The rumors about FF getting shut down eventually are terrifying! I am located also on AO3 under bb_bensler in case things ever go south other here. Until then, I will live in bliss and continue to upload!

Your reviews are always a hoot to read. Thank you!

The soft blow of winter edges into the apartment. The fireplace goes to help keep the place warm this morning. The sweet smell of pancakes and bacon wafted through.

Olivia sleeps in and it's well deserved, today is a special day.

It's her birthday.

Elliot made her favorite breakfast with a hot coffee from their favorite shop a few blocks over. The girls had fun taking the trip over and picking out a beautiful bouquet for her on the way home. He's slightly grateful for her exhaustion, she slept through it all.

It's almost 9am when she finally wakes. Her form emerges from his bedroom with her hair clipped away from her face as she sports a fluffy gray robe. For a woman who has just rolled out of bed she looks absolutely breathtaking in her bare faced glory. She grins from ear to ear when she sees the balloons attached to the flower vase floating through the air. A small vanilla cake with enough sprinkles on it to feed a football team sits with her age on two wax candles. It makes her chuckle, realizing the girls had been the ones who made her the cake.

"Happy birthday!" The girls climb down from their seats at the kitchen island and rush to attack her with hugs and kisses. Olivia bent down and was quickly knocked over by their force. They're all lying on the ground now, Ophelia and Katie snuggling into her and flood her face with kisses. It takes all but two seconds to make her eyes well with tears.

"Oh thank you my loves," she chokes out and pulls them in closer for one more snuggle before finding her footing again. "Did you do this all for me?" she looked over at the table in the dining room nook. Elliot stood in the kitchen watching it all fold out before him, finding it hard to keep his emotions in check too.

It's the little things.

She protested against any huge celebrations but he was going to make her feel special one way or another. He's glad he succeeded.

"Daddy helped too," Katie added.

"Oh, I love it. Thank you," they all shuffled into the kitchen and his arms were quick to find their way around her waist.

"You didn't have to do all this," her lips found his and kissed him once. Twice.

"This was mostly the girl's idea," he shrugged.

"Uh huh," she smirked up at him and pulled him in for a hug. His arms wrapped around her snugly and he buried his face into her hair. Her cheek is flush against his chest as her arms enveloped his middle. His solid figure goes soft when she's on him and it feels like home wrapped up into this one being.

"Happy birthday baby," he said into her hair and kissed the crown of her head. The pet name makes her roll her eyes but she won't ever tell him to stop with it. Only from his lips would she let it be used. "I love you," he nuzzled his face into her neck and kissed there too. It tickles a little and makes her smile stretch across her face.

"I love you too," she pulled back to take a good look at him as they stood in the middle of the kitchen. The girls played in the background, music played softly, and the smell of sweetness filled the space.

It's a perfect morning and she thinks, the best birthday yet.

….

Elliot is full of surprises when she sends Olivia off with his credit card for the day to do a little shopping while he hangs back with the girls. She doesn't think she remembered the last time she got a Saturday afternoon to herself. She loves him and loves their girls truly, the quiet time alone is much needed. His only request was for her to be home by five so they could have plenty of time to get ready for dinner. She had no clue where they were going, not an inkling of what she should wear but he had insisted she just focused on finding anything sexy to wear.

It made her shake her head now as she sat across from Casey with her shopping bags at her feet. One of them contains a dress she is sure he will have fun taking off of her later tonight. It's a fitted black number that hugs her curves in all the right places.

"He's going to go absolutely crazy over this," Casey took a look for herself at the dress with her eyes wide and mouth wide open. This is only their second time meeting up together since the gala in December, but they have been hitting it off really well. Olivia had finished up earlier than she thought and called up her new friend to see if she had time for a late lunch.

"I will not be surprised if he has you knocked up after tonight."

"Oh shut up," Olivia chuckles and shakes her head at her nonsense.

