"You sound upset. What happened?" Elliot detected an edge in Olivia's voice the minute she greeted him over the phone. He sat down in his chair and jammed his finger in his ear so he could hear.

"It couldn't have gone better. I'm dilating, I'm as big as a house, oh and my blood pressure is elevated so they're doing a C-Section in two weeks. How's your day?" Olivia clamped her eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears that threatened to break free. She thought for one moment that they'd been graced with an easy time of things. As if the chaos in her life wasn't enough.

"What? Why? You've been taking it easy." Elliot saw the concerned looks John and Fin cast in his direction and held up his index finger.

"I know that. I am so tired of this, Elliot. I've followed the doctor's orders. I've taken it easy. Everyone has been catering to me at work. The only thing I have to get up for is to take a pee every hour. What am I doing wrong? I wish someone would just tell me so I can quit screwing this up! And don't you dare say it. Don't you say you told me so." Olivia sat down in a huff and threw up her hands as she cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear.

"I wasn't going to say I told you so. We both agreed to look into the thing with your mother together so it wouldn't be solely on your shoulders. All we have is to go through her papers. The money from her pension at the school won't come through until the end of the month. It's not like we were expecting it sooner, or at all, for that matter. So, don't worry about that. Look, these things happen, Liv. It's nothing you've done. Concentrate on staying calm. Did the doctor say anything else?" Elliot could almost see her staring helplessly at the phone.

"No. Just that they scheduled me to come in because delivering the baby vaginally would put unwarranted stress on the baby since my blood pressure is already high. They said they'd rather not risk it. He'll be a little early, but not by much. We have so much to do before then, though. I was counting on having everything done within the next month." Olivia held the phone and flipped through the list of things to be finished before the baby came. If anything, it seemed to be getting longer.

"We'll get it done this weekend. Correction, I'll get it done this weekend. You can sit and supervise." Elliot scribbled a note on the pad before him and held it up so the guys could see.

"I need a bubble bath and a glass of wine. I guess I'll settle for a book on the porch swing. I'll pretend the water I'm drinking is enough to get me liquored up." Olivia let out a laugh. Just hearing his voice was doing wonders for her psyche.

"Just think, I won't be there to give you a hard time about your smutty reading material." He nodded mutely when John mouthed to Elliot, asking if Olivia was okay.

"There's a positive. I'll let you get back to work. I just wanted someone to talk to and I know you wanted me to call and tell you how it went. I'm sorry you have to put up with an emotional, neurotic wife. I'd do anything to keep Zane healthy. You know that, right?" She scooted down on the couch and laid her head back on the cushions behind her.

"Of course I know you would. You're doing a great job. Look, I'll be home in few hours. Why don't I bring dinner home? Go read your book. Relax, take it easy, and keep breathing." Elliot had the strong urge to race home and wrap his arms around her, but he didn't want to smother her. She seemed to be over the initial shock and was coping well, he thought.

"Okay. Thank you honey. I really needed to hear your voice." Olivia let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

"I love you, baby. Tell my boy daddy loves him." Elliot grinned broadly when Olivia said she would.

"See you after a while. Bye." Olivia heard the click on the other end of the line and set the phone down. She rubbed the clothed stomach that encased her son. She felt such a connection and she couldn't wait for the chance to hold him in her arms. She wouldn't have to wait long, she thought.

She reached for the book on the coffee table and the manila envelope caught her eye. It was the last of the documents. She and Elliot had gone through all of her mother's things. Once she'd given the lawyer the proof that she was, indeed, the daughter of Serena Benson, things went smoothly. She knew she should just let it go, but she felt like a disgrace. All her life she lived with the beatings and the abuse of a woman who didn't want her. She understood why she acted that way, but to hide her existence was beyond Olivia's comprehension. She never felt so unwanted in her life.

Olivia took a calming breath before opening the folder. She delicately opened each item, one by one. The folder appeared to be personal items of her mother and she felt like a voyeur but it might give her a clue as to whom her mother really was. She never felt like she really ever knew. She placed each paper in a different pile. One for old love letters, another for old movie stubs and tickets to concerts her mother had gone to before Olivia had been born. Before her life had been turned upside down. The third pile was for photos and the final pile was for little bits of her life that had made her proud. A smile graced Olivia's face when she found an old college transcript. It was from her mother's first semester of college before her grades started slipping. She put on top of the others. She'd gotten all A's. She stared down at the piles before her. She didn't have it in her to read any of the letters just yet. She opted to start with the pictures.

