She gripped Elliot's hand tightly. "Stop here," she demanded, voice shaking.

Elliot pulled over and stopped the car. Before he'd managed to put it in park, Olivia was leaping from the car and racing towards the ambulance, pulling out her shield. "Benson, SVU. What's going on? Where are my children?" she demanded.

"Children?" the paramedic asked, confused. "There weren't any children in the house, Detective."

"What?" Olivia exclaimed, more panicked than she was before. "I'm telling you my children were in that townhouse, there are three of them…"

"Livia," Elliot called from the back of the ambulance where he was looking at the stretcher in. Olivia didn't turn from her interrogation of the other paramedic. "Liv. OLIVIA!"

"What?" she exclaimed, fear darkening her eyes to almost black.

"Look," he said, holding out a hand and drawing her over to the ambulance.

Olivia peered into the back of the ambulance and froze. "Mrs. Burlini," she gasped at the sight of her elderly neighbor laying on the stretcher. "What happened?"

"She fell in the kitchen, set off her MedicAlert bracelet."

"My children," she sighed. "They're alright then. Mrs. Burlini," she called into the ambulance.

"She's unconscious."

Olivia nodded. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for jumping down your throats."

The first paramedic smiled. "Don't worry about it, I have kids, I know the worry."

Elliot rested a gentle hand on Olivia's back. "Let's go see the kids."

She nodded, even more exhausted than she had been, and they walked up the steps to her townhouse together. When they reached the door Olivia was relieved to find it locked. She unlocked it and they stepped into the darkened entryway. After shutting the door, locking it behind them, and turning on the alarm, Olivia sighed. "I'm going to go check on the kids. Do you want something to drink?"

"Neither of us needs the caffeine that's in coffee. How does tea sound?" he offered, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

"Great, thanks," Olivia smiled thankfully.

"I'll put the water on, then meet you upstairs."

Olivia nodded and headed up the stairs. She stopped first in Brian's room and smiled. He was sleeping on his back, his arms and legs thrown out to the sides and the blankets pushed off the foot of the bed. With a tender smile, Olivia gently tucked Brian's limbs back onto the bed, then pulled his blankets up, tucking him in. She sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked his hair back from his face. She bent and brushed a kiss over his forehead. "I love you Brian," she whispered. Brian shifted in his sleep, smiled, and sighed.

As the hand closed on her shoulder, Olivia jumped to her feet and spun around, only to trip on Brian's stuffed lion and stumble. Elliot caught her and pulled her against his chest. "It's okay sweetheart," he murmured. "It's just me."

"I know," she murmured, keeping her voice low to avoid waking Brian. "But you scared five years off of my life. Try to make a little more noise, okay? Ninjas are noiser."

Elliot chuckled, a sound which rumbled through his chest and against her cheek, soothing her. "I'll try to knock into a few walls while I'm walking to give you warning and I'll make sure to slam the doors open, okay?"

"That could work," Olivia teased.

"Is our boy asleep?" Elliot glanced over her shoulder and saw Brian curling himself into a ball.

Olivia nodded into his chest. "Like an angel."

"Ready to go check on Maggie?"

Olivia nodded again. "I've been waiting for you."

Elliot grinned, hearing a deeper message in her seemingly innocent words. "Thank you." He released her with a gentle kiss to the top of her head and padded over to the bed. He brushed Brian's hair off of his face and kissed his forehead gently. "Good night, Bri. I love you."

Brian stayed asleep but shifted towards Elliot's hand and smiled. Olivia linked fingers with Elliot and they tiptoed quietly out of the room, leaving the door cracked open just in case. When they entered Maggie's room, Olivia let out a sigh of relief. Intellectually, she knew that Maggie was tucked into bed, safe and sound, but the mother in her had needed to see first hand that, despite what had happened to Kayla and Theresa, her own little girl was safe. Maggie was tucked firmly under the covers, arms wrapped tightly around her stuffed bear and Cinderella doll. She smiled in her sleep, turning towards the door. Olivia sat on the edge of her bed and smoothed Maggie's hair back. Maggie shifted, turned her face into Olivia's hand, and blinked her eyes open.

