Author's Note: My extreme apologies for the delay. And, of course, names of victims are a product of my imagination, so if your name is coincidentally one of them, then I apologize.

Chapter Twelve

Olivia shifted uncomfortably as she and Elliot began walking towards the morgue. The squad car was parked in their usual parking space. She and Elliot were back to working on cases together. It was just how she liked it. Things were perfect. A couple of days passed since she had told the SVU squad. This day was the first time since then that they had a homicide involved with one of their cases. It was the perfect opportunity to tell Warner. She frowned though as she tugged at her pants.

"You ok?" Elliot asked in a concerned tone. He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders. "Back pain?"

Olivia shook her head. "No pain," she admitted. "Just these damn maternity pants," she complained. "I'm too big for my fat pants, but too small for these. It sucks."

"I know, Liv," Elliot said simply. He opened the door for her and waited for her to go inside. He followed her down until the two of them met up with Warner. The three of them exchanged greetings, and then Warner led them down to the body.

"Vic's name is Anna George," Warner began as she removed the cloth covering the body.

Olivia's stomach lurched as she caught sight of the body. Multiple scars and stab wounds covered the torso and upper legs. Burn marks covered the victim's arms and lower legs. Her throat was slit as were her wrists. Olivia turned away and held her hands up to her mouth.

"Liv?" Elliot asked again with the same caring tone. "You ok? I can get this information on my own."

"She sick?" Warner asked Elliot in a softer tone. "Flu? I can recommend something for her to take."

Elliot shook his head. "Thank you, Melinda, but that's not necessary." He turned to Olivia. "Liv, do you want to tell her now?" he whispered into her ear. Olivia was still turned away from the body.

"Cover it," Olivia whispered. She reached her hands behind her and pointed at the body. Normally, it would not have this effect on her. She certainly has seen worse. But this day, it was just disgusting. She could not look at it without getting sick.

Elliot nodded at Warner as a signal for her to cover the body. Warner eyed the two detectives curiously, but she did cover the body.

"It's ok, Liv," Elliot whispered. "Body's covered. You can turn around."

Olivia nodded and turned around to face Warner. Elliot's arm was around her waist. It was time. She was not embarrassed. She was actually rather excited about the whole thing, despite how she physically felt at the moment. "I'm expecting," she told Warner. Her smile beamed the joy and excitement that she felt.

Warner was shocked at first, but she instantly smiled. "Congratulations," she said in awe. She looked over at Elliot. "I didn't even know you two were involved."

"Oh, it's not his," Olivia said. She smiled slightly and leaned back against Elliot. Elliot wrapped his arms around her waist. "Well, not biologically."

"Oh," Warner said in a more serious tone. "Oh," she said louder as she realized what had actually happened. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to assume…God, I feel so stupid."

"Well, don't," Olivia commanded. "The circumstances were far from ideal, but I'm in a good place right now." She lowered her hand and grasped Elliot's. "I have this guy and the support of all my friends. I do not love the event that conceived this child, but I will love it."

"Then congratulations," Warner repeated. "And if you want, you can borrow some of my old maternity clothes. Granted, they might be a little out of style, and they might smell like mothballs before you wash them, but they're still clothes."

"That'd be great," Olivia said. "Whatever you still have around."

Warner shrugged. "Well, it's not much, but I'll bring what I do have by the squad room sometime tomorrow," she promised.

"Thank you," Olivia stated gratefully. "On that note, I think I'll go to the bathroom. This baby thinks my bladder is a chew toy." She headed for the hallway. "Elliot, I'll be in the car. You can get the details then join me."

Elliot nodded at her. "Will do."

After lunch, Elliot and Olivia headed over to check out Anna George's apartment. Crime scene tape covered the hallway leading to her apartment as well as the apartment itself. The forensic techs were already waiting for them. Elliot flashed his badge and crossed the line. Olivia followed right behind him.

"What have we got?" Elliot asked as the two of them came face to face with a bloody bed. The sheets, pillows, and floor surrounding the bed were covered in blood.

"There's too much blood to belong to just one person," the forensic tech answered. "Sheets also have a bit of semen."

Elliot could not get his eyes off of that bed. Some of it was even smeared against the wall behind it. This was definitely personal, he realized.

Unfortunately, Olivia could not look at the scene and keep her lunch down. She knew the basic layout of the apartment and rushed over for the bathroom. She was only a few feet away from the toilet when she got sick.

That noise startled Elliot, and he rushed towards it. He knew it as Olivia. The forensic tech followed behind Elliot. As soon as Elliot saw Olivia, he sat down next to her.

"Liv, honey, are you sure you can handle this?" Elliot asked her. She was sitting up on the floor, trying to clean up the mess with toilet paper. Elliot removed the toilet paper from her hand and pulled her close to him.

"Do you need anything?" the forensic tech asked.

"Does someone have a water bottle?" Elliot asked him. The tech nodded and went off to retrieve one. Elliot turned back to Olivia. He rubbed her back. "Livvy, I know you hate desk duty, and I don't blame you, but do you really think this is the best way to work? We've only been on this case one day, and you've already got sick once and almost got sick earlier." He continued rubbing circles on her back. "I just don't want to see you like this."

"Elliot, I'm pregnant," Olivia whispered back. "Poorly named morning sickness comes with the territory. It's not necessarily the crime-related stuff making me sick."

"But it's not helping, either," Elliot responded. "Look, I know it's not my call, but at least think about it." The forensic tech returned with a small 12-ounce bottle of water. "Drink," Elliot said as he opened the bottle and brought it to Olivia's lips.

Their day was almost over. Elliot was grabbing his things from his desk. He had the keys in one hand. "I'll be in the car, Liv," he said.

Olivia smiled at him. She truly was lucky and grateful to have him in her life. She needed him. "I'll be there in a sec. Cragen wanted to see me."

Elliot nodded at her and left the squad room. Olivia watched him until he was out of sight. She then walked over to Cragen's office. She knocked twice and heard him call, "Come in". She did.

"Olivia, I am worried about you," Cragen started as soon as Olivia closed the door. "I know you're a wonderful detective. I honestly can say it's going to be hard on us when you're on maternity leave. But Olivia, I can't have you on the streets as much."

"Look, Cragen, I can assure you that what happened at the George apartment will not happen again," Olivia said. She could tell where this conversation was headed.

"But you can't," Cragen pointed out. "You cannot say with certainty that you will not get sick again tomorrow. It's just a part of being pregnant. I get that."

"Captain, I'm not going to let this baby stop me from doing my job right now," Olivia declared firmly.

"Olivia, I'm serious, too," Cragen said. "Either you're doing less street time or no street time at all. I'm not punishing you. I just want to keep you and your baby safe." He walked towards the door and opened it for her. "Are we clear?"

Olivia nodded. "Yes, captain," she stated. "We're clear."