Chapter 21

Two months later…

When they told everyone about Olivia's pregnancy, they were met with a lot of "I didn't know you guys were doing in-vitro…" That got old fast, as they got tired of telling people it wasn't, much to their surprise. But overall everyone was happy for them and they received so much love from all their friends.

Peter's birthday came in late September, and as part of his gift, he and Olivia got some much needed time away in St. Thomas. Olivia figured they could put the beach house to good use before they got too busy with two kids. They did nothing but make love the entire three day trip.

Then, Noah turned eight in late October, celebrated with a party. In between and outside of those events, escrow closed on the house and they right away began remodeling and making repairs. Noah was absolutely in love with their new home in spite of all the work it needed, and he begged to go out every chance they could.

Peter and Noah, along with Kevin, got started on Noah's treehouse right away. Together, Peter and Noah drew up the modest plans and they got to building. Peter was hoping that they could get a lot done before the first snowfall would arrive and since he and Kevin had worked summers during high school doing construction work, they thought that would give them an edge but it was a shock even to them that they managed to get quite a lot done in just three weekends.

"If one more person I don't know attempts to touch me…" Olivia vowed as she and Melinda walked through the crowded midtown restaurant. A woman had just attempted to touch her belly and after evading her, and then having to tell her flat-out 'no' when the woman persisted, Olivia was rightfully now in a bad mood. "...I'm not a fucking good-luck charm!" She made sure to say loud enough for the woman to hear her as she and Melinda took their coats off and sat down. Casey had been waiting for them at the table.

Hey sweetie." Melinda greeted Casey as they sat, then turned back to Liv. "Don't let it upset you."

"Easier said than done." Olivia said as she drank some water from her glass.

Not at all," Casey interjected. "For instance, have you started shopping for the baby yet?"

"A little," Olivia said. "I just wish I had kept Noah's things from when he was a baby, then there'd be a lot less to get done."

"Would you ever have thought?" Melinda asked.

"No!" she laughed as she rubbed her swell, then stopped and took a deep breath. "God, he kicks so much!"

Melinda put her hand on Olivia's belly then smiled as she felt the baby's kicks. "He? Is that official or…?"

"Not official. Though Peter and Noah are going crazy wanting to know, but I really feel like it's a boy,"

"A house full of men…" Casey jokes. "Well, if any woman can handle it…"

…

Later, at the precinct, Olivia came off the elevator and was turning to go into the squad room when Fin suddenly appeared, scaring her. "Shit! FIN!"

"Sorry, but we've got a problem. I tried calling, but it kept going to voicemail,"

"Voicemail?" She tried to look at her phone, but when that didn't work, she tried to turn it on. Dead. "Shit!" She cursed under her breath.

"The bosses are in your office,"

"How long has it been?"

"About fifteen minutes,"

"...but fifteen minutes. They haven't been too satisfied with me being pregnant, this will just give them more reason to bitch!" She took a deep breath. "Okay…" then another one. "Here goes nothing!" She said as she walked through the squad room, bypassing Carisi and Tamin before she went into her office and shut the door.

Sometime later…

"...we're just saying that we need someone who can give this position one-hundred-and-ten-percent. If you don't feel that's you anymore…" the Chief of Department said.

"Do you not feel that's me me anymore…any of you? Because my dedication to this job hasn't changed-"

"And were not saying it has," said the bureau chief. He wanted her out too, but he did not want this to turn left and bring a stink down on 1PP.

"Then what is it? Because it seems that there was never a problem until I announced my pregnancy four months ago, now, every two weeks there's some new worry or concern,"

"Now hold on a minute, Captain Benson," the Deputy Commissioner interrupted, as nicely as he could. Although truth be told, that was exactly the reason they were there. They knew it, and so did she, only nobody was admitting it. "This is in no way about your pregnancy…" he lied.

"Isn't it?" She wondered aloud. "Because I'm putting in the work. My whole team puts in the work and we get things done, regardless of if we don't always have the support of 1PP to get said work done."

That stung, and the powers-that-be, they all felt it. Without a word between thm, all changed course as if they were sharing one mind and could read each other's thoughts. This was definitely going left. It was the Bureau Chief who spoke up.

"Perhaps we should all take a minute, maybe let cooler heads prevail. I think we're all a little on edge here."