"What? He's absolutely gonna show you how much he loves this dress again and again and-"

"Okay, enough!" she holds her hands up in protest and full on belly laughs at her. "You're so sweet at first and then you quickly learn how much of a freak you are all the time."

"Yeah well welcome," she held up her champagne flute. "My love life is a freak show too so I have to live vicariously through yours," she missed this. The bantering girl talks over drinks and over all just girl time with someone her age.

"Well, I'm honored to be your muse," she tapped her glass against Casey's with a bashful smirk. "Thank you again for hanging out today. The girls are great listeners but I don't think I can handle another rewatch of The Little Mermaid," her eyes roll and she laughs.

"Olivia, please stop thanking me. We're friends now," her hands shoo away her comment. "But I gotta tell you, these lunch dates are great but I'm ready to have a real girls night," she made sure to really emphasize the word "real" and Olivia is a little nervous to ask what she means.

"Real?"

"Yeah, let's go to a bar," she exclaimed and shimmed her shoulders.

"Right now?"

"Not right now. What about next weekend? It's David's week with Ophelia, and I'm sure Elliot can go a night without you-"

"A night? As in I won't be making it back home?" Her eyebrows raise in amusement.

"He's gonna want you stumbling into the apartment at four in the morning?"

"Jesus Casey- I go to bed at 10 pm."

"Not next weekend. I have tequila shots already lined up for you," she decided for the both of them and it made Olivia laugh, truly. She thinks the last time she had been anywhere with a proper dance floor might have been long before Ophelia was born.

"Okay fine. We'll go out next Friday. I'm gonna need the entire weekend to recover," satisfied, Casey took another swig of her champagne with an eyebrow arched and a smirk on her lips.

"Happy birthday Olivia. Next week- your forties will truly begin."

Oh god, she thinks. What the hell has she gotten herself into.

…..

How lucky is she?

She almost says out loud as she sits across from her love over a candlelight dinner. It's her forty-second birthday and she's with an incredible man who treats her like royalty. He's mapped out today perfectly for her and it's ending on the sweetest note.

Quality time

Bouncing between their jobs and the girls, she doesn't think they have had a date night in the last few months alone. It makes her ache as she looks at his darling blue eyes that are glued to her. He's obsessed with her in the most loving way possible and it makes her feel warm and tingly on the inside. He does this to her. Makes her feel like she's young and in love all over again.

"You are so beautiful," the words fall from his lips like always and it makes her blush each time.

"El…" she shys away from his gaze and he squeezed her hand he held onto across the table.

"You are," he reiterated. "I can't believe you're all mine," he brought the back of her hand to his lips. "And I'm so happy we get to celebrate you tonight."

"You made today so special for me. I love you," her thumb brushed against his hand. She feels her throat getting a little tight and reaches for her wine with her freehand to moisten her throat. "I love that you make me feel like I'm the only woman in the world. I didn't think I would ever find love again after the divorce, and here I am. I'm so in love with you," she admits and it's a big step for her. Opening up her heart like this. As much as she trusts Elliot with her entire life, it's scary putting all of her eggs in one basket like this.

"You're mine," he says matter of factly. It makes her spine shiver. The same words he says when he's buried so deep inside her. "There was before you. I will always be grateful for the time this life gave me with Kathy. It gave me Katie," he takes a deep breath in an effort to control his own emotion. "And now there's during you. Where we both find love again and take the risk because of the trust we have in one another. You love my Katie like your own, and I do the same with Ophelia," he squeezed her hand again softly and looks deeply into her mahogany hues. "You- you are a woman worth celebrating everyday but especially today. Happy birthday baby," her infatuation for him takes over and she's on her feet, just enough to bend over the small table they share to meet him halfway for a kiss to her blush stained lips.

"I love you," he says between kisses before she takes a step back to sit back down.

"I love you," she's grinning from ear to ear like a kid in a candy store and he fits this picture of her into his memory. "Baby," she adds with a gist of satire and it makes him chuckle.

