Thanks for all the reviews guys! Warning...this chapter is a bit more dramatic. Something is about to happen that's going to shake things up a bit. But just trust me and keep reading :) I hope you like it...this is kind of a bridge chapter that is going to lead to something bigger in the next chapter. So sorry if it isn't as exciting as you would have hoped. I think you'll be a little surprised at what happens but I hope you continue to review and read. Don't worry...the humor isn't gone yet! Again...thanks for all your great reviews! Keep them coming!


Friday night, Hannah and Adam were playing in the living room after dinner and Lizzie and Richie were packing their bags. Elliot was at work so Olivia had to make sure that the twins were packed and ready to go to Long Island with Kathy, Brian and their son Connor. Olivia was playing with the kids when the doorbell rang signaling that Kathy was there to pick up the twins.

Olivia walked to the door and opened it smiling. "Hi Kathy."

Kathy smiled politely back. "Hi Olivia."

"They should be ready in a minute, do you want to come in?" Olivia asked.

"Sure thanks." Kathy said stepping into the house.

They stood in the doorway and Olivia looked out the window. "Is Brian with you?"

"No." Kathy said simply.

Olivia looked over at her for a moment. "Oh…Elliot said that he was going with you."

"Yeah he decided not to come." Kathy said. "Connor's waiting in the car."

Olivia nodded. "Oh…alright."

They stood their in awkward silence, Olivia finding it odd that Brian wasn't with her. Kathy and Brian were usually inseparable but she knew better than to push the matter.

"So…Lizzie let it slip on the phone that you're expecting again." Kathy finally said breaking the silence.

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Oh! Yeah…yeah I am."

Kathy smiled coldly. "Congratulations. You must be very excited."

Olivia nodded. "I am. Thank you." Kathy looked away again which was strange, even though they had a complicated relationship they usually were able to talk when dropping off or picking up the twins. "Are you alright Kathy?"

Kathy's glace looked quickly at Olivia. "I'm fine Olivia."

Olivia nodded. "Alright."

"Hey Mom." Lizzie said bounding down the stairs. "Richie's in the bathroom he'll be down in a sec." She said kissing her Moms cheek.

"Okay. Do you have everything?" Kathy asked.

"Yeah. I'm all set." Lizzie said smiling.

"Okay. I'm going to go back out to Connor, I'll take your stuff." Kathy said.

Lizzie nodded. "Okay I'm gonna go say bye to Hannah and Adam. I'll be out in a minute."

Lizzie left the room leaving Olivia and Kathy alone again. "Alright we'll I'll drop them off on Tuesday after school."

Olivia nodded. "Right. I hope you guys have a good weekend."

"Thanks." Kathy said icily as she walked out of the house.

Olivia stood their, confused by Kathy's behavior but not wanting to press the matter. Richie came downstairs and said goodbye to Hannah and Adam with Olivia and then walked back into the lobby.

"Have fun and be good." Olivia said hugging them both.

"See you Tuesday." Lizzie said as they walked out of the house.

Olivia watched them leave the driveway and then made her way back into the living room to play with Hannah and Adam.

"When do they come back?" Adam asked his Mom.

"They will be back on Tuesday." Olivia said sitting down to play Candy Land with them.

"I don't like when they have to leave." He said pouting.

Olivia rubbed the top of his head. "I know honey. I know you miss them. But they need to spend time with their Mom too."

"I don't understand why we have different Mommies." Adam said.

"We'e talked about this before remember? Daddy was married to Kathy before he was married to me. And Daddy and Kathy had Richie, Lizzie, Maureen and Kathleen." Olivia said. "And then Daddy and me met and got married and we had you and Hannah banana. And Kathy and Brian had Connor."

Adam shrugged. "I still don't get it."

Olivia laughed. "You don't have to get it honey. But you will when you're older."

"Mom can we go to the park tomorrow?" Hannah asked as she picked up a card.

"Sure. If it's nice out that would be fun." Olivia said smiling at her daughter just as her cell phone rang. "Hello?" She said as she flipped it open.

"Hey it's me." Elliot said. "Did the twins leave already?"

Olivia smiled. "Yeah. They just left."

"No problems?" He asked.

Olivia sighed. "Not with them…something was definitely off with Kathy though."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I don't know…she just seemed upset about something. Brian wasn't with her." She said.

"That's weird. Maybe he had to work or something…she's probably just upset about that." He said.

"Yeah. You're probably right." She said.

