A/N: OK, I guess I've made you wait long enough. Here's Part 2...this whole chapter is a flashback to earlier in the day. It's a little longer than part 1. Like I said before it will get worse before it gets better but stick with me, there is a happy ending. I forgot to say last chapter that Kellie Pickler owned the song lyrics so here's me giving her credit. I still own no one except Avery. Dick Wolf has that honor. As always, review and let me know what you think. Enjoy :)

Olivia slowly waddled off the elevator on the sixth floor, holding tightly to Noah's small hand, preventing the precocious toddler from darting off on his own. As the elevator doors slid shut behind them she heaved a tired sigh, eyeing up the long hallway that led the way to IAB and Brian's desk. Maybe surprising Brian with an impromptu lunch date hadn't been the best idea. It was well over ninety degrees in the city today, the air thick with humidity, and even the short walks from the apartment to the waiting taxi cab and from the cab into the precinct had left Olivia and Noah damp with sweat. Olivia's once straight hair sported a few stray curls while Noah's short dark hair was plastered to his forehead. Their clothing clung stickily to their clammy skin.

But Olivia was going absolutely stir crazy at home. She had been forced out on early maternity leave by her doctor a week shy of two months ago as "punishment" for not taking it easy enough. After reluctantly leaving command of her unit in the hands of a complete stranger, she had found she actually appreciated the extra time to prepare for the baby as well as the additional hours in her day to spend with Noah—reading to him, playing with him, snuggling, just watching him grow and change. It was really important to her that Noah knew how much she loved him, especially since he would soon be sharing his mother's attention with another child.

The apartment was now completely ready though, save the unnecessary reorganizing Olivia's nesting instinct had prompted. Plus Noah still napped for a few hours in the afternoon leaving Olivia with way too much free time on her hands. She had tried napping when Noah did, knowing sleep would soon be scarce and hard to come by. But with a heat wave that the air conditioner could barely keep up with and her eight month pregnant belly, getting comfortable to sleep at night was hard enough, let alone during the day when there was also the sunlight shining through the thin bedroom curtains to contend with. And there was only so much day time television she could endure, finding herself totally disinterested in whether Cameron or Chad was the father of Abby's baby or who killed Sonny, if he was even dead.

So lunch with Brian had seemed like the perfect antidote for her boredom. The couple had barely seen each other the past few weeks—Brian working seemingly endless hours, often crashing into bed after Olivia was already asleep and leaving again in the morning before she woke, a quick note by her bedside and the rumpled sheets the only sign he had even been there. And the change of scenery would be good for her and Noah. She could sense he was getting tired of looking at the same four walls every day too, missing his daily trips to the park, an activity that had been eliminated thanks to the heat and Olivia's condition.

Olivia glanced down at Noah who was now pulling on her arm, urging her to continue down the hallway. "Go see Daddy," he reminded her, his voice bordering on whining, his tiny feet running in place.

Olivia chuckled at Noah's eagerness, wishing she had half as much energy as her son. Taking one final deep breath, she ran her hands through her slightly damp hair, pushing it back from her face, before answering Noah. "You're right, Noah. We're here to see your Daddy. Let's see if we can find him. But let's take it slow buddy. Mommy's kind of tired, okay?"

Noah shook his head in agreement and the two leisurely ambled down the lengthy corridor, passing offices and interrogation rooms as they went, stopping several times along the way for Olivia to rest, all the while Noah straining to run ahead of his mom but held back by her firm grip on his hand. When they reached the IAB squad room, they came to another stop. Olivia braced herself against the door frame and gazed around the room in search of Brian after noticing his desk was empty.

She had almost convinced herself that Brian must be out on a case and that they had made the long trip in the heat for nothing when she heard Brian's familiar laugh float through the assortment of voices and other noises in the bustling room. Noah heard it too, once again yanking on her hand and squealing, "Daddy!"

Taking one more visual inspection of the cluster of desks, her eyes finally settled on Brian's muscular frame leaning over the shoulder of a beautiful blonde-haired woman, pointing at something on her computer screen and laughing, most likely at whatever she had just said to him.

Olivia watched a few seconds longer, not wanting to see more but at the same time unable to look away, like a passer-by witnessing a traffic accident. She watched as the woman looked up at Brian, smilingly adoringly at him. Watched as she innocently leaned back in her chair so her head rested against his chest and her hair tickled his face. Watched as she made an overt display of laughing hysterically in a tiny high-pitched voice at something Brian said. Watched as she casually placed her hand atop her desk so her fingers were brushing up alongside the hand that Brian was using to brace himself against the desk.

