Didn't realize it's been 3 months. Sorry.

Chapter 8 picks up where 7 left off. Dick Wolf owns.

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When Olivia woke up the next morning, all she could think about was that she'd get to see Nick after a long weekend, but instead of the joyous anticipation she felt all weekend, she now felt guilty. Especially at not knowing what she'd say to him, or how she would face him.

She opened her eyes slowly as she woke up to the baby kicking exceptionally hard. Jesus, she hated days like this because she'd learned two months ago that if he started like this, he would continue throughout the day and she was already over it.

As she put a hand on her belly, vainly hoping to calm him, last night and all the things she did with David began playing in her head, driving her to pray that she'd dreamt them all. But as soon as she sat up to look at the clock, she noticed that she was completely naked beneath the covers, and the stickiness between her legs…

"Oh, Jesus!" She whispered as she dropped back down against the pillows and ran a hand through her wild hair while she touched the other between her legs. David was an animal last night, thoroughly ravaging her until they were both completely spent and now the soreness she felt... as much as they had both wanted what happened, right now she was filled with regret, bought at what? Was it because of what she let happen with her and David, or was it really about her and Nick?

...

After a long shower, she dried her freshly washed hair, deciding to leave it wavy. Then got dressed in black skinny pants with a white blouse and jacket before she made her way downstairs to the kitchen, where David and the girls were having breakfast and she stopped to think before she went in.

The girls had school and then piano and violin classes after, and David had meetings all day so she wouldn't be bothered until at least 5:30, and by then, she'd be on her way home. So, she'd take the girls to school, talk to their teachers a bit, and then head up to the Bronx to see Nick. They'd both taken the day off to see one another, except now, she was so nervous! Did she bring up what happened between David and her? "It was one time." She told herself. "One time that felt so good!" she followed up out loud.

You have to talk to him. Was what she would usually be telling herself about David, even before she got out of bed. But today she was unsure, and for probably the hundredth time since she woke up this morning, she wished that she could take back last night; just not have let it happened. She was reminded of this as she looked down at her ever-growing belly. Though was it the right thing? Last night she remembered why she loved him; and it wasn't just because of the way he made love to her. It was because afterward when she lay in his arms, she cried. She looked into his eyes for the first time in months last night and she saw everything that she had spent years falling in love with. Maybe everything she thought she felt last night was right, or maybe it would disappear.

"Good morning, beautiful!" He immediately smiled when she came into the room.

No such luck. She looked at him and there came that feeling all over again. That feeling that was like the day they met; she had a nervous sense, but a good nervous. Almost like there were butterflies in her stomach… What was happening?

I wanted to be there when you woke up, but these two…" He said and kissed her softly on the lips; wrapping his arms around her. The girls looked at them and grinned at each other. They were excited, to say the least, but they didn't make a sound. "...sleep okay?"

"I slept fine." she smiled, then turned away to face Aria and Sophia. "good morning, babies."

"Good morning, mommy." Sophia and Aria said at the same time, quite eerily. Olivia hated when they decided to be funny and did that creepy twin thing, although David thought it was hilarious and stood there in the background laughing to himself.

"Did you and Daddy make up?" Sophia asked.

Olivia grinned as David smiled, remembering last night. She kissed both her daughters on her way to the coffee pot as the twins looked at their mother, then at David and when they got nothing but goofy smiles from each of them, they turned to look at each other.

"Does this mean that you guys are okay?" Aria asked and Sophia chimed in.

"...we don't want to go back to you guys living apart. We like all of us together!" she said just as the baby gave Olivia a hard kick to which she let out a groan as she gripped the counterand drew in a deep breath as she rubbed her stomach. "See, he thinks so too!" Sophia grinned.

"I swear, he's worse by himself than these two were together," Olivia said as David put his arms around her, rubbing her belly to feel the kicks and he felt a big one.

"I'm telling you, this one's gonna be a Heisman recipient!"

"Well, he can practice kicking once he's out of me," she said as she poured her coffee.

"What's a Heisman?" Sophia asked.

"a football trophy, Soph."

