I'm sorry for how long this took but I started college and I have work and about 1500 other reasons that writing isn't at the front of my mind, but I'm hoping that even if it's slow I can keep churning these chapters out. My plan is to write or at least map out the next few tonight because as of this upload I'm no longer ahead of myself. Let me know what you think!

Also thank you to Heart Story who left a lovely review on Wasted You that made me smile! I'm not sure when that will be updated next so thought I'd say thanks here in case they see it

~X~

Elliot stopped dead in the doorway when he entered the apartment at two PM to see Olivia curled up on the couch. He knew she hadn't been feeling great recently, but it had to be worse than he thought for her to take time off work. It was more likely that she'd been forced home by the rest of the squad, but for her to actually take their advice he realised she must be feeling rough.

She hadn't greeted him yet, so he closed the door and made his way further into the apartment, dropping his gym bag on his way into the living room. It was then that he noticed she was asleep. He took in her appearance before he sat down. Despite the mid-June heat outside, she was wearing a white tank top under her favourite cosy onesie, it was only half zipped up with the sleeves tied around her waist, her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and he reached to tuck a stray strand behind her ear.

Olivia jumped ever so slightly at the touch and slowly opened her eyes, frowning when she saw Elliot sitting on the couch in front of her. She sat up slowly and ran a hand over her face. "When did you get home? What time is it?"

"Now. It's just after two. How long have you been here?"

"Cragen sent me home at eleven." Olivia sighed as she sat up and allowed him to pull her into his side.

She'd been holding off on telling him she was pregnant. Instead she'd spent all week trying to think of how to break the news to him. Despite his earlier revelation that he wished she was already pregnant, she wasn't sure he'd feel the same when he found out she actually was. She'd been torn all week. Part of her wanted to just tell him and get it over with, accept that he may turn and run. But the other part of her wanted to keep it to herself for as long as possible, that way she could stall the inevitable and he'd be hers for a little longer.

She had toyed with the idea of finding a cute or special way to surprise him, but that would only make it hurt more when he wasn't happy. Between work and feeling like death, she hadn't had time to make a decision. Now that he knew she'd been sent home from work though she'd have a hard time lying to him. Even if she was sick, he knew her well enough to know that she'd rather sleep it off in the cribs and do paperwork than come home and melt on the couch.

"What's wrong? I thought you didn't feel that bad?" He knew she hadn't been one hundred percent truthful when she told him she was fine, but not for a second had he thought that she wasn't well enough to work.

Olivia tried to hide the anxiety in her voice when she shrugged. "I guess this baby doesn't like me as much as our first one did. Cragen sent me home after I nearly puked on a suspect and then actually did puke in front of our vic and her mom."

Elliot sat in a stunned silence for a second, wondering if he'd heard her correctly. He looked at her, searching her eyes. "Hold on a second, go back. What did you say?"

Olivia swallowed the lump in her throat and fought the urge to throw up again. "I'm pregnant."

He beamed at her when he gathered her in his arms and hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her head. When he released her, he was grinning from ear to ear but despite the sparkle in his eyes, she saw his smile dissolve when he took in her expression. She could see the questions bubbling to the surface before he even opened his mouth.

"Liv, what's wrong?"

She took a deep breath and pulled back from him slightly, putting some space between them. She had no idea where to begin. All she wanted was for them to stay in their happy little bubble a few moments longer before it was burst, but she wasn't sure he'd get where she was coming from if she was truly honest with him. Only one way to find out.

"I don't want you to leave me."

His face dropped and she could swear he looked like she'd wounded him. It wasn't often that Elliot Stabler was speechless, but here he was. Without a word he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her back into him. She let herself relax into his side, trying not to let his silence get to her.

"Olivia, I'm not gonna leave you. I'm never gonna leave you. Especially not because you're pregnant. I love you so much, you mean more to me than you could ever imagine. I'm not going anywhere. I promise." He took a deep breath. He couldn't imagine how hard it had been for her the first time around, but he was here to stay. "You know, Liv, it's okay if you're not ecstatic about this right now. You feel like shit and the last time you did this I wasn't there for you like I should've been. But we'll be okay. I wanna be there for everything this time. It may not have been planned, but that doesn't make it bad."

Olivia blinked against the sting of tears. He'd just said everything she wanted to hear, and relief filled her as she digested his words. She just hoped he'd understand when he found out she'd kept it from him for almost a week. The sound of his voice snapped her from her thoughts, and she realised she had no idea what he was asking her.

