Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order SVU. I make no money off my fanfics.

I will use some facts from the show, but will change or add anything I like to fit my story. Keep that in mind.

IMPORTANT: Please be aware that I will edit all chapters of this story, and the MA rated versions will be on my LiveJournal account. I've had stories pulled for lemons and don't want to go through it again. If you wish to read the full version of this story you'll need to go to my profile and see how to find me. I will say it will be some time before there is a lemon, so no rush. You'll know which chapters have been edited because I'll post a note at the top of the chapter like this, "Edited for Lemons. See LiveJournal for full version". Ok?

This is how I see Mark. Just take out the spaces and the link works. He's the guy looking towards you. Not the man in the background.

http : // www . moderngrooming . com / images / hair_photos / grey_hair . jpg

Chapter 1

"Excuse me, can someone tell me where to find Olivia Benson?"

At the question Elliot looked up from the file he was reading. Standing at the entrance to the squad room was a man in his mid 40's. He was probably a few inches taller than Stabler, not as broad shouldered, but undeniably handsome. The man was dressed casually in jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket, and sneakers with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Elliot decided right off the bat he didn't like the guy. Standing up from his desk he crossed his arms over his chest, put on his best intimidating expression and asked, "Who wants to know?"

"I'm Mark Thompson."

"I'm her partner Detective Elliot Stabler. If you're here to report a crime I can help you."

Shaking his head, Mark replied, "I'm not here to report a crime. I'm here looking for Livvy."

Elliot immediately stiffened at the nickname. Olivia never let anyone call her Livvy. One time Munch had, years ago, and Olivia had immediately set him straight, and since then it had always been "Liv" or "Olivia". Eyes narrowing, Elliot asked, "Is she expecting you?"

Mark laughed, "Not in the least. She'll be happy to see me though."

Now Elliot was really getting angry. Here was a man, a good looking man, here to see Olivia, and he got the distinct impression that this might be her boyfriend. Things weren't perfect between him and Liv, not by a long shot, but they had been better lately. It was almost three years since he'd told her that Kathy was pregnant and he was moving back home, and the past three years had certainly been filled with some pretty low points. He was even man enough to admit he was the cause for those low points, but lately things had been better between them. They still didn't talk too much about their personal lives, but at least there wasn't the tense and angry silence between them anymore. So now Elliot was hurt and angry that his partner's maybe boyfriend had just shown up in the squad room. He could feel that vein in his neck starting to throb as he stared hard at Mark Thompson.

Beside him Munch and Fin shared a look. Both knew that Elliot was head over heels in love with Olivia Benson, and both knew that nothing would probably ever come of it. Elliot had gone home to a wife he didn't love to raise a baby he didn't plan, and because of that decision he and Olivia both were paying for it. So in their minds if Olivia was finally starting to move on it was a good thing. Neither one felt Elliot had the right to get jealous the way he did when Liv had a date or spoke to other men, and Elliot did get jealous. Just last month when Porter here, scumbag that he is, Elliot had constantly created tension to keep Olivia and Dean apart. It wasn't right in either Detectives mind how Elliot seemed determined to jam up any chance at happiness Olivia had.

When it became apparent that Elliot was not going to answer, Munch cleared his throat and swiveled around in his chair to face Mark fully. There was no denying the man was attractive enough for women to notice, and he silently applauded Liv's taste. Looking at the stranger over the rim of his glasses he offered, "Olivia is in court right now. It might be a few hours before she gets back. Would you like us to give her a message?"

"No. That's fine. I'll wait for her. Is there somewhere I can sit?"

Elliot wanted to tell this Mark jerk he could sit outside on the street for all he cared, but before he could Fin replied, "Yeah man, head upstairs and there is a little lounge area. Park it there and when Liv gets here we'll tell her you're up there."

"Thanks," Mark replied as he turned and headed up the stairs towards the area Fin was pointing. He had easily caught the hostile look in Olivia's partner's eyes, and had sensed the tension throughout the room. He figured that Stabler was either a past boyfriend, or a hopeful one and his sudden appearance had not been welcomed. Either way it didn't matter to Mark. He was here to see Olivia, and if she wasn't too mad at him he hoped to see her a hell of a lot more.

When he was gone Elliot faced his colleagues and said, "I don't like him."

Fin gave an inelegant snort while continuing to work on some DD5's and scoffed, "Figures."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Elliot demanded.

Before a fight could break out, Cragen barked, "Back to work detectives. I want everyone's reports and DD5's done before we leave today. If any of you are hoping to enjoy your weekends you'd best get them done. Olivia is the only one caught up on her work right now."

