Time started to fly by. Olivia was eighteen weeks pregnant before I knew it and showing. She had told the squad shortly after our conversation and despite her fears they couldn't have been happier. The mood swings had stopped making life easier for everyone and the fatigue lessoned allowing Olivia to continue working. Like any concerned partner this worried me. If she worked a desk job I wouldn't be concerned but she didn't. One particular evening my worry was increased as she told me about a new case they were working.

"So we are up too three victims. All three women lost their babies but some how survived the beating."

"Ok let me make sure I follow. Some guy is out there attacking pregnant women, beating their abdomens causing miscarriages? Have you discovered a motive? Or developed theories about why?" I asked already feeling the worry.

"Nothing solid. Elliot thinks its some guy whose wife had a miscarriage and lost it, now he's taking it out on innocent women." She answered. "Munch thinks he is an anti-feminist who doesn't think gay women should have babies together." I chocked and sputtered on the wine I had just attempted to swallow.

"WHAT?!"

"Oh come on Alex! It's Munch's theory, you know how he is." She said defensively.

"Olivia Benson! Whether he is right or not you could be a target." It always annoyed me when she down played a serious situation like this. I loved that she was tough and put others well being ahead of her own but once and awhile it would do wonders for my stress levels if she would think of herself first.

"Don't start! I can still protect myself Alex."

"I know you can but you get this hero complex when it comes to protecting victims. You don't like to put yourself first so instead put your baby first, our baby." I tried to plead with her make her see my side.

"Alex-." She started to argue but changed her mind mid sentence. "I hear you and I will be careful. I will not allow anything to happen to me or our baby." She said sincerely.

"Thank you. That is all I ask for." I leaned in, kissed her for several long minutes before sitting back again. "I was thinking the other day about our current living situation." She looked at me with an inquiring stare.

"And what about our current living situation? Are you feeling we need to make a change?" she asked.

"Well we live in a one bedroom apartment and we are about to become a family of three." I answered. She smiled surprising a laugh. "What I'm just looking to the future!"

"And I find that to be adorable, but the baby will be in our room for at least the first year so we have plenty of time." She said.

"Well fine then. I will leave the nesting to you." I said slightly hurt.

"I'm sorry. Don't be mad at me." She said. I turned my body away from her so I could lay my head on her chest gently rubbing her swollen abdomen.

"Comfortable?" she asked.

"Very."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few days later I was walking home from work when I passed a children's store and couldn't help but stop and stare at the window display. Cute pink outfits with lots of lace and frill made up one half while blue outfits with planes, dinosaurs, footballs and superhero's made up the second half. Olivia insisted on waiting for the baby to be born to learn the sex, I wanted to know. Where was the fun in shopping for gender-neutral cloths? I wanted so badly to buy a pink frilly dress complete with matching sweater and shoes or a baby sized three-piece suit with a vest and tie. Instead the few items we had bought were simple, cute and generic with cuddly animals or phrases like my mom loves me. Sighing deeply I tore my thoughts from the window and carried on. My next stop was the grocery store. Although we were lucky to not experience any really strange cravings yet Olivia was always hungry and never seemed to stop. I didn't blame her as she was incubating another human but the constant trips to the grocery store were becoming annoying.

When I was two blocks from home I passed a parked squad car with its windows down the two officers inside chatting away. What I herd behind their talk made me freeze and almost drop the groceries.

"All units 10-13,10-13! Corner of Broadway and fifty first street suspect armed with a knife and SVU detective down with reported injuries." The officers quickly fastened their seatbelts, turned on the lights and sirens before pulling away from the curb squealing the tires. I continued to stand there starring at the empty space. My mind was blank, struggling to comprehend the words. When my phone rang I caught-sight of the time realizing I had been standing there for quite sometime. I managed to answer by the fourth ring.

"Olivia?" I asked desperation seeping in every word.

"Yea. It's me." Her voice was tried but still the same smooth, velvety, baritone one I was used to.

"I heard over the radio."

"Ya the uniforms told me they thought they saw you and that you may have herd the call." She explained.

"I did. Is everything ok? More importantly are you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah I'm ok. The babies ok. I got into a scuffle with a prep I was chasing.

