Two-and-a-half weeks later
Mid-December in New York City was always unpredictable. Sometimes, there was sun and blue skies and forty-degree weather. Other days, like today, had snow storms and weather alerts. Meaning Olivia Benson and Brian Cassidy were snowed into their apartment. Until Olivia went into labor on this Wednesday afternoon in the middle of cooking the two of them an early dinner.
She was standing at the stove cooking a pasta dish that had quickly become Brian's favorite shortly after they started dating, when the pain in her back she had been feeling since late last night became more intense. Two weeks prior she felt the same pain, but her doctor just told them it was Braxton Hicks: her body's way of preparing for real labor. Olivia had a strong feeling that these weren't Braxton Hicks though; this pain had her finding it difficult to breathe and doubled over.
Olivia Benson was in labor. There was no question this time.
Now here they were, Olivia in the front seat of the SUV trying to breathe deeply like her doctor taught her as they drove to the hospital halfway across the city. Only, because of the snow storm that was currently engulfing the city, it was becoming increasingly difficult for Brian to see through the windshield. And Olivia was not enjoying the slow trip to the hospital.
"Ugh, it hurts so bad!" She groans through gritted teeth, one hand gripping her stomach while the other held onto the dashboard as another contraction ripped through her body. "Please hurry Brian."
"I'm trying, babe. This visibility is shit and the roads aren't much better."
Olivia groans again and Brian looks over at her, frowning. He felt so bad she was in so much pain and he couldn't do anything, just drive as quickly as he could through this snowstorm. It couldn't have come at a worse time. But those were babies for you-they come whenever they're ready.
"Can't you call Nick or someone from the courthouse to send out a police escort? I don't really feel like having this baby right here in the front seat."
Brian sighs and reaches over to grab onto Olivia's thigh. "I don't know if they'll send something out with weather like this. They might not think it's that important."
Olivia scoffs and shakes her head. "Well, when there's amniotic fluid all over the front seat because we couldn't get to the hospital fast enough, then they'll know it's important."
He can't help but let out a little laugh at her words, but he knew it wasn't funny. She was in a lot of pain and her contractions were roughly ten minutes apart. The baby could very well be born in the front seat of the car if he didn't try to hurry. He says a silent prayer to the God he wasn't sure he believed in that he could get to the hospital in time, and safely, so they could meet their baby girl the proper way.
So, he kept creeping on in the midst of the snow storm, every inch getting them closer and closer to the hospital.
XXX
They had finally arrived to the hospital an hour later and Olivia was admitted into a room, and since her water had broken shortly after arriving, they were now trying to dilate her further. She was only at five centimeters, so they couldn't give her any drugs until she was at least a little further along in the process.
Which meant that Olivia was currently walking slowly up and down the hallway where her room was, holding onto the hand rail with one hand and Brian's hand with the other. When a contraction begins making its way through her body, she stops where she is and lets it tear through her, gripping tightly onto Brian's hand as it does. He stands there and takes the pain, rubbing her back as she breathes through it because he knows she's feeling a lot worse than he is right now. Even if his hand was being crushed.
When the pain subsides, Olivia lets go of her boyfriend's hand and reaches up to brush her hair away from her sweaty forehead, letting out one more deep breath before continuing her slow walk down the hallway. Brian just holds her hand lovingly, walking alongside her and occasionally kissing her forehead or temple as they walk together.
"Okay, Olivia, let's head on back to your room and see where we're at." The nurse that was walking with them says now, and Olivia and Brian nod and turn around to head back to the room she was checked into. Both of them silently hope she was dilated enough for the epidural, because she didn't know if her body could take much more of these contractions.
When they arrive back to her room, Brian helps Olivia climb back into bed and he takes a seat at her side as she places her feet into the stirrups and the doctor takes her position at the end of the bed, slipping gloves onto her hands. Olivia grabs Brian hand and smiles up at him, and he smiles back at her and leans forward to place a kiss to her forehead.
"Alright, Ms. Benson. Let's take a look." The nurse says, and the room falls silent for the next two minutes as she checks the progress Olivia's body was hopefully making. When she stands up, she removes her gloves and looks at Olivia.
"So good news, you are now dilated to seven centimeters so we are good to go ahead with the epidural. A doctor will be in shortly with that, and hopefully you will be meeting your baby girl soon." She says and smiles at the two of them, nodding her head before walking out of the room to leave the two of them to talk.
"Finally." Olivia says immediately, and they both laugh out loud. "Have you updated anyone yet?" She asks once the laughter subsides, and Brian shakes his head.
"I've been with you the whole time, babe. I'll go call everyone now." He says, leaning down to kiss her again before turning on his heel to go someplace a little quieter to call everyone that needed to be called, including his mom and her detectives.
When he walks out, Olivia leans her head back against the pillows and tries to relax as she waits for the doctor to come with her epidural, breathing through the pain and saying another silent prayer that everything goes as smoothly as possible. With her age, anything could happen, and she knew that. She just wants her baby to arrive healthy, happy, and quickly-she had been waiting nine months for her to be in her arms. She couldn't wait any longer.
