Olivia walks in to the NICU with a large smile on her face. Elliot follows behind her with the car seat in hand. They walk over to Jordan's bed and see the nurse changing him. "Today's the day!" Jen says excitedly.
"Yea," Olivia says and smiles brighter when the nurse hands her son over to her. "Hi," Olivia says to him and kisses his cheek.
"You guys ready for the car seat test?"
"Yup," Elliot answers and hands over the car seat. "I'm going to go start signing all the paperwork to take him home.
"Alright. You guys mind if I change him into his going home outfit first?" Olivia asks.
"Go ahead. I'm going to go grab the baby bag for you," Jen answers.
"Oh no, you already gave us one."
"I know but you had twins! That means you get two."
"Thanks, and again thank you so much for everything you've done to help us."
"Not a problem. Just make sure he doesn't end up back here."
"I will."
xXx
"Surprise!" everyone screams.
Olivia stands shocked in the doorway. Jordan begins to cry, and a few feet away so does Julian.
"Happy anniversary!" Fin says and comes over and gives her a one armed hug.
"Thanks," she looks at Elliot. "You were in on this weren't you?"
"They couldn't hide it from two detectives. Especially when they're planning it in our house."
"You should have warned me. What if I had dropped the baby?"
"I knew you wouldn't. I have faith in you."
"Dad, help!" Lizzie says as she tries to soothe an unhappy Julian.
He takes the crying infant from her. "He's upset because you're upset. Next time you gotta relax."
"Ok, can I have him back?"
"Actually I'm going to hold onto him for awhile, why don't you go help Mary wrangle the kids up in Kayla's room?"
"Ok."
She heads over to their recliner and makes herself comfortable and she takes in everything. A large banner hangs across the back wall and there are balloons of all colors burgers and hotdogs to serve their numerous guests. Munch, Melinda, Casey, Huang, and other guys from the station are all in attendance. A few guys from her unit as well as some CSI techs that they've worked with. She's surprised when one of their guests approaches her.
"Looking good, Liv."
"Peter. What are you doing here?"
"Would you believe me if I told you your husband invited me."
"You're lying."
"I know. I thought I'd see pigs fly before that ever happened, but it's true. How're you doing? You know the last time I saw you, you didn't look so good."
"Yea, I was in a bad place then, but the boys are home, and Elliot and I are doing well."
"That's good. I'm happy for you."
"What about you? How've you been doing?"
"Good. I miss you, but I'm trying to move on. Started seeing Stacy," he nods to the young woman in the corner talking to Maureen. She smiles and turns back to her conversation. "She's not you, but she's a good girl. Real nice. I think we can go somewhere."
"That's good. I'm happy for you."
He nods. "I'm going to head back over to her. See what those two are gabbing about. Though I'm afraid to ask. She's a grad student. Working on her Phd in Psychology over at Hudson. Something I know absolutely nothing about."
"Oh, Maureen goes there. She's working on her Phd in criminal justice. They've probably seen each other on campus or something."
"Greeaaat. Yet another thing I know nothing about."
"You'll be fine."
"It was nice seeing you. Take care." He kisses her cheek then walks away. As she watches him introduce himself and she hopes he will truly move on.
Various guests come up to her and congratulate her and fawn over the baby in her arms. She makes the rounds around the house and a group of boys take turns playing against Rick and Toby on Rick's Xbox. The younger ones play under Lizzie and Mary's supervision in Kayla's room. She groans at the mess that will be left for her to clean later, but then heads back to the festivities. Jordan begins to fuss, and right on cue Elliot is there with a bottle, and she feeds her son while she watches Elliot talk with Cragen and feed Julian. He returns later to bring her a plate of pasta salad and a cheeseburger.
"Kayla eat yet?"
"Yea. She had a hot dog some chips."
"What did you have to bribe her with to eat it all?"
"Time out and no cake or ice cream."
She laughs and shakes her head. It seems their now three year old has skipped the terrible twos in favor of terrible threes, which will be fun to wrangle along with twin newborns. The inherited stubbornness will be a bonus, but she's up for the challenge. As long as Elliot is by her side she knows there is very little that they can't handle. This is the life she's always wanted, and she's glad that she finally has it. There have been a lot of ups and downs and keeping their marriage together has been more of a struggle than she ever could imagine it would be, but she's grateful for it now. They have come out of the battles with dents and chinks in their armor, but they've also emerged together and stronger than ever. She now knows that there is nothing Elliot Stabler wouldn't do for her, and he will fight for her until his dying breath. Something she never thought she was worthy of, but something he's always known. She loves him more for it, and in return there is nothing she wouldn't do to see him happy. He turns from his conversation with Munch as if he can sense her eyes on him.
