Through Thick and Thin

21. Welcome Back, Elliot

Thirteen Weeks Later...

To Olivia, it felt like this day couldn't come sooner. Today was the day Elliot was finally coming home from boot camp for the Marine Corps. Thankfully, during the week while Elliot was gone, Olivia was able to stay busy attending Siena College and in her free time, she was working with a nonprofit rape crisis counseling program. Even though Olivia was anxious about Elliot being a Marine and the possibility of him being deployed, the Marine Corps knew of his situation, having a pregnant wife and all, so they weren't going to deploy him anytime soon. As promised, Elliot came home every weekend and they spent that time in bed being lazy or looking for an apartment. Being a Marine, one of the perks is being able to have a discount on any apartment or house they wanted to purchase. So, once they found an apartment that they loved which ended up being a three bedroom and two bathroom, they purchased it and the rest of the gang helped decorate. However, Elliot and Olivia wanted to do the nursery together so they waited for him to come home.

Olivia and the gang were currently in the airport waiting for Elliot's plane to arrive. She stood, shifting her weight, rubbing her belly, trying to calm the growing baby inside of her. When she and Elliot went to her last doctor's appointment, it turned out that she was further along than they thought. Their little peanut was about twenty-four weeks and growing by the second.

Being snapped from her thoughts, Olivia saw Elliot making his way toward the group and that's when they held up their "Welcome Home, Elliot!" sign and Olivia ran as fast as she could, being that she was about six months pregnant, to her husband. His smile brightened and he ran to his wife, wrapping her in his arms as he lifted her gently off of her feet and kissed her everywhere he could.

"You're a sight for sore eyes, Benson." Elliot said as he set her down and cupped her face, smiling softly as he looked into his wife's eyes.

"Excuse me, sir, but my name is Stabler. I'm a married woman, if you haven't noticed the rock on my finger." Olivia teased as she held up her hand and wiggled her fingers.

"Best decision I ever made." Elliot said sweetly as he captured her lips in a soft and loving kiss.

"She's already pregnant, you don't need to act like you're trying to get her there." Fin quipped and everyone laughed as Elliot and Olivia walked over to the group.

"I missed you, too, Fin." Elliot said as they shared a brotherly hug then he turned to everyone else and they all welcomed him home.

"Are you hungry? Or do you wanna go home and sleep?" Olivia asked as Elliot wrapped his arm around her.

"I could go for some food." Elliot said and everyone made their way out of the airport to get food.

"Shit, I forgot." Olivia said as she sighed heavily and rubbed her baby belly.

"What is it, baby? You okay?" Elliot asked worriedly.

"I have a doctor's appointment today for the peanut." Olivia said with a small smile. "I'm sorry I forgot, I can reschedule if you wanna go home and get some sleep after we eat." She said as she frowned slightly.

"No, baby, let's get some food and then go the appointment. I'm excited to see our peanut." Elliot said with a wide smile as he caressed her belly.

"Me, too." Olivia said with the same smile and they made their way out of the airport.

As Elliot and Olivia got into his truck, they were singing along to the radio with his hand resting on her belly when they felt the baby kick for the first time.

"Has he done that before?" Elliot asked with a wide smile as he bent his head to kiss her stomach once they arrived at their favorite place.

"I guess he missed his daddy. But how are you so sure it's a boy?" Olivia asked with a wide smile that matched her husband's as she ran her hand through his hair.