Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Noah Benson nersoulvy paced backstage at his summer dance recital. He was the lead for this dance and he wasn’t even sure if his mom would be there since she had been working a large case. He looked up as Jacob Long stood in front of him.

“Look at the little fag all worried.” Jacob Long said

“Go away.” Noah said

“No, the lead should be mine.” Jacob said

“Well it’s not pip squeak run along.” Eli Stabler said from behind him.

“E! What are you doing here?” Noah asked

“You think we would miss this?” Eli asked

“Whose all here?”

“The whole Stabler clan and your mom is trying to get here.”

“Even El is here?”

“Yep and i’ll warn you he’s embarrassing, telling everyone he's your family, telling everyone you're his kid.”

“I finally have a dad?” Noah asked with tears building in his eyes

“Yeah buddy, you do.” Eli said hugging him

“Can you send El back here? We have 20 minutes till we have to line up.”

“Yeah buddy I’ll send him back here.” Eli said, Noah paced waiting till Elliot made his way back there. As soon as Noah saw him Noah broke down into his arms.

“Hey little man, it's OK. “ Elliot said as he wrapped Noah in a hug and helped the boy wipe his tears away.

“I always wanted a dad but no one ever stayed.” Noah said.

“I promised your mom when I came back that I wouldn’t leave. And I am making you the same promise now. That you have me forever.” Elliot said holding the little boy close till was time for him to line up.

Chapter Text

Fin sits in the passenger seat of his captain’s SUV not sure how he got picked to be the one to sit in this stakeout. They had already been sitting in the SUV for a few hours at this point.

“How’s Phoebe ?” Olivia asked taking a sip of her coffee that was in a travel mug

“She’s good Vice is keeping her busy.” Fin said

“That’s good.“Olivia said

“How’s Noah enjoying time with Lucy tonight?”

“He’s actually enjoying time with Eli.”

“I didn’t realize they knew each other.” Fin said

“Um yeah we’ve gone to some meals at El’s and when I need a sitter for Noah one of them steps in.”

“Well, that’s good.” Fin said a silence fell over the SUV. An hour of silence passed before Fin spoke up.

“Tell me something no one else knows.” Fin said has they watched the silent house.

“I’m married,” Olivia said which caused Fin to laugh.

“That’s funny Liv,” Fin said

“It’s not a joke, Fin.”

“When did you find time to date let alone get married,” Fin said

“If you give me a time to answer, Rollins and valsacono are relieving us when they do I’ll take you to meet my husband,” Olivia said

“Hmm, how long have you been married?” Fin asked a little bit later after Rollins and Valsacono had relieved them as they drove somewhere

“Almost 3 months.”

“And how long have you been dating?”

“Depends who you ask, I say 4 months If you ask him he says a year”

“Am I going to get to meet him?”

“Yes, Fin , that's where we’re going right now,” she said, pulling into a parking garage.

She then leads him to an courtyard of an apartment.

“I asked him to meet us out here because the boys are inside.” She said rd Fin noticed a figure sitting in one of the chairs.

“Your fucking kidding me right?“ Fin asked has Liv sit her bag inside the door saying hi to the boys before stepping back outside.

“You wanted to meet my husband,” Olivia said as she walked over to Elliot who wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap.

“You married Stabler? When did you even get together?” Fin asked sitting down across from them.

“We can’t agree on when we got together but we’ve been dancing around each other since I came home,” Elliot said

“Or 23 years ago?” Fin said with a smirk.

“You're totally trying to think of how much money people owe you aren’t you?” Olivia asked with a roll of her eyes.

“Hell yes.” Fin said causing the couple to laugh.

Chapter Text

Elliot Stabler took a deep breath as he used the key he had been given to get into the apartment building, he quickly made his way to the 4th floor. He slipped into the apartment, slipped his shoes off by the door, quickly pulled his gun and badge off, and stowed them away in the lock box he knew was on the living room shelf. He smiled as he keyed in the code 6313 4015 while he looked at the photo of Noah with his kids in front of the box. He and Olivia were still working through the pain of their 10 years apart; they had even fallen into bed together.

