A/N: OK Sindy here's the fic I promised you days ago. Sorry it ended up being so long...but it's Noah, Brian, & Olivia so I don't think you'll complain too much. This story takes place after my fic "Sandcastles & Fireworks" but you don't have to have read it to understand this one. Basically all you need to know is flashbacks are in italics & I don't own the characters, Dick Wolf does, or the little handprint poem, that belongs to someone I don't know. Hopefully there aren't too many grammatical errors...they are my pet peeve. Leave me a review, here or on twitter (Dimonkey17) and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading! Enjoy :)
Soft rays of sunlight filtered through the thin pale green curtains casting intricate patterns of light on the hardwood floor on a Sunday morning in the middle of June. The intrusive hum of the window unit air conditioner competed with the flock of birds gathered on the power line outside the apartment window as well as with all the other sounds generated on a daily basis in New York City-the honking of impatient taxi cabs, a nearby siren announcing an ambulance on its way to Mercy Hospital, street vendors hocking their goods, children playing in the park across the street. Neither the bright light nor the sounds were enough to rouse Brian from his deep sleep though. He had had a late night working an impossible case and hadn't fallen into bed until after 3:00 AM. It wasn't until the mouth-watering aroma of bacon began to waft down the hall and into the bedroom that he even stirred in the king-sized bed, offering a low groan as he flipped his weary body over to face Olivia's side of the bed.
Stretching out his stiff arms, his eyes still closed, his hand came to rest on the cool bed sheets instead of on the familiar curves of his wife. Sluggishly opening his heavy eyelids he glanced around the bedroom in a sleep induced haze, trying his best to focus on the shadowy objects in the bright room. The bathroom door was open and the light was off and there was no sign of Olivia anywhere in the bedroom either. His gaze finally settled on the door leading to the hallway and the soft glow of light peeking through at the bottom. She must already be up making breakfast, Brian realized. But even the promise of a home cooked meal was not enough to pull Brian from his cozy cocoon of blankets.
Just as he was slipping back into dreamland, Noah's soft cries cut through the other noises, instantly sending Brian into daddy-mode; his desire for at least another twenty minutes of sleep all but forgotten. He shook off the last remnants of sleep and swung his legs over the side of the bed, quickly sliding his feet into his slippers that sat waiting on the floor for just such moments. He was about to stand up when he heard Olivia quietly padding down the hallway and opening the door to the little boy's bedroom. So instead he sat on the edge of the bed for a moment and listened through the wall to the muffled sounds coming from his wife and son. Noah's wails ceased the moment his mother stepped through the door, replaced by giggles and garbled baby talk as he tried valiantly to communicate with Olivia.
There was no more beautiful sound in the world as far as Brian was concerned. He could listen to Noah's high pitched squeals and Olivia's deeper bubbly laugh for hours and never tire of the noise. Brian had lost Olivia once—well twice if you counted the time fifteen years ago when she wasn't even really his to lose—and had almost never even met Noah. Whenever he thought about how close he'd come to spending his life without the only woman he'd ever loved and the adorable little baby who was now his son, it became a little harder to breathe, as if all the oxygen was being sucked out of the room. But luckily fate had intervened and just as the old saying went, the third time really was the charm for Brian and Olivia.
Over the past year Brian and Olivia had celebrated many momentous events. They had reunited last summer, celebrated Noah's first birthday in October, gotten engaged on Christmas Eve, were married in a small ceremony surrounded by just their family and closest friends on Valentine's Day, and officially adopted Noah just before Mother's Day. It was a lot to cram into just twelve months that was for sure but neither one of them would have changed a single thing if they could. Everything about the previous year just felt right—as though every mistake in their past had been leading them to this perfect moment in time. And the craziness was unlikely to come to an end any time soon.
Brian was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the bedroom door opening. He looked up and smiled as Olivia walked into the room carrying a giggling Noah, dressed in an "I love my Daddy" t-shirt and a pair of shorts.
"Noah, look, Daddy's awake," Olivia murmured to her son as she repositioned him on her hip. Noah immediately began squirming in Olivia's arms and reached out his short arms, flailing them frantically in the direction of his father, garbled words spilling from his mouth a mile a minute. From the few clear words Brian could detect it was evident Noah was trying to tell his father about seeing a puppy at the park and there may or may not have been a plane flying overhead as well. That or someone was in pain, Brian just wasn't certain.
