Well here we are guys this is the final chapter! Thank you so much for sticking with me the whole time :)

Three days later, Olivia and Noah were released from the hospital. Elliot drove them home where all his kids were waiting for them. Elliot smiled as he opened the door for her while she carried Noah into the house for the first time.

"Welcome home!" Kathleen said walking over to them. "Ahh…he's still so cute!"

Olivia smiled as she handed him over to Kathleen. "I think he gets cuter everyday."

"How are you feeling?" Maureen asked as she hugged her.

Olivia smiled. "Still a little sore…but I'm fine."

"Well you look great." Lizzie said as she stared down at Noah in Kathleen's arms.

"We have everything ready in his nursery and we set up the basinet in your room." Dickie said.

"And Casey came by earlier, she made you dinner for a couple of days." Maureen said smiling.

"Well that was nice of her." Elliot said.

Eli walked over to Elliot and pulled at his shirt. "Daddy?"

Elliot looked down at his son and smiled. "What's up buddy?"

"Can I hold him?" Eli asked nervously as he looked back over to Kathleen and Noah.

Elliot looked over at Olivia. "I think that would be okay…what about you Liv?"

Olivia smiled. "Sure."

Eli smiled as Elliot walked him over to the couch. "Alright buddy…why don't you sit down over here. And Kathleen will bring Noah over…"

Kathleen smiled and walked over to her brother. "Ready little buddy?"

Eli nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

Elliot smiled and sat down next to his son as Kathleen handed Noah over to her father. "Okay Eli, put your arms out…you need to support his head okay?"

Eli looked nervous but excited as Elliot placed him in his arms. "Like this?"

Elliot nodded. "Yeah. You're doing a good job. Just hold him tight okay."

Eli looked up at his Dad. "He's so little…"

Elliot smiled. "Yeah. He is…just like you used to be."

Eli stared down at Noah as his eyes fluttered open and stared up into his brother's eyes. "We have the same eyes…just like Dickie and you too Dad."

Elliot looked over at Olivia who smiled; she had tears in her eyes. He looked back at his two sons and couldn't help but keep the tear from falling down his cheek.

"Hi Noah. I'm Eli…your brother." Eli started to say. "And I'm really excited that you're finally here…"

Maureen put an arm around Olivia who just smiled at her. "Looks like you're gonna be a pretty awesome big brother." Dickie said smiling.

Later that night, Olivia was staring down at Noah in his bassinet in their room. He was wrapped up in the quilt that the kids had given him and she couldn't keep the smile off her face.

Elliot walked into the room and smiled when he saw her. "Is he asleep?" He whispered not wanting to disturb the baby.

Olivia nodded and smiled. "Yeah. He's finally asleep…"

Elliot stretched and changed his clothes as she lay down on the bed, her eyes still facing the bassinet. He lay down beside her in bed and wrapped a protective arm around her waist.

"You okay?" Elliot asked as he kissed the side of her face.

She snuggled into him and sighed. "Yeah…"

"You sure?" Elliot asked softly.

She rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm fine. I'm…" She laughed. "I'm happy…and…sad…for no reason."

Elliot smiled at her. "Your hormones are still going to be a little off…"

Olivia nodded. "I guess." She turned to look at him. "Can I ask you something?"

He reached over and stroked her face gently. "Of course."

"When your kids were little…I remember how you used to worry about them all the time. How did you deal with that?" She said softly. "I don't know I guess I just felt safe when we were at the hospital…like nothing could happen to Noah there. But now…"

Elliot smiled knowingly. "Now you feel like everything and everyone is coming for him?"

Olivia laughed. "Yeah. Exactly."

Elliot sighed. "It's not easy. And it's something I still struggle with. Hell…I had the same feelings today when we were bringing Noah home. I felt my heart pounding in my chest as I was driving because I felt like some asshole was going to come out of nowhere and hit us."

Olivia smiled sadly. "So it doesn't go away?"

He shook his head. "Not entirely…the things we see everyday can make a person paranoid. You constantly worry that the next victim is gonna be one of your kids…but if you think like that you will drive yourself crazy."

Olivia looked back up at the ceiling. "I just don't want to screw this up…and I don't want him to get hurt."

"You're not going to screw it up." Elliot said honestly. "You'll make mistakes and so will I but that doesn't mean we don't love our son. And I don't want him to get hurt…but we can't protect him from everything."

