I wanted to DEEPLY apologize for the amount of time, it has taken for me to update, I have been up to my head in work and taking care of the house, while my husband is Deployed.

But without further Ado, I really hope you all Enjoy.

Chapter Six: Obvious

And as it appeared, he was indeed correct.

Olivia made her way inside, watching Noah, as he ran to his room, to put away his new stuff.

"Noah, make sure you brush your teeth and get ready for bed, while you're in there." Olivia instructed, as she put up their jackets, and shoes.

"Okay Momma." He replied, making the sound of an airplane as he held his arms out and ran towards the bathroom.

Olivia watched, from the doorway of the apartment.

I'm just too busy, anymore. I can't fit another person into my daily life.

She thought to herself.

It wouldn't be fair to Noah, anyways. To have to share what little time, he does have with me, with someone else.

"Mommy, can we read another story tonight?" He asked, walking into the living room, newly dressed in his train pajamas.

"Actually, sweetboy, I was thinking, why don't we watch a movie?" She asked him, with a grin.

She knew this would be the last time in a while she'd be able to take off like this, and she didn't want to waste the most precious moment's with her son.

"REALLY!? On a work night?" He asked, happily. Bouncing around her.

"Really, my love. Why don't you go grab a blanket, and I'll make us some popcorn, huh?" She offered.

"Okay! Thanks Mommy." He said, running into his room, and retrieving his blanket.

Olivia stood in front of the microwave, the constant popping sound lulling her back into her thoughts.

I've got to do what's best for Noah. Alex leaves too much. And our lives are here, in New York. Not travelling wherever is most convenient at that moment.

She thought to herself.

"Mom are you okay?" Noah asked, looking up at her, blanket in hand.

She looked down at him, and nodded.

"I'm just fine, honey. Don't you worry about me." She said, ruffling his hair.

The movie finished an hour and a half later. Noah leaned against his mother, as the ending credits flashed on the screen. Olivia had finally relaxed, before Noah caught her off Guard

"Mommy, do you like Alex?" He asked, innocently.

Olivia's eyes widened for a moment, before she nodded, "Of course I like Alex, Noah. She's my friend."

"No she's not." He said simply.

"What do you mean, Sweetboy?" She asked.

"Mommy, You don't take Wine to Aunt Amanda's. But you take it to Alex's." He said, a bit too seriously.

Olivia looked down at her son, in utter shock. "I do like Alex, son." She said, truthfully.

The conversation ended soon after that, seeing as Noah had apparently received the answer he was looking for.

It wasn't until an hour later, when Olivia was laying in Noah's bed, after reading him a bedtime story, that he pegged the topic once more. Only this time, a bit deeper.

"Mommy…. Why are you afraid?" Noah asked her, sleepily.

"What do you mean honey? I'm not afraid." She said, staring at the dark ceiling.

"Of liking Alex." He said, dropping yet again, another bomb.

"Oh… Noah… It's just that…" Olivia sighed deeply, before continuing, "I loved Alex, for many years. Before you were even born…." She said, honestly. "But our lives got in the way."

She said, trying to hold it together.

"Why did that happen?" He asked, curiously.

"We just… Got lost in time… Busy, with both of our jobs… And lives. And it just didn't work out." She said.

"But it's okay, if you still love her mommy. Because true love is the truest. And you'll never find another one like it." He quoted some disney movie, she knew Lucy let him watch.

Olivia laughed softly at Noah's innocence.

"Yeah, well… I don't know if Alex is my true love Noah." She said honestly.

"Well, Tucker wasn't. So why can't Alex be?" He said, yet again surprising her.

Olivia felt her heart ache, being reminded of not only one of her dearest friends, but someone who she loved very much.

"Yeah, honey. You're right. Maybe." She said, trying to get her son to drop the conversation.

"Mom, if you love Alex, you can finish eachother's 's what happened with Anna and Kristoff." He said, expertly.

Olivia laughed, again. "Alright Sweetboy. Let's go to sleep huh?"

He nodded, and snuggled into his mother's side, and soon enough they'd both drifted off to sleep.

Olivia was woken up around 5 am, by her phone ringing.

"Benson." She said, stumbling out of Noah's room, in an attempt not to wake him.

