Sorry for the wait again *insert eyeroll here* I'm drowning in college work right now so I'm not going to promise regular updates. I have an outline for the next chapter but just need to find the time to actually write it.

~X~

Olivia couldn't help the content smile that settled on her face as she looked across the table at Elliot and Grace. As expected, Cragen had been more than willing to give her a weekend off and so here they were at the mall.

Eli had been ecstatic to learn that he was getting another baby and hadn't stopped talking about it since. In every shop they had been to that morning, he had insisted on browsing the baby section and pointed out every blanket, toy, or onesie that he deemed suitable.

Quickly, though, the focus had shifted to what he wanted to eat for lunch. It had taken almost thirty minutes but between the three of them, they had settled on pizza and found a small Italian restaurant to rest in before they went apartment hunting that afternoon.

Elliot knew it was a lot in one day, especially with a baby and Eli in tow when Olivia still wasn't feeling one hundred percent, but she had insisted. His plan originally was to have Maureen take Grace and Eli to the park for a while so he could take Olivia shopping but when he'd suggested it, Olivia had immediately insisted that it was fine, the kids could come and then they could go look at apartments again after lunch. After all, the need for more space was only going to get more urgent as time passed.

Olivia glanced at Eli as he scribbled happily on the children's menu with the crayons they provided, despite the rapidly melting ice cream he'd had for dessert, the boy was still remarkably clean. A look at her watch told her they should get going. They only had twenty minutes until their first viewing. It was only around the corner, but convincing Eli to move quicky was easier said than done sometimes.

~X~

Olivia sighed as she stood in the kitchen of the apartment. It was a lot smaller than they had expected. It was a nice place, but nowhere near big enough for them to live in now never mind with a new baby too.

Despite the knowledge that they had plenty of time and plenty of other places to look at, Olivia couldn't help but let it get to her each time they walked out of a building without finding their new home. She barley flinched as Elliot came up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll find somewhere. You know we will. And when we do, it'll be perfect. We don't have to settle for less just because we feel like we're under more pressure now. We still have six months until the baby comes. That's half a year."

Olivia turned and gave him a small smile. "It doesn't sound quite so bad when you say it like that. It's just hard not to be disappointed when we don't find something. This is the fourth place today, and they've all been great, but there's always a 'but'. But it's too small. But kids' rooms are right by the door. But the bathroom is too small. But the windows aren't right. All little things we could live with. Are we being too fussy? Am I?

Elliot turned Olivia to face him and gave her a smile. "No. Because when we find the perfect place, there won't be any buts. It may not be a perfect place, but it will be perfect for us. We could walk into a 'perfect' place tomorrow and still find something we don't like. When we find it we'll know."

Olivia breathed out a deep sigh and looked to where Eli was playing on her phone and Grace was asleep in her stroller. "It's been a long day. Why don't we go home and watch a movie? Make the most of the time we have left? As of midnight tonight, I'm back on call."

It wasn't a long way home but by the time Olivia opened the door, she was exhausted. Grace was still asleep, but now in Olivia's arms as her stroller was loaded with shopping bags. Eli was also asleep, being carried by Elliot. A nap didn't sound like a bad idea.

~X~

Olivia groaned as she followed Nick back to their car. It had been a long morning and she was in desperate need of a coffee. Instead she'd settled for a cup of tea and kept her grumbling to herself. Cragen had sent them to reinterview their vic's girlfriend to gather any information about the men they worked with.

The conversation had given then nothing in the way of new leads, but the girl had been kind enough to give them some fresh bagels and a cup of tea and coffee free of charge.

The car ride back to the precinct was quiet. Both she and Nick were tired and disappointed at the lack of progress. Their minds were reeling with what little information Chloe had been able to provide.

Olivia lifted her cup to take another sip of her tea but was stopped by Nick throwing his arm across her. Before she could turn her head to question him, there was the distinct crash of metal slamming into metal and a searing pain in her head.

~X~

Nick felt sick. He couldn't stop thinking. Even he wasn't sure of the specifics of the accident yet. Only that one minute he was driving them back to the precinct and the next he woke up, with the car on its roof and Olivia unconscious beside him. He'd managed to get out of his seatbelt just as some civilians ran to the car. Olivia had woken up a few moments later and though confused, was insistent that only her head hurt.

By the time the ambulance arrived, he and a few others had managed to carefully release Olivia's seatbelt and help her out of the car.

The paramedics had grudgingly allowed him to ride with Olivia in the ambulance, and he had a feeling that was only because he could give answers about Olivia that she at that point couldn't. The first words out of his mouth when they had approached were 'she's four months pregnant'.

Now, though, with Olivia being rolled down the hallway, he was firmly instructed to have a sat in the waiting room and someone would come to check him out momentarily.

Nick couldn't help but pray that by the time Elliot arrived at the hospital, Cragen was there too, or he was taken away to have his own head checked out. He had nothing against Olivia's fiancé, but he knew the other man wasn't overly keen on him. And the last thing he needed right now was to have to explain how he managed to get Olivia and the baby into a car accident.

