Bernie wanted to laugh as Elliot stepped out of his bedroom in the fourth, or maybe the fifth—she was starting to lose count at this point—outfit in the last hour. She watched him check his reflection in the glass before shaking his head and walking back into his bedroom.

She watched him go and sighed. She knew he was excited but also nervous. Today was a huge step in what she hoped was him finally finding the happiness she thought he deserved after so many years of faithful loyalty. She knew he would always love Kathy as the mother of his children, and so would she, but it was time, time for her son to stop treading the waters of guilt and grief and resurface into happiness with the one he loved. His true soulmate if one believed the words of poets and playwrights alike.

She turned to Kathleen, "Watch the pie, I'm going to go help your father."

"He's a mess," Kathleen grinned at her, "you would think the queen was coming with the way he's acting."

Bernie laughed, thinking, oh, but she is. She passed the spatula she had been using off to her granddaughter, "check in with your siblings, and let me see what I can do."

She winked, and Katie smiled at her. She turned and made her way over to the bedroom door, knocking before she entered, "Elliot!"

"In here Mama," she opened the door to see him sitting on the edge of the bed in his black jeans and undershirt, head in his hands. She looked around the room and noticed he had almost every shirt and tie he owned laid out on the bed around him.

She picked one of the shirts up to move it so she could sit down next to him, "talk to me."

He turned to look at her, "what if I mess this up?"

"Your outfit?" She questioned with amusement.

"No," he shook his head.

"Good, I'm sure Olivia wouldn't care what you wore. In fact, I think she would be pretty happy with what you've got on," she grinned, eyes twinkling, "maybe with a little less."

"Mama!" Elliot turned to look at her with his mouth wide open.

She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm just saying." She gave him a second to get over the shock before she patted his knee, "it's just Olivia and Noah, honey."

"That's just it," he looked at her, worry etched in his features, "It's Olivia and Noah."

She realized he was looking at her like she was supposed to know exactly what he meant, but she had no idea. She took his hand into hers, "Elliot, I'm not sure I understand. You've already met him and took them both to lunch. Are you afraid he doesn't like you?"

She watched the happiest grin spread across his face, "That's not it." He shook his head, still smiling, "Liv's already told me how excited Noah is about coming over today. He apparently already has plans to ask me to come to his winter performance."

Bernie smiled at her son, knowing the look he was giving her, a look of pure pride and joy, "you're good for him, Elliot. For both of them."

His smile quickly faded at the sound of her words, "but am I, Mama?" Her heart broke as tears welled up in his eyes, "I've messed up so much in the last year." He sighed, doing his best to hold the tears back, "in the last two years, ten years even, I've missed so much. I've made so many choices I'm not proud of. I don't know if—. What if I mess up? What if she trusts me, and I screw it up again? But, it's not just her this time; it's Noah too. She's trusting me with the most precious part of her heart, and I—I can't mess that up, Mama."

"Oh Elliot," She turned so she could wrap her arms around her son, well the best she could with the way he had been working out lately, "everyone makes mistakes. Making mistakes is part of this crazy thing we call life. But you know what?"

He rested his head on her shoulder, "what?"

"Mistakes are how we grow." She felt him lift his head from her shoulder, "life is full of the mistakes we've made, but what matters is how we own them, how we rectify them, and how we learn from them." She let her words sink in, "Elliot, you can't live in the guilt and the grief of those mistakes. Living there won't change the outcome. It only affects the here and the now. It lets those mistakes define you and own you."

He lifted his head and looked at her, and she continued, not giving him a chance to speak just yet, "If Olivia didn't trust you to make the right choice, do you think she would have even entertained the thought of letting you in her son's life? In her life? She knows you, better than you know yourself sometimes. She sees through your mistakes to the man you really are, even when others have doubted you and even when you've doubted yourself, she sees you. The real you."

"But I hurt her, I—"

"I know you did, honey." She cut him off, "but you did the work. You rebuilt her trust. You have shown her what she already knew, what she's known all along—."

"I shouldn't have broken her trust in the first place."

