A/N: So this is just a filler chapter. There will be a couple more of these before I move onto the next plot of this fanfic. I hope you all enjoy! xxx
"How about some ice cream?" Olivia asked Maria as they left the ACS building, having just finished signing off the adoption paperwork.
"Yeah!" Maria cheered and jumped up and down in excitement. "Can I have chocolate and strawberry?"
"I don't see why not. It is very special day, after all. You know, I think I might have the same." Olivia shrugged as the mother-daughter pair walked along the side walk. She felt rather than heard as her cell phone began to come alive in her pocket. Pausing briefly, she took out the device to check the caller ID and answered as soon as she saw it was Elliot. "Hey, El, what's up?"
"Hey, Beautiful. Cap said it was ok for me to leave early today and I was wondering if you and Maria would like to join me for dinner at that new restaurant we've been meaning to check out? I want to treat my girls." Her partner replied.
"Uh, El, you know what? I'm not sure. It's kind of been a long day. I thought it would be a good idea to try and get Maria to bed early tonight. You know how tired she can get." Olivia didn't want to turn down her boyfriend's kind offer but she knew how cranky and whiny Maria could be when she was exhausted.
Elliot panicked at Liv's refusal. Their friends and colleagues had roped him into surprising Olivia and Maria with a party at their home later on in the evening to celebrate Maria officially becoming a Benson. His job was to keep them away from the apartment for as long as possible whilst Casey and Alex, who had collected the spare key that Liv had given to him years ago, set everything up. "Oh come on, it's not everyday we get to celebrate something this special. Why don't you ask Maria what she wants to do? It's her day as well remember?"
Olivia huffed at his attempt to guilt trip her before looking down at Maria who was skipping happily beside her. "Maria, Honey? Do you want to go out for dinner with Elliot tonight when he finishes work?"
"Yes, yes, yes! I want to go! I want to see Elliot!" The five year old enthused.
"El?" Olivia spoke into the phone knowing that he would still be on the other end of the line.
"I heard. So? Is it a date?"
Liv sighed and smiled in defeat. "It's a date." She confirmed.
"Great! What's say you guys meet me here at the precinct at about five o'clock?" Elliot suggested.
"Five is fine. I'll see you then." Olivia agreed.
"See you soon, Babe. Tell our girl I said 'hi' oh and, Liv?"
Olivia paused outside the ice cream parlour they had just arrived at. "Yeah, El?"
"I love you." Her boyfriend told her sweetly.
"I love you too." She responded just before they both hung up the call at the same time. Liv looked down at Maria who was beaming right back at her. "Come on, let's get that ice cream."
Just after five o'clock later that afternoon, Olivia and Maria were walking towards the precinct which had just come into view when Maria suddenly tore her hand away from Liv's and ran. "Maria?!" Olivia called out pausing in shock for just a few seconds before she came back to her senses and took off after the child who had already begun to mingle in with the crowd that was on the pavement.
She sighed in relief when she spotted her little one in a familiar set of arms but that relief soon turned displeasure. "Don't you ever do that to me again, do I make myself clear?!" Liv scolded as she took Maria from Elliot's arms and placed her back onto the ground. "Do you have any idea how scared I was when you ran from me like that?! What were you thinking?!"
"Liv, calm down-"
"Don't tell me to calm down, Elliot. I'm desciplining my child." Olivia spat, not even looking at her long time partner. Instead her eyes continued to burn into the top of Maria's head. "Maria, look at me right now."
Maria looked up on her mother's command to reveal tears rolling rapidly down her cheeks. "I just wanted to say 'hi' to Elliot, Mommy. I'm sorry." She whimpered weakly.
Olivia sighed and crouched down so she became eye level with the child before her. "I know, Honey, but you can't just run off like that in public. When you did that, Mommy got really scared, especially when I couldn't see you."
"Are you mad at me?" Maria looked down sadly at her hands that were being held in Olivia's considerably bigger ones.
Liv hooked her finger under the little girls chin and lifted her head. "I'm not mad, Sweetie. Just a disappointed at your choices."
"Are you going to punish me?"
The new mother took a deep breath before putting Maria at ease. "No. I'm not going to punish you this time but if it happens again I'm afraid I am going to have to. I'm sure you've learnt your lesson though, haven't you?"
"Yes, Mama." Maria nodded.