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm calling so early… But, I've got some stuff I need to talk to you, about… Regarding the case." Elliot said.

Olivia sighed, before giving him a short laugh.

"That's fine. But, My babysitter isn't available today… Which means I'm going to have to drop Noah off with Amanda… And it's still really early." She explained.

Elliot felt guilty for calling her this early. But he pushed on anyways, "It's fine Liv. I can wait until later." He said, "I'm sorry for waking you up." He added.

"Actually why don't you come by my place? I'm just about to put on some coffee. We can chat." She offered. "I'll send you the address. And how do you know you woke me up?" She asked.

"12 years together, teaches you a lot about body language, and tone of voice. You sound distant, and your words are spoken a bit slower than usual. You were just woken up." He said, expertly. This made Olivia smile.

"Yeah, yeah, Stabler. Just get your ass over here, before I change my mind." She joked, sending the address and hanging up the phone.

Olivia heard the soft knocking on her front door, 25 minutes later.

She got up off her sofa, and opened the door. Smiling as Elliot stood there, awkwardly.

"Good god, don't make it awkward Stabler. Get in here." She said grabbing his arm.

"Sorry, it's just been so long… And you moved." He said, shocked.

"What did you think I'd live in the shitty one bedroom forever?" She asked.

"I don't know… You lived there quite a while Liv." He said honestly.

"Well, when your life changes, so do you… And I'm glad it did." She said, smiling happily at Noah's room.

"I'm glad you're happy Liv, you deserve it." He said, placing a hand on her arm.

Olivia sat there for a few moments as she watched Elliot check out the photos on her walls.

"Wow, you still have this?!" He asked in disbelief. Referencing to the picture on the wall closest to the door. It was Olivia, Fin, Cragen, Alex, and Elliot. All at a party after a hard few weeks of work.

"Of course I do. That was a REALLY big case, El." She said, half-heartedly.

He smiled, and nodded.

"I couldn't look at photos of you, for a really long time…" He admitted sadly.

"I get that… It was really hard all around." She said back to him, just as much sadness laced her voice, as it did his.

"I'm sorry, Olivia." He replied. Sitting down on the arm chair, across from the couch, where she was sat.

"Look… There's a time and a place to talk about all of that. And right now… Isn't it. We'll talk about it Eventually El." She said, gently. The truth was, she wasn't ready to divulge in such deep conversation with him, at the moment.

"I understand that Liv. You let me know when you're ready to talk. And we will." He said, kindly.

He knew she was still very hurt by everything, and it wasn't right for him to force her into a conversation, if she wasn't ready.

"So what was it you needed to talk to me about?" She asked.

"Kathy told me she ran into you, at Alex's office. And that you guys had a bit of an argument.." He said, looking at Olivia with a bit of curiosity.

"No… I ran into her at Donnelly's office." She told him.

"Donnelly? Like Elizabeth Donnelly?" He asked.

"Yes. Judge Donnelly, converted back into Counselor Donnelly." She elaborated.

"What was Kathy doing at Donnelly's?" He asked.

"I don't… I think this is something you should ask her." Olivia admitted. "I don't want to get in the middle of your guy's relationship.

"Liv… What happened?" Elliot pressed.

She sighed before finally speaking to him, "I asked her why she had two lawyers… And she was explaining to me how desperate she was to win this case for Kathleen…. Seeing as Kathleen is in fact Guilty on all charges… And apparently she has Cabot handling a few of the charges and Donnelly handling the others…" Olivia said, irritated. How was he going to come into her home, and demand answers about something, his ex-wife should've explained to him.

"Oh…. That doesn't make sense… How did she even afford two high-class lawyers!?" He asked, outloud, but it was directed more to himself than Olivia.

"You'll have to ask her about that…" She said, a bit quicker than she liked.

"I will…" He said. Olivia watched, as Elliot visibly tried to calm himself. She could tell he was about to lose his cool, but just as quickly as his rage had reared his ugly head, it went away.

Olivia smiled, softly at Elliot. Proud of how far he'd come with his own issues as well. He clearly wasn't the same hot headed mess, he had been.

"What are you smiling at, Benson?" He asked her playfully.