He smiles at her.
She smiles back.
She begins to eat, but looses her appetite when Kathy Stabler comes up to her.
"Kathy," she greets.
"Olivia. I just wanted to come by and say congrats."
"Thanks."
"I have some experience handling twins, so if you need any help you know who to call."
"Thanks, but we both know I won't be making that call, ever."
"Olivia, I'm trying to be civil. You're helping with raising my kids. I think it would be best if we could get along, maybe be friends."
"Kathy, we will never be friends, and you know why. I can't even trust you to have you in my home or around my kids. We can never be friends."
"Olivia, neither of us is perfect."
"That's true. But that doesn't mean I need another imperfect person in my life. Now if you'd excuse me, I'm trying to enjoy my dinner."
Kathy sighs and walks away and a few seconds later Casey waddles over. She sits down slightly out of breath. "I was trying to come over here to save you, but nowadays speed isn't exactly my thing. Besides the best I can do at this point is sit on her. Maybe blind her with some gas. You know you failed to warn me about all this."
Olivia laughs. "I know you're in pain, but it's woth it," she says glancing down at her son.
"I know you're in protective mama bear mode and you haven't let anyone within a five foot radius of him, but I was hoping that maybe I was special enough that you'd let me hold him?" She reaches for him. "C'mon. It will give you a chance to eat, and he needs to spend sometime getting to know his Godmother."
Olivia sighs and carefully passes Jordan into Casey's arms. "You know you're not his Godmother," she mumbles avoiding eye contact.
"What? Says who?"
"Uh me."
"Then who's got the gig?"
"Warner. Called dibs when she gave me my test results."
"That's no fair. What about Julian?"
Olivia choses that moment to take a large bite of her burger. "This is really good, did you have one?"
"She gets him too?!"
"They come as a set, you can't split them up."
"This is a conspiracy."
"You sound like Munch."
"He's right sometimes."
"Uh huh. When are you due?"
"Would you believe I still have another twelve weeks? I'm going to talk to Mark. He must have missed a baby or two on the last ultrasound."
"You'll be ok. It will go by in a flash. Find out what you're having yet?"
"We're holding off. We want to be surprised."
"Good choice."
"Liv, what's labor like?"
"Want me to sugar coat it or give it to you straight."
"You know I'm a straight forward kind of gal."
"It's horrible. It's exhausting, long, and the most excruciating pain you'll ever experience."
"Thanks."
"But, it's also incredibly rewarding."
"Will you… will you be there with me?"
"Of Course! There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you Case, after everything you've done…"
"Does that include letting me God mother?"
"You have to take that up with Mel."
"I can take her."
"Casey. I'm pretty sure she can kill you with her thumb. Remember she works with dead people for a living."
"Right…" she sighs and stares down at the sleeping baby in her arms. "Would you do it again?"
She stares and the little baby and smiles wistfully. "In a heartbeat."
xXx
Liv…
Liv…
"Liv, Elliot calls."
Olivia awakes to see Elliot standing over her.
"Hey, you fell asleep."
She looks around slightly confused. "Where is everybody?"
"They all left a little while ago. We were trying to clean up a bit, but we're all too tired. C'mon, let's go to bed. Here, let me take Jordan."
She looks over to the couch. "And who's going to take Kayla?"
"I am."
"You can't carry them both."
"Fine, I'll come back and get her."
"Or you can just let me carry him upstairs. I'm fine."
"Liv please. Not tonight."
"El-"
"I can carry him." Both look over and are surprised to see Rick. "I mean if, you know. You need help. Or not. Or whatever. Never mind."
"No. No, Rick that would help us out," he looks at his wife and silent communication passes between the two of them. She agrees.
Rick walks over and he avoids eye contact and scratches the back of his neck. "Just support his head," Olivia tells him as she places her son in his arms.
He carefully cradles his little brother. "Like this?"
"Yea, like that."
They all head upstairs to their bedroom. Lizzie is in the room standing over Julian's bassinet. "Just tucking him in."
"Thanks," Olivia says and watches Rick carefully place Jordan in the bassinet beside Julian's.
"Need anything else?" Rick asks.
"Nope. Thanks you two. Why don't you guys head off to bed. You both have school in the morning."
"Do we have to?" Rick whines.
"Yea, it's the last week. It's not like they're making us do anything productive."
"Yes, you have to go to school. Now off to bed." Elliot tells them as he comes into the room. The twins leave grumbling the entire way.