"Hey there, little guy," Brian said with a grin. He willingly accepted the little boy from Olivia and planted a quick kiss on the top of his head before settling Noah onto his lap.
"Noah and I have a little surprise for you, but you need to stay here with Noah while I go get it," Olivia told Brian, her eyes sparkling and her round cheeks glowing.
Brian furrowed his brow slightly as he watched his wife's departing figure. He knew it wasn't their wedding anniversary yet but had he forgotten the anniversary of some other important relationship milestone? He ran through all the things he could think of, silently eliminating each one. Their first sexual encounter. Nope, that happened at the end of October. Their kiss in the hospital room. Nope, that was in May. The day the consciously recoupled. Nope, Fourth of July weekend. What could he be missing?
He was still trying to solve the mystery when Olivia returned a few minutes later, awkwardly balancing a tray displaying a plate overflowing with bacon, scrambled eggs, and pancakes, a glass of orange juice, a steaming mug of coffee, and a vase containing a small bouquet of paper flowers. Half hidden behind her back she was holding a brightly wrapped present. The tray jostled slightly in her hand, juice spilling over the rim of the cup, as she took a few steps toward the bed.
"Liv, let me help you with that." Brian leapt from his spot on the bed and while still clutching Noah in one arm, he swiftly took hold of the other side of the tray, helping Olivia guide it down onto the bed just before it could dump all over their bedroom floor.
"I was managing just fine," Olivia protested, a trace of fake annoyance flitting across her face.
"Sure you were," Brian placated her, chuckling softly. "I just figured it might taste a little better if I didn't have to eat it off the floor while carefully avoiding pieces of broken glass."
"Ha, ha, very funny," Olivia retorted, but she couldn't stop herself from laughing along with Brian. She laughed even harder when Noah, always trying to be just like his Daddy, mimicked Brian's laughter with a small giggle of his own.
When the laughter had died down, Olivia motioned toward the tray. "You'd better eat it before it gets cold. I worked very hard on that breakfast."
Brian heeded her suggestion and climbed into the bed. He positioned Noah so he was sitting next to him at the head of the bed before picking up the tray and placing it across his lap, leaning back against the mountain of pillows situated along the headboard. He took a few bites and gave Noah a bite of pancakes before saying, "This is really good Liv. My compliments to the chef. But what did I do to deserve breakfast in bed?"
Olivia sat the present down on the bottom of the bed before gingerly crawling into bed next to Noah and Brian. "You really don't know?"
"Should I?" Brian braced himself for an outburst about some important date he had forgotten. Or worse yet, the silent treatment with no explanation, leaving him to figure it out all on his own.
But Olivia just chuckled at the mask of confusion and panic displayed on Brian's weathered face and shook her head, her eyes conveying an unrecognizable emotion, before answering him. "It's Father's Day, Bri. How could you forget? You and Noah have been counting down the days for the past month."
She motioned toward the calendar hanging on the wall marked with a series of big red "X's" and one big red circle over today's date just as Noah chose that moment to yell," Da-da-da-da-da-da-da", as though indicating that he had not forgotten what today was.
Brian paused for a moment, his fork halfway to Noah's mouth, before responding. "Wow, I guess it is Sunday. I've been working such crazy hours these past few days I totally lost track of what day it was."
Noah's babbling was briefly interrupted by a small frustrated grunt as he tried in vain to grab at the fork in his father's hand and direct the piece of pancake the rest of the way to his mouth. The fork remained suspended in midair until Noah yelled, "More Da-da, more," refocusing Brian on the task at hand. Shifting his attention back to the little boy, he deposited the syrup soaked breakfast food in Noah's open mouth, and wiped his chin as a few crumbs dribbled out.
Olivia laughed at the toddler's antics before casting a wistful smile in Brian's direction. "Sorry about that. I know it's our fault you've been working all the extra overtime," she sighed, running her hand gently over her six month pregnant belly.
The pregnancy had been the biggest surprise of all this past year. They hadn't been trying, both of them completely satisfied with their life as parents to little Noah. But when a week before their wedding Olivia came down with a stomach bug that just wouldn't go away and a little mental math told her it had been two months since her last period, she found herself in a nearby pharmacy buying a pregnancy test, almost a year to the date after the last pregnancy test she took. And lo and behold this one had come back positive, shocking but also pleasing both parents.