"Momma, did Soph and me kick you a lot?"

Olivia was mid-sip when she put her mug down. "Yes you did, just not as hard as this little guy. Why don't you guys finish up so that I can get you to school? You don't want to be late."

"I could see if I could make it for lunch today if you wanna…" David told her.

"Uh, would you mind if I took a rain check? I have meetings all day." she lied. "Maybe another day this week?"

"Great, I'll see what I have available." He said as he put the milk back in the refrigerator.

"Daddy, why are you so happy this morning?" The girls asked in unison.

"Daddy is just being silly," Olivia said as she took some bacon from the serving plate and bit into it, washing it down with her coffee as she left the kitchen.

"I'll be right back," David told the girls and went out behind Olivia.

"So, are you alright this morning?" He asked her.

"I'm fine." She smiled.

"You know; last night was incredible!"

"It was nice,"

"Just nice?" He asked and she laughed. "How many times did I make you…"

"...no shortage of humility, huh?" she said as she grazed his cheek with hers.

"I mean…" He had the biggest smile on his face. One that made her grin momentarily.

"Stop…"

"I love making love to you." He whispered. "I love the way you moan, and how you burst into tears when you cum - you burst into tears a lot last night," He delivered a sensuous string of kisses to her neck. "Is this okay?" He whispered. "I haven't been able to kiss you like this for so long...I've missed it!"

"David..." she moaned. She was enjoying the hell out of what he was doing, but she couldn't, not again. She'd let emotions and her hormones get the best of her last night when she knew she shouldn't have.

"Maybe...after this one's born, we can get started on one more...or two?"

"Are you kidding?…" She was thankful when Aria and Sophia came out of the kitchen with their lunch bags, interrupting the moment and she and David quickly separated and she adjusted her clothes. "Why don't you guys go and grab your stuff, I'll be there in a minute." Aria and Sophia stopped and again looked at both their parents, then each other and giggled as they walked off to get their coats and backpacks.

"Jesus, David; is all of this healthy for them?" she said as she rubbed the side of her belly when she felt the baby kick.

"Baby, we're their parents, and it's not 1950," he grinned. "...hey, you gonna be okay? You look like you're in pain"

"It feels like our son is trying to kick his way out me, and I'm over it,"

"I know baby, but it'll be over soon. Just when do you plan on taking maternity leave? You only have four weeks left to go, and I don't think you'll get that far."

"...when my water breaks or I start labor, just like I did with the twins. I'm gonna see if they have everything."

"Hey, Liv…"

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to say...thank you for letting me be here for this. I know that we went through a lot with losing Logan, but…"

"I know," she said and looked at him before she kissed him, then smiled and walked off.

"...please hold… sir, may I help you?" The receptionist at the law firm, Maurice, said to the man who had just gotten off the elevator and walked in through the big glass doors.

"Yes, hello. I'm here to see Mr. Haden,"

"And you are?"

"Uh, S-Stanley Corn."

"Do you have an appointment, Mr. Corn?"

"Well no; I was hoping that-"

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Haden is in meetings all day."

"All day?"

"All day… Haden, Johnson, Shein, and Phillips. Please hold… I'd be happy to give him a message, but I'm afraid… Haden, Johnson, Shein, and Phillips. Please hold… you won't be able to see him today. Is there anything else that I can do for you, sir?"

"You can tell Mr. Haden that I'm here."

"Sir, what part of "in meetings all day" don't you understand? Again, if you'd like to leave a message, I'll take it and have him get in contact with you. Otherwise, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." He said with a forced smile. "Haden, Johnson, Shein, and Phillips. Please hold…"

Stanley looked back at the receptionist on his way out and rolled his eyes. Who the hell does he think he is? He steamed as he walked, quite slowly to the elevators. When he got there, he whipped out his cell phone.

...

"Oh, and the file you wanted…" David told his secretary, Mary, as he handed her the file from his briefcase.

"You're certainly in a better mood than you were last night."

"That's because, for the first time in a long time, things are looking up at home."