Don had of course seen the whole thing from his office. Heard it too since his door was open, and he was just as curious as everyone else about the stranger. He had enough trust in Liv to know if she knew this guy and they were together he wouldn't be bad news. Don was also determined not to let Elliot ruin this for Olivia if she was dating the guy. Everyone in the squad knew how poorly Elliot had been treating his partner for the past few years, and it was getting old fast. In Cragen's mind this maybe relationship couldn't have come at a better time. He could see that Liv was fading. Pieces of her were dying, and her partner was doing nothing to stop it. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Elliot and Olivia were soul mates. A connection like theirs was rare, and Don felt it a shame that Elliot had walked away from it to return to a dying marriage and a role he could never truly fit into, but it had been his choice. Because of that Cragen was determined to do all he could to keep Elliot from getting between Liv and whatever happiness she could grab for herself this time around. He'd partner the man with someone else if he had to, but he was no longer going to let Elliot give Liv just enough of himself to give her hope that there could be more, only to jerk back as soon as any "competition" was gone. Not this time.

The next two hours passed slowly. Elliot would occasionally glance upstairs with an angry look on his face, but the one time he'd tried to go to the lounge to speak to Mark, Cragen had come out of his office and demanded he go to the ME's office to pick up a report. It was a bullshit errand and everyone knew it, but Elliot had taken one look in his Captain's stone faced expression and decided it wouldn't be a good idea to argue. So he'd gone. Since then he's been content to simply glare up at the lounge from time to time, release an angry sigh, and then get back to work. He'd come to the conclusion that Liv had to be involved with this guy. No man was going to sit in a crowded police station for two hours for a friend. It angered him that Liv was seeing someone and hadn't told him. He thought they'd agreed she wouldn't pull crap like that after the whole thing with Kurt Moss, and yet here she was doing it again. So yeah, he was mad, and in his own head he could admit he was jealous.

He knew he had no right to be jealous. He had chosen to walk away from Olivia and the chance of a life together as more than partners when he'd gone back to Kathy. He'd tried his best to help her move on by cutting her out of as much of his life as possible, though he hadn't been able to give up being her partner. He wasn't an idiot. He knew that Olivia loved him every bit as much as he loved her, but he'd had no other choice. He'd done the good Catholic thing and gone home, and if she was going to be happy she had to get over him. So he'd been a prick to her. Problem was he didn't truly want her to get over him. He couldn't stand the thought of her with anyone but him, and he knew that made him a real bastard since he went home to a wife and kids every night and had something besides the job. He knew he was a hypocrite and a bad friend, but he couldn't help it. His heart beat hard and strong for Olivia Benson, and it always would. Because of that he couldn't stand to see her look at anyone but him, even if he wasn't free to look back.

He was just about to try and go upstairs again when Olivia walked through the door. She looked tired, but then again she always looked tired these days. Along with Cragen and everyone else he knew that Olivia was fading, but he wasn't sure how to help her. Every time he tried to start a conversation she'd brush him off and say, "I'm fine." She wasn't, he knew that, but there was nothing he could do. He'd been the one to set the new precedent between them that they didn't talk about things, and it was breaking them both. He was terrified that she was nearing the edge, but the distance he'd forced between them since going back to Kathy kept him from judging how close she was to losing it. He knew that a lot of bad things had happened to Olivia in the past few years, and he hadn't been there for any of them. He only hoped she was getting help from somewhere.

Olivia saw all eyes turn to her when she walked into the room. She could see the curiosity on everyone's faces and figured they wanted to know how the trial went. "They're still deliberating. Alex thinks it could be a couple of days before a verdict comes in." When everyone continued to look at her she asked, "What?"

Munch smirked and replied, "You've got a visitor."

Before Olivia could reply Mark's voice reached them. "How ya doing Twigs?"

Everyone watched as Olivia's eyes went wide. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights and her whole body stiffened. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she turned around and looked up. Mark was leaning against the banister with a smile on his face as she whispered, "Mark?" Her voice was breathless and full of wonder.

Mark's smile widened. "I'm back, Livvy."

There was silence in the squad room. Munch and Fin kept look back and forth between a clearly shocked Olivia, and a happy Mark. Elliot looked solely at Olivia. From her reaction to Mark's presence he determined that they couldn't be dating because she'd looked as though she'd seen a ghost, but obviously this Mark was someone she knew very well to have such an effect on her. He didn't like that anymore than the thought she might be dating someone. Cragen stood in the doorway of his office watching the scene unfold. Mark was staring down at Olivia from the lounge upstairs, and she was gaping up at him. Neither had said a word more, and he wondered what was between them.

