A/N: I don't own any of the characters except my own.

New Friends

Olivia had been busy with work, so it had been a while since she had taken Noah to his dance class. Lucy always took him. She knew Noah was starting to become frustrated with her, so she was making a conscious effort to try to be available to take him. She had dropped him off and had gone to her favorite place to get a cup of coffee while she waited for him. Some of the other parents were there as well but she had brought her work with her, so she tucked herself into a corner and was looking through some of their open cases.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

"No, not at all."

"I can't say I've ever seen you here before."

"I'm here all the time."

"Really? So am I."

"I haven't been here lately because I've been working. My son's nanny has been dropping him off at his dance class."

"Which kid is yours?"

"Noah."

"Sarah is mine. I'm Jason Stevens, by the way."

"Olivia Benson."

"What do you do, Olivia Benson?"

"I am a cop with the NYPD. I'm a Captain, actually and I work in the Special Victims Unit."

"Wow! Impressive. I don't see a wedding ring or engagement."

"So, you just meet a woman and immediately check out her left hand to see if she's married or engaged?"

"I'm sorry. I'm trying to get back into the dating thing since my divorce."

"I'm actually engaged and very much in love with my fiancé. I just don't wear my ring and he knows that."

"Are you divorced?"

"I've never been married. I adopted Noah. This is the first time I've been engaged and we have a lot we need to work on before we get married, more specifically who will be moving, etc. He's in Chicago, so we have to deal with the distance."

"Wow! Chicago and it's lasted?"

"Yeah. We alternate who travels back and forth. He's a cop too, so he gets crazy cases just like me. In fact, we met working on a case together. We've known each other for over 5 years now but we've been together a couple years. How long have you been divorced?"

"Sarah was less than a year old. Her mom left and decided she didn't want her, so I'm doing the best I can. It's not easy being a single parent."

"No, it's not."

"How do you do it?"

"Noah and I get into arguments all the time. He gets frustrated with me when I put work before him. He loves the weekends Hank comes here because they hang out if I have to work. I need to learn to let my Sergeant and the rest of the team handle things. One of my detectives is a single mom with two young daughters. We started to get along a lot better after she became a mom. Hank's daughter-in-law has been a single mom for close to 4 years now. Her little guy will be 5 in May. He was just a year old when his dad died."

"I apologize for coming on so strong with you. I just want to be able to meet someone who understands what I'm going through."

"Believe me, I understand completely. If Olive, Hank's daughter-in-law, didn't live in Arizona, I'd introduce the two of you. She recently said she's been thinking about wanting to start dating again but she has to take Daniel's feelings into consideration and she's also afraid to tell Hank about it. Daniel is Hank's only connection to his son and he wants to continue to have a relationship with him even if Olive decides to remarry."

"I can understand that. My ex started to become a flake and started hanging out with the wrong people. She was cheating on me and got into drugs as well. Her parents told her many times to get has act together but she wouldn't. She'd leave Sarah with them while I was at work and sometimes wouldn't come home for days. They completely supported me and they have said they would be fine if I started dating again. I'm surprised she hasn't turned up dead somewhere from a drug overdose."

"What do you do?"

"I'm a Physical Therapist."

"Ok."

"Does your son like dancing?"

"He does. He tried the baseball thing and decided he didn't want to do it anymore. He likes dancing and he seems to be really good at it. He was kind of afraid to tell Hank but Hank has been really supportive and he comes to see his recitals as often as he can. Daniel is into soccer right now and she has him in swimming too. Noah keeps me pretty busy with his recitals and all that as I'm sure you know."

"Oh, yeah. I try to work my schedule around hers the best I can. When I can't get there, her grandparents are all there supporting her."

"I'm really trying but sometimes work gets in the way."

Olivia got a text from Hank asking where she was, so she told him. He said he would be there as soon as he could.

"Hank should be here soon. Sometimes when I don't expect him to show up, he does."

"I can leave if you want."

"That's ok. I think there's a Sarah Stevens in Noah's class at school."

"That's my daughter."

"Ok. Lucy, our nanny, sometimes knows more about what goes on at school than I do but I remember seeing that name on the class list. Some of the boys and their parents I do know but the girls, not so much."