He snapped the box shut and made his way down the hall. He paused in Noah’s doorway watching as the little boy slept. He never in a million years thought his return trip to New York would end with Kathy dead and him getting the family he always wanted. He crept inside and placed the blanket back onto Noah,exited back into the hall and went down to Olivia’s room. He made his way to her bathroom where he could hear soft music playing. He quickly locked the door behind him and made his way into the bathroom where Olivia was in the bath. As soon as their eyes locked the tears started falling from her eyes. He quickly shed his clothes and slid in behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

“Shh, I’ve got you, it’s okay.” he said, kissing her neck.

“You remember that hole in the wall we used to go to all the time?”

“Vanessa’s, It has amazing pancakes.”

“Noah thinks so too. She lost everything, El. She held me hostage for most of the day. That's why I texted you that the Chief told me to take some time off and have someone take care of me. My first response was almost, ‘Who? my eight year old? I’m alone.’ But I realized for the first time in ten years that I’m not alone,” she said, as he stroked his hand up and down her thigh.

Elliot kissed the back of her head and whispered the promise he had made to her alot in the months he had been back, “You’ll never be alone again.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Stabler.”

“Trust me, baby. These are plans I intend to keep.” he said has she shivered either from his closeness or the cooling of the water

“C’mon, let's go lay down,” he said as they quickly grabbed towels and made their way to the bed that was quickly becoming thiers. They dried off and then crawled into bed with each other, nothing between them.

“You and Eli should move in here.” she said quietly, laying her head against his chest.

“Are you sure?” Elliot asked quietly.

“Yes, at the end of the day, Iknow that I want the four of us to be a family,” she said they heard Noah’s door down the hall open. Elliot quickly stood, found a pair of sweatpants he had left there and tossed Liv one of his old t-shirts. He then walked over and unlocked the door just in time for Noah to knock on it .

“Hi, buddy,” Elliot said hugging him before guiding him to the bed where the young boy climbed up beside Liv and curled up next to her.

“I didn't know you were coming by tonight,” hesaid as Elliot lay down on the other side of him.

“Son, you will find when your momma texts I come running,” Elliot said, stroking his hand up and down Olivia’s back.

“Is that the way it should be?” Noah asked, his bright blue eyes shining.

“It should, yes. Whether it be your boyfriend or girlfriend, you should always be willing to come help them. I haven’t always been good at that, but I'm trying to be better,” Elliot said.

A couple of hours later Elliot found himself sitting on the couch by himself flipping through the photo album of Noah as a kid. He was so lost in the photos that he didn’t hear Olivia pad across the apartment until she was next to him.

“What are you doing up?” She asked curling up next to him.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Elliot said, flipping through the album she had shown him a few weeks prior.

“That was right after I got him. Of course his Uncle Fin had to deck him out,” Olivia said with a smirk at the photo of Fin and Noah with Noah decked out in Nike and Jordan’s.

“I’ve missed so much.”

“Hey, we agreed that we won’t dwell in the past anymore, just on the future,”Olivia said, playing with his necklace which held their three month old secret in the form of his wedding band.

“I know. It's just hard,” he said, quietly kissing her forehead.

“So I was thinking this weekend we can move you and Eli in. I mean he and the 8 year old would have to share for now.”

“They’ll be fine with it!” Elliot said, the two youngest children had meshed quickly together and became very close.

“I was thinking we should turn in our paperwork on Monday. Make it officially official.” she said kissing him gently.

“Thought we already did that when we said ‘I do’ three months ago.”

“We did, but now the records would reflect that,” She said, as they heard movement in the hall.

“Daddy.” They both looked at each other surprised by the slip of Noah’s sleepy tongue

“Hey, buddy, why are you up?” Elliot asked as the little boy climbed in between him and Olivia.

“Bad dream. Can I stay with you?” He asked yawning.

“Sure, buddy,” Elliot said, pulling Olivia and Noah close as her phone went off. She pulled herself away from her boys and picked it up.

“Benson…yes, Sergeant, I’ll find him…okay… talk to you soon,” Olivia said hanging her phone up.