"Excuse me!? What do you mean a scuffle? Olivia did you get attacked?" My blood curdled with anger.

"Alex, please! I am just to tired to fight you." She pleaded.

"I AM NOT FIGHTING YOU! I AM WORRIED ABOUT YOU! ANSWER MY QUESTIONS!" I tried to control my anger but emotion won over. Olivia heaved a deep sigh through the phone.

"Please. Go home and I will answer every question you have when I get there." I felt my anger ebb away as I herd her speak. She had obviously had a long day and me yelling at her was not helping.

"When will you be home?" I asked far more calm.

"Creagen is making me go to the hospital to get looked at and stitched up. Probably be three or four hours." My anger level shot through the roof.

"STITCHES? YOU NEED STITCHES?! AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN BURSES AND SORENESS?!" The neighbor four blocks over likely herd my shouting. Breathing hard was making my head spin and I noticed several people peeking out windows. Feeling stupid for my outburst I quickly made my way into the lobby of the building.

"I will be home in a few hours. Please calm down so we can talk rationally when I get there."

"FINE!" I ended the call, dumped the phone into my pocket, secured the grocery bags, and then proceeded to the elevator. Olivia had no idea how big of a verbal ass chewing I was going to give her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As time inched by I continued to fume. How could she down play that? She was on her way to have stitches and be "checked out", but everything is fine and I need to "calm down." She's the pregnant one, getting attacked by mad men, bleeding in the street and I'm the one who needs to calm down! How does she not know that telling me to calm down only make me less calm? More angry thoughts passed through my mind but with lessening ferocity. Before long rational thoughts started mixing in with the angry ones. She was probably to busy with Creagen, IAB and every other stick demanding an explanation to explain in more detail and she did promise to explain when she got home.

"DAM IT OLIVIA! You were right." I exclaimed to the open room. I could not help but smile bringing down my anger level even more, she knew me so well.

True to her word Olivia arrived home just shy of three hours after our phone call. Any residual anger I had was gone immediately. She entered the apartment limping, cloths dirty and torn; she had a black eye and several stitches over her eyebrow. Her shoulders were slumped forward as she made her way into the living room clearly exhausted. My heart broke at the sight of her.

"Liv. Come sit down." I got to my feet closing the distance between us in a few short steps. I helped her take off her jacket, she winced as she pulled her right shoulder out of the sleeve, then helped to guide her to the couch.

"What do you need? Ice? Heat? Food or drink?" I asked gently. She leaned back against the cushions of the couch grimacing slightly. With her head back looking up at the ceiling I saw tears starting to fall down her face. I moved to the couch sitting down next to her before pulling her head to my chest and wrapping my arms around her tightly.

"Olivia talk to me, please honey."

"I was so scared! I was chasing the guy but he pulled away from me and turned the corner. When I managed to get around the corner he was gone, I was so pissed. Then as I was walking back to Elliot a door flew open and he jumped me. I fought as hard as I could but he kept trying to hit my stomach so I protected myself instead. I felt so helpless and weak, that seemed to spur him on. If Fin and Elliot weren't as close as they were he would have beaten the baby out of me." Silent tears continued to fall down her cheeks leaving shiny trails in their wake. "The entire time he was beating on me all I thought about was protecting the baby, then when I was at the hospital I realized just how selfish that was of me."

"You did your job Olivia, you stayed alive and came home to me. Remember we agreed that was your top priority." I squeezed her tighter and planted several kisses on the top of her head.

"Yes I remember." She answered softly.

"All that matters is that you got your bruised, beaten, pregnant butt home to me. Now we are together and holding each other.

"If you say so dear!" she quipped. "I think I am going to sleep right here tonight." She smiled nuzzling her head deeper into my chest.

"You wont hear me complain. I was thinking though, maybe it is time you thought about asking Creagen for a desk assignment." I tried to be sly and conversational with this suggestion.

"Already done. As of tomorrow morning I am officially on desk duty until maternity leave starts. Elliot wasn't all to pleased but he gets it." She said. I immediately felt lighter, more at ease, one less worry to shoulder.

"Elliot should understand with four kids running around." I said playfully.

"True." She said softly. Within minutes we were both sleep wrapped in each other's arms.