A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and follows. Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long for Part 3. Like I said before, this is the fight scene. It definitely gets better in the next chapter though, I promise. As always I own no one and let me know what you think. Tomorrow's gonna be a busy day...I'll try my hardest to get Part 4 up by tomorrow night but it may not be up until Monday. Enjoy and try not to hate me too much :)

Tears still pouring from her eyes, Olivia was startled out of the haunting memory by the jingle of keys and a soft click as the front door latched shut. Their song was no longer playing on the radio, replaced by the new Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert compilation. Olivia glanced down at her watch. 8:45. Of course tonight would be the night that Brian actually waltzed in before midnight. Tonight when she couldn't handle a confrontation with him, when all she wanted was to be curled up on her half of the king-sized bed sound asleep or at least pretending to be when Brian appeared in their bedroom. Knowing there was no way she'd make it to the bedroom undetected, not when she was about as stealthy as a hippopotamus, she slid down on the couch, positioning herself so she was facing the cushions, and frantically wiped away the telltale evidence of her crying session with the blanket draped over the back of the couch.

Meanwhile Brian took his time in the entryway, steeling himself up for the battle that was to come. After double checking that the deadbolt had been slid into place, he painstakingly unlaced his shoes and removed them one at a time. When they were positioned neatly along the wall, he leisurely slid his arms out of his sweat-drenched suit jacket, hanging it precisely on the wrought iron coat stand before rolling up the sleeves of his white button down shirt and undoing the top few buttons, welcoming the slight airflow it provided. Having run out of menial tasks to delay the inevitable, he took one final look at his haggard appearance in the mirror hanging by the front door, straightened out a few wayward pieces of hair, and began the unwelcome descent into the darkened apartment.

By the time Brian had completed all the delaying tactics in the foyer and made his way down the short hallway to the living room, Olivia was laying perfectly still on the sofa, holding her breath and hoping he would just pass by without any attempts at conversation. Her hopes were dashed as she heard his footsteps make a left turn on the hardwood floor and head toward the end of the couch. He stopped only momentarily as he walked past to place a quick kiss on her forehead, his peppermint scented breath tickling her skin, and another soft kiss on her belly, whispering, "hey there baby girl" before standing back up and continuing to his destination. Silently lifting her legs, Brian sank down into the cushion before placing her swollen feet in his lap and gently massaging them. He knew she wasn't asleep, but he didn't say a word, waiting instead for her to break the loaded silence hovering over the room.

Fifteen minutes later Brian had massaged both legs all the way up to her knees and still Olivia had not spoken a single word or even given any indication that she was indeed awake and appreciative of his loving attention to her aching feet and calves. Tired of the deafening silence, Brian grabbed the remote and turned on the Yankees game, setting the volume to low so as not to disturb Noah. He knew Olivia's dislike for the Yankees commentators' endless recitation of decade old statistics as well as their knack for overstating the obvious and figured it would only be a matter of minutes before he successfully brought an end to her possum act.

Olivia groaned inwardly when the television clicked on, casting a soft blue glow on the wall, the discussion of strikes and balls and runners in scoring position filling her ears. She could feel Brian shifting beneath her legs and settling deeper into the couch, indicating he had no intention of moving to the bedroom anytime soon. Olivia knew she couldn't hold out much longer. She barely fit on the couch sideways anymore due to her large belly and she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable as the minutes passed, her lower back screaming in agony, begging desperately to be stretched.

When she couldn't stand the excruciating pain a second longer, with great effort she rolled herself onto her back, trying her best to avoid making eye contact with Brian. Even that slight movement was enough to wear her out these days. She paused for a minute to catch her breath before trying to heave herself into a sitting position. She could feel Brian's eyes boring into the top of her head but still she refused to speak or even look up and acknowledge his presence. Even when his soft raspy voice asked, "Do you need some help?" she offered him no response, choosing instead to continue attempting the difficult task alone, ignoring his outstretched hand, swatting it away when he dared to inch it closer to her. Struggling against her awkward shape and extra weight, Olivia finally swung her legs over the side of the couch and rested her feet on the floor. Lifting her upper body up took a lot more effort, but after three tries she managed to get herself upright, breathing heavily from the exertion.

Brian watched her silently, carefully observing as her breathing returned to normal and the redness in her rounded cheeks faded. The look on her face, a look that was a combination of anger and hurt and utter disappointment, never once wavered though. Her eyes, beautiful chestnut orbs that he could normally get lost in for hours, were now pools of rage and despondency. Whatever was bothering Olivia, this was definitely more than just a passing mood swing. It hurt Brian to see the emotional pain Olivia was in. Even more so knowing it seemed he had somehow unintentionally caused the distress.

As Olivia finally garnered the strength to push herself up from the sofa, Brian reached out and grabbed onto her forearm, preventing her escape. "Liv, you can't shut me out forever. You barely said three words to me at lunch and now you're gonna give me the silent treatment? We need to talk."

Whipping her arm free from his grasp, Olivia turned and glared menacingly at Brian. When she finally spoke her words were slow and forceful, in a tone Brian barely recognized. "There is nothing to talk about."

Doing his best to remain calm, Brian ran his hands over his face and tried again. "Liv, I don't even know what you're mad about. So maybe if you'd just talk to me, we could work this all out."

Brian instantly regretted his choice of words as he watched Olivia's body become rigid and the fire in her eyes intensify. "Are you kidding me?" she growled, trying for Noah's sake not to raise her voice too much. "You really have no idea why I'm mad?"