"Well I'm calling because I think I'm going to have to stay here tonight." He said. "We're drowning in tapes…it's going to take forever to sort through it all."

Olivia frowned, she understood of course that this happened often in their field of work but she was hoping he would be able to be home tonight. "Okay."

"I'm sorry." He said.

She smiled hearing the sincerity in his voice. "Honey it's okay. You know I understand. Do you want to say goodnight to the kids? I'm going to be putting them to bed soon."

"Yeah put them on." Elliot said.

"Here Hannah say goodnight to Dad." Olivia said handing the phone to her daughter.

"Hi Daddy." Lizzie said. "Not coming home tonight?"

"Not tonight Hannah Bannana. But I'll be home tomorrow afternoon sometime." He said.

"We're going to go to the park with Mommy tomorrow." Hannah said.

"That sounds like fun. I wish I could come. You'll be good for Mom right?" He asked.

"Of course Daddy. Adam wants to talk to you. Love you." She said.

"Love you too sweetie. Goodnight. Sweet dreams." He said.

Adam took the phone from Hannah. "Chasing the bad guys tonight Dad?" He asked.

"Yup." Elliot said. "Gave them a head start…"

Adam nodded his head. "Smart. That's what I would do. Then that way you can sneak attack them!"

Elliot laughed on the other end of the phone. "Exactly."

"Tomorrow will you tuck us in Dad?" Adam asked.

"Yes buddy. I will." He said.

"Okay! Can't wait! Love you Dad!" Adam said.

"Love you too bud. Put your Mom back on the phone okay? Sleep tight." He said.

Adam handed the phone to Olivia. "Hello?"

"Hey. Hopefully I can get out of here by around four tomorrow." He said. "Cragen sent Finn home so we can switch shifts then."

"Alright. Try and get some sleep tonight." She said.

"I will. I love you." Elliot said softly.

"Love you too. Bye." She said as she hung up the phone.

"Mommy do we have to go to bed?" Hannah asked.

Olivia smiled at her daughter as she put her phone on the table. "Yes sweetie. You have to go to bed! If you want to go to the park tomorrow you'll need your energy."

"Okay…but will you read us a story first?" Hannah asked pouting.

Olivia playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh alright! I suppose I can do that…but only if you march your little feet up the stairs now and brush those teeth!" She said pointing at them.

Adam and Hannah jumped up quickly and ran as fast as they could to their bathroom upstairs to get ready for bed. When they were done, Olivia carried Adam into Hannah's room and snuggled with them on his bed. They read one of their favorite stories and both of them fell asleep before the end. She carefully picked up Adam and brought him too his room making sure he was tucked in just the way he liked it.

She flipped on his nightlight since he was afraid of the dark still and went into Hannah's room. She pulled the covers up over her and kissed her head gently before leaving the room and going downstairs. This was her daily routine when she didn't have to work late, put the kids to bed and clean up the mess they seemed to always make downstairs after.

When she and Elliot had to work late Kathleen spent the night at their house with the kids. She lived about twenty minutes from their house in an apartment with her two best friends and was more than happy to help out when she could.

Olivia was just starting to clean up the kids toys when the doorbell rang. Thinking it was odd that someone was at her house at 8 o'clock she looked out the window first to see who it was. She was surprised to see Brian (Kathy's wife) standing on her door step.

She opened the door quickly. "Brian?"

He stared at her for a moment, clearly upset. "Hi Olivia. I'm really sorry to just show up like this but I really need to talk to someone and I was in the neighborhood…"

Olivia stepped back. "Come in."

He walked into the lobby and turned to her. "Is this a bad time?"

"No. I just put Hannah and Adam to bed." She said. "Do you want something to drink?"

"No I'm alright. Can we just talk for a minute?" He asked.

Olivia had always liked Brian, he was always very friendly to her and Elliot and was great with the kids. He had two of his own kids from a previous marriage so he knew the feeling of mixed families. However, they had never really spent any time together without Kathy and Elliot around. She wasn't sure how to feel about him being in her house when it was just the two of them.

She knew he wouldn't do anything but there was something obviously going on. "Sure. Why don't we go into the living room?" She said extending her hand down the hallway.

Brian walked towards the living room and sat down on the couch, Olivia sat down on the love seat next to him. "So…what's up?" Olivia asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure you're wondering what the hell I'm doing here…" He said shaking his head. "Is Elliot at work?"

She nodded. "Yeah. He won't be back tonight. Brian what's wrong? I saw Kathy earlier and she seemed upset. Did something happen?"

