A/N: This is just a cute and fluffy filler chapter although it does revolve around another milestone for the family. Hope you enjoy and as I have mentioned, I have plenty of ideas for this story. I've even started thinking about a sequel if anyone's interested! xxx
Over the next few weeks after their return from the honeymoon, Olivia and Elliot found themselves pretty busy. Not only did they have to juggle work and life in general, they also had to plan a birthday party for Maria.
Olivia wanted to go all out with the celebrations with it being the first birthday they would spend together since they had found each other. The relatively new mother was determined to make it a day remember. They decided on hosting the party at Chuck-E-Cheese. It was more out of convenience than anything else as the famous venue provided not only entertainment for kids but also offered a catering service for party bookings.
They had originally thought about doing something at the apartment until they realised that it would be too small to accommodate their family and friends as well as all of Maria's classmates. The celebrations ended up costing them a fair amount but they didn't care about the price tag. Their little girl was worth it.
The day finally arrived and Olivia couldn't decide who was more excited – her husband or the birthday girl herself. Elliot insisted that they wake Maria up early so they could spend some time alone with her on the special day.
The Saturday morning of Maria's birthday, Liv and El found themselves stood outside the little girl's bedroom with party hats on their heads. Olivia held a small plate in her hand which had a red velvet cupcake with vanilla frosting and a solitary candle on top whilst Elliot was trying to balance an arm full of presents and a birthday card. Of the course the cupcake wasn't the actual birthday cake but Olivia and Elliot thought it would be a nice treat for the girl to wake up to.
They counted down from three quietly before opening the door and creeping into the room. Once Olivia and Elliot were stood on either side of the bed, the both burst out into their own rendition of 'Happy Birthday'.
Maria's eyes snapped open at the ruckus and sat up in her princess bed. Clapping with excitement when she saw the cup cake and the multiple presents that were being presented to her. "Happy birthday, Baby Girl!" Liv exclaimed as she and El both sat down on either side of their daughter. It was a tight squeeze but they managed it. "Blow out your candle!"
"Thank you!" Maria exclaimed as she hugged first her mom and then her dad.
"We thought you might like to open your card and some of your little presents now." Elliot said as he handed her a pink envelope – it was a rather large envelope at that. Maria struggled a little with opening it but with El's help she was soon able to slide the greeting card out.
Olivia and Elliot had found a really cool website where they could personalise a birthday card. The card was mainly pink with gold sparkly letters that read 'Happy 6th Birthday, Maria!'. What stood out on the card the most was a picture of the three of them that had been taken on the day of the wedding.
Liv assisted Maria in reading out the message in the card before putting it to one side and moving onto the presents. The now six year old wasted no time in tearing into the pink wrapping paper of the first gift, her eyes widened even more at what she saw. "A new Barbie!" She again thanked the two adults and this same sequence continued as she opened up a dozen more presents. The little girl was well and truly spoiled. Once all the presents were opened, the family of three sat on the bed surrounded by all sorts of new items ranging from clothes, crafts and toys.
Before going out into the living area to enjoy a light breakfast, Olivia took a digital camera out of her back pocket and held it up at an angle with the lens facing them all. "Say cheese!" She commanded cheerfully and waited to hear her family respond before she captured the picture. Liv then turned the camera around so they could see the photograph she had just taken. "Oh, this is definitely going on my desk at work." She said. Although, she had a feeling that soon there would be no room on her desk for any more framed pictures.
"I love it." Elliot agreed as he too took a glimpse at the picture. "I don't know about you ladies but I'm hungry. I say we grab a bite and then I do believe that there is one more present waiting to be opened before we have to get ready for the party!" He added and without warning, started a tickle fight with the little girl who was in between he and his wife.
Breakfast was a small affair although Olivia made sure to make Maria's favourite – chocolate pancakes. However, Olivia found herself on a mission as Maria kept getting distracted from her food by a large box that was sitting in the middle of the living area. Liv had suggested to Elliot that they kept the final gift in their room but her husband retaliated by saying that he wanted to heighten Maria's suspense by keeping it out in the open. Once Maria realised that she wasn't going to get to open the box until her plate was cleared, she soon listened to her mother and ate the food.
"Can I open that big one now? Please, Daddy." Maria clasped her hands and shot Elliot her famous puppy dog look, knowing it was going to work with her daddy better than with her mama.
Elliot sighed and then sent Olivia his own version of the puppy dog eyes, Maria then also turned her head in the direction of her mother. Liv looked between them and rolled her eyes. "Oh, go on then!" She caved in.
Olivia laughed to herself as she watched them race off towards the box that was waiting to be opened. The box was just as big, if not bigger, than Maria so she needed some help from Elliot to open it. As soon as she saw what was inside, the little girl jumped up and down. "A bike! I've got a bike!" Then as soon as she started, she came to a stop and looked between the bike and her parents.
Olivia and Elliot shared a look before Liv hooked a finger under Maria's chin and lifted her head so she was looking up at her. "What's wrong, Sweetie? Don't you like it?" She asked as she looked at the forlorn expression on her daughter's face.
"I love it, Mama," Maria assured her, "but...I don't know how to ride a bike." She averted her eyes from her mother's as if she were ashamed.
Realisation dawned on Olivia and Elliot's face at her 'confession' and they both hurried to comfort her. Elliot stepped a little closer to them and rubbed Maria's back. "That's ok, Maria. I can teach you. We can start right away if you like?" He suggested after he took a quick look at the time. "We still have a few hours until your party so why don't we get dressed and head over to the park?"