They had gone back and forth on whether they wanted to know the baby's gender ahead of time. Brian was more resistant, willing to wait for the delivery room surprise, but Olivia had finally swayed him, arguing the practicality of knowing if they would need to buy all new clothing or if the baby could just use Noah's hand-me-downs.
Olivia lay on the exam table, her swollen abdomen covered by a light weight black shirt, nervously scanning the posters on the walls as the doctor got all of her equipment into place. Brian sat next to the table, their son on his lap, bouncing Noah up and down on his knee, doing his best to keep the little boy entertained during the appointment. Sensing Olivia's nerves he reached over and took hold of her hand, giving it a firm squeeze, conveying his silent reassurance. Olivia's advanced age made this a very high-risk pregnancy and even though she was supposed to be avoiding stress as much as possible Olivia couldn't help but get worked up before every doctor visit, anticipating all the things that might go wrong. Brian was terrified too—terrified that they might lose the baby, terrified that he might lose Olivia and have to raise two children by himself, terrified that he might lose both of them—but he did his best to keep his feelings in check, knowing that Olivia needed him to be the strong one.
When Dr. Brown finally had everything set up on her cart she sat down on the metal stool located against the wall and slid it across the room until she was right next to Olivia. She quickly perused Olivia's electronic chart which was pulled up on her computer screen before turning to talk to the expectant parents.
"Well it looks like your weight is right where it should be for twenty-one weeks. Your blood pressure is a little elevated today, 149/77. I'm assuming that partially age and pregnancy related and partially due to the fact that you're a little worked up about being here. For now, I'm going to recommend a low sodium diet and we'll see what your blood pressure is at the next visit—I want you to come back in two weeks instead of the usual four. If you start retaining a lot of fluid we may need to add some fluid restrictions and possibly introduce a beta-blocker. We want to do our best to avoid preeclampsia."
Olivia silently nodded, casting a worried expression at Brian, before directing her attention back to the doctor and waiting for her to continue. She had heard the preeclampsia speech before. Her age and the fact that this was her first pregnancy put her at an increased risk—both factors that she had absolutely no control over which made it all the more frustrating. She knew all the symptoms by heart, knew when to worry. Severe headaches, changes in vision, upper right sided abdominal pain under the ribs, nausea/vomiting, low urine output. She could probably give a lecture on the topic if called upon to do so. Luckily, so far Olivia had experienced none of the aforementioned symptoms and she and Brian were both hoping and praying it would stay that way.
Dr. Brown's soft voice cut through Olivia's thoughts, bringing her back to the matter at hand. "So you're about half way through your pregnancy now, a few more weeks and you'll be in your third trimester—the home stretch. The good news is the morning sickness should be completely behind you. The bad news is you're likely to feel more fatigued as the weeks progress, and you will notice more swelling in your feet and ankles after standing for long periods of time. Are you doing your best to take it easy?"
"Doctor, I have a nineteen month old at home," Olivia began, gesturing toward Noah, who was currently gnawing on the ear of his stuffed dog and kicking his legs against Brian's shin, "and I am the acting squad commander of my unit. How much rest do you think I get?"
That was clearly not the answer the doctor was looking for but there wasn't much Olivia could do about it, short of taking an early maternity leave and hiring a nanny to watch Noah full-time, neither of which the couple could afford to do.
Dr. Brown gave Olivia a sympathetic smile before replying, "I understand, really I do. I have three kids of my own and they're all relatively close in age. But you're going to have to try to cut back at least a little or you're going to end up on bed rest or worse in pre-term labor."
Olivia grudgingly shook her head in agreement. It was as though doctors took a class in med school that taught them exactly what words to say to scare their patients into submission. Olivia was certain Dr. Brown had passed said class.
Moving on to a less controversial topic, Dr. Brown asked Olivia, "So are you feeling a lot of movement?"
That brought a small smile to Olivia's face. "Yeah, he or she is pretty active. Mostly at night when I'm trying to sleep," Olivia said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, babies have a way of not following normal sleep cycles, even before they're born. It's a good sign that he or she is so active though. So Olivia, before we get started with the exam, do you have any other concerns? Any questions for me?"
Olivia thought for a moment before uttering a quiet "no". Dr. Brown had already answered most of her questions. Her only remaining question—would she have a safe delivery that resulted in a healthy, term baby—could unfortunately not be answered by anyone. Other than perhaps a psychic.