Brian sighed and put his head in his hands. "Kathy cheated on me."

Olivia's heart dropped, she wasn't expecting this. "What? Are you sure?"

"Yes. I caught her this afternoon…sleeping with another man. In our bed!" He said through gritted teeth.

Olivia sat in silence for a moment unsure of what to say. "Brian…"

"I know I shouldn't even be talking…Kathy and I started dating when she was still married to Elliot." He said. "But still…I never thought she would do this to me."

Olivia sighed. "I don't know what to say…"

"When I married Kathy I thought we would be together forever." He said. "I don't want to get divorced again."

"Do you really think you have to get divorced?" Olivia asked. "Could you try counseling?"

"If Elliot cheated on you…would you try and make it work or would you end it?" He asked.

Olivia closed her eyes, trying not to think of Elliot with another woman. "No. I would leave him."

He nodded as she opened her eyes again. "Exactly."

"So…what now?" Olivia asked. "What happened when you caught her? Did you know him?"

"It's a Doctor from the hospital she works at." He said shaking his head. "She didn't even cry when I caught her…she didn't even try and apologize."

Olivia was starting to feel uncomfortable, Kathy had never been one of her favorite people but she felt wrong talking about her relationship or lack their of. "Brian I really am sorry…but I don't understand why you're here talking to me about this. I mean…why not go to one of your friends?"

"Because I'm embarrassed." He said. "How do I tell my friends that my wife cheated on me?"

"This isn't your fault." Olivia said shaking her head. "You know it's not your fault."

"How could she do this again? Is this her thing?" He asked standing up and starting to pace back and forth.

Olivia sighed, she really wished Elliot was here. "Brian I'm sure it wasn't like that…I mean was this the only time or…"

"I don't know!" He yelled.

Olivia jumped up. "Shhhh! Shhh! I know you're upset but I don't want to wake the kids up. Please…sit down and just try and calm down."

He sighed and sat down again, putting his head in his hands he began to cry. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry…I had a few beers before I came here."

Sighing, she sat down beside him on the couch and put a hand on his back. "Brian…it's okay. I understand that you're upset right now. It's okay."

"What am I supposed to tell Connor?" He asked.

"I…I don't know Brian. I'm sorry…I don't know what to say. I've never really been in this situation…" She said wishing she could ask him to leave.

"You're a detective. Aren't you supposed to be good at talking to people?" He asked sitting up to stare at her a small smile on his face.

She laughed. "I guess I am. It's just different because I don't' usually know the victims…"

"Oh so now I'm a victim?" He asked.

"You know what I mean." She said pushing him slowly.

He nodded. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Look…Kathy and Connor are at her parents for the weekend. Why don't you go home and cool off…take a few days to yourself and then figure out what you want to do. Don't make any rash decisions right now…it's all to fresh and new." She said.

"I can't go back there. They had sex there…" He said shaking his head. "No, that's not my home anymore."

Olivia sighed. "Well…could you go to a friends house? I know your parents live in Maine…so that's to far."

He shook his head. "I'm not ready to tell them yet." He looked at her quickly. "Do you think I could crash on your couch tonight?"

Olivia opened her mouth, at a loss of what to say. "Oh…Brian I don't know…"

"I'm sure this is…strange for you but it would just be for tonight…" He said slowly.

"Um…I…I'd have to ask Elliot. I want to make sure he's okay with it…" She said now really wishing that Elliot was here with her.

"Well he's not coming home tonight right? It doesn't matter if you don't tell him." He said shrugging.

Now she felt extremely uncomfortable. "No…no I want to just run it by him first."

Brian shrugged. "Okay."

She smiled awkwardly. "Okay…well I'm going to call him and check on the kids. You can…watch some TV if you want."

Brian nodded. "Thanks. Thanks for everything." He said smiling already making himself comfortable on the couch.

Sighing, Olivia stood up and took her phone into the kitchen to call Elliot, it rang a few times before he answered. "Hey Liv. Didn't I just talk to you?" He asked jokingly.

She was quiet for a moment. "Yeah. Yeah…I uh…have a bit of a situation here."

"Why is it the kids? Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

She sighed. "Yeah. I'm fine. The kids are fine…um…but Brian just showed up at our house." She said.

"Brian? As in Brian Sherwood?" He asked. "Kathy's husband?"

"Yeah. That Brian." She said.

"Well why? What did he want?" He asked curiously.

"He said he came home today and caught Kathy sleeping with a Doctor from the hospital she works at." She said quickly.

