A/N: This is the third and hopefully final part of the Critical arc. There will be a time jump in this one. I don't own any of the characters except my own.

Critical – Part 3

The end of June came quickly. Hank's house was on the market and he was cleared to travel by Crocket. Olivia packed up Hank's SUV and then the 3 of them left for New York after Hank said goodbye to everyone.

A few days later, they arrived in New York and at the condo. Charlie was already in New York, so he, Erin and Mark met them at the condo to help move things in.

"You're looking good, Hank. How do you feel?"

"Better."

"Good."

Everyone hugged them and then the guys went down to the SUV to get stuff, while Hank got settled in the chair.

"Thanks for coming over."

"No problem."

The front desk called telling them they had visitors, so Olivia said to send them up.

"Fin, Phoebe, Rollins, Carisi and the girls are here."

"Good."

They heard a knock at the door, so Olivia went to get it.

"Hey, Liv. Remember us?"

"Smart ass!"

Olivia hugged them all.

"Welcome back."

"Yeah, thanks. I'm not looking forward to going back to work."

"It was lots of fun while you were off."

"I'm sure it was."

They all went into the living room.

"Uncle Hank, how are you feeling?"

"Better. Thanks."

Jesse and Billie gently gave Hank a hug.

"Hey, man, how ya doin'?"

"Better and I'm glad to be here with my family."

"Noah, why don't you take the girls and put a movie in."

"Ok."

Noah and the girls went to the family room and chose a movie to watch, while everyone else sat down and Carisi went to help Mark and Charlie. Fin ended up telling Olivia everything that had happened while she was gone.

"So, nothing major."

"Nah. I took care of it. McGrath is an ass."

"He usually is. Did you need Elliot for anything?"

"Nah. He's still undercover as far as I know."

"How are you feeling, Amanda?"

"I'm hangin' in there. I can't wait until this kid comes out."

"Is Carisi getting excited?"

"Yeah, he is but he's just tryin' to do too much between workin' and gettin' the nursery ready."

"You lookin' forward to the rest of the family movin' here?"

"We definitely are."

The guys came in with the boxes and took them wherever they needed to go.

"So, Charlie, how's Daniel?"

"He's doing great. They're both looking forward to sleepovers at Papa and Grandma's."

"Which I'm sure will happen quite often."

"Oh, no doubt.

"How's the new job?"

"Great so far. Mom and Olive are flying out with the kids sometime next week and Dad is staying behind to make sure the stuff gets picked up."

"Did the condo sell yet?"

"It's contingent, so we'll see what happens. We did find out that we're having another girl."

"Congratulations!"

"Thanks. Ashley is so excited to be getting a sister."

"How'd Daniel take the news?"

"He's fine with it. He just loves being a big brother."

"I have a feeling that you and Olive will end up being the opposite of Mom and Dad, since they had two boys and then a girl."

"They said the same thing."

"Any names yet?"

"Not yet."

"What about for Baby Carisi?"

"We're thinkin' Vincent Oliver, since Vincent is Sonny's middle name. We'll call him Vinny."

"My ma thinks we should name him Dominick Vincent III."

"Uncle Fin thinks you should name him Odafin."

"No, we're not doin' that. We agreed he'd have one of my names and obviously we chose Oliver after the person who means a lot to both of us."

"I'm honored. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Are you done after this one?"

"I wanna say yes. I feel like my family is complete now that I'm havin' a son and honestly, I'm not gettin' any younger."

"I would love to have one but I'm not getting any younger either. The thought of having to be on desk duty doesn't necessarily thrill me though."

"I'd be fine if we could experience it once but if it doesn't happen, I'm happy with being able to spoil my nieces and nephews."

"Are you saying you want to start trying?"

"We could start trying."

"We'll discuss it later."

"Ok."

Erin got up and went to the bathroom.

"I'm glad you, Olive and the kids will be here."

"I am too."

"I'm glad Mom and Dad will be here as well."

"They said they were due for a change. I'm glad they decided to keep the house. Their neighbors will look after the house for them. We'll do what we can with Hank too."

"We appreciate that. What do we want to do for dinner?"

"Chinese?"

"That works for me."

"Would everyone like to join us?"

Then Erin came back.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?"

"Sure."

"We're thinking Chinese."

"Sounds perfect."

"Works for us."

"Us too."

Everyone decided what they were ordering and then Olivia called. Once they knew what time to pick it up, she and Erin left to go get it. Everyone talked while they ate and enjoyed each other's company. After everyone left, Hank got ready for bed, while Olivia locked up. Noah got ready for bed and then went to say goodnight to Hank and Olivia.

"Night, Mom. Night, Dad."

"Night."

Noah hugged them both and went into his room, while Hank got settled and Olivia went to get ready for bed. Olivia came out of the bathroom and got into bed with Hank.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. I'm glad to finally be in New York."

"Erin said she'll help get your stuff organized but there's really no rush. That was nice of Amanda to say she and the girls would come over to spend time with you and Noah even with Erin here."

