"Well…" Olivia began. "I think you might have cleared out the girls clothing section. She chuckled as she assessed the sea of shopping bags filling the trunk of her SUV.

Elliot rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I know. I didn't know what she would like, and Kathleen wasn't exactly a conservative shopping buddy."

Olivia laughed out loud. "You had to call Katie?"

"Well, yeah. I know I have daughters, but it wasn't like I shopped for them all."

"True." He rarely found time to do any family shopping, really. In fact, Olivia may have bought more gifts with his credit card than he ever did himself.

He closed the trunk with a thump. "This whole thing is... it's a lot. I want to make sure she's comfortable. I want her to have what she needs."

Olivia reached out and gently squeezed his elbow.

He caught her hand before she could let it fall to her side. "I'm not under any illusion that it's going to be easy or that any of this will change the shit she's been through, but I…" his eyes lowered to his feet, "I want to experience something better or know life is better than what she's experienced the last thirteen years."

A light smile pulled at the corner of her mouth despite all of her attempts to remain angry with him. He was a complicated man, and sometimes he made her lose her goddamn mind, but he always did what he thought was right, even when it came at a great personal expense.

"What?" returning her almost smile with a half grin of his own.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

His smile grew, and she knew he already figured out her thoughts. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into his side before kissing her temple. He said nothing, but the love had been relayed all the same.

For a moment they silently savored each other's nearness, but the sliding of the hospital's automatic doors immediately snared their attention.

A nurse pushed Hannah through the double doors. Olivia had given Hannah a cozy pair of pink pajamas before the doctor did his final exam. Elliot had bought her what they assumed was the correct size, but the clothes still appeared to swallow her up.

Olivia made a mental note to schedule an appointment with a stylist and begin the task of teaching Hannah how to care for her beautiful curls. The nursing staff had done their best, but Olivia put an end to Hannah's torture and called them off. Her hair needed care, but Olivia couldn't stand causing the young teen any more pain.

Elliot opened the door to the back passenger seat and pressed the button on the lower section of the seat. The mechanical sound of the automatic recline hummed as he achieved a satisfactory semi-reclining position. He turned just as Hannah tried to push herself up from the wheelchair. Both Olivia's and Elliot's hands shot out to help stabilize her unsteady form.

"Thanks." She whispered but sheepishly. "I keep forgetting that I can't move like normal."

"It's okay," Olivia reassured her. "It will take a little getting used to."

Hannah nodded, and Elliot hefted the bulk of her weight as they helped her into the SUV. Once she was buckled and tucked snugly beneath a fuzzy teal blanket Elliot had bought from the hospital's gift shop, Elliot shut the door. His blue eyes drifted to hers, and she easily read his apprehension.

With a gentle squeeze of his elbow, she silently provided a small measure of support. It was unbelievable, but they were doing this. Together.

-000-

Elliot dropped the transmission in park in front of the 1-6. He left the SUV running, eyes silently asking Olivia to stay even if he knew she wouldn't.

"You won't be long?"

She sighed. "I hope not. I'm tired." She ran a hand through her hair. "But I need to brief my team and get started on what little information we have to work with."

Elliot's eyes drifted to Hannah, who slept soundly in the backseat. "She just needs some rest. She's far enough away from everything; maybe she will be more open with us."

Olivia glanced back at the girl tucked beneath the fuzzy blanket. "I hope so, but you know as well as I do that these things take time."

"Of course." Elliot agreed. "You get your team goin, and I'll get her settled. He reached for her hand over the center console. "Do you want me to swing back here to get you?"

She shook her head. "No. I don't know how long this is going to take." Her eyes once again drifted to the young teen in the back. "Worry about her. I'll get a ride to your place. Lizzie is still planning on picking Noah up from school, right?"

Elliot nodded. "Yeah. She took a day off today. She said she had some errands, but I suspect she wanted to make sure Noah would have a fun afternoon with her."

Olivia smiled. "He always does. They spoil him too much. All of them."

Elliot shrugged. He wanted to tell her it was because they all felt like Noah was their little brother. They all felt like he was a part of them, one of them, but Olivia's heated words echoed through his mind and ultimately held him back.

My son. He's my son.

Instead he rolled the tension from his neck and added, "They all love him." It was a simple statement and really didn't accurately represent the bond his children had formed with Noah. They didn't just love him. It was so much more than that.

Knowing they didn't have time to have any sort of argument or discussion he just swallowed back his rising frustration and said, "Better get outta here." He glanced in the rearview mirror at Hannah who had shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I want to get her home and out of this car."

Olivia bit her lip like she was holding back something. He wanted to call her out on it, but Hannah whimpered in the backseat, making him feel more urgency to get her in a more comfortable place.

Olivia stepped back and shut the passenger side door. She gave him an uncertain little wave as he put the SUV back into drive. He nodded in return but couldn't hold back the sigh that pressed out from his chest.

They would be okay. They had been through worse fights than this one. They would be okay. At least he hoped so.

-000-

Olivia assigned her detectives different tasks, prioritizing nailing down Hannah's identity. They needed to know who this girl was and what sort of family they were dealing with. She greatly suspected that Hannah belonged to the nomadic group that a few authorities mentioned, but that meant there wasn't really a way to be sure unless they brought the parents in or Hannah decided to talk. She wasn't certain which impossibility would occur first.

