A/N: Here's my first update of this story... thanks for all the great reviews so far. For those of you who are also reading 'Controlled'... I'm finishing up the next chapter for that too. I just keep putting it off... Anyway, hope you enjoy!

'Liv? Liv?' Someone was prodding her. 'Liv, wake up.'

'Whaaaaaat?' Olivia reluctantly rolled over and opened her eyes. Elliot was sitting up in bed next to her, and the bedside light was on. She silently cursed him. 'What time is it?'

'Half-past four.'

'In the MORNING?' Olivia swore. 'Why are you even awake?' And why did you have to wake me up, you bastard?

'Can you hear something?'

'I can hear your voice...' She squinted and rubbed her eyes.

'No, in the hallway.'

She sat up and listened. 'I don't-'

'LISTEN.'

She rolled her eyes and then heard it. There was a rattling, scraping sound from the hallway, as if someone was trying to break in through the front door. She looked up at Elliot. He nodded, pulled his gun out of the nightstand drawer and made his way silently across the room, peered around the door, and set off down the hallway. Suddenly there was a crash and a loud curse and Olivia sat bolt upright. 'El? EL!'

A minute later Elliot reappeared in the doorway, gun stuck down the back of the waistband of his boxers and Natalie squirming in his arms. He rolled his eyes. 'She designed us a burglar alarm using the pots and pans from the kitchen and some electrical cord.'

Olivia groaned. 'Nat...'

'Now Richard Ramirez can't get in without Daddy waking up and scaring him away with his gun.' Natalie sounded immensely proud of this. For some reason, the idea that a serial killer from California might somehow break out of prison and travel across the country to personally murder her was her greatest fear. She smiled widely.

Olivia sighed and held out her arms. 'Come here, my clever little devil child.'

Natalie began to squirm again and Elliot laughed and let her go, watching with amusement as she hurtled across the bed and threw herself at her mother, flinging both arms around her neck and burying her face in her shoulder. Olivia smiled and stroked her daughter's hair. 'Did you have another nightmare about Mr Ramirez, Nat?' Olivia had no idea how her daughter had heard about this guy, but her money was on Munch and one of his creepy stories.

Natalie sat up and solemnly shook her head. 'I'm too big for nightmares, Mommy.'

'I don't know, even Daddy has nightmares sometimes.' Olivia glanced up at Elliot. Yesterday was the third night in a row that she'd had to wake him up mid-nightmare because she was actually afraid for him, and at least the tenth time that month that she'd woken up to the sound of him shouting out for her in his sleep. One day she hoped he'd actually talk to her about it. She sighed. 'The important thing to remember, honey, is that they're not real.'

'Richard Ramirez is real.'

Olivia sighed again. She couldn't argue with that. 'Yes, but Mr Ramirez is all the way over in San Quentin in California. He can't get you, sweetie, and if you ever get scared, just come and find me or Daddy, OK?'

Natalie nodded. 'Yes, Mommy.'

'Good girl.' Olivia pulled her daughter in and kissed her on the forehead. 'Are you ready to go back to bed now like a big girl?'

She could see Natalie thinking about it. Please, please go back to bed, I need to sleep, I only have an hour before I have to get up for work... 'OK, Mom.'

Thank God. 'Good girl.'

Natalie looked at her hopefully. 'Can I have a glass of milk first?'

Anything if it means you'll go back to sleep. 'I'm sure Daddy won't mind getting you a glass of milk.' She looked up. 'El?'

Elliot shot her a look of gratitude. 'Come on Nat, say night night to Mom.' He held out his hand.

'Night Mommy.' Natalie hugged her mother and gave her a large sloppy kiss on the cheek.

'Night, Nat.' Olivia ruffled Natalie's hair, and she smiled before spinning around and scampering over the bed to her father. Elliot gave Olivia a quick wink, scooped Natalie up and carried her out of the room. Olivia could hear her chattering away as they disappeared down the hallway towards the kitchen. She laughed to herself, lay down again and pulled the covers back over her shoulders.

A few minutes passed before she heard the floorboards creak and felt Elliot slip into bed behind her. His arm snaked around her waist and he pressed himself against her back, tucking his chin over her shoulder and kissing the side of her neck. 'Natalie's gone back to sleep.'

'Good.' Olivia smiled and burrowed back into him. 'That was quick, I'm impressed.'

'I put a half of whisky in the milk when she wasn't looking.'

'ELLIOT-'

'I'm kidding.' She heard him trying not to laugh. 'Though don't think I haven't thought about it once in a while.'

Olivia smiled again and pulled his arm more tightly around her waist. 'She's just a clever kid.'

'I know she is. And, now we have the best burglar alarm ever designed to warn us of serial killers and other unwanted visitors.' He kissed the spot behind her ear. 'Though we may have to spend a fair amount of time tomorrow washing all the pots and pans.'

'Eh, I can make my peace with that.' Olivia put her hand on top of his and held it. 'You know El, you looked terribly... masterful... when you thought it was actually an intruder... it was a little distracting... you know, from the whole being scared for my life thing...'

He laughed and kissed the back of her neck, tightening his arms around her. 'I did, did I?'

'Oh yes.' She smiled as he began to kiss the side of her neck, moving down to her shoulder, and slipped his hand up and under the front of her pyjama top. She raised an eyebrow. 'Don't we have to be up in an hour for work?'

'There's a lot you can do in one hour.'

'Mmm, that's true...' She rolled over to face him, wrapped both her arms around his back and kissed him. She moved one hand up to touch the side of his face, and he felt the other moving down his back to the waistband of his boxer shorts.

He slid his hand down her stomach and inside her pyjama shorts. 'Feel like finding out exactly how much?'

'My, El, you are ambitious this morning...' She rolled onto her back and pulled him on top of her, grabbing the back of his neck with one hand and pulling him in to kiss her, brushing her tongue along the inside of his lips. 'I like it...' Elliot smiled and reached over to turn off the bedside light. Olivia put a hand up to stop him, pulled him in again and kissed him so hard that he could feel the outline of her teeth behind her lips.

She looked up at him and smiled, guiding his hand away from the light switch and back down into her pyjama shorts. 'No. Leave it on.'

A/N: What did you think? Good? Bad? More of something? Less of something?

As ever, thank you, and I adore you all, especially my regulars (Paula100, K444, Elliotandoliviababies, JennBenson, balseirocharmed, ashleysvureader- thank you!)