Prompt #66: "Are you planning on kissing anyone special at midnight?"
Making Plans
~oOo~
A cup of coffee appears on the desk in front of her. Olivia had been so engrossed in the report she was reviewing that she hadn't even heard Amanda enter her office. She looks up and greets her friend with a smile, standing and moving around the desk to wrap her in a hug. "Amanda, hi! What are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you."
"The girls were driving me crazy, so Sonny suggested I bring Leo and get out of the house for a little while. Well, he offered to keep him, too, but with Leo still nursing, it was just easier to bring him with me."
Olivia glances around for a stroller.
"Fin stole him when I got off the elevator," Amanda says with a laugh as they move to sit on the couch.
"Ah! That explains it." Olivia takes a sip of her coffee. "How was your Christmas?"
"Hectic, but it's great. Having people to spend the Holidays with, you know. How about you and Noah? Do anything special?"
Olivia ignores the pointed look Amanda is giving her over the top of her own coffee cup and the smirk that pulls at her lips. "It was good. After he opened his presents, we spent the morning snuggled on the couch with hot chocolate watching The Grinch. He'll watch the original cartoon with me, but he prefers the live-action version, so that's the one we watched. He's getting bigger, and I'm not sure how many more Christmases we'll have like that, you know? I'm just trying to soak it all in while he still lets me."
"That's great, Liv. And the afternoon?" She raises her eyebrows suggestively.
"Has he been texting you?" Olivia asks with a laugh.
Amanda's "maybe" has Olivia rolling her eyes, but she's smiling the whole time.
"Fine. Yes, we spent the afternoon at Elliot's and had Christmas dinner with his family. It was nice…really nice to be able to give Noah that experience. A crowded house at the holidays. Hell, it was nice to experience it myself."
As an adult, Olivia had always spent Christmas alone — usually at work — until Noah came along. Then, it was just the two of them. Ed had been there, too, while they were together, but it's been years now since that time, and Noah has no memory of it other than what he's seen in photos. Even as a kid, she was basically alone with Serena there physically but almost always lost in a bottle by lunch.
"That's great, Liv. What about New Year's tomorrow? You plannin' on kissin' anyone special at midnight?"
"What?" Olivia chokes on the sip of coffee she's just taken, but Amanda doesn't say anything. She just directs her gaze through the window into the squadroom. Olivia follows her line of sight and spies Elliot standing with Fin. He has six-month-old Leo nestled in the crook of his arm and is swaying just slightly.
It's hard not to let her mind wander through the what-ifs of it all. What if he'd asked her out when he and Kathy split up? What if he'd come to her instead of Kathy after the Royce case? What if she'd taken him up on his offer of 'support' to start a family? What if he'd never left? Where would they be now if any one of those things were different? It doesn't really matter, because they can't go back in time — but what if?
"No, umm, no plans."
"Well, maybe you should make some," Amanda tosses out as Elliot approaches Olivia's office and gently knocks on the open door. "Hey, Stabler."
"Hey, El. What brings you by?"
"I had to drop some stuff off on the first floor, so I thought I'd see if you had time to grab lunch. I got sidetracked with this little guy, though." He looks down and gently tickles the baby's tummy, earning himself a giggle and a gummy smile.
"Understandable. Let me see that sweet boy!" Olivia reaches out her hands, and Elliot walks to her side, passing Leo down to her. The baby lays his head down on her chest, and she gently rubs his back. "Hey, there, Leo. You're growing so fast!" She presses a soft kiss to the top of his head.
She hears a click beside her and turns to see Amanda with her phone in hand, having just snapped a photo of them. "I'll send it to you." Amanda, Elliot, and Olivia continue to catch up for a few minutes until Leo begins to fuss, and Olivia passes him back to his mother. "It's time for him to eat. I better head out."
"You can nurse him in here if you want," Olivia offers. "I believe Elliot offered to buy me lunch."
"I did, didn't I?" The three of them share a laugh as Olivia grabs her coat from the hook behind her door and tests the handle.
"Just pull the door closed when you leave. It'll lock behind you. I've got my keys." She pats her coat pocket to confirm.
"Thanks, Liv. And don't forget to start making those plans."
"Bye, Amanda," Olivia says as she and Elliot leave the room, and she closes the door.
"Plans?" he questions.
"Don't worry about it. She's just giving me a hard time."
~oOo~
During lunch, Elliot reveals that Noah has been texting him. "He, uhh, asked if I wanted to come over for New Year's."