"Yeah, it was. At least we have help."

"That's true. I'm not looking forward to going back to work."

"I don't miss it. Upton will be ok. She handled things without any issues after I was shot anyway."

"Yes, she did. I'm glad Adam is doing better too."

"Yeah, me too."

Olivia kissed Hank and then they fell asleep. The next morning, Olivia got up to get ready for work before she fixed breakfast for her boys. Hank and Noah got up and then they all had breakfast. Erin arrived and then Olivia kissed Hank and Noah before she left for the Precinct. Once Amanda and the girls were ready, they went over to Hank and Olivia's

The week was busy for SVU and Carisi was busy as well because of it. The squad had been working longer hours and Erin, Mark and Charlie were spending more time with Hank because it. Olivia was coming home exhausted and basically going to bed as soon as she got home. The following week wasn't much different. It appeared to Olivia that the cases got more difficult on purpose just because she had come back.

By the end of the second week Olivia was back, Olive, Carol and the kids had flown to New York. Erin was picking them up. Even though Noah was there, Hank was fine with staying by himself. Erin arrived at the airport just as they were coming out.

"Hey."

"Hey, Erin."

"Hi Auntie."

"Hey, you. How's your elbow?"

"A lot better. I can't wait to see Papa."

"He's excited about seeing you too. Hey, Mom."

"Hi Sweetie."

"Ash, say hi to Auntie Erin."

"No!"

"Nice to see you too, kiddo."

"Ashley Olivia, that's not very nice. She's a little cranky today. I think someone missed her daddy though."

"I hear I'm getting another niece."

"Yep."

Olive, Carol and Daniel hugged Erin and then they put their stuff into the SUV. They put Ashley's car seat and Daniel's booster seat in and then once everyone was in, Erin drove home to drop the stuff off. They then went over to Hank and Olivia's. Erin had a key, so they went straight up and went in.

"Hello."

"Hey."

"Papa!"

Daniel ran over to Hank and gave him a hug.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm doin' better. How are you?"

"I'm better too. Hey, Noah."

"Hey."

Noah hugged both Daniel and Olive.

"How's your foot?"

"A lot better but it still kind of hurts. Charlie said he'd work with me to strengthen it."

"He's good at that."

Olive then went over and hugged Hank.

"You look good."

"I'm feelin' a lot better. Another few weeks and I should be able to drive. My personal Physical Therapist makes sure I exercise, whether it's walking or swimming."

"That sounds like him. How's Olivia?"

"Things have been crazy since she's been back and we haven't seen that much of her. I don't miss my job. I've been spending time with my kids. Hey, Miss Ashley."

"She's cranky today."

"She wouldn't say hi to me."

"Like I said, she missed her daddy."

"She's feisty like Nikki."

"Both Mark and Charlie say that all the time.

Ashley crawled up on Hank's lap and gave him a hug.

"Thank you."

"Now I'm jealous."

Ashley gave Erin her shy smile and then went to give her a hug.

"Thank you."

Then she went to give Noah a hug.

"Where Gama?"

"She's at work. How are you, Carol?"

"I'm good. Thanks. How are you?"

"Better."

"Good. You look good."

"Thanks."

"Sure."

"Dad, can we go see Mom?"

Then the door opened and Olivia came in.

"Hello."

"Gama!"

"Grandma!"

Both kids ran to hug Olivia.

"Hi my babies. I have missed you both so much."

"We've missed you too."

"The Social Worker called and asked if we could take a little boy. He was from a case we had while I was off. The stepfather molested him and the mother did too. No luck with finding any other family. They're both into drugs but the stepfather was already killed. His name is Anthony and he's 5. I said I would talk it over with you and call her back."

"I'm fine with it."

"Me too."

Olivia called the Social Worker and told her they would take Anthony. The Social Worker said she would be over soon. Noah took Daniel and Ashley to watch a movie.

"She'll be over with him soon."

"Ok."

We're going to have to get stuff for him, so he feels at home."

"Maybe we can go tomorrow and let him pick out what he wants."

"That works."

"You'll probably end up having to work tomorrow though."

"Fin told me to spend the weekend with my family. He's been great. He's one of the few people I have always been able to count on and he's the only one who never left. Amanda is still very much a part of my life even though she doesn't work with us any longer. Like Amanda, everyone else that left I've seen recently. Elliot was out of my life the longest and he knows he was wrong for handling it the way he did.

"I get that. It's like everyone left Intelligence too. Erin left but now I can't seem to get rid of her. Antonio leavin' was hard because he was the one that was eventually gonna take over for me. I had to learn to trust Halstead enough let him take over and then when I'm a few months away from retiring, he leaves and then I had to give Upton time to be able to handle things. It nearly killed me when Al died, especially because he did it covering my ass as usual. Olivia was the one that got me through that."

"You had no idea what was going through my head when Trudy called me. I knew Erin was out of town. I'm glad I had Lucy to stay with Noah."