The photos were old and dingy and some were discolored beyond recognition. Olivia had no idea who the people were but they all looked happy. One photo caught her eye and she was instantly taken back to a moment in her time. The only two weeks of her childhood where she never shed a tear. She was holed up in her bedroom. Her mother had warned her not to embarrass her and that she'd be able to eat once he left. She'd removed all of her effects from the house and placed them in her room. She could hear them talking and placed her ear against the door. She smiled as her heard her mother laugh, something she hadn't done in a while. Olivia's breath caught in her throat when she heard the man ask if she had any kids. She strained to hear the answer and wished she hadn't. She backed up away from the door in horror, knocking over a lamp in the process. She hastily picked it up and set it back on the night stand. She cringed when the door began to open and sat on the bed, waiting to receive her punishment. It never came.

The nice man greeted her with a warm, toothy smile. He said his name was Bill and that he had a daughter of his own and that she had dark brown hair like Olivia's. He sat on the bed and the two talked. Olivia kept glancing toward the door in fear that her mother would come in and take him away. She wanted him to stay and told him so. He looked her in her innocent eyes and somehow understood how lonely she was. He saw her past, littered with broken promises and threats that had always been followed through. He saw pain and suffering. He enveloped her in a hug and told her if he'd stay as long as she let him, that he wanted to be her friend.

Those two weeks were the best two weeks of her life. She never forgot Bill. Memories came and went but that time was fresh in her mind. She only wished she knew his last name. She remembered clearly every time he secretly took her out for ice cream after school so her mother wouldn't find out. Every argument they'd had about her mother's treatment of her 'own flesh and blood'. All the accusing glares of a drunk who just wanted to be happy. If only she could see that it was all her young daughter wanted as well. For her mother to love and to be loved, because she so desperately wanted it for herself. Times changed, though, and the man went away. He never came over again and the empty void in Olivia's life returned. There were no more happy memories.

Olivia sat on the couch and stared at the photo of the man. She turned it over and founded the date. She had no idea where he was but she needed to find him. She'd always wanted to tell him how much she appreciated all he did for her. She studied the picture with scrutiny. He wore a plaid suit with a bag thrown over the shoulder. She recognized the building in the background and gasped. It was the university where her mother had taught. She'd met him at work.

Olivia carefully stacked the papers so that they were in one, organized pile and placed them back into the folder. She took the phone off the base and called Elliot once again.

"Hey, honey. I was looking through some of mom's old pictures and I found one that I need to have enhanced. Can you patch me through? I don't know the extension." Olivia tapped her foot impatiently on the linoleum.

"Yeaah…sure. I thought we were going to go through that later. What changed your mind?" Confused by her phone call, he frowned. He scanned the list of extensions next to his phone.

"I don't know. I just wanted it to be over and done with. I'll fill you in when you come home, okay?" She heard him agree and transfer her call.

"Hello, this is Olivia Benson from Special Victims. I've got a picture here I need your help with. It's not case-related but it would really mean a lot to me if you could do an enhancement on it so I would know what the person looks like today. Do you think you'd have time to do that for me?" Olivia bit her lip and anxiously waited for the lab tech to answer.

"Um…give me until tomorrow morning. I can start on it first thing. I've got some things for Computer Crimes that they need ASAP but after that, I'm all yours. Why don't you bring the picture over and I'll see what I can do." The computer tech searched his memory for the detective on the other end of the phone. He only knew of a few females that worked at the 1-6. Suddenly the light clicked and he smiled. She'd always been nice to him, even when he was learning the ropes. Her passion intrigued him and he vowed to have the same drive with every case because as she'd put it 'each person, each case has a family that wants answers just as badly as we do. We owe it to them to get those answers.' He admired her for her words.

"Actually, I'm on maternity leave right now. Can I scan it and send it to you?" She went to the study and turned on the computer to boot it up. She placed the picture on the scanner and waited.

"Oh, of course. Congratulations, in advance, by the way. Do you know what you're having?" The young man kicked himself for not remembering she was pregnant. She was beautiful to him either way.

"We're having a boy. He's making his grand appearance in a couple weeks, which is why I should be getting everything ready. This little thing came up, though, and you know how detectives get. We don't rest until we find what we're looking for." She heard him laugh in agreement.

"Gotcha. Well, I hope you get your answers, Detective Benson. Send it to my name. If I have you send to the group one, everyone will get it. Do you have a pen?" Once he heard that she did, he rattled off his e-mail address.

"Thank so much, Jake. Call me Olivia, please. You have no idea how much I appreciate this." She was happy to finally put a voice to a name. She vaguely remembered a Jake working in the lab.

