Alright, I think a little recap is in order before I continue. Several readers have asked me what exactly Kathy lied about to her son Dickie. I know this story is getting long (sorry!) so details may be forgotten along the way. This is where we are now:

Olivia had a fling on vacation with a younger man, Miguel, and has gotten pregnant unexpectedly. A few people immediately assumed Elliot was the father of her child, including Kathy. This accusation was the final straw for Elliot, who decided that he couldn't stay in his marriage anymore when there was no trust. (This had been an issue between Kathy and him for a long time.) Kathy, who has been self-medicating to battle depression and paranoia, maintains until now that Elliot is the baby's father and has tried to convince her four children that their dad has left them to start a new family with Olivia. The three girls have come around but Dickie has stood by his mother until now. Mothers and sons, it's a special thing - just like fathers and daughters for that matter.

Seeing Olivia and Miguel together with their mixed-race baby, it finally hits both Kathy and Dickie that they were wrong, and this is why Dickie yells at his mom:

"You LIED to me!"

...

50. Everybody's day

"You LIED to me!"

Both Elliot and Luís approach the boy quickly and try to shush him because of the two new mothers and babies in the room. They are in a hospital after all. Miguel stays close to Olivia, rubbing her back soothingly while she holds baby Chris close to her chest. Her son is becoming a little restless and she hopes he isn't picking up on the animosity in the room.

Elliot grasps his son's arm lightly but Dickie yanks it away, still staring angrily at his mother.

"You said they were lying but it was you. You lied to me about everything!" he says vehemently, and his young voice cracks with emotion.

His hands are balled into fists and it's uncanny how much he resembles his father right now. When Elliot puts a hand on his shoulder gently, the ten-year old breaks and he starts to cry. He's trying to stand tall anyway but his shoulders start shaking. Elliot squeezes his shoulder and Dickie looks up at him, tears running down his cheeks. Olivia can't see Dickie's eyes, only his profile, but she can see Elliot's and there is only love and understanding in his eyes, as well as pain over his son's pain. Of course he won't blame Dickie for any of this. He's just a child caught up in a situation that isn't his fault at all. No child should ever have to choose between their parents and Olivia's heart breaks a little for both Dickie and Elliot. When Elliot pulls his son closer, Dickie almost jumps into his arms. The two Stabler men hold each other tightly, Elliot bowing down over his son, and Olivia can't stop her own chin from trembling at the moving scene unfolding in front of her. Miguel is still rubbing her back gently and she knows she'll have to explain the situation to him later. But not now. The are witnessing the reunion between Elliot and his son and it's a beautiful thing to see.

Behind them, Kathy has retreated until her back hit the door frame. She's shaking and fumbling to find something in her purse. Olivia thinks she's popping two pills into her mouth and wonders if she has her medication under control now. Little Chris starts to fuss even more in her arms and she knows that she will need to focus on her son again at some point. Her breasts are beginning to tingle, responding to the sounds Chris is making. He must be hungry again.

When she hears Elliot talking softly to Dickie, who is still hiccuping a little bit, she looks up at him, and he's looking at her.

"We're gonna take this outside. Are you going to be okay?" he asks her.

Olivia nods.

"Yeah. I think Chris is hungry again. I'll be fine."

Elliot glances from her to Miguel and back to her.

"It's okay," she tells him once more.

Under Elliot's arm, she can see Dickie's reddened face and his sad eyes and she smiles at the young boy.

"We'll chat later, alright Dickie?"

Dickie nods and wipes his nose, then lets his father lead him out of the room. Elliot thanks Luís for his help and then ushers Kathy out before closing the door behind them.

"Wow," the woman in the other bed says, "that's some drama to wake up to."

Olivia starts to apologize immediately but the woman waves it off. She's a sturdy woman who gave birth to her daughter the night before.

"It's alright. I should get ready anyway. My husband is picking us up shortly."

"You get to go home?" Olivia asks.

"Yep. Clean bill of health for both of us. This little treasure is our third child and our first daughter."

"What's her name?"

"Laura. She's our little miracle."

