If the writers won't give us a Bensidy baby, I'll just have to make one. There have been a lot of sad/dramatic/depressing elements brought into play during this season, and I thought it'd be nice just to take a break and feel good again. :) hope you enjoy it

Olivia held two mugs of hot coco in her hands as she left the kitchen in the dark apartment. The only light illuminating the space was sparkling from the living room, a Christmas tree. Her steps were slow as she made her way to the man lounging on the couch. He looked up when he heard her speak.

"Here you go." Brian sat up, making room for his love to join him.

She held her mug gently as she put a hand to her protruding stomach and took a seat. They shared a lovely glance before Brian put his coco in the air a little.

"To us. The last Christmas with just us two. Next year we'll have three." He used his other hand to caress Olivia's pregnant belly softly.

She smiled at him. "To us. All three." She whispered.

Their mugs clinked, and Olivia placed her free hand on Brian's, her lips capturing his in a passionate kiss. He smiled at her when she pulled her head away. Both sipped the liquid chocolate as Olivia leaned on brian, her legs beside her on the couch.

"It's so perfect." Her words escaped easily as the lights of the tree glistened off the flakes of snow that fell beyond the window.

"Bri?"

He sighed happily. "Yeah?"

"Do you think I'm ready – to be a mom?" Olivia placed her mug on the coffee table as he did.

"Liv, you were ready when I first met you fourteen years ago." He moved on the couch so she could lie down, resting over his legs, her head on his chest.

"And what about you?" She moved her thumbs around beneath his hands on her stomach.

"I don't have to be ready for motherhood." He joked, earning a beautiful laugh from Olivia.

"But I'm ready for my duty as a father." Brian finished, a smile still gracing his face.

Olivia breathed deeply. "And in a month, he or she will be here." She grinned a little.

"A month." Brian repeated to himself, not yet grasping it.

The small kick beneath both of their hands had them chuckling.

"Merry Christmas, Baby." Brian kissed the side of Olivia's head after he said it.

Olivia spoke next. "Which one?"

He asked with a grin. "Both of you."

She turned her head and kissed him again.

"I love you." He whispered as he held her gaze.

"I love you too." The serene peace in her heart was unlike any she'd ever felt before.

The ornaments reflected sparkles of steadily lit lights on the tree. The pictures joining them had been a surprise. Olivia had come home to find Brian admiring his own work, fixing the last of the ultrasound pictures on an artificial branch. Now the shiny photos had her smiling as Brian moved his hands to rest beneath her own.

He moved them, his gentleness something she'd only seen appear in the last eleven months. The baby's kick against his hand let them both know they were already spending their first Christmas together – as a family. Olivia's tears, often coming unannounced without rhyme or reason, spilled again. When she breathed in quickly, Brian knew her tears were evident.

"So do we get to open a gift tonight?" He kissed her softly.

Olivia closed her eyes in pure contentment, bliss.

"Yeah. Sure." She smiled.

"Alright."

She leaned up, allowing him to stand and bend down to beneath the tree where wrapped treasures gleamed. She scooted herself to the arm rest, propping herself up as she watched the love of her life search. Only one glance down to where she rested her hands had her heart swelling again.

A baby. Their child was just out of reach.

Brian took the package he had found, small in size, and handed it to her. Olivia pointed to the gifts.

"Grab the one on top of the gold one there." She held the present he'd given her atop her child.

Brian did what she had said and sat back down, lifting her feet to set them in his lap.

"You first." He smiled at her.

Olivia smiled back, already beginning to unwrap the gift. The box was dark blue in color, light as air itself. She slid it open as Brian watched with pride.

"Oh my god." Olivia felt the tears begin again as she put a finger on the item within.

The gold necklace within was a dazzling infinity symbol. Brian made his promise to her right then and there. Forever. That's how long he planned to stay.

Small diamonds sparkled in the curves of the design.

"Brian. It's so beautiful." She looked up at him tearfully.

His smiled grew as he leaned in to kiss her again.

"Merry Christmas, Liv." He said.

She let herself admire it only a moment longer before nodding to him.

"Now you." She grinned.

He picked gently at the wrapping of the small box in his hands. Olivia hooked her necklace behind her neck before she put both hands back on her stomach. Brian pulled out the box beneath the wrapping paper and threw the torn shreds to the ground.

"You forget the present?" He joked with her, the box weighing nothing in his hands.

"I don't think so." She chuckled a little. She knew he didn't care whether it was a little girl or boy she carried, and Olivia had told him she didn't want to know the sex of the baby. But at the last doctor's appointment, the one Brian couldn't be at, she'd changed her mind. He didn't know.

Brian pulled the lid off the box and stared in joyous disbelief at the simple pink square piece of paper, words written in her handwriting on the surface.

Now there'll be two ladies in your life. Hopefully this little one turns out better than I did. You poor guy.