"I agree." The Deputy Commissioner said as he stood up, the other two men immediately followed, and then Olivia. They couldn't hide their disdain as they looked at her belly.

"Will that be all?" She asked, feeling a pain in her back so she put her hand there while she stretched it, protruding her belly even further.

"For now. The Chief of Department said bitterly before just that fast, they all turned and left as Fin waited a couple minutes to make sure that they had left before he came into her office, the squad following.

"What the hell was that about?" Fin asked as he shut the door.

"I'll give you one guess," Olivia muttered, as she sat behind her desk trying to get comfortable. Kat caught on and immediately spoke up. Turns out, Fin thought she'd be an excellent addition to the squad when he'd interviewed her two months ago, and when he told Olivia how impressed he was with her, Olivia kept her word and signed off on her hire.

"Can they do that?" She posed her question to the room.

"No," Amanda took the liberty of answering. " but it sure doesn't stop them,"

"Especially when she's in charge..." Fin added. "Liv, I'm sorry about this."

"Don't be, Fin. It's not you."

"So what are you going to do?" Carisi asked.

"Nothing I can do. It's not like they admitted that they want me out because I'm pregnant,"

"But they're making it a lot harder to carry on. I hate the politics of this damn job!" Fin seethed, then walked out just as Carisi's phone went off.

"The autopsy's back on Sweeney, the ME wants to see us. You gonna be okay, boss?"

She assured him she would be and he and Kat left her office, leaving Amanda behind. She simply went to Olivia and placed her hand upon her shoulder in quiet solidarity. Amanda understood this in a way that try as they might, Fin and Carisi, and even Kat couldn't comprehend, and in that moment, it made them closer as Olivia reached over her shoulder and held onto Amanda's hand.

…

That night, Peter, Olivia lay in bed, with Noah asleep on her burgeoning twenty-weeks pregnant belly.

Peter closed the book he had been reading to Noah and put it down on the nightstand when he was sure that Noah was asleep.

"He's fallen asleep against my belly almost every night since we told him about the baby." Olivia smiled quietly as she looked down at her son cuddled against her bare belly as she stroked his curls. She looked so beautiful in the black silk pajamas she wore, her hair thrown over her shoulder.

"...guess he was serious when he asked us for a sibling, huh?" Peter said.

"...Noah's adoption coming up, a new house and a baby on the way…It still feels unreal,"

"To me too." He said as he soothed Noah's back. "I'll officially, officially be his dad in six days."

"And just about 20 weeks to go with this one. We're halfway there" Olivia said as she put her hand back on her belly. The baby was kicking and she smiled blissfully as she looked down at it. "It's kicking again," she said as Peter's hand came to her belly to feel.

"At a girl!" He smiled.

"...boy."

"You are so wrong, Mrs. Stone,"

"I think that would be you, Mr. Stone." She said sleepily, laying back against the pillows.

"You know, there's one way to settle this…"

Olivia laughed softly, "Don't start," she said, playing with Noah's curls.

"You sure you're alright?" He asked. "I don't want you to worry about those 1PP assholes."

She rubbed her belly then joined her hand with Peter's. "I've been with the department for twenty-five years and this is the type of shit they pull? I don't know, maybe it's a sign."

"Hey, I've never known you to back away; from anything,"

"Maybe it's time to change…I don't know, maybe I'm just tired and need a good night's sleep," she said with a yawn. Between work and her pregnancy, she barely had anything left by the time she got home at the end of the day. "...not that Fin or Carisi let me do much of anything at work since I told everyone about the baby."

"Fin's a good man, and I'm really starting to like Carisi." he smiled. "Get some sleep. And I'm gonna go get some work done. Should I leave the little guy here?"

"I think we can, for now,"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, stop worrying…God, I have to pee!" She said as she got out of bed after moving Noah.

"Alright," he said and kissed her lips, hesitantly. "I'll be downstairs if you need me. I love you,"

"I know," she smiled before she kissed him back. "...and I love you. Now go, let me get some sleep!"

"Yes ma'am!" He grinned as he walked out of the room. A few minutes later, she was back in bed, with the lights out and snuggling Noah on her way to sleep, all the while thinking about her conversation with the bosses.