Bernie sighed. Her son, for all his goodness, was so absolutely stubborn, "That was a consequence of the choices you made, but it's time to grow past that guilt and live in the forgiveness that she's offered you. Only you two know what you discussed when you finally came together to talk, but I know that if she had not forgiven you, we wouldn't be sitting here in a pile of your shirts even having this conversation."

"I can't mess this up Mama."

"Then don't." He looked at her, eyes wide, "take the mistakes you've made and use them to grow. Learn from them. Be better. Be the man we know you really are." She took his face into her hands, "be the man she chose. Olivia chose you, Elliot."

He took in a sharp breath, and she knew he finally understood.

"Let me ask you something," Bernie took a second to make sure he was paying attention, "do you love her?"

"More than I can put into words." She smiled as the words flowed out of his mouth without hesitation.

"What about Noah?

"He's so amazing. He is every bit the kid I imagined she would have: smart, funny, talented, quick-witted, and so—," he smiled, "so easy to love. Mama, I love that kid just like he's one of my own. I want to protect him and keep him safe. I want to do everything I can to make sure he knows how loved, wanted, and protected he is. Just like his mom."

"Then do that. Be the one who shows them how loved, wanted, and protected they are. Be that version of you." She placed her palm on his cheek, "You are a good man, Elliot Stabler, and I am so proud that you are my son."

She watched the emotions play across his face before he leaned in and kissed her cheek, "I love you, Mama."

"I love you too, son." She took his hand in hers again, "promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Continue to grow." She wiped away a stray tear from his cheek, "mistakes will come because they always do, but use them to prove you are not the mistakes you've made. And reach out when your struggling, you can't grow alone."

Elliot hugged her tight, "I think I can do that." He paused, whispering, "I may need a little help though."

"All you have to do is ask. There's a lot of people who love you, Elliot." Bernie patted his knee once more before moving to get up, "now, come on. Let's finish getting you dressed. Olivia may like this look, but I'm sure Elizabeth would not appreciate you messing up the family photos with this half-dressed ensemble. The socks are cute though." She pointed out his turkey socks as she started rummaging through the shirts he had out, taking great care to toss all of the ties to the side.

"Mama!" He exclaimed and she laughed, "we're not— we're just friends."

"I may be old, Elliot," she tapped his nose, "but I'm no fool. We've all seen the way you two are around each other. You two are hiding nothing."

"Wait. You, you all know?" he looked at her slightly perplexed, "are the kids?"

"It's okay, Dad," Kathleen popped her head around the door, "you deserve happiness too. We know you loved Mom and always will, but we also know you love Olivia too." She stepped in and gave Elliot a hug, "we love Olivia and Noah. We've talked about it. It's okay."

Bernie watched as Elliot wrapped his arms around his daughter, a sense of relief seeming to flood over him like he was finally on dry ground again after treading water for so long, "I love you, kiddo. All of you."

"I love you too, Dad." Kathleen grinned, "but I know I'm still the favorite."

Bernie laughed as Elliot rolled his eyes, "I will not confirm or deny that statement."

Katie laughed, "you better hurry up and get dressed. I was just coming in to tell you Maureen texted and said the rest of them are on their way, and—" she pulled what Bernie recognized as Elliot's phone from her pocket, "Noah's been trying to FaceTime you."

Katie smiled as the screen lit up with a picture of Olivia and Noah, "the kid really likes you dad."

Elliot smiled as his phone rang, and Bernie turned to Kathleen just as the kitchen timer started beeping, "don't let my pie burn, or I'll pick another favorite grandchild."

She winked as Katie started laughing before turning around and walking back to the kitchen, throwing, "I knew it!" over her shoulder.

Bernie laughed, and then turned to Elliot, who was frozen in his spot with the still ringing phone in his hands, "Go on, answer it."

