A/N: Shout outs to everyone who stuck with me on this story. I really hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for the support. :) A sequel is in the works so please stay tuned. ;)
Chapter 16
With her twelve weeks of maternity leave up shortly, Olivia looked at Charlotte who for the last month and a half had been a very well behaved baby. She cooed at her mother who could not help but smile.
"Thought I'd find you in here," Elliot said from behind her. She turned around to see him in the doorway to the baby's room.
"Well I really wasn't hiding," she smirked as he walked over to her. It was early on a Saturday and the apartment was quiet. Calvin was still sleeping and she'd left Elliot to try to catch up on some sleep as he'd been working a big case and had hardly been in their bed the last few nights.
"I know but when I wake up and you're not there I get very lonely," he teased as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed them together.
"Somehow it isn't the same is it? I slept plenty of nights alone before but now I feel really alone when you aren't there. Then I end up in here," Olivia admitted before pressing a quick kiss to his lips.
"Which is probably why you're back is bothering you," Elliot pointed out. The rocking chair in the baby's room was comfortable but falling asleep in it, which Olivia had done frequently, wasn't such a good idea.
"You're probably right," she smirked.
"So Monday, is a big day," he quickly changed tack and she shook her head.
"Cragen says he's not letting me off desk duty unless he gets to babysit during my shift," Olivia chuckled.
"Well we did make him Charlotte godfather so I can see why he'd be like that," Elliot couldn't help but laugh.
"True but Munch says he gets her first and has no problem with desk duty," she shook her head.
"Well at least you'll be able to get some work done then," Elliot was still laughing.
"I guess I will. I just don't know if I want to bring her into the precinct every day," Olivia admitted.
"It's just until we get the babysitting thing figured out. You said you didn't want to leave Charlotte with some stranger and without Mrs. Juarez to help out anymore we need someone. My kids are busy during the day," Elliot pointed out.
"You're right, of course, but I don't want Charlotte exposed to what I do all day until she's old enough to understand why I do what I do. The less ugliness she has in her life the better," she sighed.
"I can understand that but you have a team of supportive people who will keep that away from her. Besides when she's old enough to go to daycare and then preschool and eventually regular school, you won't be spending as much time with her as you think," the sound of his own personal experience was coming through and Olivia could tell that he'd missed out on a lot with his kids because of the job. It had always been more than a job to Olivia but now there was something else in her life which took precedence.
"Ding Dong," the sound of the doorbell-like buzzer surprised them both at that hour. Elliot left Olivia in the baby's room before heading to the door and the intercom.
"Ding Dong," by now Calvin was up as he stumbled out of his room and into the hall.
"What gives?" He asked.
"I have no idea buddy," Elliot called back as he answered the buzzer before it rang a third time.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Is this the Stabler residence?" The unfamiliar voice came over the line.
"Who is this?" Elliot asked.
"I'm just a delivery boy sir. Do I have the right apartment?" The kid on the other end of the buzzer said.
"All right," Elliot buzzed him in despite thinking it odd for only eight in the morning on a weekend.
"What's up Dad?" Olivia asked as she walked out into the living room carrying the baby. She was making every effort to stop calling him El in front of the kids. Both should call him that whether they were biological children or not.
"I have no idea. Some sort of delivery boy," Elliot was half tempted to pull out his badge and his gun and scare the crap out of the person who came to the door but with baby Charlotte, he thought better of it.
A knock on the door, signaled that the person was there and he checked the peephole. He looked like a young kid with a large box and a handful of balloons.
"Can I help you?" Elliot asked as he opened the door.
"Sign here," the pimple faced kid said. He could not have been older than eighteen. Elliot quickly signed and then the kid said,
"Congratulations on receiving your bona fide Babyland baby gift, sir." With that the kid left and Elliot closed the door.
"Who is it from?" Olivia asked, incredibly curious, as Elliot slowly and carefully examined the box before removing the piece of paper from the shipping invoice envelope.
"It says 'To my loving son and his new bride. I hope that you can forgive me for not being there in person but I couldn't wait until I see you next week. Love, Mom. P.S. I knew you wouldn't be sleeping anyway so I had them deliver it first thing,' ", he said as he made his way to the couch. Olive, Charlotte, and Calvin quickly joined him.
"That's very thoughtful of your mother," Olivia smiled. Elliot had called her up to tell her about the birth of Charlotte the next morning after she had been delivered. His mother was ecstatic and promised to see them when she could. It wasn't a long trip from her home but she said that she didn't want to interfere with their new schedule since the baby was born. Elliot had been surprised but decided to take it all in stride.
"What'd Grandma Stabler send?" Calvin asked.
"Onesies, bibs, a pacifier, and something labeled Calvin," Elliot smirked.
"It's not a onesie is it?" The boy had a worried look on his face.
"I don't think they make them in your size," Olivia chuckled as Elliot handed over the small box that had been inside the other box. Calvin opened it and pulled out a t-shirt that had a large arrow on it pointing up. It read "I'm the big brother". Calvin laughed and Olivia couldn't help but smile.
"Your Mom thought of everything," she said.
"Yes, she did," Elliot chuckled.
"Anybody else smelling that?" Calvin asked suddenly. Charlotte cooed and gurgled.
"Gross," Calvin said.
"I've got it," Olivia shook her head as she laughed and walked away. Elliot carefully took the box of goodies and the balloons down to the baby's room and told Calvin he might as well get ready for the day while he made breakfast. They soon fell into their routine and the hustle and bustle of the day was not lost on Elliot as he could not stop thinking about how just a short while ago he had nowhere he could really call home. Now with Olivia, Calvin, and beautiful baby Charlotte, home was something that he had been missing.
"You still with me?" Olivia asked as he crawled into bed that night.
"Yeah, just thinking how fantastic my life is," he smirked.
"Fantastic huh? That's all you have to say?" She chuckled.
"No, I think I have one more thing to say," he paused as he positioned himself in top of her.
"Oh and from your precarious perch I think I can guess what that is," Olivia eyed him. He leaned in real close to her and said,
"Let's have another one or at least try." He smirked and waggled his eyebrows.
"Only if you're giving birth," she laughed and shoved him off before rolling on top of him. Going for the nightstand drawer, he knew what she was looking for.
"Oh so we're going to play that game?" Elliot looked hurt.
"You remember when I was screaming about how I wasn't ever going to let you touch me ever again?" Olivia asked.
"How could I forget?" He wanted to know.
"I've changed my mind," she smirked upon finding the one thing she needed. After all Friday she'd been cleared for just that kind of physical activity, he'd worked late and Olivia had been exhausted from running around with Charlotte. The need was great but just not for another member of the family.
"Yes ma'am," Elliot teased. He grabbed the little package out of her hand and rolled her over. Home was definitely where the heart was and right now both hearts in the room were beating crazily as they showed each other how much they loved one another.
The End