…

The next morning, Olivia ran her hand over to Peter's side of the bed, hoping to make contact with his body, but she realized he wasn't there. Assuming he must be downstairs, she opened her eyes, feeling so well rested and refreshed until she looked at the clock and saw what time it was, 10:17! That woke her fully, and she scrambled to get up.

"Holy hell!" She cursed as she sat up a bit too fast and the nausea hit her hard. She put a hand to her belly as she spun her legs out of bed and sat still, taking deep breaths to quell her queasiness just as she noticed a note on the nightstand.

You looked so peaceful, I decided to let you sleep- I know, yell at me later. Anyway, I got Noah off to school and the breakfast dishes are clean.

I love you!

She wanted to be mad, but she had to admit that she had been exhausted last night. Things had been so entirely hectic at the precinct for weeks and she was thankful that Peter risked her ire and simply let her sleep. However, she immediately reached to the nightstand to grab her phone, dialing Fin.

"Fin, I'm so sorry, I overslept and I-"

"Liv, slow down, take a breath." He smiled. "You have the day off, remember?"

"I have the day off…" she said, repeating it as if she were reminding herself. She'd been so caught off guard by the bosses yesterday that she totally forgot. "Okay, I'm gonna hang up now to save face…"

"Yeah!" Fin grinned as he hung up.

After a nice relaxing bubble bath and something to eat, later, Olivia was now sitting out on the terrace getting some work done on her laptop.

"Don't you look rested," Peter smiled. She did look breathtaking in the colorful silk caftan she wore that hung dangerously low off her shoulder and she obviously wore no bra, and nothing else underneath as Peter would soon find.

"I'm very rested. Thank you for letting me sleep. I needed it." Olivia looked up, from her glass that held a smoothie. She hit a couple of keystrokes, then closed the laptop while he came and kissed her on the very shoulder that was exposed. That sent tingles through her whole body. Damn, these pregnancy hormones are strong!

"Aren't you cold out here?" He asked of the sunny yet crisp November day.

"I'm carrying a person inside my body, it can get a little warm, but I have a sweater just in case," she smiled. "What are you doing home so early? Not that I'm complaining,"

"I thought you might want a little company,"

"...before we get to spend the entire night together at the legal aide fundraiser, you mean?" She laughed.

"Is that tonight?" he asked in a playful tone as she climbed astride his lap.

"It's tonight…" she smiled as she kissed him passionately, feeding her tongue into his mouth as he grabbed her ass, kneading it with both hands.

"Mmmm…you taste like pineapple,"

"It's the smoothie." She said. The neckline of her caftan dipped even lower, exposing her breast and he immediately took her nipple in his mouth, gently scraping it with his teeth. "Ohhh God…" she hissed.

He felt so good to her and she threw her head back. They were out on the terrace in the middle of the day and she didn't want to draw attention, but, God! She grinded against him while he sucked and licked, then he took his mouth from her swollen nipple and proceeded to kiss her lips like mad before he gently put her on her back and proceeded to go down on her.

…

Later that evening, getting ready to leave for the event, Olivia was radiant in her rose-gold colored suit. It was silk satin all over with a floral embroidered design that was delicately beaded. She sat down in their room on the chaise at the foot of their bed putting on her shoes; gorgeous pumps that matched her outfit perfectly.

"Are you sure you don't want to wear flats?" He said as he stood in front of the full-length mirror tying his tie.

"I'm sure that my feet are the only parts of my body that still look like mine," she laughed, "I'm taking full advantage." She put her legs out and admired them, then pushed herself up off the lounge. "How do I look?"

"Stunning," he said and pulled her close. "like I wanna stay home and ravage you, over…" he kissed her. "...and over…" another kiss, "...and over again,"

"Don't tempt me!" She whispered as he claimed her lips once more before she took hold of his tie and started to tie it. Just then, Noah walked into their bedroom.

"Guys, we leave in…" he counted looking at his wrist. Only now it was much faster as he'd had a lot of time to practice. "...twelve minutes."

"I seriously hate that you gave him that watch," Olivia whispered, just as she finished his tie and they turned to him. "Don't you look dapper,"

"What does dapper mean?"

"Just that you look adorable in your suit.,"

"It's just like daddy's," he said excitedly to which Peter and Olivia smiled. "We're both dapper" he laughed. "…and you look dapper too, mom.