"Good grief," he drags a hand over his face and leans back into his seat. "Something wrong with me calling you baby?" His eyebrow arches, humored by her.

"I'm not big on pet names but I do have a few exceptions," she holds one finger up.

"And what would that be?"

"I think you know," she insinuates with her voice lowered and her own eyebrow arching back at him. The name sounds so good rolling off his tongue when he fucks her, makes her putty in his hands when he coaches her to an orgasm.

Her thighs squeeze together at the thought and anticipation of asking for just one more birthday gift before bed. On her trip today she bought a lacy teddy number in black to match the slightly smoky liner around her eyes. It's her day yes, but she deserves nothing more than to feel extra sexy when he has his way with her tonight.

"Stop before you make me ask for togo boxes," she laughs and covered her mouth to not draw attention. They haven't even gotten their goddamn food yet.

"The appetizers did kind of feel me up," she holds her chin in the palm of her hand with a lazy smile on her lips. "Maybe this will taste better later at home after-"

He waved his hand at their waiter before she could finish, and politely asked if their food could be made togo. He had a whole evening planned with this five star dinner, followed by an insane dessert but he was more than okay following through with new ones.

It makes her giggle watching him squirm. The flowers, the cake, the balloons are all great touches on this day but this. The urgency her love and her have to be alone together, secluded from the rest of the world, is the absolute best.

…

Their dinner has been thrown in the fridge until further notice. They're in her apartment tonight. Bernie insisted on staying over with the girls at Elliot's. Her not so quiet way of telling them to go at it for the night. It's a wonderful feeling, having a mother in law (Jesus did she just say mother in law?) that loves you irrevocably. It gives her peace of mind knowing her baby is in good hands and lets her drift into the world that just involves her and Elliot right now.

She's in her bathroom suite putting the finishing touches on her teddy lace ensemble. Her hands fluffed her hair to add back some volume to her curls, another layer of lip gloss, and a few sprays of the same perfume she wore during the gala that drove him absolutely insane. Her tits sit perfectly in the sheer lace cups, the fabric of the teddy fell perfectly over her curves, and what sets the entire lingerie set off? The barely there thong she's absolutely going to let him rip off tonight if that's what he wants. Making her body open and able for his manipulation leaves the beginning of slickness between her legs.

As much as she loves the switch of being in control, being completely dominated by him tonight sounds absolutely amazing. The thought of him bringing her to a release more than once tonight is the gift worth waiting for.

She glances over herself one last time, more than satisfied with how she looks. She can imagine him getting anxious and she would hate to make either of them wait any longer.

He's still dressed in his slacks and button up when she opens the door to find him sitting at the edge of the bed on her ottoman. A short glass of bourbon on the rocks rolls between his hands. She licks her lips at the sight of him. Her man. Her lover. He looks up and his eyes grow wide as the smile that approaches his face.

"Do you like it?" She smoothed her hands over the sheer lace and glided over to him. Her legs are up and straddled around his thighs in no time.

"Like it? I'm fucking obsessed with it," he groaned and used his free hand to grip softly around her hip. She chuckles at his response and reaches for the glass in his other hand, taking the liquor up to her lips to finish off the rest for him.

"Good. I hope you have fun taking it off of me," she set the glass on the edge of the ottoman they sat on, and wrapped each arm around his neck.

"And that perfume," he kisses along her shoulder softly until he's at that specific spot behind her ear. He inhaled the sweet vanilla and musk that laced her skin and his grip on her hips tightened.

"I wore it just for you," she breathed and felt him pull her hard onto the bulge of his arousal. Her head tilted back when a moan escaped her at the sudden contact.

His hips buck into her for any sort of friction. She can see the strain in his neck, the way his veins protrude as he fights to maintain any resemblance of control. "Don't fight it," she urges him and begins to unbutton his shirt for him. "We have time to do this fast- and slow later," she reminds him. It's usually an act of making the moment last because it'll be the last one. They've got jobs and kids to get up for in the morning. But not tonight. He can fuck her and make up for it later when he takes his time with her.