"Kayla go down ok?" Olivia asks.
"Yea. I was afraid she was going to wake up while I was putting her pajamas on, but she's a sound sleeper."
"Wonder where she gets that from?"
"Not me."
"Uh huh."
"I'm going to hop in the shower."
"Alright. See you in a few."
He taps his toothbrush on the side of the sink and grins his teeth in front of the mirror checking to see if he has missed a spot.
"All squeaky clean?" Olivia asks as she leans in the doorway of the entrance to their bathroom. Dressed in a long sleeved T-shirt. Her arms crossed over her chest.
"Yea sorry, do you need to use the bathroom?"
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you," she says pulling the door, but leaving it slightly ajar.
"What?"
She walks over and slides between him and the counter and hoists herself up onto it placing a leg on either side of his. "You know, today is our anniversary."
He grins. "Yea, and?"
She runs her hands down the hard muscle of his chest and undoes the towel around his waist. "Certain traditions should be upheld," she whispers over his lips. "Don't you think?" She asks and takes his penis in her hand.
"What traditions might that be?" he replies, playing along. He slides his hands up the bare skin of her thighs.
"Hmmm. I do have one in mind," she says before covering his lips with hers.
He returns her kiss with equal fervor and pulls her closer to his engorged member. Her arms wrap around his neck and she pulls him closer to her. His fingers slide over her mound and he's surprised to find her already wet and ready for him. He wastes no time pushing inside her and smiles when she sighs against his lips. He reaches for the hem of her shirt, but she stops him with her hand on his. "No, Just like this," she pants. "Just like this." He grabs her hips and pulls her closer, pushing harder into her. Her arms slip over his back and she braces her hands on the counter behind her. Her head falls back and he attacks her neck, causing her to let out a deep moan. She can feel the tension begin to build inside her as his strokes become more frequent and harder. She wraps one arm under his and the other around his neck him and holds on tighter. She comes without warning and he follows suit behind her.
"Happy Anniversary," he pants into her ear.
"Yea," she pants back. She swallows hard and looks him in the eye. "I love you."
"I love you too," he replies and kisses her sweetly on the lips.
"But I really came in here to talk to you," she laughs, and he laughs with her. "You've been great. Throughout all of this you've been amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better husband."
"Liv?" he asks when he sees her eyes well up with tears.
"I know I haven't been the greatest wife. I've been difficult. Selfish. And I always run when things get too hard, but through it all you've stuck by me. And you've loved me. I never thought I'd find a man that would love me unconditionally and it took me this long to realize you do, and I'm sorry. For everything I've done to hurt you. I'm sorry."
"Liv, you don't have to apologize. We've both made mistakes."
"Yea, but I want to. You deserve better."
"No Liv, I deserve you," he says and pulls her into a hug. "Now how about you hop back into the shower with me, and get cleaned up."
She smiles and kisses the corner of his mouth. "As much as I would love to, I can't. The boys," she motions back to their bedroom.
"I'll grab the baby monitor. They'll be fine. C'mon." He says and reaches for the hem of her shirt. Her hands quickly cover his. "You're beautiful," he tells her. And accentuates it with a kiss on the lips. He lifts the shirt and she aids him by raising her arms over her head. "Now hop in the shower, I'll be right back."
xXx
"No more!" Olivia giggles as she side steps Elliot's grip and hops out of the shower. "I'm putting this on cold!" she tells him as she turns the knob.
"Hey!" he shrieks.
"You can come out when you've calmed down," she wraps a towel around herself heads back into the bedroom. She notices that Jordan is awake and cooing happily in his bassinet as she passes by. She quickly dresses in one of Elliot's T-shirts and a pair of boy shorts and unlocks their room door before lifting him from his bed and snuggling in bed with him. "Hey, Sweet Boy," she coos to him and he stares at her with bright blue eyes and coos back.
"Not playing favorites are you," Elliot asks as he steps into the bedroom.
"No, he was up so I figured he'd want some Mommy time."
Elliot pulls on some boxers and settles in on the other side of the bed. "Well, he's had Mommy time all day. It's Daddy's turn," he says as he lifts him from her and settles him in his lap. "Can you tell them apart yet?"
"Actually, yea, I can."
"How?"
"I'm their Mom, that's how. I've spent the last six weeks by their side."
"Yea, I wanted to talk to you about that."
"What?"
"I've been thinking about retiring."
"What?! Elliot you can't. Did something happen at work?"
"No, but, It's something I've been considering for a while now. I've done my twenty, and our family needs me here."
"Elliot, me falling wasn't your fault. It's a freak accident that could have happened while you were here."