"Thank you honey," she laughed. "but dapper is a compliment reserved for men,"

"Oh!" Noah said, "...then you look very pretty…Wait, does that mean I'm a man?" He smiled.

"A little one," Peter supposed.

"Cool; first I'm eight, and now I'm a man!" Noah was blown away and so proud of himself. "can we get there now? This is my first time getting to stay up past 9:30!"

They got to the fundraising event and Noah had the greatest time. He didn't think that he'd ever gotten to talk to so many adults in one place. There was live music and dancing and a bunch of photographers taking pictures.

Olivia had just finished in the bathroom and was coming out with Casey. The two were laughing at something Casey had said when they nearly bumped into a woman.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Olivia apologized.

"No problem." The woman said cheerfully. "I should be more careful. By the way, I'm Mari Kendrick." She said as she put out her hand to Olivia who looked at it suspiciously before she decided to shake it briefly.

"Olivia-"

"Benson. I know exactly who you are," Mari said. "Honestly, I'm a fan."

"A fan?" She looked at Casey, they both had a grin on their faces.

"I know that this isn't exactly the place, but do you think we could talk for a minute? I won't take up much of your time…"

By ten o'clock, Noah was worn out and by ten-thirty, he was completely worn out and passed out in Olivia's arms. She and Peter knew then that it was time to go.

On the way home, she told Peter about her meeting with Mari. Apparently, Mari worked for a major publishing company and wanted Olivia to write a book.

"Fictionalized truth, she called it. I mean, could you imagine? Me, a writer?"

"Why not?" Peter asked as he drove.

"Why not? It's…I…" she stammered, just now thinking about it. "I don't know actually," she laughed. "I never really gave it any thought, if I'm being honest. Anyway, I told Ms. Kendrick, no thanks."

"Why, I think you'd make a terrific writer." Peter told a surprised Olivia.

"Honey, I'm a cop, not a writer."

"You are so multifaceted, and so talented, it's ridiculous. What have you got to lose?"

"Are you saying I should?"

"No, but I am saying, don't underestimate yourself," He said as he took her hand, squeezing it in assurance.

They got back home right around eleven, put a sleeping Noah to bed and now, Peter had come back downstairs after not finding Olivia in their room. He went into the living room and she was slumped on the couch with her shoes thrown off, rubbing her belly. She turned her head to look at Peter.

"I think my feet have quit for the night," she laughed as she reached out her hand to him. "I'm sorry…"

"What are you sorry for?" He said and kissed her hand. "Come on, let's get you to bed." He got around the front of the sofa to pick her up bridal style. She let out a little squeal as she went up in his arms. Him carrying her like she weighed nothing while she lay her head on his shoulder and looked up at him.

"You make it hard not to feel like a princess, you know that?" She said as he walked towards the stairs.

"Nope, princess is in the belly. You're my queen and I love you very much."

"Your queen loves you just as much, but we're having a little prince."

"You are gonna be so upset when this kid pops out and it becomes evident how wrong you are."

Olivia laughed "I think you should replace 'you are' with I am…"

"She's funny too!" He laughed, kissing her as he walked into their bedroom and gently laid her down on the bed and stood there looking down at her lovingly.

"Undress me?" She asked, lying in the middle of the bed against the pillows.

He sat down on the bed and reached for the buttons on her jacket and began to undo them, one by one until the last one was undone, opening it to her full breasts in the gorgeous lace brassiere that she wore beneath the jacket. He ran the back of his hand along the curve of her belly, then up to the curve of her breasts. Her breath caught as he very slowly began to fondle her over the bra, her nipples growing hard at his touch.

"I still can't believe you're mine." He said, kissing her so passionately as he slid her jacket off her shoulders, the strap of her bra strap falling away on the left one as the jacket traveled down her arms and off one, then the other. He he tossed it onto the chaise at the foot of their bed. They stopped kissing when she needed breath, her lips swollen from his kiss as she took in much-needed oxygen. His kiss always made her lightheaded and she lay back, eyes glistening, with a seductive smile and feeling so hot.

He reached for the side zipper of her pants and slowly pulled it down as she watched him. When he had it all the way down, he grabbed hold of the top of her pants and shimmied them off her as she lifted her bottom up from the bed. He peeled them down her gorgeous long legs until he came to her ankles. More zippers which he quickly undid and pulled the pants away from her body, tossing them onto the chaise to join her jacket.

