I'm truly honored to provide some much needed distraction for a reader who is struggling with their health at the moment. Thank you guest reviewer, and I hope it will all turn out for the best for you! Here is the next chapter, including some Noah cuteness and some innocent EO fluff for you all.

PS. I was/am not trying to delay the confrontation with Kathy deliberately, I just need to write things in the right order and some things just can't be skipped, like Noah coming home and Elliot's first night at Olivia's. Another longer chapter this time, so we can finally get to it after this.

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57. Who would have thought

Elliot's phone buzzed again and he groaned. He was trying to relax and get his heart rate back down to normal after his phone conversation with Kathy and he didn't need an encore. When he checked the phone, he saw he had a text message from Olivia. Seeing her name on the screen brought an instant smile to his face and he opened the message quickly.

'On my way home with Noah. Are you decent? ;)'

He grinned. He was looking forward to seeing the little guy again. He texted her back quickly.

'As decent as I'll ever be I guess. Drive carefully. x'

Olivia smiled when she saw Elliot's reply. The accident hadn't made her afraid to drive, and she was actually happy to put her own car to good use at last, having crashed the NYPD issued sedan that she had often taken home until now. She'd traded her Mustang for a compact Toyota SUV when she got Noah, and she liked driving the modern car. She had been able to shake off the disturbing case that had triggered a few flashbacks to Lewis, and was grateful knowing that the team was in good hands with Dodds and Fin. Barba had texted her earlier, reminding her that she was expected to testify in court the next day, and she made a mental note to call Lucy. She couldn't expect Elliot to look after Noah for her while she was away, and he certainly wouldn't be able to pick him up at day care for her.

Noah was excited about seeing Elliot again and she laughed softly on the drive home, listening to his enthusiastic tales about his day, and about what he and Elliot were going to do once he got home.

"Remember Elliot still has an ouch, Noah," she reminded her son, glancing at him over her shoulder.

"Doctor make ouch better," Noah said innocently.

"Yes, it's a little better but Elliot still has to be careful. So you have to be careful too, okay?"

"Okay," Noah said happily, and Olivia wondered how many times she would need to remind him to be careful with Elliot this day.

Entering their apartment, they pretended to be spies who couldn't be seen or heard, and Noah played along perfectly while they moved from the front door through the living room, without making a sound. But once they pushed the bedroom door open a crack and Noah saw that Elliot had his eyes open, the game was off and he yelled at Elliot,

"Ewwieieie! Noah home!"

"Hey Noah," Elliot said happily, but Olivia could see that Elliot was still tired after his nap.

His eyes were a little restless and she tried to ask him without words if there was something wrong, but Elliot just winked at her, and then gave all his attention to Noah. Noah had climbed on the bed and was telling Elliot about his day. After about ten minutes, Olivia suggested a drink, and Noah followed her to the kitchen, but not after telling Elliot he'd be right back with his favorite dinosaur.

"You 'member Dino, Ewwie Ot?"

"I sure do buddy. I'd love to see Dino again."

After they all had something to drink and a cookie, Elliot and Noah played with his dinosaurs for a while. Olivia used the opportunity to flip through the file of the case she'd be testifying in the next day. Barba had given her a list of questions he was going to ask, and a few questions the defense would probably ask, and she trusted they would be able to get through them without rehearsing them beforehand. She was grateful that she and Barba could work so well as a team.

After dinner Noah was a little disappointed that he couldn't play with Elliot anymore, and even more so when they tried to explain to him that Elliot couldn't tuck him in.

"Maybe you're putting up too much of a brave front with him," Olivia suggested when Noah was finally in bed, and she sat on the bed next to Elliot. "He feels you should be all better by now."

"He'll be okay. And I'll be walking around in no time, you'll see."

Elliot patted her knee and Olivia put her hand over his. She looked into his blue eyes, waiting for him to tell her what had been on his mind ever since she and Noah had come home. She didn't need to ask him, he knew what she was waiting for.

"Kathy called."

"I see. And?"

Elliot blew out a breath slowly and Olivia saw an all too familiar flash of anger in his eyes.

"Wasn't easy to keep from yelling at her through the phone."

Olivia chuckled and squeezed his hand.

"So I told her to meet me tomorrow at ten."

"Where?"

"I was hoping you'd know a place near here. I told her I'd text her the address."

Olivia thought about it for a minute. What could be considered a suitable place for a divorced couple to have a yelling match?

"Maybe a public place isn't so bad," Elliot mused, probably thinking along the same lines as she was. "It'll force us to keep it civil."

"In that case, I know a place," Olivia said, and when Elliot handed her his phone, she typed out the address for him in a message to Kathy. "It's just down the block and the bartender knows me."

Elliot raised an eyebrow and Olivia quickly answered his unasked question.

"Noah and I have popped in on occasion for hot cocoa."

"Right," Elliot said, clearly questioning how complete her story was of her visits to the establishment around the corner.

"It's true!" Olivia insisted. "Well ... and they stock my favorite red wine too."

Elliot nodded slowly, not commenting one way or the other, just looking at her. Olivia knew she'd been drinking more red wine than usual lately, mostly to take the edge off after a tough case or a bad nightmare. But she didn't have a problem with it. She had Noah to consider, after all. She watched while Elliot composed a text message to Kathy around the address she had typed in, but before sending it, he looked up at her again.

