Chapter Thirteen

Twenty-two weeks. Her fifth month. Olivia's pregnancy was almost half over. She could find out the sex of the baby. She did not know if she wanted to know yet, but the option was there by looking at the sonogram. She was showing more. All the people connected to the SVU cases were aware that she was pregnant, and if they were not, they could see it if they actually spent time with her. Olivia was getting used to everything. She knew when she had to leave to get sick or go to the bathroom. She could almost sense when those feelings were about to hit her.

The feeling waking up Olivia this night was different. New. It was a good new. She preferred this to the morning sickness, definitely. It was exciting. She could actually detect movement. Her child was alive. She had known that for a long time. She had felt the symptoms, experienced the weird cravings. The most outlandish one had to be bananas dipped in salsa. Her current craving was chocolate. More normal, though she wanted it almost all the time. This child definitely lived to make her fat.

But this was the first time in her pregnancy where she actually felt like she had a life growing inside of her. She had heard the heartbeat, but she could not hear it normally. She could feel this without any medical assistance. It was strong too.

She had to share it. She opened her bedroom door and began walking into the living room. Elliot has essentially been living on her couch ever since she found out she was pregnant. As far as she knew he still had his place in Queens, but it did not feel like it. He was on her couch every night. They were practically living together. Elliot even went grocery shopping for her.

She appreciated that. Elliot has been nothing but supportive to her. She loved him for it. She honestly did not know what she would do without him. She wanted him to feel connected with every aspect of the pregnancy. In her mind, she was carrying his child. "Elliot," she whispered as she hovered over the couch near his ear. "Elliot."

Elliot awoke almost instantly. He was a light sleeper, and he had become even more attuned to whenever Olivia was awake. "What is it?" he asked. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," she assured him as she sat down next to him. Elliot removed his legs to give her more room. "I just didn't want you to miss this." She smiled up at Elliot and took his hand. It was warm. She smiled again and placed it on her stomach.

Elliot's expression was a visual representation of what Olivia was feeling. "Oh," he exclaimed. "Restless little guy, huh?" He had felt this before, but this time it was different. It was Olivia's baby. It was new for her, which made it new for him. He felt like a new father-to-be all over again.

Olivia nodded. "Yea." She glanced over at the clock. It was almost time for the two of them to wake up anyway. "If we could only time it to kick every morning at this time."

Elliot chuckled. "Oh, Liv," he whispered as he wrapped an arm around her. "My brave little Liv." He glanced down at her. "Well, not so little anymore," he said as he rubbed her stomach.

Olivia glared at him slightly, but then she smiled. Everything was good. Elliot kissed her forehead. "Are you working today?" he asked her. She had a new schedule worked out with Cragen. Of the five weekdays, she would have one completely off. Two she would be on the streets, but they would not be consecutive. The other two days, she would be on desk duty. The only confusing part was which day was which.

Olivia shrugged. "I'm not scheduled to, but I think I will anyway, even if it is desk duty," she answered. "I just don't think I can watch another one of those pregnancy and parenting movies. I just can't do it, Elliot." She shuddered slightly and leaned back against him. Her head was on his chest. Her hands and his hands were over her stomach. "The things those women do…I can't do that."

"Shh," Elliot whispered. "Don't think about that yet. You're going to do fine. There's this thing called drugs now. I'd highly recommend it."

"Thanks," Olivia said softly, "but that's not the part that really scares me." Her eyes closed slightly. She was not fully awake yet, but she would explain herself. "I'm just worried that I'm going to be exactly like my mother. Drunk, awful." She exhaled deeply. "I don't want to think this, and I don't think it now, but I'm just worried that I won't be able to love this child as much. I'm worried it'll just be like a permanent reminder of what he did to me. And before you say anything, I know that's how my mom saw me. She could never love me."