When she simply stared at him blankly, he smiled softly and repeated himself. "When did you find out? Do you know how far along you are?"

Olivia hesitated before she answered, she really hoped he wouldn't be mad or hurt that she hadn't called him straight away. "I took a few tests at work last week. I'm really sorry for not telling you. I've been trying to figure out how, but my mind has been either so full with work or just plain numb that I didn't know how."

"Don't worry about it. I know now." Elliot shook his head.

It stung a little that she'd kept it from him, but the logical side of him tried to reason that she had done it to protect herself. He thought of another baby made his heart swell and he smiled brightly at her then bent down to give her a quick kiss. When they agreed on having more kids, he had sworn to himself and to her that he wasn't going to miss a second of it this time. Whatever she needed she just had to say the word and he'd be there right along with her.

"So, you nearly puked on a suspect?" He tried to keep the amusement out of his voice but failed miserably. "He deserve it?"

"Oh yeah." Olivia answered firmly, though there was a tone of laughter in her voice. "Guy was a complete ass. My poor little eight year old vic didn't though. I think I traumatised her again. One minute I was sitting there colouring with her and the next I bolted and was puking into the trashcan next to her mom." She buried her face in her hands and groaned. "It was horrible. I was so embarrassed."

Elliot tried hard not to laugh at the way she scrunched her nose up at the memory. "Who all knows?" Cragen had to know for him to actually succeed in sending her home, but he was hoping the entire squad hadn't found out before he had.

"Officially? Cragen knows, and Nick. Oh and of course Natalie and her mom. I had to tell 'em, it was the only way to recover from the fact that they got a front row seat to me losing my breakfast and make it acceptable." Olivia sighed. "Unofficially, I think the whole squad knew before I did. I thought I was just getting whatever Eli had, but they picked up on the same symptoms I had with Grace. Rollins actually walked in and dumped a bag of tests on my desk. I wish they didn't know, so I could tell you and then them."

"Why don't we surprise the kids? Eli will be delighted."

He was right. Eli had apparently asked Kathy for a baby for Christmas because his friend Sam got one. While Kathy had nearly fainted at the thought of having any more children, it hadn't been long until he found out about Grace. Ever since then he'd been asking Kathy if he could have a baby for her house, too. Elliot was hoping that while it meant he still didn't have a baby at home, he'd settle for having two here. Maybe it would backfire and he'd double down on asking Kathy. The other alternative was that he asked to take Grace or the new baby home with him.

"I thought about surprising you. I was gonna get a big sister shirt or something for Grace. Or a card or something, I don't know."

Olivia groaned and Elliot's head whipped around to face her. She didn't look like she was about to throw up, but he quickly glanced up to make sure she had a free path to the bathroom if she needed it. When she didn't stand, he settled back against the couch cushions and pulled her against him.

"We need to get ready." Olivia told him, though she made no move to get up. He frowned in confusion. Ready for what? "We have an appointment to see our baby soon. I made it this morning."

He grinned and slowly pulled her to her feet, hoping the motion wouldn't cause her to throw up.

~X~

Olivia beamed with happiness as she sat in the car next to Elliot. They were on their way to Maureen's place to meet her and the rest of the kids - minus Eli - for dinner to announce the pregnancy.

The appointment had made both of them shed happy tears despite the shock of finding out she was already almost three months along. They had plenty of copies of the ultrasound pictures and as they left the appointment, Elliot had made the decision to drop Olivia off at home and then venture out to the store to find the desired big sister onesie Olivia wanted. It had taken some finding and a slightly tense FaceTime call before he'd found not a onesie, but a little pink top that Olivia deemed suitable.

The plan was simple. When they arrived, one of them would hold onto Grace until everyone was sitting in the living room. Then they'd take Grace's jacket off and plant her in plain view of her older siblings and wait to see who caught on first.

Maureen greeted them brightly when they arrived, she hadn't questioned their request for a family dinner. Instead she had enthusiastically offered to host it since her place had less baby furniture and therefor more space for the group. She welcomed them inside, giving them a hug and jokingly chastising them for being last to arrive as always.

Once inside, Olivia shot Elliot a quick look as they all found a seat in the living room. She sat Grace in her lap, bouncing the baby to keep her happy while she waited for everyone to settle down.