"Seriously?" Elliot asked. "Wow…didn't expect that."

"Yeah…well he's pretty upset about it. And he doesn't want to go home…and he wants to stay here tonight."

"What?" Elliot asked. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. And I don't know what to say to him…he's kind of all over the place and he isn't really listening to me. I don't know how to ask him to leave without causing a problem…he's been drinking." She said. "I told him I had to talk to you before I said yes…but even if I go back there and tell him you said he couldn't stay I'm not sure he would really leave."

Elliot sighed. "Alright…let me talk to Cragen. I'll come home."

"Are you sure?" She asked. "I mean if you're really busy-"

"No. No. I'm not going to have him making you uncomfortable. I don't understand why he would come to our house of all places." Elliot said. "I mean for Christ sakes…he was having an affair with Kathy while we were married."

"I don't know…" She said.

"I'll be home in a half hour. Will you be okay?" He asked.

"Of course." She said. "I'll just…watch TV with him or something."

"Alright. Well call me again if you need too." He said.

"Alright. Thanks El. Sorry about this." She said sighing.

"It's not your fault." He said. "I'll see you in a little while. Love you."

"Love you too." She said as she flipped the phone shut.

When she hung the phone up, she walked out into the living room again and found Brian lying down on the couch. "So what did Elliot say?"

"Um…he's actually on his way home. They closed their case." She said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh. Well then it's okay that I stay if he's coming home right?" He asked.

"I don't know." She said. "He couldn't really talk. He'll be home soon." She said. "So…I'm going to check on the kids. Will you be okay?"

He nodded. "Sure. I'll just be here flipping through the channels."

Olivia fake smiled and went upstairs to sit in her room until Elliot came to the house. It was strange…she was a cop and she could handle most situations. But there was something about the way Brian had decided to show up to their house that made her uncomfortable.

Olivia lay back in her bed and closed her eyes for a moment, suddenly feeling very tired. Twenty minutes later, Olivia heard foot steps in the hallway. She sat up thinking one of the kids was out of bed and she got off the bed to go check on them.

As she opened her bedroom door she was surprised to see Brian standing in the doorway. "Oh!" She said jumping slightly. "Brian…"

"Sorry. You didn't come back downstairs so I figured I'd come see you." He said.

Finally she noticed he had a beer from her fridge in his hands. "Um…Brian did you take that from our fridge?"

He sighed. "Yeah sorry. I'll pay you back."

She felt very uncomfortable now. "Okay…let's just go downstairs."

"You know I've never seen the upstairs of your house." He said suddenly pushing past Olivia. "This is your room I'm assuming."

Olivia turned to look at him. "Yes. It is. Let's just go back downstairs Brian…I don't want to wake the kids up."

"This is a nice room." He said walking over to Olivia's dresser. "Is this your wedding photo?"

"Brian…" Olivia whispered. "Please…let's go downstairs."

"You know Elliot's a very lucky man." He said turning to look at her. "You're quite a catch." He said smiling at her.

"Um…thank you." She said clearing her throat. "Let's…just take this downstairs. Please." She pleaded with him again.

"Would you sleep with another man in this bed?" He asked suddenly walking over to her and Elliot's bed.

"No. I wouldn't." She said honestly. "Look Brian I know you're upset and you have every right to be-"

"Would you have sex with me?" He asked suddenly standing up.

"No!" She said her eyes going wide. "No!"

"What I'm not good enough for you?" He asked. "Only sleep with cops do you?"

"Okay Brian I tried to be nice but now I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Olivia said. "I was going to wait until Elliot gets here but I don't think this is appropriate for you to be staying at my house especially not in my room. Please…I'm asking you to leave."

"I can't go back to my house Olivia." He said shrugging. "My life is ruined."

"I'm sorry. I really am sorry that Kathy did that to you Brian but I can't do anything to change that…" She said. "Now please either go downstairs or you really do need to leave."

"Olivia?" Elliot's voice rang through the hallway. "Liv?"

Olivia sighed. "Elliot's home now…please…just can we go downstairs."

Brian stared at Olivia. "I woke up this morning and everything was fine…and now my marriage is ruined. Please don't kick me out of your house."

"I'm not trying to be rude Brian. I'm not. I just…I don't feel comfortable with you in my room. Please…let's go downstairs and you can talk to Elliot about this or something…" She said.

"How can I talk to him about this? I'm the reason his marriage to Kathy ended in the first place. He probably thinks I deserve it." He said.

