Chapter 9
"Hmmm…," she hummed into her boyfriend's bare chest. Not that she would admit it out loud in case it might wreak havoc with his ego, but the aftermath of their lovemaking, when she was joyfully held in his embrace, was her most favorite time with Brian. She could rest against him, feel the security of his warmth, hear the steady beat of his heart, and know the sheer satisfaction of finally being held in his arms. So many years had been filled with emptiness and longing. And now it was bliss.
Then she considered her new job. She knew that she would have to choose her words carefully. She didn't want Brian to think that she was not grateful for his prior maneuverings on her behalf when he had been negotiating for her position with Cragen when he'd first told the Captain that he wished to leave his captaincy. But it was her work, her ideas that had captured Winston Holt Wiley's attention. And finally, she was being given a job that really meant something. An opportunity to make a real difference; a job that she had earned with hard work and sacrifice. She could barely control her burgeoning excitement.
"Bri…" she whispered, expectantly. He said nothing. Raising her head she looked up at his face. He was sleeping. She rolled off of him a bit, waiting to see if her movements would awaken him. They did not. Three hours later he awakened her with a kiss. "Mmmmm…," she sighed as she recognized the touch of the man who kissed her with such great tenderness. "Time to get up, Liv. We're due at Cragen's for dinner in less than two hours." She bolted upright into a sitting position. "What? It's that late?" "You fell asleep." "No, you were asleep." "Then you fell asleep. I woke up a few hours ago…" "You let me sleep?"
"Liv, I checked your schedule. Since Holt had already given you the afternoon off, I decided, for a change, to let you listen to what your body was telling you. I let you sleep." Even as she stood and accepted a turquoise embroidered robe from her husband's hands, she was thinking. "You know, I think we need to be checked out. Maybe we are suffering from pregnancy syndrome. It's been quite a while since both of us have been on a continuing schedule. Maybe we haven't quite adjusted to the changes yet."
"Is that why a Dr. Bader sent me a message confirming your prenatal exam in two days?" "Oh." Olivia paused, "I meant to mention that. Dr. Bolt said she comes highly recommended by some of her friends as well as Amanda. And I like her." "Janet may have mentioned it to her."
Brian frowned. "If Janet knows about your condition, then that might explain why you forgot to tell me. Olivia walked into the dressing. Brian followed her. "You really can't just blame Janet for that one. There are other suspects." Though privately, Olivia was sure that Janet was the most likely suspect. "True. Both Nick and Fin are capable of plotting such a thing." Olivia stood in front of her row of evening gowns. She'd acquired quite a few during the past few months. "Evening gowns or dress uniform tonight?"
"It's not too formal of an affair. I think." "Good. I just bought a new gown." She arched an eyebrow as she grinned at Brian. "You might find it interesting…" "There may be rookies in attendance" She made a face at him. "Spoil sport. I'll just have to save that dress for our 2-year anniversary…" With that riposte, she walked into the bathroom. By the sounds of the water, he decided that she was taking a water shower instead of a bath. Perhaps he should join her…
The next morning Olivia felt terrible. "Food poisoning?" she mumbled. Olivia didn't want to open her eyes. In fact, she didn't want to move at all period. Yet something, or someone, was prodding her.
"Liv, open your eyes." Reluctantly she pried open one lid then the other. She recognized the dark eyes staring back at her. "Dr. Bolt?" she whispered. "You're at Mercy General, you and your friend Brian Cassidy." Olivia closed both eyes for a moment, thinking. "It must have been the jerk chicken…"
"For what?" Dr. Bolt patiently asked "The food poisoning." "No one else, other than the Brian, became ill." Dr. Bolt chuckled. "Though that won't stop the rumor mills from working overtime at the thought that Cragen poisoned not one, but two detectives." "The chicken wasn't that spicy. Brian can stomach…" "Tia cuisine," Dr. Bolt interrupted. "He informed me of that fact a few minutes ago, in between his most vocal demands that we take care of you first." "That's my Brian," she muttered to herself.
Dr. Nora Bolt smiled, checked the monitors above her patient's head, and then nodded at a nurse to continue the monitoring, as she walked away from her patient's bedside in the adjoining room at Mercy General. Once the wretchedly ill couple had been transported over to emergency from Cragen's once quiet dinner party, Dr. Bolt had been summoned after it was determined that Brian's flu-like symptoms were not life threatening. The couple had then been moved into the secured wing of the hospital that treated important people.