"You're more than welcome. I only ask that you name your baby after me. I don't think I'll ever get a date and that'll make my mom so happy to carry on the family name." Jake chuckled and heard her do the same.

"Well, unless your middle name is Zane or Matthew, you're out of luck. Sorry." Olivia remembered how lonely she was when she was single. She remembered Jake to be in his mid twenties; young enough to still have plenty of time.

"You wouldn't believe this, but my full name is Jacob Matthew Harris the third. So, it looks like we're in luck, Olivia." Jake clicked the refresh button on his mailbox and saw the e-mail he was waiting for. He opened it up and loaded the picture. The man in the photo was standing in front of what looked to be a college university. He wondered what Olivia wanted with the picture, but it wasn't his place to ask. He only hoped he could help her find whatever it was she was looking for.

"See, there you go. You should have it, Jake." Olivia tapped her fingers on the keyboard. She studied her fingernails. She'd have to trim them before the baby came. It seemed to be the easiest thing on the list to do.

"I've got it right here. I'll get to it first thing in the morning. Do you want me to call you at home when it's done? I can just reply back to your e-mail. It'll take a while to do without having any genetic history or any other pictures but I've worked with far little before. Once I had to do an enhancement on half of this lady's face. I was proud of that one." Jake smiled as he recalled being the person who helped put one of the most horrific murders in jail, a case that had been cold for years.

"If you could. Whenever you get it done is fine. Thanks again. I owe you one." Olivia gave him her phone number and logged off of her computer and stretched. She got up and went to the kitchen for some water. She reminded herself to step it up, that she should have had at least three glasses by then.

"Not a problem. Take care, Olivia." Jake hung up the phone with a huge smile on his face. He loved these kinds of jobs. It was the personal ones that people brought to him that made him love his job the most. He loved helping people of all walks of life, but it was the people like Olivia that seemed to want answers the most that made him work until all hours of the night. He marked the e-mail unread and went back to work.

Olivia sat on the couch and placed the photo on the table. She picked up her book and took out the bookmark. It was nice outside, but she didn't want to move. She started reading.

ooo

Elliot set the bags on the counter and pushed them to the back of the counter so they wouldn't fall off. The house was quiet and he went into the living room. He grinned at the sight before him. Her book was lying haphazardly on her lap, her fingers still placed as if she was ready for that particular part. Her neck was craned to the side at an odd angle. He winced in sympathy and walked over to her and gently shook her awake.

"Mmm…hey. I guess I fell asleep, huh?" Olivia blinked away the weariness and let him help her up.

"Hey. How's your neck?" Elliot grabbed the book before it fell to the floor and replaced the bookmark before setting it on the table next to a picture. He didn't recognize who was in the photo.

"Sore. Ow. I always do that. I was going to go out on the patio but I didn't want to get up again." Olivia let him lead her to the kitchen and sat down at the table as he rifled through the bags.

"You sound better. You don't seem as stressed as you did on the phone." Elliot opened the boxes of Chinese food and dumped out some rice on the two plates.

"I decided not to worry about it. I found a picture in the folder I was going through earlier. Remember that guy I told you my mom dated for a while? The one I actually liked?" Olivia watched him scoop out some chicken pieces on the plate before looking up at her. He nodded and set both plates on the table before going to the fridge.

"I called the lab and asked if they could enhance it to see what he'd look like today. I want to find him, Elliot. He was the only person that ever made my life worth living. I never got to thank him. It was because of him that I never gave up hope that there was someone out there who could love me." Olivia heard her stomach growl and patiently waited for him to sit down.

"I think that's a great idea, Liv. I just don't want to see you get hurt. I don't want you to get your hopes up if you aren't able to find him. I don't meant to be negative, I just want you to be realistic. It's been a while, judging by that picture. We hear all the time about people trying to find relatives or loved ones. Just promise me you'll take care of yourself and you won't get worked up over this." Elliot slid her water to her and took a sip of his own.

"I know that. I know it could turn up nothing, and I'm prepared for that. I just want to show the photo around and see if he still works at the school where my mom taught. If nothing turns up, then I'll leave it alone. Besides, it'll give me something to do in the next couple weeks. You don't know how hard it is to just sit around all day, Elliot. I get bored." Olivia picked up her fork and took a bite of the chicken first. It was pure heaven. She smiled as the flavors mingled on her tongue.

"Enjoying that, are you?" Elliot chuckled and began eating as well. He noticed that she was happier. There was a change in her. She'd seemed to find a way to let the tension out and put it into something else. If she wanted to look into the mysterious boyfriend of her mother's, then he'd support her every step of the way.