Chapter 14

…

"The ER doctor was right on schedule judging by these measurements." Dr. Carlisle told a still-shocked Olivia. "You're definitely pregnant. And everything looks healthy as far as I can see; my aim is to keep it that way."

Olivia could barely contain herself. This was all real. Right now, as they spoke, there was a baby growing inside her. For five weeks it had been patiently waiting for the day when she; they would find out about him or her. She smiled as she stared at the screen, gently rubbing her stomach. "I read last night that it's the size of a tiny orange seed at five weeks."

"I love seeing you this excited." Dr. Carlisle said as she removed the ultrasound probe. Peter took Liv's hand and kissed it. "...but, I'm not going to beat around the bush. You're going to be fifty years old, hopefully before the big arrival which I'm putting at April twelfth,"

"You think she'll deliver early?" Peter asked.

"Because of her age, it's likely. But the good news," she said, looking at Olivia "you're in perfect health right now and that's a plus. Why don't you get dressed, and we'll talk about it more, in my office.

Sitting in Dr. Carlisle's office after talking and going over what they needed to know, Olivia sat, fidgeting with her engagement ring. There was so much to know. Any number of things could go wrong and she knew this even before the doctor said it. In spite of her good health, this was a high-risk pregnancy. And she sat listening as she held Peter's hand and Dr. Carlisle told them of all the things that could happen, and how age increased those odds. They discussed tests and possibilities of those tests, and by the time they were done she was still overjoyed, but so afraid. Still, they both knew what a miracle this baby was.

Dr. Carlisle gave them a prescription for prenatal vitamins and told them that Olivia would come to see her every two weeks as opposed to once a month. Another five weeks from now, they'd do a NIPT test to get a jump on any chromosomal abnormalities and possibly (Olivia and Peter weren't sure if they wanted to know) find out the baby's gender.

They'd just come home after a lengthy talk with Dr. Carlisle. Needless to say, neither of them had stopped smiling since they left the doctor's office, and neither of them had stopped staring at the ultrasound picture of their little orange seed.

"Can you believe it?"

"No," she said, wiping her eyes. He pulled her into him.

"These last two weeks, the vomiting, the heightened sense of smell,"

"Don't remind me…"

"And let's not talk about the moodiness,"

"You know those aren't going anywhere for, well possibly this whole pregnancy." She smiled as she put her arms around his neck, and they kissed sweetly.

"I'll gladly go through it,"

"I just never thought… Peter, I'm pregnant...naturally." She got quiet for a few seconds as she took her arms down from his neck, staring at the picture she still held in her hands. "What if something goes wrong?"

"It won't," he tried to assure her as they sat on the sofa.

"But it could. I'm having my very first pregnancy, and while I'm so unbelievably excited, some- a lot of women are becoming grandmothers at my age,"

"First off, stop. Second, do you know how miraculous it feels to be experiencing this with you? We're having a baby, Liv." He said as he caressed her still flat stomach. "And third, you are far too hot to be a grandmother…"

"I'm serious, Peter..."

"So am I." He said with a lusty look in his eyes while a suggestive grin was on his lips. She was unable to keep away the smile that played at the corners of her mouth as she light-heartedly smacked his arm.

"...can I be honest?"

Peter took her hands and wove their fingers together. "Of course you can."

"I am scared to death!" She said as the tears she had been holding in finally broke free and made their way down her face. As fortunate as she felt for herself and for Peter, she wasn't an idiot and wasn't romanticising this. And now that they were alone, just the two of them in their living room...

"You know we're gonna be okay,"

"Do I, Peter? Dr. Carlisle is talking about everything that could go wrong, but meanwhile, I just want to be able to deliver it safely"

"And you will,"

"What if I can't? What if my body decides that it can't do it…what if the NIPT tells us something w-"

"Olivia." He said more forcefully than he meant to, and he quickly caught himself. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel like her concerns were unimportant, but if he didn't at least try to calm her fears now...

"Listen to me," He grabbed her hand and made her stop. "You, my everything, are going to carry our child to term and it's going to be born healthy and beautiful."

"Even with my old lady genes?"

"You are not old." He said as he embraced her. "You're having my baby, all natural, without any outside help, could an old lady do that?"