"Why not?" She asked pouting.

Elliot chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her gently. "I remember when Kathleen first got diagnosed with bipolar disorder…I wanted to die. I knew I couldn't fix it…and then she was convicted and almost sent to jail. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life."

"How did you handle that?" Olivia asked. "I mean…at first you were really upset about it but eventually you dealt with it."

Elliot nodded. "It was hard to watch her go through that…I know she was so confused and scared. And so was I. But eventually I just realized that the best and only thing I could for her was support her. I still worry about her all the time like I worry about all my kids…but I know she's a smart girl and she'll be okay. All my kids will be okay…"

Olivia smiled and looked over at the bassinet again. "I guess you're right…"

Elliot rolled over onto his side and rested his head in the crook of her neck. "I figure if you and turned out okay…we can't possibly screw this one up too bad." He teased.

Olivia laughed and closed her eyes. "I'm exhausted…"

"You should get some sleep." Elliot said pulling her closer.

"How long do you give it before he wakes up?" Olivia asked yawning.

Elliot groaned. "Well now that you said that…I give it ten minutes."

Olivia laughed. "You getting him first?"

At that moment, Noah began to cry and Elliot rolled away from her. "Looks like it…"

"Love you." Olivia said snuggling into her pillow.

"I love you too." Elliot said as he scooped up Noah and walked out of the room to give Olivia some time to sleep.

Olivia smiled and closed her eyes; she knew it would be hard not to worry constantly about Noah now that he was home. But as long as Elliot was with her, she knew they could handle anything.

Five weeks later, Elliot was back at work and Olivia was slowly getting used to life as a mother. One night she was giving Noah a bath in the sink when Elliot came home from work carrying take out food.

"Hey hun." Elliot said kissing Olivia's cheek.

"Hey." Olivia said laughing as Noah's tiny hands splashed around in the water.

"Hey little man." Elliot said leaning his hand in to tickle his face. "Having fun?"

Olivia smiled as he placed the bags of food on the table. "You didn't have to get food."

Elliot shrugged. "No big deal. You deserve a night off anyway."

She smiled at him. "Well thanks. How was work?"

"Pretty good. We caught the guy responsible for Alicia's rape finally." He said talking to her about his current case.

"That's good. How is Alicia?" She asked.

"She was happy we finally got him, she couldn't stop crying when we told her. I think she was just so relieved to know he couldn't hurt her again." Elliot said taking a water bottle out of the fridge.

Olivia lifted Noah out of the sink and wrapped him in a towel. "Good. Well hopefully now she can start to move on with her life."

Elliot smiled and put the bottle down, putting his hands out to hold Noah. "I hope so."

"Go see Daddy." Olivia said handing the little bundle to Elliot.

Noah extracted one hand from his towel and reached out to his Dad's face. "What's going on little man? We're you a good boy for Mommy today?"

Noah just gurgled and Olivia laughed. "He was good."

"Eli will be here this weekend." Elliot said as he rubbed Noah's back.

Olivia smiled. "Okay."

"Maureen wants to come visit too. She has the weekend off…I was thinking that she could babysit one night and we could go out. Just the two of us." Elliot said looking over at his wife.

Olivia took plates out of the cabinet and put them on the counter. "El I'm sure Maureen doesn't really want to babysit…"

Elliot shook his head. "I asked her. She said she'd be more than happy to do it."

Olivia looked over at him. "Okay…"

He smiled. "You're nervous about leaving him for the first time."

Olivia turned her back and went to go get silverware for them. "What? No I'm not."

He smirked. "Yes. You are."

Olivia sighed and turned back to her husband. "Fine. I don't want to leave him okay? He's just so little and I-"

"Liv…you have to do it at some point. And you and I have barely had a minute together alone since we brought him home. And don't get me wrong…I love Noah but I miss my wife." Elliot said honestly.

"You know we can't sleep together." She said laughing.

Elliot groaned. "Yeah. I know…not yet anyway. But I still just want to spend some time with you. Maureen has had plenty of experience with babies and she is excited to do it. But if you really don't want to…then we don't have too. Just an idea."

Olivia leaned against the counter and stared at him for a moment. "It would be nice to get out of the house for awhile."

"See?" Elliot said raising an eyebrow. "It will be fun. And you could use a break, we both could."