"He did, did he?" Olivia asks, and she can feel her face flushing.
"Yeah. He said he had fun at Christmas and asked if we all get together like that for New Year's." Elliot shrugs his shoulders. "I told him that, no, we don't. That it would just be me for New Year's. He said it was just going to be the two of you at your place and asked if I wanted to come over. I told him I'd think about it. I wanted to talk to you first."
She considers his words for a moment. "Thanks for checking, but you can if you want to, you know. Come over."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. No reason to be alone." She gives him a small smile, eyes sparkling.
"Okay. I'll be there. Do I need to bring anything?"
"Just yourself." If it comes out a little flirty, then good. She meant for it to. They've not talked about it yet, but she thinks she's finally ready to give this thing between them a real shot. She's still afraid of what will happen if it doesn't work, but she's more afraid of not trying.
~oOo~
"But Moooom! Sam just lives downstairs, and I've never been invited to a New Year's Eve party before."
Sam is one of Noah's best friends at school. He and his parents moved into an apartment two floors down a few months ago. The boys usually walk to school together. Sometimes Olivia takes them, sometimes Sam's mom does, and occasionally both women walk together a few paces behind the boys, giving them enough room to feel independent while still keeping a watchful eye on them.
"I understand that, Noah. I do, but you've already invited Elliot over. It would be rude to abandon him for someone else."
"But you'll be here." He gives her a look that — in a bizarre twist of fate — is not unlike one she's received from Elliot.
Taking a deep breath, Olivia tries to recall the first party she was invited to as a teenager. She was a little older than Noah — maybe thirteen or fourteen, and Serena had outright refused to let her go. Wouldn't even listen to Olivia's reasons for wanting to go (however juvenile they may have been). In the end, Olivia snuck out late at night after Serena passed out from one (or five) drinks too many. "This is very important to you, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is."
"Both of Sam's parents will be there?"
Noah nods. "And his Grandma, and I think some more adults."
"Okay." Olivia sighs. "Go get dressed, and I'll take you down." When Noah starts to push back and insist that he can take the elevator down two floors by himself, she cuts him off with a look. "No, sir. I take you down, and when the party's over, either one of them brings you back or I come down and get you."
"Yes, ma'am. But I really can go?"
"Yes, you can go."
"Thanks, Mom! You're the best!" Noah flings his arms around her waist and gives her a tight squeeze before running off to his room to get ready.
When Noah returns to the living room, he has an envelope in his hand. "This is for Elliot. I wrote him a note since I won't be here tonight. Where should I leave it?"
After instructing Noah to leave the note on the coffee table and assuring him that she will make sure Elliot gets it, Olivia grabs her keys and escorts Noah downstairs.
~oOo~
A short time after dropping Noah off, Olivia is startled by a knock on the door. She had the volume turned down low on the TV and was engrossed in her book on the couch. She hadn't realized it was already eight o'clock. Moving across the living room, she straightens out her sweater before opening the door.
"Hey, El. Come in. Just so you know — we've been ditched," she chuckles as she shuts and locks the door behind him.
"You mean Noah had a better offer than spending the evening with a couple of fifty-somethings? I'm shocked," Elliot teases.
"I know, right? So strange. He left you a note on the coffee table, by the way." She points him in the right direction. "You want something to drink? I've got beer, wine, water, juice — I think there's still some scotch in the cabinet."
"Beer's fine." He takes a seat on the couch while she pulls two bottles of beer from the fridge and opens them.
She sits down on the couch, leaving space between them, and passes him his beer as he's reading Noah's note and smiling softly. He carefully folds the paper and puts it back in the envelope, taps the neck of his beer bottle to hers, and tells her, "You've got a great kid, Liv. You've done a fantastic job with him."
"Thanks, El." She's a little choked up.
It's always reassuring to hear someone say she's doing a good job as a mother. She'll never forget being told she wasn't 'prime parent material.' Parenting is hard under any circumstance, but doing it solo with a job like hers and with the example she had for a mother, she's never completely sure if she's doing the right thing. It feels especially nice coming from Elliot. There were so many times when Noah was small that she wished she could call him for advice on teething, potty training — basically everything about having a child.
"So, we've got a while until midnight. What do you and Noah usually do?"
"Well, we turn on one of the countdown shows." She gestures to the TV, which is tuned to New Year's Rockin' Eve. "We eat snacks and usually play board games or something while we wait — and hope I don't get called into work. It's pretty low-key, but it works for us."
He smiles at her. "Sounds like a fun night. What kind of games?"
