A/N: I don't own any of the characters. Justin, Al and Dodds are all still alive.

For Better or For Worse

When Hank and Olivia had gotten married almost 4 years ago, they thought it was going to be forever. Hank had found out that Erin was his biological daughter and when Olivia found out, she was not happy about it at all. She loved Erin but Hank had lied to her. He kept trying to tell her that what happened between him and Bunny was a mistake. He loved Erin and he had been there as much as he could for her over the years. Olivia told him that if he wasn't being completely honest with her about that, then she didn't want to know what else he lied to her about. Olivia asked Hank to leave and decided to separate but not legally for the time being.

What made things even more difficult were their kids. Noah, now 6 and Jenna, their 3-year old daughter. Erin had moved to New York and was now with SVU. She was more than thrilled that Hank was her real father. She felt somewhat responsible for their separation and she loved both Noah and Jenna so much. Olivia had custody of the kids but Hank had them on the weekends. He had moved in with Erin, while Olivia stayed in their brownstone. Erin talked to Justin and he said he really hoped the separation was only temporary. He knew how much Hank and Olivia loved each other. He also saw what the separation was doing to Hank.

When they got married, Hank had transferred to the NYPD and was working in Hostage Negotiation. Tucker was his Boss and the two had become good friends. Ed was also friends with Olivia but he knew how stubborn she could be. Like everyone else, including her squad and Hank's former squad, he had hoped the separation was only temporary. Jay had followed Erin to New York and was working in Hostage Negotiation as well.

SVU had gone to a call at a home not knowing what they were in for when they got there. The woman's estranged husband had come in and was holding her and their children hostage. Olivia and Erin had gone in but they ended up pissing the guy off even more and were tied up. Mike called Tucker.

"Tucker."

"Captain Tucker, it's Mike Dodds from SVU. We need your help. We got a call for a domestic. Lieutenant Voight and Detective Lindsay went in and have not come back out. It appears that the guy in the house is holding his estranged wife and their children hostage and now Liv and Erin as well."

"We'll be there as soon as I tell Hank that his estranged wife and daughter are being held hostage."

Mike gave Ed the address and then he hung up. Ed went out to the Squad Room.

"Hank, Jay, can you both come in here for a minute please?"

"Yeah."

Hank and Jay came into Ed's office.

"What's goin' on?"

"Mike Dodds just called. He said they are at a call and the guy is holding his estranged wife and children hostage. To make matters even worse, Olivia and Erin are now in there."

Ed could see that Hank was scared because his family was in there. The expression on Jay's face wasn't much better.

"Let's go!"

They went out to the Squad Room and filled everyone in as to what was going on. They all left and headed to the address Mike had given them. Despite everything they were going through, Hank was still very much in love with Olivia and he would do anything to get her to trust him again, even if it meant risking his own life to save her. Olivia and the kids meant more to him than anything else. When they arrived, Mike filled them in as to what was going on.

"Ed, let me go in."

"Let me talk to the guy first and then maybe I will consider sending you in. Do not do anything without me. You too, Halstead. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Me too."

Mike got the guy on the phone and then handed it to Ed. He found out what the guy wanted and then decided to send Hank in.

"Ok, Hank, I'm sending you in to talk to this guy. No phone, no vest and no weapon."

"Got it."

Hank handed Ed his phone and gun and took his vest off. He slowly walked to the door and rang the doorbell. Their suspect wasn't taking any changes by answering the door himself, so he sent one of the kids to answer the door, while he was behind her with a gun to her head.

"Are you Hank?"

"Yeah, I am."

She opened the door a little wider and then Hank walked in with his hands up. The suspect checked to make sure Hank didn't have a gun. Olivia and Erin both had bruises on them and that really upset him.

"So, what do you want?"

"I'm here to talk if you want to talk."

"I'm tired of talking."

"Fine. I'll talk and you can listen."

"I didn't say you could speak."

"You're gonna listen whether you want to or not. My wife and I have been married about 4 years now and we're having our own problems right now. We have a 6-year old and a 3-year old and I also have two grown children, who my wife loves like they were her own."

"Did she cheat on you?"

"No."

"Then you cheated on her. Good for you. A man should be able to do whatever he wants."

"No, I didn't cheat on her either. I would never do that. I just wasn't honest with her about something. She and the kids are everything to me. I love her more than my own life. Do you feel that way about your wife?"

"She kicked me out."

"Mine kicked me out too but that doesn't mean I would hurt her or our kids."

"She told me she wants a divorce."

"I don't blame her for that after you beat her and your kids."

"I'm the man of this family."

"I'm the man of my family."

"I refuse to let my wife control me."

"Then you need to act like a husband. Your wife should be treated like a Queen."

"You obviously allow your wife to walk all over you. A real man like me doesn't do that."

"Women deserve to be treated with respect and you're not doing that. You can't just beat your wife and daughters any time you want and then expect her to forgive you."

"Then why was it ok for my stepmother to have her way with me? I was 13 years old and my dad traveled a lot for his job. She made me have sex with her."

"You can't take it out on your wife and your children or someone else's wife and child. Why didn't you report it when it happened?"

"Because no one would have believed me."

"Did you ever confront her about it?"

"I finally did. I raped her and killed her. I'm not sorry I did it because she deserved it. Unless you can tell me I'm not going to go to prison for any of this, then I will rape and kill every female in this room starting with those two cops over there."