"Well, I hope it continues. You and Olivia certainly deserve it," she said as she went to the door. "What will I do without you for two months, when you leave?"

"You'll be fine. And look at it this way, you'll be paid and off the clock too; most of the time,"

"Yeah, yeah. You're expected in the conference room in twenty minutes."

"Thanks, Mary," He said as she walked out and his cell vibrated. "Haden,"

"I'm out by the elevators because your receptionist won't let me see you!"

David threw his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose then made a memo to give Maurice a raise. "My wife saves his ass and yet, he persists," David said, speaking of Stanley as if he weren't on the phone with him.

"Mr. Haden, I need that money," But he was met with silence. The line had gone dead. "Damn you, Haden!"

David, in his office, blocked the number from his phone, and then picked up the receiver to the one on his desk and dialed security. "Yeah, there's a guy by the elevators about 5'8" skinny, looks squirrely, with glasses. See to it that he's thrown out of the building." and he hung up.

Outside by the elevators, where Stanley was now fuming as he tried to redial, only to be met with the voicemail on David's phone.

"You son of a…" he started as two huge security guards started coming towards him. He silently thanked God when one of the elevator doors opened, and without watching where he was going, he backed into the car, so glad that the doors closed before they got to him.

"Hey Bruce, we got a man coming down on the elevator, brown suit, 5'8", glasses and balding brown hair..." The bald security guard said into the walkie-talkie.

Olivia rode to Nick's place with absolute silence in the cab, still thinking about what happened between her and David last night, and she inadvertently smiled. God, she'd missed him! The thing was, she didn't even know it until he kissed her, then touched her body in all the right places. He was insatiable, and with the way he made love to her so passionately, it was almost rough and she had to admit, she loved it. The way he held her down and fucked her so hard and so deep, she came like crazy, and even now she felt herself getting wet just thinking about it. She was so thankful that the walls were thick and the girls slept like the dead because she and David were loud. Not that they meant to but... immediately, she shook it off though as she squeezed her legs together and prayed that the cab driver wasn't paying attention.

"What are you thinking? Hell, what are you doing?" She asked herself in her head. She figured that once everything was out in the open, once she would tell David, that everything would be fine, except, now she wondered if it was what she needed to be doing. There were still feelings there that she hadn't considered; her babies- yes, kids are resilient, but did she need to put them through something like this so suddenly? It's not as if she had been preparing them for this day. They had never known about her and Nick; even long before David and she were together. Just when they were ready to tell their girls about their plans for a life together, everything fell apart! Now, as she sat in the back of this cab, thinking about the last few months (she had only decided that she would leave David for Nick, six weeks ago); she was thankful that she had that time with Nick because she probably would have lost her mind if she hadn't. But this morning, things looked clearer, mainly things with her girls.

"...we don't want to go back to you guys living apart. We like all of us together!"

How could she tear that away from them?

"Here we go…" the driver said to her as he pulled up in front of Nick's house, but instead of getting out, she sat there for a long moment staring up at the stoop as she felt the baby trying to kick a hole through her. "You gettin out?"

"I'm sorry, yes," she answered and paid the fair. "Keep the change"

"Hey, thanks!" The driver exclaimed happily when he saw the large bill. "You have a good one."

She slowly got out of the car and stood there at the curb, letting out a deep breath as she rubbed her belly and looked up at the house.

Inside…

Okay, Mi Amor. You have a good day at school, and Daddy will talk to you soon...I love you too baby!" He laughed as he hung up. He thought about all the changes that having Zara full time would bring, but he also thought about how he missed her constantly. In the end, he was so excited that she would be coming home and he couldn't wait to tell Olivia.

"Perfect timing," He thought as the doorbell rang and he walked over to go get it. He opened the door to see Olivia standing there, looking as beautiful as ever. "Why didn't you use your key?" he smiled.

As if just realizing that she had a key… "I totally forgot I had one," she said honestly as she came in out of the cold and Nick shut the door. She immediately turned and kissed his lips. "I missed you," she smiled as he helped her take off her coat.