"What I don't get is Meredith not being able to forgive you. I'm the one that asked Al for help. He could have said no but he didn't. That's just who he was. You had him exonerated, so she could still get his pension and that's how she treats you."

"You know as well as I do that Al was never the same after Lexi died."

"I know. As upset as I was with you at first for doing what you did to Kevin Bingham, I completely understand why you did it. You didn't need to bury your only son and Daniel didn't deserve to grow up without his dad."

"I should have listened to you in the first place."

"It did kind of upset me at first but I understand why you did it too. Apparently you both had a reputation because Paul knew who you both were before we even introduced all of you."

"Paul has done some stuff himself that he isn't too proud of."

"We've talked."

"He followed the William Lewis case as well."

"Even though I wished I had killed that son of a bitch, I could have lost everything. I've had people tell me that the reason I fought so hard to stay alive was because of Noah even though he wasn't even a part of my life yet. Being a mother was the one thing I wanted the most besides finding an amazing man to grow old with. I've never had much luck in the relationship department. My biggest problem is that I never disclose my relationships that should be disclosed. The only one that didn't cause an issue for my job was Hank. I was in a brief relationship with our Executive ADA and one of the Defense Attorneys found out about it. It didn't last much longer after that. The next relationship I was in was with a former co-worker. He was accused of rape while undercover and a couple of my co-workers found out about it. I was with Brian until just after William Lewis. I was then in a relationship with someone from Internal Affairs and our former ADA found out about that. He was pretty pissed about that. Ed was being investigated for covering up for his cousin, who was being investigated by SVU. I supported Ed and was taken off the case. I was also transferred out of SVU until the investigation was over, while Ed was put on administrative leave. While I was with Ed though, I was also fighting my feelings for Hank. My former partner came back after 10 years and tragically lost his wife. That caused a lot of chaos for me. The feelings were there even though they shouldn't have been. He was hoping for something to happen between us but he has accepted Hank in my life and has said he wants to be a part of my life in any way he can. He was there for me when I got the news about Hank and came to Chicago with me. He offered to contact his daughter if I needed someone to stay with Noah and he even offered to help out with SVU in my absence. His wife was afraid of me and referred to me as his work wife, since we spent so much time together."

"If anyone understands that, I do. Paul worked closely with women cops and had done undercover stuff with them. My biggest fear besides losing him to a bullet was him having an affair. He said he took his marriage vows seriously and the 4 of us were everything to him. Although he did admit that one of them came onto him and had become obsessed with him. He would see her car outside our house and he would document the occurrences. He reported it to Internal Affairs but she denied it and tried filing sexual harassment charges against him. Paul was a well-respected police officer and this girl tried ruining his career. She even went as far as saying she was pregnant and Paul was the father. We knew that wasn't true for a couple reasons: 1. Paul never slept with her and 2. He had a vasectomy after Nikki was born and this incident happened when she was about 5. He even did a DNA test to prove it wasn't his and it wasn't. She eventually lost her job. I was happy once he became a Lieutenant and wasn't out in the field as much."

"It doesn't happen that way very often but it is possible for men to be victims."

"Paul has zero tolerance for any type of abuse. He is a big admirer of yours because of what you do."

"I appreciate that. Some days are better than others. Mark told us about Charlie's ex-girlfriend."

"That was beyond heartbreaking."

"I respected Elliot's wife and family during our partnership, which is why I would never let anything happen between us. His marriage wasn't perfect but he has had a rough time since her death. Sometimes he thinks he's ready for another relationship but I think he now realizes that he needs time to process all of this."

"Part of my problem was not being sure I was ready for another relationship."

"That's how I felt too. I still love and miss Justin very much because he was my first love and the father of my son. It seems like only yesterday that we lost him. Charlie has been so supportive, since in a way, he went through it with his ex-girlfriend. He remembers her on her birthday all the time. Daniel and I do that with Justin on his birthday, our anniversary and Father's Day. Daniel asked me not too long after Charlie and I got married if Justin would be happy that he had a new dad. I told him I thought he would. Justin told me once that he didn't want Daniel to make the same mistakes he did."

"He told me the same thing. He said he regretted the drinking and driving thing. I think he would be happy that Daniel has a new dad."

"When I went to pick him up when he was released from prison, he tried kissing me. Gross! I always saw him as a brother but it's even weirder now because he was actually my half-brother."

Both Hank and Olive couldn't help but laugh.

"If Justin was still around, how do you think he'd feel about me?"

"Even though he was close to Camille, I think he would have liked you. He told me not too long before he died that he hoped I would have been able to find love again. He said if something ever happened to him, he wanted Olive to find love again too. He also said that it was my job to make sure the person Olive ended up with was good to them."

"That sounds like Justin and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I never would have gotten involved with someone who didn't connect with my son and wouldn't continue to allow you to be a part of his life. I really lucked out with Charlie."

"Both of my sons are very lucky. I know Charles wasn't sure about Daniel at first but now he loves every minute of being a dad."