She drew further into him, "Peter, I want this so bad!"

"I know you do, Baby, it's all I want too. We just need to believe it. And we need to decide when we're gonna start telling everybody, cuz I can't hold it in!"

"Maybe hold it in just a little longer? I want this to be only our news for now; at least until we get the NIPT results. I just wanna be sure that…"

"Hey, positive thoughts from here on out. Now, how about we go and pick up our son from Casey's, and let him lead us into...whatever?"

"I'd like that. Just let me put these vitamins in our bathroom and we'll go," she said, then kissed his lips before she left the room.

…

"Look at you!" Melinda said as she hugged Olivia in Casey's small hallway. Olivia suddenly got emotional and hugged her extra tight.

"What are you doing here?"

"We had a few things to go over for the party. Are you okay, I see you've got a wrist brace too?"

"I'm fine, it actually looks a lot worse than it is." Olivia said as they arrived in the living room.

"So, what happened?"

"Unpacking the kitchen and putting wine glasses away when I got dizzy; next thing I knew, I was bleeding and had sprained my wrist. It was a mess,"

"But you're okay now?"

"I am,"

"Good, let's see if that feeling remains…" she said with a knowing grin on her face.

"What do you…?" Olivia started as she sat down, just as Noah ran to her.

"Mommy!" He cried as he flew into her arms.

"Ohh, my sweet boy!" She said, kissing his head as she hugged him tight. Only then realizing that his hair was...blue? She pulled him back for a moment to get a better look at it, oh my god, his hair is blue! "Noah…" she said, in shock.

"...my hair, isn't it cool, mom? Aunt Casey let me get it when we went to the salon,"

"Did she?"

"Uh huh. You like it?"

"It's...different," Olivia said, trying not to be mad. Noah just smiled, thinking he had her approval.

"Where's daddy?"

OIvia ran her fingers through her hair to get it off her face, that's when Noah noticed, "he's looking for a parking space,"

"Oh. What happened to your face?" He asked, gently touching the two butterfly bandages on her forehead.

"I got into a little accident, but I'm okay."

"Did it happen at work?"

"No, baby," she promised and kissed his little hands. "I lost my footing and slipped, that's all."

"So, not at work?"

"Not at work, my love."

Noah took a moment to ponder what she'd said while staring at the large bandage and wrist brace on her left forearm, letting his fingers trace over it. "Did you hurt your arm the same way?"

"Fourteen stitches and a sprain!" She said, trying to put on a smile. She could see that he was worried and she wanted to put his fears aside.

"Did it hurt?"

"It did. But dad took really good care of me."

This brought Noah comfort and he smiled. "I'm glad,"

"Me too, my love," she sat back on the sofa, holding his hand, feeling her upset over his hair slipping away. "So, how was the sleepover?"

"I had so much fun, mom...!"

"Well thank you, little man." Casey said, coming from the kitchen with a tray of mugs and handed one to Mel and one to Olivia, who was glad to see that it was tea and took a sip as Casey sat on the other end of the couch.

"You're welcome. Mommy, can I call Kellan when we get home?"

"Yes, but for now, why don't you get your stuff?"

"Okay." He said and ran down the hall."

"I love you!" Olivia yelled to him.

They waited until Noah was out of sight before Olivia turned to Casey.

"Blue hair? Really?"

Casey put up a finger as she sipped her tea before putting the mug down. "I'm not crazy. It's temporary hair paint and it washes right out. Plus, he wanted it, and aren't you the one who always says to nurture their choices?"

"I hate it when you use my own words against me,"

"It's how I make my living." she mused

Melinda turned to Olivia. "Alright, let's see the arm…"

Olivia paused a moment before she took off the bandage and revealed her newly stitched forearm.

"Wow, the doctor did nice work," Melinda admired. "You'll barely have a scar when this is healed."

"I really got lucky,"

"Hate to break it to you, but fourteen stitches is not luck, my friend." Casey said.

"I'm okay, which is why I got lucky." Olivia said, emphasizing the word 'lucky' as she turned her head towards Casey, grinning. "So, you guys need help here? Mel said you were working on the party?"

