Baby Fever – Chapter 11

Elliot met Casey downstairs at the hospital entrance and led her in the right direction. He kept assuring the ADA that her girlfriend was fine but would not give her any other details as to why she had been called down. Casey's confusion rose when they got off of the elevator started walking towards the NICU.

"What's going on?" Casey asked for what seemed like the 100th time as they passed through the set of double doors that led to the sinks outside the ward. This was the last place that she was expecting Olivia to ask her to come to – the last place that she really wanted to be.

Elliot could read the younger woman's concern, "Just trust me Casey, trust Olivia. Please. Wash up here and put this on," he said as he handed her a protective gown, "I'll let her know that you are here." He washed quickly and grabbed his own gown before heading through the other set of doors.

The strawberry blonde took her time washing her hands. She would have been two weeks away from her due date; it was the last thing that she was trying to think about and now it was one of the only things running through her mind. She slipped her arms through the sleeves of the yellow gown and tied it together behind her back. She took a deep breath before pushing open the door.

Her eyes scanned across the room looking for the detective team. She finally spotted Elliot standing in the corner and assumed that Olivia was seated next to him since she could only see the top of her lover's head. She attempted to move toward them but she couldn't find the motivation to move her legs. The male detective looked up and could instantly see the pain etched into the attorney's features. He leaned down and said something to his partner before walking towards her.

"Come on Casey, its ok." He said as he placed a hand on her arm, "I can only imagine what you are feeling right now but its going to be ok."

Casey seemed to find strength in his words and the fact that she knew that Olivia would have only asked her to come down there if she had a good reason. She slowly began to move towards her lover, breathing deeply to keep herself calm. That breath caught in her throat when she walked around a bassinet and saw Olivia sitting in a rocking chair cradling an infant to her chest. She started flashing back to that afternoon back in November when she walked into a very similar scene except that the bundle in her lover's arms now was pink instead of blue. The detective even repeated the same greeting that she said those many months ago,

"Hey you."

It took Casey a moment to find her voice, "Hey." She once again felt rooted to the ground.

Olivia could sense her lover's hesitation. She slowly rose from the rocking chair, thankful that the nurse was able to remove Braya's IV before the lawyer had arrived. She moved next to the younger woman and made sure that she could see the baby's face. "Sweetie, I have someone that I want you to meet – this is Braya."

Casey looked down at the sleeping infant and couldn't stop herself from smiling despite the emotional pain she was feeling, "She's adorable."

Olivia nudged the strawberry blonde's arm with her elbow silently indicating that she wanted to hand the baby girl over. Casey's heart soared and sank at the same time at the weight of the infant in her arms. She carefully walked over to the rocking chair and lowered herself into it – her eyes never leaving the sleeping face. When she finally tore her eyes away from her she looked up at her girlfriend with questioning eyes.

The detective knelt by the side of the rocking chair; she placed one hand on the back of the chair and stretched her other across the lawyer's lap. She stroked the baby's head gently before she spoke,

"Braya was born 4 days ago. She's the product of her mother's rape. The neighbor's told us that her mother was planning on keeping her but apparently when Braya came into the world she changed her mind. A jogger found her in a box in Central Park this morning and we found her mother dead in their apartment – she killed herself; now Braya is all alone."

Tears filled Casey's green eyes as she heard the detective's words but the questioning look in her eyes did not go away, "Liv?"

"I know that we haven't really talked about adoption yet but…" the older woman's words trailed off. She wasn't sure what else to say.

They were quiet for a moment both observing the child that was snuggled in Casey's arms. The silence was broken when she began to stir and fuss. "Hey there baby girl. Ssshh. It's ok." Casey cooed as she tried to comfort the crying infant. The nurse appeared by her side a moment later with a bottle in her hand,

"She's probably hungry. You can feed her if you'd like," She smiled.

Casey took the bottle from the nurse's out stretched hand and brought it to the baby's open mouth. It only took a moment before she quieted and began to feed. Olivia rose and pressed a kiss to Casey's forehead,

"I'll leave you two to get to know each other."

The attorney looked down at the baby in her arms and started to cry. She cried for Braya and the fact that her own mother had abandoned her in a box in Central Park, she cried for the baby that she and Olivia had lost, she cried for Olivia and everything that she knew that she was feeling having found a baby that wasn't wanted because she was a product of a rape. She felt as though her heart was breaking and healing all at once.

It didn't take Braya long to finish the formula. Putting the bottle down Casey used her free hand to wipe away her tears before picking up a towel that was hanging on the side of the bassinet. She draped the towel over her shoulder and moved Braya up to her shoulder to burp her. A wide smile spread across her face when she heard her gurgle in her ear. When she was sure that all of the excess air had been expelled from the infant's tiny stomach the strawberry blonde cradled her to her chest and gazed down at her. Their eyes stayed locked until sleep made the infant's tiny eyes begin to droop; Casey too closed her eyes as she relaxed in the chair. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there when she felt a hand run through her hair. Opening her eyes she found herself once again face to face with her favorite detective.

"This is the most amazing feeling in the world." Casey confessed.

Olivia grinned, "She's pretty perfect isn't she?"

"Practically perfect in every way." Casey's grin mirrored her girlfriend's as she leaned forward and caught the other woman's lips with her own. Her head was spinning – she was holding a baby while kissing the love of her life – the world couldn't any better then this. It was a situation that she wanted to repeat over and over again.

"So what do you think?" Olivia asked as she pulled away.

Casey looked down at the baby bundled in her arms and held her a little tighter, "What do we have to do to make her ours?"

"I already called ACS and spoke with the caseworker that they are sending down - told them what we were interested in adopting her. I knew that you would fall in love with her just as quickly as I did. They should be here within the hour."

"I love you." Casey beamed.

Olivia pressed a light kiss to her lips, "I love you more!"

When Casey and Olivia returned to their apartment that night they were happier then they had been in months. The only thing that would have made them happier was if they had been able to bring Braya home with them that night but the doctors wanted to keep her for a few more days and the ACS caseworker needed time to set up the adoption paperwork. He assured both women that he would be able to expedite the process,

"I can't imagine how anyone in my office would have a problem with placing little Braya here with two fine representatives of our city."

Casey was reluctant to leave the hospital that night but Olivia assured her that they would return first thing the next morning. She talked excitedly the whole way home,

"So tomorrow we need to get a crib and a car seat and a stroller and a changing table and a stroller and a…"

Olivia cut off her girlfriend's rambling by pushing her up against their front door and claiming her lips with her own. Casey didn't seem to mind the interruption as she immediately gave in to her lover's probing tongue. They eventually broke a part when oxygen became necessary. The brunette couldn't help but giggle when as she nuzzled her nose against Casey's.

"What?" Casey asked at her lover's outburst.

"I'm just so happy to see you happy." The brunette admitted.

Casey smiled as she brought her lips to meet the detective's once again, "I don't know if I have ever been this happy before and it is all because of you – for being you and for bringing that baby girl into our lives."

The taller woman pushed them further into their apartment; in the direction of their bedroom. They spent the night together actually excited that that night would be one of their last to be uninterrupted - because in a few days they were going to be able to bring their daughter home.

You know what it's time for now...! :)