"I know he does."

"I lucked out with Mark too. He said he wants to be a dad but he's ok if we don't have kids. He can spoil his nieces and nephews. We decided that we're gonna try for a baby, so we'll see what happens. I was never sure I wanted kids."

"He's the one we never expected marriage or kids from. He was always so focused on his career. Not that the other two weren't."

"Did you work?"

"I did. I was a nurse, so the kids all took after me and did something with healthcare. Ironically, I worked on the Orthopedic floor but I was a Supervisor. Nikki gets drained with her job sometimes. She's on the Pediatric floor but there's a section in the unit where the kids have cancer. That part of it is hard to take and it's hard not to get emotional when you know they may be terminal. For me though, a lot of the patients were elderly and sometimes abuse was suspected. How can you not get emotionally involved with that?"

"Were you ever right about the abuse?"

"A few times and in most cases it involved the facility where they lived. Usually it was the same facility."

"It's hard when a case involves a child."

"It is. We had a case once that involved a baby being found in a duffel bag. That was hard because all I could think about was Daniel."

"I remember that case. That was just before we lost Justin."

"Yep, it was."

"Was the baby ok?"

"Fortunately, yes but most of the victims we had weren't living."

"Are you missing your job yet?"

"Honestly, no. I was ready to be here 6 months ago."

"Leave it to Jay."

"I get why he did what he did though."

"I do too because it's a huge issue. I think Hailey handling things with him the way she did is the same way I would have handled it if it was me. I want him to be safe. I did tell her that if she hears from him and he needs anything, to let me know because we have people down there too."

"When I told Elliot about what Jay did, I said I could relate to that for the most part except Hailey is also his wife. He said he deserved that and he knows he was shitty for doing what he did. He now knows everything. He said they were traveling at the time the William Lewis thing happened."

"He knows about you and Ed too?"

"He said Ed told him. He said as much as he wasn't a fan of Ed's, he even said he didn't deserve to die the way he did. Neither did Kathy."

"No one does. Justin didn't deserve to die the way he did either."

"No, he didn't and neither did Mike Dodds. That still bothers me. Chief Dodds blamed me for that for a while but I would much rather deal with him than Chief McGrath. The best Chief I've had to deal with though is Garland. I guess I need to find something for dinner."

"I'd hold off until the Social Worker gets here."

"You're probably right."

They got a call about a visitor. It was the Social Worker. Olivia said to send them up. Once they got up to Hank and Olivia's floor, they knocked on the door, so Olivia went to answer it.

"Captain Voight."

"Ms. Walsh. Please come in."

"Thank you. This is Anthony."

"Hi Anthony. I'm Olivia."

"Hi."

The two of them came in and they headed into the living room. Olivia introduced them to everyone, including the kids, who had joined them.

"Thank you for taking him."

"No problem. We can go into the kitchen if you like. Can we get you anything?"

"No thank you. We can talk in the kitchen."

Hank, Olivia and Ms. Walsh went to talk in the kitchen, while Anthony sat down with everyone else.

"He's been crying a lot and seems very shy. I wanted to place him with someone who understands him. I spoke with Ms. Jackson and she suggested you."

"Really? That surprises me because she didn't like me very much when I was fostering Noah. Hank and I have actually been discussing wanting to add on to the family."

"You added him to the paperwork?"

"I did."

"May I see where he will be sleeping?"

"Sure. We still need to go out and get stuff for him, which we will do tomorrow."

Hank and Olivia took Ms. Walsh to show her where Anthony would be sleeping.

"I think he will love this. The one thing he keeps asking is if the people he'll be living with has an animal?"

"We're thinking about that too. I wanted to give Hank time to get settled in and continue his recovery."

"Everything is ok now?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good. I will check in with you sometime next week just to see how things are going."

"Ok."

Ms. Walsh went to say goodbye to Anthony and then Hank and Olivia walked her to the door. She left after she gave them a copy of his file and then they shut the door. They went back into the living room.

"Anthony, do you have a favorite meal?"

"Spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, pizza and hamburgers."

"Just like Noah and Daniel."

"Typical kid though."

"You can call me Tony."

"Then we will."

"Is my mommy gonna be in jail for a long time?"

"Probably. What they did to you wasn't right."

"I know. What do you do?"

"I'm a cop. I'm Sergeant Fin's boss but I was off when everything happened."

"Why?"

"Well, Hank was in the hospital after being shot in the chest, so I needed to take care of him. He was in Chicago."

"Why was he in Chicago?"

"He was still living there. We got married a few months ago and he hadn't retired from his job as a cop there yet."

"Are you feeling better?"

"I am."

"Do you have a scar?"

"A little bit of one."

"What would you like for dinner?"

"A burger."

"Why don't we go out for burgers?"

"That sounds like a plan."