She now lay there in her underwear, staring at Peter as he began to caress her legs, reveling in the softness of her skin. He kissed his way down to her feet and began to massage them, starting with the right foot. He put pressure on her sole at the heel and let his hands work their way up to the ball of her foot, kneading as she sighed. It felt so good after being on her feet for the last few hours. She lost it, laughing and trying to take her foot from his grasp as he sensually kissed the ball of her foot then using his tongue, traveled her toes and the side of her foot, causing more laughter from both of them as he now purposefully tickled her foot.

"Baby…" she laughed and squealed as she drew her foot back, taking him with her as he hovered close to her face. They were both quiet as they stared in each other's eyes and she drew in her bottom lip and bit it.

"See something you want?" He asked as he caressed her face. His thumb passed over her lips and she drew it into her mouth, sucking in the tip then craning her head to kiss him as she tore his shirt off.

…

In DC the next morning, David was having breakfast while reading the New York Times when he saw a picture, It was captioned something about New York Attorney, Peter blah, blah… and wife, NYPD SVU Captain, blah, blah, blah… a bunch of other stuff that he paid no attention to. No, what did catch his attention was the photo. It was of Olivia with whom David would only refer to as 'him'. They were at some event, and Olivia looked gorgeous, as usual in a form fitting, embroidered suit, but what took his breath away was that the photographer caught them at an angle. Her husband had his arms around her, specifically around her middle…her very large, protruding middle-

"She's pregnant?!" He said, suddenly incensed as he threw the folded paper across the table. He didn't know whether he was more upset at the fact that she was obviously with child, or the fact that she didn't tell him. Hell, he didn't even think she could get pregnant at her age! She was four years younger than he was, was that even safe!? He threw his napkin onto his plate, not in the mood for breakfast anymore. How did his life go from 0 to 60 then back to 0 again in just the span of two months?

"Yes, please and keep me posted." Olivia said to Sonny and Kat as they left her office. They had just shut the door when her phone rang. She sat down at her desk, taking some much needed weight off her feet before she answered.

"Benson,"

"Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"

"David?" She said, totally confused as to why he was calling her…again. She absolutely was not in the mood for this shit; not today, not ever! She thought they had settled this months ago, yet here he was, calling her about something that was honestly no concern of his although there was no secret here. She didn't scream, she didn't say anything that would have been disrespectful, though how much respect was he showing for her son, her or her marriage by continuing to call her though she'd made it clear that he was to leave her alone? No, she simply sighed, and hung up the phone.

"Olivia?" He called, quickly realizing that she'd hung up on him.

Olivia was blocking David from her phone when it suddenly rang. "David, I am not in the mood-" she started without thinking. What if it was one of my bosses? Luckily, it wasn't as she quickly found out.

"Olivia, it's me, Mari Kendrick," The woman said on the other end of the phone. She had approached Olivia about the possibility of a publishing deal to which Olivia told her no, but Mari wasn't going to quit so easily.

"I'm so sorry, Mari. What is it?" She'd found herself apologizing for the second time since last night.

"I was wondering if perhaps we could have lunch to further discuss-"

"Ms. Kendrick, I thought I already gave my answer."

"You did, but I figured you didn't mean it,"

Olivia grinned as she thought about her talk with Peter. Maybe he was right, maybe she was underestimating herself. She should at least hear the woman out, as they'd spoken so briefly last night.

"I can spare thirty minutes today. Where and what time?"

…

The following Wednesday afternoon, they celebrated Noah's adoption becoming official. It was a sweet moment, as Juge Linden, the same judge who'd signed his first adoption decree when he was a year old, had made it her business to be the officiant for this one.

"So, you're my dad forever, right?" Noah asked as Peter held him in his arms. There were happy tears from father and son and Olivia and Judge Linden looked on, their own tears flowing.

"As long as forever lasts."

"No matter what?"

"No matter what." He said and kissed his son as they hugged.

"Mommy, I'm Noah Benson-Stone now!" Noah said smiling from Peter's arms.

"Yes you are, my angel." She cried, wiping his and Peter's tears as Noah leaned over to include her in the hug and Peter kissed her lips.

