Mostly fluffy... Enjoy!

Chapter 10

Olivia stood outside the room Cindy was in. Her back against the wall. For the first time, in her professional life, she was stuck. She knew she couldn't force the woman to change her lifestyle. But she also knew that the woman didn't really want to be in that lifestyle, she was just scared and being pressured into it. Olivia wanted to help her. And part of her, the selfish part, wanted to do exactly what the woman had asked of her. She wanted a baby, badly.

Captain Cragen sat in his office, watching Olivia. He had his own inner battle going on. He knew it was too soon for Olivia to be back on a case, especially one of this nature. He also knew there was no one better to handle it. His instincts told him that everything would work out. He sighed, waiting for things to work out was not his strong suit.

Olivia decided to talk to the Captain. She really valued his balanced advice. She wasn't going to mention to anyone that she had, even briefly, entertained the idea of keeping the baby.

"Captain, can I talk to you?"

"Of course, Detective Benson."

Olivia mentally rolled her eyes at the formal title, "I think that we should have George talk to Cindy. She is calling out for help. We can't just let her go back into an abusive situation."

"I think talking to Doctor Huang is a good idea. I'll give him a call and set it up."

"Thanks Captain."

"Oh, and Benson? Let me know if you need to talk more."

"I will."

A few hours later, Olivia walked into the bullpen, cradling baby Brandy. Olivia had volunteered to watch the baby while Cindy talked to Huang.

"Whoa! What have you been hiding, Liv?" Munch commented when he saw her. He and Fin had left on a call before the baby had been discovered. Olivia wandered over to his desk to introduce him to Brandy. Elliot watched her rock the baby from across the room. He bet Olivia wasn't even aware of how she gently bounced the baby or the glow on her face as smiled down at Brandy.

"That baby looks good on you, Liv." Fin said from his desk. Elliot felt something tighten in his chest. He couldn't quite place the feeling. A new, less pleasant, feeling joined it as Olivia smiled at Fin and introduced him to Brandy.

Finally she wandered over to Elliot's desk. He had only seen the infant through the two-way mirror.

"Hey there. Want to meet Brandy?"

"Yes, I do."

Olivia leaned against Elliot's desk and angled Brandy towards Elliot. She straightened the hat on the baby's head. Elliot smiled at the tiny baby sitting so comfortably in his partner's arms. Olivia felt her heart hitch as Elliot reached out a finger and gently stroked the baby's face. This is what she wanted: a family, with Elliot. It's what she'd always wanted. She'd watched jealously for years as Elliot and Kathy raised their kids. Did she have a chance at raising a family with Elliot? Before she could get far with her musings, the infant started whimpering and immediately drew all of Olivia's attention.

Elliot bounced Brandy as he watched Olivia get a bottle ready for her. He had to admit, even if he was only admitting it to himself, that something about helping Olivia care for a baby felt right. Sure, he had his own kids, and he loved them with all his heart, but he knew parenting with Olivia would be so much better than parenting with Kathy ever was. He and Kathy had never seen eye to eye when it came to raising their children.

Brandy let out an unhappy squawk as Olivia lifted her out of Elliot's arms.

"Guess she likes me," Elliot grinned. Olivia shot him a look, but secretly she was thrilled. Spending so much time with Brandy had made her rethink Cindy's request. Having Elliot grow attached to the infant wouldn't hurt her chances of him being on board with it.

Later that Night

Olivia left the shelter with mixed emotions. Cindy had agreed to spend the night at the shelter with Brandy. She wanted to get her life together, and the woman's shelter offered her somewhere safe to stay, counseling, job opportunities and childcare for Brandy. She had agreed to think about talking to Olivia about the details of her life as a prostitute, and potentially pressing charges.
Olivia was happy about how things had turned out thus far, but she had to admit she was slightly disappointed that it was looking like Brandy would not be hers. Her phone buzzed as she hailed a cab.

"Benson"

"Hey there."

"Hey El."

"I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat?"

"I don't know, I'm really tired. It's been a long day, and I'm still not feeling great."

"How about I bring some Chinese over and we can watch that new cop drama on TV. We can even make fun of it."

"Haha, fine. That actually sounds fun. I'll see you at my place in an hour?"

"See you then, Liv."

Olivia stepped out of the shower. She looked over her bruises and scratches. The swelling was gone. And the bruises were changing colour, as they should. But the scratches were still an angry red. She hissed slightly as she applied the cream the doctor had given her. As much as the sting of the cream hurt, it was better than getting an infection. Olivia had just thrown on clean yoga pants and a loose tank top when the doorbell rang. She peeked through the peep hole before undoing the chain and opening the door.

"Hi, El."

"Hello, gorgeous."

Olivia giggled as Elliot slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. He dropped a kiss on her nose. Time slowed for Olivia as Elliot leaned down to kiss her. His lips had barely found hers when the sound of the neighbors door opening broke the spell. Elliot and Olivia reluctantly pulled apart and entered her apartment. Elliot wanted to continue the greeting, but seeing how Olivia was staring at the bag of food, he decided to hold off until they had eaten. Sitting cross-legged on the couch, Olivia hungrily ate her sweet and sour chicken. Elliot smiled, glad that she seemed to be back to her regular self.

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