Operation Heart

The Actual Dinner Date

Olivia, Elliot, and Noah all sat down at the restaurant in a little booth. Olivia and Noah on one side, Elliot on the other, and they were engaging in quiet conversation over what they each wanted for dinner. Olivia had chosen shrimp alfredo, Noah chose spaghetti, and Elliot ordered lasagna. Both Olivia and Elliot noted that they still had the same orders they'd had back when they were partners, a lifetime ago. Elliot asked Noah questions about school, and his hobbies, seeming genuinely interested in the young boy's life. "What do you do for work?" Noah asked after a few minutes while they waited for their food to arrive.

"I'm a cop, just like your mom, Uncle Fin, or your Aunt Amanda. But I don't work for SVU, instead I fight organized crime." Noah gave Elliot a quizzical look, waiting for the older man to better explain his career choice. "So, sometimes I have to go undercover, and pretend to be someone I'm not, so that I can stop people from hurting each other."

Olivia opened her mouth to add something to Elliot's explanation, since it left something to be desired, but she saw Warner, and waved her over. "What are you doing all the way over here?" She asked with a smile when the Medical Examiner approached them.

"I am picking up dinner before I head home for the night. Also, just a heads up, but he's being weird again, Liv," Melinda stated matter-of-factly, resulting in Olivia rolling her eyes at her friend.

"For God's sake," she grumbled under her breath. "Promise me you aren't evading his calls and texts again, Melinda, please. I don't think Rollins can handle him acting like someone kicked his puppy every time you get mentioned, again. She may literally kill him this time."

"Okay, this time it wasn't my fault, Liv. I don't even know what's going on with him, he's just not acting like himself, and so I wanted to warn you. I mean, I haven't even brought up marriage since everything went down."

Noah looked at the two women. "You two are talking about Uncle Fin, aren't you?" Both of them turned to look at him, while Elliot's jaw dropped as he looked up at Warner, who had blushed slightly.

"I know your mom didn't tell you, so how did you know that I was talking about Fin, Noah?" Melinda asked with a smile as she looked down at the young boy who suddenly seemed rather shy.

"Uncle Fin talks about you when it's just the two of us, and he talks a lot. He says that you're really pretty, and that he's in love with you. And then he begged me not to tell mom, so don't tell him I told you, please," he stated. "Are you in love with him too?"

"Can you keep a secret, Noah?" When he nodded Melinda grinned. "I am very much in love with him." The boy smiled, happy that the man he viewed as an uncle was happy, especially since he'd known Melinda for as long as he could remember.

He now turned his attention to his mom. "When are you going to find someone who loves you the way Uncle Fin and Melinda love each other?" He asked, and all three adults froze momentarily.

"Well, that sounds like my cue to leave. It was good to see you again, Noah. Call me later, Liv. Bye, Stabler." Melinda turned on her heel, trying to hide the grin on her face due to how gutsy Noah was. He was definitely his mother's son.

Olivia blew out a breath as she figured out what to say to her young son. "Well, you see, Noah. Relationships are very complicated, and I don't want to rush into one where you or I could get hurt. My number one priority is being your mom, number two is my friendships, and number three is work. Those three things are all I need, alright?" She asked and hugged him from the side.

"Alright, but have you ever been in love, mom?" Noah questioned, just as their food arrived. He started eating his spaghetti, but kept looking up at his mom, waiting for her answer.

"I have, but it was a very, very, very long time ago. Long before I had you," Olivia replied, hoping that the topic of conversation would end there, but she wasn't that lucky.

"How many times have you been in love?" Olivia's eyes widened in surprise, and she couldn't speak. She didn't want to answer the question, but she didn't want to ignore him.

Elliot noticed her anxiety and decided to intrude, hoping that he didn't overstep. "Noah, that's not a very polite question to ask someone, especially your mom. The amount of times she may have been in love throughout her life is is irrelevant because her main priority is being here for you." He didn't miss the brief but grateful smile Olivia shot him before she dug into her alfredo.

"I forgot how heavenly this alfredo is," she muttered, almost to herself, as if she had forgotten about Noah and Elliot. She was extremely grateful that Elliot had cut the conversation off before Noah had been brazen enough to ask her who she had been in love with.

"Have you ever been in love, Elliot?" Noah asked, feeling that it was only fair to ask him the same questions as he had asked his mom. Olivia much preferred it this way.

"I have been in love, twice." He did his best not to look at Olivia as he said it, but his eyes had a mind of their own when it came to her. She was eating, not paying attention to him, so he finally had the chance to admire the things about her that had changed over the years. Her hair was longer than it had been, and her expressions were far more guarded than he had ever seen them before, and he suspected that wasn't just because he was there.

After they all ate, and enjoyed dessert Elliot walked Olivia and Noah to their SUV, which was still in the NYPD parking garage. Noah got into the SUV after saying bye to Elliot, but Olivia waited a moment, noticing that there was something on his mind. "So, Warner and Fin, gotta be honest, I think we all just assumed they were never going to admit to their feelings," he said with a small smile.

"Yeah, when she came to me freaking out because he asked her out, it took everything in me not to laugh. Seven years later, and Fin still thinks I have no clue about them. Thank you for dinner, it was surprisingly a lot of fun," she admitted, a slight smile on her lips.

He shrugged, smiling back. "Maybe we can do this again when I get back, with Kathleen joining us, of course," he stated, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets awkwardly.

"Get back from where?" She couldn't imagine him willingly leaving his children when his being back from the dead was all still so new. Her mind flashed back to the trailer, and the red-headed woman with her hands all over him.

"I'm currently undercover, so I won't be able to come around for awhile because I don't want to put you, Noah, or my kids in any danger. But as soon as it's safe, I'll call you and we can set up another dinner like tonight," he said as he opened her car door for her.

"You don't have my phone number though, El," she pointed out matter-of-factly as she climbed into the SUV, buckling her seatbelt and starting the car while talking to him.

He chuckled. "You're right, but I have all four of my kid's phone numbers, and I guarantee they all have your phone number. Am I right?" She rolled her eyes, but nodded as he closed her car door, waving goodbye to Noah.

"You don't trust him that much," the boy stated as Olivia drove towards their apartment, it wasn't a question. She sighed as she figured out the best way to explain her mistrust of Elliot Stabler without making him seem like the enemy, because he wasn't.

"It's complicated, Noah. Do you remember me telling you about my partner at work who passed away?" She saw him nod in the rearview mirror. "Well, it turned out that my partner didn't die. He had to pretend to be dead to protect our unit, and even his kids thought he was dead."

"It was Elliot, wasn't it?" She sighed again and nodded, deciding not to lie. He didn't ask any questions for the rest of the car ride, which surprised Olivia more than she would care to admit.