"Not nearly as much as I missed you. Babe, I've got a lot to tell you."

"So do I…" She said as he removed her coat and hung it.

"Everything alright?"

"I…" she started as the doorbell rang.

"Hold that," He said as he answered the door and saw his neighbor on the other side. "Mrs. Grotz…"

Olivia decided she would go to the kitchen for a glass of water while Nick was busy talking to his neighbor, and she came through the doorway and stood off by the counter, getting her head together when she felt the baby kicking.

"I know…" she said quietly to no one as she grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and screwed off the cap but didn't take a sip. Instead, she put the bottle down on the counter.

"What are you doing?" She asked herself. She couldn't stop thinking about last night, couldn't stop thinking about this morning and those kisses…god, those kisses!

"I'm sorry, babe," Nick said as he came into the kitchen, pulling Olivia from her thoughts. He came up to her and gently grabbed her collar, guiding her lips to his for a kiss.

"Who was that?" She asked, thinking how good his lips felt against hers. And again, she asked herself, what are you doing, Olivia?

With his mouth traveling down to her neck where he began nipping and sucking "Mrs. Grotz. She has to stop by every morning that I'm home with an earful of nothing… God, I have missed you!"

"Nick…" His mouth was gently sucking her earlobe as he unbuttoned her blouse, she could already feel herself getting wet. But damn, she couldn't do this. She thought as she felt his fingers on her nipples through her bra. Oh my god! "Baby, we have to- we have to t-talk."

"Later…" He said as he lead her out of the kitchen as he kissed her ravenously.

Stanley entered his apartment nervous as hell, and as he sat down he took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

Jesus! He thought as he sat on the sofa with his hands trembling. He'd barely gotten out of that building this morning! The security guards were actually waiting for him when he got down to the lobby. They'd grabbed him, and thinking that he was a threat, took him to a room and searched him while they waited for the police...THE POLICE! God, he'd never been so humiliated!

After explaining (crying) to the police that it was simply a misunderstanding and he intended no harm. He was escorted out of the building where he quickly ran into the nearby subway and just rode while he tried to get his mind straight. He'd messed up! Now, not only did he not have the money, and didn't look as if he would get it, at least not from David. But he now had only six days to come up with what he owed his bookie or there would be hell to pay; not that there wasn't already hell to pay with David. This was bad. And thinking about it, as he had been since they threw him out of that building; he'd made a huge mistake!

His mother always told him, Stanley, don't be greedy. Well, that was easy for her to say out in the middle of a farm in Iowa. Here in New York City, greed was easy to come by. There was so much to want here. So much to have and so easy to come by it. But just this once, he wished that he'd listened to his mother. Here he was, waist deep with a bookie that he owed so much money to, it was unreal and he went and pissed off a very powerful man to get it. Why did he have to go back? He had cleared his gambling debt when David paid him that $100,000. Now he was caught up with his bookie, caught up with David and he felt sick.

The only thing left to do was send Olivia the letter and pray that she'd respond to it.

"God, please. If you just let this happen for me, I'll quit gambling. I'll get help, and I'll learn to be content with what I make." He promised. A promise that he'd made a million times before whenever he got in a bind. He got up from the sofa, and peeking through his window curtains, he saw that it was clear and quickly went to grab the letter from the counter.

"Luck, be a lady for me!" He prayed into the letter as he kissed it, and opened his door. What the…? There were two of them, dressed in suits.

"Hello, Stanley." one of them spoke with a smile that quickly disappeared. The other just came along quietly as the two of them made their way into his apartment and shut the door.

"I'm uh, I'm sorry. Do I know you?" Do I know you? What the hell kind of question is that, Stanley?

"You've been given a warning that unfortunately for you, you've chosen to ignore."

"I, I, no. I…" Stanley stuttered. "You must have the wrong guy-"

"Shhhhh. What's this?" the man said referring to the letter that he had taken from Stanley's hand and looked it over. "Stanley. Really?"

"I was just-"

"You were just being greedy, and that's not good for you, Stanley. Not good at all."