"Ahh, just pleasantly surprised you've learned to control your anger, better." She admitted honestly.

He smiled back at her. He didn't need to speak, for her to know what he felt at her comment.

He was grateful that his time spent in rehab, and therapy had actually been helping him. And coming from Olivia, that made it all worthwhile.

Olivia was sitting on the Sofa across from him, her legs tucked underneath her. As she sipped her coffee. "I really do hope Kathy tells you what you need to know, Elliot." She told him.

He nodded. "Yeah me too, Liv.." He said, with a tone of desperation.

"Something tells me things haven't been easy lately."

"Eh… She's Kathy… And I'm… Well I'm me… And no amount of therapy is going to change how we feel about one another deep down… We harbour a lot of resentment, from years past…" He spoke. But he didn't stop there, instead he chose to be more open. Something Olivia still wasn't used too. "I think it's just because we rushed into everything when we were younger, you know? Kid's at 17, Marriage at 18… And then I rushed into the Military right out of Highschool, to support them… And I haven't felt that… Spark, in years. It died down. I love Kathy, as the mother of my children, but… We haven't been in love for a VERY long time." He told her.

Olivia nodded her head. "Sometimes people fall out of love… It's not uncommon. But you gave it your best shot. You worked very hard for your marriage, for your family. You did well, by them." She offered the best reassurances she could.

"Yeah, thanks Liv…" He said, smiling weakly at her.

"No problems."

"Do you work today?" He asked, curiously.

"I work everyday, Elliot." She said, with an exhausted chuckle.

"I know…"

"I'm going to run to the bathroom, and get changed, you can get yourself a cup of coffee." She said, making her way towards her room.

Elliot listened as he heard the door shut, and stood up. Walking over to the Keurig Olivia had sitting on her kitchen counter. "Wow… Fancy." He laughed to himself.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" A very nervous, and on edge Noah asked.

"Oh! Hi…" Elliot jumped startled, "I'm Elliot. A friend of your mom's. And who are you, little man?" He asked, kneeling down, trying to formally introduce himself.

"If you were my mom's friend, you'd know my name!" He said, walking backwards towards Olivia's room. "She would've told you about me. You can't be here. Breaking in, is Illegal." He reminded the stranger. "STRANGER DANGER." Noah said, quickly.

"Oh! No, no… I know your name is Noah… I was just trying-" He was cut off as Olivia stepped into the room, adjusting her small diamond earrings.

"Noah, honey, this is Elliot… He used to work with me. He was my partner….." She explained to her son.

But still Noah watched him carefully. "Oh… Sorry Elliot." He said, saying the man's name out loud.

"No… I'm sorry for scaring you Noah." He said, still in his knelt position.

"It's okay." Noah said, finally warming up.

Elliot reached his fist out, and Noah bumped it.

"Are you here to tell my mom she loves Alex, too?" He asked, innocently.

But Olivia found herself questioning whether or not the boy was purposely taunting her.

"Noah…" She said, getting a bit flustered.

"Uh No, Buddy… I'm not… But if your mom does Love, Alex… I think she should tell her." He said, smirking at Olivia.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Okay not fair! Don't gang up on me." She said, with a blushing grin.

"Mommy you should listen to him!" Noah said, with a mischievous grin.

"Oh you!" She said, reaching forward, and scooping her son up off the floor. Tickling him. And sending him into a fit of laughter.

Elliot felt his chest warm up, as he watched Olivia interact with her son. He always knew she'd be a great mother. And this was solid proof. Plus, he still couldn't get over how happy she looked. It was priceless to him. And this, to him, was why he didn't regret leaving. She'd never have found her son, if he were there. And she'd still be practically living inside the precinct. When motherhood, fit her so much better.

"Liv!" Fin said, jumping up and following her into her office. She'd just gotten to the precinct. And already, someone was calling her name.

"Yeah?" She asked, her tone was edgy and a bit irritated.

"You good?" He asked her. There was something else riding on the question.

"I'm fine, Fin. Did we catch a new case?" She questioned.

"No… But… There's something you should know…." He said, a bit too slowly, for her liking.

"Oh no. What?" She asked, her shoulders dropped and she gave him a pleading look.