"No. I was at work instead of here with you. They called Cragen to relay the message that something had happened to you. They shouldn't have had to. I should have been home. I had called out, and wanted to get some paperwork to do while I was home. If I had come straight home like I said I was, I would have been here to get you that glass of water. I mean, what if you had been knocked out and never called 911. I could have lost all three of you."
"But you didn't. We're all here, and we're all fine."
"I almost lost you because I couldn't see how unhappy you were. I wasn't around when Rick was hanging out with the wrong people and getting mixed up in drugs. I wasn't around to realize that things weren't ok at home, and that Liz and Rick didn't like Kayla, and she ended up hurt. I wasn't around to realize that Liz was so unhappy that she started cutting herself."
"El, I was around and even I didn't see it. You can't blame yourself for all that."
"I want to do this, Liv. I have a few more years before Liz, and Rick go off to college. I want to go Liz's science fairs and gymnastics meets. I want to coach Rick in football and baseball. Teach him what I know. Help him hone in on his skills. I missed a lot of them growing up, I don't want to miss that with Kayla or with these two. I can work until you come off maternity leave and stay and help take care of the boys. We can't afford day-care for all three of them."
"You really want to leave the force and become a stay at home dad?"
"Yea. T-ball is coming up, and Kayla can join. They're even looking for coaches. This is something I can do."
"Well, if it's what you really want, then I'll support you. I just don't want you to regret your decision later."
"I'm not. This is where I'm needed. I'm tired of worrying about murderers, rapists, and pedophiles. I need to spend more time worrying about our family. This is where I need to be."
"What about when the boys get older and go off to school?"
"I'll find something to do. I can teach at the academy or something."
"Alright, seems like you've really thought this through so I'll support you with this. When are you going to put your papers in?"
"Tomorrow morning. I've had them filled out for two weeks now, I just wanted to clear it with you before I went ahead with it."
"Alright." From his bassinet Julian begins to fuss and Olivia quickly picks him up and settles back in bed with him. "You know, I was surprised that you invited Peter."
"It was a big celebration. I wanted to invite all of our family and friends."
She smirks."Is that why you invited Kathy?"
He sighs. "I knew that wasn't going to go over well. She's their Mom. Liz asked if she could come since we were inviting everybody else. I didn't know how to or have the heart to tell her no."
"I don't want her here. Ever."
"Liv."
"No. This is our home. It's sacred. It's supposed to be a safe place."
"We need to get past the past."
"I still see her with you on our couch. It's supposed to be a place where our entire family can sit and be happy and I still see her kissing you on our couch. She's disrespected our home, and our marriage. She's not welcomed here. I don't want to be around her and I don't want her around my kids. That's not going to change."
"You've gotta try, Liv. I did with Peter."
"If inviting him was your way of trying to force my hand in this, then you did it for nothing."
"I did it because you said he's a friend, and I'm trying to trust you with him. I want you to be friends with him if that's what you want, I just don't want you to use him as a replacement for talking to me."
"I won't, and I appreciate that, and I know how my friendship with him makes you feel. Which is why I will keep my distance from him. As for Kathy. Kathy and I…it's just not going to happen."
"Not even for Liz and Rick?"
"Not even for a million dollars."
He decides the will let it go for now, and try to pick up the conversation in a few months. "You know there's another tradition we skipped over."
"What?"
He hands her a velvet box. "Happy Anniversary. I heard you the other day, when you said I don't buy you anything."
"I was joking Elliot."
"Yea, well open it," she opens the box to reveal a gold ring. The center holds three heart shaped stones. Light pink in the middle and diamonds on either side.
"It's the kids' birthstones. You like?"
"Yea," she nods. "I like. I guess great minds think alike."
"What?"
She hands him a similar velvet box. "Happy Anniversary." He opens it to reveal a gold ring as well covered in different colored stones. Two purple. Two diamonds. A dark blue, lime green, and a light pink. In the space between each one was the name of one of his kids. "I know the names are hard to read since they're so small, but it's hard to fit seven names on one ring."
"I love it. Thank you." He kisses her on the lips and they're interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Mommy?" Kayla's voice peeps through.
"Hey Baby girl, come in."
"And so it begins," Elliot says as Kayla shuffles in wearing her pink footie pajamas.
"So what begins?"
"The sibling rivalry."
Kayla settles into the space between them and begins to suck her thumb. She reaches out and gently takes Jordan's hands in hers.
Elliot admires his three youngest and looks at Olivia to see her doing the same. "You happy?"
"Yea, I'm happy."
Finé