His lips are on her instantly, suckling on her bottom lip as he pulls it into his mouth. Her fingers work the last button and finally she's able to push the fabric over his shoulders. Her hips continue to rock over the tent in his pants, feeling just how incredibly rock hard he was. It feels good against her sensitive sex. The thin material covering her is becoming soaked by the second.

He surprises her when he stands and holds her as if she's weightless. It feels sexy to be carried so effortlessly to the side of the bed. He places her on her back and rids himself of his shirt and pants in no time. His cock springs up to his belly and he reaches to stroke it firmly- spreading his precome so he can sink into her more easily.

Olivia watches him. It makes her hips writhe against the bed and her hand slips into the lace of panties. He almost has to look away when she sinks a finger into her folds. Her mouth drops open and her freehand reaches to squeeze her breast that's begging for attention. He couldn't take anymore and grabbed a hold of ankle to pull her to the edge of the bed until her hips met the end.

Her long leg wrapped around his hips and he reached for a pillow to place under her lower back. Her hand that was just inside her reached for his dick, he moved her pantries to the side, and brought the tip to slide against her folds. She doesn't want any foreplay, just the fullness of him inside of her already.

"Don't be gentle," she moaned and grabbed onto the sheets in anticipation. He follows suit and sinks into her in one thrust of his hips. She's tight and warm, perfectly slick for him to bury his dick fully in her.

"I'll give you anything you want," he grunted. His body melts into her when he rests on his forearms over her. He kissed her as he pulled out and sunk back into her firmly. "I'm yours," he breathed into her mouth as if the words could be permanently left inside her.

He's relentless with his rhythm. His feet are planted into the ground as he fucked her, pulling her hips to him. Her back arched and gave him a new angle to hit her g spot perfectly. She's so vocal tonight. Her cries fill the apartment and he's learning just how much he loves to hear her scream his name.

"Touch me," she pleaded and pulled both his hands to cup her breasts that ached. His palms squeezed with a roughness that made their flesh spill over his hands.

"You gonna come for me baby?" He feels the way his cock struggled more to pull out of her. The way her eyebrows knit together, her teeth bite down on her lower lip as the burning sensation grows in her belly.

Elliots hands abandon her breasts and hook beneath her knees to bring both legs over his shoulders. He sinks into her at a completely new angle when he leans forward, stretching her legs back.

"Feels so- Ah," she gasps when he drills into her cruelly. "I'm gonna-" she barely gets the words out before blackness surrounds her and she's coming around his cock. He spurred her on, telling her how good she felt around him. Her sex surges with come, mixing with the beginnings of his own release.

He doesn't ease up and she barely recovers before his hips are pumping his come deep inside her. She's got him cursing her name now and he stills inside of her until the very last remnants empty into her.

Just the sound of their breaths catching fills the room, along with the smacking sound of his lips as he lazily kisses one of her calves. He looks down at her as he does, meeting her darkened eyes, taking in his work. She's completely satisfied and exhausted- exactly what she wanted as the perfect ending to her birthday.

"I can't believe my legs can still do that," she giggled and moved to bring them down so he settled between them. "It will probably be the last time actually," she felt the burn from being stretched in a way she hadn't been in years.

"Ms. Benson, you're a lot more capable than you think," he leans down on his forearms and dips his tongue into her mouth. She suckled and kissed him lazily back, bringing her arms around his neck so his middle is flush against her.

"I can't wait to make you scream like that later," he insists.

"You didn't even take this off of me," she fake pouted in reference to the teddy lingerie still attached to her body.

"There's plenty of time," he carefully pulled out of her and the emptiness was unwelcoming. She can feel him leaking out of her and a shower suddenly sounds amazing. "Let's get you cleaned up and fed," he read her mind and helped her up to her feet.