Bernie could tell he was slightly nervous, afraid Olivia and Noah were having to cancel like they did last Christmas when the stomach bug hit the Benson household. Everything had seemed to snowball after that with Wheatley and then with the Brotherhood. She knew it had been tough on him because he had really been looking forward to finally getting to know Noah and getting to spend time with Olivia, but they agreed it was best if they kept their personal life separate for a while until everything with the Brotherhood simmered down. Before Bernie had left to spend time with Kathleen, she had noticed Elliot being glued to his phone more than usual. He was also spending longer out of the apartment when she knew he didn't have to work. It hadn't taken long for her to put two and two together and realize he and Olivia had decided to try working on their friendship. Bernie would see him spending time out on the patio quietly talking on the phone or smiling down at his phone when he thought she wasn't paying attention. He would spend time at breakfast scrolling through what Bernie could see as his camera roll; she never could make out the pictures, but she had an idea. It wasn't until one day after Mother's Day he had happily showed her a photo of Olivia, Noah, and himself sharing ice cream while walking around Central Park, "Look, Mama. She let me meet him. He's such an awesome kid." After that, he had started to seem lighter and happier, and it did her heart good to see her son like that again. Bernie laughed thinking the two had apparently thought they had been hiding it well, but she knew. They had all seen how happy he was.

Bernie's thoughts were interrupted as Elliot finally answered the call, "Hey kiddo!"

"Elliot!" Bernie could hear Noah's excitement bubbling over through the phone, "Mom told me to call and tell you we're stuck on the bridge due to a car accident, but we're still coming. Right Mom?" Bernie watched as Noah turned the phone around, so Olivia could be seen. She caught a glimpse of Olivia's sweater and started looking around at the pile of Elliot's shirts to find one that would complement it.

"Hey, El!" Olivia sounded slightly frustrated, "I'm so sorry we're going to be late. Traffic is almost cleared up. Thankfully, it was just a fender-bender."

Bernie looked over at the phone again to double check if the shirt she had in her hand was the right color, and she beamed with satisfaction as she realized it would work perfectly.

"No problem, Liv." Elliot smiled, letting out what Bernie knew was a sigh of relief that the Benson's were still on their way, "I'm just glad you're coming."

Bernie grinned at the way her son's eyes lit up, and she knew she would have made a comment on his choice of words had Noah not been listening in. She leaned over to the phone, "Hey Olivia, take your time. The rest of the family hasn't made it yet either."

She looked over at her son, knowing exactly the word she had used to describe Olivia and Noah. She knew Olivia caught it too by the way her voiced cracked.

"We will, thanks Bernie," Olivia took a breath, changing the subject, "we're bringing some Carmel Brownies."

Noah turned the phone back around, whispering, "don't worry, I made them. Mom just supervised."

Bernie snickered as Olivia exclaimed, "I heard that. I can cook and sort of bake. You're well fed and still alive, aren't you?"

"Yes, Mom." Noah laughed, and Bernie didn't miss the little exchange between Elliot and Noah before Noah winked and added, "I love you, Mom."

"Now you're just buttering me up for extra dessert," Olivia laughed and then added, "oh, the traffic is finally moving. We should be there soon."

"Elliot?"

"Yes, Noah?"

"Thanks for inviting us to your family Thanksgiving." Bernie's heart melted at the sincerity of Noah's words, and she had to poke Elliot to get him to respond because he was so caught up in trying not to cry.

"You're welcome, Bud." Elliot smiled, "I'm glad you and your mom could make it. You two are always welcome."

Noah's eyes widened, "like family?"

"Just like family," Elliot smiled, and Bernie squeezed his arm reminding him of their conversation.

"Oh, I'm wearing the socks you picked out for me." Elliot panned the phone down to show off his socks.

Well, that makes sense now, and it's kind of cute, Bernie thought as she took in the turkey socks with gobble, gobble written all over them.

"That's cool! I told Mom you would like them," Noah exclaimed before Bernie could hear his voice turn serious, "Elliot?"

"Yes, Noah?"

"Umm, is that really what you're wearing to Thanksgiving Dinner?" Bernie snorted. Leave it to a kid to ask the real questions.

"Noah Benson!" Olivia admonished in the background.

"It's okay, Liv." Elliot chuckled, "he really does have a point. The shirt I'm wearing really isn't Thanksgiving dinner attire. I can't decide on a shirt."

"Mom said I had to wear my nice clothes, but I didn't have to wear a tie or bowtie. Does that help?" Noah asked obviously choosing to ignore the admonishment he had just received.

Elliot laughed, "yeah, my mom said I had to wear my nice clothes too."