As David was coming out of another meeting, just about to go for lunch, his phone alerted him that there was a message.

"What do you guys think, steak?" Shein said to the group to which they agreed. David took out his phone and read the message he received.

[Done]

Not paying very close attention to Shein, who was now telling a joke, David typed out a response.

[Quiet?]

[Very]

[Good]

He looked up from his phone, smiling, and turned to the group he was with when his phone rang as he was getting on the elevator and one of the guys started to say something.

"Hold on Bob, I gotta take this. Yes, hello?"

"Mr. Haden, hi. It's Pamela Martins" the woman said.

"Ms. Martins, how are you?"

"Very well, thank you. I wish I could say the same for Sophia,"

"Sophia?" He said, suddenly scared.

"I can't reach her mother, she's with the nurse…"

Paris

"Okay, we have to be quick," Julia said as she came into the living room, in cashmere sweats and she adjusted the intercom on the wall.

"I thought the baby was sleeping," Her lawyer said over video chat.

"Chloe, she is. It's just that when she sleeps, I sleep. Otherwise, I'm no good." She said smiling as she sat down on the sofa and threw her ponytail off her shoulder.

Tess took a look at Julia. She was all smiles in spite of looking tired. "How is motherhood?"

"So unbelievably amazing; she's amazing. Even if I am exhausted all day,"

"Isn't that what nannies are for?"

"I don't have one yet. I've waited so long for Chloe, I don't know if I want her raised by one, which is ironic because I always thought that if I ever had children it would be the first thing I did."

"Okay, who are you and what have you done to Julia?" But Julia laughed as she opened the big envelope on the coffee table.

"So these are the papers?" she said as she looked them over with a pen in her hand.

"They are, and I advise you to really think about this before you make it legal."

"I've thought of nothing but this. It's the right thing."

"For your sake and hers, I pray you're right. Anyway, I have a charity event to get to so I've got to go but if you need me…"

"I know. Thanks, Tess." Julia said before she ended the conversation by turning the chat off then looked down at the papers in front of her and put down the pen, thinking.

Ms. Martins told him that Sophia had been throwing up and with him thinking that Olivia couldn't be reached because she was probably in another meeting, he canceled his remaining meetings and hurried over to the school to find Sophia with a terrible stomach ache.

"Baby, what happened?" he said as he rushed into the nurses' office and pulled her into his arms.

"I want mommy!" Sophia cried weakly in David's arms as he rubbed her back. She was still quite nauseous and constantly made motions like she was going to throw up, but David didn't put her down.

"I know you do, sweetheart. I called your doctor, we're gonna head over to see her, okay?" He spoke softly to her, immediately making her feel somewhat better.

"...can Ari come?"

"anything, princess. Let's get you out of here, okay?" He checked that she was alright to get to the car before he thanked the nurse before leaving, and grabbing Aria on his way out.

She wanted to resist him. To put off making love and talk to him and told about him her indiscretion with David - though she didn't know if she could really call it an indiscretion. Nonetheless, she hadn't come here to get physical with Nick. And plus she was still sore from last night. This was not her plan. But when she felt Nick's hands on her body and the sensations that came from it, she couldn't help herself. Now as she lay in his bed, both of them thoroughly spent; she couldn't help but feel guilty that she'd again given herself for sex when her head was a mess. Well, part way. It was just too much for her to handle after last night and she stopped him halfway through. She hated herself right now as Nick took off the condom and threw it away.

"Hey, you okay?" He said as he turned over to face her in bed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "I'm gonna go pee, but, baby, we have to talk when I get back," she said as she got up, still in her bra and grabbed her phone before she went into the bathroom.

Inside, she sat peeing as she turned her phone on. "Holy shit!" she whispered to herself at the pain between her legs as it started to flow. "What was I thinking?" she asked herself when he phone pinged and she picked it up from the sink. 17 missed calls… "what the?" she worried as she wiped herself and called her voicemail, the first message was from a hospital, and she listened as she washed her hands. When suddenly she heard Fin. Oh god, did something happen at work? She thought and heard his voice, angry sounding.