"You'll be there, right?"

Part of her wanted to be there, and another part didn't. She didn't know what she'd do if one of the exes lost their temper. Maybe she would be the one to lose her temper, again.

"You want me there? Isn't this between the two of you?" she asked Elliot.

"Are you serious?" Elliot asked, raising his voice slightly, and Olivia blinked and frowned. "Liv, this is definitely not between her and me. You're a huge part of it. You know what Maureen told me, right? About that fight on my birthday?"

Olivia nodded and bit her lip. She remembered. She had never wanted to be the one to break up their marriage, but in the end, she'd become part of their issues after all.

"I never wanted to get caught in the middle," she said hesitantly.

"You won't be. You weren't. Well, maybe you were back then, always trying to fix us, but our problems were never your doing, Liv. Me and Kathy ... we were never going to stay together. I guess we didn't want to see it at first, but even when I didn't remember anything, we agreed that it wasn't going to work out. That has to be proof enough that it wasn't about you. Right?"

Olivia couldn't really disagree with his logic. Basically, it was the same thing she'd told Kathy at the hospital. You can't make someone love you. Kathy hadn't made Elliot love her, and neither had Olivia. He just did. And so after a beat, she nodded.

"You're right. You're right El. If you want me there, I'll be there."

"Thank you," Elliot said, "but maybe we'll just let that be a surprise for Kathy."

...

After Olivia had helped him into the bathroom so he could freshen up and brush his teeth, Elliot asked her if she was going to join him for the night. He was leaning against the doorway of the bathroom on one crutch while Olivia was just reaching for some bedding in her bedroom closet. She turned around to look at him. He could tell she was a little torn and he held up one hand, palm out.

"I'm harmless Liv, you know that. I just ... I liked to have you close at the hospital so I had kind of hoped we could do that again."

He waited for her to make up her mind, remembering that pushing her would most likely have an adverse effect. She wasn't reaching for the bedding anymore and looked at him for a few moments.

"Let's get you back into bed first," she said then, avoiding a real answer for now.

'Think fast,' Elliot told himself.

He wanted her to sleep next to him, but only if they could be together in a relaxed way. But how to relax Olivia Benson? Olivia wrapped her right arm around his lower back to help him sit down on the bed, and then lifted and guided his legs onto the bed while he turned his upper body. When she leaned over him to adjust his pillows while he lowered himself slowly, he took a chance and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her down on top of him and then turning a little to the right so she ended up next to him, securely in his arms. Before she could protest or respond in any way, he kissed her full on the lips, ignoring the protests of his sore body because this was worth it. He had wanted to kiss her all day but they hadn't been alone for even a second.

Olivia was stunned for just a moment and he pulled away to allow her to take a breath, and then he kissed her again. She reciprocated this time, and when he felt her relax in his arms, he relaxed too and deepened the kiss. He dropped his left hand across her waist, giving it a rest, while holding her close with his right arm. When he wanted to pull back a little, Olivia moved in and kissed him passionately again, making him smile against her lips.

"What's so funny?" Olivia asked, her lips brushing his and her eyes closed.

"Nothing. I just love you so much," he sighed, and he was relieved when she accepted his answer and kissed him softly again.

"Does this mean you'll sleep with me?" he asked her.

Olivia cocked an eyebrow, but before he could clarify what he meant, he could see the amusement in her eyes. She knew perfectly well what he'd meant.

"It's still early El," she said with a smirk.

"Oh no, whatever shall we do with all that time?" Elliot said, feigning shock.

They both chuckled and then kissed and cuddled some more. When Olivia finally moved out of his arms to freshen up and change into her pajamas, Elliot rolled on his back carefully and sighed contently. He was fairly certain she was going to join him in the bed again and he listened to the sounds coming from the adjoining bathroom. No matter what happened, and no matter how much or how little more he would end up remembering, he knew he had found the one person in the world he was supposed to find. He'd never been to this apartment before in his life, but it felt like home, because it was Olivia's place. And she was home to him. And as much as he hoped to remember more of his children, like the connection he'd finally felt with Elizabeth, he knew it would be enough.

When Olivia returned, dressed in a very decent pajama top and pajama pants, and climbed into bed with him under the covers, it felt so natural that he almost wanted to pinch himself. Never in their long, long history together, could he have imagined them getting into bed together like this. It was completely harmonious, and innocent. It had never been innocent either in his imagination. More like heated, intense, passionate, wild. He turned his head to look into her eyes when her head hit the pillow, still thinking about his past fantasies about them together. Olivia seemed to read his mind as if he was talking out loud.

"Who would have thought, huh?" she asked him with a grin. "We've gotten old, Stabler."

"Hmpf," Elliot huffed, "I'll show you just how old I am as soon as I get back on my feet, Benson!"

Olivia laughed and Elliot laughed softly with her.

"But still," Olivia continued after a beat. "We never expected to be here like this, did we?"

"Not like this," Elliot admitted. "But I always hoped we'd be here some day."

Olivia rolled towards him on her left side and wrapped her arm around him under the covers. Elliot lifted his right arm and Olivia lifted her head to let him wrap his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and he kissed her forehead.

"Me too, El," she said softly. "Me too."

...

I will have some more writing time this week, so more soon! Meanwhile, reviews always make my day!