Chapter Twenty-One

Elliot was the first one to wake up the next morning. Olivia had kicked all of the covers off the bed. He wanted to do something for her. He did not want to go into work that day. If Olivia wanted him to stay, he would. He looked down at her. She was still sleeping peacefully. She had not yet adjusted to daylight savings. She was beautiful though. He was glad to have her there with him.

Olivia rolled over once on the bed until she bumped against Elliot's body. She slowly started waking up. She blinked her eyes open and smiled as she saw a vague Elliot figure next to her. She rubbed her eyes twice. "Hey," she whispered. Her hands went down to her stomach. She gingerly began massaging it.

"You hungry, sweetie?" Elliot asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Always," Olivia answered as she turned so that her legs were off the side of the bed. She pushed her hands down on the bed in an attempt to get herself up, but Elliot stopped her.

"Total bedrest," he reminded her gently. He pressed a kiss on her forehead before he eased her back down onto the bed. "What do you want?"

"The ability to do things on my own," Olivia responded with a slightly bitter tone. She did not say anything further. She did want to be able to walk around. She honestly did not think she could take seven weeks of lying there in bed. However, if it would ensure the safe delivery of her baby, she was all for it.

Elliot shook his head at her. "Sorry, Liv. Better safe than sorry." He stood up and started heading for the door. "I'll bring you some fruit and poptarts for now," he said. He turned back around. "Now, Liv, do you want me to take off today?"

Olivia shook her head. "No, go in," she said. "At least for a couple of hours. Come May, we'll need all the time off we can get," she stated. She then thought of something. She did not know if Cragen knew about what had happened the previous night. "But can you explain this all to Cragen? I wasn't supposed to start my maternity leave for another month."

Elliot nodded. "Of course," he promised. "And I'll leave you some pre-made tuna sandwiches."

Olivia smiled up at him. "You're the best," she confirmed. "On your way home, can you get cheese and Russian dressing? I had the last of it on Friday."

Elliot sighed as he glanced at Olivia. He loved her, crazy cheeseburger with Russian dressing cravings and all. "Of course," he promised.

Roughly an hour and a half later, Elliot arrived at the SVU. He was immediately greeted with a hug from Casey. He reciprocated for a couple of seconds, but he noticed that Casey was not letting go. He pulled away slowly and picked her head up. "Case, what's up?" he asked her in a concerned tone.

"I heard about what happened last night," Casey said as she pulled herself away from Elliot. "Kibre saw you two," she added before Elliot could ask her how she knew. "Is Olivia ok?" She had to know. She knew that the answer was most likely yes. If Olivia was not fine, then Elliot would not be in the squad room that day. However, she had to hear it from Elliot's mouth.

Elliot nodded. "She'll be fine," he said in a loud enough voice that the entire squad room could hear him. Cragen let out a sigh of relief. Munch and Fin high-fived each other. Elliot turned his attention to Cragen. "But she's on strict bedrest and will therefore be taking her maternity leave five weeks early."

"Anything to keep that baby safe," Cragen told Elliot. "You make sure she knows that." He then walked into his office to answer his phone.

Casey nodded as she pulled Elliot towards the coffee. "Total bedrest?" she questioned. "Can we still throw her a baby shower?"

Elliot nodded. "As long as it's at our apartment and she doesn't have to walk around," he stated. He then smiled and looked at Casey. "You're organizing a shower?"

"Alex and I are," Casey answered. "Small," she promised.

"You guys are the best," Elliot said. "Should I keep this a secret from her, or what?" he asked.

Casey shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I'm more in favor of not having it be a surprise, but I'm not sure what Alex is thinking. For now, I guess don't tell her."

"Will do," Elliot promised.

Elliot could not stand the separation from Olivia. He had to be with her. After lunch, he was going home. He had stopped of at the video store, grocery store, and McDonalds before he arrived at their apartment. As soon as he was in there, he rushed towards the bedroom. "Hey," he greeted Olivia with a kiss. "Got you burgers," he told her as he handed her the McDonalds bag.

Olivia smiled as she took the bag. As soon as she had it, he handed her the grocery bag with Russian dressing in it. "Thank you," she said sincerely. She then noticed that he still had one bag with him. "What's in there?" she asked curiously.

"Fourth season of ER," he said as he placed the bag at the end of the bed. "Just something for you to watch while you're here." He then crawled up next to her.

Olivia rested her head against Elliot's chest. "Refresh my memory."

Elliot picked up the box and glanced at it for a second before he could respond. "Ok, it's Elizabeth's first season, Carter starts dating Anna, that story arc that actually resembles our life with that punk raping out ladies, and Mark's crazy girlfriend Cynthia." He glanced at Olivia. "The one who kind of looks like you now that I think about it."

"I am nothing like that weak prey," Olivia argued.

"Didn't say you were," Elliot said defensively. "I just said she looks like you." He then looked at the box again. "Actually, Liv, you might not want to watch this."

Olivia turned to him. "Why?"

"Benton's baby is still having a little difficulties, and I don't want to scare you," Elliot answered. He moved so that he was behind her, and he began rubbing her shoulders. "This baby's going to be fine," he assured her. He smiled. "You want to discuss baby names?"

((Author's Note: Sorry that it's a little short, but it's all I had time for. Better short than nothing...And you know you're obsessed with SVU when you look in four stores for the TV Guide with Mariska Hargitay on the cover. Yes, I read it, and I had to put some of those things in here. Hehe.))