Olivia stood frozen in shock as a tidal wave of emotions flooded over her fatigued body. She fluctuated from anger to hurt and betrayal and back to anger again. How could she have been so stupid? So naïve? All the extra hours Brian was picking up, they weren't so he could take time off when the baby was born. They were just an excuse to hang out with Barbie over there. Not that Olivia could blame him. That woman, whoever she was, had all the sexy curves Olivia used to have before she gained thirty some pounds, half of it in her ass and face. Or at least it sure felt that way. The blonde bombshell probably wasn't one endless mood swing either—biting Brian's head off over leaving toilet seats up or putting the almost empty milk carton back in the fridge. Her skin was flawless, her boobs were perky, and her pearly white teeth were almost blinding, even from across the room. How could Olivia with her cankles, stretch marks, penguin waddle, and bags under her eyes from weeks of sleepless nights even begin to compare?

She was just about to turn and hurry back to the elevator, well as much as she could hurry with her imposing girth and the persistent little boy trailing beside her, when Brian looked up from the computer and spotted her.

His face instantly lit up as he called, "Liv. Hey! What are you doing here?"

He motioned for her to join him on the other side of the room. When she stayed rooted in her spot by the door, a stoic expression gracing her face, he shot her a puzzled look before standing up, voicing a hurried apology to the blonde, and making his way toward her instead. When he was a few feet away from Olivia, Noah finally managed to wrench his hand free from his mother's and flung himself at Brian's legs, wrapping his short arms around them. Brian bent down and lifted his son up, positioned the giggling little boy on his hip and tousled his hair before locking eyes with Olivia.

He took a step closer to Olivia and placed his free hand on her stomach, noticing that she flinched slightly with the contact.

"What's wrong babe? Are you feeling okay? Is it the baby?" Brian asked, genuine concern filling his voice.

"I'm fine. Avery's fine too," Olivia mumbled, offering up a half-hearted smile, not really wanting to get into this here, in front of all his colleagues, where they would be sure to become break room gossip fodder. She was sure she had already been the topic of conversation at IAB more times than she cared to admit.

Brian looked unconvinced but let it drop for the moment, not wanting to incite one of Olivia's mood swings. He gently guided her out of the doorway so a few cops could pass through, stopping in a slightly more secluded section of the squad room before continuing their conversation.

"So what are you doing here?" Brian directed his question at Noah, all the while keeping a watchful eye on Olivia and her subconscious body language. She seemed to be doing everything in her power to keep her distance, avoiding any form of physical contact, a total contradiction of her usual behavior around Brian.

"Obviously interrupting," Olivia mumbled softly under her breath at the same moment that Noah exclaimed, "Lunch time Daddy!", practically drowning out her words. But not completely.

"Liv, did you say something?"

"Nope. Just clearing my throat." The lie rolled off her tongue, followed by a few bogus coughs to prove her point.

Once again, Brian let it drop, although his wife's behavior was starting to alarm him. Concentrating instead on Noah's response, he asked the toddler, "Lunch time for who, buddy?"

Noah poked his tiny finger against Brian's chest and laughed. "You Daddy…and Mommy...and Noah."

"Let me see if I've got this right, you and Mommy are going to eat lunch with me today?"

Noah shook his head vigorously, a bright smile lighting up his face.

"Did you make the lunch Noah? Is it in that bag?" Brian teased, pointing at Noah's diaper bag that hung from Olivia's shoulder. "Let me guess what you made. Is it pizza? Grilled cheese? No wait, my favorite, fried chicken?"

Noah squealed "No", in reply to each of Brian's questions, getting progressively louder each time.

Meanwhile Olivia stood by, her arms crossed over her stomach, silently observing Brian—his facial expressions, his tone of voice, his mannerisms—trying to decipher whether he was behaving like a man who had just been caught by his wife in a compromising position. But nothing about his actions conveyed that message. He was acting like typical Brian, joking around with Noah, chuckling at the way the toddler responded to his lame jokes, and every so often stealing inconspicuous glances at Olivia, assessing her condition, making sure she and the baby were both fine.

Maybe she had been wrong. Perhaps she had overreacted to an innocent situation. The woman was probably new and Brian was just explaining something about the department computer system to her. Nothing to be worried about. She was just about to drop her suspicions and enjoy the rare opportunity to grab lunch with Brian, when the nameless beauty queen strutted over and inserted herself in the conversation.

"All this racket over here, I thought I'd better check and make sure everything was okay," the blonde said with an exaggerated laugh. "And who's this cutie?" The woman squatted down until she was at eye level with Noah, smiling widely.

Noah, not at all sure what to think of the stranger, turned away from the woman and buried his face in Brian's shoulder. Jealousy surged through Olivia's veins as she watched the situation unfold. It was bad enough that this woman was making moves on her husband, but Olivia would not stand for her trying to forge a relationship with her son.