They decided on a place and then Erin texted Mark and Charlie to have them meet them there. Olivia texted Ayanna and Kate to see if they wanted to join them for dinner and they said they would. When they arrived at the restaurant, everyone else was there. Daniel and Ashley hugged Charlie and Olive kissed him. Erin kissed Mark and then both he and Charlie hugged their mother. Olivia introduced everyone else to Tony and then they went inside. They were seated and had their order taken.

"How are you, Hank?"

"Better."

"A kid shot you?"

"Yep. He was younger than Noah."

"That's terrible. Olivia told us what happened in the Courtroom."

"I'm just glad the kid got what he deserved."

"Me too. I was happy with that outcome and I am grateful to Ruzek."

"I am too."

"Same with me."

"Are you enjoying your retirement?"

"Oh, yeah. I've been enjoying spending time with Noah."

"I'm enjoying spending time with you too. Sometimes I wish Mom would retire too but I know that won't be happening for a while."

"I've been thinking about it a lot more lately. I just want to be able to spend time with my family."

"Have you talked to Fin about it?"

"In passing but he's not sure he wants to take over and I can't blame him. He could be ready for retirement as well. I don't trust anyone else. I asked Ed once if they ever would have promoted Elliot and he said no."

"Honestly, I don't think he'd want to be promoted."

"When I told Ed that Nick Amaro wanted to be my #2 when Fin first said he wasn't interested, he told me he'd be overlooked even if he had gotten a perfect score on the test. He said he was damaged goods. He later said the same would have applied to Stabler.

"I've heard that from IAB recently as well."

Everyone continued talking and then their food arrived. After dinner, Hank paid for everything and then they all went their separate ways. When they got home, Hank and Olivia made sure Tony was settled and then they went to say goodnight to Noah, who was watching a movie in his room before going to bed. They did the same before they went to bed.

The next day after breakfast, Hank, Olivia, Noah and Tony went shopping to get furniture for Tony's room. It would be delivered early in the week. Tony wanted to go to the Zoo, so they called to see if the rest of the family was interested in meeting them. They were, so the entire family spent the day together.

The next week seemed to drag on completely. SVU had a case that Barba ended up being the Defense Attorney on, so that was really the first Olivia had seen him since what had happened at Forlini's Bar. After the case had ended and the perp was sent to prison, Olivia was in her office getting ready to leave for the day when Barba came in.

"Hey."

"Hey. I'm surprised you're not at some bar drowning your sorrows in scotch after that loss today. It's what you do best."

"What happened between us, Liv?"

"You're jealous of my friendship with Stabler."

"You got all bent out of shape because I defended Richard Wheatley."

"Can you blame me? He was involved with murdering Elliot's wife and he tried killing me by running me off the road."

"Like I told you before, you seemed to have forgiven Stabler for basically ignoring you for a decade but you can't forgive me for protecting you."

"I didn't ask you too."

"I just don't trust Stabler and I don't want to see you get hurt. I care about you, Liv and if you think I was disrespecting you, him or Kathy, I wasn't."

"I know that and I care about you too. Elliot and I have been working on our relationship and he knows he was a shitty friend for doing what he did. He finally accepted that I'm with Hank and he wants to be a part of my life in any way he can. I want you in my life too but not if you're going to be like this."

"I am sorry."

"I know you are. I miss you."

"I miss you too. How is Voight, by the way? I was the lawyer on a case while you were gone and Fin mentioned that you were in Chicago."

"He's doing much better. He was supposed to retire at the end of last year but Halstead ended up resigning and rejoining the Army Rangers to help get the drug cartels in Bolivia. He had to give Upton time to prepare to take over the unit. If he hadn't still been in Chicago, he never would have gotten shot."

"Fin said you were shot too?"

"I was. You know Rollins left the squad."

"That's what Fin said and she and Carisi got married?"

"Yep."

Olivia told Barba about her being shot and what had happened with Hank. She also told him about the BX9 stuff.

"You two got married?"

"We did. We decided to keep the plans as they were even if he wasn't going to be moving here until this summer. I've been back to work a few weeks now and Erin is taking Family Leave like I did. She's getting married in August."

"Congratulations, Liv. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks."

"I want to be a part of your life again."

"Ok. We will have you over for dinner one of these nights and you can see our new place. We've fostering a 5 year old boy for about a week now and he and Noah have been getting along great."

"That's great."

"There is something else I want you to do."

"Ok."

"I want you and Elliot to try to get along."

"I guess I'll try if he will. Does he know everything?"

"He does now. He said Ed was the one that told him about our relationship and asked if he would be interested in the liaison thing in Rome."

Elliot was standing in the doorway.

"Hey."

"Hey. You're here."

"I am but this case has been difficult. We finally got the people were tryin' to get though. Barba."

"Stabler."

"That's good they're in custody."

"It is. Is everything ok with you?"

"Yeah. Hank is settled and we've been fostering a 5 year old boy for about a week now."

"That's great. This mom stuff looks good on you."

"Listen, if you think I disrespected you, Kathy or Liv in any way, I didn't mean to. I had a job to do."