…

It's the middle of night and the entire apartment is quiet- except for the ringing on the nightstand. She almost grimaces inside thinking it was for Elliot getting called into another big case. It surprises her when he shakes her shoulder a bit until her eyes open and he's handing her her phone. She's entirely too tired for this and doesn't even look at the caller ID before answering.

"Hello?" She manages to croak out.

"Olivia?" That voice makes her jolt wide awake, pulling back her phone to take a look and make sure she was hearing right. It was Giselle on the other end of the line. Her voice sounded in a panic, breathless like she had been running or something.

"Giselle? Are you okay?" She sat up against the pillows and Elliot did the same. He flicked on the bedside lamp and listened in.

"No I-" she stopped abruptly and the only thing heard are heavy breaths. "Goddamit," she yelled.

"Giselle, can you tell me what's going on?"

"The baby he's….coming. My water broke a few hours ago and David is in DC right now trying to get a flight home but I can't wait any longer. This baby is coming now," she rushed out before another contraction left her breathless. That was a little over a minute since the last one, Olivia thinks and worry washes over her. She's done a maternity ward rotation years ago when she was in school, and she knows any contraction coming that soon isn't good news. Especially if the mother is all alone at home.

"Okay, Giselle can you tell me how far apart your contractions have been the last half hour or so?" Olivia is up and out of bed. The phone is nestled between her ear and neck as she rushed to throw on a pair of leggings and a crewneck of Elliot's.

"I think three or four minutes."

With her water broken and her contractions speeding up, she's not sure this will end with them at the hospital in time.

"Okay, Giselle I'm going to call for an ambulance. I should be there in less than ten-"

"No ambulance Olivia, please," she begged her.

"Giselle-"

"Just please get here," she hung up and Olivia stood for a moment to take a deep breath. She was in a seriously fucked up position. Just months ago she confessed to sleeping with David when he was still very married. And somehow, Olivia had to find it in her to save his mistress and their baby.

"What's going on?" Elliot broke her thoughts. She felt his hands glide along her shoulders to get her attention.

"Giselle, she's home alone and this baby is coming now," she went on to throw on socks and slip into a pair of tennis shoes. "And of course David is a fucking idiot and is in DC right now. I mean who goes out of state so close to their child's due date?"

"So you're gonna go help her?"

"I'm going to go deliver this baby," she stood face to face with him. "You ever done this before?"

"Jesus Christ," he swore and ran a hand over his face suddenly just as stressed as her. "I'll see if Mrs. Williams can come watch the girls. You go bring the car around," she nods in agreement and runs to grab the keys and first aid kit she kept in the hallway closet.

She loves a good joke from time to time but this one? The universe seriously has a sick sense of humor.

…

She used the emergency key David still kept hidden underneath the doormat. Elliot followed close behind when she went to where she heard the screams coming from. She found Giselle on her knees slumped over the seat of the couch. Her hand gripped her belly while the other dug into the sofa as she tried to get through a contraction.

"Hey, Giselle? We're here," Olivia rolled up her sleeves and got on her level.

"Good, I think- I think he's coming right now," her face is drenched in sweat and her hair sticks to her forehead.

Olivia is immediately in first responder mode. She's got to get this baby delivered, that's it. That's all she's gotta do and then she's free of this.

"Elliot, I need towels- lots of them. There's a closet upstairs to the left with plenty of them," she ordered. "And call an ambulance," he's quick on his feet and takes the stairs by two while he dials 911.

"Is it supposed to hurt this bad?" Giselle looked up at Olivia crying.

"How does that feel?" she pressed her hand into her lower back, massaging the spot she knew all too well that brought her pain relief years ago. She can only find herself able to nod in approval until another contraction comes."Deep breaths in," she reminds her. It helps and for a moment it's just two women trying to just be human to one another. Olivia takes a deep breath herself, trying to get out of her head for a moment. Let the anger dissipate.

