Olivia stared out the window watching the quiet street getting blanketed by the slow falling snow; she wrapped her hands tighter around the cup of tea in her hands and let out a content sigh thinking back to the joyous discovery she had made earlier in the night.

Olivia looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap, her legs shaking as she sat patiently on the edge of the bathtub, this was the longest three minutes of her life. 'This is stupid' is all she kept thinking to herself, 'there's no way I'm pregnant.' Olivia closed her eyes and said a silent prayer to a God she didn't know she believed in.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the timer on her phone rang, she stood up and walked to the sink and peered at the little plastic stick and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in. Pregnant.

A plethora of emotion overtook her body; she wasn't sure how to react. There was nothing she wanted more in life than to be a mother and now that it was finally happening for her, she was terrified. She knew the risks associated with pregnancy after you've entered your 40s, the risk of miscarriage, the array of abnormalities that this baby could face the high likelihood of stillbirth but at this moment, none of that mattered. Tears rushed from her eyes as she looked down at her mostly flat stomach "Hi in there, I'm your mommy and I love so much' she spoke quietly through her tears.

Olivia placed her cup on the coffee table as she took a seat on the couch; she looked at her watch and rolled her eyes, 9:07pm. I need to tell him, he needs to know she thought to herself as she ran both her hands over her face and through her short hair before grabbing her cell phone and dialing the familiar number

"Brian…Hi…Bri, everything's fine, I was just wondering if you were going to make it home tonight…Oh, okay…no, it's fine, I get it… Bye" Olivia hung up the phone as tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't say she was surprised, of course he wasn't sure if he'd be home, he's never sure anymore. Olivia's thoughts went straight to her unborn baby, their baby. How am I supposed to do this if he's never home? Her thoughts were racing, she had so many questions. Was she ready to have with a baby? Were they ready?

Olivia sat in the living room for another hour before turning off the TV, she waited as long as she could for Brian but exhaustion had taken over her body and she quietly headed into the empty bedroom. She pulled off the sweater she had been wearing and quickly threw on one of Brian's t-shirts before crawling into her spot on the empty bed.

She lay awake staring at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity, her mind never straying far from the life that was growing inside her. She placed a hand on her stomach as she looked at the empty spot beside her on the bed, she missed him. She missed the way he kissed her when she got home from work, the nights they'd fall asleep wrapped in each other's arms after making love, the way she'd wake up with her arms wrapped securely around her waist. By now fresh tears had formed in her eyes and Olivia didn't fight it, she let the tears fall freely down her cheeks.

Brian gazed quickly at his watch before unlocking the door to their apartment, 11:48pm, he yawned slightly before entering the dark apartment. He tossed his keys on the table in their entranceway and haphazardly threw his jacket over the back of the sofa before grabbing a bottle of water and taking a long swing of it. Brian turned off the lights in the hallway and kitchen and turned toward the bedroom, he was absolutely exhausted, Tucker had him working non-stop since he started and he wanted nothing more than to get into bed and hold his girlfriend.

Brian opened the door and was shocked to see his girlfriend awake, he smiled at her before he headed toward her and placing a soft kiss on her forehead. That's when he noticed it, her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were stained from tears, there was a pain in her eyes that he had never seen before, he panicked, had her nightmares returned? Was she overwhelmed with work?

"Liv? What's wrong, Baby?"

"Nothing, Bri…Nothing's wrong…" her reply was quiet but it wasn't entirely false, she knew she needed to tell him, but she was scared of how he'd react

"You were crying, Liv. Something happened, what's going on? Talk to me" Typically he wouldn't probe, she'd say she was fine and he'd leave it but there was something in her eyes that made Brian worry, she needed to talk about whatever she was holding in and he wanted her to trust him with her thoughts.

Olivia sat up in the bed and she reached over to the night table as she switched on the lamp. She patted the spot beside her signaling for Brian to sit, he obliged and she look his hands into hers as she took a deep breath, "Bri, I'm pregnant."

Brian's eyes lit up as soon as those three words escaped his girlfriend's lips "pregnant? You mean…we're gonna have a baby?"

"yeah…"

Brian was taken aback by the nonchalance in Olivia's voice, why didn't she seem happy? They had spoken at lengths about both of their desire to have a family and now that they can have it she seemed detached.

"Do you think we're ready?" Olivia's voice was barely audible as tears spilled down her cheeks "you're never here Bri, and when you do finally come home, you come in and go straight to sleep; this is the most time we've spent together in weeks. I'm here every night, Brian. Every night I come home to our empty apartment, I go to sleep in our empty bed and wake up every morning in that empty bed. Half the time I don't know whether you've been home or not. I can't do this like that; I can't do this alone…"

Brian felt his heart a little at his girlfriend's last comment, he knew he hadn't been around as much as he would've liked but was he really around so little that she would think she has to do this alone? "Hey, Liv, look at me, Babe. We are ready for this. You are going to be an incredible mother and me? I'll do my best not to screw this kid up" he couldn't help but chuckle, he was terrified but he had never been happier in his life. "I know I haven't been around much but I promise I'll do everything I can to change that. I'm going to be here for you and for our baby; I need to you trust me about that. Can you do that for me, Babe?"

"Bri, I do trust you. I trust you with my life, its Tucker I don't trust."

"Believe it or not, he's not as horrible as you think, I'm sure he'll ease up on me when he finds out you're pregnant" Brian smiled as he took his girlfriend's hand in his, gently raising her knuckles to plant soft kisses on them "I love you so much, Olivia." He let go of his girlfriend's hands as he moved his head to her abdomen "and I love you too, Baby Benson-Cassidy. You're going to be so spoiled, you're already so loved."

"Cassidy."

Brian looked at his girlfriend with confusion written across his face, but before he could say anything she finished her thought, "Baby Cassidy" she said as a smile spread across her face. Brian's face lit up with the boyish grin she loved before he pulled her into a passionate kiss.

"I've missed you" was all Olivia could say when they broke their kiss, her forehead still pressed against Brian's.

"I've missed you too, Sunshine."

"As much as I would love to celebrate our news, I have an appointment at the OBGYN tomorrow morning. We should get some sleep."

"What time is the appointment?"

"9:30, you don't have to come, it's your first Saturday off in week, Bri"

"I'll be there, Liv. Nothing is going to keep me from being there for you and your baby"

"I love you, Brian."

"I love you too, Baby."

Brian placed a gentle kiss on Olivia's cheek as he got up and changed out of his suit and into a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt before climbing into bed beside his girlfriend. He placed a few soft kisses in her hair before he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him as he tenderly rubbed his hand along her stomach before they both fell into a peaceful slumber.