As Dr. Brown pulled out a bottle of gel and the fetal heart tone wand, Olivia lifted up her shirt, exposing her ever growing baby bump. Before squirting the gel onto Olivia's bare skin the doctor warned her, "This is going to be a little cold."
Olivia just nodded her head and grimaced, already familiar with the proceedings from her previous appointments. She flinched ever so slightly as the cool blue goo came into contact with her warm, taut skin.
"Sorry about that," Dr. Brown apologized, as she placed the bottle of gel back on the cart before beginning to move the wand across Olivia's stomach, in search of the baby's heart.
"It's fine," Olivia mumbled, grasping Brian's hand a little tighter as she waited for the sound of their baby's heartbeat to fill the small room.
After what felt like an eternity to Olivia, the rhythmic pulsations finally reverberated through the speakers at a quick steady rate. Almost immediately Brian could feel the tension Olivia had been carrying begin to dissipate.
The sudden noise took Noah by surprise. Dropping his stuffed toy, he looked around the room in search of the source of the sound, wrinkling his brow and scrunching up his tiny nose when he couldn't find it. Brian chuckled at his son's confusion and even Olivia cracked a slight smile, temporarily distracted from their worries by Noah's adorable expressions.
"142," Dr. Brown announced after a minute, smiling at the anxiety-ridden couple. "That's a perfectly healthy heart rate for this point in your pregnancy. Now would you like to see you baby?"
Brian and Olivia both enthusiastically agreed. Dr. Brown took a moment to switch to the ultrasound wand and position the monitor screen so the couple could see it before applying a little more of the cold gel to Olivia's stomach. A different sound filled the room, the gentle swishing of the amniotic fluid, as a fuzzy outline of a baby appeared on the screen. It had taken Olivia and Brian a few visits to understand exactly what they were looking at but by now they were able to pick out their baby's head and tiny arms and legs without any assistance.
They watched in silent awe for several minutes, interrupted only by an occasional squawk from Noah who was starting to get restless. Brian repositioned Noah in his lap so he was close enough to Olivia to grab onto her shirt. Playing with the soft fabric seemed to be an acceptable distraction for now, temporarily silencing the toddler. Brian intertwined his fingers with Olivia's once more and gave her hand another squeeze, earning him a genuine smile from his wife—her first since entering the exam room a half hour ago.
Dr. Brown finally broke the silence that had descended upon the room. "So do you want to know what you're having? Because the baby is in the perfect position for me to tell you if you'd like to know."
Olivia glanced at Brian and when he gave her his silent assent with a slight nod of his head she zealously replied to the doctor, her face radiating her excitement. "Yes. Yes. We definitely want to know."
Dr. Brown chuckled at the woman's enthusiasm. Pausing briefly for dramatic effect, she glanced between the couple and their son before declaring, "Congratulations. It's a girl!"
The next few moments were a blur of tears and hugs and kisses as the news that they were going to have a daughter washed over Olivia and Brian. While neither one of them had wanted to admit it, this was precisely the outcome they were hoping for. Now they would have a son and a daughter; their perfect little family would be complete.
"Did you hear that Noah?" Brian asked the little boy as he lifted him in the air, high above his head. "You're going to have a baby sister."
Noah just giggled and said "Be-be," pointing toward Olivia's stomach.
"That's right Noah," Olivia said, smiling at her son as a few more tears made their way down her cheeks. "That's your baby sister."
"Liv, you have to stop blaming yourself," Brian scolded, pulling Olivia out of her reminiscences. "I chose to pick up the extra hours so I'll be able to take some extra time off when the baby comes. So I can give you all the help you need as we get used to having not only an energetic two year old to contend with but also a high-maintenance infant as well. Sure it kind of sucks now, but it will be worth it. I promise."
"Yeah but if I had listened to the doctor and taken it easy I wouldn't have had to go out on maternity leave already. That hasn't helped our financial situation at all," Olivia responded with a frustrated sigh.
"It was bound to happen no matter how much you cut back. SVU is a stressful job, I remember, and Noah's not a baby anymore. He's a toddler—a toddler who's not content to just sit in his playpen for hours. He's constantly on the move, getting into things. Chasing him around tires me out and I'm not six months pregnant."
Brian placed his still half full cup of coffee on the bed side table before depositing the tray containing his empty plate and glass on the floor next to the bed. Now that his lap and arms were available he picked Noah up and positioned the toddler on his lap before scooting closer to Olivia and wrapping his arm around her waist. Olivia rested her head against Brian's shoulder, watching contentedly as Noah lightly patted her swollen stomach.
