You and I [A Bensler Fanfiction]

Thirty-Six

Olivia carried two mugs of coffee into her bedroom and smiled when she saw Elliot waiting for her return. It was still early, but since Elliot came home the day before, they still had so much to catch up on.

"One cup of coffee," Olivia smiled as she climbed onto her side of the bed and passed the mug to her partner. Elliot took it into his hand before stealing a quick kiss from Olivia's lips.

"Thank you, baby."

"Of course. Don't forget that I'll do anything for you," Olivia spoke before taking a long swig of her coffee.

They sat in silence for a while before Elliot reached out to Olivia and pulled her close. Olivia wrapped her arms around Elliot's waist and placed gentle kisses on his chest.

"It's so good to have you home and sharing my bed. I love you so much," Olivia breathed between kisses. Elliot smiled as he rested his cheek against Olivia's messy brown hair.

"Liv, do you still want to be with me even after I lost my leg?" Elliot mused, his fingertips running over Olivia's lower back.

"Babe, there is no one else I'd want to be with. I love you so much and enjoy being your girlfriend. Why would you think otherwise?" Olivia asked. She pushed herself up slowly and sat cross-legged beside her boyfriend. Elliot frowned deeply as he reached out and stroked her shoulder.

"Things are different now. I can't do everything that I could once do. I'm not useful anymore, so I doubt you'll want to have more kids with me," Elliot sighed. Olivia chose to ignore the kid part of his statement since her last pregnancy was a complete mess, and she was worried that the next one might kill her. 

"Just because you are missing a leg doesn't mean that you can't do things like below. Once you get your prosthetic leg, you can go for runs again like before. You can still help the kids with their homework, change Marley's diaper, and make love to me. The list is much longer, but those are some of the most important," Olivia smiled as she reached her hands out and took Elliot's into hers.

Elliot took a slow breath and looked down at their joined hands for a brief moment.

"So I take that as a no?" Elliot whispered.

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked, confused.

"No more kids?" Elliot breathed. Olivia let out a long sigh before shrugging slowly.

"I don't know if I can risk getting pregnant again and possibly dying. Last time was a mess and next time might be much worse. We can see how things go in the years to come, but-"

"I guess I should just be thankful for the four kids we have and the love we share. If I want something to baby, we can just adopt a dog. One that I'll claim to not want but end up loving more than our kids," Elliot said with a forced smile. 

"Give me time, El. Marley is only twelve weeks old. I haven't even gone back to work yet, and the last thing we need is for us to have another baby right now. I'll think about it though. Now, how is that leg feeling?" Olivia replied.

Elliot tossed the sheets back and looked down at the stump that was in place of his left leg. He patted it for a moment before looking at Olivia.

"I think that I'm feeling well enough to have sex. Wanna go for a round?" Elliot grinned. Olivia blushed before sighing softly.

"You are more trouble than anything else. But since you have been through a lot, we can make love once, then we gotta shower and get ready for the day. Got it?"

"Two times and I'll agree!" Elliot laughed.

"I'll change my mind, Stabler. Don't push your luck."

///

Elliot had gotten pretty good at using his crutches, so he moved around the house with ease. As Olivia got the kids up for the morning, Elliot made breakfast with Marley strapped to his chest. He tried his hardest to not make too big of a mess, but it was hard when he kept getting distracted by his cooing baby girl.

"Good morning, Daddy," Avery smiled as she came down the stairs with Landon.

"Hey, princess!" Elliot smiled. He turned off the stove and moved to the kids. He gave Avery's hair a light kiss and then pulled Landon into a hug.

"It's so good having you home, Elliot," Landon smiled.

"Elliot? When did I lose my title?" Elliot teased, his hand ruffling Landon's hair before he moved to finish breakfast.

"I didn't know if you wanted me to call you that anymore. Now that you are home-"

"Landon, you and your brother can call me Daddy if you want. I won't stop you, especially because it makes me happy. I have loved every second I get to spend as your father," Elliot replied. Landon nodded as he climbed onto his chair.

"Thank you for taking care of us... Our daddy doesn't even love us anymore," Landon frowned.

Elliot didn't respond to Landon because even the thought of Keith made him want to scream and punch things. All Elliot knew was that he had to be better than Keith. He had to love these boys with everything he had and make sure they never felt unwanted.

"So we may need to change our plans for church this morning," Olivia frowned as she came downstairs without Jackson.

"Why?" Avery asked.

"Jackson has a fever and a cough. If you guys want to go, I'll stay with him. Otherwise, I think we should have a family day at home. How does that sound?"

Elliot walked to Olivia and kissed her softly.

"I think a family day is exactly what we need right now. Just us and our kiddos."