Everything at work went to hell in the last hour of the day. Muncy threw up at a crime scene, which wouldn't be a big deal except she continued to throw up the entire way back to the precinct. Churlish took her home but wouldn't be back at the precinct for a while. Fin and Bruno had a suspect in interrogation room 1, but Liv had to pull Bruno to take a disclosure. Velasco was still out for the foreseeable future, and to top everything off, McGrath texted her twenty minutes ago to inform her he would be 'dropping by the precinct for a chat.' So now, she had scrambling detectives, and she was wracking her brain over what the hell McGrath could possibly want.
Noah needed to be picked up from Art Club soon, and she knew she wasn't going to be done in time to get him. Kathleen likely needed to leave for work soon, and Olivia knew she wouldn't be done in time to make it to Elliot's place before then, hell, she would be lucky to get out of here at all tonight.
She resisted calling Maureen because she wanted to go to Elliot's tonight, even if it was late. She didn't want to miss their last night together, and while she knew it didn't have to be their 'last night' it felt like after tonight reality and the mundane would rule their lives. The ending of their forced cohabitation meant they needed to actually make plans and coordinate schedules. It meant sleeping alone again.
Regardless of her feelings on the matter she needed to call Kathleen and make a plan before Chief McGrath graced the precinct with his presence.
She scrolled to Kathleen's contact information and pushed the call button. She answered after the second ring.
"One sec Liv." She answered. She heard Kathleen hassling Elliot about his physical therapy exercises. Then she was back, "Sorry Liv. I don't know how you stayed partners with the stubborn ass for so long."
"You know I can gear you right," Elliot's voice echoed from the other side of the room.
"Yeah Dad, I know!" Kathleen called back. "Ugh sorry again, What's going on?"
"I'm going to need to stay late at the precinct tonight. I'm going to see if Amanda can grab Noah for me, but we might need to see if Maureen can stay with your dad tonight."
"Oh okay. Yeah I'll give Maureen a call and make sure Carl's gonna be home for the night."
Olivia heard some ruckus in the background. "Dad, come on, you will be more than fine with Mo tonight." More muffled noises and suddenly Elliot was on the line.
"Hey," she nearly laughed at the obvious affection in his voice. Particularly because of its contrast to the obstinate tone he been using with Kathleen.
"Hey," she couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"Let Katie pick Noah up and bring him here. We'll order food and hang out until you can get home." She heard another muffled side conversation with Kathleen. "I'll be fine through the evening, and it's not like I'm dying. I can move around and I'm sure Noah knows how to call 911 on the off chance I die in the next few hours."
She rolled her eyes at his cavelier tone, but she chewed on the idea for a minute. She really didn't want to completely give up this night with him, and it would be nice to go home to him tonight, especially after this disaster of a day. "Okay," she agreed. She heard him sigh in relief. Apparently he was keen on spending the night without her either. "But," she added, "only if you stop being an ass for Katie."
"Just a little payback," she could almost hear his smirk over the phone.
"Be good," she scolded.
"No promises."
Olivia groaned. At least she tried. "Put Kathleen on."
There was a light shuffle before Kathleen's, "Hey Liv."
"Did you hear all that?" Liv asked.
"Yeah," she chuckled a little. "What time does Noah need picked up?"
Olivia glanced at her watch. "I'm about a half hour," she answered"
"Great," she could hear Kathleen's smile. "I'll leave now. Shoot me the address."
"Thanks." Olivia heard some noise and realized McGrath had entered her squad room. She hurried the rest of her call, "Call me when you have Noah."
"Of course," Kathleen agreed.
"Thanks so much, Katie."
"Of course. I can't remember how many times you had to pick us up while Dad worked. I'm just returning the favor."
McGrath pushed into her office without knocking, and Liv knew she needed to get off the call. "Gotta go."
"Okay! Call you later," Kathleen agreed.
"Thanks." Olivia hurried off the call, and looked up to a not so patient McGrath standing over her. Here we go, she thought.
-000-
Kathleen easily found Noah's school. She texted his phone as Olivia instructed. She saved his contact in her phone as 'Future Little Bro.'
K: Hey kid! I'm here!
N: Cool. On my way out.
Just then she spied a mop of curls bouncing her way. She waved so he could be sure it was her, and he hurried to her car, opening the back door and hopping into the back seat.
"Hey little dude," she greeted, giving him a fist bump.
"Hi," he said, giving her a wide smile.
She put the car into drive and asked, "Ready to head back to my Dad's?"
"Yup!" Noah agreed. "I liked being there this week," he added.
"Yeah?" Kathleen asked.
"Yeah," he looked out the window and said, "I wish we could be there all the time."
"Oh yeah?" Kathleen tried to contain her smile.
He glanced back to her, meeting her eyes in the rear view mirror. "It's nice. Mom seems so happy lately, and I know it's because we aren't alone all the time now."
"That's good. I know my dad has loved having you guys there." She added, "I've loved it too."
Noah looked back out the window and seemed to be pondering something. "Does your dad love my mom?" He asked the question while keeping his gaze out the window.
"Yes," Kathleen answered without hesitation. "He's loved her for a long time I think."