Bernie winked at Noah, "do you think I should make him wear a tie or bow tie?"

"Hmmm," Noah scrunched his nose as he thought, "Mom, what do you think?" He turned the phone to Olivia again, "tie or bowtie for Elliot."

"Neither," Olivia quickly turned and winked at the camera before turning back to the road.

Bernie had to hold in her laughter as Elliot swallowed and almost choked as Olivia winked at him.

Elliot finally managed to recover, "Hey, Noah, I better let you go so I can get dressed, okay?"

"Okay," Noah waved, "bye Elliot! By Elliot's mom! See you really soon! Mom says ten, maybe fifteen minutes."

"Okay! See you soon, Noah!"

Bernie turned to look at Elliot as the call ended, "Oh, I love this kid already." She turned her attention toward the kitchen, if Katie lets my pie burn, I think I've found a new favorite grandchild."

Elliot chuckled, "Mama, we're not even—. We're still—"

"Oh hush, and put this shirt on," she held the dark maroon shirt she had picked out toward him, "and leave the top two buttons undone."

He raised his eyebrows at her, "trust me." She pointed toward the door, as she heard the ruckus that meant the rest of the clan had finally arrived. "I'm going to go check on my pies and the turkey. I'll cover for you for five more minutes before I come in here and drag you out there. Understood?"

"Yes, Mama." She gave him one last smile as she walked out of the bedroom and ran straight into Seamus and Kieran.

"Grandpa! Grandpa!" The boys chorused together.

Bernie intercepted both of the boys as they ran into the apartment, "Come on boys. Grandpa needs a few more minutes to get dressed."

Katie turned from where she was making a salad, "he still agonizing over what to wear?"

Maureen and Lizzie both turned, with questioning glances on their faces. Bernie looked at the three women and winked, "not now."

"He's changed shirts probably about six or seven times." Eli spoke as he walked past the girls to the refrigerator, "he would walk out, check his reflection in the glass, and then shake his head before walking back to his bedroom."

"How would you know? I thought you were taking a nap?" Katie turned to her brother.

"Yeah, out on the patio." Eli grinned, "that new outdoor couch Dad bought is comfy, and its warm out there. I've seen every outfit change. He talks to himself a lot too."

Richard, who had just walked in with Carl, spoke up, "where's Dad?"

Lizzie looked at her twin and chuckled, "wardrobe malfunction, apparently."

Bernie looked at the clock, "I told him he had five minutes before I would come back in there and drag him out here."

"He nervous?" Richard whispered, "He knows we're all cool with this, right?" He turned to Kathleen, "you said you would take care of it."

"I did." Bernie gave Kathleen a scolded look as she tossed a tomato at her brother.

"Will you two behave," Bernie thought about Richard's question for a minute, wondering if she should answer or let the question settle into the silence. She looked up to see five sets of eyes staring at her waiting for an answer. She swallowed, choosing her words carefully, "he is a little nervous, but not in the way you five are thinking. Kathleen letting him know you all were okay with him moving forward in his relationship with Olivia, and accepting her and Noah into our family, helped him find peace with his choices to move on."

"He deserves happiness too," Lizzie spoke up, and Bernie smiled as her grandchildren all nodded in agreement.

Maureen looked at her siblings, "we've all seen how happy Olivia makes him."

"They've always been best friends," Katie pointed out, "and Olivia has always been there for him and for us. Sometimes even we didn't know we needed her."

"I know I don't know Olivia the way you all do, yet, but I've seen the way Dad is when he's with her. He's really, really happy." Eli swallowed, and Bernie saw the tears in his eyes, "happier than he's been in a longtime. She helped Dad be himself again." Bernie rubbed Eli's back as he wiped a tear from his eye, "plus, Noah's pretty cool too. It might be nice not being the youngest anymore."

Kieran turned around from the magnet tiles he was playing with, "hey! We're younger than you, Eli!"

"Yeah!" Seamus added as he handed Eli the controller to the Switch he had been setting up, "Mario Kart in 5."

Eli laughed as he handed the controller back, "wait until Noah gets here, okay? We'll all play then."

"Okay!" Seamus took the controller back and ran off to play with his brother, "we're still younger."

