick kiss to her hair. She was starting to get used to Elliot showing affection for her, and any other time she'd have returned it, but she hadn't seen his kids in god knows how long and she didn't want to freak them out right from the start.

"You don't have to looks so scared, Liv."

It was Kathleen who had voiced the thoughts of all four Stabler children. Olivia's eyes snapped to the young blonde's but when she opened her mouth to reply, she found herself unable to form a coherent sentence.

"She's right. We know he's in love with you. We've known how dad feels about you for years, even way before he retired. You didn't see the way his face would light up when he spoke about you, or how he'd look at you when your back was turned. You've done so much for us, Liv. Occasionally, more than Mom did. And even though you guys aren't properly together yet, you've made Dad so happy. We weren't surprised when he and Mom split up. Actually it was a bit of a relief." Maureen admitted. "It was a long time coming, and then when we found out about Grace it was like it was always meant to happen. I'm not saying you guys have to jump head first into a relationship, but you don't have to freeze when he touches you in front of us."

Olivia let out a small laugh of relief and smiled at the group in front of her. She couldn't believe how grown up they all were, how level headed they were. For the most part anyway. Now they were basically giving her permission to date their father. Elliot was sitting next to her with a shit-eating grin on his face, sending her a silent 'I told you so'. She thanked her kids for their acceptance and let her hand rest on Elliot's knee, looking at him as she spoke up.

"It means so much to me that you guys have said that. And you probably already know, but I feel the same way about him. It may not have been the most conventional start to our relationship, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to see where it goes. I'm glad you guys are so in love with Gracie, I can see she loves you guys, too."

She gave Elliot's knee a squeeze and he smiled lovingly back at her before he winked at his children and formally asked her out on a date. She couldn't help but laugh as she accepted. At this point, an actual date would be a formality more than anything else. She'd been spending more and more time at Elliot's apartment, staying over because they craved each other's company rather than out of convenience. They already had a baby together for Christ's sake. Now all that was left to do was introduce Eli. They had agreed that while Elliot and Kathy were on relatively good terms, it would be best if she and Eli met Grace while Olivia was at work once day. It would let Kathy get out any residual anger over the end of her marriage and Eli's awkward questions would be answered by his parents. Once that was out of the way, he'd meet Olivia properly for the first time since he was a toddler.

The conversation flowed easily for the rest of the afternoon until it was approaching dinner time. The kids said their goodbyes and promised to keep in touch and visit often, leaving Elliot to walk Olivia home. They lingered outside her building, reluctant to part after such a good afternoon, but in the end, they were reminded by the temperature that it was still only February. So Olivia kissed him and hurried inside to warm up. When she reached her apartment she blinked the lights and then moved to the window just in time to see him turn and hail a cab to head home.

She couldn't wait for her date with Elliot. The reassurance that his kids were in fact very much on board made her heart swell. She'd known them since they were just kids and to see them so grown up, mature and willing to accept her and her daughter into their family and their lives was more than she ever could have wished for.

She sighed and looked at the clock. It was too early to feed Grace just yet, and she'd snacked enough at the coffee shop that she wasn't all that hungry now. She moved away from the window and lifted Grace from her stroller. She took off the pink jacket, the hat and mittens and shoes before she placed the baby on her play mat on the floor in front of the couch. The coffee table was long relocated, it was easier for her to relax on the couch and watch TV while also keeping an eye of Grace if she was right in her line of sight. She turned on the TV and flipped to the movie channel, smiling at Grace's playful kicking as she let her mind wander back over the happy conversations of the afternoon.

~X~

Olivia dropped her pen onto her desk and rubbed her eyes. She'd been reading the same sentence for five minutes and she still didn't know what it said. She looked up across her desk and saw that Nick seemed to be sharing her struggle. It was barely two in the afternoon but the day had been mind-numbingly slow. It was great for the mountains of paperwork they had to complete but she couldn't say the same for her sanity. Even the squadroom seemed abnormally empty. Rollins was taking some personal time to deal with the aftermath of her sister's whirlwind visit, Munch and Fin were in court all day, and Cragen had been holed up in his office, probably just as bored as she and Nick were.