She didn't bother flipping her office lights on before tossing the newly created file on the center of her desk. Her chair called her name, and she pulled it towards her before settling into it with a sigh.

Not even a minute later, a familiar rhythmic tap sounded on the door frame. She didn't open her eyes. "Come in, Fin." She turned her chair in the direction of the door and finally opened her eyes. "You might as well shut the door behind you." She knew what he was doing. Checking in, like he always did when he read through the bullshit she fed everyone else.

He did as he was told, closing the door behind him with a click. He found his way to the chair in front of her desk and leaned back with a sort of familiarity that warmed her heart.

"So." He threaded his fingers together and rested them on his chest while leaning back in the chair slightly. "Wanna fill me in on what's really goin down? You don't normally fly outta here without a detailed game plan in place, so I'm thinking there's more to this whole thing than "Stabler found a kid in the woods." He lifted an eyebrow. "And what's up with that anyway? Brother is like a kid magnet."

Olivia leaned forward and began aimlessly flipping through the tiny file in front of her, buying her time to answer. "I'm not sure where to start."

"How bout you start with whatever is actually bothering you. We've dealt with cases like this before and I know Noah bein there wasn't exactly what you'd want, but…" he let the thought hang in the air.

"It's just…" She shut the folder and slid it away from her. Her fingers wrapped around the compass that nearly always adorned her neck. "Noah found her."

"Shit," Fin muttered.

"Yeah," she agreed with a grimace. "I really didn't handle it well."

Fin remained in his relaxed position, and she knew he was choosing to listen rather than pepper her with questions.

"I mean. Not at all." She shook her head. "I said some stupid stuff, and Elliot's acting like things are fine, and then he volunteered us to foster Hannah without asking me, and I can't help but wonder if the whole thing was a weird attempt to lash out at me for the shit I said before I got to the hospital."

Fin nodded to indicate he heard her, but remained quiet while he processed things. Finally he spoke up. "I don't think Elliot would put the kid in the middle of somethin' just to spite you. He can be a jackass, but not that much of a jackass." He eyed her warily before asking, "I'm not sure if I should ask what you said that has you all wound up and him all mopey."

Olivia's eyes held his gaze before dropping her head into one hand. "I, uh, I sort of played the, uh, mom card. I told him that I'm the one who gets to make decisions for Noah because he's my son." She emphasized the word 'my.'.

Fin watched her silently for a moment. "Well, he is your son. I think that's pretty obvious."

She groaned and pushed herself away from her desk. "It's not that. Of course he's mine. Legally he's all mine, but after all this time, after everything we've been through, you don't think Elliot deserves some say in what happens with Noah? You don't think that what I said cut him down because he thinks of Noah as one of his own children?"

Fin sighed and leaned forward. "Look, Liv. You know as well as I do that you have mad skills when it comes to hitting a man where it hurts." He chuckled. "I thank God that I've managed to stay on the spectator end of those jabs, but I feel like I know you better than anyone, and I don't think any of this is about Noah."

She couldn't help her eye roll even if deep down she knew he was right. "What's it about then?" She challenged him.

Fin chuckled, and his light attitude infuriated her even more.

He shook his head. "I don't know. I just know what you are like when you are avoiding shit, and it's pretty damn obvious you're avoiding somethin'."

Her eyes narrowed. There was something simultaneously comforting and maddening about Fin's ability to see right through her. Only a handful of people do it and very few felt brave enough to call her out on it.

After a few moments of strained silence, she finally cracked. "Fine," she grumbled. "It isn't just about Noah." She held up a finger. "But he is part of this too. Even if that's…" she sighed. "I, uh, found a ring in the bathroom drawer."

Fin snorted and slapped his knee in amusement. "That's all? God Liv. From the way you were actin' I thought somehow Kathy Stabler had risen from her grave."

"Shut up," she complained. "It's just. We never talked about…that step."

"Oh come on," he chuckled lightly. "That man probably had that ring a week after you were official. Hell, he probably had it before then." He winked playfully. "Probably got it when he bought you that compass."

Her fingers instinctively wrapped around the cool pendant. "He wouldn't have…" but he would. She knew he would. He was just that much of an idealistic dreamer. If anyone called Elliot an idealist to his face, he would laugh his ass off, but it was true in a lot of ways. He had a vision of what he wished the world could be and sacrificed every part of himself to make that vision a reality.

Fin's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "I'm not gonna get in the middle, but if it's buggin' you enough, maybe you should ask him about it. That man is the marryin' kind, but I suspect that he would forgo that if you were against it."

But she wasn't against it. Surprised a little, but not necessarily against it. It was just a big step…It was a lot, and she hadn't had more than one evening to process the idea before their lives took another dramatic turn. Fin was right. She should talk to him, but when? Their schedules were insane as it was, and now they had Hannah…

"You're right."

Fin grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "Usually am. About what exactly?"

"You shouldn't get in the middle of it," she said with a smile.

He shook his head again and pushed himself out of his chair. "Yeah yeah. You gotta know I'm just looking out for my number two girl."

She laughed, knowing Phoebe would be pleased she held that number one spot. "I know. I do. We'll figure it out. We always do."

"You're right about that." He stepped out of her office, holding the door frame briefly. "Don't stay here too long, okay? I'll keep everyone in line. "You're family needs ya."

She felt touched by his consideration.

"Thank you, Fin."