He counted his blessings when a nurse appeared, calling his name just as he saw Elliot rush in through the ER doors.

~X~

Nick looked up when he heard footsteps approaching his sat back in the waiting room. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was Cragen.

"You okay?"

Nick sighed and nodded. "Sprained wrist, bad headache but that's it. I'll just be stiff for a few days. How's Liv? The baby okay?"

Cragen nodded. "Luckily, yeah. Liv's got a bit of a head injury. The doctor wants to keep her in overnight to monitor her head and the baby. They did an ultrasound and everything seems normal. They'll do another one before they discharge her tomorrow. Elliot's with her now."

Great. Nick assumed he should expect a visit from him soon. "Captain, what the hell happened?"

"Cab driver blew a stop light. He was on his phone. He hit your side and rolled you guys over. He's got a broken nose and no front teeth as punishment, smashed his face off the wheel."

Nick sighed. There was nothing he could have done to prevent the accident, but he still felt responsible for getting Olivia hurt.

"I gotta get back to the precinct. You've got the next couple days off."

Nick nodded in response as Cragen took his leave. His attention had shifted to the figure moving towards him and a part of him wished his captain had stuck around just a little longer.

~X~

Elliot sighed deeply as he sat down a couple of chairs away from Nick.

"Hey, Liv and the baby okay?" Nick was the first to break the tension.

Elliot nodded. "Yeah. They're both good. Liv's head's a bit banged up but they're not too worried, bit of bruising from the seatbelt but that's it. They're keeping her in overnight more as a precaution than anything else, she'll be home tomorrow morning. The baby's fine, good strong heartbeat. Found out whether it's a boy or a girl but I promised Liv I'd let her tell you."

"Congrats, man." Nick took a deep breath and looked away from Elliot. "Look, I'm sorry. If-"

"Don't." Elliot cut him off with a wave of his hand. "I saw some pictures from the scene, spoke to a few guys I know. There was nothing that you could've done. The guys side-swiped you outta nowhere. I'm surprised you guys aren't more hurt."

A quiet fell over them and while there was still some tension, it was nothing like the first time they had met.

To Nick's surprise, it was Elliot who spoke up first this time. "Listen, I know things have been tense with us. And I know a lot of that is down to me. I don't know what you know about me. But I do know you were hit with the aftermath of me leaving. You saw what that did to Liv, and you've been a good partner to her. I'm not very good at this talking thing, but I've been working on some stuff. I just wanted to say thank you. For standing by her when I ran, and for looking out for her and taking care of her and my daughter. And for still having her back now. You mean a lot to her and it's clear to see that she and Grace mean a lot to you and your family. So, thank you. And I'm sorry, for the tension and the uneasiness, I guess when I came back."

There was a heavy silence, neither man sure of what to say next.

"I'm also sorry for Liv's attitude after I left and the attitude she must have had while pregnant." Elliot added with a small chuckle.

The comment made Nick laugh and lightened the atmosphere. "That, I'm not sure I can forgive you for, Stabler. I'm just hoping she'll be easier to deal with this time since you're around for her to take her frustrations out on."

Elliot smirked and nodded up the hallway. "She wanted to see you. I've been banished to get myself lunch. I think I was hovering too much."

Nick watched Elliot stand and head for the cafeteria before he pulled his aching body to his feet and made for the room he knew Olivia had been taken to.

~X~

Olivia smiled when she saw her partner in the doorway. She was glad to see that he had no outward injuries, though she could imagine that like she did, he felt as though he'd been run over by a truck.

"Hey. I'm glad to see you're still in one piece."

"Is that because of the accident or because I was alone with Elliot for five minutes after getting you into an accident?" Nick joked. "How are you?"

"It feels like I got hit by a truck." She vocalised her previous thought. There was no point in trying to hide it from him. He'd been in the car, too. He was probably in just as much pain as she was. "How about you?"

"About the same." Nick nodded as he sat down.

They both knew they'd been incredibly lucky. They'd come away with minor injuries from an accident that looked a lot worse. They could have easily been trapped in the car, both had lost consciousness so their head injuries could have been a lot worse, and the baby was okay. It almost felt like someone had been looking out for them.

"So, you get a sleepover in the hospital, huh. Looking forward to breakfast?"

Olivia screwed up her face and Nick had to laugh at the disgust the held for hospital food. "If by breakfast you mean whatever I stop for on my way home, then yeah."

The room fell silent and Nick settled back into the chair beside the bed, looking over his partner to reassure himself that she really was still in one piece.

"It's a boy."

Nick smiled brightly as he looked at Olivia's beaming face. "I'm happy for you, Liv. I'm really glad you're getting your happy ever after."

Olivia couldn't help the bright grin that spread across her face at his words. To others it was a cliché, but she really was getting her happy ever after.

Thanks for reading! Please drop me a review and let me know your thoughts. You can find me on Twitter at mhargibenson though my profile pic is Gillian Anderson bc I've fallen in love with her now too :D