On the other side of her stomach Olivia felt a different kind of flutter as their little soccer star started kicking her repeatedly from the inside.
"You felt that too?" Olivia asked, laughing as Brian's fingers jerked back slightly in surprise.
"Yeah I did," Brian said, a smile spreading from ear to ear as he lovingly placed his hand back against Olivia's belly, enjoying the only physical contact he could share with his daughter for another three months.
"I guess she wanted to wish you a 'Happy Father's Day' too." Olivia placed her hand atop Brian's, lightly running her thumb over the rough skin.
Brian swallowed around the lump forming in his throat. He wasn't a particularly emotional man, except when it came to Olivia and his kids. When he felt confident that he could speak without his voice cracking Brian said, "Noah, your sister's trying to say hi. You want to feel it?"
Noah turned slightly and looked up at his dad. "Be-be?"
"Yep, baby," Olivia replied as she ruffled Noah's hair. "Come over here and Daddy will show you."
Following Olivia's directions, Noah crawled out of his dad's lap and came to rest on Olivia's legs, facing his parents expectantly.
Brian gently took hold of Noah's small hand and placed it right where his little sister had been directing her assault on Olivia's side. It took only a few seconds for her to kick again causing Noah to burst into his infectious giggles, the movement tickling his fingertips. Then he did something neither parent was expecting. Wrapping his short arms around Olivia's expanded midsection, he leaned forward and placed his soft cheek against his mother's stomach, his eyelashes fluttering as he gave her a cluster of butterfly kisses, continuing to laugh each time the skin beneath his cheek rumbled.
Olivia and Brian shared an affectionate look, both of them overjoyed at the love Noah was exhibiting for his little sister. Hopefully he would feel the same way about her once she actually came to live with them as a living, crying, attention-stealing baby. Aside from the perils associated with the pregnancy and the delivery, that was Olivia's biggest fear—that Noah wouldn't like the baby and would feel like he was being replaced in his parent's lives. Brian did his best to reassure Olivia, reminding her that there would probably be an adjustment period, but that they both had more than enough love to give both of their children, and even if Noah didn't love his little sister immediately he would eventually come around.
Noah laid that way, with Olivia rubbing circles on his back, until the kicking finally came to a stop. Picking his head up he gave his mother a puzzled look and asked, "Be-be?"
"It's okay Noah. Your baby sister is just taking a little nap," Olivia explained. "You can feel it again later when she wakes up."
Not understanding what his mother was telling him, Noah resumed lightly tapping on Olivia's abdomen, waiting anxiously for the baby to kick back. When he still got no response, he start to fuss, frustration evident in the features of his tiny face. Knowing that she needed a quick distraction before Noah dissolved into full blown wails, Olivia tucked her finger under Noah's chin, lifting his face until he was looking right at her.
"Noah, do you want to give Daddy his present?" she suggested.
The proposition had the desired effect and served to appease the toddler. Climbing off Olivia's lap, Noah made his way to the bottom of the bed where he began pulling on the wrapping paper covering the present.
"Hey," Brian exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing, champ? I think I'm supposed to open the gift. You're just supposed to give it to me, little man."
Brian scooped up a protesting Noah along with the present and brought them both back to the head of the bed. Sitting Noah in between himself and Olivia, he laid the gift across both their laps. "How about we open it together? You like that idea, Noah?"
Noah clapped his hands and laughed before resuming his task of picking at the blue and silver striped paper, pulling it off one small piece at a time.
When all the wrapping paper had been removed and Noah was involved in shredding the paper into even tinier pieces, Brian carefully lifted the lid off the box and sorted through the layers of tissue paper until he pulled out two pictures frames.
The first frame was a double frame with two side by side slots for pictures and had a little card attached to it that said "To: Daddy, From: Noah". The card was decorated with an array of crayon marks that had lovingly been added by Noah. On the left side of the frame was a piece of paper that contained Noah's handprints and a poem. The poem read:
"Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave my fingerprints
On furniture and walls.
But every day I'm growing…
I'll be grown up someday
And all those tiny fingerprints
Will surely fade away.
So here's a final handprint
Just so you can recall
Exactly how my fingers looked
When I was very small."