"Don't you worry about the party. Just show up when and where we tell you, and have a good time!" Melinda said.

Noah came from the back of the apartment, backpack on and ready to go. "Mommy, I got everything."

"And there's my cue. Casey, thank you so much!" She said and hugged Casey.

"Bye aunt Casey, thanks for Coney Island. Bye aunt Melinda."

"You be good," Melinda said as she kissed his cheek.

"I will." He said as he and Casey gave each other some elaborate handshake before they said goodbye.

He and Olivia were in the elevator, going down, Noah spinning around in the small space when he came to a dizzy stop and bumped into Liv. She quickly grabbed him to stop him from falling.

"Baby, be careful...are you alright?" She asked, holding him steady.

"I'm alright." Noah said with a laugh, he held on tight to Olivia until the Dizziness wore off, thankful he didn't fall smack into the arm railing. "Mom, are you really okay?"

"I'm really okay; promise." Just then, the elevator door opened and Peter was standing against the stairway. He smiled when he saw them. But Noah was ecstatic, jumping immediately into Peter's arms.

"Daddy!" He yelled as he threw his arms around Peter's neck.

"Whoa, you got new hair!"

"You like it?"

"I love it. Very cool blue!"

Olivia smiled as she looked at the two of them, both looking so happy as they exchanged conversation. Ever since Peter came along, her son was like a different boy. He'd never been problematic but he was definitely missing something in his life, and when Peter came in, he found it. A father. She wondered how this would go, now with a baby coming into the picture; he or she would complete their little family. A brother or sister for Noah, finally…

"Hey, you okay?" Peter asked, noticing the tears that she didn't even know she was crying, and wiping them away. He still had Noah in his arms.

"Yeah. I'm just really happy," she said. "Let's go home."

…

The following Monday…

"Are you sure you're ready to go to work?" Peter asked as he stood at the kitchen counter, drinking coffee "I'm sure it would be okay if you took a another day or so,"

Olivia gave a subtle smile. "I cut my arm, I'm not incapacitated."

"I want stitches, they look so cool!" Noah chimed in from the table where he was finishing up his breakfast.

"No, you don't…" Peter said, Olivia kissed Noah's newly-temporarily-blue head, laughing as she took her tea mug to the sink.

"Will today be the day you wash your hair?"

"Not yet, mom. The blue's cool, and Dad likes it, too."

Olivia rolled her eyes, turning to Peter. He grinned, taking a sip of his coffee.

"It's temporary." He said to her near a whisper as he kissed her head. "You're not eating?"

Olivia glanced back at Noah, being sure that he wasn't paying attention and couldn't hear them before answering. "I've been a little nauseous all morning."

"There goes the little miracle cooperating." Peter grinned as he touched her stomach.

"How come you're nauseous?" Noah asked from the table, interrupting the moment. Peter and Olivia gave one another a look.

"He hears like a bat." Peter grinned.

"You know what, honey. I just am. It's nothing to worry about."

"Oh." He sat for a moment, seeming to accept her answer and be done with his questions, but then… "Daddy, when we get my brother or sister, do I get to choose which one?"

Peter looked at Olivia and winked, causing her to smile as she took one last drink from her tea mug.

"Afraid not bud, it's all biology,"

"What's biology?"

"Good luck with that!" Olivia laughed as she turned and gave Peter a quick peck on the mouth. "I'd better get going, I don't wanna be late!" She went to Noah and kissed him the same. "Be good at camp." And she left the room. A moment later they heard the front door open and close.

"Dad…?"

"Yeah bud? ...oh right, biology."

…

Over at the sixteenth, Olivia had just stepped off of the elevator and walked to her office. It was oddly quiet in the squad room for a Monday morning she thought as she began unpacking her office bag.

"Wow! ...and a brace?" Fin remarked as he knocked on the doorframe, poking his head in.

"Don't start," she said as Fin laughed, walking in.

"How is it?"

"It itches like hell..." She suddenly smiled. "...but I suppose that's better than pain."

"Who knew that menopause involved injury?"

"Haha! I was starting to think it was a ghost town around here. Where is everybody?"