That's how they found themselves in the park not far from their apartment. The little outing was unexpected but they all enjoyed the fresh air and summer sun. Olivia made sure she took plenty of pictures so that they had a memento of the day Maria learned to ride a bike. She took a couple that Elliot and Maria didn't know about. These ones were of Elliot holding onto the back of the bike's seat whilst Maria grasped on the concept of pedalling. Then there was a picture of Maria all kitted out in a pink helmet which was accompanied by the knee and elbow pads Liv insisted she wore. They were also able to get a passer by to take a picture of all three of them – Maria was sat on the bike, a proud smile on her face, with Olivia and Elliot crouched down on either side of her.
Maria was a quick study and she was soon riding on ahead of them along the path. The confidence she had gained had surprised her parents who found themselves often having to remind her to wait for them and to not go too far ahead. The morning was a great family experience and Olivia hated to ruin the moment. She looked at her watch before calling out to her daughter.
"Maria, it's time to go!"
Maria turned the bike around and began pedalling towards her mom and dad, stopping just in front of them. "Can we come back tomorrow, Daddy? I love riding my bike!"
Elliot smiled and patted the top of the helmet. "Sure we can, Angel Face." He told her before they headed off back to the apartment. They still had to get changed into their party outfits and Olivia also wanted to get to Chuck-E-Cheese early in order to make sure everything was set up just the way she had asked.
A few hours later and the party was well underway. The kids, especially Maria, were having the time of their lives. Olivia on the other hand, found that she was constantly on edge. She kept looking around in attempt to track Maria's movements. Not only that, she was worried that one of the kids might fall and seriously injure themselves in all the pandemonium. She deeply regretted telling the other parents that it was ok for them to get on with their day after they had dropped off their children
"Earth to Olivia." Liv practically jumped out of her skin when El waved his hand in front of her face. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair before focusing on her husband, a questioning eyebrow raised. Elliot smiled at her reassuringly, "Honey, you need to relax." He told her. "Maria is fine. We are all," He gestured to their friends who had joined them to celebrate Maria's birthday, "keeping an eye out for any trouble."
Olivia deflated slightly before responding. "I know. I'm sorry it's just I can't help but think about what could go wrong in a place like this. I mean...it's chaos. I knew we should have just hired the whole place to ourselves."
Elliot chuckled and shook his head. "Everything is under control. The kids have like five cops watching over them. We have our eyes and ears everywhere, believe me." He had actually had a private chat with Fin and they had decided that they would each make their rounds around the complex in order to keep track of the children and, so far, everything was going smoothly.
Just then, Maria came running over to them in her pink 'princess' dress accompanied by a number of her friends. "Mommy? Where's Grandpa and Uncle Munch?" She asked as Olivia fixed the crooked tiara that sat on her head.
Olivia pointed over to Don and Munch who were standing just behind her having a casual conversation amongst themselves. "They're right there. Why?"
"I want them to come play with us." Maria stated with a shrug before running over to her Grandpa and 'Uncle', her friends following not far behind her.
Elliot and Olivia watched the kids hover around the two cops. "Uh oh, I sense trouble for those two." El commented as he saw how animated Maria and her friends were whilst Don and Munch kept their expressions blank.
Elliot's thoughts were confirmed when Maria began walking back over towards them, this time 'dragging' Cragen and their other friend behind her. The men both had somewhat fearful expressions. "Bye, Mommy! Bye, Daddy!" The little girl chirped as she hurried past them as fast as she could whilst pulling two full grown men in her wake.
Liv couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards the slightly older gentlemen when they both looked over their shoulders at her and Elliot. Their eyes were wide as if they were trying to say 'help us!'. Olivia and Elliot laughed at the comical scene and El smiled when he realised that his wife seemed to be more at ease.
The rest of the celebrations went by in no time. Maria was well and truly spoiled that day as she got so many presents from everyone who turned up. Not only did she receive gifts, she also got herself a nice sum of money which Olivia insisted be put into a bank account that was just for Maria. Many pictures were taken of the goings on. Once the cake was done and everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' to the girl, the guests slowly began to dwindle out as parents started arriving to collect their children.
Elliot and Olivia had just said goodbye to the final guests so now it was just them, Maria and Don left. Don said he would help them back to their apartment as they were unsure if they would be able to fit all of Maria's new stuff in their car.
Liv turned around expecting to see Maria right behind her but she swore her heart jump into her throat when she realised she was nowhere to be seen. "Elliot? Where's Maria?" She asked over her shoulder to her husband before quickly walking around the area, her head twisting every which way.
After five minutes of searching, Olivia began to feel a deep sense of panic rise within her. That was until she bumped into Don. "Daddy, have you seen Maria?" She inquired desperately.
Don smiled and gestured for her to keep silent as he led her over to the table that had been set up for the party. Olivia sighed in relief and smiled lovingly when she saw Maria slumped in one of the chairs – fast asleep. She turned when she heard footsteps behind her and beckoned Elliot towards her.
"She's flat out." Liv stated as the three adults took a few moments to just gaze at the child.
"I'm not surprised. She's had an exciting day. She was bound to crash at one point." Elliot told her. "Do you want to grab her whilst Don and I load the cars up with all of this?" He asked as he directed her towards the huge pile of presents.
Olivia nodded and gently lifted her daughter into her arms, Maria's head automatically resting on her shoulder like a puzzle piece. Liv then took the car keys from Elliot and made her way towards the exit, thanking the staff as she went.
As soon as they stepped foot outside, the late afternoon sun shone on them and Maria began to stir a little. A little fist reached up and rubbed at her eyes. "Mama?" She mumbled as she looked around from her position on her mother's shoulder in an attempt to figure out where she was.
"We're going home now, Baby. Did you have fun today?" Liv asked to which Maria nodded tiredly "Good. I'm so glad. Happy birthday, Sweet Girl." She place a kiss onto Maria's cheek whilst the girl slowly closed her eyes again and promptly fell asleep.