Here's some light-hearted fluff - as promised! Next chapter you get smut and just saying, the titles of the next chapters are HOSTAGE, STORM and FAIRYTALE and then there's just the epligue! I'll let your imaginations do the work for now, but after 10 comments it goes up so comment away!
This arrangement turned out to work great. Olivia only had to walk into the building and then she'd be off her feet for the majority of the day without really complaining about it. Cragen was being such a sweetheart about practically giving his up office as well, always going outside to make a phone call so he didn't disturb her if he thought she was asleep – which didn't happen very often, but it seemed like as she lost sight of her feet she also lost more of her energy.
She also joked that she felt like the squad's mascot or lucky charm, everyone had taken to coming into Cragen's office now for information meeting, she guessed to make her feel included, and without fail – every time they left they her office they would rub her belly.
"It's like I'm the Special Victims Buddha" she laughed one day as everyone filed out. Munch looked down at her like he thought she was going to explode "you sure you still have 10 weeks left?" he asked only half joking.
She groaned, "Ugh, more than that can you believe it? I'm only just seven months! And everybody knows it's really more like 10 months if you actually count it out" "Well, 9 and 3/4" Elliot helpfully supplied and she shot him a glare. "You're the one that did this to me Stabler, when you're carrying around an extra 25 pounds in front of you then we'll talk".
"What did I tell you?" Elliot whispered to Fin out of the corner of his mouth. "Dude, you started her off" he laughed back; "I am still in the room you know" she tried to glare but just ended up snorting with laughter.
"Are you done with your 5's? I wanted to grab dinner before our first childbirth class" "Yeah, I'm just cleaning them up and we can head out. Should only be another 5 or 10 minutes".
"Oh Good" she replied back "then I'll have just enough time to go to the bathroom again and put on my shoes – though that might take more than 10 minutes" she grinned ruefully as they left the room.
"Need a hand?" Cragen looked up from his desk. Olivia smiled gratefully, "Thanks Cap, but I think I got it" she managed to slip her feet into her shoes with only minor difficulty as she put a hand out to steady herself on one of the file cabinets.
She winced and her hand flew to the top of her stomach, "Liv what's wrong, are you okay?" Cragen was halfway out of his seat before she had a chance to speak. "No, no, I'm okay – really. She's just started to kick a lot harder and wedge herself underneath my ribs".
Elliot walked in the door as she finished and he dropped his 5's on Cragen's desk before kissing Olivia and then bending over to talk to her belly "give your mom a break okay honey? You're both supposed to be resting up" The baby kicked again and Olivia sighed as she grabbed her coat, "she has your stubbornness Liv" Cragen called out as the pair left.
Olivia and Elliot grabbed a hotdog from a nearby stand before heading over to their class, although Olivia ended up eating half of his anyways. "Why do I have the feeling that I would lose a finger if I tried withholding food from you" he teased as she polished off the last bite.
"Because you have good intuition" she smiled back, not missing a beat and licking mustard off her fingers.
Elliot smiled as he reached out for the front door to the community centre where the classes were being held. They walked into the room and were instantly surrounded by couples in various stages of pregnancy. They all rushed up to Olivia and Elliot as though they were fresh meat and the questions started.
"When are you due?"
"What OB/GYN are you seeing?"
"How much weight have you gained?"
"Are your ankles as swollen as mine?"
"Do you know if you're having a girl or a boy?"
"Is this your first time taking the class?" one woman asked in a very superior tone, patting her very flat tummy "Jerry and I taking it once a trimester, you can never be too careful or prepared!"
Olivia's mouth hung open wordlessly; the only thing going through her mind was a loud "Oh dear God, personal space, personal space" Elliot sensed Olivia's feeling of being overwhelmed so put his arm around her waist and fielded and deflected the questions, some very personal, as they were thrown their way.
"What have we gotten ourselves into?" Olivia whispered as they were finally able to break away from the horde. "Some woman just asked me what nipple cream I plan on using!" Elliot snorted, "I hope you told her hot cayenne peppers".
