"Liv, do you really think that you should be flying?" Alex sighed, pacing back and forth in Olivia's apartment.
Alex had been back at SVU for a few weeks, and she was the second person to find out about Olivia's pregnancy, and she had cried with Olivia. Alex knew how much becoming a mother meant to her, and she was thrilled to be part of this journey, not so thrilled the cause of it. Alex knew her relationship with Elliot had teetered on the line of being toxic, but also something that anyone would crave. Her relationship with Olivia had also been… Interesting.
The two of them had always butted heads and couldn't see eye to eye on some cases, but she knew Olivia was doing her job, and Olivia knew that Alex was doing her job, and they deeply respected one another. There had been a few times where they crossed their own line from professional to intimate, but never let their feelings get in the way. They had known that they would never work out, but had appreciated each other to the utmost power, and had each other's backs.
Olivia sighed and fell back into the couch, her hand on her stomach. She knew that Alex was right, and flying across the country could be a risk, but she needed to face Elliot, and she was afraid if she didn't take this chance, then she couldn't trust that he would come back.
"Alex…" Olivia reached over to the blonde and grabbed her hand, forcing her to relax on the couch next to her. Alex frowned and sat next to her and placed her hand on Olivia's belly and smiled, her worries at ease for now. "I know you don't want me to, but I need to." She sighed and sat back, watching the blonde interact with the tiny human inside of her. Olivia felt incredibly blessed to have Alex back, for now, and was cherishing the moments.
"I know, Liv." Alex sighed and sat back and looked at the brunette. Alex took Olivia's hand into hers and raised it to her mouth, placing a firm kiss on her hand. Olivia smiled and wrapped her arm around Alex's neck and pulled the blonde into her. Alex nuzzled into her side, her hand on her belly, feeling the movement of the baby.
"Isn't is so weird?" Olivia laughed, and Alex laughed with her.
"I can't believe you're having a baby, Liv, I'm so happy for you, you know that, right?" Alex asked, her tone changing.
Olivia frowned and rubbed Alex's back and leaned down and kissed her head. "I don't want you thinking about the what ifs of our relationship, and I'm just really glad that you're here with me right now, it's all I need." Olivia reassured her with another kiss to her head.
Alex nodded silently and stayed wrapped up in Olivia's embrace. "When are you leaving?" She asked.
"Tomorrow." Olivia laughed a little and leaned back and closed her eyes.
"And you'll call me, promise?" Alex asked.
Olivia smiled and ran her fingers through Alex's hair. "Some girl some day is going to be really lucky to have you, you know that?" Olivia spoke quietly.
Alex sat up and looked at Olivia. She placed her hand on the brunette's cheek and smiled. "Maybe, but no one will compare to you." She leaned down and kissed her stomach. "I don't want to meet anyone right now anyways. My best friend is having a baby and I'm not going to miss it." She grinned, earning a laugh from Olivia.
Sacramento, California
Olivia had been anxious the entire flight, her nerves getting the best of her. It had been years since she traveled, let alone traveling at five months pregnant. She was exhausted after a single shift, and knew that the three hour difference was going to kick her ass. She promised everyone that she would check in, but the moment she saw Elliot standing there waiting for her at baggage claim, she forgot about them.
Elliot's eyes met hers, and they felt like they were the only ones in the crowded airport. Despite all of her best efforts to not cry, the pregnancy hormones kicked into overdrive and the floodgates opened wide. He ran to meet her and took her into his arms and held her close to his body, Olivia clinging onto him as if her life had depended on it.
Olivia had been furious at him for weeks after, part of her thought that getting pregnant was some fucked up blessing in disguise, but being in his arms again made her forgot how she was feeling then. She cried into his chest as he held her, one hand rubbing her back, the other on the back of her head. "Liv…" He whispered. "I'm so sorry, I'm so fucking sorry…" He sobbed quietly.
It felt weird getting lost in each other in the middle of a goddamn airport, but Olivia didn't know what would come out of this trip, and she wanted to scream at him, she wanted to call him all the horrible names she called him while she was drunk, but to his face, she wanted him to hurt the way she had. But she knew that he was hurting, she knew that he didn't make the sane decision to leave. She knew that if he knew that she was pregnant, he wouldn't have left. He wouldn't still be with Kathy, and just maybe, they would be together. Or at the very least, working on their relationship to raise this baby.
"I know you are." Olivia sniffled, finally pulling herself together. She slowly pulled away from his arms and wiped her cheeks and looked up at him. Puffy eyes and a red nose, he thought that she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. He smiled down at her and kissed her head and placed his hand on her stomach.
"Jesus.." He laughed, partially shocked that she was pregnant, with his baby. "She moves a lot… She's already a pain in the ass. Takes after her father.." Olivia grinned and that caused Elliot to laugh.
"A girl, huh?" Elliot smiled and pulled her back into his arms for another hug. Olivia sighed contently, hugging him again. She felt the flutters of her little girl in her stomach and she felt like her heart was going to explode. She knew that they had a lot to talk about, and she had a million questions, but the only thing that mattered, was she was with him and they were going to get through it.
"C'mon, let's get you to the hotel and we'll get a bite and we can talk." Elliot took her things from her and walked to the car and helped her in and drove to the hotel. The drive wasn't bad, Olivia enjoyed the change of scenery, it was similar to New York, but she would never actually leave New York. Olivia placed her hand on her stomach as the music quietly rolled through her ears. She knew that she must've drifted off when he woke her, letting her know that they had arrived.
"Pregnancy is no joke." Olivia laughed and got out of the car, holding Elliot's hand. He laughed and closed the door behind her and grabbed her things and waited for her to check in and they head up to the room together.
"How far away is your place from here?" She curiously asked and sat on the bed.
"Uhh, half hour tops. Lights? 15 minutes." He laughed and she smiled and rolled her eyes. She laid back on the bed and sighed quietly and glanced over at him.
"I need to nap, the flight is already catching up with me, and I promised Alex that I would be safe and that just reminded me that I need to call her… Hand me my purse?" She smiled and he passed her the bag and watched her pull out her phone and send the necessary texts and her attention returned back to him.
"I'll run a couple errands and come back to pick you up, how does that sound?" He suggested, wanting to give her space and time to breathe.
Olivia smiled a little and nodded, "And yes, I will call you if I need anything."
Elliot laughed, "Alright, I'll see you later, Liv.'
"Hey, El?" Olivia asked before he headed out.
"Hmm?" He turned and met her eyes.
"If you had known… about the baby… would you have still left?" Her tone was sad, and it killed him to hear those words, and all he wanted to do was take her into his arms and hold her for a lifetime. He hadn't been gone that long, but he knew that he had been gone long enough to miss half of her pregnancy, and be there when she really needed him.
Elliot shook his head, "No, Liv, I wouldn't have." He cleared his throat. He knew that they were going to talk more about this, and he knew she was exhausted and didn't want to get too much into it. He gave her a half smile before he headed out, "I'll see you soon." He called over his shoulder, unable to meet her eyes right now and the door closed behind him.
Olivia sighed and laid back again on the bed and wiped her cheeks, trying to not get overwhelmed. She had no idea what she was doing, she had no idea what the fuck was going to happen between them, but she knew that she loved that baby, and knew that Elliot wasn't going to leave his kid again.