"I get it. That son of a bitch got what he deserved whether he's dead or not. He's out of my life and I've been tryin' to move on the best I can."

"I told Liv I want to be a part of her life again. She said we need to try to get along. I'll try if you will."

"I'll try too."

Rafael and Elliot shook hands.

"Are you both busy for dinner tonight?"

"I have no plans."

"I really don't either."

"Hank is actually cooking dinner tonight, so let me check with him."

Olivia texted Hank to see if there was enough for two more for dinner. He said there was definitely enough, since it was just going to be the two of them and the 4 kids. Everyone else had plans.

"It's just us and the kids, so there's enough."

"Thanks for the invitation."

"Same."

"No problem."

Olivia got her stuff and then the 3 of them headed to Hank and Olivia's. Olivia had Rafael with her. Olivia parked in the garage and then they met Elliot in the lobby. Then they headed upstairs.

"This is a lot bigger than your last place."

"It is. We love it here."

Olivia unlocked the door when they got there.

"HONEY, I'M HOME!"

Noah, Tony, Daniel and Ashley came out of the kitchen to hug Olivia.

"Uncle Rafa!"

"Hey, Noah."

Noah hugged Rafael and then he gave Elliot a high five.

"Tony, Daniel and Ashley, this is Rafael and Elliot. This is Tony, Daniel and Ashley

"Hey."

"Hi."

Hank came out of the kitchen and kissed Olivia. He then shook hands with Rafael and Elliot.

"How was your day, Babe?"

"Not too bad."

"Good."

"I'm going to show them around."

"Ok."

Hank and the kids went back into the kitchen, while Olivia showed Rafa and Elliot around.

"This is a nice place, Liv."

"Thanks."

The boys brought everything to the dining room and then everyone sat down. Then they started eating.

"This is delicious."

"Thanks."

"I hear Erin is getting married."

"She is. He's a good guy. Olive is married to Erin's fiancé's brother. Erin has a good relationship with his parents and Olive and Daniel get along with them too. Daniel loves being a big brother."

"Olive and Charlie are expecting Baby #2 and second daughter. This one is due in November. They're moving here as are Charlie and Mark's parents. They close on their condo at the end of the week and they'll be living in our building."

"That'll be great for you to have them so close."

"We can't wait. Is Erin going back to work on Monday?"

"Yeah. I have my appointment on Friday, don't forget."

"Yes, I know and hopefully you'll be cleared to drive. I took the whole day off, since the Social Worker is probably coming too."

"I know."

"Hank, do you cook a lot?"

"When it was just me, not really. Mostly take out or leftover pizza. After I got out of the hospital, Olivia cooked for me."

"Since when do you cook?"

"I've been cooking more since I've been a mother."

"That's progress for you. Your refrigerator used to be empty or had carryout containers."

"I was guilty of that."

"That's me now that I'm pretty much on my own. Kathleen does cook, so if I'm around, I may go over there and Dickie is good with the grill. I sometimes eat with my mom too."

"How's she doing?"

"She has her good days and her bad days. I was actually around earlier in the week, so I spent some time with her and the kids."

"You have how many?"

"I have 5. Three girls and two boys."

"I can't believe how grown up they are, especially Eli."

"I know. It seems like only yesterday that he was a toddler and now he's in college."

"This one will be a teenager before we know it too."

"Are you still dancing, Noah?"

"I am. I really love it."

"Good."

"How's your ankle?"

"It's doing a lot better. Charlie has been working with me to get it stronger. Thanks for asking."

"Sure."

"What happened?"

Noah told Rafael what happened with his ankle.

"Oh, wow! I'm glad you're doing better."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"What were the girls up to tonight?"

"The four of them were goin' out for dinner and Carol was goin' out to San Francisco to stay with her other grandkids, since Nikki and Patrick were goin' away for a few days and Patrick's parents were also gone. She said she probably should have planned that a little better but she wanted to help Olive get the kids out here."

"She probably already had it scheduled before they had decided to come out here."

"Probably. Erin knows she'll have to watch the 4 kids on Friday."

"Good."

"Where is Erin getting married?"

"Actually, she chose Chicago. They're having the ceremony on the Odyssey on Lake Michigan. They're heading to Hawaii for their honeymoon."

"Are they having a big wedding?"

"Not really. It'll mostly be both families but they have some friends and co-workers they're inviting. She's including everyone from Hank's former unit and the ones from the fire station. She invited Fin and Phoebe and they're going. She invited Amanda, Sonny and the girls and we're hoping Amanda can go."

"This one is Carisi's?"

"Yes. She got pregnant on their honeymoon, so she's due in September."

"Another girl?"

"This one is a boy. They've talked about naming him Vincent."

"Carisi has really grown up from that annoying Detective, who joined SVU 9 years ago."

"Yes, he has. Nick Amaro has his own company now and is doing great. He's married to Cynthia, his son Gil's mother but he still sees Zara."