She looked down. "Okay…but it's not like I'll have anything to wear. I still look terrible."

Elliot rolled his eyes. "Oh come on Liv…you're gorgeous."

She pouted. "Yeah yeah…"

"Olivia…please come out with me on Saturday. I just want to spend sometime with my gorgeous wife." Elliot said smiling at her.

Olivia smiled at him. "Fine. But I'm calling Maureen every hour."

Elliot laughed and walked over to her, leaning down to kiss her gently. "Okay." He started to walk out of the kitchen. "Come on bud, let's get you dressed."

On Saturday night Maureen came over to the house to watch Eli and Noah. Olivia was in her bedroom nervously trying to find something to wear when Maureen walked into her bedroom.

"Hey Liv." She said smiling. "Dad's downstairs, he says he is ready to go when you are."

Olivia sighed. "Of course he is…"

Maureen smiled and sat down on the bed. "You okay?"

Olivia turned back to her and shrugged. "I'm just feeling a little insecure…"

Maureen stared at her for a moment. "Olivia…"

"I've never felt so uncomfortable in my own body." Olivia said shaking her head. "I'm usually confident about how I look but now I just feel totally out of it…"

"I hear that's normal after you have a baby." Maureen said shrugging. "But it goes away eventually. And besides, Dad loves you Olivia…he would love you no matter what you looked like. I think you're being silly though because you still look beautiful to me."

Olivia smiled at her. "Thanks kid…"

Maureen got up and walked to the closet. "Let's see…well I know Dad is taking you to a nice restaurant so you should wear a dress." She scanned the racks for a minute before she found a navy blue dress. "This is it."

Olivia grimaced. "Don't you think it's a little revealing?"

Maureen laughed. "Isn't that the point?"

Olivia sighed and walked into the bathroom to change into the dress before walking back out to the bedroom. "What do you think?"

Maureen smirked. "You look hot."

"I'm a mother. I'm not supposed to look hot anymore." She said laughing.

"Well Dad is going to love it." Maureen said picking out a pair of heels. "Not strap these babies on and you'll be all ready to go."

Olivia sat down on the edge of her bed and slipped on the shoes. "Thank you so much for watching Noah and Eli."

"It's my pleasure." Maureen said. "I love hanging out with Eli and I've wanted to spend some time with little Noah."

Olivia stood up and walked over to the mirror to fluff her hair once more. "So…you sure I look good?"

"I think you look drop dead gorgeous." Maureen said. "Dad won't know what hit him."

Olivia smiled as the two walked out of the bedroom and down the staircase to meet Elliot in the living room. He was sitting with Eli as he colored at the coffee table. Elliot looked up, his heart leapt when he saw Olivia and he smiled and walked over to her.

"You look amazing…" He said softly.

Olivia smiled. "Thanks."

"You guys should get going if you want to make your reservation." Maureen said, Olivia opened her mouth to say something and Maureen cut her off. "I have your cell number and Dads. I'll call if I need anything but I won't. I know how to change a diaper without cringing and you can stay out as long as you want. Go. Have fun. Enjoy the night."

Olivia smiled. "Thanks Maureen."

Elliot kissed his eldest daughter on the cheek. "Yeah thanks Mo." He turned back to Eli. "You be good for your sister bud okay?"

Eli smiled and waved. "Okay! Bye!"

Elliot led Olivia out of the house and over to the car, he held the door open for her and she smiled as she slipped into the car. Elliot walked around to his side and got into the car.

"You okay?" Elliot asked.

Olivia nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

He laughed as he started the car. "You're a terrible liar…"

She rolled her eyes. "I miss him already."

Elliot smiled as he pulled out of the driveway and took her hand, he kissed her hand gently. "He's going to be fine. He won't even remember that you left for a while."

Olivia sighed and leaned her head against the back of the seat. "Fine…"

"Gosh I've never seen you so excited to spend some time with me." He teased.

Olivia laughed. "Sorry. You know I'm happy that we get to go out tonight…"

"Good." He said as he winked and continued to drive to the restaurant.

Twenty minutes later they pulled up in front of the restaurant and Elliot opened the door for Olivia and handed the keys to the valet. Olivia smiled and took his hand as he led her into the restaurant.

It was a large building but there didn't seem to be anyone inside. "Um…is it even open?"