The woman smiles and puts her hand on the sleeping baby in the hospital bassinet next to her bed. She looks at Olivia again and explains,

"Our boys are eight and ten and we never expected to get pregnant again after all this time. I'm almost forty now but look at her. She's perfect."

Olivia smiles and Luís walks over to the little girl to admire her.

"Wow. She's a lot bigger than Christopher over there," he remarks.

"Yeah, he's a tiny one. But don't worry. That just means he's gonna be feisty. The little ones want to grow big as quickly as possible."

"Speaking of which," Olivia says, changing Chris's position once again because he's squirming.

"Told ya. He wants to eat to grow big," the woman says with a grin.

Olivia asks Miguel to prop up a pillow underneath her left arm so she can lean on it while she nurses Chris again. Both men offer to leave while she feeds her son and although she assures them it's no problem, they insist on leaving her alone for a while.

"I'll go look for Elliot," Miguel tells her before they leave the room.

Olivia has to admit that she does welcome the silence that drapes over both women and their babies once the door closes. She manages to get Chris in the right position and he makes eager sounds while he latches on. His eyes start drooping immediately after he starts drinking and are closed within a few seconds, his little hand resting softly on her skin. Olivia smiles down at him, still marveling at this special connection they share. She's going to miss carrying him around inside her womb and she hadn't expected that at all. She finds herself still waiting to feel him move inside her but holding him like this and feeding him with her own body does make up for it. Despite all the drama around them, they are in their own word again for the moment and she is determined to enjoy it.

…

She must have dozed off again. The friendly voice of the nurse wakes her up, telling her that she needs to check Chris again. Olivia blinks a few times and then looks down at her son, who is still latched on to her breast. They have both fallen asleep. She can't believe she has managed to block out all the drama from before like that, but she had started getting sleepy the instant Chris started to drink.

She lets the nurse take Chris and wonders how long she's been out and where everybody is. The other woman is sitting in a wheelchair, fully clothed with her daughter in her lap and smiles at the man who comes into the room. They say goodbye and then it's just Olivia and Chris and the nurse.

"This is good," the nurse tells her when she returns with her son. "Look what I found in his diaper."

She shows Olivia the diaper, that contains a black, sticky substance. Her son's first poop. Who could have thought that Olivia Benson would be touched when seeing baby poop? But she is. It is a sign that his little body is functioning properly and she hopes it will mean that they will be going home soon, just like baby Laura and her mother.

The nurse checks with her if she's been briefed on everything she needs to know before taking her son home and Olivia has to admit she has forgotten several details already. The nurse assures her that it's all in the documentation she's getting upon release. After handing Chris back to her, she leaves to ask the Doctor to check Chris one last time before they will decide if they will be released. Olivia hopes they won't have to spend the night at the hospital.

When the nurse leaves, Elliot comes back into the room quietly, closing the door behind him. Olivia is glad to see him and she's eager to know what has happened between him and Dickie and Kathy.

"Hey, were you able to rest a little?" Elliot asks her as he sits down on the edge of her bed.

"Yeah. And Chris made a dirty diaper so I think we're going home soon," she tells him.

"That's great," Elliot says with a smile, but it's a tired smile. He caresses Chris's cheek with the back of his finger and then drops his hand to Olivia's thigh as if it's too heavy to lift suddenly.

"Talk to me," she tells him softly but he shakes his head.

"No. This is your time with Chris. It's your day, Liv."

She can't help chuckling a little.

"Well, it seems to be everybody's day."

"That's what I mean. We should just focus on getting you and the baby home safely and check that we have everything we need."

"But where is everybody?" Olivia asks.

"I sent Kathy away with the girls. She was acting like an idiot and I told her she was going nowhere near you today. I don't know what she would want to say to you but she finally sees that I'm not your baby's father. She should let that sink in for a while."

"I saw her take some pills," Olivia tells him.

"Doesn't surprise me. Kathleen assures me she can handle it and she's getting the neighbor as soon as they get home. I called Maureen too and she's on her way over. She says she'd rather come over to see the baby though."

"El. You should go too. You can't put this all on the girls."

"And leave you alone? No way. I'm going to wait for the Doctor's verdict and if you're getting released, we're getting you two home first. I'll go over there tonight. I just have one request."

