Picture Prompt #50: A blanket fort
A-camping We Will Go
~oOo~
"Noah, Aunt Amanda and I are going out for a girl's night this Saturday. Do you want to stay with Uncle Sonny, the girls, and baby Nicky? I know you haven't gotten to see them in a while. Or you could stay with Elliot and his grandsons. He's watching them while Maureen and her husband are on a trip," Captain Olivia Benson said to her pre-teen son on a Wednesday morning over breakfast.
Noah thought for a moment. "Well, I really miss Uncle Sonny and Jesse and Billie, but I love hanging out with Elliot, Kieran, and Seamus. I guess this time I'll stay with Uncle Sonny."
"That's fine. It's your choice," Olivia reassured him.
Noah still looked uncertain. "But, what if I hurt Elliot's feelings or disappoint his grandsons?"
"Elliot will understand and I doubt he's even told the boys he invited you," Olivia assured her son.
"Ok, then. I want to go to Uncle Sonny's house," Noah gave his final decision.
Olivia smiled. "Alright, I'll let them know. Go brush your teeth. I gotta get you to school so I can get to work."
After setting things up with Carisi later that day, Olivia made a quick call to Elliot who had a great idea.
"How 'bout Carisi and I watch all the kids together. I was gonna take Kieran and Seamus camping in the garden. Tents, s'mores, and hot dogs over the fire pit, the works. We'd love to have Noah and the girls along. Carisi too."
Olivia hesitated. "I don't know, El. That sounds like a lot of work and chaos."
"Nonsense, Liv. The more the merrier. It'll be a blast. I'll call Carisi and set it all up," Elliot coaxed.
Olivia finally agreed. "I'll talk to Noah, and if he's on board with the plan, you can call Carisi."
"Sounds good. Call me tonight after you talk with Noah."
It turned out that Noah loved the idea of camping. Several of his friends at school had been and so had his brother Conner. Noah himself had never had the chance. Olivia was a city girl through and through.
Noah talked with Jesse and Billie several times on the phone and they told him all about the camping trips they had been on.
"It's so much fun! You get to sleep in sleeping bags in a tent and sing songs around the campfire and roast marshmallows and weenies!" Jesse told her older friend.
"Ya gotta wear a hoodie though. It's cold outside at night," Billie added.
~oOo~
By Saturday, Noah was ready to go. He had packed what he'd needed for an overnight and he was beyond excited.
"This is gonna be so cool!" he told his mom as they prepared to leave the house.
They were meeting the Carisi family at Elliot's place.
By the time they had reached their destination, it looked pretty cloudy.
"Uh-oh. It looks like it could rain soon," Olivia observed.
"But it can't! Not today!" complained Noah.
Olivia gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'm afraid we can't control the weather, sweet boy."
Noah sighed before getting out of the car and grabbing his stuff.
The Carisis pulled up right behind them and Amanda and Olivia greeted one another with a hug.
"I am so ready for our night out!" Amanda said.
"Not half as ready as I am," Olivia replied with a wry smile.
Elliot came out just then with his grandson running out behind him. He kissed Olivia before helping Carisi carry in supplies, including Baby Nicky's pack'n'play and diaper bag. The group made it in just in time before the sky opened up and rain came pouring down.
"Noooo!" cried all the kids in dismay as they stared out the window in misery.
"No worries, kids. Elliot and I have a Plan B."
"We'll leave y'all to it, then. C'mon, Liv. We'd better get outta here. Our reservation is for 6:30," Amanda said.
"I'll get you ladies an umbrella," Elliot said, going to get one out of the hall closet.
Upon his return, Olivia thanked him before kissing him and hugging Noah and the other kids goodbye. After Amanda had said goodbye to her family, the two women dashed out to Olivia's car and drove away.
"Okay, kids. Ready to go camping?" Carisi asked.
The five older kids all looked at him incredulously.
"But it's raining," Seamus pointed out.
"Hey, didn't I say we had a plan?" Elliot reminded the boy.
All the kids nodded.
"Well we are going to have an indoor campout," the detective explained.