"I get that. I heard Noah had a part in the Nutcracker."

"He did."

Hank arrived and found where Olivia was. He kissed her before he sat down.

"Hey, you!"

"Hey yourself."

"Hank, this is Jason Stevens, the dad of one of the girls in Noah's class at school and his dance class. Jason, this is my fiancé, Hank Voight."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"I didn't know you were planning to visit this weekend."

"I decided last night. I know I could have called."

"We're good. Noah will be happy to see you."

"You're not?"

"I'm always happy to see you. You know that."

"I heard from Olive. She has a job offer."

"Where?"

"Here in New York actually."

"Is she going to accept it?"

"I think she wants to because it will mean more money. The company will find her a place to live and help her find a Preschool for Daniel. Someone one else you know is thinking about retiring and moving to New York."

"Are you feeling ok?"

"Yeah."

"So, Olive gets a job offer here and then you decide to retire to move here."

"I was thinking about it before I heard from Olive. I think her decision may be based on what I'm doing even though Erin is here and so are you and Noah. I can't have all my girls in New York and me in Chicago, right?"

"Right. Maybe with everyone in the same city, we can work on plans for the wedding. You don't want a big wedding, though, do you?"

"Who do I have to stand up for me? Justin is gone. Al is gone. Antonio is in Puerto Rico. Who am I supposed to ask? Ruzek? Atwater? Halstead? Fin?"

"One of them would be a start or here's an idea, ask Noah to be your Best Man. Daniel can be the Ring Bearer and Jesse can be the Flower Girl. Antonio could come for the wedding. You won't know unless you ask."

"How many people are you planning to ask?"

"I want 4. Erin, Olive, Amanda and Melinda. You could always ask Trevor."

"Smart ass. I'd rather do this at the Courthouse with the family and your squad and then have something with everyone else afterward."

"We're still not ready for this yet. Is Olive coming for an interview?"

"They are coming in this weekend and her interview is on Monday. She said they are staying for a week."

"Are you staying for that long?"

"Maybe not the entire time."

"The thing is, even if they find her a place, rents are outrageous in the City."

"That's what she said. I wouldn't mind the boys eventually being in the same school though."

"That would make sense. Maybe we can find a bigger place and they can move in with us. We could get a condo or a townhouse but in the same area I'm in now, so Noah doesn't have to switch schools."

"You know the area, so whatever you want is fine with me. What do you do, Jason?"

"I'm a Physical Therapist."

"You divorced or widowed?"

"I'm divorced. She gave up her parental rights, so I've been raising Sarah since she was pretty young. My ex started hanging around with the wrong people and turned to drugs. I still have a great relationship with her parents though and all 4 grandparents are active in Sarah's life. I'm trying to get back into the dating world since my divorce and I admit that I did come on a little strong with Olivia."

"It's not the first time this has happened. Someone I know well said he let his feelings for her interfere with how he did his job. You seem like a nice guy. You'd probably be good for my daughter-in-law though."

"Wait, did she talk to you?"

"Yeah. You knew?"

"Yep. She said she wasn't sure how to tell you. Jason, if Hank thinks you're a nice guy and you'd be good for his daughter-in-law, I would take that as a compliment. He is extremely protective of the people he cares about and sometimes he loves to rough people up that make him mad."

"I do but I've been better."

"Yes, you have. I haven't threatened to arrest you in a while."

"This could be an interesting story."

"The first time we met, he barged into the Interrogation Room and was trying to intimidate our perp into talking by getting physical with him. I told him my partner of 12 years was like that and I told him that if he did that here again, I would arrest him."

"I behaved after you had to tell me what to do in Chicago."

"You did and I appreciate that."

"Anything for you. You know that."

"Yes, I do know that."

The three of them talked for a while longer and then they went to pick up the kids. Noah ran up to Hank and hugged him as soon as he saw them.

"Hank!"

"Hey, Bud! How was class?"

"Great! Can we go out for pizza?"

"Sure."

"Can Sarah come?"

"It's ok with us if it's ok with her dad."

"Mr. Stevens, can Sarah come have pizza with us? You're invited too."

