Elliot Stabler was not a gentle man by no means, not even when it came to his wife. But when it came to his children, he was putty. When it came to Olivia, he was Jello. He didn't like to admit it, but Olivia had a piece of his heart that no one else did. It wasn't necessarily romantic, but it wasn't un-romantic either. He loved Kathy, no one would ever doubt that, but Olivia was…well, she was Olivia and he liked having a special claim on her—there were no other men in her life (of course, unless her baby happened to be a boy, and he'd share that title with the little guy willingly). He knew that there would never be another guy as Olivia was firmly planted on the softer side of Sears. But that didn't keep him from thinking about what their life could've been—a mental detour from his ordinary life.

So, he didn't hesitate to watch Olivia across the desk. Pregnancy really did make Olivia beautiful, not that she needed the help. She hummed quietly to herself as she went through her paperwork, writing in the stylized loops and curves she always wrote in. He smiled at her and she noticed.

"What's up?" Olivia said with a smile.

"Nothin'."

"That smile looks like a whole lotta nothin'."

"You just….you're glowing. And you're starting to show."

"I don't look fat, do I?"

"Oh God, I shouldn't have said anything. You don't look fat. You look beautiful. You are beautiful."

Olivia had the good graces to blush, "Well, good, because I have a date tonight."

"Really? With who? Someone I know?"

"Yeah. With Alex."

Alex. Always Alex. It wasn't that Elliot didn't know that Olivia was into Alex—that was obvious when Alex first started. And Alex made it pretty obvious herself.

"Alex is back?" He wasn't exactly jealous…not exactly, anyway.

"Yeah, she has been for a month."

He wanted to tell her not to see Alex, that she didn't need the stress that woman would bring, but instead he smiled.

"So, we're still on for your doctor's appointment tomorrow?"

Olivia nodded enthusiastically.

XXX

"Hey, whatcha doing?" Olivia cooed into the phone.

"Not much." Alex smiled into her response, "You?"

"Changing out of my work clothes to see you…"

"Don't. Keep on what you're wearing and I will pick up everything I need for dinner, swing by your place and we'll eat there."

"Are you sure?"

"Very. I'll see you in an hour or so?"

"Ok. See you soon."

The 2 hours it took for Alex to go to the store and get to Olivia's gave the detective time to clean. She looked around the house and was satisfied with what little she'd done. The apartment looked lived in, but not completely destroyed, thankfully. When Alex finally appeared at her door, groceries in both arms, she stepped to the side to allow her in. Olivia was able to catch a whiff of Alex's shampoo as she walked past. Alex's smell was absolutely intoxicating.

"So, what are you making me tonight?"

"Linguine in a pesto sauce with lemon chicken. Sound good?"

"Sounds very good." Olivia watched as Alex found everything she needed in her kitchen, "You know, a girl could get used to this."

Alex took an opportunity to actually look at Olivia. She was wearing a sweater that did very little to conceal the still relatively small baby bump she was sporting and a pair of slacks.

"Would it be such a bad thing to say that I kind of want you to get used to it?"

"No, that's not bad at all."

Alex abandoned the pots and pans for just a moment to kiss Olivia, "Now, stop distracting me with your beauty so I can cook for you and Baby Benson." Alex placed her hand over Olivia's stomach with a smile.

XXX

After dinner, Alex and Olivia found themselves on the couch together with Olivia's head resting in Alex's lap, watching a movie. It didn't take long however for Alex to figure out that Olivia had fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of the film. She looked down on the peaceful, sweet face of the brunette. She didn't want to wake her, but they both needed a good sleep and sleeping on a couch was not the best way to make that happen.

"Olivia, sweetie." She whispered softly, "Time to get up."

"Ugh, do I have to?"

"Yes, you do. Go shower while I clean the mess up. I'm not leaving here until I see to it that you're in bed."

"Yes, mom." Olivia shuffled into the bedroom while Alex went to the kitchen.

While under the spray of the shower, Olivia thought that, yes, she really could get used to this—to Alex being sweet to her this way, taking care of her this way. It was nice and it was only magnified by her attraction to the blonde and Alex's obvious attraction to her. Since she started showing a bit, Olivia hadn't exactly felt beautiful, but when Alex was around she did.

Alex was in a dream-state of her own. This thing with Olivia felt too right and she only hoped it wouldn't end any time soon. She couldn't think of a time that she'd wanted things to go well more than right now. There was one time, one woman in particular that she'd loved more than the world and she swore she'd never feel that way again. But she was here with Olivia and everything seemed even stronger.

She was taken away from her daydream by the feeling of someone's presence. Olivia stood there at the entrance of the kitchen dressed in a white t-shirt and boy shorts. If Alex hadn't already been finished cleaning up, she was sure she wouldn't be able to concentrate long enough to do anything else. The boy shorts accentuated Olivia's hips and thighs and the t-shirt didn't do a thing to hide her slightly hardened nipples. Alex felt that familiar clench in her stomach, the heat building between her thighs. Oh, she wanted her so much it almost scared her.

Olivia felt Alex's eyes all over and wanted to feel her hands all over her too. As Alex walked to her, with that predatory look in her eyes, Olivia had never felt so desired. Alex placed her hands softly on Olivia's hips and pulled her to her. She kissed her passionately, giving her a feeling Olivia could almost feel in her toes.

"I better go." Alex whispered as she broke the kiss, "Before I do something I regret."

"Would you really regret it?"

"I could never regret making love to you, Olivia. But I would regret making love to you not having proven to you that I'm worthy of your body and, more importantly, your heart. You may not realize it now, but everything I love and need is standing right in front of me. I want to make love to you, but only when I make you see that you are the only one I will be making love to for the rest of my life."

"Alex, you're going to make me cry."

"Oh, shit, I didn't want that, Liv."

"No, it's a good thing."

"Listen, what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Oh, I have a doctor's appointment. Elliot's picking me up from here at 2."

If she could hide the jealousy in her eyes, she would've but it was almost impossible, "Does he always take you?"

"Yeah."

"Oh…"

"Alex, stop. It's…Jesus, it's not like I'm with Elliot."

"I know, I know." Alex wanted to say that, of course, she knew there was nothing going on, but all the same, she felt possessive. Whether she admitted it or not, she was already beginning to think of Olivia as hers and the baby as theirs and the idea of Elliot playing Daddy to the baby made Alex more than uncomfortable—it made her angry.

"Next time, I want you to go with me."

"Really?" Olivia nodded, "I'd be honored, Olivia." She smiled and kissed Olivia's forehead, "Get some sleep, okay? Both of you." Alex placed a hand over Olivia's stomach and with a gentle caress, said goodnight to who she hoped would be her first child.