"Livvy?" she murmured, sleepily.

"Right here baby girl, you go back to sleep."

Maggie smiled and hugged Olivia's arm to her. "You an' Elliot find the little girls?"

Olivia shook her head. "Not yet sweetheart."

"But we will," Elliot added with a gentle smile for the little girl.

Maggie's eyes focused on him and she smiled softly. "Elwiot," she whispered, holding out her arms.

Elliot obliged her with a hug and kissed her cheek. "You go back to sleep now Maggie Mae. We're going to be downstairs."

Maggie nodded and smiled. "I love you, Elwiot. Love you, Livvy."

"Love you too Maggie," Elliot smiled, kissing her cheek.

"I love you, Maggie," Olivia murmured, gathering the little girl close for a moment before kissing the top of her head and settling her back under the covers. "Night night, sleep tight," she began.

"Don' let bed bugs bite!" Maggie giggled as she pulled her stuffed animals close to her again and quickly fell back to sleep.

Olivia paused for a moment longer to watch Maggie sleep, her dreams remarkably untroubled by her past. Finally, she turned and she and Elliot crept into her own bedroom. Once there, she had to bite back a chuckle which threatened to erupt. Maureen was sound asleep in the bed, looking like she'd just fought a very violent war with the blankets. They were wound around her legs, half on the floor.

Elliot snuck over to the bed and allowed himself the luxury of tucking his first born into bed. When Maureen was back under the covers Elliot turned to see Olivia standing against the crib, cradling the baby to her, tears bright in her eyes. Elliot walked over silently and wrapped his arms around both of them.

"We have to find them," Olivia whispered, careful not to wake the baby in her arms.

"We will. But we won't without sleep."

Olivia nodded and kissed Jacob's cheek. "I love you baby boy."

"Sleep tight little man," Elliot murmured as he bent down to kiss the sleeping baby. Olivia turned, reluctantly laid the sleeping baby back in the portacrib. Knowing that she could, and would, have stayed there all night, Elliot linked fingers with her and gently drew her out the door and downstairs. "Why don't you grab a seat in the living room and I'll bring in the tea?"

"You don't have to do that, you're just as tired as I am."

Elliot smiled and kissed her gently. "I'll only be a minute. You can warm up the couch for me."

"Seat warming, got it," Olivia smiled, reaching up to kiss him again. She walked into the living room and stared at the sofa bed, debating. She grabbed the cushions, tossed them on the floor, and pulled out the sofa bed. She grabbed the blankets from her hall closet and returned to the living room to find Elliot waiting with two mugs.

"I wondered where you disappeared to," he smiled.

"I thought we'd be more comfortable if we could stretch out," Olivia explained, arranging the blankets.

"Sounds good to me." Elliot waited until Olivia was settled on the bed, sitting against the back with the blankets tucked over her legs before he handed a steaming mug down to her and settled next to her. "Do you want music?" she asked taking a sip of her tea and smiling slightly when she realized that Elliot had remembered to add both milk and honey to her tea.

Elliot shook his head. "This is good. Wanna talk? This is your first case like this since becoming a mom."

"No, I want to find those little girls." At Elliot's long look, Olivia sighed. "I'm not going to say that I'm fine, because we both know that these cases suck. But for now, I just want to stay here, with you."

"I think that can be arranged." Elliot shifted so his arm was tucked behind her back, drawing her close to him.

"Do…" Olivia took a deep breath. "Do you want to stay tonight?"

Elliot smiled. "Sounds great." He paused. "Um, do you want me to climb on top of the blankets?"

Olivia tilted her head to look at him, eyebrows arched. "You're kidding, right?"

"Just making sure," he grinned. "Do you think you can sleep?"

"I should. And so should you. Tomorrow's going to be long and we have to be back at the station in a few hours."

"Today," Elliot corrected as he set both tea mugs on the end table and slid down, still holding Olivia to him.

"Huh?" she asked, shifting so she was more comfortable, her head on his chest and her arm around his waist.

"Today, not tomorrow."

