Chapter Three

Six hours had gone by, finally the Captain came out of his office to order his detectives to head home and get some sleep, and told them that they would start fresh the next morning. Olivia said goodnight to everyone and made her way to her SUV, she wasn't planning on going home just yet, her thoughts all day were on the tiny infant in the hospital and all she wanted to do was be there. Twenty minutes later she walked into the room where the nurse was preparing a bottle for the baby.

"She is eating on her own now?" Olivia questioned, remembering the IVs from earlier in the day.

The nurse, a different nurse than before, smiled at Olivia. "You must be Olivia; Lena said you may stop by. This baby is coming back to full health so quickly; we are calling her our miracle baby." She held out the bottle to Olivia, "would you like to feed her?"

Olivia nodded her head and made her way to the hospital rocking chair that was placed beside the bassinet. The nurse gently placed the baby in Olivia's arms and handed her the tiny bottle. As soon as the baby was secured in her arms, Olivia gave her the bottle and the tiny baby sucked at it eagerly.

"Stay as long as you would like, if you need anything my name is Brooke, I will be at the nurse's station right outside." Brooke smiled sweetly and left Olivia and the baby alone in the small room.

Elliot had been home for nearly an hour before he decided to text Liv. He wanted to see how she was doing and to find out once and for all if she was okay or not. The case was certainly toying with her emotions; any one of them could see it in her while they went over the case trying to dig up anything they could find. He knew his partner, could read her like an open book, and he knew she didn't admit easily when things bothered her.

'Hey.'

He sent the simple text. Nearly fifteen minutes went by before she answered.

'Yeah El, what's up?'

She sounded like she was busy. His curiosity peaked.

'Where are you?'

Another slow fifteen minutes passed.

'Uh, I'm home El. What do you need?'

She was lying. Elliot pressed the call button and waited for her to pick up; when she did her voice was hushed.

"Listen El, I'm busy. Can I call you back in the morning? Better yet, can it wait until I see you at work tomorrow?"

"Where are you?" He questioned as he shrugged on his jacket, ready to head to wherever she was. "And tell me the truth, I know you aren't home."

She didn't answer at first and he could almost hear in the way her breathing had changed that she was searching for an excuse. Finally she answered.

"I'm at the hospital."

He knew it.

"I'm on my way; I'll bring you a hot tea from Dunkin and something to eat." He was already on the way; he knew she wouldn't be able to stay away from that baby this long.

Twenty minutes later he walked into the room where Olivia and the baby were. The baby was sleeping soundly in Liv's arms and the picture was enough to take his breath away. His partner had always wanted a baby girl of her own for as long as he had known her. She hadn't told anyone but him and he wouldn't have even known except that it had slipped out once while they were working on a child rape case a few months after she and he became partners.

He pulled up a chair beside her and gently stroked the baby's cheek with his finger. "She is precious isn't she?"

"Mhmm." Liv nodded in agreement. "I've been here nearly an hour and I can't pull myself away."

Elliot turned his chair to the side so that he was facing her. "Liv, be honest with me. Is this case to much for you?"

Olivia stared back at Elliot, unable to speak for a moment. His piercing blue eyes had the look of genuine care and possibly a hint of a friendship kind of love. The man before her was so attractive in many ways, from his short, clean hair cut to his toned body, but the one thing she could never peel her eyes away from was those eyes. This time the look was almost enough to make her break down and cry. She trusted him with her whole heart; Olivia could tell him almost everything.

"I'll be honest with you El; it is taking a huge toll on my emotions." She smiled sadly, "but I'll be okay. I can handle it."

Elliot reached over and gave her free hand a gentle squeeze. "Well, you let me know if it does start to become something you can't handle, okay?"

"Okay." She whispered.

Olivia's heart was starting to beat fast, and it was getting difficult for her to breathe. It wasn't because of Elliot's questioned, but because she had just realized something…

Elliot was still holding on to her hand.