"Good. Now come here." Liv gave the girl a quick hug before moving into a standing position, making sure that she still held tightly onto one of Maria's hands. "Hi." She finally greeted Elliot. She felt a little guilty for cutting him off moments before so decided to make up for it by giving him a quick peck on the lips after looking around to check that there were no eyes on them. "I'm so sorry I snapped at you like that. I was just so afraid and I-"
"Liv, no need to explain. I get it." Elliot waved off her apology although he had felt slightly hurt at the time. "Look, I don't know about you but I'm starving."
"Me too." Liv agreed.
"Me three!" A high pitched voice piped up and the two adults laughed at Maria who was stood in between them.
"Well we can't have my Angel Face going hungry now can we?! We better do something about that!" El exclaimed as he took Maria's hand into his larger one before the three of them began to walk to the restaurant they had chosen earlier that afternoon.
The restaurant was only a block away away so it only took them a couple of minutes to get there. They didn't have to wait long to be seated and were soon looking at the menus that were handed out to them.
"So, Maria, did you have a good day with Mommy?" Elliot asked after they had all ordered their dish of choice.
"Yep. We saw Miss Sarah and she gave me candy. Then Mama took me to get ice cream and I had chocolate and strawberry and then we went to the park." Maria rattled off the events in her day.
"Wow! You have been a very busy bee today! I hope you're going to have room for desert after you've eaten your dinner."
"Elliot...she's had way too much sugar today already. She won't sleep at all tonight if she has any more." Olivia told him, slightly exasperated.
"I will Mommy, I promise. Please...I want chocolate cake." Maria begged.
Olivia went to refuse once again when Elliot quickly interjected. "Ok, how about a compromise. What if I get a chocolate cake and Maria shares it with me?" He winked at Maria who smiled wide before turning to look at Liv expectantly.
Olivia looked between the two before her and felt like she had suddenly become a mother of two instead of just one. They were both looking at her hopefully with identical puppy dog expressions. "Honestly, El, you're such a big kid!" Liv exclaimed before finally giving in. "Fin, you can share a slice of cake. That's my final word on the matter." She rolled her eyes when her dinner companions hissed out 'yes' at the same time and gave each other a high five. 'I'm such a pushover.' Olivia couldn't but think to herself.
Also, Elliot was definitely an overgrown child.
"Elliot, I still don't understand why both Maria and I have to be blindfolded for this 'surprise'." Olivia said for the fifth time as he lead them mysteriously down the hall of her apartment's floor. She heard Maria giggle and smiled to herself at the sweet sound.
"Patience is a virtue, Liv. You will find out soon enough." Elliot told her as he stopped in front of the door behind which all of their friends stood behind. He turned the mother-daughter duo so that they were both facing the door in question. He removed each of their blindfolds and reached out to open it, knowing that it had been left unlocked for their return.
Olivia stared into the apartment briefly before expressing her confusion. "I don't see-"
"SURPRISE!"
Olivia and Maria both jumped at the loud exclamation before bursting into huge smiles when the squad jumped up from behind the couch holding a banner that read 'It's A Girl!' in sparkly pink letters.
"A party? For me and Mommy?!" Maria squealed as she ran over to her Grandpa Don who scooped her up into his arms.
"That's right, Princess." Cragen confirmed.
Maria looked around at all the faces who were looking between her and her mother, her eyes widening when she saw that the coffee table was piled high with presents. "Are they for me?!"
Casey giggled and took the girl from the oldest person in the crowd. "Most of them are yours. Some are for your mama as well."
Olivia still stood just over the thresh hold in shock and awe. "Guys...you shouldn't have. I...I'm speechless."
"Well, there is a first time for everything." Elliot quipped from behind her only to be slapped on the arm by his girlfriend.
"You knew about this and didn't even tell me?!" She said as if she just realised why he was acting so mysterious as soon as they arrived at the apartment building. Liv always thought that he couldn't keep a secret, well now she was proven wrong.
"Is this a party or not?! Where's the music at?" Fin yelled out as everyone began to talk amongst themselves. The room erupted into laughter as music began to play.
Olivia felt as Elliot wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and rested her hands on his forearms in response, both of them swaying to the pop song that filled the room. They both watched as Maria tore into her presents, a proud look on their faces.
"How do you like your surprise?" Elliot whispered into her ear gently.
Olivia twisted her neck slightly to gaze into his ice blue eyes and smiled. In that moment everything and everyone around them seemed to just disappear. They felt as if though this would be a moment that they would remember for years to come. "I love it...and I love you." Liv finally whispered before they locked lips in a bruising kiss. Luckily, everyone was too focused on Maria for anyone else to notice their intimate moment.
Apologies for any errors, I was on a video call whilst proof reading. Please leave a review with your thoughts. xxx