"You sound like…Munch," Olivia murmured, her sentence interrupted by a large yawn.

"Uh-huh," Elliot teased softly. "You're just saying that because you know I'm right."

"El?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

They lay in silence for several minutes before Olivia spoke again. "Elliot? Are you awake?"

"Hm? What's wrong?"

She sighed. "I can't sleep."

"Do you want your tea?"

She shook her head against his chest. "Talk to me."

"I thought you wanted me to shut up?" he teased, rubbing her back gently. At her narrowed look, he sighed. "What do you want to talk about?"

Olivia's lips pursed. "Tell me a story about when you were a kid."

Elliot chuckled. "A story about when I was a kid? Okay, um, here it goes. One summer, when I was about 11 and my brother Joshua was 10, I decided that I wanted to be a stunt double when I grew up. I watched all of the action movies and thought I could do some of the stunts. So I convinced Josh that we should try it."

"Uh oh," Olivia chuckled. "What stunt?"

"We decided that, well, I decided that we should parachute off of the roof. So we took two bed sheets, held onto the corners, and jumped."

"What happened?" Olivia gasped.

"Well, I went first, because I was older. The sheet got caught in the tree branches so I hung for a few seconds. Until the branch gave out and I fell. Josh started screaming for Mom and it turns out that I'd broken my left arm when I fell. So for the rest of the summer I was grounded, stuck at home with extra chores for being stupid enough to try to jump off of the roof and, more importantly, for dragging Josh with me. Plus I couldn't go swimming or play baseball for the rest of the summer."

"That must have been the worst part," Olivia sympathized sleepily.

"Pretty much."

"Promise me something?"

"Of course," Elliot smiled.

"You didn't even ask what I want you to promise. But promise that you won't tell this story to Brian?"

"I promise."

"So you gave up your stunt man dreams?"

Elliot chuckled, the sounds rumbling through her body as he began to stroke her hair gently. "You'd think. But nope, less than a week after getting my cast off, I tried parachuting off the roof again. But I was smarter this time. I tried to use a garbage bag and avoided the tree. Instead, I ended up in the bushes, with splinters in places that it's best not to mention." When that last sentence didn't get a chuckle, or any kind of reaction, Elliot looked down to see Olivia curled around him, sound asleep. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and closed his eyes, allowing sleep to overcome him.

Olivia wasn't sure what time it was when she felt a pair of little fingers trying to pry her eyelids open. "Livvy?" Maggie asked softly. "Livvy why you sleepin' on the couch? Why's Elwiot here?"

Olivia blinked her eyes open, capturing Maggie's little hands in hers. "Come here sweetheart," she whispered, pulling Maggie onto the bed. "Elliot and I fell asleep because we're tired. Come on, let's go back to sleep."

Maggie nodded. "Okay, love you, Livvy. Night night." She nestled down between Elliot and Olivia and smiled, feeling safe and warm in their arms.

"Dad?" Maureen asked not much later. "Olivia? What are you guys doing here?"

Elliot opened his eyes and was about to sit up when he realized that one arm was trapped beneath Olivia and Maggie. "What time is it?" he rasped.

"Six-thirty."

"Thanks sweetie," he smiled blearily up at his daughter. "Can you take Maggie upstairs? Olivia and I have to go back to the station."

"Already?" she asked, surprised.

Elliot nodded. "It's a big case."

"Theresa and Kayla," Maureen nodded. "It was on the news." Maureen bent over and reached down to gather Maggie into her arms. "I'm going to put her back to bed, good luck."

Elliot nodded. "Thanks sweetie. We'll call if we need you to pick the kids up."

"No problem, I only have class until 4:30 today so I can get them from daycare." Maureen turned and carried Maggie upstairs, murmuring softly to her.

Elliot smiled and leaned over, kissing Olivia gently. "Olivia," he whispered softly. "Wake up sweetheart."

"Hm?" she hummed, smiling as she opened her eyes. "This is a nice way to wake up."