Elliot smiled and opened the door. "Oh it's open."

Olivia looked at him curiously as they walked inside and a man walked over to them. "Ah, Elliot. Welcome. This must be your wife Olivia."

Olivia looked at Elliot hoping for an explanation but Elliot just smiled and turned back to the man. "Hey Eddie. Thanks for doing this."

Eddie shook her head. "Don't mention it. Your table is all set."

Elliot led Olivia to the middle of the room and pulled out her chair for her. "Comfortable?"

Olivia looked over at him as Eddie walked away leaving them alone. "What is going on?"

Elliot smiled and sat down across from her. "Eddie's an old buddy of mine…he owed me. So I called him up and asked if we could have the place to ourselves for the night."

Olivia raised an eyebrow at him. "He was willing to give up a full night of business? What did you do for him that made him owe you?"

Elliot shrugged. "I helped his brother out a few years ago after he made a few mistakes."

Olivia smirked. "Huh…"

Elliot smiled. "I figured we could enjoy the quiet…"

Olivia smiled. "Very impressive…"

Elliot laughed. "I thought it was romantic enough."

Eddie walked back over. "Can I start you out with something to drink?"

"Um…I'll just have some water thanks." Olivia said.

"Yeah me too." Elliot said smiling.

"Elliot you can drink." She said laughing. "I can live vicariously through you."

Elliot laughed. "I'd like to be sober for the night."

Eddie went to go get their water as Olivia and Elliot looked over their menus. They finally ordered and spent their time waiting talking about Noah and how happy they were with how things were going. After dinner, Elliot pulled his chair around the table so he could sit beside her.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him, he was smiling at her. "What?" She asked.

Elliot shrugged. "Nothing…"

She squinted her eyes at him. "No…I know that look. You're thinking about something…"

Elliot chuckled and reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a black box. "I have something for you…"

Olivia looked at the box. "Elliot…you didn't have-"

"I wanted to." He said shrugging as he handed her the box.

She took the box and smiled before opening it, her eyes grew wide when she saw a pair of diamond earrings inside. "Elliot…"

"I saw them last night in the shop window down by the precinct. I thought they would be perfect for you…and I wanted to give you something for having Noah. To let you know how happy you've made me…" He whispered.

Olivia looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "El…" She leaned forward and kissed him gently. "I love you. They are beautiful."

"I love you too." He said as she removed the backings to the earrings she was currently wearing.

Elliot handed the new earrings to her as she handed her old ones too him. Olivia poked the earrings through the whole in her ears and smiled.

"What do you think?" She asked pushing her hair back for him to see.

Elliot smiled and leaned forward and kissed her. "Perfect. Just like I thought…"

Olivia looked up at him and smiled. "Do you remember that night…the night we had sex for the first time?"

Elliot nodded. "Yeah…what about it?"

Olivia smiled softly. "I was drunk…but not too drunk to know exactly what I was doing. I waited a long time to be with you Elliot…and even though things didn't turn out so great for us the next day…" She shrugged. "I don't regret that night one bit…it was finally the night that I got to be with you. When I didn't have to hide my feelings anymore…"

Elliot leaned forward and cupped her face in his hand. "That was one of the best nights of my life Liv…I just wish I hadn't left the next day like I did."

Olivia shrugged. "It's okay…I forgive you Elliot. I understand why you did it…"

He kissed her softly before pulling back, only enough so that he could rest his forehead against hers. "I don't ever want to lose you again."

She closed her eyes and breathed him in. "You won't…"

He kissed her again and she opened her eyes. "You mean the world to me Olivia. Without you…I would have given up on everything a long time ago. I will never be able to thank you for that. And now we have Noah and I just…" He laughed happily. "I have never been so happy…"

Olivia smiled as a tear escaped her eye and fell down her cheek. "I gave up El…I gave up years ago and just assumed I'd always be alone. But now I have you…and Noah and the rest of our family and I am so grateful. You will never now how happy you've made me…"

He smiled and pulled back a little. "You know when you told me you were pregnant…even though I was completely shocked…" He shrugged. "I felt like…I felt like it was always supposed to happen that way."

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.

Elliot laughed. "Well you and I…we aren't the most conventional people. We're different…never would have made sense for it to go smoothly for us."