“Your boss is looking for you. Apparently Wheatly accessed some of our old files. Jet has been tracking it,” Olivia said worry clouding her brown eyes.

“Baby, it’ll be okay. Noone will be able to touch you, Noah or the other kids,” Elliot said as he glanced down at Noah who had his hand curled around Elliot’s arm.

The next morning, Elliot woke up on the couch to feel someone staring at him. He was only half surprised to see Kathleen sitting in the chair across from him, and he glanced down at Noah who was still curled up against him, fast asleep.

“Where’s m-“ Elliot caught himself before he called Liv the wrong name.

“Livvie went with Eli to get most of your stuff. Hewanted to go now instead of waiting.”

“Could have woke me,” Elliot said as he shifted Noah to lay on the couch, covering him up with the Broadway blanket that was on the back of the couch.

“Eli wanted his MOM dad,” She said quietly

“He called her that?” Elliot asked, standing and making his way to the kitchen.

“He did, we may all think your fucking crazy but this marriage… this family you’re building from the ashes…this is what we all need, Daddy,” Kathleen said as Elliot ran his finger against his left ring finger which held the number 4015 and the letter O. Showing the world what a select few had known for going on 25 years, Elliot Stabler was hopelessly devoted and in love with Olivia Benson.

“You ever going to tell me how you popped that question?” Kathleen asked as Elliot came back and handed her a coffee cup before sitting down next to Noah.

3 months ago

“That restaurant was amazing ,El,” Olivia Benson said as they made their way down the sidewalk, their hands entwined.

“Maureen gave me the recommendation.”

“So they are all okay with this?”

“They are. Trust me. None Of them are shocked, not even Eli. I think he’s just excited he’s not the baby anymore, ” He said as they kept walking since the restaurant wasn’t far from Olivia’s apartment. Noah and Eli were at Maureen’s house that weekend with her twins. They kept walking and talking about the past and about their possible plans of the future.

“So I was thinking next weekend me, you and the boys can have a lazy weekend. Maybe watch movies. Just be together,” Elliot said, stopping her and pulling her to him.

“Sounds like a perfect weekend. Sounds like a perfect life,” she said, leaning up and kissing him. They kept walking but at a slower pace, trading more kisses as they went. They finally made it back to her apartment, and as soon as the door was shut, they both started shedding clothes.

“Marry Me,” Elliot whispered between kisses.

Olivia paused mid-kiss. There Was so much she wanted to say, but finally one word won out above all the rest. “Yes” She said as he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he packed her into her bedroom.

“God, I fucking love you,” he said.

That’s how the next morning Elliot had woken up by hearing laughter coming from the living room. He glanced around and noticed that Olivia had laid out a pair of sweats and an old T-Shirt with a note stuck to it.

Morning Handsome husband to be,
The kids are here, so we have to wear clothes this morning. I’m marrying you at Three today.
Love,
Liv

He quickly got up and changed before heading out to the living room where he found his five kids, plus Maureen’s husband Carl, her twin boys Kieran and Shemus, Dickie’s boyfriend Jax,Lizzie’s girlfriend Nikita, and Noah. As he found Olivia’s eyes in the full living room he could see the light and happiness that was in her eyes. As she met him in the middle of the room, he gave her a quick hug and kiss before pulling her close to him. He shot her a look before he got all the kids' attention.

“So Liv and I have an announcement to make,” Elliot said.

“You're having a baby!” Lizzie said hopefully, causing all the kids except Noah to roll their eyes.

“Liz, that ship sailed long ago,” Olivia said with a soft smile.

“So what is it?” Kathleen and Maureen asked at the same time.

“Your dad and I were hoping that all of you would join us at 3 pm to watch us get married,” Olivia said, keepingher eyes on the youngest two who seemed to have the largest grins.

Present Day

Elliot was broken out of his walk down memory lane by the buzzing of his phone.

“Liv and Eli are on the way back,” He said as Noah shifted and woke up.

“Hey, little brother!” Kathleen said with a smile as she hugged him.Elliot’s phone went off again, and he pulled it out with a frown.

