10 Years Later

Olivia runs through the mental list of things that needed to be done before everyone shows up today and she can't help but feel as though she's forgetting something important. She stands in their closet, arms crossed, biting her thumb nail, brows furrowed, as she tries to remember what she forgot and tries to decide what to wear. She feels Elliot's arms wrap around her from behind and she smiles.

"Everything is fine, Liv." He whispers against her skin, "Stop worrying." She's been going round and round all day, trying to make sure the apartment and the children look perfect in an attempt to control everything in preparation for their night.

"I just feel like I'm forgetting something..." She says with a sigh.

"Forgetting to breathe? Yeah, it seems like it." He says with a half smile.

She rolls her eyes at him, mildly irritated by how relaxed he seems to be. "It's been three years since we've all spent a Christmas together, forgive me if I want it to be a nice night."

"Honey, it will be a nice night." He says, kissing the back of her neck before he lets her go, "It doesn't need to be perfect."

Olivia shoots him a look and he grins. He pulls a black dress from her side of the closet and hands it to her. "Can't go wrong." He says, kissing her temple before he walks out.

She shakes her head at him, but truthfully he's right. Not everything has to be perfect, she, and everyone else will survive the evening if things are a bit messy. She's nervous to host all of the kids and grandkids, as well as Kathy and her new husband. It's been years since she's seen Kathy and even though things are friendly and the tension has been gone between them for a very long time, she still gets a bit nervous to see her.

She looks at the dress in her hands and smiles, of course he picked this, it's his favorite. She hangs the dress on the doorframe and selects a matching pair of heels before she lets her hair fall out of the claw clip and she finishes getting ready. She puts the finishing touches on her hair with her curling iron and smiles to herself as she hears the kids laughing from the next room.

She'll pour herself a glass of wine and the awkwardness will dissipate after a few minutes. And it's been many years since she's needed Elliot to save her in conversations with their family. The older kids love her dearly and Eli has come around in the last ten years. They may not be close but she relishes in the times he confides in her.

She pulls the dress over her head and as she reaches up to zip the back, she sees Elliot in the mirror, leaning against the bathroom wall with a smirk on his face. He walks towards her and takes the zipper from her, pulling it up. He kisses the back of her neck and she melts a little bit.

"Elliot..." She warns.

"Have I ever told you just how much I like this dress, Mrs. Stabler?" He whispers against her skin.

She smiles and he grins, pulling her backwards into himself. "We don't have time..." She says, making no efforts to separate herself from him.

"Oh come on, Liv... We could be fast..." He says, one hand reaching down for the hem of her dress.

The door bell rings and Olivia laughs just as Elliot groans.

"Told you..." She says, patting his chest and pulling her dress back down.

She steps into her shoes and starts to walk out towards the living room, stopping to look back when she realizes Elliot isn't following.

"You coming?" She asks, an eyebrow raised at him.

"Yeah, yeah, I just need a minute." He says.

Olivia looks down at the bulge in his pants and laughs. "You take all the time you need." She says, still laughing.

"Oh you are so gonna get it later..." He practically growls as she walks out of their bedroom, still giggling.

Olivia moves to answer the door quickly and she's happy to see Kathleen, her husband and their children. "Oh, it's so good to see you, Honey, Merry Christmas." She smiles, wrapping her arms around Kathleen.

She gets and excited hug from Kathleen's youngest daughter and a tight one from her oldest. "Merry Christmas, Nana." The child says politely.

"Merry Christmas, Livvy." She says, giving her a squeeze. "I've got snacks in the kitchen, some of your favorites." And with that, the kids run off and Olivia welcomes her stepdaughter and son in law into the apartment.

All of Elliot's children show up in quick succession and once he comes out of the back of the apartment, he makes himself useful, pouring drinks for all the adults. He passes a glass of red wine to his wife, and wraps an arm around her waist.

"See? Nothing to be worried about." He says with smile. Olivia gives him a quick kiss before she takes a sip of her wine, looking out into the living room, happy to see all of her stepchildren and grandchildren having a nice time.

Emma shows up a few minutes later bearing gifts for her younger siblings and a bottle of wine for her mother. She gives both of her parents quick hugs before she pops the cork and pours herself a glass. Neither Elliot or Olivia is used to seeing her drink, nor hearing her say out loud that she's now twenty-two.

"No Danny?" Olivia asks, trying not to appear too interested in the absence of Emma's long term boyfriend.

"Uhh, no." She says, taking a long drink from her wine glass, "You won't be seeing him anymore, long story." She disappears quickly into the crowd of her siblings, clearly avoiding the conversation and Olivia shoots Elliot a glare.

"I didn't say anything." He says, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up in a smile.

"You could be a little less obvious." Olivia huffs. Elliot chuckles and she shakes her head at him.

The doorbell rings again and Olivia moves to answer it, knowing that this time it will be Kathy. She plasters a smile on her face and pulls the door open. "Kathy, so good to see you! Merry Christmas." She says, giving Elliot's ex-wife a warm hug.

Kathy hugs her back and hands her a bottle of wine before introducing her new husband. "Olivia this is Emilio, Emilio, this Elliot's wife, the kids stepmom."

Olivia shakes his hand and welcomes them in, eyeing Elliot in the kitchen. Eli had said a few choice things about his new stepfather and Olivia had had to make Elliot promise to be on his best behavior. Despite their differences, Kathy is his children's mother and he feels protectively of her.