The adults laughed, and Maureen patted her brother on the back, "we know what you mean, Eli."

He rolled his eyes in jest, "I'm glad someone does."

Bernie checked the clock again, "Olivia and Noah should be here soon; they were stuck in traffic due to an accident."

"Does someone need to go and get Dad?" Kathleen looked up, "We could always send in the two squirts with tomatoes."

"And ruin the shirt he's spent all day fussing over? I think not." Bernie bopped Katie on the forehead with the kitchen towel, "I'll go get him. I warned him anyway."

As she walked toward the bedroom, Bernie was a little worried about what she would find. It crossed her mind in the few steps it took from the kitchen to the bedroom that Elliot could still be sitting on the edge of the bed wading his way through grief and guilt, but what she found surprised her even more. He was standing in the open doorway completely dressed but hidden in the shadows, listening. His eyes were glistening with unshed tears, and he was smiling, a smile she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Elliot?"

"Shh," he motioned for her to step into the room with him, "listen."

She moved into the room, and she could hear the kids still discussing with each other. Their voices turning into a euphony of acceptance, praise, and love.

"I'm so glad Olivia and Noah could make it."

"Me too, I've missed Olivia."

"Mama, can Noah sit next to me?"

"No, Seamus. Can he sit next to me, Mom?"

"Kieran!"

"Boys! He can sit where he wants."

"We need to make sure we get a good photo of Noah and Olivia so we can make her one of our traditional Christmas ornaments."

"Oh, that's a good idea. We need to print the whole group picture and frame one for both her desk and Dad's."

"We need to ask what Noah likes so we can make sure he has plenty of gifts under the Stabler Christmas tree."

"Do you think by this time next year it will be the Benson-Stabler tree?"

"Hopefully!"

"Want to bet?"

"No, Dickwad!"

"He does know we all know, right? We don't have to act like we don't know they're together?"

"Yeah, Grandma took care of that. He really thought we didn't know."

"That's hilarious."

"We need to plan a girl's day with Olivia."

"Agreed. It can be a thank you for everything she's done for all of us."

"Us guys can take Noah out."

"Mom! Is Noah here, yet?"

"Not yet, honey. Soon though."

"Can we invite him over for a sleepover?"

"Yes, you have to ask his mom though."

"Okay, I like her."

"Us too, squirt."

"I'm glad its Olivia. I know Dad loved Mom and always will. I know he always stayed faithful to Mom, but—" Bernie heard the sob that followed before her granddaughter started speaking again, "I'm just glad it's Olivia. I can't really explain it."

"I know. We'll always miss Mom. She'll always be here with us, but it's okay to accept someone else into this crazy family. Especially if it is someone who has loved us for a very long time. Olivia's always been part of this family in some way."

"She already knows how crazy we are, and she's pretty good at dealing with Dad and his moodiness."

Bernie looked over at her son as laughter erupted in the kitchen, "Elliot?"

Elliot turned to look at her, a huge grin spread across his face, "mistakes are how we grow, right?"

"Right," she pulled him into her arms and whispered into his ear, just as they heard a loud knock at the front door, "ready to grow?"

He hugged her tighter, "more than ready."

"Then go," she released him and smiled as she walked out of the room behind him.

He was practically skipping to the front door, "I got it!"

She looked around the room at her grandchildren and great-grandchildren who were all looking at the front door, excitement and love written across their faces as the front door finally opened.

"Hey!"

"Hey," Olivia looked at Elliot, "sorry, we're late."

"No, you're right on time." Bernie rolled her eyes. Elliot was looking at Olivia like a lovesick fool and blocking the doorway.

She moved over to the door and poked him in the side, "are you going to let them in?"

Elliot blushed, "oh, yeah." He moved over, "come on in. Hey, Noah!"

"Hi!" Noah waved at Elliot and then stepped around his mom to come face to face with Bernie. He smiled and stuck his hand out, "Hello, Mrs. Stabler. I'm Noah."

"Hello, Noah," she shook his hand and then leaned down, smiling, "call me Grandma B. Everyone else does." As she straightened up, she looked up at Elliot and winked, making sure he remembered their conversation from earlier. "Come on in and I'll introduce you to everyone."

