* So this took so much longer to get up than I would have liked. I had a serious case of writer's block and could just not decide where to go with the characters, but I think I have it figured out now and I'll make sure to get posting more regularly. So here is a new chapter for you all! *

A multitude of noises filled the kitchen as breakfast was served and eaten in the Benson-Barba household. The kids and parents were rushing to make and finish the meal before Noah had to be at school, Olivia ad Rafael were due at work, and Lucy would be arriving at the apartment to watch Raegan.

"Nana, mama, nana." Raegan sat in her high chair next to her brother, who was contently eating his oatmeal.

Olivia grabbed a banana from the bowl on the counter and peeled away the yellow skin before handing it to your daughter. "There's you go, lovey."

The mom returned to where she had been waiting for the coffee to roast. The machine seemed to work in slow motion this morning, as she could hardly wait for the caffeine boost to help her wake up. The days had been long at SVU recently and she could feel all the extra hours weighing on her both physically and mentally. There hadn't been a morning in the last week that didn't consist of nausea and headaches from the lack of eating and sleeping accompanying all the extra precinct hours.

Rafael returned from the bedroom, his suit jacket now on. He watched his wife stare mindlessly at the coffee maker, looking slightly paler than normal. "Are you sure you're okay, Liv?"

She looked up at the sound of her name. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just need this coffee to come a little faster."

The man nodded, but felt like she was still holding back. But what else was he to expect, Liv would never admit to being down. He let her answer roll and instead turned his attention to his son who was hoping down from his chair at the table. Rafael grabbed the empty bowl from the table top. "Noah, let's go get your teeth brushed and then daddy will take you to school today."

"Daddy, I can brushes my teeth myself." The three, almost four year old, informed his dad as he skipped to the bathroom.

"We'll see about that one, mister." Rafael followed Noah.

Olivia, who had finally been able to pour herself a cup of coffee and drink half her cup in a single gulp, moved on to clean up her daughter. The little girl had finished her banana and cheerios, happily getting out of her high chair when her mom reached for her.

"Alright, missy, let's get you dressed for Lucy and then mama needs to get to work." Liv smiled at her daughter.

Rafael stopped in the doorway of the bedroom he shared with his wife, where Olivia was getting Raegan dressed. Noah rested on his hip, the little boy with his light-weight jacket on and his superhero backpack over his shoulders. "I'm going to get going. Do you think you'll still be able to make it this afternoon?"

Liv sighed, she had forgotten about that afternoon. Her and Rafael were supposed to meet with their realtor to look at a couple of places; they had decided that with two adults and two kids in the same household, they needed more room. "I totally forgot… But, yeah, I'll try my best to get out of the precinct."

"Okay, good. We're supposed to be there at four thirty." Rafael tried not to show that he knew Liv probably wouldn't end up making it.

She met him in the doorway. "I'll see you later then." She gave her husband a kiss and Noah one, as well. "Have a good day at school, Noah."

The father son pair walked towards the front door. "Bye No." Raegan said while she sat in her mother's arms.

"Aww, you saying bye to your brother?" The relationship that had blossomed between her son and daughter never ceased to amaze the mother.

An hour later, Olivia found herself in her office buried in paperwork. The cases seemed to be coming by the truck load, as if every pedophile in Manhattan had made a pact to reveal their shortcomings within the very same month. It in turn, was what was leading to the twelve and fourteen hour days that were taking a great toll on the whole team. If it wasn't for nearly truckloads of coffee and well to do over time checks, the sergeant was sure that she and the whole squad would have quit after the first week of the criminal chaos.

The phone rang, brining Olivia from her paperwork back to the reality of what was probably another case. "Sergeant Benson." She answered, knowing that it would be another load to her already growing one.

After finishing her conversation with the lieutenant of another precinct that had caught an SVU related case involving a wife's domestic violence accusations, Liv got up from her desk and went to her door, she opened it to see Nick sitting with a woman and Fin working with a father and daughter. "Rollins, Carisi, I have a DV vic and her husband down at Mercy, can you two take it?"

"Yep, we've got it serg." Although Amanda agreed to her new task immediately, it was obvious by the look on her face that she too was tired and not particularly ready for any additions to her workload.

Olivia watched both of the detectives leave the squad room before she returned to her desk. The next hour and a half seemed to pass by within just a few finished pieces of paperwork and two cups of coffee. However, as the time went, so did Liv's focus. She found herself falling into her morning ways, a headache invading her and a wave of nausea crashing hard inside of her. She decided maybe taking a break from the mountains of paperwork would maybe do her some good, but as soon as she opened her office door she knew she had thought wrong.

"Okay, let's get you a seat." Nick ushered a woman to his desk.

Amanda sat at her own desk with a young girl who seemed to be very upset. "Alright, alright, you have to calm down. I need you to try and calm down for me."

"Man, I don't have time for any games." Fin walked into the squad room holding his cuffs that were attached to a man yelling about not having done anything. "We caught you in the act; you aren't getting out of this."

And Carisi was running from desk to desk himself helping the packed squad room, doing what he could where he could to help the ensuing chaos.

Olivia could barely watch the scene without feeling sick to her stomach. Her head was spinning just like the room seemed to be. The noise of people talking, and some yelling, was becoming louder and louder as her head pounded harder and harder. She tried to focus on the scene, tried to find somewhere that she could be of help, but she just couldn't find the strength to do it.

Nick watched his sergeant from his desk; he could tell just by glancing at her that something was off. "Excuse me." He spoke to the woman he had just taken the statement from and got up from his desk. "Liv are you okay?"

Olivia looked at her former partner, realizing he was now standing next to her, the worry evident by the look on his face, one she had become well versed in. "I think… I don't…." She didn't know how to answer him. All the sergeant wanted to say was she was fine, what could she do to help the ever busy team, but that wasn't what came out of her mouth and at that point there was no hiding behind her role.

"Liv…" Nick stared at her, unable to comprehend what he was seeing unfold in front of him. "Let's get you a seat."

He guided her carefully to the closest empty desk seat. It was Fin's desk, but as he was preoccupied with the suspect he had collared, his seat was empty and readily available. Nick felt Liv grip his arm as he helped her take a seat, seeing that she was unsteady moving from her feet. "I'm going to get you some water."

Olivia tried to take a few deep breaths, but they were shallow, shaky, and unhelpful in calming her, instead she felt even more uneasy. She hadn't felt so out of control; she couldn't decide what was possibly causing this. "Nick… Nick…" She called to him as she worked to push herself back out of the chair.

Fin had returned to the squad room in search of the proper paperwork for his latest arrest and he instantly noticed the sergeant in his seat, but more noticeable was how disoriented she seemed to be. "Woah, Liv." He grabbed her hands, trying to help her steady herself on her unstable feet. "Maybe you should sit back down."

Nick had turned back from retrieving a glass of water; he watched his fellow detective and his sergeant. "I think we should get her back in her office, lay her down on the couch in there."

The voices around her seemed to be so distant. She could hear Nick and Fin talking, but they sounded miles away instead of right next to her. And she felt it; she could feel her body swaying, her world spinning around her aching head. The whole room dimmed around her, the chaos that was ensuing becoming fuzzy and dark, her eyes distorting the scene she had just been watching; soon enough it went from distorted to simply black.

"Olivia!" Fin barely caught the brunette sergeant before her limp body went crashing to the floor.

* I hope that was worth your reading and left you wanting just a little bit more. Review and let me know what you thought of it! *