Author's Note: I am sorry in advance for all of you who have waited so long for the release of the name of Olivia's baby. I did not give her name in this chapter, mainly because I still have not 100% decided what it is. I have chosen the first name and am now working on her middle name, but I think I have it picked out. Little baby Benson will have a name in the next chapter, I promise! And I will try to get written & posted as soon as possible. (Hopefully tomorrow!) Thank you all for being so patient!

~ Detective Olivia Stabler ~

The Sweetest Gift

(Chapter Three: Scorned)

Olivia sat in a rocking chair beside the baby's bed reading from the baby name book.

"Bailey," she read aloud looking in at the infant. "I'll mark that one with our maybes," she replied picking up a pink highlighter and drawing a line through the name."

"How's it going?" Elliot asked as he knelt beside the incubator.

"Pretty good. The doctor said she is doing really well today."

"Did you guys decide on a name?"

"We are narrowing it down," she said with a smile. "I am trying to spend every moment I can with her. I have to go back to work tomorrow. Then I will only be able to come and see her in the evenings after work. It is gonna be so hard to leave her here and go home with out her."

"She will be home before you know it. Then you will have a couple of weeks to stay home and be with her every moment."

"Yeah, I can't wait. My baby is almost a week old and I still haven't even been able to touch her."

"So, what do you have it narrowed down to?"

"Just a few. But I'm really leaning toward either Tessa or Lily."

"Those are both very pretty names."

"How do I know what fits her best? I don't even know what color her eyes are."

"Liv, there really is no big rush on picking a name. You will probably want to have one picked out before you take her home, but right now there is no big rush. Take a little time and think about it. Maybe it will be easier to decide once you are able to hold her and interact with her a little more. I am sure whatever name you decide on will be perfect for her."

"You know I have thought about this moment all of my life, hoped and planned and wished and dreamed and….now it is here and I have no idea what to even do. All I know is that there is this little tiny person in here and she is completely dependant on me and I don't know the first thing about parenting."

"You will be just fine."

"I just want to give her everything. The best of everything."

Elliot smiled.

"You're off to a pretty good start. Why don't we get out of here for a little while? Just take a little break."

"I don't know, El. I don't really want to leave her."

"She has an entire crew of doctors and nurses looking after her. And they will call you if anything changes. I'm talking two hours, tops."

"Well, what did you have in mind?"

"I thought maybe you could do me a favor."

"You mean repay one of the dozens I already owe you?"

Elliot laughed.

"I am supposed to pick up Elizabeth and take her shopping for a homecoming dress. Dress shopping is not exactly my forte."

"How did you get roped into this?"

"I was supposed to take the kids for dinner a few nights ago, but something came up. So, this is Kathy's way of punishing me."

"Something came up? A few nights ago, something came up?"

Elliot raised his eyes to stare at her for a moment.

"You mean when I called you and asked you to meet me here to help me with her?" Olivia asked looking down at the baby. "That night?"

"Yeah….that night."

"You blew off your kids to be here?"

"Not exactly. Kathy had a date and she just needed a babysitter. It wasn't even my night to have them. She called me that morning and insisted I take them. The kids didn't even know anything about it."

"Oh," Olivia laughed, "so you blew off Kathy to help me?"

"I did. And I would do it again in a heartbeat."

Olivia smiled.

"You would?"

"You needed me, Liv. She didn't."

"What about the kids?"

"If it had been about the kids, it would have been a different story. But it wasn't. My kids come first. I make sure of that."

"You're a really good father."

"Thanks, I try to be. So, what do you say? Will you come with me to take Elizabeth shopping for a dress for her first high school dance?"

"You don't think she would mind?"

"No, she would love to have you there. I think she would really rather have a woman's opinion, anyway. Dear old dad is just there to provide the credit card and foot the bill."

"Your opinion matters, Elliot. Your kids love and respect you. Of course your opinion matters."

"Maybe so, but I am not good at matching heels to dresses or talking strapless bras and updos. This is a big thing for her and I think maybe it would be a little more special to be able to talk the talk with a woman, not just her father who doesn't know anything about girly stuff."