Once Maureen finally joined ten, Olivia unzipped Grace's jacket and handed it to Elliot before placing Grace on the playmat on the floor. She could feel the nervous energy bubbling in her stomach and she immediately began to doubt their plan. What if none of the kids noticed the writing on the top? What if Grace spilled something and had to be changed before anyone noticed? Maybe they should have just given everyone a card with an ultrasound.

Before Olivia's doubt could spiral anymore, Kathleen let out an excited squeal and pointed at Grace. She immediately dropped onto her knees beside her baby sister and scooped her up to read the words on her top.

As he and Olivia watched the kids pass Grace around to admire her top, Elliot wrapped an arm around Olivia's shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple. In all the time they'd been partners, he'd wanted this but never in a million years did he think he'd ever get his wish.

"Oh my god, I can't wait to meet it!" Lizzie exclaimed. "You guys make beautiful babies!"

Olivia laughed but she had to agree. Maureen had taken the big sister top off of Grace in order to get a proper picture of it, now her daughter was left in her original outfit, a dusty pink onesie under a cute denim pair of overalls, finished off with a matching pink headband in her dark hair. She had already pulled one of her socks off and was working on the other, babbling happily at her older siblings.

Dinner looked and smelled great and Olivia sighed in frustration when she managed no more than a few forks full before her stomach began to protest. She plucked Grace from her highchair and held her in her lap, gently stroking her hair. She had a feeling this pregnancy wasn't going to be as easy as her first, but it would be worth it in the end.

The night was cut a little shorter than planned when Elliot noticed how tired Olivia was getting. He made a few excuses to his kids, bid them all goodbye and they all piled into their cars and headed home. He couldn't help but smile to himself when less than halfway home, he noticed Olivia was out cold asleep in the passenger seat.

~X~

Elliot stopped in the doorway between their bathroom and the bedroom when he heard Olivia cursing under her breath. He watched for a moment, trying to figure out what the problem was before he took a few cautious steps toward her. "Everything okay?"

"My pants are too tight already." Olivia grumbled. "I'm gonna be huge by the end of this."

"You're gonna look amazing, Liv." He tried to soothe her. "It's normal to start showing earlier after your first, especially when you have them close together, so yeah, you might be a little bigger than when you had Grace, but I don't care. You're carrying our baby and that's all that matters."

Olivia bit back sharp remark about knowing how it worked. He was only trying to make her feel better and she'd only end up feeling guilty all day if she snapped at him for trying to help. Instead, she pulled on her tank top and rummaged in her closet for a pair of pants with an elasticated waistband. Elliot had called Cragen already and told him she was taking another day due to bad morning sickness. In reality, she was no sicker than the day before, but she was grateful to have another day to try to recharge before going back to work tomorrow.

At some point, she'd have to look for clothes she had bought the first time around. She hadn't counted on needing bigger clothes so early on, and if her belly was going to get as big as she imagined it being, she'd definitely need to go shopping sooner rather than later. She wasn't even sure if she'd kept any of her actual maternity clothes. She'd acquired some clothing in a size bigger than her usual to wear to work before she was properly showing with Grace, but she hadn't imagined ever needing the maternity stuff again, never mind before her daughter was even a year old.

"How about we make a day of it?" Elliot's voice made her turn to face him and she could tell he saw her confusion. He sat on the bed and watched her. "We can wait until you feel a little better, then we can go for lunch, go shopping, maybe view some of the apartments we liked. Or if you wanted, I can take the kids out while you go get your hair or nails or whatever done, then we can either meet back up and go shopping then house hunting, or you can shop on your own and meet us to look at places?"

Olivia couldn't help but smile as she nodded. She liked the sound of it and she was sure if she asked Cragen just for one weekend off, without being on call, he'd agree. It would be nice to spend some quality family time together without the potential for it to be cut short by her phone ringing. She moved toward Elliot and leaned over to kiss him only for a shrill cry from Grace to put an end to their quiet moment.

"You're gonna be late for work. I'll get her."

She watched Elliot leave before she went to retrieve Grace from the nursery. She held her baby close as she realised that before long, she wouldn't be a baby anymore. She wasn't far away from taking her first steps with a bit of help, and then on top of that, in a few short months they were going to have a brand new baby again. The thought brought a wave of emotion over Olivia and she decided that from now, she was going to cherish any time she could get with her baby girl. Time passed quickly and she didn't want to blink and realise she'd missed watching her baby becoming a little girl.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to drop me a review, you can find me on twitter at mhargibenson