A little more...thanks again for the reviews. I appreciate all the readers and when you take the time to share your thoughts it means a lot.
Olivia was driving home as quickly as she could. Her day had been going well until her phone rang, ten minutes before she was supposed to leave for home. She was surprised at first, when the social worker told her she was coming over for an unscheduled home visit, but then she remembered that the judge had told her it would happen periodically so they could make sure Noah was in a safe and loving home. This just didn't feel like the best time, since her life was in total chaos at the moment, but she had to put that out of her mind. She had to get home before the social worker got there.
She'd called Maureen to give her a heads up, and Maureen assured her the apartment was neat and in order and that she'd make sure to keep the woman comfortable until Olivia arrived, but Olivia couldn't shake the feeling that showing up for the meeting after the social worker would make it look like she worked too much, like she didn't put Noah ahead of her job, and she didn't want to risk that.
She unlocked the door and walked in, forcing a smile when she saw the woman sitting on the sofa next to Maureen. Noah and Kate were playing on the floor with a large foam puzzle and all the other toys had been picked up and put away, and Olivia gave Maureen a grateful glance. Noah looked up at her, "Mama…" he stood up on wobbly legs and toddled over to her and she picked him up.
"I missed you," she kissed him and he wrapped his arms around her neck hugging her tight. "Were you a good boy today?" she asked and he nodded as she carried him over the sofa where the social worker was standing. "Hi," she extended her free hand to the woman, "I'm Olivia Benson. It's nice to meet you."
The woman shook her hand and smiled, "I'm Mrs. Morrison. It's nice to meet you too. I think you met with one of my coworkers on the three month visit?" the woman was looking through a file, and Olivia knew she wasn't up on the case.
She sat down in the chair, Noah in her lap, "Yes…but she just came and met with me at work. I answered a few questions and that was all. This is our first surprise visit. Please let me know if there is anything I need to do…"
"Oh no," the woman smiled. "I just have a few questions and I need to fill out some paperwork. Your nanny already took me on a tour of the apartment." Immediately Olivia tried to remember if she had made her bed that morning. She had been sick, and then she'd had a fight with Elliot. She was sure she'd left her room a mess. Not that a messy bedroom made her a bad mother, but she was worried they were looking for any little thing to take Noah from her. "Your apartment is lovely," the woman wrote something in the file and Olivia strained her neck to look but couldn't see. "The baby's room is nice…you may need to lower the mattress in his crib. He's too big for it to be that high. He might start climbing out."
"Okay," Olivia nodded. "I'll take care of that tonight." She tried to remember which tools Fin had used when he put the crib together for her and she was mad at herself for not thinking about the fact that Noah was growing up and she should lower the mattress.
"So, tell me…what is an average day like for you and Noah?" the woman smiled, pen in hand.
Olivia's mind was blank. She was nervous and she didn't know how to answer the question. Average? Did they ever have an average day? She cleared her throat, "Well, I usually get him up early…around 6:30 or so. He eats and I get him dressed. Then Maureen comes and watches him while I go to work and I try to be home by 6:30 every night unless there's a big case I need to help with, but if that happens Maureen always stays late with him. I feed him when I get home, unless it's late…and then we play for a while, I give him a bath, and he goes to bed."
The woman was writing frantically, "Seems you don't have a lot of free time with Noah?" she said questioningly. "Has that made it difficult to bond with him?"
"No," Olivia could feel the color drain from her face and she felt sick. This woman was trying to make it sound like she didn't spend enough time with her son. "I love him. I spend as much time as I can with him. I have at least two days a week off from work and I always have him with me, the whole time. We go to the park, play with his toys, read books…believe me…Noah and I have a wonderful bond." Her son picked that moment to plant a slobbery kiss on her face and her heart melted. "Please…you have to know how much I love him."
The woman nodded, "I can see that. And I can tell he loves you. I have to ask these things. You understand that, right?"
Olivia nodded, "What else do you need to know?"
"I contacted your employer," the woman looked through her notes. "They reported that you've taken several sick days lately. I'm going to need you to explain that."
"I was sick," Olivia knew the answer was weak, but she didn't want to go into more details. If this woman found out she was having another baby, she might decide Olivia was stretched too thin to care for Noah as well.
"Ms. Benson," the woman looked at her seriously. "We have to make sure you are healthy enough to care for Noah…but we also have to be sure your job isn't in jeopardy. They wouldn't have reported that you'd missed work unless it was excessive. Please be honest with me."
Noah was fidgeting in her arms, and Maureen stood and picked him up. "I'm going to take the kids to the kitchen and make them dinner," she took Kate's hand and left the room to give Olivia some privacy with the social worker.