"A few detectives are out on calls, Carisi got called to the DA's office. And Amanda's running late, Jessie has a fever." He said as Olivia closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she tried to get a hold on the nausea.

"Liv, you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," though she wasn't. "Could you uh, could you let Chief Garland in when he gets here?" Fin gave her the eye "Fin, I'm fine. I promise,"

He hesitantly decided to go. "Alright, but if you need me…"

…

"Okay, what kind of woman comes with a piano?" Kevin said as they stood there with both of the apartment doors open, waiting for the delivery men to come up the elevator.

"I don't… what?" Peter said, thoroughly confused, but laughing so hard. That's what he loved about Kevin, he was the most nonsensical guy you ever meet, but also the absolute best friend anyone could ask for.

"I mean…" he stopped a beat. "Are you sure you went into this clear headed?"

"Went into…"

"The marriage,"

"Come on, man."

"Don't get me wrong, I like Olivia, but you said yourself that she's past the point of having more children,"

"So?"

"So, for as long as I can remember, you've dreamt of starting a family one day,"

"And now I have one,"

"Look, I'm not doubting how you feel about Noah. I know better than anyone how much you love him. He's a great kid,"

"Kev, I appreciate you caring, but you know as well as I do that you can't choose who you fall in love with."

"Don't I know it? I keep telling myself that Casey's just a passing thing…"

"I told myself that, a million times." Peter smiled. "I just feel so blessed,"

"I hope so. I want you to have everything that makes you happy."

"Olivia and Noah are my whole world now...I have everything I want, and now with the baby coming,"

"Waymin, what baby?"

"What?"

"Don't play dumb, you said "with the baby coming…" what baby?"

He was so thankful when he heard the elevator door. "Oh look, the delivery guys are here," he said as he got up and walked towards the open doors. "Right this way fellas…"

…

"So, how was the rest of your weekend; well, aside from slicing your arm open. I'm so glad it wasn't worse." Casey said while they were at their favorite cafe having lunch.

"The weekend was great, in spite of the arm. By the way, thank you again for watching over Noah,"

"Are you kidding, I love that kid,"

"A little too much. I still can't believe you let him get blue hair"

"It washes out..."

"Which would be great if he'd only wash his hair. How long before it just fades away?" She asked as Melinda came in and sat down.

"Sorry I'm late," she kissed their cheeks. "So what'd I miss?"

"I was just telling mom here that the hair paint fades in three or four days." Casey laughed, sipping her iced tea. Olivia rolled her eyes playfully.

"You'll see when you're a mom one day." Melinda told her.

"I won't, because I'll be a chill mom,"

Olivia and Melinda looked at each other. "Famous last words." Olivia said as the waitress brought their food, and finally; she was starving. "This looks so good!" She was actually clapping as the waitress sat the plates on the table. Her nausea had finally cleared and she wasted no time digging right in after thanking the waitress.

"Oh, by the way," Melinda said, putting pepper on her food. "I spoke to Misha,"

Olivia was drinking cold water, when she sat the glass down. "My God, I haven't seen her in so long. How's she doing?" As she continued to eat.

"She can't stop singing the praises of Africa, even with the struggle there,"

"Doctors without borders...I knew she'd do amazing things one day." Casey said.

"What can I say, I got really lucky having her for a daughter."

"It's because you're an amazing mom."

"I'd like to think so," Melinda laughed. "Well, between me and her father…"

But Olivia had another problem. Her nausea had come back just that fast and this time she was going to...

"Excuse me." She said as she got up and ran to the bathroom, which thankfully, they were not far from. She got in there and into a stall with no time to spare before it came up.

At the table…

"Is she alright?"

"I don't know…" Melinda said as she got up and went towards the bathrooms. When she got inside, Olivia was coming out of a stall, dry heaving.

"Liv, honey are you alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm…" she felt it coming up again and ran back to the stall.

"Lemme guess; Estrace?"

The toilet flushed as Olivia came out.

"Not exactly" Might as well come clean… she thought as she rinsed her mouth.

Melinda grew worried. "What does that mean, "not exactly"? Liv, are you sick?"

"Not exactly…" she said again as she threw away the paper towel that she had been using, then turned to face Melinda.