"I like it myself. But we have to get down to the station." Elliot regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth. The sleepy, contented look disappeared from her eyes, wiped away by the memory of the case, only to be replaced by the look of sadness and determination that Elliot had become used to over the past eight years.

"I'll jump in the shower and start coffee," Olivia shifted.

"Don't worry about coffee, Maureen's grabbing it," Elliot promised. "If you want to jump in the shower, I'll help get the kids ready, and then I'll jump in."

"Sounds like a plan," Olivia nodded.

When they walked into the station an hour later, things were already buzzing. "Any leads?" Elliot called out as Olivia headed straight for the coffee pot to refill their travel mugs.

"Nothing new from last night," Cragen answered. "You and Liv head down to the zoo and see if you can find Robeson. Munch and Fin will recanvass the areas of the abductions."

"Fun," Munch groaned. "Why do we always get the shitty jobs?"

"Because you piss too many people off," Fin answered testily.

"Come on Olivia," Elliot chuckled. "This could take all day."

"I think they do that just to put off doing something they don't want to," Olivia whispered as they left the station house.

"Just like Brian will," Elliot chuckled. When they were back in the car, stuck in traffic on their way to the Central Park Zoo, Elliot reached over to link fingers with her. "This morning was nice."

She nodded and smiled slightly. "I wish it could have been under better circumstances," Olivia answered softly.

"We'll get those," Elliot promised. "Are we still on for Friday night?"

"Unless you don't want to be," Olivia answered, suddenly nervous.

"I want to," Elliot smiled. "I just wanted to make sure that you still did. Dinner on Friday, then spend Saturday with the kids?"

"Sounds perfect." Olivia sighed as they pulled into the zoo parking lot. "I don't have a good feeling about this, El. I just don't."

They walked through the zoo quietly, occasionally whispering about one person or another, looking for Robeson. To anyone watching, they would have looked like an average couple, spending a day at the zoo. After almost two hours of wandering, in addition to three cups of coffee each, a soft pretzel, and, at Elliot's insistence, a funnel cake, Olivia gripped Elliot's arm tightly.

"There he is," she whispered. "One o'clock, on the bench."

Elliot nodded. "I see him." Elliot drew up to a stop at a nearby exhibit, using the time and positioning to observe Robeson without him noticing them, even though he was far too engrossed in watching the animals to pay attention to anything else. "Looks to be about 5'10", 185 lbs," Elliot murmured. "Trench coat."

"Of course," Olivia rolled her eyes. "Typical perv outfit." She paused. "I think we should tail him."

"Instead of busting him here?" Elliot asked, surprised. He would have thought that Olivia would want to get Robeson the first chance they had.

"If we bring him down to the station, how long will it take us to crack him?" she asked. "It could take us longer to crack him than it would take him to lead us to Kayla and Theresa."

Elliot nodded. "As long as Cap okays it, I have no problem with that. I'll call him, you keep an eye on our guy."

Olivia nodded, pretending to be engrossed in the elephant exhibit while really watching Robeson. Elliot was back in less than five minutes. He nodded casually and peered at Robeson. "Nothing?"

"I have a feeling we're settling in for a long haul here."

It was nearly three hours later when Robeson finally stood up and shuffled towards the exit. Olivia immediately perked up. It was about freaking time, she thought crossly. She'd tired of the smell of elephants after fifteen minutes and now she thought she was probably immune to it. She nudged Elliot who was midway through his third soda in as many hours.

"I hope you don't have to pee," she warned. "This may be it."

They straightened and began following Robeson at a careful distance. He walked out of the park, picking up speed slightly as he headed down the block, walking. After fifteen blocks, Elliot risked a sidelong at his partner. "Liv?"

"You have to pee, don't you?"

"I was just wondering if Munch and Fin are still tailing us."

"Three cars back," she answered, making a sharp right at the corner.

"Then yes, I do. I'm going to step into that Starbuck's and Fin can follow with you. Munch will drive me to catch up."

A single eyebrow arched. "Munch? Drive? Elliot, you're sleep deprived."

"Fine, Munch will go with you, Fin can drive me."