"Liv, dammit, this is my fifth message; where the hell are you? You need to call me back!"

Fin didn't call unless there was a problem. And he didn't call five times unless it was life and death. She suddenly felt sick as her breathing sped up. and in a panic, she nervously willed her fingers to dial Fin as she leaned on the sink for support.

At the hospital…

"...I'll handle it," Fin said to the nurse as she walked away. When his phone rang and he saw it was Olivia, he immediately answered. "I don't even wanna know, but you need to get down here,"

"Get down where? Fin, what's happened?"

"Mercy General. Liv, there's been an accident!"

She rushed into the hospital looking disheveled with her clothes and hair a mess and her mascara running.

"There's been an accident!" The words came from Fin's mouth and suddenly her world seemed to close in on her. She dropped her phone into the sink as she collapsed on the closed toilet-lid...

When she got there, she went to the desk, hurriedly. "I'm Olivia Benson, my children, and their father, there was a car accident, David, Aria and Sophia Haden…"

"One moment," The woman at the desk said and picked up the phone as Liv wiped her eyes

"Liv, it'll be okay," Nick said again for the umpteenth time. He had a hand on the small of her back trying to calm her, but it wasn't working. Nothing would work until she knew that David and her babies were okay.

"How could something like this…" she cried. She nervously looked around the ER. All the way here she was a mess. Nick tried to reassure her that it would all be okay but she was absolutely beside herself. Fin couldn't tell her much over the phone; just that it was a drunk driver who side-swiped their car when David had the light, and nearly took off half the vehicle.

"Liv…" Fin said as he came through the door from the treatment areas. Liv ran to him in tears as he looked at her appearance. She looked a mess, her clothes thrown on haphazardly, the buttons on her blouse mismatched with the wrong holes.

"Where are they?"

"Listen to me, the girls are alright. A few scratches and they're shaken up but they're fine." He said and Olivia broke from relief. "I told them I was coming down to get mommy,"

"What about David?"

"I don't know, they won't tell me anything other than he's still in surgery."

"Oh god!"

"Ms. Benson, come with me," the nurse said. She was sorrowful seeing Olivia like this. Here she was pregnant, obviously due and day and she was here under such horrible circumstances. Her heart went out to Olivia as she leads the way.

"Liv…" Nick said in, whispering as he gently grabbed her arm. "baby, I'll be-"

"Nick, I can't do this right now!" she yelled in tears and ran to follow the nurse. Fin watched Nick a moment, just like Olivia, his clothes were a disheveled mess. Once she was out of sight, he went to him.

He spoke in a calm, quiet voice as he put his hand on Nick's shoulder. "Tell me that she wasn't in your bed while I was trying to call her about her girls and the father of that baby." but Nick turned and simply looked at him with tears in his eyes, the guilt on his face unmistakable, telling Fin his answer. And with his hand that rubbed his face: "Dammit, I didn't wanna believe it!"

He insisted that I call him Damian. Not master. Just Damian.

Yesterday, we fucked one another so good, it was insane! But still, he didn't pass out and I'm wondering if he can be taken to that point of ecstasy. Maybe he's not one of those people. Maybe he already knows this and is just looking for an excuse to off his slaves. But there was no way that I could allow him to take me out, one way or another, I had to figure something out.

I walked the house, getting used to my surroundings. I quickly discovered that in addition to being his sex toy, there was an entire house full of people who I was forbidden from talking to - not that I spoke any of their tongues. But I was already used to ignoring the help, I was just thankful that I wasn't required to dress around them if I didn't want to. I had come to love being practically naked from m time in master's house, the more, the better and I walked the halls in nothing more than a long silk gown that wrapped around me and hung loosely. I wore nothing underneath it but the jewelry that was, for now permanent. I wore a thin gold chain that not only connected my nipple rings but wrapped my waist and dipped to connect my clitoral piercing as well. No underwear, as Damian liked to have his property ready when he came home and I was property.

I came to a set of doors and opened them, to my surprise, it was a library. A grand one that was two stories and full of leather-bound books. We weren't allowed to read in masters house. No learning of any kind except for how to please a man or woman sexually and master often took joy in being our teacher.