Suddenly the stillness was broken as Olivia sprang into action. She ran up the stairs as Mark moved to meet her and the two grabbed hold of one another in a tight embrace. Hugging each other so tight it looked painful. Behind them were four very stunned men. Olivia was not an overly affectionate person. Outside of victims she rarely engaged in physical contact with people in public. She just didn't like public displays. So it was quite the shock to the four men in her life that she had reacted like a school girl and launched herself into Mark's arms.

Elliot felt like his head was going to explode. He'd never seen Liv react like that to anyone. Even when he'd hugged her in that hospital a little over two years ago she'd stood stiff and unmoving in his arms. Never had he felt her arms wrapped around him, and his jealousy was soaring. He could feel the pen in his hand threatening to snap in two as he glared up at the sight of Olivia and Mark. They weren't talking. They weren't moving. They were simply hugging each other. Hugging each other as though if they let go one or both might disappear. 'Who the fuck is this guy? How the hell does he know Liv?'

Olivia hugged Mark for a few moments before pulling back and whispering, "I'm going to tell my Captain I'm leaving for the day. Don't move."

Smirking, Mark replied, "Been waiting for hours. Would have waited all day, Twigs. I'm back for good."

Olivia smiled at that. She turned and headed down the stairs back into the bullpen and pointedly ignored Elliot's demanding gaze. She couldn't focus on him right now. She walked right up to Cragen and asked, "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

Cragen nodded his head and stepped back to allow Olivia into his office. When she was seated he shut the door and moved behind his desk as he asked, "Going to tell me who he is?"

A soft smile adorning her face, Liv replied, "A friend. A really good friend. We were inseparable during high school, and all through college. I haven't seen him in over 15 years. So … I … well since I finished all my work yesterday, I was wondering if I could go ahead and go?"

"That good a friend, huh?"

"Definitely."

"Liv, you have more vacation stored up than anyone. You take as long as you need. We'll all be here when you get back."

Beaming, Liv stood and said, "Thanks Cap."

As Olivia headed for the door, Cragen took a chance. "And Liv?" When she turned back to face him he offered softly, "If this guy is someone that can keep the shadows back, if he's someone that gets your head out of the cases and your own troubles, don't hold back. Don't hold back, and don't let Elliot get in your way. You need something, Liv. I don't know him, but that was quite the reaction out there. I haven't seen you smile like that in years. So if he can keep you smiling don't let anything stop you from holding on. Not yourself, and not Elliot."

Olivia was silent a moment before nodding her head. "Thanks Don." She turned and headed out of the office. Mark was standing beside her desk, and she said, "Just let me shut my computer down and grab my things and we can go."

"Sure thing, Twigs."

Elliot felt his rage about to boil over. Olivia never left early. Olivia never left work unless someone made her, and to see her drop everything to spend time with this Mark character blew his mind. His knuckles were white he was clenching his fists so tightly. He kept glaring at Olivia, willing her to talk to him, but she purposefully avoided his gaze. He wanted to ask her who the hell Mark was. He wanted to know how she knew him. He wanted to know why it was ok for her to hug Mark and not him.

Fin watched as Liv powered down her computer and headed for her locker to get her things and asked Mark, "Why you call her Twigs?"

Shrugging, Mark replied, "Old nickname. She's certainly called me worse."

"Care to share how "Twigs" originated?," Munch pressed?

Smirking, Mark answered, "In high school she was rail thin until around junior year, and since her name means "olive tree" Twigs just seemed to fit."

"Sharing my secrets, Mark?" Olivia asked as she rejoined them. She had gotten her bag and keys from her locker.

Serious now, Mark held Olivia's gaze and responded, "Never, Livvy. I'd never share your secrets."

Again everyone watched as the two shared a look. It was obvious that Olivia and Mark could speak without words, and Elliot felt his heart beating painfully in his chest. He used to be able to do that with her. Had been able to until he cut her out of his life. He'd been the one to stop communicating with her, and eventually she stopped trying. Now it killed him to see her do it with someone else.

"Bye guys. See you Monday," Liv said as she led Mark out of the squad room.

When they were gone Much remarked, "Good looking guy. Must know each other pretty well. I've never seen Liv react like that before."

"Yeah man. You see that smile? I ain't seen Liv smile like that in years," Fin agreed.

