A Preschool Promise [A Bensler FanFic]

Forty-Three

2 Years Later

Even if the pain went away, and Olivia's body didn't hurt anymore, their hearts still ached for the baby that they never met. Josiah and Maureen were quickly growing up, and it just made it harder for them when Josiah started preschool and Maureen was almost turning nine, and there was no baby at home to take care of. Olivia spent her days teaching Maureen her lessons and trying to get Josiah to sit long enough to actually learn what he was supposed, but their family was far from complete.

"How were the kids today?" Elliot asked as he and his wife got ready for bed one night.

"Good. I managed to get Josiah excited about letters today. He spelled his name all by himself." Olivia smiled softly.

"He's a smart kid. And how was Maureen?" Elliot questioned.

"I feel like her being home is still the best thing for her. She gets breaks where I let her paint or draw and she's doing some pretty awesome things."

"And you?" Elliot asked, as he reached around his wife and grabbed his toothbrush.

"Elliot, I want another kid. Or three?" Olivia questioned, and Elliot stopped and smiled at his wife.

"Really? Do you want to try and find a kid to adopt?" Elliot asked.

"Foster than adoption. I want to have them trust us and want to be adopted before we just jump into it." Olivia spoke.

"So no babies?" Elliot asked, and he frowned when he saw his wife tense up.

"I just want to help kids. I just want another child. But I don't want to be hand picked by some teenager who got pregnant. Because there are kids out there who haven't had a home their whole life, and they deserve one." Olivia replied.

"Okay then. I'll do research tomorrow while I'm at work. Don't worry." Elliot breathed, before kissing the back of her head.

///

Olivia didn't know if she had truly told her husband how she was feeling. She wanted to have another child so badly, that it made her almost sick. She was tearing herself up over the fact that she wasn't able to give Elliot another child. She was hoping that maybe adopting and fostering children could help them both finish healing from the loss of their child.

Olivia was in the middle of feeding the kids their lunch when Elliot called.

"Hey, baby. What's up?" Olivia asked, as she reached forward and quickly pushed Josiah's cup from where he had placed it incredibly close to the edge of the table.

"So I got in contact with a family court lawyer we used to work with."

"Who?" Olivia asked.

"Pippa Cox. She said that she could get us in contact with CPS and we could get set up with fostering. She also said that more recently one of her coworkers caught a case with a baby boy. His mother is in jail and his father is unknown. She was wondering if we ever thought about adopting a baby." Elliot spoke, and Olivia felt her mouth go dry.

"What is his story?" Olivia asked, and Elliot smiled.

"He has been shipped from foster home to foster home. I guess he's sick, so they don't really want him anymore. So, would you be open to fostering him? I know that we decided to not foster a baby or adopt one because of the baby we lost... but she showed me a picture of him and this kid is adorable."

"Get us set up and we can foster him," Olivia spoke before they ended the call.

Olivia felt her children's eyes on her as they continued to eat.

"What?" She asked.

"Are we gonna get a baby brother?" Maureen asked, and Olivia sighed softly.

"We may be helping out a little boy for a while. Either until his Mom can get him back, or until we can change his name to Stabler."

///

There was a shit ton of paperwork to complete, but it didn't take as long as they thought it would. Olivia and Elliot worked on it from the time the kids when to sleep till nearly midnight.

Once it was turned in and Olivia and Elliot had a meeting with CPS, they just had to wait.

But the waiting wasn't as long as they thought it would be.

"Is he here yet?" Elliot asked as he walked into the house. The kids were laying down napping so now was the perfect time for the foster kid to be brought over.

"No, he isn't. Would I be standing here anxiously if little Noah was here?" Olivia asked, and Elliot laughed softly.

"Okay, but I'm so excited. Aren't you?" Elliot asked.

"I am too. I took me a while, but now I think that Noah is who we are supposed to foster... I just hope the kids don't get attached to him, to only have his mother get out of jail and get him back." Olivia replied. She heard the buzz from the dryer, so she and Elliot walked into the laundry room and pulled a load of baby clothes out and started to fold them.

"I'm surprised that we kept this all," Elliot spoke, and Olivia nodded in agreement.

"We can do this, right?" Olivia asked, and Elliot smiled and nodded.

"I know we can. He will be happy and healthy."

///

The kids slept later than usual, so by the time they got up, Olivia had always gotten dinner on the table and was sitting at the table feeding Noah his bottle.

Olivia and Elliot both had to admit that Noah was probably one of the cutest babies that they have ever seen. From his messy brown hair to his bright blue eyes. He looked like he could be their child, which made it just a little bit easier to fall in love with him.

"Is Noah here yet?" Maureen asked her father, once she and Josiah walked downstairs.

"Momma is feeding him in the kitchen," Elliot replied. He walked behind his kids into the kitchen, and as soon as they laid their eyes on the baby, both ran to their mother.

"He's little," Josiah spoke, and Olivia nodded.

"He's barely 4 months old, but he will get bigger. Are you two sure that you are good with having him here?" Olivia asked, and the kids both nodded.

"He is going to be so fun to have around!" Maureen exclaimed before she leaned down and pecked the small babies cheek.

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