The right side of the frame contained a picture of Noah and Brian that Olivia had taken last weekend when they went to the beach for the day. Noah had been sitting on Brian's lap, both of them watching as a pair of seagulls engaged in a cutthroat battle over an empty Snickers' wrapper. Olivia had managed to catch them both mid-laugh, Noah with his head turned ever so slightly, looking up admiringly at his father. Olivia probably had an entire camera roll of Brian and Noah pictures from the past year but as soon as she saw this one she knew it would be the perfect picture for Brian's Father's Day present.
Brian took a few minutes to reread the poem and inspect the picture, his vision clouded by the tears forming in his eyes. Not trusting his voice, he leaned over and planted a kiss on the top of Noah's head before looking over his head and smiling at Olivia, conveying his gratitude. Olivia smiled back and gave his thigh a tender squeeze, her own eyes slightly misty.
"You still have one more present in there," Olivia quietly reminded him.
Brian gently set the first frame aside and turned his attention to the second frame. It too had a card attached to it. Brian slid the card from the envelope and read the heart felt message Olivia had penned inside it.
"Bri, I am so grateful that you are the father of my children. There's no one else I'd rather raise a family with. I always knew you could do it. Happy Father's Day—the first of many to come! Love, Liv."
A single tear slid down Brian's cheek as he once again reflected on how dangerously close he's come to missing out on all of this. Olivia, Noah, and his unborn daughter were his life and after spending the past year as Noah's father he couldn't believe there had ever been a time in his life when he had seriously questioned whether he was cut out to be a dad or even someone's husband. Thankfully he had come to his senses before it was too late—Olivia hadn't moved on yet either and she was willing to give him another chance.
"It's okay Bri. You didn't lose us and you never will," Olivia consoled him, reading his mind perfectly as she so often did.
Brian roughly wiped the stray tear away with the back of his hand. He gave Olivia a wan smile before uttering a soft, "Thanks Liv."
Looking back down at his lap, he finally noticed what the second gift was. This frame was divided into four sections. The top left square held the following words:
"First we had each other.
February 14, 2015
Then we had you.
Noah Austin
October 8, 2013
Avery Madison
September _, 2015
Now we have everything."
The remaining three squares held pictures. The top right was a picture of Brian and Olivia dancing at their wedding, the bottom left was a picture of Noah, all decked out in a little suit, taken the day his adoption was finalized, and the bottom right was their daughter's most recent sonogram photo.
Olivia was rambling on about how they would add the rest of the date once their daughter was born and how they could change the picture to her baby picture too but Brian, entirely caught up in the moment, only caught about every fifth word out of her mouth. When Olivia finally realized that he wasn't processing what she was saying she just chuckled and rested her head against his shoulder, being careful not to squish Noah who still sat happily in between them, currently chewing on the envelope from the card, intermittently talking to himself. She waited patiently while he worked to regain his composure, tenderly rubbing her hand along his thigh.
Finally Brian was able to find the words to express his appreciation. "Thank you Liv. For everything…breakfast, my presents, for making me a dad, for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself…" His words trailed off as he stared down into Olivia's deep chestnut eyes, eyes that exuded love and admiration.
"I love you Brian." Olivia stretched her body upward and placed a soft kiss on Brian's waiting lips.
"I love you too Liv," Brian murmured against her lips. Before she could pull away he recaptured her mouth in a longer, deeper kiss. The welcome moment of intimacy continued until Noah, tired of the wrapping paper and envelope, reached his tiny hands up and tapped on his parents' chins.
Pulling reluctantly away from Olivia, Brian said with a chuckle, "I didn't forget about you buddy. Thank you for my gift Noah. I love it." Reaching around Noah he picked up the two frames and held them up for the toddler to see.
Noah stared wide eyed at the pictures for a few seconds before extending his chubby pointer finger toward the frame and announcing, "Da-da…Ma-ma…"
"That's right Noah, that's Ma-ma and Da-da in that picture." Olivia beamed down at her son. Because of all the shuffling around Noah did for the first six months of his life his speech had been somewhat delayed, but thanks to all the love and attention Brian and Olivia bestowed on him he had caught back up and now was hitting every milestone right on time.
"Who else is in the picture?" Brian coaxed, pointing at the picture of him and Noah.
"Noah!" the little boy exclaimed.
Olivia clapped for Noah, an action which he immediately mimicked, providing Olivia and Brian great amusement.
"Okay, one more. This a tough one. Who's that Noah?" Brian asked, pointing at the sonogram picture of baby Avery.