“I know that face. Go. I’ll take care of Noah,” she said as Elliot gave both her and Noah a hug before going to change and grab his gun and badge. He was leaving out the front of their building when Olivia and Eli were coming in.

“Dad! We got most of our stuff from depression central,” Eli said with a smirk.

“That’s great, buddy. I gotta run out and meet with Bell, but I’ll be back.”

“I’ll go with you,” Olivia said as Elliot took the box from her, and they went back upstairs for Olivia to grab her shield and gun.

“We’ll be back as soon as we can, okay? And then we’ll work on rearranging everything,” Olivia said, hugging all three of the kids before following Elliot out the door.

“So Kathleen told me Eli called you mom,” Elliot said quietly. Oncethey got into her SUV, he took her hand in his, brushing his finger against the tattoo of the E and 6313 on her left ring finger.

“He did. It shocked the hell out of me. I don’t want anyone to think I'm taking Kathy’s spot.”

“Baby ,they know you aren’t,” Elliot said, as they kept driving to OCCB. As they got out of the SUV, Elliot took her hand in his intertwining them which caused her to glance at him.

“I couldn’t touch you for over 23 years. I'm making up for lost time,” he said as they walked into the headquarters. When they got to his desk he pulled out his chair and let her sit down in it. He sat on the edge of the desk and watched as Ayanna made her way to them.

“Captain, this is a surprise.”

“I was with El, so I tagged along when you called him in,” Olivia said, handing Bell the paperwork she had grabbed on the way out of their apartment.

“I’ll update this in your file. Can I see both of you in my office?” She asked as the three of them made their way into her office.

“So this has been going on basically since you got back?” Bell asked motioning to the paperwork she just laid on her desk.

“Um yes,” Elliot said taking Olivia’s hand in his

“You know this makes her a target,” Bell said.

“I-” Elliot’s response was cut off by Olivia.

“Okay. 1. I’m sitting right here, 2. I was going to be a target anyway and 3. I outrank all of you,” Olivia said which caused Elliot to smile faintly.

“Noted, Captain,” Bell said.

“What’s the latest on Wheatly?” Elliot asked, glancing out into the bullpen.

“He has been in contact with a man named Lorenzo. Does that mean anything to either one of you?” Bell asked as they walked back out into the bullpen.

“No, but I have most of our old files either at home or in my office.” Olivia said.

A couple hours later Olivia was sitting at Elliot’s desk. It was then that she noticed the photo of Kathy had been replaced with a picture of the two of them and the six kids from the day of their wedding.

That night, Olivia and Elliot made their way into the apartment. They both smiled at the boys asleep on the couch, game controllers in hand. A note from Kathleen on the end table.

Parents,
I fed the monsters and made sure they brushed their teeth and all that. Call if you need me to watch them tomorrow .
Love
Your favorite child

Elliot slid his hand over Oliva’s gun and badge undoing them before he packed his and hers to the lock box as she covered the boys up with blankets. She then followed Elliot to their room. She watched as he sat down on the edge of the bed and dropped his head into hands. She sat down next to him and wrapped him in a hug.

“What happened to Kathy is not your fault,” she said, kissing the side of his head.

“Feels like it.”

“Hey, we’ll get the son of a bitch for what he did to our family. He’ll learn he never should have crossed either one of us,” Olivia said as she pushed him back on the bed and laid her head on his chest. They must have fallen asleep that way because the next thing either one of them remembered was the two boys bouncing on them.

“Mom, can we have french toast?” Eli asked his eyes that looked so much like her own shining.

“Sure, buddy. Why don’t you go get the ingredients, and we’ll be there,” Olivia said as both boys jumped off the bed and took off running to the kitchen.

“ I can't wait to spend forever with you, Captain Olivia Benson-Stabler.”

“Me either, Detective Elliot Stabler,” she said, kissing him before they both left the bed and joined their boys in the kitchen. From the kitchen of a restaurant she used to frequent which suddenly filled with heartbreak to her kitchen which was filled with love, what a difference a handful of months had made.