"It wasn't excessive," Olivia said defensively. "It was a few days…and I went home sick a couple of times…I was late a few times for appointments. I have the sick leave. I've barely taken a day off in sixteen years," Other than the Lewis ordeal…she wondered why that had popped into her head all of the sudden. She didn't need him consuming her thoughts while she was being interrogated by social services.
"Why were you gone?" the woman asked. "That's all I need to know."
Olivia looked at her, biting on her bottom lip and wondering if she dared lie and say she had the flu or something, but knowing that a lie would be pointless. She'd be visibly pregnant by the next visit and they'd know she had lied. "I'm going to have a baby…in June," she said barely louder than a whisper. She saw the woman's eyes widen as she took more notes. "I had some complications in the beginning, but I'm fine now. I won't have to take any more time off work…and believe me, it didn't hurt my income when I was gone. I had the time…I'm still getting paid."
"Ms. Benson," the woman looked at her seriously. "Why didn't you report a change in your family status to our office?"
"I didn't know I was supposed to," Olivia said quickly. She barely remembered something about it when she had been given custody, but at the time she never imagined it would apply to her. "Besides, the baby isn't due for months. My family status hasn't really changed yet…"
"I assume your child has a father?" the woman asked. "Is he living here in the household?"
"No…he has his own house," she assured her. "And he's not someone you have to worry about being around Noah. He loves Noah…"
"Ms. Benson…we placed Noah with you as an only child with a single parent. You now have another child and a man who is obviously involved in Noah's life. You needed to report that to us, and you didn't." She took more notes and Olivia looked at her with tears in her eyes. She knew the woman was writing things that made her sound like a bad mother.
"I'm sorry…" she pleaded tearfully. "Please don't take him…please…"
The front door opened and Elliot walked in, "Liv…" he called as he sat his things by the door. Then he looked up and saw her sitting with the strange woman and smiled, "Who is this?" he asked, sitting on the arm of the chair.
"Mrs. Morrison from social services," Olivia tried to hold in her tears. "She's checking on Noah."
Elliot extended his hand to the woman, "Elliot Stabler," he smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."
"And you are…" the woman asked, pen in hand.
"He's the father of my baby…" Olivia said with a sigh, and Elliot looked at her, shocked that she had told the woman she was pregnant.
"How much time do you spend here, Mr. Stabler?" the woman asked seriously. "How often are you around Noah?"
Elliot looked at Olivia, trying to determine what he should say, but she just stared blankly ahead and he knew she was in trouble. "Not a lot," he said. "But I love his mother…and he's such a sweet baby…and I hope we're going to be a happy family soon."
"Are you saying you plan to file for adoption of Noah as well?" the woman asked.
"Uhm…" Elliot hadn't expected the question and he stumbled over his words. He didn't know what Olivia wanted him to say. "It's something Olivia and I haven't decided yet, but I think we're heading in that direction."
"How long have you known Ms. Benson?" the woman looked concerned.
"Sixteen years…" Olivia answered. "We've known each other for sixteen years."
The social worker looked at them and wrote the answer in her file. "Okay…well I think that's all we need for now." She looked toward the nursery, "Don't forget to lower the mattress is the crib." She stood up and walked toward the door and Olivia followed her.
"Mrs. Morrison…I swear to you…Noah is happy and loved here. Please put that in your report. I can't lose him," she cried.
The woman nodded, "Calm down, Ms. Benson." She looked down at her file and sighed. "I can tell how much you love him. But you and Mr. Stabler need to decide what kind of family you want to be. If he wants to adopt Noah, you need to report that…and soon. If not, then I suggest you focus on Noah and this new baby and pursue this as a single mother of two. We can't have someone in Noah's life who isn't a stable fixture for him. You understand that, right?"
"Yes," she nodded. "I do…I understand."
"And relax," the woman smiled. "We're not going to take him. Just get yourself together before the next visit…okay?"
"Yes…thank you," she closed the door and turned around, looking at Elliot who was standing behind her. She started to cry, "I thought they were going to take him," she couldn't catch her breath and she felt dizzy.
"They won't do that, Liv," he pulled her close and held her. "Honey…they know you love him. You're his mother."
She shook her head and brushed away her tears, "You didn't hear the things she was saying, El. I messed up…"
"Then we'll fix it," he promised her.
She ran out of the room and into the kitchen where Noah was sitting in his highchair eating. She picked him up, ignoring the mess on his hands and face and held him close. "I love you, so much," she cried. Elliot walked in and Maureen looked at him fearfully, wondering what had happened.
"Everything is going to be fine," he assured her, and he meant it.