Noah crinkled up his nose and peered inquisitively at the picture. After a few beats of silence he finally declared, "Puppy!"
Neither Brian nor Olivia could keep a straight face after that response. Tears of happiness streamed down their faces as they laughed at their little boy's answer. Noah had just met Frannie the week before and absolutely loved her. Since then "Puppy" had become his go-to word for anything he didn't know.
When Olivia had finally stopped laughing she tickled Noah's belly and said, "No silly, that's your baby sister."
"Be-be?" Noah repeated, a puzzled look clouding his eyes, apparently not convinced that the hazy black blob that looked nothing like the babies in his picture books was indeed his sister.
"Yep buddy, that's your sister," Brian reiterated to Noah. "I know she looks a little funny right now but I promise you she's going to be absolutely beautiful, just like your Mommy." Brian smiled at Olivia, who he noticed was blushing ever so slightly, and gave her another quick kiss on the side of her forehead.
The answer seemed to suit Noah. However, by this point he was starting to get antsy and he began squirming to get free from his position between Olivia and Brian. Before Noah could get too far Brian scooped him up and plopped him in his lap, offering a distraction to the little boy.
"What do you say we find a place to hang these pictures up, Noah? That way everyone can see them when they come over. See how handsome us Cassidy men are and see how gorgeous our girls are." Olivia's cheeks flushed once again. She had been alone a long time and still wasn't entirely used to being the object of someone else's admiration, even after three years together.
Noah settled into Brian's lap and bobbed his head up and down despite the fact that he was too young to fully understand Brian's question.
"I'll take that as a yes," Brian laughed. "Unless Mommy has something else planned for us." He turned his head and look expectantly at Olivia.
Her hands were clasped atop her swollen stomach and a serene expression graced her beautiful face. "Well unfortunately I'm a little limited on what I can do these days," Olivia began, lightly rubbing her hands over her belly to emphasize her point. "So I was thinking we could take Noah to the park for a little and then get a late lunch on our way back to the apartment. And maybe watch a movie with him this evening after his nap. But I really just want this day to be perfect for you so you tell me if that sounds okay or if you'd rather do something else."
"I think that sounds like exactly what I would have picked," Brian said with a huge grin. "And then after the movie, you can sit on the couch with your feet propped up and watch Noah and me hang the pictures. With my expert assistant here, we'll have them up in no time. Right Noah?"
Noah just giggled as Brian peppered kisses all over the toddler's rosy cheeks.
"Well if nothing else, I'm sure it will be entertaining." Olivia smirked at Brian, her dark eyes gleaming.
"I think I should be offended," Brian grumbled, trying his hardest to feign indignation, the twinkle in his hazel eyes giving him away.
"I'm kidding," Olivia reassured him. "I have complete faith in my handymen."
Cuddling up against Brian as best she could with her large midsection in the way, Olivia lazily traced her finger over Noah's soft cheek before adding, "I guess I should go work on cleaning up the breakfast dishes."
Brian tightened his embrace around Olivia preventing her from getting up. "You have done more than you were supposed to already Liv. Remember taking it easy? I'll take care of the dishes. You just worry about getting you and Noah ready to go to the park."
"But Bri," Olivia disputed, "It's Father's Day. You shouldn't have to…."
Brian placed his finger over Olivia's lips, silencing her. "Exactly, it's my day and I say I'm going to do the dishes while my pregnant wife takes it easy…in a few minutes. Because right now I'm enjoying snuggling with my wife and son."
Brian paused for a moment, expecting further objections from Olivia but when they did not come, he continued. "So not to change the subject too drastically, but is this why Noah's hands were blue last week?" Brian asked, nodding toward the frame that lay at the end of their bed.
"Guilty," Olivia replied with a laugh. "I was hoping you hadn't noticed that." Relaxing against Brian's strong frame, Olivia reached her finger out and let Noah grab onto it as he nestled into Brian, resting his cheek against his father's chest.
Brian just chuckled in reply, savoring the moment—his entire family safe and secure in his warm embrace. His beautiful, strong, compassionate wife, his curious, adorable, energetic son, and his unborn, already active, little miracle daughter. Sixteen years ago, when Brian and Olivia were rookie detectives, Father's Day had just been a day when he mournfully recalled his own father who had passed away when Brian was a senior in high school. But starting today, Father's Day took on a new meaning. It was a celebration of persistence and second chances and rekindled love, but most importantly an acknowledgement of the perfect family he and Olivia had created together.