Author's Note: I am toying with their ages a bit to make it better fit the story. Elliot has been divorced from Kathy for a while and the older kids all live with their mother. Elliot and Olivia have been married for a few years at this point and trying desperately to conceive. Having no luck on their own, they turned to a fertility clinic for help.

Multiple Blessings

(Chapter One: Only Hope)

Elliot and Olivia had worked side by side for the last ten years. Best friends and partners from the beginning, they had been through the best and the worst of times together. Somehow, Olivia wondered if this wouldn't be the one thing that would tear them apart.

"How are you feeling?" Elliot asked as she crawled across the bed to rest her head against his chest.

"I'm alright. Just nervous, I guess."

"Liv, baby, stressing out over this isn't going to make it any easier."

"I know. I just kind of feel like it is our last hope. We have tried different positions and treatments, drugs and now the IVF. Nothing else worked, what if this doesn't work either?"

"We will figure something out," he replied tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

The truth was, she wasn't the only one feeling the pressure. Elliot had managed to impregnate Kathy five times without even trying and now when he wanted more than anything to hear those two little words, we're pregnant, it just didn't seem to want to happen for them. They had both been checked out by numerous doctors who were unable to detect the cause of the trouble. Olivia was ovulating perfectly eggs and Elliot's little swimmers were swimming like a Stabler champion swim team, they just didn't seem to be making that magical connection.

"That doctor said that sometimes it can take a few rounds of Invitro Fertilization to actually get pregnant," Elliot reminded her.

"And this is our second round. At twelve thousand bucks a pop! We can't keep doing this, Elliot. We just can't afford it."

"Olivia, I don't want to argue about the money."

"I'm not trying to argue. I just think it is time that we make a conscious decision. We need a plan B. We need to decide where to draw the line. Decide when to say when, when it is time to walk away. Two times? Three times? Four?"

"I don't know. How long do you think we should try?"

"This is all new to me."

"Me, too. I have never had to try before. It just sort of happened….and it wasn't always a good thing at the time. Is this still what you want?"

"Of course it is."

"Then I say we keep trying. We keep doing whatever we can to make it happen. And if that doesn't work, then we will adopt or take in foster kids. There are a million children out there who need good homes, Olivia. We will have a child."

Olivia smiled at his certainty and really hoped that he was right.

"It is just hard, you know? I can't help but feel like I am letting you down," she said softly.

"You're not letting me down, Liv. It is hard on me, too. Knowing that the only one thing my wife wants more than anything in the world is the one thing I apparently cannot give to her. Knowing that five other times, without even trying, I managed to father children. I would do anything to be able to share this with you. For the two of us to have this gift together. To have a beautiful little baby who was the best of you and the best of me all rolled into one. I know this is your dream and I will not stop until I have done everything I can do to try to make this happen for us. I love you and I want to have a child with you."

Olivia smiled through her tears.

"You could be pregnant right now. We won't know for sure until your appointment tomorrow, maybe it worked this time."

"I don't know. I don't really feel any different than I did the last time and it didn't work then."

"It would probably be too early for you to be feeling anything. Even the morning sickness probably wouldn't have really had time to kick in just yet."

"It would be pretty neat, wouldn't it? To go in there and come out knowing that all of this has paid off and we are going to be parents."

"It would be amazing. Or we could make it a little more personal."

"What do you mean?" she asked raising up to look at him.

"We could get a test and take it here. Tonight. With just you and me. No doctors and nurses, just us."

"The doctor said I should wait."

"Liv, baby, one more day isn't going to make that much difference. It isn't even a whole day, it is like…." Elliot looked at his watch, "twelve and a half hours."

Olivia laughed.

"I don't want to get too excited. I am afraid we will just be disappointed again."

"Well, we can go to bed now and wonder all night, neither one of us getting any sleep at all. Or I can make a trip to the all night pharmacy on the corner and we can get on with our lives. Good or bad, we would know tonight."

"And if it says I'm not?"