"I got towels," Elliot charged back down the stairs with his hands full of a tall stack. "EMS will be here soon. They said traffic is backed up. No way of knowing how long until they get here."

"Fuck," she cursed under her breath. They have barely any medical supplies, the last time either of them had to deliver any child was years ago, she royally screwed if she didn't do this right.

"Giselle, can you get up on the couch for me?" Elliot laid a few towels down and grabbed an arm to help her up. Her legs shake when she stands followed by cries when the pain becomes too much for her. "I'll be right back."

"No no please don't leave me," she grabbed a hold of Olivia's arm. Her face is infused with panic and her chest racks with heavy breathing.

"I'm just going to wash my hands and grab some gloves so I can check your cervix," she reassured her and went into the kitchen. Elliot followed close behind.

"You okay?" He checked in and rubbed along her back while she scrubbed vigorously.

"I'm fine, this is just- a lot. It's Giselle of all people and I just-" she shook her head and rinsed her hands.

"I'm here okay?" He understands right away and quickly pecks her temple. "We'll get through this together," he turns the kitchen sink back on to wash his own hands. Just like that he's right in sync with her and doesn't question anything as long as he's right beside her.

She searched under the sink for gloves and successfully found some. It truly surprised her how much David didn't change about where he kept things. She had this place completely organized and he had not barely changed a thing. Elliot turned the stove on and began boiling water for her to sterilize a pair of scissors. She shed her sweatshirt, only sporting an under shirt and settled herself at the end of the couch.

"I'm going to check your cervix," she pushed her dress back and took a look. Her face has had a lot of practice and she's able to hide her shock when she sees the crown of the baby's head already.

"What? What is it?" Giselle shouted in a panic at the silence. Elliot is over in an instant and finds himself a little queasy when he comes over to see what was going on.

"I can see his head. You're going to have to start pushing on the next contraction for me okay?" Giselle can only cry in response and Elliot rushed to add a few pillows to support her back. He grabbed a hold of her hand nearest to him for her to squeeze onto. Never did he imagine the next time he did this it would be with his girlfriend's ex-husband's mistress, but all be damned here he is.

"Okay, deep breath and bare down for me," she prepared when she felt her belly tighten again. Sparse dark hair appeared fully along with his scrunched up face. Immediately she grabbed the suction bulb from the first aid kit and cleared the secretions from his nose and mouth. Things were moving quickly and she's grateful for the smooth delivery so far.

"You're doing great honey. One more big push and I think-" Giselle barely waits and pushes again. Her screams fill the entire brownstone and Elliot stands on his knees watching carefully. She's drenched in sweat and her skin is flushed with redness on the last bit of herself she's got left to give. In the blink of an eye the baby is out and in Olivia's arms. He's silent and she's quick to suction some more and rubs his feet vigorously to stimulate him.

"Why isn't he crying?" Giselle panics as she watches Olivia.

"Come on baby. Let's hear that cry of yours. Come on," she encouraged him and continued her ministrations. She begins saying a silent prayer because does not think this is a burden she can handle in this lifetime.

It feels like all of the earth stood still until they heard that glorious cry that new life had begun.

"Oh my God," Olivia felt wetness on her cheeks and quickly placed him on his mother's chest to stimulate him more, and assist with regulating his breathing. Giselle is just as much of a mess as she looks at her baby boy. He's instantly calmed by the sound of her voice and contact with her skin.

"My little David," she heard Giselle say and it felt like her chest had nearly caved in. She is not sure if she is saying he is a junior to him or that he looks just like him, but it drives a part of her to tears. It is officially all too much (as if delivering their baby was not enough). She has to walk away for a moment to collect herself. She tossed her gloves but the evidence of that goddamn baby is still on her. He is nothing but an innocent bystander in all of this but she can't bare to look at him anymore.