Elliot's rage was burning through his body. "How about we all get back to work? Not all of us are interested in shirking our responsibilities to go have a good time."

Rolling his eyes at Elliot's obvious jealousy, Fin replied, "Liv works harder than anyone here, Stabler. Cap let her go since she finished all her paperwork yesterday while the rest of us are a week behind. Don't go badmouthing her just because you're jealous."

Elliot shot out of his seat and stood with his fists clenched, "What are you trying to say?"

Before a fight could break out, Cragen intervened. "Fin, Warner needs to see you and Munch. Head over there. Stabler, get back to work. You're further behind than anyone else."

Elliot glared at Fin while the other detective and his partner grabbed their coats and headed out of the bullpen. Sitting back down he thought, 'Who the hell was that guy? How did he make Liv smile like that just by showing up? Why can't she smile like that for me anymore? I used to be able to talk to her with my eyes and make her smile with only a glance.'

…

…

Outside the station house Liv and Mark were walking. Both had agreed to walk to a restaurant instead of taking a cab so they could talk. It had been a long time since they'd last had contact, and even longer since they'd actually seen each other. Both had so much to say to the other.

"I've missed you, Twigs."

"Yeah, me too. Been a long time."

"Too long."

They were walking in sync. Shoulder to shoulder, and Live marveled at how easy it was for them to fall back into their old routine. "How's Cindy?" She saw Mark stiffen beside her and stopped to face him. "Mark?"

Tears filling his eyes Mark whispered, "She died … five years ago."

"Oh Mark … I … I'm sorry."

When Liv moved to hug him on the crowded street, uncaring of the people around them, he returned her embrace and whispered in her ear, "She got a brain tumor. By the time we realized something was wrong it was too late. There was nothing they could do. We found out about it and three months later she was gone."

Holding him tighter, Olivia said, "You should have called sooner. I would have come. You know that, Mark."

"I know."

They held each other for a few more moments before continuing on to one of Liv's favorite restaurants. Once they were seated and had given their orders Liv asked, "So how are?"

"Better now. After she … when she … the first two years were the worst. I started drinking. Heavily."

Olivia's eyes filled with sympathy. They both had a history with alcohol, and she knew how bad he had to have been to have taken up drinking. "You should have called."

"I thought about it, but I didn't know if you would want to see me."

"I was mad you left, Mark, but what we have is beyond that. We're—"

"The same," he finished for her.

"Yeah."

The silence fell over them. As they looked into each other's eyes a thousand memories came back to them. Painful childhoods, abuse, suffering, betrayal, loneliness, friendship, need, all of it. All if it came rushing back and they were kids again. Kids that had survived the hells of their youths through sheer force of will and the strength they took from each other. Olivia had grown up in a home with an abusive alcoholic mother that despised her for being born, blamed her for her father's mistakes. Mark had grown up in a home with a pedophile father that took to beating him as well as raping as he got older. Both were deeply wounded people that had found solace and comfort in each other. They'd met freshman year of high school and been inseparable until college graduation almost 17 years ago. She'd gone straight into the academy, and he'd left to travel the world as a photojournalist. They'd tried to keep in touch when he'd gone, but since most of the places he'd gone were less than developed with no true mail or phone systems that hadn't worked out very well. He'd contacted her about 11 years ago and told her he was getting married, and she'd been happy for him. Three days later she'd joined the SVU, and that was the last time they'd spoken

The silence stretched between them for a moment before Mark asked, "Are you seeing anyone?"

Olivia wanted to laugh. Seeing anyone? She saw the love of her life almost every day. Practically lived with him. Worked side by side with him, ate meals with him, fought and had nearly died with him … but he was not hers and he would never be. With anyone else she would be closed and guarded. Hiding her weaknesses and shielding herself, but with Mark it was different. There had never been boundaries between them. She had held him in her arms as he cried after being raped by his father. He had rocked her gently when she sobbed about her mother's hate and disdain for her, as she worried that there was evil inside her from her father's side. For them? There were no boundaries. "I'm single … have been pretty much since you left. Brief relationships here and there, but nothing lasting longer than a few months. I'm in love with a man that I can never have."

"Your partner?"

Olivia smiled sadly. "Never could hide anything from you, could I?"

"We never tried to hide anything from one another … so tell me about him. He acted pretty jealous, and from the way he was looking at you I'm guessing the feelings aren't one sided. So why aren't you with him?"