"How can we camp out inside?" asked Noah.
"Well first, go grab all the blankets and pillows you guys can find," ordered Carisi.
With Elliot's instructions, the kids found all the blankets in the house plus a few that Carisi had brought with him just in case. The two men showed the kids how to rearrange the furniture and drape the blankets over it to make a fort. Then they all put their sleeping bags inside along with the pillows.
"This looks awesome," said Kieran. The others agreed with him.
"Now what?" asked Jesse.
"Well, I'm gonna get a fire started in the fireplace while your dad feeds your brother. Then we'll roast the weenies. You girls and Kieran and Seamus can help show Noah how it's done. I hear you two have been camping before and my grandsons have had a few campouts with me, but this is Noah's first time."
The kids got the condiments out and got the skewers ready then watched as Elliot got the fire going in the fireplace. Carisi fed Nicky and got him in his jammies before setting up the pack 'n' play in Eli's room. Then he brought out a blanket to put on the floor for the baby boy to play with his toys. With the youngest child settled, Carisi joined Elliot and the kids for the weenie roast.
~oOo~
Meanwhile, Olivia and Amanda were enjoying their meal at the Good Fork Pub.
"So how are things going with Stabler?" Amanda asked, sipping her wine.
"It's going…well. Better than I could have hoped for. I'm finally learning to trust him again. I truly believe he has no plans to leave again. Noah really likes him," Olivia admitted.
Amanda smiled at her best friend.
"You love him. So you're finally going for the happiness you deserve, huh, Liv.
"I'm trying to get over my normal-itis, as El calls it," Olivia replied.
Amanda chuckled.
"We're taking it one day at a time," Olivia continued.
Amanda took her friend's hand.
"You deserve to be happy, Liv. Don't overthink this."
Olivia gave her friend a small smile but didn't verbally respond.
~oOo~
After dinner, Elliot and Carisi sent the kids to put on their pajamas and Carisi put the baby down for the night. When the older kids were ready, they learned how to roast marshmallows and make s'mores. While they were eating their gooey treats, Carisi got out his guitar which he had brought with him. He and Elliot along with the twins and the girls taught Noah campfire songs. After the s'mores were gone, the kids went to brush their teeth while the men cleaned up. Once the kids were ready for bed, they crawled into the fort and curled up in their sleeping bags, the younger ones each clutching a stuffed animal.
"Get in with us, Daddy!" begged Billie.
"Yeah. Come on Elliot and Uncle Sonny! Get in!" Noah agreed with his friend.
"I'm not sure we can fit," Carisi said, hesitantly.
"Ah, c'mon. There's plenty of room. Let's join 'em," Elliot encouraged. Carisi finally agreed, so the two men joined the kids
"Let's tell ghost stories!" Kieran suggested once everyone was settled.
"Yeah!" the other kids agreed.
"But not too scary, Grandpa," pleaded Seamus.
"Ok. Let me think. One dark and stormy night…"
~oOo~
Several hours later, Amanda and Olivia returned to find most of the lights out. The two ladies didn't want to risk waking the baby or the kids, so Olivia found Elliot's spare key and quietly entered the condo.
What the two women found upon entering the living room made them both have to stifle laughter.
Seven pairs of feet were sticking out from under the blanket fort and more than one of the people attached to those feet were snoring. Olivia put a finger to her lips and motioned for Amanda to follow.
Once they were far enough away from the fort, she said softly, "We probably shouldn't wake the kids."
Amanda smirked. "You mean all seven of them?"
With a smirk of her own, Olivia retorted, "Exactly."
"I'm gonna check on Nicky," Amanda told her.
"He's probably in Eli's room. It's the first door on the right. I'll make us some tea," Olivia responded.
Amanda nodded and headed to Eli's room to check on her son.
When she returned, Olivia handed her a mug of tea and the two sat down at the table. They would eventually need to wake up their partners. Both men would have terrible back pain otherwise. For now though, the two best friends were content to just enjoy each other's company and reflect on how blessed they truly were.
The author of this SVU - Quills & Shutters story will be revealed in October