"It's okay Noah. Come here baby," she soothed her son through clenched teeth, extending her arms to him. Noah willingly accepted the offer and reached his arms out toward Olivia. Brian hesitated before handing his son over, but gave in when Noah started to cry. Olivia cumbersomely cradled her little boy in her arms, her large belly getting in the way. After several attempts she found a position that was comfortable for both of them. Noah clung to her, his tears soaking through her shirt, as she rubbed circles on his back and whispered reassuring words in his ear. His crying finally slowed to an occasional hiccup but he still refused to lift his head from his mother's chest.

"I'm so sorry little guy," the blonde woman continued to try to speak to Noah, her fake smile still pasted across her face, oblivious to the awkwardness she had created. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm a friend of your Daddy's." She reached out a hand toward Noah's back but dropped it to her side before touching the frightened toddler when she noticed the angry look Olivia was sending her direction, her wide smile faltering ever so slightly.

"It's okay Nikki. He's just going through a phase where he's really shy around strangers. Don't take it personally," Brian comforted the woman, much to Olivia's dismay.

Olivia muttered something under her breath as she shifted Noah slightly in her arms, protectively shielding him from the aforementioned "stranger".

Her speech was so muffled Brian didn't catch a single word of it, only inferring from her body language that the message was not a pleasant one. Seeking to dissipate the growing palpable tension before all the air was squeezed out of the room, Brian tried to change the subject, hoping to set all parties at ease.

"Liv I don't think you've met my new partner yet, Nikki Roberts. She just transferred here from Oklahoma City a few weeks ago. I've been showing her the ropes. Nikki, this is my wife Olivia and my son Noah."

"Oh right. I recognize you from the national news. It was a year or so ago, right? You were kidnapped by some guy, more than once if memory serves me right, and then admitted to police brutality against him and perjury days before he was found shot in the head. There was a big investigation and you almost lost your shield. Or something like that. It was all anyone in my hometown talked about for weeks," Nikki recalled, giving Olivia a snooty smile as she flipped her long blonde hair back over her shoulder.

Olivia stiffened at the mention of Lewis, never appreciating when he came up in conversation, even less so when Lewis was made out to be the innocent victim and she the unjustified cop with anger management and morality issues. Shooting daggers at the other woman, disgust seeping from her words, she retorted, "That's not exactly what happened."

So much for changing the subject to a neutral topic, Brian thought. Trying once more to clear the air, and to defend his wife's good name, Brian added, "You might want to brush up on your details Nikki. Olivia was a hero, helping to bring down a sadistic sexual predator, one of the worst New York City has ever seen, and all the erroneous charges against her were subsequently dropped. Liv's actually the commanding officer of Manhattan's Special Victims Unit. She's been there over sixteen years, which is much longer than most detectives last in that department, and she's probably the best they've ever had. Her work with the victims is second to none. They're lucky to have her. And on top of all that she's also the best wife and mom ever. She does it all. Right Noah?" Brian's face beamed with pride as he bragged about his family.

He chuckled as he noticed Noah try to shake his head in agreement, his face still buried securely in Olivia's chest, his tiny hand clinging tightly to her shirt. "Noah here turns two in a couple months and his little sister is due sometime next month. He's pretty excited about being a big brother and Mommy & Daddy's little helper."

Brian placed his hand lovingly on Olivia's stomach as he mentioned their unborn child and when she didn't pull away like she had earlier he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her cheek, lingering for a couple seconds, breathing in her familiar scent, before peppering a few kisses on Noah's exposed cheek, eliciting a small giggle from the little boy. He couldn't help but feel a little hurt by Olivia's cold response to his act of affection—not even a small smile was offered in his direction. She just kept staring straight ahead, only reacting to Noah's movements and vocalizations.

"Nice to meet you Olivia," Nikki chirped, extending her hand toward Olivia in a phony friendly gesture.

Olivia uttered, "Likewise" with false enthusiasm before gesturing that her hands were tied up holding her son and unavailable for trivial acts of greeting, leaving the IAB detective's hand hanging uncomfortably in midair. Nikki dropped her hand back against her side for the second time in a matter of minutes, shooting Olivia a sinister look when she was certain Brian's attention was trained on his wife and child and not on her.

When Brian turned back to his partner, the brilliant teeth-baring smile once again occupied her face. "Well Nikki, if you're okay here by yourself for the next hour, I'm gonna grab lunch with my wife. Call me if we catch a case."

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Nikki drawled, accentuating her Southern accent. "I've had an excellent teacher." Olivia didn't miss the loving look Nikki was giving Brian along with the compliment, and she was sure that was no accident—the look had clearly been for Olivia's benefit. Nor did she miss the way the blonde ran her fingers lightly over Brian's arm, lingering a second too long, before she turned to leave.

"It really was a pleasure meeting you Olivia," Nikki added cheerfully. She turned her attention to the little boy still cowering in Olivia's arms. "And I look forward to seeing you again Noah."