"You're telling them," Olivia grumbled. "Wait! Elliot, there!" Robeson had turned down an alley and they followed, quickening their pace until they saw him climb into an abandoned building. Olivia grabbed her radio, told Munch and Fin where they were going, and asked for backup.

Elliot unholstered his gun and followed Robeson silently through the window. He dropped to the ground and waited, gun trained in the direction of the fading sounds of Robeson's footsteps. Olivia landed next to him and Fin and Munch followed. They crept down the hall until they heard a door creak open and then slam shut.

They positioned themselves, Elliot nearest to the door to be the first one in, Olivia behind him and Munch and Fin across from them. "Larry Robeson," Elliot called. "Police, come out with your hands up!"

For a heart stopping moment, there was nothing on the other side of the door, no threats, no gunshots and most terrifyingly, no children's voices. Then all four officers jumped as the door handle turned and opened.

Larry Robeson stood before them, confused. "They won't play with me," he said morosely.

Elliot and Olivia pushed passed Robeson and into the room while Munch and Fin slapped handcuffs on him. The sight that met their eyes froze them to one spot. Both little girls were laying on the bed, still as death.

Olivia all but dove for the girls, whispering their names and pressing her fingers to their pulse points. Neither girl woke up or moved but beneath her fingers, Olivia felt Theresa's pulse fluttering lightly under her fingers.

"Theresa's still alive, Elliot. Call a bus."

"Kayla?" Elliot's heart broke as Olivia shook her head. He grabbed his radio and called for the bus. "Is he saying anything?" Elliot asked, glancing out the door at Munch and Fin who shook their heads.

"They won't play with me, they're mean," Robeson answered.

"Take him in. Kayla's dead but Theresa's still alive. CSU and a bus are on their way."

Munch nodded solemnly. "Cap's on his way."

As Munch and Fin loaded Robeson into the car, Elliot turned back to Olivia who was kneeling next to Theresa, whispering gently to her and holding her hand. "It's okay, Theresa, you're safe now," Olivia murmured. "My name's Olivia, I'm a police officer. We're going to take you to a hospital and they'll make you feel much better and you can see your mommy and daddy. You're going to be okay sweetheart."

The ambulance arrived before CSU, screaming into the alley. They loaded Theresa onto a stretcher first, Olivia following her into the ambulance. "Elliot, call Cap?" she asked.

Elliot nodded. "I'll let Munch and Fin take him in, I'll stay here with CSU."

When Olivia arrived at the hospital, she briefed Dr. DelAmico, the same doctor she'd seen when she found Brian, Maggie, and Jacob, on the case and what to look for. She called Cragen and told him that she was planning on waiting until Theresa was out of the woods. Cragen answered that as soon as Elliot was done with CSU, he'd be bringing Theresa's parents by the hospital. Olivia settled against the wall of the ER hallway, watching through the doors as Dr. DelAmico tried to resuscitate Theresa's little body. Finally, Anna emerged from the ER, removed the blood spattered smock from her body, and stood in front of Olivia.

Olivia knew, before one word left the doctor's mouth, what she would say. "Theresa didn't make it," Olivia said hollowly.

Anna shook her head. "No," she said softly. "She was too dehydrated, I don't think that little girl had been given anything to drink or eat since she was taken."

"Was…was she raped?"

Anna shook her head again. "We did a rape kit, there were no fluids found. No bruising either. Looks like she was handled a little roughly, but no broken bones, nothing besides the dehydration and starvation. She was just too far gone Olivia. I'm sorry."

Olivia nodded. "My partner's on his way with her parents…"

"I'll make sure that she's cleaned up."

Olivia turned and walked down the hall, waiting for Elliot. But thinking about Theresa, just six years old, laying dead caused bile to rise in her throat. She turned and rushed into the bathroom, losing her lunch over the toilet. A tiny little girl, only a few years older that Maggie, abducted, murdered, and Olivia hadn't gotten there in time to save her. Tears streamed down Olivia's face for several minutes as she slumped against the stall wall. She managed to pull herself together and made her way to the sink, splashing her face with cold water before emerging from the bathroom and calling Elliot to give him a heads up.