"Elliot we don't belong here, what are we supposed to say to them? Hi we're Olivia and Elliot, many people consider us too old to start a family, we hunt down sexual deviants for a living and currently there's one out there who would like to get at me? And don't tell me to breathe!" she snapped.
"We're going to tell them the truth, that you're expecting your first child with me, who has several children from a previous relationship, that we're madly in love and that this is our miracle baby" his hand moved up to her shoulders to relax the muscles she'd just tightened.
He felt her un-tense them and she raised her face for a kiss "I'm so glad you're here with me" she admitted quietly. "For someone who hunts down sexual deviants for a living this is still by far the scariest thing I've ever done".
The group leader, a slightly pinched faced woman in her forties called everyone to start and take their place in a circle. She had been too shocked to notice from before, but now Olivia saw that every couple had a blanket or mat and a pillow with them.
"Great" Elliot thought to himself, as he noted some accusing stares from the group members already seated on the floor, "First, Olivia's worried about the class and fitting in and then we get shunned for not bringing a blanket".
He shrugged out of his jacket and laid it out on the floor. She looked up at him questioningly before accepting his hand and lowering herself to the floor. Elliot sat behind her, like all the other partners seemed to be doing and she leaned into his arms.
He pressed his lips to her neck and whispered into her ear "I'm sorry baby – the only one of these I went to was 26 years ago for Maureen, and I missed most of them because I was still a foot-patrol cop back then".
She shook her head and let it rest against his shoulder, telling him it didn't matter as the woman began to speak.
"Okay now everyone. We're going to go around the circle and introduce ourselves and our partners. Say your name, due date, if you know the gender and any other important details about your pregnancy" the woman instructed "starting to my left".
The first couple was a man and a woman, both wearing brightly coloured tunics and gold bangles. "Hey" the woman started in a raspy slow kind of voice, "I'm Angel and this is Leo" she gestured back to her long haired husband who was nodding and smiling.
"We're pregnant with our 4th child due at the fall equinox. We don't believe in cold medical supervision so we're letting the Earth goddess surprise us with whatever gender our baby chooses to be. And we're going to birth outside, completely naturally with no drugs. We have a great placenta recipe we used with our other children".
The woman beside her looked completely horrified, and surreptitiously edged the expensive grey cashmere blanket she was sitting on further away, patting down any stray hairs that weren't caught tightly in the blonde chignon. Her husband looked equally uncomfortable.
"Erm, I'm Julia Forsythe and this is my husband Ken. This is our first child, a boy we're naming Kenneth Julius Xavier Forsythe II, and we're having a scheduled C-section two weeks before Christmas so we can fly to the Bahamas as usual for the holidays with enough time to train the new nanny".
This time it was Angel and Leo's turn to look horrified. So when it came time for Olivia and Elliot to introduce themselves they were even more nervous.
"I'm Elliot and this is Olivia" Elliot started as Olivia was still staring in confusion at the first several couples. "Uh, right" Olivia snapped back to attention. "I'm Olivia and we're expecting our first child together, a little girl due December 18th and uh…I've been on bed rest multiple times with this pregnancy because of a partial abruption at 17 weeks and hypertension related complications at 28 weeks".
Elliot, who had been holding her hand while she was talking, lifted it and pressed it to his lips; he knew it was hard for Olivia to talk about the times they had almost lost their baby. The group nodded sympathetically before moving on.
The instructor continued on after the other 4 couples had introduced themselves. "Today we're going to learn some techniques that you partners can use to help mom during labour to take her mind off contractions or the sensations of the C-section" she nodded in deference to the Forsythes.
"So moms, lean back into your partner and let them support your weight. Close your eyes and focus on deep and even breathing. With every contraction you are going to breathe out the sensation of pain and breathe a sense of strength".
Olivia heard and felt Elliot snort and she elbowed him, unable to hold back a smile herself. But they caught the instructor's disapproving eye and sobered up, or at least pretended to.
"And partners, part of your job during the labour and birth is to find out what and how mom wants to be touched and what relieves her pain and helps her to center her energies. So while I will be teaching you several useful types of massage, it will be also be a trial and error experience.
So partners and dads, always move in downwards or circular motions, keeping the flow of energy in a continuous circle or out of the body.