Brian looked up, one or more rare tears in his own eyes as he held the paper. Olivia smiled so wide it hurt her cheeks. He did the same, laughing a little as he took her into a hug.

"It's a girl." He whispered more to himself than to Olivia.

She nodded against him. "Yeah. She is."

Brian had his knees on the floor, kneeling down after breaking the hug. He spoke with his hands over where his daughter was.

"Hey, Honey. I don't think I can wait any longer for you to get here."

Olivia smiled lovingly. She never thought she could possess such love for one man, yet there she was. Brian kissed Olivia's growing belly gingerly, dropping his voice to a near-whisper.

"So finish cooking so we can meet you." Another soft kiss.

Brian could swear he felt the second heart within Olivia, and it absolutely amazed him. A tiny human, his child that held a piece of both him and Olivia, was just centimeters from him.

"Hey Daddio." Olivia was almost whispering.

He met her eyes. "Yeah, Momma?" Brian mentally saved the precious smile she offered. He took her hand and kissed it, still on his knees by the couch.

"You promised me something." She spoke again after pausing. Her heart almost hurt with the huge amount of love and happiness she felt.

Brian shuffled to the armrest where she sat up.

"And what did I promise?" He responded.

Olivia brought her face to his and shared her love with him through a quick kiss.

"Cookies." She whispered it right in his ear.

Brian let a laugh escape. He stood up, taking the pink sheet of paper to the tree and tucking it between branches so it sat among the other ornaments. Olivia watched him head back into the kitchen to get her the sweets that would satisfy her craving.

She took the opportunity to get to her feet and admire the tree. There, hanging at eye-level was a beautiful and equally humorous photo: one of her favorites. The photo in the left half of the ornament was taken in 2000, Brian with an arm around Olivia, both smiling at the camera. The second photo – taken when Olivia was two months pregnant – had Brian seated on her desk chair, Olivia on his lap, wide smiles on both of their faces.

She felt a soft kick in her side, and she placed her hand where her daughter's foot was resting. She showed her smile again, something she'd only gotten back a year before.

Brian watched her from the kitchen with pride. She glowed with the lights of the tree, her sweater stretching to accommodate their child. Her hair fell easily down on her shoulders, cascading down her back.

He turned to take the freshly-baked cookies from the cooling rack and put them each on a heaping plate. When he had gathered enough, he stepped into the living room again.

"That smells amazing." Olivia reached for a goodie, biting into a cookie.

"She's got a sweet-tooth, huh?" Brian took his own.

She chewed slowly. "You should know that by now."

They smiled broadly at each other.

"Well by now I've learned how to bake like an expert. Maybe I'll write a book." He held a napkin along with his cookie in his hand as he spoke teasingly.

Olivia finished her cookie as he did his.

"God, even in socks I can feel my feet swelling." She looked down.

Brian took her hand, "Take a seat, Momma."

He sat down on the couch beside her, pushing his feet onto the coffee table after she did. She leaned into him as her fingers drew shapes on his hands.

"I can't wait to hold her." She whispered.

Brian kissed her head. "Neither can I."

He turned his gaze on the Christmas tree. "I never would have thought I'd be a dad."

Brian couldn't keep his honesty in. "I wouldn't have wanted to do it – parenthood – with anyone else."

Olivia sighed, "Me either." She looked up at him.

"It's about damn time I did something good in my life." He smiled as he spoke to her.

"Brian." She shook her head happily. "You're going to be such a good dad."

"But you'll be getting up in the middle of the night with her, right?" Brian suggested hopefully.

Olivia laughed. "I've been up with her in the middle of the night for eight months. You get the next nine months – at least." She smiled.

It was unbelievable she was even able to speak about having a child. She was finally going to have a family.

"Alright. I guess I owe you that much." He chuckled at her, placing his hand back over their child. He never wanted to get too far away.

"Who's this little girl gonna be?" He was so amazed. He'd shared one heart with Olivia for the past yhear, and now there was a tiny person, a child with one heart, both his and Liv's.

"I think our little one conked out." She said softly.

"She's gotta sleep. Kicking you all day is hard work."

Olivia smiled at his words. "Merry Christmas, Papa Cassidy." She was inches from his face as she looked up.

"Merry Christmas, Momma Benson." They smiled at each other in pure bliss before kissing.

Then Olivia felt that anxiety creeping into her veins again as she moved her hands over her stomach, looking down. "I hope she gets here ok."

The doctors had warned of difficult deliveries, complications during birth. They hoped they'd luck out. With some of the problems Olivia had had during the pregnancy, both she and Brian were nervous for the moment they went to the hospital to deliver their daughter.

"She will." Brian pressed his cheek to hers comfortingly.

Olivia leaned against him as they listened to soft Christmas music, watching the lights of the tree as the snow fell outside. Brian found her sleeping only a few minutes after they got comfortable on the couch. He gently stroked her hair a couple times before leaning back to take in the beauty of the life he had.