Olivia told Rafael about Nick and him bringing Burton back into her life. The kids finished eating and then they went to watch TV in the other room.

"You never told me about that. I know you told me about that relationship a long time ago."

"He tried to start things up with me again but I was already in a committed relationship with Hank. I would never betray Hank. I know what Hank would have done to him if he had hurt me and then to have him accused of sexual assault. I was naïve when I was with Burton. That relationship wasn't right, since I was a minor. Now I understand why my mother wanted me to stop seeing him. It took me how many years to realize that I was a victim of statutory rape?"

"Liv, don't be so hard on yourself. Like you said, you were naïve back then. It's not your fault. How many times have you told victim's that in 20-something years?"

"I consented to it, Elliot!"

"Liv, how many times have you heard that over the years?"

"I hear it almost every day."

"Does Hank see you differently?"

"No."

"Then quit worryin' about it. I still feel guilty for killin' Jenna but what else was I supposed to do? She had already killed Sister Peg and I sure as hell didn't want her to end up killin' you too. I never would have been able to live with myself if she had killed you or even Cragen, Munch and Fin. I felt the same way when you were shot in that diner."

"I appreciate you bein' there for her."

"No thanks necessary. I admit I was shitty for doin' what I did for a decade and a part of me hoped we could finally act on our feelings but I'm glad she's happy. Sometimes I think I'm ready to move on but then sometimes I'm not."

"I get it. Camille died 13 years ago and a part of me wasn't sure I wanted to get involved with someone again because I had lost the woman I thought I was gonna spend the rest of my life with. Even though I'm with Olivia, I still miss Camille."

"I want him to be able to remember her."

"I want her to be able to remember Tucker too. She still cared about the guy and she took his death hard. Daniel was only a year old when he lost his dad. Olive's been remarried a few years now but Charlie wants them to be able to remember Justin. Getting' over losin' your spouse isn't somethin' that happens overnight. Everyone it happens to is different."

"Yeah, I know."

"You two obviously worked on your marriage if you were still together after all this time. She was ready to divorce you before Eli."

"Yeah, she was and yeah, we did working on things. Besides not bein' able to deal with what happened with Jenna, I wanted to make time for my family. I needed to put them first and that was one of the reasons why I couldn't contact you. Another reason was because of my feelings for you. I knew it was wrong for me to be feelin' the way I was when I was still married and it was gettin' too hard for me to work with you

"I get it. I respected Kathy and the kids too much to let anything happen. I didn't want to be the reason your marriage broke up."

"I understand that. After I blurted out what I did at that intervention, Kathleen was the one that asked me if I really expected you to sit around hopin' I'd come back. I think a part of me did but sometimes it still seems like Kathy is around. I was by myself at the Precinct and I thought I saw her."

"Whether your marriage was perfect or not and I know better than anyone that it wasn't, you're always going to love her because she's the mother of your children."

"I know that. Hank, how did your first wife die?"

"She had ovarian cancer."

"Damn!"

Hank told Elliot and Rafael about the case they had with Camille's doctor. Olivia cleaned up and then she went to get dessert. She went to get the kids for dessert. The adults talked for a while longer and then both Elliot and Rafael left. The kids got ready for bed and they all watched a movie. The kids were all asleep by the time it was over.

The rest of the week went quickly. Olive and Charlie closed on their condo and Hank went to the doctor. Hank was cleared to drive and they were both happy about that. That afternoon, the Social Worker came over to see how things were going. During the next week, Olive and Charlie's things were sent to New York, so they could officially move into their new condo and Paul headed to New York as well.

Things had been going great with Tony. Noah loved being a big brother. His mother had been beaten to death in prison and so far, there had been no other family to claim him but Hank and Olivia already knew they wanted to make him a part of their family when the time was right.

In mid-August, Erin and Mark got married in Chicago and went on their honeymoon in Hawaii. A few weeks later, the kids were back to school. In mid-September, Amanda gave birth to Vincent Oliver Carisi.

Before everyone knew it, it was mid-November. Erin got pregnant on their honeymoon and they found out they were having a son. Everyone was at work and Olive, Carol and Paul were at Hank and Olivia's, while Ashley was at Preschool when she had started going into labor.

"Olive, are you ok?"

"I'm in labor."

"You two take her and I will pick Ashley up from Preschool. I'll call Charlie too."

"Ok."

Paul went to get their coats, Olive's bag and the keys for the SUV. Hank helped them take her down to the SUV and then Paul drove to the hospital, while Hank went back upstairs. He called Charlie.

"Hey, Hank."

"Hey. Your parents are on their way to the hospital with Olive. I said I would get Ashley from Preschool. I'll get Daniel from school as well, since I have to get Tony anyway. They can stay with us tonight."

"Thank you. We really appreciate that. Someone will keep you posted. Thanks for calling."

"No problem."

Hank hung up and called Olivia.

"Hey."

"Hey, yourself."

"What's going on?"

"Olive is on her way to the hospital. I'm pickin' Ashley up and I also said I'd get Daniel. I told Charlie they could stay with us tonight."