"What do you think, Sarah?"

"I want to, Daddy."

"Then we will."

Noah and Sarah went to get their stuff and then they all went out for pizza. They sat down and then they decided what they wanted to get.

"So, Noah, we have news."

"When are you and Hank getting married?"

"Well, Hank decided to move to New York. We're going to look for a bigger place but I'm hoping to find a condo or townhouse in the same area, so you won't have to switch schools. Olive and Daniel might be moving to New York too. Olive has a job interview next week, so they are coming in this weekend. The company said they will find a place for her and a Preschool for Daniel but she knows that rents in the City are ridiculously high. If we find a bigger place, maybe they can live with us and Daniel can be in the same school you're in."

"That would be awesome!"

"I can't believe he starts Kindergarten this year."

"I know. Time flies."

"You didn't answer my question. When are you and Hank getting married?"

"We're working on it. Hank wants to get married at the courthouse with just the family and my squad and have a party later."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"You're not the one getting married."

"Why can't you just get married? It shouldn't matter how it happens as long as it happens. You love each other, right?"

"Yes, of course we do."

"Is Hank going to be my dad then?"

"Do you want him to?"

"Yes. All I ever wanted was a dad."

"I know I work a lot."

"It's ok."

"It's not. I'll take some time off with Olive and Daniel coming in because they will be here for a week."

"Sure."

"I promise. Hank and I can look for bigger places to live."

"Can I be a part of that too?"

"Of course you can."

"Did Noah never have a daddy before?"

"Noah is adopted."

"Both of my parents are in heaven. I never knew either of them though."

"Oh. I don't remember my mommy at all."

Both Noah and Sarah went to the bathroom.

"His father isn't necessarily in heaven. He wasn't a good person. He was a pimp and a sex trafficker, who raped Noah's mother. I know I need to tell him eventually."

"I need to eventually tell Sarah the truth about her mom too."

"Telling her that she turned to drugs is a little easier than telling Noah that his father is a rapist, pimp and sex trafficker and his mother was a prostitute and a drug addict. His biological grandmother kidnapped him a couple years ago and she's now in jail. He doesn't know that either. Some mother I am."

"You're his mother and that's all that matters. Does he know the stuff that I have done?"

"No."

"What have you done or don't you want to talk about it?"

"I killed the guy that killed my son. I'm not proud of it but I did what I had to do. My best friend took the blame for it and was stabbed to death in prison. He did it to protect me and he didn't want to see me go to prison. He lost his daughter not quite a year after I lost Justin and he and his wife were never the same after that. They were never the same after he told his wife that he had an affair while he was undercover and has another daughter as a result. He told me that I had Olivia in my life and both Noah and Daniel didn't deserve to grow up without me. Olivia supported me even though I didn't expect her to. I completely blame myself for his death because if it hadn't been for me, he'd still be alive. His wife also blames me for everything. Now you probably think I'm a jerk for letting this happen."

"No. Not at all. That's a true friend."

"I'm trying to be better for Olivia and Noah. I don't want to make the same mistakes with Noah that I did with Justin. I was never around much as it was but our relationship really suffered after his mother died. We got along better after he became a father and he took being a dad so seriously. I wasn't so sure how I felt about Noah wanting to give up playing sports for dancing when Olivia first told me but I thought about it and realized that he wants to do what makes him happy and if dancing makes him happy, I'm ok with that. It also wasn't my decision, since I am technically not his father."

"But you will be eventually. He just wants you to be proud of him."

"And I am."

Both kids came back just as the mozzarella sticks arrived at their table. Everyone ate those and then they waited for their pizza. Once the pizza arrived, they all ate.

"I got this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you so much."

"No problem."

"You and Sarah should come for dinner one night next week."

"That sounds great. Here's my card with my cell phone number on it."

"Here's mine too."

"And here's mine too."

Jason gave both Hank and Olivia one of his cards and they gave him one of theirs too. Hank paid for dinner and then they all headed their separate ways. Hank and Olivia tucked Noah into bed and then they went into her bedroom to make love before the fell asleep in each other's arms.

To be continued…

As always, reviews and suggestions are appreciated.