She gets up and motions for him to follow her down the hall. She opens a closet door to reveal a shelf filled with all of your typical board games — Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue, etc. "We've got all of these. He's been particularly fond of Guess Who? lately."
"I'm up for a round or two if you are." He places his hand on the game box.
"Why not?" They return to the couch, and she selects the blue game board.
The game starts off with the typical questions. Elliot asks if her person has a hat (no), and she asks if his has glasses (yes). After a couple of rounds, Elliot throws her for a loop by asking if her person looks like someone Munch would have bonded with over alien abduction stories.
"What?!" She chokes out a laugh. "What kind of question is that?"
"Liv, come on. Look at them. You know some of these people would be at one of those crazy conventions he used to go to back in the day."
"Fair enough." After thinking on it for a moment, she decided that no, Munch wouldn't befriend her person. Elliot is left with only two characters standing.
She asks if his person would work for IAB. "Absolutely." There's no doubt or hesitation in his answer, and she's also left with two characters.
He considers his next question as he studies the faces of Phillip and Anita. "Okay. So your person wouldn't be friends with Munch. I guess my next question is — would your person add fuel to the fire of his conspiracies if they ran into each other on the street?"
She purses her lips. Not because she's considering her answer, but because she knows he's about to win. "Yes," she sighs.
"Your person is Phillip with his Abe Lincoln-looking ass."
She laughs and shows him her card. Both of their beers are empty, and he goes to her fridge to get them another while she shuffles the character cards.
They play another round before she asks if he wants a snack. He says he could eat a little something, so they box up the game and return it to the closet.
"It's nothing fancy," she starts, "but we have chocolate chip cookies, popcorn, mixed nuts. Sometimes we make pancakes, so there's mix in the cabinet. Noah likes frozen waffles, so there's a box in the freezer next to the ice cream. You're obviously welcome to whatever you can find," she finishes as she reaches for a chocolate chip cookie.
"I think I'll just take a cookie or two for now. Thanks." He takes a bite. "These are good. Where did you get them?"
"What do you mean? I baked them."
"You're telling me you actually learned how to use that thing?" he jokes and points to her oven.
She flips him off on their way back to the couch. "Ha. Ha. Very funny. I had to keep Noah alive somehow, and I didn't think DCS would like it if he was fed a well-rounded diet of leftover takeout and vending machine snacks." He laughs out loud, and she's reminded just how much she missed that sound during the ten years he was gone.
This time when they sit down, she sits closer to him, leaving only a couple of inches between them. "So where's this party Noah left us for?"
"Couple of floors down. One of his best friends moved in at the beginning of the school year. I'm going down at 12:30 to pick him up. By the way, I don't know what's in his note — and this isn't me asking — but you should know he did that all on his own. I didn't make him."
"That makes it even more special. Let me just say that he started out by apologizing for inviting me and then not being here. He's a good kid. I think I'll keep the rest of it between the two of us."
She smiles and nods. "That's fine. I just thought you should know."
They talk a little while longer, and, as midnight approaches, Olivia works up the nerve to tell him what's been on her mind. "El, I need to say something, and I need you to hear me out. Okay?"
He turns his body on the couch to face her, his hand resting on her knee. "Of course, Liv."
She takes a deep breath. "I've been thinking about us lately. About this friendship. That doesn't feel like the right word for what we are, but it's the one I've got." She brings her hand to rest on top of his. "I told you almost a year ago that I wasn't ready, and we've been through a lot since then — together and separately. Ohio. Losing Whelan. Your assignment. Staying in touch this time. Christmas. It's been — a lot. I've realized, though, that while I don't think I'll ever understand the way you left back then, I have forgiven you. I trust you again — completely. What I'm trying to say," she squeezes his hand and adjusts its position, so she can weave their fingers together, "is that I'm ready. We'll never know if this is going to work if we don't try."
The last few words are choked out, and when she finally makes eye contact with him, she sees that his eyes are filled with tears, too.
Somewhere in the background, she thinks she hears a countdown.
Five. She squeezes his hand and smiles at him.
Four. He releases her hand and wraps his arm around her shoulders.
Three. She shifts her body closer to his.
Two. He leans his forehead against hers, still smiling.
One. She gently presses her lips to his, and they share their first kiss at the stroke of midnight.
When they pull apart slightly Elliot says, "Happy New Year, Liv. You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."
"Oh, yes, I do," she responds and pulls his face back to hers for another kiss. This one deeper and more passionate, where the first had been gentle and sweet.