You can start by placing your palms on top of the belly, stroking smoothly downwards and repeating. A common labour position is to lie on your side, so moms get on your left side and communicate with your husbands what feels good".
"Aah, alright Stabler I'm ready for ya", Olivia rested her head on her elbow and closed her eyes, smiling mischievously. Elliot chuckled to himself and swept her hair out of the way. As she felt the first gentle pressure of his practiced and calloused fingers Olivia wondered if she would ever be immune to his touch or the feel of his hands on her body.
Forgetting where she was for a moment Olivia submitted to the pleasure of Elliot's hands firmly working across her shoulders and back. She moaned slightly and arched as his hands reached the small of her back and pressed firmly into it, moving his fingers in deep circular motions feeling the muscles ease under his hands.
"There, see everybody? Look at Elliot and Olivia. Elliot knows exactly where her pressure points are and Olivia is communicating what feels good." "Wha?" Olivia opened her eyes and realized everyone in the class was staring at her. Blushing furiously she accepted a very satisfied Elliot's hand and got back into a normal sitting position, although really she wanted to sink through the floor.
"You're adorable when you're embarrassed, you know that?" Elliot murmured into her ear as the instructor started talking again. "Yeah, yeah" she muttered grumpily, but a hint of a smile played on her lips as she sat back on his arms and his hands instinctively went to her full belly, rubbing it absentmindedly as they listened to the rest of the lecture, cringing when instructor showed the birth video – which included a full and graphic view of a 3rd degree vaginal tear occurring at the woman on-screen birthed the shoulders.
Just as class was ending Elliot felt a different vibration under his fingertips which were still trailing lightly over her stomach. "You hungry again?"
"Yes" Olivia admitted groaning, "I'm going to be 300 pounds by the time this baby is born, do you actually know how much weight I've gained during this pregnancy?"
Elliot laughed at her indignation. "Well how about I make you come for every pound you've gained, to prove to you how sexy I still think you are". "Let's go get dinner then" she said suggestively, leading him by the hand to the door, trying to avoid the barrage of questions coming at her from the other group members.
"I think it qualifies as sexual assault to ask me if we're practicing perineal massage for the birth. I don't think I even knew what that was before today and I work in SVU not to mention I helped Kathy deliver Eli" Olivia mumbled through a mouth full of spicy black bean burritos they'd picked up on the way home.
This time Elliot had bought an extra one though, as well as his own so he might actually get the chance to eat some of it. And like it had been for the last 7 months Olivia was paying for it by the time she was getting ready for bed. She'd tried drinking a glass of milk, thinking it was the spice that had sent her indigestion into a tailspin but it had stuck in her throat, gagging her so she wasn't able to finish.
"I want my body back" she groaned as she sat down on the edge of the bed, easing her swollen feet out of her shoes and wriggling her toes.
"Okay scratch that, I want every part of my body back except my belly" she patted it fondly and lay down on her back as Elliot squeezed stretch mark oil out and warmed it between his hands, as had become their nightly ritual.
He used the smooth downward strokes they'd learned in class and then switched to the rhythmic circular rubbing Olivia seemed to respond so well to. Olivia's eyes narrowed in concentration for a moment and she pressed three fingers to the side of her belly then laughed in delight as she could see a responding movement under her skin.
Elliot laughed as well and did the same, until it felt like the three of them were playing tag across the expanse of her stomach. He resumed the massage until he felt the baby's movement quiet down and slow until he could tell he'd put his daughter to sleep in her mother's womb.
"Feeling any better?" he brushed aside a stray lock of hair from Olivia's face and leaned in for a kiss. She responded, drowsy with the pleasure the feel of his hands on her body and against her baby always seemed to bring.
"The doctor was right, you're a good man to have around Stabler" he grinned and gathered her into his arms, watching the lines on her face relax and smooth out as she drifted off to sleep.
Being careful not to wake her Elliot folded one arm under his head and brought her closer against him so her back was to his chest and he rested a hand on her engorged stomach, against his child and thinking that no dream he could ever have would be as good as what he was experiencing right now.
Remember to COMMENT AND REVIEW! 3 TLH