"No, I don't," Brian said with an exasperated sigh. "Is it because Nikki made Noah cry? Because she feels really bad about it and you have to admit he has been going through a shy phase recently so it wasn't totally surprising that he got upset. Or because of her insensitive remarks about Lewis? Because I set her straight. I defended you; told her how disturbed Lewis was and how everyone thought you were a hero. You heard me. And I berated her again after I got back from lunch."

"Yeah that's it. I flew off the handle because some blonde bimbo made my son cry and then had the audacity to make it sound like I basically solicited sex from my assailant," Olivia seethed, tears threatening to spill over her eyelashes. With renewed energy she pushed herself up from the couch and stormed across the small room, coming to a stop in front of the book cases, pausing to tug her shirt down over the sliver of exposed skin on her lower abdomen before crossing her arms over her stomach and adding, "Do Noah and I mean that little to you?"

Olivia's words stung like a slap across the face. She and Noah were his world and he didn't understand where she got the idea that he no longer cared about them. Anger creeping into his voice, Brian replied, "I don't like the implication that I don't care about you and our son. If I didn't care I wouldn't be trying to fix whatever the hell this is. I'd just walk out the door and leave you here alone with your screwed up hormones and incorrect assumptions!"

Tears streaming down her face, Olivia mustered up all her resolve. "Then why don't you just leave? Go running off to your hot young piece of ass and leave me here to take care of our children. It's what you really want, right?"

Olivia paused briefly, watching as recognition registered on Brian's face before adding, "Guess I'm not as naïve as you thought I was."

Brian took only a second to process her words before leaping from his spot on the couch, knocking the remote to the floor in his haste, and stalking toward Olivia, rage coursing through his body, stopping mere inches away from her. "Are you serious right now? That's what this is about?" he bellowed, not even caring that he would probably wake Noah with his increased volume. "Are you really suggesting that I'm having an affair? That I'm incapable of having a relationship with a female that is strictly professional? You have that little faith in me? After all we've been through together you still don't trust me. Unbelievable."

"Keep your voice down. You'll scare Noah. And what am I supposed to think when I walk into your squad room and find you snuggled up against a beautiful woman who couldn't keep her hands off of you?" Olivia fired back, taking a slight step backwards, bumping clumsily up against the bookshelf. Brian had never hit her and she knew with one hundred percent certainty that he never would—he might have done something that would emotionally destroy her but he would never physically abuse her—still she couldn't help but be slightly intimidated by his anger.

"Snuggled up against her? I was leaning over her computer and pointing something out. That's all! Did you even for a second think that maybe, just maybe, you were jumping to conclusions without having all the details?" Brian roared. "You're a detective Liv. You know better than anyone that things aren't always what they seem to be."

"Oh please, Brian. You've been glaringly absent for the past month. You're gone when I wake up in the morning and you don't get home until after I'm asleep for the night. Noah and I are lucky if we get fifteen minutes with you in the course of a week."

"You know damn well why I've been working all these extra hours!" Brian attempted to cut her off.

"I wasn't finished," Olivia spat. "And here I was feeling sorry for you working yourself ragged when in reality I should be feeling sorry for Noah and me, abandoned while you have all the fun you can't get at home anymore because I'm a moody, fat pain in your ass who's always too worn out for sex. And you would have been able to keep your dirty little secret too if I hadn't had the brilliant idea to surprise you with lunch, thinking you would welcome a break and the chance to spend some time with us. Silly me."

"So let me get this straight. You're allowed to have a twelve year emotional affair with your partner and I'm just supposed to take your word that nothing physical ever happened between the two of you but when I tell you nothing is going on between me and my partner it's impossible to believe because I 'sleep with hookers'," Brian snarled, making angry air quotes around the last few words. "That's what I do, right? Never mind that Carissa and I were actually in a relationship, before you and I reconnected. And nothing, I repeat nothing, happened with Heather Riggs or Lila either. Not that you would ever give me the chance to explain that incident to you. Once accused, always under suspicion."

Olivia gasped, shocked by the unwelcome reminder of Brian's tainted past as well as the mention of her former partner—a man she hadn't given more than a passing thought to since reconnecting with Brian over three years ago. Elliot had walked out of her life without so much as a goodbye, making him basically dead to her, but for some reason in her enraged state she felt the need to defend him, if only because she knew it would hurt Brian more. "Don't you dare bring Elliot into this."

"Of course. What was I thinking? Your precious Elliot is always off limits. Well what about your Cuban boy toy partner? He's not so bad looking and I've caught him checking you out on more than one occasion but I've never accused you of cheating on me with him. Or with any of the other countless men you work with—Fin, Barba, to name a few. You know why? Because I trust you." The volume and intensity of his voice dropped significantly as he uttered the last four words, hanging his head dejectedly.

Olivia stood speechless for the first time since their fight had ensued, letting Brian's words wash over her. She tentatively peered up into his hazel eyes, noticing that the fury and resentment that had been present only moments before was now replaced with something that could only be described as pure unadulterated hurt. Sniffling and wiping brusquely at the tears that covered her face, she slowly made her way around Brian and back to the couch, needing distance and to get off her feet for a minute. She was still trying to formulate a response when Noah's wails pierced through the silence.

Before she could even struggle to get back up, Brian waved her off, mumbling, "I've got it."

Olivia opened her mouth to protest but closed it again without uttering a single word, conceding that Brian could make it to Noah's room and back before she even pushed herself up from her seat.

Brian shuffled down the hall in the direction of the little boy's room, leaving Olivia all alone with her jumbled thoughts. Tuning out the hushed voice of her husband and the irritated cries of her son coming from the other end of the apartment, Olivia dropped her head into her hands and regretfully reflected on their heated exchange, trying for a change to see things from Brian's side.

TBC. One more chapter to go...the fluffy make up scene :)