Hank swallowed hard because he knew he had a decision to make. Let this criminal go free or lose his wife and daughter. Hank looked at both Olivia and Erin and they both had tears running down their cheeks.

"How about this? I can't guarantee that you won't go to prison for what you've done but instead of hurting them, kill me instead. It'll be one less thing my wife has to worry about in the long run."

Hank looked over and saw Olivia shaking her head. He saw her pleading with him not to sacrifice his own life. Erin had her head on Olivia's shoulder. The phone rang, so the suspect answered it. It was Ed wanting to know an update.

"Hank, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm sparing your life and Erin's life. What does it look like?"

"You cannot do this."

The suspect handed Hank the phone and he told Ed exactly when he told the suspect. Ed could not believe what he was hearing. Ed asked to talk to the suspect again, so Hank handed him the phone. He walked into the kitchen and then all of a sudden, they heard a gunshot. Hank ran into the kitchen and saw the suspect on the floor dead and Jay standing there with the rifle. Hank picked up the phone and told Ed that the suspect was dead. Hank hung up and then he went back into the other room to untie the hostages. Jay came in as well.

"Hank, you drive me crazy sometimes! What the hell were you thinking? What would I have told Noah and Jenna if he had killed you?"

"It would have been better than him killing you."

"Better for who? Not me."

"You kicked me out, so it would make things easier for you."

"No, it wouldn't have. I love you and I completely overreacted when you told me that Erin was your daughter. I love her and you know that. What else haven't you told me?"

"There is nothing else. I swear to you."

"I'm going crazy without you. Jenna wants her daddy to put her to bed every night and not just on the weekends. Noah does too. Will you please come home?"

"Do you want me there?"

"Yes!"

"Do I have to sleep in the guest room?"

"Nope."

Olivia wrapped her arms around Hank and kissed him. Jay kissed Erin and then everyone left as the ME's office arrived to take the suspect's body out. Hank had his arm around Olivia as they got outside.

"Hank, what the hell were you thinkin'?"

"He didn't kill me and I'm going home with my wife after she gets seen by a doctor."

"Hank, I'm fine."

"You always say that whether you are or not. You too, Erin."

"Ok."

"Fine."

Hank, Olivia, Jay and Erin headed to the hospital, so Olivia and Erin could get looked at. Everything was ok and after they were both released, they went to Hank and Olivia's.

"Daddy!"

"Hey, you!"

Jenna gave Hank a big hug and then he sat down next to Olivia. Jenna crawled up on his lap and then Hank kissed both his wife and daughter. The doorbell rang, so Lucy went to answer it. It was the group from Chicago.

"Hey, Lucy."

"Hey, everyone. Come on in."

"Thanks. How's the situation?"

"Ok, I think."

They all went into the living room and Olivia had her head on Hank's shoulder.

"Does this mean you two are ok?"

"Yep. I am officially living here again. I just need to get my stuff from Erin and Jay's."

Al sat down next to Hank and then Jenna went to sit on his lap.

"How's my favorite little girl?"

"Fine."

Jenna gave him a hug. Ed and the rest of Olivia's squad arrived as well.

"You and Erin ok?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

Olivia and Erin told the group from Chicago what had happened before Hank got there and then he told them the rest of it.

"You actually told the guy that?"

"Yep. I wasn't about to let him hurt Olivia or Erin."

"Remind me to thank you for that later."

"I'm holding you to that."

"As long as you two are fine, that's all that matters."

"We're fine now. Thanks, Jay."

"No problem."

"You both did a good job today."

"Thanks."

"Yeah, thanks. I didn't want to have to sacrifice myself but I didn't have another choice. He didn't want to have to go to prison or he was going to hurt my girls. I couldn't let that happen. I needed to be the one to deal with him because I wanted Olivia to know just how much she meant to me even though we were having problems with our relationship."

"I know how much I mean to you. You mean everything to me too. We promised each other for better or for worse and it got worse before it got better. I want to know I can trust you."

"You can. What happened 34 years ago was a mistake and it never should have happened. I never even told Camille what happened with Bunny and I'm not sure if she even suspected that Erin was mine. I never even suspected that Erin was mine and neither did Justin. Al is the only one that knew because I told him that I had been with Bunny. We all do stupid things and that was probably at the top of my list. Justin handled it better than I thought he would. I'm sorry if I hurt you by not being honest with you. I love you. I hope you know that."

"I love you too."

Olivia kissed Hank again and then everyone kept talking for a while. Ed took Hank and Jay to the Precinct to get their stuff and then they went Erin and Jay's apartment to get Hank's things. Hank went to pick Noah up at school and told him that he was moving back in. Everyone went out to dinner together and later on, everyone went home or to their hotel. After Hank and Olivia put the kids to bed together, they Skyped with Justin and Olive to tell them they were back together. After talking to them for a little while, Hank and Olivia made love. Afterwards they were holding each other.

"The makeup sex was pretty amazing."

"It sure was."

"I hate when we fight."

"I do too."

"We had a lot of people hoping we would get back together."

"Yeah, we sure did."

"I'm glad they were all here for us. There were so many times when I was tempted to file for a formal separation but I kept talking myself out of it. I knew in my heart that we'd work all this out. I had actually hoped you'd be the one that would have gotten us out of there. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"You're welcome."

Hank and Olivia kissed and then they made love again before they fell asleep in each other's arms.

Reviews and suggestions are appreciated