That night at home, after Noah was fast asleep, Peter and Olivia were in the living room dancing as they kissed while soft music played in the background.

"You made that little boy happier today than I think he's ever been." Olivia said, looking up to Peter as he kissed her nose.

"No baby, 'we'made him happy!" He said as he spun her slowly, then pulled her back into his arms where they continued dancing, their noses close. "I'm so blessed every day that you chose me." They kissed sweetly as the doorbell rang.

Olivia paused and gasped happily. "Tony's!"

"I'll get it," Peter said laughing as he broke from her and headed toward the door. He came back a moment later, carrying a pizza box and a plastic bag. Olivia joyously clapped her hands together as Peter sat the packages down on the coffee table in front of her.

She opened the pizza box and nearly cried at the contents. Same with the contents of the bag as she unwrapped the chicken Parmigiana sandwich and the zepole, then took a generous bite of the sandwich.

"Oh my god!" She mused, then picked up a slice of pizza with the cheese pulling for miles. She eagerly wrapped it on her fingers and ate it.

"Okay, I don't think you've ever been so happy to see me as you are that food,: he laughed as he sat and took a slice.

"That's because you're not covered in extra cheese and sausage!" She said with an already full mouth, but still bit the pizza. "Besides, it's not me, it's the baby."

He laughed heartily as he folded the slice and bit into it, temporarily forgetting what they were talking about. "Oh, that is good!" He said and took another huge bite.

"See?"

"...but I don't have to push out a nine or ten pounder, sooo…" she threw a pillow at him and continued eating.

Later, they came from the kitchen after putting away the leftover pizza. Olivia sat on the couch with her pajama shirt up and rubbing her belly.

"Now I want sex, but I can't move…" he suddenly got excited as she let out a small burp. "Oh gosh, that was gross,"

"Nonsense…" he said as he sat down beside her. "Um, you were saying something about; what was it…sex?" He said, looking like an addict at just the mention.

"How about in the shower? I smell like a pizzeria,"

"I do love garlic!" He said as he leaned in to kiss her, only to be interrupted by the doorbell ringing. He let off a big sigh, "it's a set up…" he said as he went to answer it and she laughed.

"Peter Stone?" The heavy set, older black woman said. She was with another woman. Younger, white. Also heavy set with glasses.

"Yes, can I help you?"

"We're from ACS and NYPD, can we talk?"

"Can I see some ID?" He said.

"I'm sorry, of course," the cop was starting to pull out her credentials when Olivia, curious as to what was keeping him, came out to the entryway.

"Honey, I… Donna, Ellen?" She said, immediately recognizing the women.

"Olivia. I didn't know that this was your apartment," Donna said.

"Um, this is my husband, Peter. Honey, this is Donna Wilkes, she works for ACS, and Ellen Short, she's a detectivewith the NYPD."

"Nice to meet you both." Peter said as they shook hands. "Please, come on in." He invited, gesturing towards the living room.

"Can I get either of you anything?" Olivia offered. When both women turned her down, she invited them both to have a seat. They each took a spot in the cozy chairs, and Olivia and Peter sat side by side on the couch.

"I'm sorry, but, why are you here?" Peter asked.

"Maybe we could talk alone…" Ellen started, but Peter quickly shut her down.

"I don't have any secrets from my wife, you can speak freely."

"Did you know a Jana Eastman?" The Policewoman said.

"Jana Eastman?" He tried hard to place the name, thinking back. "...yeah, yeah we uh, had a brief involvement about five years ago,"

"Can you verify that this was her?" Ellen showed him her driver's license picture on an iPad. He stared at the photo.

"I think so, I mean, it looks like her but it was five years ago. You said 'was'..."

Mrs. Wilkes and Det. Short looked to each other awkwardly, thinking of how to break the news to him.

"Mr. Stone, we need to ask if you'd submit to a DNA test," Ellen asked.

"DNA? What are you saying?" Olivia had gotten riled up just that fast. "Do we need to call our attorney?"

"Olivia, It's nothing like that, I can assure you." Donna said in an attempt to calm things down.

"Then, what?" Olivia asked.

"Jana Eastman was visiting our city and she died two hours ago. She left behind a little boy that we have reason to believe is your son."

…

Tbc…