"Anything," Olivia blurts out and she means it.

"Can Dickie come home with us? He refuses to go home with Kathy."

Olivia drops her head back against her pillow and closes her eyes, a half smile on her lips. She should have known. It's that Stabler stubbornness she knows only too well. There is no middle ground for Stabler men. It's all or nothing, black or white. Dickie has made a complete one-eighty and as fiercely as he had supported his mother, he is now in his father's corner. She's happy for Elliot and understands their need to spend more time together.

"Of course he can come with us. Is that even a question?"

Elliot shrugs and rubs her thigh.

"I know this isn't how you had imagined this day and I'm sorry."

Olivia just smiles and rubs her baby's back. Dickie was once his little boy and she gets it.

"Don't worry about any of us, okay Liv? Just worry about yourself and this little guy here," Elliot adds.

He caresses Chris's cheek again and smiles softly. Olivia reaches up to squeeze his hand and smiles at him.

"Okay. I will. Just one more question."

"Go ahead," Elliot says, dropping his hand once more.

"Where's Miguel?"

"He's waiting outside. He didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to you."

"He's leaving?"

"Yeah. Or … do you want him to stay?"

Olivia really doesn't know what she had expected. She can't imagine Miguel not feeling anything now that he's seen his child but he hasn't even touched him so far. The teddy bear is cute and the fact that he wanted to take pictures tells her that it all does mean something to him, but still. It looks like he is genuinely not ready to be a father. She knows she should be relieved but being completely in love with her child already, she just doesn't understand why Miguel wouldn't be. She feels very conflicted about it.

Elliot seems to interpret her hesitation in his own way and stands up.

"You're right. He's the father after all. I'll go get him," Elliot says curtly.

He seems tense and Olivia reaches for his hand but he's already out of reach, heading for the door.

"El …"

"It's okay Liv," he waves her off and then he's out in the hallway.

Before she can even try to think of something to do, like maybe get up out of bed, the door opens again and Miguel pops his head in.

"Hey Olive. I just wanted to say goodbye. Luís and I are heading out."

"Oh. Okay."

She drops her head back again and watches as both men come into the room and approach her slowly, just like the first time they had come in earlier.

"He really is a cute kid," Miguel says hesitantly.

"He is. I'm in love already," Olivia tells him, trying to gauge his reaction.

"That's good. That's very good," Miguel nods. "I'm sure you'll be the best momma to him that he could wish for."

"Will you be around?" Olivia asks Miguel.

He starts shaking his head almost instantly.

"No Olive. You know that I'm not ready for this and we … we never planned on being anything more than holiday lovers, right? I don't wanna get in your way or Elliot's. You got a good man there. I just want you to know that I do wanna pay some. It shouldn't be all on you two."

"You don't have to, Miguel."

"I know. But I want to. Like I said, I won't win any father of the year awards, but he's my responsibility too, even if I won't be looking after him. So helping you pay for stuff is the least I can do. And if you won't accept it now, I'll just save it up and you can use it for when he goes to college or something. Just know that it'll be there if you need it, alright?"

Olivia doesn't know what to say. Miguel is offering her a dream scenario. He won't be in their lives but he wants to shoulder the financial burden with her anyway. Having five children under their combined care, any assistance would be welcome to her and Elliot for sure.

"I'll talk to Elliot about it," Olivia promises him.

Miguel seems satisfied with her answer for now.

"I gave him my details for the birth certificate too," he tells her as if it's no big deal, but it opens up a whole new set of questions for her. And then Miguel surprises her one last time when he adds,

"You decide if you wanna use them or not, okay?"

Olivia bites her lip and nods while his words sink in. He's actually going to leave it up to her what they will put in Chris's birth certificate. He's handing her all the controls, basically handing her full custody of Chris by default. She whispers a soft 'thank you', not knowing what else to tell him. It's another thing she will need to talk to Elliot about.

Miguel approaches her and leans over to give her a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"You take care of yourself, alright?" he tells her, and she nods again.

"You too."

Luís shakes her hand and says goodbye as well, and both men leave, leaving her a little stunned and with a lot to think about.

...

To be continued