Noah nodded and seemed to be processing something. "I think she loves him too."
Kathleen thought she sensed something off with his tone so she pressed him a little. "Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah," he said softly. "I just," his little brain seemed to be trying to make words to match his thoughts. "It would be the best, you know, living with Elliot and having you around all the time," he gave her an adorable smile. "I just worry about Mom."
"Why?" Kathleen pressed.
He shrugged his shoulders in an obvious attempt to make it seem like whatever he was thinking wasn't a big deal. "He hurt her feelings a long time ago, and she said it still made her sad sometimes." Noah squirmed a little, "What if he does it again?" The concern was written all over his face, and Kathleen realized it had only ever been him and his mom.
While she had siblings and two parents Noah only had his mom and she was his whole world. Of course he'd be concerned for her. She was the only family he had. She sighed. "I can't say that it could never happen because we never know what life will throw our way, but," she made sure she had his eye contact in the mirror, "I'm almost positive my dad could never leave your mom." She felt her own eyes tear up, "He loves her too much. And you know what?"
"What?" Noah asked.
"I think he loves you too much too." Kathleen's heart nearly burst at the joy that crossed his face.
"Yeah?" He asked hopefully.
"Yeah." She affirmed.
"Oh," Kathleen just remembered Noah needed to call Olivia. "I almost forgot, your mom wants you to call her."
"Oh okay." He pulled his phone from his pocket and called Olivia.
Kathleen focused on driving, only vaguely paying attention to the conversation Noah was having with his mom. She glanced back at him and smiled. It was really uncanny how much he looked like Olivia, and honestly if she didn't know better she would have guessed his dad was the boy's father.
Maybe it was a tender mercy of the universe, giving Olivia a child that looked like them. A child that could have easily been theirs. She hoped and prayed the universe would allow what should have always been. A world where her dad and Olivia could be together.
-000-
Olivia made it home, well, to Elliot's place near midnight. She was bone tired, and emotionally shot for the day. She opened the door quietly, anticipating both her boys would be sound asleep by now. She tiptoed into the living room, and her heart nearly burst at the rightness of the scene in front of her. She found Noah crashed out on the couch, his head on a pillow near Elliot's thigh. Elliot's hand toyed with her son's curls while reading a book. He glanced up over his glasses when he heard her shuffle into the room.
"Hey," he smiled, removing his glasses and setting the book aside.
"Hey," she returned, knowing her voice sounded exhausted.
"He tried to wait up for you, but only made it to about 9:30." He rested his hand on Noah's shoulder.
She quietly walked over to kneel by the couch. She planted a quick kiss on her sweet boy's forehead. "Everything go okay tonight?" Her brown eyes found his.
"Perfect," he grinned. "Boys night, pizza, ice cream, and a bunch of playstation. Before you ask," he smirked, "he did his homework first."
She stood and leaned over him, giving him a quick peck on the lips, but her mouth lingered near his. "Thank you."
He reached his hand up to her cheek and rubbed his thumb gently against her cheek. "How was work?" His blue eyes bore into hers.
She settled onto the couch next to him, and leaned her head back on the couch back. "McGrath came by."
"I'm sorry." She knew Elliot had the same aversion to the man as she did. He reached his hand behind her and started rubbing her neck and shoulders.
"It wasn't so bad, well, relatively speaking. He just reminded me of our current case closure rate, and wanted to give us a 'friendly reminder' that we needed to step it up to stay on track with last year's numbers." She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "He makes everything a statistic. Of course we want to solve as many cases as possible, but my detectives and I can't close cases if the victims are only case numbers."
He kissed her temple and let his lips linger there. "They will never be just case numbers. Not while you are there."
She reached her arm around him, lightly gripping the back of his head in a pseudo-hug. "Thanks, but I'm not always going to be," she said sadly, "and it scares me to think what SVU will be like after I eventually retire."
He kissed her cheek, and she savored the feeling of his breath against her skin. "I love you, you know that right?" His voice was a whisper, but held an intensity that set her heart on fire.
She rested her head on his shoulder and he dropped another kiss onto the top of her head. "I love you so much," she admitted. She turned her face to his and his lips found hers in a slow passionate kiss. It exuded the depth of their mutual dependence. It was a communication of the deep feelings they harbored for more than two decades. Her heart thundered in her chest, and she acknowledged how much she truly wanted this, how much she wanted him.
As he continued to kiss her, slow and deep, and the fear and anxiety that plagued her since his return slipped away. She was dropping all the fear at his feet, a necessary sacrifice to let him know her, to let him love her. She felt ready. Ready to give that final piece of herself. The piece she always held back. The piece she never gave away.
She allowed men into her life, but never at the risk to herself. All loved her more than she ever could love them, but with Elliot it was different. He had the power to hurt her in ways the others never could. But with that, came the power to love her in a way no one was ever allowed. Maybe a little vulnerability, a little trust, was a necessary part of the gamble, it made the stakes so high, but made the reward even sweeter. She was willing to risk it all. The fear. The pain. Her heart. Everything she held onto for years. In this moment, with his lips against hers, she let everything go.