Elliot walked into the ER, Theresa's parents with him. He saw Olivia sitting in the waiting room, looking fairly lost, but as soon as she saw them, she snapped into cop mode. "Mr. and Mrs. Milner, I'm Detective Benson, we met the other day."

"You were with Theresa when they brought her here, where is she?" Mr. Milner demanded.

"Dr. DelAmico will be with us shortly," Olivia answered, even as Anna approached.

"Mr. and Mrs. Milner? I'm Dr. DelAmico, I treated Theresa when she was brought in. She was brought in unconscious, severely dehydrated, and suffering from starvation. We worked on her for over an hour but she went into cardiac arrest. We tried everything we could, but we couldn't bring her back. I'm sorry."

Mrs. Milner collapsed against her husband, sobbing. She kept repeating "No, no, no, no," over and over. After several minutes, Olivia spoke up softly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Milner, if you'd like, Dr. DelAmico will take you to see your daughter now."

The Milners nodded, following Anna as if they were in a trance. Olivia turned to Elliot and he saw reflected in her dark brown eyes the same fear and sadness that he'd seen in his own eyes, almost since starting at SVU. He reached out and silently squeezed her hand. She squeezed back and after a moment, she nodded. "Did you drive them?"

Elliot shook his head. "They wanted to take their own car. They thought they'd be here for the long haul. Do you want to head back, leave a message for them that we're at the station?"

Olivia nodded. They walked out to the squad car in tandem. When they were seated, Elliot reached over to link fingers with Olivia. He glanced over worriedly. He'd put off thinking about this, the first case that they'd lose a victim since she'd gotten custody of the kids. But they'd lost not just one victim, but two, both of whom were little girls. "Liv?" he asked after several silent blocks.

"Hm?"

"Wanna stop and grab a coffee before we get back?" His thumb began rubbing gently against hers.

She didn't answer for long enough that Elliot was about to ask again when she nodded. "Okay."

Once they were seated at a back table of the closest Starbucks, a large plain black coffee in front of Elliot and a caramel Macchiato in front of Olivia, he waited, as patiently as he could, knowing that eventually, she would open up to him.

Finally, when her drink was half gone, Olivia looked up at him, tears filling her eyes, but refusing to fall. "I'm sorry," she all but whispered.

"Sorry?" Elliot asked. Of all the things he'd thought she might say, sorry wasn't one of them. "For what, honey?"

"All of those times, when you used to say it would be different if I had kids, that I'd understand…I hated it when you did that, like there was something I wasn't getting because I wasn't a mother. But you were right. It's not that I understand any more than I did, it's just…different."

Elliot nodded, understanding completely. "I know Liv. You just want to go home and lock the doors, keeping your kids inside and protected forever."

She nodded and murmured, "Something like that," into her coffee. "It's not enough, you know? We go to work every day and try to catch them. But for every pervert and sicko we take off the streets, there are so many others just waiting to strike. We're losing, El."

He reached over and laid a gentle hand over hers, rubbing circles in her palm when she turned her hand over in his. "You forgot the speech," he said with a gentle smile.

"The speech?" Olivia asked, confused.

"The speech you give me every time I start feeling that way. We're not losing this war, Olivia. We're winning because every pervert we get off the streets is one less who could possibly hurt one of our kids. You are such an amazing woman, Olivia. You help hundreds of people every year, because of you women, and children are able to wake up safe every morning and look at themselves in the mirror." He reached up a hand to gently brush a tear from her cheek. "You have opened your heart to all of the victims and their families and because of you, they are able to live each day. You opened both your heart and your home to three children, pulling them out of hell and giving them an amazing life."

"They're dead, Elliot. Two little girls who I couldn't save. They were only babies, and I couldn't bring them home."

Elliot sighed. "Olivia," he whispered. "You have worked your ass off for this case. You stayed up late, got a sitter for the kids. You did everything you possibly could to find those girls and bring them home."

"Everything wasn't enough."

"No, sometimes, our everything isn't enough. We're not perfect Liv, we're not superheroes. All we can do is do our best, every case, every time."