Dr. Bolt had already figured out what was wrong with Olivia Benson. But trying to figure out why her boyfriend had the identical symptoms was the mystery here. Returning to her office she pulled up the medical and classified files that she now had access to because she was the couples primary care physician, and started investigating the commonalities of the couples lives.
About half an hour later, a nurse approached. "Dr. Bolt. Detective Cassidy is insisting that he be returned to his residence. He says that the nausea has stopped. And that he is no longer light-headed." "What about Olivia?" "She's demanding the same thing, after she speaks to you of course." The blond haired, Swedish medical resident at the other end of the desk suddenly grinned. "As sick detectives go, she's not too terrible."
"And hear I always say that it was doctors who made the worst patients." Nora smiled, shaking her head. Her long honey-brown hair was tied up in a ponytail. It bounced as she moved. Dr. Bolt was a tall woman, from old California stock. Her mother had married a doctor naturally she became a doctor as well.
"Nils, tell Olivia that I'll be down to see her personally. And tell Brian that the more that he protests, the more tests I will find to run." Nils grinned as she signed off. A few minutes later after she double checked the medical reports from a certain incident, Dr. Bolt walked into Olivia's private room and shut the door.
"Well, Dr. Bolt," a much less lethargic Olivia asked as she touched the bed controls so that she was now sitting upright. "Food poisoning or a particularly nasty strain of the flu?" Nora pulled up a chair. "Neither." Then she said nothing. Olivia thought for a few moments before guessing, "An allergy? I can't recall ever becoming so nauseous so swiftly before." "That's a possibility, though it is unlikely since the other person suffered from the same symptoms as well."
"Don't tell me it was poison…" Olivia's eyes darkened at this thought. She was well aware that there was a reason behind all of the security precautions that Brian had ordered once they'd got their new home. Even though he'd been dismissive of them as normal Olivia knew better.
"No." Dr. Bolt patted Olivia's hand. "This was not an assassination attempt." "That's good to know." Olivia sighed in relief and relaxed. And then she really looked at Dr. Bolt. "Dr. Bolt…" It was then that Olivia realized that the lady was quite amused, with her. "The only other thing that I can think of is that its morning sickness." Olivia shook her head. "But that can't be right. Brian got sick too…"
"Sympathetic symptoms." Olivia merely looked at Dr. Bolt in disbelief. "Are you telling me that its morning sickness at night?" Nora raised an eyebrow. It was the only outward indication that she'd overheard Olivia's mutterings. She hadn't quite pegged Olivia and Brian. "But Brian's vomiting…" Olivia chuckled. "I just realized that Brian is never going to know his definition of normal again." Olivia didn't explain further. She moved more upright. "I take it that the baby is healthy?"
"Oh yes, in spite of your, uh, maturity, everything seems normal. Though I will wish an OB could closely monitor you for the next two months at least you are just beginning of your 9th week of pregnancy" "Nine weeks pregnant? Olivia calculated the conception approximation, coming to the realization it was their trip to the Bahamas over Christmas. Sure they used protection he wore a condom she wore her diaphragm, apparently the water in the hot tub dislodged her diaphragm and damaged the condom just in time to make the baby. At the time in the heat of the moment she really didn't care much about getting out of the hot tub….Lesson Learned… back to reality "Ok I really want this baby. And I have a suspicion that Brian will want it even more than I do, if such a thing is possible." Olivia would have said more if she hadn't been interrupted by Brian
"I already did." A slightly shaky Brian stood in the doorway. He was wearing a hospital gown, much to Olivia's amusement. He nodded at Dr. Bolt. Olivia extended her hand toward Brian. "Somehow, I don't think that Dr. Bolt gave you permission to get out of bed." As he walked toward her, he announced, "Yeah, she didn't," he sheepishly admitted.
Olivia waited a moment. "Well, since they're not coming in here to drag your tail back to your bed, I am assuming that you are going to be all right." "That Dr. Bolt smirked at me, Liv" he complained, "When I asked her how you were, she smirked!" Trying not to laugh, Olivia motioned for Brian to sit down on the other side of her hospital bed as he sat down next to her. He continued to complain. "Dr. Bolt is not acceptable as our doctor. We must choose another doctor." "I like her," Olivia sweetly said. "And you'll like her too, once she's done running all of her tests." "More tests?" "Why not now, she really does have to find out why you fainted…"
Brian harrumphed. Still a little unsure of what he should do, Brian bent over and kissed her cheek "Trust me, Bri. I have experienced your Mother's orders before. I truly do understand." "Be gone!" she ordered with a laugh, sweeping her hand in the door's direction. After Brian had closed the door behind him leaving Olivia smiled.