"Okay, I will do it. But only because I owe you about a thousand favors and it is about time I start repaying them. And I think it will be fun to go dress shopping and I could probably use the practice. I just really don't want to be gone any longer than two hours, though. I want to be able to come back and spend a little time with her before visiting hours are over."

"Deal," Elliot said extending his hand to help her up.

"Bye angel, I will be back later to see you. I love you," Olivia cooed as she looked in on the baby through the plastic. "Mommy will be back later." She paused for a moment and then smiled.

"What?" Elliot asked.

"I'm a mommy," she laughed.

Elliot looked into her eyes and smiled. It was really nice to see her this happy.

"So what exactly did you have in mind?" Olivia asked as Elizabeth smiled.

"I'm not really sure. Something long. I don't want a short dress."

"Is there a particular color you like?"

"I don't know," the girl laughed. "I have never picked out a homecoming dress before."

"Well, lucky for you I have a little experience in this area."

"Did you go to a lot of dances when you were my age?"

"A few," Olivia said sorting through some dresses on a rack.

"And you had a lot of boyfriends?"

Olivia looked at her and smiled.

"A few."

"Liv, I know my dad asked you to come, because he didn't want to dress shop with me. I just….I just wanted to say thank you."

"You are very welcome. Your dad did ask me to come, but it isn't because he doesn't want to be here."

"The why is he sitting over there instead of helping us find a dress?"

"Well, honey, dads aren't always that good at things like picking out dresses. But he loves you very much and he wants you to be happy, that is why he asked me to come. But Elizabeth, I will completely understand if you would rather me go so you can spend this time with your father."

"No. I want you to stay. I think the dresses you pick out might be closer to my taste than the ones dad picks."

Olivia smiled.

"You are probably right."

"Liv, can we talk….about girl stuff?"

"Sure, honey, what's on your mind?"

"How old were you when you went on your first date?"

Olivia stared at the girl.

"Uhh…." she looked across the room at Elliot. "About six….eighteen," she said feeling bad for lying to the girl, but knowing Elliot would kill her if she told Elizabeth the truth.

"Eighteen? For a date? When did you have your first boyfriend?"

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Are you gonna tell my dad?"

"No," Olivia said softly. "Not unless there is a reason I need to tell your dad."

"My friend Luke, my date to the dance, he asked me to be his girlfriend. But dad would freak out if he knew. I'm not supposed to have a boyfriend or date until I am at least sixteen."

"Maybe this is something you should talk about with your mother."

"She wouldn't understand. She'll only get mad at me for keeping it a secret."

"Well what had happened with this boy?"

"Nothing, yet. But I really like him. I was just hoping maybe I could get your advice."

"On dating? I'm sorry, honey, but I think I agree with your father on this one. Fourteen is too young to go on a date."

"We are only going to the dance. But, like, what if he tries to kiss me?"

Olivia smiled at her and tried to imagine herself having this conversation with her daughter in fourteen years.

"Do you want him to kiss you?"

"I think so. I really like him."

"Have you ever been kissed by a guy before?"

"Yeah, but not a real kiss."

"And you are hoping that Luke will give you your first real kiss at this dance?"

"You think I am too young for a real kiss?"

Olivia stared into her eyes and smiled.

"No, honey, I think if you know that you are ready….then you should go for it."

"How old were you when you got your first kiss?"

"I was thirteen. But don't you dare tell your father I told you that."

Elizabeth laughed.

"And it was nice and romantic?"

"It was. But it was because I knew I was ready for it. It was a bit awkward and clumsy, completely humiliating, but totally worth it."

"I am ready, Liv. I have known Luke my entire life and we have been friends forever. I have had a crush on him for a long time and when he asked me to go to this dance with him, I thought my heart would explode from my chest. I want everything to be perfect."

"I'm sure it will be. You are a beautiful girl and you are going to look so beautiful at that dance that he wont be able to resist wanting to kiss you."

Elizabeth smiled.

"So you will help me?"

"Sure, I will."

"I think I like the this one," she said holding up the dress for Olivia to see.