"And when it's not enough?"

"Then we fight that much harder the next time," he answered. After a few more minutes, Elliot squeezed her hand. "Ready to head back and finish the paperwork? Get home early?"

Olivia took a deep breath, then nodded. "Do, uh, do you want to come over for dinner? Bring your kids?"

Elliot beamed. "That sounds great. Let's go sweetheart." He helped her to her feet and gently pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head before they headed to the sedan.

That afternoon, after being sent home early and being told to take the next day off, Olivia drove to daycare herself. Elliot was on his way to pick up his kids from Kathy, he'd called and asked to see them, which she'd agreed to. Olivia walked into the daycare and headed straight for the school aged room. She looked around and felt panic squeeze her heart and steal her breath when she didn't see him.

Angela, the teacher in the school-aged room smiled up at the obviously frightened woman. "Brian asked if he could go into the preschool room with Maggie this afternoon."

Olivia's panic assuaged, her brow furrowed. "He did? Did he mention why?"

Angela smiled secretively but shook her head. "Nope. We let him head over because he said he didn't have homework. You might want to double check that one."

"Thanks," Olivia said with a smirk as she turned and headed for the preschool room and her children. When she entered the room, Brian and Maggie were bent over a table together with identical looks of concentration. Olivia cleared her throat softly and both children looked up, then beamed.

"Olivia!" Brian exclaimed as he raced over to hug her tightly. "You're early today!"

"Livvy!" Maggie squealed, crashing into both of them and all but trying to climb up Olivia's legs.

Olivia lifted Maggie into her arms, held her tightly for several moments, then crouched and pulled Brian into her arms also. "I missed you guys so much today," she whispered.

"We missed you too!" Brian exclaimed.

"Misseded you lots!" Maggie agreed.

"We made you something," Brian said, pulling out of Olivia's arms and blushing.

"You did?" she asked, stroking a hand gently over his cheek.

Brian nodded and reached behind him, pulling forward a piece of white construction paper which read, "We Love You, Olivia!" It was decorated with Maggie's scribbles and Brian's careful drawing of Olivia, in full beat uniform, Maggie and Brian standing next to her, and a baby carriage. On the other side of Brian was a picture which Olivia immediately recognized as Elliot.

When tears filled her eyes, Brian bit his lip nervously. "Don't you like it?" he asked softly.

"Oh Brian," Olivia pulled him back into her arms tightly. "I love it, sweetheart. This picture is perfect. This picture is exactly what I needed today."

Brian smiled. "Elliot has pictures his kids made on his desk, you didn't have anything."

"I cowood it, Livvy!" Maggie squealed.

"I see that, baby," Olivia beamed, kissing her cheek. "You colored it beautifully and this is, without a doubt, the best present I've ever gotten."

"Really?" Brian asked, half hoping, half disbelieving.

"Really. I'm going to put it up on my desk tomorrow, first thing. Are you guys ready to go home?"

Brian nodded. "Yep! No homework tonight!"

"Do you have your planner?" Olivia asked, somewhat suspiciously.

"In my bag. Is Elliot coming to dinner too?"

"He sure is," Olivia grinned as she stood, Maggie on her hip and one arm tucked around Brian's shoulder. "He went to Queens to pick up the kids."

"Lizzie an' Katie an' Reen?" Maggie asked hopefully.

"I don't know if Maureen will come or not," Olivia answered. "But Katie and Lizzie and Dickie will be there."

"Awesome! Pizza?" Brian grinned hopefully.

Olivia laughed, amazed at the ability of these children to heal her, soothing her raw nerves without even meaning to. "How about spaghetti instead?" she suggested, tweaking Brian's nose gently.

"Ice keem?" Maggie asked, grinning hugely.

"I can do ice cream. Let's get your things and get your brother and go home."

When they arrived at home, Olivia quickly found herself too busy being "mommy" to even let her mind drift back to the horrors of the day. Brian had a spelling test on Friday to study for, despite his technically honest claim that he didn't have homework. Olivia held Jacob in one arm while she started browning meat for spaghetti sauce while she quizzed Brian on his spelling words over the sounds of Maggie "playing kitchen" which was closer to simply banging on pots and pans with a wooden spoon.