She made Nick jump when she abruptly stood and began getting ready to leave. He frowned in confusion, there was no way she was heading out early. She saw the expression and told him to get ready before she headed for Cragen's office.

She returned a few moments later with a sticky note in hand. "Coffee's on me."

They walked the short distance to the cafe in silence, each pondering their own thoughts. Olivia cast a quick glance at her partner. It had been a rocky start, especially after Elliot had gone off the grid after they'd slept together. Nick was the one unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of her misplaced anger. When she found out she was pregnant she had realized she would need all the support she could get and started to let him in. Partially because he'd suggested that she might be pregnant before the thought had even crossed her mind. He was the one she'd told before David though it wasn't until Elliot had returned that she'd let him in on who Grace's father was. For months she'd been reluctant to show him even the slightest bit of herself. She'd been quick to fall into an easy partnership and friendship with Elliot and look where that had gotten her. She didn't want to make the same mistake with her new partner who happened to be extremely similar to her old one.

With their coffees and snacks in hand they moved to a small table by the window and sat on the comfy chairs, grateful not to be stuck behind a desk. They people watched as they enjoyed the first few sips of the hot beverages and Olivia was surprised when Nick was the one to bring up the topic of Elliot.

"It's going good, actually. His kids met Grace a couple days ago and fell head over heels in love with her. He asked me out on a date, too." Olivia bit her lip but in the end gave up trying to hide her smile. She was getting everything she'd ever wanted and it scared her shitless. But she was happy about it. "He's got his youngest son this weekend so we probably won't see him until next week now. He doesn't know he's a big brother yet so I think Elliot's gonna try to tackle that with him soon."

Nick gave her a grin when she mentioned going on a date. He leaned back in his chair as if he knew there was more she wasn't telling him. When she hid her smile by taking a sip of her coffee. "Benson spill. As Grace's godfather and your partner, I have a right to know what you're hiding from me - Wait! Did you sleep with him again?"

"No!" Olivia exclaimed quickly. "Not yet anyway..." She knew she had no choice but to tell Nick about the recent developments between her and Elliot, she'd said too much already and there was no way Nick was going to let it drop. She let out a soft laugh. "About a month ago, he told me he was in love with me. And I told him I was in love with him, too. Ever since we've been getting a lot closer, I've been spending more time at his place and he's been looking after Grace more than the sitter at this point."

Nick was happy for her. He'd watched her progress from being heartbroken to accepting that she'd have to do things alone, to slowly but surely opening up to her former partner. He kept quiet about the small part of him worrying that she'd be hurt again. He couldn't stop himself from asking if she'd forgiven Elliot now.

Olivia sighed. She had forgiven him the first time she'd seen him hold Grace. He had kept his word, he'd taken her lead while slowly showing her that he was in it for good, he wanted to be there for her and their daughter. "We've had so many long, late-night talks that I've lost count. We've talked about it all, been over our entire history as partners, been brutally honest about everything that happened after he left and he knows that if he fucks up again he's not getting another chance. And to his credit, he hasn't even mentioned sex, he's waiting to make sure I'm ready this time. He doesn't want me to regret it and run."

Nick had to hand it to Elliot, he'd done exactly what Olivia asked of him and if he wasn't pushing for sex it showed he had the respect for her too. "So when are you gonna sleep with him? And when do I get to meet him?" He'd only seen Elliot through the window on the few times he had picked Olivia up or dropped her off at his place.

Olivia rolled her eyes at her partner. She expected this kind of questioning from Alex, maybe Melinda, but he'd surprised her with his mini interrogation. She shrugged, she hadn't exactly pinpointed a date for when she'd bed him again, but she had a feeling it would be soon. She wasn't about to tell Nick but they'd been sharing a bed whenever she stayed at Elliot's place or he stayed at hers and they'd come close a few times before one of them put a stop to things before they could get carried away.

"You can meet him when you stop asking me questions like that." Olivia laughed. Nick pouted at her reply but didn't push. She'd introduce him when she was ready.

Thanks for reading! Please drop me a review and let me know what you think of this so far.
You can find me on twitter at Mhargibenson :)