"That is really pretty. You should try it on."

"Okay," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"Everything going alright?" Elliot asked from behind Olivia.

"Yes. She is trying on a dress she really likes."

"This can't be the one."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I have been through this with both of her sisters and there is no way she could have picked out a dress that fast."

"What do you think?" Elizabeth asked stepping out in front of the mirror.

"It is beautiful," Olivia said watching the girl as she twirled in front of her reflection.

"What do you think dad?"

"Very pretty, honey."

"You know what else would be pretty? If you wear your hair kind of up with some loose curls hanging down in the back."

"That sounds good," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"This is the one, dad."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup, this is the one I like."

"Good choice, baby. Give me the tag. You go get dressed and we can grab some ice cream on the way home."

"Okay," Elizabeth said with a big smile.

"How did you do that?" Elliot asked Olivia.

"I didn't do anything. I just listened to her. She's a good kid."

"Thank you. I'd like to think I had a part in that."

"Of course you did," Olivia laughed. "You are an amazing father and I just hope that someday I can be half as good a parent as you are."

"You are going to be just fine. I'm glad we were able to find the dress this quickly."

"When is her dance?"

"Tomorrow night."

"Her dance is tomorrow and you are just now getting her a dress?"

"Well, I didn't decide to let her go until this morning. I wanted to meet this punk face to face and get a good reading on him."

"And?"

"And I think I put a good scare into him. I have known this kid since he was in diapers. He is one of Dickie's friends and he knows better than to try anything."

Olivia laughed again.

"That poor boy."

"Hey, that poor boy will be just fine as long as he respects my little girl."

"Yeah," Olivia agreed with a smile. "So, back to the dance details. Did you make a hair appointment?"

"Kathy did that."

"Does she need shoes?"

"Between her and her sisters they have about two hundred pair, I am sure she can find something."

"No, no, no. El, this is going to be the biggest night of her life….up until this point of course. She got the perfect dress, now she needs the perfect shoes."

"See, this is exactly why I wish I had a couple of more boys. Seventy five bucks covers the tux and shoe rental. With the girls you have hair and nails, tanning and dresses and shoes and jewelry."

"El, I realize you have been through all of this a couple of times before, but this is her first real dance. It is important to her."

"Alright, we got a blue dress. You know anything about shoes?"

Elliot watched as a huge smile crossed Olivia's face.

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Ahh, the lady has a bit of a shoe fetish."

Olivia laughed again.

"Nothing dirty. I just happen to love shoes. I could have three outfits and a hundred pair of shoes and be the happiest girl in the world."

Elliot laughed.

"Lets see," Olivia said turning to look at a wall full of high heeled shoes. "Well, you can really go two routs here. You could pick out a white shoe and have it dyed to match the dress."

"Or?"

"Or….these amazing clear heels with the rhinestone straps."

"What do you like, Liv?" Elizabeth asked from behind her.

"Well honey, it's your big night. What do you like?" Olivia replied.

"They probably don't have the time to dye those. And what if they don't look right? Maureen had shoes dyed one year and they didn't even match her dress. They were a completely different color green. She ended up wearing a pair of old heels from her closet."

"Tragedy," Elliot said with a sarcastic smile.

"You obviously do not speak teenaged girl," Olivia added.

"So we go with the shiny shoes," Elliot said pointing to the heel in Olivia's hand.

"They have these in a few different styles."

"No, I like the ones you picked out, Liv."

"I think these will be very pretty with your dress."

"Yeah baby, I think silver shoes go good with a blue dress."

Olivia and Elizabeth both laughed.

"What?" Elliot asked.

"The shoes aren't silver, dad."

Elizabeth picked up the shoes and dress and headed for the counter.

"For the record, those shoes are not silver," Elliot joked.

"And for the record, the dress is navy and white. Not blue."

"For the record," Elliot noted shrugging his shoulders as he followed Olivia to the front of the store.

The next evening Olivia was sitting alone next to her infant daughter's bed reading to her from a book of children's stories when her cell phone rang.

"El, what's going on?" she asked thinking he had already gone home for the night.