At the sound of knocking on the door, Brian leapt up from the table, racing to answer it with Maggie hot on his heels. The front door opened and the volume multiplied as the kids began shouting over each other. Elliot hugged Brian and Maggie before stepping through his kids on his way to the kitchen. Finding Olivia padding barefoot around the kitchen, a pot of something that smelled great on the stove with a baby in her arms Elliot just beamed.

"Hey beautiful," he purred, sliding his arms around her waist and, Jacob nestled between them, kissed her soundly.

"Hey yourself," she smiled. "Where are the kids?"

"Brian and Dickie are upstairs, probably trying to destroy Brian's room, Maggie dragged the girls up to her room to play dolls. So it's just you and me."

Jacob, either hungry or tired of being squashed, let out a squawk and Olivia laughed. "And one very demanding little boy."

"Of course," Elliot smirked. He pulled back slightly and cupped her cheek gently. "How are you doing?" he asked softly, well aware that little ears popped up where you least expected them.

Olivia nodded, shifting Jacob to her shoulder. "Better. The kids…they drew me a picture today. I saw them at daycare and hugged them and it was like…all of a sudden, I could forget about it all, just put it on the back burner and be Mom because that was what I needed to do."

Elliot leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Good. Why don't I feed the little man here for you?"

"Sounds like an unfair trade. You get to cuddle my baby and I have to cook," Olivia teased.

"Well I would cook, but I don't know your recipe," Elliot grinned, slipping the baby into his arms.

"It's Ragu and pasta," Olivia rolled her eyes as she slid garlic bread into the oven. "Could you grab the salad mix out of the fridge for me?"

"No problem." Elliot handed over the salad as Olivia opened two cans of green beans and poured them into a pot on the stove. "So, our date on Friday?" he asked with a smile.

"You still want to do that?" she smiled over her shoulder.

Elliot turned from the microwave and settled himself into a kitchen chair, Jacob nestled his arms. "Don't you want to?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady, even as his stomach clenched with fear.

"No, no I do," Olivia exclaimed quickly. "I just…I wasn't sure you still did."

"I do. Where do you want to go for dinner?"

"Hm, wherever?" Olivia suggested.

"Oh, now that we're dating you don't have a food preference?" Elliot teased.

Olivia smiled slightly. "My focus isn't exactly on dinner," she said softly.

Elliot stood, placed Jacob in his carrier, and stepped behind Olivia, resting his hands gently on her shoulders. He pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck and smiled as he felt the chills run through her body. "If you're not ready Olivia, I'll wait. I'll wait forever if I need to."

Olivia sighed, leaning against Elliot's chest and smiled as she tilted her head back to look up at him. "I'm ready. Really."

"You gonna sleep tonight?" Elliot asked softly, his fingers finding their way under her shirt to stroke lightly at her stomach.

She thought briefly about lying but ended up shrugging. "Maybe."

"After I drop the kids off, can I come back?" he whispered. "Just to sleep?"

"I'd like that," Olivia smiled.

She had just finished tucking Maggie and Brian into bed, after spending a little extra time cuddling with both of them, when there was a soft knock on her door. Olivia opened it and smiled at her partner. "Hey," she said softly.

"Hey. Kids in bed?"

"Except for Jacob. Yours home?"

"Yep." Elliot stepped into the townhouse and shut the door softly behind him, well aware of the children sleeping upstairs. He watched Olivia move around the kitchen, balancing Jacob in one arm while she prepared his bottle with the other. "You're amazing, you know that Liv?"

"What?" she laughed, turning her face to him as she grabbed a burp rag with the hand that held the bottle.

Elliot slipped his arm around her waist and led her to the couch. He sat down, guiding her into his arms. "Look at you sweetheart. You're such a mom."

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked, eyebrow arching, as she slipped the bottle into Jacob's mouth.

"You look happy. Happier than I've seen you in a long, long time."

"I am," she whispered.