"I need you to keep a secret,"

"You're scaring me,"

Olivia stepped forward, smiling. "It's nothing like that, I promise. Actually," she said with tears in her eyes, "it's quite a miracle… Melinda, how would you feel about becoming a godmother again?"

"A godm-" Is she...that's impossible, Melinda, she can't be... "...pregnant?" When Olivia nodded, Melinda shrieked as she threw her arms around Olivia.

...

A few minutes later, they made their way back to the table.

"Everything good?" Casey asked Olivia, the concern in her voice palpable.

"I'm fine. I promise." Olivia said as her phone vibrated. She picked it up and took a look at the screen, "...and I gotta go. Guys, I'm sorry…I got lunch," she said, reaching for her wallet.

"No, I got this," Melinda said. "Call us later." She kissed Liv's cheek and whispered congratulations in her ear. As Liv walked out, Melinda, with a dreamy look on her face, watched her go, only turning around when she heard Casey calling her.

"Hello...Melinda…"

"I'm sorry. You were saying something?"

"What's going on?"

"What makes you say that?"

…

Liv was stepping off the elevator while talking on her phone. "...thanks for keeping it confidential, I know it's a lot to ask… soon. Were just waiting for some tests. I love you too, goodnight Melinda."

A long day at work and she was so glad to finally be home. This pregnancy was making her exhausted. The baby was the size of a grain of rice, so how could something so small be so consuming of her appetite, her energy. She was trying to fish her keys out of her purse when the apartment door suddenly opened and Peter stepped out.

"How was work?"

"Hectic,"

"Well, I've got a surprise for you."

"I don't like surprises"

"You'll love this one," he said and kissed her "give me your hand and close your eyes,"

"Peter…" she said as he relieved her of her purse and work bag.

"Come-on, humor me."

She looked at him with a grin and unsure, but decided to trust him. She was tired and thought the faster she did, the faster she could get inside and sleep. Uneasily, she slid her hand in his and closed her eyes, letting him lead her inside their apartment.

He put her bags down by the door and led her through the apartment. Noah came in from the dining room when he heard that Olivia was home.

"Hi, mommy,"

"Hi honey. How was camp today?"

"It was fine. How come your eyes are closed?"

"I don't know," she said as she walked slowly.

Peter pointed at the piano and quietly put his finger to his lips, signaling him to shhhh about the surprise before they finally came to a stop.

"Okay, open them!"

Slowly, Olivia opened her eyes to see that they were standing in front of the large corner of the living room, and her mother's grand piano sat there, looking so beautiful in its maple glory. Olivia hadn't seen it in so long...eighteen-plus years to be exact. She took in a slight quick breath at the sight of it, and had to fight the tears that came to her eyes.

"I'd forgotten it was coming today." She whispered more to herself than anyone in the room. She didn't think it would be this overwhelming to see it again. She'd kept it in storage for so long, not wanting to get rid of it like she'd done with just about all of her mothers things. She couldn't bring herself to. Maybe because the piano was the one part of her mom that held her mom. She'd owned that piano even before she had Olivia. She'd learned it, loved it and breathed it. So much of it was who her mom was. Even more than she was books and being an English professor.

Carefully, Olivia stepped closer, running her fingers along the keys. She'd stopped fighting her tears by now.

Peter wrapped his arms around her from behind, "So, do you like surprises a little more, now?"

"No, but I love this one." She said, relaxing in his arms.

"Come dad, let's finish the game," Noah said, completely underwhelmed at the piano and already feeling bored.

"I'll be right there, bud." Peter promised. Olivia smiled, turning to face him as Noah ran off.

"I know we said we'd keep it a secret a little while longer, but I told Melinda. She found me vomiting, and I just-"

"It's okay," he told her, kissing her hand "...I accidentally told Kev."

She laughed, shaking her head. "So much for keeping a secret…"

"Yeah, we suck. You feel okay?"

"I feel fine; just tired," she said honestly. This little five-week-old she was carrying was kicking her ass.

"Go get some rest." He said and kissed her. "I'll wake you up in a couple of hours and we'll have a late supper"

"I'd like that," she smiled.

"Daddy…" Noah called.

"I'd better get over there, see you in a few!"

…

TBC...