"That's fine. Carol and Paul are with her?"

"Yeah."

"We just got back from that direction and traffic is horrible. There is a huge accident around there. I'll call Carol's phone and get them around it."

"Ok. Charlie said someone would keep us posted as to what is going on."

"Ok. I better call them. I'll talk to you later."

"Do you have time for lunch?"

"Sure."

"After I get Ashley, we'll come there."

"Ok. I love you."

"I love you too."

Olivia hung up and called Carol, while Hank texted Erin. After a while he went to pick Ashley up at Preschool. When he arrived, he went in.

"Hi Hank."

"Hey."

"Ashley, look who's here."

"Papa!"

"Hey, cutie. Your mama went to the hospital."

"My sister will be here soon?"

"It could be a while but yes. You and Daniel are stayin' with us tonight."

"Yay!"

"We're gonna go have lunch with Grandma."

"Yay!"

"Go get your stuff."

Ashley went to get her stuff and then they went out to Hank's SUV. Hank put her in her seat and then he drove to the Precinct. He got Ashley out of her seat, she took Hank's hand and then they went inside. They went up to SVU. Olivia was out in the Squad Room when they got there.

"Gama!"

"Hi, sweet girl."

Ashley ran over to Olivia and gave her a hug. Then Olivia kissed Hank, while Ashley gave Fin a high five.

"I take it you got Paul around the mess."

"I did. Carol said Olive was registered and in her room. She also gave me her room number."

"I texted Erin to let her know what was goin' on."

"Good."

The Amanda came in with Billie and Vinny.

"Hey."

"Amanda!"

Olivia hugged Amanda and then she hugged Billie.

"How's the little dude?"

"He's good, Fin."

"How are you, Miss Billie?"

"Good."

"Olive is in labor."

"That's great. Hey, Ashley."

"Hi."

"I probably should have called but are you available for lunch?"

"I'm having lunch with Hank and Ashley but you're welcome to join us."

They decided on a place and then they headed to the restaurant. Hank went to get the food, while Olivia and Amanda took Ashley, Billie and Vinny to find a table. Hank brought the food over and then they ate as they talked. Hank and Ashley took Olivia back to the Precinct, while Amanda took Billie and Vinny home. Hank put Ashley down for her nap and when it was time, they went to pick the boys up at school. Hank told Daniel that Olive was at the hospital, so he and Ashley were spending the night with them. Hank dropped Noah off at his dance class and went home. When they got home, Daniel and Tony did their homework and Ashley colored, while Hank found something to fix for dinner. Olivia was picking Noah up on her way home. Erin was coming over for dinner and Mark was planning to stay at the hospital. Erin got there a little bit before Olivia and Noah did. They all had dinner together and then Noah did his homework, while Hank, Olivia and Erin cleaned up and the other 3 played in Tony's room. Once everyone was done, they watched a movie. Erin kept texting back and forth with Mark and he said things were progressing but not quickly enough for Olive. They ended up going to dinner in twos, so someone was always with Olive. She told Hank and Olivia what was going on. After the movie was over, Erin helped put the kids to bed and headed home. Shortly after midnight, Olive gave birth to Natalie Erin. Mark, Paul and Carol all went home and Charlie stayed at the hospital. The next morning, Carol and Paul went to Hank and Olivia's and told them about the baby. They texted a picture of her to their daughter as well. Everyone headed to the hospital to meet the newest addition.

The following week, Hank and Olivia had everyone over for Thanksgiving and then they started decorating for Christmas. In the month leading up to Christmas, Noah and Tony helped Carol bake cookies, so they spent quite a bit of time at Olive and Charlie's after school. Paul and Hank were always sampling them. They gave batches of cookies to all the kids' teachers and to Olivia's squad. Charlie, Mark and Erin took cookies to work as well.

Erin and Mark had both families, including Nikki and her family, at their place for Christmas Eve, while Hank and Olivia had her squad, Sonny, Amanda and the kids, the Barbas and even some of the Stablers over for Christmas Day dinner.

The week after Christmas went quickly. Olivia had taken that week off, so she, Hank and the boys went away for a few days before the boys went back to school and she went back to work.

Hank and Olivia went away again for their anniversary and then Olive, Olivia and Carol had a baby shower for Erin. Around Mother's Day, Erin gave birth to Henry Paul.

The last year had not been easy for them but Hank was enjoying every moment of his life in New York but they did go to Chicago to visit everyone there. He loved being able to see his grandkids every day. He and Olivia were closer than ever and he loved being able to spend time with his sons. Tony officially became a Voight after a year with them and with everything she had been through with Noah, Olivia had done her homework, as did Trevor, to make sure there really were no other family members that might show up. They had even gone to the shelter to adopt a pet.

Olivia was happier than she had been in a long time. She loved having the entire family nearby and she was glad to have both of her best friends back in her life. She had also cut down on her workload, so she could be around more for Hank and the boys.

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