He gave her a sad smile, before speaking "IAB was just here, to go over all the new proceedings, since… Well you know.." He said, referring lightly to Tucker's death.

"Oh… Uh, what's the new person like?" She asked, now sitting down.

"He's young Liv. He doesn't look much older than Noah." He said, jokingly. But it of course, fell flat. "No… But he doesn't look older than 28." He finished.

"Oh… Young. Impulsive, naive. Tucker was ALL of those things, once upon a time, if you don't remember." She said, dejectedly.

"Yeah… He has the same attitude Tucker had, too… Ballsy." FIn said with a forced laugh.

Olivia forced a smile, "Well, I'm sure he'll grow into his position."

Fin nodded, "I sure hope so." He said, closing her office door, and walking back to his own desk.

Olivia looked down at the case file on her desk, and sighed. Today was the day, she'd be trying to get the charges against Kathleen dropped. She had quite a few phone calls to make. But the hardest one, would be the judge who tried Kathleen's case. Judge Susan Valdera.

She was definitely a hard one to crack. Even harder to reason with, seeing as the charges were Valid… Olivia had her work cut out for her, and she couldn't waste another minute.

The phone rang twice before a voice on the other line was heard.

"Hello, This is Judge Valdera's office. Shyanne speaking." came the sickly sweet voice of the Judge's assistant.

"Hello, Shyanne. My name is Captain Olivia Benson, of the 1-6 Precinct. I'm trying to get a hold of Judge Valdera." Olivia explained.

"Oh. Why of course, Give me just a moment Captain." Shyanne said, before the line began to ring again.

"This is Judge Valdera." The older woman spoke.

Olivia let out a short sigh of relief. "Hello Judge, this is Captain-"

"Captain Benson? From SVU? Yes. I've been waiting for your call." She stated nonchalantly.

Olivia was shocked, not only did the judge know of her but apparently she knew she was going to call. "Yes your honour, I've been meaning to speak to you about the Kathleen Stabler case? I've recently been informed about her charges, and was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."

"My apologies Captain, but I'm not able to speak to you about the case, for TWO reasons.

One being, it has absolutely nothing to do with Sex Crimes. Which is what you are, correct? And two, weren't you partnered with the Suspects father?" She asked.

This only Aggravated Olivia. Of course Stabler's shadow still followed her everywhere. And made things harder, Stubborn bastard he is. "Yes your honour, both of those statements are true. However, I'm only contacting you, because I'm trying to get her some help. To prevent further charges…"

There was a question in the Judge's voice, and Olivia could hear it as she spoke her next few words. "And you need me to drop some of the charges… In order for her to get the help she needs. She can't be attending court for it, or going to jail, when she severely needs Mental help and counselling" She said.

"Well… Yes Your honour." Olivia stated.

"Captain Benson, I mean no disrespect by this, but you shouldn't be handling this case. It's to close to you. And, the charges… They're heinous." She said truthfully.

"I'm handling the case, because the defendant disclosed to me during a round of questioning, that she had been sexually assaulted. And it ties into one of the crimes she's being charged with." Olivia said, defensively.

"So she disclosed it to you? What were you questioning her about? The case? Because surely, you had no right even being involved with it, captain." She warned.

Olivia noticed the tone in her voice, and knew she needed to back off. But she tried one last thing, "Your honour, I know I had no right to be questioning her about another unit's case. But, seeing as I know the family… I care for this girl, and I just want to get her help… Something I can't do, without this charge being dropped. It's just the one charge, Grand Larceny." Olivia spoke, defeatedly.

The judge was silent for a while, before she sighed, "Fine, I'll see what I can do. But she's a repeat Suspect in crimes like this, Captain. I won't do this ever again." The judge said, wearily.

"I know, thank you, Your Honour." Olivia spoke, a little lighter now.

"I'll have my assistant contact you when I've gone over the case a bit more." She said finally, hanging up the phone.

Olivia scrubbed her hand over her face, and sat back in her chair. That was a lot easier than she expected. Now she needed to make a few calls to a rehabilitation center for Kathleen. This was going to be a long process.

And there it is folks, chapter six, is DONE. I really hope you all enjoyed, and I will try my hardest, to update again soon.

Stay safe out there, everyone.

As always, Much love.