Elliot made sure the two were okay before he went to find Olivia who was outside on the stoop just standing and watching the city go by. The sun is just beginning to rise. He shuts the door just loud enough so that she isn't spooked when his hands come up on her shoulders. They squeeze the slightest bit and glide down her skin to calm her. She's incredibly quiet and only the sounds of her nose sniffling can be heard. He lets her have this moment to cry, to get it all out. He knows all too well how nonlinear healing can be, and he is committed to being there every step of the way.

Before he can say a word the ambulance pulls down their street and is in front of them. The stretcher comes out along with three EMS workers. It's almost immediate the way she switched back into a caretaker and updates them on everything that has happened. The time the baby was born, his trouble breathing in the beginning, and a whole bunch of other things he would have never thought of. He is amazed at her strength, her ability to step out of herself and put others first despite how much she might be dying inside.

She followed them back into the brownstone and this time he stayed outside.

Olivia Benson is a goddamn saint.

….

It's mid-morning and they both have called into work. They worked together to get the girls ready and out the door for school with brave faces until they made it back to the apartment and the silence took over. He knows she's just taking it all in, what happened early this morning still rocked her a little. They hadn't told Ophelia she was a big sister just yet. For the first time all year David wanted to pick her up from school today to surprise her with a visit to the hospital. As much as she tends to hate him it wasn't fair to their daughter to have to suffer. It was a new part of her that she would have to give over yet again because of this divorce, and she was exhausted.

Olivia laid in bed with damp hair and still wrapped in a towel from her second shower this morning. She just needed to decompress and the hot water felt good. Each time it washed off a few layers and she felt like she could finally just breathe.

"Liv, honey," Elliot knocked softly on the door and came over to the side of the bed. He kneeled down so he was eye level with her. "How ya doing?" His Queens accent dragged out. It always does when he gets soft.

"I'm just tired. This morning was- a lot," she whispered. Her body relaxed further when the palm of his hand cradled her cheek. The tips of his fingers tangled into her hairline, with his thumb swiping softly along her skin. "I am so incredibly happy here with you. I want you to know that."

"I've never doubted it," a smile cracks from them both. He leans in to kiss her face chastely. "But?"

"But sometimes I'm okay, then sometimes my ex-husbands mistress calls me to deliver her baby in the same house I lived in. And it makes me grieve something I wasn't sad about before," she exhaled and it felt good to say it out loud. Elliot was her best friend and she doesn't think there's anyone else she could trust with this.

"Yeah well, any part of that can be kind of a lot," it's silent and then he hears that sound he's missed the last several hours. She's snickering and then full on laughing. It makes him laugh too and he crawls over her to join her in bed. Olivia rolled over to face him and he tugs on her hip to bring her closer.

"That is a sentence I never thought I would say out loud," she breathed and now her hand was on his jawline. "I'm gonna be okay. Especially with you here," she pulled him in closer to get a kiss to his lips. "What about you? You were there too."

"I'm still trying to blackout the images of what I saw. I just know the next time I'm ever witnessing a birth, it's our baby," he states matter of factly. It makes her heart warm. He's trying to make it any bit better and she appreciates him more than she could ever prove.

"You were looking a little green there," she takes a jab.

"It's different when it's not your wife," he tries to defend himself and it makes her roll her eyes. "Can we just be happy I didn't puke? And didn't absolutely shit my pants when you got that little guy's lungs going?"

"Okay, I will give you that," she sighs and scoots even closer. "I guess I should check on them."

"You can but you don't have to right now. Take some time for yourself," his lips pecked her nose. "How about we order in a late breakfast and watch one of those romcoms you like?"

"A rewatch of 13 going on 30 wouldn't hurt," she smirks at him and he's glad to get a little more of her back.

"Okay, you put on the movie and I'll call in an order for us," he kissed the corner of her light and rolled out the bed to fetch a few takeout menus from the kitchen.

"Perfect," she says more so to herself.

Yes, she thinks. Life with him was absolutely perfect.

Elliot asks Olivia a question next chapter...

twitter: bb_bensler