When I thought about that man, I wanted to kill him and I told myself that he'd pay, right along with Thomas and now Damian, if I got out of this alive, I thought as I walked to the left side of the library and allowed my fingers to travel along the books. Kama Sutra, Tantric Sex; there were literally hundreds if not thousands of books dedicated to sex. I took one, absentmindedly going through it and I noticed someone staring at me from outside.

It was one of the security guards and though he never knew that I was looking at him, I could tell that he liked what he saw very much, but I had to test him. And acting totally unaware as I continued flipping through the book, I gingerly tossed my hair to the side, exposing my neck and ran my hand down to my very full breasts to play with my nipple while I was "reading" the book. I slid the gown to the side and pulled at the ring in my nipple which tugged at my clitoral ring. Shit, this felt amazing! I thought while I sucked in my breath and bit my lip. It felt even better to see that the guard was looking right at me and at the same time, I saw something in that book that I hadn't tried. It was kinky, but Damian liked kinky. I quickly took the book with me, and walked out of the library, shutting the doors.

Maybe I could buy myself time after all while I found out if the guard could be persuaded!

Later that evening, Olivia was in the room with Aria and Sophia, finishing a storybook when Fin came in and looked at them sleeping so soundly as he watched Olivia in the chair, looking worn out but she still got up and after she checked their covers and kissed them both, she and Fin went out in the hall.

"How are they?"

"The doctor, she said it was luck that they weren't hurt," she said, her tears dropping as she looked over their now sleeping forms that were curled up with each other. "A few cuts and bruises but they're okay...Fin, I messed up."

" Liv…"

"Don't. Trust me, there's nothing you could say that will make me feel worse than I already do. Sophia was sick and throwing up in school and all she wanted was me,"

"Stop,"

"Fin, they were scared, and in pain and they cried for me after watching their father - and I was fucking Nick. They could've died in that crash, David still might and I was fucking Nick!"

"Listen to me, I am not here to judge you,"

"I'm judging me! Fin, what kind of a mother am I? ...and David, what if they wake up and he's gone? What if…" she started but Fin pulled her into his arms were she wept.

"David's strong, you hear me. I don't like the son-of-a-bitch, but he's too committed to you and those girls; that's gonna keep him in this life."

Olivia laughed through her tears for a second before she started to cry again. He had never seen her like this before and didn't know what else he could do. Olivia was usually the pillar of strength, and to see her now reduced to this, it got to him as he pulled her back.

"Hey, have you eaten?"

"I'm not hungry

"I know, but you gotta keep your strength up for little man. And with the way he's kicking, I think he's ready for some nourishment."

"Fin-"

"No arguments. There's a soup place about a block from here, how about I get you some broccoli-cheddar? You love that stuff."

"If I say yes, will that get you off my back?"

"If you say yes and actually eat."

In the chapel at the hospital, Nick sat staring at the altar. His mind was a mess and all he could think since he found out about David was that this was retribution for the months that he and Olivia had been sneaking around behind David's back.

He had gone to the intensive care unit and peeked in on David. He immediately wished he hadn't. There were wires and tubes sticking out of him, he has broken ribs that punctured his lung, a broken collarbone, his left arm was shattered to pieces. He'd been trapped in the totaled car and the fire department had to cut him out of the vehicle. A collapsed lung, multiple lacerations to his face from the glass of the windows that smashed and he needed a large number of stitches to close them all. The doctors weren't at all sure how he survived long enough to be cut out of that car or if he'd even survive from one hour to the next. It was all just a waiting game.

We would have told him when we started. He thought. "I should have been a man and taken it to him." He cried. Now, Olivia can't even look at him because of the guilt she feels. David may die, and even if he does wake up…

"God, please," He prayed. "I love her, but I'll give her up if it means he'll be okay. At the end of the day, Ari and Soph need their dad, please don't take him away."

And he meant it. Even if he didn't know the lengths that David had already gone to to keep Olivia.

Tbc...