"Then we will go to that appointment tomorrow and discuss options. We can go ahead and schedule our next round of Invitro."

"And start the shots again."

"I know you hate the shots."

"I do. But if they help to get me pregnant it will have all been worth it."

"So, you want to take a walk around the block with me?"

Olivia smiled.

"I just took a shower and brushed my teeth."

"Or I can go pick it up."

"You'd do that?"

"Hey, I'm not above buying a pregnancy test. I have bought tampons a few times in my life and even one of those ovulation kits, it isn't that much different."

Olivia smiled.

"You are the most amazing husband ever!"

"Anything for you, my love," Elliot said kissing his wife as he climbed from the bed and picked up the dog leash. "Lucy," he called as their two year old border collie mix came running into the room. "You'll go for a walk with me, won't you girl?"

Olivia watched as the dog pranced around in excitement.

"How do you thing she would take to having a little brother or sister?" she asked.

"Well, we would just have to sit her down and explain to her that she will always be mommy and daddy's baby. And that as the oldest, she is responsible for helping to look after the new baby. I think with plenty of trips to the park and new toys, she would eventually realize she isn't being replaced."

Olivia laughed.

"It is hard to believe though….that the little tiny puppy we rescued from the shelter so long ago has grown up this big. I still remember the day we picked her out."

"Me, too. We were supposed to get a cat. That was the deal. Dogs were too much work and needed too much attention. Cats were more independent."

"I'm allergic to cats," Olivia replied.

"A fact that you failed to mention until we arrived at the shelter and you broke into hives and had a sneezing fit. You knew you wanted a dog all along."

Olivia smiled.

"But you didn't want a dog. I didn't think you would have even agreed to go look if I didn't let you think we were there for a cat."

"Sneaky! But you know that if you really wanted a dog, I would have made sure you got one."

"Yes, but it worked. We fell in love with the little black and white puppy with one blue eye and the freckles on her nose."

"It was puppy love at first sight," Elliot agreed patting the dog on the top of her head.

"And that is when we adopted our first born, Miss Lucy."

The dog raised up placing her front paws on the bed as Olivia said her name.

"And mommy and daddy will love you forever," Olivia cooed practicing her baby talk with the dog.

Elliot laughed.

"She loves it when I talk to her like that," Olivia replied.

"We'd better get going."

"Can you pick me up some ice cream while you are there?"

"You just brushed your teeth," Elliot reminded her.

Olivia laughed.

"I did. But I really want ice cream now. Give me a minute to change and I will come with you."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It is a nice night."

They walked hand in hand down the block under the full moon. Olivia laid her head on Elliot's shoulder and held to Lucy's leash as the dog walked protectively beside her. The three of them made the perfect family, the only thing that could possibly make things better, was a baby.

At the store, Elliot waved to Mr. Davis as he tied the leash to the newspaper machine out front. Lucy was a friendly dog and most of the neighborhood was used to seeing her with Elliot out on their walks or with Olivia in the morning when they went for their runs. She would lay quietly beside the machine until Elliot returned, sometimes bringing her one of the milk bones Mr. Davis had began keeping behind the counter for the neighborhood dogs.

They walked around for a few minutes staring at the items on the shelf. Oddly enough, it took them longer to pick out a pregnancy test than it did to decide what kind of ice cream to buy. Back at home, Olivia headed to the bathroom. She returned to the living room a few minutes later and joined her husband on the couch.

"Now what?" Elliot asked.

"Now we wait."

"How long for this one?"

"Three to five minutes," she said as he handed her an orange creamsicle.

"Try not to think about it," he said picking up the remote control, "it only makes it seem longer."

"I know," she said with a sigh as she leaned back into him to watch a little television.

They tried to distract themselves, but it just wasn't working. They both wanted so badly for this test to come out positive, that they could barely think of anything else. The minutes passed like hours, until finally she sat up.

"It's time?" Elliot asked.

"Yeah," she said forcing a nervous smile.