Noah followed her into the apartment, and she looked back over her shoulder at Elliot and Olivia. They were still standing in the doorway, staring at each other. Off in their own world probably, Bernie thought.

"Hey Dad!" Kathleen looked over at her father, amusement clearly written across her face, "at least shut the door."

"And take her coat, Grandpa!" Kieran looked up, "be a gentleman. Grandma B says its important."

"And tell her she looks pretty," Seamus quickly added smiling up at his great-grandmother.

Bernie was beaming with pride, "they do listen."

Seamus ran up to Noah, "Hey Noah! Want to play Mario Cart?"

Bernie watched as Noah turned to look at his mom for permission but quickly realized she wasn't paying any attention. Bernie took the brownies he was carrying, "If she asks, tell her Grandma B gave you permission, okay?"

"Okay," Noah grinned, and then wrapped his arms around her in a quick hug. "I like having a Grandma B, and I just met you."

Bernie beamed, "and I like having a Noah, and I just met you." She ruffled his hair and nodded toward Kieran, Seamus, and Eli who were waiting, "go on, have some fun. You can meet everyone else later."

Noah waved at the rest of the Stablers as he ran off to play, and Bernie cleared her throat loudly finally breaking Elliot and Olivia out of their trance.

"Uh, let me take your coat," Elliot offered as he shut the door, "I'm really glad you're here. Noah too."

"Speaking of?" Olivia looked around and then smiled as she saw Noah happily playing with Kieran, Seamus, and Eli. "He's already made himself at home. I'm glad we're here too." She took her coat off and handed it to him, "Noah already said it earlier, but thank you for inviting us."

"You're welcome here anytime, Liv." He hung her coat up and turned back around to her, "you and Noah are family."

Bernie looked at the two out of the corner of her eye and saw the tears welling up in Olivia's eyes. Bernie knew from some of what Elliot had told her and her interactions with Olivia, just how important the word family was to her. As she watched their interaction, she vowed she would personally make sure Olivia and Noah would always know they belonged in her family.

"Psst, Grandma!"

Bernie turned to look at Kathleen, "yes?"

Kathleen nodded toward the pair, "you planned that didn't you? Their outfits."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bernie looked over at Elliot, not missing the way he was admiring Olivia. Hmm, his maroon shirt does complement her sweater well. It will look great in the family photos. She looked back at Noah who was also wearing maroon, oh, I am good. Bernie smiled to herself as she overheard the tail end of the conversation Olivia and Elliot were currently having.

"You do look beautiful, Liv."

"Thank you," Olivia ran her hand along the collar of his shirt, adjusting the slight wrinkle in the back of the collar, "you look pretty handsome, yourself. I definitely like this better without a bowtie or tie." Olivia ran her hand down Elliot's bicep, "and those top two buttons left undone, absolutely perfect."

Bernie caught her son's eye, as he took Olivia's hand in his to lead her further into the apartment, "yeah, I had a little help."

She sighed in contentment. Her son was finally emerging from the overwhelming feeling of grief and guilt, and that made her happy. When she looked at him months ago, she didn't see any light, but now, now that was different. His light was growing again, flickering and lighting up the darkness she had once saw. She knew soon he would shine brighter than all the darkness that would ultimately try to smother out his new found light. He would still make mistakes, as they all would, but she hoped now he would keep growing and not let those mistakes try to define him because he was good, and he had people who loved him and chose him despite his mistakes. Her son, Elliot Stabler, was a good man.

She jumped slightly as Elliot snuck up behind her, "I love you, Mama." He kissed her on the cheek, "thank you for helping me grow."

"Anytime son, anytime."

A/N: This started out as a short drabble for the #HiatusPrompt "Thanksgiving" and then quickly turned into a 5,000-word story (exactly 5,000 words—I couldn't believe it).

I absolutely LOVE Bernie's personality, and I love how she is serious and sweet, but she's also got a little sassiness to her, which makes Bernie, well Bernie.

If you want to add a little background music while you read, I was mostly listening to the Benson & Stabler (Love Theme) as I wrote this. It really does make for some nice writing music.