"Livvy, you're mother loved you," Elliot assured her. "And you will love this baby. I know it. You are nothing like your mother. You're not a drunk," he pointed out. "And you're in a healthy relationship. This baby is lucky to have you. I could not have picked a better mother." He moved his hands and began massaging her shoulders. "Liv, whose baby are you carrying?" he asked her simply.

"Ours," she responded automatically. The response actually did not surprise her. She turned slightly and smiled up at Elliot.

Elliot smiled back. "See there," he assured her. "You'll be great."

By the time Elliot and Olivia arrived at the squad room, every one else was already there. Munch and Fin were reviewing crime scene photos with Casey. Cragen was in his office talking on the phone with someone. Elliot smiled as he walked in. He moved Olivia's chair for her and waited for her to actually sit before he went over to his desk.

Elliot stopped and glanced over at Olivia again. She was not doing anything. She smiled at him, but he could tell she did not really want to be there. She belonged on the streets, but she could no longer do that as much. She could not stay home and watch movies. She had to get out of there. He glanced over at Munch and Fin. Luckily, they were closing the file and handing it to Casey. He beckoned them with a wave of his hand as to not catch Olivia's attention.

"What is it?" Fin asked.

"I need a favor," Elliot said. "Could you two just distract Liv somehow? Only for a moment. I need to talk to Casey, and I really don't want Liv overhearing or walking over."

Munch frowned. "Now did you knock her up?" he asked jokingly.

Elliot shook his head as he moved to catch Casey's attention. "Just do it," he begged.

Munch nodded as the two detectives went over to Fin's desk. "Hey, Liv," Munch called as he walked over to her. Fin opened one of the drawers on his desk.

"Yes?" Olivia asked curiously. "What's up?"

Fin walked over. Both of his hands were behind his back. He reminded Olivia of a small child with a present for his crush. "Well, Munch and I were interviewing this guy down in Soho yesterday."

"He happens to own a shop that boasts that they have the best chocolate within the five boroughs," Munch added.

Fin produced two large half-pound bars of milk chocolate. "So we were thinking, who better to attest to that statement?" The two of them smiled and handed the chocolate over to Olivia.

Olivia smiled back. "Oh, you guys," she began. "This is so nice. Thank you."

"Don't thank us. Thank false advertising," Munch stated. He saw Olivia eagerly open the first bar. She broke a piece off and popped it into her mouth. Her face melted into a smile. "Well, enjoy," he said. That was good. She would definitely not notice Elliot for the next couple of minutes.

Casey had finished pouring herself a cup of coffee. Luckily for her, Cragen had replaced the stock with a much better brand than the previous one. She was about to leave when she heard someone calling her name. Elliot, actually. "Hmm?" she asked as she turned around to face him.

"Are you appearing in court today?" Elliot asked curiously.

Casey shook her head. "No, actually. Not unless you guys get any leads on this George case, I've got nothing but filing." She frowned. "I really hate filing," she stated, mostly to herself. No one else needed to hear her whine. "Why do you ask?"

"I need you to get Liv out of here for a day. She has nothing to do here, and she was on the streets yesterday, so I can't take her. I just don't want her to have to sit home alone watching those birth videos," he stated. "If I have to come home to that image one more time…"

"But you don't," Casey interrupted. "Elliot, you don't live at her place, do you? I mean, you have your own."

Elliot shrugged. "I suppose, but this brings me to my next favor," he began. He looked around the squad room. Fin was out of sight. Munch was hunched over his desk reading the paper or something. Olivia was on her way over to Cragen's office, probably in search of something to do. No one was in hearing range. This was good. He did not want anyone else to know. He could trust Casey. He would have to, but he did not want anyone else to know yet.

"What?" Casey asked.

Elliot's lips turned up slightly into a small smile. "Just casually find out her ring size," he said.

Casey looked at him doubtfully. "Why?"

Elliot's smile grew. He was too excited. It was perhaps the one thing he's been waiting these past seven years to say. "'Cause I'm gonna ask her to marry me."

((I know, exciting. I'm having fun, and I do want to thank all of you who review. The more I get, the faster I'll update.))