"That's not true." Olivia said shaking her head.

"Liv?" Elliot asked as he walked into their bedroom.

Olivia looked at Elliot. "Hi."

"What are you guys doing up here?" Elliot asked looking between Brian and Olivia.

"Olivia came up here to check on the kids and she didn't come back…" He said shrugging. "I didn't want to be alone downstairs."

Elliot noticed the beer in his hand. "Okay…well let's go downstairs and talk okay? The kids are asleep and I don't want to wake them up."

"Did it hurt you when you found out about Kathy and me?" He asked.

Elliot sighed. "I wasn't happy no. But…Kathy and I weren't in love anymore. Brian…I'm sorry that this is happening to you right now. But really this isn't appropriate for you to be in my bedroom with my wife. Let's go downstairs or you need to leave."

Brian sighed. "I can't drive. And I can't go home…"

Elliot stared at him for a moment. "You can sleep on the couch. But I'm asking you to calm down…stop drinking and please just respect our house. If you can't do that I will call you a cab."

Brian nodded his head. "Okay. You're right…I'm sorry."

Elliot nodded his head. "It's okay…"

"Hey…just so you know…I asked Olivia if she would sleep with me and she said no. So…you don't have to worry about her cheating on you." Brian said holding up his beer and taking a last sip before handing it to Elliot. "You're a lucky man." He said walking out of their bedroom and down the hallway.

Elliot turned to Olivia. "He asked you if you would sleep with him?"

She put a hand on his arm. "Yes…"

Elliot rubbed the back of his neck. "I could fucking kill him if he wasn't going through this right now...How did we get dragged into this cluster fuck?"

Olivia laughed. "I don't know."

"Are you okay?" He asked looking at her more closely.

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. I mean…I do feel bad for the guy. I never really expected Kathy to do this…well not to Brian anyway."

Elliot laughed. "So just to me?"

She smiled. "I didn't mean it like that…"

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I know."

"He's never going to leave is he?" Olivia asked.

Elliot groaned. "Not willingly. But he's out of here tomorrow…whether he likes it or not."

"Do we tell Katy we know?" She asked. "I mean this is kind of awkward…"

"Kind of?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "This is the last conversation I ever want to have in the world." He laughed. "Hey Kathy…so I hear you screwed a Doctor. Did you enjoy it? Do you like being a whore?"

She punched him on the shoulder. "Elliot!"

He laughed. "You have a better idea on how to start this conversation?"

"Well no…but I mean if she hadn't of cheated on you…it may have taken us longer to get together." She said shrugging. "So maybe Kathy's slutty habits are a good thing…" She said jokingly.

He laughed and pulled her into him. "Well…I would have found a way to be with you either way. She just made it easier for me. I didn't feel so guilty."

She held him close. "Good to know."

He kissed her head again. "I'm gonna go talk to Brian…get him too cool off and go to sleep and then I'll be back up to go to bed. I'm exhausted. Okay?"

She smiled at him. "Okay. Was Cragen mad?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No not really. You know how he feels about you. He wanted to make sure you were safe."

She smiled. "I would have kicked his ass if he had tried anything."

"I know." He said smiling down at her. "But…you are pregnant so I'm trying to keep you from kicking to many peoples asses."

She chuckled. "I'll try and remember that."

"I'll make sure to remind you." He said winking at her.

When Elliot left the room, Olivia sat down on her bed thinking about how lucky she was to have a good relationship with her husband. There was a time in her life when she would have worried and obsessed about thinking that Elliot would cheat on her. But now she was comfortable in her relationship with him, she knew he would never leave her. He would never hurt her the way that Kathy had hurt Brian.

She had to wonder though what this meant for the rest of her family. She had a feeling this wasn't the last she heard from Brian or Kathy on the matter. But ever since Olivia and Elliot had gotten married Kathy had been exceptionally nice to Olivia. She wasn't really looking to change that…she didn't need drama with her husband's ex-wife. It wouldn't just affect her but her relationship with her step kids as well.

Sighing she lay back in bed and hoped that things wouldn't change too much. She was quiet happy with the way her life had turned out and she didn't want it all to end badly.


So...what did you think? Did you expect this to happen? Little preview of the next chapter...Kathy and Olivia have a little chat...a chat that Kathy has been holding in for MANY years. It could stir the pot a little in the Olivia/Elliot relationship department. But don't you worry your pretty little heads...I have it all planned out. Let me know what you think so far...REVIEW! And I'll try and update asap!