You and I [A Bensler Fanfiction]

Twenty-One

Even though Elliot didn't want to, he had to go back to Virginia on Tuesday. Avery had summer camp that she'd be at until the end of June, and Elliot had some loose ends that he had to tie up. Elliot sat on the edge of the bed and hugged Olivia tightly the morning he had to leave. 

"I'll be back soon, baby," Elliot breathed, as he caressed Olivia's wavy brown hair. Olivia had her face buried in Elliot's shoulder, her tears soaking into his tight white tee.

"It could take months before Christine lets you bring Avery here... The baby could already be here, and you nor Avery will be here to meet the baby," Olivia sniffled. She gripped on tightly to Elliot's shirt, as several tears more tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Liv, I'm not missing out on the birth of our child. I will be there through your labor and the delivery. I promise."

Olivia leaned back and looked at Elliot. Through blurry eyes, she could see that he actually meant what he said.

"What about the nursery? Avery's room?" Olivia breathed.

"We still have time for both. Now, lay back and relax. I'll send Serena up with your breakfast once we leave."

Elliot and Olivia shared several kisses, and Elliot felt his heart break when he tasted salty tears on Olivia's lips. The last thing he wanted was for her to cry over what was happening, but he knew she was worried about being abandoned. Keith left her with a lot of trauma, and she was scared that Elliot would leave her with more trauma to pile up on the previous.

"I love you, Olivia Benson. Keep your head up and make sure your phone is charged. I'm going to call you tonight," Elliot grinned. He kissed the tip of Olivia's nose before standing slowly.

"While you are gone, think about baby names. I wouldn't even waste your time on girl names, since all I have are boys."

"Hey, but this is my kid. I already have a daughter, so maybe I'll have another one in a few weeks," Elliot smiled. 

He hesitantly left the room and leaned against the wall outside of Olivia's room. A tear slipped down his cheek, and he quickly brushed it away. 

"Daddy, we gotta get going!" Avery yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"Coming, AJ."

///

Elliot took Avery to Christine's apartment since he had her over the weekend. On Friday, Elliot would pick his daughter up and drop her off at camp. 

"Last time I saw you, Christine had given you a black eye after you requested a divorce," Hector spoke, as he sat across from Elliot in a small diner.

"Yeah, well, this time is also because of her."

Hector leaned back and looked at Elliot. They had served together for a while before Hector got injured. He left and went to law school and promised to take care of any legal needs that Elliot had in the future.

"What's happening now?"

"I have a girlfriend and she's pregnant. Olivia went into preterm labor, and that really cemented the fact that I want to be in Manhattan with her and her boys. Since I have full custody of Avery, I want to move her with me."

Hector nodded slowly, before looking down at the table. He brushed a grain of salt off of the table, before meeting Elliot's eyes.

"I'm assuming that Chris doesn't want you to take Avery, right?"

"No, she doesn't. She hates the fact Liv is pregnant and that the baby may be mine-"

"So the kid might not even be yours?" Hector sighed.

"It's complicated. But I will love that baby even if it isn't mine. Now, can you help me?"

Hector sighed deeply as the server brought over two mugs before filling them with coffee.

"Elliot, Christine is going to fight hard."

"I'm not asking for a complete change of custody, Hector. I'm just asking for permission to move Avery to New York. Christine can still have weekends, we will just have to work out transportation... I need to be in New York."

They sat quietly for a while as they sipped their coffees. Hector thought quietly about what he could do, and Elliot couldn't keep his mind off of Olivia. 

"A judge might not be willing to give Christine weekends if it means Avery has to be transported over state lines. Would you be able to convince Chris to move to New York?"

Elliot laughed weakly and shook his head.

"That woman won't do anything unless it is for herself. She didn't want to 'ruin' her body again, so that is why we didn't have the big family we had talked about," Elliot sighed. 

"Great. This will be interesting."

///

Elliot laid in bed and listened to Olivia snore softly on her side of the call. He didn't want to hang up since he didn't know how much longer they would be together. Olivia may want to break up since Elliot may not be able to convince a judge to let him move Avery to New York. He couldn't just walk away from his daughter, even if it broke his heart to leave Olivia once again.

"Ouch," Olivia grumbled. Elliot sat up quickly, his heart starting beating quickly in his chest.

"Liv? Are you having-"

"No contractions. Just a foot in my ribs," Olivia sighed tiredly. He heard her shifting under the blankets, and he wished he was laying beside her.

"I'm sorry," Elliot replied lamely.

"This might not be your fault, El," Olivia sighed. 

Elliot closed his eyes tightly as Olivia sniffled on her side of the call. She was crying, and Elliot felt the want to cry himself.

"I don't know if this is going to work, Liv. I'm sorry, but if a judge and Christine won't let me take Avery with me, I can't move in with you."

"I know," Olivia whimpered.

"I love you so much, but-"

"You don't have to explain yourself, El. Maybe we should just call it quits right now... I have a feeling that I'm meant to be a single mother."

"No-"

"This baby is probably Keith's... Why go through so much trouble with a custody battle when you could just forget about me? Forget about the boys and the baby?"

Elliot opened his eyes and felt hot tears roll down his cheeks. He was angry but also so sad. 

"There is no way in hell that I could forget you and the kids. I love you all so much. I'm going to start this fight, but I can't promise I'll win."