"You wanna do this alone? Or would you like for me to come with you?"

"Of course I want you with me. We're in this together, right?"

"Absolutely."

"I want you to be there when I find out. I want us both to be the first ones to know. Elliot, there is no one else in the world I would rather share this with than you."

Elliot smiled and kissed her tenderly.

"Me either, sweetheart."

He locked his fingers in hers and followed her into the bathroom. Olivia sat down on the edge of the counter holding the test in her hand.

"Cross your fingers," she said with a smile as she turned it over to look at the results.

"What does that mean?" Elliot asked looking a little confused.

"That means no," she said softly trying so hard to hide the disappointment in her voice as she dropped the test into the trash can.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I was so certain that this was it. This was our time."

"It's okay," she said softly. "We'll just have to try again, that's all."

"So tomorrow we will set the date for the next round. And in a couple of days we will try again," Elliot said trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah," she agreed with a nod. "I'm really tired. I think I'm gonna go on to bed," she whispered and he could tell she was about to cry.

Elliot shut things down in the apartment then climbed into bed with his wife. Olivia was turned with her back to him, but he slid in beside her and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She drew a staggered breath and rolled over to bury her face in his chest. Elliot gently kissed the top of her head and just held her as she cried.

The next morning was a quiet one. Olivia got up early and took Lucy out for their morning run. After her shower she cooked breakfast for her husband and they headed off to her appointment.

She tried to pretend not to be disappointed as the nurse took some blood and left the room to perform the scheduled pregnancy test.

"Maybe I should have just told her not to waste her time," Olivia replied.

"We weren't supposed to take the home test. They don't know that we already know the results."

"I know, that is probably about sixty bucks we could have saved with the ten dollar test I took last night."

"Liv, relax. I know things aren't looking so bright right now. But I also know that I love you and we deserve this. I have enough faith in God to know that he will help us through this. It will all work out. It may not work out the way we had planned, but it will work out."

Olivia took a deep breath and nodded as her eyes filled with tears.

"I am trying to be patient. I really am, El. But it is so hard to do when we just keep getting bad news."

"You just have to keep believing. That is what faith is. Trusting and believing even when is seems all hope is lost. We can't give up. We have come too far to give up now."

"I love you," she whispered as Elliot wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lips.

"I love you too, my angel."

Olivia forced a smile as her doctor walked in with her file in his hand.

"Olivia, I have the results of your pregnancy test."

"I already know," she confessed as she stared at him. "I couldn't wait and we sort of cheated and took a home test last night."

"Well, congratulations."

"Wait, what?" she asked looking up at him in confusion.

"The test came back positive. You, my dear, are pregnant."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"I am."

"How the hell did that happen?" Elliot asked scratching his head.

"One of the embryos implanted. Olivia is definitely pregnant."

"You are positive?" Olivia asked again.

The doctor laughed. "Lay back for a moment," he said turning on a machine beside the exam table.

Olivia laid back as he squirted some gel onto her abdomen and moved the wand around just below her navel pushing the waist of her jeans down a bit.

"There," he said as a tiny flicker appeared on the screen. "That is your baby."

Olivia stared in shock as she began to cry happy tears this time.

"It is still very early and most home tests cannot detect pregnancy as soon as a blood test can. That is why we suggest you wait for your results in your appointment," he said giving her a wink. "Would you like to hear the heart beat?" he asked as he turned up the volume on the speakers and a soft whomp whomp whomp sound filled the room.

"That's fast," Elliot said. "Is that too fast?"

"Not at all. It is a good strong heart beat. You can't really see much just yet. I want to take a few measurements and go ahead and do an exam while you are here. But there is definitely a baby inside there."

The doctor left the room so Olivia could get changed into a gown. She hugged her husband tight as he closed his arms around her and kissed her.

"I told you it would happen," he replied with a proud smile.

"I love you so much," she whispered as she nestled her cheek against his chest. "And I have never been happier than I am right now."

Elliot smiled.

"I love you too, darling."