Elliot gives his ex-wife a hug and Emilio a stiff handshake before he offers them drinks. Olivia stands with them, listening to the story Emilio's begun and watching Elliot size him up. She feels Kathy's eyes on her and does her best not to think anything of it while she feigns interest in the story being told.

Elliot has an arm firmly wrapped around Olivia's waist, fingers tickling her hip and his face held close to hers, a content smile on his face, happy just to be near her, and as infatuated with her as the day they got married nearly ten years ago.

Kathy watches them and she feels a pang of jealousy as she looks at Olivia. She does not miss her ex-husband, but she does occasionally wonder what it is about Olivia that brings out this version of him. In the time they've spent together since Elliot and Olivia were married a decade ago, she's seen a different man than the one she was married to. A kinder, more patient, husband. A better father.

As Kathy looks at her ex-husbands new wife, she also notices that she hasn't seemed to age since the last time they saw each other. It makes Kathy feel her years in a way she doesn't very often.

And yet, as Olivia offers her a drink and puts a plate in front of her, remarking that she must be hungry after all the travel they've done, all these thoughts are cast aside. It may take the women a moment to adjust to each other's presence but in truth, they appreciate each other for what the other is.

"Grandma! Nana!" Dickie's son yells as he comes barreling into the kitchen towards his grandparents. Kathy scoops him off the ground and Olivia plants a kiss on top of his head. The little boy rambles about all of the toys Santa left for him as both of his grandmother's listen intently, exchanging warm smiles. This is what brings them together and always has, and both of them are grateful for the reminder.

"Where are the kids, Liv?" Kathy asks, noticing the absence of Elliot and Olivia's youngest children.

"Oh, probably still playing with the video game they got this morning even though I told them to come out an hour ago." She says with a sigh.

Elliot chuckles and disappears into the back of the apartment to find them. He comes back out seconds later, one child thrown over each shoulder as they shriek with laughter. He sets Noah down first, pulling his daughter down from his shoulder and letting her rest on his arm, her arms wrapped around his neck.

"You gonna say hi?" He asks, looking to his daughter. She tucks her face into his neck with a shy smile and he grins.

"Violet's a little shy lately..." He says a steady hand rubbing her back gently.

Kathy smiles at the little girl, amazed by how big she's gotten since her last visit to New York. Elliot's youngest daughter is nine years old, a fact that still amazes her. She cannot believe that Elliot had yet another child, when theirs were fully grown and starting families of their own. She remembers vividly a spring visit to New York nine years ago, when she found out he was having another baby. She came to spend some time with the girls and she had been blindsided by the news.

She had walked into the restaurant to meet the family and had been stunned to see a very pregnant Olivia, just weeks away from delivery, sitting next to her ex-husband, both of them wearing wedding rings. She was less than shocked to learn that they had gotten married, less than a year after Elliot's arrival back in New York, but she was deeply shocked to find out that they were having another child.

It sounds cheesy, but all these years later, even though she had been less than thrilled with the news, Kathy can't picture their family without Olivia or her and Elliot's three children.

Everyone makes the rounds, exchanging hugs and presents while Elliot helps Olivia put dinner together on the dining room table. Once food has been set up, Elliot glances over his shoulder, happy to see no one in the room with them.

He wraps his arms around his wife and pulls her into a deep kiss. To his surprise, she leans into the kiss, not pulling away for fear of whose watching. He has a hands on the back of her neck, fingers tangled in her hair as he kisses her gently. "I love you, Mrs. Stabler..." He whispers in between kisses. Olivia smiles against his lips. He started calling her Mrs. Stabler the moment they were married and she still has not grown tired of hearing it said out loud.

"Happy almost Anniversary, Mr. Stabler..." She whispers, a grin on her face as she lets him kiss her neck.

Their tenth wedding anniversary is on New Years Eve and neither of them can believe they've been married that long.

Elliot grins, moving back up to her lips, and slipping his tongue into her mouth.

"Oh, ew!" They hear, pulling apart quickly to see their oldest daughter holding their youngest and shielding her eyes.

"Okay, that's a little dramatic, there's nothing to see here." Elliot says in a joking tone.

"Yeah, nothing to see except you two sucking face and groping each other like teenagers..." Eli says sarcastically, grabbing a piece of bread out of a bowl on the dining room table.

The family fills the dining room and everyone takes their seats, chatting amongst each other, seemingly all happy just to be in the same placed at once. Elliot taps his glass to get everyone's attention and all of his children and grandchildren look to him.

"Before we eat, I just want to tell you all that I love you very much." He says warmly. Violet climbs into his lap as he's talking and he smiles, wrapping arm around her. "I know our family has seen a lot of different versions of itself, but I got to tell you, this is my favorite."

The family digs into Christmas dinner and the whole apartment is filled with conversation and loud laughter, that brings a smile to Olivia's face. Elliot was right... This is her favorite version of their family too. She thinks of the nervousness she felt so many years ago when they introduced Emma to her siblings and it makes her smile. As she watches her oldest daughter now, so settled into their family, talking comfortably with her brothers and sisters, she can't imagine any other life.

Olivia leans into Elliot's side, letting him put an arm around her and she kisses the side of his face, before settling back against his arm. Elliot kisses her temple and watches her for a moment. Neither of them need to say it allowed, as looks have always been enough for them to communicate, they are both overwhelmed by how much love exists in this room. They've built a truly beautiful thing.