Five minutes later, the doctor and a couple of nurses arrive in her room with a cart full of items, and Olivia smiles gratefully at them. It was time for the drugs, and her body definitely needed a break. Not thirty seconds after they come in, Brian walks back into the hospital room as well, stuffing his phone in his pocket and immediately heading over to the side of Olivia's bed and grabbing her hand again.
"Okay, mama. We're going to insert the epidural now. It should take about twenty minutes to kick in, and then you won't feel any pain for a few hours. Hopefully by the time it wears off, it'll be time to push."
Olivia smiles up at Brian and he leans down to kiss her lips, squeezing her hand lightly.
He was about to be a dad. Everything he had wanted for the last fifteen years was about to come true, and it made it even better that it was with the love of his life. He couldn't have asked for anything better.
XXX
"Fuck, it hurts so bad!" Olivia cries out as she grips onto Brian's hand with all of the strength she had as she bore down again.
Two hours after receiving the epidural, Olivia had reached ten centimeters dilated, which meant that it was time to push her daughter out. Only problem was, her daughter was not interested in coming out, because she had already been pushing for forty-five minutes. And it was exhausting and painful as hell.
"I know babe, but you're doing great. I'm so proud of you." Brian says as he kisses her sweaty forehead, and she whips her head around to glare at him.
"Shut the hell UP!" She groans, collapsing back onto the pillows and breathing heavily. "I hate you so much for doing this to me." Brian's eyes go wide at that comment, and the nurses in the room snicker at her remarks. Obviously, she was just saying this because of the pain, but Brian was still a little hurt at the remark.
"Olivia, I know it hurts honey, but we're so close to crowning. We need you to push again, okay? Whenever you're ready."
Olivia shakes her head and practically whimpers. "No, I can't. I'm so tired I can't do it anymore."
"I know but if you don't, you're never going to meet your daughter. Now come on, Olivia, you're so strong. I know you can do this."
She takes a couple deep breaths before sitting up and gripping Brian's hand tightly as she pushes again. She lets out a strangled, exhausted cry when the doctors reach ten and she has a second to lay back and catch her breath, before sitting back up and pushing again. She needed this baby out now, the pain was unbearable and tearing her apart.
"Olivia? You're crowning, honey. Your baby is almost here, we need a few more big pushes from you and she'll be here, okay? Come on sweetheart." The doctor declares, and Brian leans forward into Olivia's ear.
"I know you can do this, babe. You're so strong and brave, I know it hurts but you're doing so good. Just a few more big pushes for me, Liv." He says, and Olivia smiles and kisses him quickly before another deep breath escapes her mouth. "Ready? On three. One…two…three." He counts, and Olivia sits up and lets out another cry as the pain tears through her as she works on pushing out their baby.
"Ugh I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." She chants loudly as she pushes for a few more seconds, and Brian just giggles and kisses her hand before she sits up and pushes again.
"Okay, Ms. Olivia we've got your baby's head. One more big push and she'll be out honey. Be strong for me." The doctor says, and she nods and catches her breath for a quick minute before looking at Brian, locking eyes with him before boring down for one more big push, crying and screaming and pushing with all her might to get her baby Earth-side.
Fifteen more seconds of pushing and a loud, high-pitched cry fills the air, and Olivia collapses back onto the pillows with tears in her eyes as a sense of relief washes over her. Her baby daughter was finally here. She really brought a baby into this world with Brian Cassidy by her side.
"Daddy, want to come cut the cord?" The doctor asks, and Brian nods and lets go of Olivia's hand, walking to the other end of the bed where the doctor was holding their new baby and a pair of scissors, holding them out to Brian to take and cut the umbilical cord. A few moments later, after the newborn was cleaned off and swaddled, the nurse was walking her over to Olivia, who was laying there with tears in her eyes and trying to catch her breath.
"Olivia Benson, meet your beautiful daughter." She says, and Olivia sits up and giggles as the nurse places her in her waiting arms, and the brunette sergeant immediately loses it and starts sobbing.
"Hi baby. I'm your mama. Welcome to the world." Olivia whispers, leaning down to kiss her baby's tiny forehead softly, before looking up at Brian, who has tears brimming his eyelids. "She's perfect, isn't she?"
Brian nods his head and smiles, leaning down to kiss the top of Olivia's head. "She sure is. I'm so proud of you, Liv." He says softly, kissing her again before turning his head to fawn over his new daughter, who was the most incredible creature he'd ever laid his eyes on.
His mother told him for the last nine months that the first time you meet your child is the most incredible moment of your entire life, but he didn't know what that felt like until he was looking into his child's eyes. Now he knows what that feels like. And he suddenly couldn't remember what his life was like before his daughter was in it. He was head-over-heels in love with his new family. The Benson-Cassidy's were finally complete.
XXX