Prompt #35: Anything with Bernie and Noah as the focus! Christmas cookies, gingerbread houses, whatever as long as Bernie and Noah are the focus.

A Slightly Broken Gingerbread House

~oOo~

Noah had been cautious around her at first. He'd reminded Bernie of another sensitive and shy boy with startling blue eyes. But her Elliot hadn't been blessed with Olivia Benson in his corner as a child.

Her blue-eyed boy had been battered by life until he'd built an armor around himself. She was overjoyed to see him dismantling those walls. He'd opened his heart to his family and Olivia and her son. It made their family complete.

"Here. Can you help me hold up this wall while I put the icing on it?" Bernie had been thrilled when Olivia asked if she could keep an eye on Noah for the afternoon. She'd immediately thought about baking gingerbread houses. It was something Elliot had enjoyed as a child. "Once we've got this one up, we can start on the roof. Thanks for keeping me company this afternoon."

Elliot and Olivia planned to spend the afternoon together and then bring back dinner for everyone. Bernie greatly enjoyed seeing her son in love. He'd spent far too much time sacrificing his happiness for others. It was good to see him happy.

And it was good to spend a day in the kitchen with her newest grandchild.

"It's crooked." Noah had tried for the past ten minutes to get one side of his gingerbread house straight.

"Let's see if we can fix it." Bernie grabbed one of the pastry bags filled with icing. "I've got extra glue."

Noah snickered when she put a little on his finger. "The only glue you can eat."

"Exactly."

"What if we can't fix it?" Noah gingerly attempted to adjust the wall into place. "It's stuck. I don't want to break it. I want it to be perfect for Mom and Elliot. And everyone. It's our first Christmas with everyone."

Bernie knew from what Olivia had said that it would be the first big family Christmas for Noah. She shifted the icing bag into her other hand and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "The thing about being a part of the Stabler-Benson madness is our perfect usually comes out a little crooked, so our gingerbread houses will fit right in. They're going to love it. I promise."

The author of this SVU - Heart for the Holidays story will be revealed in January