Olivia laughed. "I guess you're right…"

He nodded. "See? I mean…you know once we got past our issues it was good but I think we had to face all that to get to this point right here."

"We're both stubborn and we had to get hurt before we could truly be happy." Olivia whispered softly.

"Exactly." Elliot said smiling. "But Liv…I will never hurt you again. I promise."

She leaned over and took his hand. "I know you won't."

He leaned in again to kiss her, she moaned as he traced her bottom lip with his tongue but she pulled back and smirked.

Elliot groaned. "I know…I know we can't…"

She laughed. "Just don't want to get you to excited for something we can't finish…"

Elliot laughed and leaned forward to kiss her sweetly again. "Fine."

Olivia reached for Elliot's arm and checked her watch. "It's getting late…"

Elliot nodded slowly. "I guess it is…"

Olivia smiled; she knew Elliot wanted to get back to Noah just as much as she did. But she also knew that they both needed to spend time just the two of them. She squeezed his hand to make him look back at her.

"How about…we find a time for just you and me every week." Olivia said. "We don't have to go out to dinner like this all the time…just a few hours where we can get away from work and the kids. Just us."

Elliot smiled at her. "I like the sound of that…"

Olivia smiled and leaned into kiss him. "I figure we have a lot of lost time to make up for…and I miss being with you everyday."

He nuzzled her nose slowly. "It is weird to not be partners anymore…"

"But it's worth it right?" She asked with a soft smile.

"Definitely." He kissed her one last time and then stood up and pulled her to her feet.

They thanked Eddie and walked out of the restaurant hand in hand and drove back to the house. When they got there, Maureen was watching TV in the living room she smiled when they came in.

"Hey. How was your night?" She asked as she stood up to greet them.

"It was great." Olivia said as Elliot took her coat. "How did everything go?"

"Good. Eli was a big help with Noah, that baby adores him. And they were both good about going to sleep. I didn't have to do much actually." She said shrugging.

"Good." Elliot said leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Thanks again for babysitting."

Maureen shook her head. "No problem! Anytime you guys need help, just ask."

"Are you staying up in Lizzie and Dickie's room for the night?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah. I'll probably stay tomorrow too if that's okay. I don't get to spend a lot of time with Eli these days and now that Noah's around I want to see him too." She said.

"You can stay as long as you want." Elliot said smiling at his oldest daughter.

Maureen smiled and yawned. "Well…turns out taking care of a new born is hard work." Elliot and Olivia laughed. "I think I'll head to bed…see you in the morning." She hugged her Dad and Olivia and walked towards the stairs. "Oh and…good choice on the earrings Dad. They look great on Olivia." She winked and went upstairs.

Olivia smiled after her stepdaughter and leaned into her husband. "Thank you for a perfect night."

He smiled and pulled her closer. "Don't mention it. I quite enjoyed it myself."

She leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed happily. "I love you."

Elliot reached one hand up to cup her face as he kissed her gently. "I love you too."

Olivia smiled and leaned in to kiss him again but soon they heard the sound of Noah's cries and she pulled away. "Looks like the other Stabler needs me…"

Elliot chuckled. "I'll come with you."

She shook her head and walked towards the stairs. "No. Go to bed honey. You're going to need your rest."

He stared at her curiously. "For what?"

Olivia stopped on the bottom stair and smirked at him. "You have one week until I go in for my check up appointment in which Dr. Winston will give me the okay to have sex again. And I thoroughly intend to thank you for these diamond earrings as soon as I'm allowed too…"

Elliot's smile widened. "Oh is that so?"

She nodded slowly. "Mhm. I think I'll have to talk to Maureen about coming back to babysit that weekend…"

Elliot laughed. "I could be okay with that."

She laughed and started to walk up the stairs. "Of course you could be."

Elliot smiled as he watched her walk up the stairs, he laughed to himself as he followed her and went to his bedroom. This wasn't exactly how he had pictured his life to turn out but quite frankly he wouldn't want it any other way. As he fell asleep listening to Olivia sing Noah back to sleep he thought about just how lucky he was.

Things could have turned out very differently for them. He was just thankful that Olivia had forgiven him for leaving her that first night…and he vowed to himself that he'd never leave again.

This was where he belonged. Today. Tomorrow. And forever.

Thanks again for the support throughout this story! I'll still be working on "Us Against The World" so keep an eye out for that :)