"We need to talk," he snapped, obviously upset about something.

"Alright. I'm in with the baby. Come on up."

"No. I think it would be better if you came down here."

"You're already here?"

"I'm in the front parking lot."

"Okay," she said still wondering what this could possibly be about. "I'll be down in a minute."

Before Olivia could say goodbye, Elliot had hung up on her. A few minutes later she stepped off the elevator in the front lobby to see him pacing the sidewalk in front of the building.

"Elliot, what is going on?" she asked as she stepped out the front door.

"Like you don't already know!"

"El, honestly, I have no idea. What is wrong?"

"I pulled into my driveway this evening to find my fourteen year old daughter sitting on the front porch swing with her boyfriend," he snarled.

"Boyfriend? I take it the dance went well?"

"Elizabeth is never going to see Luke again!"

"What happened?"

"Kathy took Eli to visit her mother and they knew no one was home. They snuck away from the dance to be alone at the house and God knows what may have happened if I hadn't come home earlier than I had planned! They were quite tangled in a make out session! They didn't even realize I had come home and that boy had his hands all over my daughter!"

"Ooh. Not good."

"Not good is right. And imagine my shock when my child tells me that she had discussed this matter with you while dress shopping and you told her to go for it!"

"Whoa, wait a minute….that isn't exactly what happened."

"Well, I am curious, Olivia, as to exactly what it was that did happen?" he snapped.

"She wanted advice about boys. She was nervous about going to this dance with a boy she liked. She was asking things like when I started dating and…."

"You told her it was okay to date this guy?"

"No, I told her I agreed with you. She is too young."

"So how did Elizabeth get the impression that you were encouraging this behavior?"

"I may have sort of encouraged the kiss."

"The kiss? Which kiss would that have been?"

"She was hoping to get her first kiss tonight from Luke. She asked me what I thought and I told her that if she knew for sure she was ready, she should go for it. But I never said anything about making out with the guy or sneaking around. Elliot, I would never second guess your parenting. You and Kathy are great parents and certainly know a lot more about this sort of thing than I do."

"Well, at least we agree on something!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, maybe you should butt out and leave the parenting of my children to their parents! You have your own kid to screw up," he snapped looking up in the direction of the NICU. "So why don't you just stay the hell away from mine!"

Olivia stood speechless with tears streaming down her face. He had never spoken to her like this before, let alone yelled at her in scorn. She watched as he turned and stormed back across the parking lot and pulled away, still quite pissed off. She certainly hadn't intended to make him feel this way.

Olivia wiped the tears from her face and walked back inside. She drew a staggered breath as she climbed into the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor. As she walked toward the room where her baby girl slept a nurse caught her.

"I'm sorry ma'am. But visiting hours for the NICU are over for this evening."

Olivia looked at the woman trying so hard not to break into tears once more.

"Please, I didn't get the chance to tell her goodnight," she said softly trying to hold herself together.

The woman looked around them, then pushed the button to buzz Olivia back.

"I can give you five minutes," she said with a soft smile.

"Thank you," Olivia replied forcing a smile as well.

She walked across the room and knelt once more beside the little bed to stare at the baby inside.

"I love you so much," she sobbed as she broke into tears. "I just want you to know that. All I want is what is best for you. I'll come back to see you first thing in the morning, I promise. Goodnight, little angel."

Olivia stood and made her way back toward the door. Back at home she soaked in a hot bath to try and unwind. She had been in disagreements with Elliot before, but they had never ended like this.

She picked up her cell phone realizing that she had no missed calls and tried to call him again. But two rings later it went to his voicemail. Elliot was ignoring her calls. She listened for a moment to the silence at the end of the message, but wasn't sure what to say. She closed the phone and laid it on the night stand beside her bed.

She moved back down the hall to the kitchen to pour herself another glass of wine, this was by far the worst day she'd had in quite some time and she needed a little help surviving it. Back in the bedroom, Olivia climbed into her bed and pulled the overstuffed blankets up around her. She nestled into the pile of pillows and turned on an old movie as she settled in for the night. An hour later, she had cried herself to sleep.