"Over my dead body," Olivia mumbled softly as Nikki made her way back to her desk. This time Brian could make out every word of the muttered threat.

"Liv, seriously, what's going on?"

Pain radiated through Olivia's lower back, brought on by her advanced pregnancy, made worse by the long period of standing in one position and holding her almost two year old son, and her arms had turned to rubber. A different but equally strong pain squeezed tight around her heart as the possibility that her husband was actually having an affair with a young, beautiful, blonde detective settled in her thoughts. The small amount of energy Olivia had left after the long trip downtown in the oppressive heat left Olivia's body like air out of a deflating balloon. The fight in her was now virtually non-existent and all of a sudden Olivia wanted nothing more than to get out of this suffocating space and return to their apartment where she could shut the world and its harsh reality out for at least a little while.

Looking down at Noah as she spoke, purposefully avoiding eye contact with Brian, Olivia softly replied, "Maybe this was a bad idea. I need to get Noah home for his nap and I could use a nap myself. We'll do this another day, when it's not so hot…or I'm not so pregnant."

Hearing his name, Noah lifted his head from Olivia's shoulder, carefully peeking around the room ensuring that the uninvited stranger was no longer within his line of sight, before pleading to be put down. "Let's go. Time for lunch, Daddy," he declared, squirming in Olivia's arms.

Brian reached over and took their son from Olivia's snug embrace, placed him on the ground, and took hold of his much smaller hand. "See, Liv. Noah's hungry. Let's go get a quick lunch and then you and he can go home and take your naps. You came all this way. I'd hate for you to just turn around and go right home. Plus I've missed my favorite girl and my little buddy and I think lunch together is just what the doctor ordered. What do you say, Liv?"

Brian and Noah looked at Olivia with the same persuasive puppy dog eyes. Eyes that Olivia was never able to say no to no matter how strong her resolve.

"Fine," she assented with an exhausted sigh. "Avery's starving too. But nowhere too far because I have about reached my limit for walking in this heat."

"There's a pizza shop just across the street that's pretty good. Is that okay?" Brian cautiously eyed Olivia up, waiting for her response. He was still trying to figure out what had her so out of sorts, knowing that the heat and her exhaustion were just convenient excuses and not the actual problem.

"Pizza!" Noah squealed in response to Brian's suggestion.

Olivia smiled slightly at Noah's enthusiasm for his favorite food. When she looked back at Brian her grim expression had returned, no evidence of her prior happiness remaining. "That's fine with me," she replied indifferently.

Brian just sighed, unsure what else he could say to Olivia to change her disgruntled temperament. Together they slowly made their way back down the hall toward the elevator, Brian relieved that Olivia at least let him take her hand without pulling away. No words were exchanged between Brian and Olivia during the short walk from the precinct to the pizza shop, but Noah took care of filling the uncomfortable silence, babbling excitedly the entire way.

Lunch drug on awkwardly. Brian tried his best to make small talk but Olivia's mind was clearly somewhere else and she made very few attempts to join in the discussion, often only offering a one or two word response when she did speak. He eventually gave up, allowing Olivia her space, and spent the rest of the meal conversing with Noah instead, chuckling at the inquisitive little boy's multitude of bizarre questions.

When the meal was over, Brian waited with Noah and Olivia until they were able to hail a taxi. He loaded Noah into the back seat and then offered his hand to help Olivia get in next to Noah. Her stubborn pride and hurt feelings urged her to ignore his outstretched arm and attempt the task herself, but practicality told her there was no way she was going to get her eight month pregnant body into the back seat of the cab without assistance. The cab driver had had to help her on their way to see Brian. So grudgingly she took his hand and carefully he guided her into the waiting seat, before placing a soft kiss on the side of her forehead. A kiss that she tried unsuccessfully to shirk away from. She saw the pained reaction her movement elicited in Brian but she didn't care. He had brought this on himself.

"Well I guess I'll see you tonight. Thanks for lunch," Brian muttered as he stood back up, placing his hand on the door, ready to close it.

"Uh huh," Olivia muttered, looking down at her hands resting atop her belly, pretending to inspect her nails which were in desperate need of a manicure.

Knowing he would get no further response from Olivia, Brian turned his attention to Noah. "Bye Noah. It was good to see you buddy. I've missed our special time together."

"Bye Daddy!" Noah waved his little hand energetically. "Miss you too."

Brian gave Noah one final wave before closing the back door, uttering a quiet "Love you Liv" as he did. The taxi almost immediately drove off in the direction of their apartment. Standing on the curb Brian watched the retreating cab until it was out of sight before trudging back to the IAB squad room, confused and miffed, his thoughts still with Olivia and Noah, as they would be for the remainder of the day.

TBC :) Next chapter is the big blow up...hate me yet?