She told him. She told him everything. For three hours they talked. She told him about her complicated and messy relationship with Elliot, the tough cases that had threatened to break her, Sealview, Lauren Cooper, and Kathy getting pregnant. She told him about being turned down for adoption and about the PTSD. He talked too. He told her about his travels, his life with Cindy, the horrible things they'd seen in the third world countries they'd traveled to, the many close calls they'd had with militants and violent mobs, and he told her about Cindy's death. He told her about the two years he'd spent in the bottle and how he'd attempted suicide. For three hours they bared their souls. They both cried at points, but since they'd made sure to grab a corner booth in the back they had privacy for the most part. For three hours they talked as though they'd never been separated, and by the time they were done they both felt like loads had been lifted from their shoulders. When they were done Mark reached across the table to take her hand and asked, "Do you remember our promise?"

How could she forget? They'd promised that day at the airport, the day he'd gotten on the plane and left her life, that they would never be alone. They had both spent their childhoods alone and afraid. Living in isolation with parents that abused them. Both feared being alone with their pain more than anything else. They'd sworn to each other that day that if they were both single and alone when they were 40 they'd find each other and get married. They'd both understood what that promise meant. It meant that they would be settling. They'd be accepting the fact they couldn't be truly happy, so would settle for being with someone that at the very least could bring them comfort. They'd known it then, and looking into each other's eyes they knew it now.

They didn't have passion. They didn't have true love or a burning desire for one another, but they did have comfort and understanding. They'd slept together a grand total of four times when they were younger. Four times during almost 9 years of friendship. Each time had always been about comforting the other, and easing their loneliness and pain. They understood each other in ways no one else ever would. They understood what it meant to hate yourself. To feel filthy, and beyond redemption or hope. They both understood what it was to be a special victim. Olivia had been the one to help Mark get away from his father and never look back when he was 17. Helping him file for emancipation and helping him get a job at her Mother's university to support himself. She'd been the one to help him find acceptance with himself so he could move on in life. She'd been the one to make him understand that what his father did to him didn't make him any less a man. Mark had been the one she'd ran to when her mom got drunk and started in on Olivia for daring to be born. Mark had been the one to show her that just because she was a product of rape didn't mean she couldn't be a good person. Didn't mean she wasn't her own person. Together they'd learned to be ok with themselves, and from the strength of their friendship had come a mutual understanding.

Looking deep into Mark's eyes she asked, "You want to get married?"

Tightening his hand around hers, Mark said, "I don't want to be alone. When I'm alone all I have is my demons. When I'm alone I can't focus on anything good. All I can see or remember is the bad. I need someone to keep the darkness away, and I'm hoping you still need that too. I want whatever you'll give me, Livvy."

A tear slipping down her cheek, Olivia whispered, "You know I haven't let anyone call me Livvy since you left. Made sure they didn't. I'm always Liv."

"To others, but you'll always be my Livvy. Just like I'll always be your Clark."

Smiling, Olivia laughed, "My very own Clark Kent. Superman. We were such dorks."

"Dorks that did what we had to in order to survive."

Another silence fell over them before Olivia whispered, "I don't know what's left of me to give, Mark. I … I'm broken now. Life has broken me. I've been existing for the past three years. Not living, just existing. Honestly I've been taking more and more risks at work hoping that …."

She didn't need to say anymore. He knew what she meant. She was hoping the life she led would finish her off. She had been hoping to die in the line of duty because retirement terrified her. If she retired she would truly be alone with no one and nothing to turn to. Stroking his thumb over her hand he offered, "We always did a good job of gluing each other back together. We're both down, Twigs, we're both hurting. We both have nothing else, and I came here to make good on a promise I made almost 20 years ago. I'm here hoping to find some happiness in life. I don't want to live the rest of my life alone and in pain. We don't love each other like a man and wife should. We don't look at each other with lust. We will never be a happily married couple. What we do have is the ability to make each other feel better. I wasn't sure if it would still be like that between us, but from the moment I saw you at the precinct I've been reassured that we still have the same connection. We have the same ability to make the hurt lessen. We can still talk like we used to. We can have something together, Livvy. Not something great and spectacular, but something worth having nonetheless."

Seeing the indecision in her eyes he continued, "We've got nothing else, Twigs. I debated about coming here. I argued with myself about tracking you down for the past year. I weighed the pros and cons, and I finally decided that I've got nothing else to lose. I lost the love of my life. Cindy is gone and I'll never love another like I loved her. You love Elliot, but it sounds like he'll never be yours. Neither of us can have what we truly want, what would make us truly happy, but we can have this. We can have each other."