They stay like that — sharing kisses on her couch, hands roaming — until she gets a glimpse of the clock on her TV while he's kissing her neck. 12:25. "El, wait." He sits up immediately, and she can't remember at what point they'd laid down. She sits up, too, and gives him another quick peck while they catch their breath. "It's not that I don't want to keep going. I do, but I have to go get Noah from downstairs."
"Oh right." He gets up and moves slowly toward her front door — to where his coat is hanging on the hook by the door. "I had fun tonight, Olivia, and I'm not only talking about the last thirty minutes." He smiles as he reaches for his coat.
"You…want to come with me to get Noah?" she asks and reaches for his hand. "Then we can come back up here?" It's phrased as a question. An invitation.
"Yeah?" She nods and chews lightly on her lower lip. "I'd love to, Liv."
~oOo~
Noah is thrilled to see Elliot standing at the door with his mother when Sam's mom opens it. He is especially thrilled to see that they are holding hands. In his note, Noah told Elliot that he was sorry that he wouldn't be there, but he thanked him for coming. He said he knows that it makes his mom happy when Elliot is around, and he likes seeing her happy.
In the elevator on the way back up to the apartment, Noah asks if they are dating. Elliot and Olivia make eye contact over his head, and she asks how he would feel about that. "I think that'd be pretty cool, I guess," Noah shrugs.
"Well that's great to hear, Kid," Elliot smiles down at Noah. "Because I was just about to ask her to have dinner with me one night this week." He looks at Olivia as the elevator doors slide open, and they step out. "What do you say, Liv?"
Her chest is tight, and she feels tears stinging her eyes. "I'd love to, El," she says as Noah enters the apartment ahead of them. "Go get ready for bed, Noah."
As her son heads down the hall, Elliot pulls Olivia's body against his and presses a kiss to her lips. They don't let themselves get too carried away, but they're still kissing when Noah returns to say goodnight. "Gross! I'm fine with you dating, but I don't need to see all that." They both turn to look at him.
"There will be kissing now that we're dating, Noah, but we'll keep it to a minimum in front of you. Deal?" Olivia doesn't want Noah to be embarrassed or uncomfortable, but she also has made a point throughout his life to be as honest with him as possible (while being age-appropriate).
"Deal." Noah walks over and embraces each of them, before turning and heading for his room. "Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Elliot."
"Night, Kid."
"Goodnight, Baby." Noah doesn't push back at the term of endearment. Bedtime is the one time she can count on him still being okay with it.
"I should head out. Let you get to bed."
She leans into his body, kisses his jaw, and whispers, "You don't have to."
He turns and presses a kiss to her lips, wrapping his arms around her. "I know, Liv, but I want to do this right." Another kiss. "Take you out to dinner." Kiss. "Maybe feel you up a little in the car." He grabs her ass with one hand, the other snaking up into her hair. "Bring you home, and then take you to bed." A long kiss on her neck that she's pretty sure will leave a mark. Her left hand is on the back of his head, and she moans softly. It's the sexiest sound he's ever heard, and he almost gives in, but he pulls back. "How's tomorrow night?"
They're both breathing heavily, and it takes her a moment to respond. "I usually end up working late on Tuesdays because of McGrath and CompStat. He's not canceled even though it's New Year's. Noah has dance late on Wednesdays. How about Thursday?"
"It's a date. Pick you up at 7?"
"Sounds good, El." She presses another (chaste) kiss to his lips. "I can't wait."
"Me either, Partner." He slips on his coat and gives her one last kiss.
After she watches him step into the elevator, she closes and locks the door. She really should get some sleep, but she can't stop thinking about the way her evening played out. Can't stop thinking about his lips and his hands on her body. The things he's promised her for their date night.
On her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and change for bed, she sends a quick text. It's impulsive, and she normally would keep this evening for herself.
O: Plans were made
Unexpectedly, she sees the three dots that indicate Amanda is typing appear immediately.
A: I'm bringing you lunch tomorrow. I need details. Just tell me what time.
A: Also, I'm really happy for you, Liv. You deserve happiness.
Olivia finds herself with tears in her eyes at the realization that she really is happy. Sure, they've not even been on an official date. And sure, they're going to have disagreements, probably even fights on occasion. For the first time in years, though, she feels truly hopeful.
She feels like she's more than a Captain. More than Noah's mother. Both of those titles fill her with immense pride, for sure, but being with Elliot makes her feel like Olivia again.
The author of this SVU - Heart for the Holidays story will be revealed in January