"This is really sudden, Mark. I haven't seen you in almost 20 years, and here you are proposing marriage."

"I'm proposing we try and build something together. If you don't want to get married that's fine. We don't have to, but I don't want to be alone. I don't want to go to bed alone each night. I don't want to wake up to an empty house. I don't want to spend every day for the rest of my life alone. I don't want to spend every holiday with only myself as company. We don't have true love, Livvy, but we do have love. We might never be truly happy, but we can be content together. That's something. I know this is sudden, but I can't be alone anymore. It's killing me. So here I am."

She thought about it. She thought about how lonely and desperate she had been feeling. She thought about how she worked more and more to avoid having to go home to her apartment. Her apartment where the walls closed in on her and the silence was deafening. Where every second dragged by like an eternity, and the only thing she had to occupy her mind were the cases, her losses, and her regrets. She thought about what it would be like to come home and someone be there. She thought about what it would be like to have someone to hold at night. Someone to wake up and share breakfast with on weekends. Someone to spend the holidays with for once instead of volunteering to work so she wouldn't have to sit home and be depressed on those days. She thought it might be nice, but Mark didn't understand her job or its hours.

"I might not be there as many nights or mornings as you think. My job has odd hours and sometimes I'm at the precinct for days at a time during tough cases."

"It will be enough for me to know you're coming back. That the time alone will only be for awhile, and that I'll see you again."

Olivia fell silent again before whispering, "I want children. I was thinking of looking into artificial insemination."

"I would like children. I think children would be great. Cindy couldn't have kids. That's the only reason I don't have any."

"I don't want to get married right now. I'm not saying I don't want to some day, but not now. And if we have children I want some type of legal document giving us both custody and one that specifies that you can't try to take custody from me based on my job or its hours."

"Livvy, I would never—"

"I have to have it, Mark. I've seen too many people get into custody battles when things go bad between them. I have to have the security of it."

Nodding his head, Mark replied, "I can understand that. I doubt things will ever go bad between us, but if you want it you can have it. Are you on the pill?"

Shaking her head she replied, "No. I went off it two years ago. I saw my doctor about my options of getting pregnant and she said if I was serious about it I needed to get off the pill as soon as possible to increase my chances. I've been using condoms since then, though I really haven't had a chance to use them much either."

"That's good, about the pill I mean."

They fell silent again before Olivia started laughing. "I can't believe we're sitting here and talking about this. I mean we haven't seen each other in almost two decades, you show up today out of the blue, we tell each other our deepest darkest secrets, and now here we are agreeing to start a life together. I … I just can't believe this."

Smiling, Mark replied, "Great minds think alike."

"How can you be sure this is a good idea? How can you know this won't blow up in our faces?"

"Look at it this way, what have we got to lose?"

He had a point. A very good point. Olivia had been thinking about what her life had become and where it was going for some time. She had been looking into artificial insemination, and wondering if it was time to go for it or give up on her dream of having a baby. She had become disgusted with what her life had been reduced to, and stuck in a rut. So maybe this was her chance. Her chance to take some happiness for herself.

She rolled it around in her mind for a moment and then said, "I don't want to quit SVU."

"I don't want you to. You know how much people like you mean to me. SVU is your life, and in a way I feel like every case you solve is a blow against my father. I'm grateful you're out there fighting for victims like you are."

"It could be hard having a baby and me working where I do. The hours and all."

Mark shrugged. "You'll get maternity leave and if I know you, you probably have plenty of vacation stored up. We'll work it out, and after you go back to work I can be a stay at home dad."

"Really? You aren't going to find a job here?"

"Already have. Hudson is going to take me on as a part time professor. I'll work Tuesday's and Thursdays teaching photojournalism. I have the rest of the time off, and besides I don't really need the money to begin with. While I worked for CNN, National Geographic, and various other employers, they paid for all my expenses while traveling. And since I worked almost nonstop my paychecks were pretty much banked. Never bought a house or anything like that. After Cindy died I got a pretty big insurance settlement and lived in an efficiency in London for awhile, so I've barely touched any of my funds."

"So you're loaded?"

"Big time. I can afford to quit Hudson if I need to, but I'd like to try working part time and hiring a nanny/housekeeper to start with … we can make this work, Liv."

Shaking her head, Liv insisted, "This is happening too fast."

Holding her gaze, Mark asked, "Can you really afford to wait?"

They looked into each other's eyes for long moments. He was right. If she was serious about wanting a baby, she really didn't have time to wait. Finally Olivia reached for Mark's hand and answered, "No. Let's do it."